Call of the Spirit Publications

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”(John 14:13-14).

The word proxy, as defined by Dictionary.com means “the agency, function, or power of a person authorized to act as the deputy or substitute for another” (Dictionary.com, definition number 1). Another phrase that applies here is the term ‘power of attorney’ – defined by the same Dictionary.com as: “a written document given by one person or party to another authorizing the latter to act for the former.” Our ‘written document’ is the Word of God. In this teaching the hope is to etch in our thinking the thought that we, the Body of Christ, are to conduct Heaven’s affairs as Jesus Himself would right here, right now on the earth (He’s the Head, we are His Body).

Let’s look at the Amplified Classic Edition of our opening verse. “And I will do [I Myself will grant] whatever you ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son. [Yes] I will grant [I Myself will do for you] whatever you shall ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM].” Did you catch that? “As presenting all that I AM.” In other words, in His stead, on His behalf – as though He were conducting the ‘transaction’ Himself. We have been ‘commissioned’ to conduct the affairs of Heaven in the same manner Jesus did when He walked the earth in His physical body. That’s what He meant when He said “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. [Now, you] Go therefore” (Matt. 28:18-19a). The ‘Now you’ is implied, as the Lord was instructing His ‘Body’.

Couple that thought with what Jesus said in John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” This corresponds with what we’ve been talking about. On a side note, I’ll put in my ‘two-cents’ regarding what the “greater works” are: I believe He’s talking about the New Birth. The reason I believe that is 1. He said “because I go to My Father” – it was the New Birth (new creature, as 2Corinthians 5:17 puts it) that Jesus accomplished after He went to the Father, 2. while on the earth, Jesus healed the sick, cast out devils, raised the dead – but He could not get anybody ‘Born Again’ (made a new creature, or get them Born Again). That was only available after He paid the penalty for our sin!

Now, let’s get back to our teaching. Go with me to 1Corinthians 12: “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many” (vv. 12-14). Let’s unpack these verses. The first emphasis I made is there is only one Body (of Christ). There may be many assemblies (local churches), and even several denominations (which was never the Lord’s plan to have His Body segregated – that was the devil’s idea. Remember what Jesus said about a house being divided? “It will not stand” [Matt. 12:25]; “cannot stand” [Mark 3:25]; “house divided against a house falls” [Luke 11:17]. That is a spiritual law, and the devil knows it!).

REMEMBER THIS THOUGHT FOREVER: the devil cannot undo anything the Lord God of Heaven has done (or, will do)! So, what he does is use the laws (principals that govern life) that God has established and pervert them to work against the purposes of God. That’s why it’s so important to know the Book (Bible)! Study it, get familiar with it, listen to anointed teaching about it, read anointed articles about it. Paul told Timothy to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2Tim. 2:15). If the Bible needs to be ‘rightly divided’ then it can be wrongly divided. Jesus gave us the perfect example when He was being tempted of the devil in the wilderness: “It is written” (Matthew 4 and Luke 4). He knew that faith in God’s Word was the victory that overcomes (1Jn 5:4) – anything the devil tempts us with! Plus, notice, He interpreted The Word by the Word (Matt.4:10 and Luke 4: 12)! That’s called ‘rightly dividing’ The Word.

I like to refer to the Bible as our “owner’s manual” for life – it reveals to us how ‘life’ works. It’s not a story book, or history book; and it’s certainly not fiction! Actually (getting a bit ahead of myself) it’s a Person! Jesus, Who is the Word (that was) made Flesh (John 1:14). Another thing to remember: the devil cannot steal your anointing! He’s not the one who provided it, God is. But, if he can somehow deceive you or me to not utilize it, then the result is the same – the Work of God doesn’t get accomplished, and he can get away with whatever he wants. [Some of you may need to read this paragraph again – let it sink in and dawn on your heart.]

So, there is one Body that we all were baptized into. Another thought that needs to be understood here is the Bible (the Manual for life) is a ‘spirit-book’ written to spirit beings. It must be (and can only be) understood spiritually. “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1Co 2:11-14).

By the Spirit of God we were baptized into the Body of Christ. The word baptized means ‘to be submerged into.’ This is an activity of the Spirit. We could say it like this: we all were placed into the Body of Christ by the Spirit of God. The illustration God gave me several years ago to explain this activity is that of an old color TV. If you looked really closely to the screen you would see many ‘dots’—but when you pulled back you saw the picture those dots made. Say you were looking at your favorite actor or actress really closely; all you would see are the dots of color that made up the picture of them (the same is true of a newspaper). Well, those multiple dots made up the one representation of that person. We all are those ‘dots’ that make up the overall Body of Christ! When we called upon the Name of the Lord to be saved we were (spiritually) placed inside the Body of Christ. He is the Head, we are the Body. The one Man, Jesus, in His resurrected body is not Personally walking the earth right now – yet, He is through His Body. That’s you and me!!

When He spoke the words of the Great Commission, He was making us His personal proxy to carry out the Plan of God on the earth – just as though (in the same way) He would if He were still physically walking this planet! You and I have the same (identical) anointing (power of God) to accomplish the Will of God in the earth. Let’s bring the important balance to this thought: Jesus said in John 15 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:5, 7). We’ll look at this, leaving religious tradition and understanding behind, looking to the Holy Spirit for proper understanding and interpretation.

Jesus used the metaphor of a vine to illustrate He’s the Source of all godly activity (the activity of Heaven) on the earth. He being the vine and we being branches – the vine is the main overall body, the branches are extensions of it as they are connected to it (Him); “for without Me you can do nothing.” In verse six Jesus indicates that severed from the vine a branch withers and dies – indicating the importance of remaining ‘connected’ to Him! Notice He said “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you” – this speaks of a vital union, plus, abiding in Jesus and Jesus abiding in us is the activity of abiding in the Word, because Jesus is the Word that was made flesh! [Read these things with your spirit-man, your brain needs to have them revealed to it.] This ‘abiding’ will affect your overall desire – then (and only then) can we ask what we will, and God grants our petition! In other words, the activity of ‘abiding’ will saturate our desires to align with God’s desires. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1Jn 5:14-15). This is vital information to be a proper and effective ‘proxy’, and carry out the responsibilities of ‘power of attorney’ that we’ve been commissioned to do.

