tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53584089897698580612024-03-13T20:56:11.126-07:00Smallest SeedThe smallest seed became the biggest in the Kingdom. [Matthew 13.31] GOD's FleshGaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comBlogger336125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-51332308227835389152022-07-10T19:57:00.051-07:002022-07-12T18:20:32.238-07:00Why Birds Neither Sow nor Reap<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JawKyz3pzaemA22LL6QYaU1X-GNT6tAGnqDLWfydLJe2hU-FJt0vZHn2ZfJalXSIPYRGGTgj3cxycqpZ68yilRZoA5XLCSdJQHCkY6SwRbMTUL2vLVFa0hCoZ_YBvF7TwS7cfNE8ynboYXk--JTXPcU5_LhHWzfRXqI8qPusd2pkpfvUaYYdCPbdOQ/s640/birds.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="640" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JawKyz3pzaemA22LL6QYaU1X-GNT6tAGnqDLWfydLJe2hU-FJt0vZHn2ZfJalXSIPYRGGTgj3cxycqpZ68yilRZoA5XLCSdJQHCkY6SwRbMTUL2vLVFa0hCoZ_YBvF7TwS7cfNE8ynboYXk--JTXPcU5_LhHWzfRXqI8qPusd2pkpfvUaYYdCPbdOQ/w400-h283/birds.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Birds love to frolic on our front porch in the early morning, have fun there and sing. Jesus once explained how God wants exactly that for humans, too. Anyway, I like watching birds, being enthralled by their melodious chirps, while I sip coffee and get inspiration for my blog. I think they believe they have <i>a rightful share</i> of my porch, and it seems they see me as a fellow bird 🙌. They use my porch confidently while I'm there sitting quietly. <i>A rightful share.</i></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@davidclode?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">David Clode</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/birds?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Birds Show God's Design for Daily Life</b></div><div><br /></div><div>We ought to learn from birds. And Jesus meant it. His parables are not just idle stories to entertain his audience. They help us see how Kingdom principles should easily work in ordinary daily life. In fact, they're so easy we doubt if they'd really work, or if they're all just idle stories. So we play safe and confine his parables to sermon illustrations. Nice examples. Nothing serious. </div><div><br /></div><div>But mind you, his Word on birds and the grass of the fields isn't just parable. It's a fact. Birds don't work and yet they eat. It's not a figure of speech, metaphor, hyperbole, an overstatement or anything like that. God provides for them even if they don't work for a living. They get their <i>rightful share, </i>not because they deserve it, but God in his grace, made it their right. And the principle (not working and yet eating) is not just for birds. It's for believers. It's their <i>rightful share</i>, by God's grace and mercy, and being co-heirs with Christ. Exactly why Jesus told people about birds' confidence (and why he's telling it to us today). That confidence is designed for believing humans, especially.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyk3FvSNOjollSiCbdJJa8kqUQBqGfyHc_2ZB-rbFc8SNYy2iCS-Z1aYWCaipfrKXZz26LcqhQp1S9tKlJyswq1fsWwlvPJJQoJxwzZE4TXIm_FdvupPAfV5lxiPcXGLqfqSGo3436Dc3U-CIRnZZ9ZahqPNTMJpPqtLnbGig8t99pSXzjvbJYXcKWRw/s208/your-power-within-2.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="154" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyk3FvSNOjollSiCbdJJa8kqUQBqGfyHc_2ZB-rbFc8SNYy2iCS-Z1aYWCaipfrKXZz26LcqhQp1S9tKlJyswq1fsWwlvPJJQoJxwzZE4TXIm_FdvupPAfV5lxiPcXGLqfqSGo3436Dc3U-CIRnZZ9ZahqPNTMJpPqtLnbGig8t99pSXzjvbJYXcKWRw/s1600/your-power-within-2.webp" width="154" /></a></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>"<a href="https://personaligy.wordpress.com/re-believing-in-yourself/?frame-nonce=228c83116f" target="_blank">Your Power Within" e-book at a bargain price. </a></b></div></b><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://personaligy.wordpress.com/re-believing-in-yourself/?frame-nonce=228c83116f" target="_blank">Click here and fill up the form for more details.</a></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><blockquote>Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?</blockquote><p>You see that confidence? <i>"They do not sow or reap or store away in barns."</i> It's not that they fail to do it. They just never do it. They believe they don't have to. God put that confidence in them and they're using it to the max, without question. Without any doubt. They're going to be fed, no matter what--work or no work. We need this in these hard times. Why do you think Jesus taught about bird confidence, specifically on not worrying? Because for some reason, we're more comfy worrying than trusting.</p><p>I meditated this one morning and asked the Lord why he had said this. Isn't this an irresponsible thing to say? I mean, with his gaining popularity and large following, how could he tell people it's okay not to worry about not working? Specifically, he was telling them it's okay not to <i>"sow or reap or store away in barns,"</i> because anyway the Father will feed you the same way he feeds carefree, nonworking birds.</p><p>He didn't say it's okay to be idle or lazy. He said it's okay not to be worried about not working, like how birds aren't.</p><p><b>"They Do Not Sow..."</b></p><p>The responsible thing would've been to tell them about hardworking ants and bees and how they won't survive if they stopped working. We'd all prefer the advice to work hard so God would bless our efforts than say it's okay if you don't work. Or, the positive thing about birds would've been to highlight the early bird story--the proactive bird who caught the worm. </p><p>If we were Jesus we'd prefer it this way: "Look at the early birds; they get up early in the morning to hunt. So your heavenly Father provides them with worms. Do your best and the Father will do the rest."</p><p>That would've sounded better and quite on a note which positive thinkers would've loved. In fact, it's the "sound advice" we often hear. But Jesus didn't say that. He stressed on birds that <b>do not</b> sow, reap or store, and yet are fed by the Father, as if he encouraged them to just frolic and do no work like birds. Jesus insinuated how we should be like them, and that true faith is having bird confidence, a radical trust that God will provide regardless of our work output, not because of man's hard labors, particularly for his provisions. Bruce Lee would probably say, <i>be bird, my friend</i>. 😄</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.smallestseed.me/p/when-gods-promises-dont-seem-to-work.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="463" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtouFkSWh-f8sLWUq-kdkLEGS6UQX6HDjtibZpqYZMdpE_WbFXCIn6cDGH7Saqo4Sjvm5YtFd7IiS22ldNAbTc6O8Rm8mgYuTKPbjAdcaoRNxn5IxD5yw1q-nQE4FlCYFasaFWO8MBGC4OXPvpaqTeViinY7GvkGU7scMfnjuKv5k-ruHvB4R3Q6ptQw/s320/1654564485.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://www.smallestseed.me/p/when-gods-promises-dont-seem-to-work.html" target="_blank">Click here for more on how God's promises can work for you.</a></b></div></b><p><br /></p><p><b>We Boast of Our Trees</b></p><p>My take is that it all starts with a hypocrite's prayer. That's what the context says. It's a prayer that tries to prove the worth of the one saying it. Thus, practicing righteousness to be seen by all is a big no-no, says Jesus at the outset of the chapter. Instead of a public show, he tells us to pray in private (<i>"go to your room and close the door"</i>). Likewise, we should fast in secret. But we love storing up treasures on earth where we get recognition and praise for things and efforts we show off. </p><p>In short, we're too engrossed about how tall our trees become without seeing how the smallest seed is key to all this. Blind people cannot appreciate Kingdom seed. They just marvel at tall trees. If we fail to see what really matters in the Kingdom, the "light" we think we have within is really darkness and we end up serving two masters--God and ourselves. Our ego.</p><p>Ego goes against bird confidence. Ego says "God, I worked hard for this." Bird confidence says, "God provided everything."</p><p><b>Seed Before Food</b></p><p>The key is not to worry. But it's not just that. I think Jesus meant zero worry. Bird confidence, in short. <i>Bird Seed</i>, if I may say. By describing bird confidence, Jesus tells us what faith he wants from us. It's faith or confidence that says, work is good, but I don't need to work to eat or have clothes to wear. I prefer that God provides for them regardless of what I do or don't do. It's faith that laughs at unemployment or economic crisis and shoves it off with, "So what?" It's faith that is ready to do the needed work but trusts so little in it. All the trust is in God, 100 percent.</p><p>I know. It's a very silly thing to prescribe to a world too desperate for money, too distressed over losing jobs or suicidal about failing. It's plain stupid to a world so trustful of material values. And it's wrong interpretation to a church too steeped in worldly systems and standards. They'll dismiss you as being "out of context." It's a favorite scapegoat. </p><p>It's the smallest seed the world ignores and mocks but which God designed to be the only seed to grow tallest in the garden. Like the Stone the builders rejected but which really was the cornerstone. </p><blockquote>Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “’The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?</blockquote><p>Birds don't worry about things that startle us. They just enjoy each day, raise a family and have enough to eat. I haven't heard of birds losing jobs, getting low pays, affected by oil price hikes, inflation, needing maintenance meds, regular checkups or being hospitalized, or pursuing a diploma, title or degree to land on a good job. And yet, they've been here for thousands of years without suffering the problems that have been haunting man ever since. God feeds them. And Jesus says, learn from them. Have we? Or do we prefer worrying with the world?</p><p>I know it's a difficult concept. I myself struggle with it, but it's something we can't just put aside because we think it's impractical. It's God's truth, no less. And if he says it, it will work. We just have to trust it 101 percent, like how birds trust God's provisions to come daily because these provisions have no choice but to come to us. They've been commanded.</p><p><b>Street Bums?</b></p><p>Does God encourage us to be street bums then? Jesus was unemployed all his life and it didn't bother him one bit. He walked his talk about bird confidence. Though son of a carpenter, there's no indication in the bible he did carpentry works. As a young adult, he simply roamed around remote places with his disciples (also jobless) and taught freely those who followed him (free of charge). </p><p>Yup, he looked jobless in people's eyes, but he was fully employed in the Kingdom. And he never begged or asked for solicitations or donations. He followed the Kingdom system. His women-followers supported him financially. I also like to imagine Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea and Zacchaeus joining in the support. It's one way the Father feeds his servants he spares from sowing, reaping and storing.</p><p>So, it's not about all of us becoming "street bums" (or unemployed in secular work). Some are called to fulltime ministry and others to financially support it. You should be either of the two. But the Kingdom principle remains the same. In fulltime ministry or secular work, God wants all of us to have faith that manifests bird confidence. And from the 6th chapter of Matthew, bird confidence looks like this:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>It's not showy.</b> Things are done in private, exclusively for God's eyes. If Jesus had a Facebook, he would not post things about his ministry, prayer meetings, worship service, etc. He didn't need to showoff because he was sure the Father saw everything. That's bird confidence. The Father, who sees in private, will reward things done in secret.</li><li><b>It stores up no treasure except in heaven.</b> It belittles treasures on earth and the money-value system (no money, no value) of the world. Like birds, believers with bird confidence don't mind whether they or others are making money or not, employed or otherwise, although they understand that prioritizing God and his Kingdom brings complete provisions from God. So, there's really no such thing as having no money.</li><li>Business or employment is good but they're NOT the priority in this life or the measure of success or usefulness.</li><li>They know that being moneyless is not cause for worry or desperation.</li><li>Like birds that expect to be fed, they're sure God will provide.</li></ol><div><b>Pursuit of Money </b></div><div><br /></div><div>For most people (including believers), the pursuit of money is life. It makes them wake up early in the morning to beat the traffic and avoid getting late for work. They pursue education for themselves and their children primarily to make more money. Everything is for making money. Even going to church each Sunday is for securing business profits or job security. They do it (and give their tithes) so God would not punish them financially. Some do it to get more money from God.</div><div><br /></div><div>Prioritizing money works against bird confidence. So, check yourself. If your business or job (or money concerns) devours most of your time and energy and molds your character and mindset, you're missing the whole point, even if you're active in church. A lot of church ministries are run by money, not by God. Their confidence is on their tithers or "givers" and church income. But once the givers and the church income are taken from them, they start worrying and would try anything that works and gives them money. Their mindsets differ from God's.</div><div><br /></div><div>When famine or summer dryness strikes, birds still do not sow or reap or store in barns. They won't resort to anything outside the Father's provisions. The world may give you a lot and offer practical systems that really work (even make you rich and mega), but God's provision is still different and you remain lacking and destitute despite the world's abundance if you miss out on it.</div><div><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span><blockquote><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">My</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">peace</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">give</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">you</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">do</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">not</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">give</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">to</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">you</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">as</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">world</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">gives</span></span><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. [John 14]</span></span></blockquote><span class="words-of-christ" face=""Source Sans Pro", sans-serif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #dd0000; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div><p></p><div>There are others who refuse to give tithes or offering or share any financial support, although they attend church religiously, say <i>Amen</i> to all the teachings and appear more spiritual than everybody else. They do not support because they're the worse money pursuers. The more they hoard, the more they feel a mysterious lack spiritually.</div><div><br /></div><div><p class="lang-en" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 34px; margin: 9pt 0px 0px 54pt; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: -36pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><blockquote><p class="lang-en" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 34px; margin: 9pt 0px 0px 54pt; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: -36pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Whoever loves money never has enough;</span></p><p class="lang-en" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 34px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 72pt; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.</span></p><p class="lang-en" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 34px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 72pt; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This too is meaningless. [Ecclesiastes 5]</span></p></blockquote><p class="lang-en" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 34px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 72pt; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.575em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p></div><div>Birds are never materialistic. They cannot appreciate the value of money or its possession but rejoices in the freedom that God gives. They sing gleefully in makeshift nests but cry in man's elaborate cages. People who miss Jesus' lessons on birds embrace the trap in toiling for a livelihood and remain in its enslavement. According to Jesus:</div><div><blockquote>Pagans run after all these things...</blockquote><p>The NLT says it better:</p><blockquote>These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers...</blockquote></div><p></p><div><br /></div><div><b>Confident with Nothing</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Bird confidence is devoted to watching God do and provide everything and flowing freely in the current. He may give you something to work on---something to sow, reap or store in barns---or else keep you free from work to prepare you for a certain task. That's still "work." In the Kingdom, you're still "gainfully employed" even if people see you are jobless. In the meantime, you enjoy Him, not concerned or worried about sowing, reaping or storing. Not getting insecure or degraded by whatever situation you're in. </div><div><br /></div><div>Yup, you need to pay bills and spend for a lot of basic needs. You may be shaken by financial lack now and then, missing deadlines, cutoffs and due dates, which is mind rattling. And people around will start looking down on you because you look bankrupt. It happens even in church (or especially in church). You're a nobody if you don't have money. They looked down on Jesus for the same reasons. Anything run by worldly systems worships money.</div><div><br /></div><div>But here's the thing. You're confident though you have nothing. And that's when you possess everything. That's bird-confidence power.</div><blockquote>...sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. [2 Corinthians 6]</blockquote><p></p><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">GOD's Flesh E-Book: </h2><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtky4w65xxaLDlWXP-1nijby5UsfsF-1lBvX1gXmGXLZ8yZe2BEHFkFGYTa3v-n5PHh7eYFlASL07YKVn5TjwjUT77W01klco3F07kBFp-JSx_Gur_f3t2139qsHBWAPVXJg5wXqDf2crmOEgLItDTHbZhWqvK4zKJXJGOoxDwn_08a83rAKSiJdqFmg/s154/God's%20Flesh%20ebook%20cover.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="124" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtky4w65xxaLDlWXP-1nijby5UsfsF-1lBvX1gXmGXLZ8yZe2BEHFkFGYTa3v-n5PHh7eYFlASL07YKVn5TjwjUT77W01klco3F07kBFp-JSx_Gur_f3t2139qsHBWAPVXJg5wXqDf2crmOEgLItDTHbZhWqvK4zKJXJGOoxDwn_08a83rAKSiJdqFmg/s1600/God's%20Flesh%20ebook%20cover.png" width="124" /></a></div>The first edition was radical but this new edition is better. You want to get a PDF copy (100-plus pages) to help my ministry? Email me at <b>godsfleshblog@gmail.com</b>, indicate the title of the e-book and I'll send you my GCash details. The email you receive will also provide a direct link to my Paypal, plus other info on buying. Thanks.</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-12813311040155296982022-07-03T00:39:00.010-07:002022-07-03T16:20:37.424-07:00Starting a Venture with "Zero Capital"<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZzrkfejMfZgWWsIDvSW1RmnM01IQKxnv4Wtkh5wkC7P7ii9HOSnm1PAZxAaw5MDc1TNAcfdFZYsXTeb_18vDi5Xol9CREniZKDd_Sr50npap7DRe8-uNzG8ZPmxZBfZbC5mYMUbBIcYUJPJ3UKXWSPIsA2w9AYt9yeDlTvZ7A-pCreBIgkARFPqlnmg/s1151/nothing.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1151" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZzrkfejMfZgWWsIDvSW1RmnM01IQKxnv4Wtkh5wkC7P7ii9HOSnm1PAZxAaw5MDc1TNAcfdFZYsXTeb_18vDi5Xol9CREniZKDd_Sr50npap7DRe8-uNzG8ZPmxZBfZbC5mYMUbBIcYUJPJ3UKXWSPIsA2w9AYt9yeDlTvZ7A-pCreBIgkARFPqlnmg/w400-h269/nothing.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />First off, this is not about some lucrative marketing or sales venture, though the principle can help lots with business started from scratch. Firstly, I'm talking about Kingdom business. God often starts his ventures with "zero capital." With the nation of Israel, he started with nothing. I mean, he called Abram from North Mesopotamia or Ur, sent him off with practically nothing and made him trek through no-man's land--bare desert and wilderness--exposing him vulnerably there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Initial zero capital.</div><div><br /></div><div>You may opt to see it this way, if you want the principle applied to your situation--God can start you off in an actual business undertaking from scratch. You just have to learn the principle like some business people I know who apply concepts in the bible to their businesses, and find them actually working. One believer started his now very profitable online business with a free blog. 😃</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@liampozz?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Liam Pozz</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/venture?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>You know how challenging God's zero-capital principle is? It's like this. It's a nice feeling being hired for a new job or position because you know it comes with compensation, benefits, perks and incentives. You know exactly what the job entails and what to do; just ask for your job description. You have specific goals so you start with clear direction. But Abram? He was sent off <i>"to a land I will show you."</i> Where exactly? He didn't know initially (later he was told it was Canaan). What was he going to do there? He had no idea. Plus, he had zero budget to work with? See?</div><div><br /></div><div>Zero capital.</div><h3 style="text-align: left;">You Know and Yet You Don't</h3><div>Yeah, the call came with promises, but they were kinda vague. It's like being sent to Mars and given the assurance that you'd make it good there. </div><blockquote>“I will make you into a great nation,<br /> and I will bless you;<br />I will make your name great,<br /> and you will be a blessing.<br />I will bless those who bless you,<br /> and whoever curses you I will curse;<br />and all peoples on earth<br /> will be blessed through you."</blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMw97q5Z0P9X179DNlrMMF1n5G16Vuu7xpCcwciE3UXalTLu2b8ya97z_EAUAdCf9eLUNzx84CVrkEdcDCb7tV_qoLYwliN6kgasfl7pPh8NThG0jnD9ZulDq0lluZCRzaNyufz-HO4edumQ956ZxTtl9HqYoMa7x_VLoD1jAq5JuBn3jq5nu5p62xtw/s625/1654564485.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="463" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMw97q5Z0P9X179DNlrMMF1n5G16Vuu7xpCcwciE3UXalTLu2b8ya97z_EAUAdCf9eLUNzx84CVrkEdcDCb7tV_qoLYwliN6kgasfl7pPh8NThG0jnD9ZulDq0lluZCRzaNyufz-HO4edumQ956ZxTtl9HqYoMa7x_VLoD1jAq5JuBn3jq5nu5p62xtw/s320/1654564485.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.smallestseed.me/p/when-gods-promises-dont-seem-to-work.html" target="_blank">Know how God's promises for supernatural answers </a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.smallestseed.me/p/when-gods-promises-dont-seem-to-work.html" target="_blank">can happen to you. Click here.</a></div></h4><p></p><p> </p><p>But no budget release prior to starting a project so massive and tremendous in proportion. Will you do the same? You start off with nothing? Because if not, then you're not ready for a genuine God-initiated project. You will rest in man's plans and assurances which are often unreliable. If they are reliable, man either expects something in return or gets all the glory. No Kingdom benefit for you.</p><p>So, most times, God wants you to step out in faith with nothing (initially), then provides exactly what you need along the way, often without giving any hint when and where it's coming. God loves suspense thrillers, and it can be pretty scary. Often, you find yourself cornered in a dark alley, about to be caught or eaten, then a strange escape route suddenly appears from nowhere at the last minute. Believe me, it's going to be a lifestyle. But supernaturally powerful.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">What For?</h3><p>Also, the project would seem trivial or unimportant and useless. I often find myself asking <i>"what for?"</i> when God tells me to do seemingly inconsequential or trivial tasks. Later, you see how the menial tasks bridge two big Kingdom events, without which the events wouldn't come together to start off a major move of God. But only those who see the Kingdom see this. If Abram hadn't left Ur, there wouldn't be the nation of Israel. </p><p>Do you think the little boy who donated his 5 loaves and 2 fish to Jesus felt big-time? I don't think so. In fact, Andrew wondered, "but how far will they go among so many?" Almost zero capital. But Jesus used that to feed 5,000 men, not counting the women and kids.</p><p>How about the water in the 6 large jars? You think the servants thought it worth serving to the wedding guests at Cana? It was as good as zero capital. Yet Jesus turned them to high quality wine. And the 5 smooth stones David picked up at the river to slay Goliath with? You think they felt superior to the giant's weapons? They were zero capital. But the whole world now knows what happened.</p><p>Abram's, Sarai's Terah's and Lot's departure from Ur was a small seed God used for a major move.</p><p>But don't get me wrong. Our disobedience or failures can never frustrate God's plans. If Abram had not obeyed, God could've easily used another. I think this is one of the wisdoms you get from God's <i>zero-capital</i> principle. Anyone can be used (or rejected), because we're all zero-capital. We cannot boast of anything and no one is indispensable. I've always rejected the idea that a person's earthly (or even churchy) qualifications fit him for a particular ministry job, or his skills or educational attainment qualifies him for a church position. </p><p>Everything and everyone is zero capital.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">What Qualifications?