This is a guest post from our friend Zach Zipfel.  He’s been an inspiration to us to continue speaking up about the bondage of religious traditions that have enslaved so many.  Enjoy his insights!

“Before I begin, please understand, I am not attacking anyone, I’m not trying to discourage anyone, I’m not boasting. All I’m trying to do is change the way you think, and the way you judge your relationship with God.

Did you know, the presence of God can actually become an idol?

People, especially in the charismatic and pentecostal streams, view God’s presence as the “it”.

People tend to live from feelings rather than faith…

Feelings are not bad, it’s fun to actually feel God’s glory and His presence, no doubt, the few times I have it was amazing.

But to tell you the truth, I haven’t had those “drop to the floor in awe and shake uncontrollably encounters with God.” I expect to sometime, but it has yet to happen. And I know there are many people who live this way as well. They’ve never experienced God’s presence, or at least that level of it.

Through all this, people build up this idea, that if you aren’t having these experiences and living in that area with God all the time, than you’re a sinner, or God doesn’t care, or maybe He’s abandoned you.

None of this is true.

See, I myself used to feel like that, I felt like something in me is broken. Maybe God didn’t care about me or whatever.

But I started noticing that not everyone experiences God’s presence, so I started asking God questions of why, and listening to people like Joseph Prince, and Dan Mohler, and Todd White who all talk about living by faith.

Let’s define faith:

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

- Heb. 11:1

It’s believing, and TRUSTING, beyond circumstance and feelings. Believing also means “being 100% convinced.”

It takes renewing of the mind (Rom. 12:1-2), reprogramming your thoughts…having FAITH, that God loves you is being totally convinced that God is always there, He’ll never leave you, nor forsake you, as Jesus PROMISED (Matthew 28:20).

For those who live out of feelings, I know it’s fun to experience God’s presence, but what would you do, if you woke up one morning, and the [sense of His] presence was gone?

Well, if you’re one of the millions of Christians in the Charismatic movement, you’d probably think you’d done something wrong, or committed some sin. Let me assure you, God is still there, and He won’t ever leave, there’s nothing you can do to drive God away.

He might be teaching you to live from faith. For me, as I said before, I never lived out of that place in feelings.

But only recently I’ve gotten to that place in faith that I’m perfectly fine that I don’t experience the presence, it just gives me resolve of knowing that, I’m perfect, I have faith that God is right here, He lives inside me, I’ll never lose Him, He’ll never leave me.

Just learn how to think, remind yourself that God is there, spend time resting in His thoughts for you. It’s about a relationship, not about a feeling.

I’m now 100% convinced God loves me.  It’s taken me time. God has had to break mindsets out of me, thinking that if I wasn’t falling on the floor that I was broken, or there was a big secret I was missing, but nope. I was just idolizing someone else, and building up an idol of what the Christian life should be like.

God loves you, and you don’t have to be flailing around, laughing hysterically on the floor. It’s about resting in His love for you, knowing you are in UNENDING UNION, uninterrupted oneness, union, communion with Him (1 Cor. 6:17).

Don’t build an idol out of drunkenness, laughing, etc. Just because someone tells you something, that’s not how it is all the time. It’s Love, joy, peace and knowing that He loves you.

It takes building up of faith, and so enjoy the times of not feeling His presence, as much as you do the times of being totally knocked out by His presence. But feelings of it are not what we build upon.

“The devil lives in the realm of feelings, God lives in the realm of faith.” – Joseph Prince

Remember He loves you, so when you’re feeling down, speak up and declare God’s love and favor over you, because you are His son/daughter.”

- Zach Zipfel

“Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.” ~St. Jerome

And please, if you don’t already know these scriptures….I didn’t put them here for me, they are for you to look up.  :)

Christ said IT IS FINISHED (John 17:3-5, John 19:28-30).

He redeemed us and reconciled us to the Father (Colossians 1:20, 2 Corinthians 5:18).

He became a curse for us and died for our sins (Galatians 3:13).

He bestowed on us abundant mercy and grace.  He gave us a new and better covenant.  God no longer treats us how he did in the Old Testament!!!! (Ephesians 2:4, Romans 6:13-15, Hebrews 8: 6-13).

He gave us all of himself and he lives in us (Galatians 2:20).

He also gave us responsibility on the earth before he comes back (Matthew 28:18-20).

You know all the suffering people out there, who are sick, diseased, dying, tormented, enslaved, etc.?  We get to help them because Jesus gave us all power and authority (Luke 9:1, Luke 10:19, Matthew 10:8, Matthew 11:5).

If your church doesn’t talk about that stuff–have you ever wondered why?

A lot of people like to say God causes sickness, or allows it, etc., to teach people character or whatever.

Those are traditions of men that make the word of God ineffective. (Mark 7:1-8).

