Thursday, April 26, 2012

Dear ones,
We are happy to announce the upcoming "COOPERATING WITH HEAVEN INTERCESSORY PRAYER SEMINAR" to be conducted by Dr. Tamara Winslow on June 29-July 1st at the BIBLES FOR THE WORLD CHAPEL 1105 Garden Of The Gods Rd, Colorado Springs, CO. 80907. Dr. Winslow has written thousands of pages of curriculum pertaining to prayer and intercession and sees the need to share some of this material as relevent to the times in which we live. If you decide to attend you will be deeply touched and impacted and helped with your own personal prayer and intercessory walk. Having had over 30 years of international ministry experience, as well as having been involved in intercessory prayer activities in many nations throughout those years, her personal insights and experience will be of help to anyone wanting to learn how to connect with Heaven for such a time as this.
The seminar costs $150 per person for the three days that covers the expense of tuition, curriculum and snacks. If you attend you are responsible for your own lodging, transportation and meals. There are good hotels and restaurants nearby, some within walking distance. If you cannot attend, please be praying for this significant event.
The schedule will be as follows
June 29th at 11 a.m for registration
Seminar classes begin at 
                    1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Classes resume at 
                    7 p.m.- 9 p.m.



June 30th-
Class 10 a.m. - 12 noon
          1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Classes resume at 
          7 p.m.- 9 p.m.

July 1st-
           Class 10 a.m. - 12 noon
             2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

This unique seminar will include lots of practical application, in-depth original curriculum and worship. Registration forms may be found on the www.tamarawinslow.com website.
Registration cost is $150 per person. Registrations must be in by June 21st.
If you are unable to attend, please pray with us for this significant time. We hope to see you there.
Thank you

THE PIT OF FALSE HOPE AND WORDS OF GOOD INTENTIONS

Ezek 13:3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. 5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. 7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken? 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD. 9 And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. 10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter: 11 Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. 12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it. 14 So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 15 Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it; 16 To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.KJV

The Bible reveals that there are several different categories of prophets, not excluding spiritual mindedness equivalent to a prophetic life, because of the new birth. Therefore, there are genuine prophets, immature prophets (sons of the prophets-untested), intentional false prophets- those who intentionally prophecy things they know aren't true, false prophets who unintentionally speak out of their own deceptions, and false prophets who prophecy things out of their own spirit or ideas without the word of the Lord. Much could be said about each type. However, from my experience, accompanied by a large number of biblical references, I think the most dangerous type of false prophet is the one who prophesies out of his or her own spirit or ideas and tags the saying "thus says the Lord" onto the false prophetic word.

My reason for saying this is derived from several factors that I see affecting the believer today. We're living in a time when people are desperate. They're seeking for comforts, encouragement and hope in a time where everything about them is being tested and shaken. This condition can be both good and bad. It can be good because such desperation can push you into prayer to seek God, where you can discover His actual word for your situation, and deal with un-repented sin as well as identifying the areas of your life where things need to change. On the other hand, desperation can also make an individual naively vulnerable to false hope and temporary comfort. Desperate people often tend to believe anything they hear that eases their pain without testing it.

I am becoming increasingly concerned about what are being touted as "prophetic words and declarations", made in the name of the Lord, and which are so extremely generalized that they never cause the listening individual to deal with the reasons behind his or her conditions of misery. The problem is, when well-meaning "prophets", or believers so inclined, generalize and write or speak what could be interpreted as large and supposedly encouraging words and declarations from God, the messages often produce a false hope and shallow understanding of what personal responsibility is in God. In an attempt to ease people's pain, encourage them and make them feel better about God and themselves, these "pillow prophets" produce words that may literally sweep very real problems and sins under a carpet of temporary peace and make it sound like God is saying something specifically to the individual when in fact is is a general word, ignorant of the false hopes and problems caused.

Ezekiel addressed this when he wrote about a certain group of false prophets in Ezekiel 13. He stated that these false prophets prophesy, "Peace, peace", when in actuality, there were deep problems God wanted to deal with.We're living in very similar times.

My reason for writing this at this time is that I've been reading quite a wide variety of prophetic statements, declarations and decrees for a number of months now and I am bothered by the generalized words being made without consideration to the fact that people listen to what makes them comfortable, yet are ignorant of their individual conditions. Let me give you an example.

