Radical Grace

   You know, God never discovers or finds out anything.  And, nothing ever occurs to God. There are no secrets with God.  In His secret place, the place of His presence, there are no secrets.  Isn't that amazing!   Some folks seem to think things might have escaped His eye since He didn't strike them dead.  But, no, He knows it all.  And, He has chosen to accept us, love us and hold us with the power of His love in spite of all He knows about us.  That is radical grace!

   I know many will read such words as these and either not believe them or just dismiss them, not understanding.  But, they should know that when Jesus shed precious blood on that cross, God was propitiated (anger turned to mercy).  The original sin of original man, passed down to all of us, is forgiven.  Now, based on the value of that precious blood,  God knowing all that He knows, all that we have done, all the weaknesses we possess, now says to all who will, "Come on in". Even better He says "Just as you are - come on in"

   This is not merited grace.  This is unmerited grace.  Completely unearned, undeserved.  It was on day one and is the same the day we draw our last breathe and slip away from this life.  There was a Clint Brown song of a few years ago that said it so well, "a hopeless case, an empty space, if not for grace".  Driven by the guilt of religion, men struggle to believe that.  They want to clean up sufficiently, work hard enough, give up enough stuff to feel like finally they might be accepted.  No, no, no!  Still an empty space, a hopeless case if not for grace.   Grace has captured you my friend!  Yield to your captor.

    Grace did not just reach into the muck and mire and pluck you out.  It did that, but it surrounds us, keeps us, protects us, loves us and maybe even eventually cleans us up.  Grace even goes behind us and begins to erase our tracks.  It goes before us and makes straight the path and should we stumble, grace quickly pulls up and points the way to go on. Even when we waste so much of what we have been given in the pigpen of life, grace still says "Come home...let us make merry"!    Amazing grace?  The more you know, the more amazing it becomes.  Radical grace?  Yes, indeed!

  

Generic god

  
     You know, you can get a generic of about anything these days, including religion. You can get a rip-off copy of about anything too, for a fraction of the price. Most people don't know the energy the devil, and religion he fathers, puts into creating generic religion.  And, it isn't just that sickening sight of politicians suggesting we, and the Muslims, or some other dufus group all worship the same God.  No, that springs from the popular generic religion already developed in our mind.  These days, the word "God" is a generic term for whatever god you want it to describe.  That watering down process has been going on a long time.  And, then there is the  reluctance clearly seen now in our society to say "Jesus".  Because of our generic understanding, we can say "god" because it stands for whatever, but of course saying "Jesus" gets to Christian specific and that is a "no no".  So, the spectacle of politicians having a prayer meeting where Christians meet with religious screwballs and they all pray to a generic, all purpose  "god".  Of course, that has been the Masonic and other cultish approach to the matter for a long time.  For them, god is whatever you think he is, whatever you want to call him.  Yet, in the bigger scope of things, all this probably doesn't matter as much as we think. 

   Let me suggest to you that the generic "god" problem goes back much farther than what we are presently seeing unfold.  All of that razz-ma-tazz has come about because of something else that has been going on even longer.  Understanding begins here:  when Jesus went away, He left another Comforter, one like Himself, in His place. This Comforter happens to be God in Spirit form, otherwise known as the Holy Spirit.  It is by the presence of this Comforter, a direct representative of the Lord Jesus, that every man's relationship with God can be personal.  This is a million mile difference from just believing there is a God off somewhere in space or even that there was a great man named Jesus that once walked the earth and may return some day.  This Comforter has the sole responsibility to reveal Jesus Christ to us as LORD and to enable us to personally know and call Him LORD.  The Bible declares that only by the Spirit can we do that. This Comforter has the sole responsibility to dwell with us, lead us, guide us and empower us.  As Stephen was dying, he said to his murderers "you do always resist the Holy Ghost, just as your fathers did".   That describes a battle that has gone on, and is still going on, for a long, long time.  Jesus died to give us the Spirit because only by the Spirit can Jesus be our Lord and only if Jesus is Lord can He be our Savior (Ro.10:9-10).

   Watch television as Christian peripheral people, including politicians discuss religion or what they think is Christianity.  A few will speak of God, less will speak of Jesus, even less speak of Jesus as the LORD, and none will speak of the Holy Ghost.  They will just chatter away about everything except God among us, representative of all God is everywhere.  There was a reason Jesus said we could say anything about Him or the Father, but not the Holy Ghost. Blaspheming the Spirit puts in risk of hell. Lesson?  It is not what you say about God off in the sky or a name in the historical past that matters, but what you say about God among us that matters.  Yet, it is almost as if those words were never spoken and have no meaning.  And, they don't in generic religion.

    I think we could pass a law stating everyone must say "Jesus" and even worship Him, enforcing it with all the entire military and police might possible, and it wouldn't make much difference.  We could pass another law stating the only true God is Jehovah God, the God of the Old Testament.  It would make no difference.  The Holy Ghost, Him who Jesus died to give us, Him who is the "earnest" of our salvation inheritance, would still be hidden.   We could stand around in our little groups, go on TV, talking about God as He was or God as He will be, 24 hours a day and we would still be slipping away from our inheritance.  Only when we accept what Jesus died to give us will we be what we were meant to be.  I know, somebody is going to say "he died for my sins".  Yes, but he had a purpose greater than just rescuing you from you sins.  He dealt with your sins for the purpose of giving you the Holy Ghost.  This is the blessing of Abraham that is ours.

    My friend, the gospel is not merely a story consisting of nice words about Jesus.  The gospel is that the Cross of Christ provided a way for every man to know God personally, to have personal relationship, to have personal empowerment, to worship intimately, to even speak to God in a Spirit language. But, it is all in the realm of a relationship with God among us, God who is a Spirit, God the Holy Spirit!   My friend, Jesus is gone from among us, seated at the right hand of God in heaven. It is amazing how many religious people don't actually believe that.  Jesus, God in flesh, is gone, but, God is not gone.  He is here. He is Spirit. Those who truly worship God must know that He is Spirit in order to worship God in Spirit and in Truth (Jo. 4:24

How to resist the Holy Ghost

   Since people seemingly are going to resist the Holy Ghost anyway, I thought I would help them out and give them some pointers on how to do this effectively.  These methods work well for churches, leaders and individuals as well.