The purpose of this writing/teaching is to stir each of us up to walk in the Supernatural power of God, demonstrating to those around us that:

• God is alive and well
• He is aware of the conditions that have befallen the human race
• His desire (intense desire) to heal humanity of their ills and woes

In His Sovereignty, at the beginning, God gave the responsibility to mankind to ‘guard and to keep’ the activities that go on in this planet: “God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Gen. 1:28). “And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it” (Gen. 2:15 AMPC).  That mandate has never gone away. The devil infiltrated Man with his wickedness and brought about the destruction we see happening today in the lives of God’s precious creation – Man. Jesus came to completely undo what the devil had done, and He gave the responsibility to us (His Body) to carryout His original plan for mankind. We are His proxy, we function with His power of attorney!

The Book of Colossians tells us “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him” (Col 2:9-10a). Did you catch that? We are in Him, He is in us – so is the fullness of the Godhead! We have been fully equipped to carry out the desires, plan, and purposes of God – as His representatives! We are to heal the sick, we are to cast out devils, we are to raise the dead; “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8b). Notice this is not a suggestion, but a command. We have no excuse – we are commissioned and anointed to be His representatives.

The last word I want to say about this all important matter is uttering the Name of Jesus at the end of a prayer is not a ‘magic wand’ we wave to make something happen. It’s a position of authority we walk in as God’s proxy (power of attorney); it’s that “presenting all” that Jesus is in the ‘transaction’ we are conducting. I’m writing this article ‘in the Name of Jesus’ – functioning in cooperation with the anointing of God on my life to fulfill an assignment to teach the Body of Christ about aligning our lives with God in the same fashion Jesus did when He physically walked the earth. We are in the Last Days and the darkness that is covering the planet, and those who live on it, must be dispelled by the Light we have been called to be – as God’s representatives (proxy).

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper” (Psalm 1:1-3).

I believe every person on planet earth, saved and unsaved alike, has a desire to succeed in their lives. Nobody purposely sets out to fail in anything they put their hands to. But, multitudes have no clue how to truly succeed in life. They flounder around accepting whatever comes their way as their ‘lot in life’, or their ‘karma’, or whatever term they use—it’s all the same; they deal with life as it comes, instead of living purposely. We’ve all heard it said “I believe things happen for a reason.” – Which implies things just come around for some mystical reason that we have no control over. Yet the same folk will go into their backyard with a tomato seed, plant it in the ground, and expect a tomato plant to grow. Why should we expect the law of sowing and reaping to work in one area, but not in any other?

THE WORLD AROUND US—OUR MISSION FIELD

So, what does this have to do with ‘where we are rooted’? I’m glad you asked! Jesus said He was the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5). Let’s say it like this: Jesus is the ‘plant’, He’s the ‘tree’ (or, as He said ‘vine’); those of us who are born-again are in Him, that makes us the branches—the extension of Him to the world around us. Our lives are to be bearing fruit for them (the world) to partake of; like we do when we eat the grapes that are produced from the grapevine. The difference is our ‘fruit’ is spiritual – “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). Yet, I have to say that, beyond the character of God these fruit exhibit, additional ‘fruit’ we should be displaying are the manifestations of the Spirit as well:

• “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1Corinthians 12:7-13).

The point I’m making here is we are the Body of Christ (the anointed One, and His anointing); Jesus “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38); and He’s “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). So, since He hasn’t changed – at all – we should be daily doing His same works, for “as He is, so are we in this world” (1John 4:17). Since He cast out devils, we should be casting out devils; since He healed the sick, we should present His healing power to those who are sick around us, and so on. The Power of God is a sign to the world that we serve the One true God Who truly loves them! This is our Great Commission.

ROOTS CONNECT US

Psalm One depicts an individual who does not conduct their lives by ungodly counsel; they do not hang out with sinful people (“Bad companions make a good person bad”—1Corinthians 15:33, NIrV); “nor sits in the seat of the scornful” – synonyms for ‘scornful’ are: disrespectful, mocking, contemptuous, disdainful, and sneering. A Mike Leach rendering would be this person does not sit in a seat of judging others with disrespect, or sneering (since love believes the best of every person—1Corinthians 13:7, AMPC).

Now, let’s get to the good stuff; the things that make this person a success in life: “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.” The law of the Lord is the Word of God. So, we could say it like this—this individual meditates (thinks about, ponders by talking to themselves) God’s Word every day – all day! That’s what Jehovah told Joshua to do when he was about to take over for Moses, who had just passed the baton to him and departed this planet to be with God:

• “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:8-9).

Jeremiah says much the same thing as Psalm One:

• “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

I like that! This trusting individual will not be anxious about anything! They will be productive (another way of saying successful) their entire life! Did you notice the term ‘roots’? This is the same as saying ‘planted’. There is a lot that can be said about this ‘planting’ (or, the ‘root-system’ of an individual); because, where someone is planted, or rooted, determines the quality of life they have, or the type of fruit they bear. The roots are the avenue that nourishment comes into an individual – and that ‘nourishment’ determines what ‘fruit’ they will bear. There is a saying “garbage in – garbage out”. The cool thing is we can determine the fruit in our lives – we can be the masters of the quality of life we are living!

THE GOSPEL

This is the good news (gospel) we have been entrusted to proclaim to “all nations” – everybody we come in contact with! Man messed-up and fell away from God; God (Jesus) became a man to pay the penalty for that sin; now reconciliation is available for everybody (“whosoever will”), and we’ve become ambassadors of God to proclaim (tell) this great truth!

• “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12, KJV).
• “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).
• “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God” (2Corinthians 5:18-20).
• “And He Himself (Jesus) is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1John 2:2, parenthesis mine).

These Scriptures spell-out the Gospel progression. Meditating on these things will produce the productive life we’ve been talking about. Let’s not be over-zealous, though, and turn people off! This is where sensitivity to our Lord comes in. This sensitivity comes through prayer – fellowship with Jesus and the Father, and through communion with the Holy Spirit.

