heed not the motivation of fear

Hear My voice, I am the True Shepherd of the sheep, the thief comes to kill and destroy, but he comes as an angel of light!  from John10 and 2Cor11

I accepted an invitation from my girl friend, to go to a Christian conference at a Church building. I went because I wanted to spend time with her, and hear news of the suffering saints. I was given liberty from the Lord, to go, to hear what was being said these days, to Christian people at Church.

It was the VOM regional conference; the subject was persecuted believers in communist and Muslim countries. There were videos, pictures, testimonies
of these saints, and stories the speakers told, of their lives and suffering. I am always glad to hear of them, it is a sweetness and bittersweetness at the same time, the believers in hostile lands are so dear and sweet, but it is so sad, their suffering. I wanted to participate in remembering them, and learning of their plight.

But there were some things I noticed that grieved me. I really went, with an open heart, assuming the best, hoping and trusting I would not hear anything that would grieve me, but alas, I did. But I’m not surprised (though I’m saddened) because the Church System really is Babylon….. and she cannot be healed. Thus fleeing and forsaking her is the only way……. it’s not safe because the truth is tainted and muddied with bondage or lies (or both!).

The main speaker (from Iran) said all kinds of concerning things, though he is very eager to reach muslims in Iran as a missionary. Now he did report that many Iranians are coming to Christ and are assembling secretly, quietly in homes and such, and are doing a lot of evangelism. But this man defined the sharing the gospel as getting someone to “pray the prayer” for God or Jesus to “come into your heart”.  That was concerning.

He basically pushed for political and religious Dominionism in Iran. His words and style reminded me of Campus Crusade for Christ and YWAM, as far as the ministry catchphrases.

He boldly promoted the 7 Mountains Dominionism! That is where the 7 Mountains of society will be ruled by a cultural and political Christianity. He said Iran will become a Christian country!  He said 2 kingdoms are clashing and Islam is a spirit. But then he said, “You can’t come against it (the spirit of Islam) with the military, well sometimes you have to use the military.”

With that statement, he went against Jesus’ words and promoted war and killing “if it is necessary”.

Further, he said that we want to evangelize the muslims and convert them for these reasons:
1. because if not they will kill us all
2. because they want to take over the world and make every nation Muslim, (submit to Islam) thus we must stop them by converting more of them to Christianity.

This is NOT to be our motivation. His motivation was unfortunately pure FEAR— fear of being killed, fear of jihad, fear of being forced to submit to Islam, fear of our country being taken over, etc. This is NOT of Christ.
That attitude is the spirit of the Holy Roman Empire of Christendom, which wanted to preserve the culture, earthly kingdoms, lands and power holdings of State-Christianity (Christendom).   This is not of the Spirit. This is of earthly Churchianity or what we call Babylon Church.

The motivation he promoted, is the same motivation that sent men to the Crusades to kill and shed oceans of so-called infidel or heretic blood (Christian, Muslim and Jewish blood, and also pagans of other indigenous local religions). This motivation is satanic, it is not of Love, it is not of Faith, it is not of Hope. It is not loving God and loving neighbor. It is pure fear, and determination to hold on to what we “have in this world” (lands, nations, freedoms, rights, our lives, our culture etc). This is not of Jesus Christ who told us to die to self, follow Him and make disciples.

The man did promote evangelism and making disciples, but for the wrong motivation, not out of obedience to Christ, not out of love for God and people, and not out of gratitude to our beloved Christ Jesus for our salvation, not out of compassion for the lost, not out of the willingness to die if need be, not to serve others and love enemies, to give to others, like Christ gave to us.

So his message of what motivates us to reach Muslims, was entirely political and carnal, fear based and worldly. And it feeds into satan’s plan to get us warring and killing, (Christians and Muslims) that the synthesis/ solution of world government and global syncretic religion might be implemented as the solution for world peace. Political-military Dominionist Christianity is being used right now to help this global plan along.

So the man was either knowingly or unknowingly (we don’t know) helping the plans of the wrong side, so to speak, rather than encouraging us: to NOT FEAR and LOVE NOT YOUR LIFE and LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE FOR ANOTHER, and to LOVE UNTIL YOU DIE in your service of bringing Christ to the lost world WITH JOY AND HUMBLE TRUST IN THE LORD. We do not try to save our life, lifestyle, limb, culture or physical nation. We lay it down, and love like our Father loves.

