Tag Archive for: stage

Cessationism versus continuationism

1 Corinthians 13:8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the complete comes the partial will come to an end.

Meditating on these verses, it was laid in my heart that truly ‘Love never ends because God is love and God has no ending and we are encouraged to love every one of us because in it lies the anchor of every godliness. But not every one of us is given the gift of prophecy and tongue, each with a diverse gift.

Prophecies, tongues and other spiritual gifts end here on earth and are for the building up and edification of the church but love transcended beyond the scope of the church, to the circular world and to eternity. In Matthew 5:44 ‘But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,’ your enemies include those outside the household of God.

Arguably! The church cannot operate and function without all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. At every stage and level, the church ought to be continuously equipped and edified; if not the enemy will feed on God's children. When we play down on these gifts and fail to use it or compel people not to use their gifts in our congregations, it reduces the power of the church and limits the ministry of the Holy Spirit which is the driving force of every church resulting in a powerless congregation.

You can say the Word, of course the Word! But can you teach the Word without the gift of teaching or pastoring? Don’t accept one and reject the other, for all the gifts are from one Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.

There's no way God will withdraw some of these gifts while we are still on earth “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. Luke 24:49. You may want to talk about “context” of the Scripture; this promise was for the apostles and for a time, and purpose and by no means does it extend to us. Jesus prayed in John 17:20-23

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

Any Church without these gifts, every one of it cannot stand.  That you don't have it doesn't mean it's obsolete and with all due respect, do not argue what you do not understand.

Secondly, do not condemn it totally because some people abuse it, there are still godly people with these gifts bearing witness for Christ: God chooses to when the need arises. It’s clear when you say there’s no Apostle alive, of course the 12 Apostles and Paul have long gone to be with the Lord but has the Apostolic auction ceased? It’s like saying that the ministry of the Holy Spirit has ended.

‘Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues’ 1 Corinthians 14:39.  If they have ceased, then why are we encouraged to strive for it? It's deception! God forbid.

While we are still on earth we are like children, we don't know what will be set before us when He will be revealed to us (when the perfection comes.)

‘Now faith, hope and love abides' these are futuristic they abides forever: Faith in God, hope in Jesus' return and establishment of the new heaven and the new earth for His love for us. These abides even after Jesus is revealed in His glory.

Conclusion: when I discuss with a ‘cessationist,' I advise not to be extreme about it but let us continue as one fold in Christ. Some of these are the devices of the enemy to plant disunity in the body of Christ.

And I also point people to 2 Peter 3:15-17. Let us not be carried away with the error of the lawless and lose our own stability. The Bible is the Word of God. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:6.

The Latter Day Lukewarm Church

The church God established 2,000 years ago has once again managed to turn themselves into a corporate business structure in these last days, modeled after the world. With a degree in “Church Growth and Marketing” in hand, men have manipulated the church into some type of foreign entity, with goals of exorbitant salaries, lavish furnishings, and services geared towards herding a populous in through their doors so they may continue to fund their man-made plans. This isn't to say that nothing good has ever come from it, or that God can't or doesn't use them, but when man takes the reins of God's church and starts to devise his own plans, it loses the power and direction of the Holy Spirit and settles into nauseating carnality.

This my friends, is an abomination to God and He is about to put an abrupt end to those self serving plans. In fact, He has plans of His own, to replace many of the current leaders in the church with those He has been preparing behind the scenes for literally decades. Many of you who have felt out of touch with mainstream Christianity all of your lives, are now about to enter a time that God has ordained for you. Just when you thought you would never fit in, God is calling you to step out. The radical is about to become the normal. Those to whom God has prepared and filled with His Spirit are about to take center stage and disrupt “business as usual” of what we commonly refer to as mainstream Christianity. Gone will be the programs and ideas that man has invented to draw people into their plans. Sports teams will be funneled back into the secular world where they belong. Denominations will be dissolved. Multi-million dollar facilities that were built without God's approval, will soon be up for sale. Carnal men and women of God who have lavished themselves in a comfortable lifestyle of wealth and luxury, are soon going to find themselves looking for work while God restructures His church.