LIFE AND DEATH

I mentioned earlier the saying “garbage in – garbage out”; this speaks of what we ‘feed on’, or give our attention to. What we ‘feed on’ will establish our ‘fruit’. That’s right, just because we have called on the Name of the Lord to be saved, and now we are born-again doesn’t mean we will automatically live the successful—supernatural—life Jesus purchased for us to live. I’ll go a step further: just because we have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and have experienced speaking in other tongues, doesn’t mean we automatically flow in the gifts of the Spirit. We all have choices to make every day to operate in these things.

• “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Life and death; blessing and cursing, these are choices we all have to make – every day. Let’s say it like this: success or failure is ours to choose every day. The ‘fruit’ we enjoy will be determined by where our roots lie, and the nourishment we receive through them. If we sit in front of the television and feed on soap-operas, then the ‘life-portrayal’ on and in them will become the lives we live (experience). The same goes with social media – if we get on the Internet and feed on junk being ‘preached’ through these avenues, then their junk will be our life-style. Oh yeah, what one sees gets down in their heart, and out of the abundance of the heart one brings forth their life. That’s why Proverbs says to guard our heart with all diligence, “for out of it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23, AMPC); other versions say “issues of life”. In other words, the very life we live comes from what’s inside us. This is why it’s so important to be rooted in the Word of God; and to be careful of our close associations, because we’ll imitate each other.

Good roots will be found in 1) the church one goes to (that’s extremely important!); 2) the people we hang-out with; and 3) the things we ‘feed on’ – television/movies we watch, Internet sites we frequently visit [I hope you all come here often! – that’s why I write and publish these things!], books we read – the Bible should be number one! We could go on, but I think you get the picture.

Here’s a prayer, recorded in Ephesians (I’ve also included in the “Praying Scripture” section), that was written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

• “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant me, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith; that I, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that I may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think, according to the power that works in me, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph 3:14-21, personalized).

Did you catch that: “rooted and grounded in love” – “filled with all the fullness of God”? That’s the greatest ‘root-system’ any of us can have! Talk about successful! – Love never fails!!

We have talked much lately about all the ‘voices’ in the world that are proclaiming their messages as being the ‘truth’ everyone is to follow after. One of the greatest blessings of our time is also one of the greatest curses we all partake of: the Internet. By the Internet we can partake of information of any kind from any part of the planet – which can be a good thing, and it can be a bad thing. The same instrument that avails inspirational teachings, like this one, also allows one to access pornography by just a few clicks and using a search engine.

I’m going to make an extremely important statement here: everything we can partake of is a sort of food we ingest into our spirits (the inner man), and those seeds will grow into what they were designed to produce. When I say ‘partake of’ I’m talking about things we give our attention to and even those things going on around us that we unintentionally allow in: conversations, television programming (break that one down: tell – a – vision programming; or, being programmed by the vision we are being told!), billboards alongside the road we travel (if you look at it the image on it and the message it portrays gets in there and lodges itself in our hearts like a seed). Now, don’t get all frustrated and fearful thinking you can’t even walk out the door of your home; seeds will only produce and grow to maturity when they are watered and nurtured.

Jesus gave us this illustration in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-9, Mark 4:3-20, Luke 8:4-10), click this link to read my combined rendition of that parable. The point I wanted to bring out regarding that parable is the Word of God is the Superior Seed, yet Satan can steal it out of our hearts by just a few tactics we all are acquainted with: cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, desires for other things, tribulation, and persecution. This is a pretty fair description of each and every one of our daily lives! These ‘Seed stealers’ surround each and every one of us! – And that’s talking about the Superior Seed! Keep reading! If the Superior Seed can be aborted from producing and growing in our hearts, then the ‘seeds’ that come from the other camp can be prevented from growing in our lives as well!

ATTENTION!

One might disparagingly say “Brother Mike, how can I prevent the wrong ‘seeds’ from growing in my life?” I alluded to it earlier when I said “things we give our attention to.” These are the kinds of things we give ourselves to, on purpose: books we read, movies we watch, T. V. shows we watch, meetings we attend, and the like. I know there are certain situations we simply cannot avoid, like if our job requires us to attend a certain meeting; the content of that meeting, and the people we are sitting around – the conversations they have – this stuff has the potential to get into us and produce attitudes and mind-sets. You and I still have the choice to take in those things, or reject them (I’m talking about thought patterns and views of life being projected from those around us).

So, how do we safeguard against such attributes getting into our hearts and minds that they won’t produce a harvest we really do not want in our lives? God has placed within the human psyche the ability to partake of what we truly want produced in our lives: Life or Death; Good or Bad; Blessing or Curses – then He even gives us the cheat: “choose life, so that you and your children may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). Fast forwarding to the present day Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, wrote “while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2Corinthians 4:18).

The choice is ours; we can dwell on the circumstances around us (the things that are temporary – subject to change), or we can continue in His Word (which is eternal) and partake of His precious promises, which will result in participating in His divine nature (the answer to our troubles). It’s what we give our attention to that will grow into the harvest those implanted seeds will produce! The ‘bad seeds’ of life can be purged with “the washing of the water of the Word” (Ephesians 5:26) – the Superior Seed.

FALSE TEACHINGS

I said all that about seeds and the harvest they will produce to get our thinking to go along the lines of the direction our lives will take, and the ‘fruit’ we will partake of. The Lord has been dealing with me regarding the conditions our hearts are in, and the needed cooperation for this Last Day Harvest He so desires to reap. Scripture teaches “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:7-8). There are a few things I’d like to bring out regarding these verses:

• The coming of the Lord (which is so very near!)
• The Farmer waiting for the precious fruit of the earth (souls)
• The former and latter rain (outpourings of God’s Spirit to reap those souls!)

I have it ringing in my heart – louder than ever! – that the return of the Lord is so close it could be any day now (read my Encouraging Word “Last Week” by clicking this link). This is the reason I write so many of these teachings, stirring the Body of Christ unto this work of working together with the Lord. God has designed it that we work together with Him; He has limited Himself to relying on our cooperation with Him to get the job done! And, He’s the Farmer Who is waiting for the precious fruit of the earth—souls! The former and latter rain that enables this harvest of souls has begun, and we need to ‘put our hands to the plow’ to get this job done so the Lord can receive us to Himself (rapture!!).

