God or Self?

For some time now, my thoughts keep returning to this: “How have I represented Messiah to others?” Let’s say an ambassador from another country comes to the United States. This person carries the responsibility of truly representing his country to us. If this ambassador has a foul attitude, cusses heavily, and spits on people, then how many would think that the country is just like the ambassador? The same applies to Yeshua’s ambassadors. If we are haughty, self-righteous and condemning of others, then Yeshua will be seen like that, even God will be seen like that!

Pride, arrogance, haughtiness, a judgmental attitude…all these build up within us, damming up the flow of love and compassion from God that I feel must flow through us. Some have never even let God’s love into them, they’ve been given erroneous teachings that God is an angry, volatile God who will pass judgment on each and every sinner, and so they too speak the same.

Here’s the deal: We must stop being so harsh on the world. Remember that though we are IN the world, we are not to be OF the world. What do you expect folks in the world to do? Do you expect them to know all the commands of God and obey them? HELLO! They are IN THE WORLD. They haven’t received teachings of God’s word. They haven’t gone to church, or had a revelation of Messiah, few haven’t even HEARD of Yeshua!

We, in the Body of Messiah, are so doggone selfish, so self-righteous, so eager to point fingers, so ARROGANT, that we have totally forgotten where we came from, where we were, before our Father moved us to seek Him and His Son. What’s YOUR background? Maybe you’re one of the blessed who’s had a relationship with Yeshua since childhood, and have never strayed. Maybe you’re like me, you grew up in church, you received Yeshua by acknowledging the debt he paid, but the spiritual maturity wasn’t there. When a tragedy happened, you turned from what you received and went right into worldly things, giving into the fleshly desires. Maybe you’re a new believer, maybe you’re someone who only knows about Yeshua, maybe you’re someone who really desires to seek him.

I’m not here to judge, or point fingers. I’m here to say what’s on my heart, what’s on my mind. Folks, the time of the return of the Messiah is closer than ever. We can see the birth pangs; there are wars and rumors of wars. So much must happen before His return…we don’t know every detail, and I don’t think we need to. Faith and trust are amongst our armory, and we must use that if we are to make it through.

The “me” theology has gone on for way too long. Too much time has been wasted on building OURSELVES up, on trying to ascend to God’s level. There’s an unnecessary overabundance of books on how to live a better life that are NOT God-centered. I’m not preaching at you, I’m preaching at ME. In the past few weeks, I’ve realized just how doggone selfish I’ve been. I worshipped God only for the supernatural; I didn’t worship Him because I love him. Recently I’ve been praying that He stir up things in me that are not of Him, because I’m anxious to get rid of it all. Why? Because I remember when I DID worship God for who He is, not what He can do for me. I lost sight of the blessings that come because I was worshipping out of love, because I was reading the Word, because my desire was to really get to know my Father. Instead, I let myself be led by the words and opinions of the people around me. I let those words and opinions affect how I see myself, just like I did when I was in school.

Because of that, I became self-absorbed. I was engrossed in changing myself so that everyone around me, and I literally do mean EVERYONE, would view me as perfect. I tried to fix or conceal my flaws, I adjusted the way I speak, the way I dressed. Why did I do this? I was so sick of being criticized that I felt it was best to go with the flow. There wasn’t just criticism about my appearance, but about my spirituality too. I became so obsessed with all this that I would question EVERYTHING I heard from the Lord, even if it was something that was confirmed two or more times. There is such a similar obsession in the Body of Messiah today. WE have to be perfect, if WE are not wealthy, or perfect, or have big houses, lots of THINGS, then something must be wrong with us!

Remember when Yeshua sent out the disciples? (See Luke 9:1-6) They didn’t own a thing, they didn’t bring all their possessions with them when they went out to proclaim the gospel. We don’t NEED fancy cars, or big houses, or lots of STUFF. That won’t fix us, that won’t fill the void in our lives. We truly need God. We need to get back to the basics, to love and worship Him as He truly deserves, to stop asking for the fulfillment of stupid materialistic desires, and to intercede as the Holy Spirit leads us.

That’s what is wrong today. We are just too selfish, self-absorbed, gorging ourselves on feel-good theology. There’s a famine of the Word, the wellsprings of our spirits are drying up fast. Without the Living Water, without the Word, the bread of God, we will dry up and crumble into ash heaps.

