We applaud and encourage you all to continue running with this stuff—we’re getting testimonies from all over the world that continue to come in of all the people who are just starting to step out in faith and acting on the finished work of Christ and they are so encouraging!

The one thing that absolutely is a MUST is to not leave out the Message of the Gospel.

The Gospel does not bring peace, it is peace.

The Gospel brings division and a sword…see Matthew 10:34.

Why?  Because it demands that people make a decision.

I am NOT saying to go out and for every person you minister to that you preach a five point sermon. What I am saying is that it is imperative that we bring the Message AND the miracles.

Enjoy the video

2. Recognize sickness and disease as an enemy to be overcome.

3.  Get Fed Up.

4.  Treat all sickness the same.

5.  Treat all sickness like a person.

6.  Command, not beg.

7.  Speak to the problem – not to others about the problem.

8.  See people as oppressed prisoners of war.

9.  Get clean – stay clean.

10.  Stay out of pride – anyone could do what you are doing.

11.  Be aggressive – develop your aggressiveness.

12.  Be led by God’s character and nature.

13.  Accept responsibility for your fellow man.

14.  Decide to obey the Bible, not some arbitrary feeling.

15.  Know that God is with you, in you, and for you.

“Go therefore, and hold conferences in all nations, baptizing them in your doctrines, teaching them to buy your books and sermons on the ‘next move of God’, and to leave their entire lives behind to come to the mega-churches all over the world that you will build.  And lo, I will anoint you, but just until the end of the conference.”

Wait!  That’s not what Jesus said to do…He said:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”– Matthew 28:19-20

Why do so many of us hop from conference to conference, meeting to meeting, church to church, doing all these nice, fluffy Christian things…and only act like we are ‘anointed’ when we are at church?

Have you ever noticed the fruit of listening to many of your favorite ministers? Do you get a stronger desire to read your Bible or do the things that Jesus said to do?  Does it make you want to spend time in prayer?

Or do you find yourself with an intense urge to buy the speaker’s latest book or their newest DVD sermon series?  Or perhaps wanting to leave everything you know behind and move to the mega-church that they speak at regularly so you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to go to the conference in your area next year?  All so that you can get the freshest “revelation” that they bring every week instead of getting your revelation from God Himself as you study His Word and put it into practice?

Legitimately take a moment and think about this.  The Lord spoke to me about this last night and it hit me like a brick in the face.

If listening to those that you listen to legitimately leads you into a deeper and more intense study of the Word of God, then keep at it!  However, if the only thing that you have found yourself doing is craving their next book, then Houston, we have a problem.

There are giant, very expensive church buildings all over the world that people are streaming to year after year…where there are legitimately amazing things happening…but at what cost?  And why?

Could it possibly be that the message that is coming out of many of these churches is not entirely portraying the Jesus of the Scriptures in an accurate light?

Could it possibly be that we have been deceived into believing a watered-down version of the Gospel that makes us think Jesus is simply concerned about making us happy?

Sorry to take a shotgun to your doctrine folks, but that’s called humanism.

“Humanism says that the end of all things is the happiness of man.  Christianity says that the end of all things is the glory of God.” -Paris Reidhead

Obviously God wants us to be happy—but unfortunately, much of the church has taken a Biblical truth and overemphasized it to the point that we have created God in our own image.

Do we realize that one of Jesus’ first major ‘ministry’ moves was to flip over the tables of the people that were doing business in the temples and then driving them out with a whip?  (John 2:13-23)

That certainly wouldn’t win very many popularity points…and if Jesus had written a few books and brought all of His most ‘anointed’ sermon sets with Him, He probably wouldn’t get too many people lining up at His product table after a move like that.

And yet miraculously, multitudes of people still followed Him throughout His earthly ministry.  Granted then He preached the “eat My flesh and drink My blood” sermon (John 6:25-70 ) which dwindled His followers to just a select few again…but there was something about what He carried that truly demonstrated His Lordship, His Divine Love, and His Power that made Him so irresistible to people who were legitimately hungry for something real…

There is this side of the Jesus of the Gospels that has intrigued me for the last several years–and the more I read the Bible the more I find that Jesus was not this gentle, easy-going, chum of a guy who was super nice to everybody.  He was hands-down the most intense man who ever walked this earth.  He called the religious leaders of His day the sons of satan…broods of vipers…hypocrites…

I have a hard time believing that the Jesus of the Scriptures would be very readily welcomed into most of our churches today.  He certainly would not be invited to speak at our “glory, signs, and wonders” conferences or to very many Sunday morning services.  He would make too many people angry because of the message He would bring.

