Month: October 2018

Receiving the Gifts We Don’t Want, Regular Signs, And the Coincedences That Sometimes Happen

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Akouology, Exhorter, Redemptive Gifts, Theology

I really hate to burst some bubbles in the minds of some of my friends, but this is one of those posts.  And DISCLAIMER: these thoughts are more my own, and may not reflect the views of my friends.  In fact, there is something offensive in here for everyone, so without further adieu:If I have Not Offended You.jpg
THE PROBLEM
An inability to hear G-d’s voice can be one of the most devastating things we can experience.
And yet, in John 10:27, there is no pause and no symbolism in the L-rd’s words, nor does He appear embarrassed by the idea that we should be able to clearly hear His voice.
He said:

My sheep [actually and literally do] hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  -John 10:27-

Somehow along the way we got lost in the idea, and allowed the damnable idea to take root and grow into our theologies that G-d only somehow speaks unclearly sometimes.
Some believers have been known to take John 10:27 and we adjust what it means.   They take it as a narrow band of literal speech, or they metaphorize it into something ethereal and symbolic, when it is supposed to be straightforward and clear.
 
THE ASIDE ON COINCEDENCES AND HEARING G-D’S VOICE
Personal viewpoint here:  Sometimes, believers also CAN get lost in the nonsense that “there are no coincidences”.
Let me say that one more clearly so my audience can get my meaning.
Coincedences do exist.
“Uh, oh. David just run off the rails.  There is no Hebrew word for ‘coincidence’.”
My response: just because the word does not exist in a particular language does not mean that concept does not or cannot exist.
And, from my vantage point, they do happen, even for the Spirit-Led believer, and we need to have the capacity to distinguish when they are happening versus when they are not happening.
Sometimes things do just happen.  And how does this concept tie into this post?  Here you go.
We need to have the sharpness of discernment to know the difference between when something is a coincedence and when something is not a coincedence.  When you see that number 22 (or pick your favorite number), please don’t get so glassy-eyed that you think every occurrence of your favorite number or other phenomena is the L-rd speaking.  One is a data point; two or more is a pattern.  Look for the patterns.  If there is a pattern, mark it, but don’t assume it is the L-rd speaking, unless you know it is the L-rd speaking.  If you think He might be speaking, ask Him, and if He replies that He is, then search out what he is communicating.
There are indeed times when the L-rd is intending to speak to you in phenomena.
There are times when He just wants to hand you a phenomena just to say He is present and with you.
And there are actually just times when said phenomena is just happening.
Just as there is not a demon behind every bush, though there are demons behind some bushes, also understand that there is not an angel behind every cloud, though there are some behind some.  Our responsibility is to know the difference between the supernatural occurrences, and the natural occurrences.
Please understand, I am not trying to make fun of those who have experienced deep and mighty things in the context of meteorlogical phenomena.  If it comes across that way, I apologize.  My concern truly is that we don’t make everything mean something just because it is there.  This is no El Capitan, we don’t climb it just because it is there (well, okay, some might).  We talk to Dad, and ask Him, “hey Dad, is this you?”
 
Sometimes the leaves just turn red in the fall because G-d wants to paint them because they look pretty.
 
WHEN BLOODY MOONS CATCH OUR EYES
Let me point you out a more solid example of this where I take exceptional issue:  the “blood” moons.  Look with me at verse 14 of Genesis 1.

“And G-d said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.”

Genesis 1:14–15 ESV

The SMS (my shorthand for Sun, Moon, and Stars) were set as regular phenomena in the expanse of the heavens on the fourth day to occur and go through phases and eclipses at regular, predetermined, intervals.  Like the hands of a clock, where we can tell precisely when 3:33 PM is going to occur across the various timezones, we also can predict the position of the sun and the moon in a given moment, and where Orion’s belt is going to be in the sky relative to what time of year it is. Every. Single. Day.
Now, am I attempting to bash those who look up at the clock every day and see the same time pattern every day?  Absolutely not.  I have had those patterns myself, such as when my firstborn son was born at 22:22 on September 5.  I get it. And there are those seasons where it does legit happen.  And we ought to recognize it as such.  But sometimes we engage in the task of overreading, and we need to have the capacity to discern if and when that is happening.
Back on the subject of the blood moons
We know when the eclipses are going to happen 8500 years from now.  Every partial eclipse, every total eclipse, every pattern.  And those patterns are not out-of-the-ordinary.
When Dad speaks, and it comes to the Joel 2 and Acts 2 types of things, He will speak using the out-of-the-ordinary phenomena.
So, no, Yeshua is not coming during blood moons on the Feast of Trumpets in accordance with your interpretation of 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and Matthew 24.  And no, the moons over the US and the various towns named Salem are not going to be the signs of His appearing.  And no, the appearance over the US or an appearance over Israel means diddly-squat.  And, no, you may not make money off of the fact from me.  The L-rd will come when He is darn well ready, and I think before that, we are going to have to learn to understand, know, and be wise to a few principles.  Go home and actually just spend time with Him.  And don’t try to predict his coming based on regularly occuring phenomenon.
And look at the phrase “the moon will turn to blood”. That has NOTHING to do with a regularly occuring, predictable astrological event.  When the moon turns to blood it will be unlike anything we have ever encountered, and we will know it.
And “the sun will become dark” does not mean solar eclipse.  It means something we have NEVER seen before.
And, no, Mark Biltz didn’t get it.  I am sorry.  And the Shemitah and the Harbinger aren’t what we should be looking for.
Our eyes should be FIXED on Him, not regular events, Him.  Not current events.  Him.  Not attacks upon this nation or that nation. Him.  Not this or that false christ ot denounce.  Him.  Not people saying “I am the Christ” or “Jesus is the Christ”. Him.
Anything besides Him is a paltry substitute.
 
WHAT THIS HAS TO DO WITH RECEIVING GIFTS WE DO NOT WANT
If we are not clearly hearing His voice, then we will find cheap substitutes for that voice.  He has not left us without clarity or a solid voice to discern.  So why the lack of hearing G-d’s voice?  What is the vacuum that is sucking us dry in the area of His voice.
We call this the Canaanite Iron Bowl.  Iron was connected with the Canaanites, and as the fourth of the seven enemies in the book of Judges, we see the Canaanite Curse (and perhaps Canaanite structures) hit Exhorters most keenly.  And this bowl is something like a structure that fits over the head and keeps the one under it from hearing clearly what the L-rd is trying to say.
I wonder if there are six other structures.  Maybe an opportunity for another teaching.
 
EXHORTERS AND HEARING G-D
Exhorters are the Redemptive Gift that, above all the other gifts, is designed to hear new revelation about the nature of G-d that is missing from the current revelation, and that is transformational to our understanding of the nature of G-d.  Exhorters TRAFFIC in revelation and can effortlessy pull new revelation faster, bigger, more quickly, than the others (Seven Principles).  As a result, they are in need of hearing G-d’s actual, certifiable voice more keenly than the other gifts.  That is one of their jobs and that is why they sparkle so radically as witnesses to the nations and influences of great crowds.  That is why they are the go-to for G-d’s chosen instruments as world-changers.
Take Moses the Exhorter for example:

“And he said, ‘Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the L-RD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream.  Not so with my servant Moses.  He is faithful in all my house.  With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the L-RD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

Numbers 12:6–8 ESV

And oftentimes this structure that blocks us from hearing the voice of G-d, comes upon us for a number of reasons.  But the one that I want to highlight more than any other is this one.
 
WHEN WE REJECT PART OF WHAT G-D WANTS TO GIVE US
The Canaanite Iron Bowl has license to come upon us when we or an ancestor rejects the voice of G-d.
I would like to give Arthur Burk full credit for discovering this concept, by the way.  His series “Hearing G-d” is critical to understanding how this structure works. You can grab the teaching here (for the CD’s) or here (for the MP3’s).
The Canaanite Iron Bowl can come upon us when we take the revelation that G-d wants to give us and we only accept part of that revelation.  So, if G-d gives 100 units of revelation, and I decide to keep the 90 units with which I am comfortable and toss aside or junk the 10 units with which I am not comfortable, then what that does is it gives the enemy a blank check to later nab the revelation I do have and put me into a deficit of owing him the revelation that I do have.