I have good news for you–you won’t find Jesus leaving sickness on people to teach them something! YAY!

Just look through the life of Jesus in the Gospels–you won’t find him saying that stuff to people.

And Jesus certainly didn’t tell people whose family members died from sickness that “Oh, the Father just loves them so much that He needed them in Heaven..etc.).  He went over the house and raised them from the dead! (John 11:11, Luke 7:11-15, Mark 5:35-43).

And Jesus’ followers healed and raised people from the dead too! (Acts 9:32-43).

And remember…they were all regular believers, just like you and me!

Either Christ really meant it when he said it is finished, or he didn’t.  I’ll take him at his word.  It is truly black and white–no grey area to float around in.

I’ve never met a single sick person who isn’t bitter at God because they think He’s causing it.  They seem pretty upbeat at first, claiming to be thankful, that they’ve learned a lot, that they are happy, etc., but it’s all a front.

Deep down they hate it and are mad at God.  You can see it all over them.  They are in denial of their misery but are believing lies about God and feel powerless because that’s all they know.

People say, “Oh, it’s my suffering that God gave me.”  No, suffering in the New Testament is persecution (Matthew 5:43-45, John 15:18-25). Christians who are actually doing what God said will not be liked by everyone.

Plus, if it’s “your suffering”…suffer well and don’t take meds or go to the doctors!  Hmm…

If Jesus came to reconcile us…well…that doesn’t sound like reconciliation to me…that sounds like abuse.

When Jesus was walking the earth before his crucifixion, he healed people for the glory of God.  And everyone he told to do the same did so for the glory of God, even after his resurrection.

So what kind of glory does he get now when people are dying from the same stuff he and others healed?  It’s just common sense.

If Jesus healed people then…and told his disciples to do it…and then told them to disciple nations, teaching everyone everything he commanded them to do….then there shouldn’t be any question as to what God’s will is concerning healing and what we should be doing (Matthew 12:15, Matthew 4:23, Luke 9:1, Luke 10:19, Matthew 10:8, Matthew 28:18-20).

So, if there are sick people, guess who’s supposed to take care of it?  Us.  Why?  Because Jesus said “Go…you do it…I’m with you always…I live in you…and I’ve given you the Holy Spirit as your helper” (Matthew 10:8, Luke 9:2, Luke 10:9, Matthew 28:20, Colossians 1:27, John 14:16, John 14:26, John 15:26)

Type in the word “Heal” in the keyword search on Biblegateway.com (I use the NKJV) and you’ll see…yep, undeniable.  And then I already gave you other Scriptures about how Jesus taught his followers to do the same and teach others everything he commanded them (see above).

You will not fight what you tolerate or what you think God has given you. And if you were taught all this stuff about sickness, disease, and death, of course you would believe it, unless you actually looked at scripture, which is why I’m writing this.

God doesn’t give sickness if he heals it.  A house divided cannot stand..and God isn’t schizophrenic. (Luke 11:14-22).

The devil doesn’t like you….but Jesus does! (John 10:10).

It comes down to people not really knowing/understanding God and what he already did, what he gave us and what he told us to do.  And silly traditions and beliefs that are completely not scriptural are passed down from generation to generation because people don’t know who they are and what they’re capable of–they lost sight of themselves and Christ in them.

BUT…this is why I wrote this–to help you.

So please, look over the Scriptures, especially if you’ve never read them before, and see the Truth for what it is instead of stuff you’ve been told.

If you want to be a true follower of Jesus, look at what he said and did and do that…walk as he walked (John 20:21, 1 John 2:3-6).

And I say true because, unfortunately, there are a lot of people who call themselves Christians (all denominations, Catholics too), who really have no idea what it means to be a follower of Christ because they are so focused on tradition and ritual rather than what Jesus said.  It’s just a fact…I used to be in that position.

But, on a final note, don’t bring the Bible down to your experience–you are able and fully capable of bringing your experiences up to what the Word says.

Have an awesome week!

- Laura

I’m not usually one to quote much of MacArthur’s stuff because he is pretty staunchly against miracles happening today.  However, his book “The Jesus You Can’t Ignore” is probably one of the only books I’ve ever found that Biblically deals with the fact that Jesus was not nice to the religious crowd.  In fact, He was pretty aggressive and quite mean by today’s standards.

I’m sure lots of people said that He wasn’t “walking in love”.

Let this quote grip you.

_________

“From the disciples perspective, Jesus’ restraint toward the appreciative crowds–not to mention his guarded (antagonistic) interaction with the religious bigwigs like Nicodemus–must have been mystifying.  In retrospect, John could certainly see why Jesus remained standoffish, and he even underlined it as clear evidence of Jesus’ omniscience.

Here is a practical lesson from this account: a positive response to Jesus should never be taken as proof of authentic trust in Him.

There is a shallow, fickle brand of “belief” that is not saving faith at all.