1. Simply do not believe.  Much of the church effectively resists the Holy Ghost by just not believing in Him.  This works best when you stay in the Old Testament which seldom mentions the Spirit and away from the New Testament where He is mentioned quite often.  

2. Minimize the Spirit.  You can do this by staying ignorant and keeping others ignorant of His work or power.  If the subject comes up, just give Him some flattering lip service and then change the subject. You can also do it by simply ignoring Him. This trivializes Him in the minds of most people.

3.  Focus on man.  Stay focused and keep others focused on the comfort and pleasure of man.  This will effectively keep the Spirit at a distance.  Carefully guard against a surprise break through of the Spirit for it will upset religious folks.  This often mean a loss of tithes and even church members.  

4. Redefine who he is.  Resist the Holy Ghost by making Him out to be anything but God.  Call him the “force”, the power, an angel, etc., anything but God.  

5. Redefine what he does.  Never admit that we are saved by an act of the Spirit whereby He puts a new spirit within us.  Give the credit for this to anything or anybody other than the Spirit.  And, for sure, don’t let it out that the purpose of having a new spirit is so the Spirit could dwell there.

6. Redefine benefit of cross.    Do your best, when it comes to the cross, to either keep the focus on man’s sin, or, on the suffering Jesus on the cross.  Never admit that the work of the cross was done in order to give us the Holy Ghost. 

7.  Redefine how to know Lord.  If you should lead people to salvation, have them confess Jesus as Savior or something else, but never Lord. Say things like “Dear Jesus come into my heart, be my Savior”.  Keep the verse hidden that says no man can call Him Lord except by the Spirit.  Do not, under any circumstances tell them the way to salvation is to confess that He is Lord.  

8. Refuse Holy Ghost baptism. Resist this any way you can or else you will be faced with the disruptive power of God.  Just tell people this happened once,  in the Bible days, but no more since then.  

9. Legalism.   Never tell people that the Holy Spirit is our new law, the “law of life in Christ Jesus”. Use a lot of pop-psychology, self-improvement stuff or man made formulas. If you are a preacher and don’t know pop-psychology, go to the book store, get some books of that nature there, and just copy from them. Or, you can resort back to using condemnation and repentance demands with a lot of “or else” threats thrown in. 

10. Substitute anything for the voice of the Spirit. This could be prophets preachers, teachers, or the Bible.  Do not tell anybody that the early church did not have a Bible published by an publishing company, that they just had an ear to to hear the Holy Ghost. This is important because if people start hearing God for themselves, it can ruin your ministry as a preachers or prophets if you have presented yourself as God’s voice.  Worse, it will cause the Bible to take on life and power.

11. Accuse the Spirit of division and confusion..  If revival should break out, as quickly and loudly as possible blame it on the Holy Ghost. This will keep revival from spreading.  Tell people, “we don’t want that kind of revival” otherwise some important religious folks may get offended, leave the church and take their tithes with them.. Be extra careful not to tell them they need to repent or they may turn on you and get you fired.  They will not only blame the Spirit, they will blame you.

12.  Refuse to worship the Holy Ghost.  Be careful not to admit that He is God for then some might realize that if He is God, then He must be worshiped.  Skip over the passage that says that “God is a Spirit” and that we are to worship Him in that form.  Read it and say “amen”, then move on quickly. 

13. Refuse the gifts.  Do not tell people the gifts of the Spirit are the “testimony” of Jesus or that we are to not come behind in these gifts until Jesus comes. If they should start operating in the gifts and become effective in their testifying of the Lord, it can cause real problems.

14.  Refuse speaking in tongues.   If someone should point out Scriptures about speaking in tongues, nod your head in agreement and then tell them to only do it in private but not in church.  You don’t want people talking to God in church, especially in a language only He understands.  If that doesn’t work, drop back on the old standard that every message in tongues must be interpreted.  That will ultimately discourage this. And, if that doesn’t work, you might just have to run them off, calling them troublemakers or something like that.

15. Deal with sin without Him.  Push people hard to stop sinning and fulfilling the lust of the flesh but do not tell them that the way to not sin, or fulfill the lust of the flesh, is to walk in or have a relationship with the Spirit.   This will keep condemnation at a nice high peak.

16.  Never tell them what faith should stand on.  For example, tell them, with convincing tones, that their faith is to stand solely upon the Bible, or maybe the “gospel”.   Never, ever, tell them the Bible says faith should stand on the demonstrations of the Spirit and the power of God.  

17.  Always teach Christianity from a past or future tense perspective.  (This will turn it into religion).   Focusing on Jesus on the cross, God in the Old Testament, even the second coming of Jesus, while studiously ignoring God already manifested among us.  You can do this with great enthusiasm, every word being true.   Of course, this means you have to come up with some way to explain away Jesus leaving but sending the Comforter to take His place.

18.  Resurrection teaching.  It is okay to say there will be one, but don’t let people know that they can experience the power of resurrection right now and thus be assured of resurrection.  You don’t want them to know that the Spirit is resurrection power, and that He likes touching us with resurrection power, even before we are dead.  If, by chance, someone should get a touch of resurrection power, during church, it could be bothersome to those who want order in the building.

19.  Stay away from New Covenant.    If the subject comes up about a “new and better” covenant, change the subject quickly.  Quickly skip over the matter of being redeemed from the curse of the law so we could have the blessing of Abraham and the Holy Ghost.   If you are a preacher and people find out you have been teaching them out of the wrong covenant, it could jeopardize your future.

20.  Repentance.  Repent and keep others busy repenting of everything you can think of except turning to a full embrace of the Holy Ghost.

     If all these things fail you and you find yourself confronted with the Holy Ghost, in spite of these best efforts, you might consider just surrendering.  Then, if you live long enough, you will find yourself in the majority for one day the whole earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.

Wonderful, Wonderful Freedom

    

     Here is one of my all time favorite Scripture passages:    "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.  Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him".  Jesus once told the Pharisees they were in bondage but the "truth" would make them free. They said, blindly, they had never been in bondage. That is the problem with bondage.  It is blinding!  Oh, but how wonderful to be free.  It is like waking up from a dream.  Your mouth is filled with laughter and your tongue can't stop singing.   Sad to me that there are so many Christians are in bondage and don't know they are?  How do I know they are?  No laughing, no singing.  