To him who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

And earlier in John 10:

the enemy does not come except to steal…

If you reject what G-d wants to give, you will wonder why you have less than what you did accept.
Here is the kicker, gang, and the attitude we need to assert with the L-rd.  In order to get the revelation I want, I need to be willing to accept with it the revelation I do not want.
In order to keep and maintain the gifts I want from the L-rd, I need to be willing to handle and steward the gifts I do not want that G-d wants to give me.
This means, I have to be sharp as a boxcutter when it comes to knowing the difference between a coincedence and revelation.  And yes, stuff does just sometimes happen.
The Canaanite Iron Bowl can come because we or someone in our family line was content to receive this revelation here, but that revelation (especially if it had to deal with suffering or correction) over there was to uncomfortable to integrate into our lives.
If we want the sharpness to clearly hear His voice, we have to be willing to drink whatever cup He assigns us.
Do we accept the bits we like and reject the ones we dislike, or do we take everything He has for us?
When we fail to hear his voice, we sometimes like to sub in those things that are cheap imitations.

“You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let G-d speak to us, lest we die.”

That right there, was their mistake.  “We do not want G-d to speak to us, lest we die.”
If you do not want to hear His voice, then He will actually stop speaking.  He will honor your request.  And rejecting His voice when He sends you servants to speak to you, is
If you believe a lie, then you will have the lie you want.  If you believe no man can behold the glory of G-d, then that is the lie you will have.  If you believe that your lot is only dark sayings, and not “face-to-face, as a man speaks with his friend”, then that is what you shall have.  If you believe that only the prophets of the Tanakh were able to speak with precision and accuracy, and not you, then that is what you shall have.  If you believe that Elijah was more holy or more special than you, and it is not your birthright to hear as he heard and walk as he walked, then that is what you shall have, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS CLEARLY WRITTEN

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours,

Hey, gang.  These men and women were identical to us; they were humans.
Let me flip-flop that statement.  We have a nature like theirs, and we are identical to them.

For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory.  Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it.  For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.  But their minds were hardened.  For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.  Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.  But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:9–18 ESV

We have a better covenant, and a better set of promises, and our capacity to hear G-d and do mighty exploits is somehow less and with less clarity?  Seriously?  Is that what Yeshua died for?  So we could merely go to church once a week and tithe?!
And we have a “maybe that was G-d I heard, maybe not.”
And we settle for clouds and witching rods, and tea leaves and a choked and semi-alive communication line which that bastard snake can choke out anytime he feels like it is getting too strong?
Gang, there is more.  I challenge each of you.  There is more.  He has more for you to hear.  Reject the mentality that you have to hear less because you deserve less.
Reject the lie that says “I occasionally hear him from time to time, maybe.  Stupid Samaritan dog am I.”  As if your L-rd is saying “it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
This is not about begging off the crumbs that fall from Lance Wallmau’s or Jeremiah Johnson’s or Lou Engle’s or Arthur Burk’s tables.  This is about you baking your own bread and butchering your own steaks.
And so what if the word Father gives you does not mirror their words?
It wouldn’t be the first time that one prophet disagreed with the mass of the rest.
And L-rd knows, we have had enough psychic doors opened in the prophetic that we need to start repenting of ours, closing them, and pointing out when a word is off.  Even if the speaker is Lou Engle, or Jeremiah Johnson, or Arthur Burk, or me, or anyone else.
Grab that teaching and remove the bowl and reject the non-reality that hearing G-d has to be a chore or something labor-intensive; t does not have to be.
And for your chewing, here is the NRSV on Genesis 1:6-8.  That word for “expanse” or “firmament” can mean “dome”.

“And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so.God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.”

Genesis 1:6–8 NRSV

So, question.  Do we want the dome of the expanse of G-d’s clarity and revelation and truth, or do we want the suffocation of the Canaanite Iron Bowl?
 

The Land That Can Shut You In

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Uncategorized


Above is Exodus 14, from the English Standard Version, 2007 Text Edition.
I was reading through Exodus this morning, and verse 3 struck me:

For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’

“The wilderness has shut them in”.
Then the rest of the context struck me.
Land, in case many do not know, is an entity that actually interacts with us.  It responds to us when we sow seed, and when we work the ground (Gen 2:15).
And based on Pharaoh’s assumption, land can work against us, even engage in behavior that results in our entrapment.  If land sees us as life-giving, land may not want to get rid of us so easily.  Our job, is not merely to work the land as a mechanical thing or an inanimate object.  Now, am I saying land is a living thing that deserves our worship?  No.  Land does however have some quality about it by which it interacts with us.  There are places where we each have been, in which we note that it is as if the land is speaking to us positively and negatively.
And the Israelites, in response to the behavior of Pharaoh’s armies, make a comment to Moses about wishing they had remianed in Egypt and died there.  Translation: “it would have been better for the land of Egypt to shut us in in the place of slavery, than for us to die IN THE WILDERNESS.”  These comments of complaint are often colored with discussion of the land itself and the fruit of the land.

“We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic“.

Yeah, and as a result of these complaints, plagues came of all sorts.  And don’t forget the LAND that swallowed up Korah’s rebellion in Number 16.
Many times, there are believers that think the land does not interact with us.  However, it does.  It:

  • Swallowed up Korah (Number 16).
  • vomited the inhabitants out before the Israelites (Leviticus 18:25, 28).
  • Enjoys seasons of rest (2 Chronicles 36:21).
  • Can be open to people (Gen. 34:10).
  • Can either support or not support its inhabitants.  In other words, people can cause the land to become strained (there is an emotional component to that: Gen. 36:7).
  • the land can have knowledge of seasons, which means it can also forget things that happen to it (Gen. 41:31).
  • Can languish (Gen. 47:13). This is an emotion the land here is experiencing.
  • Can be naked (Gen. 42:12).
  • Can provide a place of rest (Gen. 49:15).
  • Can become defiled like the human mind (Lev. 19:29).
  • Can yield its fruit (Lev 25.19).
  • Can devour its inhabitants (Num 13:32).

Among other things.
 
Just some things to consider.
Thoughts?
 

The Mesmerizing Spirit; Or, The Spirit That Truncates the Message, Making A Full Message Into A Partial Message

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Exorcism, Honor, Mesmerizing Spirit, Principles, Principles of the Trinity

Having done a couple of videos on the subject of the Mesmerzing Spirit, what follows is how I understand the Mesmerizing Spirit.  So, read on, and feel free to add, change, adjust and do what helps you to flesh out what I have put down here.
 
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MESMERIZING SPIRIT (MS):

  1. The MS is a pickpocket; it wants to distract you from something in order to rob your perceptions of another, keeping those perceptions from attaining a place of wholeness, and causing your to believe you are percieving the whole when you are perceiving only a part. It can be 10% or 50% or 98%, but something is missing.
  2. The MS is not a character assassain on its own, but it sets the stage for character assassinations to take place.  It lays that groundwork by stealing from the full compliment of our perceptions and our discernment (the two can be different), and in turn, stealing from the full package of reality.
  3. I have seen the MS work in tandem with the 5th Head of Leviathan, which prevents people from hearing and perceving accurately, and in the context of human relationships, it prevents people from hearing our heart and seeing that accurately.  With the 5th Head operating in our lives, words get twisted and and ANYTHING to do with sound can get misaligned.  While this can extend to malfunctioning technology and we love to hear, I really want to draw your attention to the most general way of thinking about sound.  Don’t get locked into merely thinking about sound in a narrow band, or just thinking about technology alone.  Rather, expand your perception to think about all forms of sound (emanating from single sources) and communication (interaction of sounds between multiple sources); conversation; music; the sound of creation, birds, fish, leaves, trees, wind, oceans, the deeps of the mountains, the earth, the sun, stars, wheat growing in a field, ants, lions, snakes, wolves, dogs, cats; hearing the L-rd’s voice, the voices of other people, the voice of the enemy, the voice of your spirit, and the voice of your soul; and responding in kind to each of these, including those who do not speak our native language (human/animal, human/plant, plant/animal, weather/plant, weather/animal, water/plant, etc.).  In general, how well and how accurately do we hear, and how well do we steward those things we hear and with which we interact?  When words and sounds get twisted by the 5th head, the MS comes in and brings people’s focus onto a part and deceives them into thinking them that they are looking at the whole.
  4. Remember the old statement that “perception is reality”?  Well, if you are looking for evidence of reality in your perceptions of a person or a situation after the MS has come through, then prepare yourself, because if your perception is not accurately grounded in the fullness of reality as G-d sees it, then perception will not come even remotely close to refleting reality, much less being reality, once this spirit has done its dirty work.  Further, as a general rule, perception is never an accurate reflection of reality in our culture precisely because perception too often operates in the absence of either real Spirit-driven discernment or the Fruit of the Spirit.  We need both to accurately see and percieve others, and the MS wars relentlessly against both discernment and the Fruit.
  5. The MS robs a portion from the whole of our perspective.
  6. On the one hand, we might end up focusing on a really good package and miss out on some serious flaws because we bought the deception that that flaw did not exist.  The MS can cover for a flaw or set of flaws and make us see the person or entity in question as only all-good.
  7. On the other hand, we might focus only on the bad in a person, but because there is something golden in their character that the MS dirtied up, soiled, or covered over, we cannot see it.   The MS can cover over a massively good set of qualities and cause us only to see the negative and a person or entity as all-bad.
  8. We call this a theft of honor based on reality or non-reality.
  9. The objective of an MS is to control where you look and at what you look.
  10. Because of the ability of the MS to blind people, we understand the MS to be a perversion of the Holy Spirit.   As per my previous post, my review on Life, Dominion, and Honor, it is the Holy Spirit Who is primarily concerned with bringging us Honor.  Given the MS is a perversion of the Holy Spirit, we infer that the MS is concerned with destroying honor by destroying the complete perspective of who a person or what a situation is in the eyes of others.  For the teaching, which is free, and worth every minute, go here.

