Experience over Sound Doctrine

I've noticed a trend in the church today. A trend that has had dire consequences to those who have chosen to move away from the elementary teachings of Christ. Many have fallen away from the truth. In an effort to become relevant the church has changed and removed any terminology that they may consider offensive or non accepting. Some  have gone as far as accept sinful practices in efforts to boost membership and come off less judgmental but at what price? In churches that have chosen to share or spin a more positive gospel have blossomed over the years leaving a remnant of churches who refuse to water down anything to struggle in the shadow of these megachurches. In all honesty there is no way of knowing what the these Christians are doing behind closed doors. There is no accountability or close personal relationships in these megachurches. Some are like attending a Christian concert. More and more the cross diminishes in the flood lights and smoke machines as masses are taken up with the new superstars of Christendom.

Even in prophetic circles the words given are only positive rarely exposing areas that God wants to deal with or bring conviction. Meetings have been given over to experience rather than biblical sound doctrine. Widely accepted practices that are not in the bible are rarely questioned. Instead of hearing about what was preached about from God's Word many Christians come back from their meetings boasting from their latest experience. Sadly, we have become experience oriented instead of biblical oriented. What I mean is that we have exalted experience over soundness of God's Word. This imbalance  is what James talks about. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. Deception comes when we stay out of God's Word and forget that our purpose is to become like Him.

We need to become like Him so the world may want Him. The truth is people want Jesus not us. Our flesh is a joke. We can only hide our awful attitudes and motives for so long before someone notices that we aren't like Jesus at all. Our marriage, family and finances are more of a witness to this world than raising the dead. The gifts of the spirit are awesome but without the character of Christ we will be left pleading with God like the people in Matthew 7:21-23 Lord, Lord didn't we in your name? God is more interested in us being more like Him than ministering for him. We are the ones who want to minister for Him. After all, who doesn't want to be the next Christian superstar for Jesus? What if God called you to total obscurity would you still minister for Him? Would you be content working a regular job and just ministering for Jesus in the market place?

I'm afraid we have enticed the masses and set up schools for ministry just so people can think that one day they too can have a mega ministry and never have to worry about their finances again. It has become a lucrative business. The truth is, most Christians don't even know their bible or what they are supposed to be doing with their lives. Some sell all they have, just to do what they could have done back at home, with time spent with the Holy Spirit. I think deep inside we want somebody to approve us so we can feel credible and legitimate but a piece of paper will never do that. It is the power of God that makes us credible to this world but not without the character to back it up.

The other day I was crying out to God and saying, "I just want to know your heart and mind." While time spent in worship brings revelation of who God is; I also need the correction of the bible to keep me rooted and grounded. Think of a balloon. The things of the spirit are like the balloon and character like the string that keeps it from floating away. God's hand has to firmly keep us from getting into absurd nonsense that has nothing to do with God's mission or purpose. If the manifestation has no exhortation, edification or comfort it has no place in the meetings. Drunkenness in the Holy Spirit should be accompanied with boldness to preach and do something for God not so you can have a laughing party. If you haven't noticed Jesus spent most of His time teaching and preaching as compared to walking in power. Without proper teaching God's church can get into error. We have the Corinthian church as a prime example of people who walked in power but had issues with sin, had meetings that were totally out of order and favored spiritual gifts over love.

One last thing, a real move of God will never steer you away from the bible. Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." How did He fulfill it? By obeying it in love. Love is our ultimate act of obedience. There is a reason the love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13 is in the middle of 12 and 14. Love and God's Word must be in the center of any spiritual gift we practice or any church meeting we have.  Real revival must always move us towards God's Word. In the most beautiful revival ever recorded in biblical history and eight year old discovers this key in the following passage. Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. ¹² Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, ¹³ “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” 2 Kings 22:11-13 Revival never moves away from God's word.

