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Welcome To Keys 2 the Kingdom International Covenant Communion's Discussion Forum. The Pardigm shifting(or should I say have shifted)in the Body of Christ, wich is necessary for the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Come on in and Join this apostolic gathering.
http://k2kicc.info

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Networking Relationship -- Apostle Solomon C.Great (All Glory To God), 10:16:35 02/19/11 Sat

Oh Glory to God.
My name is Solomon C.Great an Apostle by calling and on a missions to African Countries currently Living in Abidjan Economic Capital of Cote d'Ivoire.
I'm the Director of Global School of Ministry in Cote d'Ivoire which will be graduating her first set of students in the month of March 2011.
I'm looking for a ministry that i will work with which want to establish her branch in Africa.
I have Pastors working with me whom i want to send to various countries of Africa.
So I and This Pastors will have to bear the name of the ministry that I'm representing Here in Africa.
God Bless
Apostle Solomon C.Great
GSoM West Africa
rockchapel08@yahoo.com

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Restoration of the Body of Christ -- Allan Svensson, 07:50:36 07/22/07 Sun

Glory to God and his dear Son, Jesus Christ

I found your Website by Search Engine, and I wish you
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Welcome to visit my Site.
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/INDEX.HTM
Allan Svensson, Sweden

Restoration of the Body of Christ

The most important prayer request for all Christians must
now be the restoration of God's temple, the Body of Christ.
Nothing on the earth is more important than that
God's temple becomes built up according to the pattern
of God's word, so that we all are ready when Jesus comes.
God's temple is the Assembly of God.

The Pentecostalists have during soon 100 years preached
a wrong doctrine about the Assembly of God. A Pentecostal
church is no Assembly of God.

In the reality, the word "church" occurs not at all in the Bible.
The biblical name of the Church is the great whore, and
Babylon the great.
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/PREPARE.HTM#KJV

When God was so strictly with that the tabernacle
(Exodus 25:9) and the temple of the old covenant became
built according to the pattern, so that the workers must get
special education through God's Spirit (Exodus 35:30-35,
36:1-2), then he must be still more strictly with the real
temple, the Assembly of God. All that the Bible teaches
about Assembly of God constitutes the pattern for the
Assembly of God.

Rev.18:4 is an extremely powerful revival message
from the Lord. He commands his people to leave the
great Babylon. This must take place before Jesus comes.
After Jesus has come, then God's people are home at
the Lord, and there is no Babylon.

We must leave all churches and denominations
before Jesus comes. And those that not want to obey
his word, God comes to count as accessory in the
sins of the great harlot and they get their part of her
plagues. None can say. This does not concern me.

To restore a really Christian unit and fellowship,
all churches and denominations must be exposed.
We must humble us before God's word and study
what the Bible teaches about the Assembly of God.

Many Christian confessors become irritated of this
and comprehend it as criticism and condemnation
of their churches. Some become angry and say: let
the one who has no sin cast the first stone! But this
has nothing to do with stone-throwing. This is the
Lord's revival message to his people. The Lord
commands his people to come out from the great
Babylon. Rev. 18:4. This has always been readable
in the Bible. Why has this message not been preached?

As in the days of Lot, it is now. Lot was not interested
to leave Sodom. God sent two angels to rescue him,
and they must persuade him to leave Sodom. When
he yet lingered, they took him at his hand and led him
out of the city. One of the angels said to him: "Flee
for your life sake and do not see you backwards ..."
Genesis 19:15-17.

Just like as Lot, God's people today is not interested
to leave the great Babylon. They are spiritual to sleep
and do not want to be disturbed. In the churches they
never have preached the truth of the Assembly of God.
They do not know that their churches and denominations
are founded on false doctrines, and are false copies of
the Assembly of God. They do not know in what they
are members.

God is the Love
But God's love does not hinder us to study God's word
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/LOVE.HTM

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/PAGE92.HTM

What shall happen before Jesus comes?
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/BEFORE.HTM

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Prophetic & Unknown Tongues -- Elder James, 18:50:06 06/23/07 Sat

There has never been any gift whose use has so divided, and in many cases, corrupted the church. Every good gift comes from God above (James 1:26) and yet this gift has seemingly brought with it a curse. Or, is there something else at work here?

Any time in biblical study will turn up numerology (the significance of numbers in scripture). The number two is the number of division. I find that point to be fascinating because as our study will turn up there are two kinds of tongues for two different uses. Both are ordained of God yet this good gift has brought with it such confusion. Why? I would have to point to the Word of the Lord that tells us that God's people are destroyed (divided) because of a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Jesus said a house divided cannot stand (Matthew 12:25); hence it is destroyed. But, we don't have to be destroyed. We can stand unified if we take refuge in God's word. His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105). Now, as we discuss the two types of tongues, we will unify the house on this matter.

The prophet Joel prophesies of a coming day when Jehovah Elohim would spill forth, as blood, out of his ruach, that is, his Spirit, upon all flesh and your sons and daughters shall prophesy (Joel 2:28). Now, fast-forward to the day of Pentecost and we see the disciples along with others gathered in the upper room worshipping when suddenly there comes a sound from heaven� The group is ridiculed for their seemingly drunken behavior but, Peter stands in their midst and begins to declare that this is that which was spoken of by the prophet (Acts 2:16)... Why does Peter quote Joel? Because, the group prophesied the wonders of God. They disclosed that which had been previously unknown. All who heard the group understood what was being declared because the group spoke in an intelligible language. Immediately, all who heard were edified, albeit, amazed (because they understood).

However, Paul begins to outline for us a unique function of the Spirit. He begins in his letter to the church at Rome by explaining that oftentimes we don't know what to pray for so, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us through sighs or groanings in such a way that no words can be put to it, intelligible or otherwise. So then we see that these sounds are stirred up by the Spirit and interpreted by the Spirit. In most circles, this scripture has taken on the meaning of unknown tongues but, this is not an unknown or unlearned tongue. As the Greek indicates, these are sounds (sighs and groanings).

On the other hand, as we examine Paul's letter to the church at Corinth, specifically, the fourteenth chapter, we will discover the specific subject of tongues. Paul begins to outline for us the various tongues at use in church and their purpose. Let's examine the first type, prophetic. The prophetic tongue is the tongue that is given to benefit the whole assembly or congregation. We have often seen more abuses of this gift than beneficial uses. But, how does this tongue benefit the whole assembly? Let's begin by defining prophecy, as it pertains to the old and New Testament. In the Old Testament (Joel 2:28), the word for prophesy is nâbâ' (naw-baw'). It means to speak (or sing) by inspiration (in prediction or simple discourse). Likewise, in the New Testament (I Corinthians 14: 1, 3), the word for prophecy is prophēteuō (prof-ate-yoo'-o). It means to foretell events, divine, speak under inspiration. So then, we understand that prophecy benefits the body because individuals speak under inspiration the wonders of God. Let's the examine the characteristics of the prophetic tongue. The first characteristic that should be noted, as it pertains to the prophetic tongue, is that it is always intended for the assembly and; therefore, has to be intelligible, that is, it has to be understood (I Corinthians 14:6). In fact, when we closely examine the book of Acts, this is exactly what we see, the group speaking under inspiration of the Spirit in an intelligible (known) language (Acts 2:4, 11). The second characteristic is that the prophetic tongue is used for the edification. The Greek word for edification is oikodomē (oy-kod-om-ay') and means, figuratively, confirmation. The third characteristic is that the prophetic tongue is used for exhortation. The Greek word for exhortation is paraklēsis (par-ak'-lay-sis) and means imploration, solace; that is, comfort. We should note at this juncture that the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Comforter [paraklētos (par-ak'-lay-tos): An intercessor, consoler: - advocate, comforter]. The fourth characteristic of the prophetic tongue is that it brings comfort to the body. The Greek word for comfort is paramuthia (par-am-oo-thee'-ah). It means consolation (properly abstract): - comfort. So, as we properly examine the scriptures we see that the body of Christ could not be edified, exhorted, or comforted through the use of prophetic tongues without understanding (I Corinthians 14:9).

Now that we have a better understanding of the prophetic tongue, let's examine the unknown tongue. We discovered that the prophetic tongue is spoken to the assembly; however, the unknown tongue is spoken to God (1Corinthians 14:2). It is necessary to note that the word unknown is actually added to the biblical text for clarity. So, how do we know that this tongue is actually not understood by the hearer? Let me answer that question by first defining tongue as it is used in the scripture above. The word for tongue is glōssa (gloce'-sah) and it means by implication a language (specifically, one naturally unacquired). This is the same word that is used in Acts 2:4; however, in the context of the story, the men understood them. Paul's writings are clear concerning the unknown tongue, the hearer does not understand what is being said because it is a mystery [mustērion (moos-tay'-ree-on) from a derivative of muō (to shut the mouth); a secret]. In fact, Paul says "no man" understands, meaning no man could ever understand because the speaker edifies, that is, builds his or her own self. Subsequently, when Jude writes his epistle to the church he advises them on the matter of dealing with seducers who would come into the church. Jude instructs the church to build up (edify) themselves in their most holy faith (persuasion/moral conviction) by praying in the Holy Ghost (Jude 1:20). In other words, speak/pray in the unknown tongue the mysteries of God. The Greek word for build is epoikodomeō (ep-oy-kod-om-eh-o) and means: built, build, buildeth, thereupon, building, and thereon. The idea here is to add to something already established.

So in the final analysis, the issue really isn't what's being said as much as it is who it's being said to. Are we speaking to the assembly to build everyone? Or, are we speaking unto God to build ourselves? Today, I prophesy to the assembly that we may all be unified and no longer divided.

Scriptural Sources

Prophetic Tongue

Act 2:4 And they were all filled of the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Act 2:6 But this sound occurring, the multitude came together and were confounded, because they each heard them speaking in his own dialect.

Act 2:7 And they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, Behold, are not these who speak all Galileans?

Act 2:8 And how do we each hear in our own dialect in which we were born?

Act 2:11 Cretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking the great things of God in our own languages.

Act 2:12a And they were all amazed�

Act 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel:

Joe 2:28 And it shall be afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions.

1Co 14:3 But he who prophecies speak to men for building up, and exhortation, and comfort.

1Co 14:4b � but he prophesying builds up a church.

Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Rom 8:27 And He searching the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Unknown Tongue

1Co 14:2 For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. For no one hears, but in spirit he speaks mysteries.

1Co 14:4a The one speaking in a tongue builds himself up

Jud 1:20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

Jud 1:21 keep yourselves in the love of God, eagerly awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to everlasting life.

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Power Ecclesiastical -- Archbishop, 00:59:04 05/20/07 Sun

FOR the understanding of power ecclesiastical, what and in whom it is, we are to distinguish the time from the ascension of our Saviour into two parts; one before the conversion of kings and men endued with sovereign civil power; the other after their conversion. For it was long after the ascension before any king or civil sovereign embraced and publicly allowed the teaching of Christian religion.

And for the time between, it is manifest that the power ecclesiastical was in the Apostles; and after them in such as were by them ordained to preach the gospel, and to convert men to Christianity; and to direct them that were converted in the way of salvation; and after these the power was delivered again to others by these ordained, and this was done by imposition of hands upon such as were ordained; by which was signified the giving of the Holy Spirit, or Spirit of God, to those whom they ordained ministers of God, to advance His kingdom. So that imposition of hands was nothing else but the seal of their commission to preach Christ and teach his doctrine; and the giving of the Holy Ghost by that ceremony of imposition of hands was an imitation of that which Moses did. For Moses used the same ceremony to his minister Joshua, as we read, Deuteronomy, 34. 9, "And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him." Our Saviour therefore between his resurrection and ascension gave his spirit to the Apostles; first, by breathing on them, and saying, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit";[John, 20. 22] and after his ascension by sending down upon them a "mighty wind, and cloven tongues of fire";[Acts, 2. 2, 3] and not by imposition of hands; as neither did God lay His hands on Moses: and his Apostles afterward transmitted the same spirit by imposition of hands, as Moses did to Joshua. So that it is manifest hereby in whom the power ecclesiastical continually remained in those first times where there was not any Christian Commonwealth; namely, in them that received the same from the Apostles, by successive laying on of hands.

Here we have the person of God born now the third time. For Moses and the high priests were God's representative in the Old Testament; and our Saviour himself, as man, during his abode on earth: so the Holy Ghost, that is to say, the Apostles and their successors, in the office of preaching and teaching, that had received the Holy Spirit, have represented him ever since. But a person (as I have shown before, Chapter thirteen) is he that is represented, as of as he is represented; and therefore God, who has been represented (that is, personated) thrice, may properly enough be said to be three persons; though neither the word Person nor Trinity be ascribed to him in the Bible. St. John indeed saith, "There be three that bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one":[Luke, 5. 11] but this disagreeth not, but accordeth fitly with three persons in the proper signification of persons; which is that which is represented by another. For so God the Father, as represented by Moses, is one person; and as represented by His Son, another person; and as represented by the Apostles, and by the doctors that taught by authority from them derived, is a third person; and yet every person here is the person of one and the same God. But a man may here ask what it was whereof these three bore witness. St. John therefore tells us that they bear witness that "God hath given us eternal life in His Son." Again, if it should be asked wherein that testimony appeareth, the answer is easy; for He hath testified the same by the miracles He wrought, first by Moses; secondly, by His Son himself; and lastly by His Apostles that had received the Holy Spirit; all which in their times represented the person of God, and either prophesied or preached Jesus Christ. And as for the Apostles, it was the character of the apostleship, in the twelve first and great Apostles, to bear witness of his resurrection, as appeareth expressly where St. Peter, when a new Apostle was to be chosen in the place of Judas Iscariot, useth these words, "Of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out amongst us, beginning at the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection":[Acts, 1. 21, 22] which words interpret the "bearing of witness" mentioned by St. John. There is in the same place mentioned another Trinity of witnesses in earth. For he saith, "there are three that bear witness in earth; the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and these three agree in one": [Ibid., 1. 8] that is to say, the graces of God's Spirit, and the two sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper, which all agree in one testimony to assure the consciences of believers of eternal life; of which testimony he saith, "He that believeth on the Son of Man hath the witness in himself." [Ibid., 1. 10] In this Trinity on earth, the unity is not of the thing; for the spirit, the water, and the blood are not the same substance, though they give the same testimony: but in the Trinity of heaven, the persons are the persons of one and the same God, though represented in three different times and occasions. To conclude, the doctrine of the Trinity, as far as can be gathered directly from the Scripture, is in substance this: that God, who is always one and the same, was the person represented by Moses; the person represented by his Son incarnate; and the person represented by the Apostles. As represented by the Apostles, the Holy Spirit by which they spoke is God; as represented by His Son, that was God and man, the Son is that God; as represented by Moses and the high priests, the Father, that is to say, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is that God: from whence we may gather the reason those names Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in the signification of the godhead, are never used in the Old Testament: for they are persons, that is, they have their names from representing; which could not be till diverse men had represented God's person in ruling or in directing under Him.

Thus we see how the power ecclesiastical was left by our Saviour to the Apostles; and how they were (to the end they might the better exercise that power) endued with the Holy Spirit, which is therefore called sometimes in the New Testament paracletus, which signifieth an assister, or one called to for help, though it be commonly translated a comforter. Let us now consider the power itself, what it was, and over whom.

Cardinal Bellarmine, in his third general controversy, hath handled a great many questions concerning the ecclesiastical power of the Pope of Rome, and begins with this, whether it ought to be monarchical, aristocratical, or democratical. All which sorts of power are sovereign and coercive. If now it should appear that there is no coercive power left them by our Saviour, but only a power to proclaim the kingdom of Christ, and to persuade men to submit themselves there unto; and, by precepts and good counsel, to teach them that have submitted what they are to do, that they may be received into the kingdom of God when it comes; and that the Apostles, and other ministers of the Gospel, are our schoolmasters, and not our commanders, and their precepts not laws, but wholesome counsels; then were all that dispute in vain.

I have shown already, in the last chapter, that the kingdom of Christ is not of this world: therefore neither can his ministers, unless they be kings, require obedience in his name. For if the Supreme King have not his regal power in this world; by what authority can obedience be required to his officers? "As my Father sent me," so saith our Saviour, "I send you." [John, 20. 21] But our Saviour was sent to persuade the Jews to return to, and to invite the Gentiles to receive, the kingdom of his Father, and not to reign in majesty, no not as his Father's lieutenant till the day of judgement.

The time between the ascension and the general resurrection is called, not a reigning, but a regeneration; that is, a preparation of men for the second and glorious coming of Christ at the day of judgement, as appeareth by the words of our Saviour, "You that have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, you shall also sit upon twelve thrones";[Matthew, 19. 28] and of St. Paul, "Having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace";[Ephesians, 6. 15] and is compared by our Saviour to fishing; that is, to winning men to obedience, not by coercion and punishing, but by persuasion. And therefore he said not to his Apostles he would make them so many Nimrods, hunters of men; but fishers of men. It is compared also to leaven, to sowing of seed, and to the multiplication of a grain of mustard-seed; by all which compulsion is excluded; and consequently there can in that time be no actual reigning. The work of Christ's ministers is evangelization; that is, a proclamation of Christ, and a preparation for his second coming; as the evangelization of John the Baptist was a preparation to his first coming.

