Satan is destroying families at an alarming rate. We must stand up and resist the enemy. Fight for your family! Stand in the gap. Your prayers are powerful. To resist is to take action; it is not being passive. It means you take a stand and don’t budge, come wind or high water. You stand on God’s promises while confessing His Word. When you do this, then God does the rest.
Many believers continue to live in defeat, worry, anxiety, depression, and unbelief. They lack knowledge of who they are in God and what position and identity they have in Christ. Lack of faith and trust in God has them living in defeat. Ignorance in this area leads to failures.
The battle must be waged against the devil and demonic forces, and not against the person who is behaving in an ungodly manner. It is the devil who is the spiritual enemy. Spiritual warfare should not be waged against a mate, a child, a loved one, or a boss. The loved one should be treated with unconditional love, while Satan is being engaged in spiritual warfare. In order to wage spiritual warfare successfully, a Christian must continually submit himself/herself to God, put on spiritual armor (see Ephesians 6), and continually resist the devil.
The good news is that we can appropriate our freedom in Christ Jesus by the power of God’s Word and the blood of Jesus Christ. To appropriate means “to take possession of, secure, allocate, assign, appoint, and so forth.” God wants us to take possession of all of the kingdom’s rights and benefits that He has already deeded and guaranteed to us. We have been delegated power and authority over all the power of the enemy. I firmly believe that lack of knowledge will keep a Christian from enjoying the blessings and the peace of God.
Weapons for spiritual warfare include the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit, keys of binding and loosing, the power of praise and worship, effective prayer, the power of agreement, and the Word of God.
Take Action
In the Spirit, be bold as a lion. Learn to pray, intercede, and wage war. Remain connected to the Holy Spirit.
Pray for discernment. Pray with power. Pray fervently. Pray without losing heart. Pray all the time. Tie your heart, mind, and emotions to God’s heart.
Always begin praying with thanksgiving to God for people who need our prayers.
Thank God for your loved one and for God’s awesome plan for their lives.
Avoid controlling prayers that focus on the negative and ask God to change, sever, transform, stop, bind, and remove. They tend to bring upon the person a burden of guilt and condemnation.
Pray in faith, trusting God to intervene in their lives. Confess and declare all of those good things that you expect to see manifested in their lives.
Refuse to be moved by what you see, hear, or feel.
Bind all strategies of the enemy from becoming effective in their lives.
Pray in a positive way with thanksgiving. Pray scriptures, not your own words. Allow God to be God.
The Holy Spirit will be your helper and guide. Forget about your feelings, and walk by faith. Embark on a journey to wholeness that will restore your life and the lives of your family members. Satan does not have to take your family or your mind. God has enabled us to triumph and to overcome evil with good.
Seek God’s Word about these principles and apply them to your everyday life through prayer. Applying these principles in my [Iris Delgado’s] life, my husband’s life, my daughters’ lives and into the lives of countless others, I have seen miracles of deliverance from manic depression, sickness, disease, fear and torment, destructive thought patterns, rejection, unbelief, and wrong relationships.
Prepare your heart. If you submit to God with all your heart, put on your spiritual armor, and aggressively resist the devil, the devil will have to flee from you, your household, and from those for whom you pray. The key is to yield your life to God completely and to be obedient to His Word. Once you experience the love and the power of God in your life, you won’t desire anything else.
“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Luke 10:19
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
Excerpts from “Satan, You Can’t Have My Children”, by Dr. Iris Delgado
Several years ago, a non-profit organization board in the Arkansas Delta met to discuss prospective board members, and I was privileged to be a part of that discussion. Like many non-profits, they struggled with finances, so they were looking for individuals who were either wealthy or had political influence to gain access to money. A person would be suggested, and the next question was: “What do they bring to the table?” Although I dislike the jargon, it means “what could they contribute to our organization?”
What Different Age Groups Bring to the Table
We could ask the same question about people of different ages – what can they contribute to our society:
BABIES inspire awe, wonder, and love; created in the image of God, they are BRAND-NEW PERSONS, more incredible than a solar eclipse, Niagara Falls, or Grand Canyon.
CHILDREN contribute curiosity and excitement at encountering the world and learning how to get along with other people,
YOUNG PEOPLE contribute energy and promise for the future, unencumbered by life’s burdens, unfulfilled dreams, and skepticism of what is possible.
MIDDLE AGE PEOPLE are the backbone of society – men and women each contributing their unique abilities, knowledge and skills in work, dedication, and commitment to family – raising the younger generation and caring for the older generation.
