THE CAPACITY OF HUMANS TO CREATE THEIR OWN REALITY
Men and women within the institutionalised church are creating their own reality to suit themselves. Forming their own βgolden calvesβ in the desert. The sad thing is that these are deserts of their own making. Even those who believe they are βin blessingβ very often are not. It may be man-made and counterfeit. Sometimes it’s actually demonically influenced. The walls of the church have broken down and every sort of demon has entered. There are few true Nehemiah types to re-build the walls. There may be excitement, there may be worship music and emotionalism. The current big names in the church world may be getting invited to speak at the meetings. There may be conferences. However, leaders often do not have the confidence or back-bone to believe that God has a word to them for their own flock.
Running scared of the true prophets they surround themselves with hand-picked βyes menβ prophets. They do not want the Jeremiah crowd telling them that their captivity will be longer. They borrow from others to feed the βfeel good factorβ. They will of course defend themselves in this and always have their own answers. Even those who claim to be at the prophetic βcutting edgeβ in these times, mainly within the charismatic streams, are misguided by wrong doctrines and superficial understandings of Gods ways. Embedded in an utterly repulsive celebrity culture of image and presentation.
Although we are called to pray for our leaders, and many well-meaning folks may throw this at me at, we also have to take account here of the separate and overarching dynamics which govern the life of the church. These are what I would call βthe dictates of God Himselfβ. In short, it`s His church and we do it His way. When we don`t then judgement is coming. When error continues to abound, there will be a strategic time where He will step in and re-order things. Jesus is King and Priest over His church and one way or another He will have the Bride that He desires. The Spirit of God will not strive with man forever. The power of choice is never taken away and people build for themselves the type of church that is most comfortable to them. Will He put up with this forever? No. He will shake and shift. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken. Every man-made structure and every false teaching that supports them. Right down to the foundations. No one is safe from the judgements of God. Even those who act as if they are something special in these days.
THE CURRENT βINSTITUTIONALISEDβ EXPRESSIONS OF CHRISTIANITY
Therefore, to start at the “top” so to speak, the current church βinstitutionsβ within the Evangelical / Pentecostal / Charismatic systems are “led” by a group of humans, just as you and I are. Entirely susceptible to being taken captive by error. Capable of βcherry-pickingβ when it comes to truth. In addition, as human beings we are all entirely susceptible to patterns of behaviour which are not necessarily inspired by the Holy Spirit or ordained by God. Even if the claim is made that they are this is not necessarily the case.
Much of the βfollow the groupβ behaviour and succumbing to desires to βfit inβ are entirely human traits. In this I mean they derive from the flesh. Any secular psychologist or sociologist would identify these traits as being prevalent in any group of humans. The fact that we may call ourselves a βchurchβ does not alter these human characteristics. It is the flesh again. We certainly cannot claim that we have arrived at being βthe churchβ or Jesus would have returned by now.
Matthew 7:13-14
Amplified Bible (AMP)
“Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it. But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it”.
THE HEART CRY OF SOME
There are some within the Body of Christ who presently feel an ever-deepening urgency within their very spirit for the true church of Jesus Christ to come forth. In the past few days I have been reflecting on the apostolic heart of Paul. The Holy Spirit was permitted to accomplish a truly remarkable work in entirely transforming this heart from one full of bitterness and hatred towards the church to that of father and overseer. This heart of deep concern is the very one now being embedded in many saints within the earth. This is a profound work. Paul had a mandate. He had a very specific role. He was given this mandate by God Himself. The heart of a father should be to guide his children in order that they fulfil all their potential. Part of this naturally involves correction. Where error is present then it needs to be addressed.
All the prophets saw the end times and prophesied of the gathering
of a separated, holy people who would have great understanding
in the Word of the Lord. Daniel heard great things from God but
“understood not” (Daniel 12:8). However, he saw a day coming
when a purified, tried and tested remnant would understand; there
would be a last-day company full of wisdom and discernment in
the things of God. “Many shall be purified, and made white, and
tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked
shall understand; but the wise shall understand” (Daniel 12:10).
Isaiah deplored the spiritual blindness of backslidden Israel. He
said, “They err in vision, they stumble in judgment” (Isaiah 28:7).
The little discernment they once had was destroyed by their lusts.
But Isaiah prophesied of a day in which “the deaf [shall] hear the
words . . . the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out
of darkness. . . . They shall sanctify my name . . . and shall fear
the God of Israel. They also that erred in spirit shall come to
understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine”
(Isaiah 29:18, 23-24).
I believe the last-day revival so many preach about is a revival of
cleansing. If the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of
sin, righteousness and judgment, then it is certain that in a great
Holy Ghost outpouring there will be powerful waves of conviction,
and a careless, indulgent Church will be shaken and forced to
face her sins.
While multitudes of Christians chase after signs and miracles and
flock to teachers of success and prosperity, God has been calling
out a “wilderness people” who are consumed with hunger for more
of Christ.
