It is very easy to automatically assume that one is being “pharasaical” when they don’t agree with someone/something in the body; especially if they have experienced some level of success in ministry like Pastor Vernon has, but that is not the case in this situation. I know that you (as well as many others on this message strand) have experienced a TON of people/leaders who are “in the box” in terms of their approach to ministry and have wrongly criticized innovative leaders (like Bro. R.A. Vernon) for whatever reason. This is not that case.
What this is is an observation from another brother in the Lord who sees another brother who has erred (not in his walk) but in the discharge of his ministerial duty to God’s people through the course of his sermon. As ministers of the Gospel (which we ALL are) we must adhere to the highest standards (by the grace of God) as representatives of the Kingdom, and have the utmost integrity in the faithful discharge of our ministerial duties, especially the ones who preach in a public setting.
I agree with you totally that the methods in which we reach people must change, (I am probably as unorthodox as they come when it comes to “out of the box” ministry) while the message (the Gospel) remains consistent. New rules do require new tools. But let me share with you why him even implying “FU” (in the context in which he used it) is wrong.
The same Apostle Paul (that you quoted) also said: “It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine NOR DO ANYTHING by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.” –(Romans 14:21)
Would Paul contradict himself by saying “became all things to all people” and then say “don’t do anything which would cause your brother to stumble?” Not in this case, because the Word NEVER contradicts itself. Know what I mean?
We know (talking about everyone on this strand) what he meant when he said “FU” (meaning forgive you). But what about the ones who when they hear that term used all they can think about is the worldly term of “FU?” (regardless of his explanation of the “new” terminology.) Do we care about if what we say offends them? What if they struggle with cursing still? They hear it all day long in their head, on TV, and everyplace else, is it fair for them to have to hear even an implication (because we all know that he didn’t cuss cuss) of it in church which should be a place of rest/safety/instruction? Do we care enough about them to lay down our lives (our right to do certain things that may not be sinful or offensive to us) in order to strengthen their walk, or is it really to each its own? Are we our brother’s keeper?
This example is similar to someone who may be a musician or an artist who takes the music/melody/beat from a popular worldly song (say for instance “Single Ladies” by Beyonce) and then lays new lyrics to it and then attempts to minister the new song on a Sunday morning. For everyone who has ever heard the Beyonce song, it will be hard for them to enter into praise/worship because in their mind all the can see and hear is her lyrics and her doing the dance moves from her video. Should we bypass everyone and potentially “offend” them and play this new song for the sake of “reaching the young people” or being “out of the box?” Wouldn’t people in the service that morning during that song be looking around all confused and not knowing whether to sing the new song or break out dancing like Beyonce? Is God the author of confusion? No, He is not; where confusion is present, God is absent.
Speaking of offense, the Bible also says that “A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle.”-(Proverbs 18:19) We well may be within our “right” to say/do certain things, but if it causes offense to even one soul (not the Holy Spirit offending them pushing them towards repentance, but offense that comes from the carnality of man) I would encourage that we not even go that way.
While all of us mature Christians are laughing and saying “Amen, I got it Pastor!” you’ve got that one person who has become so offended because in their heart and mind a leader like a pastor should not even “act” like they’re cussing, know what I mean? Didn’t Christ say that he left the 99 just to rescue the 1? My brother, our disposition should be the same.
Last thing, let me tell you how we should ALL be able to tell that Pastor Vernon was wrong on this one (which is ok, because we all blow it from time to time). Anytime that you have to preface your comment with “Now ya’ll don’t get offended…” and then lead in to say what the Holy Spirit is NOT leading you to say (in this case “FU”), then you are probably about to err. Remember the bible teaches don’t do anything that causes your brother to stumble (which is normally due to some kind of offense); remember, a brother offended is hard to win (Prov. 18:19).
Pastor Jamal Bryant actually preached this message some years ago, which caused the same kind of ruckus. Why don’t we all, for the sake of unity, lay aside every sin and weight that may beset others, so we all come into a maturity in the faith with the rest of the family of God. Let God (and His Holy Word) be true, and every man be a liar. #mytwocents
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
"Why Revival Tarries" and The Message of The Kingdom
Over the past 100 years or so, well-meaning Christians (including myself) have prayed and sought the Lord to send revival to the nations of the world. We have heard about great moves of God in the past like the ones that occurred in California (Azusa Revival), Britain (Wales Revival), and Florida (Pensacola Revival) just to name a few. Although we have seen God do many great things during those times, those moves of God, for whatever reason (and we could all argue many points), were never sustained.
One reason that I believe that the Church has not seen revival and societal transformation like it so desires, is because Jesus NEVER told us to pray for revival to come. WHAT?! Yes, believe it or not, Christ never told us to pray for revival. Now before you jump all over me and label me a heretic, allow me to explain this position.
In the book of Saint Matthew (6:10), Jesus' disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. One of the things that our Lord taught them during that time of instruction was to pray "that His Kingdom would come." He never once told them to pray for revival. So the question is if they didn't pray for it, then why do we?
The word of God teaches that God's people are destroyed due to a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). A word that is synonymous with the term "lack of knowledge" is the word ignorance. Webster's dictionary defines ignorance as: Destitute of knowledge; uninstructed or uninformed; untaught; unenlightened. Something Unknown; undiscovered. The reason why we have/host revival services and pray for revival is due to the deficit of knowledge that we possess concerning the Kingdom of God and how it operates.
What is the Kingdom? In a nutshell, The Kingdom of God is the government of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is the preeminent ruling authority in all of heaven and earth to which every government and kingdom of every nation is subject. We, the people of God, are the citizens and ambassadors of this kingdom who have a divine mandate from our governmental leader (Jesus Christ, the King of this Kingdom) to expand the influence of our heavenly government into every sphere of society into which we are called. Ultimately, establishing His will (His influence, attributes, desires, government, etc.) on earth as it is in Heaven.
The Kingdom of God and your understanding it is of immense importance. How important? It was (and still is) so important that its message is THE ONLY message that Christ ever preached!! The ONLY ONE!! (Did you know that?)
Need more proof? It is so important that Christ instructed us to "seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matt. 6:33) Seeking implies looking until you find what was/is lost or until you come into a full understanding of the thing that you're seeking after. And the word "first" has implications of something that ought to be your primary focus. Christ thought that this message of the Kingdom was so important that the very first words that came out of His mouth when His ministry became public were "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." (Matt. 4:17)
What am I really saying? I am saying that we pray ignorantly for revival due to our lack of understanding about Christ and His Kingdom. You see inherent in the Kingdom is healing, deliverance and the revival that we pray for and long to see. We ignorantly seek and pray and ask God for the fruit (healings, deliverance, salvations, revival, etc.) instead of praying that the root (The Kingdom of God) which produces those things would be in perpetual manifestation in the nations in which we live. In the Kingdom, there is grace for the transformation of the nations, not just revival.
Due to our ignorance, not only are we, the people of God destroyed, but the world around us that we are called to impact and influence perishes as well as it eagerly awaits for the full manifestation of the sons of God (Romans 8:19); in whom the Kingdom now resides (Luke 17:21).
So beloved, don’t pray for the fruit (revival), but make a demand on the root (His Kingdom) and watch the “kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord & of His Christ.” (Rev. 11:15) #AMEN
Scripture References:
*Hosea 4:6*Matthew 4:17
*Matthew 6:10
*Matthew 6:33
*Romans 8:19
*Luke 17:21
*Revelation 11:15
Suggested Readings:
*The Bible (search Kingdom, Government)
*Rediscovering the Kingdom: Dr. Myles Munroe
*Understanding the Kingdom: Dr. Myles Munroe
*The Kingdom of God in You: Pastor Bill Winston
This article was originally written by Pastor Warren G. Curry, Jr and is a publication of Life Changers Ministries International. All rights reserved. © Copyright 2011
Friday, November 19, 2010
Ain't Nothing Happy About Halloween!!
