In This Issue
1. BELIEVING IS RECEIVING
2. FROM ORGANIZATION TO LIVING ORGANISM
3. Top News Headlines
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1. BELIEVING IS RECEIVING
By Ron McGatlin
Have you ever wondered why true spiritual growth into the fullness of the stature of Christ is so slow and sporadic that is seems non-existent in many who seek to be followers of Christ?
Seeking solutions in our human mentality frequently leads to complicated weighing and balancing of many concepts and potential factors. We could make a list of factors involved in not living in the stature of the fullness of Christ and then mentally measure one against the other to try to determine which are the more significant causes or reasons. Probably our list would contain many theologically related thoughts or understandings with proof-texts from the Bible. Our list may also include a number of practical life issues mostly designed to vindicate ourselves of responsibility and validate our spirituality at the level or place where it is at this time.
Often these considerations will finally rest on the unstated and mostly hidden belief that God is the problem. We might think something like, “After all, it is supposed to be all by ‘grace’ and all His responsibility to get us there, and He just has not done it yet.” In so doing, one can side-step the real issue and begin a defensive case of grace verses works,thereby completely abandoning the real issue and dumping on God the blame for our lack of the fullness-of-Christ lifestyle.
Every child of God is gifted with the most marvelous supernatural potential to WORK – to work the works of God. Most Christians, including many if not most leaders, are ignorant of their God-given potential to work the works of God, and walk in the stature of the fullness of Christ Jesus. We lift up in our minds that Christ Jesus is vastly different from redeemed mankind. We may reason, “If Jesus were here, He would do marvelous supernatural works that would fix all things, and in some way cause us to mature spiritually.” Let us remember that Jesus could do very little in a city of unbelieving people. Selah (Mat 13:58).
WAKE UP! Wake up and hear the word of God. When God speaks it is simple and yet profound, without complication and filled with power. By the Spirit it is easily understood and life changing.
What is God saying about working the works of God?
The disciples asked Jesus this question and His answer is probably one of the most trivialized oracles of God among today’s Christians. Failing to recognize the potential of His answer has led masses of seekers off the road of truth into the swamp of religious muddled fallacies of greasy grace and complacency of irresponsibility. This has allowed the enemy to take the land – stealing, killing, and destroying the potential of the stature of the fullness ofChrist in His people, thus greatly hinderingthe works of God through His people.
There is a work that every disciple MUST do. This work will not be done for the disciple by Christ Jesus. It is the full responsibility of the follower of Christ.
John 6:28-29: Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."
This may be a new thought to many of us. Our part is to work to believe in Christ Jesus. We may have never considered that believing is a work for us to do.
May we now open our spiritual eyes and ears, that God by His Spirit may reveal to us the reality of working to believe in Jesus, and the full potential that believing releases in us to flow the works of God into the world. Believing in the fullness of Christ Jesus does not just happen to us. We are not going to be walking about in the foolishness of natural thinking and have believing suddenly drop into us. We are not going to be listening to the foolishness of religious sermons that make us feel good where we are without changing, and suddenly have believing in the fullness of Christ Jesus and all He has brought to us through the Holy Spirit just drop into our hearts.
Yes, we may come to believe in Jesus as our savior to get us to heaven when we die, and we may believe that our sins are paid for, but we will not believe that Christ Jesus will raise the dead, miraculously heal the sick, and transform our lives, homes, tribes, cities, and nations with His love and power through us. We will not believe that maturing into the stature of the fullness of Christ is for us today, because Christ Jesus lives in us by the Holy Spirit.
I get sick inside and my heart breaks from hearing Christians speaking their false belief that they do not have the potential now of the stature of the fullness of Christ. They look around and say, I do not see anyone living in the stature of the fullness of Christ. HEAR THIS! What comes first the seeing of it in natural life, or the believing of it in the spiritual realm? Will we receive from God what we DO NOT BELIEVE? If we believe it is only available some day in the future, will we have it now? Is it not true that all things are in Christ Jesus? It is true that in Him all things consist and are reconciled. (Col 1:17-20).
