one sonic society

God, make a group of artists that are as thirsty for your kingdom as these musicians. Make me one of them, that I may faithfully shine the light to those that are slowly dying around me without you.

Gospel of Signs and Wonders

I stumbled onto this post about Bill Johnson and his book, " When heaven invades Earth." I found it very insightful and very informative. Hope you all get blessed also.

http://puritanbob.blogspot.com/2006/03/gospel-of-signs-and-wonders.html

It is with great sadness that I write this analysis of Bill Johnson’s book, When Heaven Invades Earth. I do pray for him and other pastors who teach these things. I also pray for those in their churches. There are people I love dearly sitting in their pews. Throughout the book and the teachings I’ve heard, there are many things I disagree with (doctrines such as healing in the atonement, the anointing, impartation, dominion theology). Instead of trying to refute every point, I’ve tried to identify some of the more significant errors.

View of Jesus

Bill Johnson plucks John 5:19 out of its context saying of Jesus, “the Son can do nothing.” He basically claims that Jesus laid aside all of His godly attributes and had only human attributes and abilities. In the history of the church, this teaching has been identified as a heresy called kenoticism. Johnson teaches that Jesus was completely powerless needed to be anointed by the Holy Spirit to perform miracles (p79). I found this confusing believing that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one. Johnson also said that “the Holy Spirit revealed the Father to Jesus” (p80). I don’t see this anywhere in Scripture. On the contrary, Jesus asserts, “I and the Father are One” (John 10:30) and also, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (John 14:9-10). Why would Jesus need the Father to be revealed to Him if they are one?
Johnson’s purpose behind this view of Christ is to show that a believer can do everything Jesus did. His reasoning is as follows: Jesus had no sin to separate Him from the Father and He was completely dependent on the Holy Spirit’s power. Since Christ’s sacrifice has removed the barrier of our sin, now nothing separates us, we only have to depend on the Holy Spirit. While it is true that Christ’s sacrifice has sufficiently dealt with our sin, I don’t think He went to the cross so that we could operate in the miraculous but rather because of God’s great justice and mercy. The penalty needed to be paid for our sin. We could never pay it. He paid it for us to reconcile us to Himself. And although I am holy and blameless in His sight, covered in the righteousness of Christ, while I am still in this earthly tent, I am still a sinner. I await the day when I will be in my glorified state but until then I cannot be compared to the sinless Jesus.

View of Suffering

Johnson teaches that a loving Father would not allow His children to suffer. According to him, a good God would not allow sickness for a greater purpose. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, “So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
On page 48 of his book, Bill Johnson uses Hebrews 11 as a summary of faith. He fails to include those who by faith “were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated--” (Hebrews 11: 35-37). Throughout history God’s people have always endured hardship and persecution. A good God is one who upholds and strengthens His own in the midst of suffering so that He is glorified by doing so.

Biblical Interpretation

There are basic rules of interpreting the Bible that I think are very important. For example, verses must be interpreted in their context. We also must understand what message was being conveyed at the specific time and to a specific people. A text can never mean what it never meant…in its original context. (See page 65 and Joshua 1:3). I also have concerns with Bill Johnson’s hermeneutics on a different level. I affirm that we do need the Holy Spirit to reveal the truths of the Bible to us and we do need to lay aside our presuppositions and let God speak to us through His word. But Johnson goes beyond that and places a subjective prophetic word over the straightforward meaning of Bible passages. Of course he would say that the Bible has the ultimate authority but I haven’t seen that principle practiced. The result: (1) relativism - to me this verse means…and (2) a new form of popery - the great Reformation principle of sola scriptura is cast aside and the prophet/teacher’s interpretation is the new standard.

Discernment

One great danger spread throughout this book is the equating of discernment with fear. Bill Johnson is quick to defend himself against those who question his teachings. The apostle Paul commended the Bereans for searching the Scriptures to see if what he said was true. Those who are concerned about being deceived and hesitant to sign on are condemned as full of fear (which is viewed as the worst possible thing). In order not to fall victim to fear, all are encouraged jump in unreservedly.
“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” (Mat 24:24)

The Gospel

My greatest concern with the teaching of Bill Johnson and Bethel Church in Redding is that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are not central to their message. It appears that the cross and the empty tomb are just a means to an end - namely, operating in the miraculous. I fear they may be preaching a different gospel.