The devil is fully aware that his time is extremely short, so he’s pulling out every stop he can imagine to thwart the work of God. How does he accomplish this? False doctrines (teachings). He knows the laws of God and how they work. The two ‘laws’ in particular that pertain to this teaching are: the words we truly believe in our heart, and say with our mouth will come to pass; plus, the image we have of ourselves will manifest (be evidenced) in our lives! This is why the Bible talks about renewing our minds with the Word of God so we can be transformed from the conforming images of the world!

• “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
• “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2Corinthians 3:18).

Satan knows that if he can propagate his imagery enough he can cause anyone to be conformed to it – ultimately imitating it, thereby ‘choosing death’, which is what he wants. Jesus said of him (Satan) that he is a thief who only comes to steal, kill and destroy, but He (Jesus) came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10)! This deadly ‘conforming’ comes to those who give their attention to these ‘false teachings’ – which comes through the spirit of antichrist. The Apostle John wrote extensively of this:

• “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour” (1John 2:18).
• “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son” (1John 2:22).
• “and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1John 4:3).
• “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist” (2John 1:7).

Paul also addressed this issue in his letter to the Corinthian church when he wrote about the gifts of the Spirit and their manifestations. He said, “no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1Corinthians 12:3). These Scriptures are plain; a Mike Leach paraphrase could say ‘unless the message someone is speaking points to the Lordship of Jesus and talks about the things He accomplished by going to the cross, they are NOT speaking by inspiration of God, and are false _______ (prophets, teachers, or whatever type of ‘ministry-gift’ they say they are)’. “Of such, turn away” (the Holy Ghost just said that in me).

ALIGNMENT

I know it seems like I’m beating a dead horse (I apologize to our readers who aren’t from the U. S. – that is an American colloquialism that means to keep repeating something over and over in seeming redundancy), but I strongly feel the Holy Spirit wants to get these ideas across to the Body of Christ, so we can rise up strong in Him and defeat the giants of falsehood trying to wipe-out the Churche’s effectiveness against the devil and his crowd! In order to arise in this hour, we have to awaken to these things (tactics) and purposefully wield our Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God – spoken from a heart fully persuaded of God’s mightiness! To do so we have to align our thinking with God’s thinking – exchanging our thoughts for His; “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD” (Isaiah 55:8). This is what renewing the mind will do – exchange our way of thinking to align (line-up) with God’s thinking. We could go on and on about that. This entire website is designed to help us along these lines.

Getting back to false teachings; I’m not going to name names, or spell-out any groups that are to be blamed for such propagation. I’m simply going to present the truth – God’s Word is truth – and anything that does not line up with it is false!

WHAT IS TRUTH?

There are far too many references to list here (when I typed ‘truth’ in the search section of my Bible program I use I found there are 100 verses in the New Testament alone!), but for the purpose of this teaching I will mention a few:

• “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Truth came through Jesus!
• “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him” (John 4:23). – You want God the Father to seek you out? Worship Him in the Spirit and Truth!
• “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6). Jesus said He is the Truth!
• “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (John 15:26). Here Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of Truth.”

Did you notice Jesus said “He (the Spirit of Truth) will testify of Me”? That corresponds with what we said earlier – and what this teaching is all about – testing the spirits. In brief, are the messages coming into your life testifying of Jesus, or are they trying to present ‘another gospel’? Paul addressed this in his letter to the church at Galatia by saying “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7). The next verse is the key here, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). God used Paul mightily to establish the foundation for the Church to be build upon, Christ, the Chief cornerstone (see Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16, Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11, and 1Peter 2:6-7).

SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT

Spiritual discernment is the practical purpose of this, and all of my teachings! This ‘discernment’ is acquired by feeding on (and exposure to) the Word of God – which Jesus Himself testified “Thy Word is Truth” (John 17:17, KJV) when He was praying to the Father just before going to the cross. We are not to simply gobble up everything that comes along just because someone says it’s coming from God! We are to ‘test the spirits, whether they are from God.’ “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1John 4:1).

Even when there is a spiritual manifestation, Paul admonishes “Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1Thessalonians 5:21). Why did he write such a thing?; because, not every ‘spiritual manifestation’ comes by the Spirit of God. Here’s the plain truth: is the experience (manifestation) promoting the Lordship of Jesus, or some fleshly (carnal) thing? One will know by the inward-witness. There will be a ‘scratching’ – like “this just doesn’t feel right”; or, there will be a peace and comfort about it. Isn’t one of the descriptive terms for the Holy Spirit “Comforter”? Isn’t one of the ‘fruits’ of the Spirit “peace”? Jesus said we would know…by the fruit. Spiritual discernment will come by ‘fruit inspection’.

The Holy Spirit within each of us will bear witness if something is from God the Father: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). The Apostle John wrote about this witness in his first epistle:

• “it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth” (5:6).
• “there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit” (5:7).
• “there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood” (5:8).
• “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son” (5:9).
• “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son” (5:10).

That last one sums up the entirety of this teaching! If anyone believes in the Son of God (has asked Jesus into their heart – been born again), they have the witness of the Spirit in themselves! John also wrote, “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (1John 3:24). That’s as plain as it gets! We can know if anything is coming to us by God because of the Spirit Whom He has given us! The two primary ways we can test the spirits trying to influence our lives is by 1) the Word of God, and 2) the witness of the Spirit of God that every believer has!

The message that’s to follow began in my heart nearly twenty years ago when The Lord said to me “Have You Imprisoned the Spirit of God?” The title “The Dark Side of Faith” rose up inside me during my time of fellowship with Him Wednesday morning, August 2, 2023 (which is the same way the first question came to me early in 2004).

The Bible teaches that “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Pro 16:18). Then two chapters later Solomon wrote: “Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility” (Pro 18:12). I said that because some of the things I’m about to write are very humbling for me to unveil. [I’m not going to go into great detail, but enough will be said for the Holy Spirit to help the readers’ mind to travel their own road of revelation and come to know what He and I are saying.]