    Does it matter, this laughter and singing?  Oh yeah!  First of all, freedom feels good.  You start feeling like David "I can run through a troop and leap over a wall".  Secondly, the heathen start noticing and saying "the Lord must be doing something for them".  Oh, I declare to you who remain in bondage, if I were you, I would sow tears until freedom came.  How would you know freedom came?  You start living your best dream.  You start laughing and singing.  You start expressing your love of Jesus the Lord, with "unspeakable joy" that is full of "glory", or praise.  Oh yeah.....it is good!

    Oh, I know the excuse.  "We are just too serious for that...not my personality ... I'm too burdened for the lost".  Get over it! Get serious - serious about being free.  Otherwise, you really have no witness heathen can appreciate.  Freedom!  Oh, thank God Almighty, we can be free at last!   And, this is not just freedom from petty sins. This is freedom to walk in the glory of God - from "glory to glory". You might ask "how do I get this freedom?".  This kind of "liberty" only comes where the Holy Spirit is Lord (2nd Cor. 3:17).  Seek to be filled and filled and filled with the Spirit until He grabs your tongue and turns it into an instrument of praise, (Eph. 5:19) and fills you mouth with laughter.   You see, where He is Lord, we are exposed to God's "glory".  In fact, we go from "glory to glory".  And, in the glory we are changed, set free.   Without the Spirit, we are blinded. With Him, the veil is lifted.  Without Him, we are committed to the Law.  With Him we are committed to the glory.  Without Him we remain the same.  With Him we are changed by the glory.   

God Speak Dimensions

    The amazing thing about God and the way He speaks, including through the Bible is that He speaks with varying viewpoints, dimensions, facets and nuances.  With us and our English, we speak bluntly, our language being blunt.  However, God is not so restricted.  The study of the Word is made so wonderful when you can discern how God is speaking at a particular time and you begin to see the different dimensions .  Let me give you some examples

Viewpoint:  In the Bible God speaks from the view of a fallen man, a redeemed man and mature man and most importantly, from His own view.  Usually when we begin our Christian journey, we see the fallen man view but as we truly mature we begin to see from God's view. All views are correct and they were all there, all the time, only our understanding was not sufficient to see and hear all that God was saying.

Condition & Position:  Watchman Nee wrote of this many years ago. The same Bible shows you both your condition and your position. If you don't understand this, you might think there is a contradiction but that is not true.  For example, your condition is that you are on earth, going through earthly trials but your position is that you are already seated in heavenly places. Your condition says you need healing, you position says you are already healed.   Agreeing with your position ultimately changes your condition.  

Signs, Wonders and Growth:  Often God speaks by a sign, wonder or sovereign display of His power.  Then, He teaches us how to step into and walk in that same thing without the sign and wonder.  For example, He sometimes heals the most unqualified faithless person in the building.  Sign and wonder!  And then, He teaches us how to apply the Word, walk in faith and arrive at healing the slow route.  He gives joy like a cloudburst (sign and wonder) and then sets out to teach us how to enter in and walk in that same joy.

Extremes Variances:  The Bible is filled with extreme variances.  For example, you won't know how wonderful heaven (variance) is if you do not know how horrible hell (variance) is. Same Bible tells you both.  If you don't know how awful it is to be lost, you won't know how wonderful it is to be found.   If you don't know how much you could be held accountable for, were it not for mercy and grace, you won't know how wonderful is mercy and grace.   Same Bible tells you both.

    Even the languages God chose to put forth the documents that make up the Bible (Greek, Hebrew, Arabic) are languages that lend themselves to multi-dimensional speech.  There are some words, for example, in the Greek that have no English counterpart.   As a result, English translators often had to translate and spell different words all the same way.  For example the word "will".  There are two different words with different meanings but  when translated into English, come out the same.  One word means the iron clad will of God with no human influence, (boulema). Another word, spelled the same, means the heart-wish of God with great possibility for human influence, (thelema). Then there are some words that cannot be accurately translated.  You have to see the circumstance in which they were spoken and try to discern the sound that was made in order to fully understand.  This is why, as you study the Word, and do word studies, it is important to take note of the place and circumstance.  

    Does it all matter?  Maybe not, for some, but as for me, it makes the study of the Word wonderful.  I am continuously learning and re-learning.  This does not mean what I first learned was wrong, but now God allows me to see a different dimension of the same truth.   Of course, for those who take comfort in "formulas" this can all be disconcerting.  We want to trust our formula, which may be one dimension and quite accurate.  It might also just be our understanding at the present time.  We tend to not want to go beyond that trusted formula.  Oh, but the Word is richer than our comprehensive skills allow us to see at any given time.   My faith in God's word remains the same, but my faith in my understanding is to be constantly challenged.  You see, we really do not lean upon our own understanding but we trust in the Lord with all our heart and in all ours ways acknowledge Him.

Context?

   I know it probably is not something that bothers most believers, but when it comes to the Word of God, context is important to me.  Things preached, said, or believed out of context, bug me.  If you want to ignore context, you can make the Bible say about anything you want.  For example, how about the woman preacher sharing the platform with a group of male preachers, who thought little of women preachers and gave her a hard time. When she stepped up to preach, she took this as her text, "..I would not have you ignorant brethren...." Ro. 1:13.  So there, the Bible reaffirms prejudice against men, right?   How about affirming suicide? "Judas went and hanged himself...."  and "go thou and do likewise".   It must be true, the Bible says so, right?

     On a more serious note, how about things said, preached, or believed that are out of the context of the new covenant.  There is an old covenant and a new covenant we have with God.  The new one is better with better promises.  So, then why do we so often work hard to claim a promise from the old covenant. The work of the enemy has been so effective, many are those who do not even know that we have a new and better covenant.  Nearly all their information, nearly all the preaching and teaching that they hear, consist of things out of the context of the new covenant. Even though something may be true, out of context it becomes a weapon against us. If you really pay attention to what Paul dealt with in so much of his Holy Spirit inspired writings, he was trying to keep people in context of the new and set them free from the old. In the book of Galatians, he made it clear that a bewitching was going on, drawing people back into the Old and out of the new.