It is going to be a painful process, though a necessary one. Many will blame God for the reorganization, and some will fall away from the faith as a result, consequences of a Christian life not built upon the proper foundation. The process that is about to occur is no doubt going to be a difficult one, but God knows what He is doing and when He is finished, a different church is going to emerge. A church where unity shall be restored and where true discipleship is evidenced by those walking in power and a boldness unlike anything we have seen in our lifetime. Though despised by many, they shall go forth throughout the earth as radical, relentless, uncompromising, and unshakable disciples of Christ whom God has raised up to prepare the way for the coming of the Son of Man…

Jeff Allen

Where is the Power of God Today?

If Jesus Christ was your pastor, would He hire interpreters for the deaf in His church?   If blind people came to His church, would they leave blind? If those with cancer came to His services, would they still leave with cancer? The church preaches about Christ every week, they preach about His great power, they preach about His great love, they preach about His ability to heal sickness and disease. So where is this great power in the church today? Why are we not seeing great signs and wonders by His followers like the early church did? Do you ever ask yourself these questions? I certainly do.

I believe the reason we are not seeing these great exploits among the majority of believers today is because the majority of believers today are carnal, not spiritual. (1Corinthians 3:1) They are babes in Christ. They have allowed themselves to become so entangled by the cares of this world that they have become unfruitful and powerless. “And these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the Word, but the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (Mark 4;19)

Now I realize that we all must go through maturing stages in our Christian walk, and to be carnal at some point is natural, but for 20 years or longer? We have those in the body of Christ that have been saved for decades and yet are still babes in Christ. They are simply too lazy or too busy to study their bibles and renew their minds with the Word of God. They never grow spiritually and as a result, have become defeated and ignorant of the authority Christ has given us as believers. Another reason is that many churches are stuck in man-made traditions which quench the Holy Spirit and His power. Still others simply do not believe that the supernatural gifts are operating in the new testament church today. They do not understand spiritual warfare, how to use the authority God has given us in the name of Christ to combat demonic forces that are running rampant in the lives of our loved ones and people throughout our world.

Whatever the reason, this type of carnality and ignorance of God's Word will cause us not to walk in the fullness of the power and authority that He intended. I am thoroughly convinced that the Lord has once again become weary concerning the condition of His church and has issued a change coming. Jesus tells us in the book of Mark, “these signs shall follow them that believe, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” (Mark 16:17,18) Do you see this happening on a regular basis in the church? I certainly don't. Although I do believe we are about to see the return of great signs and wonders to the church that will play a major part in evangelism in these last days.

If we look back at the evangelistic methods of Christ Himself and the early church, we see where they raised the dead, healed sickness and disease, opened the eyes of the blind, “and many believed.” (Acts 9:40-42) Signs and wonders are to shew forth the power and glory of God, and they were meant to be part of evangelism to bring people into the Kingdom. God isn't just showing off, and our focus isn't to be on signs and wonders, but on the saving of souls. For the last several decades God has been preparing a generation of believers behind the scenes. He's raising up an army of believers who will refuse to compromise their faith, who seek not money or fame, who walk in a power and a boldness unlike anything we have seen in a very long time. They are the ones who will be leading the way in the coming days. So where is the power of God in the church? It's coming, and when it begins to spread throughout this earth like wildfire, there will be no mistaking it.

Jeff Allen

Conversation With God

“What is on your mind child?”

“Oh, I don’t know, I feel a lot of unresolved conflicts inside that produce stressful thinking and I can’t make them subside. I don’t want these destructive feelings destroying me or my day.”

“Well, you are on the right track by recognizing the problem, and wise to consider the choices you have to resolve it.”

“Yeah, I know. But it’s still a battle to redirect your adrenaline rushes onto something way more worthwhile, something that is life-giving instead of life-consuming. It’s like the bad news always invades my peace and stifles my ability to stabilize it back to normal. I feel I need to change this pattern.”

