MUST JESUS FISH ALONE?
MUST JESUS
FISH ALONE?
Today is Easter Sunday—the day we celebrate the greatest day in human history. Is Heaven rejoicing with us today?
We used to live on the Kootenai River outside of Libby, Montana, where the Lord had us start a church in 2002. We learned about eagles living on the river and watching them fly up and down the river fishing for their living. We saw their every day fight with the osprey over fishing rights. We watched them build a nest across the river in the top of a tree and saw them raise their young. Did you know that an eagle’s nest weighs about 3,000 pounds? Those aren’t small twigs they’re building with! We also watched closely through a telescope one day as a hail storm with frightful size stones pummeled the area. That mother eagle spread her wings over the eggs to protect them from being destroyed. Such a great picture of Psalm 91 and other Scriptures that speak of the Lord as a great eagle spreading His wings to protect His children.
A few years before when we lived in Helena I had framed a picture of a bald eagle fishing on the river. I still have that picture in my study here at our Colorado house. One day while I was looking at the picture the thought came to me: “Must Jesus fish alone?” I typed and made a caption and placed it on the picture—“Must Jesus Fish Alone?”
Another Gospel
A few weeks ago we released our 8th book that the Lord has given us to write titled ANOTHER GOSPEL. The book discusses a number of things the Lord began showing us shortly after He moved us to Montana in 1997 and began to reveal that there was a false church masquerading as His Church. This false church has many local churches throughout the world on every continent. They all have one thing in common—they preach “another gospel, another Jesus and another spirit” which is not the Holy Spirit but rather a religious spirit.
Because I did not feel led to write a 900 page book I limited discussion of many of the “other” gospels that are preached today. I only devoted a lot of pages to the most prevalent false gospels like the Prosperity Gospel as it’s preached today.
One of the gospels that I only briefly mentioned, however, the Needs-centered Gospel came back to my mind this morning at 3 a.m. as I was awakened by the Lord for prayer. Many of these false gospels have similar characteristics as I mention in the book. For example, they all have three identical characteristics: 1) they are man-made, 2) they are sensual (cf. 2 Peter 2) in appeal, 3) they are “naked religion.”
One of the most prevalent “other” gospels is the “Needs-centered Gospel” which brings us to the title of this blog—“Must Jesus Fish Alone?” The “Needs-centered Gospel” is very sensual in nature—after all, we all have needs that we’d like for the Lord to meet, don’t we? And let’s face it He does!
In April, 1985 I was staring out the window of my living room one day as it was raining—I wasn’t reading the Word or praying or doing anything spiritual. The Lord suddenly spoke and said: “Do you know why I left the Bible for mankind?” I replied and gave Him a few reasons. Then He said: “The main reason I left the Bible was to meet the needs of man-kind.” Wow! It didn’t strike me at the time as being a great revelation like other things He has spoken to me over the years but the more I’ve meditated on it these last 34 years the more I’ve come to realize the wisdom of God in that statement. The Word will meet any need that you have in your life! But that shouldn’t mean that Jesus should fish alone.
During the time that we lived in Helena, we attended a church for a brief time that I nicknamed “the fortress of boredom.” One Sunday the Spirit of Prophecy came upon me strongly and I prophesied something that was not welcomed by the pastor or probably most other folks in attendance but it was the truth. The Lord said, in essence, “This is what you do to Me when you pray. You bring a laundry list of 10 items to Me and pray over them. I answer items 1, 2, and 3. But instead of thanking Me and praising Me for answering those prayers you say, ‘What about items 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10?’”
Christian friends, I know most of you who read our teaching articles and blogs don’t think this way but Jesus is not some glorified bell hop at a five star luxury hotel who only exists to meet our every need. So must Jesus fish alone?
Perhaps you’ve never thought about it. But if you haven’t you should start. Because as I shared in Another Gospel in the last chapter on “The Glorious Bride Church,” if you don’t care about your husband’s body and His needs then you probably are not going to be part of the Bride of Christ.
So, does Jesus have needs? Hey, just get this straight, it’s not about you and it’s not about me! It’s about Him! And in case you don’t know it the Father is very, very proud of Him! You see it when you’re in the Throne Room!
So the “Needs-centered Gospel” has its priorities wrong. The focus of our lives should not be on getting our needs met but rather our focus should be on Him—praising Him, thanking Him, honoring Him and worshiping Him.
As I wrote in Mysterious Secrets, the main purpose for the creation of man was to take the place of Satan when he fell. He was the glorious angel, Lucifer, who was in charge of worship in Heaven. Our purpose is to: 1) worship Him, and 2) “take dominion over the earth and subdue it” as the Lord said to Adam.
Jesus gave us “all authority” in Heaven and earth (Mt. 28). We are to submit to Him, honor Him and obey Him. And that means we should re-examine our lives this Easter morning—Resurrection Sunday—and ask ourselves if we are fulfilling the Great Commission? Are we “going into all the world and preaching the gospel to every creature” or must Jesus fish alone?
BE MORE, DO MORE
New Year’s Resolutions
Today is the beginning of a new year. People shout, “Happy new year!” Yet “happiness” is a term of the world and as we all know, happiness like beauty is fleeting.
When I was growing up people here in America always made New Year’s Resolutions which may be a few or perhaps many but they were sincere about wanting to make changes in their life. If they were overweight, for example, one of the resolutions might be to eat less sweets and consume less calories to lose 30 pounds. Maybe it was to quit smoking or to spend more time with their children.
Well I think it’s important for all of us who are in the family of God to make spiritual New Year’s Resolutions and I’ve been thinking about this quite a lot for the past 10 days. And I came with one New Year’s Resolution for myself a week ago that I wrote out on a piece of paper. But before I tell you what it is, I want to discuss the Scripture on which it is based as well as others that I believe will open your eyes in your own life to things that need to change around you. After all, God has called us as “change agents” in this world because the world you see every day with your physical eyes is not the same one that He created.
THE PRESENT WORLD
Jesus and the Apostle Paul both referred to Satan as “the god of this world.” This has been confusing to many Christians since they are taught that God is in charge and that He is omnipotent, meaning He has all power and certainly more than Satan who lost the rebellion against the Most High God—El Elyon. But you simply must understand that the world we perceive with our five senses is a fallen world—a world that has been marred and almost totally destroyed by sin—it is not the world that Jesus created. For this reason, the Bible says that “the world is enmity (i.e., the enemy of) with God.” And if you follow your five senses as most human beings do all of their lives then they will die and go to hell because the flesh leads to destruction and eternal death whereas the Spirit leads to eternal life.
In the book of Judges, the second historical book that covers about 300 years after the death of Joshua, we probably get the best picture of the best of mankind—God’s covenant people—and it’s not a pretty picture. The book of Judges is about the 4 r’s of mankind and our relationship with God Almighty—rebellion, retribution (or judgment), repentance and restoration. And I would recommend with this teaching exhortation that you spend some time reading and meditating on the first two chapters of Judges.
