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“He (the LORD) healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” Psalms 147:3

WHENEVER you see the words “inner healing”, “inner child”, “deliverance and inner healing”, “healing of our memory”, or “emotional healing” being used, you know you’re dealing with psychobabble witchcraft, witches, warlocks, heresy, and a false ministry. Here’s the only thing you need to know about heart healing…..
 
1. ONLY God can heal a person’s heart (Psalms 147:3)
2. Jesus told us that the Father sent Him to “heal the brokenhearted” (Luke 4:18)
 

Case closed. Game over for the devil!

Given this truth, we know that no man or method can heal our hearts and anyone claiming such is a fraud. And, we know that we need to go directly to God Himself for the healing of our hearts.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” Luke 4:18

“Mental illness” has taken center stage as the primary excuse for SIN and for justifying evil. Psychology is a lie. There is no solution in it. Only Jesus can cure the curse of sin! He died to do just that! Reject Him and you are Satan’s property!

“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts 26:18

Any person who is not genuinely born again, washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, IS the property of Satan and under his evil control.

“He that is not with me is against me…” Matthew 12:30

So let me get this straight …. We know that for nearly 2,000 years there was no such thing as an “inner healing and deliverance ministry” or book/seminar on how to “heal the inner child” and so that means we are to believe that no one else before now could receive divine healing of their hearts, wounds? that would mean that God didn’t care for mankind, for His own people for nearly 2,000 years and that He left them without healing, wholeness. Delusional! Repent now and stop following false teachers.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly (carnal appetites’); and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Romans 16:17-18

Just as the Holy Spirit through Peter warned us, today there are many “false teachers” and “false prophets” who have made millions from this heretical racket, deceiving their prey into believing that they needed to buy their books and seminars to be made free, made whole.

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” 2 Peter 2:1-3

In these cultic camps, when “inner healing and deliverance” are spoken about, Christ is never elevated as the only Source of our healing – whether inward healing or otherwise. This alone reveals that those peddling this poisonous pabulum are false prophets who are making merchandise of the people, robbing them of a relationship with Christ and or their money. They are not preaching Christ and upholding Him as the sole “HEAD” of His body, His church – and this is exactly what Christ’s apostle Paul specifically warns us about:

“Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.” Colossians 2:18-19

It’s only by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we can be forgiven, redeemed, and made whole – spirit, soul, and body! AND, all we need to do is obey Jesus when He beckons us to “Come unto me…”

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

We are to go directly to Jesus, not man and his maligned methods and fabricated formulas.

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4-5

Our LORD Jesus warned us of this last hour:

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” Matthew 24:11

A sister in Christ name M’Kayla writes:

“Having been trained as a SOZO minister I know the dangers it presents first hand (Christianized inner healing with no basis in scripture.) 

I know there are many of you out there with questions and concerns. …Christ is sufficient for all our needs. Every one of them.”

Psychoheresy is the use of psychology where God has already spoken in His Word. It is using the very wisdom of men about which God has warned His people. Inner healing is a process through which someone goes in order to transform the effects of the past on the present. Inner healing involves finding painful memories of early life traumas thought to be buried in the unconscious. The inner healer guides people into reliving and recreating past events by imagining the presence of Jesus or some other significant faith figure. It is a reliving of the person’s past in his imagination. By replacing the memory of a past event with a new one, painful memories are claimed to be healed and one is supposedly set free from the grip of the past. Some of the elements of psychoheresy are used in inner healing. Therefore, inner healing is psychoheresy.

Individuals Involved

Agnes Sanford mothered the inner healing movement and directly or indirectly mentored many others. Best known followers of Sanford are Ruth Carter Stapleton, John and Paula Sandford (no relation to Agnes), Dennis and Rita Bennett, Francis MacNutt, Morton Kelsey, Richard Foster, David Seamonds, and John Wimber. Though some of the promoters are deceased, their books, which have sold millions of copies, are still a powerful influence in this movement. Moreover, these individuals have spawned thousands of other inner healers, perpetuating these teachings to millions of others. The past and present book sales testify to the popularity of this movement.

Errors of the Movement

There is a real, genuine, biblical healing and transformation of the inner person. But while one may call the Lord’s inner work “inner healing,” let us quickly add that among all the seminars, books, tapes, or workshops of which we are aware, we do not know one that is truly biblical and has not dipped into the broken cisterns of the wisdom of men about which the Bible warns believers. We would not recommend any of them because they represent a spiritually unholy combination of biblical, psychological, and even occult ideas.

Inner healing teachings often sound biblical at the beginning. Many of them even elevate excellent biblical principles, but all those with which we are acquainted eventually worship at the altars of psychology and the occult. While we cannot cover the whole spectrum of inner healing misteachings and heresies, we will discuss some of the serious errors that are common in psychoheresy.

The serious errors involve five psychological ideas, one of which is right out of the occult. John and Paula Sandford describe and summarize what Agnes Sanford was trying to do. They say:

She saw that ancient [past], unforgiven, forgotten sins [memory] buried in the heart [unconscious] could be manifested in unwanted, unseemly behaviors, which could be changed [emotion and imagery] if such sins were forgiven and the heart were cleansed.1

Two of the very important components often used in psychotherapy and in inner healing are those of the unconscious and the past. These two elements are found throughout the teachings of the inner healers. We will first discuss their use of these two psychological concepts and then deal with their dangerous and unbiblical use of memoryemotions, and imagery. These potentially perilous five psychological ideas are used by those involved in psychoheresy, which includes inner healers. Christians need to be wary of these five activities from psychoheresy wherever they are used. While this article focuses on the psychoheresy of inner healing, Christians will encounter these psychological elements elsewhere as well.