I would have been so edified to hear that from this Christian Leader.

The teacher  taught that the motivation (to try to convert them) is:
1. because of terrorism growing
2. because they want to take over nations and plan to take over all nations including USA
3. because Islam is the greatest threat to the world, to world peace.
4. because Islam wants to wipe (political-geographical) “Israel” off the map.  Yes he said this. This motivation seems entirely fleshly, earthly and political.

Then he said: Iran will be a Christian nation! Christianity will rule the (7 Mountains) business, government, family, religion, media, education, entertainment (the 7 mountains exactly as taught by Bill Bright and Loren Cunningham!). There you go folks, straight up Dominionism.

He said, The future of Iran and Israel are united! He had scripture to back this up. He was quite serious that he meant this literally, in the physical-political. !!

He said, over 25,000 documented “decisions” for Christ. (This sounds identical to Billy Graham and CCC).

His definition of sharing the gospel, shown repeatedly over his speech, was leading ppl in prayer for God to come into your heart. Salvation was praying “the prayer”.

He taught that 9 11 was done by muslims. He showed pictures of the “twin towers” in a ball of flames and other scary pictures.
He had a lot of power point pics and charts that fanned the flames of “fear of Muslims”,  and reiterated that the main reason for his evangelism was to hold back the tide of Islam and prevent them from ruling nations.  weird. This is not the motivation Jesus gives us.

Also, this statement, “You can’t come against it (the spirit of Islam) with the military, well sometimes you have to use the military”,
is a statement that reveals an unstable DOUBLE-MINDEDness.

It’s either one or the other.

We either obey Jesus Christ’s instructions and love our enemies, and war in the Spirit with Holy Spirit power against principalities (spirits), OR we war in the flesh with physical war machine weapons, against flesh (literal physical men).

One or the other.

The Earthly Church has no qualms promoting warring in the flesh, and killing enemies. “Fight the enemies and kill your neighbor.”

The spiritual church, those led by Jesus, does what Jesus says:  “Love your neighbor, love your enemy.”

Babylon Church has lied for far too long to the Christians, about this. It does mislead the sheep.

It is a lie that it is “God’s will” that we as Christians must war and kill in the flesh in order to survive or take out the enemy or save the country or Christendom or take back the ‘Holy Land’ for God.

Let God (JESUS) be true, and every man a liar.

I have heard this also, on Christian “God N Country” Crawford Broadcasting and Salem Communications radio stations, back when I used to listen to them. I heard very clear messages of “fear of Muslims” and promotion of politics and “war and killing” being necessary to deal with this scary “greatest threat” to us.  This is not of the instructional words of Jesus, nor of the Spirit of Jesus.

Dear friends, let us encourage one another in this time, to heed the voice of our Shepherd Jesus and do what He says, doing the will of our Father.

Let us not operate in the flesh, but in His Power.

Let us not live because of fear but because of Love.

Beautiful wheat

“Should we pull out the weeds?” they asked.”No”, he replied, “you’ll uproot the wheat if you do.” Matt.13nlt

The tares have no fear or regard for the Master they claim to serve; they are disobedient to the words of Christ. They proudly pull up and kill the wheat, thinking they do service to God by killing ‘tares’. The real tares are ugly because they disobey the Lord they claim to serve, killing the precious wheat of God.

The wheat have respect for their Lord and Master; they are obedient to the words of Christ. They do not pull up and kill the tares, but they are the ones killed by the tares. They suffer like Jesus and wait for the harvest with obedience and humility and love and trust. Beautiful wheat.

Power through brokenness

For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously…..1Pe2:22

But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.. 2Tim1:8niv

Power.
As things progress along in this time……..and we see the kingdom of darkness is demonstrating its power….. it is imperative that those in the Kingdom of God understand what their true power is.

Those in the kingdom of darkness utilize various terrible things including selfishness, hate, pride, greed, covetousness, self-exaltation, manipulation, control, deception, cruelty, hurting, inflicting pain, killing, and a host of other sins, to aquire satanic power for evil.

In “Christendom” it is a common misconception that power is in self-preservation at all costs, prominence, acceptance, titled authority, status, success, popularity, strategies, education, theology, creeds, debate, leadership, networking, connections, business management, money and even military might and government-politics. This is not God’s power. This is worldly power.