In chapter 2 of Judges we learn from an angel of the Lord that the covenant people did not obey the Lord. They were not supposed to make any type covenant (v. 2) with the inhabitants of the land (because they were evil and appointed for destruction by the Lord) but they were supposed to drive them out of the land, tear down their altars from which they worshiped false gods. But because they had not done this, the Lord speaks to them through this Angel of the Lord and says, “Their gods shall be a snare to you.”
When we don’t perceive the world through The Eye of the Eagle, i.e., spiritually, then we are apt to become like the people of the land around us and we begin to serve their gods—the gods of sex, pleasure, money, power, ambition, greed, sports, fame, etc.
Be Not Conformed to This World
My wife was raised in a big family; there were 11 children including 4 sets of twins. One of her older brothers died in 1997 and she saw him standing next to her mother in Heaven. She wasn’t sure until she saw the vision if he even made it to Heaven because he didn’t serve the Lord during his life on earth. So the Lord was confirming to her that he had indeed been saved. But what he said is quite remarkable. She saw him turn to her mother and say, “If I had known it was going to be like this, I would have done more and I would have been more.”
I’ve reflected on these words from the past, words from the grave and words from Heaven for many years now. My New Year’s Resolution is for the Kingdom of God as it always is but this year, 2019, I want “to be more and do more” than ever before.
A year before her brother died, 1996, I felt led of the Lord strongly to see the movie Schindler’s List. I don’t watch many movies, especially today because of the horrible language deemed “adult language” which is nothing more than vile profanity dressed up as something else to destroy the lives of people. I knew that this movie had nudity and language yet I felt that the Lord wanted me to watch it. After I saw it in November, 1996, in the Philippines I knew why. It’s a true story about a Nazi who was a wealthy business man that saved Jews from death during WW2. He obtained permission from the Third Reich to employ these Jews and initially he was just in it for the money but the Lord moved on his heart with compassion and he began to spend all of his wealth to save Jews by purchasing their freedom.
At the end of the movie, the part the Lord wanted me to see, he is leaving Berlin as the allies are approaching. Many of these Jews are around him and he is weeping. He looks at the gold pin on the lapel of his suit and says in a regretful voice, “Oh, I could have sold this and saved three more people.” The Holy Spirit spoke to me at that point and said, “That’s what it will be like for many in Heaven.” Then the following year, in the Summer of 1997, my wife’s brother dies and in essence confirms these exact words when he said, “If I had known it was going to be like this (in Heaven), I would have done more and I would have been more.”
Be More and Do More
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that
You present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
Which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world,
But be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
What is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” † Ro. 12:1-2
Now notice who is to present their bodies, you are! Our bodies were bought with a price and we have to—by the force of our wills—make them a living sacrifice to the Lord or else we will serve the gods of this world through our flesh.
Notice also the phrase, “And be not conformed to this world.” Why? Because if you conform your life to this world you will live a life by and for the flesh like people of the world around you and you will serve their gods instead of Jehovah. Remember, we are not to be “conformed” to the world but rather the Word says we are to “be conformed to the image” of Jesus Christ, God’s own Son. (Ro. 8:29)
And the above verses also give us the method by which we are “transformed” (the Gk. Word is metamorphosis which is what occurs when a caterpillar changes into a beautiful butterfly)—it’s “by the renewing of the mind.” And how do we renew our minds? Through reading and meditating in the Word each and every day. If you don’t spend time in the Word, you are like James wrote in his epistle like “a man who looks in the mirror and then goes away and forgets what manner of man he is.” If you don’t renew your mind every single day, the world and its charms will deceive you and you will drift further and further into conformity with the world which is the enemy of God.
So in closing this blog I want to encourage you to make the decision for 2019 to “be more and do more.” Spend more time in the Word and your mind will be renewed to think the thoughts God thinks. Spend more time in prayer developing your relationship with the Lord, the Spirit and the Father. Spend more time working on improving the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5) in your life so that you can “BE MORE” and allow the Holy Spirit to conform you to the image of Christ Jesus. After all, if you want to know what Jesus looks like then just look at the Fruit of the Spirit and you will see Him and hopefully be more encouraged to develop his image and character.
Finally, “DO MORE” in 2019. Find some people that are bound and cast the devil out of them. Lay hands on the sick and believe that the Lord will work through you “with signs following” to see people with no hope healed. Find a cripple and pray for God to renew his limbs. Double up on your giving to the poor and the homeless; the weak and the helpless. Remember, you and I are the only hands that Jesus has to help those He wants to help and He said, “Go!”
Maranatha
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BIRTH PANGS OF THE TRIBULATION
BIRTH PANGS OF THE
TRIBULATION
“But all these things are
Merely the beginning of
Birth pangs.” † Mt. 24:8
For the past few weeks the Lord has again been speaking about the end-time and our need to prepare for what is coming: “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Lk. 21:36)
We are in the birth pangs of the seven year tribulation period. I do not know when it will begin because it is up to the Church and what we do during this period of grace before tribulation begins. Most of the Church continues to snooze but must awaken or they will be counted with the foolish virgins who were not prepared for the Bridegroom. And if you are in the camp who still believes that the Church will be raptured out before the Tribulation then I’d suggest that you read the teaching article in our archives on this website (January, 2014) titled, The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.
Like most Christians, I was taught that the rapture would take place before the 7 year tribulation period; however, through study of the Word prompted by revelation from the angel Gabriel when he appeared to me in 1981, it is quite clear that the Church will go through most of the tribulation period so we must prepare for all these things that are coming upon the earth. Quite frankly, I had not been too concerned about preparing because of the last words Gabriel spoke to me that night 36 years ago. He said, “When the end is near, you’ll be told where to go and what to do.” I wasn’t sure if that meant he would return to tell me or else the Lord would make it plain some other way; however, the Lord has been showing me the past 4 years that I must prepare to prepare for that day so that He can speak to me and I won’t miss Him.
Remember the words of Jesus given earlier from Luke 21—we are to “watch and pray.” As a result my wife and I have been spending time praying by the Spirit (other tongues) regarding preparation for the time we are in now. We are obeying Luke 21:36.
Signs
One of the principles of God is that He always—every time—gives signs so that human beings can be warned, look at the sign posts and know which way to go. Even when judgment is prophesied, there will be signs. And today one of the chief signs that we are in the birth pangs is the horrendous forest fires that devastated California. Now don’t get mad at me if you live in California but this is a sign of God’s judgment against the sins of the people in California—especially Hollywood.