 
WARRING AGAINST THE MS
So, how do we get rid of this nonsense?

  1. We must repent for allowing our attention to be absorbed by only the bad or only of the good in our own lives.
  2. We must repent for reviling the people, organizations, and other entities that we have reviled based on an inaccurate perception of their image and actions.
  3. We must repent of how we have coached G-d in how he delivers us and our friends.  These prayers for deliverance may be based on inaccurate perception.
  4. The phrase, “Perception Is Reality”, as it is commonly applied, absent discernment, and in the presence of only a superficial, natural perception, is an abomniable lie from the pit of hell.  The way we commonly utilize and apply this phrase as a maxim, rooted in only our five senses, causes us to scoff and keeps us from actual discernment.  Instead of discernment, we so frequently settle for our senses.  Let me repeat that; instead of discernment, we frequently settle for the data that comes through our five senses.  As a result, we think the firstborn son of Jesse is the anointed of the L-rd.  Consequently, we refuse to even begin a search for the heart/mind of a matter.   G-d looks on the heart/mind, the core of a matter.  When we settle for the natural data as our way of determining truth rather than the more difficult work of hunting for the heart and mind of a matter, we open the door for the stronghold of the Cult of Comfort; in the typical naturalistic way of dealing with things, we reach places where we are happy and content to judge people based on their appearance or the height of their stature (1 Samuel 16:7).  And we never dig more deeply for what the L-rd is doing in a matter.  Superficial perception leads to superficial judgment (decision).  Therefore, we need to reject and repent of believing the lie that perception is any indicator of reality, and we need to actually take the time to observe reality.   For lack of a stronger analogy, vaccinate yourself with a healthy dose of discernment.  It is through discernment that you prove what is G-d’s will that is good, acceptable, and perfect.
  5. Get to know which forms of discernment are yours, and cultivate those.   There are certain gifts of which I am convinced, that are the domain of each and every believer, despite how some would read 1 Corinthians 12 and 14.  Prophesying, speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance, and discernment are three which fit this description.
  6. We then must ask Him to align our perception with reality as He sees it, rather than passively accepting whatever comes through our senses as a marker for reality, we need to put on the fullness of discernment that Yeshua died for us to possess.  So, get rid of this phrase of sloth, and actually hunt for reality.
  7. We must repent for shelving the Fruit of the Spirit, and for substituting suspicion for discernment.
  8. We must repent for reeling off all of the “yes, buts”, all of the excuses why we cannot or should not do something, or why someone or something is only good or only bad.  If you cannot see and name at least some of the flaws in a good person, or the see and name at least one or two redeeming qualities in a bad person, then there is a high risk you are already under the influence of a mesmerizing spirit.  Every perfectly-behaved person or situation has some foolishness or flaws, and every clown or bad situation has something in them that can be seen in a redemptive light and used for a redemptive purpose, if we will just hunt for it.
  9. We must ask G-d to shine His light on WHATEVER HE WANTS TO SHINE HIS LIGHT!  WARNING: this simple prayer is DANGEROUS!
  10. While asking G-d to shine His light, we must actively REFUSE the temptation to coach Him on what to expose (Hello, people yelling about the negative of the Democrat Party without calling out the negative in your own camps.  People praying, “Yes, G-d, expose the lies that the Democrats/Demoncrats/Libtards/Democraps are engaging in.”, are calling for curses in alignment with their own biases.).  If G-d wants to expose the things we want exposed, then fine, but if He wants to expose what is uncomfortable for us, or things that we do not expect Him to expose, then we need to be ready for that.
  11. When we pray, “shine Your light whereever you want to shine it and keep it there until we see what You want us to see and fix what You want us to fix.”, we are in reality signing and handing a blank check over to G-d to start exposing the junk that He wants to expose.  If we are going to live dangerously, we need to embrace this manner of lifestyle.  Sign the check, and hand it over to the L-rd without qualifications.
  12. We must allow G-d to expose whatever He wants to expose in us and in others.  Even if it hurts, even if we don’t want it, we need to give Him His fathering liberty to handle, shift, adjust, align, reframe, and refocus us on the actual problem instead of our ideas of what we think is the problem.  He is a good Father and everything He does in us and through us is with an eye to our good and benefit.  He is in this for our benefit, not our desctruction.  The one who destroys us is not willingly serving the interests of our King.
  13. Once we have begun to align our focus with the truth of a matter, which is a process, we need to ask Him to begin the process of cleansing out the garbage that has infested us, inclusive of us making a confession where we have misjudged others, misappropriated principles, applied partial truth to render full judgments and sentencings, and ask Him to cleanse, cleanse, cleanse this junk out of us.
  14. Following the season of cleansing, we ask the Father of Lights to lead us in the direction of proper stewardship of our relationships with people and situations.  Stewardship of interaction, of our cultivation of the Fruit of the Spirit, of our human interactions, is critical.  As an aside, we really need a neatening up of our relationships.  Unless you have a friend that you are sure can handle sarcasm and a relational interaction marked by joking and humor, it might be wise to minimize sarcasm or fast sarcasm for a season in case that has damaged your interactions with others.  When something offends someone, if there is a genuine reason for them to be offended, stop hiding behind the excuse “I was only joking.”  Rather, apologize for being or behaving like a jerk, no merely coming across as a jerk.  And do not say “I am sorry you feel that way”.  That is a cop-out, and it places the blame on their feelings rather than your actions.  You apologize for BEHAVING in a dumb fashion.  Do not embrace a position of selective responsibility.  Take some ownership of some things that may not be your fault.  Doing so may help you cultivate some authority to speak into the life of another when you might not otherwise get the permission to do so.  And the MS HATES when we embrace Responsibility and become our brother’s keeper, especially when we think they might not deserve it.
  15. Further, we need to ask Him to give us right perceptions.   We ask Him to give us an internal world and an external world that match, and a capacity to not just interact with others in an external sense, but also an internal sense.

And for our texts here, because it seems that the MS is present in Scripture, let us consider not just the bad of the kings of Israel and Judah, but also the good of the kings of Israel and Judah.
 
MESMERIZED HERMENEUTICS
First, consider that Manasseh, who wickedly reigned for most of his life, REPENTED near the end of his life, and for all of his idolatry and wickedness, actually ended his life in obedience.  Yes, I know some are going to say “but 55 years and defiling the temple and the legacy of Ahab, and the iniquity of the people!”, and there is a place for that, but consider the also the later obedience of Manasseh.

The L-RD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention.

Therefore the L-RD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon.

And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the L-RD his G-d and humbled himself greatly before the G-d of his fathers.

He prayed to Him, and G-d was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom.  Then Manasseh knew (yada-Genesis 3:1, Proverbs 3:6) that the L-RD was G-d.

Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into the Fish Gate, and carried it around Ophel, and raised it to a very great height.  He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah.

And he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city.

He also restored the altar of the LORD and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel.