His message demanded that the lives of those who heard it followed Him wholeheartedly and without compromise.

He openly rebuked those who only came to Him for the miracles.

He aggressively destroyed the works of the devil everywhere He went…not just when He had some special “leading” of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38 ).

Jesus demonstrated what a man who is entirely sold out to God can do.

He upset every establishment that He came across…because so many of them became so focused on themselves, their little empires,  and the rules they had put in place that they neglected even doing the simple things that God had commanded them.

The intensity of Christ is something that very few people will dare to speak about.  It makes many pastors and leaders uncomfortable.  It makes those steeped in religion squirm with an uneasy feeling that ‘rebellion’ is afoot.  The Jesus of the Gospels was a man who completely turned everything upside down and made no apologies for it.  He was a revolutionary at the core and ABSOLUTE FREEDOM and LOVE were His weapons of choice.

Everybody likes the Jesus that performs the miracles and loves people in a way that doesn’t demand that they abandon their cozy little lives.  Everybody likes to talk about how Jesus welcomed little children into His arms and the Jesus who multiplied food for thousands and thousands of people.  Everybody likes the Jesus who calmed the storm that the disciples had found themselves in.  Everybody likes the Jesus who healed all the sick and set the demonized free from their torment.  Everybody likes the Jesus that died just for them.  Everybody likes the Jesus who gave up everything of Himself, all of His divinity, just for them.

The trouble with all of this is that while these things are all part of Christ’s character…they are only one part.

Nobody likes to talk about the Jesus who told teenage boys to leave their family and their jobs to follow Him (Luke 5:1-11 ).  Nobody likes the Jesus who told a man to leave his dead father and not worry about setting up funeral arrangements (Matt. 8:20-21 ), or the man who simply wanted to say goodbye to his parents before following Jesus that if he turned back, he wouldn’t be worthy to enter the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:61-62 ).

Today, He would be called disrespectful and dishonoring to the family.

Nobody likes to talk about the fact that right after He calmed the storm, He rebuked His own followers for having no faith (Mark 4:40 ).

Today, He would be told that He “wasn’t speaking things that edify and build up the church.”

Nobody likes to talk about the Jesus that viciously rebuked and drove out those who bought and sold in the temple (Matthew 21:12-17 , Matthew 21:23-27 , Mark 11:15-19 ,Mark 11:27-33, Luke 19:45-48, John 2:13-23 )

Today, He would be told that He “wasn’t walking in love.”  How ironic that Love Himself would probably get labeled with a statement like that.

Nobody likes to talk about the Jesus who called the religious leaders of His day the most defaming, slanderous, cruel names of the day and likened them to satan himself.  He called them blind hypocrites and snakes in their own temples (Matthew 23).  Nobody likes to talk about the Jesus that openly refuted the teaching of the rulers of the very synagogues He was teaching in.  Or the fact that in the book of Acts, when the disciples were forbidden to speak and teach in the name of Jesus, they DISOBEYED and said they had to obey God rather than man (Acts 5:17-33).

Today, Jesus and His disciples would be told they were being rebellious for “not honoring authority and their leaders” and that Jesus needed to “stop speaking death and condemnation over them”.

Nobody likes the Jesus who publicly rebuked His followers who were not able to get a boy healed and delivered from demons, even proceeding to say that they had no faith and that they were perverse (Luke 9:37-41).

Today, He would be told He was “too harsh and that everybody isn’t on His level” and that He “didn’t learn what He knows right away”.

Nobody likes the Jesus who told a rich young man to sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor (Luke 18:18-23).

Today, He would be told that “God wants us to have nice things and to prosper us”.  (I’m not saying that He doesn’t…I think you get my point, though.)

Nobody likes the Jesus that said that if we don’t hate our families, our own lives, and leave everything that we know to follow Him, that we can’t even be His disciple (Luke 14:25-34).

