We continue with this article and quote this verse in Isaiah:
".....then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will
be a covering." Isaiah 4:5
This Psalm is one of Christine's favorite scriptures:
"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." Psalm 91:4
IT'S ALL ABOUT HIS NAME
"Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to
Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?" (Luke 20:1-2)
As we see from this portion of scripture, the question "who covers you?" is not new. The chief priests, scribes and elders were not simply asking Jesus where His supernatural power came from. More than that, they wanted a NAME. "Who is he?' Come on, tell us Jesus, who is the scribe, who is the rabbi, who is the prophet who covers you? And no more of that 'over-spirituality' talk about your Father. We want the name of the person who said you could do these things!"
The apostle Paul confronted a similar problem in the Corinthian church.
"For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of
Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptised in the name of Paul?" (1 Corinthians. 1:10-13)
The Lord is jealous over us concerning His Name. We were bought and paid for by His Blood, and His Name is the only Name by which we are to identify ourselves. When believers choose to find
their identity in another name other than His, the Spirit is grieved and His Name is dishonoured.
IT'S ABOUT THE FLESH
"Don't ever let anyone call you `Rabbi,' for you have only one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters. And don't address anyone here on earth as `Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. And don't let anyone call you `Master,' for there is only one master, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant." (Matthew 23:8-11)
The Corinthians were apparently separating into factions according to whom they considered was the most authoritative teacher. They were following after men, and for that reason Paul took issue with
them. Further in his letter he goes on to challenge them by describing this kind of mindset as carnal and fleshly rather than spiritual:
"For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not ALL CARNAL?"
(1 Corinthians. 3:1-4)
Finally, he instructs them: "Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come-all are yours. And you are Christ's, and Christ is God's." (1 Corinthians. 3:21-23)
The Corinthians had become so obsessed with the attributes of certain teachers they were idolising them. They wanted to regard particular individuals as their "master", "father", or "teacher", but
Paul wanted them to understand that in doing so they were falling short of their full inheritance in Christ. He wanted them to see that all of these teachers, belonged to them as servant-ministers, and
not the other way around.
IT'S ABOUT A SUBSTITUTE KING
At the heart of the Corinthians' idolatry was the age-old desire for a ruler, a king. The flesh would much rather fear man than fear God. The flesh would much rather submit to the control of law than submit to the freedom of the Spirit. This principle is seen throughout scripture.
Afraid they would die, the Israelites begged Moses to be God's messenger to them, rather than hear His Voice for themselves.
"Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." ( Exodus 20:18-19)
God desired for the people to hear Him for themselves, but they refused. Effectively, the Israelites were elevating Moses as their mediator. The entire nation had been called as a kingdom of priests, but their preference was to be ruled by one man. (Exodus 19:1-9)
Many years later, when the prophet Samuel officiated as Israel's judge, Israel's carnal desire for a man-king surfaced again.
"Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." So Samuel prayed to the Lord.
And the Lord said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them... However, you
shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behaviour of the king who will reign over them." So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, "This
will be the behaviour of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots... And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.
And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day." Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and
they said, "No, but we will have a king over us..." (1 Samuel 8:4-22)
The key to Israel's demand for a human king, rather than the direct reign of Yahweh over them, was "that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and
fight our battles." They wanted a name and a face that could "go out before" them. They wanted someone visible they could show the other nations. They wanted a symbol, a token leader who
could take responsibility for how they would live and conduct their lives. They wanted someone with a reputation they could identify with. They wanted to be like the world. They wanted human "covering."
You see, friends, there is a place for governmental leadership, there is a place for accountability within the Body, there is a place for submission to legitimate God-delegated authority. All these are valid and in order, but only insofar as they are not permitted to substitute for the direct rule of God in our lives. And only insofar as they are not sought out as a counterfeit for the sovereignty and ruler-ship of the Holy Spirit within each believer.
IT IS OF A DIFFERENT SPIRIT
"You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones." (Ezekiel 28:14)
Many Bible scholars agree that God's rebuke to the "king of Tyre" recorded in Ezekiel 28:1-19 is prophetically addressed to Satan. In it, we find that originally this fallen angel was called the
"anointed cherub who covers". Some scholars believe he was especially anointed to cover the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies.
In the Presence of God, he walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones. The passage states that when iniquity was found in him he was cast out of God's holy mountain, and removed from
the midst of the fiery stones.
This Hebrew word "to cover" means "to hedge, fence about, shut in, block, overshadow, screen, stop the approach, shut off, cover" (H. "cakak" Strong's 05526 ). It is a word than can be used either in
relation to defense or oppression.
Beloved, Satan still desires to walk back and forth in the midst of God's living, fiery stones. He still desires to be the covering cherub on God's holy mountain, but the covering he offers is oppressive,
designed purely to hinder believers and rob them of the freedom and full potential that is ours through Christ.
