O, How I Love Jesus

Dear fellow pilgrims-

I love the words of this song -
"O, how I love Jesus,
O, how I love Jesus,
O, how I love Jesus,
Because He first loved me"

When someone is hit with true love s/he wants to spend all his/her waking hours with the object of their affection. If they are apart geographically they stay in touch by letter or email and anticipate the next communication with excitement and joy.

I remember a silly song from the 60s, called "Let it Please Be Him" - about a love-struck girl sitting by the phone.

"That's when the phone rings
And once again I start to pray
Let it please be him
Oh, dear God,
It must be him
Or I shall die
Oh, hello, hello, my dear God
It must be him
But it's not him
And then I die
That's when I die"

In the book of Revelation Jesus tells us to return to our first love - which, of course, is Him. If we truly love Him, we will love Him 24/7 and not just on Sundays or when we're in the fox hole. We don't even have to wait for a communication from Him - we have His word and we can meet Him there anytime. We can commune with Him in our prayer closet and think about how awesome He is.

He is not just some person we are dating on Saturday night. If He has become that then it is definitely time to recapture that initial excitement we had in the beginning - when we were first born again.

I love the Bible's comparison of the church to a Bride waiting for her Groom to come for her. We're not waiting for the phone to ring, but we are waiting for that trumpet to sound and for His words to us - "Come up here."

Even so, LORD - Come! Maranatha!

"And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Himfn because He first loved us." - 1 John 4:16-19

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWgOVG63blU

October 25, 2013 Scattered Sheep Recap: Patricia King, Who's Who in the Great Apostasy

Patricia King is the female equivalent of Christian TV's Sid Roth, both of whom interview guests on their programs that most believers would consider extreme. Perhaps that is why King's ministry and TV show is called Xtreme Prophetic. When you tune in, you will hear testimonies of heavenly encounters, dream interpretation, portal places where angels come and go into the earth realm and a variety of 'eye-witness' accounts of holy ghost feathers, oil, gold dust and gems planted by angelic beings.

A native of Canada, King has expanded from British Columbia to Arizona and now into Cambodia. In her vision statement on her website, King says, "The power of God is testified to as well as demonstrated on Extreme Prophetic Television. Viewers are captured by way-out and glorious stories of supernatural phenomena and encounters, all couched in a program full of personality, controversy and favor! Our vision is to demonstrate the POWER of God to the millions who are gravitating to a spiritual experience. The program introduces spiritual terms and encounters in a natural and "non-religious" way... In the 'God Says Hi!' segment specific words of knowledge are given to viewers to help them realize God is real, He knows everything about them, and that His heart is to love and encourage them in all that they do...Extreme Prophetic TV is purposefully 'out-there,' unafraid to break into new territories."

Her style is more akin to clairvoyance than to any gifts of the Holy Spirit. Where in Scripture does God prophesy using people's addresses or what clothes they're wearing or what message they can get from the bald spots on their chia pets? Her prophetic pronouncements would be more at home at a psychic faire than in any conceivable church gathering. 

In 2004, Charisma Magazine published an article favorable to King called 'Canadian Evangelist Takes Prophetic Ministry to the Extreme' written by former Kansas City Prophet Mike Bickle. Bickle wrote in his Loving God column, "King has become known as a Bible teacher who emphasizes prayer, evangelism and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. She credits a 1994 visit to the Toronto Blessing renewal with spawning both a storm of questions and some 'amazing' spiritual experiences that motivated her to dig deeper in prayer and Bible study. The result was a teaching series about biblical encounters with a supernatural God. She later founded a 'glory school' and wrote a book, Third Heaven, Angels and Other Stuff."


Many of today's professing prophets point to the Toronto or the Brownsville 'revival' for their impartation into prophetic ministry. You will see the same names of their inner circle when any of them hold 'prophetic' conferences. Just this week Patricia King is conducting The Big Tent Event heralding a new move of the spirit trying to recapture the so-called anointing of the 'God's Generals' of the past such as Aimee Semple-McPherson, Kathryn Kuhlman, William Branham, and Oral Roberts. The usual slate of speakers included false teachers such as Roberts Liardon (who was exposed years ago for a long-term homosexual affair with his assistant pastor), Randy Clark (the man responsible for carrying Rodney Howard-Browne's holy laughter spirit to Toronto), Mark Chironna (the TBN 'prophet' who declared Benny Hinn the fulfillment of the prophecy of the coming of Elijah) and an assortment of other false prophets, many of whom were once affiliated with the Kansas City Prophets that featured 'super prophets' such as Paul Cain (another man exposed for homosexual liaisons) and Bob Jones, a good friend of Patricia King's (known for using his alleged prophetic office to get young women to disrobe for his pleasure.)

