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Restoring the House

Nancy's blogs, Spiritual Maturity, , , , , ,

harmony in the body

In last week’s article, we examined the importance of embracing all the truth that YHVH has revealed. Our failure to receive the truth and employ the gifts Elohim provides has caused division and dissension within the Body of Messiah. Our assignment from YHVH is to build up His Body (Matt. 28:16-20) and prepare ourselves to live in His kingdom (Eph 4:13-15). It is time that we re-consider the gifts and tools that are missing in our lives.

For example, some followers of Yeshua say that speaking in tongues is from the devil. Are they saying that YHVH used a sign from the devil to demonstrate that His Holy Spirit had fallen on the followers of Yeshua? (Acts 2:4, 1 Cor 14:2) Speaking in tongues serves as evidence that we have received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44-47, 1 Cor 14:22). Actually, praying in tongues is a very powerful tool to strengthen the user (Jude 20). We can pray in tongues when we aren’t sure how to pray in our native language (Rom 8:26). We can us tongues to intercede powerfully on behalf of our brothers and sisters (Eph 6:18).

From the very beginning, there has been misunderstanding and misuse of the gift of speaking in tongues. Hasatan wasted no time in working through people’s pride and immaturity to discredit this gift. When we refuse the gift of speaking in tongues or abandon its use, we lose many opportunities to strengthen ourselves and to assist our brothers and sisters in Yeshua.

Healing the sick is suspect among many believers in Yeshua. Yeshua clearly stated that His followers would lay hands on people and they would get well (Luke 10:9). Sometimes we pray for the sick and they don’t recover, so we give up. Does that mean that healing is not for today? Consider Yeshua’s followers who were unable to expel a demon. Yeshua rebuked them for their lack of faith and then proceeded to expel the demon Himself (Matt 17:14-20). The laying on of hands for healing others is part of our commission from Yeshua (Luke 10:9).

The gift of prophecy is also misunderstood by many. Some people believe that because the Bible is now complete and nothing new is being added, that prophecy has ceased. However, the prophets spoke their messages to the intended audience. At some point, they also recorded the message in writing, but first it was spoken and sometimes demonstrated to enhance understanding (Jer 1:17, 2:2; Hos 1:2) Fortunetelling is hasatan’s counterfeit for prophecy. Prophecy is relaying a message from YHVH at His command to individuals or groups of people, sometimes to a whole nation.  We are expected to prophecy as the Holy Spirit leads (1 Cor 14:39).

For everything that comes from YHVH, hasatan has created a counterfeit to try to discredit YHVH and to cause confusion among humans. We must be discerning at all times and we cannot do this without direct assistance from the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we need infilling or baptism of the Holy Spirit and we need to be open to His direction at all times. Whatever we truly hear from the Holy Spirit will always line up directly with Scripture. YHVH does not contradict Himself.

Perhaps the most misunderstood and least used gift is deliverance. Hasatan has done an excellent job at persuading us to avoid deliverance because it has such a negative impact on his work. Thus, many people in our culture do not even acknowledge that there are demons. Others believe that demons can only affect non-believers. In addition, there has been and still is unnecessary drama in deliverance sessions. If we ask the Holy Spirit to take charge and follow His guidance, deliverance can be accomplished in a calm and orderly manner.

Most people react with outrage when confronted with the possibility that they may be in bondage to demons, saying something like “I’m a nice person.” That is probably true, but can you picture demons reporting back to their leader with the excuse that “we just couldn’t do it because he is such a nice person? In the physical realm, we can be assaulted or kidnapped by others despite the nature of our character.

Hasatan is well aware of his final outcome since it has already been recorded by YHVH in Scripture (John 12:31, Rev 12:9). The best he can hope for is to take down as many humans as he can while he has the opportunity (2 Cor 4:4).   He is delighted when humans, who were created in YHVH’s image, do anything to mar that image. Hasatan has no pity or compassion, but is the father of lies (John 8:44) who seeks to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). So you are a nice person? Fine, hasatan will take care of that. In fact, he has been seeking opportunities to snag you from the time you arrive on earth.

Can believers be in bondage to demons? Yes! Right after YHVH revealed the Messiah to Peter, hasatan worked through Peter to try to dissuade Yeshua from His mission (Matt 16). Even though Peter spoke the words, Yeshua confronted hasatan.  Consider also the Corinthians, who were born again, baptized in the Holy Spirit, and operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, yet were still heavily influenced by demons and subject to sin (1 Cor 3, 5). Over the centuries, many denominations and congregations have suffered from the scandalous behavior of their members, sometimes even their leaders.

Lack of trust in YHVH is our biggest barrier to accepting the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Lack of trust stems from our two worst enemies: fear and doubt. Trust is built as we get to know YHVH personally and interact with Him. As we learn to trust Him in small things, we can move on to bigger things.

Hasatan knows the power of YHVH’s weapons and tools. He knows one sure way to thwart YHVH’s plan is to persuade us to relinquish our weapons. If hasatan can convince us that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not from YHVH, but from hasatan, then we will avoid them and think we are doing a very good thing. If he can persuade us to fear or mistrust the most powerful weapons, we won’t be able to use them against him. We will not be effective in building up YHVH’s kingdom. Instead, we will be assisting hasatan in building up his kingdom.

We tend to conform to and become like the god we serve (Ps 115:8). Division, chaos, dissension, mistrust, accusations, self-righteousness are from hasatan. Unity, order, harmony, trust, acceptance and true righteousness are from YHVH. So a Body of Messiah that is riddled with division, confusion, and self-righteous accusations is serving whom? Let us serve YHVH and restore the house that YHVH built by using the gifts and tools He gave to us.

