Is Your Church Going "Purpose Driven?" - How Can You Tell?

Sharon here,
I'm sure that there are some Bodies of Believers that have/are making some changes within their churches that are not pernicious. However, as this article points out, there some alarming changes that they, as an organization, have produced in their "format" to remove basic tenants of our faith, and wanting to give a dangerous "facelift" to the GOSPEL. This is what I thought made this article worthy of passing along.

I ask God to HELP US to be able to distinguish between the holy and the profane. In Jesus' Name.

Kindest Regards,
Sharon

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Is Your Church Going Purpose Driven?
How Can You Tell?

In the past ten years a large percentage of churches in America, and in other countries, have changed from a traditional New Testament church model to a contemporary Purpose Driven model, many with sorrowful results.

Contrary to Purpose Driven Church porponents, millions have been leaving their churches after the change occurred.

It is important that every church member know if their church is targeted for a Purpose Driven Church takeover.

Initially, a small clique of church staff, possibly including the pastor or a new pastor, plans the change without telling the rest of the church membership.

Church Transitions, an associate of Saddleback Church in California, trains the clique initiating the change in eight published steps. The church membership is not to be informed of the transition until the fourth step. After the sixth step in the process of change, if there are some in the church who voice concerns, the following is suggested:

1. Identify those who are resisting the changes;
2. Assess the effectiveness of their opposition;
3. Befriend those who are undecided about the changes;
4. Marginalize more persistent resisters;
5. Vilify those who stay and fight;
6. Establish new rules that will silence all resistance.

This means the church membership is not told until it is too late to make a difference. In other words the members either accept the changes, or leave the church, which they may have served and given to build.

Dr. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life has stated: "When you reveal the vision to the church, the old pillars are going to leave. But let them leave...they only hold things up."

Dr. Warren is right in one way. It is the senior members of the church who do indeed hold a church up and keep it from falling into apostasy. While some PDC initiators may not implement the full PDC format, generally these are the signs indicating that your church may be targeted for a Purpose Driven Church format:

1. Change in music to a contemporary rock style.

2. Removal of hymn books; eliminating the choir.

3. Replacement of organ and piano with heavy metal instruments.

4. Repetitive singing of praise lyrics.

5. Dressing down to casual attire.

6. Eliminating of business meetings, church committees, council of elders, board of deacons, etc.

7. The pastor, or a new leader with a few assistants, usually four, takes charge of all church business.

8. A repetitive 40-day Purpose Driven Church study program stressing psychological relationships with each other, the community, or the world, begins.

9. Funded budgeted programs are abandoned, or ignored, with ambiguous financial reports made.

10. Sunday morning, evening, and/or Wednesday prayer meetings are changed to other times; some may even be eliminated.

11. Sunday School teachers are moved to differnt classes, or replaced by new teachers more sympathetic with the changes being implemented.

12. The name "Sunday school" is dropped and classes are given new names.

13. Crosses and other traditional Christian symbols may be moved from both the inside and outside of the church building. The pulpit may also be removed.

14. In accordance with Dr. Warren's instructions, new version Bibles are used; or only verses flashed on a screen are referenced during regular services.

15. Purpose Driven Church films, purchased from Saddleback, precede or are used during regular services.

16. The decor, including the carpets, may be changed to eliminate any resemblance to the former church.

17. The word "church" is often taken from the name of the church, and the church may be called a "campus." Denominational names may also be removed.

18. An emphasis on more fun and party sessions for the youth.

19. Elimination of altar calls or salvation invitations at the close of the services.

20. The elimination of such words as "unsaved," "lost," "sin," "Hell," "Heaven," and other gospel verities from the pastor's message.

21. The reclassification of the saved and lost to the "churched" and "unchurched."

22. The marginalizing, or ostricizing, of all who are not avid promoters of the new Purpose Driven program.

23. Closed meeting between the pastor or chosen staff members without any reports made to the general membership.

24. Open hostility to members who do not openly embrace the new program, or who may have left for another church.

What You Can Do

If your church is in the initial stages of change (music or the first 40-day program), your church could be saved by talking to other church members, and with activist intervention by 10-20 percent of the membership. If nothing is done at this early stage, then by the time the program advances to step four, there is little that can be done except look for another church. Your church has become a Purpose Driven entity in association with Saddleback Church of Orange County or Willow Creek of Chicago.

You must educate yourself, and others, so that you can mobilize the membership to effectively resist. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7).

