Truth or Counterfeit

Our Heavenly Father always does the unexpected things, uses the people, that very few would think that He would use. Jesus also like the Father, did and said the unexpected.  When it comes to The Father and Jesus, on some level most would agree to this statement, yet when it comes down to it the majority of people miss The Father as they missed the Son. 

John 6:66

Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

⁶⁶ From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Mark 15:8-15

Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

⁸ And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them. ⁹ But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? ¹⁰ For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. ¹¹ But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. ¹² And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? ¹³ And they cried out again, Crucify him. ¹⁴ Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him. ¹⁵ And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.

The majority of people get deceived, time and time again! 

2 Timothy 3:13

But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Notice that the evil men and seducers are themselves being deceived. That is one way they are so convincing is that they believe what they teach.  Now, the majority of the time when a person starts like I started they start using a lot of Old Testament Scriptures and rant and rave about sin and use the scripture about our righteousness is like dirty rags and state there is none righteous no not one. Without using it in context with the verse that follows.Romans 3:21 “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference”.

So my point isn’t to tell you what to believe, but to teach how to perceive how we know the truth.  One way is the LOVE of God, this is supernatural Love, not human love.  That isn’t to say the person will be perfect and to judge by critically looking for sin, look for true Agape Love, Love without conditions and restrictions. Along with this there must be supernatural signs, wonders and miracles following. These two things must co-exist in order for a line of teaching to be correct.  Let’s focus on the signs, wonders and miracles. Here’s what Jesus had to say:

John 14:11-14

Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. ¹² Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. ¹³ And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 

Mark 16:17-19

Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

¹⁷ And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

¹⁹ So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

Just so nobody starts another snake salvation show, verse 18 “they shall take up serpents” it’s meaning is actually to cast off and the example would be when the serpent latched onto Paul’s hand, he cast it off into the fire and it did no harm to him. The same if they drink any deadly thing, it isn’t talking about purposefully drinking poison.  Love doesn’t boast, handling snakes and drinking poison on purpose is a form of boasting and glorying in the flesh. Paul’s reaction wasn’t boastful, he simply went about his business, while the others were waiting for him to die.

This is how we keep from being deceived the Love of God and signs, wonders and miracles, walking hand in hand is our surest means to discern between fact or deceit.  The true Gospel was never preached without signs, wonders and miracles; or without the Love of God.  Now, there are some who teach that in John 14, Jesus isn’t talking about the physical healing miracle, that isn’t true, look at it again: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. 

Jesus was straight to the point, look at the works’ performed and then look at the works’ done in my Name and my disciples will do the same and more.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today and always: He never changed the criteria Matthew 16:17-20 still applies, Mark 14 still applies.  John 13:3 and Luke 6:35, they all still apply.

A true leader In the Body of Christ is a servant, has the Love of God in him, and we see the works of Jesus through the person.  John 13:35

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Luke 6:35

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

A great speaker isn’t the sign Jesus told us to look for in His Disciples.  Delivering great sermons isn’t the sign.  The seven keys to living a sin-free life isn’t how we will know a true disciple of Christ. A true leader, has all of Heaven’s Authority backing him, when he preaches the Gospel, lives are changed.  The rest is just fluff.  Here’s another way, when the leader speaks, what are you thinking? If you’re thoughts are on the speaker, the person is just a good speaker. If your thoughts turn to Jesus, then that person is pointing to Jesus and is truly speaking from Holy Spirit. 

A true disciple of Jesus lifts up others, to a point where they are operating using the gifts of Holy Spirit.  A true leader leads others into experiencing the Love of God and into a personal relationship with Holy Spirit.  So when seeking Jesus, look for the signs, wonders and miracles; but don’t validate them based only on those works, they must be combined with the supernatural Love of God. There are counterfeit signs, wonders and miracles; Jesus did state that many will come to Him and say Lord, Lord I have done miracles in your Name and Jesus will tell them I never knew you……..why? Because it is the Love of God with the miracles that validates……. everything else is counterfeit.