-2 Chronicles 33:10–16-

And, yes, go ahead and quote verse 17, about how Judah did not hear him but continued in sin, and that iniquity on their part was Manasseh’s fault.  You would be correct.  I will concede that point.
But, when you respond with that argument, please do so in full light of the fact that Manasseh repented, and the L-rd HEARD the voice of this king who repented.  And understand that it is quite possible that Manasseh could be dwelling in eternity with the L-rd and with Josiah, and if he did so, there are a great many people to whom he would have repented for sinning against.  Do not EVER leave out that Manasseh repented.  Doing so is the work of the Mesmerizing Spirit.  Do not read the Bible with the Mesmerizing Spirit;  do not engage with a mesmerized hermeneutic.
Second, consider that Josiah disobeyed, doing what the L-rd did not explicitly tell him to do, and went out to fight Pharaoh Neco.

But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah?  I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war.  And G-d has commanded me to hurry.  Cease opposing G-d, who is with me, lest he destroy you.”

Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight with him.  He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of G-d, but came to fight in the plain of Megiddo.

And the archers shot King Josiah.  And the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.”

So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.”

2 Chronicles 35:21–24

And Josiah’s pride, refusal to listen, and thinking he was the L-rd’s anointed caused him a premature death at the hands of the Egyptians, in a story that eeirly resembles the death of our third example: Ahab.
 
THE MESMERIZING SPIRIT SEEN IN THE ACCOUNT OF AHAB’S DEATH

And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the L-RD will give it into the hand of the king.”

And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king.  Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.”

But Micaiah said, “As the L-RD lives, what the L-RD says to me, that I will speak.”

And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?”  And he answered him, “Go up and triumph; the L-RD will give it into the hand of the king.”

But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the L-RD?”

And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the L-RD said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’”

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the L-RD: I saw the L-RD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the L-RD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’

And one said one thing, and another said another.

Then a spirit came forward and stood before the L-RD, saying, ‘I will entice him.’

And the L-RD said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’

And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’

Now therefore behold, the L-RD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the L-RD has declared disaster for you.

1 Kings 22:13–23

It is my viewpoint that the lying spirit in 1 Kings 22 could be considered a form of the MS, for the following reasons.

  • It drew Ahab’s attention away from the danger that awaited him.
  • It drowned out the word of the L-rd in the mouth of a proven prophet.
  • And, Ahab did not feel completely safe with the counsel of his prophets, given he disguised himself (1 Kings 22:30).

Specifically, in this case, the spirit in question filled the mouths of prophets with lies, and there was ONE prophet who spoke for the L-rd.
Gee, that doesn’t sound like any context we know about today, does it?  We have no risk of trouble with the MS given we are under the new covenant, do we?
Ummmm……yeah…
In the multitude of counselors, there can be safety and wisdom, but when you have the risk of a lying spirit or mesmerizing spirit infesting your prophets, and if only one person is speaking for the L-rd, then you want the counsel of the one full of trustworth who has nothing to gain from counseling you.
And before people get going on that “mouth-of-two-or-three-witnessess-get-confirmation” concept, let us note the context for that phrase; confirmation of words was for legal cases involving accusations.  So, before using that scripture as the basis for requiring two or three confirmations for anything you do, recognize and weigh EVERYTHING.  Sometimes, the L-rd may humor you and give you a group of counselors who will be able to speak positively toward a matter.  But there may be times when you have to go alone, as did Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Zechariah, Amos, or others.   I am not saying put yourself off in a silo, but what I am saying is do not assume you can depend on the luxury of two or three witnesses before you obey in a matter.  Sometimes, Dad is going to say “go naked and barefoot” and no-one is going to stand beside you, Redemptive Gift of Teacher.
Sometimes, you are going to have to strike out alone and, instead of being a Pioneer who settles a place, you will have to be a Trailblazer and strike out a new path where NO ONE has gone before you.
 
PIONEERS VS. TRAILBLAZERS
In our obsession in this season in the Charismatic Movement with Pioneers, we have fallen prey to a MS.  Specifically, we have been duped into believing that Pioneers come first in a matter; they have not.  What we have been mesmerized out of is a recognition of Trailblazers, which precede Pioneers.
Pioneers come into a community that is not yet, and they establish it.  They lay the groudwork and foundations for the new settlement.  And Pioneers are well and good, and they can go into barely-charted territory.  However, what precedes a Pioneer is a Trailblazer.  Trailblazers go into completely uncharted territory, and cut new paths through the territory that were not thought possible, and make the path crossable for those who would follow to establish outposts on the frontier.
Furthermore, most of the time, Trailblazers are not celebrated by the majority of the community.

“For those of you who are initiators, the probability of your being celebrated for your design is slim.  You may go to your grave without validation and affirmation from mankind.  So you are responsible for doing maintenance on your own identity.  And I would encourage you to look at Scripture.  Jonathan was one who was an initiator; another is the apostle Paul.  Both of them were high-action figures.  Another one was Peter.  And Peter and Paul and Johnathan messed up along the way.  They initiated a bit too much and a bit the wrong way, and, yet, none of them derailed G-d; He was bigger than their occasional messiness.  And G-d leveraged the beginners, the initiators, the starters to change the world.  And yet many of the initiators get damned, or stoned, or marginalized, and then 200 years later we build a monument to them and call them a hero.  And you have to choose to do your own emotional maintenance and to go through life being who G-d made you to be, validating the fact that you may not be appreciated here on earth until 200 years after you are gone, but choose whether you are going to be who G-d made you to be, or who the culture tells you you are supposed to be.”
Arthur Burk, “When Your Call Is Blocked.”, Disc 2, Cut 3, Timestamp 12:45-14:14

DEALING WITH THE MS IN CULTURE: ONE EXAMPLE
Think of the Wright Brothers, and not just the Wright Brothers, but the many who preceded them in expounding the principles of aviation but did not draw the attention of the culture.  The work of those who formed the conception and birth of modern aviation was a war against the MS in the culture.  They were not celebrated for building the new transmission that was fixed-wing flight.  And it took them years to receive any sort of recognition.
The Wright Brothers, specifically, upon their return from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to Dayton, expected a celebration upon their return, and sent a telegram to their father asking him to inform the press
 
Wright Telegram to Father KDH First Flight

However, the Dayton Journal refused to publish the story, saying the flights were too short to be important. Meanwhile, against the brothers’ wishes, a telegraph operator leaked their message to a Virginia newspaper, which concocted a highly inaccurate news article that was reprinted the next day in several newspapers elsewhere, including Dayton.
The Wrights issued their own factual statement to the press in January.
From Wikipedia article “The Wright Brothers”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers

Note: the Wrights wanted a factual statement, they did not like inaccurate reports; this is typical Prophet/Teacher attitude.  Wilbur and Orville measured everything meticulously.  And without embellishing anything, their later work was filled with a “come and see” mentality.  This work demonstrates an explicit absence of, and resistence toward, the MS.
 
THE LESSON
In the culture of Christianity, when people whom you see as prophetic voices are not hearing correctly for whatever reason, whether they miss the boat, or are mesmerized, or are responding soulishly, or whatever the case you need to be able to acknowledge your own legitimacy, recognize your own validity, and do maintainence on your own legitimacy before the L-rd.
The bottom line is this:  if you focus only on part of the whole, or if you allow your attention to be drawn to part at the expence of the whole, then you can become blinded.  But if you ask the Father to shine His light whereever He wants to shine it, and allow Him to show you whatever He wants to show you and the WHOLE of what He wants to show you, then be prepared for a wild ride, and be ready to shift from places where you are to places where He wants you to be.
It is not fun to deal with the MS, but it is exceptionally kingdom-building and rewarding to take care of it.
Be blessed, gang, and feel free to comment below if I have missed something.  If I have, I will be happy to add above.

My Review of Life, Dominion, and Honor

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Reviews, The Trinity

Yes, I know it is in the free section,, and, yes, I know that the Sapphire Leadership Group website does not permit us to review free items but…

Let me tell a story…

It was a few weeks before I was to travel to Toronto. We had just finished some time working with my wife’s property, having discovered a place where her land could have potentially blocked us from moving.

I was dealing with the parable of the Shrewd Manager (from Luke 16), and I was weighing whether or not I should e-mail Arthur, because the passage was just stumping me.

So, I did.

And he responded:

Needs a phone call.

A phone call? Why would an internationally-known speaker and leader in ministry talk with me. At least that was my thought.

So, calling him, I heard how he understands that parables, and as a result of that, got some understanding of the parable, but then he also told me in that conversation of a couple of resources that he had, one of them being Life, Dominion, and Honor.

His portrayal of the Trinity.

And, um, yeah. If we are understanding the Trinity, we will understand the roots of all that is.