“What have done so far today to reverse these stressful thoughts?”

“In my mind, I want to sit down and immerse myself in your Word to start off my day, but in reality, I fall prone to distractions, as if my worrying will change the outcome. How foolish of me to obsess like this. It’s a glaring weakness I have. I even go so far and believe it’s in my nature to be taken captive, that I’ll always be predisposed towards anxiety, and that I will have to work harder to eradicate it than most people.”

“Are you sure about that? Last time I checked, the entire human race is still under siege, taken hostage by strongholds that can only be torn down by my Word, which, by the way, is the same for everyone – it has the same mighty working power for every set of circumstances, not just yours.”

“I know your words are truth Lord, and I vow right now to stop making excuses, and to exercise the authority you have given your followers to cast down these vein imaginations and make them obedient to your word. I am deciding right now, that after this conversation, I will put on my full armor and stand up tall, empowered in your truths, and confident I will succeed because you are on my side.”

“That’s my girl. See, we just needed a little refresher talk. I haven’t changed. I am the same Lord who walks with you through every trial you face. What makes the difference is when we walk together.”

“God, I will never not need you. Every waking moment I live and breathe is a reminder of my desperate need for you. I can’t move into the next second without your presence. Thank you for your steadfast unwavering love for me. I want you to be glorified in my life today. Thanks for standing by me as I pondered my dilemma on how to proceed from here.”

“Carry these words with you today and reflect on them often – He will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast on thee. That’s a promise. Hide it in your heart, and rejoice that you are free when you are close to me. It’s a part of my redemption plan for you child. I love you unconditionally. I will be interceding for you today.”

3 Stages Of Marriage – Marriage Therapy Made Easy!

By Wayne Sutton

Marriage is a wonderful thing. Well, at least it should be wonderful. In our Phone Counseling and Life Coaching business we all too often see marriage issues leading to separation, divorce, and even at times violence. Our hope and prayer is that we can lead people to an awareness of where they are in the marriage, and begin a process of reconstruction or rebuilding the relationship. But, that is jumping ahead. So, let's look at the three levels of marriage closely.

The Romance Stage

First, this is often called the “Romance” stage – as two people have captured one another's heart and attention. This period can and usually includes the dating and engagement period. The romance stage is all too often a “time of blindness” where we unconsciously ignore the negative and focus solely on the attractiveness of one another. This stage, unless affected by other past relationships or other deep issues, is usually fun-loving and care free. It is also usually easy to discuss “toxic issues” such as sex, money, and family. This romance stage almost always transforms into the second stage of relationships, which I refer to as the “Reality” stage.

The Reality Stage

Reality, this is the tricky area. Reality is time when the honeymoon period is over, and the true self emerges. We all too often see the other person “as we choose to see them” during the romance stage, and then the way they truly are during the reality stage. Worse, many times we perceive the person through our own perceptions, based upon the filters of past relationships and personal history. This is where we must take a self-analysis of our walk and expectations from both ourselves and those we bring into our life.

The Rebuilding Stage

Polarity between the couple can show the major differences, and if not careful can lead to resentment. Resentment is like a cancer of the soul, and this can bring jabbing words of pain or distancing from the couples. This is sadly the reality stage that almost everyone walks in, yet few are willing to leave. This stage can bring the emotional ups and downs for years or even decades. This up and down lifestyle is either tolerated and the person lives in a life of stress, or they end up in divorce.

There is hope however for nearly every marriage. The key to healing a marriage is learning to walk in the stage of “Rebuilding”. Rebuilding may be quick and easy, or it can be a lifelong experience. However, even the process can be rewarding as you go through the journey. Let the journey be an experience, and let love grow through the process.

How do you rebuild? Sometimes it is simple as self-evaluation and applying grace through the rocky times, and at other times it may include using a marriage counselor or therapist. Most situations can be healed through proper time and loving support. Where are you on the three stages of life? Are you ready to rebuild and get back to the romance stage?

Wayne Sutton
www.TheSecondAdam.com