The Truth Behind Halloween
“Trick or treat, smell my feet give me something good to eat!”
With all of the questions surrounding the recognition and celebration of the day known to most as “Halloween,” I feel compelled to share with you some insights that I have obtained from the Lord as well as other sources over the years about this subject. My prayer is that you will find this article enlightening and informative.
I recall the times growing up as a child when the Halloween season would roll around. Costumes, candy, and bobbing for apples (even though bobbing for apples with multiple people in the same tub now seems a lot more gross than it was back then! Uggh!) always were a favorite of mine. Man, just thinking back to those times makes everything seem like things then were all good. But just because something seems good does not mean that it is good for you.
There is a scripture found within the Word of God (Bible) that emphatically states that “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being priest for me, because you have forgotten the Law of your God, I ALSO WILL FORGET YOUR CHILDREN.” (Hosea 4:6)
Most people at one time or another have heard that scripture, and could possibly even quote it verbatim, but the real truth contained in that scripture is not the fact that people are destroyed due to a lack of knowledge, rather their lives are decimated by the enemy because they reject the knowledge that has been presented to them.
It bewilders me how many Christians reject the teachings of the pastors and ministers that have been sent by God to have care and oversight of their souls. You may be asking, “How do they reject their teachings and instructions?” I’m glad that you asked. This atrocity is committed by hearing the word of the Lord that’s been shared by their leaders and then doing the exact opposite of what they’ve just been taught.
Please don’t take this the wrong way, but do you know more than us (spiritually speaking)? Are we not the “professionals” in our fields of expertise? Are we not the ones called of God to have oversight over the welfare and well-being of you and your family’s souls? The Word of God puts it this way:
“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” (Hebrews 13:17)
I mean think about it for a moment. If you lacked knowledge or understanding in a certain area, wouldn’t you seek out the advice of a competent professional who has undergone many years of thorough study, research and training in that same area where your knowledge is lacking? I would hope so.
Now then, wouldn’t it be foolish after having received that competent and professional advice, for you to then turn around and say “Thanks anyway Mr. or Mrs. Professional for the answer to the question that I didn’t know, but now I’m going to continue to walk in the darkness that made me seek out your advice in the first place.” That would be foolish.
Well, that’s exactly what happens every week in our North American churches. God has already given the answers to the questions of your heart to the pastors and leaders in your lives, but when the information that they share doesn’t align itself with your carnal desires, you flat out reject the knowledge that has been designed for your safety and well-being.
That brings us to today’s discussion on Halloween. If people knew the history behind this demonic holiday I believe that most people would not want to associate themselves with a day that historically has always been connected to satanic worship, demonic fellowship and the occult. With that being said, let’s take a closer look at the origin of Halloween.
HISTORICAL BEGINNINGS OF HALLOWEEN
Halloween has its origins in an ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. Samhain (pronounced sow-wen) is a festival that traditionally was held at the end of the harvest season in Gaelic cultures and historically always had aspects of a festival of that celebrates the dead. Its name (Samhain) came from the name of a month in the ancient Celtic calendar, in particular the first three nights of the month, with the festival marking the end of the summer season and the end of the harvest.
According to Celtic tradition, Samhain is also a time when the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead become thinner, allowing spirits and other supernatural forces to pass between the worlds to socialize with humans. It is the time of the year when ancestors and other departed souls are especially honored. Often a meal will be prepared of favorite foods of the family's and community's beloved dead, a place set for them at the table, and traditional songs, poetry and dances performed to entertain them. A door or window may be opened or a candle or other light left burning in a western window to guide their beloved dead home who have been invited to attend this special celebration in their honor.
Samhain is also known as and celebrated as one of the eight annual festivals of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. It is often referred to as Sabbats and is considered by most Wiccans (which are modern day witches) to be the most important of the four greater Sabbats. Why is this so important? Because the Wiccans believe that it is a time to celebrate the lives of those who have died and have transitioned from this life into eternity. In some rituals that are held to honor the demise of the departed souls of ancestors, family members, friends and even in some cases pets, the spirits of the deceased are invited to attend and participate in these festivities which are being held in their honor. In a nutshell, Samhain/Halloween it is nothing more than a festival of darkness.
HOW THE FESTIVAL OF SAMHAIN BECAME HALLOWEEN
The pagan activities that govern the holiday of Samhain, have crept its way over into modern-day western civilization and has influenced the day (October 31) that is typically “hallowed” (“Hallow”=Holy, like in the Lord’s prayer: “Hallowed be thy name”) out or set aside to observe the secular holiday that we know today as Halloween. The actual term Halloween, (originally spelled Hallowe’en), is shortened from All Hallows' Even – and e'en is a shortening of even, which is a shortening of the word evening.
When the Roman government proclaimed Christianity as the official religion of their empire, the conquered people (like the Celts), were “Christianized” and forced into a new way of living conducive with christian teaching.
In hopes of replacing the paganistic festival of Samhain (the Celtic Lord of Death), the Roman Church in the A.D. 800’s (two Catholic Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV), devised a strategy to counterattack the vast amounts of extreme paganism associated with this holiday (Samhain). They tried to supplant All Hallows’ Even celebrations with the Christian holiday (All Saints' Day) by moving it from May 13 to November 1. They attempted to establish November 1 as All Saint’s Day to honor the lives and legacies of departed saints.
The customs of Samhain continued in spite of the efforts of the Roman Church. All Saints Day which was also known as All Hallow’s Day (remember Hallow=Holy), and soon, the day before (October 31) became All Hollow’s Eve.
All Hallows' Day on November 1 was followed by All Souls' Day, on November 2. Over time, the night of October 31 that was traditionally called All Hallow's Eve, gave way to the remnants of the festival dedicated to the dead (Samhain) which remained. Eventually the secular holiday called Samhain morphed into the day that we know today as Halloween.
SYMBOLS & CUSTOMS COMMON TO BOTH SAMHAIN & HALLOWEEN
Listed below you will find information on a lot of the traditional items that are associated with these pagan holidays:
MASKS & COSTUMES: During the celebration of Samhain, the family's ancestral spirits were honored and invited home while harmful spirits were to be warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces.
JACK-O’-LANTERNS: On All Hallows’ eve, the ancient Celts would place a skeleton on their window sill to represent the departed. Originating in Europe, these lanterns were first carved from a turnip or rutabaga. Believing that the head was the most powerful part of the body, containing the spirit and the knowledge, the Celts used the "head" of the vegetable to frighten off harmful spirits. The name jack-o'-lantern can be traced back to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a greedy, gambling, hard-drinking old farmer. He tricked the devil into climbing a tree and trapped him by carving a cross into the tree trunk. In revenge, the devil placed a curse on Jack, condemning him to forever wander the earth at night with the only light he had: a candle inside of a hollowed turnip. The carving of pumpkins is associated with Halloween in North America where pumpkins are both readily available and much larger- making them easier to carve than turnips. Another common practice during Halloween was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.
TRICK-OR-TREATING: Celtic townspeople placed food items such as apples, nuts, and corn on their porches as a “treat” for the roaming spirits of the dead. It was believed that if the spirits found no food, they would cast spells, steal infants, kill farm animals, haunt the living, and cause havoc for all who failed to treat them.
COLORS OF BLACK & ORANGE: While not inherently evil in the sense that God made all things (even colors), some things may be perverted to be used for Satan’s glory. With that being said, Black is a symbol of darkness, death, evil and mourning. Orange is a symbol of fire. Samhain was often called a “fire festival” because of huge bonfires that they had.