One of her speakers at The Big Tent Event is Randy DeMain who "shares about how the wicked [mutants] of Noah's day, the Nephilim, are once again walking the earth." He wrote a book on the topic but has a twist to the story and also teaches the serpent-seed doctrine. The evil half human/half demon Nephilim DeMain warns about are not giants as they are in the biblical account, but look totally normal like any human and you can only detect them if you have the spirit and can know them in how they resist your ministry. I wonder who they could be?? In a recent interview with Patricia King, DeMain he had a slip of the tongue referring to these Nephilim as "third wavers," quickly recovering and calling themselves something else. The Third Wave is something he and King would actually support - but the slip of the tongue gave them away - the 'third wavers' are indeed part demonic.

In the same interview with DeMain, both of them affirmed the 7-Mountain Mandate and connected it with the ministry of fellow false teacher Lance Wallnau, who is part of Fuller's C. Peter Wagner's NAR (New Apostolic Reformation). As with all dominionists, they teach that Christians must take over the world before Christ can come back.

King also is ecumenical and promotes unity with the Roman Catholic Church and is angry at 'critics' who see Rome as Mystery Babylon. She says that since they adhere to the Nicene Creed, that makes the institution Christian. She has prophesied a "move of the Spirit of God" coming to the Catholic Church.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rapturereadyradio/2013/10/26/scattered-sheep-report-with-jackie-alnor#.UmrJlopL0k4.facebook

Simplicity in Christ

As Christians gathered this week to dissect how they think God does things, I'm praising the LORD for what He has done. His ways are beyond finding out with our puny minds. We know in part - when we see Him face to face then we will know fully.

He has revealed Himself to babes - has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. The smartest guys on the planet still must become as little children to enter into the Kingdom of God. He exalts the humble and humbles those who exalt themselves.

Jesus Christ, Redeemer, Savior, Lord, Master, Friend, Advocate -- I could go on and on. There is none like Him! He can be known personally to those who call upon His name out of love and thankfulness for all He has done on our behalf. "Thank you Jesus" is no cliche for those with a grateful heart.

Our good Shepherd says that all who come to Him, He will in no wise cast out. Must we know the mechanics of how that happens, free will or irresistible grace, in order for our reaching out to Him to be valid? What a foolish notion!

We love Him - that's all we need to know. We follow His voice and will not heed the voice of a stranger- that's what matters. We anticipate with excitement in our hearts His soon return whether or not we have all the timing figured out.

The Gospel is so simple - why do we need to complicate it?

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence." - 1 Cor 1:27-29
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_YM_hYzcPo

October 18, 2013 Show - Dead Orthodoxy vs. Charismania: Two Erroneous Extremes

"For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you." - 1 Cor 11:19

The Strange Fire conference at the church of John MacArthur that has been going on over the past few days seems to have shed more heat than light. It was held in conjunction with the release of MacArthur’s new book of the same title. The roster of speakers featured were all experts in Reformed theology; only one speaker had expertise in the topic of charismatic extremes, Justin Peters, who was relegated to doing workshops – the ones best attended.

MacArthur set the atmosphere with the first words out of his mouth welcoming the crowd by addressing them as the elect and predestined. In his opening speech he lifted up Reformed theology as the one true faith and lamented that he had to share the label ‘Evangelical’ with charismatics of any stripe. 

“My great fear is that people are lost;” said MacArthur, “chasing carnal desires and false promises with little or no understanding or interest in the true Christ and true salvation …Evangelicalism has thrown its arms open and welcomed the ‘Trojan Horse’ of the charismatic movement into the ‘city of God’ and its troops have taken over and placed an idol in the ‘city of God’ – not the truth. Is there anything more serious than this? There can’t be. By contrast, Reformed theology, sound doctrine, is not a haven for false teachers. It’s not where false teachers reside. Reformed theology, sound doctrine, faithful, biblical exposition among a long line of godly men is not a place for false teachers. It’s not where frauds go…You’re not going to go to an association of Reformed churches, those who believe the doctrines of the Reformation that goes back to the doctrines of the New Testament and find false miracles, false visions, false prophecies…that’s not going to happen in that environment because they’re anchored to the truth.”

His repeated references to “the city of God” refers to its author, Augustine, who just so happens to be the Roman Catholic Church’s theologian and canonized saint. This is a very appropriate acknowledgment by a Calvinist that Augustine is the true source of Reformed theology via John Calvin who did not break from Catholicism at the Reformation, but just wanted to reform the Roman system back as far as Augustine. What truly needed to happen, that the Anabaptists tried to accomplish after the Reformation, was to recognize that Catholicism was false from the very start and the true New Testament faith needed to go back in history to the book of Acts and the apostles.

One of the speakers, Steve Lawson, indeed did acknowledge that it is Calvin and the so-called early church fathers that established Reformed theology upon which they build their creedal apologetics. The creeds and confessions of church history is the basis upon which these men judge the charismatics or anyone who believes that God gave the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the building up of His saints until Jesus comes back for us at the rapture.