Wellness and Praying

A huge part of accessing the abundant Blessings and Gifts of the Lord, is what is in our heart and what we speak.  We are told time again, that what and how we speak directly control the atmosphere around us and in our bodies.  There are many verses about the tongue/words we speak and the heart/inner man ( our spirit).  It is so huge!  Take a moment to read these verses slowly and really ponder them!

Proverbs 15:4

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

Proverbs 18:21

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Luke 6:45

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Proverbs 17:22

A merry heart doeth good like/same as a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Proverbs 4:23

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

So how do we tell, what the condition of our heart is? Listen to your speech, are you speaking life/health or death/sickness? When your with your friends or in casual mode, what are you saying, your words are a direct method of assessing your heart condition and even what you think about regularly. This directly influences the wellness of your body.  A renewed mind has as Paul states Colossians 3:2

Amplified Bible (AMP)

² And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.

Psalm 1:2

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Joshua 1:8

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Psalm 77:12

I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

Meditate means to ponder, now since we are New Covenant it is the Law of Love, which we should ponder on. The Love of God to us in Jesus.

I always ask Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts and my speech, that it is acceptable to The Lord.  What we think about is where our mind will lead us.  Also, note we are tempted with what we think.  If we set our mind on the things above then the devil doesn’t have anything to tempt us with. This is why Paul states that there is another law warring in his body, the law of sin and death, which takes advantage of the Law. Because if we think about not sinning, then we will sin, cause that’s what we’re thinking about! Same thing with sickness if we’re constantly thinking about our physical condition, then it will get worse!  So ponder healing scriptures, then our body will go that way.  It also sets our heart to be assured of healing, it decreases unbelief. 

All of this ties into what we hear, see, think; commercials are death sentences, we hear them all the time, what we hear constantly becomes a heart belief. What is in most if not all commercials? Masked fear! Take this test such a percentage of men develop blah, blah, blah. Take this medicine, then is the long list of warnings.  Most television shows are just as bad. We must guard our hearts with all diligence, in other words, we must pay attention to what is going into our ears and what our eyes see. All of this is renewing our minds to align with God’s Will. It is His Will for all to be healthy! These things are steps to aligning ourselves to His Thoughts, and then we will be closer to being healthy. Think about this scripture “a double minded man shall expect to receive nothing”. So if our thoughts are on our symptoms, yet we’re praying for a healing……..what is that? Being double-minded.  You might ask or say look mister, I’m in severe pain, how can I not think about it? Good question here’s how not to be double-minded:: “The fact is I am in severe pain, but the truth is by HIS Wounds/Stripes I am healed.”  Now, healing is a gift and our healing isn’t based on our actions, what this does is sink down into the heart and decreases unbelief. You’re changing your heart beliefs, not doing it to earn a healing……big, huge difference. It is not, reciting healing scriptures 100 times everyday for a month, then because of my action, I’ll be healed. It is redefining your heart beliefs and coming into alignment with God’s Will! Also, it is Jesus that changes us, so always ask Holy Spirit to change you, He will. All this sounds like a lot of effort, but when His Holy Spirit is involved and we yield ourselves to Him and ask Him to renew our mind, it does happen effortlessly! Then we just fall more in Love with Him! It all comes down to Trusting Jesus, first for healing, then for continuous health.

Let’s talk a bit about praying for healing, whether for yourself or someone else. Praying for healing isn’t begging God to heal you “O God please heal me”, “please God take this cancer away”, “Please God heal my aunt”.  These are prayers that are illegitimate and full of unbelief. Why? Because Jesus earned healing for us and He’s already answered the question if it’s His Will for you to be healed. The answer is yes it is.  Luke 5:12-13, I’ve covered this before, so I won’t go into detail. That along with Mark 16:17-18 and many more scripture.

Now moving along, we’ve been given the authority and power by Jesus and His Holy Spirit to heal, so we don’t have to ask.  We use our authority In Christ to command and expect healing.  Matthew 16:19

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.”

