The Maestro of Music

A woman I know recently took her children to see the Justin Bieber concert.  I personally know nothing about him and could not name even one song he sings.  My pastor has mentioned in previous sermons how he has a fingernail polish line, but beyond that I am clueless.

Nonetheless, the woman shared some pictures she took at the concert and one really stood out at me.  It was an image of Justin Bieber floating above the crowd wearing angel's wings.  While that in and of itself may not be particularly interesting, what the wings were made of was: the wings are made of music.

If you look closely at the construction of the wings, you can see that they are made of piano keys, drum cymbals, speakers, guitars...  Bieber is literally presented as the angel of music, who we know was Lucifer.

"Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created." Ezekiel 28:13

Interestingly enough, the theme of the Justin Bieber tour is "Believe".  I wondered what a young man presenting himself as Satan would want his fans to "Believe."  It was easy enough to find out because the angel entry is the opening part of the tour and is accompanied by a voice over about the importance of "believing".  In what can only be described as a serpentine, hypnotic voice, the announcer says:

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome.  Now you are entering into another world.  A world that has no limits.  No rules. Only endless possibilities.  

Can you hear it?  The vibration of the beat?  The rhythm of your heart and the electricity running in through your veins?  Allow your imagination to skyrocket; your dreams to be released. Let go of everything, but this moment.  Be strong.  Be brave, but most importantly, Believe."

Notice how he speaks about feeling the frequency of the beats in your body?  We have discussed this technique before, and it's use by a company called I-Doser to alter brain function.  It has even found its way into the church.  Compare the words from Bieber's concert to the words from Patricia King's Ekstasis Worship ministry:

"This generation longs to experience God in a way, in an abandoned way like never before...The music as you are jumping and dancing and moving around, well the words we are speaking become one at a cellular level in your body.

And it is not like you're learning it, it's part of who you are. It's no longer that you have to study the word, but when you are inside of an infused atmosphere with dancing and your body is moving and the word is coming and the music, it becomes part of you...

With the rhythm, the sound, and the repetitiveness of the music the word is driven into your body, not just your mind, not just your soul, but the whole mind, body and soul. Ekstasis Worship is worship that you go outside of your mind and just release yourself into the abandoned worship of God."

This is all witchcraft, using sound/light frequencies to alter a person's state of consciousness.  Folks, this is real, and it is happening right in front of our eyes.  Satan is the Maestro of Music and he will use that stealthily in order to sow seeds of rebellion in the heart. All music is not evil of course, but you have to understand the spirit behind the music.  God never requires us to disengage from our minds in order to fellowship with Him.  Rather, he wants to reason together with us (Isaiah 1:18).  Satan will use every avenue he has to drive you out of your senses so that he can make you into what he is: one damned to Hell.  If you don't understand the powerful influence Satan can exert via this medium, I encourage you to watch the video, "The Power of a Selfless Life".

There is a children's Bible song that say, "Be careful little ears what you hear."  We must be wise in these last days; wise about what we hear and what we allow our children to listen to.  The spiritual war we fight against the enemy is getting hotter each day, but it is also becoming more blatant.  Make sure you are not bewitched so that you have eyes to see.

For THERE the LORD Commanded the Blessing

Omega Spring Gathering 

"[A Song of degrees of David.] Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 

It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; 

As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." Psalm 133:1-2

It is something very special to have God's people dwelling together in unity.  As was shared in a previous post, a number of God's promises are only realized when the saints come together in one mind and purpose (unity).

To quote Min. David Pawson, "God doesn't want to just fill individuals with His Spirit, but His Body, His family."  This is the imagery we see in Psalm 133, where God's anointing covers the whole Body and all of Zion.  It is in such a setting of unity that our Lord commands His blessings to come forth.

In the comments section of another post, there has been discussion about the covenant believers have with one another.  While many know that we are in covenant with the Lord, it may not be understood that we are also in covenant with each other, our fellow believers.  This is simply a concept with which many are not familiar.  Therefore, I wanted to share a few teachings by Min. Derek Prince on this topic:

• Covenant Relationships are Horizontal, Too
• Laying Down Our Lives
• The New Lifestyle—Koinonia
• The Covenant Meal
• Conduct that Undermines Covenant

I pray you can take the time to read the teachings above as it might give new life and meaning to your understanding of what true fellowship is.