</h3><p>I find it absurd that pastors should have seminary degrees, masters, doctorate or ordination rituals before they are given bigger responsibilities or hold key positions. They naively think your seminary degrees qualify you to lead or teach. That's Pharisaical. Abram was chosen not for any degree or diploma or prominence he had at Ur. He was chosen by grace, not of works or achievements, lest anyone should boast. He had to be taken out of a bustling and thriving city and driven to the wilderness with zero balance to go to <i>"a land I will show you,"</i> which was revealed to be Canaan only later. </p><p>Moses, on the other hand, had to be driven out from the comforts and abundance of the palace to look after sheep and goats. Riches to rags. Hefty bank account to zero balance. God starts with the smallest seed. John the baptizer, too, had to forsake the perks of priesthood (his dad was a priest and priests then were very well off) to live as a hermit in the wilderness, eating nothing but insects and honey. Zero capital. </p><p>And yeah, Adam had nothing in the beginning, not even a shirt.</p><p>See the principle? God takes you away from anything you can gain from man--his ways and institutions--and puts you back to square one--to zero balance or zero capital--before he fills you with genuine Holy Spirit equipment to make you usable to him.</p><p>All this is about the zero-capital Kingdom principle. The smallest seed.</p><p>So, are you ready for God's business venture for you?</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">GOD's Flesh E-Book: </h2><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVsQTw5UmnaIJz4zPr9BnbVFekNfOg7bMMahQF3dqV1NVpplK_kC-krVow9mpkDh0dZWWarLoUCuZ1awHzFzgzNDV0f0drBnbNfPXlFgoT90TYimf04hnn6gx-MO5CU8TNnFp4FSqcO4W94iy9ujg-0cRAE8w2xytfR9BT4RdGfzRQCvh7dq5-rLQAw/s154/God's%20Flesh%20ebook%20cover.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="124" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVsQTw5UmnaIJz4zPr9BnbVFekNfOg7bMMahQF3dqV1NVpplK_kC-krVow9mpkDh0dZWWarLoUCuZ1awHzFzgzNDV0f0drBnbNfPXlFgoT90TYimf04hnn6gx-MO5CU8TNnFp4FSqcO4W94iy9ujg-0cRAE8w2xytfR9BT4RdGfzRQCvh7dq5-rLQAw/s1600/God's%20Flesh%20ebook%20cover.png" width="124" /></a></div>The first edition was radical but this new edition is better. You want a PDF copy (100-plus pages) and help my ministry with your purchase? Email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com, indicate the title of the e-book and I'll send you my Gcash details. The email you receive will also provide a direct link to my Paypal, plus other info on buying. Thanks.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-28693715332399276162022-06-24T17:05:00.018-07:002022-06-24T17:44:45.163-07:00How to Restart Your Life Powerfully<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrgWXFBfIksm6tACbGmrqHtJtwZl7YV1wwVlxG3mW_FLmNlzMnXIyl29DJLpV87q7f-Xdt5CEvbi-dtT2lmPPPiosPbYQmJ35lsOjWm7YhTVkVA3lOLpprCFRvuVoVbb75mmF0idV3GTW9Vw2WA27-Fvcw3IVgbFZLiU8wGbJ7BjXH03acsjMOVDMAQg/s1300/reboot2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1300" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrgWXFBfIksm6tACbGmrqHtJtwZl7YV1wwVlxG3mW_FLmNlzMnXIyl29DJLpV87q7f-Xdt5CEvbi-dtT2lmPPPiosPbYQmJ35lsOjWm7YhTVkVA3lOLpprCFRvuVoVbb75mmF0idV3GTW9Vw2WA27-Fvcw3IVgbFZLiU8wGbJ7BjXH03acsjMOVDMAQg/w400-h266/reboot2.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The seed God uses to transform your life.</h4>When your PC is overstuffed with files and stuff beyond it's storage limit, it can go berserk. Nope, it <i>will</i> go berserk. Totally insane. So you reboot. Worse, you reformat because the old files and trash are most likely contaminated with a virus which slowly wreaks havoc on your CPU. Sometimes, the best remedy is to buy a new unit.</div><div><br /></div><div>Whether reboot, reformat or buy new, the point is, you restart. It's the best option than temporary fixes which can end up making things worse. Should you opt to buy new due to a corrupted CPU, you save the files you need and junk the rest. Right? Or, you download the operating essentials. In a sense, you save the "seed" and restart with it.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@ijazrafi?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Ijaz Rafi</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/restart?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Kingdom Reboot Principle</b></div><div><br /></div><div>When God saw how the earth was thoroughly corrupted and beyond repair, he rebooted. Nope, he "bought" a new PC, as it were. He discarded the old but saved some "files" he wanted. By his grace he decided that Noah and his family were the "files" he wanted. So he spared them. If you want to restart your life, let God "reboot" you. He gets rid of the trash in your life, retrieves the "seed" he put in you, and then "reboots" you, so to speak.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's Kingdom "rebooting" principle. Sometimes, a simple quick-fix is all you need to make things work again. Sometimes, too, things become hopeless so you trash everything and restart all over. Files you want are saved and then loaded into the new system or PC unit, not back into the old one you repaired for the time being. And you make sure the files you saved are clean before you upload them. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.smallestseed.me/p/how-gods-seed-can-end-your-spiritual.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="463" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-aEPbKbSAsvtXMiKnR1Q1H9ElJAM3JDa4xGRZ4NYMs5qhJk6_RuRfnYj87igQEjnKxPymMcLkRuf4AQUgwq7c2qf1Khwr0RBD_b1G7PSF8jg44NfcjT2nFFZs-pwZtNEmSqdaY_NVtpNirQz1wmqkpPyWejjdldTpIaAijOzDdZ0XYqnq7toWNKGyLA/s320/1654564485.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.smallestseed.me/p/how-gods-seed-can-end-your-spiritual.html" target="_blank">Kingdom principles that trigger God's promises to work in your </a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.smallestseed.me/p/how-gods-seed-can-end-your-spiritual.html" target="_blank">life and ministry supernaturally. </a></div></span><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.smallestseed.me/p/how-gods-seed-can-end-your-spiritual.html" target="_blank">Click here for details.</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>New wine belongs to new wineskins, remember? You put it in old wineskins and everything gets ruined eventually (it may look impressive at first but it inevitably degenerates)--something the church still needs to learn today. If you want God to renew you, he will renew your entire life, not just a piece or parcel. He will even renew your body. This means being made totally new spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and even financially. A total new creation. Nothing old should stay (yeah, you may need to kick off bad health habits, start a healthy diet to go with your new daily workouts).</div><blockquote>No one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins. [Mark 2]</blockquote><p>In other words, fitting the Gospel of the Kingdom into the Pharisaical religious system wouldn't work. Today, you cannot pour Life into a vessel already with the Babylon system in it, even just a hint of that system. The Jesus Life will work only in a vessel supernaturally filled with (and genuinely led by) the Holy Spirit. "What is born of the Spirit is spirit." </p><p><b>God Starts with His Seed</b></p><div>The Word says God graced Noah with favor because he was righteous and blameless. God starts with HIS kind of seed, seed of his choosing. He first makes you righteous and blameless. He's looking for heart character, first and foremost. If man were to restart something, he'd opt for titled and degreed smart Alecks with proven record of success. Those skilled with showmanship and press releases, filled with confidence about what they could do. It happens even in church (it's why the Babylon system is alive in church today). </div><div><br /></div><div>But God's principle is to start with his kind of seed--seed made fit for his project by his grace and mercy. He doesn't care about other qualifications, especially those which man values.</div><blockquote>But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord...Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. [Genesis 6]<br /></blockquote><p>And God's seed has this peculiar trait: <i>"he walked faithfully with God." </i>It's not any religious or churchy performance or achievement but in the simple (but radical) act of <i>walking with God</i>. Very few people can do this. To give you an idea how Noah walked faithfully, he built a ridiculous, huge ark supposed to save them from a global flood. See how stupid that may have sounded to people then?</p><p>Worldwide flood? Build an ark to escape the flood? Smart Alecks would think of going up the mountains and build posh cabins there. That's smarter. And definitely no animals inside the cabins. But what's more absurd with Noah's ark was getting all kinds of animals and squirming, crawling creatures with you inside the ark to save them. Imagine living in a room with tarantulas and anacondas? It was preposterous and illogical, to say the least.</p><p>And how did whales and other big fish get into the ark?</p><p>God's seed is kinda like that. It's repulsive to most people, especially to smart Alecks who mock at God's supernatural. Imagine getting pairs of every animal (and insect) in the world to board the ark. That's silly, but it was actually accomplished supernaturally using the obedient and unquestioning Noah and family. It would've been very different if God had used smart Alecks who wanted logical explanation for (and questioned) everything. Noah simply obeyed as God spoke to him.</p><p></p><blockquote>22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him. [Genesis 6]</blockquote><p></p><p>Well, some smart guys are capable of silly ideas, too, but their silliness is mundane. I'm talking about God's supernatural which the wise of this world (and the Babylon church) mock and dismiss as stupid.</p><p><b>God's Seed Produces Miracles</b></p><p>If it's God's seed, it's supernatural. First, Noah built the ark as per God's spoken instructions. That's supernatural. He didn't meet with his family and sat down to plan and then prayed for the plan. Nothing supernatural about that. Even pagans do that. Second, pairs of animals from all over the world "came" to Noah. He didn't need to chase them or lure them to the ark. They simply "came" to him. That was supernatural.</p><blockquote>Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, <b>came to Noah</b> and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah.</blockquote><p>Noah didn't also have to make the animals enter the ark. No need to whip or scold them to obedience. They <b>entered the ark</b> themselves. Imagine bears, lions, tigers and crocodiles walking in line without fighting each other or attacking their preys. Imagine two worms wriggling their way into the ark and the roosters and hens never touching them. And how did Noah put them all in peace and order in the ark for more than 150 days? My guess is that God suspended the fear of man in the animals and insects, so they all acted tame. Later, after the flood, God put back the fear of man in them.</p><blockquote>The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; </blockquote><blockquote>[Genesis 9]</blockquote><p>Everything was supernatural, God's effort. That's another trait of God's seed--no human effort mars God's project. God made the plan, spoke it through his rhema Word and supernaturally executed the plan through his chosen servant. It's all God. Man simply obeyed what God said. Church should be ran likewise. Church people would probably become as tame as the ark animals.</p><p><b>8 People</b></p><p>Eight people entered the ark, which was typical of seeds from God. He didn't intend to keep the number small, but he started with small. Small but quality. That's Kingdom seed principle. The small number later grew through his instructions, through his supernaturally spoken Word to his servants (not man's theology or philosophy or ideas). </p><p>God wanted eight people who totally believed his project, actually build it and enter. They believed everything about the unusual project and trusted it with their very lives (enter it). These are the kind of people God wants when he starts something new and radical. They trusted God and his minute instructions every step (they genuinely heard God's voice) and never tried to mix God's plan with their own plans or smart ideas or programs or ministries. They didn't sit down together to plan and make goals and prayed for them. They just waited for God and obeyed. Often, only few people can do this. The remnant. The rest---the crowd---just put up Babel towers with their brilliant ministry plans.</p><p><b>Fizzled Out</b></p><p>But later, everything fizzled out when Noah got drunk, Ham did something wrong, and the rest of mankind wanted to make a name for themselves, competing against God. Why did God allow this? Because God was showing (in fact, he kept showing the principle throughout the Old Testament) that reboots with man still in charge will keep fizzling out in the end. That's the trend in the OT. Each human leadership God provided went haywire, even with the best of them, because they all tended to do things their smart way (and brilliant ministry plans).</p><p>Much later, in the Gospel and New Testament, God would show that only with Christ could all things work together for good as God determined it. Finally, in Christ's millennial reign, God will display how things look when everything is according to God's plan, supernaturally revealed by God's own mouth and executed with God's effort using his body. Everything supernatural. </p><p>We will all see how God's Seed, though the smallest, becomes the largest tree of all.</p><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>GOD's Flesh E-Book: </b></span><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMcXwj-HLiqgwHm6eV1cxLPTjDZFkKv0MyFnUtsYA6RmyBiymjS-Yd0PHKZyLRRGhZuQmHJJgHfFsQS2gdmMHUqlSl8cjBTZ0Ssnm9hTz5b1Ig3odlnjoxYLT4Qca4RDBO_29tFaMiS2Ek58g24i2om85ZkCsYmfjf4Q3i8gb9DOQvzzjf2VOFkZ4Yuw/s154/God's%20Flesh%20ebook%20cover.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="124" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMcXwj-HLiqgwHm6eV1cxLPTjDZFkKv0MyFnUtsYA6RmyBiymjS-Yd0PHKZyLRRGhZuQmHJJgHfFsQS2gdmMHUqlSl8cjBTZ0Ssnm9hTz5b1Ig3odlnjoxYLT4Qca4RDBO_29tFaMiS2Ek58g24i2om85ZkCsYmfjf4Q3i8gb9DOQvzzjf2VOFkZ4Yuw/s1600/God's%20Flesh%20ebook%20cover.png" width="124" /></a></div>The first edition was radical but this new edition is better. You want a PDF copy (100-plus pages) to help my ministry? Email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com, indicate the title of the e-book and I'll send you the price and my Gcash details. The email you receive will also provide a direct link to my Paypal, plus other info on buying. Thanks.</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-56318159509440785962022-06-17T19:42:00.015-07:002022-06-17T20:08:15.205-07:00Power of One Word<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBvasmaYPt1UFIzvhUx6a3XoW5jjiFxN8bsosaRL8qG39xWHdAK4Y8oZSJadjIQ3I4HITeVJuPAinh5TJ016ExyzVlrf26crHuRRrO1N044pgIjgcCxLWH8mM8avAzRZ78qFsEy-08E20r6kQlsFGg1dYFVBc3L400sOKWNPrzTVpKm1ir0F63beoEA/s5854/gabriella-clare-marino-6M89r-ZwotM-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3903" data-original-width="5854" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBvasmaYPt1UFIzvhUx6a3XoW5jjiFxN8bsosaRL8qG39xWHdAK4Y8oZSJadjIQ3I4HITeVJuPAinh5TJ016ExyzVlrf26crHuRRrO1N044pgIjgcCxLWH8mM8avAzRZ78qFsEy-08E20r6kQlsFGg1dYFVBc3L400sOKWNPrzTVpKm1ir0F63beoEA/w400-h266/gabriella-clare-marino-6M89r-ZwotM-unsplash.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />One small botanical seed is powerful. In time it can propagate and cover an entire mountain with forest. God's Word is Seed and it can work more powerfully. The big difference is, God's spiritual Seed is not bound by time. It can grow an entire nation in a day. It is designed to fulfill the impossible.</div><blockquote>Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. [Isaiah 66]</blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo above by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@gabiontheroad?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Gabriella Clare Marino</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/one-word?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>. </span></p><div><b>One-Word Creation</b></div><div><br /></div><div>As soon as Zion travailed, nations were born through her. That didn't take a day. Travailing and birth happened in a split second. How? With one Word from God. One Word. If you think that to be impossible or you need to argue against it, watch how God created the universe. Just one Word per phase. The short sentence God declared during creation was really "one Word." When he declared, "Let there be light," that was one Word. </div><div><br /></div><div>Because it says, in the beginning was "the Word," not "words." It's singular. According to John:</div><blockquote>In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.</blockquote><p><b>One Word in Us</b></p><p>To God, one Word was enough to effect the precisely calculated, tremendous, supernatural power needed to accomplish creation. Now here's the thing. If we are his believers and followers and we are his true sons and daughters (and if we are really co-heirs with Christ), we should operate with the same one-Word power. We should pursue after doing things as the Father and Jesus did them, if we belong to them--if we are one with them.</p><blockquote>20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. [John 14]</blockquote><p>These things are written in the bible so we'd know how our Father did his work, and how we ought to do the same as his children. It's not there just for head knowledge. In fact, nothing in God's Word is just for head knowledge. Mere head knowledge is for demons. We are children. God's Word and supernatural promises are designed for our use, and Jesus demonstrated in the gospel how a man with faith should use them. Like the one-Word power.</p><blockquote>Truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, [John 14]</blockquote><p><b>One-Word Prayer</b></p><p>We think that wordy and poetic prayers are powerful. So even now in 2022 most of us prefer long winding prayers that sound profound and touching. We forget that prayer is talking with God, not impressing people, and we don't need to sound impressive to God. We need to touch God's heart (by faith) but we don't need our prayers to touch people. </p><p>When feeding the 5,000 (and later the 4,000), Jesus merely looked up and gave thanks. And I'm quite sure it was a one-word prayer as well, simply saying "thanks," (or perhaps, a short "thank you, Father" which to God is also "one-Word" as explained above) basing on how God did creation with a Word.</p><p>See the power of one Word (or one small seed of prayer)? It supernaturally multiplied a few loaves of bread and fish to feed thousands. We should strive to have our prayers as short but as powerful, having the right heart to utter a frank, non-roundabout (direct-to-the-point) prayer to touch God's heart. Remember--it's what's in the heart, not word quality or length of prayer.</p><blockquote>Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. [Luke 6]</blockquote><p>One time, Jesus didn't even pray, audibly, that is. He simply commanded Lazarus to rise from death, although earlier he claimed to have had his prayer answered by the Father (and had thanked God for it in advance) before he performed the miracle. It was a powerful short, mental prayer--no drama or poetic, lengthy prayers. No showmanship. It's powerful. We should do it often. It will keep us from impressing people.</p><p><b>One-Word Miracles</b></p><p>Jesus rebuked evil spirits "with a word," something you very seldom see these days. They take hours to drive out one demon from a demonized person. They need backing from "prayer warriors" and lots of singing and non-stop worship and prayer. Yet, nothing usually happens. But Jesus made things simple. He simply rebuked demons and they fled. See the power of one small seed?</p><blockquote>16 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits <b>with a word</b> and healed all the sick. [Matthew 8]</blockquote><p>The centurion asked Jesus to simply "say the Word" and his servant shall be healed. Indeed, it happened. Why was the centurion so confident about Jesus' one-Word? My guess is that Jesus had become so popular for it. He had the reputation for performing signs and wonders as simple as saying just one Word. He demonstrated how the mustard seed--the smallest seed--can turn into the largest tree in the garden. Miracles happened right on the spot with a Word. Jesus demonstrated this so we can do likewise.</p><p>If we claim to be his followers (and to be God's sons and daughters as Jesus is the Son), we should strive to do the very same things. We cannot claim a close connection to God and do things differently from how God and Jesus did things in the bible. Worse, we cannot claim to be God's children and do things in the ways of this world. </p><p>Do we do things in life and ministry supernaturally? With one-word, the Word we get straight from God's mouth? If not, today is the apt time to start it. This is not an option. It's a must to do everything God's way, not our own or the world's way. Isaiah said doing things our own way (not God's supernatural way) is a sign we have gone astray.</p><blockquote>We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; [Isaiah 53]</blockquote><p><b>Ebook on Making Miracles Work for You</b></p><p>My e-book on how to make God's supernatural promises work for you today is a compilation of bible principles I learned and experienced when I started moving in the supernatural works of God. God allowed me to perform miracles, often on-the-spot, to heal the sick or free the demonized. It is his will to have all his true believers do as Jesus did in the Gospel. </p><p>You can do it, too.</p><p>If you buy the e-book, you help my ministry finance poor individuals, poor pastors and help young people discover their supernatural potentials in Christ--by discovering and genuinely experiencing God's Seed, the smallest seed which grew into the largest of trees in the spirit realms.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.smallestseed.me/p/how-gods-seed-can-end-your-spiritual.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="463" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGfcNEadfTrjiQWcd4OnrUX_pMgXB3GCTK1k57OIHpgZQO9u_Aqcp25-e0ZooLQUPlt8YRT119ydFnFHN_Q3ZVHsI8yM6yg5VYgKUe0aZQNa9ABqOjf0kmtxufivZqAdUdAYgJPgfIPbVN6dPDNejYmSckx2G7BXCpRw9I_dIjxj87y86KdhngR6Fkw/s320/1654564485.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><br /><h4 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.smallestseed.me/p/how-gods-seed-can-end-your-spiritual.html" target="_blank">Click this or the image above for more on this e-book!</a></h4><p>This e-book comes in regular PDF copy and PDF flipbook. After purchasing, Paypal takes you to the download page for the regular PDF and flipbook. Please keep the URL of the flipbook in your phone or desktop file. Below is an example of a flipbook.</p><div><br /></div><b><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="600" src="https://designrr.page?id=203746&token=545377253&type=FP&h=8400" width="800"></iframe></b><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>GOD's Flesh E-Book: </b><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvc7RX8VkPRtFhR9Zqk07rWbzoWjFSOVjg9lVzxH5faPecfPJQwYcNhRJRwkFrbON-CqMIKK43lgdSQaZqSyFxYDJC3tzezEALzVI9WKKueQ4b8v5_zOXyNNMWXNYNdR7NKneSFWf5Ugxg2aVZ9CVxruaLMkIkynoFKUH4anEuoCaGjDD036iZU3_DQ/s154/God's%20Flesh%20ebook%20cover.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="124" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvc7RX8VkPRtFhR9Zqk07rWbzoWjFSOVjg9lVzxH5faPecfPJQwYcNhRJRwkFrbON-CqMIKK43lgdSQaZqSyFxYDJC3tzezEALzVI9WKKueQ4b8v5_zOXyNNMWXNYNdR7NKneSFWf5Ugxg2aVZ9CVxruaLMkIkynoFKUH4anEuoCaGjDD036iZU3_DQ/s1600/God's%20Flesh%20ebook%20cover.png" width="124" /></a></div>Here's another e-book I wrote. The first edition was radical but this new edition is better. You want a PDF copy (100-plus pages) for only P800 to help my ministry? Email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com, indicate the title of the e-book and I'll send you my Gcash details. The email you receive will also provide a direct link to my Paypal, plus other info on buying. Thanks.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-43573761559375139482022-06-14T19:16:00.006-07:002022-06-14T19:41:23.449-07:00They Focus on the Lamp<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4T-Ylf0BoJ50J3dKREOzWehUvhd4fBFGA-Oe9MrOOouFM96RVwqD2q9gAXXPYS_BZfunCePb58L4_-uYF5VTBMOwT1WupGcphPWEkJyQAYItbUERkbtW32q2m4E8-k2tbYRt2VCTOdUl7l2wC1NBwupOmXzvwtWSaXHrtYgpcT3AMapGJ4rLvIXyN/s3970/vladimir-fedotov-aPdUKy65qWE-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2642" data-original-width="3970" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4T-Ylf0BoJ50J3dKREOzWehUvhd4fBFGA-Oe9MrOOouFM96RVwqD2q9gAXXPYS_BZfunCePb58L4_-uYF5VTBMOwT1WupGcphPWEkJyQAYItbUERkbtW32q2m4E8-k2tbYRt2VCTOdUl7l2wC1NBwupOmXzvwtWSaXHrtYgpcT3AMapGJ4rLvIXyN/w400-h266/vladimir-fedotov-aPdUKy65qWE-unsplash.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />First off, thanks for inviting me here (finally) as admin and author, and I think it's about time (right Gaerlan CS?) because it's my email that's used in this blog 😄. Anyway, we plan to put up a gmail for Small Seed in the offing, just so there's less confusion with our readers. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@fedotov_vs?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Vladimir Fedotov</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/lamp?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>And talk about confusion, there's going to be lots of it in church in these last days. We get a hint from the Lord's parable about the 10 virgins--5 were wise and 5 were foolish or confused. Remember? The 5 foolish thought owning a lamp was enough to make them secure for the rapture (if you refuse to believe in the coming rapture, read on, before total confusion sets in). </div><div><br /></div><div>Half of Christendom (or half of the modern church) are going to be foolish in these last days because they simply focus on their lamps, not the oil in the lamp. The lamp is given too much emphasis today. They spend enormous amount of money on it, renovate it, beautify it and brag about it as some kind of accomplishment. In fact, they equate it with ministry success. They can't imagine ministry without the lamp.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yup, they worship the lamp.</div><div><br /></div><div>And the lamp is anything God uses to put his oil in, but which many in church today give more importance than the oil of the Holy Spirit. Get it? Yeah, God uses the lamp, but that does not mean it's important. It's not. God can very well use other vessels. What's vital is his oil; it's what gives light to the lamp. But churches have forgotten about this.