The physical fires are a sign of the spiritual fire that is required to cleanse California of gross sin—it is a wakeup call for those with the Eye of the Eagle who will realize that repentance is necessary to stay further judgment. If they do not repent—and they won’t—then the Lord is going to send that huge earthquake that many have prophesied for the West Coast and most of the inhabited portions of California up through Oregon to Alaska will go beneath the sea in just a few hours! It will be a terrifying event! If you are living in California then I would suggest that you heed this warning and plan to move out within the next 2 years.
A key sign for our day was the election of Donald Trump. As I wrote back in June, 2016, when he announced his candidacy and long before he was elected, God was anointing Trump like Cyrus the ancient King of Persia for His purposes and that Trump was also like Josiah, the last godly king of Judah. Although I didn’t think about it at the time, both Cyrus and Josiah have some things in common: they were both kings, they were both anointed by God for His purposes even though Cyrus was a pagan king. And coincidentally, both of their births were prophesied by name hundreds of years before they were born!
During Josiah’s day, the nation had fallen so far away from the Lord that the priests had allowed the Temple to fall into disrepair and the Book of the Law wasn’t even known—Judah had become an idolatrous nation! And what is interesting vis a vis Donald Trump is the prophecy given about Josiah’s birth in 1 Kings 13:2, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you …”
On that day in June, 2016, as I was praying and meditating on these things I sensed in my spirit that Donald Trump would only serve one term. Of course there could be many reasons why this would be the case; however, I strongly believe that President Trump is part of God’s prophetic calendar to the USA. Judgment has been set for the USA; it cannot be stopped! I’ve known this for many years from visions and revelations regarding the USA shared in Revelations from God volumes 1 and 2. But Josiah (and Trump) were given to the people as a respite—a temporary halt of the appointed judgment upon the nation.
This should be taken as a period of grace by all Christians—a time to seriously prepare for the coming of the Lord by repenting of all known sins and setting your house in order. I believe that once President Trump leaves office, many of these judgments such as the great California earthquake will happen in bam, bam order! I don’t have a definite timing on this but just a general timing but make no mistake; it is a time to prepare your house like Joseph did for all of Egypt. The Lord recently reminded me of something that He spoke to me back in 2011, He said, “The land of plenty will have plenty no more.” And if you are a student of God’s principles in the Scriptures then you know that famine is one of the judgments God always uses against nations and people that depart from Him.
MARANATHA
PRAY for TRUMP and AMERICA
The greatest weapon we possess is prayer. The Church is the only body that has spiritual authority in the Earth today so only the Church can turn the tide of demon forces.
In 1997 when we ministered in South Africa, we flew direct Capetown from the USA and when the plane landed in Capetown and we got off the plane I began to hear in the heavenlies the sound of swords clashing. I looked up and there was mighty warfare going on above the nation of South Africa. I saw Satan running up and down his lines shouting, “Hold your position.” We shared this in the convention where we ministered in JB—that the greatest warfare in the world was going on over the nation of South Africa at that time and that if the churches didn’t pray and engage the enemy in warfare the nation would be lost. Well, they didn’t take this “word” seriously because the nation is in complete shambles now.
Fast forward to 2018, the greatest warfare in the world is going on over the USA and sad to say, very few churches even know anything about spiritual warfare much less engage in it. But like the Republic of South Africa, let this be a warning to the Church in America—if you don’t engage the enemy in battle with spiritual weapons the USA will be lost by 2020!
If you follow our ministry then you know—because it’s a matter of record in books and teaching articles that we’ve written—that we prophesied in May, 2005, that “the Democrats will win Congress in the 2006 election and after 2008 the USA will go downhill really fast.”
The most wicked king of Judah was Manasseh, a son born to the godly king Hezekiah who, interestingly enough would never have been born had Hezekiah’s life not been extended 15 years after he was supposed to die. Manasseh ruled longer than any other king, 55 years, and he instituted child sacrifice! The people were encouraged to bring their babies and burn them on large altars in a religious ceremony.
In June of 2015 when Donald Trump announced his candidacy, I went into the bedroom, shut the door and began to pray. The Lord showed me that Trump would be elected in 2016; however, my sense (this is an impression; as discussed in Revelations from God, vol. 11, an impression is the lowest form of a revelation) was that he would only serve one term. In fact I got a lot of flak about this on Facebook and through emails from Christians and ministers, not prophets, who said, “No, two terms.”
During this prayer time, the Lord showed me that He was raising Trump up like a Cyrus, that he would be a Trumpet to herald evil and corruption in government, and that he would also be like Josiah. Remember, and you should meditate on this today because it’s right there for you to see today 3 years later if you have the Eye of the Eagle, Josiah became king when he was only 8 years old because the priest had “hidden him in the house of God for 7 years” while Athaliah usurped the throne by killing all the male babies except for Josiah (she didn’t know that he was alive). Now if you read Josiah’s legacy in 2 Kings or Chronicles you will see that he brought the nation back to God—the nation had sunk so far that the temple was not even kept up and the Book of the Law was not even used—in other words, like America today, the religion had become secular humanism.
But now don’t forget this part, Josiah was killed in battle and after his death the nation continued its slide into apostasy and captivity from God’s judgment.
Here’s the point of what I am saying today because, as we’ve preached for decades, “It’s one thing to prophesy something and quite another to live through it.” Remember, Elijah prophesied that it would not rain (or dew, in other words, no moisture) “except by my word.” Obviously the drought began to affect him as well. Of course, and this is a further lesson for you, God will take care of His own during times of famine and drought. But now we are having to live through the effects of the Trump presidency in exposing the darkness of government that is the USA right now.
So the Lord was saying, “I’m giving you a 4 year window (Trump’s first term) to repent, change things.” But if we don’t continue to support Donald Trump in prayer and use our spiritual authority to stop the attacks against him by the Shadow government controlled by Satan, then he will not be elected to a second term and the nation will continue its slide into apostasy and destruction. Please make it a matter of utmost urgency that you spend a minimum of 1 hour a day praying by the Spirit for America and Donald Trump.
This morning I was speaking with a pastor friend in Michigan and the Lord reminded me of a vision that He had given me of the Supreme Court back in 2005. We published it in Revelations from God, Vol. 1, p. 123 back in 2007).
Read the vision and you will see that the Lord is trying to reestablish justice on the Supreme Court through Trump’s picks. Judge Kavanaugh is the second; he is the Lord's pick, but if we don’t pray he will not be on the Court. So pray for him each day this week that he will be confirmed and God’s justice can flow from the Supreme Court.
Vision of the Supreme Court
Libby, Montana
December 30, 2005
(taken from Revelations from God, Vol. I,
CCI Publishing, 2007)
It was during the President’s nomination and Senate confirmation hearings for two Supreme Court nominees – Roberts and Samuel Alito. I was laying in the floor of my living room in Montana praying when a vision broke and I saw the Supreme Court of the United States – there was a huge river of blood flowing down the steps of the court.