Many years ago, I knew of a man in the ministry who fell into the get-rich-quick pitfall and as a result seduced numerous people into his scheme, borrowing hundreds of thousands of dollars from them to support his vision. His plan fell through and the people lost their money. Then in the end of this, a so-called prophet visited a church where that man in ministry visited. The so-called prophet prophesied one of these generalized prophecies that endorsed the man's error. The man in ministry left the service feeling vindicated in his seduction and the rest of the people who heard it felt frustrated because how could they resist a word from the Lord. But where was the wisdom to test this error? It didn't happen.

We must be very wise in this day and age. We must seek God, discern, test and be slow to move on generalized words that dismiss holiness, personal responsibility and temporary comforts. They emerge out of a desire to comfort and encourage, but are not the genuine word of the Lord to the individual. They therefore create false hope. Real hope is only found in Jesus, in a personal relationship and developed prayer life. I weary of all the false hopes I see being promoted in the Church and society at large.My spirit is aching for the genuine word of the Lord that is consistent with all of His character, not just selective portions. Whenever a decree, declaration or encouraging general word comes into your life, and the individual speaking it makes it sound as if it is the absolute truth and word for you, take a step back and pray. It might be producing a false hope that later will further break your heart. Get His word in Truth for yourself through His Word, devotional prayer and consistent seeking His face. Let's stop settling for the good intentions of others and find out what God really wants to say to us personally !

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

THE AMERICAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Something happened in the seminar last week that reminded me of how much God cares about the little/ big desires we each have. 

A few weeks back when I was planning the menu I had the strong inward witness to buy the amazing chocolate layer cake at Costcos. Now I know that most of you know I like chocolate, and truthfully, that was part of my reasoning. But, I honestly sensed a genuine leading to purchase this cake for the students of the seminar. I don't normally buy such an expensive dessert, and even after considering the already tight budget, I still knew I had to get it. Furthermore, I wasn't sure if they would like it, but I've learned not to ignore these impressions. So later on in the week, as one of the students, on sabbatical leave from South Africa, was eating her piece of cake, she happened to mention that she'd told her friends back in South Africa that when she came to the United States she would make sure she had a piece of American Chocolate Cake. Truthfully, I nearly burst into tears after hearing her say this, because when I bought the cake I happened to notice it was called The American Chocolate Cake. I then realized that God had heard her desire and met it literally. I still choke up when I think of this because it brought such a deep assurance that I had truly been led by the Lord. It was not coincidence. But more so, He honestly cared about this little thing, which was to her a big thing, and met that heartfelt desire. 

In the future when I'm tempted to forget He cares about little things, I will also think of the American Chocolate Cake. What a touching event.

Monday, April 23, 2012

SEMINAR BRIEFING

The CALLED INTO HIS PRESENCE PRAISE AND WORSHIP SEMINAR is now a memory. The students returned to their distant homes on Saturday, after an intense, but very fulfilling, 5 days of classes. For me, the past two weeks proved to be a very busy time getting food ready, readying the 470 pages of notes, prepping for the unique praise sessions and making sure everything was in place. There were several times when the Glory of God's presence was so thick it could be felt through the entire building and the only appropriate place to be was prostrate on the floor.
 
Due to this past schedule, I was unable to do any new posts on this blog, but I am hopefully now  back to a somewhat more normal schedule. There were over 20 plus teachings, most of which were recorded and I hope to soon edit so others can listen to these messages as well such as THE UNEXPECTED ARROW, THE FEAR OF THE LORD, AN ENEMY OF PRAISE-MURMURRING, REPENTANCE FROM DEAD WORKS and more. Some really good stuff came out. Thank you to the students and staff who made it possible to teach this. Nicole, Jeanne, Klaudia, Iberia, Holly, Jennifer and famous gluten free cookie maker- Julia. I have to admit, my dogs are happy I'm home now. Back to blogging soon!

Friday, April 13, 2012

HAVE YOU BEEN UNWITTINGLY INITIATED?

2 Tim 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. KJV

It shouldn't surprise us when we see people, including believers, more attracted and infatuated with fables than the Truth of God! It's a sign of the Last Days folks!  What's more, the word fables, as translated from the Greek word "Muthos",  is literally defined as fiction, myths, tales and stories. This word "muthos " is derived from two other Greek words that refer to a form of instruction that initiates the one pursuing it, or caught up into it, enticing that individual with secrets or mysteries from the kingdom of darkness. Furthermore, these fables are often influenced by some unseen spiritual force, generally demonic in nature, camouflaged by any sort of fictional plot that, even poorly written, attacks the carnal appetites for fictionalised and romanticised adventure, lust, and death.