From the first public miracle He performed until this very day, there have always been people who “accept Christ” without truly loving Him, without submitting to His authority, and without abandoning their self-confidence and trust in their own good works.

This is what John describes at the end of John 2, and that becomes the transition into the story of Nicodemus.  Nicodemus was (at this point) one of those almost-believers to whom Jesus did not automatically commit Himself.

John makes a clever play on words in the closing verses of chapter 2.

The expression “many believed in His name” in verse 23 and the expression “Jesus did not commit Himself unto them” in verse 24 both use the same Greek verb.

(John 2:23-24)

John is saying that many responded to Jesus with a kind of enthusiasm that fell short of whole-hearted faith, so He didn’t completely trust them, either.

In other words, they SAID they believed Him, but He didn’t believe them.

He had no faith in their faith.”

- from John MacArthur, “The Jesus You Can’t Ignore”

Kris Vallotton shares a very powerful, very important, and very dear-to-my heart word that is extremely relevant and necessary for every believer.  It is the value of persistence.

God is gracious to those who trust and delight in Him.  He cannot provide for those who doubt in His provision because when people believe a lie, they empower the liar.  It has become my firm belief that God is the one longing for breakthrough for His people…but that the devil has come and stolen hope from the people in the church.   We call Him God, and yet as a people we have allowed others to tell us what He can and cannot do.

“When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” – Luke 18:8

I can see now how Jesus could ask such a question in the midst of the great miracles that followed Him everywhere He went.   I remember when I first read this, it struck me as odd—with such a gospel being preached where the dead were raised, demons fled from people’s bodies, and the cancerous effects of leprosy being reversed before the eyes of hundreds—how could people not have faith after this?

And day after day now, I hear and see people who claim to be followers of Christ who blatantly ignore the instructions and methodology of the very one they suppose they are learning from.   It has done something within my heart—bringing me to a place of holy discontent with the way things are taught and done in our Western churches.   I say ‘our Western churches’ because of the stories of what I have heard and read about churches in other countries who are not nearly as domesticated and comfortable as we as Americans are.

There is less emphasis on what-God-can-do-for-me (humanism) and more emphasis placed upon the true Biblical model of what-I-get-to-do-for-God (New Testament Christianity).   As such, without all the flashing lights and multi-million dollar church buildings, God’s power is much more commonly released and undeniable.

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.   He does not change.   As with Moses’ outrage upon seeing the Israelites worshiping a god they had created with their own hands (the golden calf in Exodus 32), I have felt a strong indignation at the fact that many of the people in our churches have followed suit in fashioning God in whatever form they see fits their comfort level.

What I am finding also is that even the keenest intellect coupled with the most profound revelation of what God is truly like is about as effective as having an ant try to figure out the human emotions of love, anger, joy, etc.   These concepts are so astronomically off the grid of the ant whose sole purpose is feed, gather, reproduce.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  The same can be said of our asinine attempts to explain, as created beings, our Creator.

When I was  in my first semester of seminary pursuing a master’s of divinity degree in urban ministry (no longer doing so), the books that I was exposed to were somewhat laughable to me in the vain human endeavors that are made to explain God and His ways.

Surrender is so much easier than rationalism.

Humbly saying, “I don’t know” is a lot less stressful than trying to invent doctrines and theologies as to why some things seem to happen and others do not.   Again, God opposes (fights against) the proud, and gives grace (unmerited favor) to the humble (James 4:6).

I’d much rather side with those who God grants favor to than those whom He fights against.  The problem with fighting against God is that you will always lose.  I will give a few examples of what I am trying to say.

____________________
(The following was written on October 21, 2008)

As I write this, for the past several weeks and months, I had been feeling quite overwhelmed and, well, fearful, about the state of my finances.  I had received several powerful and specific prophetic words about how provision was on the way, abundance was coming, etc.

However, as with the disciples’ reaction on the boat when Jesus was sleeping (WAKE UP! Don’t you care that we’re dying?!), I was quite a bit stressed out by all of this.   God was mostly silent about the subject aside from saying things like, “Trust me. Don’t stress out.  I’ve got it covered.”  I did my best, and I am quite sure that He is pleased with that.  He knows our feebleness as humans, as He was one.

I have heard God described as “the God of the eleventh hour”, meaning that if something is due at midnight, God usually shows up sometime between 11:00 and 12:00.   In this case, He showed up at about 11:58.   A few days ago, a close friend of mine called me and began to explain to me the state of her finances.  I realized quickly that my problems were nothing in comparison to what she was dealing with.  I heard the Lord speak to me to give her a check for $100.  With the state of my finances, and with several large bills due within a few days, I struggled with this but I knew it was the Lord’s will.