Dr. Warren in his world peace plan has stated intentions of sending one billion Christians into the world to eliminate human problems. The number one characteristic of a cult is a messianic, charismatic leader.

Purpose Driven Church books are published by Zondervan, one of Rupert Murdoch's many properties, including 175 newspapers and international television and satellite communications, including in China. Various reports indicate he is building his third wife, Windi Deng, a 22,000 foot mansion in the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Dr. Warren stated on May 23, 2005, at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life: "The word 'fundamentalist' actually comes from a document in the 1920's called the Five Fundamentals of the Faith. And it is very legalistic, narrow view of Christianity."

The five fundamentals of the faith to which Dr. Warren objected are:

1. The inerrancy and full authority of the Bible.

2. The virgin birth and full Deity of Jesus Christ.

3. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

4. Christ's atoning, vicarious death for the sins of the world.

5. The literal second coming of Jesus Christ.

Are we to believe that Christians who hold to these basic foundational doctrines of the Christian faith are narrow and legalistic? According to the New Testament definition, those who believe otherwise are not Christians.

To start a Purpose Driven Church or change to one with the full knowledge and consent of the membership is one thing, but to practically steal a church from Christians who have given and served to build it without their knowledge or consent is quite another.

Don't be fooled by the Saddleback website. You don't catch many fish unless you have a look-alike bait!




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This article is used by permission, and was taken from a tract published by:
Southwest Radio Ministries
Box 100, Bethany, OK 73008
1-800-652-1144
www. swrc.com

Dear God, Thank You

Dear God, thank You!

I want to thank You for what You have already done.
I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards;
I am thanking You right now.

I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better;
I am thanking You right now.

I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me;
I am thanking You right now.

I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears;
I am thanking You right now.

I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves;
I am going to thank You right now.

I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet;
I am going to thank You right now.

I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job;
I am going to thank You right now.

I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief;
I am thanking You right now.

I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed;
I am thanking You right now.

I am thanking You because I am alive.

I am thanking You because I made it through the day's difficulties.

I am thanking You because I have walked around the obstacles.

I am thanking You because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better.

I'm thanking You because, Father, YOU haven't given up on me.

(forwarded by Johanna Boman
mikeysFunnies.com

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I Chronicles 23:30 - ... Stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at evening

I Thessalonians 2:13 - ....We also thank God without ceasing...

When Sin and Religion Become Friends

WHEN SIN AND RELIGION BECOME FRIENDS
by Carter Conlon - Pastor of Times Square Church, New York, New York.

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22–23).

What did Jesus mean when He said, “If the light that is in you be darkness?” Taken in context, we see that He was speaking about the impossibility of serving two masters at the same time. He continued, “…either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).

Jesus used the example of money here, but He was illustrating a much deeper principle—a struggle that all of us face from time to time. It occurs when we come to even a minimal understanding of the ways of God, yet in our own hearts think we know a better way. For instance, when we believe we can secure a better future if we simply follow our own reasoning. Or when we believe we can achieve greater happiness if we don’t take the pathway God has prescribed, but instead take an easier and more attractive one. In other words, it is the constant struggle between either serving God or serving ourselves as god.

It is possible to have a clear vision of what is of true value, yet still choose to set our affections on something we know to be potentially harmful. It is possible to sit under the Word of God, to know what He is saying, but inside still wonder, “How close can I get to the fence before I am outside? How close can I walk to the line before I am rejected? How much do I really need to obey God?”


CHOOSING ANOTHER PATHWAY
In the book of Ezekiel, a prophecy was given to the king of Tyrus; this is believed by many to actually refer to the fall of Satan and his subsequent corrupting of the human race. The Lord said through Ezekiel, “You have been in Eden, the garden of God, and every precious stone was your covering. You had an anointing, and you were put in an appointed place. You walked in the presence of God—in holy places with an unhindered view of who God really is. You were perfect in your ways until the very ability which I gave you corrupted you” (see Ezekiel 28:13–15).

Satan was in the presence of God and had an unrestricted view of the perfect Light. The Scriptures seem to bear witness that there was a specific beauty about Satan. He was granted great gifts and was perhaps one of the finer created beings in heaven at that particular moment. However, these very gifts from God corrupted him, which we see occur in the human race over and over again.

For example, people with brilliant minds become absolutely corrupted by that intellect, using the thought process to stray farther and farther away from the kingdom of God.

Just as Satan had an unrestricted view of the Lord, we as children of God have the Holy Spirit within us, enabling us to understand the Scriptures and discern between right and wrong. So in another measure, we too have an unrestricted view of God. That means if we want truth, we can have it; if we want freedom, it can be ours; if we want life, it is promised.