So, what do these concepts have to do with the nature of the Trinity?

Well, let us look at the members and how they interact with us.

It is G-d the Father who who provides for us life and the gifts/resources that are necessary for sustaining life. Every good and perfect gift is from above, and does not come from the Holy Spirit, nor does it come from the Son. Rather, these gifts come from the Father.

These gifts are completed products, raw materials, talents and abilities, skillsets, strengths and weaknesses, relationships, the strength of hands to get wealth, and the sharpness of mind to construct means of building out the designs that lead to our increase in society and the kingdom.

When we recognize, realize, receive, walk in, and embrace the gifts Father has given us, we move into a place of sonship. Slaves do not have a bevy of resources, nor do they have more than they need. Rather one defining mark of a slave is the inability to see resources, and the eyesight that only can see lack in every direction. A slave also needs finished produces, and cannot understand how to work with raw materials and change those into what he or she needs to advance. The Prodigal Son required liquid assets; he, indeed, had a strong spirit of slavery.

Those with a Spirit of Slavery are also consumed by the Spirit of Jealousy; they are incapable of seeing the resources they have around them, but can clearly see, and therefore covet, the resources of others around them. They can only fix the problems they are handed with the resources that they do not have access to.

It is a problem for us when we fail to see the slew of resources that are available to us. When we think we do not have resources, we immediately question the goodness and generosity of G-d the Father, when He has given us resources. The issue, frequently, for those with a spirit of sonship is they are working with resources that are in a form which must be converted. Jacob, for example was being treated like a son when he was commanded as a rancher to DWELL in Bethel.

DWELLING in Bethel would have required him to convert all of his cattle and go into another business. Unfortunately, he rejected the instruction to dwell, and as a result, from that day forward, calamity struck.

*Further Note: Calamity actually began when Rachel refused to trust the G-d of Jacob for protection and instead stole Laban’s idols. It is possible that she stole those idols, thinking they would protect her from dad’s wrath. The problem is that, she stole those idols without informing anyone, and then Jacob inadvertently cursed her with premature death for stealing the idols. Either way, it was Jacob’s actions that led to destruction, starting with Rachel’s death.

It is G-d the Son, who takes those resources for life and use them in us to increase the Dominion of the Kingdom in the world today. Dominion is the primary expression of the Son. And Dominion is the primary weapon that is used to combat the powerlessness that is embodied by the Victim Spirit. We are not designed to walk in permanent powerlessness, but in godly dominion over all the works of darkness, and it was Yeshua the Son who came to destroy the works of darkness. We embrace the Victim Spirit when we cut ourselves off from others because we believe that no one will help us, even when people have volunteered help. Cain is an excellent example of the Victim Spirit. When he sinned, G-d came to him and said, “look, we can fix this. Here is how.” And Cain, instead of listening to G-d wanted to set the standard for how reconciliation with G-d was to take place. He rejected G-d’s roadmap back home, and instead chose to seek G-d his own way, and as a result, left and rejected the one thing he wanted.

When no one can understand, and no one can help, then we have opened the door to a Victim Spirit.

And it is G-d the Holy Spirit that bestows honor upon those who walk in Life and Dominion in sequence. As we receive Life from the Father and the accrue Dominion over Powerlessness by the work of the Son, the Holy Spirit gives us the fragrance of honor that causes our reputation to increase in both the kingdom and the culture. Honor causes us to see things as they really are, and it breaks the power of what we call the Mesmerizing Spirit.
And what is the Mesmerizing Spirit, you ask?

It is a pickpocket. A thief. It gets your eyes off of what the L-rd wants to show you and onto the one thing that will distract you, with respect to another person. On the one hand, it can cause us to focus on the one negative quality or set of negative qualities concerning a person or a situation that will cause us to jettison an entire good package, or, vice versa, focus on a set of good qualities and miss some critical negatives that would help us see the full picture, and so we will be taken in and deceived because we were not focusing on the whole picture. In short, we are robbed of a whole picture. The good qualities in a person can balance out some of the harsher negatives, and the negatives/flaws of a person can keep us from becoming enamored of that person.

That is, when we miss out on a full picture, we do not accord proper honor/proper place to a person or situation.

And we get hypnotized by being locked onto a particular quality.
We see this happen with churches. An entire good package of a church, people are ready to make this or that their church home, but because of one particular glaring issue, they are talked out or talk themselves out of embracing a wonderfully messy, imperfect situation.

On this teaching, spliced into the teaching of how to identify and deal with the perversions of the Members of the Trinity, Arthur covers snippets of South Carolina history and how G-d feels about the state.

Honestly, if you want not just a redemptive picture of South Carolina, but a functional, workable way of viewing the Trinity, there is no other resource I can recommend more highly for demonstrating the Members’ works and persons in practical terms than this.

Again, out of the park, Arthur.

Download and listen to this, gang. Seriously.

Link below:
https://theslg.com/content/life-dominion-and-honor

Offense and the Teacher; Your Longest, Strongest Vein of Ore; Your Place of Infinite Reserves; Functioning In a Place of Woundedness; Single Dynamics As Litmus Tests for Determining Redemptive Gifts; and Part of the Place of Offense In Discovering Our Design

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Design, The Deeps

What follows is a series of somewhat random thoughts, but it deals with a series of dynamics where people have been obsessing with this gift’s weakness or that gift’s Achilles’ Heel.

OFFENSE AND ONE PARTICULAR GIFT: TEACHER

I have to say, I have a friend who is a Teacher, and I think the potential for offense in Teacher would be because people often have a crappy perception of Teachers.

We have a whole lot of “new treasures” in the body that came through the other gifts, and the Teacher’s love of the old can be a source of great offense.

I am irritated, exceptionally vexed, that the Teacher’s love of the old is such a stumbling block that gets mistaken for a religious spirit.

In a healthy Teacher, the offense for others would be low.

Imagine our nation without Baltimore for Catholics, or Pennsylvania for Quakers.

ONE-DIMENSIONAL ASSESSMENTS AND TWO-DEMINSIONAL VIEWS OF THE GIFTS

Now, backing up to a larger frame, looking at the RG’s from one aspect creates a two-dimensional view of the gifts, especially if we are looking at one aspect of us that is a hangup.

If we are looking at this as a “which gift is the most offensive?” then you are talking about Prophets all day long.  Same for the question of condescension.

But, I would urge a whole heaven of a lot of caution when it comes to making snap decisions based on one trait.

And my thought on offensiveness and condescension should not be seen as a nasty judgment nor should it be a grounds for dismissal. Prophets can come across that way because they think they are right frequently and frequently they are right. Again, breathe. You are cocky like Maverick because you are right. You can extrapolate from data and see many steps ahead because you understand principles. And you are fearless and bold and your heart is on your sleeve along with your mouth and often your emotions. And I love and need that arrogance, brashness, and boldness, and confidence. We need that to shake up some of the more over-cautious gifts.

And in the case of each of us, the overarching quality of a gift CANNOT be quantified in one sentence; ALSO, a test won’t reveal a whole lot when wounding or personal biases with respect to the gifts or other issues are in place.

I can make all sorts of claims for myself for four of the gifts, but ultimately I have to know what I am, even if this or that person is right or wrong.

And we can get so caught up in the teaching on the Gfits, that we forget to be our own people and come up with our own stuff, our own revelation.

And, lest we forget, people like Arthur do get it wrong from time to time.  People like Megan and Sandy do get it wrong.  People like John Mosley to get it wrong.  And people like David MacNelley do get a whole lot wrong.

I would urge all sorts of caution in using single or specific qualities or a broad brush to identify this or that gift.

THE PRIORITY OF DESIGN

But ultimately, our greatest strength comes down to, what is our design?  Design is way more important…

Finding your transmission and engine, are vastly more important than knowing your gift. Get the design and what makes you come alive and the gift will follow. The disproportionate ROI.

And if your transmission does not exist, then you have one option, either do without, or get greasy and design and build your own transmission.  That is what the Wright Brothers did.

In what area of your life does the golden-glittery-oil drip?  For you, where is the work the most effortless?

My spiritual mom would probably push in the area of our effortlessness in part to help us out.

MANY FACTORS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ONE MAJOR FACTOR

And I would exhort us to look at a number of factors, and especially where the ROI is.

Now, for some of us who have had NASTY trauma, the process is harder, and especially when brain trauma or neuro-trauma is present, the path to a place where we are not bumping into others is going to take some time.  And there are a variety of factors that can cloud the journey, the mining job, the digging around under the earth in order to come up with our gemstones that describe us well.