The doctrine of covering is an old lie with a new name, Satan is the Father of the lie and will use all sorts of tactics to bring division and hierarchy within the Church. It is fundamental to the maintenance of a this false hierarchical religious system that is controlling many Christians in our day. Without the power of this erroneous mindset, it is even doubtful that some sections of the "church" could survive.
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is OVER ALL and THROUGH ALL and IN ALL. (Ephesians 4:3-6) The scriptures plainly state that it is God alone who is OVER all. Only God can cover His people, and only the Holy Spirit can unite them. The most disturbing aspect about the covering teaching is that it subtly encourages believers to look to men and women rather than develop their own deep relationship with God through the Holy Spirit.
It upholds a man-made church built on hierarchy rather than a spiritual temple built through the unity of the Spirit. It promotes a class system of ruler-ship by title, human appointment and personality, and DEVALUES the PRIESTHOOD of every believer. It negates leadership by the Holy Spirit and discourages believers from hearing the direction of the Spirit for themselves. It is a DOCTRINE OF DEMONS being used to deceive and bind countless believers.
Now, about that freedom we were talking about at the beginning of this article! Don't, repeat DON'T, use your newfound liberty as a license for rebellion against authority. If you have been trapped in this covering doctrine be wise in how you appropriate your freedom. There are many, many humble and faithful men and women overseeing and serving the Body of Christ with humility and devotion, and it may well be that whoever has been "covering" you is one of them. If you are blessed enough to be aligned with a servant-leader who demonstrates true Biblical authority, honour them, support them, and submit to them. Paul told us to imitate THE FAITH of the Leaders and faithful ones, not to raise them up as mini gods.
False doctrines are mindsets and beliefs that can only be cast down by the Spirit and the Word together. And ultimately, our walk in the Spirit is not the responsibility of leadership; it is our own responsibility. It is time for each one of us to choose - do we want the ruler-ship of kings, or do we want the ruler-ship of THE King?
Final words on this subject:
1) Who covered Philip when He went down to Samaria and started a revival? (The apostles heard about it and sent Peter and John down to check it out!) (Acts 8:4-8)
2) Who covered Philip when the angel of the Lord directed him to the Gaza desert? (Acts 8:26-40) (There's no record of the Ethiopian eunuch asking him for his "covering" credentials!)
3)Who covered Ananias when he was sent to pray for Saul? (He went to pray for a known enemy of the church and didn't event get permission!) (Acts 9:10-18)
4)Who covered Apollos when he taught boldly in the synagogue, even though he had not yet received the full gospel? (Acts 18:24-25)
5)And who covered Aquilla and Priscilla when they took Apollos under their wing to instruct him further? (Acts 18:26)
6)Who covered Agabus when he travelled down from Judea to deliver a prophetic word to Paul? (Acts 21:10)
The answer is the same in each instance: The Holy Spirit covered, protected, led, and enabled. He is the only covering we need. The real question is this: is He the only covering we want?
Peter told members of the church to HUMBLE OURSELVES under the MIGHTY HAND of God, not Pastors, or Elders or anyone else who demands our loyalty. We just serve and submit to loving shepherds who would lay their lives down for us.
Many Blessings
Pastor David
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
THE FALSE TEACHING OF 'COVERING AND ACCOUNTABILTY' PART 1
Having been in the Watchtower cult for 50 years, we knew full well what control and covering was all about. When we got out of the cult (which was a very frightening experience for us, especially for Christine) we were so pleased after 18 months of being in the wilderness to be shown the love of Yeshua our Lord and King. He became our leader and our covering. The Lord gave us a scripture and it was 1 John 2:27
So when we moved to Cyprus, after being prayed for by anointed men and women, we were shocked to be faced with 'Who do you think you are, coming over here and thinking you can do things on your own?'
We were told in no uncertain terms that we MUST come under the COVERING of a church or leadership. We told them that we are appointed by Yeshua and I was well into my Theological studies at that time with an Australian Bible College, to which they more or less said, 'so what?'.
So this article I am posting addresses this Erroneous teaching within the Church.
Part 1
In a number of denominations a "doctrine of covering" is taught and accepted by the faithful. Most members never question this teaching. After all, most believe it and the leadership teach it as truth, so it must be right?
However the Holy Spirit impressed on us when we were questioning the leadership claims of the JWs that we needed to study the scriptures more deeply on this teaching.
We came to realise that the Holy Spirit NEVER originated it! In His infinite grace, He chose to wait patiently for a time when the Spirit of Truth would become dearer to us than the traditions of men.
The teaching on "covering" goes like this. Everyone needs to be
accountable to someone who is spiritually his or her superior. This
someone may be your cell/group leader, the head of a church department or your senior pastor etc. In turn, these leaders receive covering from someone further up the line, for instance a denominational leader or a "recognised" apostle.
The necessity for this covering is based on the belief that believers need to be safeguarded from falling into error and/or sin. So covering is
provided by those who are more spiritual than us to protect us from such error. At the top of this pyramid of covering there is quite often a well-known and recognised "name" but the chances of meeting or having any kind of relationship with that person if you are at the bottom of the pyramid are fairly slim. Currently, there are several networks offering this kind of covering to those in some form of church leadership or ministry, more often than not for an annual fee.