We speak from heaven to earth. Cancer is unlawful in heaven, therefore I am declaring it unlawful on earth. So, I’m binding the evil and then loosing health, healing and Blessings. In Christ we have both earthly and spiritual authority. All spiritual authority was removed from satan, but he uses man’s earthly authority to proceed with his evils.  He and all demons have to work through mankind.  Thereby using our spiritual authority in Christ, (outloud) we are legally tossing his work to the wind.  This is why the accuser/deciever has most of the world convinced that 1) God “allows it” 2)God is doing it to teach us 3)It is a “normal” part of life 4)the authority was only for the original Apostles : all of these are lies……..period!!

Just as in the Garden, satan still twists the truth and deceives us.

So speaking outloud and knowing my authority In Jesus, with the dunimus power of His Holy Spirit, I command the sickness/disease to leave and it must/has to/ain’t gotta  choice

Prayers do not need to be long drawn out, extravagant, the longer the prayer the less you are speaking from the authority of Jesus and unbelief will enter the picture. “Cancer Leave Now” is enough. Jesus prayers were always short “Pick up your mat and go”, Peter’s prayer was simply to say Silver and Gold I have none, but what I do have I give to you” Then I always thank the Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit. It really isn’t the words it’s His Presence, that heals.

Here’s a guideline but it’s a very loose guideline: Always listen for Holy Spirit’s Guidance He is the ultimate Healer, so listen to Him

1)  I acknowledge His Presence and Thank Him in advance

2)  Ask the level of pain or symptoms (if Holy Spirit hadn’t already given me a word of knowledge)

3)  Speak to the body part/disease tell it to be healed/disease to leave

4)  Have them test the body part and ask for the pain level,

5)  Praise and Worship Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit; giving them thanks!

I always encourage them to get medical confirmation, have them continue their medication unless a doctor takes them off, always tell them to interrupt if they feel electricity, heat, cold all great signs and use those signs to increase expectation. My actual goal is to not even have to pray for them or lay hands on them. Many times they are healed before prayer. Really the only thing we’re doing is releasing Holy Spirit to do what He is really good at doing. The less we’re involved the better. Healing is a Gift and Holy Spirit wants to heal, we’re just a vessel to give the gift away.  If you’re praying for yourself, command it to leave and expect Holy Spirit to heal. Look for the healing, not the symptom.

What is occurring when there is a healing is heaven impacting earth. We need to let Holy Spirit set the atmosphere around us His Peace, Joy and Righteousness Romans 14:17

for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

So heaven on earth is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  The person you are praying for is likely fearful, let Holy Spirit change the atmosphere, acknowledge His Presence. The person has a need, you have the answer inside of you!  So when praying for the sick, be confident! He does all the work. 

Side note on April 3rd and 10th, I'm appearing on the tv show "Healing Miracles" on the World Harvest television (WHT). The show airs at 12 am so set your DVR. I pray it will be a blessing to you!

The Reason for Power!!!

This is so good I had to share it. It's by Rick Joyner

The end of this age is going to conclude with the ultimate conflict between good and evil, which will be a supernatural conflict. If we are going to be witnesses of the Almighty, we must have power. Paul wrote this concerning his message:
 

 

     And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom,

     but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith

     should not rest on the wisdom of men,

     but on the power of God (I Corinthians 2:4-5).

 

     For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power

     (I Corinthians 4:20).

 

 

Though the conflict is a power conflict, it is not to prove who is stronger. Even the devil knows that God easily wins that battle. The conflict is to provethe power of good over evil, truth over lies, love over selfishness. This is why the discipline required of anyone who would be used by God is so hard. We are called not only to do the right things, but to do them for the right reasons. The Lord does not just want us able to do His works, but He wants us to do them because we are in full agreement with Him.

 

Motives are crucial because as we read in I Corinthians 13, we can have all knowledge, great prophecy, and even the faith to move mountains, but if we do not have love it does not count! That is why this important chapter on love is placed right in the middle of the greatest exhortation for believers to pursue spiritual gifts.