But really, what Dad is trying to do is pick us up in His lap and take us each on a journey to find the treasure in us.

SHORT-CIRCUITING THE JOURNEY BY FOCUSING ON ONE FLAW

So, in short, this is no easy process.  But it can become a glorious adventure.

We can, however, shot-circuit the process by focusing on one issue, one flaw, one sin, one pattern.  Many patterns and many aspects reveal the multi-dimensional nature of the gemstone.

And offending people can come from wounding, or scandal, or sin, or design, or family, or Leviathan, or any number of factors.

But recall two things,

  1. “How I began this life is not necessarily how I am going to finish this life”.
  2. Every single stinking thing that is wrong with us, is on G-d’s to-do list, whether He has to tell us that those things are part of his design, whether wounding, or sin, or devil, or affliction, or chain, or cell, or dimension, or portal, or whatever.

And recall from earlier this week, I said that He died to roll back not just our sin, but everything that is off-kilter or wrong with the universe.

Every sin was laid to Christ’s account, and he willingly took it up, and His death was and is and will be sufficient to redeem every wrong thing you ever did, every wrong thing that was ever done to you, every sin of the enemy that twisted the original design of everything, and everything else.

So, take heart and be encouraged.

THE CAPACITY AND TENACITY TO PUSH THROUGH

One other thing: for those of y’all who are further down the road and are far more healed or whole, please take a couple of us wounded souls into your circle and walk with us.

I have one PRECIOUS brother who, when I met him, had MASSIVE negative 5th head of Leviathan at work in areas of his life.  For some reason, I suck at the Principle of Stewardship in my own eyes, and yet for some reason, his 5th head DID NOT TOUCH me at all.

I was able to talk through that clown, and it irritated that entity that I had the grace to ignore him and minister grace to this man’s spirit.

I was able to walk in the face of the presence of that negative head, call it my tenacity or pigheaded stubbornness, but his friendship is more valuable that the negative stuff he put off.

I have this built-in capacity to not be affected by those sorts of things and still walk with others.  Things I don’t get.

And I have a loyalty and trustingness which is unusual for a Prophet or an Exhorter.

And it took years of being pummeled by the enemy, sexual assault by the Jezebel Spirit to get where I am.

THE VEIN OF OUR DEEPEST STRENGTH

The bottom line: each of you has a vein or ore, or a specialty, or a long game, or a deep vein of emotional or spiritual ore that is deeper than anything the enemy can reach the bottom of. For me its loyalty. Play to that one strength in working with that person, brother or sister, rough edges and all, and go in the strength of that bread, because that is the one place in you that is most unbroken where the grace is the strongest and deepest.

Each of you has a place where the earth is turned up as by fire, no lion knows the path to that place, and no devil or twisted serpent can touch it.

Run there with the L-rd and use it as a regular place of refuge from which to strike.

It was put there for a reason.

“Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold that they refine.
Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from the ore.
Man puts an end to darkness
and searches out to the farthest limit
the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
He opens shafts in a valley
away from where anyone lives;
they are forgotten by travelers;
they hang in the air,
far away from mankind;
they swing to and fro.
As for the earth, out of it comes bread,
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
Its stones are the place of sapphires,
and it has dust of gold.
“That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
The proud beasts have not trodden it;
the lion has not passed over it.
“Man puts his hand to the flinty rock
and overturns mountains by the roots.
He cuts out channels in the rocks,
and his eye sees every precious thing.
He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,
and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.”
Job 28:1–11

Who Takes Away…

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Uncategorized

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 4.54.45 AM.png
Okay, so, I am not a fan of word studies as they are frequently practiced (so that we can increase learning only and not fully understand ramifications). In my last post, which was somewhat acerbic, I made much of the reality that I do not care for imcomplete, partial, unfinished gospels.
And word studies are best done in context.
While words do have meanings independent of other words, those meanings can be stretched to abuse real meanings, and support all kinds of whacked ideas. That is, words have meanings individually, but their meanings are primarily found in how the interlock with other words.
For example, the various words in Hebrew that are translated “praise” are things we should handle lightly and in their proper contexts.
As with everything in our faith, goosebumps do not necessarily mean something has changed; our metric as followers of Christ is, “did something measurable, verifiable, sustained take place?”.
So, I am not putting this out there as the beginning of a new dogma that is unmoveable, and I have no interest in abusing the text of Scripture. Rather, I want to provoke us to consider deeply the writings of John.
As I was reading, doing my Koine assignment this morning, I noted the phrase “behold the Lamb of G-d who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).” This phrase, spoken by John the Baptizer, is the intro to the ministry of the Messiah. And we love to read, G-d sent his son because he loved the world.
What gripped me was the word used for “world”. It is not what I think of as the earth in terms of ground, or the biology, but rather the world in terms of the cosmos.

ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου.

Translated roughly

Behold the lamb of G-d, the one taking away, the sins of the world/cosmos/universe.

And then I wondered about the phrase, “not only our sins, but also the sins of the whole world.”
And sure enough, the same word.
Now, granted, I will concede that the earth, where humanity dwells, is the crux of the matter with respect to our L-rd’s death. But consider the possible depth of redemption. We have a Luciferian rebellion, and we have those who are condemned because they chose to live a Christless life.
What if Christ’s death was sufficient to take into account EVERY sin ever executed against the L-rd for all of time, everywhere in the universe?
He dies for everyone, once for all, and including those who will never choose him.
Now, am I pleading for universal reconciliation.
Absolutely not.
But what if the redemption of creation means that G-d took into account the rebellion of Lucifer, and Jesus died to handle the issue of that rebellion. So the effects rendered by the cause of Lucifer’s rebellion were even accounted for.
You are talking full redemption of all creation.
And as a result, G-d, in his grace and mercy of making redemption available for all, even those who will continue to incite rebellion, is fully just in every judgment he makes.
And no one, not even the enemy, is without excuse.
Again, let me be quick to say, I am not making a case for universal reconiliation, or that Satan will be saved, etc.
However, what I am looking at is that Yeshua’s death was sufficient to account for ALL sin. Sin against Him by terrestrial beings, and by celestial beings.
It is the enemy’s incessant, continual, hard-hearted arrogance that keeps him in place, warring against the L-rd, and thus it is that pride that will keep him from reconciliation. But all of his acts against the L-rd were held to Yeshua’s account and all of his nasty work will be undone, for all eternity, everywhere in the cosmic scheme of things.
Behold the Lamb of G-d, who taketh away the sins of the κόσμος.
Not just our sins, but all sins.
Every place where sin has a grip on creation, all of those effects will be rolled back and dealt with.
When he redeems, He leaves no part out of that process.
The Exhorter works the Principles, and brings the causes to bear on the effects.
And because He has skin in the game, he can bring about change, because of the full pain He embraced.
As a result of this, He truly is the Sabbath Rest.

For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”

Psalms 95:7–11

Concerning Pastor Brunson

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Uncategorized

This is a miscarriage of Revelation 12:11.

καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐνίκησαν αὐτὸν διὰ τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ἀρνίου

καὶ διὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς μαρτυρίας αὐτῶν

καὶ οὐκ ἠγάπησαν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἄχρι θανάτου.

Look, gang, the posts welcoming him home are more of the same. Again, and again, and again. And if you want to know what our issue is in this nation, look at tarrifs and sanctions.
My irritation is not in his release. It is in the lack of a full gospel. I am viscerally angered when we worship at the cult of comfort and refuse people the grace of martyrdom, and so fulfill the fullness of the opportunity afforded to others.
If you plant and pastor a church and spend 23 years in a nation, then your intents are clear, and relying on Uncle Sam to bail you out is evidence of a cult of comfort and a refusal to accept the gospel of fullness. The whole gospel.
I don’t do partial gospels. And whine all you wish about this man and his family and how dare I say something against his release. And go ahead and unfollow me. But do so knowing this…
We are so quick to pay lip-service with the Blood of the Lamb, and the Word of our Testimony, but it is absolute idiocy when that is all we pay, and we refuse the third part of that verse.
You overcome ultimately, by not loving your life so much that you shrink back from death.
And this is a key item right here.
The question of preference between civil religion and the kingdom. And we show that we do it all the time when we say, “well maybe it was not this person’s time to die”.
No, you still did not get it. Go read what the Mercy has to say, and read it until it gets embedded into you.
And stop refusing the fullness of the gospel.
I am not into partial, half-baked, three-quarters-baked, Cult-Of-Comfort, carnal Exhorter Christianity.
From my mother’s womb, I was into the wholness of the gospel. And nowhere do we get the gospel and the kingdoms of this world more confused with the Gospel of the Kingdom and His Kingdom than here in this meddling Prophet nation.
And when we rescued Saeed Abedani, look at what happened. Jay Sekulow got involved, and we got him back, and then he and his wife divorced.
And refusing someone the responibility to bear martyrdom when they so obviously know–and we know that that is part of the cost (but we don’t know that here in America)–is blatantly wrong.
If you violate the principles by trying to use other principles to get your way, you are opening the door to the very thing that you did not want.
And Muslims will not be won by our sanctions, tariffs, or anything else, but our death and our blood being shed.
Period.

