Monthly Archives: September 2013

Laodiceans

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Revelation 3:17–18 (KJV 1900) — 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

 I find it hard to believe so many are in the organized church and are living below what could be a life of true joy and glory in God. The eternal purpose of God was put in place before the earth was formed and man was made to both have fellowship with God and to fulfill this eternal purpose he created us for. Why do so many not live any greater depth of Christian conviction and even many seem to once have the fire in their bones have fallen away and or fallen short of any heartfelt desire to truly know him? Past success, knowledge and relationship does not guarantee future positioning!

We do know it is the last days not because of wrong eschatology but because as time continues to unfold as we measure it, we are getting closer and closer to a new age invading this present age. The veil between the realms of what we know and understand and the supernatural realm of Gods eternity are thinning on a daily basis. This thinning could be quickened on our side if we would decide to press through our unbelief and begin to live as he said we should.

Yet the question remains of the great falling away. Many are thinking they have such knowledge of God but are not living the life of God. Many are in self deceived and even delusional state and vain imaginations saying God said, when in reality God did not say. The worst deception is not from the corruption that surrounds us but from our own unwillingness to not face the change required to answer convictions call. This self deceived state makes us reprobate and of no real use to our father in heaven, his plan, eternal purpose, or kingdom. We in our own strength have made ourselves of no true value to the one who paid such a high price for our freedom and for it to be on display before all people and nations.

The end result seems to be a self induced belief system that is disconnected from full and absolute truth found in Gods word. It also has breed confusion within the unbelievers heart of what is to be embraced and what is to be denied. We have traded the comfort of our own deception and the riches of worldliness and its standards of knowledge over the freedom of God expression and his eternal riches.

I fear many in that day will cry Lord Lord did we not cast out devils and speak with new tongues and do all these wonderful things for you. Yet those things are not things coming from our own ability but as the spirit wills. They are borrowed and we only stewarding them. God will want an account of our stewardship, but more so He will want an account of our relationship with him to know how we were to steward these things. Many will not be the Bride of Christ found in intimacy. Many will not rule and region as they have not even ruled and reigned their own lives. Many will be cast out thinking their exploits of yielding to the spirit will guarantee them position.

If you have fears then you have not been illuminated. If you are anxious then you are not found in him. If your faith is not creating then the doubt of the world has become your portion. Only those whose hearts and motives are pure will enter in.  Those who did not love this world or their lives but saw themselves as foreigners and outcast of an unredeemed world. Citizens of a far better place. Ones engaged in the business of a king and His kingdom. These will be the ones chosen in the eternal purpose of God for great pleasures of eternal friendship and privilege of heavens vastness to participate in. Will we be numbered in the redeemed? Will all our works be burned in the fire and tried wanting? Let the Spirit of the Lord illuminate your heart and life with his illumination Glory and let him show you what true freedom really is.

Five fold Office or Five fold Gifting

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The Apostolic today is hurting in function due to many false concepts and understandings. Not only did Jesus only commission apostles, but the fivefold “offices” in Eph. 4 are not listed as “offices” but listed as gifting. The word ‘gifting’ is the word “doma”.  “Doma” comes from a word meaning ‘to give so you have an advantage, to supply something that is needed, to extend, and to give to one’s care’. Now this is where we see the confusion in many ways.      

 First, the word ‘office’ is not seen in scripture to describe five fold ministers. It is a definition to describe man made systems of structure and organization. It describes a chain of human authority. The gifting described here is really given to the entire Body. It is a stewardship of the charisma of the Spirit and the grace upon them and how it is transferred to the Body. It is a stewardship role, and not an ownership role that the word ‘office’ applies.  By saying there are offices and not gifts, automatically brings a human authority structure to them, thus diminishing the gifting and loosing the spirit of jealousy.  This is why the prophetic and now the apostolic Doma are struggling to fit into the Body in function. The Body is also struggling as they are not getting full advantage as God has intended.   

 Second, the gifting or doma carries a certain charisma with it. It is a spiritual charisma or function.               1 Cor. 12 talks of this “Charisma” or gifting. All members of the Body of Christ carry “Charisma” or functions of the Spirit. Most people today describe themselves or the fivefold ministry by defining the “office” which has a certain human charisma perspective. This is the reflection of a man’s personality and its influence upon others rather than the Charisma of how that person yields to the Spirit and the Spirit’s flow through them.  In other words, people believe they are apostles based on their own Charisma and not the Spirit’s and based on seeing themselves in an ‘office’ instead of being a gift. This Charisma of a fivefold  gifting is the release of grace the gift carries being seen and not the personality of man trying to give definition to the gifting. It even goes beyond the “Charisma” that all the members are to move in as found in 1 Cor. 12. It is the stewardship of that Charisma so they not only function but accomplish the work of ministry which is the advancement of the Kingdom of God. I see many drawn to the personality of a person, over the personality of God or the Holy Spirit the person is allowing to flow through them. The main difference is the charisma of man stirs the flesh and emotions, the charisma of the Spirit stirs the Spirit within us to come alive to expression.       

 Lastly, all fivefold ministry has a certain grace with it. Paul discovered it and even said he had been given a dispensation or stewardship of this grace. The word ‘grace’ means more than God’s favor. It means ‘the ability of God to produce change’ be it negative or positive. That is exactly what occurs before we are saved, God’s grace is working on us and in some ways He has allowed very negative things to occur. We say’ by God’s grace we are saved’ never seeing the negative as God’s grace as well. When we get saved, we see the grace only in a positive light. But even the hard times can be God’s grace. Paul said it best when he said “God’s grace is sufficient for me”. This grace is required to perfect the saints for the work of ministry. It is required to bring us to unity of the faith.  When we try to operate or steward a grace that is not upon us, we do great damage to the Body of Christ. The outcome is lacking and many end up confused as the grace will produce results unless man gets in the way of its working. The reason we operate in a grace not flowing from us is we do not understand the ways of God, or the way His grace is working. For the most part, the mercy “charisma” tries to step into fixing situations not realizing God has allowed the situation to bring change, thus short changing the full impact and intention of God.  Many today are struggling in their calling because of trying to be in an office, overseeing themselves as a gift, defining themselves by their own charisma and not the Spirit’s, and by trying to steward a grace that actually belongs to another.  We must know the ways of God!