God, the Father of lights, the Lord Jehovah, is such a patient Father! I’m about to complete my fortieth year of walking with Him – I’ve come to realize length of time doesn’t mean anything in the Kingdom of God. In other words one might say ‘Well, he should have had the victory over that by now’ and the like. I say that because I grew up with that thought-pattern, thinking certain levels of life somehow just happen automatically because one had reached a certain age while making no effort to develop in an area (things like financial status, marriage, child rearing). I somehow thought these things simply happened because I had reached a certain age.

I remember, as a youngster, walking along the sidewalk and thinking to myself ‘I know everything I need to know. I don’t have to go to college, or gain any further teaching of _______.’ So I never applied myself to learn. I’m not sure what my grade average was, but the C’s and D’s were enough to skate me into the next grade. Around the third grade the bullying was thrust into high gear. Then to make matters worse, my third grade teacher called me a “stupid idiot” in front of the entire class! My home-life didn’t give me any backbone. My mother always used to say “That’s alright, if you don’t want to ______, then you don’t have to.” Which made me a world-class quitter. When that teacher said that to me, and the whole class laughed at me, I closed-up and became a ‘wall-flower’ (someone who didn’t interact at all with anybody else).

This is when the imagery of complete failure began within my inner-man. It’s just now dawning on me (as I’m writing this) that that is why it has taken almost 40 years for the Lord to be able to bring about deliverance in many areas of my life. I would read the Scripture that says “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Col 1:13). The Amplified Bible classic edition says it like this: “…has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us …” There were bondages that controlled my life that I couldn’t break free of, no matter how much I quoted/confessed the Word regarding them. We’ve heard it said the Lord got Israel out of Egypt, but He needed to get Egypt out of them. That’s what was going on with me.

Within the first two weeks in my walk with the Lord my mother gave me a set of teaching tapes by Kenneth Copeland called “The Authority of the Believer.” Hearing him talk about Kenneth E. Hagin and RHEMA Bible Training Center I ended up going to RHEMA in the mid-eighties. One would think after such saturation and training that I would have become a completely new man. In many ways I did, but there was still a lot of work to be done. Here’s a little side-note: just because one attends a premiere ‘faith-school’ like RHEMA doesn’t make them a faith giant. Sure, a lot of foundation was laid, but knowledge only “puffs up” [or inflates, or exaggerates] (1Cor. 8:1). In my case I was deceived to believe that the knowledge I had was enough. But, year after year I found myself dealing with the same garbage that I grew up with.

I started gaining insight into the missing pieces of the life of faith I suffered from after reading Dr. David (Paul) Yonggi Cho’s book called “The Fourth Dimension.” I had heard many of the ministers I feed off of mention that book and how it affected their lives. I finally got hold of a copy and read it. WOW! I found out what they were talking about, and it began the journey I’m writing about now. The devil knows how the laws that govern this life work, and he’s been robbing from mankind since the Garden getting us to function in them with his influence – which is to steal, kill and destroy! Here’s an example: “The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself” (Prov. 11:25). Expound better.

So, what does he get man to do? Hoard and only take care of ‘us four, and no more.’ [On a side-note the book of Proverbs is full of revelation regarding the laws that govern life.] I’ll not belabor this thought because I want to get to the crux of revelation that has dawned on me regarding the life of faith. From Dr. Cho’s book we learn that faith requires an inner-imagery to bring to pass what we desire. [Put your stones down, I know Brother Copeland has taught that for years. I simply didn’t ‘hear’ it, which tells me I just wasn’t ready.] Where I got the idea of “The Dark Side of Faith” from is in the understanding that all of mankind operates in faith (bringing forth the image inside them). Leave those stones where they are, I know the Scripture says that not all have faith (2Thes.3:2) – Paul was talking about God’s faith which we all receive at the new birth. Notice, Jesus said “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matt. 12:35). This ‘bringing forth’ could be rendered: ‘bring about,’ or ‘cause to be.’

Mankind was created in the image and likeness of God (Gen.1:26). God is a faith God, and man has always been a ‘faith-being.’ We started out with God’s faith, but it became corrupted when Adam bowed his knee to the devil – and that decision passed on to all of mankind: “for that all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12, KJV). Not that we have sinned after the similitude of Adam, but because he was our parent his disobedience passed on to us all. Jesus reversed that ungodly decision and freely gives God’s life (which includes His faith) to everyone who receives Him! Now, that’s Good News!

I said all that to say that mankind (male and female alike) are all faith-beings, and the devil knows it. [Now listen carefully; this is the primary reason for this teaching. I learned these things the hard way! – But, I’ve also learned that we can live a life of victory ON PURPOSE!!] The two primary ingredients that function in the life of faith are the imagination (inner-imagery) and the words of our mouth. We could say it this way: our imagination is the canvas of our heart (inner-man, spirit), which the Scripture calls “hope.” “Now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1Cor.13:13). Couple that with Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Bible faith is filled with and energized by the Life of God and has God as its Source. Natural human faith is limited to only what the flesh can produce, and God calls that environment “cursed.” “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD” (Jer. 17:5). Notice, this latter ‘trust’ is in what man can do apart from the Lord being influenced by the devil. All of mankind has been created to be influenced (energized, swayed) by the unseen realm – which is the Fourth Dimension (or, the realm of the spirit). Christianity (Body of Christ) has the upper-hand because we can learn these things and operate in them for our own good; the world has the influence of the devil who fills their mouth (and heart) with death. He uses media, social media and so forth to ‘program’ people to live in the flow of death and destruction. I’m convinced that COVID-19 would not have spread like it did without the ‘help’ of newscasters and social media. We were hearing – from ‘voices’ we were supposed to trust – that it was necessary to get vaccinated and practice social distancing. Notice I said it came from ‘voices we were supposed to trust’? Part of the faith-mechanism is believing a thing. That opens our heart to have instruction written on it, which will affect our future; especially if we say it! The Word of God teaches us that we have what we say. I can hear the ‘light-switches’ flipping in many of you. You’re starting to realize that you have been paving your life by believing in your heart and saying with your mouth certain things!