</div><div><br /></div><div>They focus on the lamp--the local church, their church denomination, church buildings and facilities, sound system, music and instruments, choir, worship team, ministries, church programs and activities, gimmicks, conferences, seminars, human theology, seminary titles and degrees, etc. </div><div><br /></div><div>Anything but the oil of the Holy Spirit.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Experience miracles and healing through the power of the Holy Spirit.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">"WHEN GOD'S PROMISES DON'T SEEM TO WORK FOR YOU"</span></div></h3><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">How to make them work!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">This flip e-book looks like this:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="600" src="https://designrr.page?id=203746&token=545377253&type=FP&h=8090" width="800"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.smallestseed.me/p/when-gods-promises-dont-seem-to-work.html" target="_blank">For more about this e-book, please click here!</a></h3><div><br /></div><div>For instance, many believers do not know how to be led by the Spirit of God. Specifically, how to hear the voice of God, how to be sensitive to his leading, how to discern between voices or spirits, how to move in the supernatural revelations of the Holy Spirit, how to operate in the supernatural, and more importantly, how to listen to the Holy Spirit as you meditate God's Word in the bible and apply it in God's supernatural ways--exactly as Jesus and the apostles did it. </div><div><br /></div><div>That's the oil--how you are totally surrendered to the Holy Spirit (anointed) and used by him supernaturally like Jesus was (The Anointed One). Yeah, even in evangelism. Remember how Jesus evangelized? It was hand-in-hand with miracles and signs and wonders. You don't see this anymore in church. All you see are marketing gimmicks on how to attract more people to church and increase church income. And yeah, theology professors and philosophers who know nothing about God's supernatural.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thus, the 5 foolish virgins wasted time focusing on their lamps. They really thought lamps were going to give them light and discovered too late the importance of putting oil in them. They thought possessing lamps was smart, so they spent time learning about lamps in their bible schools and seminaries, and spent money to get the best lamps possible (spent money for church buildings, properties, vehicles, posh altars, etc). </div><div><br /></div><div>The 5 wise spent time and money only on one thing--the oil. That's the Word of God (particularly the spoken rhema Word of God) and the genuine, supernatural anointing of the Holy Spirit.</div><div><br /></div><div>Don't get caught with the 5 foolish virgins when the Groom suddenly comes.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><b>GOD's Flesh E-Book: </b><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMqSJe7ZR85yrshWq7fimXrc217Xtmlz9iSS7GuQvuOhF4h7O7I1IoPpjTSaiwoVqs0e3LvXA5rfEa9lg691UFLfQonUJnQ9ohXTqaystfhsVa5SsSDl1nYSXDlrSfYoaBkn4XFMJ-QCB51Iy0wijZf9jVG5bFe3uLapa66PkTZ_lNfbHE-wt4alc/s154/God's%20Flesh%20ebook%20cover.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="124" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMqSJe7ZR85yrshWq7fimXrc217Xtmlz9iSS7GuQvuOhF4h7O7I1IoPpjTSaiwoVqs0e3LvXA5rfEa9lg691UFLfQonUJnQ9ohXTqaystfhsVa5SsSDl1nYSXDlrSfYoaBkn4XFMJ-QCB51Iy0wijZf9jVG5bFe3uLapa66PkTZ_lNfbHE-wt4alc/s1600/God's%20Flesh%20ebook%20cover.png" width="124" /></a></div><div>The first edition was radical but this new edition is better. You want a PDF copy (100-plus pages) for only P800 to help my ministry? Email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com, indicate the title of the e-book and I'll send you my Gcash details. The email you receive will also provide a direct link to my Paypal, plus other info on buying. Thanks.</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>GFleshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458761284398887392noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-89535848156075703482021-07-30T20:23:00.025-07:002022-05-16T19:05:39.644-07:00Sharpening with the Enemy<h4 style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xAVM_6Xr8fs/YQC8JAEidTI/AAAAAAAABGI/DmVFlNfdDRINDsZJSzgPvELrseMUTCGYgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/c-d-x-uHSiDTptzV4-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xAVM_6Xr8fs/YQC8JAEidTI/AAAAAAAABGI/DmVFlNfdDRINDsZJSzgPvELrseMUTCGYgCLcBGAsYHQ/w426-h640/c-d-x-uHSiDTptzV4-unsplash.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br />19 Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!” 20 So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plow points, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened. </h4><blockquote>So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them. [1 Samuel 13]</blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@cdx2?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">C D-X</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/sharpen?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>. </span></p><div>First, the enemy limited them to inferior weaponry. Second, the enemy eliminated all means of sharpening. Third, it was the enemy who decided what kind of weapons Israel could have. Fourth, only the enemy could sharpen Israel's weapons. Fifth, the enemy decided who could have a sword and who couldn't. They were practically at the mercy of the enemy.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/s345/57286c5f8c20b.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="298" height="122" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/w105-h122/57286c5f8c20b.png" width="105" /></a></div><b><a href="https://godsflesh.blogspot.com/2016/05/gods-flesh-ebook-deeper-faith-to-take.html" target="_blank">Click here for a book review of God's Flesh.</a></b><br /><div><br /></div><div>It was a useless war where everything was dictated by the enemy. Can you imagine having your enemy sharpen your sword? Not only is that ridiculous, it's the worst thing that can happen to you during fierce battles, especially when defending your territory. Question is, why did Israel come to this?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Compelled to Worship</b></div><div><br /></div><div>We see why in the preceding passage. It was due to wrong worship motives. Particularly, it was worshipping in man's ways, how man sees it fit. It was man with his nice worship program to entertain and keep people inside his church building, scared of losing them. In Saul's case, it was worship to keep his men from abandoning him. It was worship to keep his men enlisted.</div><div><blockquote>Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, 12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”</blockquote><p>When you're scared of losing church members, you will be "compelled" to please people. How? By making your worship attractive and putting gimmicks and fanfare in the programs--making sure people are "helped" by it all, according to their needs and expectations. Worship is purely an eye-catcher and incentive. These are all men's carnal ideas. Worship ceases to be for God. When you get this low in worship, you begin to sharpen with the enemy--often without realizing it.</p><p><b>When the Enemy Sharpens Your Sword</b></p><p>When the enemy sharpens your sword, he decides your warfare capabilities. He decides what you can use. Probably why a lot of Church people cannot believe in the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit and in on-the-spot miracles, because the devil has forbidden them to. The devil limits sharpening to inconsequential weapons that have little to zero usefulness in the spiritual realms. </p><p>Here's an example. When disaster strikes, you see the church doing what most organizations do--relief operations. But what would've Jesus done? He would've stopped the disaster as he stopped the furious squall at the lake with a command. Or, he would've multiplied bread and fish supernaturally and distributed to people than ask for donations or solicitations. In Christ, the church is equipped and empowered to do the things that Jesus did. But nobody in church would do this today. Why? Because the devil doesn't want that weapon (signs and wonders) sharpened. </p><p>The devil does not allow the church to carry its <b>Sword</b> (supernatural power of the Spoken Word), except for a handful individuals. So all it carries are plow points, mattocks, axes and sickles which are all farm implements of tenant-farmers who serve a landlord. They're not warriors but rebel-slaves. Their weapons actually serve the enemy. So, instead of healing illnesses and eliminating demonic oppression, they use medical doctors and medicines to help the sick. Instead of evangelism with miracle healing crusades that really demonstrate the awesome power of God like what Jesus and the apostles did, they have medical missions which highlight what doctors and medicines can do.</p><p><b>Enemy Allows Sword Wielders to a Limit</b></p><p>Only Saul and his son Jonathan had swords back then. Today, very few ministers genuinely operate in God's supernatural signs and wonders. The rest have serious difficulty believing. In King Saul's time, this limited their warfare capacity to running and hiding and merely hitting the enemy a little bit now and then. They were mostly in holes and caves hiding and trembling in fear. The one time that Jonathan attacked a Philistine detachment which sent chaos to the Philistine camp was more the exception than the rule.</p><p>And even that victory was mishandled by Saul who used it for his own designs and interests, glorifying himself. This made the Israelite army suffer thirst and hunger needlessly because Saul made an oath of hunger until he had "avenged himself" against his enemies. Sharpening with the enemy ends in pride and self-centeredness, eventually resulting in the majority suffering. Everything then revolved around Saul, not anymore the Lord.</p><p>Medical doctors and medicines are good, but God wants his church to do something else (because human organizations are already doing medical remedies). God wants the church to demonstrate his supernatural power. This is why Jesus and the apostles in Acts did nothing but the supernatural to heal diseases when they preached the Gospel. This is obviously God's design for his glorious church.</p><blockquote>For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. [1 Corinthians 4]</blockquote><p><b>You Go Down</b></p><p>Finally, when you sharpen with the enemy, you "go down" to the enemy's territory. "So all Israel went down to the Philistines," says 1 Samuel 13.20. It's different when you're inside enemy territory to demolish it from the inside (like what God did with Egypt in Moses' time), than when you're in enemy territory because he controls you as a subject.</p></div><h1 style="text-align: center;">GOD's Flesh E-Book</h1><div>The first edition was radical but this new edition is simply unbelievable. You want to buy a PDF copy (100-plus pages) for only P800 to help support my ministry? <b><a href="https://godsflesh.blogspot.com/2016/05/gods-flesh-ebook-deeper-faith-to-take.html" target="_blank">Then click here for a book review and payment option. </a></b>And then you get subscribed to my Emailed Apostolic Teachings (EAT). Find out what it's all about.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-89925960290452025552021-05-04T02:28:00.006-07:002022-05-16T19:05:52.744-07:00Boxists and Others Who Use Virtues to Trap You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFiIBHjp96A/YJES7eme6_I/AAAAAAAABEw/bTQjoRj89voz-uOiFRz0OuL008Tv-craQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/chuttersnap-7eQlPra81zQ-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1367" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFiIBHjp96A/YJES7eme6_I/AAAAAAAABEw/bTQjoRj89voz-uOiFRz0OuL008Tv-craQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/chuttersnap-7eQlPra81zQ-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Beware of them. They're out there everywhere to trap people and make them do their bidding. Often, they pretend to espouse love, humility and patience to use them against people they want to control. And yup, it's all about control. They love to control and manipulate, and they won't hesitate to use all the religious arsenal available at their disposal.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@chuttersnap?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">CHUTTERSNAP</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/boxes?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>For lack of a better term, I sometimes refer to them as <i>boxists</i>. Not boxers. Boxers are expert punchers with their fists. Boxists love labeling people and putting them in boxes. You cannot be yourself and have a right to your own opinion. Nope. They categorize you and lump you with others they think are of the same persuasion. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Box-Type Boxists</b></div><div><br /></div><div>If you say you believe in eternal security, for instance, they automatically lump you with the Calvinists or Baptists or Fundamentalists. If you worship expressively, they put you in their Pentecostal box. If you believe in holiness, they'd put you in the Armenian category. There's a box type for each individual, and they alone decide what it is. </div><div><br /></div><div>These guys cannot think anymore beyond their boxes. They cannot imagine that the Kingdom of God is much larger than that, that it's beyond any box type they--or their guru (the person, like a theologian or philosopher, they idolize) have formulated.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>One-Box Boxists</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Other boxists do it differently. They carry one box--their box--of absolutes, their right thoughts and ideas, and look out for others' ideas or opinions. Ideas they think are wrong immediately get trashed and they pull out the right one for you, out of their box. They decide what's right for you, and it comes from that box they hold. To them, there's only one box in the entire universe, and it's the one they have. A lot of denominational church fanatics are examples.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trap-Box Boxists</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This is the type you should beware most. They use Christ's virtues to measure and trap you. They'd emphasize love for instance, and then use it to make you submit to their wishes. Because if you don't, they question your love for them, or your humility. To them, being humble means you submit to them. And love means you give in to their demands.</div><div><br /></div><div>Watch out when you claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit or have the fruit of the Spirit. They'd use that to trap you. They see it as a weakness to manipulate or abuse you--because spiritual people are not supposed to oppose or defy propriety or accepted standards. But often, on closer look, these "accepted" standards have been formulated by them. It's their "trap box." </div><div><br /></div><div>They're experts at making themselves appear broad-minded and you narrow-minded, unless you agree and get into their boxes. They sound like they're the smart ones.</div><div><br /></div><div>The religious leaders tried this on Jesus but it never worked. Jesus stuck to Kingdom standards even if they crucified him on the cross.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Boxless Box</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This is the box of the Kingdom, exactly what Jesus used. Jesus criticized a lot of people--especially those in power--but he never boxed them. He allowed them to be them. And it was they who came to challenge him, not the other way around. He simply did his thing and they came to watch and criticze him. So he answered back with his own.</div><div><br /></div><div>The kingdom has a box, but it's not really a box. When Jesus preached about his kingdom he laid out its principles and protocols, but also stressed that people could very well forget about them and keep their own if they wished to. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" was the no-strings-attached offer. Take it or leave it. Even the disciples who deserted him he didn't run after to persuade them to return.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Bottomless and Topless</b></div><div><br /></div><div>It's a box without a top, bottom or sides. It has the highest standards but allows you to be you. Jesus knew who would betray him and deny him. He knew his disciples would abandon him. And yet he allowed them to. He told Peter, "Satan has asked to sift you like wheat," prophesying how Peter would react when Jesus was arrested. And yet Peter was left to himself to decide on it, with Jesus merely assuring him of prayer support when it finally happened. </div><div><br /></div><div>There was no control or manipulation. They were allowed to be wrong. They were not typed or boxed.</div><div><br /></div><div>But Jesus assured them of a second chance. "And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” He foreknew of the falling away and he just let them. He foreknew Judas' betrayal and gave him a chance to call it off, but Judas didn't. There was a box but the box was invisible.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Warning Against Men's Boxes</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Jesus warned against men's boxes a lot of times. He didn't box his enemies when he did it. He simply described the boxes and made sure people knew about God's invisible box and opted for it, if they wanted to. It was never his intention to trap but to warn against the traps.</div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: x-large;">GOD's Flesh E-Book:</span><div><br /></div><div>The first edition was radical but this new edition is simply unbelievable. You want to buy a PDF copy (100-plus pages) for only P800 to help support my ministry? Email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com, indicate your desire to buy and I'll send you my Gcash details. Then I'll email you your PDF copy after you send me the Gcash receipt. And then you get subscribed to my Emailed Apostolic Teachings (EAT). Find out what it's all about.
<b><a href="https://godsflesh.blogspot.com/2016/05/gods-flesh-ebook-deeper-faith-to-take.html" target="_blank">Or CLICK HERE for a Book Review!</a></b></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-80753238664563042192021-03-26T19:24:00.051-07:002022-06-14T20:37:22.278-07:00Experiencing the I AM the Way, Truth and Life<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xGNwDbsffmE/YF6WiwyKccI/AAAAAAAABDg/vZTj-aH5rQ0gTFkHM_Mq66hm0wYhgF71ACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/john-towner-3Kv48NS4WUU-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xGNwDbsffmE/YF6WiwyKccI/AAAAAAAABDg/vZTj-aH5rQ0gTFkHM_Mq66hm0wYhgF71ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/john-towner-3Kv48NS4WUU-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The I AM was how God introduced himself to the Israelites in the Old Testament. God told Moses to tell Pharaoh that His name was, "I AM who I AM." Jesus did the same thing in the Gospel. He revealed that "Before Abraham was, I AM," to the chagrin of his hearers, prodding them to stone him. But he got away. <span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo above by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@heytowner?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">JOHN TOWNER</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/road?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>.</span></div><div><br />In the Gospel, he did several I AM declarations:<br /><blockquote><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>I am the Bread of Life</li><li>I am the Light of this world</li><li>I am the Resurrection and the Life</li><li>I am the Gate</li><li>I am the Door</li><li>I am the Good Shepherd</li><li>I am the True Vine</li><li>I am He</li><li>I am the Way, the Truth and the Life (you cannot separate these 3)</li></ol></blockquote>However, these revelations are mere head knowledge until they're EXPERIENCED. I'm sure we all know Jesus as the Way, Truth and Life, aside from his other claims. I'd even dare say that probably most people out there in the streets know this. But knowing without experiencing is nothing. It's not that experience is the best teacher--it's not. The Holy Spirit is the best Teacher. And he alone causes us to personally experience the claims of Jesus--experience who Jesus really is.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-39LrcRMm2Yc/Vyh79hs65nI/AAAAAAAAAfM/bqCIDprZTqwKJsoxA-ndzEf-iXhgK2AQQCPcBGAYYCw/s271/57287b677cf30.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="186" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-39LrcRMm2Yc/Vyh79hs65nI/AAAAAAAAAfM/bqCIDprZTqwKJsoxA-ndzEf-iXhgK2AQQCPcBGAYYCw/s0/57287b677cf30.png" /></a></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://godsflesh.blogspot.com/2013/11/book-review-leaving-land-of-slavery.html" target="_blank">Click here for a look at this e-book.</a></b></div></b><div><br /><br /><br /><b>So What If You Know The Truth?</b><br /><br />Let me repeat: Mere head knowledge without really meeting Jesus "face-to-face" is nothing. Often, religious people freak out when I say <i>"meeting Jesus face-to-face,"</i> saying that God is spirit and there's no way we can see him, as if some things are impossible with God. They think seeing and experiencing God firsthand are impossible.</div><div><br /></div><div>Moses and the 70 elders of Israel actually saw GOD and lived. Isaiah did, too, and thought he'd die. But what I'm saying here is seeing Jesus in your spirit. It will not benefit you anything in this life or the hereafter if you never experience Jesus up-close, closer and more real than when Thomas saw the resurrected Jesus and exclaimed: "My Lord and my God!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Even if you earn seminary titles and degrees and become a respected expert on theology matters. Even if you can explain bible teachings lucidly and intelligently. Unless you experience Jesus up-close and really meet him "in person," knowing these bible truths won't make any difference. </div><div><br /></div><div>Seeing is loving, and vice versa. Love enables you to really see a person, a person's true self, and accept him or her. I remember how I was willing to do anything just to see my girlfriend (GF), who's now my wife. I'd take any risk to have a date with her and really meet her in person. Just knowing in my head that she was my GF was never enough. Talking to her on the phone didn't suffice.</div><div><br /></div><div>Loving God is seeing him, and being willing to take all risks, whatever happens. Listen to this. Even if "<i>I speak in the tongues of men or of angels...If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing." </i>And as I've said, real love insists on seeing the one you love. You must seek to see God.</div><div><blockquote>If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and <b>seek my</b> <b>face</b> ...[2 Chronicles 7]</blockquote><p>See how this man desperately in love with God puts it:</p><blockquote>O God, you are my God, earnestly <b>I seek you</b>; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. [Psalm 63]</blockquote></div><div>There are two kinds of "knowing." One is head knowledge and the other is experiencing through supernatural revelation. A kind of up-close, intimate knowing brought about by the Spirit. The <i>divine touch</i>. This is what Jesus used in verse 7 of John 14:<br /><blockquote>"If you really <b>know</b> me, you will know my Father as well."</blockquote><p>It should be read <i>"If you had known me"</i> according to the Greek bible, and the phrase is "ginosko" which is a transliteration of the original Greek word "egnōkeite." You see, GINOSKO is wonderful. I mean, the Strong Concordance says it means to know "through personal experience" or "first-hand acquaintance." Better yet, "experientially know." I like the last meaning.</p><p><i>Experientially know</i>. Ponder on it.</p><p>The same word was used when Mary asked the angel of God "How can this be, since I do not <b>know</b> a man?" She was told she'd be pregnant. So, in a deeper sense, it has something to do with "sexual intimacy." In fact, the <a href="https://www.studylight.org/lexicons/eng/greek/1097.html" target="_blank">StudyLight.Com site</a> mentions how the word is also used to connote "a Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman." Now, why would Jesus use that word?</p><p>If I were to translate what Jesus answered Thomas, I'd put it this way: <i>"If you really have a first-hand, radically, intimate experience of me, you will know the Father as well." </i>Or, let's dive into deeper waters:<i> "If you have become one flesh with me." </i>Again, the Greek Word for <i>"know"</i> in <i>"you will <b>know</b> the Father as well" </i>[John 14.7] is "ēdeite" which means the following:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>To perceive or discern</li><li>To turn the eyes, the mind, the attention to</li><li>To behold</li></ol><div>The <a href="https://biblehub.com/interlinear/john/14.htm" target="_blank">BibleHub.Com site</a> simply puts it, "appreciate." So if anyone knew Jesus really intimately through a very close relationship--almost like that of spouses--he would also perceive, discern and appreciate who the Father is. I'd put it further this way:</div><div><blockquote>Anyone who tastes Jesus tastes the Father as well. </blockquote></div><div>And this fits perfectly the passage, "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him." Taking refuge in the Lord here pictures an intimate relationship with him. <i>Refuge</i> is a hiding place. It's where you go hide to be kept alone in secret. It's like the master bedroom where a married couple seeks safe and intimate privacy.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Why Taste?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Why did the psalmist use "taste" to see that the Lord is good? Why not <i>touch</i> or <i>look</i> or <i>hear</i>? Taste is through the tongue. And tongue is always intimate. I mean, you cannot taste food from a distance. You cannot even taste anything within a few inches away from your mouth. To taste, you have to put food on your tongue and let it touch the food. That's intimate. That's up-close.</div><div><br /></div><div>And you don't use the tongue just for anything. You may use your fingers for touching things, your feet for touching the ground, your elbow for touching elevator buttons to avoid germ or viral contamination. But you never use the tongue for these purposes. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's for something else.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tongue is for something intimate, exclusive, special. Or something for absorbing--for becoming part of you. Like kissing. Like tasting and eating food. You reserve its use for something internal. Thus, the Lord's goodness is only for one's tongue. For tasting. You can appreciate it only with your sense of taste.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's why kissing is important between husband and wife. It's part of intimately knowing each other. You see why Judas' kissing Jesus was a serious sign of betrayal? Pretended intimacy while harboring betrayal in the heart hurts like nothing else. In God's Ginosko, you cannot kiss and betray. It means adultery. Judas kissed Jesus while loving money, or loving his ego more than he loved Jesus. It's even idolatry. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now you understand why it's vital to "taste" the Lord to see that he is good. Merely hearing about him or watching him from a distance is not enough. You cannot taste his real goodness by just getting blessed with things or with Sunday sermons or singing. We need to taste and eat the Word that comes out from the very mouth of God. This is why Jesus chose the word Ginosko. </div><div><br /></div><div>Figuratively, we have to know Jesus with our tongue. If you had <i>ginosko</i> me, you would have <i>edeite </i>the Father also. (You would have well appreciated what the Father is like). </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Experience Me</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Thus, when Jesus told Thomas "I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life" to explain how to get to where he was going, Jesus was really saying <i>experience me</i>. Ginosko me. Taste and see where I am going. Be one flesh with me, the I AM. Be totally absorbed in me. The only way to the Father's house is by experiencing him intimately. No other way. Every believer ought to know this. We all have to ginosko this. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have to stress this. Singing in the choir or worship team is good. So is being active in church and all it's ministries. But these things won't give you the <i>ginosko</i> experience Jesus is urgently talking of here. The context later powerfully hints at getting the spoken Word of God as key to all this, not anything else. It's hearing and experiencing God's spoken WORD in the bible. It's touching with your tongue the Word that comes out from God's mouth.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is the actual story. When Jesus said he was going away to his Father's house and that they couldn't follow him at the moment--but later they would--he told them how they actually already knew the way to where it was. <i>"You know the way to where I am going."</i> And that Way is how we <i>ginosko</i> the I AM.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yet here was the problem. The disciples were thinking of an actual road or location they can take. In short, they were thinking of what they can do to get there. So Thomas said, "We don't know where you are going. So how can we know the way?" They didn't know where that house was (though Jesus said they already knew--but they failed to see it) so they didn't know what road to take. And I could feel a certain frustration in Thomas' words. </div><div><br /></div><div>We often think it's through some formula we can do that gets it done. We think it's through some effort or achievement we can do. </div><blockquote>So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:<br /> Do this, do that, [Isaiah 28.13]</blockquote><div>God's Way is not a formula or a guideline.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't blame Thomas. I'd probably feel the same. What with the other frustrations they just had, like how the people had rejected them despite witnessing Jesus' miracles (12.37), how Jesus admitted he was "troubled" (John 12.27), how he announced about a traitor within their ranks, and now he was leaving them soon. Imagine having someone "troubled" and who was leaving you all soon as your leader. Wouldn't you panic? Honestly, I might. And moreover, there was a spy among you, a traitor who, Jesus said, was the devil among you. Worse was that, they couldn't follow Jesus to where he was going. They were going to be left behind! </div><div><br /></div><div>Just try to imagine all that happening to you.</div><div><br /></div><div>I can imagine how the disciples looked like, the expression on their faces, the uncertainties, anxiety and disappointment. No wonder he pacified them earlier with, <i>"Let not your hearts be troubled."</i> Because they indeed were troubled, and probably about to lose faith in him even. I can understand why they abandoned Jesus later. </div><div><br /></div><div>And probably why he told them, "You believe in God. Believe also in me." Or, to put it further, if I were the Gospel writer: "You have believed in God all your lives. Now, believe also in me." It's as if he was saying, "You see what we're in now? We look like we've totally lost it. Like we're going nowhere. But, as you believe in God, believe also in me. Just trust me, okay?"</div><div><br /></div><div>It's like Jesus saying: You staked your lives on God, stake your lives on me, too, even if all odds seem against us. Take risk on me. Why? It's actually the same thing. You dared invest on God all your assets. So you should do likewise on me--because I and God are one. No matter our situation now, God and I are still one. Nothing's changed. And even if I didn't come, these same things would still happen because you're serving the Father. Serving God always comes with persecutions, with things seeming to go all wrong. </div><div><br /></div><div>And I hope you readers (Small Seed is now talking) reading this article would see all this. This was what Jesus hinted at. This risk is part of experiencing Jesus. Without it, all you have is head knowledge.</div><div><br /></div><div>Often, the more things look wrong (and the more they seem not to make any sense), the more you're on the right track. The cross is the confirmation.</div><blockquote>Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. [Matthew 10.38]</blockquote><p><b>The Risk </b></p><p>So there you have it. Risk experiencing--I mean really experiencing--the I AM the Way, Truth and Life. Jesus will reveal what this really is in the proceeding passages. You have to experience for yourself the I AM. And in doing so, it takes lots of risks. Believe me. You'll suffer the cross, the sorrows, the rejections and troubles as Jesus did. Even believers close to you may abandon you.</p><p>You must experience the I AM's way, truth and life for yourself. It's a must. All three of them. You cannot choose just one or two. And you cannot separate them. Jesus' way is his truth (and vice versa), and his way and truth are his life (there's no other life that God wills for you). His life is also his way and truth, or truth and way. Got it? </p><p>So, Jesus told Thomas: "<i>If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” </i>Now it gets more exciting! Knowing and seeing Jesus meant knowing and seeing the Father! This is Jesus' way, truth and life. The Father's way is Jesus' way. Jesus couldn't do anything else except the Father's way of doing things. He once said he couldn't do anything except what he saw the Father doing [John 5.19].</p><p><b>GOD is in Me</b></p><p>Being deeply steeped in the Father's way (or "marinated" if you will), Jesus became the Way. Whatever you focus on, or spend time on, becomes your food. <i>"He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,"</i> [Proverbs 27.18]. And you become what you eat and absorb. This became Jesus' Truth and Life, the Truth he lived out all his Life. Because Jesus "ate" the Father. And Jesus wants us to eat his flesh and drink his blood, too. <i>"My flesh is real food,"</i> he said in John 6.55. So that the <i>"I AM the Way"</i> lives in us (Life) and manifests in our daily lives (Truth).</p><p>See the close connection of the three--Way, Truth and Life? Hence, when Philip suggested that just showing them the Father would be enough, Jesus said, <i>"Anyone who has <b>seen</b> me has <b>seen</b> the Father."</i> This was a leveled up disclosure of his first revelation when he said, "If you really <b>know</b> me (the I AM), you will <b>know</b> my Father as well (the I AM in the Old Testament).</p><p>From "knowing" to "seeing." </p><p>It's not simply having a head knowledge of John 14.6 and memorizing it or being able to preach about it. It has nothing to do with church programs and activities. It's all about "knowing" and "seeing" in Ginosko proportions. It's this or nothing in these final days before Jesus meets his true believers in the clouds.</p><p>Then Jesus took it deeper. He told them a mystery: </p><blockquote><p>"Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me?" </p></blockquote><p>It was a new thing. I could imagine their faces brightening up with this new revelation. It was a fresh, rhema Word. The Father was inside the body of Jesus, a hundred percent. This was why...</p><blockquote><p>"The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work."</p></blockquote><p>This was a revolutionary Kingdom principle first introduced to the church. It was the Father actually doing everything in Jesus' body, life and ministry. This is Jesus' way, and it should also be our way, if we believe there's no other way but Jesus, who is the Way. It's the Truth we should manifest daily in Life. Remember, no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. It should be GOD fully in us doing HIS work, not us.</p><p><b>Bombshell</b></p><p>Now here's the bombshell. The I AM full experience is not exclusive to Jesus. It is the way, truth and life of anyone who wants to be identified with him. It's the I AM or nothing. It's the I AM in you doing everything. It's letting the I AM in you live your life daily. And this does not just mean having the character of Jesus. This means specifically having all that Jesus is. CHRIST is all, and is in all. </p><blockquote>Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.</blockquote><p>This is the main gist of experiencing the <b>I AM the way, truth and life</b>. It's not just a head knowledge that Jesus is the sole way to the Father (which demons also believe). It's experiencing his person, character, power and ministry, doing exactly what he did, and more. It is having Jesus and the Father do their will inside your body. Jesus explains: <i>"I will do anything you ask in My Name." </i></p><p>In a sense, you're a modern-day Jesus. (Let's see how the religious react to that).</p><p>Asking for something in His Name means praying while in the very nature (name) of Jesus. "Name" is nature. God's nature in the Old Testament (Provider, Peace, Almighty, Holy, etc.) was His Name. Thus, for instance, <i>Jehovah Jireh </i>is God's nature of providing for our needs, and it's also his name. Having Jesus' nature in you means you and Jesus and the Father are one. Here's how Jesus put it:</p><blockquote>On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.</blockquote><p>This revelation is explosive! When I got this in my spirit, something detonated and all the spiritual blockages and stumbling blocks were blown off into pieces. Coming to this realization and experience in life means you have really tongue-tasted Jesus as the I AM the Way, Truth and Life. You see how Jesus and the Father are really in you and you in them. You taste being one flesh with God in Christ.</p><p>Now you no longer just say Jesus is the way, truth and life like the religious do. You live and manifest it with heaven's powerful backing. Now you demo it without meaning to, with supernatural signs and wonders, exactly as Jesus did. And the thing has become natural to you. It's become an SOP. Jesus walks on earth once more in you, and "those living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." The Word is made flesh in you.</p><p><b>True Discipleship </b></p><p>Once that day comes when the Holy Spirit finally opens your eyes to see this <b>Truth</b> and make it your <b>Way</b> of <b>Life</b>, you can claim that anyone who looks at you sees Jesus as well. To the point that when a long-time disciple of yours asks who the Father is, you'd say something like, "Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?"</p><p>Weird but true, if you seriously come to think about it. This is why Paul said, "I have died with Christ, I no longer live but it's Christ who lives in me."</p><p>True discipleship is showing our disciples who Jesus is by manifesting him in our lives. When they look at us they see Jesus, nothing more, not our religion or church denomination. They see the Gaerlan CS version of Jesus Christ, in my case. It's not anymore a bible study or seminar where we teach our disciples lessons. We teach by manifesting the I AM in us, demonstrating his supernatural power and helping them "touch" the Jesus in us to taste and see that the Lord is good. </p><p>We attract them with the Jesus life, nothing more. A lot of churches today use activities, programs and cute ministries to make sure their members stick with them, make them busy, and make them staunch denominational members familiar with the denomination's ways and policies. This is man's religion.</p><p>No wonder very few today have genuinely experienced Jesus as the I AM the way, truth and life. All they have is head knowledge, limited to what demons know about Jesus.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">GOD's Flesh E-Book: </h2></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhraoHGdC-9S1fYpKnhUPWQMQ8rbeCVGkPS9BXoMfwfAf_XRYqffL90i04hV1InTgkAsoN7L44QTL8Dm1gpnpLoIimQNB1ZB2rA-Vw9WHO3VAawfnsc47nVC0va21XDwqQUEspub2CVW1UQX6_SQZOOEAItdHsZTDpDfOWv8T47ikSzATnafnzHs_w-VA/s154/God's%20Flesh%20ebook%20cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="124" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhraoHGdC-9S1fYpKnhUPWQMQ8rbeCVGkPS9BXoMfwfAf_XRYqffL90i04hV1InTgkAsoN7L44QTL8Dm1gpnpLoIimQNB1ZB2rA-Vw9WHO3VAawfnsc47nVC0va21XDwqQUEspub2CVW1UQX6_SQZOOEAItdHsZTDpDfOWv8T47ikSzATnafnzHs_w-VA/s1600/God's%20Flesh%20ebook%20cover.png" width="124" /></a></div>The first edition was radical but this new edition is simply unbelievable. You want to buy a PDF copy (100-plus pages) for only P800 and help support my ministry? Email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com, indicate your desire to buy and I'll send you my Gcash details. Then I'll email you your PDF copy after you send me the Gcash receipt. And then you get subscribed to my Emailed Apostolic Teachings (EAT). Find out what it's all about. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-57114103663757531462021-03-04T23:37:00.022-08:002022-05-16T19:06:41.843-07:00Pastoring is NOT Pampering<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zImWgdMHhOo/YEHdjg79BtI/AAAAAAAABDM/ebmr_U4SvF0i3sFekFtYgAm2k_ckDV0aQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/conscious-design-QXDjHlp59-o-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zImWgdMHhOo/YEHdjg79BtI/AAAAAAAABDM/ebmr_U4SvF0i3sFekFtYgAm2k_ckDV0aQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/conscious-design-QXDjHlp59-o-unsplash.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />It's <b>NOT</b> pampering in any sense. Pastoring is leading the flock home after letting it stroll out the pen for a while. Period. No more, no less. That's according to Jesus, our Master. It's definitely not how a lot of pastors do it today, which is <i>pampering</i>. They find out what their church members want or need and carefully make sure they give it to them. So ministry is need-driven (and member-centered), not anymore Spirit-led and Christ-centered. Photo above by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@conscious_design?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Conscious Design</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/massage?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jesus is the Shepherd and we are appointed as shepherds [1 Peter 5]. And the principle of shepherding in John 10 is that <i>the sheep listen to his voice</i>, not the other way around (it's not Jesus listening to our voice and following us). Neither is it the pastor listening to his members' needs. Pastoring is about minding God's interests alone, not ours or the church members'. Pastors should focus on this. We feed and care for the flock by teaching them to hear and obey HIS Word. They should lead the flocks assigned to them towards this end alone. They do not need to know the needs of their church members.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because once we seek God's Kingdom and his righteousness first, everything else will be added, all the members' wants and needs included. But once we seek people's needs first, we lose it. Yeah, we may build mega churches out of that and big church income, but it's nothing but a big assembly of immature people who claim to be followers of Jesus--and a church turned into a bank.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Pastoring is Simple</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Today, they expect a lot from the pastor. They say he's supposed to be a "servant" so they expect him to serve them all, like how household helps serve their master or how employees serve their boss. He's supposed to know all the individual needs of his members (my goodness!) and aptly address them. They expect him to make them all happy (perhaps like a clown or an entertainer) and "spiritual" (and blame him if a member goes astray or backslides into sin).</div><div><br /></div><div>But Jesus never did any of these things. Visit members and know their individual needs? Jesus never did this. The disciples pursued him and he fed them with God's Word--whatever the Father decided he should teach them. That was it. So where did the church get all these ideas? He did wash the disciples feet as a gesture of his servanthood, but nonetheless, the disciples were never his boss (and they didn't pay his salary). Instead, they followed him and obeyed him. He issued instructions which they did, not the other way around. He told them what they should do. </div><div><br /></div><div>The servanthood he demonstrated in washing their feet was to show them how they should relate with each other in life and ministry--in meekness and love--not desiring to be in bossy positions or getting bossy titles. And how being honored with a high position means getting the lowest and least conspicuous seat. Second, the demo had to do with connecting his servanthood to his death on the cross, giving his life as a ransom for many. Somewhere, Jesus said:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>Pastoring is serving GOD (first and foremost) and the church, not in the way that employees do to their bosses, but in how Jesus served his disciples, emptying himself and not counting his real standing in the Kingdom as something to be grasped. Imagine the KING lowering himself to wash your feet! Imagine being willing to be the "gate" for the sheep, when in fact, he is the Lord of lords and King of kings!</div><div><br /></div><div>Jesus described pastoring simply thus: </div><blockquote>The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”</blockquote><p>This is true of Jesus and his pastors--because Jesus lives 100 percent in them. Jesus modelled this pastoring principle and his pastors should follow suit. There is no other pastoring model. Jesus used this model first and shepherds after him ought to use it, too. First, a pastor should have entered through the Gate (Jesus). A pastor is a genuine servant of God who had the real born-again experience and have surrendered his life totally to Him. He entered through the Gate.</p><p><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"></span></p><blockquote><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved, said Jesus.</span></blockquote><p></p><p>The gatekeeper (the Father) opens the gate (Jesus) for the pastor to access the sheep. Thus, to access the sheep, there's only one way possible--through the Gate the Gatekeeper opens for the shepherd (the pastor). Jesus warns that,<i> "anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber." </i>Meaning, you have access only when Jesus and the Father give you access to the sheep. Also, this means you cannot do church ministry except through Jesus' way--how Jesus did it in the Gospel. If you don't (and use man's ways) you're one who <i>"climbs in by <u>some other way</u> (and) is a thief and robber."</i></p><p><b>Entry to the Sheep Pen Via the Gate and the Gatekeeper Alone</b></p><p>As a pastor, you cannot access the pen on your own--even if you have devised the grandest evangelism and discipleship plan in the entire universe. And accessing them on your own means you're a thief. As mentioned earlier, accessing them <i>"any other way"</i> except through the Gate that the Gatekeeper opens is illegal. Ministry is not through your own effort or decisions or your denomination's church planting strategies. You wait for God to grant you access.</p><p>This agrees with what John says about how Jesus did his ministry:</p><blockquote>No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them...This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them. [John 6.44 and 65].</blockquote><p>Not even Jesus could force or make a way or invent strategies for people to join him. It was all decided by the Father. Jesus merely obeyed. Jesus revealed in John 5.19: <i>"...the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does." </i>This is how pastors should do it.</p><p>Then, what should pastors do after accessing the sheep pen? Nothing except teach them how to <i>listen to his voice. </i>Because his voice is the Shepherd's voice, too. A true servant of God does nothing but echoes or mouths Jesus' Word. They familiarize the sheep with the Shepherd's voice. And the sheep has no other business or concern but to hear the voice of the Shepherd in the shepherd's voice and follow.</p><p>Then the pastor calls his own sheep by name. It's not the church members who <i>"call us by name"</i> (trains us or leads us or tames us or tells us what to do), but it's we, the pastors, who do that. We call them and they follow as we <i>"go on ahead of them."</i> The sheep's only business is to follow the Christ in us. And when should they follow us? When <i>"he leads them out."</i></p><p>The shepherd and the sheep all go out. They enjoy the sheep pen but they also go out. In fact, Jesus said they will <i>go in and out.</i> To do what? To <i>find pasture</i>. The sheep is fed by going in and out. The actual experience we have with Jesus and his Word as we go out is our food. Jesus said, <i>"My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish it."</i> So here you have the second reason for going out. Jesus said he had other sheep <i>"not of this pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." </i></p><blockquote>They will come in and go out, and find pasture. </blockquote><p>That in a nutshell is what pastoring is all about. It has nothing to do with pampering members with what they or an individual want or need or what they look for in a church. It's not about surveying them on what they think should be done or what they expect from the pastor or what programs make them happy and interested. Or for pastors to think of nice plans and programs and gimmicks to keep the flock interested and coming back each Sunday. A lot of pastors fear losing their members to other churches, so they add a lot of pampering and entertainment to ministry.</p><p><b>Members' Duty to Grow in Christ</b></p><p>Pastors cannot make church members grow in Christ. It's not their job. Their only job is simply feed them God's Word (this includes encouraging them), and pray for them, so they can listen and obey the Shepherd Jesus--not make their flesh or ego feel good. Growing is the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer and believers must desperately pursue after it (growing in Christ). The pastor cannot pursue it for them. Believers must (desperately) seek the understanding of the Word wholeheartedly by seeking the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and relating deeply with Him. This is supernatural, and pastors should teach them how through Scriptures and through the example of their own pursuit of Jesus.</p><p>Hence, if a church member loses interest or sins or stops going to church, pastors are not obligated to pamper them or pursue after them. Jesus never did this. He never "followed up" or "visited" Judas Iscariot for counselling. All he told him was, <i>"Whatever it is you have to do, do it quickly." </i>The prodigal son was not sought by his father. The lost son went back on his own after "coming to his senses." The lost sheep was sought by the shepherd, but we're talking of <i>"sheep"</i> here, and the genuine sheep <i>"listens to his voice."</i> </p><blockquote>"...his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice."</blockquote><p>Lost sheep wander around but they go back at the beck and call of the shepherd. In fact, biologically, true sons, though "dead," go back to their fathers on their own. What more of spiritual sons and daughters of God who have God's Spirit in them. This shows they have the Holy Spirit convicting them. Shepherds may <i>"leave the 99 others"</i> for this lost sheep because it's sheep, not goat. It's not the same for those who readily follow other voices out there but barely (or refuse to) hear the voice of their Shepherd. Jesus did mention about wolves in sheep's clothing. Who knows, this person may be a false prophet in the making or weed planted by the enemy in the field God gave you.</p><p><b>End Goal of True Pastoring</b></p><p>The goal of true pastoring is not to serve the goals of a local or denominational church but God's. God wants everyone to know Jesus as the one Shepherd and to be in his one flock. See that? There's only one flock. So don't start your own. Most denominations today are like other flocks presenting the Shepherd in differing doctrines. Worse, others are presenting different "Gates" and "Shepherds."</p><p>It's easy to identify who they are. If their pastors resort to pampering instead of pastoring as Jesus did it, they're hired hands.</p><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">GOD's Flesh E-Book: </span></div><div><br /></div><div>The first edition was radical but this new edition is simply unbelievable. You want to buy a PDF copy (100-plus pages) for only P800 and help support my ministry? Email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com, indicate your desire to buy and I'll send you my Gcash details. Then I'll email you your PDF copy after you send me the Gcash receipt. And then you get subscribed to my Emailed Apostolic Teachings (EAT). Find out what it's all about.