To make a long story short, the day after I gave my friend that check, someone came along who gave me enough money to pay off my rent for the next two months. God is good.  And so begins another waiting and trusting test.
____________________

The heart of our Father is to release good things for His children.  As I look back over the last few years of my life, I have seen time and time again the providing hand of God sweep in and make a way where there seemed to be no way.  As I mentioned earlier, if you do not seem to be seeing this kind of miraculous provision in your life, it could be that you have bought into the lie that God can’t do it for you.

It is my firm belief that God wants us to be walking into a kind of abundance the likes of which many of us have never seen…but how would we steward abundance if we can not be trusted to faithfully steward what we do have already?  This all goes back to the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30).

I know a lot of Christians don’t like reading or hearing about money because they’ve been burned or jaded by greedy televangelists that have exploited and manipulated the minds and hearts of so many people…but the fact is that for us to accomplish the things that God wants us to accomplish in this lifetime, we need to learn how to rely on the Lord to provide for us not just for our needs, but also for the good things that God wants to give us because He is a loving Father.

Trust God!  We have learned that one of the major pitfalls in the life of a believer is to keep seeking God for ‘clarity about the future’…as if God is some kind of carnival fortune teller.  If we had clarity about the future, we wouldn’t need to trust Him.

“Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33

Perhaps if you’re not seeing the inflow of “all these things”, there is a good chance you’re not seeking His Kingdom first.

“Abide In Me”

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” – John 15:5-7, NIV

Taken from a Duracell ad in a Sears Store

The busyness of this life can be one of the most detrimental things in the life of the believer.  Many times throughout the Scriptures, the word for “evil” actually can be translated “toil”.  (John 17:15 is a prime example).   Toil steals life from those who embrace it.  It is draining and fruitless.

The word for ‘remain’ that Jesus uses when He is speaking to His disciples  is translated “to remain with, to tarry or wait upon, to stay in a given place.”  So much of what we can get wrapped up in is a whole lot of labor—busywork that creates in us a sense of accomplishment but at the end of the day, there is little or no good fruit that remains.

Jesus was clear that we are to seek the Kingdom of God first (Matthew 6:33) and that everything else would be added to us.  Can you honestly say that you are doing just that?  If He asked you to leave behind everything that is comfortable and safe in your life and embrace a life of adventure and uncertainty, could you?

Would you be willing to move to a foreign nation where you know no one and can’t speak the language, simply if He asked you to?  Could you trust Him that much?  The level of trust that we need for a true life of faith is only found through times of intimacy with our Lord.  It is what powers us.  It is what gives us life.

Branches cannot survive without being connected to their vine.  The branches in and of themselves cannot generate any kind of life-giving sustenance.  The nutrition that the branch needs can only come from the vine as it remains one with the branch.  We are much the same in our relationship with Christ.

If we find ourselves consistently losing energy, motivation, our dreams, or even provision and health, that is a pretty solid indication that we have removed ourselves from the source of Life.   Let today be the day to reorient your life and turn toward the One who is ever-waiting to speak with you.  The breakthrough you need and have been crying out for resides in the secret place with Him.  Seek Him, and you will the answer that your heart yearns for.

Prayer:

Jesus, I know that there has been so much in my life that has led to a whole lot of fruitless labor.  I have been feeling worn down, beat up, and not even close to living the victorious Christian life that You designed.  Change my heart and help me to make it a priority to spend time with You.  My motivation is for the sake of intimacy—not for the sake of coming to You with a long list of problems for You to fix.  Thank You for creating me to be one with You.  I ask that You would teach me how to effectively and lovingly abide and rest in Your Presence.  Amen.

Curry Blake – Authority, Boldness & Obedience

This MP3 message will change your life if you listen to it and do it.
Consider it part two of the authority series so far!

Here is a quote:

“It’s a lot easier to cast out devils than sending out Christians. Why? Devils know they have to listen.  Christians think they can pick and choose.

‘Oh, I didn’t get a confirmation on that word. I’m waiting for God to quicken it to me.’

He’s already said it! Now He’s gotta quicken it?

That’s like saying, ‘God, you said this..did you mean it?’ “

- Curry Blake

The battle of the ages will be fought over this—”Who do YOU say that I am?” (Mark 8:29)

Is He just a nice teacher?

Is He just a motivational speaker with some good things to say that will improve your quality of life?

Is He just someone you turn to when you’re in trouble?

Is He your steering wheel or your spare tire?

Or is He your All? Your Lord?  Your Lover?  Your Friend?  Your King?  Your Savior and Your Deliverer?  Your Master and Your Mighty One?

Those who love Him, obey Him.  Those who have been marked by Him do not desire the things of this world.  Those who are consumed by Him cause hell to quake and tremble everywhere they go.

It is high time we stop doing so much talking about how nice our church services are and get down to business and focus on bringing Kingdom dominion into every sphere of influence that we inhabit.

