The Berean Voice

Breaking Generational Curse is it Right?

2009-10-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

I must admit, since our arrival in the country couple of months ago, it has really become so tempting to join the wagon of Covenant and Curse Breakers in Nigeria.

This heretic Yes! i mean Heretic doctrine of Breaking Covenants and Generational curses is selling like hot cake, infact nothing sells more now in Nigeria than telling people they need curses broken in their lives to hit a jakpot.

Pastors and teachers in churches and on TV tell their listners that they made so many covenants before they got saved and because of this, curses are following them and this is the reason why they are NOT GETTING RICH. They are told that their businesses are not succeeding because of these covenants. They are told that they are not getting jobs because of curses and covenants that need to be broken.

They are told that they are not building their own houses, they are not buying cars, they are not marrying and getting married, they are fornicating and having sicknesses because of generation curses.

I must also admit and confess i use to be a proponent of this fallacy untill The Lord opened my eyes to the error and danger of this doctrine.

Now before i introduce scriptures to bring the error in this doctrine, i would only like to ask the Apostles of this doctrine two simple questions.

If breaking of generation curses is so central and serious as they proclaim, how come the Lord Jesus Christ never talked about it? How come apostle Paul never told Christians in the early church to break covenants and generation curses? How come that this was not an issue at all for the early church?

You would have expected the Apostle to have atleast said something about this topic with all the revelation and insight he had, but not a word from him, nor did any of the Apostles said or mentioned anything on breaking generational curses. No where in the new testament would you see any word on generational curses, infact the word ''generational Curses'' is not in the scriptures at all

2. One question I have repeatedly asked those who believe in "GC" teaching is this: If there is a generation curse, who placed the curse? Most evade the question. Some say, "The parents did," but then they realize Scripture never says that. Furthermore, there is no Scriptural basis for saying Satan places a curse (despite all the harm he does do). Finally, the answer is: God places the curse. Then I ask, "Do you think you can break a curse God placed?" The usual reply is, "I had not thought of it that way before."

The solemnizing fact is that God has indeed cursed sin and sinners (Matthew 25:41). The original curse of Genesis 3 affects every human being and all of creation (Romans 8:19-23). Some examples of specific curses placed by God are: Cain (Genesis 4;11); all who would curse Abraham or his seed (Genesis 12:3); all Israelites who were guilty of sins enumerated in Deuteronomy 27-28; God-robbers (Malachi 3:9). There are others, but none is "generational." No one can break a curse placed by God except God Himself! He delights in breaking curses as soon as people turn to Him in repentance. A prime example is Nineveh (Jonah 3:10).

The people who teach this doctrine take Exodus 20:5-6 as their scriptural basis.

Lets look at it and see if that scripture actually supports the idea of generational curse.

“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus 20:5,6)

The above scripture is obviously a warning to the Isrealites of the grave consequence of worshipping other gods.
Even this warning is tempered with a greater promise of God's mercy: “But showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (verse 6).

At Sinai, God entered into a covenant relationship with Israel and took her to be His own people. They were to honor that covenant from their hearts, by loving God and obeying Him. Worshiping other gods was covenant-breaking in its worst form, analogous to spiritual adultery.

They were persistently warned of the consequences of such behavior, yet it was all too common. The consequences would even mean that God would “visit the iniquities to the third and fourth generation.” What does this mean? On the surface it appears that God would punish the children and grandchildren for sins that they did not personally commit. But Deuteronomy 24:16 provides good reason to reject this interpretation: “Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own

Is the Blood line cursed?

The arqurment that says iniquity is passed to persons through the family blood is wrong for the following reasons

1. The only family totally affected by sin (iniquity) is the human family. By one man sin entered the world (Romans 5:12). As a result of our first parents' sin, all humans have been born with a nature that is inclined to sin (Ephesians 2:3).
2. Every baby is conceived with this sinful nature inherent (Psalm 51:5), but children are not held accountable until they personally commit sin. "Sin is not imputed when there is no law" (Romans 5:13). Paul describes coming to "the age of accountability" (Romans 7:9).
3. The only bloodline that is involved with the sinful nature is that from Adam (Romans 5: 17-19) and Eve (1Timothy 2:14). "God has made of one blood all nations" (Acts 17:26, ). Human blood may transmit physical diseases, but it cannot carry spirits or iniquities. A blood transfusion from the vilest sinner could not defile one; likewise, blood from the most Christlike saint cannot make one holy.
4. There is cleansing in the blood of the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45)! By His blood the Church is purchased (Acts 20:28), justified (Romans 5:9), and purified (Hebrews 9:22).