That said, I also wanted to extend an invitation for you to fellowship with us at the Omega Church & Ministries Center spring gathering. It will be in Atlanta, GA from April 26th - 28th.

Click here to register or obtain more information about this gathering.

It is my prayer that this fellowship be a time of refreshing, a time of unity, a time where the blessings of God will pour forth on and through every participant.  I am not speaking of simply earthly prosperity.  I am speaking of the life of Jesus Christ (in all its power, majesty, and grace) being made manifest in the lives of believers so that each person leaves with a deeper revelation of Christ within.  The days are dark, and getting darker, but that simply means the light of Christ must shine brighter within us all.  If you consider coming, please devote some time to fasting & prayer prior to the conference so that God will prepare our hearts for what He endeavors to accomplish at that time.  If you are unable to come, please pray nonetheless that God use this time to create a true & lasting unity by His Spirit which emboldens us all to be ministers of the Gospel (doers of His word).

100% Wrong?

We recently spoke about discerning the difference between the true and false church. Today, I received the following message from Pastor Zac Poonen and felt it was appropriate to share.

Pastor Poonen has often said that the opinion of man - whether good or bad - is fit for nothing but the trash can, and I couldn't agree more.  In these evil days where many name the name of Jesus, but very few it seems are true believers in His words - seek to have the mind of Christ.  Seek to hear as God hears and see as He sees.  Don't be led by emotions, charisma, or even fear.  Neither be concerned about what others think of you.  Simply follow as God leads and let Him take care of the rest.

With apostasy increasing all around us, it is going to be more important than ever before that you know (and submit to) the truth for yourselves.  As you do, you will know those who are of the Lord and those who are not by His Spirit.  The righteous are not identified by the loudest talkers or the biggest crowds, but those transformed to bear the life & power of the Son of God within.

May we all be counted in that number by God's grace.
____

The Opinion That 99% of Our Fellow-Believers Have About Us Can Be 100% Wrong
by Zac Poonen

In Rev 3:1 we read; and to the angel of the church in Sardis write; He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars says this; ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.'

The messenger in Sardis was one who had built up a tremendous reputation before others as a spiritual man. But the Lord’s opinion of him was the exact opposite of that of his fellow-believers in Sardis. This shows how carnal and gullible most believers in Sardis were.

More than 90% of believers are unable to differentiate between a carnal preacher and a spiritual one. And more than 99% of believers are unable to distinguish between human-soul-power and Holy-Spirit-power.

Most believers are impressed by the display and exercise of spiritual gifts and that is how they evaluate a preacher or an elder. And that is how they are deceived. God however looks at the heart. The messenger at Sardis may have had the gifts of the Spirit. But he was spiritually dead.

This is a warning for all of us to take heed to: The opinion that 99% of our fellow-believers have about us can be 100% wrong! God’s opinion about us could be the exact opposite of their opinion.

The same applies to a church. Others may consider a church to be “spiritually alive”. But God may know it to be spiritually dead. And vice-versa. Churches that God considers spiritually alive could be considered dead by undiscerning men.

Most believers evaluate a church by the warmth of the welcome they receive when they come to the meetings, the size of the congregation, the amount of noise and emotion in the meetings, the musical quality of the singing, the intellectual content of the sermon and the amount of the offering!! But God isn’t impressed by any of these things.

God evaluates a church by the Christlike humility, purity and love and the freedom from self-centredness that He finds in the hearts of its members. God’s evaluation and man’s evaluation of a church can therefore be at total variance with each other. In fact, they usually are.

The Power of a Selfless Life

Jesus, Either a Fence or Offense

You can walk peacefully with many brothers and sisters - and even with those in the world - until the topic of sin comes up.  This is why Jesus is a rock of offense to so many (Romans 9:33; I Peter 2:7-8), even to some who claim to serve Him.  They don't want sin exposed. 

"Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.  But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin." John 15:20-22

Jesus' existence necessitates dealing with sin for such is why He came, to pay for the sin of the world and pave the way for our victory over it.  His very presence removes any cloak man might seek for sin.  For the believer, that is good news!   In fact, as believers walk with God, He will point out more and more within us which is not pleasing to Him as we are perfected in Him.  It is a continual walk of faith, but also of repentance. We must be sure not to be offended by this for that offense is the evidence of things contrary to God within our hearts.

God is making us a vineyard whereby our fellowship with Him, and the flow of His life through us, can continue uninterrupted.

"Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 

And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it." Isaiah 5:1-6

Jesus has fenced us unto Himself and cleared out the debris in our hearts so that we can bring forth much fruit.  Yet, when He looks at the vineyard, it is producing wild fruit.  The question then becomes, "What is perverting the fruit?"  It is certainly nothing the Lord has done, or left undone.  He asks, "What more could have been done to equip my vineyard to bring forth good fruit?"

"Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah 5:24

The problem is that the vine is feeding from a source other than the life of God.  Instead of being rooted in God's word (our bread of life), the people are portrayed in the Chapter as being drunken - which is often symbolic in Scripture of entertaining the wisdom of the world.  The result is that the people are overrun with sin and the fence or hedge of protection Jesus placed around us is removed. 

How foolish would we be to have been planted the "choicest" of vines, and yet seek nourishment from the filth and degradation of the world, expecting it to generate life in us.  Rather, we will be feeding death to our souls and will be given over to a life of sin.

The following sermon is from Pastor Gary C. Price of Omega Church & Ministries Center called "The Power of a Selfless Life", as he deals with what sin is, where it came from, and how to overcome it.

All Things That Ever I Did

The Beauty of Jacob's Well

"Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. 

There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat. Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 

The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. 

The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" John 4:5-29

I have been getting a number of comments lately questioning whether Christians are supposed to address sin or error.  Some say it is not "loving" to do so, and we have talked about that in the past.  However, recently it was said that Jesus never pointed out people's sin; that Christians are only supposed to talk about the sin of believers...and some say we should not even address that!  It was also suggested that pointing out sin to sinners is akin to casting pearls before swine.  I have found none of these assertions to be Scriptural and believe the story of the woman at the well is quite relevant to these assertions.

The woman at the well was a Samaritan, and the Jews were to have no dealings with them.  The Samaritans were a people mixed with the Gentiles and who shared a number of their idolatrous practices.  Part of the sanctification of the Jewish people included separating themselves from Samaritans.   This is why the woman at the well was so surprised that Jesus (obviously a Jew) would speak to her.  Notice as well that this was not simply a distinction the Samaritan woman made, but one that Jesus also recognized for He comments that she is ignorant of salvation which is "of the Jews".

The interesting thing to consider however, is that the Samaritan woman was really of the lineage of Israel, she was of Jacob's loins. This is why the woman refers to Jacob (Israel) as her "father" who had given her people this well.  Her fellow Samaritans were cousins to the Jews residing in Judea.

Although God had called them unto Himself to come out of the world (through the covenant with Jacob), the Samaritans had instead become mixed with in with the Gentiles over the generations, whereby they were almost indistinguishable from them.

This is a picture of God's people who are still in Babylon.  They are for all intents and purposes "of the world", enslaved in sin, and ignorant of the salvation by which God is calling them unto Himself.  They are in need of living water that only Jesus Christ can provide, but He must be revealed to them before they can receive it.

The city where this well is located is called "Sychar" which means "drunken".  The woman is like the inhabitants of the earth depicted in Revelation, being "drunk" from the wine of the fornication of the world (Revelation 14:8, 17:2). God has a people who are still in Babylon, and He is calling them to come out of it (Revelation 18:4).  As with those in Babylon, this woman outwardly appeared not to be a Jew.  Even the condition of her life being filled with sin and fornication would contest any assertion that she is one called of God.  Yet Jesus offers her living water.

"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Revelation 22:17

Such is the beauty of Jacob's well.  It is for all who would come and thirst, including those who right now might appear to be sinners lost in the world (as we also once appeared).  It comes with a message to turn from the wine of the world which makes you drunk and be filled instead with living waters from the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)!

Yet, notice as well how Jesus was revealed to this woman and what convinced her that He was indeed the Messiah.  Jesus was clearly loving and wise, yet one thing stood out: Jesus told her about herself, including her sin.

"Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" John 4:29

I read the book of Micah last week and it is filled with God's judgment against sin.  He will 'tread upon the high places, 'beat down the idols', 'make the exalted lands a heap'...  Yet as I read, I noticed myself in agreement with these judgments saying in my heart to God, "Yes Lord, tear down every false way in me.  Destroy every idol.  Break in pieces every high thing in my heart."  I don't share that to say, "Oh, look how humble I am."  I share it because it just brought home to me how God's work in judging sin is a blessing to His people!  These judgments I saw as promises from God that He will not leave us in the filth and degradation we were born into in the world.  The beauty of Jacob's well is not only that it gives us living water, but that it deals with our sin!  That is a good thing!