The Unconscious

Before Freud popularized the unconscious, we lived in an era of consciousness. The history of man until the nineteenth century was directed at conscious thought and action.2 Now we are in an era of the unconscious.

When inner healers use the word unconscious (and its equivalents), they use it in the Freudian sense, which is a specific mental state. The common meaning of the word unconscious is quite different from the Freudian unconscious. The unconscious, as a general term before Freud popularized it and even now, refers to the thoughts, memories, feelings, etc. of which we are not presently conscious. However, the Freudian unconscious is one in which these thoughts, memories, feelings, etc. determine one’s behavior. With this kind of unconscious, you do not do what you do or think what you think because of a conscious choice; you are driven by your unconscious.

Freud used the iceberg as his model of the unconscious. According to Freud, the entire iceberg represents the mind, and only the tip is fully accessible to the person. It includes all information and memories that are not accessible through recall, as well as present thoughts and mental activity. The huge mass beneath the waterline does not simply represent all that is presently outside conscious awareness; it supposedly contains all that drives, motivates, and determines behavior outside conscious volition. Psychologists Hilgard, Atkinson, and Atkinson point this out in their standard work on psychology.

Freud compared the human mind to an iceberg: the small part that shows above the surface of the water represents conscious experience, while the much larger mass below water level represents the unconscious—a storehouse of impulses, passions, and inaccessible memories that affect our thoughts and behavior.3

Agnes Sanford wrote:

But this much I do know: that this unseen part of me, whether submerged beneath the depths of my conscious self or rising above it, whether descending into hell or ascending into heaven, this also is myself. And if I am to be a whole person, this area of emanation or interpenetration must also be healed. I call this part of me the soul, or the “psyche.” I might instead say “the unconscious” or “the subconscious,” or “the deep mind” or the “spirit.”4

The inner healers use Freudian theory absent his name. All inner healers with which we are familiar use either the Freudian “unconscious” or some equivalent, absent the use of Freudian terms for the mind such as idego, and super ego. Inner healers’ favorite terms they use for the Freudian unconscious are subconsciousheartinner heart, and the inner child, or some variation of it, from psychiatrist W. Hugh Missildine and his book The Inner Child of the Past.

Biblical Basis for the Unconscious?

There is no biblical basis for the use of the unconscious. Freud stated that the unconscious is a place where all kinds of powerful drives and mysterious motivations cause people to do what they do. The implications of such a powerful seat of urges driving people to do all kinds of things flies in the face of God holding people responsible for their actions. If people look for unconscious reasons for their behavior, they can excuse all sorts of behavior. But, the idea of the unconscious as a hidden region of the mind with powerful needs and motivational energy is not supported by the Bible or science.

We are tremendously complex beings, but psychological explanations about the inner workings of the soul are merely speculation. The only accurate source of information about the heart, soul, mind, will, and emotions is the Bible. Not only is the Bible accurate; the Lord Himself knows and understands exactly what lies hidden beneath the surface of every person. He knows and He brings cleansing to those inner parts that we may never understand. David prayed:

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalms 139:23-24).

Teaching a Freudian concept of the unconscious is contrary to Scripture. Rather than relying on the Word of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit to search their hearts, inner healing victims will learn to rummage around in some kind of Freudian unconscious and remain focused on the self.

If you check all the usual Bible helps having to do with words and their meanings, you will not find one that equates the heart or any other word in the Bible with the Freudian unconscious. This is one of the many theological errors in the teachings of those who attempt to integrate psychology into Christianity. The Bible focuses on the conscious mind, not on the unconscious. We see this throughout the Bible. The Bible is not deterministic in a Freudian unconscious sense. Conscious behavior and volition are hallmarks of Scripture. For example, obeying the Great Commandment is a conscious choice. God’s Spirit dwells in our hearts by faith and transforms the inner man, but these are not equivalent to a so-called unconscious. God works in us through conscious cooperation and volition on our part. When we assign motivation and action to the unconscious mind we throw out responsibility.

Scientific Basis for the Unconscious?

There is no scientific support for the Freudian idea of the unconscious. E. M. Thornton, in her book, The Freudian Fallacy, says:

This book makes the heretical claim that [Freud’s] central postulate, the “unconscious mind,” does not exist, that his theories were baseless and aberrational, and, greatest impiety of all, that Freud himself, when he formulated them, was under the influence of a toxic drug [cocaine] with specific effects on the brain.5

University of California professor Richard Ofshe, with freelance journalist Ethan Watters, has written a book titled Therapy’s Delusions. The subtitle revealing the book’s content is The Myth of the Unconscious and the Exploitation of Today’s Walking Worried. In discussing “The fallacy of the Freudian Unconscious,” they say:

While it is clear that we all engage in out-of-awareness mental processes, the idea of the dynamic unconscious proposes a powerful shadow mind that, unknown to its host, willfully influences the most minor thought and behavior. There is no scientific evidence of this sort of purposeful unconscious, nor is there evidence that psychotherapists have special methods for laying bare our out-of-awareness mental processes. Nevertheless, the therapist’s claim to be able to expose and reshape the unconscious mind continues to be the seductive promise of many talk therapies.6

The Past

Just as there is a huge difference between the usual use of the term unconscious and that of the Freudian or deterministic unconscious, so too with the use of the past in inner healing. For inner healers, the past is not merely your early life experiences, but rather your early life experiences causing, determining, or driving your behavior. Freud postulated that a newborn will go through several “psychosexual stages of development.” He named them the oral (0-18 months), anal (18-36 months), phallic (3-5 years), and genital (through puberty). Freud believed that the first five years of life and how a person maneuvered through these stages determined the person’s life. Outdoing Freud, the Sandfords go further back into the prenatal period, as we shall show shortly.

Biblical Basis for the Use of the Past?

There is no biblical basis for the use of the past (past determinants of behavior). The Bible includes the past works of God in history, because we are to remember the works of God both individually and corporately. But, regarding the Christian walk, the cross took care of the past. The walk of the believer is to be according to the new life and is therefore present and future oriented. In Philippians 3 Paul gives his religious and personal background, on which he had depended for righteousness before God. But when confronted by Jesus he saw his own wretched sinfulness, not only that he had persecuted the church, but that he was sinful to the core. He knew he could not make himself righteous by going back into his past. Therefore he declared: “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” Phil. 3:13-14). This does not mean an inability to recall the past; it means that the past now has a different significance. Biblically speaking, attempting to fix the past is purely a fleshly activity, which when indulged in wars against the spirit.

A person need not be trapped in negative patterns of behavior established in the early years of life, for the Bible offers a new way of life. Put off the old man; put on the new. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again,” and He said elsewhere that new wine could not be put into old wineskins. Jesus offers new life and new beginnings. One who is born again has the spiritual capacity to overcome old ways and develop new ones through the action of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, and the sanctification of the believer. One wonders why so many have given up the hope of Christianity for the hopelessness of past determinism.

Scientific Basis for the Use of the Past?

There is no predictive validity to the relationship between early life circumstances and present life. If you want to test it out, examine 100, 200, 500 kids in preschool or at whatever point in early life. Give all the tests you want and then predict what the children will be like as adults. Even Freud knew better than this. He could be postdictive (look back to connect one’s early life with one’s present adult life), but never predictive (look ahead from a child’s present life to tell how his future life as an adult will be). Given an adult with a problem, a Freudian will then interview the person and tell him how his childhood determined his present life. It is obvious that there is no science involved in this, only guess work.

Orville Brim, Jr., of the Foundation for Child Development in New York, studied this question. “Most of Brim’s career has been devoted to charting the course of child development and its relation to adult personality; recently he has become convinced that ‘far from being programmed permanently by the age of 5, people are virtually reprogrammable throughout life.’” Brim says: “Hundred and hundreds of studies now document the fact of personality change in adulthood.”7

Jerome Kagen of Harvard and co-researcher Howard Moss say they “could find little relation between psychological qualities during the first three years of life—fearfulness, irritability, or activity—and any aspect of behavior in adulthood.”8

Victor and Mildred Goertzel investigated this fallacy of early life determinants. In their book Cradles of Eminence, they report on the early environments of over four hundred eminent men and women of the twentieth century who had experienced a wide variety of trials and tribulations during their childhood.9 It is surprising and even shocking to discover the environmental handicaps that have been overcome by individuals who should have been psychically determined failures according to Freudian formulas. Instead of being harmed by unfortunate early circumstances, they became outstanding in many different fields of endeavor and contributed much to mankind. What might have been environmental curses seemed to act, rather, as catalysts to spawn genius and creativity. This study is not an argument for poor upbringing; it is an argument against psychic determinism.

Early Life and En Utero Healing: One more dimension to the inner healing practices is that of believing that very early life and even en utero healings can take place. The inner healer encourages the person to imagine early life situations and even en utero situations. And then to imagine Jesus being in that situation ministering to them.

John and Paul Sandford say:

By revelation of the Holy Spirit, we have been led to pray for thousands of traumas en utero, treating those as factual. Dramatic results in mental, emotional, and physical healings, and transpersonal behavior testify to the reality of such en utero traumas.10

This all flies in opposition to the well-known, scientific fact that memory is related to the development of the hypocampus of the brain, which is fundamental to memory formation, and therefore such memories do not exist in the brain.

The Sandfords also say:

We have found under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and found that science confirms that a baby within the womb already knows, experiences, tastes and feels everything which is going on around him. He knows whether he is wanted. He knows what is going on in the family. He knows whether there are bickerings and fightings. He hears everything that is going on in the family and inside the womb already reacts in his spirit and can make sinful choices within his spirit before he ever gets out of the womb, having already set himself in rebellious, hurtful ways before he is born.11

The Sandfords claim that if a child is conceived out of wedlock the child knows it in the womb. If the mother thought about abortion, the child knows it. If the mother hoped for a boy and is carrying a girl, the child knows it. And how do they know all these things? According to the Sandfords, the Holy Spirit told them and their experiences confirmed it. In their attempt to biblically prove their outrageous statements, the Sandfords quote Luke 1:41, “And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.”