 

    You can preach about anything, with supporting Bible verses, and your words will be true, but still wrong.  For example, you can preach about the wrath of God falling suddenly, at any moment, on unsuspecting people with just any number of confirming Bible stories.  Of course, you are talking to the wrong people out of the wrong covenant using stories out of context.  You can even teach about some blessing promised to Old Testament saints if they do such and such.  Every word you teach being the absolute truth, but you are out of context.  The bewitching work of the devil, just as with the Galatians, is to use whatever means possible to lure you away from grace, from the Spirit and back into another covenant, every word of which is true.  The bewitching work of the devil lures people into just lumping all of the Bible, front to back, and calling it Christianity.  Be careful!   A lot of the Bible, true to the letter, was about what it took for God to bring Christianity into being.  Christianity is here now. What it took to get it here is history. 

   Thank God we have a new and better covenant. If it is new, if it is better - it is different.  Oh, and by the way, any blessing you find promised under the Old Covenant, know this, things are better now.  We are redeemed from God's wrath. We have been birthed into the God-family.  We have been given the daily companionship of God the Holy Ghost.  We are under the covering of the Lord of Lords, who from His exalted position has chosen to bestow upon us mercy and then grace upon grace upon grace.  Better yet, He now calls us friends. 

Consider your approach to Holy Ghost power

   You know, before the mighty outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, an outpouring that turned a coward to a bold preacher, an outpouring that released an anointing to heal, an outpouring that released a measure of New Wine that intoxicated, something else was going on.  Before the outpouring, before the anointing, before the dramatic thunderous roar, tongues of fire and great joy described in Acts 2, something else was going on.  Jesus spoke, for the last time before ascending and gave them instructions.  Following those instructions these things came into play:   "and it came to pass, while he was blessing them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.  And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God", Luke 24:50-53.

Number 1:  He blessed them and they received the blessing.  A great hindrance to Holy Ghost power is to not know, not recieve, not believe that God wants to and is blessing you, choosing to favor you.  You have to know - God is for you and not against you.

Number 2: They worshipped Him.  The absence or presence of worship greatly affects the level of power you are going to experience from God.  To worship is to pour out adoration to the person of God.

Number 3:  They walked in great joy.   Not only do you get joy when the Holy Ghost touches you, approaching Him with joy greatly increases the possibility of gaining more and greater joy.  

Number 4:  They continuously blessed and praise God.  Having led thousands to Holy Ghost baptism, seldom have I seen anyone receive who would not open his mouth and heart and praise God. 

    

    People tend to say "Oh, just receive by faith".  That's good, but faith is not just mentally believing something, or wanting something.  It is that, but it is also aligning yourself, you behavior, in such a way as to allow and encourage what it is you are expecting from God.  Today, shallow Christians say "oh, if God wants me to have...he will just drop it on me.  I'll just wait until he does".   Well, my friend, you may have to wait, but don't wait idly.  Do what they did.  Want Holy Ghost power?  Make up your mind to believe in the favor of God, to worship Him, to walk in great joy and to consistently praise God.  The rain will come and when it does, you will not be among the on-lookers asking what it all means.  You will be in the midst of the rain, enjoying saturation walking away from there anointed.  In fact you will walk away doing the same things you were doing  before the outpouring, only now at a greater level, a greater empowerment.

Cousins Fear and Faith

    

    You know, if you are not wise with the Word, you can use it wrongly.  You can use it to strengthen your Spirit, or, you can use it to strengthen your old flesh.  If we mind the things of the flesh, even with supporting Bible verses, we are in trouble.  We are not to mind the things of the flesh but the things of the Spirit.  It actually takes a bit of wisdom, especially in preaching, not to mind the things of the flesh with our preaching.  Without wisdom, without close leadership of the Holy Ghost, the things we are preaching may well be appealing to the flesh in some of those we are preaching to and doing them harm   For example, when we preach about earthly blessings we may be appealing to greed in people to have "stuff".  Or, preach the prosperity message and appeal to the greed for riches that so many  have.  We can preach about God supplying all our needs and appeal to the terrible fear some have of being not having enough.  Sometimes the message of healing appeals to the fear people have of dying.  They grab hold of it, not because they have faith in the will of God to heal, but because they are scared to death of dying, or even being sick.   In such an instance, what motivates the listener is really not faith at all, but fear.

    Faith and fear could be first cousins, if such were possible.  In some ways, they are so alike. They are both deep inward convictions that motivate and drive us in life.  Sometimes they may seem like the same thing, speaking the same thing, but they are not.   God has not give us a spirit of fear but He has given us faith, or a sound mind.  When we confuse the two, failure follows.  Then, after failure usually comes a change in doctrine or belief.   Since something didn't work, as we supposed it was going to, so we assume it was all wrong. And then, more failure follows that.  Maybe it was wrong,  but then maybe we weren't operating in faith at all, but fear, or greed or some other earthly human emotion that we thought was faith.

   When it comes to healing, we are fighting a battle of death - incipient death, or death hanging over us or death threatened.  That is the battle.  When we are sick, we must rise up with the boldness of a lion and resist it with everything within us, but not with fear. Fear enlarges the power of the enemy.  With poverty, we must not fight that fight because we are afraid of doing without but because we know it is God's will that we prosper.  If we don't prosper, then we learn to be content in whatever state we are in, we learn how to be abased.  Those are the words of Paul, who knew both how to abound and how to be abased.

     Maturing as a believer means we are constantly vigilant about what is behind our beliefs.  Sometimes flesh will slip in where we thought there was faith.  We must always be checking our motives, on the lookout for faith substitutes such as greed, or fear, or ambition or insecurity.  Faith is basically wanting, desiring, having the same deep convictions as does God, about matters.   A few simple question may make it clear where you are in this; "Do I want the same thing God wants?  Do I want it because He wants it?"

    

Desire the Spirit or have faith for the Spirit?

      You know, sometimes I cross wires with some faith preachers.   Especially when it comes to the subject of "desire".  You see, there is an idea of faith that presents it as something void of feeling, just a matter-of-fact, non-emotional, it-is-done kind of approach.  That is good, sometimes, but sometimes it really backfires.  Your faith and desires must agree and both must agree with the Word.  If all of that is not true, like electric wiring, you are going to have a short-circuit. Perhaps the most damaging area where this short-circuit happens is in the realm of the Holy Ghost.  Some faith people will say "The Bible says I have, so therefore I have".  Sounds good?   Oh, but wait!  The Amplified version of Ephesians 5:19 says we are "ever be ye being filled". That is ongoing.  If your faith says "I have" and you put a period at the end of that statement, you have missed God's will by a country mile.  Of course, the crowd around you will be huge, seeing as how this is the thought life of so many.  Walking in the Spirit, drinking of the Spirit, being anointed by the Spirit, being baptized with the Spirit, living in the Spirit are all ongoing activities.  You can't look at them and say "Done".  You can only say "It is being done"  In other words, you can't have the Spirit but you can be having the Spirit.  The cost of having this ongoing business with the Spirit is "thirst" (hunger, desire, want, crave).  