Again, the office of Christ's ministers in this world is to make men believe and have faith in Christ: but faith hath no relation to, nor dependence at all upon, compulsion or commandment; but only upon certainty, or probability of arguments drawn from reason, or from something men believe already. Therefore the ministers of Christ in this world have no power by that title to punish any man for not believing or for contradicting what they say: they have, I say, no power by that title of Christ's ministers to punish such; but if they have sovereign civil power, by politic institution, then they may indeed lawfully punish any contradiction to their laws whatsoever: and St. Paul, of himself and other the then preachers of the Gospel, saith in express words, "We have no dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy."[II Corinthians, 1. 24]

Another argument, that the ministers of Christ in this present world have no right of commanding, may be drawn from the lawful authority which Christ hath left to all princes, as well Christians as infidels. St. Paul saith, "Children, obey your parents in all things; for this is well pleasing to the Lord." [Colossians, 3. 20] And, "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, as fearing the Lord":[Ibid., 3. 22] this is spoken to them whose masters were infidels; and yet they are bidden to obey them in all things. And again, concerning obedience to princes, exhorting "to be subject to the higher powers," he saith, "that all power is ordained of God"; and "that we ought to subject to them not only for" fear of incurring their "wrath, but also for conscience sake." [Romans, 13. 1-6] And St. Peter, "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man, for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king, as supreme, or unto governors, as to them that be sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well; for so is the will of God." [I Peter, 2. 13, 14, 15] And again St. Paul, "Put men in mind to be subject to principalities, and powers, and to obey magistrates." [Titus, 3. 1] These princes and powers whereof St. Peter and St. Paul here speak were all infidels: much more therefore we are to obey those Christians whom God hath ordained to have sovereign power over us. How then can we be obliged to obey any minister of Christ if he should command us to do anything contrary to the command of the king or other sovereign representant of the Commonwealth whereof we are members, and by whom we look to be protected? It is therefore manifest that Christ hath not left to his ministers in this world, unless they be also endued with civil authority, any authority to command other men.

But what, may some object, if a king, or a senate, or other sovereign person forbid us to believe in Christ? To this I answer that such forbidding is of no effect; because belief and unbelief never follow men's commands. Faith is a gift of God which man can neither give nor take away by promise of rewards or menaces of torture. And, if it be further asked, what if we be commanded by our lawful prince to say with our tongue we believe not; must we obey such command? Profession with the tongue is but an external thing, and no more than any other gesture whereby we signify our obedience; and wherein a Christian, holding firmly in his heart the faith of Christ, hath the same liberty which the prophet Elisha allowed to Naaman the Syrian. Naaman was converted in his heart to the God of Israel, for he saith, "Thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord. In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon; when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing." [II Kings, 5. 17, 18] This the Prophet approved, and bid him "Go in peace." Here Naaman believed in his heart; but by bowing before the idol Rimmon, he denied the true God in effect as much as if he had done it with his lips. But then what shall we answer to our Saviour's saying, "Whosoever denieth me before men, I will deny him before my Father which is in heaven?" [Matthew, 10. 33] This we may say, that whatsoever a subject, as Naaman was, is compelled to in obedience to his sovereign, and doth it not in order to his own mind, but in order to the laws of his country, that action is not his, but his sovereign's; nor is it he that in this case denieth Christ before men, but his governor, and the law of his country. If any man shall accuse this doctrine as repugnant to true and unfeigned Christianity, I ask him, in case there should be a subject in any Christian Commonwealth that should be inwardly in his heart of the Mahomedan religion, whether if his sovereign command him to be present at the divine service of the Christian church, and that on pain of death, he think that Mahomedan obliged in conscience to suffer death for that cause, rather than to obey that command of his lawful prince. If he say he ought rather to suffer death, then he authorizeth all private men to disobey their princes in maintenance of their religion, true or false: if he say he ought to be obedient, then he alloweth to himself that which he denieth to another, contrary to the words of our Saviour, "Whatsoever you would that men should do unto you, that do ye unto them";[Luke, 6. 31] and contrary to the law of nature (which is the indubitable everlasting law of God), "Do not to another that which thou wouldest not he should do unto thee."

But what then shall we say of all those martyrs we read of in the history of the Church, that they have needlessly cast away their lives? For answer hereunto, we are to distinguish the persons that have been for that cause put to death; whereof some have received a calling to preach and profess the profess the kingdom of Christ openly; others have had no such calling, nor more has been required of them than their own faith. The former sort, if they have been put to death for bearing witness to this point, that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, were true martyrs; for a martyr is, to give the true definition of the word, a witness of the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah; which none can be but those that those that conversed with him on earth, and saw him after he was risen: for a witness must have seen what he testifieth, or else his testimony is not good. And that none but such can properly be called martyrs of Christ is manifest out of the words of St. Peter, "Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out amongst us, beginning from the baptism of John unto that same day he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a martyr" (that is, a witness) "with us of his resurrection":[Acts, 1. 21, 22] where we may observe that he which is to be a witness of truth of the resurrection of Christ, that is to say, of the truth of this fundamental article of Christian religion, that Jesus was the Christ, must be some Disciple that conversed with him, and saw him before and after his resurrection; and consequently must be one of his original Disciples: whereas they which were not so can witness no more, but that their antecessors said it, and are therefore but witnesses of other men's testimony, and are but second martyrs, or martyrs of Christ's witnesses.

He that to maintain every doctrine which he himself draweth out of the history of our Saviour's life, and of the Acts or Epistles of the Apostles, or which he believeth, upon the authority of a private man, will oppose the laws and authority of the civil state, is very far from being a martyr of Christ, or a martyr of his martyrs. It is one article only, which to die for meriteth so honourable a name, and that article is this, that Jesus is the Christ; that is to say, he that hath redeemed us, and shall come again to give us salvation, and eternal life in his glorious kingdom. To die for every tenet that serveth the ambition or profit of the clergy is not required; nor is it the death of the witness, but the testimony itself that makes the martyr: for the word signifieth nothing else but the man that beareth witness, whether he be put to death for his testimony, or not.

Also he that is not sent to preach this fundamental article, but taketh it upon him of his private authority, though he be a witness, and consequently a martyr, either primary of Christ, or secondary of his Apostles, Disciples, or their successors; yet is he not obliged to suffer death for that cause, because being not called thereto, it is not required at his hands; nor ought he to complain if he loseth the reward he expecteth from those that never set him on work. None therefore can be a martyr, neither of the first nor second degree, that have not a warrant to preach Christ come in the flesh; that is to say, none but such as are sent to the conversion of infidels. For no man is a witness to him that already believeth, and therefore needs no witness; but to them that deny, or doubt, or have not heard it. Christ sent his Apostles and his seventy Disciples with authority to preach; he sent not all that believed. And he sent them to unbelievers; "I send you," saith he, "as sheep amongst wolves";[Matthew, 10. 16] not as sheep to other sheep.

Lastly, the points of their commission, as they are expressly set down in the gospel, contain none of them any authority over the congregation.

We have first that the twelve Apostles were sent "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," and commanded to preach "that the kingdom of God was at hand." [Matthew, 10. 6, 7] Now preaching, in the original, is that act which a crier, herald, or other officer useth to do publicly in proclaiming of a king. But a crier hath not right to command any man. And the seventy Disciples are sent out as "Labourers, not as lords of the harvest";[Luke, 10. 2] and are bidden to say, "The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you";[Ibid., 10. 9] and by kingdom here is meant, not the kingdom of grace, but the kingdom of glory; for they are bidden to denounce it to those cities which shall not receive them, as a threatening, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for such a city. [Ibid., 10. 11] And our Saviour telleth his Disciples, that sought priority of place, their office was to minister, even as the Son of Man came, not to be ministered unto, but to minister. [Matthew, 20. 28] Preachers therefore have not magisterial, but ministerial power: "Be not called masters," saith our Saviour, "for one is your master, even Christ." [Ibid., 23. 10]

Another point of their commission is to "teach all nations"; as it is in Matthew, 28. 19, or as in St. Mark, 16. 15, "Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Teaching, therefore, and preaching is the same thing. For they that proclaim the coming of a king must withal make known by what right he cometh, if they mean men shall submit themselves unto him: as St. Paul did to the Jews of Thessalonica, when "three Sabbath days he reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus is Christ." [Acts, 17. 2, 3] But to teach out of the Old Testament that Jesus was Christ, that is to say, king, and risen from the dead, is not to say that men are bound, after they believe it, to obey those that tell them so, against the laws and commands of their sovereigns; but that they shall do wisely to expect the coming of Christ hereafter, in patience and faith, with obedience to their present magistrates.

Another point of their commission is to "baptize, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." What is baptism? Dipping into water. But what is it to dip a man into the water in the name of anything? The meaning of these words of baptism is this. He that is baptized is dipped or washed as a sign of becoming a new man and a loyal subject to that God whose person was represented in old time by Moses, and the high priests, when He reigned over the Jews; and to Jesus Christ, His Son, God and Man, that hath redeemed us, and shall in his human nature represent his Father's person in his eternal kingdom after the resurrection; and to acknowledge the doctrine of the Apostles, who, assisted by the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, were left for guides to bring us into that kingdom, to be the only and assured way thereunto. This being our promise in baptism; and the authority of earthly sovereigns being not to be put down till the day of judgement; for that is expressly affirmed by St. Paul, where he saith, "As in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive. But every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming; then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power." [I Corinthians, 15. 22, 23, 24] It is manifest that we do not in baptism constitute over us another authority by which our external actions are to be governed in this life, but promise to take the doctrine of the Apostles for our direction in the way to life eternal.

The power of remission and retention of sins, called also the power of loosing and binding, and sometimes the keys of the kingdom of heaven is a consequence of the authority to baptize or refuse to baptize. For baptism is the sacrament of allegiance of them that are to be received into the kingdom of God; that is to say, into eternal life; that is to say, to remission of sin: for as eternal life was lost by the committing, so it is recovered by the remitting of men's sins. The end of baptism is remission of sins: therefore St. Peter, when they that were converted by his sermon on the day of Pentecost asked what they were to do, advised them to "repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, for the remission of sins." [Acts, 2. 38] And therefore, seeing to baptize is to declare the reception of men into God's kingdom, and to refuse to baptize is to declare their exclusion, it followeth that the power to declare them cast out, or retained in it, was given to the same Apostles, and their substitutes and successors. And therefore after our Saviour had breathed upon them, saying, "Receive the Holy Ghost," [John, 20. 22] he addeth in the next verse, "Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained." By which words is not granted an authority to forgive or retain sins, simply and absolutely, as God forgiveth or retaineth them, Who knoweth the heart of man and truth of his penitence and conversion; but conditionally, to the penitent: and this forgiveness, or absolution, in case the absolved have but a feigned repentance, is thereby, without other act or sentence of the absolved, made void, and hath no effect at all to salvation, but, on the contrary, to the aggravation of his sin. Therefore the Apostles and their successors are to follow but the outward marks of repentance; which appearing, they have no authority to deny absolution; and if they appear not, they have no authority to absolve. The same also is to be observed in baptism: for to a converted Jew or Gentile, the Apostles had not the power to deny baptism, nor to grant it to the unpenitent. But seeing no man is able to discern the truth of another man's repentance, further than by external marks taken from his words and actions, which are subject to hypocrisy, another question will arise: who is it that is constituted judge of those marks? And this question is decided by our Saviour himself: "If thy brother," saith he, "shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church; but if he neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." [Matthew, 18. 15, 16, 17] By which it is manifest that the judgement concerning the truth of repentance belonged not to any one man, but to the Church, that is, to the assembly of the faithful, or to them that have authority to be their representant. But besides the judgement, there is necessary also the pronouncing of sentence: and this belonged always to the Apostle, or some pastor of the Church, as prolocutor; and of this our Saviour speaketh in the eighteenth verse, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." And conformable hereunto was the practice of St. Paul where he saith, "For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have determined already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed; in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such a one to Satan";[I Corinthians, 5. 3, 4, 5] that is to say, to cast him out of the Church, as a man whose sins are not forgiven. Paul here pronounceth the sentence, but the assembly was first to hear the cause (for St. Paul was absent), and by consequence to condemn him. But in the same chapter the judgement in such a case is more expressly attributed to the assembly: "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator," etc., "with such a one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within?" [Ibid., 5. 11, 12] The sentence therefore by which a man was put out of the Church was pronounced by the Apostle or pastor; but the judgement concerning the merit of the cause was in the Church; that is to say, as the times were before the conversion of kings, and men that had sovereign authority in the Commonwealth, the assembly of the Christians dwelling in the same city; as in Corinth, in the assembly of the Christians of Corinth.

This part of the power of the keys by which men were thrust out from the kingdom of God is that which is called excommunication and to excommunicate is, in the original, aposunagogon poiein, to cast out of the synagogue; that is, out of the place of divine service; a word drawn from the custom of the Jews, to cast out of their synagogues such as they thought in manners or doctrine contagious, as lepers were by the law of Moses separated from the congregation of Israel till such time as they should be by the priest pronounced clean.

The use and effect of excommunication, whilst it was not yet strengthened with the civil power, was no more than that they who were not excommunicate were to avoid the company of them that were. It was not enough to repute them as heathen, that never had been Christians; for with such they might eat and drink, which with excommunicate persons they might not do, as appeareth by the words of St. Paul where he telleth them he had formerly forbidden them to "company with fornicators";[I Corinthians, 5. 9, 10, etc.] but, because that could not be without going out of the world, he restraineth it to such fornicators and otherwise vicious persons as were of the brethren; "with such a one," he saith, they ought not to keep company, "no not to eat." And this is no more than our Saviour saith, "Let him be to thee as a heathen, and as a publican." [Matthew, 18. 17] For publicans (which signifieth farmers and receivers of the revenue of the Commonwealth) were so hated and detested by the Jews that were to pay it, as that publican and sinner were taken amongst them for the same thing; insomuch as when our Saviour accepted the invitation of Zacchaeus a publican, though it were to convert him, yet it was objected to him as a crime. And therefore, when our Saviour, to heathen, added publican, he did forbid them to eat with a man excommunicate.

As for keeping them out of their synagogues, or places of assembly, they had no power to do it but that of the owner of the place, whether he were Christian or heathen. And because all places are by right in the dominion of the Commonwealth, as well he that was excommunicated as he that never was baptized, might enter into them by commission from the civil magistrate; as Paul before his conversion entered into their synagogues at Damascus, to apprehend Christians, men and women, and to carry them bound to Jerusalem, by commission from the high priest.[Acts, 9. 2]

By which it appears that upon a Christian that should become an apostate, in a place where the civil power did persecute or not assist the Church, the effect of excommunication had nothing in it, neither of damage in this world nor of terror: not of terror, because of their unbelief; nor of damage, because they returned thereby into the favour of the world; and in the world to come were to be in no worse estate than they which never had believed. The damage redounded rather to the Church, by provocation of them they cast out to a freer execution of their malice.

Excommunication therefore had its effect only upon those that believed that Jesus Christ was to come again in glory to reign over and to judge both the quick and the dead, and should therefore refuse entrance into his kingdom to those whose sins were retained; that is, to those that were excommunicated by the Church. And thence it is that St. Paul calleth excommunication a delivery of the excommunicate person to Satan. For without the kingdom of Christ, all other kingdoms after judgement are comprehended in the kingdom of Satan. This is it that the faithful stood in fear of, as long as they stood excommunicate, that is to say, in an estate wherein their sins were not forgiven. Whereby we may understand that excommunication in the time that Christian religion was not authorized by the civil power was used only for a correction of manners, not of errors in opinion: for it is a punishment whereof none could be sensible but such as believed and expected the coming again of our Saviour to judge the world; and they who so believed needed no other opinion, but only uprightness of life, to be saved.

There lieth excommunication for injustice; as, if thy brother offend thee, tell it him privately, then with witnesses; lastly, tell the Church, and then if he obey not, "Let him be to thee as an heathen man, and a publican." [Matthew, 18. 15, 16, 17] And there lieth excommunication for a scandalous life, as "If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such a one ye are not to eat." [I Corinthians, 5. 3, 4, 5] But to excommunicate a man that held this foundation, that Jesus was the Christ, for difference of opinion in other points by which that foundation was not destroyed, there appeareth no authority in the Scripture, nor example in the Apostles. There is indeed in St. Paul a text that seemeth to be to the contrary: "A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject." [Ibid., 5. 11, 12] For a heretic is he that, being a member of the Church, teacheth nevertheless some private opinion which the Church has forbidden: and such a one, St. Paul adviseth Titus after the first and second admonition, to reject. But to reject in this place is not to excommunicate the man; but to give over admonishing him, to let him alone, to set by disputing with him, as one that is to be convinced only by himself. The same Apostle saith, "Foolish and unlearned questions avoid":[II Timothy, 2. 23] The word avoid in this place, and reject in the former, is the same in the original, paraitou, but foolish questions may be set by without excommunication. And again, "Avoid foolish questions,: [Titus, 3. 9] where the original periistaso (set them by) is equivalent to the former word, reject. There is no other place that can so much as colourably be drawn to countenance the casting out of the Church faithful men, such as believed the foundation, only for a singular superstructure of their own, proceeding perhaps from a good and pious conscience. But, on the contrary, all such places as command avoiding such disputes are written for a lesson to pastors, such as Timothy and Titus were, not to make new articles of faith by determining every small controversy, which oblige men to a needless burden of conscience, or provoke them to break the union of the Church. Which lesson the Apostles themselves observed well. St. Peter and St. Paul, though their controversy were great, as we may read in Galatians, 2. 11, yet they did not cast one another out of the Church. Nevertheless, during the Apostles' times, there were other pastors that observed it not; as Diotrephes who cast out of the Church such as St. John himself thought fit to be received into it, out of a pride he took in pre-eminence: [3 John, 9, etc.] so early it was that vainglory and ambition had found entrance into the Church of Christ.