Numbers 35:33 says, “Bloodshed pollutes the land” and the highest court of our land has contributed to much bloodshed, especially through the Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973. God is judging this nation as a result.
The vision did not speak specifically about abortion although this is the greatest sin in America today and is no doubt a reason for blood to flow down the steps of the Supreme Court. Rather the vision speaks in general about the lack of true justice in our land today. Remember, God judged Israel for this; the book of Amos is full of this indictment.
It’s one thing for injustice to occur; however, and quite another for the third branch of government – the branch that is supposed to endorse and uphold justice – to make decisions having nothing to do with true justice. This causes the innocent and the poor to suffer the most and ultimately will bring God’s judgment/justice to pass upon America.
Choose Today
Choose Today…..
Years ago I pastored a Christian school. We not only had Christian kids but also kids that had gotten in trouble with the police and were on probation. We would have a devotion time everyday and chapel on Wednesdays. There were lots of kids in the school who were really seeking a deeper relationship with the Lord. Some of these kids would come before school to pray in the chapel every morning, and during the day I would pray in the chapel between commitments.
We began to see miracles happen. A boy who was deaf in one ear was healed, a young man that broke his leg in the parking lot was instantly healed and many more such things happened as well as lots of people in the community getting saved through the witness of these teenagers. The Holy Spirit began to move so strongly in the chapel services many committed their lives to a walk of holiness.
But even in that environment of tremendous presence of the Holy Spirit there were some who continually hardened their heart. If you want a hard heart God will let you have it… He speaks to us not to be ignored – He speaks to us to bring change.
One Wednesday in particular the presence of the Holy Spirit was so strong it was even difficult to stand as we ministered to the Lord. There was one young girl about 16 years old. The Holy Spirit was dealing with her to give her life to the Him. You could see the conviction on her very strong. I gave an alter call for those who wanted to give Him their lives. This young girl started to come forward but her best friend who also was setting next to her convinced her not to go forward. She said, “You don’t need that, you have me.” The Lord spoke to the young girl prophetically who was under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and said, “There will come a day when she won’t be there….” The young girl listened to her so-called friend and did not give her life to the Lord that day.
I don’t remember the exact timing but not too long after that I found out that the young girl who the Holy Spirit was trying to bring into the family of God had been out in the desert playing Russian roulette with a pistol along with some other kids and had shot herself in the head and died…
The reason I am writing about this today because I am ministering to some people who are doing the same thing as this young girl. Not physically but spiritually. They are letting others influence them – playing Russian roulette with their spiritual life. If you are committing adultery, or any other habitual sin remember this – the same Bible that tells us of the mercy of the Lord also tells us He is not mocked. You are going to reap what you sow. If you are involved in sin that is pulling you back for the Lord remember these two young girls. God showed the one His mercy that day when He wooed her and tried to get her to come to Him. The Bible says His mercy is new each morning. If you want His mercy run to Him, fall at His feet and cry out for mercy, repent (stop sinning) from your wicked ways and let His mercy wash over you. But if you choose to harden your heart as this young girl did you can expect to reap the harvest you have sown…
If your life with the Lord is not right – right now you have mercy. Run to Him, let Him wash you in His blood and make you brand new. You are not guaranteed tomorrow – this could be the last time He will call you. His arms are wide open. Don’t be like this young girl.
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1. Mysterious Secrets of the Dark Kingdom
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A GREAT PROPHETIC MOVE
A GREAT PROPHETIC MOVE
Scripture references: Isaiah 49:1-13; Zechariah 13:1-9; Hab. 1:2-4, 2:2-14;
Mal. 4:5; Ez. 2:5; Jer. 6:13, 14:18, 23:11, 28-33
As most of you know, every Christian is called to ministry and to be an ambassador for Jesus Christ but not every Christian is called to a Five-fold ministry office—most are not. Unfortunately, however, like everything else God wants to do man and Satan try to interfere to stop the plans of God from coming to pass. Satan’s motive is always the same. Men, most of the time, are unwitting accomplices of the devil.
And even among those that the Lord calls, few are chosen. If you’ve read any of my writings before then you know that in December, 1989, when I was preaching in Akure, Nigeria, I did an all day teaching session for pastors who had come from all over Nigeria. The night before as I was preparing the message the Lord spoke the following: “Many are called, but few are chosen. And the reason that they’re not chosen is because they aren’t willing to pay the price.”
And like everything the Lord has said to me I found this years later while reading the Scriptures. He called His disciples to Him and from them He chose the Twelve (Lk. 6:13).
But for everything the Lord wants to do Satan has a counterfeit—that’s a fact! And we’ve found that many if not most Christians are easily deceived by Satan’s false ministers because the anointing is so close to the real thing. That’s why I caution Christians all the time not to be fooled by false prophets. One of the biggest mistakes people make is not realizing that although we are under a “better covenant” based on “better promises” people are still the same. Just like there were more false prophets than genuine ones in the Old Testament so also today under the New Covenant there will be more false prophets, teachers, apostles, pastors and evangelists than genuine ones.
Now, not all of these false ministers are ministers of Satan; many are just pastoring when they are not anointed by the Spirit for the office of pastor. The same is true for the other 4 offices. Most “apostles” today are false apostles simply because they choose to be known as such because it’s the “in” thing to be if you want to be known. But just understand as I say all the time—it’s only the anointing that determines which office, if any, you are called, chosen and anointed to stand it. You cannot make yourself an apostle or prophet simply by putting it on a business card or your website.
Once you understand that then you can see how Satan attempts to thwart a move of God by sending his counterfeit ministers and causing confusion in the Body of Christ because most Christians do not have a good gift of Discerning of Spirits (1 Cor. 12).
That is one reason that we have so many Balaam Boys as I refer to them who are liars and false ministers but people give millions of dollars to them every single day because they don’t realize that just because they name the name of Jesus and go on some blasphemous “Christian” website doesn’t mean they are speaking for God! In fact they are not because the Scriptures bear testimony about them over and over in both the Old and New Testaments.
This brings us to today and what the Lord is doing in the prophetic move and office of prophet and why. If you will read the reference scriptures you will understand why and what His purpose is even though the coming of this large company of Elijah prophets was prophesied in the Old Testament, especially in Malachi 4:5, and Jesus referred to this scripture as well and not just when He was referring to John the Baptist.
If you listen to the two CD teaching message I ministered this time back in 2005 titled, The Spirit of Elijah, you will find proof from all of these scriptures that John the Baptist only fulfilled the scripture as the forerunner to Jesus’ ministry as the Lamb. There is also coming a great company of Elijah’s to fulfill these scriptures regarding being a forerunner to the second coming of the Lord.