Using Bible verses out of context to support what they teach is typical of how the Sandfords twist Scripture to justify their inner healing tactics. Note that “the babe [John the Baptist] leaped in her [Elisabeth’s] womb” and that “Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.” This was a sovereign act of God that involved two persons, the “babe” (John the Baptist) and Elisabeth in response to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. Such a specific act of God cannot be used to prove anything generally about any other unborn child’s ability to know and experience what the Sandford’s claim. It is as unbiblical as saying that all pregnant mothers are “filled with the Holy Ghost” in the manner and for the purpose that Elisabeth was.

Luke 1:41 magnificently confirms the presence of the Messiah in Mary’s womb, and Elisabeth’s words in Luke 1:42-44, under the unction of the Holy Spirit, confirm that glorious truth. Luke 1:41 also foretells John the Baptist’s unique role to as the forerunner of Jesus. The words “the babe leaped in her womb” in verse 41 have been preceded with a great deal of information about the conception of both babies. In reference to the babe, John the Baptist, Luke 1:15 says: “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.” This is a unique prenatal event not found elsewhere in Scripture. Also, nothing is said in Luke 1 or in all of the Bible to which the Sandfords can refer that would support their fallacious claims that babes in the womb would have the knowledge and understanding that they assume.

To reduce this supernatural heralding of the Messiah to an ordinary occurrence due to some natural ability within all unborn children is to undermine Scripture and make it say what it does not mean. Indeed, to our knowledge, no one in the history of the church has given such an egregious application of verse 41. Inner healers major in eisegesis, which is interpreting Scripture with one’s own ideas, rather than explaining what the Bible is actually saying.

Summary

Therefore, we are not determined by our unconscious and we are not determined by our past. However, those two ingredients are essential to the inner healer and are fundamental to many psychoheresies. These ideas form the theoretical base for what inner healers and many counselors do. These erroneous notions from the cauldron of psychoheresy are both taught and believed by many Christians as they attempt to address problems of living. These two mental concepts (the unconscious and the past) are detrimental to the clear teachings of Scripture. They displace God’s Word as the final authority in areas of life and godliness. Christian, beware! Be wary and avoid such heretical teachings and practices, especially when used with the Bible as in Theophostic Prayer Ministry and other inner healing ministries.

In Parts Two and Three (next issues), we discuss three more ingredients of many psychoheresies that are also used in the inner healing movement. These are the use of memory, the emotions, and imagery. While the unconscious and the past are the essential ingredients of many psychoheresies; memory, emotions, and imagery are the added collaborative dangers of inner healing.

(PsychoHeresy Awareness Letter, January-February 2007, Vol. 15, No. 1)

Endnotes
1 John and Paula Sandford.

2 Henri F. Ellenberger. The Discovery of the Unconscious: The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry. New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers,

3 Ernest R. Hilgard, Rita L. Atkinson, Richard C. Atkinson. Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Inc., 1979, p. 389.

4 Agnes Sanford. The Healing Gifts of the Spirit. New York: Trumpet Books, 1966, p. 10.

5 E. M. Thornton. The Freudian Fallacy. Garden City, NY: The Dial Press/Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1984, p. ix.

6 Ethan Watters and Richard Ofshe. Therapy’s Delusions. New York: Scribner, 1999, pp. 38,39.

7 Carol Tavris, “Freedom to Change,” Prime Time, October 1980, p. 31.

Ibid., p. 32.

9 Victor and Mildred Goertzel. Cradles of Eminence. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1962.

10 John and Paula Sandford. Restoring the Christian Family. Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, p. 15.

11 John and Paula Sandford, “Healing the Prenatal Spirit,” sound recording

Richard Foster Exposed

Lance Wallnau Exposed

Deliverance Deceivers

Biblical Deliverance Prescription-Wholeness in Christ [podcast]

Upholding Jesus, the Only Head of His Body [podcast]

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Abiding

“Seven Women shall take hold of One Man” [podcast]


Two Types of Believers – the mere professor and the possessor.

God created us and sent His only begotten Son that we might know Him.

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3

THE POSSESSORS

“In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.” Isaiah 4:2

The LORD Jesus is “the branch … beautiful and glorious” shall He be and shall be His reign. One commentation of this passage is as follows:

“Isaiah 4:2
a    [In that day] In that day—the Millennium (Isa_4:1-6).
b    [branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious] Christ is the Branch of the Lord that shall be eternally “beautiful and glorious” in the Millennium and New Earth periods (Isa_9:6-7; Isa_11:1; Jer_23:5; Jer_33:15; Zec_3:8; Zec_6:12; Zec_14:1-9; Rev_11:15).
c    [fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely] The earth will be restored to normal fertility and productivity when Christ comes (Isa_35:1-7; Isa_58:11-12; Joe_2:21-27).
d    [escaped of Israel] A remnant of Israel shall escape the future tribulation and battle of Armageddon (Isa_4:2-3; Zech. 13:8-14:14; Mat_24:31; Mat_25:31-46).”

“Them that are escaped of Israel” refers to those who come out of her, that is, they come out from among the tares or counterfeits who merely profess to be serving God and yet aren’t, and therefore do not have the fruit to prove they are truly Christ’s (Titus 1:16; Matthew 3:7-10). Those who escape the judgment to come upon the hypocrites “take root downward, and bear fruit upward” and that means they are complying with Christ and being crucified, that is dead to the self-life, buried, and raised up by Christ, bearing fruit “UPward.” Here’s the whole verse: “And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward” (Isaiah 37:31).