That a man be liable to excommunication, there be many conditions requisite; as first, that he be a member of some commonalty, that is to say, of some lawful assembly, that is to say, of some Christian Church that hath power to judge of the cause for which he is to be excommunicated. For where there is no community, there can be no excommunication; nor where there is no power to judge, can there be any power to give sentence.

From hence it followeth that one Church cannot be excommunicated by another: for either they have equal power to excommunicate each other, in which case excommunication is not discipline, nor an act of authority, but schism, and dissolution of charity; or one is so subordinate to the other as that they both have but one voice, and then they be but one Church; and the part excommunicated is no more a Church, but a dissolute number of individual persons.

And because the sentence of excommunication importeth an advice not to keep company nor so much as to eat with him that is excommunicate, if a sovereign prince or assembly be excommunicate, the sentence is of no effect. For all subjects are bound to be in the company and presence of their own sovereign, when he requireth it, by the law of nature; nor can they lawfully either expel him from any place of his own dominion, whether profane or holy; nor go out of his dominion without his leave; much less, if he call them to that honour, refuse to eat with him. And as to other princes and states, because they are not parts of one and the same congregation, they need not any other sentence to keep them from keeping company with the state excommunicate: for the very institution, as it uniteth many men into one community, so it dissociateth one community from another: so that excommunication is not needful for keeping kings and states asunder; nor has any further effect than is in the nature of policy itself, unless it be to instigate princes to war upon one another.

Nor is the excommunication of a Christian subject that obeyeth the laws of his own sovereign, whether Christian or heathen, of any effect. For if he believe that "Jesus is the Christ, he hath the Spirit of God," [John, 5. 1] "and God dwelleth in him, and he in God." [, 4. 15] But he that hath the Spirit of God; he that dwelleth in God; he in whom God dwelleth, can receive no harm by the excommunication of men. Therefore, he that believeth Jesus to be the Christ is free from all the dangers threatened to persons excommunicate. He that believeth it not is no Christian. Therefore a true and unfeigned Christian is not liable to excommunication: nor he also that is a professed Christian, till his hypocrisy appear in his manners; that is, till his behaviour be contrary to the law of his sovereign, which is the rule of manners, and which Christ and his Apostles have commanded us to be subject to. For the Church cannot judge of manners but by external actions, which actions can never be unlawful but when they are against the law of the Commonwealth.

If a man's father, or mother, or master be excommunicate, yet are not the children forbidden to keep them company, nor to eat with them; for that were, for the most part, to oblige them not to eat at all, for want of means to get food; and to authorize them to disobey their parents and masters, contrary to the precept of the Apostles.

In sum, the power of excommunication cannot be extended further than to the end for which the Apostles and pastors of the Church have their commission from our Saviour; which is not to rule by command and coercion, but by teaching and direction of men in the way of salvation in the world to come. And as a master in any science may abandon his scholar when he obstinately neglecteth the practice of his rules, but not accuse him of injustice, because he was never bound to obey him: so a teacher of Christian doctrine may abandon his disciples that obstinately continue in an unchristian life; but he cannot say they do him wrong, because they are not obliged to obey him: for to a teacher that shall so complain may be applied the answer of God to Samuel in the like place, "They have not rejected thee, but me."

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The Shift in the Power of Wealth -- Morris E. Ruddick, 02:21:59 04/21/07 Sat

�But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant.� Deuteronomy 8:18

Jesus was the catalyst for the release of the greatest power shift the world has ever seen. Again and again, Israel�s Messiah introduced His earthly ministry with the words, �the Kingdom of God is at hand. In a matter of three short years, our Lord entrusted those who could see it with a power that would change the world. Some have described it as a clash of kingdoms. But whether viewed from the practical or the strategic dimension, Jesus� earthly mission released restoration and redemption that would shake the nations.

The restoration and redemption Jesus set in motion involved an incredible groundswell of change. It was change creating an extraordinary confrontation of power. In the fourth chapter of Acts, the response of the brethren after Peter and John�s release from jail gives insight into this confrontation of power. �They raised their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and all that is in them; who by the mouth of your servant David have said, �Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and His Anointed.�� (Acts 4:24-26)

Why indeed do the nations rage? It is because Jesus set in motion the conflict of all ages, which will result in the greatest power shift of all ages, as God�s sovereignty over His creation is restored, His covenant confirmed and His people become the head and not the tail. This conflict encompasses everyday life and extends from the spiritual to the community (social and governmental) to the economic. It involves the principle that is clearly outlined in Genesis and then is seen throughout the rest of the Bible: dominion. God made His people to rule over the works of His hands. And that rule involves principles governing what Jesus referred to as the Kingdom of God.

So, to grasp the significance of this issue of Kingdom wealth, it is essential to understand the dynamic of the power shift underway. It is a power shift that will restore Almighty God to the central role in the everyday life of people. It will involve a central role for His emissaries. It will dispel the non-Biblical myth of the separation between the sacred and secular --- because He is central to ALL. It is a power shift that is mobilizing a mature Body with God�s Kingdom perspective and purposes guiding their steps. It will reorient the perverse and the godless orientations of our age with the result that interlinks secular enterprises with overriding Kingdom objectives.

And it will be this interlinking of secular enterprises with Kingdom objectives that will be the gateway for the release of the flow of Kingdom wealth.

At the focal point of the purposes for �Kingdom wealth� will be God's end-time agendas for Israel, the Body, and the peoples and nations. The �power to get wealth to establish his covenant� and the wealth transfer is about God's Kingdom. It's about restoration, redemption, dominion and authority. As ambassadors and emissaries endowed with His power and authority, the Body of Christ is tasked with establishing beachheads and aligning things for the return of Jesus the Messiah. Before us lies a time of Kingdom restoration which will release hope and redemption to all peoples and nations.

KINGDOM WEALTH AND GOD�S ECONOMY
Kingdom wealth operates on a unique but foundational premise best referred to as God�s economy. And like all dimensions of God�s Kingdom as explained by Jesus, it starts like a grain of mustard seed: small, innocuous, but potent and unstoppable in its growth.

�God�s economy� defies the principles and assumed power structures commonly accepted by this world as the foundations of wealth. The odds-defying potential of �God�s economy� is illustrated by the results from God�s guidance to Isaac during a time of extreme economic distress:
�There was famine in the land and the LORD appeared to Isaac and said: �Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you and perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.� So Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundred-fold; and the LORD blessed him. So he began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous.� (Genesis 26:1-3, 12, 13)

�The power to get wealth, that He might establish His covenant.� Against all odds and prevailing wisdom, Isaac sowed during a famine, because God told him to. And he prospered. Operating in covenant with Almighty God is foundational to the operation of God�s economy. In God�s economy, not only is God involved and at the center of the activity; but the expectation for the outcome exceeds what might ever be hoped for or accomplished in the natural.

THE MICRO AND THE MACRO-LEVELS OF GOD�S ECONOMY
In God's economy, micro-enterprises represent an important foundation to God�s economic system, because they are linked to building up not only God�s people who operate the small business ventures, but to the community of which they are a part. Micro-businesses are like the grain of mustard seed with their potential. Today, entrepreneurial Kingdom ventures are appearing in distressed areas not unlike that faced by Isaac and bypassing the economic down-cycles of those regions. Like the astounding result of Isaac reaping a hundred-fold during a time of famine, they are serving as a witness to the goodness and blessings that God has for his people. Kingdom micro-enterprise development is already impacting entire communities around the world for the Lord.

While there is a pronounced growth of entrepreneurial, small business-development Kingdom activity emerging in areas of poverty and distress around the globe, God�s economy is by no means limited to the micro-level. Mid-sized and larger successful Kingdom businesses bring even greater impact. Simultaneously, Kingdom business coalitions are sponsoring and working together to establish community-based initiatives for God's purposes. Likewise, believer-directed business start-up incubator programs are creating businesses that will flourish while competitors struggle and lose ground.

In God�s economy there will also be believers who establish special venture funds, as well as operations that acquire failing businesses and turn them around. Businesses are already being set up specifically with Kingdom agendas in mind. Businesses incorporating business-ministry alliances. And regardless of the size of the initiative, at the forefront of these activities will be Kingdom entrepreneurs.

KINGDOM ENTREPRENEURS
Kingdom entrepreneurs should be distinguished from believers who, otherwise might simply be described as successful business-persons. A Kingdom entrepreneur is Kingdom-directed and motivated. A Kingdom entrepreneur builds. They innovate. They create. And they do so in a way that builds the community around them. They innovate, create and build in a manner that advances the Kingdom of God. Kingdom entrepreneurs represent the essence of Jesus� teaching on the parable of the talents.

Likewise, the ability to make money is not the same as the �power to get wealth that He might establish His covenant.� Our standards for success often are shaded by a worldly mind-set focused on the superficial dimensions. It�s the reason Jesus made the distinction with his referral to �filthy lucre.� There�s a significant difference between the ability to make money and the anointing to get wealth. It�s a question of motivation and purpose and control. It�s a difference tied to how the �power� of wealth is used: for personal gain or to advance God�s Kingdom. It�s why generosity has been such a pivotal factor in the operation of community as clearly outlined in both the old and new covenants.

In example after example, the Word of God illustrates what happens when we become controlled by the world�s system. It results in bondage. It results in slavery. And far too many of God�s people have tried to venture into the arena of God�s economy --- but without the principles or perspective required, they have believed the lie the Israelite spies believed upon their return from their initial scouting trip of the promised land: that they were like grasshoppers in a land of giants.

God�s economy operates on faith: a faith that believes God is a good God and He diligently rewards those who seek Him. But the unbelief reflected by the Hebrew spies who viewed themselves as grasshoppers in a land of giants, shuts the door to �Kingdom� opportunity. Unbelief and fear are deadly. Unbelief undermines operating in faith and avoids calculated risks of faith. Risk-taking is always foundational to the entrepreneurial premise of opportunity. But the �grasshopper� mind-set releases a venomous spirit of timidity and fear that avoids God�s Kingdom potential and sets the stage for failure. The �grasshopper� avoidance of risk results in God�s people who are not building, creating and innovating; but rather are stuck in the mediocre that boxes in the potential of what God might do through them.

Kingdom entrepreneurs are not defined by the size of their business enterprise, but rather their approach to the enterprise. Kingdom entrepreneurs innovate, create and build. They are faith-oriented risk-takers who keenly discern opportunity and know how to take the calculated risks needed to believe and act on the premise of turning that which is not into something tangible.

Kingdom entrepreneurs are the ones who embrace and exercise the truth of God�s word that says that He has given us the power the get wealth, that He might establish His covenant.

THE STRATEGIC DIMENSIONS OF KINGDOM WEALTH
Kingdom wealth will evolve from the three biblical dimensions of Kingdom riches: spiritual riches, community riches and economic riches. The word of God is rich with a balance between all three. We have entered a time in which these three dimensions will operate in concert with one another as Kingdom entrepreneurs who have specialties in each begin working together. And these Kingdom entrepreneurs will change the world, as we know it today.

The five-fold ministry of apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher and evangelist will always be with us. But the needs for the coming harvest are such that functionally they can be expected to manifest more strongly in the community and economic arenas, as the Body begins operating with a greater unity and singleness of purpose. What that will mean will be the ministries making the biggest impact in the days before us will be those that touch not just lives, but entire communities. Ministries that understand the dynamics of the interactions between the spiritual, the community and the economic dimensions of �God�s Kingdom riches� --- and know how to apply them toward the advancement of His Kingdom.

The ministries poised for the coming power shift will recognize the very significant role of the emerging group of nation-changers patterned after the Biblical Joseph and Daniel, and that of the enterprises they direct. Modern-day Josephs will serve key roles as anointed kingly leaders in the accomplishment of God's purposes. �Leaders� modeled after Old Testament �entrepreneurial kings,� like Abraham, Isaac, Joseph and King David who time and again served God�s purposes of redemption and restoration for His people.

Similarly, alliances between these modern-day nation-changers and anointed, chosen non-believers patterned after the Joseph-Pharaoh alliance will take the kingly paradigm a step further. It is an apt parallel to the unique opportunities associated with God's initiatives that will be brought forth for the critical times we are entering. The fact is the Joseph-Pharaoh model was outside the box of the traditional religious mind-set God�s people had in Joseph�s era. It was an unusual, unconventional alliance to the religious standards embraced by Joseph�s family. But it was the divine strategy God chose to circumnavigate the famine coming to the earth at that time.

Today�s Josephs will address the power shift and upheavals of our day by anticipating change and facilitating initiatives beyond the scope or vision of traditional ministries. At the forefront of their key functions will be the spearheading of the wealth transfer. And this role of releasing Kingdom riches will facilitate the restoration and redemption needed to build communities and impact nations. Restoration and redemption facilitated by coalitions and strategies targeting the restoration of Israel and the command in Isaiah 58:10 of reaching out to help the oppressed, the poor, the hungry, and afflicted.

As this wealth transfer begins unfolding, there will be a shift from the ministry model of recent decades. Most established parachurch organizations are the result of entrepreneurial exploits that have built medium-sized to worldwide organizations based on a high profile, personality-based, fund-raising model. There is no question that this God-given model has served an essential role for its time in connecting and building up the Body spiritually.

But the times are changing. And the parachurch model that arose in the fifties and sixties will give way to models more suited to the needs of era we have entered: models incorporating not only the spiritual, but the community and economic dimensions of God�s riches. These models will birth a mix of both micro and macro-level entrepreneurial Kingdom initiatives.

AND these models will operate on the basis of God�s economy, and be driven by cooperative, community and inter-organizational efforts. They will exemplify the principle of the power to get wealth that He might establish His covenant. As the establishment of God�s covenant paradigm reemerges, it will be coupled to the restoration of God�s economic model.

God�s economy will release redemption and restoration that will build communities and change nations. The old paradigm will shift to one with Kingdom entrepreneurs and modern-day Josephs and Daniels advancing cooperative initiatives encompassing the spiritual, community and economic dimensions of God�s riches.

Kingdom entrepreneurs who will operate with a gift for spotting opportunity and translating that opportunity into community-building and nation-changing agendas that advance the Kingdom of God.

KINGDOM OPPORTUNITY
The parable of the sower used a known economic principle of Jesus� day: of sowing in fertile ground, to make a spiritual point. It parallels the parable of the talents: of making your assets work for you, again using an economic principle to make a spiritual point. They each deal with how we are to respond to opportunity. Yet, how many tend to overlook giving genuine focus to the economic dimensions of these two parables?

In embracing the economic truths of these two parables, we have to face the dimension of opportunity. And with opportunity, we have to look hard at the issue of risk. Just like faith is in constant tension with unbelief, so opportunity cannot be embraced without surmounting the hurdle of risk. Addressing risk enters the practical realm of where we live. Isaac took steps that went against all odds when he sowed in famine. But the result was he reaped a hundred-fold return.

The economic side of the issue posed by these parables raises the question of how faithfully we invest our time and economic talents into fertile ground that will yield the hundred-fold return in the advancement of God�s Kingdom.

Identifying that fertile ground, along with what it takes to do the sowing is the foundation of opportunity and the area that Kingdom entrepreneurs, big and small, will exploit. That ability to spot opportunity and maximize it is the basis on which entrepreneurs innovate, create and build. But as we enter a time with evil being multiplied on every hand, it will become a primary basis on which God�s Kingdom advances. It�s the new paradigm.

Kingdom entrepreneurs are not new to Christendom. From their ranks have come the pioneers and change-artists who recognize the need and opportunity of the times and then do something about it. During the fifties and sixties the Lord raised up a unique breed of Kingdom entrepreneurs. They were �spiritual� entrepreneurs and pioneers. And these pioneers began seizing the opportunity represented in the mass media, which in effect extended the reach and complemented the role served by the local church infrastructure. With the development of technology and the pervasive role radio and television began playing spiritually in lives across the globe, these �spiritual entrepreneurs� paved the way for changing the paradigm of how the Church operated.

But these changes that seized the opportunity and transformed the game rules advancing God�s Kingdom were anticipatory responses the Spirit of the Lord was unfolding to enable the Body to meet the challenges of the times. At the time, the emerging challenges were simply not seen by many, and some of the heaviest opposition came from Church leaders who resisted the change. So it is today. We have entered a time in which the days are evil and becoming increasing more so. And along with that is the fact that the paradigm is shifting.

The companion to risk and resistance has always been the propensity to interpret future development based on the constraints of past models. The parachurch movement brought in a new order and dimension to the way the Church operated.

RECOGNIZING AND RESPONDING TO THE CHANGE AND OPPORTUNITY
In similar fashion, the restoration of God�s economy and the wealth transfer will usher in changes that dramatically impact priorities, perspectives and methodologies. Many of these now-familiar ministry models have been refined and reached satisfying comfort-levels. But rather than having arrived, much work remains. Much of it incorporates new challenges. And recent days have realized many experiencing turbulence tied to the old models.

God�s Kingdom is advancing. And the scope of both the risk and the opportunity are demanding change. The shaking and resistance underway is to spur us on. And for those who begin embracing the new paradigm, the shaking and resistance will be met with sovereign responses of the Holy Spirit and a fresh release of signs and wonders and miracles. In this process the Spirit of the Lord is preparing us for a timely and more strategic-level impact, as the paradigm in both approach and perspective shifts.