Paul's letter to Timothy warns how both the saved and unsaved will prefer ideas that seduce them away from the genuine truth of God's Word, doctrine and spirituality, being designed to ensnare them with unseen spiritual, and often demonic dynamics. In other words, Satan is looking for initiates into his mysteries.

I am therefore not surprised when I hear of Christians caught up into even poorly written tales that masquerade as difficult to support, godly metaphors, while often dancing around various themes of death.  Furthermore, the more that a believer embraces myths over truth, the more that he or she settles for a feeling and intellectual expression of living, ignorant that the very real powers of darkness cackle in their victory.

Have we become so entertainment-driven and spiritually shallow that we feel we should to turn away from what is genuine  truth to those things that contradict the stability and life God desires to give us through intimate relationship with Him? I believer that many saints are guilty of that very thing. I am weary of the superficial and stupid excuses for tolerating and reasoning away the affect of  the lies bombarding our lives and the Church. I'm burdened for the souls who poo-poo the gradual seductive severity of this end times symptom and pray you won't allow your heart to be ensnared by some of the most recent poorly-written secular books and the movies they've generated that are capturing the minds and hearts of unwitting believers. In years past, if these, myths stood alone under scrutiny, without the invisible devilish reinforcements behind them, I honestly believe they wouldn't be of any interest to the educated and discerning individual. But we are living in a time when we try to be nice to the devil  without even realizing we are doing it. Moreover, until a Fear of God meters our carnal appetites, we will see this increasing myth-seeking drive overtake many believers.

Guard your heart in what you read, see and hear.  You have no idea how dangerous this time is and how you could be being initiated into satanic mysteries!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

THE MANY TYPES OF CONSCIENCE

Over the course of several months these articles have been focusing on the pursuit of truth, then branching out into how we discover the truths of God's Kingdom, gradually taking on the numerous ways God reveals His truths. We've learned that God also speaks through His Spirit of Truth in a variety of ways. Nonetheless, I believe one of the most crucial avenues that the Spirit uses to communicate truth to the inner man of the believer is seldom considered let alone understood: that being the human conscience. My last post described the various stages of development of conscience, but in this article I want to take a serious look at the types of consciences identified in Scripture and how they influence how we learn truth through His Spirit. So let's begin. 

As we've already seen, every human being owns a conscience, even though the condition of that conscience will vary widely from person to person, saved to unsaved, nation-to-nation and generation-to-generation. In addition to that, these conditions of conscience are all generally discerned and function according to whether that people fears God or not. Furthermore, there are also corporate consciences, pertaining to nations, people groups, families, churches, ministries, businesses and cultures.

The Bible specifically identifies and names numerous godly and ungodly conditions of conscience. Consequently, if you can determine if the conscience that you're examining fears God, or not, you can generally discern which way that person or group will go or what they will decide. Furthermore, probably much to your surprise, the conscience of an unsaved individual, nation and generation can still possess a type of the fear of the Lord, although it won’t generally practice the proper perspective, since the fall of man still hinders a true understanding of the message. Its good to remember that Romans 2:15 specifically states that the laws of God have been inscribed in the conscience of humankind. This being that way helps us to understand  the reason that sometimes the unsaved will behave more righteously than the saved, because their conscience, although fallen, has retained the spiritual principles necessary to right and wrong choices.

The human being was first and intentionally fashioned in the likeness of God, and even though that original semblance is horribly stained, spiritually dead, and principally forgotten, the human spirit still remembers God. The human spirit, or in this case, the conscience, must be awakened through the new birth and trained.              

Rom 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. (KJV)

The conditions of the conscience identified in the Bible are as follows. The Godly conditions I have listed below result according to the degree of the revelation of the Fear of the Lord. In most cases, this condition of conscience exists primarily in the believer, however, it may also exist to some extent in unsaved individuals who choose to live a life of forgiveness. In order to understand how God uses the fear of the Lord, we need to examine the condition of the conscience in a general overview.