So the foolish one says, “Well I just do not believe that this is what the Bible says,” but never gives their life into reading the Bible on their own and seeking the light from the Holy Spirit. So they never DO THE WORK OF BELIEVING. Yes, the work of believing is investing your life in seeking the truth from the written word, by the Holy Spirit. The work of believing involves conscious effort on the disciple’s part to get rid of the limiting religious fallacious teachings and seek in total seriousness and commitment to know Christ Jesus and hear clearly the word of the Father.
Pray until God sends the Holy Spirit and ministering spirits to help you truly receive the truth of the words of God. The work of believing in Jesus involves following Him, which is following His word and His way. Go back to reading the Bible again while prayerfully crying out to God to cleanse you of previous religious beliefs. Seekto read it for what it says by the Spirit, and not what you have been taught it means by religious teachers.
We must be baptized in the Spirit to discern truth. Seeking the fullness of the Spirit and saturating our lives in Him is a part of the work of believing in Christ Jesus. Seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness is part of the work of believing in Christ Jesus. Find those forerunners who are moving ahead in the Spirit, moving into the stature of the fullness of Christ, and entering into the kingdom of God. Learn from those who will only move you toward Christ and the gospel of the kingdom, and not toward their thing or any system apart from the system of the kingdom of God.
Leaving those things which are behind, let us move with all diligence and persistence into the realm of the Spirit and the word until we fall in love again with the Lord and His word. An appetite develops for the things we eat regularly.
Don’t just make room in your life for fellowship with Him and His word. Instead let His life become your entire life, and He will make room for you in season.
He will make us doers of the works of God. We will work the works of God as they really are, and not as we had imagined them in our vain imaginations. The work of believing involves a redeemed imagination. We are not talking about a fantasy imagination but a God-given spiritual imaging or envisioning process within, in which God can speak to us directly and clearly. God can show us things to come on our imaging screen in our spirits so that we can pray for them to come into being in the natural, and we will believe because God has said by His holy word. In His natural body, Jesus only did what he saw the Father doing by the Holy Spirit. He will do the same in us today.
John 5:19-21: Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.”
John 14:12: "Most assuredly, I say to you, 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.”
Keep on pursuing love. It never fails
and His kingdom never ends.
Ron McGatlin
archive.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net
2. FROM ORGANIZATION TO LIVING ORGANISM
By Kriston Couchey
DREAM: OUT WITH THE OLD IN WITH THE NEW
Father has stirred to my remembrance a powerful dream I had years ago that has had a hand in shaping my understanding of what He is doing with His body in this hour. I am convinced by Holy Spirit this word is for right now. As I sat down to write this last night, the presence of the Lord was manifest to me in a deep tangible way.
In this dream I am going down a dirt road in a cumbersome cement block bus. My father is driving and many passengers are sleeping. Suddenly the wheel is pulled into the left ditch. This ditch is very deep, and the bus will roll over if it goes in all the way. As the driver struggles to get it back on the path I see that the people will perish if it rolls over, so I command it in the name of the Jesus to return to the path. It comes back on the path and stops in the middle of the road, unable to move anymore. We exit the bus. I examine it and see the front tires have fallen off the bus and the front end is broken. I see that this bus must be fixed.
With my hand I begin to push the bus over. Realizing that pushing it further will destroy it, I stop. But, the bus is now worthless so I push it over and all the blocks fall apart. My brother and I decide the only option is to start over building from the ground up. Taking a few of the blocks from the old bus we begin building again. As we lay two or three blocks a transformation takes place. Instead of a cement block bus, what we start to build takes on a living form. I stand back and look at what appears to be a large rabbit lying on its back. It has become a living being. I look over to see my daughter (whose name is Faith), and she is crying looking at the living creature saying, “I forgot what I looked like! I forgot what I looked like!”