Don't you want to be cleansed and purged to be more like Jesus every day?  Don't you want Him to expose the secret things of the heart which keep us from true intimacy with Him?  Don't you want Him to put His finger on those things which plant seeds of the world in our hearts?  Such is the yearning of true believers.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24

Jesus dealt with sin, even the sin of those who would be considered "of the world".  Such should not be done in condemnation (John 8:3-9) or hypocrisy (Matthew 7:1-5).  However, exposing sin is certainly part of the Gospel.  That is why John the Baptist (in the spirit of Elijah) comes first to preach repentance and that men make their pathways straight in preparation for the coming of the Lord.  We are called to warn the wicked and the righteous so that men may come to repentance and believe God (Ezekiel 3:18-21).

True vs. False Church

"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Matthew 24:24

Some read the above Scripture and think, "The deception in the last days will be very strong, so much that it could almost fool the elect!"  And that is true.

However, when I read that verse, one thing stands out for me: "There is no protection from deception apart from being one of the elect of God."

elect: eklektos, picked out, chosen by God for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus

A person recently commented on how to discern between the true and false church, wondering if the distinction between the two might not be as clear as people think.  While externally (in terms of outward appearance), the difference can be hard to decipher, internally (what happens on the inside) the difference is literally night and day.

First, let's establish that it is God's will to protect His people from deception. He is not nonchalant about this, leaving us to the whims of the Satan.  We belong to God and He is jealous for us (Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; Nahum 1:2; II Corinthians 11:2).  He would not send His only Son to be butchered for the lost, only to have them carelessly swept away by a delusion.

Just consider the many things God does to keep us from deception:

• He has ensured an enduring record of His living word, to reveal to us His mind and instruct us in righteousness; 
• He places witnesses in our lives who can testify of Him and disciple us in the faith
• He gives if the mind of Christ so that we can understand and know Him
• He gives us the Holy Spirit who can lead us into all truth

If we fail, if we fall away into apostasy, it is not because the Lord was remiss, but because we have not availed ourselves of the resources He has provided to nurture and perfect us in our walk of faith.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

There is nothing on the external which will help you to identify what is the true vs. false church (Luke 17:20-21).  It is not the number of members, for according to Scripture the masses will follow the road which leads to damnation.  It is not the recitation of Scripture, for even the Devil knows the word of God.  It is not the existence of supernatural signs and wonders, for Satan is able to give his ministers lying signs & wonders.  Even the false church will have fellowships, ministries, bible studies, good works, choirs, "nice" people, etc. 

"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." Matthew 7:20

While things may look similar on the outside, the mark of the true church is that individuals are being transformed to bear the life of Jesus Christ within. We can beat our heads against the wall debating doctrine until the cows comes home, but at the end of the day all that matters is whether you personally are being conformed into the image of Christ.

Are you gaining victory over sin? Is your appetite for the things of God increasing and the things of the world decreasing? Are you more able to walk in peace & joy, in spite of the ciscumstances around you? Are spiritual gifts being stirred within you so that others are drawn to Christ by the light within you? Are you becoming more concerned for others than you are for yourself? A sound ministry will produce these results in the lives of sincere believers; it will bring forth evidence of spiritual rebirth and maturation in your life.

"Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." II Corinthians 4:1-2

The truth "manifests" itself. This will happen, not merely because the truth is being preached, but because the ministers themselves have been transformed into vessels of truth (not simply hypocrites). When you see the truth - who is Jesus Christ (John 14:6) - being made manifest in your life, then you can know that you have found one of the churches of God.

The significance of being able to discern the false is not for the benefit of finger pointing or criticizing others.  The importance is so that you (and others) are able to abide in truth. It has been said that to know the false, one should study the truth.  The Scriptures however indicate that if we want to discern the false, we must become the truth.  For this we need the Holy Spirit.

A Manifestation of the Truth

"These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." I John 2:26-27

The point of any ministry is to bring about a manifestation of the truth.  The Holy Spirit works in every born again believer to reveal Christ within us (Galatians 4:19). As this happens, we will naturally be able to decipher between the truth and the false by the Spirit.  As you atune your ears to be more sensitive to the Spirit of God, He will let you know when things are not right. You might not even be able to put your finger on why, but there will be an unsettling in your spirit when you are seeing that which is the wrong spirit on display.