The annual fee usually provides for the running of the network icluding salaries of the 'leaders', and conferences where you can fellowship with others under your particular brand of covering. You may also be denied
entrance from one of these networks because you don't have the
appropriate credentials.
One of the strange things about this "covering" teaching is that rarely is anyone asked about their spiritual covering, until they step outside their particular church, denomination or network. However, the minute a believer shows signs of having something important to share with the wider Body of Christ, suddenly all and sundry are interested primarily in that one important question: "Who are you covered by?" It all sounds pretty reasonable except for one problem - it's NOT FOUND in scripture. In fact, the early church was taught to rely on the inner anointing to discern the spiritual source of potential ministers. (1 John 2:20,27; 1 John 4:1)
So, where did this idea originate that believers need to be "covered"
in order to serve God and minister within Christ's Body? Are you,like many others, living your Christian life under the shadow of this fear that without "covering" you dare not minister, preach, pray or do a myriad of other things you're called to do by the Spirit of God, because you will somehow be ministering without protection?
The purpose of this article is to shed some light on this issue based on scriptural truth. To begin with, though, we need to understand that this need to be covered by a perceived spiritual authority, and the scriptural instruction to submit ourselves to God's delegated authorities, are NOT necessarily one and the same thing. Furthermore, New Testament authority as demonstrated by Jesus and the first apostles, is servanthood-authority, upholding, strengthening, reinforcing and overseeing the Body from BENEATH, not DOMINEERING, CONTROLLING and RULING from ABOVE. Therefore, it is vital in examining this issue that we begin from a correct understanding of Biblical submission and Biblical authority.
'LET THIS MIND be IN YOU'
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who,
being in the form of God, thought in not robbery to be equal with
God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Phil. 2:5-8)
The current mindset we carry in much of the church concerning submission is quite unrelated to the submission taught and demonstrated by Jesus and the early apostles. There is a desperate need to return to the same mind that was in Christ Jesus.
The scripture tells us that though He was equal with the Father, Jesus CHOSE to submit Himself, He CHOSE to humble Himself, He CHOSE to obey. This is the key to Biblical submission, and the model laid down for us by both the Father and the Son.
Submission is firstly a choice; a choice that can only ever be made by the giver. Biblical submission can never be demanded or forced. That kind of relationship is subservience, not submission. Jesus chose to subject Himself to the Father, but the Father "so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son." Sacrificial giving and sacrificial submission are married to each other.
In the Spirit,you cannot have one without the other. If you try, you will invariably end up with control, dependence and abuse rather than humility,
interdependence and grace.
The New Testament concept of submission, or subjection, is one of a totally voluntary attitude of giving, of yielding one's preference
and deferring to another. In this way, Jesus as a child was subject
to His parents, yet the scriptures record that He did not even
consult them when He was "about His Father's business." (Luke 2:49,51)
"IT SHALL NOT be SO AMONG YOU"
"Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they know they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this joyfully and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit." (Hebrews 13:17, NLT)
"But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all." (Mark 10:42-44)
42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
(Mark 10:42 NIV 2011)
There is no question that the scriptures instruct each one of us to submit to God's delegated authority. It is the understanding and the application of that authority we often stumble over. The Bible records that Jesus taught the twelve this Kingdom authority as they walked along the road to Jerusalem.
His face had been set toward the Cross, and it is certain He was keenly aware of the short time He had left with them. Perhaps He was conversing with His Father about what were the most important lessons He could impart to them during the time that was left. We know that He heard them disputing over who among them was the best "leadership material". Perhaps Peter, having not long before witnessed Jesus' transfiguration, thought that gave him special status.
Perhaps James and John felt they were more likely candidates for rulership than impetuous Peter. Shortly before,they had asked Jesus to give them special places of honour in His Kingdom. Whatever had started their dispute, Jesus certainly knew how to end it!
"Whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave....."
(Matt. 20:27).
The Lord was speaking to a group of people who had grown up under the rule of the Roman Empire. The Romans exercised their authority through forced subjection and harsh cruelty. In fact, the literal translation of the words Jesus used in reference to Roman rule mean "to be under the power of" and "to be subdued." Despite having witnessed Jesus using a very different kind of authority and power, the disciples had not yet understood exactly what He would require of them. The Romans were, in the political sense, their masters. Yet here was Jesus stating that to exercise the authority He was going to invest in them they would need to
become slaves to one another, and not masters. One might safely assume these weren't words any of them particularly wanted to hear that day!
Kingdom authority has nothing to do with titles, positions,
educational qualifications or reputation. Kingdom authority is granted by the Lord according to the measure with which He can trust us to wield it with humility. The greatest authority in the kingdom is reserved for His bondslaves............to be continued
I will post another part of this teaching shortly.