 

I have heard many say that we should pursue the Giver and not the gifts, but that is actually contrary to the biblical exhortation. One of the ways in which we pursue the Giver is to pursue spiritual gifts. When Jesus walked the earth He demonstrated His spiritual gifts continually, and if we are going to be used to reveal Him, it must be by more than words—it must be by a demonstration of who He is. When His works are manifested through us and we identify with Him in that way, we are drawn closer to Him.

 

There are many ways the Lord could have revealed His power. He could have moved mountains, cursed whole forests so that they instantly wilted, or raised up whole forests instantly. He could have preached His sermons standing on water. One of the reasons why the Lord chose healing as a primary way to demonstrate His power is because healing also demonstrates His love.

 

The main reason the Lord heals is that He does not want people to suffer. He has compassion for the suffering. This is why John G. Lake, who had one of the greatest healing ministries of the twentieth century, would pray for the sick until he felt the compassion of God flow through him for that person. He then knew they were healed. He recognized the healing power of God to be present when he felt His compassion present.

 

There is not a single case in the Bible where someone came to Jesus for healing or deliverance and was rejected. He healed those who did not even thank Him for it, because love does not require appreciation. Love simply does what it can to help others.

 

Because every believer is called to be like the Lord and therefore do the works that He did, it should be the goal of every believer to grow in spiritual authority until everyone who comes to them for healing or deliverance is healed and delivered. To do this we must grow in faith, but even more importantly, we must grow in love. We see in Galatians 5:6 that faith works by love. And we read in I Timothy 1:5, "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith," and in I Corinthians 16:14, "Let all that you do be done in love."

 

 

How would our day be different if we did everything today out of love? If we would begin to live this way, not only would our own lives be infinitely richer, power would also start to flow through us. Love releases God's power because love is the reason for the demonstration of His power. Even so, we do not seek love so we can have power, but we need to seek power so we can demonstrate His love.

 

I have settled in my own heart by the Scriptures that the Lord does want to heal every person who comes to Him for healing, without exception. He wants to heal even if a person does not have perfect motives, or even good motives. He will heal even those who do not intend to serve Him, and will not require someone to give their life to Him before we pray for them to be healed, in accordance to the exhortation of Romans 2:4, "Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" I think those who are pressured into giving their lives to Jesus so that they can be healed usually backslide quickly, but if they are touched by the kindness of the Lord, it will usually work to bring them to true repentance. Even if it doesn't, the Lord simply loves all people, and He will cause His sun to shine on the just and the unjust.

 

The reason so many people do not get healed is possibly because we complicate it too much, and try to require things for God's grace that He does not require. I believe that John G. Lake probably understood God's healing power best—it is the Lord's compassion for us, period.

 

My prayer for you is II Thessalonians 1:11-12:

 

     To this end also we pray for you always that our God may count you worthy

     of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith

     with power; in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,

     and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Part 3 (Evils of this world)

I could write a book on this alone, so this is highly simplified.  Some of it, you’ll have to research on your own.  God created Adam and Eve, and gave dominion of the earth to them ( Genesis 1:28 ).  They sinned, God’s Gifts are without repentance,  He never took dominion back after the original sin.  Mankind’s spirit, was given over to the world of darkness.  The link to God (who is a Spirit) was severed.  However, having dominion over the earth was still retained by mankind. Therefore, God (by His own decree), has to work through mankind, to fulfill His Will.  The devil, has to work through mankind, as well.  I challenge the reader, to find one time in the Old Testament, that God did not work His Will through a person.  Moses had to stretch forth His staff to part the red sea.  Hit the rock three times, for water to come out.  Walk around Jericho everyday for a week and then yell, for it to fall.  Yes, the directive came from God to a person, but the person had to act.  Moses had to command the ten plagues, etc….