I’m going to paraphrase Mark 11:23 here in a way that will bring home what we have been talking about. ‘Whosoever (that’s anybody) shall say…and believe in his (or her) heart (spirit-man, inner-man, hidden man of the heart) what they say shall come to pass, they shall have whatsoever they say.’ – Did you catch that? The part that got me was ‘believing what you (I) say shall come to pass.’ Having been bullied in school I developed a defense mechanism – I became a ‘class-clown’ which resulted in the practice of, what the Bible calls, foolish-jesting. I would say things to get people to laugh (which, I thought it would deflect what I perceived as their hatred for me); things that weren’t true. This developed a mistrust in my spirit (heart) to not believe most of what I said. [See how crafty the devil is?] So, what was the result? I began to believe I was always going to be a nobody; a misfit, a reject – unimportant! You can envision how this image hindered my spiritual walk unto victory.

These death-filled attitudes kept me bound so badly that I had no vision – at all! No aspirations for any kind of success in life! I’m not trying to be a bummer here. I told you this writing would be a humbling of myself. But, my hope is that somebody will read this, grab their life by the horns (so-to-speak) and get a spring in their step to press forward and forsake the imagery of defeat that has dogged them their entire life and manifest the Glory of God! Allow the Word of God – who you are IN CHRIST – to paint what cost Jesus His Blood to purchase for you and me and shove it in the devil’s face!!

Can you see how this ‘dark side of faith’ has propagated the agenda of hell throughout the history of the human race? The darkness has so blinded our hearts and minds to the point of hopelessness in many cases. Suicide is at an all-time high because people cannot see themselves as being in the image of God. The devil has convinced many to be confused about their sexuality when a simple – honest – examination of their body will tell them whether they are male or female. I’m not trying to be disparaging here, I know the mental attacks of the enemy are real and hurtful! I believe the Body of Christ needs to rise up and shine the Light of Love into this darkened world and show that there is hope for all who come to Jesus!

God’s Word is full of words that create imagery, which results in faith – the God kind of faith. God’s faith will heal your body – OF ANYTHING! God’s faith will cause peace to unite a family, a village, a nation and obliterate war. The dark side of faith will keep people bound to sickness and disease, and every other disaster imaginable. Isaiah prophesied “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isa 60:1-3). [For a pick-me-up writing about that read my article called Arise to a New Life.]

Once, I was complaining to the Lord about the hideous activity going on in the world and He said to me “What did you think the ‘gross darkness’ [KJV] was going to look like?” So, come on Body of Christ, Jesus said that we are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14). Let’s get busy shining forth God’s glory and dispel the darkness! [I just heard this: “Make way, for the King is coming!”]

Discussing these things with a friend, who I trust, via text messages I had an image go off in my heart. I saw Jesus reaching His hand through the muck that’s clouding this planet (overwhelming circumstances) to pull up through it those who would take hold of Him. I wrote: “He’s reaching into the waters of despair the devil thought he was drowning us in, and we’re coming out stronger than ever!” The darkness is covering the planet, without a doubt. But, we are not without help! The Word of God – you know, that Book that’s collecting dust, that we drag with us on a Sunday morning (if we can find it) – is full of exceeding great and precious promises which will enable us to be a partaker of God’s divine nature (see 2Peter 1:2-4). His Word is a shield about us (Psalm 3:3, 5:12, 18:2). And, faith in it will quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one! Jesus is the Word that became flesh (John 1:14). John 3:34 tells us Jesus has the Spirit without measure. The revelation came to me that The Word of God has the same measure (which is immeasurable). Romans 10:17 says that (God’s) faith comes by hearing His Word.

I further wrote: “The whole election-integrity thing; the trans stuff. What our enemy meant for our destruction (communism), God is using for our Awakening! We need to remain sharp in the Spirit and soar above these things! The Body of Christ MUST shake off everything of the flesh: carnality, prejudice (which is not simply black vs. white. It’s division of religious camps – ‘word of faith’ vs. Baptist, etc.).”

In conclusion: all of mankind has a belief-system – we call it ‘faith’. It’s designed to shape our world. The infusion of death (darkness) into the heart (spirit) of man corrupted this system which resulted in the propagation of hell’s agenda. Jesus paid the awesome price for our redemption by shedding His Blood and destroying that darkened system. However, it’s not automatic. It requires a purposeful study of the Word of God and intentional application of it (being a doer of the Word and not a hearer only [James 1:22])! I’ve called this teaching ‘The Dark Side of Faith’ for the purpose of exposing the devil’s devices, which we are not ignorant of (2Cor. 2:11) and illuminating God’s path of life for whosoever will!

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all” (Psa 34:19).

King David wrote those words in the Psalm the Lord gave him to provide comfort, no doubt, while he faced upheaval to his throne – from his own son! God is like that; He’ll speak to our hearts words of comfort that lets us know He’s still with us – He’ll never leave us, nor forsake us! Sometimes it will rise up within us as a still small voice; sometimes a friend will call and say “Hey, the Lord has placed you on my heart and I just wanted to encourage you.” Other times He’ll speak through a servant of His in a sermon or a broadcast (like a show on The Victory Channel^™ or a podcast, or something a radio announcer may say – He does that for me a lot!). In-a-nutshell: we have available to us all we need to succeed in life, regardless of what the enemy throws at us!

I’m writing this because the Lord has been speaking to me about persecution for some time now. He’ll do that to prepare me (and others who’ll listen to what He says through me) before we actually need to access it. My Pastor says it like this: “To be forewarned is to be forearmed.” In other words, if you or I have been made aware of possible danger, or trouble before it comes along, then we can prepare for it and be ready to overcome it in advance. This “danger” could range from simple ‘verbal-slander’ to martyrdom when it comes to being persecuted for our faith. Jesus said in John’s gospel: “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (15:20).

Without delving into a lot of detail; mankind was created to give expression physically to the spirit-world. Spirits are eternal beings – all spirits, good and evil. God placed a limit on all spirit-beings that they require a physical body to be given expression in this natural world. That’s why Satan had to use a serpent’s body to talk with Eve and deceive her into disobeying God’s command regarding the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He was after the authority God gave Man to this planet (which, ultimately, was to get back at God for expelling him and his bunch from Heaven).