SENIOR ADULTS contribute experience, reflection, wisdom, and a knowledge of history that enables them to recognize patterns and current events with a deep understanding.
Healthy, Godly societies, communities, families, and churches recognize the critical contributions that each group can make, and act to support, protect, and nurture them. In these settings, individuals in each of the above groups are respected and loved for who they are, and “heard”.
What Does Satan Bring to the Table
In contrast, Satan and his minions seek to steal our identities – who we are as image-bearers of God, kill our bodies in a multitude of ways, and destroy our souls:
BABIES are killed in the womb or sacrificed to idols,
CHILDREN are abused, trafficked, or mutilated for gender transitioning,
YOUNG PEOPLE are brainwashed by secular education, hooked on drugs, blasted with satanic music and videos, and robbed of their promising futures,
MIDDLE AGE PEOPLE are lied to by our government and media, forced to work in inhumane conditions (required vaccinations, etc.), and robbed of their finances through inflation, and
SENIOR ADULTS are put on drugs to keep them docile, and robbed of their valuable roles as sources of wisdom by a culture that only values youth.
Satan not only brings destruction and death to the table (our society, communities, families, and churches), but HE WANTS TO DESTROY THEM.
What Does Jesus Bring to the Table
Not only does our Lord prepare a table for us in the presence of our enemies (Psalm 23:5), but He:
· invited His disciples to join Him for a breakfast of fish and bread (John 21:12),
· invites us to dine with Him (Revelation 3:20), and
· offered bread and wine to His disciples at the last supper (Mark 14), an expression of and a precursor to Him giving Himself – His body and blood – on the cross to wipe away our sins and the fear of death forever (Mark 15).
What Do YOU Bring to the Table?
Jesus said we are to “love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, the first and great commandment.” Then He said we are to “love our neighbor as ourself.”
He is saying – if we don’t spend any time with Him – in repentance, in His Word, in worship, and in prayer, we will have nothing special – NOTHING SUPERNATURAL to share with others. We will be unable to fulfill His calling upon our lives – the grand purpose for which we were created – to impart to others His truth and love.
So let us go forth with boldness and courage to reach others, for time is short, eternity is a very long time, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
He also instituted:
the family (of man, woman, and children) to ensure that children would be raised in the training and admonition of the Lord.
government to keep peace and restrain evil.
the church to become a gathering of His people for worship and the sacraments, for fellowship and support, and to send ambassadors of Christ out to reach the lost.
Satan’s primary target is people, and his primary strategy is through lies that draw people from God’s narrow path to heaven, to the broad path to the Lake of Fire. Here are eight of his favorite lies that he uses to deceive people; you may recognize them, as they are often expressed in our modern woke culture, as Satan whispers into our ears:
LIE #1: The traditional view of family – father, mother, and children is merely a social construct, created by the people in charge of a government, nation, or religion.
Different cultures embrace different practices, such as homosexual marriages and polygamy. Old Testament patriarchs IN THE BIBLE even had multiple wives – Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. So if you want to be married to someone of your same sex, what is wrong with that? And why limit it to people? Why not to your dog, sheep, or goat? Were we not all created by God to enjoy life and to be happy?
And why get married at all? If you love each other, why not just live together and enjoy freedom as well as companionship?
RESPONSE: God’s created order makes clear distinctions betweenGod and man, men and women, adults and children, people and animals, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Man. Furthermore, He instituted the family (of man, woman, and children) to channel human passions, provide valuable social stability, and to ensure that children would be raised in a safe and nurturing environment.
LIE #2: Not only is the traditional view of family merely a social construct, but so is your gender identity.
The transsexuality movement frees us to choose our own gender identity, liberating us from the constraints and demands of the body we happen to be born in.
RESPONSE: This aberrant ideology flies in the sense of basic biologyas well as common sense. To claim that men can become women and vice versa leads to troubled lives and perverted bodies.
LIE #3: Women, you, not the government, should have the right to control your own bodies, to have the sexual freedom you deserve.
Since a fetus is just a blob of tissue until birth, abortion is not a sin; it is merely a form of birth control.
RESPONSE: The act of human procreation and giving birth to a newhuman being is a tremendous gift from God. So to destroy this new life in the womb is taking a life of another human being, a right that no other person has, including the mother.
LIE #4: Traditional taboos about shielding children from sexual practices are outmoded.
Not only should you be free to express your sexuality in whatever ways we choose, you should liberate your children to do the same, rather than keep them in a cage of celibacy until they are grown up.
