Recognizing Spiritual Abuse

Years ago after becoming a new Christian, I found myself in a very precarious situation. I had followed some of my friends into a church that by all appearances seemed like a normal everyday Christian church but behind closed doors, it started to become very controlling towards its members. The leadership was on fire. We were there every day pressing in, hitting the streets, and we were all very close to each other. Most of us had come out of another failed ministry in which the leader had gotten involved in an immoral affair with another member. We were ready to continue to seek God with all of our hearts under strong leadership.

At first glance, the small changes or requests from leadership were not noticeable. They wanted us to be more committed to being at church. Ok, no big deal. I was there almost every day. Then came the sermons about how "special" we were as a church, and a movement. We warned about the "other" churches, and how we should not associate with people from the "outside" unless we had permission from the Pastor. After all, he was the overseer of our souls and had our best interest in mind. He didn't want us to stray so the music we were listening to had to be approved. Many people just threw away their TV's, and soon everyone was asking the Pastor what they could or could not do. They even had to get permission who they should date or marry. To make matters worse I was living with the people from the church, and now they knew my every movement 24/7. I once had a friend visit me, and I was rebuked by the church members that we were not to be in fellowship with people who did not attend our church. I was troubled. What was more disconcerting was the fact that strife was breaking out in a church that was so dedicated to God. I never felt so far from God in my life. I couldn't understand how I could be in church every day, and feel so far from Him. I had been caught up in legalism and not doing things out of love but out of duty. I was even told that women could not be evangelists. For years I never told a soul about Jesus. How tragic to believe such a lie.

Then one day I went to hug one of my closest friends at church. He moved away from me to avoid my hug. I thought he was playing so I attempted to hug him again. He informed me that while I was gone the Pastor had forbidden any hugging in church. I was stunned. It was then that I realized how much control the Pastor had over the church. One Sunday some church members that had been gone awhile took me aside and warned me about the Pastor. Every sign of a cult leader was beginning to emerge. I knew what they were telling me was true but I felt stuck and didn't want to leave my friends. The control and manipulation continued until one day I literally threw all of my clothes in a plastic bag and ran away in the middle of the night.




My dear friend, if you are in a similar situation or if this sounds familiar to you please note the following:

1. The Holy Spirit does not control. He leads. Be careful when anyone uses scripture to get you to obey them unconditionally or without question or uses submission as a form of manipulation. There's a difference between obeying God and man. God never forces His will on people. He wants us to obey Him out of love, not fear. Reverence and fear are different. Fear has torment.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Romans 8:14
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

2. The Holy Spirit will never lead anyone to violate their own personal boundaries, conscience, ethics or morality. Nor will God lead anyone to cover up for someone else's sin.
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5:11

3. The Holy Spirit will never lead you to ignore your wife and children over the ministry. You must give equal time to your family; they are your first ministry. If you are being asked to put the needs of the church above your family's needs then there is spiritual abuse in leadership.

This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 1 Timothy 3:1-5

4. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. If the Pastor is correcting you from the pulpit in front everyone then he is operating in the flesh and abusing his authority. Holy Spirit will not condemn us from the pulpit, nor will He shame us, embarrass us or belittle us. He will not abuse us verbally or threaten us. If anyone is doing this in your life then leave that situation until there has been genuine fruit and repentance. Realize this is manipulation and control. This does not apply to someone in a state of apostasy. If you are in unrepentant sin make

sure your sin will find you out and the Holy Spirit will correct you openly.And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: John 16:8

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1

5. The Holy Spirit will not tell you to separate yourself from the people you love. He will tell you to separate yourself from their sin. He will not lead you into isolation unless it is for fasting and praying. If you are being told not to talk to anyone outside your fellowship, church or group...run for the hills! If your leader is bad-mouthing others or making racial or inappropriate statements about others then they are not walking in love. Their heart is full of darkness. Also, be careful if a leader turns members against each other by playing favorites. Our loyalty should only be to Christ.