Or <b><a href="https://godsflesh.blogspot.com/2016/05/gods-flesh-ebook-deeper-faith-to-take.html" target="_blank">CLICK HERE for a Book Review</a></b>!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/s345/57286c5f8c20b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/s320/57286c5f8c20b.png" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-61407398669873709962020-12-11T17:39:00.008-08:002022-05-16T19:06:54.062-07:00Signet-Ring Principle of the Kingdom<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MXeCOpXDBO8/X9QfSN8KnuI/AAAAAAAAA_0/HPfOJlqv6dYYXC18A0Ei9a5MM50whXPCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/sabrinna-ringquist-4ZhSrGNFa1s-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MXeCOpXDBO8/X9QfSN8KnuI/AAAAAAAAA_0/HPfOJlqv6dYYXC18A0Ei9a5MM50whXPCwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/sabrinna-ringquist-4ZhSrGNFa1s-unsplash.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Miracles and supernatural powers are all from God, and without Him nothing is possible. But to a certain degree God has relegated that power to believers. It's up to us how we use it and when. He has given us the freedom to create options suited to our situation. Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@sabrinnaringquist?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Sabrinna Ringquist</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/signet-ring?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's called the Signet Ring Principle of the Kingdom. God gives us his signet ring in Christ to do as we please as far as promoting his Kingdom on earth is concerned. In his words, Jesus declared, <i>"According to your faith it will be done to you." </i>So our faith is given complete leeway to do everything we think and feel is needed to make known Jesus as LORD, and that faith will be backed up by Heaven 100 percent.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Problem is, we do not use this privilege. We prefer our human ways and efforts in ministry.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Remember Mordecai being given King Xerxes' signet ring to use as he pleased to save the Jews? It works that way. Xerxes told him to issue laws and edicts as he pleased (invent laws that didn't exist yet) and Mordecai may stamp the king's signet ring on it and it becomes a full-scale law. That's how Jesus' Name works. When we declare healing or anything supernatural in Jesus' Name, it's as good as Jesus himself declaring it and making it into a LAW all creation MUST obey.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>This is why Jesus kept saying all along how, <i>"according to your faith it will be done to you."</i> With the centurion, he said, "Let it be done just as you believed it would." Again, in Mark 11.22 he said, "(If anyone) does not doubt in his heart <b>but believes that what he says will happen</b>, it will be done for him." And a lot more. We must believe all these with all our hearts.</div><div><br /></div><div>I especially highlight the words <i>"but believes that what he says will happen"</i> because it is exactly the signet-ring principle. With this promise, we can "invent" supernatural laws that do not yet exist so we can demonstrate to the world how powerful our God is. Anything our imagination can dare come up with. Turning water into wine, feeding thousands with few bread and fish, walking on water, etc. are just the beginning of God's manifest and supernatural power. </div><div><br /></div><div>God wants us--the glorious church--to demo the rest in Christ!</div><div><br /></div><div>God has given this authority to men [Matthew 9.8], and these men are the true believers of Jesus and his supernatural power in them. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, how far can our spiritual imagination go? Or can you imagine only earthly possibilities, like what natural man can do or have? Remember the woman with blood issue for 12 years? Look at her imagination. <i>"She said to herself, 'If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.'”</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Then Jesus said, "Your faith has healed you!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Definitely, it was God's healing power that did it, no doubt. But it was triggered by the wild imagination of the woman. She used the signet-ring principle. Name it and you have it. It would never have been triggered if the woman had thought, "Well, if it is God's will then maybe I can be healed (if not then it's not God's will)," like how many church people today think about prayers for healing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Continued...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">GOD's Flesh E-Book: </span></div><div><br /></div><div>The first edition was radical but this new edition is simply unbelievable. You want to buy a PDF copy (100-plus pages) for only P800 and help support my ministry? Email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com, indicate your desire to buy and I'll send you my Gcash details. Then I'll email you your PDF copy after you send me the Gcash receipt. And then you get subscribed to my Emailed Apostolic Teachings (EAT). Find out what it's all about. <div><br /></div><div> Or <b><a href="https://godsflesh.blogspot.com/2016/05/gods-flesh-ebook-deeper-faith-to-take.html" target="_blank">CLICK HERE for a Book Review!</a></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uD6UYnpjnaw/X9QWQCbzVsI/AAAAAAAAA_o/YbE7tV81uc4IenkX20mIA185iAes-MFpACLcBGAsYHQ/s308/Gods%2BFlesh%2BCover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="290" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uD6UYnpjnaw/X9QWQCbzVsI/AAAAAAAAA_o/YbE7tV81uc4IenkX20mIA185iAes-MFpACLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Gods%2BFlesh%2BCover.png" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-80322957621336721602020-11-27T17:18:00.003-08:002022-05-16T19:08:02.396-07:00God's Kingdom--a Matter of Power, Not Talk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WQZe7Pobvwg/X8GlIaDa1qI/AAAAAAAAA_M/TnsddmRjisMjChnCvlj-2Qaw311pjTK-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/lopez-robin-1JS6n1uT-uI-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1313" data-original-width="2048" height="256" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WQZe7Pobvwg/X8GlIaDa1qI/AAAAAAAAA_M/TnsddmRjisMjChnCvlj-2Qaw311pjTK-wCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h256/lopez-robin-1JS6n1uT-uI-unsplash.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />What power do they have? That's the apostle Paul's measure for authenticity. Some in Corinth seemed to question his apostleship, favoring Apollos over him. But these detractors were all talk--they could argue with high-sounding words and probably used scholarly theologies to refute Paul's teachings. But Paul said talk is nothing in the Kingdom. Zero. Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@lopezrobin?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Lopez Robin</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/power?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>.<br />
<br />
<i>"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power,"</i> he said. So he wanted to go to Corinth and find out<span face="Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"> </span><i>"not only what these arrogant people are saying, but what power they have." </i>Kingdom is about demonstrating supernatural power. The church should go back to this and not waste time on human theology and titles and degrees on it. The church should desperately seek after supernatural revelation from the Holy Spirit that results to supernatural power.<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">For an important spiritual help, click below:</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://goo.gl/SwihBi" target="_blank">CLICK HERE!</a></b></span></div>
<br />
If you're all talk, you do not represent the Kingdom of God. Well, man's kingdom, perhaps, but not God's. And all talk cannot produce God's Kingdom on earth. Faith will uselessly <i>"rest on men's wisdom,"</i> Paul hinted. And that's what modern church is today. Its faith rests merely on men's wisdom, having nothing but garbage theology. All talk. High-sounding terminologies and flowery talks. Yet nothing but trash.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.</blockquote>
It is important that faith rests on God's power, not human wisdom. A "demonstration" of the Spirit's supernatural power, to be exact. Where is this in church today? I have heard many poor souls who have spent years in seminary and earned degrees, only to later declare the Holy Scriptures faulty or irrelevant in our present times. Wasted years in theology only to end up sounding more lost than enlightened.<br />
<br />
Precisely because their faith rests on human wisdom, not on God's demonstrated supernatural power.<br />
<br />
Jesus said a similar thing. <i>"'I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify about me.'"</i> The work he just did here was supernatural--healing a man born blind, and of course, other miracles he'd performed. Again, Jesus said:<br />
<span class="text John-10-37" face=""Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" id="en-NIV-26519" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"></span></span><blockquote><span class="text John-10-37" face=""Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" id="en-NIV-26519" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-26519BE" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-26519BE" title="See cross-reference BE">BE</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="text John-10-38" face=""Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" id="en-NIV-26520" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">38 </span>But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”</span></span></blockquote><p>The church in general is lost in matters of supernatural, awesome powers of God. To operate in God's power you need to be acculturated to God's supernatural ways and his spoken Word you hear with your spiritual ears when you meditate the bible. Be radically familiarized with God's mind and Kingdom principles as you trash all human and worldly principles you got from your secularized church, bible school and seminary. </p><p>The good news is, my e-book can help you find your way back to the true supernatural God of the bible. For only P200 (to support my ministry), get a PDF copy and relearn the supernatural ways of God and make them really work for you.</p><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">GOD's Flesh E-Book </span></b></div></b><div><br /></div><div>To buy the NEW AND LATEST EDITION of the e-book, email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com. The e-book costs P800. Or click the link below first for a book review:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl py34i1dx gpro0wi8" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fgoo.gl%2FSwihBi%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1j_1nOuKgW96_Cbhsl87JBnhAM82fvbHUxapJW7eLug4mpr7ErRYzVBnk&h=AT1oCSckEki0bphhbMGT0Pu8sDoYzqZT0RvvQuEa8QNAB0j0qilBI9WSN4Rt_hw9I4M2532exF-PeOEL6cVSkObT9CwzkHBuU0hk9qpB--RGApD93lpAVTHxGBaKY_8W&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT1eYSVMwLh2TKU-2zqFU7aA1EYQnZU7t5_lHTOdUPatpZsCM5-YsUXcfL2IzOMgKXMp6IP92J9yOrtKFUTgTJSXZ1ahgHCK2ZKSAzvW8ns_W2w3amjZEZKDgICJYaXDIT1j6y8FUr_5YPFe81qNdehPctr2DqFcOesHQVdrsuTQEpXhXX91WJSwhyGbFhpW7VCQhQOZWQMa9_DuxpyPLVVyv41VBt0" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; animation-name: none; background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; touch-action: manipulation; transition-property: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://goo.gl/SwihBi</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Also get my short Emailed Apostolic Teachings (EAT) which are vital insights into the apostolic ministry of Jesus Christ and his apostles. Get them regularly when you buy the e-book through the email address above. The e-book shares radical insights about church and on genuine spiritual revival you probably haven't heard of.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/s345/57286c5f8c20b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/s320/57286c5f8c20b.png" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-41887451371489939932020-11-23T15:50:00.015-08:002022-05-16T19:08:54.596-07:00Deadly Deception in the End Times: Christians Who Are Still Old Creations<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IILla8cEm8Q/X7xKwjlaEKI/AAAAAAAAA_A/XPJG7FZjIU0iMd6HqDagNkfRJlcJj_IfgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/taras-chernus-rWkpNxqE_rM-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IILla8cEm8Q/X7xKwjlaEKI/AAAAAAAAA_A/XPJG7FZjIU0iMd6HqDagNkfRJlcJj_IfgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/taras-chernus-rWkpNxqE_rM-unsplash.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />For sure there will be a great deception in these end times orchestrated by the Beast and the False Prophet mentioned in the Book of Revelation. The aim is to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. It is clearly directed against the church, first and foremost, then to the world at large. Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@chernus_tr?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Taras Chernus</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/hidden?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Elsewhere in the bible we are given hints of how this will happen. Like what Jesus said about wolves in sheep's clothing. And the wide road to destruction. Some people will claim they are the Christ, or the Christ is "there" or "here," and lead many astray. However, no details are given on how this can take place effectively. </div><div><br /></div><div>I mean, we know for a fact that Christ is in heaven and won't come back till the Second Coming. So how can Christians be deceived with the idea that he is already here?</div><div><br /></div><div>Satan will do it right inside the church. In fact, the deception was introduced even long before and is in progress now. He's using people who claim to be Christians but are still old creations---or who are a mixture of the old and new--especially church pastors and leaders, and who restore the wrong traditions of the old into the new one.</div><div><br /></div><div>This has been happening since the early church up to the present.</div><blockquote>Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers there—false ones, really—who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations. [Galatians 2.4]</blockquote><div>Some are willing accomplices but majority are victims, made to believe that men's church traditions are God's will and Kingdom norms and should continue in the Christian church. They were taught this in their bible schools and seminaries (earned titles and degrees on them), not realizing they are being fed the Babylon system, and this is what they also bring to other nations in their "mission works."</div><div><br /></div><div>So, when faced with the real thing in the bible, they think that God's genuine moves today are cults or demonic, and the ways of this world are what's apt and sound doctrine. This deception is deadlier than literal idolatry because this attack is stealthy and cunning, going absolutely unnoticed, detected only by the sharply discerning.</div><div><br /></div><div>When you subscribe by the ways of this world you subscribe to the "image" of the Beast. Therefore, you have to "come out of her" and...</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>"Therefore, 'Come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.'" [2 Corinthians 6.17].</blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>And it clearly is also via church denominations. They mostly still faithfully bring in old traditions derived from the Roman Catholic church---like Sunday worship service (their idea of worship is only on Sundays), the use of round and white communion wafer or "bread," Christmas trees and Christmas gimmicks, 7 Last Words, and so forth.</div><div><br /></div><div>The "image" of the Beast is not really a literal statue or picture (you can no longer fool born again Christians with statues, much less make them bow down to them) but a "trade" mark or characteristic or general impression that originates from a dominant source. For instance in marketing, a main brand can birth a second brand with a different name but still has the major characteristics of the main brand intact in it. And it's labeled differently but under the same brand and logo.</div><div><br /></div><div>Same dog, different collar.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, church people can claim to be Christians or "born again" and yet remain their old selves (or remain old creations) untouched by the transforming power of Christ's Resurrection. Or remain a mixed creation, retaining some old characteristics with some new ones and still enjoying residues of the old religion.</div><div><br /></div><div>But God's WORD is clear: Anyone in Christ is a NEW CREATION; the old is past and the new has come. THE OLD IS PAST.</div><div><br /></div><div>And yet, today, you seldom see genuine new creations in church, even among church leaders. They learn the church and bible lingo over time, get busy (and "successful") in ministry, and yet remain old creations---or a mixture of the old and new. Worse, some of them even grow more rotten with time. They become worse (sophisticatedly worse). Yet they are highly respected in their churches because of their position, title or contribution. </div><div><br /></div><div>And then, there is the carry-over of traditions from the old, wrong religion. Like observing worship only on a Sunday (try telling them you opt to worship God on a Monday or Tuesday and they'd think you're nuts), 7 Last Words, Christmas (they'd think you've lost it if you do not have a church Christmas party or a Christmas worship program), Simbang Umaga, Valentine's Fellowship, Fathers or Mothers Day, Good Friday Service, "Easter" Sunday, etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>These are all derived from the religion of the Beast and the False Prophet, a mark or trait of the Prostitute in Revelation, the religious system of the Mystery Babylon. </div><div><br /></div><div>It is the "trade mark" or the "image" of the Beast. There is nothing Christian about it. Jesus and his apostles never did them. It is the system of Mystery Babylon. So God urges in the bible that believers come out of her entirely.</div><blockquote>'Come out of her, my people,' so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; [Revelation 18.4]</blockquote><p>And this is prophesied in Jeremiah 51.44-45:</p><blockquote>I will punish Bel in Babylon<br /> and make him spew out what he has swallowed.<br />The nations will no longer stream to him.<br /> And the wall of Babylon will fall.<br /><br />45 “Come out of her, my people!<br /> Run for your lives!<br /> Run from the fierce anger of the Lord.</blockquote><p>The Lord will crush the Babylon system (which seems so successful and effective at the moment) so we are urged to come out of it entirely, not even looking back at it as we flee. We know what happened to Lot's wife. Anything that has to do with man's religion, ways, efforts and theology is entwined with the Babylon system. Remember, 666 is the number of man. Everything is of man. </p><p>For instance, the notion that Saturday or Sunday is worship day. We even hear preachers say that God has given us 6 days and requires only one day for him. They say that's our "tithe" as far as our days are concerned. But the bible says we are the Lord's---everything we have is His. Each day of our lives should be given to Him.</p><p>So we see the Acts church meeting daily and breaking bread everyday, not just on Saturdays or Sundays.</p><blockquote>Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, [Acts 2.46].</blockquote><p>And they never wasted their money or efforts on putting up church buildings or making their altars beautiful. These are all Babylon's systems. </p><p>The deception has been going on and multitudes are unknowingly being victimized. We must make certain that we're doing nothing else except Jesus' ways and God's WORD, because Jesus is the only Way to the Father. We must rely on no one and nothing except the Holy Spirit, what He teaches and what He reveals to us through God's spoken Word in the bible. </p><b>GOD's Flesh E-Book:
</b>
The first edition was radical but this new edition is simply unbelievable. You want to buy a PDF copy for only P800? Email me at <b>godsfleshblog@gmail.com, </b>indicate your desire<b> </b>to buy<b> </b>and get subscribed to our Emailed Apostolic Teachings (EAT). Find out what it's all about.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/s345/57286c5f8c20b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/s320/57286c5f8c20b.png" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-12152546660911228762020-05-15T18:09:00.003-07:002022-05-16T19:09:38.826-07:00What Lockdown is For the Church<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1520690539529-84f9d7dca7df?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=750&q=80" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="266" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1520690539529-84f9d7dca7df?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=750&q=80" width="400" /></a></div>
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A lot of believers online are trying to sound confident about the development of cured Covid cases, and I celebrate with them. In fact, lockdown policies would be moderated in some parts. This is welcome news. There's an increase in the number of patients surviving. Who wouldn't want to see Covid finally gone? But there are whispers about a second wave. [Picture by Nuno Alberto, Unsplash].<br />
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I believe God showed me a mental vision of how the church is now being pushed to a corner and gradually given no other option but to seek refuge in God's supernatural ways and power to solve the Covid crisis. Believe it or not, the ending of Covid is in the hands of the church--it depends on whether church would succumb to God's power or rely on what man could do.<br />
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<b>What Jesus Would Do</b><br />
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I mean, even church today relies on the government for protection against Covid 19. Just imagine Christ seeking medical protection and food supplies or <i>ayuda</i> from Pilate's government because he and his disciples might catch the virus or starve to death. I can't think of Jesus this way. Simply inconceivable. From what we gather in the Gospel, Jesus would've provided the surefire solution to the crisis.<br />
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Church has to step out in faith. I don't mean defy government directives to stay indoors and avoid any mass gathering or physical contact with other people. We should stay indoors. But church has to step out of its long reliance on earthly systems and what man can do (get out of the Babylon system) and plunge headlong to the supernatural power of God--start living and doing ministry as Jesus did.<br />
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Imagine church pastors and members praying for Covid patients on the phone or on live video and healing them instantly! Imagine church multiplying food supply supernaturally in their barangays, especially for the poor. Government probably will change its mind about seeing church as a "non essential" and ask pastors to lead the frontlines in the streets. Imagine pastors with quarantine passes merely touching hospital buildings (they don't need to go in) and immediately all the patients (even the intubated and seriously critical) are made whole. I believe with all my heart this is possible and it's God's will. But we need the right prayer.<br />
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<b>What Kind of Prayer?</b><br />
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The first step is to seek God's face, not anything else. SEEK GOD'S FACE. This is what lockdown is all about. God didn't allow it as a coincidence. God designed it particularly for the church--keep it indoors in small groups and unable to do anything but seek His face. So, what does church pray for today? To see his face? Or is it to seek for protection from Covid? More food supplies? More channels to preach God's Word? More access to live-streaming and online worship? More views and likes for their FB live worship and preaching?<br />
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Preaching and worship are good, but what we need first is to seek God's face--and I wonder if church realizes what this is about. Because it's simply that--seek God's face. Literally. No need to interpret or complicate or doctor it with man's theology or philosophy or denominational doctrines which are plain useless in God's Kingdom. Church can never defeat the devil except by God's spoken Word and supernatural power alone.<br />
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And there's no way to get God's spoken Word (Word that gives Life, John 6.63) except through the supernatural guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The words I have spoken to you--they are full of the Spirit and life.</blockquote>
<b>Seeking God's Face</b><br />
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It's in the popular passage in 2 Chronicles 7. If God's people (that includes gentile believers) humble themselves and pray and seek his face and repent from wicked ways. It's God's reply to Solomon's prayer specifically about Israel facing a crisis, like a serious natural calamity (like Covid, though they say it was artificially produced in a lab, but it's still covered by God's power because nothing is impossible to Him). And true believers in Christ are now part of Israel. There's no more difference between them and Jewish believers. So we can claim the promise here.<br />
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The promise is that God will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our land. But we have to seriously seek his face first. But if you don't believe in the supernatural, you'd say this isn't literal. This is the disease in church today, one of the <i>"wicked ways"</i> it needs to repent from. Because of its garbage philosophies and human theology which are all earthly, it cannot believe the supernatural anymore. And this is serious. In Revelation, God wants the end-times church <i>"to do the things you did at first."</i><br />
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Anything done for God not in God's ways is wickedness. God wants his people to do everything <i>"in all his ways,"</i> found in his Word. He said "all" and means "all." This is why Jesus said, <i>"the Son can do nothing"</i> except what he sees the Father doing [John 5.19].<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways..." [Deuteronomy 10].</blockquote>
Walking "in all his ways" is a vital component of "to fear the Lord your God." And the modern church has been ignoring the ways of God and even mocks them when somebody like me gets dead serious about doing things in God's ways alone. I've been mocked a lot of times. but I insist because I have seen and tasted that the Lord is good, and how he does things is what really works<br />
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<b>Can You See God's Face?</b><br />
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God wouldn't tell us to seek his face if it's not possible. He's not a liar. Physically this isn't possible, so God takes us to the spiritual realms where seeing his face is possible through visions. This was how Moses and the elders of Israel saw God and didn't die.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.</blockquote>
Ezekiel and John saw that same vision of God and survived. We can also seek God's face this way and get fresh Word straight from his mouth to guide us with. This is what God wants when severe calamities happen and no answer seems possible anywhere--and God seems to be silent and not answering our prayers. Don't seek for blessings or even aids for ministry so we can go on preaching online even during lockdown.<br />
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Seek his face! Not doing so is wickedness.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, <b>to seduce you from the way </b>in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you. [Deuteronomy 13]</blockquote>
Not doing things in God's ways alone is an "evil" we have to purge among us. It is rebellion against God because it "seduces" believers away from God's command and makes them do (and rely on) nothing but their own efforts, understanding and resources when doing "ministry" for God. Seeking God's face is seeking his ways--his supernatural ways.<br />
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<b>Show Me Your Glory</b><br />
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Moses knew so well what I'm saying here. After God gave him a lot of good promises and assured him that his angel would go before them to conquer Canaan, Moses was not satisfied. Even if had seen God's presence a lot of times on top of Sinai, he still wasn't satisfied. Material blessings, property (real estate in Canaan with ready-to-occupy dwellings and wells were nothing to him), and "some" first-hand experience of God's supernatural power didn't suffice. He wanted to see God's face.<br />
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He was a face seeker. Are we? Or do we just seek his blessings on our ministries?<br />
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God had just told Moses: <i>“I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” </i>Moses had asked God to go with them to Canaan. Answered prayer. But answered prayers like that for ministry didn't really excite Moses. This was what made him excited.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."</blockquote>
Moses was a desperate, avid seeker of God's face. He didn't care about the promised land being fulfilled if God wouldn't go with them there. Material blessings and ministry achievements were zero to Moses if he didn't see God's face. The church should have his heart. This is precisely what God wants the church to do in this lockdown season. This is Jesus' heart.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I live because of the Father. [John 6.57]</blockquote>
Isaiah caught it vividly here:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, [53.2]</blockquote>
Jesus grew up always before the Father. Always seeing his face. Spending much quality time to enjoy his presence. No wonder God said of him, <i>"This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."</i> This tells me how Jesus was already like that even before he was sent to earth to die for our sins. And his life teaches us the principle that you cannot really preach about God without seeing his face. Seeking God's face is what really counts.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. [John 1.18]</blockquote>
<b>GOD's Flesh E-Book </b><br />
<br />
The first edition was really radical and sold to select buyers but the original copy got lost. So God urged me to write a second edition, and I'm simply overwhelmed how it's triply radical than the first. You want to buy a PDF copy for only P800? Email me at <b>godsfleshblog@gmail.com</b> and indicate your intention.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/s345/57286c5f8c20b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/s320/57286c5f8c20b.png" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-35813997539766084292020-05-09T20:08:00.005-07:002022-05-18T18:38:38.426-07:00Manifesting Jesus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9n7RxyWja6yQPT6tc0vyNwmGHRQAKzlFlEzvcnJDXtAqd-YeJfcb4Vx3scFCehoLkQw4yI_UJ15VTR5CHzsU5_xsXdNIwCs3VSGQgOAVsCes_Jn6I-ZmKAyKoTZzVqlUtDt2deyqlNLfW25_TU1Bky6Te-0zBp4z44vSF4wbOTqWuCjKv-uMTjq-jgw/s1920/james-kovin-WQjSCX8utYw-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9n7RxyWja6yQPT6tc0vyNwmGHRQAKzlFlEzvcnJDXtAqd-YeJfcb4Vx3scFCehoLkQw4yI_UJ15VTR5CHzsU5_xsXdNIwCs3VSGQgOAVsCes_Jn6I-ZmKAyKoTZzVqlUtDt2deyqlNLfW25_TU1Bky6Te-0zBp4z44vSF4wbOTqWuCjKv-uMTjq-jgw/w400-h225/james-kovin-WQjSCX8utYw-unsplash.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
The Covid crisis (especially the lockdown and the second wave) is going to force the church in a corner where it has no choice but to tap on heaven's supernatural resources. I hope I'm wrong, but some prophets say a second, deadlier wave is on the way. And if so, we're in for a really tough ride, I mean the church. <div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@james2k?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="font-size: x-small;">James Kovin</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/resurrect?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="font-size: x-small;">Unsplash</a><span style="font-size: x-small;">.</span></div>
<br />
The thing is, we should get the message loud and clear now and not wait for a second wave to happen. God wants the church to get out of the Babylon system (worldly ways, man's efforts and denominationalism) and join Him in his supernatural move today, before the end comes. God's agenda is the total restoration of what he has given us before Jesus returns.<br />
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God has given the church awesome authority, powers, spiritual gifts and supernatural abilities that not even angels and devils have seen since the beginning of time. But church in its incredible stubbornness just trashed all that and preferred it's own ways and efforts instead, marveling more on Babylon's systems than God's supernatural provisions.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Ephesians 3]</blockquote>