We don’t need our pews to be any warmer.  The harvest is plentiful NOW.  Stop praying for some ethereal great harvest of souls—if the souls aren’t coming in, IT IS OUR FAULT BECAUSE WE AREN’T GOING.

Stop waiting for and flocking to some ‘outpouring service’…everywhere you GO, He GOES.  How many times have you been ‘filled up’ and then done absolutely nothing with what God filled you with?  He fills you so you can pour OUT to everyone you encounter.

Jesus said that out of our bellies would flow rivers of living water.

If there is an in-flow of the life of God but no out-flow, then you’re a swamp.

Stop praying for revival.  You ARE revival.

This is an excerpt from Andrew Wommack’s new book, “Living in the Balance between Grace and Faith”.  POWERFUL and extremely well thought out chapter.

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Chapter 2 – Is God Sovereign?

People have taken the truth that God moves independent of us, not based on our performance, and developed a teaching that is commonly called “the sovereignty of God.” This teaching says that God just moves sovereignly, we have nothing to do with His actions whatsoever. This teaching overemphasizes grace.

They teach that God is sovereign and if it’s His will, you’ll be healed. If it’s not, you’ll die. It’s just totally up to God. Some folks have taken this to the extreme. There are entire denominations that teach that certain people are predestined to salvation and others are predestined to damnation—and that God predetermined it. They believe that there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s just totally up to God.

The theological terms for this tension between grace and faith is Calvinism versus Arminianism. Calvinism emphasizes that everything is totally up to God. Arminianism emphasizes that you have a part to play, and that you can believe and receive, or doubt and do without. You can control the measure of the grace of God you experience by your faith.  It’s the Calvinists who emphasize this term, “the sovereignty of God.”

Supreme, Independent, Excellent

The New International Version (NIV) popularized this term, sovereignty. In 288 verses of their translation, they substituted the phrase “Sovereign LORD” where it had previously been translated “Lord GOD” or “Lord God Almighty” in the King James Version (KJV) and others.

I’m not against applying this word—sovereign—to God if you’ll use it the way the dictionary defines it.  As a noun, it means “A king, queen, or other noble person who serves as a chief of state; a ruler or monarch” or “A gold coin formerly used in Great Britain” (American Heritage Dictionary).  Of course, we’re not talking about a coin.

As an adjective, the word sovereign speaks of something or someone being “Paramount or supreme.” If you want to call God sovereign in the sense that He’s paramount or supreme, I agree 100 percent.

Another definition is “having supreme rank or power.” God is definitely at the top of the food chain. Nobody tells Him what to do. He is absolutely supreme.

Still another definition is “self-governing; independent.” The United States is a sovereign nation. We broke away from the rule of Great Britain. You can apply this definition to God in the sense that God is sovereign.  He’s independent.  Nobody gives Him orders.

Sovereign came from a Latin word that meant “super” or “above.” I agree with that as it applies to God. In view of these dictionary definitions, I will agree that God is sovereign.

A Convenient Theology

But religion has come along and concocted its own definition of this word saying that sovereign means that God controls everything and that nothing can happen without His permission. I disagree with that interpretation. That’s not what the Word of God teaches. God is not sovereign the way that certain religions have taught.

A person will die, and somebody will say, “Well, it must have been their time.” They just think that nobody dies without it being “God’s timing.” I was leading the praise and worship at a Full Gospel Businessmen’s meeting. The speaker had just come from the funeral of two teens who had been killed in an automobile accident. After drinking and doing drugs, they drove too fast on a slick, wet street, couldn’t make a turn, and ran into a telephone pole.  The accident killed both of them.

A man in the gathering stood up and said, “Well, we know that God is sovereign. He works all things together for good, and He has a purpose in this. People can’t die if it isn’t God’s will.”

Most people have heard, said, or perhaps even embraced something similar to this at some point in their life. This is a convenient theology. When we don’t understand certain things, it’s easier to place full responsibility on God. Rather than put any responsibility on these teens, saying, “They shouldn’t have been drinking, doing drugs, and speeding on a wet road. They killed themselves,” we just say, “Well, it was God’s will.” No, it wasn’t. People die all the time without it being God’s will. It’s not like God picks your number in heaven and you’re just destined to die. The scriptures make very clear that Jesus came to…

“…destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.”
- Hebrews 2:14

Satan is the one who goes about seeking whom he may devour. (1 Pet. 5:8.) He’s the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10.) God told us not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because in the day that we ate thereof we would surely die. (Gen. 2:17.) We brought death into this life.  We started old age, deterioration, sickness, and disease.  God isn’t the One who controls whether or not we become ill.  We started the corruption on this planet.  God doesn’t control all of those things.