WITCHES, BLACK CATS, HARES, ETC.: Witchcraft dates back to pre-Celtic history. When witchcraft swept Europe in the Middle Ages, the established festival of Samhain became an important celebration. October 31 was (and still is) observed as a “sabbath” for their worship of Lucifer, the prince of darkness and lord of the dead. Black cats and hares were thought to be reincarnated witches.
MISCELLANEOUS SYMBOLS: Halloween imagery tends to involve death, evil, the occult, magic, or mythical monsters. Traditional characters include the Devil, the Grim Reaper, ghosts, ghouls, demons, witches, pumpkin-men, goblins, vampires, werewolves, martians, zombies, mummies, pirates, skeletons, black cats, spiders, bats, owls, crows, and vultures.
SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE OR PARTICIPATE IN HALLOWEEN?
NO!! Some things just are not up for discussion. God’s word is very clear that we are to have no dealings with the things of darkness. The scripture teaches that “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all;” (1 John 1:5); as it is with Him, so should it be with us.
Believers in Christ should not participate in Halloween related activities, period. We also are under no obligation to offer a “safe” alternative either. I’m dumbfounded as to why we allow our children to dress up as something “cute” or “non-spooky.” What are we trying to prove? Who are we trying to impress? Does the scripture not say “do not love the world or the things in the world?” (1 John 2:15)
Am I against fun fall/harvest related activities, absolutely not. Do I think we should use Halloween to be evangelistically creative in our witness to non-believers, sure. But I don’t feel that Christian parents should feel obligated to give their kids candy and other things on that day just because other kids are receiving goodies, you know what I mean? Do we do these things in an attempt just to pacify them? Are we afraid to just tell them no? Are we trying to fit into this world’s culture or have we been called to change it?
During the Ramadan season for Muslims, do we make our children fast on those days so as to be careful not to offend other Muslim children? Do we dress them in Muslim garb and have them to abstain from worldly things to focus in on their relationship with God? If Halloween like Ramadan is a holiday that Christian believers do not celebrate (and they don’t), then why do we participate in one and not the other?
On the other hand, there are holidays that are a part of our rich Judaic heritage such as Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year),Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) as well as others that most Christians do not only celebrate, but also have no working knowledge about them whatsoever either. My brothers and sisters, these things ought not to be.
There is nothing wrong with mustering up the courage and telling our children NO! No we are not going to go trick or treating, no we are not dressing up as anything spooky or non-spooky, no no no!!! The word of God instructs us to: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
God has instructed ALL of His children to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them;” (Ephesians 5:11) beloved, that is my intent with this letter. I am not trying to condemn or bash anyone, but to lovingly admonish you to sever any tie that you may still have with worldly systems, practices, and teachings.
The bible says “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4) My objective with this letter is to expose the subtle (and not so subtle) lies that the enemy would use to ensnare the people of God. I also want to educate and inform you of ancient occultic practices so that you would be empowered to liberate yourself, your family as well as others in your sphere of influence.
People of God be strong, stand firm on the Word and remember that only what you do for Christ will last!
Telling The Truth is the ministry newsletter from the Truth Institute which is an outreach ministry of Life Changers Ministries. All rights reserved ©
“Trick or treat, smell my feet give me something good to eat!”
With all of the questions surrounding the recognition and celebration of the day known to most as “Halloween,” I feel compelled to share with you some insights that I have obtained from the Lord as well as other sources over the years about this subject. My prayer is that you will find this article enlightening and informative.
I recall the times growing up as a child when the Halloween season would roll around. Costumes, candy, and bobbing for apples (even though bobbing for apples with multiple people in the same tub now seems a lot more gross than it was back then! Uggh!) always were a favorite of mine. Man, just thinking back to those times makes everything seem like things then were all good. But just because something seems good does not mean that it is good for you.
There is a scripture found within the Word of God (Bible) that emphatically states that “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being priest for me, because you have forgotten the Law of your God, I ALSO WILL FORGET YOUR CHILDREN.” (Hosea 4:6)
Most people at one time or another have heard that scripture, and could possibly even quote it verbatim, but the real truth contained in that scripture is not the fact that people are destroyed due to a lack of knowledge, rather their lives are decimated by the enemy because they reject the knowledge that has been presented to them.
It bewilders me how many Christians reject the teachings of the pastors and ministers that have been sent by God to have care and oversight of their souls. You may be asking, “How do they reject their teachings and instructions?” I’m glad that you asked. This atrocity is committed by hearing the word of the Lord that’s been shared by their leaders and then doing the exact opposite of what they’ve just been taught.
Please don’t take this the wrong way, but do you know more than us (spiritually speaking)? Are we not the “professionals” in our fields of expertise? Are we not the ones called of God to have oversight over the welfare and well-being of you and your family’s souls? The Word of God puts it this way:
“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” (Hebrews 13:17)
I mean think about it for a moment. If you lacked knowledge or understanding in a certain area, wouldn’t you seek out the advice of a competent professional who has undergone many years of thorough study, research and training in that same area where your knowledge is lacking? I would hope so.
Now then, wouldn’t it be foolish after having received that competent and professional advice, for you to then turn around and say “Thanks anyway Mr. or Mrs. Professional for the answer to the question that I didn’t know, but now I’m going to continue to walk in the darkness that made me seek out your advice in the first place.” That would be foolish.
Well, that’s exactly what happens every week in our North American churches. God has already given the answers to the questions of your heart to the pastors and leaders in your lives, but when the information that they share doesn’t align itself with your carnal desires, you flat out reject the knowledge that has been designed for your safety and well-being.
That brings us to today’s discussion on Halloween. If people knew the history behind this demonic holiday I believe that most people would not want to associate themselves with a day that historically has always been connected to satanic worship, demonic fellowship and the occult. With that being said, let’s take a closer look at the origin of Halloween.
HISTORICAL BEGINNINGS OF HALLOWEEN
Halloween has its origins in an ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. Samhain (pronounced sow-wen) is a festival that traditionally was held at the end of the harvest season in Gaelic cultures and historically always had aspects of a festival of that celebrates the dead. Its name (Samhain) came from the name of a month in the ancient Celtic calendar, in particular the first three nights of the month, with the festival marking the end of the summer season and the end of the harvest.
According to Celtic tradition, Samhain is also a time when the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead become thinner, allowing spirits and other supernatural forces to pass between the worlds to socialize with humans. It is the time of the year when ancestors and other departed souls are especially honored. Often a meal will be prepared of favorite foods of the family's and community's beloved dead, a place set for them at the table, and traditional songs, poetry and dances performed to entertain them. A door or window may be opened or a candle or other light left burning in a western window to guide their beloved dead home who have been invited to attend this special celebration in their honor.
Samhain is also known as and celebrated as one of the eight annual festivals of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. It is often referred to as Sabbats and is considered by most Wiccans (which are modern day witches) to be the most important of the four greater Sabbats. Why is this so important? Because the Wiccans believe that it is a time to celebrate the lives of those who have died and have transitioned from this life into eternity. In some rituals that are held to honor the demise of the departed souls of ancestors, family members, friends and even in some cases pets, the spirits of the deceased are invited to attend and participate in these festivities which are being held in their honor. In a nutshell, Samhain/Halloween it is nothing more than a festival of darkness.
HOW THE FESTIVAL OF SAMHAIN BECAME HALLOWEEN
The pagan activities that govern the holiday of Samhain, have crept its way over into modern-day western civilization and has influenced the day (October 31) that is typically “hallowed” (“Hallow”=Holy, like in the Lord’s prayer: “Hallowed be thy name”) out or set aside to observe the secular holiday that we know today as Halloween. The actual term Halloween, (originally spelled Hallowe’en), is shortened from All Hallows' Even – and e'en is a shortening of even, which is a shortening of the word evening.