Entire cities of people (and sometimes animals) had to be wiped-out because they were giving themselves over to evil spirit influences. Sacrificing their children, practicing sexual-immorality, and all manner of unholy activities. God would raise up godly ministers (usually prophets) to speak His words to them to get them to stop. But, a lot of times they simply wouldn’t listen and make the necessary changes, so He had to pass judgment on them, getting rid of the ‘in-rode’ those evil spirits had. I know it sounds harsh, but from God’s perspective, He did NOT create man to follow after the devil and his rebellious ways! He ALWAYS made a way of escape for mankind to return to Him. Then came Jesus! – Let me get on a mini-soapbox here! – God creates Man, Man rebels against God; God becomes a Man to pay the penalty for the rebellion! – Who does that?? Who gets offended, then pays the penalty of the offence so the offender can go free?? – JEHOVAH GOD, WHO SO LOVED US – THAT’S WHO!

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out, let’s get back to persecutions. Both John and Paul spoke of these ‘spiritual influences.’ John wrote in 1John 5:19 “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” The AMPC says: “under the power of the evil one.” The NIrV puts it this way: “under the control of the evil one.” Notice it’s the “whole world” – not the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ (although, one could fall prey to such influence if they allow themselves to – that’s why it’s so important to renew our minds, go to church, and fellowship with godly people to remain strong against evil influences!).

Paul addressed these unseen influences like this, writing to the Ephesian church: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Eph 2:1-2, underline mine). “The course of this world,” Mike Leach paraphrase: ‘the direction this world is traveling in.’ Then he tells them (and us) that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood (our battle isn’t with people – it may seem that way, but it’s the unseen forces they are yielding to); “but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).

Now, why all this talk about unseen influences? There are only two camps: Light and darkness; good and evil; love and hate. The spirits that be, exist in one or the other of these two camps. God The Father is over the Light camp. In that camp we’ll find The Lord Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit, holy angels and the Church (the Body of Christ). Satan (once known as Lucifer) is over the camp of darkness where demons (devils), fallen angels, and unredeemed mankind exist. – I feel I have to state a side-note here: unredeemed mankind is not demon-possessed; they’re just influenced by them in their thinking and actions. A child who is brought-up in a household with morals and even godliness will exercise a greater restraint against evil influences than one who is subjected to an unholy atmosphere in their upbringing. But, God loves all mankind equally, and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is available to all who will receive it. The choice is ours.

As you can imagine, the evil camp of unseen influences HATE the camp of holy individuals. So, they ‘move-on’ (influence) those who they can to persecute (make life miserable for) those who are in the Light camp. Remember what Jesus said in John 15:20 “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” Why? Because He’s IN us. It’s not because we are anything special, it’s because He’s so special, and we carry His anointing and message to the world. Satan cannot steal our anointing; he didn’t give it to us. But, if in some way he can prevent us from operating in it….the result is the same! It’s that anointing that destroys the yolk of bondage he puts on people.

So, the next time a co-worker, family member, or neighbor is irritating you—pray for them. Why do you think Peter wrote: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified” (1Pe 4:12-14, underline mine)?

Paul spoke of the things he suffered for the Gospel’s sake. Listen to his ‘speech’ to the church at Corinth: “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2Co 4:8-10). Notice his attitude toward what the devil was doing (I’ll show you in a moment that it was the devil):

• We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed – yet NOT crushed!
• Perplexed, but not in despair – but NOT in despair!
• Persecuted, but not forsaken – but NOT forsaken!
• Struck down, but not destroyed – but NOT destroyed!

His focus wasn’t on the negative activity going on to get him to stop doing the will of God in his life. [I trust I’m talking to somebody – I know God is talking to me!]

Now, here’s how I know it was demonic activity working through these circum-stances. Later, in the same Epistle (2Corinthians), Paul gives greater detail of the things happening to him (I’ll only enumerate a few of them): stripes (whippings), imprisonment, deaths, stoned once, beaten with rods, shipwrecked, perils, weariness, toil, sleeplessness, hunger (chapter 11:23-27). He winds up the list by saying: “besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches” (2Co 11:28). Men were coming in behind him and teaching what had to be done to ‘really be saved’ (my words).

This is why Paul wrote his Epistles (letters) to these churches, so they could have evidence of what he taught while he was with them, and ‘weed-out’ the error that was becoming so popular. We have error today that is trying to change the Word of God (or, weaken our understanding of it) – if we take a stand against the error and side with the Truth of God’s Word, we’re going to face persecution! Let me help strengthen your resolve: God is not obligated to anybody’s opinion! He meant what He said, and He said what He meant – period!

To continue proving the things Paul went through were demonic, we’ll continue reading in 2Corinthians. “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure” (2Co 12:7, underline mine). This messenger was stirring up trouble everywhere Paul went! It got so bad he asked the Lord three times to remove it from him. Now, religion has taught that Jesus told Paul ‘NO.’ But, that’s not what the Lord said to him at all! He said: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2Co 12:9). Mike Leach paraphrase: ‘Paul, I have equipped you thoroughly for everything I’ve called you to accomplish. You have what it takes – provided by Me – to completely succeed in life. I already whipped the devil and his crew. Now you enforce that defeat!’

A little side-note here, I believe Paul was starting to pick up on these things when he wrote his first letter to the Corinthian church, he wrote: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1Co 10:13). Oh, glory to God!! Somebody shout AMEN!!

To finish-up; there’s so much more we could talk about here. I truly believe we are in the last of the last days. God is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh in this one last Great Awakening before He calls us home. Of course the devil is going to do his best to try and stop this move of God. He knows his time is short. Maybe the lake of fire has licked at his heels a little. He’s frustrated; confused; annoyed, and upset. He hates God and all of mankind (sinner and saint alike). He wants to take those, who God so loved, into the pit with him. Don’t let him distract you from the things of God. Use the weapons of warfare God has given us to overcome his schemes against us – including “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2Co 10:5). And remember, persecutions are the devil’s way of letting off steam to try and distract you and I from “the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). Just keep pressing forward!

Remember this: “‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,’ Says the LORD” (Isa 54:17). I particularly like the New International Readers Version of this verse: “‘But no weapon that is used against you will succeed. People might bring charges against you. But you will prove that they are wrong. Those are the things I do for my servants. I make everything right for them,’ announces the LORD” (Isa 54:17, NIrV).