Since the inception of the parachurch movement, the pace of change within the Body and the way the Church operates has been gradual and steady. But the accelerated pace of events and the ease and speed with which the world interacts today is demanding much more. The change required is not an end in itself, but a part of the process of establishing new beachheads that will mobilize the Body in ways relevant to the times and seasons. It is the change required to advance the Kingdom of God victoriously. Opportunity seized in the arena of the mass media since the fifties has more recently been combined with inroads made by Kingdom pioneers through the medium of the Internet. The result has been a quantum leap impacting the means by which this generation of the Body is informed, connected and matured.

CATALYSTS FOR THE WEALTH TRANSFER
As the Body has been awakened, matured, informed and connected, there has been a convergence tied to a fresh and major move of redemption and restoration. This convergence will actuate the Deuteronomy 8 principle of the �power to get wealth that He might establish His covenant� as a transfer of wealth tied to the power shift in process emerges. This dynamic will serve as a catalyst for unfolding a level of redemption and Kingdom restoration that will be unlike anything seen in recent times.

But there are two other key scriptures, which together with Deuteronomy 8:18 form the broader perspective encompassing the transfer of wealth. The first is the Proverbs 13 principle that the �wealth of the wicked is stored up for the just.� The second is from Isaiah 60 and marks the expectation of what will unfold with the restoration of Israel.

We have entered an era in which numerous end-time conditions are being aligned. This alignment includes four key emerging factors tied to the wealth transfer.

When they mature and converge, they will be significant catalysts to the release of enormous wealth and resources into the hands of those at the forefront of strategically advancing the Kingdom of God. These four dimensions include
* the restoration of God�s economy;
* a new outworking of Body-unity whereby community initiatives become Kingdom initiatives;
* strategic partnerships between spiritual, community and economic Kingdom entrepreneurs, and
* the restoration of Israel.

Restoration of God�s Economy.

Because of the nature of these times the restoration of God�s economy will be as a light shining in the deepening darkness coming upon the earth. These are times described in scripture as times of earthquakes and famines; of wars and rumors of wars. They are described as evil days.

But the principles in Deuteronomy that govern entrepreneurial communities work in the face of adversity. The awakening and calling of Kingdom entrepreneurs will globally penetrate bastions of poverty and destruction with hope. The restoration of God�s economy will become foundational to the groundswell of �repossessing the land� that is tied to the release of the wealth transfer described in Proverbs 13.

Body Unity Whereby Community Initiatives Become Kingdom Initiatives.

There are numerous models operating today, like in the days of Issac, by which God�s economy operates against all odds. Each of them in some significant way is tied to community. Each involves community-directed unity that supersedes the Western mind-set of the self-contained, rugged individualist-type that we tend to associate with pioneers and entrepreneurs. The Kingdom entrepreneurs of this day will not fit the superstar mold often seen in high profile corporate settings, but rather a servant-leader model. Joseph was a servant-leader whose strategies bypassed the destruction of the famine and strengthened his nation while accomplishing God�s redemptive purposes.

Kingdom entrepreneurs will be facilitators of setting others in motion as they serve as catalysts in community activities that in turn impact and bless the regions and nations of which they are a part, in the advancement of the Kingdom of God. As the world views those who have been given the �power to get wealth� and those who sow in famine and reap a hundred-fold; they will see the tangible result of how God Almighty establishes His covenant among His people.

Strategic Partnerships Between Spiritual, Community and Economic Kingdom Entrepreneurs.

But as we enter a time when the clash of kingdoms is intensifying and the struggle over dominion begins reaching vicious levels, we will also see a convergence of the roles of the various types of Kingdom entrepreneurs. Spiritual Kingdom entrepreneurs. Community Kingdom entrepreneurs. And economic Kingdom entrepreneurs. With this convergence will arise partnerships that will flow in the principle of �God giving us the power to get wealth that He might establish His covenant.�

These partnerships will build communities and change nations and advance and align the kingdom of God. And in the process, there will be a monumental �Proverbs 13� power shift, that will result in an incredible release of resources into very timely, strategic and effective kingdom initiatives: Kingdom initiatives that merge the functions served by spiritual, community and economic Kingdom entrepreneurs.

But as the paradigm shifts, the focus and importance God has always placed on Israel is moving center-stage.

The Restoration of Israel.

Restoration and redemption has always included the apple of God�s eye, Israel. The throne-room perspective to God giving us the power to get wealth that He might establish His covenant comes from Isaiah 60. It speaks of the restoration of Israel. It points to the truth that in the overall scheme of what the Lord is releasing for the days before us, that Israel and Jewish revival is the pivot point.
�For the wealth of the seas will be brought to you and the riches of the nations will come. Your gates will stand open continually, so that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations. You are the Lord. You will do this swiftly and they will be called ministers of our God and they will feed on the wealth of nations.� (Isaiah 60:5,11)

The restoration of Israel, both the land and the people Israel is already in process. More Jews have met their Messiah since 1967 than in all the years since our Lord walked the face of the earth. And the momentum and impact of the Messianic Jewish movement is on the increase. The nation of Israel has become the number-two center for venture capital projects in the world. Israel�s Technology Incubator program produces a high ratio of new business enterprises entering the world market in a matter of a handful of years.

Despite more than 50 years of war and the impact of an intifada designed to destroy Israel, the desert blooms in Israel and against all odds, it thrives. But the pressures against Israel have never been greater and they mark the steps toward the time Scripture points to as when �all Israel is saved.� As the spiritual �restoration of Israel� unfolds, the initiatives that merge the efforts of spiritual, community and economic Kingdom entrepreneurs will serve as catalysts for the macro-level releases of the wealth transfer. An Israel-directed wealth-transfer is described by these verses of Isaiah 60 as �the riches of the nations� and the �wealth of the nations.�

THE POWER SHIFT
Centuries and centuries ago, seats of power rested with those with the military might. Then there was a time when those who reigned and conquered were those controlling the organizational religious establishments. Most recent centuries have seen rule and authority controlled by national governments. But during the most recent decade or so, the real seats of power have been tied to economic power. That's why so much of the focus today, in terms of God's agendas and the building of His Kingdom, involves the mobilization of economic Kingdom entrepreneurs.

There is an awesome alignment in process. It is an alignment that will release the greatest move of redemption and restoration the world has ever seen. Restoration and redemption tied to a massive power shift: the power shift of all ages. God�s sovereignty over His creation is being restored, His covenant confirmed and His covenant people becoming the head and not the tail. This alignment and power shift coincide with the preparation of the gatekeepers and administrators who understand the times and the dynamics of this divine orchestration of restoration and redemption that is unfolding. It is a shift in dominion. A power shift that will incorporate new venues of resources and wealth that will be entrusted to the hands of prepared and chosen vessels like Joseph the Patriarch, who understand the times and will administrate them in the accomplishment of God�s purposes for this strategic hour.

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Stinking Thinking-Can we out think God! -- Archbishop Kenneth Grimble, 03:35:51 04/17/07 Tue

When we are in ways of personal distress and sorrow, it can be a great comfort to hear a brother or sister say, "I will be thinking about you." Then a mother says to her daughter who is experiencing a particular and secret trial, "You will be in my prayers and thoughts." Or a parent says to a child who will face a lonely way or a way of testing, "I will remember you. I will carry you in my heart and in my thoughts." In those words, "I will be thinking about you," we wish to convey two things. First, our love. To be mindful of another person in his trial and sorrow is the essence of love. Secondly, we express our helplessness. We are saying that the other person is beyond our ability to help. Therefore, although those words are very reassuring, their thoughts cannot actually change anything.

Soaring far above that is the Word of God that we find in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." God says that, moment by moment, He thinks of us; that there is a constant stream of divine thought towards His children in Christ; and that never, for one moment, are we out of those thoughts.

We read in Psalm 40:17, "But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me." Still more: God tells us in those words of Jeremiah what His thoughts are. They are thoughts of peace, not evil, a peace flowing from the cross of Calvary. And still more: God tells us that His thoughts are not impotent. They are not only well-meaning and sympathetic, but they are powerful. By His thoughts He will give to us an expected end, the end that He had decreed and promised.

Do you live in that comfort? Does it strengthen and cheer you? Does it humble you? Does it lift you up with a holy joy and confidence? Your God thinks on you!

Those words in Jeremiah 29:11 were part of the letter that God sent by Jeremiah to the captives of Judah who were in Babylon. In the letter Jeremiah tells them to build houses and form families and abide peaceably in Babylon, until the time that the Lord would lead them out after seventy years. The captives of Judah in Babylon did not rest quietly under the iron yoke of Babylon. There were certain false prophets among them who prophesied lies. They held out the false hope of escape. And they stirred up the Jewish captives to revolt against the Babylonians.

Jeremiah is called to combat these false prophets and to assure the people of Judah that it was God who sent them into captivity and that they must patiently abide and wait seventy years. The people of Judah at this moment were in a twofold danger. First, that they would be buoyed by false hopes, the false hopes of the false prophets. Secondly, the danger was to despair, to have no hope, to give up. So Jeremiah, God's servant, calls them to hear the Word of the Lord. He calls them to put down their false hopes, and then he instills in them the right hope and the right strength. That right hope and strength was the sovereignty of almighty God. The covenant God, their Creator and Savior, had not forgotten them. He knew the thoughts that He had toward them, and He knew that He would give them their expected end.

Now this Word of God comes to us today. We are not to live in the false hopes of the world, or the false hopes that we ourselves would devise. Nor are we to despair in ways of trial and loneliness. But we are to find our comfort where alone it can be found. That alone can be God, and in the truth that God thinks about us.

What a profound truth it is. The almighty God thinks upon us from eternity to eternity. Every moment of our being and existence His thoughts of mercy and lovingkindness in Christ are upon us.

Behind this thinking of God upon us stands the truth of God's counsel. In Ephesians 1:9-11, the apostle Paul celebrates his God and says that it was God's "good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that � he might gather together in one all things in Christ � in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." God is ever conscious of His thoughts, of His counsel, of His eternal plan with respect to us. His thoughts towards us are not simply written in a file and tucked away in a cabinet. They are ever before His mind's eye. He so thinks of us that He arranges all things around us and provides for all of our needs. He never ceases to think of us. His thoughts are high above our thoughts. The Lord constantly holds His people in the consciousness of His thoughts about them. Never is there a moment when no eye pities or when no one thinks upon me. The Lord says, "I, the Lord, do keep you. I will watch over you every moment. I will not allow any to hurt you. I will keep you night and day."

These words were spoken by Jeremiah, as we said, for the assurance of the people of Judah in captivity who were tempted to think that God had indeed forgotten them. So our God, in our text, repeats it three times: "I know the thoughts that I think toward you." He was ever thoughtful of them. What a wonderful assurance. God thought about the people of Judah when they walked in the streets of a strange city and heard a strange language. God thought of them when their captors mocked them and abused them and required of them to sing them one of Zion's songs. God thought of them when they lay down on the banks of the Babylonian canals and cried under the willows when they thought about Jerusalem. God would think about them throughout the captivity that would last for seventy years. Never for a second would God forget His own eternal plan and purpose with respect to them.

Every child of God is always before the mind of the eternal God. With all the attention and focus of His divine mind He contemplates each one of His children. There is no forgetting and then remembering. There is no calling to mind. What a wonderful truth! Our thoughts of God are often too small. The eternal God never ceases to think about us.

But there is much more. The point being made is that God's actions are controlled by His thoughts. All that happens to us is not a hopeless and confused mess, but is according to the perfect thought and plan of God. The experience of God's people in Babylon made them think that the Lord had forgotten to be mindful. They had been carried captive. Their families were torn apart. Their children were slain. Their possessions were gone. They were exiled from the land of promise. How could those events indicate that God thought about them in kindness? Did He care at all, they were tempted to ask?

In answer, God says, "I know the thoughts that I think toward you: thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give unto you an expected end." All that had happened was not the thoughtless actions of fate, but was the deliberate and determined act of God. God's heart is in His acts. His hand is governed by His mind. Never is there a thoughtless action on His part. Great things and little things, everything is timed and measured, every event is sent with loving thoughtfulness. Never has anything happened to a child of God by remorseless fate. All has been ordered, in wisdom, out of the thoughtful, loving plan of God.

That means that even when you and I do not know the thoughts that God has decreed towards us, God does know them. We read in Psalm 77 that often the way of the Lord is in the sea, His paths are in deep waters, and His footsteps are not known. But God understands. God knows the end from the beginning.

Yes, unbelief will misinterpret the acts of God. But faith clings to this Word of God and says that God's ways are perfect, and that God has carefully thought out the way that we must take. Out of His own heart and thoughts, He sends to us all that transpires in our life.

These thoughts, God says, are settled. They are definite. "I know the thoughts that I think." He has made up His mind. He is of one mind and none can turn Him. He is the Father of lights in whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17). We say sometimes about ourselves that we do not know our own thoughts; we cannot make up our mind; we weigh the pros and the cons; our thoughts change; we do not have perfect knowledge. But not God. God's understanding is infinite. There is no hesitation. There is no debate or question in God. He knows the promises He has made. He remembers His covenant. He knows those who are His. He is not taken by surprise. His purposes and His thoughts towards us, His children, are settled and binding.

And those thoughts lead to an expected end, that is, to a goal. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you � thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." God tells us that they are thoughts of peace. That is a very glorious truth. Behind that is the truth of the cross, for we are rebellious sinners. We have no claim on God. Why does He have thoughts of peace towards us and not thoughts of holy retribution? Why? Because He has chosen us to be in Christ Jesus. And through Christ He has made peace. From all eternity it was Christ who had the preeminence ( Col. 1). Out of mere grace God chose His church, God chose those who would be saved, to be in Christ Jesus. He elected them to be in Christ. And as He sees them in Christ, He has thoughts of peace. He delights in them. And He seeks their peace.

What a wonderful truth. How do I know, as a child of God in the hard and heavy trials that God sends in my life, that they do not come in His anger but that they come for my good? I cannot always see that. But I know it in the gospel of justification in the blood of Christ. He has given Christ for me. He sees me in Christ. Therefore His thoughts are thoughts of peace.

When we are under affliction and sorely depressed and cast down, then our conscience perceives that there are plenty of reasons why God should indeed contend with us, and that His thoughts should be thoughts of retribution and evil. Then the old enemy, the devil, whispers, "The Lord has evil thoughts towards you. He will cast you away forever." And our conscience says, "Now I am going to get what I deserve. The Lord no longer loves me. He will destroy me." The Scriptures say, "Child of God, no! The Lord knows His thoughts that He thinks towards you. They are peace. Yes, He hates your sin. In Christ He has put away your sins and He calls you to repentance. In the way of repentance alone you can experience His mercies. But nevertheless, His thoughts are not thoughts of evil." God sees us in Christ. He sees the end - that we be holy and without blame before Him. So, in His love, He chastens us. You may arise from a bed in the morning and be chastened. You may be under the rod of correction. But you may be assured of this, that God's thoughts are thoughts of peace. The Lord leads through dark ways and through slippery places and through steep paths. He always does this because He has decreed peace towards us in Jesus Christ and will give to us an expected end.

Literally, we read: "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil; to give unto you a hoped for ending." God sees the end. We see the moment. We cannot see beyond the moment of the present. But God sees the end toward which He is directing all things. That end is the glory of the church. We may read of that in I Corinthians 15:28 and in John 17 in Jesus' wonderful prayer. When God created Adam, God saw the end. When Adam fell, He saw the end. When Christ died, God saw the end. In the dark days before Christ returns, a world filled with iniquity, God sees the end. And in every moment in our life, God sees the end.

The end of all of His thoughts are the day when the church shall stand before Him redeemed in the blood of Christ, gathered together in one, constituted a glorious temple, a tabernacle in which the Lord God shall dwell, in which all of the glorious blessedness of His own being shall be enjoyed perfectly by all of His children. That end is never absent from His thoughts. God knew what He was doing when He drove the people of Judah into captivity. God was using Babylon to prepare a people who would confess Him in repentance and say again, "He is our God." The heathen nation of Babylon was only serving the purposes of God. God would bring His people back to the land of Canaan.

But God sees the end always as being the end of the new heaven and the new earth when He shall gather together all in Christ. Of that end, John says, we do not yet know what we shall be. But we do know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him. We shall be glorified. We shall be made perfectly like unto Christ. God is leading all things unto that end, unto that moment.

If we believe this Word of God by faith, then our response should be: perfect submission. Perhaps today you are being tried above measure, so much so that you would almost despair. Perhaps you are contending with sickness. Or there are pressures at your work. Perhaps you are being denied what you think you dearly need. Or you are weary in a personal struggle against sin. God's thoughts are upon you. God's thoughts are thoughts of peace, in such a way to bring to you an expected end: the day of glory. If you believe that, then respond by saying, "Let God do what seemeth good to Him. Thy will be done, Father." Do not quarrel. But humble yourself before God.

Still more. The response will be great hopefulness. Perhaps the Lord does cast you down in deep sorrow today. Perhaps the Lord brings to you a great conviction of your own sin. That burden of your sin has to drive you to the cross, there to see His mercy and His truth. Perhaps you say that the future is too horrible for you to think about. Child of God, there is nothing to dread. You will be upheld by God. You are in His thoughts day and night. Even when you say, "But I cannot understand the way of the Lord. I don't know why He does with me as He does," it is enough for you to know that God does it and that God's thoughts are perfect. You may have great hope.

Still more, our response should be one of unquenchable joy. We may sing, "In God's love abiding, I have joy and peace." What greater joy is there than to know that my Father in heaven knows all that I have need of and that He in His thoughts has supplied to me all that I shall ever need through Christ Jesus? Therefore, I may rejoice. And what joy it will be when the end of God's thoughts are revealed, when that glorious day of Christ has come. Far more glorious than we can even imagine. When we see all that God has thought for us, that will be fullness of joy. We will cry out, "Not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory."