“Salvation was not the ultimate goal of Christ’s coming… [The ultimate goal] was to fill each born again person with the Holy Spirit.” (Johnson, p71)

“This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Timothy 1:15)

“The gospel is the story of the Father wooing the hearts of mankind through His love.” (Johnson, p101)
“The present day understanding of preaching the gospel of the Kingdom means to preach a message that will bring as many people to conversion as possible. But what did preaching the kingdom mean to Jesus? Every instance in which He either did it or commanded it, miracles followed.” (Johnson, p185)

Jesus summed up His message with these words: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)

“Through the shedding of His blood, it would be possible for everyone who believed on His name to do as He did and become as He was. This meant then that every true believer would have access to the realm of life that Jesus lived in.” (Johnson, p138)

“…the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

“Without [signs and wonders/miracles], the world suffers, God is grieved, and we are the most to be pitied” (Johnson, p119)
“We are most to be pitied if we think we’ve reached the fullness of what god intended for His Church here on earth.” (Johnson p186)

“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:17-20)


“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-9)

Give Your Life Away

I want to talk to you, [young person]. You’ve learned doctrines of sovereign grace. You read the puritans, congratulations.
I will not lose sleep tonight because people in the world lack self esteem. I will not lose sleep tonight because they’re not having their best life now, or they’re not being all they can be, or their check book is not balanced.
I will lose sleep tonight if I lose sleep tonight because men will stand naked before God and be cast into Hell!
When I preach and when you preach, whether here or the mission field you cannot simply think that you’re just a communicator of truth and you leave it there.
You must preach as a dying man to dying men!

And I see that in Paul. There was a passion. There was an urging. He wasn’t simply satisfied if he preached well, or communicated truth. He longed for God to be honored among men. And he longed for men to be holy, to be Christ like. And to be able to rejoice in the benefit of their great Salvation.
We ought to be a people given to urging our brethren to greater and greater godliness, to greater and greater piety, to abound further and further in love.
He says, “I urge you brethren.” What is he going to urge them to do?
To do the most diffucult, scandalous, and some cases some would say, preposterous thing a person can ever urge a person to do, to give their life away.
Do you know even the devil had it right, in this sense you can take a man’s goods, his houses, his lands, you can do absolutely anything to him, but the moment you touch his flesh is when you’re truly going to test this man. To give away a car, a home, a tithe is a small thing.
But to ask a man to give away his life…
I know there is so much romantic notions about missions but Amy Carmichael, Elizabeth Elliot’s book, is right. Missions is only this an opportunity to die. An opportunity to give your life away for something much larger than yourself, much greater than yourself.
So he is going to ask these people to do what some would consider almost cultic, absurd, ridiculous, immoral, to give their life away, to offer their life!
Now, you’re going to need strong medicine to motivate a person to do something such as this. What on earth or on Heaven could ever motivate a man to give his life away. I’m going to urge you to give your life away to God, to offer it up as a living and holy sacrifice to God. Now I’m going to do so on the basis of the following, the first eleven chapters of this book that outline for you the mercies of God.
And have you decided that you would submit your life to those directives?
You see we talk about being Biblical…
In our worship, have you gone through Scripture to discover what God desires out of worship?
“Well you know we love worship this way”.
I don’t care how you like worship, ‘coz that’s not the point.
What has God said?
You see in this idea we can romance this thing to death. We can spiritualize it to death. Someone says, “Well I’ve given my life to the mission field.” That does not mean at the same time that you have given your heart to God. ‘Coz you can go to the mission field and be godless, and carnal and trite. You’d be better off joining National Geographic than you would a mission agency.
Are you seeking in simplicity to examine your life…
I’m not talking about finding legalistic inferences and forcing them upon yourself. I’m talking about the great principles of Scripture dealing in every aspect of your personal life, applying them to you and seeking to obey them.
Let me ask you a question, If you go to the mission field without taking what I’ve said as a serious endeavor, isn’t there the possibility that the only thing you’re going to do there after you have crossed land and sea is make a convert like yourself that’s nothing more than a two fold son of Hell?
There isn’t a whole lot of American Christianity, folks, that needs to be exported! Unless like (Leonard) Ravenhill says we put it on some kind of a raft and send it off to a lone island and as it’s going off from the dock we all sing the doxology.
If we’re going to endeavor to work in missions then we must be motivated by a God that we know, a Gospel that we know! And we must be a people who have endeavored with great force to examine their lives in the light of Scripture, and conform their lives to what Scripture says!
How much of what you have, even the way you sit in a chair, is formed by those around you and not by Scripture? It’s something to think about.
Well I think if you’re going to be a missionary of any account this is what you must do, stay in your room. Not only pray, but study. So that when you walk out of that room you have something to say about God. And so that you will be able to walk out of that room.
Listen to me! I’ve been there, done that, got the T-shirt! You walk out there in all your zeal in the middle of the plaza and you begin to preach, and you think as a young missionary that angels are going to drop out of Heaven and the Hallelujah chorus is going to be sung, millions of people are going to be converted, they’re going to toss you on their shoulders and build a statue of you!
That’s not going to happen!
What’s going to happen is this, you’re going to go there and you’re going to preach, and you’re going to preach. And when a crowd starts listening to you somebody, somewhere is going to rise up and call you a demon! The entire crowd is going to turn on you. They’re going to grab your little pulpit and your make-shift microphone and all your little tracts and they’re going to throw you out on the street!
It’s going to take a lot more than a romantic zeal for missions to make you get up, pick up your pulpit, your tracts and walk back right in there and preach again!
It’s going to take a passion for God that is created out of knowing Him!
And that’s the same for everything in the Christian life!
—Give Your Life Away, a sermon delivered by Paul Washer at Heritage Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY

In transition- a beautiful song written, on Christ the Rock I stand

The song starts at 2:35.
I found this song on youtube. This is such a beautiful song. I told the person that recorded this to let me know when her album comes out. We're friends on youtube. It's truly amazing how sometimes we feel alone in our faith but.. then through the internet we are encouraged by other fellow brothers and sisters loving God wholeheartedly.

My favorite part of the song:

YOu've got me and we've got hope,
Hallelujah it's our goal though army of darkness,
My joy will not be silenced
So demon of injustice oh, you have been defeated.
In my own death and resurrection I'm redeemed and
Through trial without reason,
I know peace beyond my understanding.

Look again and think

January 27, 2010
Look Again and Think
Do not worry about your life . . . —Matthew 6:25
A warning which needs to be repeated is that "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches," and the lust for other things, will choke out the life of God in us (Matthew 13:22). We are never free from the recurring waves of this invasion. If the frontline of attack is not about clothes and food, it may be about money or the lack of money; or friends or lack of friends; or the line may be drawn over difficult circumstances. It is one steady invasion, and these things will come in like a flood, unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the banner against it.

"I say to you, do not worry about your life . . . ." Our Lord says to be careful only about one thing-our relationship to Him. But our common sense shouts loudly and says, "That is absurd, I must consider how I am going to live, and I must consider what I am going to eat and drink." Jesus says you must not. Beware of allowing yourself to think that He says this while not understanding your circumstances. Jesus Christ knows our circumstances better than we do, and He says we must not think about these things to the point where they become the primary concern of our life. Whenever there are competing concerns in your life, be sure you always put your relationship to God first.

"Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34). How much trouble has begun to threaten you today? What kind of mean little demons have been looking into your life and saying, "What are your plans for next month— or next summer?" Jesus tells us not to worry about any of these things. Look again and think. Keep your mind on the "much more" of your heavenly Father (Matthew 6:30).

-Oswald chambers

Intimacy

God give me, a deep humility,a well-guided zeal, a burning love and a single eye, and then let men or devils do their worst. - george whitefield.

You are Holy

Without God our week will be:
Sinday, Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday, Thirstday, Fightday, Shatterday.
Seven days without god makes one weak!
-Thomas' friend

Thanks Thomas.

Church that is built on the Word and Prayer

WHAT IS PRAYER

1. Prayer is communication with God: Prayer is a privilege given to those who are called children of God through Christ Jesus. Christians are able to fellowship with God through this privilege. Prayer is spiritual communication with God.

Exodus 33:11
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Genesis 18:22-33
The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. [a] 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare [b] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge [c] of all the earth do right?" 26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." 27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it." 29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it." 30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." 31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it." 32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." 33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
John 12:28
28Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again."

2. Prayer is spiritual breathing: We are called to pray without ceasing.

Psalm 116:2
Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
17pray continually
Colossians 4:2
2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Ephesians 6:18
18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

3. Prayer is precious work: It is spiritual laboring.

Matthew 9:37-38
37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Exodus 17:8-16
8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands." 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." 15 Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. 16 He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The [a] LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."
Luke 22:44
44And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Genesis 32:24-25
24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.

4. Prayer is the weapon and method of spiritual warfare.

Ephesians 6:12, 18
12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.