So the outcome of the Strange Fire conference was to further divide the visible ‘Evangelical’ church into their various camps. The battle lines are being drawn and at this time before the soon return of the LORD, the goats and sheep are separating. 

This must certainly be a work of the Holy Spirit in our time to make us choose sides – to separate from what is known as the Evangelical church and let them keep that title for themselves. The cessationists (like the Reformed believers who say the gifts of the Holy Spirit ended in the first century) and the Charismaniacs (those who use mysticism and unclean spirits to imitate the gifts and come under a kundilini deception) are opposite extremes of the visible church that both misrepresent God by their traditions.

It is time for the scattered sheep to come out from among her and reclaim the term ‘born-again Christian’ to define those who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who are filled with the Holy Spirit, and who are excited about our Master’s soon return.

The closer we come to the time of the great tribulation, the more we need to be tuned into His still-small voice so that we will be given understanding and wisdom in applying Scripture to our circumstances. Remember what the angel told the Prophet Daniel:

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”… And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.” – Dan 12:4,9-10

John MacArthur and his Reformed associates have boxed themselves into a corner by believing that God no longer speaks, guides, or directs our path. As far as they’re concerned, the “perfect has come” – the Bible -- and they can understand it with their historical/grammatical exegesis alongside Augustine’s “City of God” and Calvin’s “Institutes.” When the LORD unseals what was told to Daniel to seal up until the end, they will reject that information as extra-biblical. Should archaeology unearth one of the missing letters that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians or the Laodiceans, those too will be denounced as unauthoritative.

For us born-again, washed in the Blood believers, we still have a little power – better a little than none. Our hope is set on Jesus’ words to us that come alive as the Spirit gives illumination:

“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name…Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” Rev 3:8,10-11

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rapturereadyradio/2013/10/19/scattered-sheep-report-with-jackie-alnor#.UmF2-pdP4dM.facebook

Three Theologians Give 666 a Pass

In this clip, Jimmy DeYoung and Brannon Howse keep saying of John MacArthur, 'he's reading the same book as I am and coming up with the same conclusion' - that accepting the mark of the beast during the Great Tribulation does not mean you can't get saved. Well, they're reading a different book than I'm reading. Here's what my book says on the topic:

"Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.'” Rev 14:9-11

How clearer can that be? I wonder if God removes discernment from church leaders who put their own agendas ahead of truth.

I have wondered about people who perhaps get that mark forced upon themselves against their will and what their recourse will be and I think the Spirit has shown me in the Word what they are to do:

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their RIGHT hand, or in their foreheads:" - Rev 13:6

"And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy RIGHT hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." - Matt 5:29-30

Notice that the prophecy of the mark in both passages specifies "the right hand" - and also I have heard of e-chips being put in the back of the eye - that would be the forehead. I do not think it is any coincidence.

But all three of these men - DeYoung, Howse, MacArthur - have now given their go-ahead to people that it is quite alright to take the mark of the beast. That is unconscionable!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yteZw7VMaRU&feature=youtu.be

 

The Spirit Gives Life

When the LORD saved me over 30 years ago, my first inclination was not to attend church somewhere. The Jonestown debacle had just happened and I knew I had nothing to go on to make sure I wouldn't end up in a dangerous cult somewhere. So I decided to hang tight - stay put - and just get to know the LORD Jesus Christ in His Word.

I did so for about six months and it wasn't until my sister came to Christ that on her suggestion we attended a church. By then I felt the LORD was giving me peace about doing so and fellowshiping with other believers. Since that time I have always had a church home to attend and a pastor to learn from as he taught verse-by-verse through the Bible.

All that changed earlier this year when the house church I belonged to imploded and shut down. Since then I have visited a couple of 'official' churches, with bad results. I would search church websites in the area and found no good leads for churches that weren't tainted with one deception or another. I've been forced to remain at home, studying God's Word with my adult children and listening to good teachers online.

By taking a step back I'm getting a better understanding of the big picture of the condition of the church and how much of the visible church has been so carnally minded and run more as a business than as a gathering for the saints.

I find it interesting that the Apostle Paul after his radical conversion on the road to Damascus had a similar impulse to get alone with God before joining in with the other apostles.

"But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me...Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days." - Gal 1:15-18

In surveying the body of Christ from my vantage point, I can understand better some of the Scriptures that used to baffle me in my early walk with Jesus. This one came to mind lately:

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." - 2 Cor 3:5-6

I have seen friends arguing over interpretations of the Bible, trying to fit things into their own systematic theologies, putting a spin on vague passages in order to fit them into their own credos. It was an ugly scene to us onlookers to see men fighting like that over Bible mysteries that are beyond finding out this side of glory. I was reminded of this verse:

"Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers." - 2 Tim 2:14

I hadn't understood that warning until now. The author of the book, The Harlot Church System, Charles Newbold Jr., expressed the very thing I was seeing on page 3 (I'm not done reading the book):

"The carnal mind has no ability whatsoever to understand the things of God which are Spirit. When inspired things of God are reduced to rigid doctrines, systems of theology, reasoning and logic, they are no longer Spirit but have become flesh. And if flesh, then deception. The carnal mind is at total odds with the Spirit of God: it is hostile to God."

