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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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.

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Jaziz Gutierrez
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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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Number One Sin In The Church

I don’t know what is happening lately but the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me in the wee hours of the morning causing me to become restless in my sleep.  The Holy Spirit asked me a question, “Do you know what the number one sin in my church is?”  I rolled around a few thoughts but honestly could not think of anything because I was still in the daze.  I heard the word “reviling.”  Over and over again the word reviling kept tumbling around in my spirit until I got out of bed to look it up. 

Revile – Synonyms: rant, rail

To use abusive or scornful language against (someone or something)

To assail with contemptuous or opprobrious language;
Address or speak of abusively.

I was surprised because this was totally unexpected.  What is even more shocking that Jesus said that it could send us to hell!!!

Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

Matthew 12:36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

Wow.  Who doesn’t call people names on the freeway or say things about others in frustration.  Have you ever called someone and idiot or a jerk?  This is not any better than calling someone a fool.  God’s word says that we will give an account for every idle word.  We need to repent of our slip ups too!  I started to really feel convicted and the fear of the Lord took over when I read the following:

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

That’s right you read it.  You will not inherit God’s kingdom if you habitually call people names, curse, tell people off and verbally abuse others.  They put this sin in the same list of sins as adultery and homosexuality.  Why is reviling so bad?  It violates the second commandment of loving others as you would love yourself.  I told this to someone and they responded to this by saying, “How in the world can we live up to this standard?”  Note the following scripture.

^{1 Peter 2:21-23} For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:²² “Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; ²³ who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;

Jesus was our perfect example.  He was abused the Roman government and Jews.  He did not retaliate.  He did not open his mouth to defend himself.  He did not argue.  He did not give them a piece of His mind.  This can only happen if we walk in humility.  If we walk in pride then we will stir up strife. 

There will be Christians reading this who have made it a habit to abuse their spouses and children with their words.  You may also be guilty of abusing others at work or on the road. According to God’s word you are a reviler and cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.  You need to repent.  Jesus said, “You are in danger of hell fire!”  I could tone this down but we need to grasp the gravity of the consequences of living this way.  In God’s mind verbal abuse and name calling is injuring someone else’s spirit.  Some of you be struggling being in the presence of God not really knowing that this being caused by this sin.  I’m not saying this is easy but God’s standards are clear:

Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

This is when true grace comes in and helps us become Holy.  Some may confuse grace as an excuse to sin but true grace helps you live for God.  There is a blessing for those who allow themselves to be persecuted and reviled. 
(1) They inherit the kingdom of heaven.
(2) They receive a great reward in heaven
(3) They shall take their place alongside the prophets were persecuted for righteousness sake.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:10-12)

Let’s pray:
Dear Jesus, we ask you to forgive us for using our mouth as a weapon and hurting others with it.  We understand this violates the second commandment of loving others as ourselves.  We repent of being a reviler and ask that you would help us by putting a guard over our mouths.  Please change our hearts.  Your Word says that whatever comes out of our mouths, comes out our hearts and is defiling us.  Cleanse us from all defilement and heal all those we have hurt with our words by being careless. Forgive us for every idle word.  We are asking that your Holy Spirit bring to mind the things we may be doing and help us change them.  In Jesus Name. Amen.

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Jaziz Gutierrez
http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com
Facebook: School Of Impartation and Living

Seduction Exposed!

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;...1 Timothy 4:1 KJV

In letter to Timothy, Apostle Paul warns of a time in the future when people were going to depart from the faith for two key reasons. First, they would depart because they gave heed to seducing spirits, and secondly because they gave heed to doctrines of devils. Our focus will be the seducing spirits or the spirit of seduction. When you look at the word seducing in the Greek it means exactly what it says. Seduction or seducing is the persuasion to disobedience or disloyalty, to be led away by false promises, to be enticed to sexual desire by arousing hope or desire by artful attraction. To bait, allure, tempt, betray, and finally trap you.

You may ask yourself so what does this have to do with me? Without even knowing it most Christians expose themselves to this spirit on a daily basis. Seduction is a spirit. On a daily basis whenever you listen to music, TV, drive down the freeway, walk down the street, and go shopping it is there.  While you watch TV you are bombarded with commercials that seduce you to eat, spend, drink, go to parties, and arouse lustful thoughts as they show sensual scenes or make provocative gestures.  Just go anywhere, and there is music playing in the background that is planting seeds of sensuality, violence and temptation. If you are driving down the freeway there are signs to come visit the nearest strip joint, go to the casinos, eat, and buy things you can't afford. Then you go to the store, and the aisles are lined up with the latest gossip, with seductive women or men on the front cover; complete with tips on how to become a more sensual person yourself. Then there is TV shows that encourage adultery, fornication, witchcraft, violence, and every other sin known to man. What we don't realize is that by watching, reading, or looking at these things we are giving heed (paying attention) to these seducing spirits.