Even with the pureness of that Light before him, Satan chose another pathway, following his own reasoning. He began to chafe at what he considered to be narrowness, convinced that he knew a better way. He mistakenly believed that he could be his own god, create his own reality, and live by his own concept of right and wrong. That was his downfall.

Cast out of heaven, Satan then came down to Adam and Eve and sowed his own logic into the human race. “Listen, God created you and put you in this garden tending these plants and naming a few animals, but don’t you think you were created for more than this? If you just do it my way, you can become as gods, knowing what is good and evil. I know God says that certain things are good and certain things are evil, but you don’t have to live in this narrow way.”

In his own mind, Satan had become god, the same danger you and I face today. He sowed into all of humanity this desire to be as God—to create our own concept of good and evil. An example of this would be when we refuse to forgive a person who has wronged us and conclude, “It is fine that I have not forgiven him. I know what God says, but this person just does not deserve to be forgiven.” Or when we steal in the workplace and say, “They don’t pay me enough, and last year I did not get that vacation I deserve, so this is good.” All the while we are well aware that the Scripture says no thief will inherit the kingdom of God.

Beloved, there is no deeper darkness than when sin and religion become friends. There is incredible power in this deceptive state. The Bible tells us that Satan succeeded in taking one–third of the angels with him in his rebellion, and he is still at work today attempting to incite a similar rebellion among those who claim to be followers of Christ.


A COVERING OF RELIGION
As the apostle Paul put it, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). In other words, they hold the truth with a heart that is not surrendered. They read God’s Word but will not obey it, even when it is plain and clear.

“…they worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator… and God gave them over to a reprobate mind…” (Romans 1:25, 28). A reprobate mind means corrupt thinking, a crooked mind. You and I should always pray that we never reach such a point! Unfortunately, I have met people like this—sitting in the house of God with all kinds of practices that are very clearly prohibited in Scripture. Yet after years of refusing to obey God, it is almost as if their thinking cannot be straightened. They choose instead to worship the thoughts of their own hearts, and sin and religion eventually become friends, bringing them to a place where they begin to call evil good.

There is no greater darkness than when that which is inwardly corrupt takes on a covering of religion. Jesus said to the Pharisees, “You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:33). In other words, “You have so covered yourselves in corruption and religion that you have bought yourselves a ticket to hell. How will you escape? How will you change? You have embraced this corrupted reasoning of Satan, covering death and decay with fine clothing and sweet religious words, but inwardly you hate God!”

At another point, Jesus also said to them, “You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning…” (John 8:44). He basically told the Pharisees, “I know that you are going to kill Me. I have come to you with words from God to bring you into freedom, but you have fallen for the deceptive strategy of Satan. Now you are entrenched in a wrong way of thinking, leaving you with two alternatives—either you will repent of your sin, or you will kill the voice that has been sent to draw you to the presence of God.”

It is amazing when sin and religion combine. That is what Jesus meant when He said, “If the light that is in you be darkness—if you have sat under truth but embraced a lie—how deep that darkness is.” It would be better to be the most overt, reprehensible sinner and know it; at least then you would have a chance to be redeemed. Unfortunately, many people reach a place where they sit in the house of God, having put on a covering of religion while embracing a wrong view of God and His ways.


KORAH'S REBELLION
The Lord gives us another picture of this intertwining of sin and religion in the book of Numbers. As Moses was leading the people of God through the wilderness, a man named Korah succeeded in rousing two hundred and fifty of the Israelites to stand in opposition to divine order and God’s leadership through Moses.

As Korah assembled those in rebellion, “So they each took his own censer and put fire on it, and laid incense on it; and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting…” (Numbers 16:18, NASB). There they stood, each holding a censer—a type of prayer and holy devotion to God—completely unaware that they were about to be burned by the presence of God. Notice that the Scripture says they were men of renown! How did they get to that state?

Recall that God supernaturally brought the children of Israel out from slavery in Egypt, and along with the deliverance imparted giftings and leadership ability. However, this led to an inner corruption, and all it took was for Satan to use that strategy once again and say, “This is too narrow! Think of the glory that could be yours! You are meant to lead, you are not meant to follow!”