Take this Word of God and, by faith, clasp it to your heart. God thinks on us. He knows our thoughts. He orders all things according to His own thoughts about us. Those thoughts are thoughts of peace to bring us to glory.

Let our response be: submission, hope, and joy. And let us say with the psalmist: "My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him."

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Matters of the Heart! -- Prophet T.O. Faison, 09:52:33 01/27/07 Sat

Miracles:
The Withered Hand Restored
Matt 12:9-14.

And when He was departed thence, He went into their synagogue; and behold, there was a man which had his hand withered, etc.

Q. WHAT do you conceive to be meant here by a withered hand?

A. According to the literal or natural idea, by a withered hand is to be understood the mem�ber of the body so called, deprived of its life and consequent use, for want of a free circulation of vital powers; but according to the spiritual idea, by a withered hand is to be understood a faculty or power of the human mind, deprived also of its life and energy for want of a free circulation of vital principles. For the hand of the body, as being created to execute the purposes of the soul, is a figure of power, or strength; and since all spiritual power and strength is of two kinds, namely. intellectual and voluntary; the one origi�nating in the understanding, and the other in the will, or the one originating in truth, and the other in good; therefore every man has two hands, in like manner as he has two eyes, and two ears, the one being intended to express the power of truth in the intellect, whilst the other is intended to express the power derived from good in the will. By the withered hand there�fore, recorded in the above history, is spiritually figured the state of the Jewish church at that pe�riod, in that it was deprived of one of the above spiritual powers, so that its members were prin�cipled either in truth without good, or in good without truth; thus either in understanding without will, or in will without understanding; and this by reason of the want of circulation of the divine principles of heavenly love and wis�dom in their minds and lives. Accordingly, in the original tongue, the term rendered withered is expressive of the idea of dryness, and there�fore the withered hand might properly have been rendered a dry hand, to denote that the power of truth or of good was dried up, through a de�fect of the circulation of heavenly life in the in�teriors of the mind. It is remarkable also that Jesus Christ in speaking of the hand which of�fended, and was to be cut off and cast away, (Matt. 5:30), confines his observation to the right hand, because the right hand, like the right eye, has respect to the will of man, as the left has respect to the understanding; and therefore Jesus Christ, by his injunction to cut off and cast away the offending right hand, meant to inculcate this edifying lesson, that man ought to pay more attention to the evil desires in his will, than to the erroneous persuasions in his understanding, because all real offence comes from the former, and not at all from the latter, only so far as they are connected with and de�rived from the former.

Q. But it is written in the history, that the people present proposed this question to the blessed Jesus, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath-day? that they might accuse Him: to which He replied, What man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath-day, will he not lay hold of it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? � what instruction do you learn from the above question, and the an�swer which was given to it?

A. The above question is grounded in a mis�taken idea of that rest which is figured by the sabbath, and is involved in it, as if it implied an absolute cessation from all work or operation of the body; whereas it only implies a cessation, from the work or labour of the mind, all which work or labour originates in man's evils, and their connection with the powers of darkness, ac�cording as it is written, There is no peace [or rest,] says the lord, for the wicked, (Isaiah 48:22). Jesus Christ accordingly, in his reply to the above question, confirms the above idea of the sabbath, as involving in it, not the mere rest of the body only, but the rest of the soul; in other words, a cessation from sin, which is the only true cause of what can properly be called labour, since the work of the body is not properly labour, only so far as it is done unwil�lingly, and thus not in the spirit of that freedom, which heavenly love and heavenly wisdom never fail to inspire. For such is the force of His di�vine argument, if regarded only according to the letter, thus as implying that it is lawful on the sabbath-day to save the life of a sheep, which has fallen into a pit. But how much greater is the force of this argument when spiritually un�derstood, or when interpreted according to its spiritual and internal meaning! For according to that meaning, by a sheep is here to be under�stood, the affection of good in man; and by this sheep falling into a pit is to be further under�stood, the affection of good immersed in false principles and persuasions; for by a pit, and especially an infernal pit, whenever the ex�pression occurs in the sacred scriptures, such per�suasions and principles are always signified. The argument of the blessed Jesus therefore, when considered in its full force, is this, that, as He afterwards expresses it, Itis lawful to do well on the sabbath-day; mother words, it is lawful to save the life of a sheep, whether considered in a natural or a spiritual sense, thus it is lawful to do any thing by which the benefit either of ani�mal or of mental life may be promoted; this be�ing the very ground and intention of the sabbath to promote the best interests of man, and there�fore especially to lift the sheep out of the pit; in other words, to elevate the affection of good out of false persuasions, to seek conjunction with the eternal truth, and thus with the god of that truth, which is the true sabbath.

Q. And what further instruction do you learn from the question which Jesus Christ proposes on this occasion, when He asks, How much then is a man better than a sheep?

A. I am led by the question to examine the dis�tinct natures and qualities of a man and of a sheep; and from such examination I am con�ducted to the important discovery, that a man and a sheep are distinguished from each other principally by this mark and character , that, man, as being figurative of heavenly wisdom or intelligence, has thus the faculty from god of elevating his thought to an eternal end; and not only so, but also of acknowledging in humility and thankfulness, that his life, with all its powers and enjoyments, are from a divine source, and capable of being conjoined with that source; whereas a sheep, as being figurative only of a na�tural affection, possesses no such quality, being not only incapable of elevating his thought to an eternal object, but also of conjoining himself by affection with any other but temporal objects.

Q. But it is lastly added, Then says He to the man, Stretch forth your hand: and he stretched it forth, and it was restored whole, like as the other � what do you here under�stand by the injunction of Jesus Christ, stretch forth your hand; and by the man's compliance, as expressed in these words, and he stretched it forth?

A. According to the literal sense of the his�tory, both the lord's injunction and the man's compliance, have relation only to the stretching forth the hand of the body which had before been withered; but according to the spiritual sense of the miracle here recorded, by the lord's injunction to stretch out his hand, is to be un�derstood the divine will and pleasure, that man should exercise freely, and as of himself, the powers both of love and of wisdom, or of goodness and truth, imparted to him continually by his merciful creator; yet that he should do so under the constant grateful acknowledgment that those powers are not his own, but perpetual gifts from a divine bounty; and by the man's compliance with this injunction is further to be understood, his free exertion of the spiritual powers with which he was invested, whilst he humbly acknowledged that those powers were from god, and yet exercised them as if they were his own, absolutely independent of their divine source.

Q. And what do you conceive to be the force and meaning of the concluding words, And it was restored whole, like as the other?

A. According to the sense of the letter, these words again have reference only to the hands of the body, teaching that one was made sound and whole as the other; but according to the spiritual sense, they have a deeper meaning and significa�tion, as having relation to the mental powers above spoken of, namely. to the power of the human will, and the power of the human understanding; in other words, to the power of goodness, and to the power of truth, or, as it may be otherwise ex�pressed, to the power of love, and to the power of wisdom. Agreeable, therefore, to this application of the words, they were intended to teach the im�portant and edifying lesson, that when either of the above powers has been in a state of disorder and infirmity, and is afterwards restored by divine aid to order and strength, its restoration is such, in measure and degree, as to render it exactly suited to the other, so that each power shall be equally balanced and proportioned to the other. Thus, as in the formation of the human body, a Wonderful providence, we find, is continually in exercise, to preserve a due proportion of the limbs, so that the right arm, and the right leg, for instance, may be exactly fitted to the left, both in size and shape; in like manner the same providence is continually operative to preserve the same fitness and meetness in the powers of the mind, and this in such a sort, that the power of the will shall always keep pace with the power of the understanding; or what is the same thing, the power of goodness with the power of truth, and vice versa. Accordingly, it is ordained of the divine wisdom and mercy, that no man shall possess more of goodness than he possesses of truth, or more of love than he possesses of wis�dom, or more of will than he possesses of under�standing, and vice versa ; and this, with the divine view, that the spiritual form of man, like the bodily, may be in exact harmony and pro�portion, which would not be the case, unless the relative powers were fitted to each other in the manner above described.

Q. What then is the general instruction which you learn from this miracle?

A. Under the figure of a withered hand, I learn to discern, not only a bodily imperfection and weakness, but also a mental one, consisting in a defect of the operation either of love or of wisdom, or, what amounts to the same, either of goodness or of truth, in the church in general, and in its members in particular. But whilst I am taught thus to see and to lament human de�fect and imperfection, I am taught, at the same time, to discover and to rejoice in a divine mercy and omnipotence, brought near in the incar�nate god, for the removal of disorder, and the restoration of order in the diseased constitution of man. I am resolved, therefore, under all my spiritual infirmities, to apply to that god for re�lief, and especially when I find that my hand is withered, whether it arise from a defect of hea�venly love and goodness in my will, or of hea�venly wisdom and truth in my understanding. I am resolved also to cherish in my mind and life the just and proper idea of the sabbath-day, which is inculcated in the history of this miracle, by believing it to be a day sanctified to well�doing, or to the performance of all those good works which lead to the enjoyment of an eter�nal sabbath, consisting in deliverance from the powers of evil, and in consequent restoration to a blessed conjunction of life with the father of mercies, whose high and holy name is Jesus Christ. Thus may I humbly hope under every defect and infirmity, whether of will or of un�derstanding, to hear from my saviour god the blessed injunction, Stretch forth thy hand: and thus, too, shall I further rejoice in complying willingly with that injunction, until each faculty of my mind be restored to harmony and due pro�portion with the other, so that in me may be fulfilled the concluding words of the above me�morable history, It was restored whole, like as the other. amen.

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ASKING A ADVICE OBOUT THE CORRECT WAY OF DISCIPLINE TO MY 12 AND 13 YEARS OLD DAUGHTERS -- NICOLAS, 06:03:59 12/28/06 Thu

I need contact with anyperson of this website , can be a chirstian pastor , ( i am Evangelic )or a father that have children between 12 and 13 years old , if he speak a little of Spanish it would be better , i am spanish , and i need a good orientation about how i should discipline to my 12 and 13 years old daughters .

Almost one year ago i am having a lot of big discipline problems and i need ask advice about that i can do for put a solution to this problem that begin when my daughters arrived to the 12 years old .

Please anwer me as soon as it be possible for you.

NICOLAS FERNANDEZ

SPAIN

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Why the Rod is Righteous? -- Dr Wisdom, 18:14:32 10/28/06 Sat

Wisdom and Child-Rearing, Part III,

Introduction
From vast experience I could easily write a book on the subject of corporal punishment. It would be entitled: Spankings I Remember. There is one particular incident from my youth that is still fresh in my mind�s eye. My father asked me to walk up to the county road and get the mail. I responded that I would be delighted to drive those 200 yards or so. After all, I reminded him, it was my old �36 Ford pickup that I would be driving. True enough, my father agreed, but it was his gas I would be consuming. I walked out the back door only to see that pickup sitting, unused. What a shame. Convinced that my dad was unreasonable, and hoping that tired engine would come to life before my father made it out of the house, I got in and started grinding away at the starter. The engine came to life about the same time my dad did. Well, it was too late, I reasoned; what was done was done. I might as well make a run for it, hoping the truck was quicker than dad--a futile thought.

Unfortunately for both dad and myself, I ran over his foot with a half-flat front tire. That certainly added to his zeal. With amazing agility dad grabbed hold of the truck; and since the truck had no door on the driver�s side, dad and I were eyeball to eyeball, me in the driver�s seat and him on the running board. Now I know that some Bible teachers make much of the rod, the instrument, by which discipline is administered, as well as carefully specifying the place it is to be applied. But there was a stick laying in the road which my dad was able to reach down and pick up, and I was still sitting on the spot where it would best be applied. The long and short of it was that one good blow brought me to my senses and that old truck to a halt. You may have guessed that I walked to bring in the mail.

As a commentary on my father�s use of the paddle, there is not one time I can recall about which I am not now able to smile. The only member of our family who had a continuing difference with my father about the paddle was Prince, the family�s collie. I believe that dog suffered as much during our sessions with the rod as we did.

No book of the Bible has as much to say about "the rod" as the Book of Proverbs. And few books written in recent years would agree with what Proverbs teaches. An article in the Journal of Psychology and Theology of several years ago probably expresses the viewpoint of most Americans. The author concluded that moderate spanking had minimal value, if any, and more frequent and severe spanking was definitely viewed as damaging to the child. Here are several of the reasons the author cited in support of his position: 1

1.A child�s bottom is in close proximity to his sexual organs. Thus a spanking may result in sexual stimulation. (Sigmund Freud�s fingerprints are all over this objection). 2.The child may so enjoy the making up which follows a spanking that he will seek the spanking. 3.Since it is assumed that spanking is a form of parental revenge, it is feared that the child will learn to handle his frustrations like his parents do--by striking out. In the words of the article, when we spank our children we give them, "a taste of the jungle." 2 4.A woman once suffered from an anal fistula which she associated with spanking and toilet training. Therefore no one should spank their children for fear that this might be their experience. 5.The possibility of getting a spanking keeps the child from having a relaxed attitude toward life. He is always fearful of the spanking which might occur. 6.Some children who are spanked still misbehave. Therefore, spanking must not work.

I am not shocked to read these kinds of statements when they are written by non-Christians, by people who do not view the Bible as authoritative. But this article was written by a man who received a doctoral degree in theology from one of the most renowned seminaries in the United States. Furthermore, he is teaching in a Christian liberal arts college. 3 In attempting to integrate psychology with theology, the former clearly won out, as we can see from this statement by Dr. Ruble:

Should children be spanked? Answered from a biblical viewpoint, there seems to be no clear teaching that they should. Conversely, there is no explicit prohibition against spanking. Answered from a psychological perspective, there are differences of opinion among psychologists. However, the negative features associated with spanking children seem to suggest that they should not be spanked severely or frequently, if at all.

All psychologists would tend to emphasize positive rather than negative contingencies in controlling children�s behavior. Spanking is an aversive stimulus and therefore not as desirable as positive reward in behavioral control. When aversive dimensions must be applied, non-violent ones are preferable to violent ones. 4

In a later article, in response to the criticism of another Christian psychologist, 5 Dr. Ruble writes:

The Bible nowhere teaches that all children should be spanked if they are to develop properly. Instead, children need firm and patient guidance. They need happy, well-adjusted, integrated Christian parents who resist the impulse to strike out when frustrated by the child�s behavior. They need innovative parents with a vast repertoire of creative responses to the child. They need above all to realize the powerful impact of example. 6

This demonstrates to me that even evangelical, Bible-believing Christians are struggling with the matter of spanking their children. Not only are some Christians questioning its validity today, but governmental agencies are quite clearly moving in the direction of banning its use, not only in public schools but in the home. While my first intention was simply to assume that Christians agreed we must spank our children and to discuss only the "how�s" and "when�s," I now find it necessary to spend this entire lesson exploring the biblical reasons "why" Christian parents should spank their children.

It is from the Scriptures that we must derive the principles which should govern the discipline of our children, and by which we must judge the contributions of every other field of study. The Bible clearly claims to be an adequate and authoritative guide for all spiritual matters, and in particular for the matter of correction and discipline.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

If it is the Scriptures which adequately equip us for every good work, and for correction in particular, then let us look to the book which has the most to say on the subject of spanking, the Book of Proverbs.

What is the Rod?

Before I begin to enumerate the biblical reasons for using the rod, let me agree with Dr. Ruble in one particular area, though not to the degree that he carries it. 7 I agree with him that the expression "the rod" may at times be used more broadly than just as a reference to corporal punishment. The term "rod" is used, for example for God�s divine chastisement of men (cf. 2 Sam. 7:14; Isa. 10:5). In these instances we understand the term "rod" to be used metaphorically or symbolically for divine discipline. This does not mean (as Dr. Ruble seems to conclude) that the term "rod" in Proverbs never refers to a spanking. In nearly every instance in Proverbs the "rod" could just as well be translated "spanking." I do fear, however, that some parents have concluded that there is only one means of correction--the rod.

I believe thinking of discipline only in terms of the "rod" is incorrect for several reasons. In the first place, some children are less affected by the rod than others. Some children seem to have a "cast iron bottom," with a very high threshold for pain. The paddle does not speak as loudly to such individuals. Secondly, other forms of punishment may be taken more seriously. For example, a 16-year old son would probably far rather have a spanking than to have the car keys taken away for a week. If discipline is intended to get a child�s attention, forms other than spanking may be more effective. Furthermore, certain forms of discipline may be more appropriate and meaningful than others. To go back to the 16-year old son for a moment, if he were caught driving recklessly, removing his privilege of driving would provide a more natural and meaningful lesson. To fail to use the car properly results in losing the privilege of driving. Let us not be limited to only one means of correction.

I have a friend who had an interesting means of differentiating between offenses, while using a paddle to deal with a variety of types of misconduct. He had a very long paddle, with reference marks up and down the length of the handle. For very serious disobedience, he grasped the paddle at the very end, giving the board a very long and painful swing. For lesser sins he would "choke up" like a baseball player attempting a short hit.

This is one solution, but I think we dare not attempt to use the paddle for every offense our children commit. When Proverbs urges parents not to spare the rod, it is, in the broadest terms, instructing us of the need to correct, to discipline, our children. One of the ways of correcting our children which Proverbs advocates is the rod. Correction--yes. The paddle--perhaps. Discipline--always. The rod--sometimes.

Why is the Rod Required?