My father died when I was twelve years old. I remember our pastor coming over, sitting down, and looking at me, saying, “Andy, God needed your dad in heaven more than you needed him.” Even as a twelve year old, I knew better than that! I thought, What does God need my dad up in heaven for? The Lord didn’t kill my dad. This was just a cop-out, an easy way to deal with a difficult situation.

The Truth

In the very first church I pastored, there was a couple who gave birth to a child in a taxi on the way to the hospital. The baby was born not breathing, apparently dead. After going without air for a period of time, they finally revived the baby. This boy had Down syndrome and no immune system.

The boy only lived to be four years old. He died in my arms while I was praying for him. I then prayed for over two hours for him to be raised from the dead, but he didn’t come back to life. I was struggling for some words that would minister to the family and to myself. As their pastor, I wanted so much to have something comforting to tell this couple.

I was tempted to say, “Well, it must not be God’s will,” and just put the blame on God for the death of this child.  God’s big.  He can handle it.

I was tempted, but I told that couple the truth, saying, “Look, God did not kill your child. This is not His will.  I don’t actually understand why we didn’t see him healed and raised up from the dead.  It’s either due to my lack of faith, your lack of faith, or a combination of the two.  Or, it might be because of things that I don’t even understand.  But I can guarantee you that God is not a baby killer.”

Although it wasn’t very comforting at the time, I just had to tell those people the truth.  It would have been much more comforting to come across with something religious, saying, “God is sovereign. Nothing can happen but what God allows.” But it’s not the truth.

“Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
-John 8:32

Knowing the truth will make us free. The mother came back to me later and said, “I had a fear since the day he was born. They told me that he didn’t have an immune system and if he ever got a cold, he would die.” She told me, “I’ve dreaded this for four years. When I saw him get this cold, I just knew he was going to die.” Because of her willingness to embrace the truth, the Lord showed her some things about herself and the situation.  Because I didn’t take the easy way out, but told her the truth, that woman discovered where the problem was, dealt with it, and had four more children.

The doctors told this woman never to conceive another child because she was too small to have children.  If she did have more children, doctors said they would have to be delivered by C-section, and probably both she and the child would die. But because this woman was willing to embrace the truth, she believed God’s Word and had four more children—all natural childbirths at home.  No doctor would have let her deliver those children naturally after seeing her medical records, so she just believed God and had natural births at home.  A few years ago, she sent me a picture of all four of her children in their caps and gowns as they graduated from college. She thanked me for telling her the truth.

Acts of God?

It’s understandable to want to make everything fit in a nice little neat box, and to have an answer for everything saying, “Well, it must be God’s will. He’s sovereign.” But this is not the truth, and believing lies will put you into bondage.

If God were guilty of everything He’s blamed for today, there isn’t a civilized nation on the face of the earth that wouldn’t persecute, prosecute, and execute Him if He were a physical person.  If God was the one making babies deformed, causing marriages to fail, and sending killer storms, the nations would kick Him out.  If He really did cause all of the earthquakes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters we refer to in our contracts as “acts of God,” every country would expel Him if they could.

The truth is, God is being misrepresented, lied about, and blamed for things that aren’t His doing.

This teaching that God sovereignly controls everything is the worst heresy in the body of Christ because it encourages passivism.

If you really believe that God controls every single thing that happens, then what’s the point of you doing anything? Why seek God? Why bother attending church meetings or conferences? Why not just stay at home sitting on your couch, eating candy and watching television, because God’s will is going to come to pass anyway? Why do you need to do anything? God’s will is going to come to pass whether you believe for it or not.

That’s a terrible doctrine!

Some people reject the extreme of this teaching, but they still mix it in to their belief system when it’s convenient. When somebody dies, they say, “Well, it must be God’s will.” No, God isn’t the One who causes death. Satan is the author of death, and we are the ones who loosed him in this earth.  But to acknowledge our responsibility in this area is not always convenient.

The truth is, you can’t just take part of this doctrine of sovereignty that is being taught and mix it together with faith. You can’t say, “Well, I do have some responsibility, but there are some things that God just controls. He’s sovereign in this area.” No, either God controls everything, or He doesn’t—that’s the definition of sovereignty. He’s either in control or He’s not, there can be no combination of the two beliefs.

I’ve never understood people who get mad at me for preaching this truth. They say this teaching is of the devil. They ask me how I dare preach this. I ask them, if God controls everything and nothing can happen without Him either causing or allowing it, then I couldn’t be preaching this if God didn’t allow it, right? By their own doctrine, how can they be upset with me? It must be God’s will for me to preach this.  If God really controls everything, then He’s leading me to say everything I’m saying, or I couldn’t say it.

Defies Logic

If you truly believe that God controls everything, then when you get sick, why would you ever go to a doctor and try to get out of God’s will? Why would you ever take medicine to lessen the pain? If God caused your sickness and He’s trying to teach you something and work some redemptive purpose in your life, then why are you trying to lessen His work? Why not just learn your lesson and suffer to the max?