Those in the Kingdom of God have access to the power of God, as did our Lord Jesus Christ when He lived His life on earth. His power (Holy Spirit power) came from God through this:

dying to self, brokenness, chosen weakness, meekness, denial of self, denying one’s flesh, making self “of no importance”, entrusting self completely to God (giving up any control), obedience to God, enduring suffering, rejoicing, humility, love, and blessing and forgiving those who want to kill you.

Jesus did not retaliate, He did not fight back, He did not threaten, He did not defend Himself, He did not assert His “rights”, He did not try to preserve self, He did not withhold forgiveness.

He had died to self. He had chosen self-denial. He was broken.
The spiritual power of God comes through this self-denial, dying to self, BROKENNESS and responding in faith and love and humility.

Good Counsel

Quote:

“Precede all your labors with earnest, diligent prayer. Do not rest on the number of tracts you have given because a million tracts may not lead to the conversion of one single soul. Yet, a blessing beyond calculation may result from one single tract. Expect everything to come from the blessing of the Lord and nothing at all from your own exertions.”

George Muller
The Autobiography of George Muller

from Today’s Grace Quote at  www.thegracetabernacle.org.

Verses of Encouragement:Luke

And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Luke7:48.

“Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. Luke8:39.

“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.” Luke12:4.

“And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not become anxious about how or what you should speak in your defense, or what you should say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Luke12:11-12.

And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life; as to what you shall eat; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on.” Luke12:22.

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” Luke12:32.

“Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps alight.” Luke12:35.

“Blessed are those slaves whom the master shall find on the alert when he comes: truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.” Luke12:37-38.

“But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. But you will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all on account of My name. Yet not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives (souls)”. Luke21:12-19.

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded (permission) to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke22:31-32.

“But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” And they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “Yes, I am.” Luke22:69-70.

And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come into your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Luke23:42-43.

Then He opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke24:45-49.

Verses of Encouragement:Mark

And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest for a while.” Mark 6:31.

for they all saw Him and were frightened. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” Mark 6:50.

“Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first, will be last; and the last, first.” Mark 10:29-30.

“Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.” Mark 13:29.

And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.” Mark 14:36.

But He kept silent, and made no answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Mark 14:62.

Verses of Encouragement:Matthew

“But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” Matt.10:19-20.

“And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.” Matt.10:28.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Matt.14:27.

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” Matt.24:29-31.

“…for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Matt.26:28-29.

And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me, yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” Matt.26:39.

“…All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Matt. 28:18.

“… I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matt.28:20.

What If

What if everything we have was taken away from us: home, money, security, possessions? How about health? What if freedom, safety and food were removed? What would we have then? What if we were separated from family members. How would we live? What if we really found ourselves in such a scenario someday?

We know that we would have God with us, and we would live by faith. We would have trust in our faithful God. We would have His Holy Spirit to comfort, guide and give His strength and supernatural power. We would have His Words that are hidden in our hearts. We would have His promises to remember. We would have communion with Him in abiding prayer. We would have His commands to obey. We would have His path to walk and His cross to carry. We would have His sufferings to gladly share in. We would have His gospel of grace and salvation to tell to the lost. We would have His truth to boldly declare to anyone opposed to Him. We would have courage and love to share with one another. We would have faith, knowing He is in control and that He is returning for us. We would have hope in our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

We may not be enduring these troubles…yet. But friends, are we living this life of faith now ? This is a good way to be ready for whatever “what if” may come. Are you ready for “what if”?

In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. John 16:33.

Verses of Encouragement:OT

This is just a small collection of some I really love. Read them in context and hide them in your heart. I hope to post more scripture as I am able. Be encouraged dear child of God.

It is the Lord your God who will cross ahead of you…Deut.31:3.

Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you for forsake you. Deut.31:6.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Josh. 1:9.

And he said, “No, rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” Josh.5:14

O Lord, my God, in thee I have taken refuge… Ps.7:1.

The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? Ps. 27:1.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord. Ps.27:14.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped..Ps.28:7.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Ps.46:1.

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Ps.46:11.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Ps.73:26.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust!” Ps. 91:1-2.

For the Lord will not abandon His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance. Ps. 94:14.

I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope. Ps.130:5.

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. Is.12:2.

How blessed are all those who long for Him. Is.30:18.

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.. Is.43:1-3.

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Is.51:11.

And I have put My words in your mouth, and have covered you with the shadow of My hand…Is.51:16.

And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. Dan.12:3.

The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places. Hab.3:19.