Right now a glorious company is coming forth! One day God began
to stir their hearts and they became disillusioned with all the
hypocrisy and shame. They got into the Word of God and saw for
themselves what His ultimate purposes are. They put on Christ’s
robe of righteousness by faith, submitted to the claims of Christ,
and decided to walk alone, if necessary, to be wholly obedient to
Him. They set themselves to hear and understand the Lord’s will.
They began to see things in the Spirit and were made to understand
that the end of all things is at hand. To these, the Word of the Lord
has come!
“Christ is coming! Repent, for the day of the Lord is near! Lay aside
every besetting sin and set your affection on things above! Do not
partake in the empires and dreams of men. Forsake it all and go
out to meet Him.” That word is being proclaimed loud and clear!
IN Matthew 3 the Scriptures identifies John the Baptist as the one crying in the wilderness from Isa 40:3 The voice of him who cries in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Jehovah, make straight a highway in the desert for our God.
I this passage Isaiah is first of all speaking to those who dwelt in exile in Babylon. The message was to them and more specifically to those who would return to the heart of God and leave the world behind. The vast majority of exiles did not return to Jerusalem when they were free to but chose instead to continue to live in exile in a place where they had grown comfortable.
Decades before they had been taken captive by the Babylonians at the hand of God in judgement. Now, when their opportunity came to leave, by staying they were proving that their hearts had been taken captive by the Babylonian system and way of life. God’s judgment always brings to light the true state of the heart. The very fact that they chose to stay, highlighted why they had been allowed to be taken captive in the first place. Men so often praise the Lord with their lips but their hearts belong to another.
Now Isaiah is speaking prophetically i this passage not only of the exiles but also of John the Baptist. Mat 3:3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.” Now John has also been called to speak to a people in exile. A people who have been cut off from God despite the fact that they were not in physical exile from Jerusalem and the temple but were in exile from the presence of God. The very system and temple that had been designed to worship God and be a dwelling place, a place for God to inhabit, had become devoid of His presence. This was a judgement to bring to light the true state of the heart.
Below is a word from a dear sister in Christ…………….
Has anyone else experienced a terrible onslaught from the enemy lately, even over the past 4 years or more? It has been very difficult for my husband and I. sometimes it seems like we are going backwards and not forwards anymore, this is quite alarming. Yet when I am feeling despair about the situations we are in, the Lord shows us that He is actually working out refinement, pruning and forming the Character of Christ in us. We were quite surprised to find out that it was through trials and testings that the character of Christ is formed.
I remember recently in prayer I said, βLord I come to buy gold refined by the fire!β and I clearly heard His reply, βAre you willing to pay the cost?β I knew what that meant, death to self, the cross. When someone is worshiping and in the presence of the Lord, itβs easy to say Lord I come to the cross. But when we truly have to face the cross, part of us doesnβt want to go through that long drawn out process.Well at least itβs been long and drawn out for me. If you figured out a way to get it done quickly let me know, lol.
2Pe 1:3-7 according as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us to glory and virtue, through which He has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, so that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also in this very thing, bringing in all diligence, filling out your faith with virtue, and with virtue, knowledge; and with knowledge self-control, and with self-control, patience, and with patience, godliness, and with godliness, brotherly kindness, and with brotherly kindness, love.
Life and Godliness. Do you have life? Do you have an abundant life in Christ? Do you have Godliness? What is Godliness, have you ever considered what that means? The Greek word for godliness was used by ancient pagans to describe those who kept in close contact with their gods. When Peter uses this word here he is talking about the need for Christians to be constantly aware of God’s manifest presence.
Much is spoken of and written about the presence of God. How do we come into the presence of God? Can we presume upon the presence of God? Can we live a life in any fashion we choose and still have ” Godliness?” In the above Scripture we see that we have been called to ” glory and to virtue.” What is glory? Do you have it? Have you experienced it? What about virtue, what does that word mean? If we have been called to it, surely we should understand what it means?
Heb 4:10 For he who has entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works, as God did from His.
This is one of the key elements of our lives in Christ. If we never enter this rest, we can never truly apprehend the wonderful promises of the Lord to us. To walk in a peace that surpasses understanding is a walk that takes place in the ” rest,” of God. To have joy in the midst of troubling circumstances and trials can only be realized if we are walking in the ” rest,” of God.
There is a people, in every generation, a remnant people, who choose to believe God and in doing so find themselves in a place of rest, a place of peace, a place of joy that is quite apart from their circumstances. If you would have eyes to see what the Lord would have you see then you too would enter into this rest.
Consider the generation of Job. Consider what Job learned. That generation was absolutely convinced that their position in this world, whether it be their financial position or the state of their health was a direct indication of God’s blessing on their lives. Sadly, the vast majority of professing Christians still believe that.
I had a vision a few months ago and wrote about it in song, here is one version of it with two anointed sisters the amen at the end was Daniel who apparently could not contain himself π bless his little heart.
Sometimes I think that one of the reasons why Jesus chose
fishermen to be in His group of disciples was because of their
“thick skin”. Jesus knew that He needed people who could handle
the Truth, even if it was a discomfort to their flesh.
Think about it …. Jesus said “Get behind me, Satan!” to Peter!