RESPONSE: The rearing a child is a tremendous responsibility, andthe sexual act a precious gift from God, to take place in consecrated marriage. To exploit children sexually – pedophilia – is a terrible crime foisted on the young and innocent.
LIE #5: Feel free to embrace divorce as liberating you from the constrictions of marriage, so you will be free to move on with your life.
Just as one career can never encompass all the talents that an individual has, so can your marriage never enable you to fully express your potential as a human being.
RESPONSE: In addition to creating human beings as male and female,God also instituted marriage to be a lifelong commitment, not merely a temporary arrangement dependent on the whims of either party.
LIE #6: Considering the outmoded beliefs of many parents today, it is the state – the government – that is best able to determine what should be taught to your children, and care for them from cradle to grave.
After all, does not the government have authority to rule an entire nation (within which there are many religions and ideologies), rather than any one of them dominating our society or family life?
RESPONSE: God instituted marriage between a man and a woman asthe ideal and most effective means to raise children. He instituted government to provide protection and civil order, but when government takes over the functions of parenting, it always fails miserably because it is simply ill-equipped to do so.
LIE #7: All guilt is false, created by religious leaders for power, control, and money.
You are a free, individual person, with your own mind, feelings, and volition; who are these people, organizations, or religions to tell you what you should do and make you feel guilty for not complying with THEIR wishes?
RESPONSE: As every government has to have a civil and moral orderto restrain chaos and violence, it must also have compliance and a sense of right and wrong (guilt) to ensure its continuance. In similar fashion, the sovereign, living God of the universe established laws (the Ten Commandments), and sent His Son to usher in an even more just and moral order. To maintain this new ethic, the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to teach, love, guide, and convict us (through guilt) when we stray from the narrow path He set before us. Eliminating guilt in a society is a sure guarantee that chaos and anarchy are on their way.
LIE #8: Satan and hell are not real.
Like guilt, notions of Satan and hell are not real, but were just created to scare you into complying with their agenda and plans for your life.
RESPONSE: The spirit world cannot be experienced through oursenses because it is invisible. Nevertheless, it is still very real, as testified by fulfilled prophecies and many other evidence. So claiming it is not real is one of Satan’s favorite lies, with eternal consequences.
For each of these lies, Satan promises great happiness, wealth and pleasure, but delivers a life of broken hearts, loneliness, and despair.
Satan’s ultimate lie is that if we abandon God, we can live a life unmitigated pleasure and happiness and still go to heaven. But the Lake of Fire is full of poor souls who fell for his lies on earth and are paying for their terribly wrong decision in the Lake of Fire for eternity.
In contrast to the lies of Satan, Jesus stated: “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32
So let us go forth to witness to all who come across our path with the love and truth of Christ, for life is short, eternity is a very long time, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
In 1930, in the midst of the Great Depression, people were jumping off of skyscrapers to their death because they lost everything, and had no identity apart from their material possessions. A small group of businessmen came together and asked what can we do? This led to the formation of Christian Businessmen’s Committee, an organization dedicated to bringing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ to a hurting world. There are now CBMC chapters all over the world, including one in Little Rock, Arkansas. You can learn more about CBMC, now Christian Business Men’s Connection, at http://www.cbmc.com.
The Little Rock CBMC held a zoom session this past Tuesday, October 12. It was very productive, as we gathered in Jesus’ name.
1) 60% of church going men are involved in porn. Whenone out of two men in church are involved in porn, you know it is serious. Porn – don’t do it. You become addicted to it. A man is not attracted to his wife because of it. It is adultery. If you follow this, it is a 99% chance of a real adulterous relationship. You feed the flesh. You have to die to self. Chet
NOTE: One of the brothers confessed that he lost his first wife of 20 years because of porn, and became estranged from his children. This was BC – before Christ, and he was an alcoholic, heavily in debt, and making excuses. When God changed him, it was instantaneous, and he made peace with everyone involved.
2) The author of porn is Satan, and it is a real battle withevil. Jesus was tempted by Satan and he responded by quoting scripture. We can follow his example. Santi
3) Porn is a wedge issue – it separates people from God andeach other. Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. Gordon
4) You can’t dabble in porn. When it pops up on yourcomputer, don’t click on it. Porn diminishes women. Mike
5) Our nation is in deep trouble, and we need to cry out to the Lord for forgiveness and mercy or we will be taken into captivity. At the recent “The Return” event in Washington D.C., Jonathan Cahn quoted II Chronicles 7:14:
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14
He then stated: “If you look at the history of Israel, they were constantly breaking the law; that’s what sent them into captivity for 70 years. This is exactly what is happening in America today. He took a clay pot and threw it on the ground and it broke into pieces (just like in the Old Testament). That is what happened to Israel and will happen to the United States. He is talking to the church: ‘If My people…’ Jim I.