HURDLES TO PRAYER

Those who desire to live a life of prayer must examine themselves to see if there are any hurdles, roadblocks to answered prayer before diving into fervency of prayer.

1. Doubtful heart: Prayer is channel to confessing your faith. To have a doubtful heart is antagonistic to faith, a roadblock to answered prayer.

James 1:6-8
6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Mark 11:23
23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

2. Unrepented sins: Becoming Christian doesn’t mean we are perfected beings so we do at times fall to our sinful nature. However, when we sin, we approach the Lord with sincere heart of repentance and seek His forgiveness. Unrepented sin may not lead to cancellation of our salvation but it will be a stumbling block to answered prayer.

Isaiah 1:15, 59:1-2
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
Psalms 66:18
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

3. Stingy heart: Christians who are living in the grace of God must always desire to have the likeness of His heart. God is not pleased when we ask of Him, and yet do not give to those around us. We must seek to have a heart that is meek and kind. Generous as the Lord is. Those who desire and pray for God’s help and prosperity must live even more so in this manner.

Matthew 25:31-46
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

1 John 3:17
17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
Proverbs 21:13
13 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.

4. Broken relationships with others (heart of unforgiveness): Through the blood of Christ, we have become one with God and with fellow believers. Christians must keep/protect unity. Thus we should not quarrel amongst each other, and if instances should arise, must forgive one another. Quarreling and unforgiveness breaks up relationships and can become hurdles to answered prayer.

Matthew 5;23-24
23"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. 25"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.[
1 Peter 3:7
7Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Matthew 6:15
15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Luke 6:37-38
37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."




5. Wrongful purpose: No matter how hard/fervently we pray, if there is wrong purpose/intent, God will not answer that prayer. Ultimate purpose of prayer is to glorify God who answers prayer. Those who pray should seek after the Holy Spirit’s leading/guidance to rightful purpose/heart for prayer.

James 4:3
3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
John 14:13
13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
1 Corinthians 10:31
31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

6. Idols: People have at least one idol in their life. An idol is someone or something that we consider more precious than God or what we put our faith/confidence in. Christians must get rid of all idols in their lives. Those who pray must rely only upon God and pray unto Him alone.

Exodus 20:4
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
Leviticus 26:1
1 " 'Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.
Psalms 135:15-18
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. 16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see; 17 they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
Ezekiel14:1-3
1 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. 2 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 3 "Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?

7. All things that prevent/interfere with prayer life: Unanswered prayer can simply be because people don’t pray. Therefore those who pray must resolve/rid of things within themselves and those factors externally that interfere and keep us from prayer.

James 4:2
2You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.
Matthew 26:40-43
40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
42He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." 43When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.
Luke 5:15-16
15Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Luke 14:15-24
15When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." 16Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
18"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' 19"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'
20"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' 21"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' 22" 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
14Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15What harmony is there between Christ and Belial[a]? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."[b] 17"Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you."[c] 18"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."[

Church that is built on the Word and Prayer
Pastor Sung Chul Lee, Dallas Central UMC
1/6/10
notes taken by Laura Park

A dark shadow over the world

“Christ’s salvation is of such a kind that it expresses the ultimate reality of guilt and exposes it in all its stark actuality. It exposes it in terms of the wrath of God, but at the same time manifests in the midst of it all the infinite and overwhelming love of God, and enacts the union of God and man in a union and communion that nothing can undo.

In forgiveness Jesus Christ offers himself on behalf of and in the place of the sinner, and the gulf of human sin and guilt is spanned, but in throwing a bridge over the abyss, the depth and breadth of it are made still more evident.

That is why Golgotha casts such a dark shadow over the world. That is why the cross unmasks the inhumanity of man, at once exposing sin and guilt and dealing with them at their worst — in mankind’s ultimate attack upon God in Jesus Christ — and out of the heart of that there come two words that reveal the infinite guilt of humanity and the infinite love of God. ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ ‘Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.’”

—T.F. Torrance, Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ (Paternoster, 2008), 255, 256

Kari Jobe : We cry out

Salvation

God. Thank you for saving me from self destruction. Keep me in your abounding love and grace.

Please have mercy on lady gaga and Kesha and every nonbeliever for without you, they're on their way to eternal death and self destruction.

Please save them and give them the gift of salvation.