God intends to display his other awesome powers yet unseen by <i>"rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms."</i> These are angels and devils. And he plans to use the church for this in the last days. Problem is, the church is not ready. It is NOT in any way spiritual and supernatural. It is earthly and fleshy, nothing more. And James said what is earthly "is devilish."<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. [James 3]</blockquote>
This has been the church's sin way back to the times of the church fathers--I mean the founders of church denominations. Nehemiah had the insight to repent from their sins and <i>"the sins of our fathers" </i>when they had gone after other gods and adopted pagan ways and systems. What's more, the church has long abandoned the prayer of Jesus in John 17 that all believers have complete unity and be as one--just as the Father and Son are one. Defying this for years and decades is a serious sin.<br />
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Church has been very busy going round and round, here and there, thinking that it is accomplishing a lot of things for God. It thinks that it has reached the nations with the Gospel with its mission works. But it's not the Gospel of the Kingdom they have preached but the gospel of their own empires--their denominations. So this time, God is putting a stop to all that waste.<br />
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God has incapacitated the church and isolated it from the world so it cannot do anything but sit and wait. Okay, it tries to keep on with its traditions and ways of worship and preach its own gospel, but God will stop even that--and the church better stop before a second wave is decreed. It should start re-seeking God and go back to God's original plan.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and <b>do the things you did at first</b>. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. [Revelation 2]</blockquote>
What did church do at first? Go back to the Book of Acts and you'd see. Better yet, go back to what Jesus did. God wants the church to go back to that--to do what it did first when it was still genuinely in Christ. The Ephesus church--and all churches for that matter--is just a continuation of the church we see in Jesus' ministry and Acts.<br />
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So don't try to figure out what you, as a denomination or local church, did at first. God is not referring to that. He's referring to the church as one body. What he says to the seven churches in Revelation he is saying not just to those local churches but to the entire body of Christ--because God sees only that body--that one church--each time he talks about "church."<br />
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We have to go back to our original call, our original assignment--which is to continue what Jesus did, to pick up where he left off. In short--MANIFEST JESUS in our lives. This is why Jesus is in us 100 percent--so Jesus can manifest and continue his work in us and through us. But what we do is do our own dead works. There's no fellowship or harmony between Christ and Belial. This cannot happen anymore in these last days. So God is doing something to end the Babylon system in church.<br />
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Jesus' ministry is unique. Church does not look anything like it. Jesus healed the sick with just a word. Demons were cast out of the demon-possessed with just a word. Unruly creation was rebuked with just a word. Lazarus was resurrected from the dead with just 3 simple words--"Lazarus, come out!" A lot of times Jesus did not pray before doing ministry or a miracle and yet the Father answered him.<br />
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Today, church prays long, poetic and dramatic prayers with tears and emotions but often produces nothing. Even simple colds, cough and flu are not given instant remedies. What they call "miracles" today are the result of medical science and maintenance medicines. They cast out demons with the worship team and prayer warriors and so much hard efforts but often to no avail.<br />
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Jesus did it alone, with a word or a simple prayer. And it worked each time. He brought his disciples along for discipleship training, not prayer support. It's good to have prayer warriors supporting you, but not because you lack power and you need added power from them. It's a wrong concept. Christ in you is FULL SUPPORT, all the support you need. If you have Jesus in you, you have heaven's FULL BACKING.<br />
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Church should be like Jesus. This has been God's plan since the creation of the world. It's high time to move in full power and authority in Christ, to declare healing, miracles, and supernatural control of creation. It's time to walk on water and multiply bread and fish and produce money from fish's mouths. It's time to turn water to wine and resurrect the dead.<br />
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But we need to seek HIM and really desire his life and supernatural ministry--desire him more than our daily bread. God needs to see out hearts really coveting what he has prepared for us, not just half-hearted reactions or religious compliance. We need to desperately pursue this daily in our hearts--probably even shed sweat like blood as Jesus did in his agony in the garden.<br />
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We need to pursue after manifesting Jesus in our lives.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>GOD's Flesh E-Book </b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nr3p1FTrsjs/XrdEEDboSpI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/ZViXw6t5MgAbsQeWo46LXpehE70OulxHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screenshot%2B2019-08-20%2B17.28.56.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="180" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nr3p1FTrsjs/XrdEEDboSpI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/ZViXw6t5MgAbsQeWo46LXpehE70OulxHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Screenshot%2B2019-08-20%2B17.28.56.png" width="160" /></a></div>
You want this 100-plus page e-book for only P800?<br />
<br />
It's about the radical move of God for the church in these last days. I believe God inspired me to write the first edition which was published and sold to a select few. But the original copy was lost. So I can't reproduce it anymore.<br />
<br />
But God again urged me to write a second one, and this one's a lot more radical than the first. I myself am sometimes shocked when I read it.<br />
<br />Email me at godsflesgblog@gmail.com so I can send you my GCash details. After payment, I send you the e-book. If you choose to, you get subscribed to my EAT (Emailed Apostolic Teachings). Find out what it is about.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-30721528509298376222020-05-08T21:35:00.007-07:002022-05-16T19:10:37.776-07:00New Normal in the Spirit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1585264084461-02539d863da6?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=750&q=80" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="266" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1585264084461-02539d863da6?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=750&q=80" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This is NOT a time for usual things. Much less for church traditions. If in CIY Fellowship we've been doing things so unusual, it's time to leave these "elementary teachings" and go on to the next level of maturity. As there's a <i>new normal</i> in the world, so there is in the heavenlies. Actually, the new normal in the spirit realms has started long before the one in the world came to be. [Picture by TedwardQuinn, Unsplash].<br />
<br />
Just as the Jesus' spiritual church started long before man's church in this world started.<br />
<br />
<b>Least is the Greatest</b><br />
<br />
In these last days, God is introducing some brand new things to the Philadelphia church [Revelation 3]. This church is weak (it has "little strength") and probably belittled and despised. The least church by all earthly measures and standards. But in God's eyes it is a 5-star general in his army, being in possession of an <i>"open door" </i>from the Lord that no one can shut.<br />
<br />
To this church Jesus has given the following:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.</blockquote>
The name of God and of the New Jerusalem, and Jesus' "new name" are given this church, and God's "name" is his nature. <i>Jehovah Rophe</i> is God's nature of being the Healer, <i>Jehovah Jireh</i> is his being the Provider, <i>El Shaddai </i>his being the Lord God Almighty, <i>Jehovah Nissi</i> his being the Banner, and so on. His name is His nature.<br />
<br />
<b>Co-Heirs with Christ</b><br />
<br />
When Jesus gives us God's name he is giving us God's nature through Him. In Christ we heal, we provide, we are banners, and we have the Lord God almighty living in us. We are God's sons and daughters while Jesus is the Son. Jesus is the Light while we are lights. We are co-heirs with Christ. We are seated with Jesus in the heavenly realms. But this truth is barely explored in church because church has been busy with earthly things that it calls "ministry."<br />
<br />
Church is anything but spiritual and supernatural. Church knows only how to move in the flesh, not in the spirit. It's best "spiritual" activity is merely earthly, and even Jesus' earthly teachings it cannot fully grasp. Jesus asked Nicodemus once:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?</blockquote>
But in these last days, these powerful teachings will be revealed more to the Philadelphian church. The church will receive God's nature and live out heaven's culture (new Jerusalem coming down on it, which is a fulfillment of <i>"thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"</i>) and possess Jesus' new nature. Absolutely no more man's programs and plans and activities and no more man's theology which all serve to make us drift farther from the supernatural God--earthly systems of Babylon that shut the door for spiritual breakthroughs. No wonder the open door for this church this time cannot be shut close by anyone anymore. The remnant church has to make up for the great loss.<br />
<br />
<b>Open Door</b><br />
<br />
Anyone in the move of God now has an open door! No need to knock. We can go in and out and find pasture. Even Jesus himself does not need to <i>stand at the door and knock</i>. The door is wide open for both Jesus and his true church to go in and out and fulfill the Plan in his supernatural ways. This is the time to declare things that are not as though they are. Jesus healed the paralytic without praying. He multiplied bread and fish with a very short prayer. Jesus merely spoke the word and didn't need to go to the centurion's house to heal his servant. He resurrected Lazarus from the dead without asking the Father about it, but merely stated that he knew how the Father always heard his prayer.<br />
<br />
Long, poetic and dramatic religious prayers have no place in heaven's new normal!<br />
<br />
It's a powerful open heaven, something like what Jesus had-- and what Moses and Elijah had. Every prayer will be answered with awesome signs and wonders and miracles. This is when the Two Witnesses (how the Holy Spirit manifested in the lives of Moses and Elijah) will endow the church with supernatural power in the last days--the awesome power of God operated with a mere Word. Sorry for churches that do not believe in signs and wonders and genuine spiritual gifts (or pay lip service to them) and teach that these things have ceased in our modern times. But they pray long prayers.<br />
<br />
True believers will abandon man-made standards and institutions--lveer away from magnificent church buildings and mega churches, for instance, and go back to ordinary house churches or room meetings, as perhaps why the disciples met in the upper room instead of the temple courts. My imagination tells me that after Jesus' resurrection had torn the temple curtain in two, people saw that there was nothing in the inner sanctuary. It was as empty as the empty tomb. All along they thought there was still something there.<br />
<br />
<b>Powerless Church</b><br />
<br />
The curtain that hides the powerlessness of man's church will soon be torn and the church fully exposed for what it really is. And true believers will start turning to the Lord in truth and to Jesus' glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any blemish. They will reject man's bogus churches.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In that day people will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.<br />
They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles and the incense altars their fingers have made. [Isaiah 17]</blockquote>
Well, supernatural activities once took place in their temple--like when Zechariah the priest saw an angel in the temple and went mute for a while for not believing the angel's prophecy. But after that, Jesus declared the physical temple null and void in John chapter 2 because his body was now the "new normal" when it came to God's genuine temple, his true abode. The true temple is spiritual. So no more magnificent religious buildings for God.<br />
<br />
And while in that simple, unimpressive upper room, a great spiritual breakthrough happened. They spoke in tongues. It never happened in the temple or the synagogues. The top religious leaders of their bible-based religion at the time didn't understand what it was. It was a new move of God never before seen among God's people. It was a new normal. Since then, powerful things now happened in seemingly weak and small gatherings. The disciples continued to meet more from house to house and seldom met at the temple. They grew in numbers but met in small groups.<br />
<br />
<b>Apostles and Prophets</b><br />
<br />
And no more priests and high priests and law teachers and scribes. Instead, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers took over. This is the name of the new Jerusalem--the very culture of heaven on earth. But church denominations later dismissed these anointed offices and thought that their missionaries, superintendents, directors, presidents and seminary professors were smarter ideas.<br />
<br />
They say the offices of the apostles and prophets have stopped. Says who? But in heaven, the apostles continue their ministry--they are among the elders worshiping God day and night--and the 12 foundations of heaven are named after them. There are still apostles in heaven. And Jesus said, <i>"your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."</i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. [Revelation 21]</blockquote>
They even made bishops their denominational leaders instead of apostles. Apostles and prophets they trashed as obsolete. But in Paul's letters, he told Timothy and Titus to assign elders and deacons (bishops in other translations) in church. Bishops are assigned by apostles who lead the church because the church's foundation is <i>"built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Parable of the Seed</b><br />
<br />
The seed was sown on the soil and stayed there a long time. No seed grows and bears fruit overnight. It has to stay in the soil all alone by itself. It's "quarantined" there. And this lockdown or quarantine is designed to make us sprout and grow and bear fruit a hundredfold <i>"what was sown."</i><br />
<br />
But be careful what soil you're locked down in. There is the pathway, the rocky ground and the thorny ground. Pathway is when you cannot get revelations from God because as soon as you hear it the devil steals it. Do you know that your love for God is what catches the Word and makes it stay in your heart? "He who keeps my word, he it is that loves me."<br />
<br />
The rocky ground is focused on the cares of this life. They involve themselves in politics and its useless issues, for example. Or their careers, professions, studies, families, especially in this Covid lockdown period. Be careful with being followers of Duterte or defending the cause of ABS CBN. Spend your quarantine time in these things and you end up like the seed in the rocky soil--always excited about God only in the beginning.<br />
<br />
The thorny soil just thinks of money and how to make it grow. Or taking care of their lucrative connections or potential earnings. They hate being least because they want to be with the greatest and popular. There's nothing in their prayers but financial and material concerns and needs. They worship on Sundays so God would protect their wealth or grant their petition for promotion.<br />
<br />
All of them are church goers and active church members. They even sound so spiritual and gentle and post nothing but bible verses on Facebook. They go online for live stream worship. They think this is the right thing to do during quarantine--they think this is the soil that produces crop a hundredfold.<br />
<br />
But what God wants us to spend time in during lockdown is go deeper in his Word. The seed needs the fertile soil of the Word, being watered also by the Word. This is what the Philadelphian church did in the last days:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.</blockquote>
Well, all churches study the Word and preach it. What's the difference? The Philadelphia church studied it in-depth in a way that they <i>'have not denied my name."</i> They meditated the Word and lived out the nature (the name) of God. And that means living his character, life and awesome supernatural power.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>GOD's Flesh E-Book </b><br />
<br />Anyone wants a PDF copy of my God's Flesh e-book? Buy for only P800 by emailing at godsfleshblog@gmail.com<div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-17362878099891009922020-04-16T20:38:00.002-07:002022-05-16T19:11:34.898-07:00Mark 3 Reveals What the Church Should Be Today <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1542736667-069246bdbc6d?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=751&q=80" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="751" height="266" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1542736667-069246bdbc6d?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=751&q=80" width="400" /></a></div>
<a href="https://godsflesh.blogspot.com/2020/04/what-caught-my-critical-eye-at-once-was.html" target="_blank">Here's Part 1</a><br />
<br />
Imagine that poor guy in Mark 3 suffering from a shriveled hand a long time even if he went to the worship place (probably a long-time member of it) where God, the Healer, was supposed to be worshiped. All religion and no power. The "spiritual" high-ranking Pharisees were even there. I remember churches where pastors have titles and degrees, adept at their human theologies, and yet the sick there remain to be sick. [Image above by Kendal, Unsplash].<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
But Jesus did a spectacular miracle. You know what a shriveled hand is? "Shriveled" means wrinkled and contracted, says Google. It's atrophy and drying of a limb due to sickness, like extreme thinning of the hand and arm, and kindof twisted. See image below. The man in Mark 3 was suffering something like that. I imagine it to be severe, because the miracle created a sensation (besides being done on a Sabbath), so much so that the authorities wanted Jesus killed.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58750a9d17bffcd4457f75f0/58791c5fdb29d641c19c2947/58a12bc6b3db2b394548c068/1487541644112/20170117_Weippert_VirgendelSorocco_06.jpg?format=1500w" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58750a9d17bffcd4457f75f0/58791c5fdb29d641c19c2947/58a12bc6b3db2b394548c068/1487541644112/20170117_Weippert_VirgendelSorocco_06.jpg?format=1500w" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.seektextura.com/blog-source/2017/2/12/a-firm-grip-but-no-legs" target="_blank">Picture borrowed from this site.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So Jesus commanded the man, <i>"Stretch out your hand!"</i> The man did and his hand (and arm) was "completely restored" right on the spot. Where is this in church today? What we do is pray for the sick and hope that God would "use the medicine and the doctor" for a "miracle." That's our idea of what a miracle is. It's very far from what Jesus had in mind and what he did.<br />
<br />
Or, instead of telling the man, "Stretch out your hand," we'd probably say, "Have you seen a doctor?" Or recommend one to him. And then pray for him.<br />
<br />
Or, we'd probably say a long, poetic prayer that touches the heart and makes people cry. But powerless, nonetheless. We think that prayers like that please God. Well, it pleases people and touches and blesses them, but powerless. But wait--Jesus didn't pray here. No religious, long, emotional and impressive prayers like what we do. He just commanded the man and it worked! Such a short, unfashionable, vulgar sentence.<br />
<br />
And right there before their eyes, the shriveled hand elongated to normal size and transformed into a perfect arm and hand. This means the bones inside grew longer and arm and hand muscles were added. Can you imagine this? Can you see this happening as you read the passage? It's clear and alive!<br />
<br />
Where is this in church today?<br />
<br />
Worse, if the meds and doctors don't work, we simply say that it's probably God's will. And anyway, a healed and saved soul is what matters. The physical is just temporary. We shall all be changed during rapture. Imagine Jesus saying all these excuses. We've been seeking refuge in them for too long. It's high time that the church repent of this unbelief.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. [Acts 17.30]</blockquote>
Inability to do signs and wonders is faithlessness and perversity in God's eyes. It is sin that we need to repent of. When his disciples were unable to drive out demons from a boy, here was what Jesus said:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
You unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me."</blockquote>
Jesus did evangelism only one way--preach and heal. Preach and heal or do miracles, and I mean real miracles. It's all over the Gospel. Why can't the church see it? It's how church should do evangelism, too. No other way. If we keep doing ministry our way, we would end up with nothing but the rotten fruit of our own efforts--like what the Tower of Babel resulted to--<i>just making a name for themselves</i>.<br />
<br />
God's way is stick to the marriage of these two ministries--evangelism and miracles. Signs and wonders. Why? To make plain to everyone that it's God doing it, not us. In the spirit realms, it's always important for everything to end up in God's glory. Man's effort is always zero, garbage, though it looks good and successful to natural men. If our church is just about pleasing natural men, then it's zero. We'd be after programs, plans, activities and our petty ministries.<br />
<br />
Paul says this is why it's so vital that evangelism should always go with miracles:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. [1 Corinthians 2]</blockquote>
Evangelism and preaching today solely rests on man's wisdom. No wonder church is so powerless. In the midst of a pandemic, it is among those that need protection from government. Not Jesus. I can imagine him providing genuine miracles and healing, rebuking Covid 19 and commanding it to scram, while multiplying food supply supernaturally. And then preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. Imagine the impact, backed up by heaven's armies.<br />
<br />
Some churches dare venture to challenge the deadly virus from false bravado. They defy government quarantine orders and gather for worship when in fact, they do not operate in Jesus' signs and wonders. It won't work if you don't really believe it. If you do, it should be a lifestyle. Paul said the signs and wonders in his ministry happened <i>"with perseverance,"</i> [2 Corinthians 12.12]. Don't venture into miracles and signs and wonders if you've not been flowing in it.<br />
<br />
You need to build up your faith first for this gifting.<br />
<br />
What faith most believers have today rests on man's wisdom and effort. What is born of flesh is flesh. You need to level up to the genuine dimensions of the Holy Spirit and have your faith activated there. This is what the church should work on first before it can go out and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom. Even Jesus needed his wilderness experience first, overcome the flesh, defeat the devil there, and be <i>"empowered by the Holy Spirit."</i> It's essential to defeat Satan in the wilderness. It can't happen in your comfort zone. And often, your comfort zone is your petty church ministry.<br />
<br />
This is why Jesus instructed the disciples to <i>"wait for the gift of the Father," </i>before doing any ministry. The modern church skipped this and went straight on doing their own ministry to grab more people into their church buildings and make them members--and get higher church income. Then it produced franchises all over the world. This is why church is powerless. It tries hard to attract the world and look for ways to get its attention.<br />
<br />
It operates in the world's systems. Jesus never did that. Instead, of their own volition, people tried hard to come near him, in multitudes. Without gimmicks or marketing promotions.<br />
<br />
Church lost this anointing. It should plead God to bring this back in our time and decide never to do ministry in our own ways and efforts again. We should rely solely on God's supernatural power and be led only by his Holy Spirit. By God's grace, I and my wife operate in God's signs and wonders, though we're still novices at this. We need to recoup the big losses we suffered in the spirit realms when we fed mainly on man's wisdom, ways and traditions for so many years. We need to relearn things and make them our new normal.<br />
<br />
And God's move these last days is no longer about a single individual or leader. His move is the church--a glorious one, without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Holy and pure. His move is his one body. He will anoint this body in the last days to activate all his spiritual gifts in it, spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth in God's ways alone.<br />
<br />
<b>GOD's Flesh E-Book </b><br />
<br />To buy the NEW AND LATEST EDITION of the e-book, email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com. Get my short emailed insights regularly when you buy the e-book through the email address above. The e-book shares radical insights about church and on genuine spiritual revival you probably haven't heard of.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/s345/57286c5f8c20b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/s320/57286c5f8c20b.png" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-91849173457761680222020-04-15T20:24:00.005-07:002022-05-16T19:12:16.205-07:00Mark 3 Reveals the Church Today<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1512102438733-bfa4ed29aef7?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=667&q=80" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="667" height="298" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1512102438733-bfa4ed29aef7?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=667&q=80" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
What caught my critical eye at once was the man with a shriveled hand in the synagogue in Mark 3. What was he doing there remaining unhealed? There were Pharisees around with the Herodians, so why didn't they pray for healing? Surely, their religious expertise have made them read about miracles and healing in the Old Testament done by God. But why did this man go on suffering from a shriveled hand? Why was there no miracle in the synagogue? [Picture above from Natanael Melchor, Unsplash].<br />
<br />
What kind of synagogue was that? The members claimed to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but that man's hand remained shriveled--until Jesus came. Church is like that today. They worship Jesus, the Healer, but their very members remain sick and suffering from ailments. Even their pastors have maintenance medicines. Some even die of diseases or rushed to the ICU for serious medical attention.<br />
<br />
They know Jesus only as Savior. Jesus is a lot more than that. He is our Portion. When He is our Shepherd, we shall not want. This means He should be our everything, not just Savior.<br />
<br />
So, are they bothered that their faith and church are useless? Not one bit. What they focus on is the observance of their church traditions, like the Pharisees did. Their only concern is see to it that everything is done according to the acceptable practices of their denomination, inline with their doctrines.<br />
<br />
The Pharisees watched Jesus closely to see if he'd break their cherished church tradition. But what did Jesus do? He "broke" it in broad daylight. That's Jesus' faith, demolish silly traditions, not perpetuate them. Churches mindlessly preserve their traditions no matter if they run counter to God's Word. Like supernatural healing. Yeah, they believe in "healing," but what they mean is the cure provided by medical science. If you insist on supernatural healing, they'd think you're nuts.<br />
<br />
Healing to them is what medicines and hospital treatments do that cost them lots of money--plus prayers, of course. But this was not what Jesus meant by "healing." Everything Jesus did, they replaced with what man can do. Even supernatural revelation from the Holy Spirit they replaced with human "systematic" theology, hermeneutics and philosophy. Church has practically rejected everything Jesus did.<br />
<br />
Yup, they want to <i>"kill Jesus"</i> in church today, as the Pharisees did then. Most churches want to kill anything that is genuinely of Jesus and replace them with man's ideas and religious systems. Another example, they replaced Jesus' <i>Spirit and truth </i>worship with their worship programs and rituals. Unless you worship in their church building and follow their programs, it's not worship to them.<br />
<br />
In fact, worship today is lots of singing and sermons. Without these, it's not worship.<br />
<br />
Jesus challenged the Pharisees about their idea of Sabbath. Was it for saving or killing life? Like church today. It's killed the Life that Jesus offers and replaced it with programs, activities, ministries and more meetings and gimmicks. Without these things, church to them is "dead." If you tell them to just focus on what Jesus and the apostles did--like the LIFE, signs and wonders, miracles, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and true discipleship--they'd dismiss them and insist on their own brand of gospel and discipleship instead.<br />
<br />
So Jesus wanted to demolish their idea of what Sabbath was--not by debating them--but by doing a supernatural miracle. Today, they would do it with debates, discussing about what philosophers, great church men and theologians said in the past and pit ideas against each other. Jesus never did that. He simply performed a miracle to prove a point.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. 5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.</blockquote>
Where is this in church today? Nowhere. Instead, they take so much pride in their silly human theologies. Or debating using bible passages. They have "killed" Jesus in church. But mark this word--God is going to restore everything in church before Jesus comes back. The remnant church will accept this, but man's church will reject it. They will stick with their own brand of church.<br />
<br />
Then large crowds followed Jesus. They always did, of their own willingness. They were not invited or lured with goodies or benefits or promised anything. Jesus never promoted through ads or marketing. The Good News did all that, spread by word of mouth from genuinely excited people.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.</blockquote>
And why were people so excited? Because they were seeing something unique, something other groups or organizations didn't have. They saw the genuine power of God. Church today just repeats what NGOs or cause-oriented groups do. Often, they're like the Red Cross or the Rotary Club.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.</blockquote>
Where is this in church today? Nowhere, because they have rejected Jesus. What you'd see in church ministries are crowds lined up and waiting for their turn to be checked by doctors and given free medicines. This is good, but the church is here to represent God's supernatural Kingdom to people, not what the world already knows and sees. God did not give us the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit with which he raised Jesus from the dead just so we can be like the Red Cross.<br />
<br />
Without resembling anything of Jesus, the church today has failed. Yes, there are converts from evangelistic efforts, but the converts are merely introduced to denominations and local churches, not to Jesus himself and his supernatural Kingdom and ministry. Jesus is virtually a stranger to them. When faced with the real Messiah, Christians fail to recognize him and get scared as the disciples thought Jesus was a ghost when they saw his real power and authority as he walked on water. They often think the real Jesus is a cult once they get used to man's church.<br />
<br />
No wonder God allowed churches closed this Covid 19 crisis. God doesn't want their worship services and preaching. HE wants believers to look inside themselves and see how far they have gone from Jesus.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://godsflesh.blogspot.com/2020/04/mark-3-reveals-what-church-should-be.html" target="_blank">Continued here...</a></b><br />
<br />
<b>GOD's Flesh E-Book</b><br />
<br />
To buy the NEW AND LATEST EDITION of the e-book, email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com. The e-book costs P800.