LIST OF CONSCIENCE IN A GODLY CONDITION WITH BIBLCAL REFERENCES 
1. Good conscience- Acts 23:1,1Tim 1:5, Heb 13:18,1 Pet 3:16,21
2. Conscience Void of offense- Acts 24:16
3. Pure conscience- 1 Tim 3:9; 2 Tim 1:3
4. Perfect conscience- Heb 9:9-10
5. Conscience cleansed by the Blood of Jesus- Heb 9:14
LIST OF TYPES OF THE UNGODLY CONSCIENCES WITH BIBLICAL REFERENCES AND STUDY

 1. Weak
2. Defiled
3. Polluted by dead religious works
4. Wounded
5. Evil
6. Seared.
Each of these words identify types of consciences possessed by both saved and unsaved individuals. Let’s take a look at each type.
 A conscience is considered ungodly, or also unhealthy, when it is described as-

A CONSCIENCE AFFECTED BY DEAD WORKS

Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (KJV)
Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:  (KJV)

 True spiritual service requires a right understanding of the fearing God and being able to hear what the Spirit of Truth desires for you to do. Without these principles, the acts are dead, no matter how religious or seemingly helpful.  And, regrettably the conscience suffers damage by the lack of Spirit-led instruction and fearing God. There is nothing any one of us can do to earn God’s acceptance. Grace, therefore, is the only means whereby genuine approval  comes. Therefore, every spiritually-lead action must originate from the Holy Spirit, and coordinately umpired by the motivation of fearing God. Individuals who do not possess these motivating factors operate from a performance basis and corrupt their conscience making it difficult for them to accurately hear the Spirit of truth. One of the reasons that Jesus shed His blood was for the purpose of purifying the conscience, so that life could be governed by the truths of His Kingdom according to the Fear of the Lord. Sadly, this type of conscience ought not to be present in the Church, and yet, it is by far one of the primary reasons so many believers have difficulty hearing the Lord and advancing in spiritual growth. Only an understanding of the message on fearing God and revelation on the power of the Blood can correct this disability.               

The WEAK, DISABLED CONSCIENCE
               
 The weak or disabled conscience is one that has no power or strength. (1 Cor.8: 11) This condition of weakness radically restrains and ultimately cripples the human will. A person with a weak or disabled conscience is unable to make godly choices and can’t sustain decisions when holiness is required. Therefore, if the Spirit of Truth witnesses to their inner man, concerning what is right, they will become double minded. In other words, they vacillate. In most cases, such persons have never heard the unadulterated Biblical truths, or they learned legalism, or even more commonly, a mixture of both so they don't know what to believe or do. Surrounded by morals contrary to godliness, their conscience often  doesn’t develop in a healthy manner. So their will is passive and they fail in following the inward witness of the Holy Spirit.

Various influences, such as parents who train or don’t train the fear of the Lord properly, as well as education, family, entertainment, friendships and twisted Christian doctrine influenced by humanism, all play a major role in the lack of the healthy development of conscience. The filters I described for interpreting truth earlier in the articles about truth take their residence in the conscience. Consequently, people possessing a weak conscience,  tend to absorb a mixture of truths, philosophies and opinions, eventually resulting in some form of compromise. Additionally, in some situations, harmful physical stimuli or chemicals, such as the pre-birth reception of alcohol or dangerous drugs, damage the person’s physical ability to practically connect with their conscience, and the conscience is also disabled. For example: Fetuses exposed to crack, known as “crack babies,” or carried by alcoholic mothers,  resulting in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, become defenseless victims and are generally owners of a weak conscience.  Social workers dealing with such young ones say of them when trying to teach them appropriate and moral behaviors that, "they just “don’t get it” when they’ve done something wrong. If correction comes, they simply don’t understand, often taking the correction as condemnation or legalism.

A weak conscience is defined as literally, figuratively or morally feeble, impotent or sick. Individuals owning such a conscience demonstrate passivity in mind and will. Paul, the apostle, addressed the jumbled faith of the Corinthian believers when he attempted to alert them to use wisdom when interacting with individuals who demonstrated a weak conscience. Problems had evidently occurred and people were offended when the Corinthian believers shared meals with idolaters and had to decide whether to eat the meats, previously sacrificed to idols, served them. It would seem this was a significant problem. Corinth was a city dominated by the influence of immoral idolatry, tolerance for multiple religions and Hellenism. The conscience of the new believers and non-believers alike was sick. The fear of the Lord, as in respecting the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, was an unheard of concept, and had yet to be developed. Furthermore, the compromising situations faced by the saints of Corinth were very similar to what is faced in society, family and Church today. So we in fact may be facing a weak conscience in our society and Church alike.

WOUNDED OR VIOLATED CONSCIENCE
               
1 Corinthians 8:6-12 goes on to say that a weak conscience may become wounded or abusively violated, if certain considerations are not taken when dealing with the weak conscience.