The devil  has no power apart from mankind, flesh and blood.  But because mankind’s spirit was turned over to the kingdom of darkness, most of mankind would simply do as the devil commanded.  They had no protection from the devils “fiery darts” of suggestion or possession.  The in-dwelling of Holy Spirit did not happen until Jesus’ resurrection.  In the Old Testament satan, Lucifer and the devil are only mentioned 16 times. In the New Testament 89 times, why? Because until the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit (Being born of the spirit) man had no protection from evil.  The exception was those who the Spirit of God rested upon.  The Biblical hero’s, prophets etc…..Mankind has natural (God given) authority over the earth.  The devil uses that authority to steal, kill and destroy.  This is a point I wish to drive home,  he was the prince of the world, because he could so easily control our actions through our thoughts and for those not In Christ it is the same today.  This is why evil exists and will as long as one person has an unrenewed mind.  We give the devil way to much credit.  Ever wondered why when Jesus cast out legion, they wanted to go into the pigs?  Because flesh and blood pigs has more authority on earth than they do. 

Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”Psalm 19:14Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Matthew 12:34O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. James 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

All of the above verses speak of how what a man believes and speaks, controls the atmosphere around him. There are a thousand such verses in both the Old and New Testaments.

Now, the Father used those He chose, to accomplish His Will. To bring salvation to us! The prophets of Old prophesied for three main reasons, as proof of Himself, as warnings of what is to come, and to speak into existence the person of Jesus into man (who already existed as THE WORD). In Luke 1:20 Zacharias, was struck dumb, because of his unbelief.  Because his words, could have undone God’s plan. Why is Jesus the Son of God and Son of Man? Because only God could fulfill the task at hand. But because of natural (God given Authority) authority only a Son of Man had the authority to fulfill all the miracles, He was to do. Our Messiah had to know the perfect Will of God, and speak only His Perfect Will, for fulfillment of the Mosiac Law, but had to speak from mankind’s authority to have it done. Jesus won back for mankind; spiritual authority (In His Name).

Matthew 16:19

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.

Matthew 28:17-19Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

¹⁷ And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. ¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

In Jesus we now have spiritual authority, we already had authority on earth, but no spiritual authority.  In other words, we had to be given the spiritual authority, by Jesus to loose what is already in Heaven, prosperity, health, healing, all spiritual blessings! And to bind (on earth) what is already bound in Heaven ie…..evil. 

I stated all that to be perfectly clear.  Evil existed before the New Covenant, because mankind’s spirit was dead and we had only earthly authority, without the spiritual authority.  Now, Jesus gave us everything we need to abolish evil off of this planet. The problem……….we don’t use it!! We are deceived into thinking that sickness, disease and death are normal. Research in the Old Covenant Abraham’s death, Jacob’s most of the men of God’s deaths.  Scripture states Gave up the ghost! Jesus gave up the ghost!  Death required our permission!  It still does with the exception of persecution for His Name’s Sake.  Sickness and disease under the New Covenant require our permission as well, but we accept these things by 1) Our speech 2)an un-renewed mind 3)by default 

Our Speech- James 1:7-9

Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

^“7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. ⁸ A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. ⁹ Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:” Romans 8:6”For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Being double-minded is speaking with an  unrenewed mind, a mind not in harmony with God’s Will.  Example “I feel a cold coming”, yet asking for healing. Carnally minded, is to only rely on circumstances the physical world/our earthly authority, to believe that sickness is normal and we can do nothing about it. Sin is normal and we are slaves to the world.

To be spiritually minded is: Colossians 3:2 “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

What is in heaven….God’s Presence/His Spiritual authority is there sickness in heaven……death….evil…..poverty? Then according to Matthew 16:19

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.” We now have the spiritual authority to bind what isn’t in heaven and release what is in heaven.  We need to operate from heaven to earth! Thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!  This is a mind renewed to the Will of God. Things happen when we speak according to what He is speaking.

We speak from what is in our heart: from what we have fed the inner man. To change our speech, we must change what we feed the inner man!!  Just as important we need to yield to Holy Spirit to change us.

Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

Psalm 19:14Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

What does the majority people feed their inner man? We feed our inner man through our senses what we hear, watch, speak and think.  I will stop at this point, the next topic we will talk about; is this and prayer for healing!