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 1 Corinthians 1:10

He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in darkness until now. 1 John 2:9

6. The Holy Spirit does not have an exclusive club. He has poured out His Spirit on all flesh. Anyone that claims they have a special revelation from God is in pride. We all have equal access to God. Be careful when a person starts to make you feel inferior or incapable of hearing God for yourself or causing to question your ability to live for God outside their help and making you believe that he only anoints a certain class of people. The Holy Spirit poured himself into ALL flesh. God has ordained you, anointed you, commissioned you and empowered you. You don't need the permission of men to do what God has already commanded you to do. Neither do you need the permission of men to move in what the Holy Spirit is telling you! Yes, we need accountability and we need to have reverence towards God's leaders but never at the expense of obeying God!

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams." Acts 2:17

7. The Holy Spirit does not use prophecy to direct your every step. You have the mind of Christ. If you are His sheep then you hear His voice. Be careful not to become dependent upon others to hear from God for you. This is very dangerous! Many cults have been formed from supposed revelations that no one else can hear or see but them. Prophecy or spiritual gifts are no indication of whether you should trust someone. Evaluate their moral character and watch for the fruit of the Spirit in their life. Especially the fruit of love.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
John 10:27

8. The Holy Spirit is not involved in fear-mongering to get you to obey Him. We obey God because we love Him. If someone is telling you that you will be cursed if you leave their ministry or group then you know for sure that it is time to leave and not look back. Placing curses on others because you don't obey them unconditionally is witchcraft and the spirit of Jezebel.

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. John 15:10

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18

9. We follow Jesus in men and submit to God in one another. The key to submission is being submitted to God. Once the man stops following God, we stop following that man.
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1

10. We are called to serve God not men. If a man is treating you like his personal servant then realize that the man is only interested in you as long as you are serving his personal vision. God's called us to build His Kingdom not the kingdom of men. Some of us our serving men instead of God. Jesus should be the only one sitting on the throne of your heart.

“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Luke 16:13

11. The Holy Spirit never directs people to give and put themselves in debt. It is contrary to the principles of God's Word. Prophecy should not be used to direct people to how much, when, and where they should give. This is witchcraft.

Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge,
One of those who is surety for debts;
27 If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he take away your bed from under you? Proverbs 22:26-27

12. Lastly, stop treating preachers like movie stars. They are only elected officials that God appointed to help you grow, teach you, equip you, and send you to do the work of the ministry. Learn to separate the gift or talent from the man. You will not be disappointed this way or deceived.

"Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away." 1 Peter 5:2-4

Before everyone goes running off and leaving the church... please remember to do the following:

1. Pray for your leaders. God much rather keep the church family together if possible unless there is known sexual immorality, moral failure, and or outright spiritual abuse.

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Galatians 6:1

2. Try to bring correction by using bible model. Two or three witnesses must go to leadership in the spirit of humility to talk about the church's concerns.

“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector." Matthew 18:15-17

Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. 20 Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. 1 Timothy 5:19-20

3. In extreme cases please warn those around you. In other words, don't jump ship, and not let others know the ship is sinking. This happened to me one time. I was attending a church that was heading towards a shipwreck and instead of people warning the remaining survivors they just started to disappear. That hurt me more than the moral failure of the Pastor because the other people in leadership knew but didn't bother to warn us.

This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck.
1 Timothy 1:18-19

Please know that you are not alone.

http://www.jazizgutierrez.com
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Strange Things In The Bible

The following are headlines ripped from biblical history and put into today’s thinking.

All throughout church history men and women have defied science, logic and reasoning. Jesus was accused of working miracles by the power of Satan. He was accused of blasphemy and considered dangerous to the religious church of his day. What’s surprising about all of this is that we haven’t learned from history. God still moves in strange ways. Just because it's never been done before doesn't mean it's not from God. As you can see from the below list, some of the things done then were done for the first time. If anything I hope you get a good laugh as we explore the strange things done in the bible.