This defies logic. Nobody would believe this doctrine unless they’re religious. You have to be taught this, and accept it on blind faith. It makes no sense. Even the people who say that God is putting sickness on them will go to the doctor and try to get out of “His will.”

Even those who are saying that God caused their marriage to fail will pray to God—who they say causes everything—and ask Him to intervene.  Even those who say that God is the One who caused their financial problems and He’s using the situation to humble them will pray and ask this same God for mercy and help. If you really believe that God sovereignly controls everything, then there is no point in doing anything because God’s will is sovereignly coming to pass independent of us.

These beliefs bear no resemblance to the true definition of the word sovereign. They only represent a religious definition and application of this word.

Your Cooperation

God, by grace, has provided everything. But you have complete freedom of choice whether God’s perfect will for you comes to pass or not. It doesn’t happen without your cooperation.

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think…”
-Ephesians 3:20

Most people stop right there and believe this verse as is.  However, they’re skipping over the part that the entire verse hinges on.

“…according to the power that worketh in us.”
-Ephesians 3:20

God cannot—or you could say does not—do anything beyond this power that works in you, which is faith.

Not Automatic

It is God’s will for every single person to be saved.

“The Lord is…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
-2 Peter 3:9

God, by grace, has already provided salvation for the whole world.  But you have to put faith in God’s grace to see this salvation come to pass.  This verse makes it very clear that it is God’s will for every person to be saved, but not every person is saved because not every person has responded in faith to what God has said. God’s will does not come to pass automatically.

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
-Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus said that there will be more people who enter in by the broad gate to destruction than by the narrow gate to everlasting life. The Lord Jesus Christ clearly said that not everybody will be saved, and yet 2 Peter 3:9 reveals that it is God’s will for everybody to be saved. How can you put these scriptures together and come up with any other conclusion except that God’s will does not automatically come to pass?

You have a choice. God, by grace, has provided everything. But if you don’t believe, you won’t receive.

The subject of exaggeration is something that has been on my heart for a long time now.  Having spent the last three or so years in ‘the charismatic church’, I have found myself face-to-face with several startling, sobering, and extremely frustrating realities.

I want to make it extremely clear that I am not writing this to ‘tear down’ anybody or any particular ministry.  I love the church of Christ and my heart is for us all to step into the destiny we have been called to in Jesus.  There is not a single person or ministry that I am singling out with this–however it is something that I have seen in almost every circle I’ve been in or around–and I know that at times I have been guilty of it as well.  I do not write this with the intention of finger-pointing.  This is something that we all have done and all of us need to be accountable for, especially if we are going to be in a public sphere of influence where others look up to us.

If you are reading this, you need to know that God has called you as a leader wherever you are.

He always equips those whom He calls, and according to Scripture, you are already called (Matthew 22:14).  The question is whether you will be “chosen”, and I think that for that to happen, integrity, character, honesty, transparency, and above all else, love, must be the foundation of any ‘ministry’ or anything you do for that matter.  We know that God is willing that none should perish, but we also know that people are perishing right now.

It all comes down to an issue of free will and personal choice: what will you do with the time and the life that you have been gifted to steward?

One of the things that anyone who has spent any time or even remotely has associated with any Pentecostal/Assemblies of God/’charismatic’ churches can see is people “crying out for revival” or “crying out for the power of the Holy Spirit”.  Regardless of the fact that this is completely not anywhere in the New Testament, it happens all over the place.  The trouble with this, while I completely understand the hunger and the desire to see God move, is that it is just like a dog chasing its tail.

I firmly believe that one of the greatest tricks the enemy has pulled on the church of Christ is that he has them chasing things they already have.  Whether it is ‘new anointings’, or ‘new mantles’ or even someone else’s ‘mantle’ or ‘anointing’…or asking God for ‘more power’ or the ‘healing anointing to fall’, etc., etc….

…however, all these practices fly in the face of the reality that we can do all things in Christ (Phil 4:13),  we have been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3) and since we are seated in heavenly places (Eph 2:6) and Jesus told us to pray from heaven TO earth (Matthew 6:10)…whose fault is it really if the manifestations of the power that is already ours and living inside of us aren’t taking place?

I believe very strongly that much of the reason that we are not seeing the kinds of power demonstrated that Jesus and the apostles were walking in is because of the issue of exaggeration.

Ananias and Saphira told the apostle Peter that they had done something completely when in reality they had only slightly altered the truth of the situation.  How many times do we hear bold declarations of ‘complete healings’ when in reality, people either died later or they only had felt a slight improvement?  How many times do we say that people are healed when the only thing we are basing this off of is the fact that the person receiving prayer “felt heat” in their body?