Eternal resurrection blessings untold await those who are “accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:34-36).

The Branch of the Lord Glorified

“In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. 3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: 4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. 5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. 6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.” Isaiah 4:2-6

Only a remnant will remain. And Isaiah is saying here that God will bring these few through “…the spirit of judgment, and…the spirit of burning” (same verse, Isaiah 4:4). This great separation is coming.

The LORD is purifying a people for Himself. In Daniel we read:

Daniel 11:35  And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. 

Daniel 12:10  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 

Those who are truly Christ’s fellowship with other of His true disciples and also with elders who like Christ’s apostle Paul, jealously brood over God’s people, to protect them. They discern and gather with those who embrace and preach the original Gospel and expose those who preach and espouse “another Jesus … another spirit … another gospel.”

“For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” 2 Corinthians 11:2-4 

THE MERE PROFESSORS 

“They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” Titus 1:16

Please explain….What kind of relationship is based on the participation of only one of the parties? A non existent dying relationship. The eternal security heretics are self-serving. They could care less about Jesus but rather simply wish to use Him to get them out of Hell without any kind of a real and abiding, fruit-bearing vital union relationship with Him (John 15:1-16). Seems this is what the Holy Spirit is getting at when He led Isaiah the prophet to pen these words:

“And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” Isaiah 4:1 

In other words, “We want to use your name but don’t wish to have any kind of an intimate relationship with you.” Or, “We want the ring, the provision/money, the marriage, but we don’t want the commitment. We don’t want to be faithful to you! We want the crown but not the cross.”

And in the USA today, the woman can “get bored” and divorce her husband and get half of what he has and be grossly over-charged on “child support.” To further make the point, divorce lawyers inform us that when there is a prenup involved, the divorce rate goes down to nearly zero. hmmmm

THOUGH NEVER HEARD IN THE APOSTATE MODERN CHURCH WORLD, THE ORIGINAL GOSPEL INCLUDES….. from the Gospel of Luke

Only those who repent will be with Christ. Everyone else is going to hell irrevocably.

“Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3

The crucified life is a must, a condition for overcoming sin and being in Heaven instead of hell.

“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:27

You must forsake all to follow Jesus

“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33

You must lose your life to know and walk with Jesus and be in glory.

“Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” Luke 17:33

Christ’s “enemies” are those who don’t let Him reign over their lives.

“But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.” Luke 19:27

In this late hour we have so very many women who simply do not want to be unmarried and so they will deceptively manipulate their way into a marriage to a man they have no intention of being a virtuous God-fearing wife to. We also have so many who want to believe the notion that they are going to Heaven because they said a prayer way back, yet they want zero to do with truly following Jesus, the Great Bridegroom, daily. They want nothing to do with the cross, the crucified daily life, living a life of prayer, repenting as needed, being holy as He is holy, etc. No desire for commitment, for intimacy, for an intimate relationship. 

“And don’t we see this in today’s modern church world? They want Jesus to take away the reproach of their sin, but refuse to live according to His righteous ways. The continue wearing their religious garb, outer religiosity which is filthy rags, a mere ‘form of godliness.’ (2 Timothy 3:5) Counterfeits don’t want Christ to rule over them. On the day of His return they will expect to be invited into the marriage supper and yet will be rejected.” Karen Cochran

In like fashion, do we not have millions of church-attending counterfeits today who manifest no proof of knowing Jesus today? This was all prophesied of this last day. Read 2 Timothy 3:1-7. They have an “I go to church” mere “form of godliness” arrangement.

Many want the blessing and benefits of marriage but they don’t want the marriage commitment – and so they live in fornication. And, as was foretold of these final days before Christ’s return, there are so many who have a mere “form of godliness, but (are) denying the power (the authority) thereof” (2 Timothy 3:5). They do not want real commitment to the LORD because they are “lovers of their own selves … lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1-7).

Two verses before this revelation (4:1) the Scripture tells us of the men of Israel being killed off due to the wars:

“Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.” Isaiah 3:25 

While this is physically speaking of the loss of the men in Israel, there’s a deeper, a prophetic conveyance to us in this late hour – “They are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

“Seven women shall take hold of one man” – In other words these women described above wanted to be married to a man but they would do their own thing within that marriage arrangement. They didn’t want any responsibility to the man but rather just wanted the reproach of being an old maid removed from their lives. Mere professors are self-serving instead of Savior-serving.

The “seven women” spoken of here are like many today who merely want an arrangement with the Great Bridegroom yet don’t want the real relationship which involves the unreserved giving of oneself to the other party but rather simply want the benefit of the removal of the reproach, the scourge of being without that bridegroom/husband and the possibility of bearing fruit, children.  Like the five foolish virgins of Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins, these counterfeits refuse the responsibilities of a real relationship and therefore forfeit the virtue, the substance enjoyed by those who have a real relationship with the Bridegroom. This is a prophetic utterance concerning the church, the division between the wheat and the chaff, the tares in the last days where some were real and others had a mere “form of godliness.” Many today who were initially saved say in their hearts: “Thank You Jesus for saving me but I will live the rest of my life on my own terms, doing as I please. Don’t bother me with the cross, but I will be expecting the crown. I’ll do what I please and that’s why I simply want an arrangement and not a real marriage and the associated involvement.”  See Luke 6:46.