When the Roman government proclaimed Christianity as the official religion of their empire, the conquered people (like the Celts), were “Christianized” and forced into a new way of living conducive with christian teaching.
In hopes of replacing the paganistic festival of Samhain (the Celtic Lord of Death), the Roman Church in the A.D. 800’s (two Catholic Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV), devised a strategy to counterattack the vast amounts of extreme paganism associated with this holiday (Samhain). They tried to supplant All Hallows’ Even celebrations with the Christian holiday (All Saints' Day) by moving it from May 13 to November 1. They attempted to establish November 1 as All Saint’s Day to honor the lives and legacies of departed saints.
The customs of Samhain continued in spite of the efforts of the Roman Church. All Saints Day which was also known as All Hallow’s Day (remember Hallow=Holy), and soon, the day before (October 31) became All Hollow’s Eve.
All Hallows' Day on November 1 was followed by All Souls' Day, on November 2. Over time, the night of October 31 that was traditionally called All Hallow's Eve, gave way to the remnants of the festival dedicated to the dead (Samhain) which remained. Eventually the secular holiday called Samhain morphed into the day that we know today as Halloween.
SYMBOLS & CUSTOMS COMMON TO BOTH SAMHAIN & HALLOWEEN
Listed below you will find information on a lot of the traditional items that are associated with these pagan holidays:
MASKS & COSTUMES: During the celebration of Samhain, the family's ancestral spirits were honored and invited home while harmful spirits were to be warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces.
JACK-O’-LANTERNS: On All Hallows’ eve, the ancient Celts would place a skeleton on their window sill to represent the departed. Originating in Europe, these lanterns were first carved from a turnip or rutabaga. Believing that the head was the most powerful part of the body, containing the spirit and the knowledge, the Celts used the "head" of the vegetable to frighten off harmful spirits. The name jack-o'-lantern can be traced back to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a greedy, gambling, hard-drinking old farmer. He tricked the devil into climbing a tree and trapped him by carving a cross into the tree trunk. In revenge, the devil placed a curse on Jack, condemning him to forever wander the earth at night with the only light he had: a candle inside of a hollowed turnip. The carving of pumpkins is associated with Halloween in North America where pumpkins are both readily available and much larger- making them easier to carve than turnips. Another common practice during Halloween was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.
TRICK-OR-TREATING: Celtic townspeople placed food items such as apples, nuts, and corn on their porches as a “treat” for the roaming spirits of the dead. It was believed that if the spirits found no food, they would cast spells, steal infants, kill farm animals, haunt the living, and cause havoc for all who failed to treat them.
COLORS OF BLACK & ORANGE: While not inherently evil in the sense that God made all things (even colors), some things may be perverted to be used for Satan’s glory. With that being said, Black is a symbol of darkness, death, evil and mourning. Orange is a symbol of fire. Samhain was often called a “fire festival” because of huge bonfires that they had.
WITCHES, BLACK CATS, HARES, ETC.: Witchcraft dates back to pre-Celtic history. When witchcraft swept Europe in the Middle Ages, the established festival of Samhain became an important celebration. October 31 was (and still is) observed as a “sabbath” for their worship of Lucifer, the prince of darkness and lord of the dead. Black cats and hares were thought to be reincarnated witches.
MISCELLANEOUS SYMBOLS: Halloween imagery tends to involve death, evil, the occult, magic, or mythical monsters. Traditional characters include the Devil, the Grim Reaper, ghosts, ghouls, demons, witches, pumpkin-men, goblins, vampires, werewolves, martians, zombies, mummies, pirates, skeletons, black cats, spiders, bats, owls, crows, and vultures.
SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE OR PARTICIPATE IN HALLOWEEN?
NO!! Some things just are not up for discussion. God’s word is very clear that we are to have no dealings with the things of darkness. The scripture teaches that “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all;” (1 John 1:5); as it is with Him, so should it be with us.
Believers in Christ should not participate in Halloween related activities, period. We also are under no obligation to offer a “safe” alternative either. I’m dumbfounded as to why we allow our children to dress up as something “cute” or “non-spooky.” What are we trying to prove? Who are we trying to impress? Does the scripture not say “do not love the world or the things in the world?” (1 John 2:15)
Am I against fun fall/harvest related activities, absolutely not. Do I think we should use Halloween to be evangelistically creative in our witness to non-believers, sure. But I don’t feel that Christian parents should feel obligated to give their kids candy and other things on that day just because other kids are receiving goodies, you know what I mean? Do we do these things in an attempt just to pacify them? Are we afraid to just tell them no? Are we trying to fit into this world’s culture or have we been called to change it?
During the Ramadan season for Muslims, do we make our children fast on those days so as to be careful not to offend other Muslim children? Do we dress them in Muslim garb and have them to abstain from worldly things to focus in on their relationship with God? If Halloween like Ramadan is a holiday that Christian believers do not celebrate (and they don’t), then why do we participate in one and not the other?
On the other hand, there are holidays that are a part of our rich Judaic heritage such as Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year),Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) as well as others that most Christians do not only celebrate, but also have no working knowledge about them whatsoever either. My brothers and sisters, these things ought not to be.
There is nothing wrong with mustering up the courage and telling our children NO! No we are not going to go trick or treating, no we are not dressing up as anything spooky or non-spooky, no no no!!! The word of God instructs us to: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
God has instructed ALL of His children to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them;” (Ephesians 5:11) beloved, that is my intent with this letter. I am not trying to condemn or bash anyone, but to lovingly admonish you to sever any tie that you may still have with worldly systems, practices, and teachings.
The bible says “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4) My objective with this letter is to expose the subtle (and not so subtle) lies that the enemy would use to ensnare the people of God. I also want to educate and inform you of ancient occultic practices so that you would be empowered to liberate yourself, your family as well as others in your sphere of influence.
People of God be strong, stand firm on the Word and remember that only what you do for Christ will last!
Telling The Truth is the ministry newsletter from the Truth Institute which is an outreach ministry of Life Changers Ministries. All rights reserved ©
Friday, January 8, 2010
GIFTS FROM THE GODHEAD
Part 2
It is in 1 Corinthians 12 that these gifts which were first listed by Paul the Apostle (total of nine in all) can be found. Each gift is a unique manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Each one of these gifts, with the exception of 2 (Different Kinds of Tongues & Interpretation of Tongues), have been around and operating through God’s servants in the earth since the days of Genesis. I believe that as the end of this age draws to a close, these manifestations of God’s Spirit are only going to increase in ways that will far supersede what we witnessed in Christ’s day.
How can I make such a bold assumption? Because Jesus Himself said that “… he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to my Father.” (John 14:12 NKJV)
Right now you’re probably saying, “The works that Jesus did I will do also? I’ll do greater works than Jesus? Didn’t Jesus raise people from the dead? Give sight to the blind? Fed over 5,000 people with a little boy’s lunch? Turn water into wine? “Come on, how is it possible that I’ll come anywhere close to accomplishing feats like that?” My friend, not only is it possible, but doing anything less simply is not an option. It is very much possible to do a work greater than what Christ did. Not greater in quality but greater in quantity. How so? Because the same Holy Spirit that anointed this one man named Jesus to do the work of the ministry, is the same Spirit that now lives in millions of believers all over the world.
Christ was limited (Yes, I said Jesus was limited) in the sense that there was only so much that He could accomplish in His ministry because numerically there was only one of Him to go around. There was only so much that He could do. But now with the countless number of Christians like you and me that live all over the face of this planet, we are able to do a greater work on a much broader plane, because there are more of us to get the job done.
That’s why it is vitally important for those that are going to walk in their God-ordained authority and who are willing to showcase the Kingdom to the world in which we live, to understand each gift and how it functions so that we may be “…wise masterbuilders” (1 Cor. 3:10) of the churches, cities, and communities that we’ve been called to impact.