The covenant breaking apostles argue, that God is a respecter of covenants and so if a born again Christian entered into a covenant before being born again , God will do nothing about that covenant until the Christian who entered into it breaks it.

Surprisingly they keep breaking these covenants over and over again using the blood of Jesus. This contradicts John 19:30, where Christ guarantees that it is finished.

This is a mockery of Christ’s finished work on the cross. If Christ became a curse for our sake, how can the generation covenants and curses fail to be succumbed by the blood of Jesus once and for all.

In 2Cor 5:17 it is written that, ‘’Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new’’ But the covenant and generation curse parrots are saying that, when you are in Christ you became a new creature but generation covenants and curses still remain. What kind of logic is this??? If a born again Christian can be under a curse, this logically means that he/she did not become a new creature in the first place and all things never became new.

Ezekiel 18:2, 3, 20) says:2What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?

3As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. 20The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

But the covenant and generation curse proponents use(Duet 9:5) to argue fallaciously that , even when sin is forgiven, covenants and the consequences of sin remain. They use the example of David in 2 Samauel 12, 13 etc to show how the generation curse of womanizing followed David’s descendants although God had forgiven David. They do not seem to understand that David lived before the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross and therefore there is no way this example can be applied to truly born again Christian today.

These people do not seem to understand the distinction between LAW(old covenant) and GRACE(new covenant).

This is what the New Testament teaches.

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
2Cor 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
John 8:36 "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed

Identity Crisis of The Church

2009-10-08T04:44:00.000-07:00

I believe the church has an identity crisis. Because our weak programs and powerless efforts have failed to get the world's attention, we decided to become “the good guys.” The megachurch movements have suddenly become a huge self-help and relief agency. Believe me - the church should ALWAYS feed the poor, care for the destitute, the widow, the orphan. But it is not the center of the Gospel, and I am concerned that we are doing much of this
because we want so much to be relevant, to be LIKED. The megachurch movement is becoming absorbed in good social works, but the Gospel message is becoming more and more diluted and muted, so as “not to offend.” Instead of “silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee, in the Name of Jesus Christ RISE UP AND WALK”, it's “Here's some silver and a voucher. God bless!”, leaving the soul unsaved, unhealed.
We have gone so far in dressing up the Gospel in worldly clothes to fit the culture that we have forgotten we are called to be a SEPARATE people. We do not take our cues from the world; we take everything from the scriptures, whether it is socially acceptable or not. We are not called to make the Gospel fit people's lives; the Gospel makes people fit the Kingdom Life, which is UTTERLY SEPARATE from this world system.