"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God
has forgiven the inexcusable in you."
-C.S. Lewis

Sanctification

January 15, 2010
Do You Walk In White?
We were buried with Him . . . that just as Christ was raised from the dead . . . even so we also should walk in newness of life —Romans 6:4
No one experiences complete sanctification without going through a "white funeral"-the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crucial moment of change through death, sanctification will never be more than an elusive dream. There must be a "white funeral," a death with only one resurrection-a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can defeat a life like this. It has oneness with God for only one purpose— to be a witness for Him.

Have you really come to your last days? You have often come to them in your mind, but have you really experienced them? You cannot die or go to your funeral in a mood of excitement. Death means you stop being. You must agree with God and stop being the intensely striving kind of Christian you have been. We avoid the cemetery and continually refuse our own death. It will not happen by striving, but by yielding to death. It is dying— being "baptized into His death" (Romans 6:3 ).

Have you had your "white funeral," or are you piously deceiving your own soul? Has there been a point in your life which you now mark as your last day? Is there a place in your life to which you go back in memory with humility and overwhelming gratitude, so that you can honestly proclaim, "Yes, it was then, at my ’white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God."

"This is the will of God, your sanctification . . ." (1 Thessalonians 4:3 ). Once you truly realize this is God’s will, you will enter into the process of sanctification as a natural response. Are you willing to experience that "white funeral" now? Will you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends on you.

-Oswald chambers

The act of Remembering

"Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you." - Revelation 3:2-3
Waking up physically usually involves turning off my alarm clock. But if I want to wake up spiritually, I've got to remember some things. What should I recall, Lord? Jesus spelled it out for us, just as He did for His church in Sardis. First, we must remember "what [we] received" (Revelation 3:3). What did I receive? Paul asked, "What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" (I Corinthians 4:7). I love stuff that's easy to understand. This is one of those cases. What do you have that you did not receive? The answer doesn't require higher math - it's nothing! Everything that we have fits in the category of received. James 1:17 says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above." What do you have? Everything you can see around you - and the eyes you use to see - you received. Every relationship in your life - husband, wife, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren - received!
So you want to wake up spiritually? "Remember... what [else] you received." You received the Gospel! You received the free gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. How did you get in on it? You’re like, "I don't know. I don’t deserve it. I didn't earn it. It just showed up. He just grabbed me."
Second, we must remember “what [we] . . . heard.” We pray, “Wake me up, Jesus!” How does that happen? By remembering the things that you have received and heard. Revelation 3:3 then adds “Keep it.” “Keep it,” as in put what you know and remember into practice.
You're like, "I haven't been keeping it, James. I know the truth, but I haven’t been living it." Well, your awakening is right there in the text: "repent." Do it right now while you are reading. As the Spirit of God is stirring in your heart, just pray, "I've been wrong. I've been selfish, self-indulgent, and sensual. I've been worldly. I've been distracted. I've been mean-spirited - I've been forgetful!" I don't know exactly what you have been; I just know what I've been. And we need to repent of spiritual deadness: "Sorry, God. I'm wrong; You're right... again."

-James Mcdonald

Does my Sacrifice live?

DOES MY SACRIFICE LIVE?
"And Abraham built an altar . . and bound Isaac his son." Genesis 22:9 This incident is a picture of the blunder we make in thinking that the final thing God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, viz., sacrifice our lives. Not - I am willing to go to death with Thee, but - I am willing to be identified with Thy death so that I may sacrifice my life to God. We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this blunder, and the same discipline goes on in our lives. God nowhere tells us to give up things for the sake of giving them up. He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having - viz., life with Himself. It is a question of loosening the bands that hinder the life, and immediately those bands are loosened by identification with the death of Jesus, we enter into a relationship with God whereby we can sacrifice our lives to Him. It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a "living sacrifice,"  to let Him have all your powers that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus. This is the thing that is acceptable to God. -Oswald Chambers

Here I come, 2010.

So.  Alot has happened since I've posted here. MK, Monica and I went to New York for a little bit.

I was asked by Patrick what was the most memorable moment that I had in New York.  There were alot of things but nothing truly stuck out to me like the time of worship we had all together in NY and bible study we had in NJ. In NY, Mike had a songbook that he clearly hasn't updated for a while since it had some worship songs from the 90s and 2000. We had a time of worship together around 3 in the morning.  Mike busted out his guitar and tried to play some strings and MK played mike's awesome and very expensive ukelele. Even though I had lost my voice due to a cold that came with me to NY, I tried to whisper the lyrics with mk and mon. I felt so at peace and I just wanted to cry! hahaha. It was truly awesome. God was faithful throughout the entire trip.  We were late to the airport, late to the train to NJ, got snowed in, flight got cancelled, MK got yelled at couple of times for videotapping, mon coughed and had sore throat, I had a fever and nearly threw up on the metro, we walked through central park at night, etc etc. God was faithful. We literally had to pray alot every moment that we had. It was truly awesome. It was great to spend time with Mike and also to see Tina, Dave, Helen and meet MK's oh so very talented family also. I guess if I had to put it into words, what this trip would be called, it would be "God is Faithful".