Jesus walked in revival and he never toned down his message, never tried to become relevant, he never went to bible college, or got the approval of men. He lived to love. His life matched His message and the power He walked in was proof that God had sent him. In order to walk like Him we must also take heed to message, method, character, and motive. Revival is sustained in this way.  Beware of any so called movement that encourages you to move away from Christ's teachings or biblical foundational truths. It will never end well. I don't care what kind of results you think you are getting, how many people you think you are helping or how many people are attending. These are not indicators of God's approval on your ministry. The cross of Christ and the call to deny ourselves must never cease from church teachings. To do so will only breed Christians who are fleshly and full of self. Self is the most hideous attributes of humanity. You can never love others if you are full of self. It's root of every kind of sin. It is up to us to pick up the cross everyday as we look to Him the author and finisher of our faith. Amen.

Jaziz Gutierrez
http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com

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Idolatry of False Comfort

And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, John 14:16

The greatest gift Jesus gave to humanity besides salvation, was leaving us the unfailing friend we have in the Holy Spirit. He is essentially the loving arms of the Godhead. In our darkest moments, he lovingly embraces our hearts and whispers the promise of a better tomorrow. When we lift up our eyes to the One from which our help comes from; He immediately comes to help. He is our helper. No matter what the situation or circumstance he navigates our course if we willfully, and humbly ask. A moment in His presence is more than a lifetime of church services, counseling appointments or well-meaning advice. One word from God can bring light to darkness and is able to change our lives. Even now He hovers over the dark waters of the deep waiting for us to speak. The Holy Spirit is the healing oil of heaven, and no matter how broken we are, He is able to restore our souls. 

When Jacob wrestled with God after stealing the birthright from Esau his brother, he was visited by God. He named that place Bethel. Bethel became a place of visitation. "And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone." Genesis 35:2 Here is what God spoke to my heart this morning. "If you want to truly be comforted you must put away the idols of false comfort." Eating isn't a sin but if you do it for comfort then it becomes an idol in which you replace the Holy Spirit with something else. This is true of drinking, gaming, sex, drugs, entertainment, pornography, relationships, and etc. Drugs are chemical substances that affect the processes of the mind or body. Drugs alter our minds but God wants to be the one who alters our hearts and minds. I purposely spelled it "altar" because he wants to be on the throne of our hearts. He doesn't want other things to cloud our judgment. He wants to be the one who makes the modifications to our thought processes. He can't do that if there are chemicals in our bodies that are affecting how we think or feel. The question is, what are we running to when we are hurting? What are we consoling ourselves with? Who do we go to in our day of trouble? Let's face it we will all fail at some point but if we fall; let us fall forward into the arms of God. If you do that He will always catch you, just don't run from the only person who is able to help you. Let us struggle no longer. No more running. No more false comfort. No more turning to empty things. We must learn to fast and pray in our times of desperation. 

Can you imagine how we make the true Comforter feel when we get our comfort from other sources? This essentially is breaking the first commandment. We cannot have any other gods before Him. Jacob knew that he could not visit Bethel with idols. That's why so many of us can't seem to get a breakthrough or have the kind of relationship we want with God. Our days are spent void of His presence. We must purify ourselves, and take off the garments of old patterns and mindsets that are keeping us stuck in old behaviors. We can fill our shelves with self-help books or allow the helper to pull us up to our rightful place in Christ. We always fight from a place of victory. We are seated in heavenly places. The lie that it will take a lifetime to correct our course isn't biblical. We all think that but it did not take long after Jacob fled that God visited him. We are under a better covenant. 
And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.
For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,
As the Lord has said,
Among the remnant whom the Lord calls. Joel 2:32

I would like to personally ask my kind friend the Holy Spirit to forgive me for all the times I have gone to other things including people, for help, comfort, and guidance. I ask you Holy Spirit to be my comforter, guide, friend and lead me into all truth. Strengthen me and break off all the idols of false comfort in Jesus name. If this ministered to your heart let me know. Remember, you are loved.    