The Idols Within by Taiye Arimoro

2009-09-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

“And Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son and Sarai his daughter in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees to go into the land of Canaan and they came unto Haran and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years and Terah died in Haran” Gen11:31-32 “
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house unto a land that I will show thee.’’ Gen12:1
”By Faith Abraham when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed and he went out not knowing whither he went.” Heb11:8
When God called Abraham, it was very clear what His purpose was. He was going to make him a great nation and from him a multitude of nations.
For this to become a reality, Abraham was required to show total commitment and obedience to God’s instruction. He was required to leave his father’s house and all that pertained to it, he was required to have a fresh beginning with God by moving into a new land he would be shown.
We are told in the book of Joshua that Abram served other gods beyond the Euphrates( Jos24:2). “ Your fathers worshipped other gods beyond the river.” The instruction to him therefore was “Get thee out of thy country”, this was to separate him from every other object and indeed everything that would share the place meant for God in his life. If there was anything that could delay or even tarnish God’s purpose and plan in his life, it was idolatry. Jehovah will not share His glory with the gods of wood and stone . Nothing will be left unturned, it has to be dealt with out- rightly and hence his drastic separation from everything that represented his past.
Abraham had to learn the hard way, he left quite alright, but took his kindred and his father’s house with him. They moved to Haran but the place was still under Chaldea and ruled by the same gods.
What happened? The journey was temporarily arrested, the vision was kept in hold. God said “ We cannot move any further until all the idols are out”. When Abram’s father died the vision was restored as the journey continued.
We also see a similar re-occurrence of this pattern with Israel in the wilderness. God delivered and called them out of Egypt to make them a people unto Himself, they left Egypt but Egypt did not leave them. Egypt remained in their hearts and they kept looking back and lusting after things of Egypt. Oh the lives and years wasted in the wilderness could have been avoided had they heeded the word “ Get out of thy country—-from thy kindred, from thy father’s house into the land that I will show thee”
The foundation of the Lord standeth sure, His word and principles are unchanging, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. The motive behind every move and work of God in the lives of men is always to get them “reconciled” to Himself. “And having made peace through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself;—–And you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled” Col1:20-21.
And to have us become partakers of this blessing, His demands remain the same, “Out of your thy country—-from thy kindred, from thy father’s house into a land I will show thee” In the new testament, the same demand had to be met before they can be received as God’s children. “ Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters saith the Lord Almighty” 2Cor6:17-18.
When the word Idolatry is mentioned today, what comes to mind is some form of idols which the heathen worship, but idolatry is far bigger than that. Anything or everything that challenges the place of God in our lives is an idol.
We are surrounded by them and they are everywhere, in your hearts and mine, but the question is, are we willing to be separated from them unto God? That’s the condition for God’s purpose to be worked into our lives. Every other method or route into God’s blessing other than the complete separation from the “Unclean” is nothing but a lie.
One particular form of idol worship in the church today that is so deceptive and unnoticed is the quiet but calculated moves to shift the believers eyes off Jesus onto men. Consider this statement made by Paul in 1Cor1:12 “ Now this I say that every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos and I of Cephas and I of Christ.
It should be noted that all Idolatry is the worship of self. It’s an extension of ourselves, our worth, projects, achievements and everything in the old man that causes us to esteem ourselves more highly than we ought to. Jesus said in Jn5:44 that “ How can ye believe which receive honour of one another and seek not the honour that cometh from God only” and in verse 41 of same chapter He said “I receive not honour from men”.
This is completely unlike what we have in our churches with the elaborate men-honouring introductions given to preachers that makes you wonder why people who professes to actually love the Lord continue to sit in such places.
An idol is anything that is given the credit for the abilities only God possesses, and may God forgive us for the many glory to pastor testimonies we have these days.
Today the church has created Giants, spiritual superstars and the famous after the pattern of Gen6:4. “ There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old men of renown.”
Christians today lift up, exalts and magnify man and to whom also we ascribe undue power and position. They make a god of these leaders by glorifying their names, creating movements after them and causing God’s children to go after the gods they have made.
You remember the story in Gen11:4 “ And they said, go to let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth” We have history repeating itself again, after all “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done and there is no new thing under the sun—So is there anything whereof it may be said see, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was before us. Ecc1:9 Should we then be surprised by the things we see happening today? No. If there were giants in the earth before, it shall be again. “As it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the end”. Today we have men driven by the same spirit as their counterparts of old, continuing the projects which their forefathers started, the building of cities and ministries to reach God. Their motive still remains to make a name for themselves and you can be certain what happened then is what is going to happen again.