I encourage you to seek the Lord in these days. If we don’t, who will have the strength to stand when things REALLY get bad? Wake up people, the time is drawing closer. More will happen before the return of Messiah. We need to take up the armor that God provides us (Ephesians 6:10-18). To me, being an intercessor is akin to being a warrior. I want to pray as the Holy Spirit leads me, not as the flesh wants. I don’t want things of the flesh. I don’t want the things of this world. I want to get intimate with God, to know Him, to once again freely express my love for him. I want to pray as HE leads me, so that I can pray in His will, not mine.

It’s time for selfishness to end. For those who seek after the things of the earth, yet wear the mantle of “Christian” or “Messianic”, there is nothing to be gained. For those who seek the King, who desire to be clean so they can kneel before His throne in supplication, there is the promise of life eternal spent with Him.

How many will weep over the nations? How many will stop pointing fingers at the world and just cry out to God for mercy? How many will throw SELF to the side, allow the Lord to step in, and follow HIM? How many will humble themselves, submitting utterly to the will of God, to approach His throne in intercessory supplication ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONS? Who among you will do this? Who among you will bless, not curse? Who among you will love, not hate?

Judgment does NOT begin in the world, it begins in the Body of Messiah (I Peter 4:17).

Choose either God or self, time is running out. Who will you serve?

Spiritual Warfare

In the past year or two, my husband and I have done research on movements within Christian and Messianic believers, known as Dominionism, the New Apostolic Reformation, and (targeting mostly those in the 16-30 year age range) Joel's Army. All three of these movements are unbiblical, deceptive, and are quickly infiltrating even the most God-oriented congregations.

Let me start with Ephesians 6:12 (Complete Jewish Bible) - "For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm."

For the above three listed movements, it seems that this verse has little to no meaning at all. Their intent is to physically take over governments. This isn't limited to small towns, but to the American and eventually all world governments. Christians and Messianics are encouraged to vote for "godly" men and women to take office in all forms of government. For Dominionists, the Religious Right, and others of their ilk, this is only to attain their goal of truly having dominion over this world. They MUST establish, physically, God's kingdom on this earth and then, and only then, do they believe Jesus will return. This is so ridiculously unbiblical, it makes me laugh but cry because of the deception these people are under. Just read all of Revelation and Daniel if you want to see what must happen before Messiah returns.

Let's take a look at the definition of Dominionism, as found in Wikipedia: "Dominionism, in the context of politics and religion, is the tendency among some politically active conservative Christians to seek influence or control over secular civil government through political action, especially in the United States. It is also known as subjectionism.^[1] The goal is either a nation governed by Christians, or a nation governed by a conservative Christian understanding of biblical law."
Dominionists believe that America was founded by Christians and that the Constitution was written according to Biblical standards. They also believe that America is in dire need of a return to these roots, which is why they push to have Christians elected to every government office possible.

I take exception to this. In research, which includes on and offline reading as well as watching a terrific documentary, "The Hidden Faith of the Founding Fathers", my conclusion is that no, America was NOT founded by Christians, nor was the Constitution Biblically based. For one, George Washington never once professed, verbally or in writing, faith in Jesus. He was a Freemason, as was Thomas Jefferson. If you go to Washington, D.C., will you see Christian monuments there? Absolutely not. You'll see the giant obelisk, the reflecting pool (both go back to Egyptian and Babylonian mystery religions), and the artwork in the Capitol Building, named "The Apotheosis of Washington (see Wikipedia link, click on image to right for larger image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apotheosis_of_Washington). In the Treaty of Tripoli, it is stated that "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen,—and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."

So you see, Obama is NOT the first to say that this isn't a Christian nation! It's right there, in the Treaty of Tripoli, which was drawn up in 1796, then signed and made into law in 1797 under President John Adams.

The New Apostolic Reformation is just as dangerous as Dominionism and Joel's Army. NAR was founded by C. Peter Wagner, another Christian with an uncontrolled imagination. He was all for restoring the titles of "Prophet" and "Apostle", titles which I believe are given to those who are nothing more than soothsayers and fortune-tellers wearing a mantle of Christianity. I don't ever recall, amongst the first 12 disciples and those who came after them, there ever being an emphasis on "prophet" or "apostle". Besides this whole "prophet/apostle" thing, Wagner even goes so far to believe, and TEACH, that all believers must continually "defeat" Satan by their activities, because the blood of Jesus just wasn't enough.

HOW heretical and blasphemous can you get? Not only this, but Wagner has touted that a "new thing" is being done, that "new wine" is being poured out and we need "new wineskins" to hold this wine, seeing as how the old wineskins will burst and all that wonderful new wine will be wasted. There is NOTHING new under the sun! And like me, if you don't believe all this, then you've got a "religious spirit"! The term "religious spirit" is thrown at folks who see through all these lies, to crush them, to make them think they are wrong, and to even demonize them. The lack of discernment that I've seen in many congregations in relation to this is reason enough to weep.