"And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers." John 10: 4-5

Your best protection against error is to make sure that you are being transformed into the truth; that you become a manifestation of truth.  For this to happen, we need not only the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but we need to be continually filled.  It is the sanctification of the spirit which makes us members of God's elect (I Peter 1:2).  Apart from this continual working of the Holy Spirit within us, we will be deceived.

How do you protect yourself from deception?  Make your calling and election sure, by staying filled with the Spirit of God.

"Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall." II Peter 1:10

The Power to Lay It Down

"Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?" Acts 26:8

One day in prayer, I was asking about the power of God and where it was in my life.  God then reminded me of the following Scripture.

"No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father."  John 10:18

I came to understand that the power I needed most was the power to lay down my own self life...and God would take care of the rest.

Jesus could not raise Himself from the dead. This was something He had to trust in and depend upon the Father to do. Yet in God's word, not once do we read about Jesus doubting whether the Father would raise Him.  Jesus knew why He had come and He also knew with certainty that the Father would be faithful to raise Him from the dead.  We know that the same was true of our forefather in the faith, Abraham, who knew the promises God had made and considered Him faithful to fulfill them, even to the raising of one from the dead (Hebrews 11:19).

However, at the time of Jesus' suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, there was one thing with which He struggled: His will versus the will of the Father.  A final death blow to the self life.  Jesus knew well that God would resurrect Him in power; His part was to deny His own will so that He could then be raised.

In this one moment at Gethsemane, we see this struggle with "self".  What was Jesus' struggle?  It was not the issue of having to die on the cross.  Jesus had lived His entire life denying Himself, sacrificially doing the Father's will.  No, it was preparing to take on the sin of the world, for in doing so, He would be separated from the Father for the first time (Mark 15:34).  It wasn't a desire to sin, but a desire for unbroken fellowship with the Father.  However, it was the will of the Father for Jesus to experience this as a ransom for the sin of man so that we as well could experience unbroken fellowship with God.  As such, Jesus had to set aside even this noble desire to obey the Father's will.

Self life is not only expressed in a desire for that which is unrighteous or sinful.  Self life can be expressed in ways that seem to be Godly or of noble intent.  In fact, it can be easier to give up the vile desires of self, but much harder to set aside the "Godly" things.  When our desires are at odds with God's will or are running ahead of God's will, it is still "self" and must be denied.  Even the things God desires for us, must still come to pass in His way and in His timing.

I'll also say this.  God can have given you a vision of what He wants to bring to pass in your life, but you still must leave it to Him.  If not, you may start to try and establish that vision in your own power and thereby defile it.  If God has you offer up that vision as a sacrifice, know that He is still able to resurrect it and bring it to pass once you have learned not to build it yourself (Psalm 127:1).  This is what He did for me in the lesson of my marriage, for example, that I recounted a while ago.

Are we willing to lay down everything from the self life?  Not just the base things, but even the 'noble' aspirations of self? The commandment the Father had given to Jesus was to "lay down His life" in all areas, and that is the commandment God has given us as well (Luke 9:23; Romans 12:1; II Corinthians 5:15).

This truth about God's faithfulness to bring resurrection is even evidenced in nature itself. 

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." John 12:24-25

"Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die." I Corinthians 15:36

If nature can be depended upon to bring forth life from a seed which dies, then how much more can we know that our Father in Heaven (the Creator of All) will do the same?

"But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead." II Corinthians 1:9

Learning to deny self - even in the 'good' areas - teaches us the ultimate lesson: not to trust in ourselves.  It is in this dying that we learn true dependance upon God and waiting upon Him.  It is in this where we see God raise the dead.

When we look at the early church, we can see that they were not perfect, neither were they sinless.  Yet, they were was always committing that old man to death.  It is this process of dying that allowed the power of God to rest upon them and pour out from them to heal others.

"Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. " II Corinthians 4:10-12

Our God is a God who raises the dead (Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 2:12; I Thessalonians 1:10; II Timothy 2:8; I Peter 1:21).  It is His pleasure, desire, and plan for us to walk in His resurrection power.  However, death must come before the quickening.

"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." Romans 8:11

If we would be faithful to die to our "selves" (our thoughts, perceptions, preferences, desires, ambitions, complaints, demands, etc.), God will be faithful to raise us in His power as living witnesses.  At that point, the power of God will be visibly in our lives because it will truly be Christ who is living, and not ourselves.