This is a basic Biblical teaching that has been distorted by the Church and made many Christians lives a misery because all they want to do is break out of the box and do what God has ordained them too do.
Blessings in Yeshua's name
Pastor David
Part Two is found here:
http://livingwatersministiescyprus.blogspot.com/2011/03/covering-and-accountabilty-part-two.html
So when we moved to Cyprus, after being prayed for by anointed men and women, we were shocked to be faced with 'Who do you think you are, coming over here and thinking you can do things on your own?'
We were told in no uncertain terms that we MUST come under the COVERING of a church or leadership. We told them that we are appointed by Yeshua and I was well into my Theological studies at that time with an Australian Bible College, to which they more or less said, 'so what?'.
So this article I am posting addresses this Erroneous teaching within the Church.
Part 1
In a number of denominations a "doctrine of covering" is taught and accepted by the faithful. Most members never question this teaching. After all, most believe it and the leadership teach it as truth, so it must be right?
However the Holy Spirit impressed on us when we were questioning the leadership claims of the JWs that we needed to study the scriptures more deeply on this teaching.
We came to realise that the Holy Spirit NEVER originated it! In His infinite grace, He chose to wait patiently for a time when the Spirit of Truth would become dearer to us than the traditions of men.
The teaching on "covering" goes like this. Everyone needs to be
accountable to someone who is spiritually his or her superior. This
someone may be your cell/group leader, the head of a church department or your senior pastor etc. In turn, these leaders receive covering from someone further up the line, for instance a denominational leader or a "recognised" apostle.
The necessity for this covering is based on the belief that believers need to be safeguarded from falling into error and/or sin. So covering is
provided by those who are more spiritual than us to protect us from such error. At the top of this pyramid of covering there is quite often a well-known and recognised "name" but the chances of meeting or having any kind of relationship with that person if you are at the bottom of the pyramid are fairly slim. Currently, there are several networks offering this kind of covering to those in some form of church leadership or ministry, more often than not for an annual fee.
The annual fee usually provides for the running of the network icluding salaries of the 'leaders', and conferences where you can fellowship with others under your particular brand of covering. You may also be denied
entrance from one of these networks because you don't have the
appropriate credentials.
One of the strange things about this "covering" teaching is that rarely is anyone asked about their spiritual covering, until they step outside their particular church, denomination or network. However, the minute a believer shows signs of having something important to share with the wider Body of Christ, suddenly all and sundry are interested primarily in that one important question: "Who are you covered by?" It all sounds pretty reasonable except for one problem - it's NOT FOUND in scripture. In fact, the early church was taught to rely on the inner anointing to discern the spiritual source of potential ministers. (1 John 2:20,27; 1 John 4:1)
So, where did this idea originate that believers need to be "covered"
in order to serve God and minister within Christ's Body? Are you,like many others, living your Christian life under the shadow of this fear that without "covering" you dare not minister, preach, pray or do a myriad of other things you're called to do by the Spirit of God, because you will somehow be ministering without protection?
The purpose of this article is to shed some light on this issue based on scriptural truth. To begin with, though, we need to understand that this need to be covered by a perceived spiritual authority, and the scriptural instruction to submit ourselves to God's delegated authorities, are NOT necessarily one and the same thing. Furthermore, New Testament authority as demonstrated by Jesus and the first apostles, is servanthood-authority, upholding, strengthening, reinforcing and overseeing the Body from BENEATH, not DOMINEERING, CONTROLLING and RULING from ABOVE. Therefore, it is vital in examining this issue that we begin from a correct understanding of Biblical submission and Biblical authority.
'LET THIS MIND be IN YOU'
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who,
being in the form of God, thought in not robbery to be equal with
God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Phil. 2:5-8)
The current mindset we carry in much of the church concerning submission is quite unrelated to the submission taught and demonstrated by Jesus and the early apostles. There is a desperate need to return to the same mind that was in Christ Jesus.
The scripture tells us that though He was equal with the Father, Jesus CHOSE to submit Himself, He CHOSE to humble Himself, He CHOSE to obey. This is the key to Biblical submission, and the model laid down for us by both the Father and the Son.
Submission is firstly a choice; a choice that can only ever be made by the giver. Biblical submission can never be demanded or forced. That kind of relationship is subservience, not submission. Jesus chose to subject Himself to the Father, but the Father "so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son." Sacrificial giving and sacrificial submission are married to each other.
In the Spirit,you cannot have one without the other. If you try, you will invariably end up with control, dependence and abuse rather than humility,
interdependence and grace.
The New Testament concept of submission, or subjection, is one of a totally voluntary attitude of giving, of yielding one's preference
and deferring to another. In this way, Jesus as a child was subject
to His parents, yet the scriptures record that He did not even
consult them when He was "about His Father's business." (Luke 2:49,51)
"IT SHALL NOT be SO AMONG YOU"
"Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they know they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this joyfully and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit." (Hebrews 13:17, NLT)
"But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all." (Mark 10:42-44)
42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
(Mark 10:42 NIV 2011)
There is no question that the scriptures instruct each one of us to submit to God's delegated authority. It is the understanding and the application of that authority we often stumble over. The Bible records that Jesus taught the twelve this Kingdom authority as they walked along the road to Jerusalem.