The false bride of Christ professes to know Him and yet they don’t want to commit to Him but they want Him to commit to them, to be that false Christ many preach today that keeps them even in their sin of fornication and spiritual idolatry. They want Christ to be faithful to keep them eternally secure yet they are not faithful to love, seek, worship, trust, walk with, abide in, and obey – as He requires!

“Isaiah 4:1 “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” These women want to use Jesus to keep them out of hell but don’t want a commitment. And don’t want to be faithful! They want to live as they please and take care of themselves. They only want the stain of sin removed from them. They want to be the bride of Christ with no responsibility. But they fully expect Him to take them with Him to live eternally.” Karen Cochran

OUR LORD is calling His people to daily present to Him their “bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1 

Notice how these seven arrangement “brides” say “We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel.” In other words, “We’ll make our own money and buy our own food and clothes”….. “We don’t need you too involved in our lives other than an occasional hook up, when it’s convenient.” ….. Yet unless we seek and ingest the bread of Heaven, the Word of God Himself and His Word, how can we be nourished, how can our vessels, our lamps be full of His divine virtue, the oil of His presence to make it to the bridal chamber of eternal glory in this dark, fallen world? See Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins which has never been more relevant than it is in this final hour before His return (Matthew 25:1-13).

Also, the mere professors, represented by the seven women here, say “We will … wear our own apparel” (Ephesians 5:25-27).

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” Revelation 19:7-9

The apparel of “fine linen” is only given to those who choose to engage in a genuine relationship with the Bridegroom, Jesus.

Of this “seven women shall take hold of one man” in Isaiah 4:1, David Wilkerson wrote:

“Scripture Always Refers to The Church in the Feminine Gender, in Many Cases As a Bride. The seven would-be brides Isaiah mentions are clearly a type of the characteristics of many in the last-days’ church. These seven would-be brides are seeking to lay hold of one man, whom I take to be Christ. Yet these brides are not interested in loving Him. On the contrary, they have only one thing on their minds – the removal of their reproach! ‘We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach’ (verse 1). I see here seven women approaching a man and saying, ‘You don’t have to provide food for us. We’ll take care of our own bread. And you don’t have to provide any clothes for us. We’ll provide our own robes… Sure, these women want to be the bride of Christ – but only on their own terms. They want an arrangement without intimacy, love or devotion. The number seven is used in regard to these brides to remind us that in every church system there are such people. They attempt to ‘take hold of one man’ – Christ – only to get relief from the guilt and condemnation of their sin. They don’t want intimacy with Him. They want nothing more than forgiveness – to have the reproach of sin removed. I call this the church of forgiveness only.'”

Today those with a mere outward “form of godliness” who are “lovers of their own selves” and “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” refuse to “endure (hold themselves accountable to obey) sound doctrine” but rather want “smooth things” (Isaiah 30:9-10; 2 Timothy 4:2-4). This seems to be what is prophetically conveyed here through the prophet Isaiah for these last times. Paul foretold of these “last days” where he says “perilous times shall come” and as we know, are here now.

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come

2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 

3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 

4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God

5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 

6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 

7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”  

John Wesley on Isaiah 4:1:

“In that day – In that calamitous time. Seven – Many. A certain number for an uncertain. One man – Because few men shall survive that dreadful stroke. Only – Own us for thy wives. Our reproach – Virginity was esteemed a reproach; children, the usual fruit of marriage, being both an honour to their parents, and a blessing of God, especially to that people, from some of whose loins the Messiah was to spring.”

Ignoring the inconvenient truth concerning readiness for Christ’s return will bring irrevocable damnation! (Read Mark 4:17-19; 1 John 2:15-17.) Hell is right now filled with those who ignored the warning signs. While on earth they refused to stop their life and look upward to their Maker, to make things right with Him. When He drew them they snubbed Him, relishing their darkness rather than His light and love (John 3:19-21).

“When Jesus came to the Earth the first time, His people were completely unprepared and did not recognize their Messiah was with them. But there were wise men who did recognize that He was here. They were not wise because of their intellect. They were wise because they were watching and paying attention to the signs of the times. Jesus then told us His second return would be met with both wise and foolish brides. The difference between the two is the wise are prepared and are waiting and watching. The foolish are paying no attention at all and are caught up living their best life now. Out of ten, Jesus said five are wise and five are foolish. That would mean half of the church today is completely unprepared. So ask yourself a question, ‘Am I being wise or am I being foolish?’ Because there are consequences for our actions.” Frank Telford

Make no mistake, The Great Bridegroom of Heaven is not coming back for a lukewarm, and uninvolved, a casual-love Bride who only want the reproach of their sin removed yet don’t want to give themselves to the Great Bridegroom. He’s not returning for those who treat Him like a second class citizen, a mere hobby, casually getting around to communing with Him. No, the Son of God from Heaven is coming out of the eastern sky for His bride – those wise virgin saints who are in love with Him, who daily attend unto Him, sitting at His feet to learn of Him.