Do you understand the power of your own heart to deceive you? Each of us has an inner capability to walk away from God and develop completely corrupted scriptural reasoning around it. Bear in mind that it was the most religious nation on earth that cried out for the death of the Son of God. They had the Scriptures and a revelation of God if they had wanted it. They chose, instead, to form a religion to cover their inner corruption. Jesus looked at the leaders and said, “You appear righteous but you are full of death inside. You clean the outside of the cup, but inwardly there is simply decay” (see Matthew 23:25). Just as they had a choice, today you and I must decide either to believe God and what He says, or to embrace ourselves as God, considering our own covering as sufficient.


IF YOUR EYE IS SINGLE
“In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:4–5). It is important to realize that the light shone in a religious darkness—that was the darkness that didn’t comprehend it. Isn’t it strange that the lepers comprehended it, the prostitutes responded to it, and even the dead could hear it? Yet religion has a certain death about it, making it almost impossible to hear the voice of God.

“…if your eye be single, your whole body will be full of light” (Matthew 6:22). You will not be in darkness if you are singly focused, standing before God, saying, “Lord, whatever You say is wrong, I will regard as wrong; and whatever You say is right, I will follow. By Your Spirit I will do what You ask me to, and wherever You lead me, I will follow.”

Paul spoke these words regarding Israel,“But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ” (2 Corinthians 3:14). Religion had blinded their minds, and they had created a system operating outside of truth.

“But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away”
(2 Corinthians 3:15–16). Yes, a day is coming when Israel will turn to the Lord, but this is also a principle that applies to us today. When we turn to the Lord, the veil that hinders us from the fullness of life that God offers us is taken away. “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:17–18). Here the meaning of “liberty” is generosity. As we are willing to surrender with an honest heart before God, we suddenly become aware of His incredible generosity. The Lord says, “I am willing to give you a new heart and a new mind. I am willing to put love, joy, and longsuffering inside of you. I am willing to give you peace in the midst of the storm; strength in the midst of your weakness. I am willing to do what cannot be done apart from My strength within you.”

We are changed from glory to glory as we behold Him, and the veil of incomplete religion and deceptive reasoning of the human heart is taken away. Our hearts are changed, and the whole focus of our lives is to honor God and see fallen men brought to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is a miraculous life that we enter into. Religion is obnoxious and ultimately leads to death, but in Christ is life, joy and peace.


“If your eye be single, your whole body will be full of light.”
In other words, every chain, every wall, every enemy, and every power of hell begins to be broken. You will be given strength that can come only from the Lord, and your body will be a declaration of His keeping power. Your whole body—everything you are, all that you say, whatever you touch, everything you do—will become an expression of God. Your entire body will be full of light if you choose to do things God’s way.


WHAT IS GOD SPEAKING TO YOU?
So now the question arises: What is God telling you to forsake, and what is He calling you to go toward? There is a distinct call to each of us, and this is where we will either cover sin with religion, or throw off that false garment and move toward a holy God, saying, “Lord, I am going where you are calling me. I will not create a religion in my own heart that allows me to move in the direction of death, thinking it is life. I will walk the pathway that You have set before me.”

Beloved, don’t fall into the religious trap of becoming your own god and justifying wrong. Don’t put off what God has called you to do, for the more you put it off, the greater the chance that you will make peace with it and eventually call it good. If you are under conviction, if you are reading your Bible and the Holy Spirit has His finger very clearly on an area of your life, don’t harden your heart to His voice! Over time you will end up making peace with it—covering it and calling it holy, as is the habit of our fallen nature.

I encourage you today to do what you know God says is right and to forsake all that you know to be wrong, no matter how difficult it may be. We all are going to need the strength of Christ to get through the coming days. We will need our inheritance in Christ, which God desires to give to us—but everything that is a reproach to God must be put away. As we make the choice to do things God’s way, allowing no friendship between sin and religion in our lives, the absolute outworking of it will be joy and strength, direction in the storm, provision in famine, victory in the battle. Hallelujah!

Carter Conlon
©2011 Times Square Church

Want To Avoid TROUBLE In Your Life?

8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
10 Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons--
11 Because #1 they rebelled against the words of God, And #2) despised the counsel of the Most High,
12 Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then  they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. ,
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces. ,
15 Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For He has broken the gates of bronze, And cut the bars of iron in two.
17 Fools, because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
Psalm 107:8-17

We will find trouble in our lives IF:
#1) We rebel against the words of God
#2) And despise the counsel of the Most High.

I WILL OBEY ALL OF GOD'S WORD.
I WILL NOT DESPISE HIS COUNSEL.

I John 2:16: tells us: For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.

"The world" does not refer to the physical creation, but to the sphere of evil operating in our world under the dominion of satan.