And if you read Malachi 4:5-6, 1 Kings 17-19 as well as study the Gospels you will learn some things about a person with the spirit of Elijah that will help you understand Jesus’ next appearance not as a Lamb but as the Lion of Judah! Remember, the two Hands of God are mercy and judgment. The first appearance as a Lamb was for mercy; the next appearance as a Lion will be for judgment on the Great Day of the Lord.
Thus we would expect this Spirit of Elijah prophetic move to have an emphasis on Judgment and indeed it will! The Lord is going to come swiftly and cleanse His Temple and we know what those temples are. This time just ahead will not be pleasant for all the Balaam Boys & Girls.
In 1988 at the birth of the prophetic move and beginning restoration of the prophet’s office the Lord sent me to a conference of “prophets” of whom I knew none of them but He did send me to give a prophecy which is for all genuine prophets. The gist of the prophecy had to do with integrity, honesty and time spent in preparation before the Lord for your call as a prophet (prophetess).
Then I spoke the following that I still remember because it as a quote from Isaiah 59:19—‘“So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in, (comma added here by me instead of after flood) like a flood the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him” and you are the standard that the Lord is raising up!’
So we have been waiting for the day for the Lord to release this great company of Elijah prophets that He has been preparing since 1988. Many that He called back then have succumbed to the spirit of Balaam and the spirit of Achan that is loose in the churches as I prophesied at a church in Tulsa a few years ago. Others that He called have decided that they want to be apostles instead of prophets. Still others succumbed to one of the five G’s—gold, glory, girls, etc.
Now what is interesting about the vision last night was something I had never anticipated. My wife and I have been in ministry all our lives since we were kids. We’ve established churches here in USA and abroad. But the Lord told me back in 1998 when we were living in Elliston, Montana, during the years He shut us up and revealed the false church through visions, dreams and revelations over 8 years, “Son, don’t ever forget that I have called you to Africa.”
Although we do have some white friends I’ve seen over the years that our ministry is mostly to people of color and although we’ve ministered in Asia, Europe, Mexico and 35 other nations including the Indian Nations or First Nations People, mostly we are called to people of color and mostly to what the people of West Africa call “Black Africa.”
During my second trip to Nigeria in 1989 from April to the end of December, the Lord told me why this was the case when I queried Him about it. Now if you’re from Nigeria don’t get mad at me but I learned during my first visit to Nigeria in 1988 that Nigerians are the most corrupt people on the planet and the main reason is because of their spiritual and generational heritage of worshiping idols and practicing witchcraft.
But if you can get a Nigerian saved and they stay saved then they can be a tremendous force in the Hand of God for good because they understand spiritual combat and they are not above praying all night which is something you rarely see in the West.
But their temptation is to Baal and Mammon. They want to be rich and this leads to corruption both inside and outside the church. Since South Africa dropped apartheid the country has been ruined by Nigerian gangs selling dope, stealing cars and killing people for no reason.
So it’s just like the Lord to do something about that and the way He’s going to do something about it is interesting. Because the black race has arguably been the most persecuted and abused group of people they took matters into their own hands through NAACP and other groups here in America—in other words they want man to do something about it. The problem with that, however, as we’ve all seen, is that men are corrupt and corrupt people can never bring about the justice (judgment) of God to alter a situation. Now I’m not saying that all those involved in the Civil Rights movement here or similar groups elsewhere in the world are corrupt but the fact is—just like we see with all the denominational church groups that have departed from the faith—it has come about through the doctrines of men.
And, unfortunately, the race card has become a political football, especially for the Democratic Party here in America. But let me ask you a question if you are a black person—do you think the Democratic Party cares about you? Even more, do you think that any man cares about you more than Jesus does?
I’ve preached it many times—racism is the stupidest thing in the world! It’s like a person saying, “I’m better than you are because I drive a red car and you drive a white one.” And if a person is a racist God hates it because it’s demonic and also a form of pride that made the devil fall. But it takes many forms as I learned when I first went to West Africa. Everybody there is black so Satan can’t use race to divide. So what does he do? He uses tribes! I’m Yoruba so I’m better than you, etc. It’s used throughout the African continent (remember the horrible Rwanda genocide of the '90s). In South Africa “coloreds”—a mixture of blacks and Indian people—are despised more than blacks. But don’t forget, it can be found in every race. I remember when the black pastor of the First Methodist Church in Houston ministered at Lakewood Church back in the early ‘80s and he said that the Lord had convicted him of “hating white people.” So just because you are black doesn’t mean that you cannot harbor racism in your heart, if so like anybody else you need to repent of it.
But people have a “need” to be vindicated; it’s something you have to overcome if you’re a Christian. We see much in the Psalms, primarily from David, who asks the Lord “to vindicate me.” My wife has had the Lord speak directly to her about this back in a time when she was being persecuted as a minister in her church for, among other things, because she was “spending so much time in prayer it made the other pastors on staff look bad!” Imagine that. And all those who were persecuting her she could have hurt because of confidential information that she possessed but she said and did nothing until the Lord told her it was time to leave. But He spoke to her about vindication. The Lord will always vindicate us if we keep our hearts pure and our mouths shut and don't try to vindicate ourselves!
So this brings us back to the black race because it is time for their vindication. In the vision I was ministering in a small African church, more like a home church. The Lord spoke powerfully to me about this upcoming prophetic move and said, “In this next move, I am going to honor the black race.” When He said that I looked at a young man (everybody in the church were black people) and spoke to him, “The Lord just showed you what He said to me, right?” He nodded his head yes so I said, “Get up and prophesy it” and so he did.
So the Lord is going to use an Elijah company of black prophets (prophetesses) to begin to “cleanse the lands” and establish the glory of the Lord upon a country or city. This is the “standard” that the Spirit of the Lord is raising up against the devil. Now I’m not saying that they will all be from the black race because if you’re called and chosen it will only be because you have a pure heart and have prepared yourself to serve the Lord and Him only. In the past, too many—in fact most African ministers I’ve met—are not in the ministry because God called them but rather as a means to make money. But you cannot serve God if you have ulterior motives in your heart, especially if you are called to be a prophet or apostle because they are the foundational ministries (Eph. 2:20). The Lord will demand absolute integrity and purity of heart. Be certain to read the scriptures given above regarding this prophetic move for greater details.
Remember, every Christian has a two-fold destiny—a destiny in God and a destiny for God. If you never fulfill your destiny “in God” then how can you fulfill your destiny for God? Our purpose at CCI is to help people fulfill their destiny, praise the Lord!
MARANATHA
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I Looked For You Today
I LOOKED FOR YOU TODAY
I looked for you today; couldn’t you tell? Didn’t you see me? Did you hear my voice?
Don’t you remember your prayer to me early this morning? You said, “Lord,
I want to see you today; I want to walk with you and hear your voice. I want you to show me
Your face.”