Next big thing that happened...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!
That in itself should explain how wonderful it is!

Jesus Generation Conference:
After Christmas, My sister invited me to a Jesus Generation Conference at a church called Blessed International, located in Anaheim. I personally didn't want to go since it was obviously going to be about signs and wonders and health wealth when walking in glory gospel.  And I was right. The guest speakers were Jerame and Miranda Nelson.  I took notes during the whole seminar so that I can go back to scripture.

During worship, Jerame picked up a stone from the ground and claimed it to be a diamond.  He said that the diamond was one of the stones on the breastplate of the priest in the OT and it represented the tribe of Benjamin.  He also claimed that the Lord had "most" favor on Benjamin and since the diamond fell, God had favor on Blessed and wanted to work mightily during the service.
 I immediately searched through scripture.

Exodus 28
15 "Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions—the work of skilled hands. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 16 It is to be square—a span [a] long and a span wide—and folded double. 17 Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; 18 the second row shall be turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 19 the third row shall be jacinth, agate and amethyst; 20 the fourth row shall be topaz, onyx and jasper. [b] Mount them in gold filigree settings. 21 There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

There was no diamond. (I checked again when I got home and found out that other translations had diamond)

Next thing I wrote in my notes was: Tribe of Benjamin = diamond?

The scary thing was as Miranda spoke, she mixed in truth with the lies.  Very keen and decieving. She mentioned some scriptures in their correct context but others she did not.

She mentioned things similar to Bill Johnson saying, " Are you made untouchable when you obey the Lord? His Glory will be revealed on YOU.  If you let God arise in you, poverty will vanish.  Things have to go.  Kingdom of God is coming to earth and you have to release it.  She stated (using Shadrach, Meeshach, Abendego) that, " every form of enemy could not touch them because they had a fire inside them." " We are made to be signs of God."  He wants you to walk in good health and in prosperity.  You don't have to accept sickness.  You don't have to recieve attacks.  We must be so on fire, that we do not compromise.  You rebuke the sickness by not cursing but blessing."  If you walk in the fruits of the holy spirit, good things start happening to you.  God wants to use you as a sign and wonder."

Obviously, all this is false.  I got the gest of the message where it's about walking in holiness and attaining the fruits of the holy spirit, but clearly, there is many many many false teachings in there. Sucks for people who are sick, and they're told it's because they don't have the fire or it's cuz they have a sin or they don't have the fruits of the HS. Bill Johnson was sick this passed year from a hernia. I wonder if he thought, " Maybe it's because the glory of God left or if it's because I've sinned against the Lord... etc. It's devastating to hear people ask,  "Do I have this sickness because of a sin I've committed? or Do I not have enough faith and that's why God's choosing not to heal me? or Is it my fault that I'm still sick?"

BILL JOHNSON IS SICK!

Clearly, the story of JOB is evidence that it's not because of any of those things. It happens cuz it happens. Sometimes it's something we reap because of our actions, but it's clearly not ALWAYS because someone sinned that they're being punished.

So after the conference was over and everyone got prayed over by these two guest speakers, I told my sister how much they're twisted the word of God and how I couldn't find a correlation between diamond and tribe of benjamin and also diamond on the priestly garment. She told me to talk to them and so I asked them.

I've asked Where is it in the Bible?, Show me in the bible, Where is it? like 10x. (i'm overexaggerating)  Jerame: "That's a very good question."
Jerame could not answer me but told me to look it up online typing benjamin and diamond on google and that I probably had the wrong translation. (He was right about the wrong translation.) Miranda pushed Jerame slightly to usher him to leave the room while I was standing in front of them with my bible open.

I wished I had a tape recorder.

So to make the long story short, Diamond does not represent Tribe of Benjamin, it's Amethyst. I haven't found anything using google on the tribe of benjamin being God's favorite.

I pray for the people at Blessed International Fellowship. God please give them discernment. Help them uphold the word of God above their personal experiences.