A wounded conscience, as defined by the Greek word translated for wound, means to thump or pummel something with repeated blows resulting in offence or unjust punishment. A weak conscience becomes wounded when stronger-willed people, or even Christian individuals, in the case of this Biblical passage, repetitively beat down the already weak will of another, by denying the weaker individual the right of standing up for what they believe to be true, or according to conscience. It generally occurs when someone is forced to do something, be something or yield to something that he or she feels is wrong, not being allowed the right to maintain personal choice and individuality. Persons who’ve experienced such abuse have difficulty in personally recognizing God’s voice. They often feel an unidentified anger or grief from the unresolved and buried conflict, and struggle with what they can't name. In most cases, the violated individual will deny that he or she has been hurt, in order to protect the person who broke them. This occurs in all sorts of situations and environments, even Christian circles. Revelations 2:6,15 cites the example of the Nicolatians, whose name is defined as  “conquering the laity”. God hates the doctrine of the Nicolatians, because it ignores individuality in favor of the absolute command of the leadership. This condition occurs when strong individuals break down the will of those incapable of standing up for themselves, and affects persons whose conscience is weak, wounding them by causing unnecessary offenses through being restrained and broken. Bear in mind that some people will be offended no matter what condition their conscience is, and often, because they have no respect for decisions of the leadership. But this is not the case in connection with this condition of conscience. The roots for this doctrine originate in an ancient ruler named Nimrod, the founder of ancient Babylon and one whose influence affects dictatorial leaders throughout history. Nimrod, whose name means rebellion, was said to be a mighty hunter before the Lord in Gen. 10:6-14. Various theological scholars all state that the most accurate translation of this passage is that Nimrod was a mighty hunter of men. One of the points made in Matthew Henry’s commentary on Gen 10:6-14 state that Nimrod gathered men under his command, in order to make himself master of the country, and to bring the people into subjection by violently invading their properties and rights, persecuting the innocent, and taking everything before him by forceful hostility. The Septuagint states that he was a mighty hunter against the Lord. Therefore, the practice of wounding a conscience is not new.

The wounded conscience originates with an inconsiderate, dominating mindset, stemming from the ancient founder of Babylon. This condition of conscience is undoubtedly going to increasingly reappear as the Last Day's manifestation of Babylon reemerges in the earth. We need to take serious heed to this, lest we participate with it’s scheme and wound the conscience of those we encounter as weak in the faith.

1 Cor 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. 7  Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. 8  But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. 9  But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. 10   For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; 11  And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. (KJV)
Revelation 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. (KJV)
Revelation 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. (KJV)Genesis 10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. (KJV)

 

DEFILED CONSCIENCE
The defiled conscience, mentioned specifically twice in 1 Cor. 8:7 and Titus 1:15-16, is uniquely translated from two different Greek words. It essentially describes a conscience that has become contaminated, ceremonially or morally, and is tainted, by whatever has defiled it. It is therefore, virtually untrustworthy. This deceitful condition of conscience is the epitomised by denial. A defiled conscience says one thing, even attesting to great faith and fearing God, while living absolutely opposite of what it says it believes. Conviction can’t penetrate this self-deceived soul. Targeting this conscience is especially difficult because it has come to accept and excuse the resulting behaviors as tolerable, and it is very close to being seared. We’ll examine the seared conscience later in this article. But make no mistake. Faith dies when this condition is present even though persons possessing such a conscience make great claims of knowing God and may make excuses for their mixture of beliefs and practices. The defiled conscience will be on the rise in the Last Days when believers choose to embrace the ways and teachings of Babylon over the teachings of the Bible.

1 Cor 8:7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. (KJV)
Titus 1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. 16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. (KJV)

 THE EVIL CONSCIENCE
In actuality, an unsaved person is spiritually dead. Consequently, the conscience of the unbeliever is dead, not entirely trustworthy, although still functioning, yet under the domination of Satan. Hebrews 10:22 states that those who draw near to God with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, have had their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.  The conscience of the unsaved is described as evil. The Greek word used to translate this speaks about a hurtful evil in effect or influence, as originating from Satan’s type of evil and mischief. It is morally corrupt and desperately needing salvation. It seldom hears the Spirit of truth accurately.

Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (KJV)

THE SEARED CONSCIENCE-
1 Tim 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; (KJV)

Paul’s first letter to Timothy warns believers that in the Last Days, Christians will depart from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, all the while hypocritically speaking lies because their conscience is seared. This passage is not written for unbelievers. Its directed toward the saints and indicates that this frightening, desensitized condition of conscience will exist in the Church before Jesus returns. A seared conscience is one that has been rendered insensitive and does not feel conviction for sin or guilt, because the internal, and sometimes verbal, repetitive excuses have been made for sinful behavior and attitudes, causing a cauterizing of the conscience’s ability to hear truth, repent and respond to the fear of God. This condition is one in which the person has an “I don’t care attitude” about their actions, consequences, or their behavior as it affects themselves or others. It may occur affecting all areas of life, or generally, according to the roots of self-will reinforced by bitterness toward God or man. Christians need to understand that this is not just a possibility. It will happen. Therefore, it is of absolute necessity that right perspectives of the Spirit of Truth, and the teaching of the fear of the Lord, is presented, in hopes that this prophetic warning can be avoided for as many persons as possible, and before it is too late.

 Spiritually and practically speaking, an individual conscience is generally formed by the time a child is three or four years old. By this age, the youngster has hopefully learned the following things.
Number one, the child should have learned to understand basic principles of right and wrong behavior, along with a discernment for God’s presence.
Number two, the youngster should have  also acquired a dis-taste for counterfeit spirituality.
Number three, the child should have developed a respect for authority figures (including God) along with a recognition of family structure.
Finally the conscience of a child needs to learn boundaries of respect, privacy and ownership and the consequences for violating these things.
All these things considered enable a person to be potentially open to the leading of the Holy Spirit and truth. But we cannot forget the importance of being born again and it's affect on the inner man.

Denver District attorney, Norman S. Early, stated in the January 1994 issue of USA Today that, “I would rather build a child then rebuild an adult”. Age carries with it great difficulties especially when considering dealings with conscience. The older a person is, the more the resistance faced per conscious change: This radically affects how we interact and relate in the world. Therefore, society would benefit greatly if the fear of the Lord were communicated in the early years of human development. In many underdeveloped cultures and nations a "fear of God" is still present. Whats more, if conscience was considered and targeted, crime would decrease. Learning would increase, not to say of what could happen in the healthy development of ethics, morals and justice. But sadly, the opposite seems to be happening in our world and the Church.

The Born again human being has the potential to receive the communication of truth from the Spirit of Truth. However, until we learn how to target the conscience with the correct approach of this message, we will miss out on how the Holy Spirit speaks. Hopefully these brief messages on what the Holy Spirit targets will encourage you to learn to listen and pay attention to the inward witnes of you conscience. In the future articles we'll look at more ways the Holy Spirit communicates truth to those who are willing to follow!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Thought for the day- WHO WILL PAY THE PRICE TO PREPARE FOR HIS GLORY TO MANIFEST?

2 Chron 5:11 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course 12 Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) 13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; 14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.KJV

In the first ten years or so of my ministry, the tangible, and sometimes visible presence of God's glory, or what is known as the Shekinah cloud, would manifest in nearly every meeting I ministered in. In fact, it was unusual when it didn't manifest. There have also been seasons lasting for 6 weeks to 6 months in the 33 years of ministry when this also was normal. Recently, I have realised my heart is deeply grieved over the absence of that tangible encounter, not just in my own life, but from what I've come to believe is a condition of the Body of Christ in many places. I rarely hear of genuine sovereign visitations in the corporate setting like I experienced in times past where His presence was so thick you could hardly move in the church sanctuary, or the people found it difficult to breathe because the cloud of God's glory was so evident. I believe this spiritual deficit is very possibly due to a lot of reasons but none of them as significant as the regrettable fact that many Christians do not know how to prepare themselves as a holy sanctuary for His tangible Glory to manifest. In fact, over the years, on too many painful occasions, I've found that many believers, when asked to make the decisions necessary to prepare themselves for worship, such as setting themselves apart for a season of prayer, praise and worship, they fought it with such intensity that I could scarcely believe what I saw. I am so weary of seeing believers resist the call of God to a lengthy time of prayer or worship, preferring instead their entertainments, carnal appetites and worldly ways. I don't know what it's going to take to make people see that to encounter a genuine tangible presence of God, they will have to lay aside the distractions that affect them and be willing to create an atmosphere conducive to God's glory manifesting. My heart aches over this. We do not know what it means to treasure His presence and guard our hearts in order to keep an sanctified atmosphere for His manifested glory. Finding believers who understand these almost forgotten principles, and who will dedicate themselves to such an end, is nearly impossible in these days. I know that is a huge generalization, but it's an observation I've taken into account for several years now. I hope somehow, you will read this and be stirred to prayer concerning this. Our generation needs an explosive, real, undeniable demonstration of who God is in power, glory and truth. I pray the Church will wake up and realize we are not even scratching the surface of what He want's to do if we will simply cooperate.