If you find this article helpful or would like to donate to our ministry please do so on our home page by visiting our website:

Jaziz Gutierrez

Official Website: http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com

Facebook: School Of Impartation and Living

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYxASZLjwhGePvTG27ZRKAg

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Broken Cisterns

Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 “Is Israel a servant? Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered? Jeremiah 2:12-14

The word of the Lord came to me last night during our meeting. There are two travesties (absurd or distorted representations) happening in the church. The first travesty is that the people of God cannot hold the living water of God's presence in their life because of brokenness. The second is the world is going thirsty because of it.

I always hear the anguish of leaders wondering why people don't come to church any more. Ever hear of the expression "it holds no water?" It means that what is being said holds no credibility, isn't reliable or strong enough to hold the weight of truth. This has been the American church. It has lost all credibility because it has been just as lost as the world. I continually run into Christians who are suicidal, on medications, addicted, struggling, and can not seem to hold the water of God's presence in their life.

Verse 14 asks the question are you a servant or a slave? A servant willingly serves. A slave is in bondage. There is a marked difference. We are supposed to be servants of the Lord but many Christians are slaves to sin, compromise, and carnality. They aren't walking in freedom. You can usually tell by how people worship. They can't even lift up their heads, hands, eyes or even their bodies off the pews. They sit oppressed day after day being beat up by the devil. Don't get me wrong in a fight we may get knocked down once in awhile but we get up. It's when we live down that there is a problem. When we never live in victory, and walk defeated in our every day lives.

The question then is followed up by this one...why are we plundered? This word plundered is used in times of war when the enemy has taken valuable and treasured items by stealing, stripping, ravaging, seizing, in acts of hostile force. In today's terms: Why are we getting ripped off? The answer is simply because we have forsaken the fountain of living waters. We have been drinking from another source. We have been sitting at the table of the devil, and partaking of his dainties instead of taking up the cup of Jesus which is; not my will thy will. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. 

1 Corinthians 10:21

There is only one way to live. We are the ones that need to be plundering hell and not the other way around. 

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12

I have good news for all of you who have had enough of being plundered. All we need to do is push away from the table of demons by taking up the cup of the Lord. It is a cup that is bitter at first as we deny ourselves, take up our cross to follow him but then becomes sweet as the fountain of living waters continually supplies us with love, joy and peace. I read the end of the book and it is the ones who are washed with that precious blood and keep their robes clean without spot, wrinkle or blemish that will have their great reward. Allow God to wipe away those tears, free you from oppression and fill you with His love.  

“These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelations 7:14-17

If you find this article helpful or would like to donate to our ministry please do so on our home page by visiting our website:

Jaziz Gutierrez

Official Website: http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com

Facebook: School Of Impartation and Living

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYxASZLjwhGePvTG27ZRKAg

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Paradigm Shift Ahead

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
2 Corinthians 4:6-7

God is going to take His people through a paradigm shift. To better understand this let's look at the word paradigm. It is a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions about how we do church or live as believers. Shift means to change course of direction or move from one place to another. God is going to change our direction and move us to a higher level of operation by changing our approach and fundamental mindsets. For years people have been talking about getting rid of the old wine skin. It's sounds really spiritual but what does this really mean? It means simply that God is going to remove the old mindsets, traditions of men, and religious methods that are quenching God's power. He is going to do this so He can pour in fresh revelations of who He is and new ways of approaching the world around us. 

We can not remain stuck in the old and expect to reach this generation. We must come out of our old season to embrace the full potential of who we are in Him. Quoting scriptures about it and just talking about it will not be enough. We have to start walking into new levels of God's power and not be threatened or jealous of those who are doing it. Don't be afraid of what you don't understand. Seek the counsel of the Holy Spirit and don't let fear keep you from all that God has. Also, remember that God wants to do this for one reason and one reason only...Harvest!