6) If the light of Christ doesn’t shine through us, we are in thedarkness. We should look for divine appointments every day. Chet
7) There are no coincidences (Rule 39). The closer I can walkwith Him, He will take care of the rest of it. All we can do is make the effort, and God will take it from there. Jim I.
8) And God is a God of miracles. Lois Vogel Sharp has aministry and tells the story that when her baby was born dead, she cried out in the name of the Lord to bring him back to life, and he did. Mark
9) We are in a blood covenant relationship with God. In theOld Testament, David and Jonathan exchanged garments, and committed to each other. We don’t understand the new blood covenant in the body of Christ. Jesus paid the price with His blood. When we make that commitment to God, we are in a blood covenant with Him. We draw close to Him, we understand His requirements, and we try to walk in His footsteps. He did the blood sacrifice for us. Look at God’s blood covenant with Abraham. Abraham didn’t even have to walk through it. Jim I.
John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood… Revelation 1:4-5
10) Jesus said “Ask the Father in My name”, so we can go toHim and say, Jesus, your son, gave me the right to come directly to you.Jim I.
11) We are to be living sacrifices to God:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1
We are in unity with the Holy Spirit. We are living in a continual, streaming miracle – thinking and breathing, resting in that abiding relationship. Always ask – what would Jesus do. Rest in Him and see where He goes. Greg
12) How do we establish a blood covenant with Jesus Christ He died for us, so we have to die for Him. We have a blood covenant with Jesus Christ because he died on the cross, shedding His blood. When He died for us, we became brother and sister. We are related to Him by his blood. We are to devote ourselves to Him. Santi
13) God is holy, so a blood sacrifice is required to account forsin. Abraham was ready to sacrifice His son, but God provided a lamb for sacrifice. God is holy, so a blood sacrifice is required to account for sin. Mark
14) If a friend gets out of line, we must confront each other.Jim I.
A lady friend came to me and said she told me she observed something in my life that was being a barrier between me and Christ. Her concern was my relationship to Christ. Mike
15) Accepting people unconditionally comes first, then weask God – teach me how to love people. If we know the word, we can share it with them as the Holy spirit leads us. Chet
16) We need to be able to perceive and interact with otherpeople at the soul and spirit level, not just their mind or emotions (or their bodies). Mark
The following is an attempt to describe different categories of people from a Christian perspective. As always, don’t just accept this, but take it to the Lord and check it against the Bible for authenticity. The intent of this is more to stimulate discussion than an attempt to present The Truth. We have God’s Word for that purpose.
GOD
An All-Consuming Fire
On Fire Christians – actively communing with the Lord in the fire, strong anointing – WALK WITH THE LORD =ON FIRE
Spirit-led Christians – spiritual radar is on, obedient – KNOW THE LORD AND FOLLOW THE LORD = ROYALTY
Believers – have a simple faith in Christ – KNOW ABOUT THE LORD; GOING TO HEAVEN = BLUE SKY
WALL OF FIRE – LINE OF SALVATION
Lukewarm Believers – KNOW ABOUT THE LORD, BUT HAVE OTHERPRIORITIES = ASLEEP & MISS THE CALL
Nominal Christians (Liberals/Universalists) – CREATE GOD IN THEIR OWN IMAGE = NO SPIRITUAL FRUIT
Non-believers – REJECT THE TRUTH, WORSHIP ANOTHER GOD,GOD, AND OPPOSE CHRIST = REPROBATE MINDS
SATAN
Fires of Hell
* Wall of Fire and Line of Salvation – to receive salvation, we mustrepent of our sins, accept Christ, and become a new creation. God is a consuming fire, so to come to Him, all must be burned up except our soul and spirit.
* Car wash analogy – when you take your car through a car wash,the machine washes away all of the dirt and grime, and your car emerges on the other side all clean and sparkly. When we go through the wall of fire (accept Christ), we become a new creation, and the dirt and grime of sin begins to be washed away (sanctification).
* Everybody is going through the fire. We all start life below the Lineof Salvation, the Wall of Fire. We then either accept Christ and go through the Wall of Fire to become Christians, or we reject Christ and end up in the fires of hell.