Much of modern-day psychology seems to look on the rod as a relic of the past. It is a punitive, even primitive, means of controlling the behavior of children which is now obsolete by virtue of man�s greater knowledge of human behavior. Simply put, we have evolved beyond such primitive means of controlling our children. To the modern mind the rod really is a "taste of the jungle." Why is it then that the Book of Proverbs speaks so much of the rod, instructing parents to make use of it in child-rearing? A number of reasons can be found in Proverbs and elsewhere in the Bible.

1. THE ROD IS REQUIRED IN THE BIBLE BECAUSE WE ARE NOT INCLINED TO USE IT. Proverbs assumes the sinfulness of the parent as well as that of the child. Proverbs commands parents to use the rod for correction simply because we would not otherwise be inclined to do so. There are a number of reasons why this is true.

Some parents fail to use the rod because of their own upbringing. Some grew up in homes where they were not spanked. The tendency in most cases is for us to raise our children the way we were brought up (cf. Prov. 4:3-4).We must always evaluate our past experience in the light of the Scriptures. We should, of course, retain that which is godly and good, but we must also recognize those elements of our childhood training which were wrong.

Worse by far is the parent who grew up in a home where the "rod" was an implement in the hand of an angry parent who could not or would not distinguish between discipline and child abuse. Unfortunately, there are people who use the Bible to justify their cruelty to their children. Child abuse is never sanctioned in Proverbs.

The difference between the Book of Proverbs and psychologists like Dr. Ruble is that Proverbs assumes that most parents are inclined not to discipline at all. In that case the parent must be encouraged to use the rod. Some psychologists, on the other hand, assume that those who use the "rod" are "striking out" against their children. Spanking is viewed as a form of parental aggression, a resorting to primitive tendencies. Therefore, psychology tends to prohibit spanking, assuming that those who use the rod do so in a wrong way or for wrong reasons. That is over generalization. Just because some parents abuse their children with a rod does not mean that the rod is categorically bad. While sinfulness can incline some parents to abuse their children by beating them, Proverbs assumes that sinfulness most often takes the form of avoiding the correction and discipline of our children.

Most of our reasons for resisting the rod do not go back to our parents. I believe one of the principle reasons why we fail to discipline our children is because we are sluggards. Let�s face it, children never disobey us when it is convenient to discipline them. Sometimes it is in the middle of a Dallas Cowboy�s football game. Who wants to get up and spank a child when it is third down with one yard to go on the opponent�s two yard line? Then again, who is anxious to spank their child in the aisle of a supermarket, when it seems that every eye is on us? If I were to be totally honest I would have to admit that the major reason why I don�t spank as much as I should is because I am too lazy to put forth to the effort to do something I don�t really enjoy.

Another reason many parents do not spank their children is due to misdirected sympathy. There is nothing more heart-rending than the wailing of a child during a spanking. In fact the wailing often starts before the paddling begins. The child is desperately attempting to soften or shorten the blows by his pathetic sobs and tears. In order to give the parent courage and diligence at such times Proverbs tells us:

Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you beat him with the rod, he will not die (23:13).

Taken in its usual sense this proverb assures faint-hearted parents that their child is not really ready for the intensive care unit at the hospital--it only sounds that way. In spite of such appearances, we are counseled, keep it up.

Yet another reason for parental avoidance of the rod is due to various misconceptions of love, forgiveness, and forbearance. In our culture it is considered inconceivable that love can be expressed by the rod. Love is viewed as never punishing, never bringing pain, only dealing with the child in very positive ways. Proverbs has a very different view of love:

He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently (13:24).

Do we love our children? Then we will be diligent to chasten them when required. Do we hate our children? Then we will avoid using the rod. Love seeks the best interest of the child, which is sometimes served by inflicting pain by means of the rod.

We may try to sanctify permissive parenting by using this kind of Scripture:

A man�s discretion makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to overlook a transgression (19:11).

In this text and others, such as our Lord�s instruction to "turn the other cheek" (Matt. 5:39), we are taught not to retaliate against those who offend us. course, is true. We ought not seek revenge:

Do not say, "I will repay evil"; Wait for the Lord, and He will save you (20:22).

But while we ought not seek revenge, neither do we dare overlook sin in the lives of our children, or in the lives of other saints (cf. Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5:1-8; Gal. 6:1).

Finally, I believe that some parents refrain from using the rod because they have been taught never to discipline in anger. While anger should never control our discipline, it may be a means of motivating it. I am personally convinced that being angry should not keep a parent from doing his duty with regard to the rod. Since this is an important issue I will spend a considerable amount of time on it in the next lesson. Suffice it for now to say that being angry should not keep us from disciplining our children.

2. THE ROD IS REQUIRED TO RESTRAIN THE SIN OF THE CHILD. I must confess at the outset that while I believe this principle is assumed by the Book of Proverbs, I am not certain it is clearly taught here. I n Genesis 9 God ordained government and the use of capital punishment. He did this in order to restrain sinful men. The "sword" which government bears (Rom. 13:4) is that of capital punishment. It is given this authority, we are taught, to restrain evil and to reward righteousness (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:14). I believe that parents have this same obligation with regard to their children. While we cannot change their hearts, we can, to some degree, control their behavior, and for this we are held accountable (cf. 1 Sam. 3:13; 1 Tim. 3:4). Just as government bears the sword to restrain sin, the parent holds the rod.

3. THE ROD IS REQUIRED BECAUSE IT DEMONSTRATES THE CHARACTER OF THE CHILD. I have a friend who has helped me appreciate the fact that a person�s character is often demonstrated by his response to correction. Proverbs teaches this truth, and it certainly applies to the child�s response to the rod.

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, But he who hates reproof is stupid (12:1).

A wise son accepts his father�s discipline, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke (13:1).

A fool rejects his father�s discipline, But he who regards reproof is prudent (15:5).

A child who accepts discipline and responds to it by repentance and right conduct is on the path of the wise. A child who is embittered by correction (even though rightly carried out by the parents) has rejected the way of the wise.

In the light of the rod as a test of a child�s character, let us be careful about using some "positive" means of training our children. Secular psychology tends to avoid nearly every negative form of discipline in favor of those which are considered more positive. Positive reinforcement is important, but not when it excludes necessary negative correction. If I am in the grocery store and I tell my child to put down the box of cereal and he responds, "No!" I have several choices. If I say to the child, "If you put down the cereal, I�ll buy you a candy bar," that is bribery, not discipline. The obedience of our children is best tested when we instruct them to do something that is undesirable or unpleasant to them, like bending over to get a shot at the doctor�s office. To give a child a dollar and tell him to buy candy is no test of obedience. Let us beware of "positive" discipline which is only bribery by another name. Let us use it only when it is godly and right.

4. THE ROD IS REQUIRED BECAUSE IT IS A TEACHING TOOL.A spanking is not only a test of the child�s character but a tool to teach the child as well.

All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your forefathers. And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord" (Deut. 8:1-3).

In this passage Moses taught the Israelites a very important principle. Not only were the difficulties along the way a discipline (v. 5) intended to test the character of the people of God (v. 2), they were a lesson intended to teach God�s people that man�s life consists of more than eating bread, that men must also learn to live in complete dependence on God�s word (v. 3). While Job�s trials were a proof of his character (Job 1:8), they were also a lesson in Job�s life to teach him greater dependence on God, especially in times of trouble (Job 38).The Book of Hebrews teaches New Testament Christians the very same lesson (cf. especially chap. 12). The Book of Proverbs agrees with this teaching, for it informs us that parental discipline is divinely appointed for the development of a child�s character.

My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord, or loathe His reproof, For whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father, the son in whom he delights (3:11-12).

For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life (6:23).

He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. He who neglects discipline despises himself, But he who listens to reproof acquires understanding (15:31-32).

The rod of correction imparts wisdom, But a child left to itself disgraces his mother (29:15, NIV).

It is very important that we distinguish between punishment and correction. Punishment is the process of giving the evil-doer what he deserves. Correction is intended to instruct a man so that he will mature and be more godly. From a divine perspective punishment is for non-believers while chastening is for God�s children. The correction of our children should be modeled after the correction of God�s children (cf. 3:11-12). The correction of our children with the rod, then, is to be instructive, not merely punitive (though this may be true as well).

So far as instruction is concerned the rod is not required to teach the wise, because they will listen to counsel and learn from it.

Do not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you, Reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man, and be will increase his learning (9:8-9).

Some, however, are not teachable with mere words. A child, for example, may not be able to grasp the danger of playing in the street. The rod reinforces the word "no" by teaching young child that when he plays in the street there are painful consequences. It amazes me that some psychologists talk about the cruelty of spanking a child in this light. Is it more cruel to spank a child so he can learn of the danger in this way or to let him suffer the natural consequences of foolishness and perhaps die? You cannot reason with a child at this age. Children are unable to grasp abstractions (like the danger of Mack trucks in the street), but they do understand pain. The rod is an instructive tool for those who cannot yet reason.

The rod is also an instructive tool for those who are old enough to reason, but won�t. For those who will not listen to reason the rod is an alternative teaching tool. Stubborn willfulness is something for which the rod is the remedy. It is intended to change arrogance and pride into humility, and disobedience to obedience.

By using the rod the parent seeks to point out sin in the child�s life and to show him that sin always has a high price. In so doing the child is encouraged to see the dangers of sin and to turn from waywardness to the way of wisdom, beginning with the fear of the Lord.

I have not thought this passage through carefully, but it seems that the role of the rod in bringing stubborn sons to a point of being willing to listen to reason is taught in the Book of Isaiah. In the first chapter we read:

"Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord, "Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool" (Isa. 1:18).

Here is a word of warning and exhortation. Israel�s problem is her waywardness. God offers forgiveness, if Israel will only repent. If they heed God�s warning, they will find forgiveness and blessing, but if they do not . . .

"If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken (Isa. 1:19-20).

God seeks to reason with men and to turn them from their sin. If they respond and repent, He will forgive them. If they do not, God will use "the rod" to break their willful spirit and bring them to repentance. The rod is for those who refuse to learn--the easy way.

The rod, then, is like a red warning light on the dash of an automobile--it is a signal that something is wrong which needs to be corrected. The light does not It is in this solve the problem, but it at least makes the individual aware of it. sense, I believe, that we are to understand this verse:

Stripes that wound scour away evil, And strokes reach the innermost parts (20:30).

The rod is employed in order to reach the heart of the child and to turn it from evil. By using the rod the parent seeks to teach the child the consequences of sin and the need for accepting God�s solution for sin.

Incidentally, I should point out that even when the rod fails to instruct the one who is chastened, it may still provide instruction for others.

Strike a scoffer and the naive may become shrewd, But reprove one who has understanding and he will gain knowledge (19:25).

5. THE ROD IS REQUIRED BECAUSE OF THE DEVASTATING RESULTS OF REFRAINING FROM ITS USE. There are some proverbs which seem to promise more than we can hope for:

Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, And beatings purge the inmost being (20:30, NIV).

Do not withhold discipline from a child; If you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death (23:13-14, NIV).

A casual look at these Scriptures may incline us to think that the paddle is more effective than the "Four Spiritual Laws." Such a misconception is due to our failure to understand the terms "soul" and "death" in the sense that the Israelite of ancient times did. The term "soul" was equivalent to our word "life." Saving a "soul" in those days was saving a life. "Death," too, had a very specific meaning-one that we are not inclined to consider, but which ha! tremendous impact on the Old Testament saint.

If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them, then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his home town. And they shall say to the elders of his city, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard." Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear of it and fear (Deut. 21:18-21).

If the "rod" was given to restrain sin, the "rock" was given to remove it. Parents in ancient times who believed in the authority of God�s word knew all too well that if the rod was not effective, the only recourse was the rock--stoning. There was a tremendous motivation, then, for these parents to be diligent with the rod. While it may have been painful to both parent and child, it was far better than the alternative--stoning a stubborn and rebellious son.

One problem with parents today is that we have lost sight of the devastating consequences of sin which is not dealt with in the life of the child. Let us remember that when Paul wrote, "the wages of sin is death," he was speaking primarily of spiritual death, not just physical death. While the parents of an undisciplined child suffer the earthly consequences of shame and regret (e.g. 29:15), the eternal consequences of sin are far worse. If the rod impresses a child with his sinfulness and need of salvation, that is a lesson worth the price of pain, and it may prevent a much greater agony, the suffering of eternal damnation.

In this light the rod looks entirely different than some would see it. To say that the rod is cruel and primitive is to fail to see the alternative clearly. Is it cruel to grab a child by the hair? Certainly it is painful. But suppose your child was falling from a high building to certain death. Would you be willing to grab that child by the hair if it were the means of saving his life? Of course you would. So too the rod may appear cruel until the alternatives are considered.

6. THE ROD Is REQUIRED BECAUSE IT IS RIGHTEOUS AND BECAUSE GOD USES THE ROD ON HIS CHILDREN. To be godly is to be God-like. Early in the Book of Proverbs we are taught that human discipline and divine discipline are similar, if not synonymous.

My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord, or loathe His reproof, For whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father, the son in whom he delights (3:11-12).

These verses are quite evidently based upon the Old Testament law of God:

"Thus you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son (Deut. 8:5).

If it is the responsibility of earthly fathers to model the role of God as the Father of true believers (a concept we will deal with in the next lesson), then the discipline of the father must be like that of God Himself.

Here is the rub with those who are unbelievers or unbiblical in their thinking. They cannot conceive of spanking as godly because they cannot conceive of God as judging men and condemning them to an eternal hell. If God is only a God of love (as some wish to think), then He would not and could not send any to hell, nor would He inflict pain on men at any time. If parents are to be godly (God-like), then they cannot inflict pain on their children. The primary issue is this: What is God like? Does He inflict pain on men for sin? If He does, then we are only consistent with His character and actions when we inflict pain on our children for their sinful acts.

A careful look at a few biblical passages leaves no doubt about the discipline of God:

"I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men" (2 Sam. 7:14).

"If his [i.e., David�s] sons forsake My law, and do not walk in My judgments, if they violate My statutes, and do not keep My commandments, then I will visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. My covenant I will not violate, nor will I alter the utterance of My lips" (Ps. 89:30-34).

Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger and the staff in whose hands is My indignation (Isa. 10:5).

In each of these passages, God speaks of using the "rod" of correction on His people. David�s sons, the kings of Judah, would be disciplined by God for their disobedience; yet God said He would remain faithful to His promise to establish for Davit an everlasting throne (2 Sam. 7:12-13). Disobedient Israel would be chastened by God�s "rod" of correction, Assyria (cf. Deut. 28:15-68, esp. v. 64; Isa. 7:17-19; 8:5-8).

In every instance of God�s disciplining of His people, God is seen to be righteous for judging sinners. His discipline is never seen as a flaw in His holy character, but as a manifestation of His holiness.

Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who dost keep covenant and lovingkindness, do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before Thee, which has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and on all Thy people, from the days of the kings of Assyria to this day. However, Thou art just in all that hast come upon us; for Thou hast dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly (Neh. 9:32-33; cf. Ps. 78; Dan. 9).

Ananias and his wife Sapphira were struck dead for their deception (Acts 5:1-11). God is not merely a disciplinarian in the Old Testament, but also in the New. In Matthew 18:15-20 our Lord laid down a means of imposing discipline on a disobedient believer, and in 1 Corinthians 5:2-5 Paul urged the Corinthian saints to apply this instruction. Later on in 1 Corinthians, Paul explained that some of the saints had become sick and others had died due to their failure to rightly discern the Lord�s body in the commemoration of the Lord�s Supper (11:29-30). Paul personally practiced this kind of discipline (1 Tim. 1:18-20).

If disobedient children of God are disciplined severely in both testaments, we should certainly expect an even worse fate for those who have rejected the salvation God has provided for men in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone�s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:12-15).

Especially deserving of damnation are those who have actively afflicted the saints. Note that in the passage cited below God is seen to be righteous in His act of judging sinners.

And the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died. And the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, "Righteous are Thou, who art and who wast, O Holy One, because Thou didst judge these things; for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets and Thou hast given them blood to drink. They deserve it." And I heard the altar saying, "Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments" (Rev. 16:4-7).

We can now understand why Proverbs views the rod as righteous and judgment as just. In Proverbs 1 wisdom is completely righteous in seeing justice served by the sinners reaping not only what they wanted, but also what they so richly deserved.

�Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me, because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them, and the complacency of fools shall destroy them" (1:28-32).

Conclusion

We can draw no other conclusion from the Scriptures than this: Righteousness demands the rod. God�s righteousness necessitates that He judge unbelievers and discipline His own people. God has established kings and earthly authorities to promote righteousness and to punish evildoers (Prov. 20:8; 24:25; 25:5; Rom. 13:1-5). So too parents must reward righteousness in their children and punish them for their evil deeds. If there is one thing that is certain in eternity, and which should be seen in life, it is that sinners will be punished.

Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, But those who are righteous will go free (11:21, NIV).

Society is wrong, my friend--dead wrong! It is not a sin to spank a child. If parents are to be godly they must deal with evil as God does. Just as God has always made provision for the sinner, the parent must teach the child about the way to life. Just as God has disciplined His disobedient children, so must we, for their good and our own. The rod is righteous. Discipline is divine. Spanking can be an act of spirituality. It is not always so, but that is a matter which we will deal with in our next lesson.

My friend, is it possible that you have been slack in using the rod because you do not want to conceive of God as a disciplinarian? Do you wish that God were patronizing rather than punishing sin? Many of us have failed in our child-raising simply because we do not like the model--God. Like it or not, the God of the Bible--Old Testament and New--is a God who deals with sin, whether in the life of a believer or an unbeliever.