Today, He would be told “you need to rephrase that nasty word ‘hate’, people will get a bad impression” and to “not take things so seriously”.

Nobody likes the Jesus who likened those who heard His words but didn’t put them into practiceto false prophets and fools…and that everything these evildoers had tried to establish would come crashing down (Matt. 7:15-27).

Today, He would be told “judge not lest ye be judged!”

Nobody likes the fact that Jesus wasn’t interested in maintaining ‘ministry partners’…He wanted the very lives of His followers laid down at His feet, ready to serve every person that they came across and be willing to do anything that He said…even if it meant ‘eating His flesh and drinking His blood’.

This calm, complacent, seeker-sensitive, warm and fuzzy Jesus that is portrayed by mostchurches today is simply not the Jesus of the Scriptures.

Paul had something interesting to say to the Galatians about people who preach a different Jesus than the Christ of the Scriptures:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed! As we have said before, so now I say again:  If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed! For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God?  Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” – Galatians 1:6-10

Today, Paul would be told he was mean and that he needs to lighten up.

I present this all to you for one reason—to get you to really think about this message of Christ that you profess with your lips.  To get you to legitimately consider that maybe, just maybe, the things that you think you know about Jesus are more than a little bit skewed.  Skewed in the direction of a people-pleasing, super-nice, friendly-Sunday-morning Savior who looks more like a cosmic bell-hop who jumps through every hoop you present Him instead of the glorious, victorious, ruling, reigning, all-powerful, omniscient, death-conquering, disease-defeating, life-requiring Lord of All that He really is.

The message He told us to bring is “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (within reach)!”

The time for playing church is far over.  The life that Jesus has called us all to is one that will be full of victory, love, power, authority, adventure, excitement, persecution, joy, slander, tears, and so much more.

Comfortable is not part of this life in the Kingdom.

This is a war we have been born into…and the victory is ours through Christ.

It is time to lay aside the idol of a Jesus that man has created in our own image and bow our knee to all that He has for us.

Embrace your calling in Christ.  Run hard after that which God has put burning inside of you.  Abandon your fears and all forms of compromise.

Stop wasting your life with all of the things that the world runs after.

An idol is anything that gets your attention more than God.

The Jews missed Jesus the first time because they were expecting a conquering King that would come as a Lion — but they got a Lamb who loved on sinners and was humble as a servant.  It seems that now people are expecting a gentle Lamb but Scriptures point out that they will be getting the roaring Lion of Judah.

Think about it.

Enjoy!

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February 13, 2010

Prophetic Word released at Creative Kingdom Expression by Aaron Horton for those “Looking for a Job” —

(While taking communion the night before, God said to have everyone needing employment get in the center of the room and have the rest of us surround them and pray for a STRATEGY SHIFT in how they go about “looking for a job.”)

This is NOT a season to just look for a “job”.  Don’t kid yourself…EVERYTHING is strategic in this hour. You may not see it in the natural, but atmospheres are being prepared even now to receive what YOU carry. (I see a womb.) Even as a woman’s body begins to change and prepare to “house” a baby, there are changes being made in order to “receive” you into your POSITION OF INFLUENCE. You are part of birthing the Kingdom in a strategic place in the Spirit, as well as strategic “physical” areas where LAND is needed to come under the subjection of the Kingdom of God.

Your “place of purpose” is also for the people you will be working with, but they will have a window of opportunity to access what you carry. Some will take that opportunity, and some will reject it. But there is a HUGE PURPOSE for this place and for this land…this is in perfect alignment with what I am doing in New York City.

Move in single-mindedness and focus.  DO NOT BE DISTRACTED WITH SURVIVAL MODE!!! Listen to My voice and move where I say move. (I see almost what looks to be blood vessels or fiber optics coming from all of your heads and going across the river into the “land” where you are to be “plugged into and planted in.”) There is communication going on in the Spirit right now. There is information being supplied right now. God is setting you up right now!

Seek Him with Single-Focus. This is not the hour to just haphazardly look for a job. This is about LAND and you taking your RIGHTFUL PLACE.