Let’s take a look at what the Apostle Paul had to say concerning these gifts in 1 Corinthians 12.
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”
(1 Corinthians 12: 1-11 NKJV)
In this passage of scripture, the Apostle Paul began his discourse on spiritual gifts to the Corinthian church. He felt compelled to share with them in this manner because like many of us today, they were ignorant of the purposes that the gifts were designed for. Their ignorance in these matters not only negatively affected the people whom the gifts were designed to bless, but it also affected the gifts overall functionality as well. Where there is a lack of understanding, people not only will be destroyed or perish (Hosea 4:6), but inevitably they will abuse, misuse and neglect that which God has ordained to bless and enhance.
Due to my disdain for ignorance of the Word of God, I would like to show you how to better classify these gifts for ease of understanding, comprehension and personal use. In doing so, I believe that we will further prevent ignorance of the Holy Spirit’s gifts along with their administrations and operations from spreading like cancer in our churches today. After further explanation, I believe that you will find many ways that these gifts are not only interrelated but how they have been working in your lives up to this point.
Looking back in retrospect to part 1 of this teaching, I would like to stay with that pattern of threes that I previously showed to you, (which again the number three being an example of Divine Perfection or a Divine Model of Perfection) and I would like to begin to discuss and outline to each reader, the gifts given to us by the Third person of the Godhead: the Holy Spirit.
There are three grouping or classes, if you will that the nine gifts of the Spirit outlined in 1 Corinthians 12 can be put together in. These groupings are as follows:
GIFTS OF REVELATION (Gifts that Reveal or Show Something)
• Word of Wisdom
• Word of Knowledge
• Discerning of Spirits
GIFTS OF POWER (Gifts that Do Something)
• The Gift of Faith
• Gifts of Healings
• Working of Miracles
GIFTS OF UTTERANCE/INSPIRATION (Gifts that Say Something)
• Prophecy
• Divers (Different) Kinds of Tongues
• Interpretation of Tongues
If you take a look at the scriptural passage in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul outlined some important points that are very foundational to our study on the Gifts of the Spirit. We must first grasp these truths prior to looking into or at the gifts themselves.
The key points listed below kind of operate as the rules or guidelines of the gifts that we are discussing today. I have extracted some key points and placed them in bullet form so that the reading does not become monotonous. This study is not meant to be a book rather an enlightening look at a timeless passage of scripture. You will find my notes as sub-points to the scriptures which are italicized.
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:4)
• Diversities or to be diverse is defined by Webster’s as “A state of difference; dissimilitude; unlikeness; multiplicity of difference; variety. In essence this means that although each gift comes from the Holy Spirit, each one is different in nature. They have different features and functions as Paul also stated in that same passage (1 Cor. 12:5) which is listed below.
“There are difference of ministries (or administrations), but the same Lord.” (1 Cor. 12:5)
• Ministries can be defined as service; administrations, duties; functions. Each gift has been built and designed by God to serve people in a multitude of different ways, and not just one.
“And there are diversities of activities (or operations), but it is the same God who works all in all.” (1 Cor. 12:6)
• Activities can be defined as vigorous action or operation; energy; active force. Although it takes the release of your faith to activate each gift, it is the Holy Spirit who has designed each gift to operate differently from one another.
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all…” (1 Cor. 12:7)
• This is the chief or main purpose behind the gifts having been given, so that all or everybody may benefit from their use.
“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (1 Cor. 12:11)
• We are to desire spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 14:1), and to covet the use of them in our lives in every way, but it is up to the Holy Spirit to decide on which gift or gifts that He is going to distribute to you. It is the Holy Spirit who distributes to “…each one individually as He wills.” (1 Cor. 12:11); and not as we will.
Now that we have read the “instructions” and have a better understanding of how the ground rules work for these gifts, let’s take the first out for a test spin. This gift is the first one in the Gifts of Revelation group and it is known as the Word of Wisdom.
THE GIFTS OF REVELATION: THE WORD OF WISDOM
The first sub-grouping or category of the gifts of the Spirit can be categorized as three gifts that will show or reveal something to you. They are designed to give what I like to call “inside information” to the one that any one of these three gifts operate through.
I would like to begin our discussion with the first gift out of the group of revelation gifts: the Word of Wisdom. The Word of Wisdom can be defined as just that, “a word” or literally “one word” of God’s wisdom pertaining to a future event. This gift always points to the future. It is the God given ability to literally “see” or “peer” into the future. It is the foretelling of events before they actually occur. This gift reveals to us the plans and purposes in the mind of God.
Anyone that is called to the office of the Prophet or is a prophetic office holder, must have this gift operating in their lives, because all true prophets foretell events or see into the future. This is not of their own ability but the ability rather that has come from the Lord for as Paul said “…the profit of all.” (1 Cor. 12:7). This gift, when properly executed will leave those who witness its operations saying “WOW!” (Word Of Wisdom) how awesome is our God!!
This gift has operated in many believers lives since the beginning of time. It was this endowment by the Holy Spirit that enabled people like Isaiah who never met our Lord to so courageously prophesy about the suffering servant that was to be “…led as a lamb to the slaughter.” (Isaiah 53:7). Or how about when Jesus in talking to His disciples spoke of the end times and the end of the age and all of the things that would happen during those times (Matthew 24) ? How were these men able to speak about events that they had not yet seen or been a part of? It was by the Word of Wisdom.
I promised in part 1 of this teaching that I would give practical examples of how some (not all-no one has all of these gifts functioning in their lives/ministries) of these gifts have operated in my own life and ministry.
EXAMPLES IN MY OWN LIFE AND MINISTRY
Many of you that know me personally know that I hail from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and have been serving in pastoral ministry for some time. And although I have served over the years in various areas of ministry (youth, worship leader, prison ministry etc.), I always knew (at least I thought that I did) that I would plant a church in Milwaukee someday and become the Senior Pastor of that ministry.
There are many of you that now know that I no longer reside in Wisconsin; rather we now live in Cincinnati, Ohio. How could that be? What would make me uproot my wife and five children from a place where I knew everyone to move to a place where prior to the time of us moving here, we didn’t know a soul. What would make us do such a “foolish” thing? I’ll tell you what the influencing factor was: it was the Word of God’s Wisdom.
On February 28, 2006 while in a time of corporate prayer at a church I used to attend, the Holy Spirit instructs me to fast for the remaining portion of the day because there was something that He wanted to show or reveal to me. Remember, the Word of Wisdom is a revelational gift that reveals something in the future or a future event.
Well, on the morning of March 1, 2006, (the very next day), I have a dream that I am talking to a gentleman about doing pastoral ministry in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. This was a shocker to my wife and I, but not a shocker to God. He knew all along that I would pastor a church for His Glory in Cincinnati. He just never let me in on His little secret until He wanted to. Why? Because the gifts are distributed or manifested not according to what I will or desire but according to His will (1 Cor. 12:11).
Do you recall that Paul said that “…there are diversities of operations…” (1 Cor. 12:6) of the gifts? What that means is there will be many times that God may give you a word of His wisdom, but it simply will not come the same way each time. A prime example of that in the story above is how God used the vehicle or channel, if you will, of a dream that the Word of Wisdom came to me in.
In all actuality, the Lord later revealed to me that the gentleman that I was speaking with in the dream was actually an angel who was assigned by God to bring me the message of our future move to Ohio. So as you can see here, that the Lord used an angel and a dream to administer or to deliver the Word of His Wisdom unto me.
Again, we know that the example listed above was a Word of Wisdom because a Word of Wisdom is something that pertains to a future event. That dream for me definitely pertained to a time in the future because that was March 1, of 2006 when I initially had that encounter, but it wasn’t until August of 2009 that I actually relocated to the city of Cincinnati.