His face had been set toward the Cross, and it is certain He was keenly aware of the short time He had left with them. Perhaps He was conversing with His Father about what were the most important lessons He could impart to them during the time that was left. We know that He heard them disputing over who among them was the best "leadership material". Perhaps Peter, having not long before witnessed Jesus' transfiguration, thought that gave him special status.
Perhaps James and John felt they were more likely candidates for rulership than impetuous Peter. Shortly before,they had asked Jesus to give them special places of honour in His Kingdom. Whatever had started their dispute, Jesus certainly knew how to end it!
"Whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave....."
(Matt. 20:27).
The Lord was speaking to a group of people who had grown up under the rule of the Roman Empire. The Romans exercised their authority through forced subjection and harsh cruelty. In fact, the literal translation of the words Jesus used in reference to Roman rule mean "to be under the power of" and "to be subdued." Despite having witnessed Jesus using a very different kind of authority and power, the disciples had not yet understood exactly what He would require of them. The Romans were, in the political sense, their masters. Yet here was Jesus stating that to exercise the authority He was going to invest in them they would need to
become slaves to one another, and not masters. One might safely assume these weren't words any of them particularly wanted to hear that day!
Kingdom authority has nothing to do with titles, positions,
educational qualifications or reputation. Kingdom authority is granted by the Lord according to the measure with which He can trust us to wield it with humility. The greatest authority in the kingdom is reserved for His bondslaves............to be continued
I will post another part of this teaching shortly.
This is a basic Biblical teaching that has been distorted by the Church and made many Christians lives a misery because all they want to do is break out of the box and do what God has ordained them too do.
Blessings in Yeshua's name
Pastor David
Part Two is found here:
http://livingwatersministiescyprus.blogspot.com/2011/03/covering-and-accountabilty-part-two.html
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
YESHUA IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE MANKIND JOHN 3:16
NO OTHER RELIGIOUS LEADER DID THIS FOR YOU
The resurrected Yeshua is the only one that can save the arrogant nations leaders and yet they want him removed from the government.
The United States, The United Kingdom and the EU and the rest of the World will not stand if they delete HIM from all aspects of government as
the atheists are doing.
A Test for us about YESHUA
This is an easy test, It is our choice.
If you aren't ashamed to do this, please follow the directions.
Jesus said, 'if you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you
before my Father.'
This is a simple test.
If you Love The Lord God, and are not ashamed of all the marvelous things he has done for you, Send the following prayer to your friends & family.
A prayer for you and your family
Concentrate on this Sentence 'To get something you never had, you have
to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your
grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to
receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence... 'The will of
God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'
Something good will happen to you today; something that you have been
waiting to hear.
If you need a break in your life! PRAY THESE WORDS.
PLEASE DEAR GOD OUR FATHER, WALK THROUGH MY HOUSE AND TAKE AWAY ALL MY WORRIES AND ILLNESSES; AND PLEASE WATCH OVER AND HEAL MY FAMILY IN JESUS NAME.. AMEN
This prayer is very simple but very powerful. Pass this prayer on to other people . A blessing will come to you, maybe in the form of a new job, a house, marriage or financially. Do not try to analyze it or ask questions. This is a test. Does God come first in your life? If so, stop what you are doing and tell other people
JUST TRUST HIM AND WATCH WHAT HE DOES, Keep on knocking, Keep on asking and become as a little child. It is all about Obedience, as Isaiah 5 points out.
God Bless You.
Pastor David
The resurrected Yeshua is the only one that can save the arrogant nations leaders and yet they want him removed from the government.
The United States, The United Kingdom and the EU and the rest of the World will not stand if they delete HIM from all aspects of government as
the atheists are doing.
A Test for us about YESHUA
This is an easy test, It is our choice.
If you aren't ashamed to do this, please follow the directions.
Jesus said, 'if you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you
before my Father.'
This is a simple test.
If you Love The Lord God, and are not ashamed of all the marvelous things he has done for you, Send the following prayer to your friends & family.
A prayer for you and your family
Concentrate on this Sentence 'To get something you never had, you have
to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your
grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to
receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence... 'The will of
God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'
Something good will happen to you today; something that you have been
waiting to hear.
If you need a break in your life! PRAY THESE WORDS.
PLEASE DEAR GOD OUR FATHER, WALK THROUGH MY HOUSE AND TAKE AWAY ALL MY WORRIES AND ILLNESSES; AND PLEASE WATCH OVER AND HEAL MY FAMILY IN JESUS NAME.. AMEN
This prayer is very simple but very powerful. Pass this prayer on to other people . A blessing will come to you, maybe in the form of a new job, a house, marriage or financially. Do not try to analyze it or ask questions. This is a test. Does God come first in your life? If so, stop what you are doing and tell other people
JUST TRUST HIM AND WATCH WHAT HE DOES, Keep on knocking, Keep on asking and become as a little child. It is all about Obedience, as Isaiah 5 points out.