You and I have a choice. We may either recognize our sin and accept the forgiveness which God has provided in the person of His Son, or we may suffer the consequences of our sins--eternally. If we choose His salvation, He will continue to chasten us for sin, but only so that we may grow and mature to be more like Him. How would you choose to face God, as a son or as a sinner who has rejected His Son? That is your choice, my friend. I pray that you will choose the way of wisdom, the way of life through the Lord Jesus Christ. He died on the cross of Calvary for your sins. He offers salvation to all who will trust in His work on Calvary. Trust Him today.

Footnotes

1 Richard Ruble, "Should Children Be Spanked?" Journal of Psychology and Theology , July, 1973, pp. 64-65.

2 Here, Ruble quotes Ginnot, p. 181, cited in above article, p. 64.

3 In this article Richard Ruble was said to have received his Master�s degree from Faith Seminary, the Doctor of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, and was then serving as a professor of Bible and Psychology and Chairman of the Division of Biblical Studies at John Brown University.

4 "Should Children Be Spanked?," p. 66.

5 In a published response to Dr. Ruble�s article, Alan R. McThomas pointed out many flaws in Ruble�s thinking. Mr. McThomas, then in doctoral studies at Rosemead Graduate School of Psychology, offers hope that not all who seek to integrate theology and psychology come out with the wrong conclusions. Cf. Alan R. McThomas, "Reaction," Journal of Psychology and Theology , July, 1973, pp. 67-69.

6 Richard Ruble, "Should Children Be Spanked? A Reply To McThomas," Journal of Psychology and Theology , October, 1973, P. 79.

7 Dr. Ruble writes, ." . . the references to striking a child might be considered merely a figure of speech for the idea that children need discipline of which spanking was a prominent example." ("Should Children Be Spanked?" July, 1973, p. 65.) I have little problem with the statement itself, but in application Dr. Ruble virtually disregards the clear instruction of Proverbs to use the rod. For him, it would seem, classifying the "rod" as a figure of speech opens the door to a world of abuses. The "rod," even if a figure of speech, symbolizes the kind of discipline Proverbs is speaking about, but it is this kind of discipline which Ruble refuses to consider relevant for today�s parents.

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The Restoration of Apostles and Prophets -- Bryn Jones, 05:10:08 10/23/06 Mon

Quicklink to current list of So much that was clearly understood and practised in the early church has been lost or become obscured with the passage of time. This is particularly true with regard to understanding the nature and function of the ascension gifts of Christ in his church (Eph 4:11-16). I wish to focus on two of the gifts mentioned, because they are the key ministries to be restored at this historical juncture in God�s plan of restoration. They are the apostles and prophets.

In place of apostles and prophets have come archbishops, cardinals, bishops, and executive boards. The claim that Christ is restoring apostles and prophets in his church today meets with everything from surprise to resistance from the religious establishment.

A pastor once challenged me by asking, �Why do we need to be concerned with apostles and prophets today? We have got on very well without them so far!�

It might be true to say that the church has �got on� without these ministries, but can it really be said we have got on �well� without them?

Would we say it is �well� when the one church of Jesus Christ has now got an estimated 250,000 denominations and sects dividing it?

Would we say �well� when � to a large extent � the church�s testimony is weak, and its voice increasingly irrelevant?

Would we say �well� when the power of the resurrected life of Christ in the supernatural is rarely seen?

Would we say �well� when the church ravaged by dissent continues to compromise itself on some of the most fundamental moral issues of our time rather than giving clear prophetic leadership?

Paul declared that none of the �gifts� of the ascended Lord � including apostles and prophets � would pass away �until� the church reaches unity of the faith and the fullness of the stature of Christ.[1] Who would dare claim that this has been achieved? The word �until� is the key to understanding the present necessity for � and continuing restoration of � apostles and prophets in the church. It is illogical to claim that we need the evangelists, pastors and teachers, but not the apostles and prophets, when God has distinctly given them for the purpose of attaining fullness in the church.

In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding, let me clearly say we are not claiming that present day apostles are the same as the original twelve. In fact, the scriptures show us three categories of apostles:

The unique apostleship of the Lord Jesus Christ himself.[2]

The twelve that Jesus chose to be his apostles, with Matthias replacing Judas following the resurrection of Christ.[3] These twelve are unique as the foundation stones of the new order.[4] They are the �Apostles of the Lamb� (Rev. 21:19).

The post-ascension apostles who are gifts of the ascended Christ.[5] Paul was one of these, though he was unique amongst that first generation of post-ascension apostles as part of the body of writers who gave us the New Testament revelation clarifying our gospel � the inclusion of Gentiles in God�s church and restoration plan.

Scripture shows the church having both doctrinal and experiential foundations. Its doctrinal foundation is Jesus and the twelve. But experientially, every emerging church needs to be in living fellowship with Christ and with a continuing apostolic ministry. Paul said, the apostles are part of the foundation in which �Christ himself� is the chief cornerstone.[6] Not simply what he said, or taught, but with himself the person. A living relationship with the living Christ. Paul speaks of the apostolic ministry as laying a �firm foundation� of the revelation of Christ in the church.[7]

Seeking to define the ministry of apostles in detail can be dangerous because it can lead us to cast them in inflexible moulds and categories. Too frequently Paul becomes the sole measure line for them, which goes beyond what is biblically justified. Although it is true to say that Paul�s apostolic commission is the one given the most detail in Scripture, the New Testament names several other post-ascension apostles as well.[8]

There are various kinds of apostles. Although each apostle is sent with a specific commission, we are not told what his gifting is to accomplish it. Here lies a distinguishing mark between apostles. Some complete their task through prophetic gifting, others through teaching gifting, and others from a mix of gifting. Apostles must remain sensitive to the Spirit, and not seek to �apostle� a situation in a field where the required gift is different to the one(s) recognised in that respective apostle. This is why � in this initial period of restoration of apostolic ministries and their relation to churches � there will be some measure of movement as the right apostles for the right groupings of people find each other. As such movement occurs, apostles must avoid foolish and immature feelings of rejection relating to the actions of elders and churches responding to other apostles. They must also avoid any feeling of superiority when people pursue relationship with them. We must recognise that people will respond to different gifts in different men. At the same time we must remember what Paul wrote to the Corinthians in respect to apostolic involvement. Where there was a tendency to divide in part between the apostles, Paul said, �All are yours.� (1Co 3:22) We therefore recognise there are different kinds of apostles for different tasks and situations.

It is also important to realise that just like any other servants of God in ministry, apostles are also in the process of maturing in their gifting, wisdom, and authority. Apostles differ in these measures, which is why Paul spoke of apostles as having a �measure� of rule (2 Cor.10:13), a �measure� of faith (Rom.12:3) and a �measure� of God�s gift (Eph.4:7). It is foolish for apostles to compare themselves with each other, or for people to compare apostle with apostle � just as it is foolish to compare teacher with teacher, pastor with pastor, evangelist with evangelist, or prophet with prophet. All ministries are servants of God, and through the processes of the Spirit progress to maturity in their callings. It is time for the servants of God to stop being intimidated by people�s preferences, prejudices and childish games, and take seriously the responsibility of being faithful stewards and servants in the house of God.

While apostles are maturing in their calling, they can also:

�Fall short� (1 Cor.10:12; Gal.5:4): -- i.e., fail to complete the task to which they�ve been commissioned. This could happen for a variety of reasons, such as discouragement, immorality, love of money, jealousy, succumbing to wrong motivations, etc.

�Fall away� (2 Pet.3:17): -- it is even possible for apostles to abandon the faith through inner conflict produced by mental or external pressure, demonic deception and delusions of grandeur, or even through the despair and disappointment of hope deferred � much as Judas Iscariot.

�Become disqualified� (1Co 9:27): -- Paul became aware in his own ministry that his level of revelation and deep insight into the mysteries of God required him to set out his gospel to other ministries of depth and revelation so it could be tested and affirmed. He did not want to face the possibility � as he puts it � of having �preached to others, I myself should be disqualified�.

�Fall victim to their own lack of watchfulness�: -- When Paul urged on the Ephesian elders in the light of his departure, knowing he would not see them again, he warned that they should �guard themselves� (Acts 20:31). In so doing, he highlighted something imperative to all ministries. Paul knew the importance of sustaining his fellowship with God and of staying in the place where God could continually minister to and through him. He gave the Ephesian elders a principle that would enable this to happen for each of them: �Guard yourself.� Thousands of godly men have been willing to pour out their lives for the flock only to fall victim themselves because they did not guard themselves. Literally thousands of God�s ministers have wearied in ministry, become jaded in life, experienced turmoil of mind, been devastated in their domestic situations, and seen their churches decline and be destroyed because of the failure to �guard themselves.� In giving this principle, Paul placed as much priority � if not even more � on keeping it oneself as for the flock of God, which is why he said, �Guard yourself and the flock over which he has made you overseers.� (Acts 20:28)

What we are is more important than what we do, and guarding ourselves maintains our own inner spiritual abiding in Christ.

Apostles are called and appointed by Christ; they are not chosen by congregations, or even by fellow ministries; (2 Cor. 5:20, Col. 1:1, Eph. 1:1) . It should also be recognised that there may be a lengthy interval between what a person is called to be and what they are �anointed� or �appointed� to do. Paul was called to be an apostle on the Damascus road, and received his commission to apostolic task in that initial encounter with Christ. He knew there and then that God was sending him to the Gentiles (nations) to open their eyes, turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, and enable them to receive their inheritance amongst the sanctified by faith in Christ (Acts 26:18). All this was revealed to him in the life-changing encounter he had with God on the Damascus road; however, it was a further seventeen years before he was separated to his commission (Acts 13:1-4).

It is a mistake to interpret a calling as a release to begin functioning. A deep awareness that one is called to be an apostle is not necessarily accompanied by people�s recognition of such. In other words, one cannot just go out and �apostle� situations. Jesus, the unique apostle, did not fully emerge in his ministry until he was thirty years old. He knew he was called, but there came the time when he said, �The Spirit of the Lord is on me and has anointed me to . . . � (Lu 4:18). He knew not only what he was, but also what he was anointed to do. There may be a large number of apostles who have received a genuine call from God, but they are not all appointed or anointed to do the same thing. We need to be patient and hold the confidence of our calling in Christ until the time comes when he anoints us clearly to our appointed task; then we can start functioning in our apostleship.

Apostles break new territory in the world, and establish the church as an expression of the kingdom in new cities and towns as they liberate men and women from their bonds and demonic control. They also bring order to the body of Christ. The apostles and prophets, as the primary stewards of the mysteries of Christ, continuously measure the life and testimony of God�s people against those mysteries. Where they find the church has deviated from God�s purpose of restoration, they powerfully, prophetically and demonstratively assert the purpose of God. They challenge any sectarian attitude or denominational spirit that threatens the unity of the body. They bring judgement to any lifestyle contrary to the purity of Christ in the life of the believer. They confront powers of darkness that seek to introduce subtle legalisms and externalisms into the body of Christ. And true apostles are willing and bold enough to confront each other � as Paul did Peter � whenever behaviour is inconsistent with revelation. (Gal 2:11-14)

Apostles rejoice and respond in every sovereign move of the Spirit that comes to refresh the body. They realise that each refreshing enables the people of God to find the strength and faith to continue their pilgrimage to fullness. Peter, for example, clearly shows the purpose of the �times of refreshing�; they are short seasons of divine renewal that lead the people of God toward the longer seasons of times of restoration (Acts 3:20,21). In the seasons of refreshing, apostles - by the wisdom of God� help the people of God see that the season of refreshing is a transition, and not the terminus. They keep the people moving in blessing, and will not allow them to settle in that blessing.

Apostles have the necessary wisdom and authority of God to keep the body of Christ both filled with truth, and walking in it. They therefore bring with their word a necessary element of judgement, so that the righteousness, peace, and joy of the kingdom are maintained by an ever-present principle of judgement at work. Many times, they may even bring a word to divide. People are afraid of the word division -- they tend to think of it in exclusively negative terms. But frankly, division is a principle God introduced in the very beginning. He divided the day from the night, the darkness from light, the waters above the earth from the waters below. The division of God in creation illustrates God�s commitment to clarity. God does not allow his children to live in twilight. We are children of the day and not of the night. God abhors mixture.

Apostles and prophets will � by their ministry of word and spirit � keep the church pure, and progressing to fullness. The product of their ministry will be that the glory of the house of God in this end time will be seen as greater than in the history of Israel or the church to date (Hag. 2:9).

Apostles will strengthen and establish the church of God when everything in our world is shaking. They explain the reason for what is happening, and minister the principles and faith by which God�s people will remain secure. God�s shaking will go well beyond the church � it will extend to all nations (Dan. 2:44-45, 27; Hag. 2:6-7). It will affect our world at every level: its economy, technological advances, scientific development, moral and social positions, its intellectual and educational establishments. Everything will shake until only the unshakeable stands secure. The writer of Hebrews says, �We are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken.� (He 12:28). The apostles and prophets are at the forefront of leading God�s people in the advance of the unshakeable kingdom of God in our generation.

All God�s apostles are �sent ones�, not simply men that go. They are sent with a specific commission, and as such are empowered to act on behalf of the sender. At the same time we don�t simply call someone an apostle because they claim to be sent. On the contrary, churches are commended for �trying those who say they are apostles and are not�.[9] In order for us to be secure in a relationship with apostles, we must know which ones are true as opposed to those that are false. Here are some common hallmarks that enable us to recognise true apostolic ministry.

The Hallmarks of the Apostle and his Ministry

1. A true apostle will have had a personal encounter with the resurrected Lord.[10]

2. He will have been personally commissioned to an apostolic task.[11]

3. He will fulfil his apostleship through some other gifting, e.g. prophet, evangelist, teacher.[12]

4. He will be an equipper of the saints.[13]

5. He will be a good steward of the mysteries of God, of which he has a divine revelation.[14]

6. He will recognise and be recognised in his apostleship, i.e. he may lead an apostolic team that emerges around him and prove to be the catalyst for other ministries. Conversely, he may be an apostle built into another apostle�s sphere, as Barnabas was with Paul. A valid apostolic ministry does not necessarily have the same task that Paul did, in which one would be required to be the catalyst for many others.

7. He will be a wise master builder (architect) of the house of God. An astute user of the plumb line of the mystery of Christ, he will measure everything built against the end purpose for the house.[15]

8. He will demonstrate an apostles� authority given by Christ.[16]

9. He will demonstrate grace and wisdom in his relationships with people so that a sphere of apostolic ministry and influence emerges in the lives of these people. His positive relations with the people of God will provide them with a deep sense of security. This will produce a committed, productive people who happily help him in the task he is called to. It is inside this sphere of committed people � actively pursuing God�s desire for his house � that he has the authority of rule. This rule will not be exercised outside his sphere or in some authoritarian manner, but will follow the example of Christ � who came to serve rather than be served.[17]

10. He is a man pursuing a vision in which he is:
* clear as to what he has seen in his commission;
* committed to its completion;
* obedient to the will of God in its commands;
* patiently persevering in obedience to the heavenly vision despite any and all setbacks.

An apostolic commission is fulfilled in phases � it is a process. With the completion of each phase[18] the apostle will be sensitive to God�s �sending� into the new phase. When all phases of his apostolic commission are complete he will be able to say as did the Apostle Paul, �I have finished my course�. He can then with joy be received by the Lord for his reward.[19]

11. He is filled with persevering faith. Regardless of enticements, setbacks, or opposition from men or demons, his faith enables him to persevere. This faith will extend itself to lay hold of all that is necessary from the supply of God�s grace to fulfil his ministry, and lay hold of the people and money resource required for the task. His faith will demonstrate the supernatural power of God so that God is seen to be working with him confirming his word with signs and wonders following.

12. The apostle will be the living example of all that he wants the people to become and do. Therefore, his personal Christ-likeness will be evident to all so that they are secure in following his example. He may unashamedly stand before the people and say, �you yourselves know how you ought to follow us�.[20] He is humble, and a man of prayer. His longsuffering gentleness with the weak, his firmness with those that require it, and his integrity and honesty in business matters and dealings with people should all speak well of him.

13. He is focussed into Christ and does not boast of his own status. (Rom. 3:2; 1Thes.2:6)

14. Paul refers to the apostles as being set forward first of all (1Co 12:28), and last of all (1Co 4:9). Apostles are the first among the ministries in building the church of God, because they lay a foundation of understanding concerning the mystery of Christ. Yet, in terms of people�s affection and recognition, they are frequently last of all, and are often treated as �the refuse� of society (in Peterson�s terms, �potato peelings from the culture�s kitchen�- The Message, p 343). In human terms, they are the first in responsibility, and the last in reward.

Prophets

It is unfortunate that people�s concept of a prophet is so frequently coloured by their view of John the Baptist, with his camelhair clothing and diet of locusts and wild honey. The image many people have of a prophet is an austere, aesthetic individual, oddly dressed and tending to live in strange places. Happily, the Bible introduces a much wider range of prophets than John the Baptist, beginning with Abel (Luk.11:50-51) and continuing through the Biblical record with such people as Abraham, Moses, Samuel and David, right on through into the New Covenant with Anna, Agabus, Silas, Judas, etc. Rather than building a mental image out of varied physical details of different prophets, it is much more productive to look at other factors in understanding a prophet�s ministry.

The prophets are �

People of God�s presence. They know what it is to enter the spiritual world of God�s throne room presence to hear the voice of God�s counsel, and see a situation from God�s perspective. They understand what it is to stand silent and attentive in the council of God[21], which is why God always shows his ways to the prophets[22], and encourages his people to heed them. (ref.)