Get my short emailed insights regularly when you buy the e-book through the email address above. The e-book shares radical insights about church and on genuine spiritual revival you probably haven't heard of.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/s345/57286c5f8c20b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivELqlCZFG4/Vyh5AK9GLmI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ZZw4l4_sUQ0g3MN0nWxMdjzbU3VEJ7KwCPcBGAYYCw/s320/57286c5f8c20b.png" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-17028136041337396102020-04-12T16:06:00.001-07:002022-05-16T19:12:44.887-07:00The Lord's Resurrection Arm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HNJQ6s3k68g/XpOZnYDq6VI/AAAAAAAAA80/vzpz1I6Zi8AjzElURs_Z45Ml9176UiBgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/photo-1579047440583-43a690fe2243.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="279" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HNJQ6s3k68g/XpOZnYDq6VI/AAAAAAAAA80/vzpz1I6Zi8AjzElURs_Z45Ml9176UiBgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/photo-1579047440583-43a690fe2243.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
In a way, Resurrection's good news is also about the grace that enables us to stop drinking from the cup of God's wrath, and having the enemy drink from it instead. By Jesus' rising from death through God's supernatural power, true believers become children of God spared from his wrath and given supernatural power to live his life on earth and do his ministry. [Picture above by Damir Spanic, Unsplash].<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again. 23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’ And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked on.” [Isaiah 51.22-23]</blockquote>
But it doesn't end there. To a lot of church people, though, it does--escaping the wrath is the end--and all they have to do now is be active in <b>their </b>church and in <b>their</b> ministries happily ever after. This is what they call <i>church</i>, and no wonder God allowed church to stop in this Covid crisis. It's what man wants church to be--the arm of man building his own empire, not God's.<br />
<br />
Isaiah 51 gives us so much insight into God's present move in our times. Because God is consistent and does not change, we may safely assume that what he was in the past is what he also is today--his will, character, mindset, actions and propensities. If he behaved in a certain way about an issue in the past, he will behave the same way if the issue--or something of its nature--pops up again in our time. Like divorce. Then and now he hates divorce.<br />
<br />
<b>A Divorced Worshiper?</b><br />
<br />
Yet, it's curious how God gave a <i>"certificate of divorce"</i> to Israel to send her away in chapter 50 of Isaiah. Well, Jeremiah 3 sheds some light. It was Israel who <i>"has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there." </i>Read the chapter<i>. </i>So in her stubborn unfaithfulness, God gave her a certificate of divorce, not because He wanted it, but because Israel's acts warranted it. God saw that in her heart, Israel wanted a divorce.<br />
<br />
And Israel could not go on worshiping God as a divorcee, having sexual relations with other lovers and then going back to Him as a wife in pretension.<br />
<br />
Jesus did say that Moses allowed the Israelites a certificate of divorce because of their stubborn hearts, <i>"but it was not this way from the beginning,"</i> he said. Meaning, it's not really God's will. A lot of divorce aficionados refer to this passage to support their divorce, but it's not God's will but a concession to the stubborn--and as long as both parties do not remarry.<br />
<br />
It's not God's will.<br />
<br />
Anyway, it's crystal clear that God was not after divorce but merely unwilling to coerce Israel to love him back. He set her free, but not without constant plea for Israel to return to him.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
12 “‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever....14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for <b>I am your husband</b>."</blockquote>
God was not a divorce aficionado. He just gave Israel the freedom to choose. But he maintained that he was still her husband. He was not after divorce.<br />
<br />
Because divorce or even separation from God makes you drink from his cup of wrath, God doesn't really want it. But it's how many Christians live and act. Even if you celebrate Jesus' Resurrection with all your might (and with the nicest programs and singing and sermons), it will be useless if you keep drinking from that cup. You cannot be His wife and go on mating other lovers. You cannot have life while drinking God's wrath--which a lot of Christians do today even as they become "active" in church.<br />
<br />
<b>Sexual Immorality</b><br />
<br />
"<i>Mating with other lovers"</i> is spiritual sexual immorality, unfaithfulness, and idolatry. Whatever takes so much from your quality time with God is your "other lover." Or renders you too busy to have your quiet time with him. That's spiritual adultery and promiscuity. And it's not just your career, job, business, car, hobbies, education, spouse or family. It can be your church and ministry, too. Your denomination.<br />
<br />
It's queer how many Christians won't believe what the bible says if it does not agree with their denominational doctrine. Or don't have interest in a bible passage if it's not their church's emphasis. They think God's Word can be optional. I've seen a lot of them. Like stubborn refusal to believe in spiritual gifts (particularly speaking in tongues) or holiness or perfection or eternal security, or tolerance for the same. Okay, they may claim to believe them (especially the gift of tongues) but only in discussions or as Sunday school topics, but NOT in practice. And then they celebrate what they call <i>Easter</i>, referring to Jesus' resurrection.<br />
<br />
Useless.<br />
<br />
By the way, Acts 12:4 really refers to <i>Pascha</i> or Passover, not Easter.<br />
<br />
You are married to Jesus and yet distrust his words and <i>go to bed</i>, as it were, with your other lover, which is your church denomination. You believe in Jesus only if your denomination says so. Some folks fornicate with their local churches, church buildings or altars. It's ridiculous how people elaborately decorate their altars and treat them more sacred than God's Word. They spend a lot of money making them beautiful. Tell me, did God command anything like that?<br />
<br />
<b>Resurrection Celebration</b><br />
<br />
What Jesus calls his temple is his body---the body of believers. All true believers should make themselves presentable to the Bridegroom, and only God's Word and the power of the Holy Spirit can make us attractive to God, not our beautiful church buildings, ministries, programs or activities. In short, only the life of Jesus seen in us.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For on him (Jesus) God the Father has placed his seal of approval." [John 6.27]</blockquote>
The seal is not on our church buildings or denominations. This is why I say the true celebration of Jesus' resurrection is not through church worship programs or singing on what they call "Easter Sunday" but through the LIFE of Jesus seen in us everyday, and the power of his resurrection in us, doing his supernatural ministry. No need to observe a special Sunday for Jesus' resurrection or special days for his death and crucifixion. Or a special service for his "seven last words."<br />
<br />
Just live His LIFE and celebrate it daily. This is our true spiritual worship--when our bodies (our lives) are presented as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God on a daily basis. This is true Resurrection worship celebration.<br />
<br />
<b>Arm of the Lord</b><br />
<br />
Then we can pursue being the arm of the Lord mentioned in Isaiah 51. This is GENUINE CHURCH MINISTRY. This is true evangelism and discipleship, not the kind we see today everywhere where it's nothing but a numbers game, of who's got the largest members and income, or who's got the largest mission outreach abroad. That's somebody else's arm, not the Lord's.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. [v.5]</blockquote>
There is coming a time soon when the nations will be so tired of religion and be so hungry for true faith, the one Jesus introduced, what he called <i>Gospel of the Kingdom</i>. They will get tired and reject all religions and so-called "Christianity." Instead they will <i>"wait in hope for my arm,"</i> the bearers of the true Gospel of the Kingdom.<br />
<br />
The arm is not what most missionary or church planting organizations are like today, but it will strongly resemble the awesome deeds of God in the bible, evangelism with supernatural miracles and signs and wonders. The Lord will "wake" them up (wake up his arm, a genuine church revival of remnant believers) in the last days and make them operate in the spirit of Moses and Elijah as Malachi 4 envisioned it.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Awake, awake, arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength! Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through? 10 Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over? 11 Those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. [Isaiah 51. 9-11]</blockquote>
The fruit of this ministry (saved souls) will be devoted only to Jesus, not to any church denomination. They will not have any idol in their hearts. Their devotion is to Jesus' Word and the power of the Holy Spirit alone. <i>"Those the Lord rescues</i> (or saves) <i>will return." </i><br />
<br />
Where? <i>"They will enter Zion</i> (God's presence)" with the character and righteousness of Jesus Christ. The remnants of Israel scattered abroad will return to Jerusalem in the last days to worship Jesus as Messiah. But in the church, the remnant believers will have a great last church revival where everything God said in his Word will be restored. This follows the Kingdom protocol--<i>"to the Jews first and then to the gentiles." </i>But it has to start on the right path. Are you really devoted to Jesus alone? Or do you have idols in your heart?<br />
<br />
<b>GOD's Flesh E-Book </b><br />
<br />
To buy the NEW AND LATEST EDITION of the e-book, email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com. The e-book costs P800 plus.
Get my short emailed insights regularly when you buy the e-book through the email address above. The e-book shares radical insights about church and on genuine spiritual revival you probably haven't heard of.<div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-4626864439971436662020-03-29T19:14:00.001-07:002022-05-16T19:13:20.077-07:00Restoring Worship to that of Heaven's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://resources.matcha-jp.com/original/2019/05/14-76798.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://resources.matcha-jp.com/original/2019/05/14-76798.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It's imperative that we develop sensitivity to what God's mood is and what he's up to. Moses knew when God was mad and when he was pleased. More so Jesus, the Son. Thus, the church should ask why God is allowing the church to stop meeting during this Covid crisis. What's God up to? [<a href="https://matcha-jp.com/en/7311" target="_blank">Image above from this site]</a>.<br />
<br />
It's not something incidental, fortuitous or accidental. No such thing to God. Everything has a purpose. So why did he allow a stop to church gatherings? Persecutions have tried to close down churches but what we have today is something different (though it may eventually lead to it if the anti-Christ enters the picture and starts ruling the world). Church is closed down for safety and survival, even of its own members, from a deadly virus.<br />
<br />
God allowed the virus to make governments prohibit all types of gatherings the world over. This is unprecedented in world history. In the process, churches are affected. So it's far from being systematic persecution. Even church people need to be quarantined for their own safety. By the way, we see how governments see the church as no different from the secular--because it is powerless.<br />
<br />
If only Christian churches were like their LORD, commanding things and diseases and viruses to scram in submission, then governments would probably see them differently from the secular and allow them to go out to worship together. But as it is, they're only as good as secular cause-oriented organizations and NGOs.<br />
<br />
With this church condition, God is unhappy. We're supposed to reflect his glory, power and authority on earth as Jesus did, yet were just like NGOs. And we're often proud of that. It's nice to be of help to society like NGOs are, but that's for NGOs. We're not NGOs. We're the church. We're supposed to demo what the Kingdom is.<br />
<br />
We've been so busy with everything except the supernatural things of God. We're trying and doing everything--even copying what's effective in the world--but trash the supernatural equipment of God. And we invent a lot of <i>"church ministries"</i> that Jesus and the apostles never did. We look more secular than the secular world. Which reminds me of Isaiah 24:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth<br />
and devastate it;<br />
he will ruin its face<br />
and scatter its inhabitants—<br />
2 it will be the same<br />
<b> for priest as for people,</b><br />
for the master as for his servant,<br />
for the mistress as for her servant,<br />
for seller as for buyer,<br />
for borrower as for lender,<br />
for debtor as for creditor.<br />
3 The earth will be completely laid waste<br />
and totally plundered.<br />
The Lord has spoken this word.</blockquote>
The Lord was so pissed off even with his ministers, making suffering the same <i>"for priest as for people." </i>John warned us <i>not to love the world or the things of the world</i>. Church should do things exclusively in God's supernatural ways as his servants did in the bible--particularly as Jesus did in the Gospel. We're his followers, right?<br />
<br />
So my guess is, God <i>decreed</i> the closing of church meetings so we'd stop everything we're doing there--because everything there pisses him off. He stopped it so we can rethink how we see church, our lives and characters, and especially our relationship with him. God usually sends his people to such wilderness for re-evaluation and reflection.<br />
<br />
I see lots of Sunday worship posts and live streaming on Facebook and I seem to hear God tell me, <i>they still don't get it. They insist on their own way of worshiping</i>. Which reminds me of a place in Amos 5:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I hate, I despise your religious festivals;<br />
your assemblies are a stench to me.22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,<br />
I will have no regard for them. 23 Away with the noise of your songs!<br />
I will not listen to the music of your harps.</blockquote>
Don't get me wrong. Live streaming is good. Using modern technology and cyberspace is good. I have a vlog and can easily do that, too. But what's our real motive in doing it? Is it because others are doing it? Are we afraid to be left out? Do we want to showoff or brag about our worship and how good it is?<br />
<br />
I think God is allowing quarantine (worldwide) so we can be alone and quiet and intently look inside us and reevaluate everything. To genuinely hear his voice and experience his genuine presence. Church has become alien to God's voice and presence that it often mocks talks about genuinely hearing God's voice and claim God is present in their midst when he is not. They often mistake goosebumps to God's presence.<br />
<br />
There's a big difference between knowing God is everywhere and experiencing his presence.<br />
<br />
In Hosea, what did God want"<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But let justice roll on like a river,<br />
righteousness like a never-failing stream!</blockquote>
Justice has to do with how we treat people. Righteousness has to do with character. In Christ, what matters is only LIFE and character, period. And this becomes true, not through church rituals or programs, but by seeking Jesus' face. Having HIM live our lives. Earlier in Hosea, God even said:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Seek me and live; do not seek Bethel,"</blockquote>
He urges people to seek HIM, not seek local churches or church buildings (<i>Bethel</i> is house of God). This church generation has become too particular about church buildings and facilities than God himself. People seek nice buildings, nice programs, nice ministries, popular ministers, good church music and singing, but not God.<br />
<br />
I've been noticing how churches outrace each other on evangelism, not to obey God's mandate, but to get more people in. Because more people means more income, and more income means nicer church properties, buildings and facilities. Greater influence, power and leverage for getting what they want. As a result, the spirit of arrogance in church is unbelievable. Samuel the prophet said <i>"arrogance is like the evil of idolatry."</i> And we know how God loathes idolatry. He mercilessly demolishes it.<br />
<br />
So what does God do? I am reminded of Hosea 2:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I will stop all her celebrations:<br />
her yearly festivals, her New Moons,<br />
her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.</blockquote>
Why? Because they did everything except what God wanted.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals;<br />
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,<br />
and went after her lovers,<br />
<b> but me she forgot,”<br />declares the Lord.</b></blockquote>
Before we display and brag about our worship live streaming, let's seriously rethink our church life. Maybe (just maybe) the Lord wants us to stop everything--trash everything we do for him--and go back to his original plan in the bible.<br />
<br />
Worship should be no less than how it's done in heaven. Jesus gave the hint--God's <i>will be done on earth as it is in heaven</i>. Another hint by Jesus--true worshipers worship in spirit and in truth. Nothing more, nothing less. The Father seeks such worshipers. These worshipers bring down worship in heaven on earth. It's not through fancy worship equipment, program or music. It's in spirit and in truth.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. [Hebrews 9.11]</blockquote>
<br />
<b>GOD's Flesh E-Book </b><br />
<br />
To buy the NEW AND LATEST EDITION of the e-book, email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com. The e-book costs P800.
Get my short emailed insights regularly when you buy the e-book through the email address above. The e-book shares radical insights about church and on genuine spiritual revival you probably haven't heard of.<div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-44457400301391022342020-03-28T17:51:00.001-07:002022-05-16T19:14:01.166-07:00That Touch That Changes the King's Heart in These Crucial Times<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1517888069428-1373ab0139b5?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=750&q=80" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="266" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1517888069428-1373ab0139b5?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=750&q=80" width="400" /></a></div>
<h2 class="_2cuy _509y _2vxa" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; direction: ltr; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<span class="_4yxo" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600;"><br /></span></h2>
PRAYER THAT TOUCHES GOD'S HEART<br />
<div>
<br />
These are preparation times. The Bride must be glorious for the Groom. In Esther's time, it took 12 months to prepare before finally meeting the king--6 months of cleansing through myrrh and 6 months of special oil scents and sweet spices. [Image above by Isaac Ordaz, Unsplash].</div>
<div>
<br />
Then the candidates would choose what they wanted to wear to please the king. But Esther decided to ask "for nothing but what Hegai suggested." Hegai was among the closest to the king, being in charge of the king's harem. He knew exactly what pleased the king. In effect, Esther was desperate about what the king desired while other girls fancied about what would make them look good. So Esther won the king's heart.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>It's not what you want for the king, BUT WHAT THE KING WANTS.</b></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<br />
Today, we are facing a global pandemic that shakes and reveals the true nature of things we think we can rely on. God is exposing hidden idols in hearts, baring them naked and showing their uselessness. There's some sort of unmasking going on and a bit of "cleansing" that begin to make people realize how prayer is the only sure refuge in these times. God even allowed (or decreed?) churches to be closed, not due to persecution, but safety and survival. Strange times, indeed.<br />
<br />
Church needs to see why God would allow a tiny virus close down church doors.<br />
<br />
But an effective prayer depends on the kind of preparation it's backed up with--a preparation of righteousness--because only the prayer of the righteous availeth much. And genuine righteousness is like what Esther wisely decided on to win the king's heart--give the king what he wanted. SO simple yet oft missed today.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
David found favor with God on the same basis--not because of any achievement or religious good deed or what he wanted to do for God, but because he was after God's own heart.</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
When praying or petitioning before God, decide not to ask for anything except what HE wants. This is the prayer most needful in this COVID 19 crisis. These are times when the church needs to be glorious for the KING of kings.</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Therefore, do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is," [Ephesians 5.17]</blockquote>
<b>GOD's Flesh E-Book </b><br />
<br />
To buy the NEW AND LATEST EDITION of the e-book, email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com. The e-book costs P800. Get my short emailed insights regularly when you buy the e-book through the email address above. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The e-book shares radical insights about church and on genuine spiritual revival you probably haven't heard of.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-949454761755541282020-02-25T18:53:00.002-08:002022-05-16T19:14:33.967-07:00How Do You Know God is Really Opening Up Scriptures To You?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1536704231234-beca9772ca68?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=667&q=80" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="667" height="298" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1536704231234-beca9772ca68?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=667&q=80" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Unless God opens up the meaning of Scriptures to you, you won't understand any of it. At best all you'd get is what the smart and wise of this world also get--the letter--which kills, according to Paul the apostle. What counts in the Kingdom is getting the Spirit of the Word, not the letter. [Image above by Aaron Burden, Unsplash].<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. [2 Corinthians 3.6]</blockquote>
The Spirit gives life, says Jesus in John. <i>"The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life." </i>So, it's the "spoken" Word you should get--spoken straight from God's own mouth--without which all you get is an intelligent appreciation of the bible. An earthly interpretation. Intelligent but it does not remove the veil that the god of this world has covered minds with. It cannot remove the curtain that keeps you from entering the holy of holies. The same thing most theologians and seminarians get.<br />
<br />
And how do you know it's "spoken" Word you get when you meditate Scriptures?<br />
<br />
If it results to LIFE.<br />
<br />
If it does, it means you get the Spirit of the Word, not the letter. <i>The Spirit gives life</i>. So here are 7 signs God is really opening up Scriptures to you:<br />
<ol>
<li>You know Him more intimately. You don't want to leave Him.</li>
<li>You become a Kingdom person. You have left the patterns and standards of this world.</li>
<li>Your life, mind and character become radically transformed.</li>
<li>Jesus manifests in you. You are formed in Christ. You no longer live but HIM.</li>
<li>His ministry characterizes your ministry. The world has nothing similar to it.</li>
<li>Supernatural signs and wonders flow. Anything earthly loses appeal. </li>
<li>It's God alone who moves in your life and ministry. No human effort.</li>
</ol>
<div>
All seven are what Life Jesus manifested in the Gospel. If these things are present in your life and ministry and grow in ever-increasing glory, then God is opening up his Word to you. If not, you're merely getting what pagans get--intellectual reading of the bible and religious theology. Philosophy. Nothing more.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Jesus told his disciples how the secrets of the Kingdom had been given them, <i>"But not to those outside." </i>Those <i>outside</i> hang on to their religion, philosophy and human theology--like the dissenting Pharisees and law teachers of his time. Like the Crowd that just wanted what fleshly benefits they could get from Jesus. Yup, church denomination is included here. Anything you have that Jesus didn't have would keep you <i>outside</i>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Deuteronomy says secret things belong to God, but the things revealed belong to us. That was Old Testament. Well, in a way it still stands because those <i>"outside"</i> get only the things revealed to men of the flesh, not the secrets. But if you're inside Jesus' circle and God is opening up his Scripture to you, then the secrets are revealed to you as well.<br />
<br />
The secrets make you naturally unique and quickly recognized in the spirit realms. Angels and demons know you as they knew Jesus.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A lot of teachers and preachers today just languish in the dimension of the letter (that kills) because all they have is human teaching and theology. Jesus declared Peter blessed because he received revelations from the Father, not from the teachings of men. And Jesus revealed how their worship became "in vain" because their teachings were merely human teachings (or, "teaching as doctrines the commandments of men"). </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
God opening up Scripture is all spiritual and supernatural. It is the Holy Spirit's jurisdiction alone. It has nothing to do with what you learn from theology professors or books. You should have a close supernatural encounter with God as Peter did when a blanket full of unclean animals was lowered to him so he could kill and eat them. In that supernatural revelation, a powerful Kingdom secret was disclosed to him. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Paul entered the third heaven to hear "inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Supernatural revelation from God can happen each moment to anyone--apostle or not--as long as he believes in the supernatural workings of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit <i>"will teach you all things" </i>said Jesus, and when he says <i>"all things"</i> that means nothing is left for human theology to explain or give enlightenment.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It doesn't matter if a titled and degreed guy can interpret Scriptures brilliantly through the use of human theology and human wisdom (even if church people are so "blessed" by his sermons) if he does not experience the 7 God-signs above. Worse, if he actually has wickedness nestled in his heart, like self-conceit, pride, sexual immorality, greed, vainglory, and other sins. Or if he boasts about his material or earthly successes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Much worse, if he knows nothing about the King and His Kingdom and just talks about his earthly ministries and his church denomination. A lot of "good" speakers today really just talk about themselves and their successes.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. [1 John 2.16 NLT]</blockquote>
<div>
It means God has not yet opened up his Word to them. All they preach is <i>the letter</i> that kills. Yeah, you get religiously smarter with the letter, but you're dying spiritually. Something in your spirit rots continuously and shows in unguarded moments. The solution? It's not reading or studying the bible more. It's not being active in church. It's asking God to open up his Word to you, by his grace and mercy.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<div>
<b>GOD's Flesh E-Book </b></div>
<br />
To buy the NEW AND LATEST EDITION of the e-book, email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com. The e-book costs P800.