Don’t box God in, He can send His Word of Wisdom to you in whatever way that He chooses. You just remain open to His flow and allow the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself in whatever way the He’d like to.
Part 2
THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
In the first segment, we briefly took a look at all of the gifts that the Godhead as a whole has dispensed to His Church for the benefit of all mankind. But now, I would like to narrow our focus and take a more intense look at the gifts that have been given by the third person of the Trinity: The Holy Spirit.It is in 1 Corinthians 12 that these gifts which were first listed by Paul the Apostle (total of nine in all) can be found. Each gift is a unique manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Each one of these gifts, with the exception of 2 (Different Kinds of Tongues & Interpretation of Tongues), have been around and operating through God’s servants in the earth since the days of Genesis. I believe that as the end of this age draws to a close, these manifestations of God’s Spirit are only going to increase in ways that will far supersede what we witnessed in Christ’s day.
How can I make such a bold assumption? Because Jesus Himself said that “… he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to my Father.” (John 14:12 NKJV)
Right now you’re probably saying, “The works that Jesus did I will do also? I’ll do greater works than Jesus? Didn’t Jesus raise people from the dead? Give sight to the blind? Fed over 5,000 people with a little boy’s lunch? Turn water into wine? “Come on, how is it possible that I’ll come anywhere close to accomplishing feats like that?” My friend, not only is it possible, but doing anything less simply is not an option. It is very much possible to do a work greater than what Christ did. Not greater in quality but greater in quantity. How so? Because the same Holy Spirit that anointed this one man named Jesus to do the work of the ministry, is the same Spirit that now lives in millions of believers all over the world.
Christ was limited (Yes, I said Jesus was limited) in the sense that there was only so much that He could accomplish in His ministry because numerically there was only one of Him to go around. There was only so much that He could do. But now with the countless number of Christians like you and me that live all over the face of this planet, we are able to do a greater work on a much broader plane, because there are more of us to get the job done.
That’s why it is vitally important for those that are going to walk in their God-ordained authority and who are willing to showcase the Kingdom to the world in which we live, to understand each gift and how it functions so that we may be “…wise masterbuilders” (1 Cor. 3:10) of the churches, cities, and communities that we’ve been called to impact.
Let’s take a look at what the Apostle Paul had to say concerning these gifts in 1 Corinthians 12.
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”
(1 Corinthians 12: 1-11 NKJV)
In this passage of scripture, the Apostle Paul began his discourse on spiritual gifts to the Corinthian church. He felt compelled to share with them in this manner because like many of us today, they were ignorant of the purposes that the gifts were designed for. Their ignorance in these matters not only negatively affected the people whom the gifts were designed to bless, but it also affected the gifts overall functionality as well. Where there is a lack of understanding, people not only will be destroyed or perish (Hosea 4:6), but inevitably they will abuse, misuse and neglect that which God has ordained to bless and enhance.
Due to my disdain for ignorance of the Word of God, I would like to show you how to better classify these gifts for ease of understanding, comprehension and personal use. In doing so, I believe that we will further prevent ignorance of the Holy Spirit’s gifts along with their administrations and operations from spreading like cancer in our churches today. After further explanation, I believe that you will find many ways that these gifts are not only interrelated but how they have been working in your lives up to this point.
Looking back in retrospect to part 1 of this teaching, I would like to stay with that pattern of threes that I previously showed to you, (which again the number three being an example of Divine Perfection or a Divine Model of Perfection) and I would like to begin to discuss and outline to each reader, the gifts given to us by the Third person of the Godhead: the Holy Spirit.
There are three grouping or classes, if you will that the nine gifts of the Spirit outlined in 1 Corinthians 12 can be put together in. These groupings are as follows:
GIFTS OF REVELATION (Gifts that Reveal or Show Something)
• Word of Wisdom
• Word of Knowledge
• Discerning of Spirits
GIFTS OF POWER (Gifts that Do Something)
• The Gift of Faith
• Gifts of Healings
• Working of Miracles
GIFTS OF UTTERANCE/INSPIRATION (Gifts that Say Something)
• Prophecy
• Divers (Different) Kinds of Tongues
• Interpretation of Tongues
If you take a look at the scriptural passage in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul outlined some important points that are very foundational to our study on the Gifts of the Spirit. We must first grasp these truths prior to looking into or at the gifts themselves.
The key points listed below kind of operate as the rules or guidelines of the gifts that we are discussing today. I have extracted some key points and placed them in bullet form so that the reading does not become monotonous. This study is not meant to be a book rather an enlightening look at a timeless passage of scripture. You will find my notes as sub-points to the scriptures which are italicized.
The Apostle Paul went on to say that…
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:4)
• Diversities or to be diverse is defined by Webster’s as “A state of difference; dissimilitude; unlikeness; multiplicity of difference; variety. In essence this means that although each gift comes from the Holy Spirit, each one is different in nature. They have different features and functions as Paul also stated in that same passage (1 Cor. 12:5) which is listed below.
“There are difference of ministries (or administrations), but the same Lord.” (1 Cor. 12:5)
• Ministries can be defined as service; administrations, duties; functions. Each gift has been built and designed by God to serve people in a multitude of different ways, and not just one.
“And there are diversities of activities (or operations), but it is the same God who works all in all.” (1 Cor. 12:6)
• Activities can be defined as vigorous action or operation; energy; active force. Although it takes the release of your faith to activate each gift, it is the Holy Spirit who has designed each gift to operate differently from one another.
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all…” (1 Cor. 12:7)
• This is the chief or main purpose behind the gifts having been given, so that all or everybody may benefit from their use.
“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (1 Cor. 12:11)
• We are to desire spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 14:1), and to covet the use of them in our lives in every way, but it is up to the Holy Spirit to decide on which gift or gifts that He is going to distribute to you. It is the Holy Spirit who distributes to “…each one individually as He wills.” (1 Cor. 12:11); and not as we will.
Now that we have read the “instructions” and have a better understanding of how the ground rules work for these gifts, let’s take the first out for a test spin. This gift is the first one in the Gifts of Revelation group and it is known as the Word of Wisdom.
THE GIFTS OF REVELATION: THE WORD OF WISDOM
The first sub-grouping or category of the gifts of the Spirit can be categorized as three gifts that will show or reveal something to you. They are designed to give what I like to call “inside information” to the one that any one of these three gifts operate through.
I would like to begin our discussion with the first gift out of the group of revelation gifts: the Word of Wisdom. The Word of Wisdom can be defined as just that, “a word” or literally “one word” of God’s wisdom pertaining to a future event. This gift always points to the future. It is the God given ability to literally “see” or “peer” into the future. It is the foretelling of events before they actually occur. This gift reveals to us the plans and purposes in the mind of God.
Anyone that is called to the office of the Prophet or is a prophetic office holder, must have this gift operating in their lives, because all true prophets foretell events or see into the future. This is not of their own ability but the ability rather that has come from the Lord for as Paul said “…the profit of all.” (1 Cor. 12:7). This gift, when properly executed will leave those who witness its operations saying “WOW!” (Word Of Wisdom) how awesome is our God!!
This gift has operated in many believers lives since the beginning of time. It was this endowment by the Holy Spirit that enabled people like Isaiah who never met our Lord to so courageously prophesy about the suffering servant that was to be “…led as a lamb to the slaughter.” (Isaiah 53:7). Or how about when Jesus in talking to His disciples spoke of the end times and the end of the age and all of the things that would happen during those times (Matthew 24) ? How were these men able to speak about events that they had not yet seen or been a part of? It was by the Word of Wisdom.
I promised in part 1 of this teaching that I would give practical examples of how some (not all-no one has all of these gifts functioning in their lives/ministries) of these gifts have operated in my own life and ministry.