Joel's Army...an organization of militant Christians who take Joel 2 way out of context, believing they are God's avenging army and absolutely must advance the kingdom of God. Comprised mostly of teenagers and young adults, the numbers of Joel's Army are growing quickly day by day. Todd Bentley, of the much-touted and very much deceptive "Lakeland Revival" (deceptive because not as many were healed/raised from the dead as claimed, all of it was made up), is a "general" in Joel's Army. This is what this adulterous leader has to say about JA: "The trumpet is sounding, calling on-fire, revolutionary believers to enlist in Joel's Army. … Many are now ready to be mobilized to establish and advance God's kingdom on earth." There is a tattoo of dog tags on Bentley, with "Joel's Army" inscribed inside the tags.

I encourage you to research all this yourself, and to not just take my word for it.

These three groups approach spiritual warfare in a way entirely unbiblical. One example are conferences that are held in cities by those who erroneously believe that if they all gather in unity, pray, and call out (by NAME!) one or more principalities over the city, then that city will be gained for Christ. In the 1980's, this happened in Los Angeles. Can you see a difference in the LA of today, after such a conference, compared to the LA prior to the conference? Nope, I can't either.

Scripture reference: Luke 11:24-26. The house was "empty" and swept clean. What does "swept clean" mean? The house was moralized, but devoid of one important occupant: Jesus. If you clean out and moralize a city, a home, a person, but Jesus isn't there, then it leaves space for that principality to grab seven of its more evil buddies and re-establish residence.

Yeshua, Jesus, has not called us to redeem governments or societies. Rather, He mandated that His followers are to make disciples of the goyim, or "ethnos". Dominionists, NAR folks, and Joel's Army all take this to mean the WORLD. No, this does not mean the world, but all PEOPLE. The words of Christ were not meant to be taken in a context to satisfy man's egotistical goals of world dominion, of taking over all nations and all people. I ask you, how will taking control of a town, a city, a nation, EVER win souls?

Moreover, to research a specific city, to take the time to seek out the "name" of the principality or principalities over that city, in order to establish dominion over it, is not what we are told to do. In my readings of the New Testament, I haven't found ONE Scripture where we are ordered to do this.

I was once part of Dominionism. I once thought that the Lakeland revival was real. Thanks to God and the discernment He gave my husband, and the research that my husband did, I was shown that all this is just a farce and a lie from the Adversary. In having the truth exposed to us, we began to see much of this theology in our old congregation. When we began to disagree with it, we were told that we had a "religious spirit". The time came when we no longer wanted to be part of this false theology. As armorbearers, we felt more pressure than needed to "support our leaders". At an event, an event which was the straw that broke the camel's back, we saw things that made us physically sick. Leaders proclaimed that the Holy Spirit was there, what we felt was different. At this event was a "worship leader" whose music is beyond questionable. I ask you, how can you take an old 80's song by Dead or Alive, insert "Jesus" in it, and expect it to be HOLY, while asking the congregation you are "ministering" to to take off their socks and swing those socks around as the song is played? I had found this video about a week before this event with this "worship leader" coming, and began to question his music. I could no longer respect this person. My husband was accused of going to people in the congregation and spreading rumors about this man, and I was grabbed by the wrist, pulled out, and asked why he was doing this. It turned out that he wasn't saying a darn thing about this guy, but the congregational leader's wife sure thought he did, because this "worship leader" was her pet. Consequently, my husband and I prayed and felt the Lord strongly pulling us to leave our armorbearer positions. We had a meeting with the leader and his wife, and during the 45 minutes of that meeting, they threw accusations at my husband, ignored his apology, and then prohibited us from telling the REAL reason we stepped down. We would not have done that. The Lord had told us that, according to how the meeting went, that would decide our staying or leaving. Needless to say, we left, as I put in a previous post (I think it's still there).

This is not to demonize the congregation, their leader and his wife, not by a long shot. This is to show you what can happen if you dare to speak the truth against the lies that the three aforementioned groups have embraced. However, if you choose the Lord's truth over the Adversary's lies, though there will be a storm, the calm and peace after it are more than worth it. We have felt a freedom we hadn't felt in a very long time. What we are doing now is going back to the basics, seeking the Lord for HIMSELF, not for signs, miracles and wonders. We are no longer among those who worship Him for their own gain, for the sake of "seeing the supernatural". We are not called to seek the supernatural! We should love the Lord for who He is, we should desire to seek an intimate relationship with him.

Only when we change our minds, can God change our hearts.