And so I did. I answered your prayer. I walked with you and talked with you. But it seems you were distracted—too distracted to recognize me when I spoke to you. Don’t you remember my words that I am not a God who is far away? I am always near to you. But you don’t often see me or hear my voice.
I know, the world has a way of taking you away from me. That’s why I left you my word—to help you renew your mind to think the thoughts of God—to recognize me when I appear to you in the world. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways; neither are my words your words, saith the Lord.”
Didn’t you know that it was I who came to you and asked for food on that desolate street corner today? If you had looked into the eyes of that old man you would have seen my eyes. Do you think that you are the only one who has needs? Don’t you think that I have needs and wants? It was I who had a need for food today in the starving body of a man. Had you looked closer you would have heard my voice speaking to you.
And it was I who spoke to your heart through the touch of that little girl—the one that you thought looked so sickly. Yes, she is sick. And it’s only the sick that need a physician. So why wouldn’t you look for me in her eyes? Why didn’t you allow me to meet her need by ministering healing to her?
Oh, I know. Most of my people think I can be found in a church building but I am seldom there. Seems I’m not invited around much anymore. They have everything under control with their services and don’t want my input. So sad that they cannot find me in the world that I created.
Although I created this world it’s not the same now—sin has distorted all that you see and hear. My creation sinned against me and they continue today. But I have a body in the earth; I never left the earth except in Spirit. When my physical body ascended I left a physical body—my Church—behind to carry on the work to restore the earth to the creation I designed for it.
But most of my Church has become distracted. They no longer hear my voice or see my face in Creation. They look for me in the silence of prayer not realizing that I am speaking to them from the shadows of my earthly created human beings. Look around you. Open your eyes. “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision.” For the world seeks love and hope but they don’t know where to find it. They don’t know me and they don’t recognize the enemy who is at work among them to destroy all the good that I created.
So remember your thoughts and actions today. Repent and look for me. I am giving you tomorrow as another day to see me in the face and hands of those who need me. Reach out your hand to them and it will be my hand. Speak to them and it will be my words. Show the world that I am not a silent God but I speak through the lips and actions of my people.
“For as you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.”
Comments
This may be because of supernatural miracles, disasters, plagues, etc., but the FATHER will get our attention as a nation, I believe. Then, America will be leading in calling the entire world to the attention of the true and living GOD. I just believe, I just believe.
Hopefully the vision that you have been given will be a big part in this turning back even now, but for sure during the millenium. Love you both very much.
Blessings and shalom.
WHAT DOES THE WORD SAY?
WHAT DOES THE WORD SAY?
BY J.P. TIMMONS
January 14, 2018
©2018 CCI PUBLISHING
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
For many years I’ve said when ministering in churches that when I die and go to Heaven I hope those I leave behind will remember the main point of all my messages: “What does the Word say?”
After all, what I preach or others preach isn’t really very important unless it’s verified and backed up with the Word. And you should realize something else I’ve preached for 30 years or more—“There is more scientific proof to support the Bible than any other single piece of literature known to man.” That’s a fact! And it’s not by accident. Jesus the Creator said in Jeremiah 1:12: “I watch over my word to perform it.” That’s a scripture that you should commit to memory because it’s one of many proof text to substantiate not only that the Bible is true but also that God is obligated to “perform” His Word for us if we are in covenant with Him.
Yes, all these things are true. Yet it’s so sad to say that most, probably 95% or more, of Christians live well below their means of what God intended simply because they do not believe the Word and appropriate God’s promises to their situation. They pray for God to heal them but then they don’t appropriate the correct remedy to bring about their healing. They pray for finances to pay their bills but then they don’t appropriate the promises of God where finances are concerned.
In 1985 the Lord told me that the main reason He left the Bible was “to meet the needs of mankind.” All the promises for your life are in the Word but you must learn them and appropriate them during your life’s journey here.
I remember a woman at our church, Lakewood Church, back in 1979 who had a dream. Pastor John Osteen used to relate this dream often in his preaching because it’s a truth for most of the body of Christ. In the dream the woman was on an ocean voyage aboard a lavish cruise ship which had everything that any person could ever want. It was beautifully decorated and she had a huge stateroom for her journey.
The woman found herself at the Captain’s table at dinner. Everyone was so stunningly dressed for the sumptuous banquet that the talented chefs had prepared. As she looked around the table, she saw all of her favorite foods—king crab, prime rib, Rib eye steak, fresh smoked salmon, caviar and other delicacies. It was all there for her enjoyment and she couldn’t wait to partake of this glorious meal. But then she looked down at her plate and found a sandwich wrapped up in wax paper. She unwrapped the sandwich and discovered that despite all the sumptuous foods there for her enjoyment she had chosen a peanut butter sandwich to eat!
Now the first time I heard this nobody had to interpret the meaning for me; it’s quite clear what the dream meant. The woman had so much elaborate provision provided for her for the ship’s journey yet she chose not to partake of it! Yes, it was there all along but she chose the provision that was way below where the Captain expected her to live on this journey.
Most of the Church is this way. The King of Kings has provided everything that they need for the journey of life for which they were created yet they choose—it’s their choice—not to partake of the finest of the land that the Lord has provided. So sad.
We just celebrated Christmas. The birth of our Lord. God so loved the world that He gave His most precious Gift--the Word, Jesus Christ. If this witnesses with your spirit then I hope you will make a New Year’s resolution to spend more time in the Word and meditation on the Promises of God. It’s only as you spend time in the Word and get the promises down into your spirit that they will be available to you in a time of need. Praise the Lord! He is faithful and He watches over His Word to perform all that He said He would do. You can take that to the bank!
We hope you have a blessed and prosperous New Year.
Choosing the Ancient Path
DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;
And lean not unto thine own
Understanding. In all thy ways
Acknowledge him, and he shall
Direct thy paths.”
† Proverbs 3:5-6
God created you with a free will. That means you have freedom of choice each and every day. That is powerful! And we see throughout the Scriptures a principle of God related to this—He gives us the choice to “choose life or choose death” but He always encourages us through the Word and His prophets to “choose life.”
Now I’ve also learned through many years of ministry and prayer from the Holy Spirit something interesting that I tell Christians who are having difficulty with their decisions. In fact, this principle will also help you discern whether something, e.g., a person, law, agenda, work or even ministry, is of God or not. And that principle is quite simple. If it is of God then there will be calm and quiet and no pressure for you to decide a certain way—in other words you will have free choice.
But if it is of Satan—perhaps a scheme or trap that he has laid for you—then there will be pressure, sometimes extreme, for you to choose one outcome over another. A perfect example of this is when the Lord sent me to the Philippines in 1996 to rescue a 22 year old woman who was about to marry the wrong man—he wasn’t even a Christian. She was under a charm of witchcraft to marry him and her parents were missionaries on this island. In fact, the charm was so powerful that I was unable to dissuade her to change her mind about marrying him. So what did I do? Well, I did what you should always do when you know the will of the Lord and have a “Thus saith the Lord” for somebody. You fast and pray.