CPS is called in concerns with a man hearing a voice to take his only son and sacrifice him. He later tells authorities that an angel stopped him so no harm came to the young man. Genesis 22:9-12 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

Ex-Murderer and fugitive claims that an angel appeared in a burning bush and told him to lead the nation. Voter confidence is at a all time low. Exodus 3:2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

Donkey?! What the Shrek! Man of the cloth is caught delivering "intel" to politician. He claims  he was stopped when his donkey spoke to him and he saw an angel with sword drawn in hand. Numbers 22:28-32 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!” 30 So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.” 31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 32 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.

Judge Judy has nothing on this judge turned war hero. Commander of army refuses to go to battle without Judge. Controversy continues: Should women be involved in the military?
Judges 4:4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 Then she sent and called for Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not the LORD God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; 7 and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand’?” 8 And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!”

King shamelessly dances in the streets in national festivities; wife is disgusted with his lack of discretion. Even his colleagues were troubled by his ballet performance. 
2 Samuel 6:14-16, 20 Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. 16 Now as the ark of the LORD came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. 20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!”

Man that says he is a prophet; lays over the top of a dead boy. Village calls local authorities in fears that child was not getting medical attention. Mom says she invited the prophet to raise her son from the dead when he died of a sudden illness. 2 Kings 4:32-34
When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. 33 He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. 34 And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm.

Man gathers crowd and walks around city for 6 days. Neighbors say it was the loud noise and trumpets that brought the walls down. Authorities are looking into charging the group with destruction of city property. Joshua 6:2-5
And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. 3 You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. 4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”

Mad prophet warns of future doom by cooking his food over cow dung. Ezekiel 4:13-15
Then the LORD said, “So shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.” 14 So I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has abominable flesh ever come into my mouth.” 15 Then He said to me, “See, I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste, and you shall prepare your bread over it.”

Extraterrestrial sighting by local churchgoer turns out to be angelic visitors of a heavenly realm. Could this be God’s chariot? Ezekiel 10:10-13
As for their appearance, all four looked alike—as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 11 When they went, they went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction the head was facing. They did not turn aside when they went. 12 And their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were full of eyes all around. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, “Wheel.”

Nice church man marries a prostitute in effort to show nation how they have departed from God. Religious leaders are not convinced. Hosea 1:2
When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea:

“ Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry

And children of harlotry,

For the land has committed great harlotry

By departing from the LORD.”

Religious leaders conspiracy plot to kill Man of God for healing the sick and for disturbing church services. Mark 3:1-6
 And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” 4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him

A real fish tale: Church member pay his taxes with coin in fish’s mouth. Matthew 17:27 Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”

Fish and Game were called to a lake after small vessel was reported going over legal catch limit. Fishermen claim no responsibility to the incident because they claimed that a preacher told them to do it. Other parties involved are still being sought for questioning.  Luke 5:4-8

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵ But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” ⁶ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. ⁷ So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

Preacher spits in man’s eyes and he is healed of blindness. Officials are called in to stop medical quackery! Mark 8:23

So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. 24 And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.” 25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

Unmarried couple claim that an angel appeared to them to announce that they would have a virgin birth. Luke 1:26-31
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.

Virgin gives birth to baby boy in a farm house and is showered by expensive gifts by Astrological society. Local shepherds hear hosts of angels singing on the same night. Luke 2:13-16
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “ Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

Farmers are angered by Man of God who healed a man with Bi-Polar and Multiple Personality Disorder. They say he cast demons out of the man which caused their pigs to run and drown. Local city and religious leaders are questioning their story. Luke 8:32-34
Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. 34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.

ATF was called to a wedding party because witnesses claim that a man ordered hired help to fill wine bottles using ordinary tap water.  They don't know how but the water was turned into the most delicious kosher wine they ever had.  The show "Shark Tank" is looking into securing a patent deal from the Maker. John 2:8-10  And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. ⁹ When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. ¹⁰ And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

Crowds mock church members after they appear drunk and they are heard speaking in tongues not taught to them. Acts 2:11-14

Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” 13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

Angel appears to Jesus follower and helps him make a prison break. Friends are startled by his visit and prison authorities are questioned on their security breach.Acts 12:6,7
And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands.