God Bless You.
Pastor David
Monday, 21 March 2011
A CHANGE OF DIRECTION AND POSITIVITY IN A WORLD OF DARKNESS
Virtually ever since I started this blog, I have focused on what is either wrong in the 'church' or wrong with other religions and so on. However the Lord has been speaking to me very clearly for some time now that I must stop being involved with anything that causes debate and antagonism.
My first attempt at trying to go down this path, was the post that I wrote about being Judgmental. Since then I have still been highlighting negative things that are going on in the World.
Jesus told us that ALL of these things would occur and that we are to LOOK UP and totally rely on our God.
The Lord gave me the following scripture and so I will from now on speak upbuilding things, that reflect the LIVING WATER of LIFE flowing from our dear Lord & King Yeshua.
I will leave it to others to make comments about corrupt heretic leaders within the church. I need to remain in Gods Love & Grace and concentrate totally on the goodness of our Lord and not get sidetracked with things that I cannot make any difference about and only GOD CAN.
Final Exhortations
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Our other blogs:
www.endtimewitnesses.blogspot.com
will contain comments relating to happenings within this World controlled by Satan and proving we are living in end times.
Our other blog
www.word&spiritbiblecollege.blogspot.com
will only contain the FREE 'Bible Theology Course' lessons and that is all.
May you all be blessed in these Last Days
Pastor David & Christine
My first attempt at trying to go down this path, was the post that I wrote about being Judgmental. Since then I have still been highlighting negative things that are going on in the World.
Jesus told us that ALL of these things would occur and that we are to LOOK UP and totally rely on our God.
The Lord gave me the following scripture and so I will from now on speak upbuilding things, that reflect the LIVING WATER of LIFE flowing from our dear Lord & King Yeshua.
I will leave it to others to make comments about corrupt heretic leaders within the church. I need to remain in Gods Love & Grace and concentrate totally on the goodness of our Lord and not get sidetracked with things that I cannot make any difference about and only GOD CAN.
Final Exhortations
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Our other blogs:
www.endtimewitnesses.blogspot.com
will contain comments relating to happenings within this World controlled by Satan and proving we are living in end times.
Our other blog
www.word&spiritbiblecollege.blogspot.com
will only contain the FREE 'Bible Theology Course' lessons and that is all.
May you all be blessed in these Last Days
Pastor David & Christine
Friday, 11 March 2011
THE BEAST, 666, LEVIATHAN.......ISRAEL....CYPRUS..&..LEBANON
LEVIATHAN OIL/GAS FIELD FOUND IN CYPRUS-ISRAEL-LEBANON WATERS, WHAT WILL IT BRING?
Catastrophe or Opportunity to Israel-Lebanon-Cyprus Borders
The Mark of the beast is 666 which as Bible Students we know is MANS number. However the Greek word used in Revelation 13:18 for Man is really the word anthropos, which means Mankind, Human kind including Women as well.
In our Modern World OIL and GAS has become the new Gold and brings out the worst in Mankind who make up NATIONS.
The “The IMAGE of the WILD BEAST of Revelation comes out of the Sea”
The Oil and Gas comes out of the SEA'S of Israel, Cyprus & Lebanon
Oil as we ALL know especially now, is causing all sorts of problems amongst Mankind and it is causing anthropos (people) to display their worst side (actions like beasts).
The number 666 is an imperfect Human number and is short of the perfect number of the Lord which is 7
These are just things to think about as you read this report.
A gigantic natural gas field that could yield millions of barrels of oil was recently discovered on the maritime border between Israel, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, Cyprus, and Northern Cyprus. While it could be a military catastrophe, steps are being taken to divide the spoils.
Scientists recently discovered a massive offshore reserve of around 122 trillion cubic feet of natural gas called the Levant Basin Province. While it is one of the world's richest natural gas reserves, the Levant Basin Province is located between countries with inherited amounts of mutual hatred. It straddles the sea borders of Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, The Republic of Cyprus and the Illegal (De Facto) Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The largest section discovered so far, the Leviathan gas field, is believed to possibly contain, alongside natural gas, 4.2 billion barrels of oil. Leviathan straddles the Israeli-Lebanese maritime border. Israel is currently in a state of war with Lebanon and does not recognize the De-facto Hamas Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip and nor does Gods Word the Bible.
Sharp words are already being exchanged between Jerusalem and Beirut. Upon discovery of the fields in June, Lebanon warned Israel not to drill within their maritime borders. Israel then escalated the rhetoric with military threats, as Minister of National Infrastructures Uzi Landau threatened to use force to protect the natural gas fields.
Following Landau's announcement, sophisticated security arrangements for Israeli natural gas rigs were leaked to the country's press. As of press time, further surveying is underway.