The bus represents the church. My father (an apostle) represents church leadership. The cement blocks represent man made structure that is cumbersome and hindering the movement of the bus. Many in the church are sleeping as it is being pulled into a left ditch (lawlessness) that leadership is contending with. In the name of the Lord the church is being rescued from its danger, but cannot continue on in the shape it is in. The structure of the church is unfit to move forward and must be demolished. A few parts of the former church are transformed into living parts (stones) when brother begins to build with brother. There is no longer the old leadership as head of the church (driving the bus), but the church becomes a living being (Body) that is nimble and FAST and like a rabbit it multiplies FAST. Our Faith cries and says, "I forgot what I looked like! I forgot what I looked like!" By Faith we see what we were made to BE!
OUT WITH THE OLD
The bus is broken. Lawlessness has been trying to overcome a sleeping church to bring about its fall, but Father is delivering us in the Name of Jesus. What has been is NOT going to get us to our destination. It is being demolished. We are starting over NOW. Father is taking the building blocks for His living body out of the organization of men and building what He has desired all along: a living, breathing organism.
IN WITH THE NEW
An organism is a living being. A living being is an entity that responds to the impulses of its Head. God is using apostles to help build up His Body, but they are not the head of the church! The apostle led church that has followed the wisdom of men is being removed and replaced with the Spirit led church. The former structure and leadership methods cannot move us into the kingdom age. These are giving way to a nimble, living, moving, multiplying organism of speed and grace. The Lord Himself is coming to transform and dwell in His body in a way that gives life and fullness to it. He is coming to take charge and be the KING of His KINGDOM: His people, and by extension all of creation.
This is not written to offend anyone who is leading or engaged in the current church structure today. We simply need to transition with the Lord into His purposes. The man led systems and structures that have existed up to now are being demolished so that what The Lord is building can come forth.
In His Love
Kriston Couchey
http://my.opera.com/Boanerges/blog/
3. Top News Headlines
The Muslim Brotherhood in America - CBN News examines the Muslim Brotherhood -- a group that's committed to jihad, sharia law and establishing Islamic domination in the U.S. - 10/6/2010
The organization shares the same goals as al Qaeda, but some experts believe -- as a long-term threat to American security -- the Brotherhood is more dangerous than Osama bin Laden's followers. Watch as a former FBI special agent, ex-CIA officer and leading investigative journalist break down the Brotherhood's history, goals and its infiltration of U.S. Read On: http://archive.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34346&a mp;a mp;PN=1&TPN=1
Part-Time Police Officer Arrested for Murder of Jonathan Schipper - 10/7/2010
Police are not saying if mental illness might have factored into the fatal shooting of Jonathan Schipper at Mid-Atlantic Christian University. Christopher Amyx is charged with the murder of fellow student Jonathan Schipper. Investigators call Amyx's claim of self-defense a lie. Officers found pills for depression and schizophrenia in a safe inside Amyx's dorm room. Read On: http://archive.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34354&a mp;a mp;PN=1&TPN=1
Mom Gets to Hear Her Daughter's Heartbeat Once Again—Inside Donee - 10/5/2010
Tara Storch, longing to hear her daughter's heartbeat again, began to search for who might have received her heart. Finally, after about six months, the two families connected and met up for the first time. "I asked her, 'Can I just lay my head on your chest and listen?' "So I got to lay my head on her chest. While I was doing that, her heart just had this huge kick. Read On: http://archive.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34337&a mp;a mp;PN=1&TPN=1
Muslims Murder Christian Family - Lawyer, wife, five children shot to death after he tried to defend Christian - 10/5/2010
Paul took Mehboob and the documents of the original loan agreement to the police station. "We filed the complaint, and one of the police officers informed (Noor) Khan that we went to the police station." "They came out and said, 'How dare you Christians go to the police, don't you know we own the law here?' "We went and found seven bodies in a house." Read On: http://archive.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34336&a mp;a mp;PN=1&TPN=1