DOOR SHUT IN FACE: Distinguishing between the wise and foolish virgins is quite simple. Those who seek God in His Word are the wise and all others are the foolish – upon whom the door of the Bridegroom shall be shut (Matthew 25:1-13). Anyone whom Christ has previously saved who is not nourishing his spirit in the Word daily, has already backslidden and is not prepared to meet Christ.

The vast majority of those falsely claiming to be saved have no heart for the Word of God and no fruit to demonstrate, to prove they are truly following Jesus – on His stated terms which begins with the crucified life (Luke 9:23-24). They don’t have time for God because in truth, many of these have never repented, truly. Their life is all about themselves and all their stupid trinkets they are adulterously choosing over Christ. Make no mistake: they are as sure for eternal damnation as if they were already there (Mark 4:17-19; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15; Revelation 2:4-5; 3:15-16, etc.).

YOU keep it, guard it, till it, fill it with the Word, etc.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23

It’s your personal responsibility to keep your heart perfect before the LORD (Psalms 34:18; 51:17; Matthew 5:6, etc.). Praying Psalm 51 is a great place to camp. Oh yes JESUS! Do Your purifying work in us, Your people. I love You dear LORD Jesus!

JESUS says to those saved that they must “endure to the end,” they must “abide” which means to remain, to continue (Matthew 10:22; 24:13; John 15:6). Jesus says that those who do not “abide” with Him will be cast into the fire and He is specifically speaking to those who are in Him (John 15:1-6). Scripture teaches initial and final salvation throughout, including the parable of the ten virgins where all ten were engaged to the bridegroom (Jesus), and yet only five made it into the bridal chamber of eternal glory and the other five were shut out (Matthew 25:1-13). God put conditions on His gift – initial and perpetual. The man who gets engaged to a woman who then begins consorting with other men, would be a fool to still marry her. The Son of God who is the Bridegroom of Heaven would never marry a whore – nor remain married to an adulterous woman (Revelation 19:7-10; Ephesians 5:25-27).

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” 2 Corinthians 13:5

So God wants a bride that is not engaged in participating with Him in a relationship, doing His kingdom work? Not.

More light flooding into our hearts is needed perpetually… “The entrance of thy word giveth light” (Psalms 119:130). Think and declare: “I am a wise virgin believer who is eagerly anticipating the coming of my Bridegroom from Heaven” (Matthew 25:1-13; Revelation 19:7-10). ALL who got saved in the past and yet are not devouring God’s Word daily, are of the foolish virgins and will be irrevocably shut out of the eternal kingdom of Christ. Get in the Word or perish. You CANNOT sustain a life with Christ without the daily fuel of His Word. Obey Him or you prove you do not love Jesus (John 14:21). Talk is cheap (1 John 3:18).

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Apostasy

“Warn them from Me”: The 3 Things Paul did to Protect God’s People [podcast]

The 3 Things Paul did to Protect God’s People [podcast]


Jesus and His holy apostles often rebuked and exposed false leaders and false doctrine (Matthew 23; Acts 13:10; 20:29-31; Galatians 5:11-12; 2 Timothy 4:2-4; 2 Peter 2; 2 John 7-11; Revelation 2:6, 15, etc.). Therefore we know that part of following Jesus includes doing the same. In fact, the body of Christ is mandated to do just that (Romans 16:17-18; Philippians 1:17; Jude 3-4).

PWT = Preach, WARN, Teach

“Whom we PREACH, WARNING every man, and TEACHING every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:” Colossians 1:28

Did you catch what the apostle Paul did to prepare the church to meet Christ?

  • Preach
  • WARN
  • Teach

Any man not guarding, not protecting Christ’s flock, by warning of false teachers and false doctrine, is himself a wolf!

Simply put, it doesn’t matter what you think: The LORD has commanded that Satan’s ministers, his human emissaries, be exposed. Time to shut up and obey! (2 Corinthians 11:12-15)

Lest someone think that warning is a cover for slander, let’s address that.

There is a difference between warning and slander. Warning is to be distinguished from slander. William Penn said it correctly when he recorded these words of wisdom:

“Believe nothing against another but on good authority; and never report what may hurt another, unless it be a greater hurt to some other to conceal it.” ~William Penn

The love of God in us will compel us to warn. Firstly this is done in obedience to the LORD and for the protection and care of those being warned. Warning is divinely mandated in order to protect His beloved sheep.

2 Corinthians 5:9-11, 14-21

“Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 11  Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. … 14 For the love of Christ constraineth (compels) us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15  And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. 16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

“The Apostle had arrived at the deliberate conclusion and judgment that the ‘all’ who realized what Christ had done for them (and he among them) must live with as much devotion toward Him as others toward themselves. A new world had been opened by Christ’s resurrection. All things had become new. Let us live in daily touch with that world of faith and glory, refusing to be judged by the old standards. It is clear that the reconciliation of the world is as complete as God can make it, but it is for us to urge men to fall in with and accept God’s proposals.” FB Meyer

“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we the more earnestly persuade men to seek his favour; and as God knoweth this, so, I trust, ye know it in your own consciences.” John Wesley

It’s a blessing to be humbled, to be brought low. Sometimes we need to be embarrassed (Proverbs 6:23). There’s a place for it. Paul openly rebuked Peter publicly (Galatians 2). That wound worked to the glory of God and the eternal good of Peter.