Quotes of Encouragement

God wants to encourage us. Often, He uses His children to encourage one another. We can see from these quotes, that comfort given by God the Holy Spirit through His saints is based on His Word. This encouragement simply restates what Truth God has given us in His Word. Here is some comfort sent from God, through His servants, to you.

Be encouraged, child of God. He loves you even in the midst of your pain. He loves you even when you don’t love Him. He loves you when you feel utterly alone. He loves you with an everlasting love. Your suffering can take many things away from you–your health, your happiness, your prosperity, your popularity, your friends, your career, even your family. But there’s one thing suffering can’t take away: it can’t take away the love of God. –Ray Pritchard

When you suffer and lose, that does not mean you are being disobedient to God. In fact, it might mean you’re right in the center of His will. The path of obedience is often marked by times of suffering and loss.–Charles R. Swindoll

It is true that He does sometimes require of us things that to others seem hard. But when the will is once surrendered, the revolutionized life plans become just the plans that are most pleasant, and the things that to others seem hard, are just the things that are easiest and most delightful. Do not let Satan deceive you into being afraid of God’s plans for your life.–R. A. Torrey

This is the purpose of pain for the redeemed: it is one of your Father’s ways of speaking to you; it is the evidence of His limitless love, by which He would draw you farther from evil and closer to Him, the divine remedy which can cure you of pride and help you lean more trustingly on the Lord.–Walter A. Maier

God makes all chosen souls pass through a fearful time of poverty, misery, and nothingness. He desires to destroy in them gradually all the help and confidence they derive from themselves so that He may be their sole source of support, their confidence, their hope, their only resource.–Jean-Pierre de Caussade

When all else is gone, God is left, and nothing changes Him.–Hannah Whitall Smith

What can harm thee, when all must first touch God, within whom thou hast enclosed thyself?–Robert Leighton

Pressing on in painful circumstances is the discipline of keeping our faith when everything not only goes wrong but becomes worse. It means holding onto the Lord during deep trials and asking Him to hold onto us when we feel weak in faith and hope. –Sheila Cragg

Our personal afflictions involve the living God; the only way in which Satan can persecute or afflict God is through attacking the people of God. The only way we can have personal victory in the midst of these flying arrows raining down on us is to call upon the Lord for help. It is His strength, supplied to us in our weakness, that makes victory after victory possible. –Edith Schaeffer

Should we feel at times disheartened and discouraged, a simple movement of heart toward God will renew our powers. Whatever he may demand of us, he will give us at the moment the strength and courage that we need
.–Francois de Fenelon

The tests of life are to make, not break us. Trouble may demolish a man’s business but build up his character. The blow at the outward man may be the greatest blessing to the inner man. If God, then, puts or permits anything hard in our lives, be sure that the real peril, the real trouble, is that we shall lose if we flinch or rebel. –Maltbie D. Babcock

God will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless He has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty. –Peter Marshall

God is doing a greater work in us, and that can only come as we learn to trust him no matter how dark the days and sleepless the nights. And it is only as we have been through the darkness with him that what we know with our heads slides down into our hearts, and our hearts no longer demand answers. The Why? becomes unimportant when we believe that God can and will redeem the pain for our good and his glory. . . . When I put the sovereignty of God beside his unfailing love, my heart can rest.–Verdell Davis

Rejoice in knowing that you belong to God and that He is conforming you to the image of His Son. See every event of this day as part of that process. Yield to the Spirit’s prompting, and take heart that God will accomplish His will. –John MacArthur

The brightest crowns that are worn in heaven have been tried, smelted, polished, and glorified through the furnace of tribulation. –E. H. Chapin

God has frequently to knock the bottom board out of your experience if you are a saint in order to get you into contact with Himself. God wants you to understand this is a life of faith, not a life of sentimental enjoyment of His blessings. . . . “Though He slay me yet will I trust Him” — this is the most sublime utterance of faith in the whole of the Bible. –Oswald Chambers

The greater our present trials, the louder will our future songs be, and the more intense our joyful gratitude.
–Charles Spurgeon

Everything that God brings into our life is directed to one purpose: that we might be conformed to the image of Christ. –Erwin W. Lutzer

By affliction He teaches us many precious lessons, which without it we should never learn. By affliction He shows us our emptiness and weakness, draws us to the throne of grace, purifies our affections, weans us from the world, makes us long for heaven. – J.C.Ryle.