Some of you may be in certain places only for a short season…like the Six Day War in 1967. You may go in and make HUGE establishments and deposits into “readied” hearts and into “readied” LANDS. This is not for everyone, but at least one. Maximize your season in the Spirit and maximize your season in that place.

Some will even “TAKE OVER” that which is struggling and about to completely fall apart. You will go in and quickly become the GLUE…you will be the STRENGTH…then, you will BE GIVEN the reins. (I see a structure with cracks permeating like a cancer.) When you walk in, what you carry in the Spirit has the ability to fill hairline cracks and breaks as well as critical damage to the core structure.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do life with Holy Spirit. Do your job with Holy Spirit. He is going to whisper secrets that there are no way you should know in the natural, then, He will give you the strategy on how and when to release those secrets. There have been some places where believers had gone before. They went in with much excitement and even following My lead, but because they didn’t really know My voice, they ignored the secrets I began giving them. Since they ignored My voice and didn’t do their job of “repairing the broken places”, it left a bad taste in the mouths of the people there. You don’t have to prove yourself, just listen to Me. Work with Me. Move when I move. Don’t be distracted by blatant disdain that may come at you. Just work with Me because I am setting you up and I am setting up the LAND to receive what you carry for My Kingdom PURPOSE and for My Kingdom STRATEGY.

Prophetic Word released during Creative Kingdom Expression
Aaron Horton

“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.

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(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.
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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.

What did Jesus tell His followers to preach?

“REPENT, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”  Repent literally means to change the way you think.

This is why Jesus and His disciples got so much flack from the religious leaders—because these uneducated, unknown young people (the disciples were probably between the ages of 12-15 because in the Jewish culture you started following a rabbi at age 12 and were considered a man) were telling everybody the way they had learned was completely wrong.

Another way to look at the message they preached is something the Lord spoke to my heart this morning.  “Change the way you think, the Kingdom isn’t ON IT’S WAY, it’s RIGHT HERE.”

We need to stop praying for revival and start walking in the fact that revival came 2000 years ago.

It was in the next verse  (Matthew 10:8) that He told them to heal the sick and cast out demons and raise the dead. That’s the Kingdom demonstrated.  The supremacy of the Kingdom of God over the kingdom of darkness and of this world.

But it’s HERE.  NOW.

Paul says “Today is the day of the Lord’s favor, now is the time for salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2)

That word ’salvation’ is the Greek word ‘sōtēria‘ which means saving from hell, healed of all diseases, delivered from all demons, NOTHING LACKING.

The devil has twisted it in the church to make people believe it is just about being saved from Hell or that you need something extra…some new anointing, some new impartation, some new mantle or other super spiritual term to get the job done.  All things are ours in Christ.

These things are charismatic fluff that cause people to run around like a dog chasing it’s own tail, trying to get something they already have, and I tell you it is one of the biggest deceptions in the church today.

But it sure serves well to give people excuses to be disobedient to the Lord.

“Oh, I don’t have the gift of healing.”

“Jesus didn’t release the healing anointing in the last service…we can’t heal the sick now.”

“Big-name-Preacher-Man didn’t give me his impartation…I’m not able to go heal the sick or do the supernatural like he does.  Guess I’ll just have to go to another conference.”

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Anything we do in our church services and in our lives for the sake of the Kingdom of God that we do not see demonstrated in the life of Jesus Christ is either ILLEGAL or EXTRANEOUS and UNNECESSARY.  Period.

The deficiency is never on God’s end.  Read Matthew 10.  Read the Great Commission. That was how Jesus sent His people out to go preach the Kingdom…by doing all the things that they couldn’t do unless God showed up.

“Oh, but I do prophetic dance.”

“Oh, but I do prophetic art.”

“Oh, but I lead worship.”

“Oh, but I’m an intercessor.”

“Oh, but I’m in kitchen ministry.”

“Oh, but I do homeless outreach.”

That’s all fine and good.  But can you heal the sick?  Can you cast out demons?  Can you preach a word from the Lord that cuts like a sword, able to pierce between soul and spirit, joint and marrow (Hebrews 4:12)? Can you raise the dead?  Are we so compromised?

Can you do the things that Jesus already (past tense) empowered us to do through the Holy Spirit and in His Name?