Fortunately, with the finished work of Jesus, He told us in Luke 10:19, 20: "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. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

The only enemy that God has is one called satan, we're told how to earmark he and his work in John 10:10: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

The writer of James, tells it stright out in James 1:12-17:
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation (endure=to preserve: under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one's faith in Christ); for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God [is] eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

None of us can mess around with sin. Ignoring God's Word and His counsel is serious business, it will put us in a hole that WE cannot handle. By that time, it will take laying down pride and sin that already has a strong hold. Once anyone finds themselves blinded, in darkness, bound in afflictions and irons without humbling ourselves before God will eventually bring the wages of sin.

"They fell down and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke the chains of pieces. Oh that men would give tghanks to the Lortd for aHis goodness, and for His wonderful works to the childeren of men! For He has broken the gates of bronze, and cut the bars of iron in two." Psalm 107:12-16

We've got to submit our WHOLE lives to the Lord, our desires, our tongue, our committment to Him. I don't want the devil to have a hook in my flesh, so that his seed can be conceived - give birth to sin, and for sin to become fully grown, to bring death, in my life. Do you?

Under our own steam, we're no match for satan or any of his minions, but remember what we're told in Luke 10:19 ? We've been given power over ALL the power of satan, through the finished work of Jesus.

Jesus died on the cross, decended into hell (FOR US), defeated satan on his own turf, and ALL of satans minions witnessed that defeat. They KNOW that their masters defeat is their own defeat. ANY TIME we submit ourselves to God, with HIS WORD, we're MORE than CONQUORERS through Christ. Just like a wrestler goes out into a ring for a fight, wins the match, and comes home to Mama with a check in hand, the winnings for his efforts. Mama is MORE than a conquorer. So are WE!!!

In Colossians 2:15 we're told that Jesus: ...disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

This is what He did while He was in hell, while defeating satan. Hallelujah!!! That's why He could tell us what He did in Luke. That's why we can, with confidence, stand against every tactic of hell used against us.

Matthew 6:19 tells us: "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

We have the authority to bind and loose, which means binding up the devil and his work, and casting him away, not to return or go to another...and loosing ourselves and others from the work of satan.

When our enemy, satan, bring thoughts, and temeptations to us, what we are able to do is make use of God's Word. THIS is what the devil responds to, the BLOOD OF JESUS, the NAME OF JESUS and THE WORD OF GOD.

THE WORD OF GOD: Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

THE NAME OF JESUS: Philippians 2:10 "... that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth

THE BLOOD OF JESUS: Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him (satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

What WE'VE got to do is Romans 12:1,2
1 Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Renew our minds to God's Word. Making it the first line of defence in our lives agains the devil.

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

If we have the Word of God under our belt, in our hearts and in our minds, when our enemy comes along with a defeating lie, or temptation, we can pull it out and make use of it. Submitting ourselves to God, rebuking the devil and he MUST flee. We need to learn to make use of God's Word, the Blood of Jesus and the Name of Jesus.

If we do not have that advantage working for us, then we will be presented with a trap from the devil, and be taken unawares - and not just "taken" by surprise, but overcome by him, into a dark place that we cannot escape from without God.

We will find trouble in our lives IF:
#1) We rebel against the words of God
#2) And despise the counsel of the Most High

If we do not give God's Word the honorable place, FIRST PLACE, in our hearts and lives and mouths, there will be open season on human.
If our minds are not RENEWED to God's Word, we will not have it ready in our heart to be spoken out against the tactics of hell. We've got good instruction from the Lord. We've got to OBEY His Word, not rebel against ANY of it.

Remember Luke 6:45? "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks"

While renewing our minds to God's Word, after a time, it settles right down into our spirit (heart), and is made ready for use, with our MOUTH. "The word of our testimony," being set in agreement with God's Word, coming out of the abundance of our heart.

THAT is how we defeat the enemy of our lives. That's how Jesus dealt with him.
Remember when Jesus went into the wilderness to pray and fast, preparing himself for ministry? Three times satan challenged Jesus, and His response was: IT IS WRITTEN

Matthew 4:3-10
3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."
4 But He answered and said, "It is written,, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' "
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' "
7 Jesus said to him, "It is written, again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' "
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."
10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written,, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' "

Jesus made use of God's Word and defeated the devil with it.
He gave us a good example, don't you think?