HALLELUJAH!

Having grown up during a time when space travel and such were prevalent – in the news, TV shows like Lost in Space and Star Trek – my thinking was shaped with those scientifically oriented programs. I watched as Apollo 11 landed on the moon, and I heard Neil Armstrong utter the words: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” The world was abuzz with this new development and venture. I mention this to portray the reasons for why my thoughts many times are expressed using science-fiction terms, such as ‘portals’. A portal is a point where something or someone may travel through to get from one place to another. Sometimes the term is shortened to the word ‘port’.

I have always messed around with electronic equipment. As a youngster that equipment was primarily the family stereo, then my own record playing 8-track recording machinery. I can’t tell you why I’ve always known and understood the flow of electrical things, like input and output and what plugs into where. I remember one time we had gone to Radio Shack and purchased a UHF converter for our television. I had it up and running while my dad was still reading the instructions. I suppose that’s simply part of my ‘bent’ (something that interests an individual). So, that’s why I easily see us (people) as portals – spiritually speaking.

A spiritual portal is a position where a spirit-being can access both the natural (physical) realm and the realm of the spirit where the unseen populace exists – like God, angels, and demons. Human beings are first and foremost spirit beings that live in a body. These physical bodies give us the right (license) to operate here on the earth since they were made from the earth: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen 2:7). Mike Leach rendering: God made a body from the earth then placed of His spirit in it to give that body life. James Two says: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (Jas 2:26). Another way to say it is our physical body is our ‘earth-suit’.

God’s original intention for man was for mankind to give expression to the realm of the spirit in the earth. In other words, man was never intended to live life apart from the influence of God in their lives. Since God is a Spirit (John 4:24), man is also a spirit. Jehovah said in Genesis: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen 1:26-27, underline mine for emphasis). Did you notice God said “according to Our likeness”? So, we not only look like God, but our substance (being) is like Him as well – we are spirit beings.

It is apparent that spirit beings cannot express in the earth without the cooperation of a physical body. This explains why Satan sought a serpent to be granted expression in the earth. He was already cast down from Heaven to the earth realm, but needed a body to contact (be given expression to) Eve in the Garden. Notice the dialog in Genesis Three: “So the LORD God said to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this’” (Gen. 3:14a). Apparently the serpent had granted Satan permission to manifest through their body to contact Eve, and God was upset with it. Ultimately it was Adam’s responsibility to kick the devil out – God’s intention was for the man: “to tend and keep” the Garden of Eden. It was Adam’s job to maintain the Garden.

Let’s take a little side-note here. When God instructs something, He expects it to be the Standard to conduct life by. In other words, when He says something (which, when He speaks His Words are not only instructional, but operational) and there arises a situation, or circumstance that appears contradictory to it, then it’s our responsibility to make things align with what He has instructed (the Bible calls them commandments). Jesus said: “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Mat 16:19). I like how the Amplified Bible Classic Edition puts it: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.”

Did you get that? We, mankind, have the authority – right here on this planet – to enforce the directives that take place on Earth. Why? Because Man was given the mandate from God to do so. When Adam committed high treason by handing over to Satan his authority the earth became flooded with darkness; humans had been transferred to the influence of Lucifer and his demon cohorts. You’ll see this in Ephesians Two: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Eph 2:1-2, underline mine). ‘According to the course of this world.’ One could put it this way: ‘according to the influence (or, flow) of this world.’ Did you notice it was ‘by the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience’? That’s because of the portal that we are. We were ordained to allow the spirit world to be given expression on this planet. The Apostle John wrote it this way in his first epistle: “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1Jn 5:19).

This explains why so many ungodly circumstances are happening all around the world. Darkness is being allowed to express its ugly, hateful, hurtful nature seemingly unbridled all over the place. The Good News is Jesus has stripped the devil and all his ungodly purposes of their power and authority! He has given His authority to His Body – the church – to conduct the business of Heaven. Because we are those ‘portals’ that give the realm of the spirit expression it’s up to us to enforce what ‘camp’ gets to manifest – Light, or darkness.

PAUL’S THORN IN THE FLESH

 I’ll give you my understanding of what the Lord said to Paul regarding his ‘thorn in the flesh’. In Second Corinthians he tells of the difficulties he faced daily: “in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often; From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one…besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches” (11:23-28 mostly). These trials (which, by the way), he referred to as “light afflictions” earlier in this same letter (4:17).

Then, as recorded in the Twelfth chapter: “lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2Co 12:7-9). Paul was a portal that was used by God to establish His Kingdom in the earth, calling himself a “worker together with God” (2Co 6:1). Two things I want to mention here: 1) the thorn in the flesh Paul spoke of. The phrase ‘thorn in the flesh’ was a colloquial expression of his time. He said it was a “messenger of Satan,” so we know it was a demon spirit dogging his life with trouble (the trouble he just enumerated in the previous chapter). I’m mentioning Paul’s ‘thorn’ because the devil uses difficulties to distract us from moving forward in the work of God. He can’t stop the work, but if he can somehow prevent us from cooperating with God then the work comes to a halt.

2) The next thing I’d like to bring out is that religion has taught that Jesus told Paul ‘No’ (implying there would be no help from Heaven in his situation). That theory was spawned from hell! Read what Jesus said to him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Here’s the Mike Leach rendering: ‘I’ve given you everything you could ever need to whip the tactics of the devil and put him in his place!’ [Now, we’ve gone back to the Garden – which is what Jesus accomplished for us through His death-burial-and Resurrection! – That’s what the ‘keys of the Kingdom’ are for!]

So, Jesus has opened the way for the influence of Heaven to affect the activities on the earth – through us, His church – His Portals! The activity we’re seeing going on around the world – especially the anti-Semitism – is to be addressed by the church! This planet and the precious people on it do not belong to the devil! God has issued His Great Commission to the Body of Christ to take care of business.

I can almost hear your thoughts: ‘Why doesn’t God do something about what’s happening?’ – He just did; He had me write this, He had you read it. We have what it takes! It’s a sobering thought, but we are going to be held responsible for the Last day revival and Great Awakening! Let’s get after it, family!