Long sermon kills a man that falls from window but church revival services continue until dawn. Man is later brought to life after minister first has his breakfast.Acts 20:9-12
And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” 11 Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. 12 And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.

Move over Nostradamus man serving life sentence in Patmos Penitentiary claims to have seen End of the World and Apocalyptic World Events. He foretells of widespread violence, food scarcity and hard economic times. Psychiatric team has been called.  Revelations 6:3-8
When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.”  ⁴ Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. ⁵ When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” ⁷ When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” ⁸ So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.  

Jesus freaks see visions, have dreams, hear voices from heaven, work miracles, fall into trances and even heal the sick with their shadow. Religious community has determined that this movement is not from God and just like their cult leader Jesus you are being warned to stay away from their meetings. Acts 9:10-12
Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. 12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”

Acts 10:9-16 The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. 10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.

Acts 9:3-5 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Acts 14:2-3 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren. 3 Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

Written by Jaziz Gutierrez Not to be taken or edited for other uses. Copyright 2008

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Jaziz Gutierrez
http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com

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Go: The Apostolic Mandate

I saw the front doors of the church open with light piercing the gloom. I heard God say to me only those who obey the Apostolic mandate of this hour will be able to keep their doors open and those who don't will struggle until they finally close their doors. What is this Apostolic mandate? If you look at the parable of the last supper Luke 14:15-24 The King had sent out an invitation and many had made excuses not to come to his supper. So he sent his servants to invite those who had yet not been invited.
Luke 14:22-24 And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' 23 Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.'"
Here are the three specifics of this last days mandate:
Only those who GO will know the supernatural demonstration of My Spirit. As you go out in power in boldness I will confirm my word through signs and wonders. Highways and Hedges  are those places my church has neglected such as the inner cities, city streets, prisons, hospitals, convalescent homes and the like. It is time for my church to go where it hasn't gone before; even the furthest corners of the earth. Compel is the urgency of heaven to fill My house. So fill My house; don't worry about what they look like, what they smell like or what they do; for I will raise a great and mighty army out of these. Even now I myself have been visiting those in prisons, in bars, in their rooms and even in those dark places. Why? I've had to go myself because you have not been obedient to GO.

If you find this article helpful or would like to leave a comment or visit our website:
Jaziz Gutierrez
http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com

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Doomsday Determinism

In the last few years we have heard all the doomsday predictions regarding this year and probably seen the movie 2012.  With the economy on a collision course with disaster and strange signs happening everyday it is not hard to imagine why so many people are stock piling weapons and food.  There is a strange anticipation that all things are coming to a conclusion…but are they?  There is also a common underlying mindset that we are only part of some predetermined events that cannot be changed and that these events will bring this whole world to a disastrous end in which we can only be spectators.  I will call this fatalistic determinism.

Determinism is humanistic philosophy that every event, including human cognition and behavior, decision and action, is causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences.  Fatalism is the philosophy that free will does not exist, meaning therefore, that history has progressed in the only manner possible.  Is also the belief that actions are free, but nevertheless work toward an inevitable end, which believes that acceptance is appropriate, rather than resistance against inevitability.  When taking an in-depth look at these philosophies nobody would ever admit to thinking in such a manner.  The truth is that these humanistic philosophies have been cleverly disguised behind end time doctrines.

What emerges then is the feeling of why should we pray, or do anything since it is all coming to an end anyway.  It also gives rise to feelings of apathy, lethargy and pessimism.  As people get focused on all the possible disaster scenarios, fear sets in, making the future look so bleak that faith gets pushed out of any conversation.  After all, what can our efforts do if God has already written the final chapters of our lives here on earth?  Maybe the there are some of us who may be secretly delighting ourselves in the final destruction of our enemies since we have our own escape plan in place.