When I was praying at home in Austin before going the Lord said to me: “The day you arrive on this island, I want you to fast and pray for 3 days and I will give you the battle plan.” So I shut myself up in a Nepa hut when I arrived for 3 days and fasted. Then after 3 days she came over to the Nepa hut and I met with her. Yet I saw that she was not going to change her mind. Now most people would have just let it go at that, after all she has a free will right? Yes, absolutely! But listen closely—and it makes me and the Lord both very angry and why He hates the spirit of witchcraft—Satan was interfering with her right to choose—he was influencing her to choose the destiny that he had for her. Now I could write for hours about this subject because I’ve encountered this charm and witchcraft often in Nigeria and many Nigerians, especially ministers, know about this particular charm that is often called “Change of Destiny” where a person through witchcraft and purchasing this charm can actually steal the blessings and destiny that God has for you.
But I don’t want to discuss the witchcraft involved in this blog today; just suffice it to say that if you are feeling unduly pressured—and we saw it in our own church in Libby where another 22 year old young woman married somebody that was not God’s choice for her as well because God had called her to the mission field and that was where she was to meet the man the Lord had for her—then recognize that it’s not the Lord and make the other choice.
Some of the spirits we deal with all the time in deliverance are the spirits of control—these are the “low level devils” as we call them who work on a person to force them to choose Satan’s path. They have little power and that is why there are often many of them attacking one person at the same time. They are reinforced as I wrote in MSDK by the 8 Powers and 4 Principalities or they would be quite easy to cast out.
Now a person being attacked by these spirits, and unfortunately it’s often by a spouse, will be manipulated into making the decision that person (spirit of control) wants you to make. And you will often, in fact almost always, find that initially this manipulation—which is in fact a subtle form of witchcraft—will take place through words or actions. For example, it’s quite common for a woman to withhold sex or something from her husband as a means of manipulating him to do her will. And it’s quite common for a husband to use money as a tool of reward to control his wife. Recognize that this is not of God and over time it will destroy your relationship. God gives you the free will to exercise choice; Satan will drive a person through demonic influence to make the choice he wants them to make which can often have devastating or life ending consequences.
Normally, this cycle of control continues until the method no longer works, e.g., words or behaviors. Once that method no longer works then the person doing the controlling must choose another way to hold you captive to their ways. And the last stage of this is always violence! That person will become violent resulting in abuse. The abuse used to be verbal—now it is physical—manifesting in a husband beating his wife or even more so today a wife beating her husband. If the person threatens to leave, then the last means of control is always suicide.
“If you leave me I’ll kill myself and then it will be your fault.” Now in the case of Amy in the Philippines, there was no violence because when I saw that she was not going to change her mind I told her parents: “Amy is under a spell of witchcraft. She is going to marry him unless I take her off this island.” Now we didn’t tell her that of course. I just took her with me and she accompanied me on the rest of my ministry work there for the next few weeks doing some pastors’ conferences, etc. But the very minute I got her off that island the effect of the witchcraft diminished and she was no longer “in love” with this man. To conclude this part of the testimony, she phoned him from Manila where we were staying and informed him that she was breaking off their engagement. What did he do? He threatened suicide and this almost worked. Had I not been there to warn her that this would be the tactic of the devil against her to control her she would have taken the bait and gone back. Today she is happily married to another Filipino man and living in Washington state.
So remember, that when it comes time for decisions, it’s very important to especially follow one of the 23 ways I’ve learned from the Scriptures that the Lord speaks to us—follow peace. If you don’t have peace about it don’t do it! And very often you will find, in fact most of the time, where Satan’s decisions are concerned there will be much turmoil.
Now let me share a fact with you. It’s a fact that I know you will agree with but you probably haven’t thought about it much. God knows the future, right? But He not only knows your future, He also knows your projected future (this is the Gift of the Spirit known as The Word of Wisdom). When you come to a fork in the road and have to choose which path to take how do you decide? I’ve written a few poems—some love poems to my wife Evie and some prophetic poems to others. One of my favorite poems since I first read it is The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.
I always encourage Christians to “soak it in prayer”; especially if it’s a life changing decision such as choosing a spouse or moving to another place. God knows the outcome of “the road not taken” just as surely as He does the road you choose! He knows if it’s a trap of Satan to kill you or one of your children, e.g., you are trying to decide whether to move to a lovely house on the river but it’s a trap that will cause your 3 year old to be killed through drowning. God knows the outcome of all of our decision trees and that’s why it’s so important to hear clearly from the Lord in all important decisions of your life. It’s okay to make plans for the future; we should plan for ourselves and our children, etc., but don’t forget when it comes to
DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS
I hope you will remember something that I say every day to somebody. In fact, I tell Christian friends all the time, “I hope when I am gone from this earth and you think of Brother Timmons, that you will have positive thoughts of how I’ve helped you in your journey on the Ancient Path and above all—when you think of me—the words will come to your spirit from my voice in the grave: “What does the Word say?”
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THE GOOD SAMARITAN
THE GOOD SAMARITAN
It's interesting how the Lord leads us when we pray and ask Him for certain things. One of the things I've learned over the many years (after all, poster advertisements for our meetings at an African church in the Dallas area years ago said that I "was one of the oldest living apostles") is that the Lord will always answer you if you "Pray Like You Mean It." And that's the title of a new book Evie and I have been working on for a few months.
But if you’ve been in ministry very long—and all Christians are in ministry—you will learn that most Christians want to pray one short, sweet prayer and then leave it with Jesus. We tend to be lazy when it comes to prayer even when it’s important. A contact on our emails from Nigeria this morning is a good example of a request we get daily—somebody writing and saying, “I need to meet with Rev. Timmons.” Well, who says that you do? And who says that it’s all about YOU? Now don’t get mad at me but, excuse me, I believe it’s all about Jesus and His needs. And if you don’t believe that—if you believe it’s all about you then perhaps you have not really made Jesus the Lord of your life.
It’s an unfortunate thing that so many pastors and ministers have given their congregations the idea that Jesus is in Heaven dressed in the uniform of a glorified bellhop from a luxury 5 star hotel who is only there to meet their every need. I still have a picture in my office at home that I put in the ministry office when the Lord first moved us to Montana. It’s the picture of a bald eagle flying low over the waters of a wide river in the mountains much like we see every single day in Montana. I put a caption under the picture that reads: “Must Jesus Fish Alone?”