If you’re doing all those other things, that’s fine and good.  But if you’re ONLY doing the things that you can do through human effort, I’m sorry to have to tell you that you’re not living the normal Christian life.

And you’re being disobedient to the commands of Christ.

Many would say I’m not walking in love when I say these kinds of things.  Quite the contrary.  I say these things because I love the Body of Christ and I want to see her step into the fullness of what Our King paid such a dear price for.  I’m done with the ear-tickling fluffy messages that have so infected our churches.

“”If you love me, you will obey what I command” – John 14:15

“[Jesus] replied, ‘My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.’ ” – Luke 8:21

“He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’ ” – Luke 11:28

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” – James 1:22

This is the cause for most of the deception in the church today.  A whole lot of hearing.  A whole lot of conference hopping.  A whole lot of good teaching.  A whole lot of books.  An absolute plethora of material that has so encapsulated what the Christian life should look like…and yet with all of the consumption of these things there comes along the illusion of action.

The smoke and mirrors of hearing the Word of the Lord  and not doing it.  Christianity is a bigger spectator sport on Sunday than the NFL.   Sure, you can get the newest, freshest revelation from all of the charismatic superstars.  But what are you doing with it?

Jesus was pretty clear that those who bury and don’t put to use what they have would not be pleased with the outcome (Matthew 25:14-30).

He called people that did that ‘worthless slaves’.

How’s that for Love personified walking in love?

“Oh, but I’m not called to the streets.”

Really?

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20

Everything He had commanded them.

What have we resorted to with most evangelism in the Body of Christ? The total opposite.

Handing out tracts, handing out Bibles, telling people that they need Jesus to be saved from hell…etc, etc. etc. That’s all fine and good, and it has worked. Why has it worked? Because God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His service (Romans 8:28).

Is it His perfect will and His perfect method for reaching the lost? ABSOLUTELY NOT.  He wouldn’t have had to come and die if it was.

If a Buddhist or a Muslim came into most church services in the states, having read and heard of the miracles that Jesus and His followers did—being hungry for truth, they come—and saw all our man-made programs and flashing lights and sounds of ‘Concert Christianity’ and the spectator sport that has become church-going, what would they think?

What would they say? They would say “How am I supposed to believe this book that you gave me is the word of the living God when you are not doing all the things that He said you would do? Either God is a liar or you are, and He says that He is not a man that He should lie.”

SOMETHING. IS. WRONG.

We need to get on our faces, humble ourselves,  pray, and then GO.

What did God say? “IF my people would humble themselves and pray…THEN I would turn and heal the land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

It’s an IF/THEN statement, just like the rest of the Christian life.  God will not humble us.  We must humble ourselves.

That is the key to worldwide revival.  Admitting we’ve been way off the mark.  And the word ’sin’ literally means ‘to miss the mark’.  Humility and prayer coupled with the GOING of the Great Commission.

We need to stop trying to figure out how to have better church services that cater to what people want (aka humanism and fear of man) and start figuring out what we need to do and stop doing so that God can show up to His church again and have His way like He did on Pentecost.

We need a baptism of the Holy Spirit and power that would shake nations like the early apostles did when they would walk into new places.

It will cost us everything, but we would get God.

Are you prepared for that?

It is lengthy, but please take the time to read it…especially if you have been offended or upset by the way that I present things at times.

_____________________________

“When prospective students came to my martial arts schools, they came with one purpose, to learn to fight so they could win and never lose.  It was not until I started teaching healing, that I started hearing people (Christians) say things like, ” You win some, and you lose some”.

But in healing, when you “lose some”, you are losing someone.  I even heard some “Christians” say, “Well, you can’t expect to get everyone healed, if you did, you couldn’t handle the fame and you would become proud.” Well, it’s good to know that my humility is so important to God that He is willing to let other people die, to keep me humble. One problem I have with that is that God commands us to humble ourselves.

Today many “Christians” are more interested in how you do things than they are in the results you get.  I agree that we should do things in line with what the Bible says, but when people want to keep doing things the way they have done it before just because the group they are with does it that way, even after being shown that it is not right, not scriptural, and not as effective as the scriptural way of doing things, they are following in the tradition of the Pharisees.