EXAMPLES IN MY OWN LIFE AND MINISTRY
Many of you that know me personally know that I hail from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and have been serving in pastoral ministry for some time. And although I have served over the years in various areas of ministry (youth, worship leader, prison ministry etc.), I always knew (at least I thought that I did) that I would plant a church in Milwaukee someday and become the Senior Pastor of that ministry.
There are many of you that now know that I no longer reside in Wisconsin; rather we now live in Cincinnati, Ohio. How could that be? What would make me uproot my wife and five children from a place where I knew everyone to move to a place where prior to the time of us moving here, we didn’t know a soul. What would make us do such a “foolish” thing? I’ll tell you what the influencing factor was: it was the Word of God’s Wisdom.
On February 28, 2006 while in a time of corporate prayer at a church I used to attend, the Holy Spirit instructs me to fast for the remaining portion of the day because there was something that He wanted to show or reveal to me. Remember, the Word of Wisdom is a revelational gift that reveals something in the future or a future event.
Well, on the morning of March 1, 2006, (the very next day), I have a dream that I am talking to a gentleman about doing pastoral ministry in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. This was a shocker to my wife and I, but not a shocker to God. He knew all along that I would pastor a church for His Glory in Cincinnati. He just never let me in on His little secret until He wanted to. Why? Because the gifts are distributed or manifested not according to what I will or desire but according to His will (1 Cor. 12:11).
Do you recall that Paul said that “…there are diversities of operations…” (1 Cor. 12:6) of the gifts? What that means is there will be many times that God may give you a word of His wisdom, but it simply will not come the same way each time. A prime example of that in the story above is how God used the vehicle or channel, if you will, of a dream that the Word of Wisdom came to me in.
In all actuality, the Lord later revealed to me that the gentleman that I was speaking with in the dream was actually an angel who was assigned by God to bring me the message of our future move to Ohio. So as you can see here, that the Lord used an angel and a dream to administer or to deliver the Word of His Wisdom unto me.
Again, we know that the example listed above was a Word of Wisdom because a Word of Wisdom is something that pertains to a future event. That dream for me definitely pertained to a time in the future because that was March 1, of 2006 when I initially had that encounter, but it wasn’t until August of 2009 that I actually relocated to the city of Cincinnati.
Don’t box God in, He can send His Word of Wisdom to you in whatever way that He chooses. You just remain open to His flow and allow the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself in whatever way the He’d like to.
STAY TUNED FOR MORE OF:
GIFTS FROM THE GODHEAD
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
GIFTS FROM THE GODHEAD-Part 1
GIFTS FROM THE GODHEAD
Part 1
As a husband and father of five, there is no greater joy that I receive than watching my family open up their gifts on Christmas morning. Seeing their eyes light up with joy because they have received exactly what they have been hoping, wishing, and even praying for brings such a smile to my face and joy to my heart. I receive the utmost satisfaction in knowing that I have been the channel of blessing many times over that has provided the gifts that my family is now enjoying. It is truly more blessed to give than to receive.
As I reflect on those giving moments during this past Christmas season, I can’t help but to think of the parallels between my position as the giver of those earthly gifts and the position of my heavenly Father as the Giver of all good things. The Word of God states that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17). God is the consummate giver; and not just God the Father, but the Godhead in its entirety has made our lives better because of the gifts that they have given to us their children.
You might be saying to yourself, “What gifts are you talking about?” Well, I’m glad that you’ve asked. What I endeavor to accomplish by this writing is to help to bring you into fuller understanding about the various gifts given to us by the Godhead (When I say the Godhead I am making reference to God the Father, God the Son which is Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit), the function or purpose that those gifts serve, and how they operate and work today.
I will also give you practical examples of the giftings that operate in my own life and ministry with the hope that by giving those practical examples you will better understand the gift mix in your own life. My focus in this writing will primarily be on elaborating on the Gifts given by the Holy Spirit (a.k.a. The Gifts of the Spirit), so that you would not be ignorant concerning these gifts and their operations today as the Apostle Paul so desired (1 Corinthians 12:1). After further explanation of those gifts, I hope that you may better understand how the Holy Spirit works with you in your own life. Now, let’s begin.
After having had the opportunity to serve in a variety of capacities in the Church over the years, there has always been a resounding theme that I constantly seem to hear from the people of God. That theme is Christians not knowing their calling or gifting and how to go about fulfilling God’s purpose for their life. Well, first things ought to be first. You will never know the purpose of a thing unless you approach the One who manufactured that thing from start to finish. But in getting down to the nitty gritty, people essentially would like to know that the God that they serve has fully equipped them to do all the He has called them to do.
I have great news! He has done that and more! The key to unlocking the perpetual overflow of the working of the gifts that He’s given to you in your life, is to possess a working knowledge of the gifts that have been given. Your faith, which activates the operations of these gifts, has to firmly rest upon knowledge revealed to you by the Holy Spirit from His Word. It is then and only then, that you will have the confidence to function and flourish in every area whereunto you have been called.
With that being said I would like for us to take a look at these gifts that have been outlined in the Word of God that have been given to us “…for the profit of all.” (1 Corinthians 12: 7b). Every gift that you will find listed below were not just for “Bible times”, but are ALL still active and operative today where they are welcome, received, and embraced; particularly the Gifts given by the Holy Spirit. They all work together to serve a God-ordained purpose for His people and His church and can be found anywhere where God’s people dwell. I have categorized them to display the giver or distributor of each gift. The gifts listed below are as follows:
1. GIFTS FROM THE FATHER (Romans 12:3-8)
a. Prophecy
b. Ministry
c. Teaching
d. Exhortation
e. Giving
f. Leadership
g. Mercy
2. GIFTS FROM THE SON (Ephesians 4:11)
a. Apostles
b. Prophets
c. Evangelists
d. Pastors
e. Teachers
3. GIFTS FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT (1 Corinthians 12:8-10)
a. Word of Wisdom
b. Word of Knowledge
c. Discerning of Spirits
d. The Gift of Faith
e. Gifts of Healing
f. Working of Miracles
g. Prophecy
h. Different Kinds of Tongues
i. Interpretation of Tongues
THE NUMBER THREE IN SCRIPTURE
I find it not to be coincidental that all three members or persons of the Godhead has distributed their own unique giftings unto men. Why is that important? Because biblically speaking, the number three has very significant meaning.
There are multitudes of numbers in the Bible all having their own meanings. For example, eight (8) typically represents a new beginning or a new start, while the number seven (7) usually denotes the completion of something. Although many times overlooked, the number three has its own unique meaning that I would like to briefly examine which you will find will aid us in our study of the Gifts of the Spirit later on.
The number three (3), biblically speaking, represents Divine Perfection. If you take the time to examine God’s pattern from Genesis to Revelation, I am certain that you will find this pattern woven all throughout scripture.
To prevent you from spending countless hours trying to either confirm or rebut my commentary, I have taken the liberty and have gathered some examples to further bring illumination to the points that I am trying to make. The examples that you will find listed below are all patterns of THREES (3) in the Bible, which again denote DIVINE PERFECTION. Please take a moment to look them over before we continue on with our discussion concerning the Gifts of the Spirit.