Biblical prophecies always repeats itself. Careful study of biblical prophecies shows a pattern that always comes with multiple fulfillment, with each fulfilment leading to and teaching something about it’s ultimate fulfilment; so that when you read the bible, you are not just reading past histories, but future history of the church as well. Please see Jacob Prasch excellent work on the future history of the church at www.moriel.org/articles/sermons/future_history_of_the_church.htm
What do we have today? God’s people following men in idolatry, preferring their words and ministries to personal study of the bible. Just as the world looks to it’s inventions, it’s religion, sports, music, military might and worship them, the church too has set before her these spiritual giants who she now pays homage to. I have personally witnessed a meeting where brethren were asked to come and touch the preachers feet in order to receive anointing, and in other places men bow down to kiss the leader’s ring, these and many other forms of abominations are common practices today. Love offerings of all shapes, gifts and all kinds of sacrifices are made to these modern idols of woods and stones in God’s temple.
These spiritual superstars have become our champions, they are feared and adored, we allow them to control our lives, our emotions and our relationships. People love them, look up to them, take so much pride in them, even when it’s obvious they are living in error. The situation is so bad and no different from what Ezekiel saw in His vision.
“Then He said unto me son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes ——He said furthermore unto me son of man, seest thou what they do? Even the great abominations that the house of Isreal committeth here, that I should go far off from the sanctuary? But turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.—And He said unto me, go in and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hands; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said He unto me , son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark?——Then He brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north and behold there sat women weeping for Tammuz——they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger and lo they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare neither will I pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.” Ezk 8:5-18.
Do you see a parallel of these things in our churches today? The weeping for Tammuz in verse 14 is another form of Idolatry that has eaten dip into the modern church. Though the bible did not elaborate much on what “weeping for Tammuz” actually meant, but ancient history describes Tammuz as a shepherd who was killed by a wild bear. It was said that his wife later found him and mourned for him for a long time. Tammuz came back to life according to ancient believes. The wife was said to have gone underworld through mourning, to deliver her husband from the hold of death. Tammuz and his wife later became idolised and worshipped, and this mourning which brought back the dead became celebrated by the Babylonian women.
Every year, the Babylonian women therefore worshipped Tammuz by weeping and in doing so, they hope to bring back to life all their dashed hopes and dreams and to also bring to pass all the longings and lust in their hearts.
God said to Ezekiel this was an abomination committed in His house. Israel’s worship of this false god of neighbouring nations was bad enough, but to now import this idolatrous activities into the house of God was another thing altogether.
The whole scope of our spiritual lives these days revolves around weeping for Tammuz. Every meeting becomes an opportunity to receive from God, even the traditional sessions for intercession where prayers are said for the unsaved world have been turned into means for personal deliverance and breakthrough sessions. All kinds of programmes are out there today meant to help you have your needs met, weddings and even naming ceremonies are not left out as opportunities to receive from God. Church attendance is no longer for the true worship of God, but to have desires met, and if after a while the solution is not found, they leave for the next church in search for the latest man of anointing that can bring the lust in the hearts to pass. Recently, my eyes caught an advert on the net that promises a 24hour solution package, and I’m sure brethren will fall for that lie because that is what they have been taught will make their lives relevant in this world, to be rich, famous and powerful
The Lord says in Matt6:33 “For your heavenly Father knows what you have need of all these things” He knows what our needs are and promised through His divine power to give unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. No amount of weeping for Tammuz is going to corner God or pressure Him to satisfying the cravings of a man swimming in idolatry.
God is a jealous God. He created us for Himself and will not share His glory with anything else. He is jealous of anything that comes between us and Himself. Jesus answering the Pharisees said in Matt 22:37 “ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
A loving and faithful Father requires us to love Him, trust Him, depend on Him and obey Him. Nothing is to come in between us. In the wilderness, God spoke to Moses “ I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shall have no other gods before me. Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God. Ex 20:1-5
The Lord will judge all forms of idolatry found in His house. He said to Ezekiel “ I will also deal in fury and my eye shall not spare.” In Genesis the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men were building, what happened then is going to happen again before our very eyes. These towers and empires created by men in the name of ministry will be brought down to nothing by the Lord and He will judge His people of every form of idolatry.
The Spirit’s call is for every child of God to come out of the apostate gatherings and churches of this last days. “ And I heard another voice from heaven, saying come out of her my people that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Rev18:4