“For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:” Romans 6:23 

Keep in mind that each one of us are at times in need of being admonished, corrected, or even rebuked…. it’s “the way of life” as long as we are in this world and it’s out of the love of our God and for our own eternal good.

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Revelation 3:19

Did God command us to warn the wicked?

Ezekiel 3:7 “Warn them from me.”

“So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and WARN THEM FROM ME.” Ezekiel 33:7

What would you think of the father who lived on a busy street and refused to warn his children to stay away from that street?

“Whom we PREACH, WARNing every man, and TEACHing every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:” Colossians 1:28

Were Jesus, His prophets, and apostles trying to harm the body of Christ when they often warned of and exposed wolves and their false teachings by name? No, he sought to get the cancer out of the body of Christ so it couldn’t spread (Romans 16:17-18, etc.). Beware of the wolf defenders who refuse to believe the wolves they follow are antichrist enemies of the LORD (2 John 10-11).

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Isaiah 58:1

Most warnings in God’s Word are to the backslidden – those who after being Christ’s, have departed from the faith – and also the counterfeits who have a mere form of godliness.

Jesus says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

Isaiah 59

“Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 3  For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. 4  None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.”

“Thy prophets (leaders) have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered (uncovered) thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity (bondage); but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.” Lamentation 2:14

God instructed us to “mark” false leaders. Jesus is the Great Shepherd of the sheep and intends for them to be protected from being lured away (Hebrews 13:20; Romans 16:17-18).

“Christians do not judge the world. Christians must judge those who SAY they live for Christ. Wolves will not spare the flock where pretenders go unchallenged/unjudged.” Robert Lorne

Paul had the heart of the Savior as we should. He cried “with tears” for three years day and night over the protection of Jesus’ sheep and said He gave them all the counsel of God, not just some of it, to protect them (Acts 20:20-32).

Ignoring and deciding we are going to selectively pick out what we want to preach and reject the rest that WE don’t like is anything but the cross. This reveals the heart of a self-serving tare. A person truly in the cross says LORD, “NOT my will but thine be done,” and not “I’ll decide for myself what I’m going to preach” (Luke 22:42).

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them.” Ephesians 5:11

After promising that we are His and we shall be persecuted as He was, then our LORD informs us that He is going to expose darkness and that we are to be a part of this process as we stand and speak His His light of truth into the darkness of our day. And to fear not anyone except Him (v 26-28).

“Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:26-28 

Jesus instructed us to know that He will bring all darkness, every dark deed and evil doer into the light (v26), and told us to shout it, to expose it to all from the housetops (v27), and to do so fearlessly as concerns mere sinful men – the guilty ones who will persecute you for exposing them (v28).

How are we to warn them? what is to be our disposition in warning others as the LORD commanded? One thing we should keep in mind is that God wants us dealing biblically – with the desire to restore – and without personal wrath (Galatians 6:1-2).

“For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” James 1:20

It’s a scary thing to NOT warn the wicked….

“When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to WARN the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.” Ezekiel 3:18

“And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” Jude 22-23

Read these 2 verses closely. Notice how if you die in sin – no matter what your past relationship with God was – you are going to hell irrevocably. Enduring to the end of your life on earth with Christ, in an abiding relationship, is essential to eternal glory. Summation: The LORD judges people on their spiritual state at the moment of death. Share. Repent now heretic. 

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Articles

Overcoming that Old Serpent, Called the Devil, and Satan [podcast]



“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:9

“That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” never left the garden of God’s creation and he won’t till Jesus slam dunks him into the bottomless pit (Genesis 3; Revelation 12; 20). He must be overcome “by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11). God is able. Satan 

“He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.” Ecclesiastes 10:8

“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:1-7

In the scope of past, present, and future history – HIS-story – nothing is over till Jesus wins!

“For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. … 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:25-26, 57

The Cross

Personally I was not blessed to begin seeing our LORD’s victory in my personal life until Jesus’ cross message began to seep into my heart, thoughts and mind.

The record of Holy Scripture assures us that our LORD Jesus conquered sin, death, hell, and Satan (1 John 3:8). But how? He overcome by the cross.

Jesus conquered sin and death by dying.

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;” Hebrews 2:14

If this is the first time you are hearing this truth, don’t be ashamed. It’s new to all of us due to the original Gospel message of the cross has been lost among most who claim Christ. | The Cross 

Camping out on the message of the cross will assure you are quickened to “seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.” (1 Chronicles 16:11) Keeping thine eyes and heart upon His cross message will hasten you to Him, to His cross, to the death of self that Christ might raise you upward in His holy power and glory.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn (grain, seed) of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. 26  If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” John 12:24-26

The cross truly is a “Let go and let God” economy, experience – crying, declaring “Jesus You MUST increase but I MUST decrease!”

As the apostle Paul discovered, you are NOT sufficient and yet His grace is sufficient for your life in Him.

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

PRAYER: Father, please grant me eye salve to see Your holy truth and the many wolves that now are disguised in sheep’s clothing and leading many to hell. Help me, Jesus! Knowing my utter poverty of spirit, I this moment turn afresh to You fully, asking You to have mercy on me and wash away all my sins. Grant the eyes of my heart discernment as only You can, as I walk closely with You. I choose this day to deny my own self-will and desires and ask You to consume me with Your wisdom, power, and grace. LORD Jesus, please bless me to know You intimately. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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