    The same error occurs among denominational folks who say things like, "My faith is in the Bible. I don't need signs, wonders, or activities of the Spirit."  Or, "my faith is in the gospel".  That all sounds good, but the Bible they says our faith rests upon say our faith should stand, or rest, upon the "demonstrations of the Spirit and the power of God".  Our faith must settle the issue, and it will, but only if it agrees with the Word.  You can't have faith in the Word and pay no attention to what the Word says have faith in.  You can't  have merely a factual relationship by "faith" with God or your wife, husband or anyone else.  You can believe and claim the promise of having one but you can't so easily call it "done".  You either have one or you don't.  You can't just "know about" someone in order to have a relationship.  You have to know them.  You can't just believe you have a relationship because you read, or know some facts about someone.  That is called obsession, fixation and is delusional.  The touch of God is real, the voice of God is real, the presence of God is real, the power of God is real.  Being filled, baptized with, anointed with, walking in and with, living in the Spirit is experiential as well as factual. Both are required.

   Part of this problem comes because in the Greek, and in other languages, there are words for factual knowledge such as derived from education and there are other words for experiential knowledge, knowledge derived from experience.  The Bible uses this latter word a great deal.  You can be one of those who are ever learning but never coming to the experiential knowledge of what you are learning.  This is how the devil has stopped, or quenched the flow of the Spirit.  He has allowed factual knowledge to supersede and dismiss experiential knowledge.

   

   All of this is why our approach to the Spirit is presented to us as the drinking of water.  You can never rely on the drink you had twenty years ago. You must drink more often than that to stay alive.  The Bible says we were made, created, to "drink" of the Spirit.  Just like water, you can't get along without it.  This is why the Holy Ghost is presented to us as a "river".  Try drinking a whole river in one drink.  Won't happen! This river is bigger than your containment ability.  This is why, when you do drink, He oozes out like "rivers of living water".  You overflowed.  And, in closing my brethren "I  LOVE THE OVERFLOW"   Okay, so you had a drink twenty years ago.  Stir yourself up, go to the River and have another sip.  The more you drink, the more you can drink.  The more you drink, the greater the overflow.  And, in closing, my brethern, "I LOVE THE OVERFLOW'.

What Grace Needs!

  
   The Bible says we are saved by grace.  Thank God for grace!  And, let me give you my favorite definition of grace.  "Grace is the willing involvement in the affairs of our life".   Another definition is "Grace it the divine influence on the affairs of man".  Still another, "grace is unmerited favor".  But, I'll tell you why grace doesn't seem to work on behalf of some folks.  You see grace needs something else with which to work. 

   The Bible says that "grace" reigns through "righteousness" (Ro. 5:21).  It is through abundant grace and the gift of righteousness, together, that we reign in life.  Without righteousness (the gift), grace has nothing to reign through.  It is a sad thing to report that for a very, very long time we have failed to preach the gospel of how to be saved by grace.  First of all we don't get people to believe in the resurrected Jesus as Lord.  We teach them to call Him almost anything but LORD!  Jesus can save you because He is LORD.  And then secondly, we don't tell them to believe "unto" righteousness.  A lot of church folks go through their whole life and never believe they are righteous.  In fact, they may spend their whole life trying to become righteous.  Result?  Frustrated grace.  Grace with nothing to reign through.  And, a life that overcomes nothing.

   Make your confession "HE IS LORD".  Not just Lord of your life - but THE LORD.  But don't stop there, confess this "I am righteous...it came as a gift".  If you don't believe for it and confess it, you don't have it.  If you don't have it, grace is stymied. Prayers fail, God activity comes to a grinding halt.  If you think you have to earn it, you don't have it.  It is a gift!!!!!!!  What part of "gift" do you not understand?  Take it by faith.  Jesus bought it and gave it to you.  

What is the glory?

    What is the glory of God?  I suppose that might be a question that draws a lot of different opinions.  An awful lot of people throw out those words, as if they know what they mean, but I am not so sure.   I know the word means an "outshining" of something, or the "best of something made visible, or shined outward".  I know we have all sinned and come short of the "glory" and in my Bible study I have come to know this refers to the original glory, such as might have been seen prior to the fall.  I know we are being led from "glory to glory", by the Spirit of God.  I know the Bible attributes the resurrection of Jesus to the "glory" and to the "Spirit", indicating they are one and the same.   I know that in His call for us to be "one" as He and the Father were, He said He would give us His "glory", that by the glory we might be made one. That too, refers to the Holy Ghost.   All that said, I don't know that I can understand or completely define the glory of God.

    Here is what I do know that thrills me.  Remember when Moses was interceding with God, first of all about not destroying the people and then about going on to the promised land? He accomplish the first, obtaining God's mercy by intercession. Then he negotiated with God, gaining permission to still go to the promised land, and then later, to go with angels accompanying. God gave in to all that, but refused to go with Moses.  Moses kept at it until God relented and promised His presence would go with Moses.  That was still not enough for this man of God.  He refused God's offer to go, even with the promise of God's presence.  He went one more step and asked God to "show me your glory".  God answered that request as well and He answered by setting Moses in a cleft of a rock, putting His hand over Him and then He passed His "goodness" before Moses, declaring, as He did, His name and His sovereignty.   The cry of my heart?  Show us you glory Lord!  Show us your Glory!  Pour out your goodness for all to see!  In these last days, I am not looking for the wrath of God...I am looking for the glory!

Did Jesus really die for your sins?

   

    Did Jesus die for your sins?  Perhaps not, at least not in the way you might think, if you have been fed a standard religion.   Actually, He died to satisfy the demand for justice that had existed in the heart of Almighty God since the fall of man in the garden, thousands of years gone by.  The sin of a perfect man demanded the blood of another perfect man and there was none.  And, then came Jesus!   When He said "it is finished" from the cross, this was what was in His mind.  The struggle of thousands of years was over.  The sacrifice of thousands of animals, the shedding of their blood as a temporary covering (atonement) for sin, was over.  The enmity between God and man was over.   The waiting for God once again to fellowship with His family was over.  The deadly sickness of sin was over.  The cure had come. The power of sin to separate man from God was over.  Man's terrible fall into humanism was over.   The unfilled desire within the heart of God for family and fellowship was over!  On that day, on that cross when those words echoed across the universe to the realms of God, all of heaven must have rejoiced.  It must have been party time in glory!  At last.....it was over!