Pulling Down Strongholds

2009-09-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

The bible often uses metaphors in explaining spiritual concepts. A metaphor is a comparison of things basically unlike but having some striking similarities.
In explaining bible passages that uses metaphoric language, many fall into the trap of forcing meanings to scriptures that God never intended.
Take for instance the parable of the fish given by Jesus in Matthew 13:47-48, “ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind, which when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels but cast the bad away”.
Jesus wasn’t trying to teach here that the kingdom of heaven will consists of good fish gathered into nice containers, rather He was trying to convey the idea that not everyone will automatically get into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus using the parable, explains there will be a separation of the wicked from among the righteous. Forcing any other meaning into this parable will result into a conclusion other than what He intended.
With this in mind, consider 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “ For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons of our warfare are not physical (weapons of flesh and blood), but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds. Inasmuch as we refute arguments and theories and reasoning’s and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the true knowledge of God, and lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ.” (Amplified)
Apostle Paul using a metaphoric language used a military terminology in the passage to describe the conflict every believer has to fight and overcome to please God. The KJV uses the phrase “ pulling down of strongholds”, the American standard version renders the phrase “ destroying speculations” and another “ demolish arguments”.
By reading more into the phrase pulling down of strongholds, the whole text is often misinterpreted to mean “ overthrowing evil spirits in the atmosphere”.
At the time Paul wrote this epistle, there were many false teachers in the church attacking his integrity and apostleship, the letter was to defend his apostleship and to call the brethren back to the truth and then he tells them how to win this war against the truth and the lies meant to undermine his ministry among them. It was then he said he will not use carnal means to do this, but rather use weapons that are mighty through God able to pull down these strongholds.(2 Cor 10:2,10,11:6-7,15,12:11-12). Reading the whole text in that context will shed more light on what he meant by strongholds.
What are the strongholds Paul is referring to here? The strongholds symbolically represents the battle which the believer faces. It’s the battle against thoughts, ideas that are contrary to the true knowledge of God.
Satan’s primary place of attack against Christians is in the mind and that is where the battle is fought. Apostle Paul describes strongholds as arguments, imaginations and prideful arrogance against the knowledge of God.
In Churches today, we have many who teach things that contradicts God’s word, the thought pattern resulting from these lies and distortion of scriptures becomes a stronghold in the lives of many and the only weapon there is to confront these false ideologies and wicked imaginations is by the bold presentation of the truth of God’s word.
The enemy also uses other means to gain control over our lives by establishing wicked and uncontrolled thoughts and desires in our minds and hearts and there are various ways and means by which this is possible.
1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.”
Most of the things that are sought after to please the flesh leads to sin.
James 1:14-15 “But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death”.
Evil intentions and sin may emerge from your own fallen Adamic nature . The bible describes the old man as corrupt. Ephesians 4:22, Romans 6:6
Sinful thoughts are also sown through immoral TV shows and pornography. 1Corinthians 15:33.
Conclusion:: Victory in the daily struggle against evil thoughts and sin is not found in the strange or the sensational drawn battle field as often described by deliverance teachers. It is not an overnight remedy but a difficult transformation of the old wicked nature into the image and likeness of Christ. This involves reading, meditating upon the principles and truths of scriptures everyday. Philippians 4:8-9, Romans 12:1-2
To deal with the stronghold of sin in our lives, every thought must be taken into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Sinful thoughts must be dealt with immediately and not given a chance to establish themselves in your heart and mind.