Kenneth Copeland Dumped from Australian TV Station Over Comment About Homosexuality - 10/5/2010
Someone got upset when Copeland said, "The reason God condemned homosexuality is because of the severe attack it has on the fabric of the blessing, life, all that God created.” The disgruntled viewer was watching "The Believer's Voice of Victory" at 3 AM. The Copeland ministry is seeking legal advice saying, "We are winners because Jesus is Lord and God is our source.” Read On: http://archive.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34334&a mp;a mp;PN=1&TPN=1
Christian Colleges at Risk from Proposed Federal Licensing Requirement - 10/4/2010
The new rule could take effect as early as November. The proposal would require institutions of higher learning to have a document of state approval. The fear is this would open the door for politicizing education and the elimination of academic freedom. Because this is a rule change and not legislation, many members of Congress are not aware of the issue. Read On: http://archive.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34322&a mp;a mp;PN=1&TPN=1
Government Funds Study Asking Boys to Create Web-Based Gay Diaries - 10/4/2010
$126 thousand has been spent on the project over the last two years. By the time the grant ends in 2011, over $250 thousand will have been spent. Dr. Matthew Golden, of the University of Washington, is trying to discover if men who have same sex relations at an early age are more likely to engage in further risky, sexual behavior. Boys as young as 16 are taking part. Read On: http://archive.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34321&a mp;a mp;PN=1&TPN=1
UK Officially Recognizes Druidism as Religious Charity - 10/4/2010
The Druid Network says its long, hard struggle for recognition has taken over five years to complete. Druidism is a nature religion that the first Christian missionaries to Britain encountered over 15 hundred years ago. Druids then performed human and animal sacrifices and worshiped in forests. The group says adherents now sacrifice time, security and ignorance. Read On: http://archive.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34320&a mp;a mp;PN=1&TPN=1
"Progressive" Legal Organization Drops "Under God" from Gettysburg Address - 10/3/2010
Historical revisionist groups grabbed headlines in the 80s, claiming the Holocaust never happened. A contemporary revisionist group makes a different claim -- that Lincoln left out the words "under God" in the Gettysburg address. The American Constitution Society holds to a version of the manuscript disagreeing with the one signed by the President that includes the phrase. Read On: http://archive.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34309&a mp;a mp;PN=1&TPN=1
80 Christians Held Hostage for 16 Days as Muslims Burn Down Homes - 10/2/2010
Police have arrested the person believed to have led the attack, as well as a local official. 25 Muslims burned 10 Christian homes, leaving 80 Christians homeless. Barns were also burned with animals inside. And the attackers destroyed the Christians' harvest. They reportedly said, "If you inform this to anyone we will burn you the way we burn your homes." Read On: http://archive.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34298&a mp;a mp;PN=1&TPN=1
School Trains Christians in 'Prophetic Evangelism' - 10/1/2010
10 year-old Noah comes from the Bridge Metrowest Church in Natick, Massachusetts. He saw a girl in the mall elevator with a broken arm and asked her if he could pray for her. She said, ‘Sure.' When he laid his hands on her arm, it got hot and the pain left. That's just one of the testimonies from Georgian Banov's School of the Supernatural. Read On: http://archive.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34289&a mp;a mp;PN=1&TPN=1
IRS Complaint Filed Against Oklahoma Church Over Pulpit Politics - 10/1/2010
Paul Blair is being investigated for doing something preachers were free to do when America was founded. He endorsed a political candidate from the pulpit. Until the 20th century, there was no income tax, 501 (c) non-profit organizations or tax-deductible donations. Preachers preached what was on their heart. People gave as the Spirit led. The government did not interfere. Read On: http://archive.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34292&a mp;a mp;PN=1&TPN=1
For More Top News Headlines, Go Here: http://archive.openheaven.com/news/headlines/
Topic: OpenHeaven.com Digest October 07, 2010