Did Pete get emotionally devastated and go into a corner and
pout? No, Peter still followed Him. Why? Because Jesus had the
Words of Life!
How would you react if someone called you a devil?
HI saints, I want to talk about the great battle we find ourselves in. You might ask ” what battle?” There is a battle going on for the hearts and souls of professing Christians around the world and believe me, it is fierce. Now, we can look at countries like China and North Korea and so on and know that our brothers and sisters in those countries are engaged in a great battle, an ancient battle, a very familiar battle that saints down through the ages have engaged in. The martyrs from all of the previous centuries would look at these countries and recognize what is going on there, it would be very familiar to them.Β Yet the battle that I am talking about is the disarming of the saints in the west.Β 1 Peter 4:1-2 states……….
“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”
Now there is wide application in this verse and it certainly applies to each and every one of us wherever we live and whether we experience persecution or not. Yet, no matter where we live or under what conditions we live in, we are all called to ” arm,” ourselves with the fruits of suffering. Now this flies in the face of modern doctrines and teachings. Can you imagine prosperity preachers or word of faith preachers encouraging their followers to find spiritual strength through suffering? Yet this is exactly what the Scriptures teach. And so a vital part of readying ourselves for the coming of the Lord is to know how to react to suffering and persecution. This is why the modern doctrines I have already mentioned, and I will include here ” hyper grace,” are actually part of the great last time deception of the Church, designed not to arm but to dis-arm Gods servants. Now brothers and sisters, no one falls asleep in the midst of persecution, yet the church in the west has fallen into a great slumber, lulled to sleep by various doctrines that appeal to the very flesh we are here in the Scriptures called to deny, to resist.
God is longing to speak to His people but the modern day church, Christendom, is like a bustling city where everyone is going there own way, rushing to and fro, distracted and self focussed.
This shrill noise of music that directs and moves people, the beat being increased as the people seemed to be moved is merely a reflection of the power of any music and not the presence nor the worship of God. It is Godβs presence that moves us in the realm of the spirit. Worldly music, including almost all of what passes for worship today, moves in the realm of the soul. The soul is immense and can never be filled with anything apart from God, everything else will leave you wanting.
We need to encounter something bigger than all that exists, and only God, and God alone can do that. So, why does the modern church settle for something less than God and choose to stay within the realms of the soul? It does not want to sacrifice to come into the holy of Holies. It is the Cain spirit. They will give the product of their own efforts and count this as sacrifice but God will have none of it. It remains outisde in the court of the gentiles, so close, but yet so far away. God dwells in a high and lofty place but He beckons to us to come, He beckons to the humble and the contrite and they come to where He is and they dwell there.
Hi saints, I have been writing a lot about the desert recently. The Lord has been inspiring me to write about the desert and about abundant life, overflowing rivers, rivers that rise up and out of their banks. It seems that these are two entirely different subjects but in actual fact, they are one in the same. Now, the desert life certainly applies to every genuine saint and always has done. If we think about Romans 6,7 and 8 we can certainly see the walk of the saint down through the ages. Romans 6 would be about coming out of the world, leaving Egypt behind and passing through the sea. Romans 7 would then be our journey through the wilderness, through the desert where we learn that our own efforts only lead to death. And Romans 8 we see victory in crossing the Jordan into the promised land, an entering into rest.
Yet I now believe we are witnessing something very unique in our day. Not only is there a personal desert that all saints must be tested in, there is also a corporate desert for the Church of the end of ages. I believe that all of Christendom has entered into a corporate desert. This is a final place of testing prior to the Bridegrooms return. This is a valley of decision, a time to count the cost. Shall we move forward? I believe that this place of corporate testing will separate the true Church from that which calls itself the church. Now in the Scriptures we know that a promise was made to Abraham, that he would father a child and that child would represent the seed that would bless all nations.
Hi saints, here is a link http://media.sermonindex.net/24/SID25004.mp3 to a sermon on what it means to Gods remnant saints to walk in the power of unity and in His presence. The unity of God’s people in the end days will be a fulfillment of the high Priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17.
Hi Saints, in a previous post https://acalltotheremnant.com/2013/07/19/the-city-in-the-desert/ we talked about the Church in the desert. We talked about how it was counter-intuitive to go into a desert to find life, but that this indeed was what God was calling us to. And of course it is entirely Biblical. We can see this pattern time and again of being called into the desert, to be stripped of the flesh, sanctified, and learning complete dependence upon God. We see that if we can learn to live a thankful obedient life in the desert, then the joy that we find when we enter into that place of rest, when we cross over the Jordan, is a joy that is full because God, in His full-ness, has been found by the heart that is wholly given to Him.
Now, how much life we garner in the desert has a direct correlation to our life eternally. Jesus taught, in relation to His coming and life eternal, that to “everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will abound. But from him who has not, even that which he has shall be taken away from him.” (Mat 25:29)
What do we have? Have we not love and forgiveness and mercy, do we not have joy and peace? When Jesus spoke of the talents, so many people construe that to be connected to money or actual talents when of course, this was the analogy , the parable, to prove the point. We have made the analogy the actuality, we are mistaken.
A Call To The Remnant 