It is not unimaginable that, in the next regional war, Israeli and Lebanese military elements could target the other's natural gas drills. This has the potential to cause a regional ecological catastrophe.
However, progress is being made.
ISRAEL HAS ALREADY MADE AN AGREEMENT WITH CYPRUS.
According to Batsheva Sobelman of the Los Angeles Times
Israeli diplomats say the agreement should secure Israel's economic interests in the Mediterranean. Cyprus says this does not conflict with a similar agreement signed with Lebanon, still awaiting ratification in parliament.
Cyprus is ending up as the natural mediator in this dispute. While sections of the Levant Basin Province stray into the county's maritime borders, their shares are comparatively small. More importantly, Cyprus enjoys warm relations with both Israel and Lebanon. When large-scale harvesting of these natural gas fields begins, Cyprus may be able to work with other third parties to broker an agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
Meanwhile, as so often happens in the Middle East, other countries are trying to extract as much influence as possible from the natural gas hysteria. The now Ousted Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated that they were “closely following” the Cyprus-Israel agreement, as reported by al-Masry al-Youm, but as we now know the Egyptian Government has been taken over within a very short time, so what NOW?
The ministry is carrying out technical and legal research to ensure that borders under the agreement between Israel and Cyprus do not affect the Egyptian zone, [government spokesperson Hassam] Zaki said.
Turkey also went on the diplomatic offensive against the Cyprus-Israel agreement. A Foreign Ministry statement called the maritime border accord “null and void” because it ignored the jurisdiction of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was formed following a military invasion of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkey in 1974 following massive inter communal violence. The only country to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is TURKEY, and 35,000 Turkish troops are currently stationed in Northern Cyprus.
Turkey has stated that it “does not have any claim regarding the maritime areas” subject to the demarcation agreement. Cyprus however announced plans to have Noble Energy explore the 800,000 acres of Cypriot waters within the Levant Basin a year prior to the demarcation agreement.
IS THE BEAST ABOUT TO RISE?
Stay Awake and watch everything going on and ask the Lord what it means
Blessings as ever
Pastor David
Catastrophe or Opportunity to Israel-Lebanon-Cyprus Borders
The Mark of the beast is 666 which as Bible Students we know is MANS number. However the Greek word used in Revelation 13:18 for Man is really the word anthropos, which means Mankind, Human kind including Women as well.
In our Modern World OIL and GAS has become the new Gold and brings out the worst in Mankind who make up NATIONS.
The “The IMAGE of the WILD BEAST of Revelation comes out of the Sea”
The Oil and Gas comes out of the SEA'S of Israel, Cyprus & Lebanon
Oil as we ALL know especially now, is causing all sorts of problems amongst Mankind and it is causing anthropos (people) to display their worst side (actions like beasts).
The number 666 is an imperfect Human number and is short of the perfect number of the Lord which is 7
These are just things to think about as you read this report.
A gigantic natural gas field that could yield millions of barrels of oil was recently discovered on the maritime border between Israel, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, Cyprus, and Northern Cyprus. While it could be a military catastrophe, steps are being taken to divide the spoils.
Scientists recently discovered a massive offshore reserve of around 122 trillion cubic feet of natural gas called the Levant Basin Province. While it is one of the world's richest natural gas reserves, the Levant Basin Province is located between countries with inherited amounts of mutual hatred. It straddles the sea borders of Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, The Republic of Cyprus and the Illegal (De Facto) Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The largest section discovered so far, the Leviathan gas field, is believed to possibly contain, alongside natural gas, 4.2 billion barrels of oil. Leviathan straddles the Israeli-Lebanese maritime border. Israel is currently in a state of war with Lebanon and does not recognize the De-facto Hamas Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip and nor does Gods Word the Bible.
Sharp words are already being exchanged between Jerusalem and Beirut. Upon discovery of the fields in June, Lebanon warned Israel not to drill within their maritime borders. Israel then escalated the rhetoric with military threats, as Minister of National Infrastructures Uzi Landau threatened to use force to protect the natural gas fields.
Following Landau's announcement, sophisticated security arrangements for Israeli natural gas rigs were leaked to the country's press. As of press time, further surveying is underway.
It is not unimaginable that, in the next regional war, Israeli and Lebanese military elements could target the other's natural gas drills. This has the potential to cause a regional ecological catastrophe.
However, progress is being made.
ISRAEL HAS ALREADY MADE AN AGREEMENT WITH CYPRUS.
According to Batsheva Sobelman of the Los Angeles Times
Israeli diplomats say the agreement should secure Israel's economic interests in the Mediterranean. Cyprus says this does not conflict with a similar agreement signed with Lebanon, still awaiting ratification in parliament.