     Now that those things were over, God, the Holy Ghost, could come to man - any man - any whosoever - heal him of his sin-wounds, create in him a new spirit perfect for indwelling.  Now, if that man sins, God is faithful, just and now able to forgive, any man, any sin.  Now, if that man would allow, God the Spirit, can dwell in him, saturate him and use him as a staging area from which rivers of living water can flow in and out.  Now, God the Spirit, can be worshiped in truth (reality) and in spirit (from the new spirit).  Now, that man can be baptized, completely enmeshed with, wrapped up with, endued with, overflowing with that God, the Spirit, who is now available to us because Jesus was able to endure the cross for the joy of all this that awaited Him.  

   Did He die for your sins?  No!  He died to make a way where there was no way.  He died to make a way for God to forgive you of your sins.  Had His blood not been without blemish, you would still be lost.  We would all be lost.  A just God would not have been able to forgive us, even though He would want to.  You see, it is not what the blood did for you that matters most - it is what it did for God.

Demonstrating His glory!

  

     The beginning of the Lord's miracle was to turn water to wine. He did it simply to manifest His glory, (John 1). He didn't do it because they were thirsty, needed more wine, to win the world, feed the hungry or clothe the naked.  He just did it to manifest, make visible, His glory.  You know, religious people hate this kind of story.  If they believe in miracles at all, they want all miracles to be about man and his welfare.  Every now and then, God upsets the apple cart and just does something to say "Hello....here I am....see my glory".    Oh, I love it when He shows us His glory by turning water to wine, and He still does it.   It doesn't have to be anything else for me.  There are a lot of things God does and will do and I am all for it all.  But, I love His glory, I treasure His glory.  Moses was like that.  He could have gone to the promised land without God, or with angels, or even with the presence of God but He would not go until God promised to show him His glory, which God did by putting Moses on a rock, covering him with His hand of love and parading  all His goodness before Moses for Moses to see.  My, oh my, what a moment!

    When Jesus turned the water to wine, He first had to call for old waterpots normally used to wash feet in.  Worthless vessels.  Vessels no one would ever choose to drink out of if there was any choice.  My friend, that is who we are.  Worthless vessels, Gentile dogs, undeserving of God's love or God's anything....but, He called us out, filled us with living water and then turns that water to living, new wine, manifesting His glory in earthen waterpots such as you and I.  Whew!   It is good!

      I receive His glory, just like the Bible says, "with exceeding great joy".  I pray for His water daily and hope for that water to be turned to wine, everyday.   That wine, back there at that wedding ceremony was served to important people.  They asked what kind of person would reserve the best wine for the last of the party.  The answer is there is only one....His name is Jesus!    The custom was to serve the best first, get people intoxicated and then served them cheaper wine, knowing by that time they wouldn't notice.  I believe we are facing last days and am happy to report Jesus has saved the best wine for the last.  And, if I am right, and if this is the last days, expect more wine.  Expect more manifestations of His glory.

Unspeakable gifts!

   Oh, the gifts God has given!  Words cannot describe them all but how about a few
1. The gift of His Son.  God so loved the world that He gave!
2. The gift of the Holy Ghost.  Jesus died on the cross so we could have this gift.
3..Gift of a new spirit within.
4.  Gift of reconciliation. Enmity turned to friendship.
5.  Gift of righteous ness.  Rightstanding with God
6. Gift of propitiation.  Mercy turned to anger
7. Gift of Abrahams blessing. Divine favor everywhere we go.
8.  Gift of no condemnation.
9. Gift of Holy Ghost gifts, one and all.
10. Gift of companionship with the Spirit
11. Gift of heaven.
12. Gift of peace, joy and righteousness. The Kingdom.
13.  Gift of faith.
14. Gift of power.
15. Gift of freedom.
16.  Gift of mercy, patience and long-suffering.

Oh, my....words fail me.  It is too much.  Thank you God for your great goodness and glory.

Got my inheritance? Do you?

  

    When will the church, God's people take their inheritance?  Most are waiting for heaven. But, my friend, heaven, as wonderful as it is, is only a place.  God is our portion.  God is our salvation and like a gospel song of some years ago said, "Jesus will be what makes it heaven for me".  The heart of our salvation is God. He is my well of living water.  He is life eternal.  He is my joy, my song, my Father, my Friend.  If you are waiting for heaven to get your inheritance, shame on you.  We have the "earnest" right before us. The Holy Ghost is the earnest of our salvation otherwise known as God.  

     Gonna wait until you get to the place?  Don't do it....get your inheritance now.  Your inheritance is already more than you can handle.  When you get it, it overflows out of you like rivers of living water.  When you get it, you can taste the powers of the world to come. When you get it, you can experience the joy of heaven, the very place you are going, right now.  When you draw on your inheritance, the glory of the Lord comes down on you like a weighty blanket. When you get it, you then will know what the Apostle Paul was praying about when he prayed "that I may know Him in the power of His resurrection".  My friend, the power of His resurrection was the earnest of your inheritance, the awesome Holy Ghost.  When you get it, every now and then, it will quicken you with a tiny flicker of resurrection power and you will want to start running, jumping, shouting, laughing, crying, singing, dancing and otherwise expressing radical joy for who it is you know and what it is you have been given.

This ain't heaven - but the Kingdom is here

    

    How near is the Kingdom?  So many are looking for the Kingdom, only they are thinking organization, structure, thrones, rulership, etc..  Others are waiting for the Kingdom, watching the signs surrounding Israel, having relinquished any idea of the Kingdom's existence apart from the second coming.  The truth is, the Kingdom is here now, ruled over by King Jesus, only you have to know where, at the moment, to find it and be willing to accept what it is when you find it. Unfortunately, that eliminates a lot of Kingdom seekers. I know there is a coming Kingdom but there is a Kingdom now, if only we will enter in.  