People of perception. Neither the eyes nor mind of a prophet are imprisoned by the visible world. The prophets were originally called seers (1 Sam. 9:9), and they not only see situations but hearts. They are able to apply the word of God to the visible situation by the understanding and perception they gain of it in the invisible world. The visible and invisible worlds appear as one to them. A classic example of this is Elisha�s peace as he lay on the bed after his servant had warned him the Assyrians had surrounded him in the night.[23] He simply prayed that God would open the servants� eyes and release him from imprisonment to the material and tangible world in which we live. When the servant went out and looked, he was astonished to see the hosts of God surrounding the Assyrian army. His excited report was met with the prophet�s calm response: �there are more for us than against us�.[24]

People of revelation. Paul highlighted this understanding and depiction of the value of prophetic ministry in the church. Together with apostles, prophets have understanding and wisdom in the mystery of Christ.[25] They join with apostles in laying the foundation of understanding and practised truth � they both establish it and are it.

People of confrontation. Prophets � emboldened with the word of God and anointed by God�s Spirit � are not afraid to confront authorities and/or situations. Nathan disturbed David�s comfort zone by exposing David�s sin in taking Bathsheba while having her husband Uriah killed at the military frontline (2Sa 11&12). Moses, who spent 40 years being reduced in his own mind from the articulate, skilled prince of Egypt to a mere desert shepherd, nevertheless stood before Pharaoh and � emboldened with God�s word � cried out, �let my people go�.[26] John the Baptist confronted Herod with the sinfulness of taking his brother�s wife � and ultimately paid for it with his life.[27] Prophets deliver the Word of God � in spite of the possible or predictable consequences.

People of demonstration. Authentic prophets are the embodiment of the word they are carrying. Before they call for people to come to alignment with God�s will and purpose, they are themselves living in that will and purpose. Their lives are characterised by commitment to God�s heart and rule in all things. They are passionate for righteousness and justice. Their primary concerns are God�s interests. This is why God is secure in the prophets to the point that he implied He wouldn�t �do anything without first telling his prophets?�[28]

People of motivation. Passionately enthused by the word and spirit of God, prophets are able to inspire the faith of God�s people and motivate them to pursue the task God sets before them. This is demonstrated in the time of Haggai during the rebuilding of the Temple, when those living in nostalgia for the first temple discouraged the people rebuilding. Haggai came and passionately cried, �I am with you says the Lord�.[29] This was hardly a dynamic new revelation! But it was a powerful inspiration and motivation when spoken in the passion of an anointed prophet.

People of perseverance. The prophets are not only motivators, but are committed to see the word of God accomplish its purpose. They continue to provoke the people with God�s current word, keeping their hope alive and their faith active until the will of God is accomplished.[30]

Prophets are passionate for the interests of God. There is nothing mediocre about these men and women. Everything about their life is passionate � what they hate they hate absolutely, what they love they love absolutely. What they do knows no half-measure. There is an edge to their sword, conviction in their tone of voice. This is what we need today, prophetic fervour not simply a prophetic flavour.

It is our ability to passionately identify with God�s purpose that qualifies us as Paul said, �you may all prophesy�.

It is the failure to sustain a prophetic passion for God�s purpose of restoration that has given us a �Christianity of the trivial�, with more attention to performance than proclamation. While elders are trapped in the busyness of barrenness occupied with peripheral activities and administration, rather than preparing the heart to prophesy to the people, or be sensitive to their hurts and cry.

The failure to sustain prophetic passion has allowed Christianity to dissolve into a competitive scramble by the small-minded to relate a few more to their cause as opposed to working in harmony to advance the Kingdom, disciple the people and pursue God�s purpose of unity in the bonds of peace.

If we are to see an effective, dynamic testimony of authentic Christianity in every city and town in our nation we must prevail in prayer for God to give us a fresh wave of passionate prophets.

God has not gifted men and women to do everything for a largely sedentary church. The purpose of prophets as of others in ministry callings is to equip the saints for the work of their ministry.(Eph.4:12) This is one of the primary functions of apostles and prophets. Engaged in a programme larger than expressing their own giftedness, they enable others to move in gift. In this fundamental way they contribute to God�s purpose in regeneration, restoration and reformation.

As God is restoring apostles and prophets in the church I have heard it said in various countries, �I believe God will raise up our own apostles and prophets. We don�t need to be dependent on British apostles, or, American prophets.� This thinking has no place in the one holy nation of God. The Bible does not say God has set in the church British apostles, South African prophets, American evangelists, German teachers, but that God has set in the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. They are distinguished by their gifting and anointing in Christ. Any failure to change these attitudes will hold up our progress towards maturity and seeing the power of God break through in the churches.

Ministers of Christ into our World

Our world is a highly complex one made up of many spheres (worlds) of interest: world politics, economics, business, law, medicine, education, sports, and theatre, to name just a few. Generally, to be a voice of influence in any one of these spheres requires proper positioning within its framework. For example, a highly trained and experienced member of the legal profession is both better positioned and would be given a better hearing on matters of law and justice than someone trained in agriculture. Similarly, those engaged in research in medical fields associated with problems in the food chain will find their opinions carry more weight in a food poisoning scare than someone who is a quiz show host. In other words, to maximise one�s influence in any field, one needs to specialise in it. God understands this perfectly. In sending us into the world he wants us to penetrate each of its spheres (worlds). We need to �go� deeper into our chosen sphere of interest as servants of God, not come out of them in order to become a servant.

When God commissioned the church to �go into all the world�, he meant for us to penetrate each sphere of it with a living expression of his mind and will. Restorers believe God�s intention is to have apostles and prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers who are politicians, business persons, sports personalities, actors, computer engineers and so on rather than becoming a professional religious clergy, trapped in a professional religious ghetto. We must recover our understanding of these ministry callings in the context of God�s purpose to fill the earth with his image and likeness. Only in this way will Christians truly salt and light our world at every level of human contact and communication.

To tell young men and women they must �give up their job� to �serve the Lord� has delayed the evangelisation of our world and robbed its institutional structures of the impact of the kingdom of God. There are some people that God wants given entirely to a specific ministry that is so demanding they would be unable to fulfil it and hold down a job at the same time. When such people then give up their job to pursue their calling it is both understandable and seen as necessary, but this is not the norm. The heart cry of the restorer is, �Lord you have sent your church into our world to bring your kingdom to men and women, and you have given your church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Lord, raise them up as artists, inventors, scientists, medics, teachers, professors, lawyers, judges, business men and women, journalists, industrialists, actors, storekeepers, sportspersons and to provide every other role of service in our world.�

Imagine what a difference it will make when many scriptwriters, producers and directors of major theatre and film productions are Christians with concern for the wellbeing of the family as their pastoral calling or the desire to introduce unbelievers to faith in Christ as the evangelist. What changes there will be when multinational corporations, stock exchange and commodity boards have in the top echelons of executive leadership committed Christian leaders with the strategic mind of the apostle the foreseeing eye of the prophet, the compassion of God�s heart seen on Christian faces on the ground in ordinary jobs. The business world will be an entirely different place. How dramatic the effect will be on the general populace when such men and women fulfil their callings in and through the church in the world.

In response to the crises we face in our educational systems, welfare organisations, prisons, and inner cities, people are not crying out for more government intrusion or state initiated programmes, or for more money to be thrown at the problems. Instead, they seek wisdom, commitment, and moral leadership in every field. Cosmetic changes, empty promises, regurgitated political policies, another �enquiry� � all announced with articulate fanfare � only lead to more disillusionment, frustration and reaction in the general populace.

We need to awake to the hour. We are not God�s people in a vacuum, but God�s people to a world in crisis. The harvest is not inside four walls vibrating with hymns or choruses, but in our streets, hospitals, prisons, clubs, and work places. Christians need to embrace the implications of the call of God that has sent us into the world (Joh.17:18). Apostolic wisdom, prophetic insight and passion, evangelistic zeal, pastoral concern and care, and the teacher�s ability to instruct and train, are all required to play their part in seeing men and women transformed and society reformed.

It is with this in mind we have a deeper appreciation of Paul�s use of the term �body�. When Jesus came into the world he cried, �a body you have prepared for me. I have come to do your will O God.�[31] God � who is invisible spirit �entered a body of flesh. Now that Christ has returned to the Father in heaven, God has prolonged his days in a new body, the church � a corporate people.[32]

It is through this corporate body he expresses his heart, and will for mankind.

Our gifting not only benefits, blesses and matures the church, but through the gifts of his Spirit God ministers his life to all. In practice this means that the greater manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit in our experience will be in the day to day course of our lives. Jesus makes himself known in and through us in the everyday market place of life on the streets of the 21st century. His life is not confined to religious meetings as he moves through us, blesses, and heals where the mass of people is to be found daily.

How can we be more effective in this arena?

Every day give your mind, your emotions and your body over to God through which he can express himself. Pray that your heart will feel what his heart is feeling, that your mind will be filled with what his mind is intending, and that your eyes, ears, lips and hands will be available to him through which to see, hear, speak and bless.

Step out into your day expecting God to respond to your yielded life. Christians should get on the bus, train or into the car, or walk into the office, store, factory, a university or childrens� playroom, fully expecting God to bless them and make them a blessing today.

Live confidently and boldly, responding with a childlike faith to the promptings of his Spirit . Understand that whatever God is telling you to do he will be with you in the doing of it. Whatever the consequences of any bold action you take, you can be sure God was not only with you in prompting the action but remains with you in the consequences of the action you have taken.

Never seek to take the applause to yourself. People�s gratitude undoubtedly follows miracles, help, and success. Always give God the direct praise and glory for what has taken place. In this way you make certain of a continued experience of union and life with God in the supernatural.

When Jesus stepped out each day it was with a conscious sense of the presence of God with him. He had taken specific time to seek the Father�s mind and will in the �secret place�. (Mat.6:4-6) It was in the secret place that Jesus would often see the Father doing things, or his spirit would hear the Father say things and instantly he knew what he was seeing and hearing of the Father was what the Father wanted him to do (Joh.5:19). As a consequence he walked the streets of the villages and cities and fully anticipating being used to bring God�s life to people by the Spirit. His heart was prepared by the Spirit in the secret place for what the Spirit wished to do through him in the public place. We are not above him � if he needed the secret place, how much more do we (Mat.10:24-25)? Jesus directly accused the Pharisees of trying to steal praise to themselves and showed them they would never move in the supernatural because they would not be able to receive the faith required for it. Their self-interest and desire for praise and glory from each other prevented unity with the Father. (Joh.5:44)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Eph.4:13

[2] Heb.3:1

[3] Acts 1:21-22

[4] Rev.21:14

[5] Eph.4:7-11

There are those that argue Matthias was not one of the 12 but that God�s choice was Paul. But this is untenable. Paul distinguishes himself from the 12 (1 Cor. 15:5,8). God said that on the day of Pentecost Peter stood up in the midst of 11, God owning their choice of Matthias (Mat.1:26). And Matthias was one of the 12 apostles who remained based in Jerusalem following the persecution that arose at the time of Stephen�s death.

[6] Eph.2:20

[7] 1 Cor.3:10

[8] Notably � Barnabus(Acts 14:4,14), Andronicus and Junias (Rom.16:7), and Silas (1 Thes.2:6)

[9] Rev.2:2

[10] Act 22:8

[11] Act 26:16-18

[12] Act 13:1

[13] Eph.4:11-12

[14] 2 Cor.4:

[15] 1 Cor.3:10

[16] 2 Cor.10:8

[17] Mat.20:25-28

[18] Act 14:26

[19] 2 Tim.4:7

[20] 2 Thes.3:7-9

[21] Jer.23:18,22; 2 Pet.1:20-21; c.f. Is.29:10; Rev.1:3,9; 4:1-2

[22] Amos 3:7

[23] 2 Kings 6:15

[24] 2 Kings 6:16

[25] Eph.3:4-5; c.f. 1 Cor.14:29-30

[26] Ex.5:1

[27] Mark 6:17-18

[28] Amos 3:7

[29] Hag.1:13-14

[30] Amos 9:11-15; Act 15:12-18; Ez. 8:11; Haggai and Zechariah books, and Ezra 5:1-2

[31] Heb.10:5

[32] Is.53:10

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Mattityahu Levi: Matthew's Account -- unknown Writer, 23:00:05 10/21/06 Sat

Part One
Lesson Nine

Healing, Forgiving, Raising, Teaching, and Preaching

�Your throne, O G-d, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter [shebet] of Your Kingdom. You love righteousness [tzadak] and hate wickedness; therefore G-d, Your G-d, has anointed [maschach] You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions. All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad.�

Isaiah 45:6-8

Introduction

Last week we saw the first of the 10 miracles in chapters 8 and 9. We saw a clear connection between the state of tamei [fragmented, unclean] and Jesus� purposefully healing.

We saw that Jesus� excursion into Gentile territory was not meant as an introduction of the Kingdom message to Gentiles � instead it appears to be some sort of �notice� to the powers of darkness that the Kingdom was at hand.

The Paralytic

Matt 9:1-8: Healed, and sins forgiven. This is the point of this miracle.

Forgiving sins was seen as an attack against the Temple and usurping the authority of G-d.

Lev 17:11; Heb 9:22: For all time, there has NEVER been remission of sin without the shedding of blood. By blood and only blood.

Heb 10:4: It was always about blood � but not just �any� blood � it was ALWAYS about the �blood of the Lamb� � the �Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.�

Gal 3:8; John 8:56-58: All the righteous of the ages have their sins atoned for in the same way: through faith, by the blood of the Eternal Lamb.

The �Sick� � Mercy and Not Sacrifice

Matt 9:9-10: Was Jesus saying that only the �sinners� were sick, or was He being ironic?

Hosea 5:13-15: Ephraim and Judah (i.e. Israel) is sick, and does not know it. They depend upon others instead of G-d.

G-d waits for their acknowledgement of their condition.

Hosea 6:1-6: Healing for them.

What was lacking? They did not acknowledge that they were in need of healing. They did not understand that they did not have relationship.

Hosea 6:3: The key to understanding Jesus� issue with the Pharisees: They needed to pursue �knowledge of the L-rd� � i.e. they needed a RELATIONSHIP with G-d.

From the account of the paralytic, was sacrifice needed? What was the meaning of the riddle: �I desire mercy and not sacrifice�?

Talmidim and Wineskins

Matt 9:14-17: Question: why talmidim did not fast like John�s disciples? Answer: There is NEVER to be fasting when with the Bridegroom. The parables that follow must ALWAYS be remembered as part of the answer to the question.

The 2 paired parables: Garment in need of patching; wineskins.

Double parables are used to find connective parts, and to derive a single point.

Garment(s), wineskins = talmidim [disciples]

Patch, wine = teaching, approach to Scripture

Old garment, old wineskins = those previously steeped in tradition etc.

New garment, new wineskins = those not learned or trained by others.

New wine = the Word, explained by the Author � old over time.

Singular meaning = in time, these men would fast, and be seen as learned. For now, they were �clean slates� for the Master to write upon.

Luke 5:39; Acts 4:13: The �old wine� is better � Torah lived out by those trained by the Master.

Healing in His Kanafim [Wings]

Matt 9:20-22: Woman with flow of blood for 12 years, healed.

Lev 15:25-31: She was tamei [fragmented, separated, unclean]. Excluded from the Tabernacle/Temple � and others.

Touched the �hem�. The kanaf was the �hem� of the long over garment called a tallit.

Num 15:37-39: Tzit-tzit [fringes] on the kanafim of their garments � the remind them of the commandments of G-d. Blue thread a picture of Messiah. The entire purpose of this outer garment was to hold the tzit-tzit. They were a visible reminder the wearer, and to each other, of G-d�s commands � to guard their eyes.

Mal 4:2: Healing in His kanafim.

The Girl Who Was Dead

Matt 9:18-26: The man asked Jesus not only to come into his house, but to lay hands upon his dead daughter.

Num 19:11-14: To enter the house made all who entered tamei for 7 days. Jesus going with the man was quite an act of mercy and love for a Rabbi.

Not only does He enter the house, he touches the girl.

When do you think she was raised?

The 2 Blind Men, and the Demonized Mute

Matt 9:27-31: Two Blind men � healed by Jesus� touch. Called Him �Son of David�. Told not to tell anyone.

9:32-33: Cast out demon from a mute? Pharisees� conclude that this must be something bad, since they are unfamiliar with it.

The �Gospel of the Kingdom�

Matt 9:35-36: Jesus was teaching, preaching, and healing.

Motivated by compassion for them: they were like sheep without a shepherd (Jer 23:1-2).

�Gospel of the Kingdom�. The Kingdom message: �Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!�

Ps 45:6-8: Out of the �Ivory palaces� � the King had come, with a scepter of righteousness � calling them to repent, and obey.

Summary

All of the miracles of the past 2 chapters have been done for a reason. Jesus was pointing to the fact that He was the Promised One. He gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk, and raised the dead.

Jesus saw that the people were lost and confused. He challenged them to turn back to G-d�s ways � no matter what their �shepherds� did.

Jesus� message is the same for us: Repent. We must continue to live lives of repentance, because the King is to rule our lives now � and will physically return soon.

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Father God, we count this day -a day or restoration, a day where the shackles of religion has been destroyed, a day where the blind can now see, a day that the deaf can now hear, and a day where the lost can be found dwelling in your presence and doing their part in the will of God. May each participant in this forum be enlightened in you. It is so... so shall it be....[ Contact Forum Admin ]

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