Questions to Consider
Which of these categories do you personally relate to?
Are you comfortable with this, or do you want to take action to change?
Consider your family and friends; which of the categories best describe them?
Are you comfortable with this, or do you want to interact with them about this?
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The Holy Spirit Communicating to the Bodyof Christ Today
It is through the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that we become transformed into new creations. As we become filled with the Holy Spirit, our fleshly desires burn away and we can become On Fire Christians. The book of Acts describes the launching of the church with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Here is what the New Testament says about how the Lord communicates with His people:
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Romans 8:14
I say then: “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of theflesh… But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Galatians 5:16,18
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:28
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.John 14:26
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. I Corinthians 2:12
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.Acts 1:8
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on his own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak and He will declare to you the things that are to come. John 16:12-13
Jesus describes communion with His bride:
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.” John 17:20-22
On Fire Christians – Excerpts from “Consumedby His Fire” by C.R. Oliver*
Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Deuteronomy 4:23-24
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:28-29
“There is a depth in God whereby one enters the friendly fire that is Him and wishes to be no place else. It consumes a person in the same way that love consumes the lover. His consuming fire enters the spirit of man and burns with the same fire that burns within Him. It consumes everything in its path, like a roaring fire when it overtakes and consumes everything in its way.
This is a flame that burns so deep within it draws a shivering world to its warmth. This is the consuming flame, that once close enough to warm another, catches that person on fire.
As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning. Ezekiel 1:13-14
God’s heavenly creatures live among the flames and God’s people are meant to as well:
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Matthew 3:11-12
Behold, there it is! There is the very fire that burns in my own spirit. It is a consuming fire that lashes out against all that would affront my Lord. At the same time, its flames warm my spirit until the desire of my being is to be as He is.
Jeremiah knew this firsthand:
Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “Because you speak this word, behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Jeremiah 5:14
Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not. Jeremiah 20:9
The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. Deuteronomy 5:4-5
Moses spoke to the Lord in the midst of the fire, but the people who followed Moses were afraid of God’s flame. They missed the greatest opportunity this world affords – standing and being in the presence of the Lord. That’s what is wrong today. People are afraid of His fire.”
NOTE: The fire of the Lord, His light, His shekinah glory, and anointingare all similar. We gain other glimpses of the fire of the Lord in the Bible:
Moses’ face shone so bright after being in the presence of God that he had to put a veil over it.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego walked in the fiery furnace with Jesus.
On the day of Pentecost, “there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:3
The apostle Paul was so anointed that when people touched his garment they would be healed.
* The book “Consumed by His Fire” by C.R. Oliver is available fromwww.zadokpublications.com, and the kindle version from Amazon.com.
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On Fire Christians Addendum – a Discussion About These Categories
The following is a discussion about these categories with a dear brother in the Lord, who raised questions about them. Thought you might like to see them.
QUESTION: How do we know these categories are from the Lord?
COMMENT: As long as the essence of a message or doctrine is Biblical, it is acceptable. For example, if you do a search in the Bible for “triune God”, you won’t find it, even though the true church has embraced this theological concept for centuries because its essence, its meaning, is confirmed by scripture.
I suggest a three-fold test for any message:
The message must be consistent with scripture and the historical teachings of the church (not the Roman Catholic Church),
The person giving the message must be spiritually clean and live a Godly life, given over to the Lord, and
The message has been confirmed – from the Lord with Bible verses and/or confirmed by other Spirit-led Christians.
QUESTION: If we are saying that the Spirit is still inspiring new revelation today that is on par with Scripture, how are we to determine if what someone is saying the Lord told them shouldn’t be accepted as new doctrinal authority?
COMMENT:The terms “new revelation” and “new doctrinal authority” are red flags for me, as they bring to mind Joseph Smith and other cult leaders. So, I would be very suspicious of anyone who uses those terms, as they are probably not speaking from the Holy Spirit.
QUESTION: I hear you saying it should be tested with Scripture, but if they are claiming Spirit inspiration, who’s to say they are wrong if we don’t believe the “canon” is closed?
COMMENT:I think it would be helpful to look at some definitions of “canon” from on thesaurus.com:
an ecclesiastical rule or law enacted by a council or other competent authority and, in the Roman Catholic Church, approved by the pope.
the body of ecclesiastical law.
the body of rules, principles, or standards accepted as axiomatic and universally binding in a field of study or art
the books of the Bible recognized by any Christian church as genuine and inspired.