Jaziz Gutierrez
http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com

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Forgive, Forget and Press On

It is January 1st and we are all eager to get a fresh start on the New Year. It is a day like any other but somehow we see it as an opportunity to make some necessary changes, and a time to carry out some much needed resolutions. A majority of us will make some resolutions which we won't keep. Some of us will actually succeed and carry them out. However, if you really want to move forward but are feeling stuck, here are some biblical principles that will help you truly move into all God has for you in this next year:

Forgive

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
Mark 11:25

As a minister and counselor, I can't tell you the many calls I get from people who have not been able to move forward into all that God has for them because they overlook this very simple principle. Forgiveness is not optional; especially not as a Christian. It is also not automatic. It is something we have  to decide for ourselves. God can't do it for us. As you can see from the scripture above, if you don't forgive, neither will God forgive you. You may pray and pray until your knees are raw but your prayers will not be heard until you forgive others. You may also have others pray for you but their prayers will also fall to the way side until you have relented in your anger and hurt towards others.

In case you think you might have forgiven all the people you can possible think of; here are two overlooked areas: God and yourself. Yes those count too! You wouldn't believe how many people have grudges against God. I once saw a homeless man who begged for prayer. As I began to pray he interrupted me and said, "I can't forgive God because my wife died in a car accident!" He then got angry and walked away. He was unable to receive his freedom because he got stuck in an event. That happens to all of us when we can't forgive those who have hurt us. It keeps us stuck in the past, often reliving the awful memory over and over again.

Let me point something out to you before we move on: God is not in the business of killing people or making their lives miserable. We often get the mission statement of Jesus and the devil confused.

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10

"The devil is bad and God is good. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

One of the most important points I want to make on forgiveness is: forgiving oneself. There is a marked difference between conviction, which is the work of the Holy Spirit and condemnation which is the work of the devil. Conviction is God letting you know that you hurt him and you need to reconcile yourself to him by changing your actions. Condemnation is the devil making you think that there isn't anything you can do to get things right with God. To make matters worse, many Christians have the devil in the unemployment line because they do his job for him. They punish themselves for the things they have done and receive the devil's accusations being wielded towards them. They spiritually flog themselves in the mind. They also go about feeling unworthy and ashamed. God's word says:

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

Forget

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14

I know this may sound like a funny comparison but you can't drive a car looking strictly in the rear view mirror. You will crash. If you don't learn to put certain events behind you, you will never get anywhere. Forgetting is really a work of grace. We can literally ask God to sprinkle our conscience minds clean from all memories or pain.

"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:22

Just like forgiveness, it is a choice to stop rehashing over the past. Keeping grudges or reminding others of the things they did to hurt you will only keep you in your past. God wants us to push past those things so we can live on in freedom and victory. It is difficult to forget but we really have to decide not to meditate on things that are causing us pain. In reality it only hurts us twice. The other person who offended us is not affected by our bad feelings. It can actually cause us to get sick if we hold onto things. Forgiving and forgetting is really for us not the other person. It is not that we are letting them get away with anything, we are choosing to allow God to intervene and exact justice on our behalf. It relinquishes the responsibility back to God, where it belongs.

"For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” Hebrews 10:30

Press On

Listen, don't allow what people have done to you, to control your life. You can remain stuck for years unable to grow or get close to God if you keep grudges, resentment and records of wrongdoing. It isn't worth it. You will literally grant the devil permission to torment you if you don't let go of things. God wants us to press on towards the call or high calling. This doesn't necessarily mean ministry. This means your highest potential as God's children. How awful would it be if you allowed yourself to be ripped off twice? There are rewards for those who diligently seek after God.

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6

It is time for you to take off the rear view mirror and look ahead to what God has in store for you. No one can effectively do their job without focus. Wherever we have our eyes will largely determine our outcome. If we have our eyes looking behind, we will continue to stumble on. It only takes a split second of checking on the status of the runner next to you to take away the time or edge you have in your race. We must all give account for our own lives and we won't be able to use anyone as an excuse for not doing what God told us to do.

Press on this year by forgiving those who have hurt us, and forgetting the past events that have kept you stuck.These are only a few keys to reaching your goals this next year and obtaining the prize of finishing your own race!

Jaziz Gutierrez

http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com

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