True or Counterfeit

2009-08-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

Jesus and the apostles repeatedly warned that the last days would be characterized by widespread deception and a multitude of false prophets (Matt.24:3-5,11,24; 1 Tim.4:1) - and we have seen plenty of them in the last few decades.
Why are millions of Christians deceived by these false prophets and these counterfeit "revivals"? And why are so many preachers falling prey to immorality and greed?
Here are what I see to be some of the main causes:1. Most Christians today are not aware of what the New Testament teaches, because they have not studied it carefully; and so they follow the teachings of their leaders and not the teachings of the New Testament.2. Miracles (supernatural gifts) have become more important to them than their character (a supernatural life).3. Material wealth has become more important to them than spiritual wealth.4. They are unable to distinguish between soulish frenzy or psychological manipulation, and the genuine moving of the Holy Spirit; the cause again is ignorance of the New Testament.5. They are unable to distinguish between psychosomatic healing (healing that comes by right attitudes of the mind), and supernatural healing in Jesus' Name.6. Emotional excitement and strange physical manifestations have become more important to them than the inward joy of the Lord.7. For the leaders, their ministry to people has become more important than their inner walk with God.8. The approval of men has become more important to these leaders than the approval of God.9. The number of people attending the meetings has become more important to these leaders than whether those people are totally committed to Christ.10. Building their personal kingdoms and their financial empires has become more important to these leaders than building a local church and making themselves servants in that local church (Jeremiah 6:13).All this is the VERY OPPOSITE of what Jesus taught. The opposite of Christ is called the "anti-Christ" in the New Testament. If Christians do not see this clearly, then when the Antichrist turns up on the world's stage, with his false signs and wonders (2 Thess.2:3-10), they too will blindly accept him. To be led by the Spirit of Christ is to have the very opposite spirit to that mentioned in the points above.Here is a paraphrase of Jesus' words in Matthew 7:13-27 (read in the context of Matthew Chapters 5 to 7):
"Both the gate and the way to ETERNAL LIFE are very narrow - as I have just described (Matt. 5 to 7). But false prophets will come along and tell you that the gate and way are not narrow but easy and broad. Beware of them. You will be able to identify them easily by observing the fruit of their character: Do they live a life free from anger, free from lusting after women, free from the love of money and free from anxiously seeking after material wealth (as worldly people seek)? Do they preach against these things as I have done here? (Matt.5:21-32 and 6:24-34). These false prophets may exercise many supernatural gifts and do miracles and actually heal people in My Name, but I will still send them all to hell in the final day, because they did not know Me (as THE HOLY ONE) and they did not give up sin in their private lives (Matt.7:21-23). So if you want to build a church on a rock that will never shake or fall in time or eternity, be careful to do all that I have just spoken to you (Matt. 5 to 7) and teach your people to do all that I have commanded you too. Then I will be with you always and My authority will always back you (Matt.28:20, 18). But if you only hear what I say and don't do it, then what you build may look like a large and impressive church to men, but it will surely crumble and fall one day (Matt.7:25)."
How then shall we build an unshakeable church in these last days?
1. We must live the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5 to 7) and preach it constantly.2. We must live in the new-covenant and not in the old-covenant. For this, we must know the difference between the two covenants clearly (2 Cor.3:6). We must also preach the new covenant.When preachers fall into serious sin today, they justify themselves by (and find their comfort in) the examples of Old Testament saints who also fell into sin. And then they re-commence their ministry after a period of silence. They quote the examples of David who committed adultery, and Elijah who got depressed, and they say "But God still used them"! But they won't quote the example of Paul who lived in victory and purity until the end of his life.What these preachers (and most Christians) have not seen is that the Old Testament saints are NOT our examples today. We have been given much more in this age of grace - and "to whom more is given, more is required" (Luke 12:48). Jesus is the Mediator of a NEW covenant and HE is our Example and the Author of our faith today - not David or Elijah. The distinction between the Old Testament saints (listed in Hebrews 11) and Jesus, is made very clear in Hebrews 12:1-4. But very few live in the reality of this. Very few have seen that "God has provided something BETTER for us" in the new covenant (Heb.11:40).Any of us can fall in the way that many preachers have fallen, if we are not watchful and alert - for Satan is a cunning enemy. Our safety lies in obeying New Testament teaching exactly and in submitting to godly leadership. (And by "godly" leadership, I mean those who do not have even one of the wrong values listed in the ten points I mentioned earlier). If we learn from the mistakes of others, we can avoid making the same mistakes ourselves.So let us keep our faces in the dust before the Lord at all times - for it is there that we will receive Divine revelation, as John did (Rev.1:17). If we humble ourselves, we will receive grace to be overcomers (1 Pet.5:5). And when the Holy Spirit shows us the truth in God's Word and the truth about ourselves, let us be totally honest and "love the truth, so as to be saved" from all sin. That way we will be protected by God Himself from all deception (2 Thess. 2:10,11). Amen.