In many ways this generation has been like the prophet Jonah; unwilling to tell our enemies that they will be destroyed unless they repent and unwilling to see God extend mercy to people we feel are deserving of His wrath.  Many of us see the story of Jonah as a fish tale when actually it an enduring lesson of God’s mercy and sovereignty.  It teaches us that even though God had scheduled Nineveh for destruction he had the power and right to relent of his anger.  In God’s great mercy He sent an unwilling prophet to preach the message of repentance.  Jonah went through tremendous discipline because of his rebellion to God’s cause.  To Jonah’s chagrin the people of Nineveh repented which upset him tremendously.  But the LORD said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. ¹¹ And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?” Jonah 4:10-11  In other words, Jonah, why are you upset that I decided to extend the lives of a people who don’t know me. 

In a similar way God is speaking to us about His ability to extend our lives here on earth.  Think about it if EDD and the IRS can grant an extension to whomever they will, how much more can God do this for us here on earth.  Then God saw their works that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. Jonah 3:10  No matter who prophesies disaster God can change his mind.  He doesn’t even care that Jonah looked bad in the end.  It didn’t mean Jonah was a false prophet it just meant God has the right to give anyone an extension as long as they meet His criteria.  His criterion is always repentance.  Look at the king Hezekiah.  In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’”2 Kings 20:1  So what did Hezekiah do?  He turned His face to the wall and prayed.  The Lord extended his life 15 years.

Some of us may feel limited by our economic and governmental state but remember that God chose Jesus to be born during the Roman occupation.  The Jews were heavily taxed and under tremendous economic strain.  They had no freedom except what was granted to them by the government.  It was also during the Roman occupation that the greatest outpouring of God’s presence poured out on Pentecost.  God is not limited by earthly government, economic crisis or disaster scenarios.  He is sovereign.  He will raise up Josephs and set them up in government positions during a famine to preserve a people.  He will bring an Esther to influence the highest person in government to keep His people from being destroyed.  Even in captivity he will set up a Daniel to speak to governmental leaders.  God will always deliver and preserve His people.

While in time of prayer and fasting the Lord gave me a vision of soil that had been turned over. The dirt was dark and fertile from being worked.  Out of the dirt I could see green tender shoots growing out of the ground.  The Lord showed me that the very thing that has been meant to oppress America can be the very catalyst for a great revival.  Why?  In our poverty we can now receive the riches of heaven.  In our natural hunger we can now become spiritually hungry.  In our brokenness we can now receive the comfort of our God.  In our humility we can now seek God’s greatness.  America has long lost her attractiveness to God but in this season He is busy working the fields of her heart by uprooting the idolatry of materialism, self, immorality and self righteousness.  God has a plan for this nation and it is of good not of evil.  Why would Jesus pay such a great price and allow the souls of this nation to go to hell in a hand basket?

Which brings me to the question at hand, will it all end in ( insert the latest doomsday date)?  This is the same question that disciples asked Jesus on the Mount of Olives.  The disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will all these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3  After this Jesus gives them the usual end time scenarios.  He who endures to the end shall be saved Jesus explains but still one more thing must be done for the end to come.¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.  Oh wait, the gospel must be preached first?  Yes.  How do we know that all this testing is only preparation for the greatest harvest ever?  It would only make sense that God would want the sacrifice the Jesus to bring in the maximum amount people into His kingdom.  That would make Him the winner over the devil wouldn’t it?  I’m praying that faith is now stomping out all fear in your heart.  Remember we are on the ark of God not in the waters of judgment waiting to get washed away.  Noah preached to several generations of people “Get on the boat people, a flood is coming.” There he was day after day working on God’s plan of salvation and he never gave up until the hand of the Lord shut the ark door.  How much more shall we who are heirs of salvation be diligently preaching “Get on the boat this world’s judgment is coming but you can be saved.” Can we not be like Abraham and plead for God’s mercy over Sodom?  We must remember that, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”  Let us now declare a different outcome over the future of America…all things are possible to those who believe.  Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him— A grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your God? Joel 2:14

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