   The Bible (Ro. 14:17),  says the "Kingdom", for right now, available to all, is "righteousness, peace and joy".  That is what it is, clearly identified so you will know the boundaries.  And, it is "in the Holy Ghost".  That is where it is. This is one reason why the Bible also says that no man can call Jesus Lord, except by the Holy Ghost.  That is where His rulership is found and expressed.   Want to be led, ruled over, by the Lord, the King?  Be continuously filled and led of the Spirit and you got it!  Many are those who will miss the Kingdom, in the here and now, because they won't look where it is found.  The incredible, insidious, fierce and long standing resistance to the Holy Ghost is resistance to the Lord Jesus and somehow, someway, Satan has managed to disguise the resistance for a long, long time.  Where do you look to "seek first" the Kingdom?   Be filled with the Spirit, again and again and you have done your  seeking! 

    What is the Kingdom?  "Righteousness"  You get the gift of Righteousness, something religion will do all it can to keep you from even knowing about.  You have right standing with God and it is a free gift.  Until you accept it, the Kingdom will escape you.  When you accept it, you become as bold as a lion and grace is released at unprecedented levels. Grace works through this gift (Ro. 5:21).   "Peace"  There is a wonderful peace found only in the Kingdom. You are at one with God, floating in the River, loving life, people, and the Holy Ghost. In days of trouble, the Comfort of God will rise up like an ocean tide. You, minding the things of the Spirit, know there is now no "enmity" between you and God (Ro.8:6-7).  "Joy"   Now you can do what you are most often commanded to do. Rejoice evermore and always...which is all the time.  Now you begin to enjoy God, like never before.  Now you begin to approach God like a happy kid.  

    

    Every element of the now Kingdom is experiential, not mere knowledge.  It is one thing to say "Oh, I know all that".  But, have you experienced it?   I have and I might just say "it is wonderful".  It took me a while to get it all worked out. I had to learn and mostly unlearn a lot of things. But, oh when the Spirit presses the Kingdom upon you....it is awesome!  The joy, which so many depressed religious folks just can't seem to help themselves from hating, is awesome, awesome, awesome.  It is intoxicating!   And, the sweet peace gives a sense of intimacy I don't have words to express. The gift of righteousness first brings great relief from the burden of religion, then great boldness, then greater faith, then greater grace. 

   If you understand this, you will whisper with me "Thy Kingdom come".  You will set your life in order, seeking "first" the Kingdom.  And, you will learn to love the Holy Ghost, knowing He is where this is all found.  In Him, you find the Lord.  In Him, you find the King and the Kingdom.  In Him, that "another" Comforter, you find the original Comforter - Jesus Christ the Lord.  Oh, today my friend...Be Filled!  Today, cry out of a thirsty heart, for another drink of Living Water, the indispensable Holy Ghost.

  

Normalcy Bias

   I heard a television / radio personality use the term "normalcy bias" the other day and it stuck in my head and spirit.  He used the illustration of the burning towers of the World Trade Centers, people coming down the stairs sudden struck with the normalcy bias, turning around, going back up to turn off the office lights or computer and never making it out of the building.  Message? What is normal has to be examined closely, for if you stick with what you think is normal, and it isn't, it could be disastrous.

   The moment I heard this, my spirit woke up and I realized, that is the problem with the church.  We are hanging on to the wrong idea of what is normal. And, it is killing us. What to do?  For me, I am going to use the Bible, and from the New Covenant, seek to know what God did, intended and produced.  Why?  Because He is perfect and being perfect, cannot and will not err.  Normal?  By His definition, a normal Christian was born again (new spirit within).  He was baptized with the Holy Ghost, spoke in tongues, was full of God's praise, saw and expected to see the demonstrations of the Spirit and the power of God.  He based his faith on those things.  His relationship with the Holy Ghost made it possible for him to know that Jesus was the resurrected Lord and that then made it possible for him to know his resurrection was assured.  He knew that to "mind" the things of the Spirit would bring him life but to "mind" the things of the flesh (natural thinking) would become enmity between him and God.

   The above description would quite accurately describe a New Testament believer as seen in the Bible.  What is normal to you?   What is your defining document?  What do you go by?  Are you hanging in there with a concept of normal that is minus of the manifestations of the power of God?  Of the gifts of the Spirit?  Minus Holy Ghost baptism? A heart filled with praise?  A language to speak spirit to Spirit unto God?  No joy?   No power?   Is all you have a church membership and a book with some promises within?  

   For me, I am committed to God's view of normal.  You can hang on to yours, if you like, but when things crash around you, and our normalcy bias takes over, best of luck to you. 

   

Creepy Creeps!

     Jude urges believers to "contend" for the faith that was delivered to delivered to them, to the saints, the early Christians.  What was that faith?   In the book of Jude, the Holy Ghost, through the writer, scolds and warns of departure from that "faith".  He warned that men would creep in on us.  Believe me creepy leaders abound.  He said these creepy characters would be "sensual" (natural thinkers) who did not have the "Spirit", (no relationship with the Holy Spirit).  Then he said "but ye".  No matter how important the words or the length of the paragraph, the word "but", in any writing, any paragraph, once inserted becomes the most important word in the writing.  Jude described those creepy leaders and then he described those who contended for the faith "but ye, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost".  There you go!  Contending, praying in the Holy Ghost, hanging on to that Holy Ghost baptism, Holy Ghost filling, Holy Ghost gifts, Holy Ghost empowerment, Holy Ghost revelations of Jesus.  That is what we are to contend for!

  It is through this expression of faith that we do the rest of the instructions in Jude, such as , "keep yourself in the love of God".  His love is your great safety place.  His love is the place of miracles.  His love is the place of divine supply.  Pray in the Holy Ghost and keep yourself grounded in His love.  Don't be fooled by those creepy men who are sensual and do not have the Spirit, but pretend they do.  Jude says they turn the 'grace" of God into "lasciviousness".  That means they put on a religious magic show of illusions intended to convince you the grace of God is present when it isn't.  Lasciviousness is pretending to do something, be something in order to create an impression.  In the world, it is a way of life we have become accustomed to.  In the church, it is a sickening thing which I will never be accustomed to.  Don't give me impressions of God.  I want Him.  Don't give me the impression of His presence. I want His presence.  Don't give me the impression of His gifts, give me the gifts.  Don't give me the impressions of His River.  I want the River.  Don't give me a show. I want the real deal and I am not easily fooled.