EXAMPLES/PATTERNS OF THREES=DIVINE PERFECTION
(Most are Biblical Examples while others are natural examples)
I. EXAMPLES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
• The first family on earth had three sons: Cain, Abel, and Seth (Gen. 4:25-26)
• The three Patriarchs of the OT are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
• There were three rooms in the OT for worship purposes:
o The Outer Court
o The Inner Court
o The Holy of Holies
• The Ark of the Covenant contained three items:
o The Ten Commandments
o Aaron’s Rod (that budded)
o The Golden Pot of Manna
• There are three archangels mentioned by name in the Scriptures:
o Lucifer
o Michael
o Gabriel
• There are three lights that light the earth day and night:
o The Sun
o Moon
o Stars
• All sin (doesn’t matter what sin it is) falls into one of three categories:
o Lust of the Flesh
o Lust of the Eyes
o The Pride of Life
• God’s Financial Plan for His people also consists of three parts (not two like many have been taught over the years. This will be discussed in a later blog):
o Firstfruit (Distinctly different from the Tithe)
o The Tithe
o Freewill Offerings
II. EXAMPLES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
• God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit represents the Godhead or Holy Trinity Heaven’s Witnesses-1 John 5:7)
• The Spirit, Water, and Blood are referred to as Earth’s Witnesses-(1 John 5:8)
• Man’s bodily makeup is made up of three components: (1 Thess. 5:23)
o Spirit
o Soul
o Body
• There are three heavens (2 Corinthians 12:2); the sky, the galactic heavens and the the third heaven; This third heaven is where God Himself resides.
• There are three earths discussed in Scripture:
o The Original Earth (Genesis 1:1)
o The Present Earth (Genesis 1:3-2:7)
o New Earth (Revelation 21:1)
III. EXAMPLES OF THREES IN JESUS' MINISTRY
• Jesus was crucified the 3rd hour of the day (Mark 15:25); three hours later (the sixth hour) darkness descended across the entire earth; three more hours later (the ninth hour) Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “My God why have you forsaken me?”
• There were a total of three people crucified at Christ’s crucifixion: Jesus and the two thieves (Luke 23:32)
• The sign that was placed above Jesus head which read “King of the Jews” was written in three languages: (Luke 23:38)
o Greek
o Latin
o Hebrew
• Jesus rose from the grave on the third day (Luke 24:7)
• Jesus was accessible to everybody but the most time was spent with his inner circle which consisted of two groups of three:
o First Group: Peter, James, and John
o Second Group: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus
• Jesus’ ministry lasted approximately for three years
IV. NATURAL EVERYDAY EXAMPLES
• Children are reproduced by a process called a trimester which is made up of Three-3 month cycles.
• God has three attributes that He never passed on to man. They are:
o Omniscience
o Omnipotence
o Omnipresence
• Time is three-dimensional: Past, Present, and Future
I am sure that there are many, many other fine examples that you may know of that have not been listed here. But for the sake of time and space constraints, we obviously could not list each and every example here. I would hope though that after the many examples that I’ve listed, you would be able to clearly see now that God, in His infinite wisdom has clearly chosen the number three to signify His perfect will or to be a model of Divine Perfection.
As I mentioned previously, there are nine Gifts of the Spirit in all. I would like to show you how to better classify these gifts for ease of comprehension and use. After further explanation, I believe that you will find many ways that these classified gifts are interrelated to one another in terms of administrations and operations.
Let’s momentarily take a look at what the Apostle Paul had to say concerning these gifts in 1 Corinthians 12.
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:..."
STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 OF:
GIFTS FROM THE GODHEAD
Monday, December 28, 2009
INTRODUCTION TO TELLIN’ THE TRUTH BLOG
You might be saying to yourself “Oh no, not another blog!” But the purpose behind this blog is not to just express our thoughts, feelings, or opinions to the world via the web, but to provoke your thoughts and to stir discussion as we together look deeper into what we believe is the most satisfying of all searches: the truths contained within the Word of God.
There are many people who “know” the Bible. Perhaps there are also many others who have committed a large portion of scripture to memory. But truly knowing (being intimately acquainted with) the truths found in the Word of God is something altogether different; please allow me to explain.
You see, true truth is knowledge of the heart and not of the head. Truth contained within God’s Holy Word is concealed within the pages of scripture and can only be revealed to you by the Holy Spirit; the third member of the Godhead whom the Bible refers to as the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17). One of the many functions of His present day ministry is to lead you (and me) into the innumerable truths that are found within the word of God.
Truth is so very important. It is through or by truth that you are sanctified (John 17:17) and set free (John 8:32). Truth is also a part of the armor given to us in Ephesians 6 (v.14) to combat our enemy who is the “father of lies” (John 8:44). The writer in Proverbs instructed us to “Buy the truth, and sell it not…” (Proverbs 23:23). The Apostle Paul also instructed his young protégé Timothy to make sure that he “rightly divides the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) when he sits down to study. Truth simply is too costly to be ignored or overlooked.
You cannot worship God any higher than the level of truth that has currently been revealed to you by the Holy Spirit because true, authentic worship is offered up to the Father in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). Put it this way, the more that the Holy Spirit reveals himself and the rest of the Godhead to you, the deeper and more madly in love you’ll fall with the Father which in turns produces a river of uncoerced, uncoached worship that flows from your heart straight into the halls of heaven. This is what produces a lifestyle of worship.
In order to help to fulfill our part of the Great Commission (“…teach all nations; teach them to observe whatever the Lord has commanded…” (Matthew 28:19-20) I present to you the Tellin’ The Truth blog. Tellin’ the Truth is a teaching tool and one of the educational components of my ministry which is dedicated to teaching the Word of God in a simplistic, relevant, and easy to understand matter so that in “all of your getting, you may get an understanding” (Proverbs 4:7b). Our goal is to eradicate ignorance of the Word of God on every level so that each believer may walk in the confidence, power, and authority given to them by their Lord.
The Word of God says in 3 John 1:4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” So let’s set out on this journey together and open up our hearts to receive the truths that the Lord would have to reveal unto us, so that we may experience the fullness of His blessing and love each and every day of our lives.
There are many people who “know” the Bible. Perhaps there are also many others who have committed a large portion of scripture to memory. But truly knowing (being intimately acquainted with) the truths found in the Word of God is something altogether different; please allow me to explain.
You see, true truth is knowledge of the heart and not of the head. Truth contained within God’s Holy Word is concealed within the pages of scripture and can only be revealed to you by the Holy Spirit; the third member of the Godhead whom the Bible refers to as the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17). One of the many functions of His present day ministry is to lead you (and me) into the innumerable truths that are found within the word of God.
Truth is so very important. It is through or by truth that you are sanctified (John 17:17) and set free (John 8:32). Truth is also a part of the armor given to us in Ephesians 6 (v.14) to combat our enemy who is the “father of lies” (John 8:44). The writer in Proverbs instructed us to “Buy the truth, and sell it not…” (Proverbs 23:23). The Apostle Paul also instructed his young protégé Timothy to make sure that he “rightly divides the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) when he sits down to study. Truth simply is too costly to be ignored or overlooked.
You cannot worship God any higher than the level of truth that has currently been revealed to you by the Holy Spirit because true, authentic worship is offered up to the Father in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). Put it this way, the more that the Holy Spirit reveals himself and the rest of the Godhead to you, the deeper and more madly in love you’ll fall with the Father which in turns produces a river of uncoerced, uncoached worship that flows from your heart straight into the halls of heaven. This is what produces a lifestyle of worship.
In order to help to fulfill our part of the Great Commission (“…teach all nations; teach them to observe whatever the Lord has commanded…” (Matthew 28:19-20) I present to you the Tellin’ The Truth blog. Tellin’ the Truth is a teaching tool and one of the educational components of my ministry which is dedicated to teaching the Word of God in a simplistic, relevant, and easy to understand matter so that in “all of your getting, you may get an understanding” (Proverbs 4:7b). Our goal is to eradicate ignorance of the Word of God on every level so that each believer may walk in the confidence, power, and authority given to them by their Lord.
The Word of God says in 3 John 1:4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” So let’s set out on this journey together and open up our hearts to receive the truths that the Lord would have to reveal unto us, so that we may experience the fullness of His blessing and love each and every day of our lives.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)