Adjusting to the Darkness

2009-08-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

"If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." 1 John 1:6
What is the first thing that you see when someone turns off the lights in the room that you are in? The answer is easy: you see darkness.
What about after two or three minutes of standing in the darkness? What do you see now? Do things appear as dark as they initially were when the lights were first turned off?
What happens is that the longer that you are in the darkness, the more that you will adjust to the absence of light. It will appear as though things are lighter or brighter but in reality they are just as dark as they were to begin with.
I am deeply concerned for the Body of Christ. My heart breaks as I see so many individuals and so many churches adjusting to the darkness around them while sincerely believing that they are walking in the light.
What was unacceptable behavior a few years ago is now seen as common place in the ranks of the modern church. Instead of desiring to be "Holy as He is Holy" we have instead adjusted and adapted to the darkness of sin and compromise in the name of being relevant.
Somehow the idea has slipped in that we need to imitate the world in order to win them to Jesus. What happened to imitating Jesus in order to win them to Jesus?
The "Seeker Sensitive" movement has really become the "Sin Sensitive" movement as people have learned to walk in the dark and think that they are in the light. They have adjusted to the darkness and are under the delusion that God is pleased with their carnality!
The Apostle John was dealing with a group of Christian who had been convinced that their lukewarm version of Christianity was an acceptable form of faith. John quickly and sharply addressed this issue and called it like he saw it, "If we say that we have fellowship with (Jesus) and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."
The fellowship that he spoke of was the koinonia or intimate communion that the faithful believer should expect to enjoy. This intimacy can only be attained and maintained when there is a constant fidelity to the Lord.
But if we "claim" to have that type of life-transforming and righteousness producing fellowship—but have adjusted to the darkness –then the Word of God calls our claim into question.
What does it mean to "walk in darkness" anyway? The Greek word that John uses here is the word skotos and Thayer's defines it as such:
1.Used of night darkness
2.Used of darkened eyesight or blindness
3.Used of ignorance in regards to the human duty towards divine things, which is then accompanied by immorality and ungodliness resulting in the eternal misery of hell.
Wow! That should chill anyone to the bone who is not in the desperate pursuit of he will of God.
Almost every single person that you meet today and minister too on the streets of Lagos lay claim to some type of salvation experience.
They say things like, "Go talk to someone that really needs it, I am already going to heaven." All the while they are looking and acting exactly like the world that Jesus died to save us from!
Someone, somewhere gave them a version of the Word that had been adjusted to the darkness. A mother, or aunt or preacher or Sunday school teacher convinced them that the only thing that God required out of them for salvation was a meaningless, and fruitless prayer that neither changed them nor saved them!
They have believed the lie and as a result they have become liars! They failed to give them the full counsel of God and instead have reduced the CRIMSON BLOOD OF JESUS to a more palatable PASTEL PINK!
They have "cherry picked" a few scriptures out of context that appeal to the flesh, but do absolutely nothing in regards to transforming the spirit! They just "adjust to the darkness." What about the next verse in 1st John Chapter 1
"If we walk in the light as He is in the light...the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."
What if we don't walk in the light then? Simple—the Blood of Jesus will not cleanse us from all sins!
You can join any church that you want to join! You can get yourself dipped, dunked, sprinkled, confirmed and blessed. You can do the Walk to Emmaus, the Purpose Driven Life, or do three Hail Mary's and five Our Father's —but if your life is not reflective of the Glorious, Transforming, and Holy Word of the LIVING GOD—then you are a LIAR and you do not know the TRUTH!
When the Apostles of Old penned the words that we call the Bible under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, they did so with the expectancy that those who read these sacred writings would see, live and experience the same type of walk that they did.
They PREACHED a message of HOLINESS because they LIVED the message of HOLINESS.
They PREACHED a message with POWER because they LIVED a message of POWER!
They PREACHED a message of BOLDNESS because they LIVED a message of BOLDNESS!
What message are you living? Or have you just simply stepped out of the light and "adjusted to the darkness?"
The thing about "adjusting to the darkness" is that you are able to convince yourself that you can still see!
Sure, the detail is lacking and you may have to squint to make out something, but at least you are not totally blind! Sin is okay with allowing you to live the illusion of light just as long as you never step into the light!
I am asking all of you who are reading this to ask yourself the same thing that I am having to ask myself every single day as I expose myself to the light of God's Word: "Holy Spirit please have mercy upon me and reveal to me any area where I have adjusted to the darkness."
Job 34:21-22 declares, "His eyes are on the ways of men; he sees their every step. There is no dark place, no deep shadow, where evildoers can hide."
It is time to raise the standard and walk in the measure of Light that the Lord Jesus has revealed to us through His death, burial and resurrection and cease from the deceitful snare of "adjusting to the darkness.