A House Divided

Nancy's blogs, Spiritual Maturity, , , ,

House divided

One dark, stormy day a family decided to put together a jigsaw puzzle. They believed that this activity would bring them closer as a family. As they sat down to work together on this common project, something strange happened. Each person became enamored with one or more pieces of the puzzle and insisted that his or her small collection comprised the entire puzzle and refused to even consider any of the other pieces. The family members started arguing and soon the argument became more hostile. They stopped speaking to one another and each stormed off into a different room of the house with a fragmented portion of the puzzle. The family is still torn apart and the picture is never completed.

This may sound like a ridiculous scenario, yet the followers of Yeshua/Jesus have done just that. Currently, there are about 34,000 different Christian denominations that follow Yeshua/Jesus. Each clings to its own pieces of the truth, believing those pieces make up the entire truth. The result is distrust, bitterness, envy, self-righteousness and a host of other sins. In contrast, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in complete harmony and unity at all times. Disharmony and division are not from YHVH, but rather from His enemy, hasatan.

Our enemy, hasatan, knows how powerful the Body of Messiah would be if all its members accepted Yeshua’s gifts and functioned in unity according to YHVH’s plan. Our enemy has done an excellent job of dividing us and weakening the Body of Messiah (2 Cor 11:13). How can the enemy be so successful among followers of Yeshua? He can only do so with our cooperation.

We have lost sight of the fact that when we asked Yeshua to be Lord of our lives and became born again, we relinquished our citizenship in the kingdom of darkness. We are now citizens of the kingdom of YHVH and are subject to Him. We may have thought we were running our own show before we agreed to submit to YHVH, but in truth we were submitting ourselves to hasatan. We are to look to YHVH for truth, wisdom and direction. Instead, we have relied on our own feelings, biases, and fears rather than trusting YHVH at His word. We do not realize that we are still serving hasatan.

At His first coming, Yeshua provided a perfect example of what we are to be and how we are to function. If Yeshua cast out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit, then so must we (Luke 10:17). If Yeshua healed the sick and raised the dead through the power of the Holy Spirit, then so must we (Luke 10:9). If the Holy Spirit uttered prophecy through Yeshua, then we must expect the Holy Spirit to do the same through us as He sees fit (2 Cor 14:1). If Yeshua celebrated YHVH’s feasts and Shabbats, then so must we (Mark 2:28; Mark 14:16; Luke 7:1-10).

When we refuse parts of the truth, we commit sin and grieve the Holy Spirit. If we deny the reality of the gifts of the Spirit, spiritual warfare, our Biblical roots, or any other part of the truth, we are declaring that we believe YHVH’s ways to be faulty or incorrect.   When we refuse part of YHVH’s truth, we take a stand for darkness rather than light and we play into the enemy’s plan for us. We remain divided.

What Is Wrong with Church?

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Bride of Messiah

Scripture has much to say about fellowship among followers of Yeshua. Many people have construed passages such as Heb 10:24-25 and 1 Pet 2:5 to urge us to join a congregation. For centuries people have sought fellowship in church, seeking community, accountability, support and encouragement. However, currently there are multitudes of believers fleeing the established church setting. Why?

 Scripture exhorts us to meet together, to support and encourage one another, to call one another to account and to be accountable to others, to bear one another’s burdens, and so on. While it is true that we need to do these things, it is not necessarily true that a church setting is the best environment to foster such activities. In fact, traditional church practices often hinder or discourage people from following Scripture’s mandates. Here are some examples of how we can lose focus in a church setting:

 Focus shifts to a human agenda rather than the Holy Spirit’s agenda. We can get caught up in our programs and projects and lose sight of our true mission (John 3:6-8; Acts 8:39; 1 John 5:6; John 14:26). We fail to seek guidance daily from the Holy Spirit and draw away from our Father’s plan.

  • Focus centers on the needs of the church entity while neglecting individual needs. Many times people come to service week after week heavily burdened with trials or sin and leave carrying the same burdens. Even if the congregation has an established order of service, does it also provide opportunities through small groups, prayer ministers, or some other means to assist individuals? Is there effective prayer for healing? Are demons expelled? (Matthew 10:7-14)
  • Focus settles on certain truths to the exclusion of the rest of the truth. Is the emphasis on adhering to established doctrines or on learning more about YHVH and His will for us? (John 16:13)
  • Focus turns inward with little or no outreach from the congregation. Do we reach out to those around us who do not yet know the joy of salvation in Yeshua?   Do we help others in need or do we judge them? Do we have an exclusive “club” where we feel comfortable and outsiders remain outsiders? (Matt 25: 35-40; Mark 16:25; Rom. 10:14; Acts 1:8)
  • There is strong temptation to settle into a comfort zone and stagnate. Spiritual growth becomes a threat. Change becomes an unwelcome challenge. (Eph 3:17-19; 2 Pet 3:18)
  • The agenda of an established hierarchy replaces the agenda of the Holy Spirit. (Matt 15:3; Mark 7:3-9)

Recently, we have attended services where the congregations are working hard to address these shortcomings. Even within a worship service, there is room for the Holy Spirit to take over the meeting. Active outreach to the community is passionately pursued by the congregation. There are opportunities for people to seek individual prayer and support so that they do not carry burdens alone.

 We need to broaden our definition of fellowship. There are numerous opportunities to have “church” daily. Tim Mather explains in his book, Escaping Church, that any time we share the good news with another, encourage or advise or pray for another, or have discussions about our faith with others, we are “doing church.”

There are other ways for congregations to restore what is missing that I will discuss in my next article. It is time to repair Messiah’s broken body. It is time for the bride to prepare herself to meet her Husband. It is time for us to have true fellowship with one another.