Praise the LORD that we are free from the letter of the law as we feed upon the Living Word and are nourished by God's Manna for our spirits. When we lean unto our own understanding and try to fit the Word of God into a system, we've passed from sowing to the Spirit and are indeed sowing to the flesh.

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ." - 1 Cor 2:12-16

October 11, 2013 SCATTERD SHEEP RECAP: Lance Wallnau: Who's Who in the Great Apostasy

Lance Wallnau is one of the false apostles of the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation) headed up by church growth false teacher C. Peter Wagner. Wallnau is the NAR's comedic front man who is featured in many conferences sponsored by a variety of NAR-sympathisers like Rick Joyner's MorningStar, John Arnott's Catch The Fire and Patricia King's XP Ministries. He is associated with Cindy Jacobs and her Generals International.

His grid from which he sees life and ministry is that of Kingdom-Now theology, i.e. Dominionism. He scoffs at Christians who await the LORD's return to rule and reign with Him and says that he and his ilk rule and reign now as they pursue worldly and carnal success in their 7-Mountains of influence over culture: government, church, education, family, media, arts, and business. Wallnau scoffs at Christians whose only interest is evangelism, seeing souls won to Christ, and sees them as having a narrow focus since the church mountain is no more important than the other six in his view.

Wallnau says that he is a member of an organization called Global Priorities. Perhaps that is what influenced him to adopt evangelization of nations in lieu of evangelism of individuals with the gospel of Christ. Global Priorities is an inter-religious socialistic organization that is pro-United Nations and anti-Zionist.  It even has Islamic members and is "endorsed by the Vatican, the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches" in their common goal of uniting the worlds religion under the banner of peace and love. 

All roads do seem to lead to Rome. The purpose of the Roman Catholic Church's "new evangelization" is directed at cultures, rather than merely individuals:

The New Evangelization "teaches that not only individuals but whole cultures need to be transformed by influence of the Gospel. In her missionary activity the Church encounters different cultures and becomes involved in the process of inculturation. By inculturation the pope means, the intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through the integration in Christianity and the insertion of Christianity in the various human cultures. The new evangelization must strive to incarnate Christian values and open the Gospel message to human cultures. Evangelization according to John Paul should lead to, "a civilization of love." [http://www.christlife.org/evangelization/articles/C_newevan.html ]

This global inter-faith trend in the Catholic and Protestant churches is the seed-bed for the great apostasy of the church and the unification of all faiths under the jurisdiction of the Vatican. This doctrine of demons is paraded under the banner of peace, love, and liberty. "It looks like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon."

The Bible tells us to test the fruit of professing believers when discerning whether or not to listen to them. There are many red flags concerning Lance Wallnau that should tell any Christian to run the other way. Some include:

• His endorsement of false prophet William Branham, a 'revivalist' of the 50s who had a familiar angel that was required for him to perform miracles. Wallnau says, "Supernatural lights, often called "pillars of fire" were visible in many meetings of Wm Branham... Branham was a pioneer of the gifts of the Spirit in post WWII. He rocked the global religion mountain as a forerunner. You are the NEXT runner in the 7 Mountains. You are the supernatural 7M Gen."
• His elevation of the spirituality of new age goddess Oprah Winfrey. Wallnau has a meme on his facebook page with a quote of Oprah's that reads: "Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you Higher." His comment above the meme reads: "If you want to raise the dead, you need to put some people out of the room."
• Wallnau points his followers to the prognostications of false prophet Bob Jones, well-known for his blunders as a Kansas City Prophet when he was caught using his so-called prophetic office to get young ladies to disrobe for the pleasure of the prophet. On his facebook page he links to the latest "Shepherds Rod" in which Jones says God gave him an egg and he broke it and fire came out, thus predicting the next fire revival to sweep the country: something he and his fellow false seers have been saying for 20 years or more.
• His sensational promises used to con people out of their hard-earned money such as what he told those who would go with him on vacation. The vacation package to Mexico boasts: "You will be together for 5 Days and 4 Nights of divine visitation while learning the worlds sharpest tools, practices and strategies for WEALTH CREATION, and dominance within your sphere...You will learn how to create and refine your Extreme Dream Blueprint and discover the stages and steps to making it manifest. You will learn key's to supernatural business explosion as you partner with God in building a kingdom enterprise."  

Link to Scattered Sheep Report of 10/11/2013