Get my short emailed insights regularly when you buy the e-book through the email address above. The e-book shares radical insights about church and on genuine spiritual revival you probably haven't heard of.<div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-9289258382546918522020-01-14T18:55:00.001-08:002022-05-16T19:15:02.420-07:00Apostolic Move Preserves the Genuine Church<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
To protect itself from worldliness, Acts church disciples (or followers of the Way) devoted themselves to the apostles' teachings [Acts 2.42]. The modern church doesn't. In fact, most church people today do not know what apostolic teachings are. In these last days when the devil is hellbent on deceiving even the elect (if that were possible), the church ought to devote itself to the apostles' teachings more than ever. [Photo above from Aditya Romansa, Unsplash]<br />
<br />
The ignorant think you have to be an apostle to be apostolic. Worse, they think the apostolic invents new gospels or adds new teachings to the Word of God. Fake apostolics may do that, but not the genuine ones. The apostolic simply means taking Jesus seriously and applying his spiritual principles to daily life and ministry as the apostles did--nothing more, nothing less. God's Word and ways alone. Nothing whatsoever of the world.<br />
<br />
Like <i>the least being the greatest</i>. It's a powerful teaching of Jesus [Luke 9.48], and because Jesus is the apostle and high priest whom we profess [Hebrews 3], it's an apostolic teaching. But sadly, nobody in church today really believes in <i>being the least</i>. They all want to be the greatest--most mega-est church of all, biggest denomination of all, most degreed and titled pastor, most top ranking in church or in the board, most peopled and incomed church of all, etc.<br />
<br />
And especially, the church with the widest mission outreach globally. It's a silly race to honor and enthrone man and his achievements. They claim to be spreading the gospel, but it's their empires and doctrines and denominations they're really spreading worldwide, not Jesus' Gospel and Kingdom. But Jesus promised--<i>this gospel of the kingdom </i>shall be preached worldwide. Very few churches actually do this today. The rest preach their own gospels.<br />
<br />
What's Jesus gospel? Basically, his life and sacrificial death and resurrection--plus everything you see in his Gospel in the bible, nothing more nothing less. The preaching of the Word to send souls nearer to Jesus and familiarize them with his Kingdom on earth, to make them one as the Father and Son are one, to live holy lives, to train them to be guided supernaturally by the Holy Spirit alone, to empower them for supernatural signs and wonders, spiritual gifts, miracles and healing. And everything else we see in the bible.<br />
<br />
But today, you see church people merely doing gimmicks and church activities to attract people to their church and other things that have no resemblance, whatsoever, with what Jesus did in the gospel. Look at how they try to understand the bible. They say that unless you go to bible school and seminary to learn human theology you won't be able to interpret Scriptures correctly.<br />
<br />
But Jesus said all we need is the Holy Spirit. "The Holy Spirit will teach you all things."<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. [John 14.26]</blockquote>
The Holy Spirit will teach us ALL THINGS. All things we need to know! And in Jesus' ministry we see this happening through discipleship, not bible school or seminary. Jesus didn't ask them to pay tuition fees, pass exams or do research works or thesis. These are NOT God's ways. His ways are all supernatural, through the Holy Spirit.<br />
<br />
Jesus said, <i>"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father,"</i> [John 14.12]. The context talks about the supernatural ministry of Jesus. It's one of Jesus' apostolic teachings. Is the church doing what Jesus did in the Gospel? Where are the awesome signs and wonders, miracles and healing that astonished the people?<br />
<br />
And attract people to church? Jesus and the apostles never did that. People came running to them desperately without Jesus and the disciples luring or forcing them. No visitations or follow ups. Granting that their miracles were done to attract people, but they were done solely through the supernatural power of God, not gimmicks. Where is this in church today? They lure people with gimmicks and entertainment and dole outs--the same way secular organizations do it. The showbiz industry does them, too. Nothing is supernatural about church anymore. What Jesus did were all supernatural. The church is going a different direction. Why? Because it has lost the apostles' teachings.<br />
<br />
The church is no longer apostolic. It's become a commercial enterprise offering franchises in localities, and branching out abroad. They call this "church planting." It has nothing of the Kingdom of God but everything of man and his ways and systems. What's worse is its money-value system where something becomes of value only if it translates to big church income. This is why they're crazy about increasing church membership--not to obey the great commission but to be moneyed and peopled and be the greatest, not the least.<br />
<br />
The least is the greatest, says Jesus, and the least members in the body should be given more honor and importance, said Paul the apostle. This is a powerful apostolic teaching the church is alien to today. Watch this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty," [1 Corinthians 12.22-23]</blockquote>
This is in the gospel of the Kingdom--least is greatest. For instance, small churches should be given greater honor. Not at all meaning we encourage them to remain small or that churches should be small, but we should not look down on them but treat them important or "indispensable." See that? INDISPENSABLE. Ponder on that and let it sink in. Where is this in church?<br />
<br />
Today, church people and leaders look down on small and poor churches and their pastors, and leaders judge them as "dead." No wonder most pastors work hard to grow their churches big to avoid the disparagement. Pastors with small churches do not work hard so more people would know the Lord, but because they hate being small. Because small can never result to being the greatest. So evangelism is not done in obedience to Christ's command anymore but to save one's image.<br />
<br />
Do small churches get this special treatment today? Or are they made a bad example of what a church shouldn't be? Again, watch the passage in the KJV:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.</blockquote>
The money-value system in church (the Babylon system) makes it drift further from Jesus and his apostolic teachings. Church people today marvel at mega churches and those that are peopled and moneyed. But they despise small ones. The same with church goers. Would Christians prefer to attend a small, dilapidated, and ugly looking church building or a mega building with full air-conditioning, comfy seats, fancy interiors and hi-tech sound systems and musical instrument? And which church would they say is truly blessed by God?<br />
<br />
This is the problem when apostolic teachings are utterly unknown in church. People begin to see as the world does because there\s nothing more important than to be the greatest, not the least. Value is seen only if things translate into big income. Jesus taught nothing like that. Instead, Paul said:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...while our presentable parts (of the body) need no special treatment." [1 Corinthians 12.24]</blockquote>
To Jesus and the apostles, mega churches are NOT special. Small churches are. But the contrary is what you see in churches today. The big and moneyed churches get special attention. Because of this wrong church culture, people flock to mega churches. Every pastor and church leader bows down to big and rich churches, this mindset fast becoming a kind of modern idolatry in Christendom. But the Kingdom has a different thing in mind:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.</blockquote>
Equal concern? One suffers, all suffer? Is this true in church today? If one church denomination suffers decline, what do other denominations do? Do they lend a hand to help the other get back up on its feet? If a local Pentecostal church suffers financially, would a Baptist or Methodists local church nearby offer financial assistance? Nope. In their minds they'd say, "We're of a different denomination." This is how churches today are worlds apart from Jesus' church in the book of Acts. It's because they are not apostolic--not possessing the true teachings of Jesus the Apostle.<br />
<br />
The apostolic move of God makes churches worldwide in Christ one in Him, as the Father and Son are one. It demolishes self interest and alienation from the rest of the body of Christ. It empties you of yourself and destroys self-importance so you easily treat the least as the greatest.<br />
<br />
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<b>GOD's Flesh E-Book </b><br />
<br />
To buy the NEW AND LATEST EDITION of the e-book, email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com. The e-book costs P800.
Get my short emailed insights regularly when you buy the e-book through the email address above. The e-book shares radical insights about church and on genuine spiritual revival you probably haven't heard of.<div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-54013782019072052932020-01-11T00:35:00.001-08:002022-05-16T19:15:31.674-07:00How the Apostolic Move Makes You Relevant in Heaven<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
No, you don't have to become an apostle or prophet to be in the apostolic. Apostolic means being relevant to what God is doing. Being in the same Kingdom wavelength. The apostles had that connection to heaven. Their faith enabled them to do what Jesus did, and then greater things, said Jesus. They did nothing else. They didn't sit down and plan and decide things among themselves what's next and then asked God to bless it. [Image above from Karl Magnuson, Unsplash].<br />
<br />
The spiritual disease of the modern church is its desperation to make things happen on its own so it can beat some deadline or be ahead in some competition for greatness. It has lost the discipline to wait on God. It plans and prays and does as it pleases. Often, it copies from the world or gets hints from it. It lures people (its number one mistake) by giving them what they crave for. It identifies with the crowd.<br />
<br />
But no matter what accomplishments you get using worldly ways, you remain irrelevant in the heavenly realms. One reason Jesus is the Way is because his ways alone get God's approval. We know the Way where Jesus is going if we follow him--follow his steps and use his ministry principles. This is why we can find lots of Kingdom principles in the Gospel and the bible itself.<br />
<br />
<b>Waiting</b><br />
<br />
One important and powerful ministry principle is waiting. Jesus could have started ministry at age 20 or 25, especially when millions of souls were already perishing in hell at the time. But he waited. He had to start at about age 30. Waiting is an apostolic principle. The apostles had to wait for the gift the Father had promised before they could do any ministry. Today, the church has totally abandoned this principle. It starts pronto--as soon as its human systems and materials are in place.<br />
<br />
"To you any time is right," Jesus told his brothers who knew nothing about Kingdom ministries. What they knew was publicity antics, or popularity games. Church today are in a hurry to hit their own targets so they can be the greatest. So any time to them is right. Watch this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
6 Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. 8 You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” [John 7]</blockquote>
A public figure--that's what churches want to be. So they've lost the discipline to wait. In so doing, they lose relevance in the spiritual realms. They go ahead of God. The results they get surely appeal to the flesh--numbers, church income, popularity, good image, and the like. But zero in the heavenly realms.<br />
<br />
Everything must be done in Jesus' ways. Remember, he said that everything not done in God's ways will be demolished, especially in the spiritual realms. Yes, you look grand in the eyes of the world, but you are zero in the eyes of God. So the devil just laughs at you and angels ignore you. And you are powerless in the spiritual realms. One sign is the absence of signs and wonders in your ministry.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span face=""roboto" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">"</span>Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. [Matthew 15.13]</blockquote>
Waiting and doing things solely in Jesus' ways are all apostolic. If you are not apostolic these things are unimportant to you. You'd even laugh at them or mock. You will always opt for what looks effective in the earthly realms. Thus, you often copy from what you see works around you.<br />
<br />
I once saw a post on Facebook that goes something like this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Religious people do what they are told no matter what the truth is. Spiritual people do what the truth says they should do no matter what people say.</blockquote>
What I say, however, is stick with God's Word and ways no matter how ineffective they may seem to be--and no matter how effective other ways may seem to be. It's not how grand but how faithful. We will be weighed, not by our results, but by what's inside our hearts, like faithfulness. Did we cling to God's Word and ways to the very end? <i>"He who perseveres to the end will be saved." </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
The test involves a guise or appearance of defeat while being faithful to the Word at the same time seeing how effective worldly ways are. And all the others are surpassing you and becoming "successful" at what they're doing, like in ministry. While you lag behind, they excel and are congratulated. And they see you as weak and a loser. But actually, you are great in the eyes of God.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Your rigging hangs loose: The mast is not held secure, the sail is not spread. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame will carry off plunder. [Isaiah 33]</blockquote>
<b>Element of Disinterest</b><br />
<br />
Another apostolic principle is the element of disinterest. Jesus never pursued people, went after them, followed them up or begged their attention. Instead, people literally ran after him. Some say evangelism without follow up is wrong. Well, the apostolic says evangelism with follow up is foolish. What Jesus did was challenge. <i>"If any man come after me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross and follow me." </i>That's hardly follow up. That may even sound like a discouragement. The rich, young ruler was discouraged, and Jesus didn't follow him up to explain, justify or clarify his statement further.<br />
<br />
John 1.12 says being a child of God is not a result of human decision or human effort or human persuasion. You cannot force or encourage anyone. You cannot play on emotions to make anyone receive Jesus. Your only job is to proclaim the Gospel, period. Thus, you should exercise disinterest as Jesus did. Imagine a high profile Pharisee like Nicodemus going to you one night and you just talk nonchalant, even insulting him with, <i>"You are a teacher in Israel and you don't know what born again is?"</i> Pastors today would have done everything to please Nicodemus and not lose him. That's how lost the church is.<br />
<br />
To the true believers, Jesus offered discipleship--but he still did not pursue anyone. There was only the challenge: <i>"Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." </i>That's it. And the challenge is that <i>they follow him</i>, not the other way around. Pastors today follow you around, regularly visit you in your home until you finally say yes to Jesus. Impressive but it's not God's way. Pastors might even say, "I'll follow you if you make me fishers of men." Often, his church board members tell him what he should do.<br />
<br />
I read a book where a church pastor asked people what they wanted in a church. And that's what exactly he did. No wonder he had a big congregation--the members were the boss.<br />
<br />
But the apostolic just proclaims the Gospel and prays for souls to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the one who convicts and convinces people. The Spirit may sometimes use you in this, but it's not for running after people to make them accept Christ and become members of your church so they can give you their tithes and offering.<br />
<br />
These are apostolic principles for ministry which Jesus taught his apostles (this is why they are "apostolic teachings"). They are Jesus' ways and they are according to God's Word.<br />
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<br />
<b>GOD's Flesh E-Book </b><br />
<br />
To buy the NEW AND LATEST EDITION of the e-book, email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com. The e-book costs P800.
Get my short emailed insights regularly when you buy the e-book through the email address above. The e-book shares radical insights about church and on genuine spiritual revival you probably haven't heard of.<div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-37865991631369173552020-01-05T21:21:00.002-08:002022-05-16T19:15:59.024-07:00In the Old But Operating In the New<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
In this world but not of it. Jesus taught this vital Kingdom operation to his disciples to show what life of a true believer is. So followers of Jesus have this peculiar culture even if they're hedged in by other cultures in this world. Paul said there are no more earthly cultures in God's kingdom, no more races. [Photo above from Chaozzy Lin, Unsplash].<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. [Colossians 3]</blockquote>
There's only one life and culture--Christ. <i>Christ is all</i>. The reverse is also true--<i>all is Christ</i>. Therefore, church people who still think in terms of their nationality, race or earthly culture still operate in the system of this world--which is the Babylon system. Some churches have worship services for Americans, another for Koreans, another for Filipinos, etc. and they think it's some kind of accomplishment.<br />
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Some churches are heavily influenced by their local cultures or the culture of the denomination's origin. You find lots of American church denominations in the Philippines run as if they were on American soil. What's funnier is how they "Filipinize" things to fit Filipinos. You find no Kingdom culture in them whatsoever. Zero. Others invent their own denominational culture, so they'd be different from other denominations.<br />
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There are also folks who insist that Jesus and John the Baptists were Old Testament (OT) figures, therefore operating in the OT system. Perhaps (though I strongly disagree, and I don't care if that's how traditional theology has been presenting it), but Jesus and John--especially Jesus--operated in the John 17.16 system of the Kingdom, which is being in this world but not of this world. They were in the twilight shadows of the OT but they operated in the new move of God.<br />
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Even John's water baptism for repentance was a new move of God. Sin in the OT was dealt with by animal sacrifice, not water immersion. The priests washed themselves using water from the huge water basin, called the laver sea, placed just outside the temple, and it was also where animal sacrifices and utensils were washed. But nothing about sinners being immersed in water for repentance.<br />
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Though John belonged to the priesthood (his father, Zechariah, was a priest), he didn't look anything like a temple priest. He didn't wear anything resembling priestly garments, ate nothing but locusts and wild honey, and stayed in the wilderness, not in the temple. How can you label him an OT guy? And he operated solely by being led by the Holy Spirit. Priests in the OT operated through the law, particularly the Levitical writings, but John operated through what he saw and heard in the Spirit.<br />
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John was a prophet in the order of Elijah, that's why I believe Elijah operated in the new move of God, or the New Testament. He was in the Old Testament but not of it.<br />
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Jesus "observed" the feasts and the Passover tradition, but really only used them to highlight the "coming age," or the new move of God. Like in the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus went there in secret, not really to celebrate it, but to launch his Kingdom ministry.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
14 Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15 The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?” [John 7]</blockquote>
He went there to PREACH and introduce the unique wisdom and theology of the Kingdom (a theology, by the way, not learned in seminaries but through supernatural revelations from God). He also showed that he was the fulfillment of the the Law and the Prophets. He was before Abraham and, while Moses was a faithful servant, he proved himself a faithful Son in all of God's house. No wonder he "broke" a lot of traditions and rules, even the Sabbath law. Why? He was in the new move of God. He was the final interpretation of the law--even the whole Word of God.<br />
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Hence he said, <i>"It is said that you shall not kill. But I say unto you..."</i> He was bringing in new thinking, a new interpretation, a new revelation. A new life. But in no way did it totally replace the old. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. And God's law is eternal. Rather, in Christ, <i>"all things hold together,"</i> [Colossians 1.17]. Everything falls into perfect unity, a perfect blend, so that OT and NT wisdoms together become a source of heavenly treasures.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." [Matthew 13.52]</blockquote>
True believers should likewise operate in the John 17.16 principle. We're here but not from here. We are aliens and strangers in this world, yet live here, though temporarily, and even participate in certain earthly activities, though always with much reservations. We have Jesus' culture though find ourselves right in the middle of an opposing earthly culture, and we manage well like our Lord.<br />
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Finally, we're both in the Old and New Covenants, being really part of the true spiritual Israel and the body of the Lord, the glorious church of Jesus Christ, without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Holy and pure.<br />
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To buy the NEW AND LATEST EDITION of the e-book at a special, lower price (P800), email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com. The e-book costs P800 plus on other blogs.
Get my short emailed insights regularly when you buy the e-book through the email address above. The e-book shares radical insights about church and on genuine spiritual revival you probably haven't heard of.<div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358408989769858061.post-39506877749598416842019-12-24T20:12:00.002-08:002022-05-16T19:16:15.189-07:00Prayer of the Righteous<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1457139621581-298d1801c832?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=692&q=80" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="692" height="288" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1457139621581-298d1801c832?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=692&q=80" width="400" /></a></div>
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We all know the passage--James 5.16--in the bible. And righteousness is by faith alone, not of good works, religion or anything else. But this is what strikes me. Watch the passage below: [Photo above by Aaron Burden, Unsplash].<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.</blockquote>
James was talking more of prayer that triggers the supernatural. We often connect this to our ordinary prayers, which is also good. But the context says more than that, and we shouldn't miss what it's really saying. James is telling us a key to miracles, signs and wonders and the supernatural. We shouldn't limit it to our ordinary needs.<br />
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First, we note "confessing sins" which is vital for righteousness, and then the object of a righteous prayer, which in this context is healing--or the miraculous, in other words. Then to explain further, James cites Elijah as an example, particularly his experience with controlling the weather by God's power. You see all this? I mean, it will be a shame if all we're going to do is use this passage when we need money for our bills, for getting a new job, getting relief from a toothache or funds for our church building.<br />
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Yeah, the verse is also good for these things, but never miss what James is pointing out. God especially enables us to be righteous by his grace and offer powerful prayers specifically for awesome signs and wonders and miracles. We should use this provision for these purposes and not limit it to our petty wants and needs.<br />
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Imagine causing drought for more than 3 years and then bringing back rain--all at his word. And James stresses that Elijah was just <i>"a human being as we are."</i> It means humans made righteous by God can control nature at a mere word--as God provides that Word and backs it up with his very power. Church does not teach this and is so scared to do so because it understands nothing but its weak and powerless theologies which are irrelevant in the spirit realms.<br />
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Elijah heard God utter the Word and he carried it out without hesitance. He challenged the false prophets of Jezebel and mocked them when their gods were not able to deliver--though false prophets were known to have deadly powers, nonetheless. And he called out fire from heaven to burn his offerings--imagine doing that even if Jesus and the Holy Spirit were not indwelling him then.<br />
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Today, Jesus and the Holy Spirit indwell a true believer and it would be so easy to duplicate Elijah's supernatural feat as James had hinted. Though Jesus never called down fire from heaven, he nonetheless did awesome supernatural acts and told believers that anyone who has faith in him "<i>will do the same things." </i>Where is this in church today?<br />
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Instead of pursuing this (because it is their Lord's Word), church people pursue worthless human theologies and doctrines which make their adherents seem more lost than enlightened.<br />
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The prayer of the righteous avails much, and this means availing much for displaying God's supernatural powers.<br />
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<b>GOD's Flesh E-Book </b><br />
<br />
To buy the NEW AND LATEST EDITION of the e-book at a special, lower price (P800), email me at godsfleshblog@gmail.com. The e-book costs P800 plus on other blogs.
Get my short emailed insights regularly when you buy the e-book through the email address above. The e-book shares radical insights about church and on genuine spiritual revival you probably haven't heard of.<div class="blogger-post-footer">After my skin has been destroyed,
I will see God in my flesh...
How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19.26-17]
When the WORD forms Christ in you, it's no longer you who live but Him. </div>Gaerlan CShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08199483859753674106noreply@blogger.com