Cyprus is ending up as the natural mediator in this dispute. While sections of the Levant Basin Province stray into the county's maritime borders, their shares are comparatively small. More importantly, Cyprus enjoys warm relations with both Israel and Lebanon. When large-scale harvesting of these natural gas fields begins, Cyprus may be able to work with other third parties to broker an agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
Meanwhile, as so often happens in the Middle East, other countries are trying to extract as much influence as possible from the natural gas hysteria. The now Ousted Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated that they were “closely following” the Cyprus-Israel agreement, as reported by al-Masry al-Youm, but as we now know the Egyptian Government has been taken over within a very short time, so what NOW?
The ministry is carrying out technical and legal research to ensure that borders under the agreement between Israel and Cyprus do not affect the Egyptian zone, [government spokesperson Hassam] Zaki said.
Turkey also went on the diplomatic offensive against the Cyprus-Israel agreement. A Foreign Ministry statement called the maritime border accord “null and void” because it ignored the jurisdiction of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was formed following a military invasion of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkey in 1974 following massive inter communal violence. The only country to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is TURKEY, and 35,000 Turkish troops are currently stationed in Northern Cyprus.
Turkey has stated that it “does not have any claim regarding the maritime areas” subject to the demarcation agreement. Cyprus however announced plans to have Noble Energy explore the 800,000 acres of Cypriot waters within the Levant Basin a year prior to the demarcation agreement.
IS THE BEAST ABOUT TO RISE?
Stay Awake and watch everything going on and ask the Lord what it means
Blessings as ever
Pastor David
Friday, 4 March 2011
IN VIEW OF YESHUA'S WORDS IN MATTHEW 7:1, CAN WE JUDGE ANYONE?
Often when I post articles and comments on this blog, I wonder if I am being overly Judgemental especially with regards to the words of our dear Lord Yeshua recorded in Matthew 7. These are the verses that really made me think a number of years ago, when I was still captive to the Watchtower religion. I felt that the organisation were and still are very Judgemental towards every one of other faiths on this planet.
So I thought I would paste in the first 20 verses of Matthew 7 from the NKJV of the Holy Scriptures.
Notice Jesus words from verse 15-20
Do Not Judge
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
The Narrow Way
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because[a] narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
You Will Know Them by Their Fruits
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
So after reading these verses, I feel that "If we see and hear FALSE PROPHETS" then we as Christians should sound the warning bells.
Jesus told us quite clearly that we would know these people by their fruits. These imposters are ravenous wolves, just like their father the Devil. If a literal wolf came to devour our children, would we just stand by and let the animal do what he wanted, or would we sound the alarm?
If we say nothing and do nothing, then we are condoning what is going on within the church. It amazes me how people can try to justify the breaking of Gods Laws by relying on Gods Grace. Many will say that God loves us so much that he covers over our GROSS sins, no matter what we do. The whole thing about Grace and Salvation is that it is FREE but we need to repent and turn around from the carnal nature of the flesh and try to live a life that shows we are transformed into a new creation.
Yes we are still imperfect, we still sin, but there is a world of difference in sinning deliberately and continually, or falling down and then repenting and turning away from the sin.
We know that we cannot judge as regards to a persons eternal salvation, only the LORD can do that. Also we should NEVER say to even an enemy of the TRUTH that they are going to Hell, but rather we leave ALL judging of a persons life to our LORD YESHUA.
If we have this attitude it will keep us balanced when we highlight errors and heresy within the ecclessia.
So I would like to wish blessings on all who look at this site and may the Lord protect you and lead you to RIVERS OF LIVING WATERS.
Every Blessing
Pastor David
So I thought I would paste in the first 20 verses of Matthew 7 from the NKJV of the Holy Scriptures.
Notice Jesus words from verse 15-20
Do Not Judge
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
The Narrow Way
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because[a] narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
You Will Know Them by Their Fruits
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
So after reading these verses, I feel that "If we see and hear FALSE PROPHETS" then we as Christians should sound the warning bells.
Jesus told us quite clearly that we would know these people by their fruits. These imposters are ravenous wolves, just like their father the Devil. If a literal wolf came to devour our children, would we just stand by and let the animal do what he wanted, or would we sound the alarm?
If we say nothing and do nothing, then we are condoning what is going on within the church. It amazes me how people can try to justify the breaking of Gods Laws by relying on Gods Grace. Many will say that God loves us so much that he covers over our GROSS sins, no matter what we do. The whole thing about Grace and Salvation is that it is FREE but we need to repent and turn around from the carnal nature of the flesh and try to live a life that shows we are transformed into a new creation.
Yes we are still imperfect, we still sin, but there is a world of difference in sinning deliberately and continually, or falling down and then repenting and turning away from the sin.
We know that we cannot judge as regards to a persons eternal salvation, only the LORD can do that. Also we should NEVER say to even an enemy of the TRUTH that they are going to Hell, but rather we leave ALL judging of a persons life to our LORD YESHUA.
If we have this attitude it will keep us balanced when we highlight errors and heresy within the ecclessia.
So I would like to wish blessings on all who look at this site and may the Lord protect you and lead you to RIVERS OF LIVING WATERS.
Every Blessing
Pastor David
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