I want to avoid trouble in my life. I shall, with the help and grace of God, continue to renew my mind to God's Word and be an overcomer, by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of my testimony...my agreement with God's Word, and the devil MUST FLEE, every single time. I will NOT be overcome/overtaken by any lie of the devil or any symptom he may attmept to place in my path. I AM an overcomer!!!!.....and I WILL receive ALL of God's Counsel in my life, in Jesus' Name.

The Power of Stillness

The Power of Stillness

It was a “still small voice” or the sound of a gentle stillness. Is there any note of music in all the chorus as mighty as the emphatic pause? Is there any word in all the Psalter more eloquent than the one word, Selah (Pause)? Is there anything more thrilling and awful than the hush that comes before the bursting of the tempest and the strange quiet that seems to fall upon all nature before some preternatural phenomenon or convulsion? Is there anything that can so touch our hearts as the power of stillness?


Sweet Stillness

The sweetest blessing that Christ brings us is the Sabbath rest of the soul, of which the Sabbath of creation was the type. There is, for the heart that will cease from itself, “the peace of God that passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7); a quietness and confidence, which is the source of all strength; a sweet peace, “which nothing can offend,” There is, in the deepest center of the believer’s soul a chamber of peace where God dwells, and where, if we will only enter in and hush every other sound, we can hear His “still voice.”

A score of years ago a friend placed in my hands a little book which became one of the turning points of my life. It was called “True Peace,” and was an old medieval message. It had but one thought, and it was this - that God was waiting in the depths of my being to talk to me if I would only get still enough to hear His voice.


Stillness Challenged

I thought this would be a very easy matter and so I began to get still. But I had no sooner commenced than a pandemonium of voices reached my ears a thousand clamoring notes from without and within, until I could hear were my own questions, some of them my own cares and some were my very own prayers. Others were the suggestions of the tempter and the voices from the world’s turmoil. Never before did there seem so many things to be done, to be said, to be thought. In every direction I was pushed and pulled and greeted with noisy acclamations and unspeakable unrest. It seemed necessary for me to listen to some of them and to answer; but God said, “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)


The God of Stillness

Then came the conflict of thoughts for the morrow, with its duties and cares. But God said: “Be still.” And as I listened, and slowly learned to obey, and shut my ears to every sound, I found after awhile, that when the other voices ceased, or I ceased to hear and heed them, there was a still small voice in the depths of my being that began to speak with an inexpressible tenderness, power, and comfort. As I listened it became to me the voice of prayer, and the voice of wisdom, and the voice of duty, and I did not need to think so hard, but that “still, small voice: of the Holy Spirit in my heart was God’s prayer in my secret soul; was God’s answer to all my questions; was God’s life and strength for soul and body, and became the substance of all knowledge, and all prayer, and all blessing; for it was the living GOD Himself as my life and my all.

We cannot go through life strong and fresh on constant express trains, with ten minutes for lunch; but we must have quiet hours, secret places of the Most High, waiting upon the Lord, when we renew our strength, and learn to mount up on wings as eagles, and then come back to run and not be weary, and to walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)


The way of Stillness


The best thing about this stillness is that it gives God a chance to work. “He that is entered into His rest hath ceased from his own works, even as God did from His.” When we cease from our works, God works in us; when we cease from our thoughts, God’s thoughts come into us;’ when we get still from our restless activities, “God works in us both to will and to do his good pleasure",(Philippians 2:13) and we have but to work it out.

Beloved! Let us take His stillness; let us dwell in “the secret place of the Most High: let us enter into God and His eternal rest; let us silence the other sounds, and then we can hear “the still, small voice.”

Then there is another kind of stillness: the stillness that lets God work for us, and we hold our peace; the stillness that ceases from controversy, and self-indication, and expedients of wisdom and forethought - and lets God provide and answer the unkind word, and the cruel blow, in His own unfailing, faithful love. How often we lose God’s interposition by taking up our own cause and striking for our own defense.

There is no spectacle in all the Bible so sublime as the silent Savior answering not a word to the men that were maligning Him, and whom He could have laid prostrate at His feet by one look of Divine power, or one word of fiery rebuke. But he let them do their worst and He stood in the power of stillness -- God’s Holy Lamb.

God give to us this silent power, this mighty self-surrender, this conquered spirit, which will make us “more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” Let our voice and our life speak like “the still mall voice” of Horeb, and as the “sound of a gentle stillness,.” Then after the heat and strife of earth are over, light and sunshine, the evening breeze, the Lamb of Calvary, and the gentle Holy, Heavenly Dove.

By A. B. Simpson

Osterhus Publication House, 4500 W. Broadway, Minneapolis, MN 55422
This article is used by permission.