A Christian should always be willing to change the instant they find out they are doing something wrong, or as soon as they find out that there is a more scriptural way of doing something.  That is another aspect of being humble.

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. ” – James 4:10
“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” – 1 Peter 5:5-6, KJV

I have also heard people say, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” Usually it is the losers that say that.

In every human endeavor there are rules or laws that apply to that endeavor.

The person or team that practices right the most, usually wins. As many of you might know, I really like destroying the myths and sacred cows that the church has built up over the years.  I believe that one of the conditions that help propagate many of the wrong teachings we have today is that we always picture the people in the Bible (no matter who they were or what role they played in the Biblical narrative) as being somehow more spiritual and less sinful than people who live in the 21st century.

As long as we separate ourselves from the people of the Bible, we will never receive what they did, nor will we accomplish what they did.  When we look at Jesus and Paul, we would immediately be struck by their differences. But we might also want to look at their similarities.  Many people picture Jesus as a weak depressed person, even though they would never say that.  But the Bible says that He was anointed with joy more than all his brethren. The Bible also says that Jesus looked forward to the cross (or rather the results of it) with joy.  Jesus has been portrayed as a meek and humble person while Paul has been portrayed as arrogant and proud.  Some have even suggested that his “thorn” was his pride.

We are going to examine the lives, teachings and attitudes of possibly the two greatest people in Christendom.

We know that Jesus was humble, which by definition means that He was not proud or arrogant.

But, let’s look at some of Jesus’ statements.

“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” – Matt 10:34-36, KJV

Jesus plainly says that He came to bring division (variance).  So much for the unity at all costs principle!
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. – Matt 11:29-30, KJV

Here Jesus says He is meek and lowly in heart. But it’s Jesus saying that about Himself.  Usually when someone says something like that about themselves, it has the opposite effect of proving humility.  Maybe our definition of humility is not quite right.

“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” -John 6:35, KJV

Here, Jesus has the audacity to call Himself THE bread of life and even goes on to say that if you come to Him, you will NEVER HUNGER and if you believe on Him you will NEVER THIRST. These are pretty bold statements and most would say that they were boastful.

Why don’t we believe this was bragging or pride? Because we know they are true. So one thing we find out is that if someone makes a true statement, it does not mean they are proud or arrogant or boastful. David Crockett use to say, “It ain’t bragging, if you can do it.”

Personally I believe the only way to be sure that it isn’t pride, is by judging the person’s heart.  I don’t know about you but my track record of judging other people’s hearts hasn’t always been that great. I have a hard enough time just judging my own heart.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” – John 8:12,  KJV

Jesus plainly says that HE is the light of the world. Not Buddha, Not Mohammed, Jesus. That is mighty bold talk. But it is also true talk.

“Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” – John 10:7-10, KJV

Here Jesus says that He is the door and ALL THAT CAME BEFORE HIM were thieves and robbers.

Another tremendously bold and true statement.

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” – John 11:25, KJV

Another seemingly arrogant statement. It sounds like Jesus is wrapping everyone’s salvation in Himself.  It sounds like He actually believes that He is supposed to be the center of everyone’s life.  He sounds like He thinks He is God’s gift to the world.

“I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. “- John 12:46-48,  KJV

Again Jesus says HE is the Light of the world. But now He also says something that almost no one believes even Christians.  He says that if someone hears His words and still doesn’t believe, He will not judge them.  So much for the “God’s gonna get you” type of preaching.  So much for the “God put that sickness on you because of His anger against your sin” type of preaching. (Don’t misunderstand me, there is such a thing as sowing and reaping, but it works just like a crop in the field, God doesn’t have to PUT IT ON YOU.

Most go out and find the seed of their own destruction.) Does that mean that people just get away with living wrong? No it just means that they are going to be held accountable to the Word of God, and shall be judged according to the Word of God in the LAST DAY (not Today).

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” – John 14:6, KJV

Imagine the audacity of a person telling all those religious Jews that NO ONE can get to the Father, NO ONE can get saved, except by going through Him.  He doesn’t just say He knows the truth, He says He IS the truth and THE WAY.  What I am trying to get across is that Jesus said all these things which don’t sound very humble as we define humility. So true humility is not putting yourself down, true humility is simply saying what the Bible says about you.