The New Apostolic Reformation

2009-08-07T11:43:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of it yet? They are the new self accalimed Reformers for The Church of Christ.
The new Apostolic Reformation (NAR) sprang from the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement. They claim that they have been given authority to lay the foundation for the “new” global church. They believe they are restored apostles called and ordained by God to be the government for the emerging “New Order” church. In order to maintain this governance they stress strict obedience and submission to them in all matters. They claim they hear directly from God, and many claim that Jesus visits them in person. Like the true biblical apostles who established the early church, these so called restored apostles believe they are called to lay the foundation and government for the new Kingdom (one world church). Their goal is complete and utter control of the church and subjugatation of its current governance to them. They want power, dominion and total control. They truly believe that the world is awaiting fulfillment of a take over by a militant church (Joel’s Army) that will arise, govern and dominate the world politically and spiritually.
Have you seen any of these traits in your Church or leader?

The Arm of The Lord

2009-07-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

‘’To Whom is the Arm of the Lord Revealed?’’
‘’Who Hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground.’’
The word arm is used symbolically many times in scriptures to signify that upon which man relies for strength and support.The arm represents the person, sometimes the person is in weakness, and his arm is described as being weak. Sometimes it is in strength. The arm is the symbol of the person, or sometimes of the people in the Nation, but always indicating the state of strength or weakness.The phrase ‘’ the arm of the Lord’’ when used in relation to men or nations implies the giving of His strength and support to that which is according to his purpose, the showing of Himself in power on behalf of it.
To whom then will the Lord show Himself in power? To whom will the Lord make bare His arm (Isa 52:10)Biblical examples
There are many incidents in which the arm of the lord is shown, for instance in the bringing of Israel out of Egypt we found repeated reference to the barring of His arm, the stretching forth of His arm (Is.30.30) to bring them out, the arm of the Lord was revealed. If you read and consider the whole story of God’s dealing with Pharaoh and Egypt on behalf of His people, you will find that it is all summed up in this—- it was the revealing of the arm of the Lord.
Again, take Israel deliverance from Babylon, that was another occasion when the arm of the Lord was revealed. The arm of the Lord, stretched out over Babylon, brought down her rulers and overthrew her forces, in order to bring the people back from captivity.( Isa 43:14). And again, that was symbolic, the recovery of a pure testimony amongst the Lord’s people.But it is in the raising of Jesus, and in His exaltation to the right hand of the Majesty in the Heavens, that we surely see the supreme example of the revealing of the arm of the Lord.
In those succeeding early days of the Church, how wonderful was this revealing of the arm of the Lord. When they were suffering persecutions, a few met together for prayer, and prayed ‘’ Grant unto thy servants—— boldness while thou stretcheth forth thy Hand—and that signs and wonders may be done . (Acts 4:29-30).Herod came under the impact of that arm, Saul of Tarsus came under it’s same impact, many things happened in many places, because the Lord was revealing His arm.
Now you will notice that many of these instances have certain features in common.
Firstly, there was the exalting of world powers against the God, the lifting up of the head on the part of the powers of this world against the Lord and against His anointed.
Secondly, there was the involvement of the Lord’s glory and the Lord’s purpose, through a condition of weakness and apostasy among His people. After the covenant that the Lord had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob , it was altogether contrary to the revealed purpose of His heart, that He should have the sons of Israel in bondage in Egypt, giving their strength to the powers of evil. How often do we see in scriptures the Lord revealing His arm because of a condition amongst His own people.
And then thirdly, there was a cry from within on the part of an instrument of intercession. There was Moses, in touch with God right from the inside in relation to that situation in Egypt. There was Daniel, and a few others with him, right on the inside of the situation in Babylon, crying to God, and there were those prayer meetings recorded in the books of Acts the cry of the elect to be avenged. This was a feature common to the intervention of God again and again. A cry from the inside.Some questions arise in relation to all of this in our own day. Is there a situation in our time which corresponds to these situations, in that threefold connection? Is there a connection like that today?
I think the answer is obvious. Are world powers lifting their heads against the Lord?Was there ever a time when the throne of God was more challenged by world powers than today?Is there a condition in Christianity which brings much dishonour to the Lord?Is The Lord’s true testimony today, involved in a spiritual state which is contrary to His revealed mind?The answer is self evident. It is impossible in these days to move about this world without meeting these two things and being almost overwhelmed by them. The tremendous force of evil that is set against God. You feel it, you meet it, it comes out at you everywhere. And if that is distressing, without exaggeration, even more distressing is the sate of Christianity generally, which is such a contradiction to what God has revealed as to His purpose. Sometimes you are almost compelled to say that the greatest enemy of Christianity is Christianity.
The level of deception in the Church today is so alarming, and even more alarming is the apparent disregard to the advice given us by the Apostles to discern and test every spirit. The greatest single danger in these end times is not sickness, nor poverty , nor persecution. It is deception. If anybody says it could never happen to me, I’m afraid, it has already to that person, because that person is saying something that could never happen that Jesus said would happen.
The first thing Jesus said about the events leading up to His return, in Matt24, and verse 4 ‘’ take heed that no one deceives you, and in verse 5 ‘’ for many shall come in My Name saying I’m the messiah (that is Christ), and would deceive many. In verse 11, He warned, many false prophets will rise up and deceive many and in verse 24, He also warned “ For false messiahs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible even the elect.Anybody who shrugs off that warning or treats it lightly does so at the risk of his own soul.
What about the third feature? Is there a cry from the inside? I believe Yes.There is a growing sense within the heart many of God’s children that things are not right in the real sense, that what we are experiencing and witnessing in the Church today is not what the Lord purposed for His body.There is an ongoing deep cry down in the hearts of many for some changing of the spiritual condition among His people.It is a response to that cry and prayer that has brought us back to Nigeria after many years overseas doing the Lord’s work.

The Man Paul

2009-07-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to be a real man?
According to today’s standards of our society, very much shaped by the media and the movies, the real man is the big and strong, bold and brave, confident and competitive. He is the one who doesn’t show his emotions and the one that is apathetic to any thing religious.
The church today offers no better definiton of what a true man in Christ represents.
Young people today are taught in our churches that a real man is a true stoic- someone who doesn’t show his emotions. He is the self confident that has faith in his gifts and qualities, he is the i can do and become all things types. He is the all blessed, all rich and lacks nothing type. He is the healthy, bold and competitive type.
Consider the type of man Paul was and compare it to what you are been taught are the marks of a true man in Christ.
The Apostle Paul was indeed a man of Strong, bravery and confidence, yet of the things we read of him, he was a man of who cared deeply about the state of the world, about others and the purpose of God
He was a man who understood that he was strongest in Christ when he was weakest in himself, (2 Cor 12:10) ” for when iam weak, then am i strong.”
He was a man who knew his only confidence and strenght was in Christ, and not in any self strenght or gift. ( Phil 3:3) ” For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.”
He was a man who cared so much for the people of God that he was willing to suffer the persecutions of men rather than be at home with Christ. (Phil 1:21) ” For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
He was a man who didn’t,t feel the need to pound his chest and defend himself as the great apostle Paul, rather, he buffeted his body so that he could present it to the Lord to gain an invisible crown. (1 Cor 9:27) ” But i keep my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means , when i have preached to others, i myself should be a castaway.”
He was a man willing to be considered a fool for Christ.( 1 Cor 1:27) ” But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise,–”"
Paul indeed was a real man, and one of the greatest men of all time. He was a man who very much concerned himself with servant-hood, humility. He was a man who did not live for his own greatness and glory but lived humbly before the face of God for the glory of God.