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
-Tertullian-

The Redemptive Gift of Yeshua

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Christology, Ed Silvoso, Exhorter, Principles, Redemptive Gifts, Sowing and Reaping, Uncategorized

So, there is still a lot of curiosity, and I could never exhaust this topic.
But, there is still floating around this idea that Our L-rd was a combination of all seven RG’s, based on the early teachings of our mutual friend, Arthur Burk.
Let me say, unequivocally, that He was born fully-G-d and fully man.  With a soul like our, that was singular, and with a spirit like ours, that was divided into seven portions.
And let’s look at the textual evidence first.  Setting aside what Arthur said, let’s look at our main sources for understanding on the life of the Son of G-d.
The Gospels.
I would like to consider a couple of texts for our purposes, starting with Matthew 11.
We know John the Baptizer was clearly hardwired with the Redemptive Gift of Prophet.  And he was hardcore.  John Sandford, in his book that sets the standard for our understanding for the Office of Prophet, The Elijah Task, made the observation that the Baptizer had a camel-hair shirt that was turned inside out, and that this was a way of putting his skin into a place of continual flagellation.  Anyone who has touched a camel would get an understanding of such a garment would afflict the skin.  It is not the softest material.
John breathed the judgments of G-d on the Pharisees repeatedly.
He also never, never associated with people in crowds by choice.  He was in the lonely places of Judea, and the crowds had to come to him in order to speak to them, and he was a fireball to ANYONE to whom He spoke.
Now, look at our L-rd, Messiah Yeshua.
He was in the lonely places by choice and by need, but he also spent his ministry with people constantly.  He was a General Contractor, and by nature of that job, dealt with people, subcontractors, owners, tenants, and other people incessantly.  And He went to Zacheeus out of the crowd and in the midst of the crowd.  And He compelled specific people to come with him, including Matthew, the…
TAX COLLECTOR…
And the wedding feast in Cana, when He bartended to a bunch of inebriated wedding guests.
And the friend……
Of sinners….
And he spoke to them, as a man speaks to his friend….
And He wept….
Over the man Lazurus…
As a man weeps for His friend…
And we with unveiled faces….
Beheld His glory…the presentation of the Man who was full of Grace and Truth.
And He made known to them, the nature of His Father, their Father…
He knew and processed the nature of G-d, who is a good Father.
He was not a machine Ruler, though He understood the principles of Freedom and Sonship.
He was a social without exception Exhortery Exhorter.
He suffered much pain, and dealt with the Exhorter’s Principle in the hardest manifestations.  And possessed His birthright.
Because He will not rest until His Father’s house is FULL OF PEOPLE WHO ARE HIS FAMILY.
NONE!  ALL!!
G-d is willing that NONE should perish.  G-d is willing that ALL should come to repentance.
That none should perish.
G-d loves cities.
Who told you this, David?
20 years ago, an Argentine Exhorter by the name of Ed SIlvoso told me this in a church in DeLand, Florida, named First Assembly of G-d, pastored by an Exhorter.
Yes, yes, Exhorter, it is your job to mess up the church with the new revelation that the body is missing.
That His house may be FULL…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUT9NWzaReA
 
11:00 in, gang.

“What we see in Scripture is process. There’s one snippet that we have as an example of process, and that is G-d’s passion for cleansing the land from death.  It is going to take seven months after the Battle of Armageddon for the specified teams to find every piece of human flesh and bone and give it a proper burial.  That is process. The King doesn’t just come in and fix Israel overnight.  He takes the remnant of people that are left after the tribulation and gives them process tasks, and I believe that the Millenium is going to be a process of the church learning from Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate Exhorter–He walked in the Redemptive Gift of Exhortation–we are going to learn from Him principle after principle about how to heal our ecological mess, and today we need to LEAN INTO it, not with the fear and the panic that the ecology movement is perpetuating, not with a sense of lack or poverty, but with biblical principles.
Arthur Burk, The Majesty of His Artistry, Disc 5, Cut 7, “Measurable, Verifiable, Sustained Change, Timestamp 1:32-2:47

And the Exhorter’s playing field is the Principles, and showing cause and effect.  It is not the Prophet, who is designed to use principles to build with.  But the Exhorter is designed to do principles nonstop.  Lots and lots of Principles and Revelation.
Moses, Solomon, and Paul were all Exhorters, and they FLOWED in Principles.
And the Sermon on the mount and the parables are Principles all.
And, here is a final piece. Listen carefully.  Every fight that He picked with a Pharisee was over a principle that He was giving to them, to help fill out what was missing from their theology.  They, Teachers, missed the one thing.  Hello, Philistines.  This is why the Exhorter and the Teacher go so well together, hand in glove.
So, there you go, gang.
This is my analysis, and this happens to also be Arthur’s analysis.
Enjoy it.
Giggle.
#mischief

A Proper and Astounding Exegetical Hermeneutic of Romans 8:31 and Some Consequences of Choosing the Wrong Adversary

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Uncategorized

This video is what a Teacher/Exhorter combo looks like leading worship.
 
I think one of the best hermeneutical expressions of Romans 8:31 is found in the Amanda Cook cut, “You Make Me Brave”, from the CD of the same name.

You are for us.
You are not against us.