I accept and embrace the notion that “the canon is closed”, referring to the Bible. And I embrace the notion that the canon is closed when it is defined as the body of rules, principles, or standards accepted within historic Christianity – the body of Christ.
QUESTION: Who is to say we can’t add to it now if we take the position of present-day Spirit inspiration?
COMMENT:You raise good questions. I think the real key is to whether what is proposed conflicts with or changes what the Bible and the historic church say is true doctrine. If it does, then it should be rejected. But if it enlarges upon and illumines what the Bible says, then it can be a blessing to the body of Christ. Jesus said that He had many things to share with the apostles, but He would not share them; the Holy Spirit would teach them to them. Are you denying what Christ said?
The flip side of this is many Christians who IMHO state that they believe in the Holy Spirit, but never teach that believers can learn to recognize the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. The result is Christians who know about God but never know Him. They are the ones who succumb to “The Greatest Danger”:
THE GREATEST DANGER
The greatest danger facing all of us is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel that life has no meaning at all – not these things.
The danger is that we may:
fail to perceive life’s greatest meaning,
fall short of its highest good,
miss its deepest and most abiding happiness,
be unable to tender the most needed service,
be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of God,
and be content to have it so.
That is the danger – that someday we may wake up and find that always we have been busy with husks and trappings of life and have really missed life itself.
For life without God, to one who has known the richness and joy of life with Him, is unthinkable, impossible. That is what one prays one’s friends may be spared – satisfaction with a life that falls short of the best, that has in it no tingle or thrill that comes from a friendship with the Father. Phillip Brooks (1835-1893)
Perhaps this is one reason many young (and old) people are leaving the church. They attend for a while, hungry for a relationship with the sovereign, living God of the universe, but just receive sermons and theological reasoning ABOUT GOD; never the personal relationship with the Father for which they hunger. Regardless of how long they have been a believer or in a church, people cannot teach something that they do not know. For fear of embracing voices from the dark side, they shut off the possibility of hearing from the Lord.
On a side note, what does the one unforgiveable sin mean: “blaspheming the Holy Spirit”? I believe it means rejecting the conviction of sin from the Holy Spirit, so a person has unforgiven sin on their hearts. Question for you – does it also mean rejecting the notion that the Holy Spirit can communicate with people today in the church age?
Setting aside the question below, how many Christians do you know that are ON FIRE FOR THE LORD? How do you light their fire if you caution them against even considering that the Holy Spirit might be really communicating with them as an individual?
QUESTION: I also hear what you mean about the various categories, but the consistent witness of Scripture is that there are only TWO categories. You are either all out for Christ or you are against Him. A few examples: 1 Kings 18:20-21, Malachi 3:16-18, Matthew 7:13-14; 24-27, Luke 11:14-23, Philippians 3:17-19, John 2:19, and Revelation 3:15. Thoughts?
COMMENT:Of course there are only two categories ultimately – people go to heaven or they go to hell. So that is a given. Within that context, I find it useful to look more deeply at the nuances within these two categories. The church of Laodicea for example – they would claim to be in one camp at the same time they are in the other camp. And the references to Christians on milk when they should be on meat. And the many references to God as a consuming fire, of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the fiery furnace with Jesus, and the tongues of fire on the people at Pentecost, etc. etc.
So part of this issue is whether a person wants to explore whether the Holy Spirit teaches and leads Christians today (as the Bible says) in a personal relationship, or whether we stick with doctrinal teachings about God, as if we were learning about Buddha or some other historical figure. I choose the former.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 11:15
“Only science can explain the world and reality. Everyone else, particularly those who believe in religion, are holding on to mythological systems, without adequate proof.”
Response: Very interesting. You have staked out a world view that is different from everyone else’s, and at the same time claim it is not a belief system, and that everybody else is holding to “mythological systems” without adequate proof. So in reality, you hold to a set of beliefs, like everyone else’s. You just claim it is not a set of beliefs. Like having your cake and eat it too.
Perhaps you have heard this story of the end times: everyone is on this big field, with Satan on one end and Jesus on the other. There is a fence that goes through the middle of the field. Satan says: “That one is mine”, and picks a person out of the crowd. Jesus says: “That one is mine”, and picks another person out of the crowd. This continues until there is one guy left, who is sitting on the fence. Satan says: “You’re mine.” The guy protests, claiming that he is sitting on the fence, and therefore Satan has no claim over him. Satan replies: “I own the fence.”
You are the guy on the fence, claiming to be unbiased (by “mythological systems”). And people are starting to gather in the field…
Life in the Spirit 