The Bible says not to think of yourself more highly than you ought.  But you are also told to have the mind of Christ and to let his mind dwell and live in you. Paul, as I said before is also looked at in ways that are contrary to the scriptures. We will look at his life and ministry in a moment.  Most people that know me personally, know that as far as my basic personality and beliefs, I am exactly the same person behind the pulpit that I am when I am sitting around a dinner table fellowshipping. When I am behind the pulpit I can be a little more direct and strict, because I am not speaking to any one person in particular, but to all in the congregation in general.

If I spoke to an individual the same way I say things from the pulpit, I would definitely hurt their feelings and if anyone else was within range to hear me, I would also embarrass the person in front of others.  The Bible says to rebuke people publicly, but this is referring to those that have already been confronted in private and then with one or two other witnesses.  Rebuke, reproof, and correction, whether in public or in private is for the purpose of restoration.  It should have nothing to do with personal vindication.

The reason I say this is because I have had people bring up the fact that I do not like confrontation.  This may sound strange if you have heard my preaching but we must remember that when I am preaching, I have no problem confronting a wrong doctrine or naming those who practice or preach wrong doctrine. That is because I only do it for the sake of the Body of Christ.  It is not personal. I have made a personal decision not to defend myself.  I will defend my doctrine, because I believe it to be the teaching of Scripture. Some have even commented on my lack of publicly confronting an individual as a weakness.

I would in no wise compare myself to the Apostle Paul, but, some people have said some things about me that brings some of Paul’s statements to my memory.

“For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed:  That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters.
For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.
Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.
For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. ” – 2 Cor 10:8-12 8, KJV

Here Paul says that the letters he wrote were very strong but in person he was much softer toward people, but not to let that fool them, he could be just as strong in person, if necessary.

“Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you.  But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.  For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?” – 1 Cor 4:18-21, KJV

In this verse Paul specifically tells them that when he comes he will be as strong toward them as necessary and that the only way to solve their situation was to see who could actually produce the power of God, because the kingdom of God is not just in words, but in power and in demonstration of the Spirit of God.  Notice the use of the word “demonstration”.

This reminds me of something I told my wife recently.  We were discussing how it seems that in modern Christianity, anyone can say anything they want and there is actually no one to stop them or “police” them.  Even watching their prophecies not come to pass, doesn’t seem to be enough to get people to quit following them.  I told my wife that I wished it was proper to confront or even challenge these “pillow prophets” that prophesy out of the vanity of their own mind.

But in today’s Christianity, not only is it not proper to challenge them, it is not even proper to expose them or even mention them.  If you do it is called being “divisive”.  Back when I was in martial arts, I would sometimes run into a person that wanted to make a name for themselves so they would challenge me to a fight, or they would want to insist that their art or style of martial art was superior to what I taught and practiced.

Usually they would call me on the phone and start bragging about their style and putting down my style.  I would talk with them for a while and try to logically convince them of the merits of what I taught, but sometimes they would just get under my skin and I would finally just get tired of talking and say, “Look, why don’t you just come on over, we’ll get on the mat and cross hands (a common way of saying that we would duel).”

I was confident that I would prevail, but I figured that even if I lost, I would learn that there was a more effective style of fighting. I taught the same thing for almost 30 years.  Some of the people that say they want me to be more confrontational don’t seem to like it to much when decide to confront them.

In my position, I will usually have someone else confront the problem, because I have found that once the leader confronts a person, they usually have a hard time staying around because they have lost face with the leader they were trying to attach themselves to.  I really did not set out to lead an organization.  I was just trying to share what I had learned that I knew could keep dying people alive. Now I have the task of leading in international organization that is planting churches, starting Bible Schools, conducting regular training seminars that activate the power of God in those that attend, and lead mission trips into countries on every continent.

Those that desire to do the works of Christ (and greater), are welcome to join with us.  Those that are looking for someone to hold your hand every step of the way will become very disappointed with me because I just can’t do that, but I will try to help you connect with those that can. At this point in our organizations growth, I have to spend time with those who are actually going to take some responsibility and will put into use what I can teach them. The church has perfected the art of feminizing men to a point that most men want nothing to do with the church.