    No Bible book that I know of more appropriately addresses us than the book of Jude. We have been overrun with creepy preachers creating impressions.  They are, as Jude says, "clouds without water".   Full of swelling words spoken to gain the admiration of man, hoping for some gain for themselves.  Disgusting.

Stick demons?

    Years ago, I heard a famous evangelist, I think a little bit tongue-in-cheek, say, "You people in America don't know demons..your demons are little two foot high stick demons with an IQ of 2. We have real demons where I come from".  It was funny, but I thought then, "wait til you hang around here a while".   Maybe I am wrong, but I bet he doesn't tell that joke after living in America for a while.   Not if he understands the  battle.  The stick demons, with low IQ are on foreign fields.  The dumber the demons, the easier it is to see the flow of God's power in every way possible.  However, our demons in America our sophisticated, educated, and religious. They wear suits, carry big Bibles and thick checkbooks.  Like the Pharisees who Jesus said would come to steal, kill and destroy the abundant life He came to give us, they put on the Pharisee suit, look holy, sound holy, speak holy all the while resisting the manifestations of God on earth.  It was not the devil that Jesus called a "thief" that comes to kill, steal and destroy.  It was religious leaders.  I hate to say it but often,  it is not what you don't know that hinders the flow of God...it is what you do know.  When your head is full of educated reasons why God doesn't, can't, and won't do miracles, it is hard to get past those reasons.  When people hear the good news and have no reason not to believe it, the river flows.

   In America, we base our faith on almost anything and everything but what the Bible says our faith should stand upon....the manifestations of the Spirit and the power of God. (1st Cor. 24-5).   Just as surely as those Pharisees dressed to impress, so do religious people.  Did you know that those disciples that followed Jesus, that were our first leaders, were just ordinary people with no desire to impress anybody with their looks, clothes, money, size of ministry or extensive knowledge?  They didn't even have a Bible to carry around ...they just had  a powerful relationship with the Holy Ghost.  They just wanted to minister the Spirit and power, knowing that to be  the only way to provide a foundation for faith.  Remember singing "Standing on the promises"?  How many stand on the promises while ignoring what the promises demand we stand on?  Even those who teach faith often miss the point. Slowly but surely they slide over the slope into depending on education rather than relationship.  They end up worshiping the Word instead of the Author.

To Be A Literalist

   Years ago the Lord made it clear to me that I was to stop reading what men said the Bible said, and start reading what it actually says. I became a literalist.  A literalist is one who starts with the assumption that God, in the Word, said what He wanted and meant what He said.  A literalist is one who believes God is perfect and does what He does perfect.  A literalist looks for the clear meaning first.  This requires knowing we have a new and better covenant in which God speaks clearly and plainly.  Jesus did not deal in types and shadows, did not use allegories and when He did, made it plain that He was.  When He used an illustration, He made it clear it was an illustration. 

    Sounds simple?  It is simple but it is powerful, it is liberating.  It is simple, but you will find yourself constantly being challenged to believe what God says, or what men say God says.  The warning I would give is that it may well give you a feeling of isolation and strangeness that you will have to fight. One of the things you will discover, and keep discovering, is that much of what we call Christianity, or church, is not based on the Bible. In fact, much of it has no relationship to the Bible at all.   That will give you a pause.  These groups may be good, do good works, and even make heaven (I am not a judge) but they are not Bible based.  They are based on their understandings of whatever Bible verse or theme that has attracted them, but there ends the relationship.

    Here is where you will see the problem facing the American church.  We don't want to take God literally. We don't want to take His word literally.  We don't want to use the Bible as a defining document, which of course is a way to become unraveled.  It is the same reason the constitution is so important to America.  It is a defining document, without which a society, such as ours, will come unraveled. (and we are).  Men are working very hard to remake America into whatever they dream it to be.  It is the same with the church.  Men working hard to remodel the church to fit their understanding, their dream.   How do men excuse this?  Listen carefully with your ears and eyes.  This is their excuse: the church is evolving.  When you accept that theory, the Bible is more or less useless.   If we are evolved, what are we evolved to?  What are the guidelines?  Whose versions of the evolved church are we to trust in?  When you here them say "this is our vision", you better look carefully.  

     Here is the facts: A perfect God sent a perfect Son. A perfect God wrote a perfect book.  A perfect God sent the perfect Holy Ghost.  A perfect God birthed a perfect church, just as seen in the book of Acts.   Out of that cloud of glory stepped a perfect church, a perfect body of Christ.  My friend, there is no need of evolution but there is a great need of restoration.  The church was birthed with the ascension of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost that empowered every disciple. and confirmed to every disciple the ascension and Lordship of Jesus.  The new testament reveals a church who enjoyed the companionship, the power, the leadership of the Holy Ghost, just as the first disciples did with Jesus.  The evolving church runs from the Holy Ghost like a rabbit before the hound.  That martyr Stephen, in his dying breath uttered these words  "Ye do always resist the Holy Spirit", perhaps the most accurate prophetical warning given to us.  The early church was birthed in the perfection ability of God.  He did not birth something and then say "oops".  He did not create a man and then say "oops".  We are fearfully and wonderfully made,  just as the psalmist said.  If we are evolving, as man, we are going backwards not forwards.  We are becoming more like a monkey, not less.  The church, the body of Christ on earth was birthed perfect.  It came into being with a sound from heaven.  It came into being with every member so filled with the Holy Ghost they were as though drunken.  It came into being with cowards like Peter turned to bold preachers.  It came into being with out a care about what religious people thought about it.

   The center of being for the early church was the Holy Ghost. Oh, they loved Jesus, but they did it through His representative, the Holy Ghost.  They worshiped the Lord, but they did it through the Holy Ghost, knowing that no man could call Him Lord, except by the Spirit.  They testified of the resurrected Jesus but they did it with what the Bible calls the testimony of Christ, the gifts of the Spirit.  They went out preaching the gospel and every step they took, the Holy Ghost went with them, confirming their word and their message with signs, wonders and demonstrations.  Their faith, according to the word was based on the manifestations of Spirit, not the words of men. They wanted to know the Lord but they knew the Spirit of God had come with a mission to tell them of the Lord, to speak for Him and about Him, to show His glory, to shed abroad His love on each of us.

    Do you believe all that?  If you do, you are going to be uncomfortable with the evolved church.