Discerning of spirits, spiritual matters
Do you feel sad, guilty, unworthy, or ashamed? Does it seem that no matter what you do, you can’t live up to God’s standards? Are you always trying to be on your best behavior, but still feel like you aren’t being good enough? If you always have the feeling you are being watched and judged, then you know what it means to be living on parole. God does not want you to live that way. He wants you to know his love. He wants you to feel freedom and joy.
“Judge not, lest you be judged” has been misinterpreted to mean that no matter what anyone does, we should not judge the behavior. He pointed out that we are not to condemn someone for their sins, lest we get condemned for ours, but that does NOT mean we are not to discern what is right and wrong, or identify certain behaviors as sin.Grace does not mean there is no law and we are free to behave any way we wish. Grace is to lead us to holiness, which is the walking in the presence of God and reflecting his character.
It is evident that God, in his Word, wants us to prosper, but what does that mean? The word in Greek for prosperity also means “to be successful.” Does that mean riches? Finances? Fruitfulness in the Spirit? Fame?
God’s definition of prosperity: That you have everything you need to do what God has called you to do.
A lot of preachers talk about prosperity and they imply that it is all about money. They imply that if you give especially to their ministries, that you will receive an hundred fold return. The problem with that mentality is that it is giving to get.
I learned this from a Christian business woman who was approached by 2 men who were Christians with a business deal. Everything seemed right, but in the end the deal turned out to be a scam. She asked the Lord why she had not seen this coming, and the Lord taught her about testing the spirits. When someone approaches you with any matter, although it can be a ministry situation, ministry opportunity, business offer, sales offer, or anything, you can test the spirit motivating that person to see if it is originating in God. You speak to the spirit ( you can do this under your breath when people are around, or you can speak it out loud if you are considering this situation when alone), and say, " I command you to confess that Jesus Christ came by the water and the blood and that Jesus is the Son of God." If the spirit is not of God, you will sense resistance and a lack of peace. If it is just something like a human idea, you may not feel anything and it be neutral. But if the Spirit motivating this situation is the Lord, you will experience … Read more
This ought to thrill you. I’ve been reading a book called The Blessing by Kenneth Copeland and in there tells you the Lord taught him through the scripture that God the Father loves you as much as He loves his Son Jesus!!!! John 17:20-26 “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world has not known thee, but … Read more
Human opinion and contemporary cultural values have become as authoritative as scripture; whether that be political or moral. As a result, our debates, have degenerated into mere political majority rule. But God ‘s Truth is not decided by majority vote, but discerned by seeking the voice of God in His revealed Word.
‘What then does it mean to be a Presbyterian?’ Posted Monday, November 7, 2011 in the Presbyterian Layman What does it now mean to be a Presbyterian? Every country club, civic association or condominium, for that matter, has rules of organization, statements of principle and codes of conduct to which members must adhere. Every religion has tenets of faith by which members define themselves and their beliefs in contrast to the values of other religions, cultures, governments and groups. Reading through the new Form of Government (FOG), I have to ask, what makes anything about the new PCUSA distinctly Presbyterian? When I was in seminary, aside from a basic adherence to the great confessions of the church, a partiality to Calvinism was part of the distinctiveness of Presbyterianism, in contrast to the doctrines of the Methodists, Catholics and Lutherans. But I think the new FOG is foggy to say the least. Take this section for example: In Christ, by the power of the Spirit, God unites persons through baptism regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sex, disability, geography, or theological conviction. There is therefore no place in the life of the Church for discrimination against any person. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) … Read more
Jeff Harris, a friend of mine and a former PC(USA) pastor who has started a new church in Butler, PA called Crossroad Community, did a very good summary of the problems with post-World War II churches trying to do outreach with 1950's methods in today's culture. There has been such a dramatic cultural shift in the United States that the culture no longer assumes or respects a Christian worldview. And also, the things that the current generation values are significantly different than the values produced by a corporate business model that was characteristic of the 1950's and 60's. This table below is a summary of the different values and shows the need to adjust our methodology of outreach and evangelism in order to reach the current generation. Those churches that rely upon the old models will be frustrated if not left behind. The methodology that worked in the 1940's and 50's will never work today. Old Church Model Core Values 1950-1960 Era New Church Model Core Values 2010-2020 Era Faith Fellowship Family Biblical Instruction (Faith) Prayer (Faith) Relational (Fellowship/Family) Caring Ministry (Family) Transformation (evangelism, spiritual formation) Old Cultural Setting New Cultural Setting External Culture External culture (society) … Read more
Come Out of Her – Leave the Dead to Bury Their Own Dead! In a debate, if we do not agree on what is truth or how to discover truth and how to determine what truth is, how can we ever decide who is right and who is wrong? If I say, “Truth derives from God’s revealed Word,” but you say, “All truths are relative and depend upon the individual… whatever a person believes is true for them,” then how can we ever agree on anything? Will we not be talking past one another? “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” Amos 3:3, NKJV. “Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you do not take part in her sins, and so that you do not share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities,” Revelation 18:4, 5, NRSV. There are many Presbyterian pastors, churches, and laity who are now wondering what they should do. The confessing church, made up of the conservative and biblically faithful believers, has been filled with grief, disbelief, and dismay. They finally lost the majority vote … Read more