There is protocol and customs that should be observed, but there is also a need in the church to teach men how to be true men, which can only be seen when men become men of God.  Paul would not be considered “humble” by today’s Christian standards.  He would be called rude, boastful, and proud.  Why, because he knew who he was in Christ and talked like it. When he had to exert his position as an apostle, he would give a list of what preaching the gospel had cost him; shipwrecks, beatings, whippings, stoning, hunger, etc. But he would also emphasize his apostolic position based upon God’s will and not his own. He made it clear he was what he was by the grace of God.

He would say things like, “You are forcing me to talk like a man.  I don’t want to but you make me.” (Curry Blake paraphrase)
I have determined to be as gentle as possible but also as forceful as necessary to help establish the truths of the Bible in the Body of Christ. If those that hear this message have ears to hear, they will grasp it and run with it.  Those that don’t will force me to say it in ever stronger words.

The thing to remember is this, the essence of Christianity is to die and let Christ live through you.  If I say something that bothers you, check it out in the scriptures, when you find that it is true, change. Don’t whine about and fight me over it, just change. That’s the dying part. Now let’s get busy and do something great for God.”

-written by Curry Blake – www.jglm.org-

I had a vision.   After reading Jeremiah 6:16, “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls,” I closed my eyes and found myself standing in a desert place with Christ at my right side.

There was a set of two paths before me—one on my left and one on my right. 

The path to the left looked very overgrown—lots of brush and thistles, thorns and briers that had grown onto the trail.

The path to the right was well-traveled and had no obstacles in the road.

I turned my eyes to the Lord and I, following the prophet’s instructions, asked the Lord for the ancient path…where the good way was.

He spoke to me:

“The road to your left is the road of the prophets—those who boldly proclaimed My word without compromise and who had set their faces like flint against the gods of this age and the men who sought their very heads.”

“It is the road of my evangelists—those who had such a passion for saving souls from the fires of hell that they traveled into the deepest, darkest places of the earth just to preach My Gospel.”

“It is the road of my apostles—those who had such authority in the place of prayer and fasting that their very presence in a city would shake down the foundations of every religious system that men had put in place. Their faith was established upon love and humility—they had completely surrendered their lives to My perfect plans and purposes and endeavored themselves to walk it out in fullness. They learned that the true power of heaven comes through intimacy with Me and many died for it.”

“It is the road of my pastors—those who daily lay their lives down for the sake of my people. They loved not their lives unto death and some have died as a martyr defending even the smallest of flocks. These are those who had learned to be faithful with little. They now have been given much in heaven.”

“It is the road of my teachers—those who have many times spend countless hours learning about Me and My ways for the sake of others who have a desperate cry to know as much as they can about Me. These are those who have laid their lives down for the sake of those who would come after them and have willingly set aside many of their own dreams and ambitions in order to teach those who have little or no knowledge of Me.”

“This road is the ancient path. This road is the good road. If you choose to walk this path, great will be your reward in heaven.  It is a road marked with obstacles and the enemy follows hard after those who travel this path because of the impact of their lives for My Kingdom’s sake.  It is not easy. Without me, it is impossible.  Without true intimacy with Me, if you choose this road, you will surely die.”

“The other road is one that is well-traveled. There are detours on this road that will still lead to Me, and I am with those who walk it. However, these have chosen the easy way. They have chosen the role of sheep and not as those who would truly lay their lives down in the face of adversity. These are those who have little hunger for the things of My Kingdom. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled—and those who seek Me find Me. This road is marked with prosperity preaching and a humanistic mindset—“what can I get out of this gospel?” is the question in the hearts of those who walk this road. Many who take this road never truly find me. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his soul?”

He turned to me with fire in His eyes and yet spoke with a softness that pierced my heart.

“Son of man, which road do you choose?”

Without a moment of hesitation, I turned to my left and said that I wanted to walk the road less traveled…the ancient path that was beset with adversity that I knew the Lord would turn into adventure. He smiled warmly and turned to walk with me. A soft wind picked up and began to blow upon our backs as we walked down towards the start of this overgrown path.

“You have chosen wisely, my child. Come, I have much to show you.”