What happened to perseverance?  What happened to not backing down until the people receiving prayer are totally made well?  John G. Lake would train his students on the ministry of healing and their final assignment was to go to the home of someone who was terminally ill.  If they could not get the person healed or brought back from the dead if they died, Lake would not authorize them to pray with his ministry.  Of course that is extremely intense–and I am not saying I agree with the practice 100%.  However, his purpose in doing this was so people understood what it took to get people healed.

There is far too much of a misconception infecting the Body of Christ that says that all we need to do is pray a couple quick, simple prayers and then let God do the rest. Jesus told us that we had authority over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19) and commanded us to heal the sick.  So why do we keep trying to put the responsibility back on Him?

We are systematically setting people up for failure when we teach this.  I completely understand the point of this–the goal is obviously for us to be able to lay hands on somebody and then shortly thereafter, they are healed.  We have seen this happen on a few occasions, and it is absolutely wonderful when it does.  However, for the most part, the majority of people that my wife and I have seen in our experience have come from a place of determination to see the fullness of it happen then and there.  That is the model Jesus gave us–He didn’t leave people halfway healed and we don’t serve a halfway Jesus.

Obviously, we don’t want people praying from a place of doubt or unbelief and thinking and they need to convince God to heal somebody.  However, the one we do need to convince that we know what WE are doing is the enemy.

“Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”  Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.” – Acts 19:13-16

Right there in the passage about the seven sons of Sceva, we see that the enemy can quickly recognize who people are and where they stand in the spiritual realm.  Just because they used the name of Jesus didn’t mean that they had the experience, the understanding, or the track record that proved they knew what they were doing.  The apostle Paul had established such a reputation in hell through the great exploits he was doing in and through Christ that the enemy would flee quickly upon encountering him. I believe that this is such a vital point for moving forward in seeing more powerful demonstrations of the supremacy of the Kingdom of God in the days to come.

If the enemy knows that you will not back down upon encountering someone with sickness in their body, he will leave a lot faster.  The devil has limited resources and the demonic realm also knows the human tendency to give up quickly.  They’ve been around a long time and if they can convince people that it is “God’s will” for certain people to die from sickness or disease, they are successful in preventing the Christians who Christ has already commanded to heal the sick to back off and stop trying.

Many of the documented resurrections from all over the world only took place after days of praying for the resurrection.  Should it happen faster?  Absolutely. Is it happening that way right now?  I think it’s time we are honest with ourselves about what the rest of the world already knows—there are some seriously large gaping holes in what we proclaim to be true.

I believe that for the church to fully step into the kind of power that is already ours in Christ that we need to teach people what it means to persevere…equip people to pray for hours and hours if necessary and keep commanding the enemy to let go of those who are in his grip until he finally backs down. We have seen people healed after praying for them for hours on end with little to no breakthrough.  One little girl received an optometrist’s report that now shows she has perfect 20/20 vision…but we prayed with her and kept commanding the healing for about an hour and 40 minutes before seeing it was done.

What would have happened if we had stopped?  Could God have healed her after the fact if we just “trusted the anointing”?  Yeah, maybe.  But I certainly know a lot more people who have walked away not healed, some whom have died, when they were trusting that the healing would happen as they went…or because the person who was praying for them backed down before the miracle happened in fullness.

For us as the victorious Bride of Christ to see the kind of breakthroughs that we all are seeking, we must abandon all forms of exaggeration and fear of man.  We need to honestly look at the fruit that our ‘ministry’ to the sick and those held captive is bearing and come to terms with the fact that if what we are doing is not getting people set free on a consistent and powerful basis, then we are doing something wrong and whatever that is needs to change. We must be willing to shoot the sacred cows of our religious traditions in the back of the head and allow the Holy Spirit to show us what to do and how to do it.  We are commanded to judge by fruit–and if the fruit is only occasional, there is a good chance that something is wrong.

It is time to realize that we are in a war and we are fighting from victory, not for it.  The enemy knows he is defeated already.  It is our responsibility to continually remind him of that defeat when we encounter sickness and disease, even death itself.  Either Jesus gave us authority over all of the enemy’s power (Luke 10:19), or God is a liar.

Simply because there are police officers and laws preventing crime from happening does not mean that criminals and thieves do not still break those laws.  It is up to the police officers to ENFORCE the law.  We are in the same situation as Christians.

The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10)…he doesn’t like to play by the rules.  If the enforcers aren’t aggressively, actively, consistently, powerfully, and passionately exercising the authority they have through the blood of Christ, the thief will continue to steal.  This is our responsibility–not God’s.

Get aggressive, get bold, and do not back down under any circumstances.  Establish a reputation in hell that causes demons to tremble when you enter the room.  You do this by commanding that devil off of people UNTIL HE GOES.  Enough with this garbage that puts sickness and disease in the arms of “God’s will”.

It is high time to wake up those who are sleeping.  Arise and shine, your Light HAS come.