If He’s the Lord of your life then He won’t be fishing alone but if He’s only your Savior and not your Lord then you probably don’t think too much about what His needs and wants are and how you can help Him. Now I’m not saying you won’t go to Heaven when you die, you will if Jesus is genuinely your savior but that doesn’t mean He’s your Lord or that His priorities are yours.
But today might be a good day for you to change that and reorder your priorities. For many months now I’ve been asking the Lord to teach me about His mercy. And I’m not going to go into a deep discussion of what mercy is because like many words in the KJV of the Bible its meaning has changed. But both the Greek and Hebrew words translated mercy are covenant terms. I wrote about it in a chapter in The High Calling of God. Most Christians have never studied covenant just like they’ve never studied Church history so their education is incomplete where the Scriptures are concerned.
In 1980 the Lord began to teach me about His love and how we need that in the Church today. We use the word Christian a lot and I use it as well but the word only appears 3 times in the New Testament whereas the word disciple appears many times and we see that Jesus Himself teaches us the meaning of the word disciple. And if we are a true disciple, not only will we spend much time reading the Word but we will obey the commandment of the Lord given in John to “love one another as I have loved you.” Frankly, there’s not much love in most churches today. People have compartmentalized their lives and their “religious” component that they enter on Sundays and maybe Wednesday night causes most churches to not be much different than the world in the area of love because we see that even in church most if not all of our relationships are superficial. We don’t love each other like we should, wouldn’t you agree? And we certainly do not love one another like Jesus “loved us.”
Another key study that I’ve been involved in for decades in addition to agape is grace. Like the love of Jesus and the Father, their grace is another concept that is just too deep for us to understand yet we must try because we are being conformed into the image of the Lord Jesus by the Holy Spirit if we will allow Him to do so.
But I don’t feel led to discuss grace today but rather what I’ve been really focusing and praying about for a couple of months now—the mercy of the Lord Jesus. That brings us to today’s lesson that the Lord led me to at 4:30 this morning when I was awake praying. There is only one recording in the gospels of a parable all Christians know and most of the world knows as well—at least they know the title but, of course, they cannot know the truth it teaches without the Spirit which they cannot have without being born again.
Now the setting for this parable is interesting because it’s one of those situations where a person familiar with the Scriptures rises up while Jesus is teaching and the Word records his purpose—to tempt Jesus. This is a familiar theme throughout the gospels from the religious leaders—sometimes referred to as “the Jews” who were made up of two sects—the Pharisees and Sadducees—along with lawyers. The man here in Luke 10, our setting for the parable of the Good Samaritan, is identified as a “lawyer.” Now scribes such as Ezra were responsible for writing the Scriptures but lawyers were responsible for studying, interpreting and understanding the Scriptures—they weren’t like lawyers today who deal with civil law but the term “law” refers to the Torah.
But now don’t forget this part because it’s one of the great things about the Bible—and one of the proofs that it is inspired because the Word—“is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). And that’s a fact we see throughout the Scriptures that is never mentioned by pundits who believe the Bible is no different than the Quran. Only in the Bible do we find people’s names given hundreds of years before they were born and also recording what people were thinking as well as their motives like we see with this lawyer who is testing Jesus here in Luke 10.
Now he stands up to tempt or test Jesus by asking a question—“Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus obviously knows this man is a lawyer so He throws it back to him by responding—because if the man’s a lawyer he should know the answer—“What is written in the law? How readest thou?”
The lawyer responds, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” (10:27)
Notice that Jesus then says to him: “Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.” So this lawyer got it right, didn’t he? End of story—this is how a person receives eternal life. Not quite. The lawyer wasn’t finished so neither was Jesus because He’s not just the Word of Life but also a Rabbi (teacher) so if you want to be taught and have an open heart he will teach you. Now this is the main Five-fold anointing on my life so I know something about it but I’ve observed the same thing Jesus did in the gospels—most people, not all but most, don’t want to be taught. Often they have a religious spirit and are unteachable. So the lawyer the Word says, wanted “to justify himself” before Jesus so he asks one more question—“And who is my neighbor?”
Now to me this implies, although Jesus didn’t quiz him on it, that this lawyer was indicating that he was obeying the first part of this “love” commandment. At least in his own eyes he was loving the Lord God with all his being as the Law prescribed but he was having a problem with who his neighbor was.
This question of course leads to Jesus’ parable that has a teaching point to it and in this case it explains the answer to this lawyer’s question of who his (or ours as well) neighbor was. After all if the Scriptures command us to “love our neigbour as ourselves” then we need to know what the Lord means by the word, neighbor. Now we are taught and all bibles will say, “The Parable of the Good Samaritan” but I’m not sure it was a parable; in fact I’m pretty sure it wasn’t! It was a real incident that Jesus had knowledge of but if it weren’t real Jesus would not have used the words, “A certain man went down from Jerusalem …” (italics added for emphasis).
And Jesus uses 4 men in the teaching—the man who was beaten and left for dead, a priest, a Levite and a Samaritan. Basically, in today’s Christian vernacular, we might liken the priest and Levite to a pastor and elder—both reacted in the same way to the beaten man lying naked on the road—they “passed by on the other side.” In other words, they didn’t want to get involved—they were probably like the Blues Brothers—“on a mission from God.”
Now you can’t read the New Testament and not learn that the Samaritans were hated by the Jews but you might not be familiar with why this was so. Samaritans were basically half breeds who had intermarried among the Jews over the decades since they were settled in the area by the nations that conquered Israel. It is a tactic to pollute a culture and eventually destroy it—a tactic to assimilate the local population by the conquering nation. So they were hated. A good example of this today that comes to my mind is in the Republic of South Africa that Pastor Andrew just returned from and where Ev and I have preached.
In South Africa they have a group of people referred to as “colored.” In South Africa you have the largest concentration of Indian people outside the nation of India settled mostly along the coast close to Durban. Colored people here refer to those who are black and Indian who intermarry. And there is much genuine hatred of them—Ev and I observed it on several occasions in the city stores. This is the closest thing today I can think of that would describe the word “Samaritan” for a Jewish person of Jesus’ day.
So Jesus indicates that this Samaritan who was probably not even in covenant with God was the only one of the three who didn’t just leave the man there but actually had compassion on him and mercy, even spending his own money to take care of him. Then Jesus asks His own question:
“Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among thieves?” (10:36)
And they saw the difference immediately, didn’t they, because the Lawyer responds, “He that showed mercy on him.”
But Jesus didn’t leave it there, did He? He did not respond the same way He did initially with, “Thou hast answered right.” No, Jesus says, “Go, and do thou likewise.” That means we, too, are supposed to demonstrate we love our “neighbor” by showing mercy and compassion on those the Lord places in our path each day to be our neighbor. And when He does then we have to “do” something about it.
My prayer today is that you will catch a glimpse of the Lord’s mercy from this teaching and “go and do likewise.”