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:10

No one took Jesus' life from Him.  He gave it willingly, He laid it down. We must follow Jesus' example; we must die to our "self".  Then we will see the power of God move upon and within us like never before.   Like Jesus, God has also given us the power - and the choice - to lay down our own lives...or take them back up again.  Will we draw back from denial of self and take up again our own lives, or will we press on so that we can walk in newness of life?

May we always bear about the dying of the Lord Jesus so that His life will be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

Have An Unshakable Life In The New Year

Come & Die!

May the following message from Pastor Zac Poonen encourage you in this new year.

• Jesus said that in the world we would have tribulation, but in Him we have peace (John 16:33).
• The coming year is going to be a year of shaking.  The things which can be shaken, will be shaken.  The things which cannot be shaken will remain (Hebrews 12:26).
• If both of your feet are planted firmly in the Kingdom of God, then you will remain firm and unshaken no matter what happens.  Such persons will show gratitude by serving God in reverence and godly fear.
• Man is basically a selfish creature who does not think of expressing gratitude easily; not just saying "thank you", but having a deep condition of appreciation in the heart.
• Only service arising out of gratitude is acceptable to God.
• Today's Jesus is often presented by the church like He is our 'buddy', with no reverence.  This is why sin abounds so greatly in many lives.  We cannot approach Jesus like that.
• There is nothing physical which makes us priests for God, but the power of an endless life which is given to us through the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 7:16).
• Not everyone who claims to be filled with the Holy Spirit really is. It is an absolute insult to God for a person to claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit but then lose his temper, love money, lust after women, be bitter, anxious, or unforgiving...
• The Holy Spirit will give you a joy no one can take away and peace that surpasses understanding.  He will fill you and make this real in your life if you yield every area in your life to Him.
• One definition of faith is to believe that God is more eager to bless me than I am to be blessed.  We must not be misled into thinking that there is any good thing we desire for ourselves more than God desires it for us.  We don't have to twist God's arm or pray long prayers to obtain God's favor in this way.
• You can pray for a hundred years for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and never receive it if there are areas of your life which are shut off from God.
• Those who are established on the Rock - who is Jesus - will not be moved, even though the storm beats against them fiercely (Matthew 7:24-27).  Both builders - on the sand and the rock - were the same in that they each were hearers of the words of God.  However, the builder on the Rock was a doer of the word.
• There is a line being drawn this year between those who just listen to God's words (build on sand) versus those who also obey God's words (build on the rock).  The ones who obey will not be shaken.  Such obedience was more costly as it took more resources, money, time than simply building on the sand. 
• There is a hidden area in your life which determines whether you will be shaken when the winds come.  It is the foundation - which is not outwardly visible - which determines our ability to stand.  Don't be impressed with the externals around you, but look for the hidden light.  What you are when you are alone before God; the rest is just public show.
• There is something you can do to make your life unshakeable this year: live after the instructions in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew Chapters 5-7).  It is the only way to build a ministry, manage a family, raise children...
• Jesus said that we should go into our prayer closet when we pray (Matthew 6:6).  This is not to say that we cannot pray in public.  There is a principle here is contrasting people who pray as the hypocrites to be seen by men.  We should pray - even in public - with our hearts minds focused only on the Lord and not seeking honor from others.
• An unshakeable life is one where our focus has shifted from ourselves to God, not only in prayer but in all things.  We must all die with Christ (dying spiritually) to have this endless life; and dead people have no expectations of others.  The message to preach is, "Come and die!"
• The secret to having the life of Jesus manifested and bearing about in our bodies is seen in II Corinthians 4:10, "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body."
• Jesus came in our flesh so that He could die to self-will.  If you think the life you inherited from Adam is better than the life of Christ, then you will never choose to die.
• You cannot make a better plan for your life than God can make for you.  When God says that He has forgiven your sin and blotted out the past, He has!  We can trust Him in all things for He is our Father, our Dad.  He loves us and can do anything He wants.
• God has us pray - even though He already knows what we need - so that we will have the joy of answered prayer.  If you don't learn to pray as Jesus taught, then your life will be shakeable.
• If the devil cannot distract you with sin, then he will distract you with being busy.
• You cannot expect God to deliver you from evil if you choose to walk into temptation.
• Seek the Kingdom of God first and all other things will be added unto you.