Rather than drawing the focus to “the big, evil others out there who could be against us”, this simple line maintains the focus on the L-rd, who is definitely in our corner, as at a boxing match, or race, cheering us on.  It focuses on the relationship between the Father and His sons, us.
We have so many expressions of “G-d is on our side” that often let the focus drift to the idea or implication that those enemies of the moment that we have are also His enemies, while failing to realize that “if our enemy has a drivers’ license and a Social Security Number, we have the wrong enemy” (Ed Silvoso).
It is completely needful that we have an understanding that our enemies, as in the demonic forces, are not a match for G-d’s surpassing power.  But if we assume a victim mentality or enshroud ourselves in a victim spirit, and assume that people we don’t like are people that G-d is against, when the L-rd Yeshua died for them, in the same fashion He died for us (while we were yet sinners-Romans 5:8), and we assume that G-d is going to hurt those who hurt us, and we behave as spoiled brats when He does not get them back for hurting us, then we might need to reevaluate Romans 8:31.
Cook, a worship leader in Redding, California, on the other hand, does not have our enemies in view, but rather our relationship with G-d, which is transformed from an adversarial relationship in Romans 5:6-9 to a relationship that is affectionate in Romans 8.
Provided we walk in the spirit….
There is a multifaceted dynamic present in Romans 8 that I covered in brief in my previous post that shows the reality of being “in the Spirit” as opposed to “in the flesh”.
We are transformed from adversaries to friends.  And it is not our adversaries in the natural realm that G-d is against, but rather our adversaries in the spiritual realm.
Let me also put a second spin on it. Repeating from above, G-d is not against our natural adversaries, but our spiritual adversaries.
Further, G-d is against HIS adversaries in the natural realm.
And we should exercise caution in assuming we know who His adversaries are in the natural realm, given He died for all of us while we were against Him.  The handing out of labels is something that G-d takes very, very seriously, and we should exercise caution when considering the option of labeling others when He has not labeled them.
This dynamic right here is one specific reason why developing a hard heart keeps us from seeing clearly.   Hard hearts can clearly see their rights, but they often cannot see the subtleties of G-d in a situation.
Look at the context of Matthew 19:1-10.  The text of Matthew 19:1-10 is in dealing with divorce because of adultery.
Looking at the context, which is Matthew 18:21-35 (and add to this the parallel topic passage of Luke 17:1-5), Yeshua dealt with unforgiveness in interpersonal relationships. This segment that covers offended hearts that have grown crunchy toward the Gracious King leads into the discussion on divorce, and is tied to that passage in Matthew 19 by way of Matthew 19:1’s transition; Matthew 18:21-35 is the frame for Matthew 19:1-10.
The issue is not whether we can divorce those who have cheated on us and remarry, there is no question that we can.  The more sensitive and subtle issue in this passage is making sure our hearts are in a soft and tender place.
Consider this, which formed the basis for our discussion in home group this past Sunday on the Bait of Satan.
Abishai, in 1 Samuel 26, was ready to run Saul through with the spear.  The L-rd had put Saul, Abner, and the entire army with Saul into a deep sleep from the L-rd (1 Sam. 26:12). He was poised with Saul’s spear over the king.  And at this time the L-rd had departed from Saul.
Why did the L-rd put this army, and this wicked king, into a deep sleep?
“Answer: to test David.”
“To see if David is going to be another Saul.  Is he going to remain a man after the heart of G-d, or is he going to take matters into his own hands?” (John Bevere: The Bait of Satan Lesson 3, “My Father, My Father”).
The L-rd never spoke during this passage, and David, who knew the heart of G-d because of all of those years with the sheep getting close to G-d, understood what the silences of G-d meant, and what a deep sleep means.  He had the opportunity to be delivered from this wicked man, and yet, he chose to honor him as the L-rd’s anointed.
As a matter of fact, when Saul was slain, David commanded all Israel to learn a song that said, “SAUL and Johnathan, beloved and lovely…”.
Now, does that sound like the heart of a man who was offended (knowing Mercies the way we do, no one usually takes up an offense faster for another party than a Mercy)?  Not at all.
David still treated Saul with an above-and-beyond attitude even when Saul pursued him.
And his heart remained soft.
Our hearts as well, in dealing with our enemies, should not grow dull.  But remain soft and pliable.  Tears, weeping, mourning, brokenness are what help that process.  When we turn from our adversaries and turn to G-d, then in that moment we can receive clarity as we are laying in Papa’s lap dealing with our strong emotions (Psalm 39:12, 56:8).  This is how we transform pain into productive pain, by asking G-d to step into the midst of our pain and helping us to process it in order to see where He is at work in it.
If we can step away from a betrayal or from an adversary with a heart that seeks G-d and what He is doing in the midst of a painful process, then we can grow, and that process will help to ensure our hearts stay soft.   But so many people get wound up in their rights as believers, that the heart suffers, which is a major reason why subsequent relationships falter beyond the first.  And this is not just in marriage, but also in friendships with college roommates, brothers, best friends, family members, etc.
This that I have written is the one hand.  On the other hand, I will concede there is a time and a place for sarcasm, for mocking, for responding with a sharp response to those who have hurt us.  But these responses should not come at the expense of our hearts hardening.  It was a hard heart that decimated the nation of Egypt.
Thus, as we are engaging with the L-rd being for us, let us remember to keep the focus more on our interaction with Him rather than focusing on how vile is the person who wounded us, and lest we turn someone into G-d’s adversary that G-d does not treat that way.
 

The Power of Romans 8

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Uncategorized

Off the top, for those of us that believe Romans 7:14-23 still applies in fullness to those who are in Christ, we do not understand that Romans 7:25 and ALL of chapter 8 applies to those who are in Christ way more than the lion’s share of Chapter 7.
Good, now that I have that off of my soulish chest….heh, I will move onto the point of this post.
Romans 8 shatters the lies that we are made to believe that we are under the bondage of sin as believers.
Romans 8 says that we are NOT OBLIGED to sin.  That means we are not bound to the obligation to sin.   Again, let that sink in, gang.
Verse 12.
Imma post it in Greek first because the Greek is just lovely.

Ἄρα οὖν, ἀδελφοί, ὀφειλέται ἐσμὲν οὐ τῇ σαρκὶ τοῦ κατὰ σάρκα ζῆν,

And my translation:

So therefore, brothers (including sisters), we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

You are not a debtor to the flesh.
You owe the flesh nothing.
You are not required to sin.
You are not guaranteed to sin or required to sin a little each day in order to certify your humanity.   Now, will we screw up.  Yes.  And for that, we have 1 John 1:9.  But is it your doom to live and dwell in sin as a sinful screw-up the rest of your redeemed days.  Let me savor this response.
Nnnnnooooooo…….
Just no.  Just stop it.   Stop with the incessant thinking that you are required to sin because you are a human.  Stop with the idiotic mindset that sin is your usual way of existing.  Yes, we all know there is going to be the mess-up, but the reality is as you become more Christ’s and become more IN Christ, you will sin less.  Moreover, our position in Christ is seated in the heavens above the fracas of the natural realm and above the fracas of the demonic realm.
Following our initiation and baptism into Christ, water baptism being the primary means of healing and deliverance for new believers, sin goes from being something to which we are in bondage, to something that is a choice.  Your will is released from bondage following your conversion and baptism, and now sin becomes a choice rather than a destiny.
The other nature gets kicked out increasingly and the process of increasing being-set-apart begins to take hold.  And yes, you are faced with hundreds of choices and decisions with respect to sin.  Are you going to let it have its way or are you going to choose in the direction of your destiny.  As you progress in Christ, a natural affect of that consequence is that you will indeed sin less.
Therefore, we are moving from a place where sinning is the rule to a place where sin is the exception.  We were designed to flow in a victorious and overcoming lifestyle of being his bride and his son.
Gang, this is not even a contest.  We were redeemed, and we need to begin pushing the envelope and instead of settling for a lifestyle where we tolerate a little bit of sin ans normal and natural each day, we need to challenge ourselves and begin pushing to see how far we can go in affection, depth, holiness, sanctity, tenderness, and height of relationship.
Sin is not a guaranteed destiny of yours, but rather it gets reduced to an option.
If any one is in Christ, they are a…
New creation…
Beloved friend, you are new in Him, and he adores you a whole lot.
You are not required to sin, but now you have the capacity and the anchor that will stabilizes you in order to enable you to choose the right path.
Just as the Holy Spirit enabled the Upper Room Disciples to speak in tongues, so you to have the power and enablement within as a follower of Jesus to walk in the manner that befits a son of the King.  In Romans 8, you are given a litany of exhortation that shows what it looks like to be in Christ.

  1. Freedom from sin’s legal hold and right to your life. 8:2
  2. A capacity to live by the Spirit. 8:5
  3. The mind controlled by the Spirit. 8:6
  4. Capable of pleasing G-d because you are in the Spirit. 8:8
  5. Belong to the Father. 8:9
  6. Alive and in righteousness. 8:10
  7. Indebted to no flesh or to sin. 8:12
  8. Capable of putting to death the deeds of the flesh. 8:13
  9. Capable of being led by the Spirit. 8:14
  10. Capable of being sons of G-d. 8:14
  11. Adopted is your relaity. 8:15
  12. You have the inner witness of the Spirit if you are in Christ and in the Spirit. 8:16
    1. Now, you need to follow the Spirit and cultivate a relationship with the Spirit in order to strengthen this inner witness and discernment, but He is present and able to provide you with that inner witness.  But it is something that you have to be sensitive to and cultivate.
  13. You are heirs. 8:17
  14. You are capable of handling suffering. 8:18
  15. You are what all creation longs for. 8:19
  16. We are expressions of the hope of creation. 8:20
  17. We are being redeemed in our bodies. 8:23
  18. We are assisted by the Spirit when we are weak. 8:26
  19. You have a friend who will help you to search your heart for everything G-d wants to fix or repair in you.  All that is damaged or wounded or out of alignment, is on G-d’s to-do list. 8:27
  20. You are not subject to the enemy’s accusation or condemnation.  You do not have to be subject to your own condemnation.  G-d has such a lovely and strong and multi-facted destiny of hope for you.  G-d, being on your side, means the enemy of your soul, the devil himself, and all of his hordes, cannot and will not ultimately prevail, while there is still a “yes” in your spirit to the L-rd, no matter how weak that “yes” is.
  21. That is what is meant by the inability of the enemy to separate you from the L-rd.  It’s not merely a separation to hell.  It is a capacity of the L-rd to tighten the relationship He has with you and you have with Him so that there is not a seperation in this life.  Paul is not merely talking about condemnation to hell.  He is talking about the interactions you have with G-d in the here-and-now. 8:38-39.

Gang, This, this right here, is the power in Romans 8.  We are not merely secure in His hand and made safe from hell, but we are secure in the present moment, from one moment to the next.