Still don't think this is a problem let's look at the life of Samson the strongest man that ever lived.

Let's read on to Judges 16:4 Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. ⁵ And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”

Here is Samson a strong man who was supposed to be consecrated or separated to God for the purpose of serving Him but lived his life unchecked from temptation. Unfortunately, he comes upon a woman who becomes his downfall. Delilah is symbolic of a spirit of seduction. Her mission is to entice, find out what your weaknesses are, so that you can be overcome, be bound and afflicted. Delilah can also be a man because it is a spirit working through a person. As I mentioned before it works even through media. If you read the rest of Judges 16 you will see that Delilah continues to ask Samson over and over again what the source of his strength is until she finally wears him down.

Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.” ¹⁶ And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, ¹⁷ that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
(Judges 16:15-17)
As you can see from the above scripture the spirit of seduction will use loyalty or love as a reason for you to give into it. This spirit likes to wear you down until you become weary, and weak in your heart. Delilah is always after our consecration because consecration is the source of God's power in our lives. When Samson gave into seduction he lost all his strength.
When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. ¹⁹ Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. ²⁰ And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. (Judges 16:18-20)

Not only is the spirit of seduction after your consecration it is after your whole heart. It will not stop until you give in to it fully. Without knowing it many Christians have been lulled to sleep while being stroked by this spirit with promises of better times if only we will succumb to it.  The next thing you know the devil ambushes you. The biggest mistake we can make is to think we can shake off the temptation after flirting with it. This is dangerous my friend. No matter how strong you think you are; one day you will not be able to shake yourself free from the bondage the enemy lured you into. Just like Samson you will realize not only is your strength gone so is your relationship with God. God is the source of our strength. I have seen many warriors once strong in the Lord succumb to this seducing spirit, and lose their vision.  They become captives of the enemy, and some of them never return from the enemy's prison camp. I believe this warning is for everyone. We can never play with the idea that we are above temptation or too strong to be seduced. This is a life lesson from the bible.

If we are being seduced the bible gives us the key to getting free from it. We need to stop giving our attention to it. We cut off the cable TV and internet if necessary. We stop looking at the magazines, reading the romance novels, and watching the shows that arouse us to sin. We stop conversing with people who entice us to return to our former party lifestyle, and we cut off all means of communication with people who will not respect our boundaries. We stay away from people who carry a seducing presence on them.  You know who they are. They like to flaunt their body. They like to show a little too much, and like to flatter you. Flattery is hidden hostility. Desperate housewives isn't just a show it is a reality. There is also desperate office guys too. Don't be afraid to rebuke someone who is clearly disrespecting you. I once had to tell a Christian that his lustful conversations were inappropriate, and I had to cut off the communication because he was defiling me with his words. It is with words that this seducing spirit enters the lives of many men, and women. Also be careful who, and how someone touches you. I once had someone hug me at church, and a seducing spirit tried to jump on me. Years later I found out this person ran off with someone, and left their wife. You can be sure that seduction, and lust work hand in hand. Seduction works externally, and lust works inwardly but God's Word destroys both.

I was sitting at Jack and the Box on my laptop the other day when a man asked me if "I was reading nasty e-mails." I told him that, "I ignore those kind of e-mails." Conversation over. People will even use jokes to get you to entertain a seducing or lustful spirit. Don't give it a chance. Walk away. You are in charge of what you see, hear or pay attention to. You have authority to tell it to go. In the name of Jesus I command the spirit of seduction to go! It might stubbornly try to resist you but it has no authority or dominion and it must obey the name of Jesus!

Let's pray. Father, I repent for giving in and paying attention to a seducing spirit. Forgive me and release me from its power and hold over my life. Show me the areas in which I can cut it off and consecrate myself more fully to you. I don't want to be like Samson and end up a prisoner with my vision taken from me. Open my eyes to be more sensitive to this and give me the strength to shut it down immediately. Let your kingdom come into my life and deliver me from temptation. In Jesus name. Amen.

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Jaziz Gutierrez

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Why People Burn Out On Ministry

    I was looking today for a way to become fully ordained outside of making payments to an organization. I have worked in church for the last five years as a lay minister or assistant pastor. I ran across this website for burned out Pastors and started reading these sad stories. Wow. I think that many of us have gotten ministry confused with the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is not the kingdom of men. Many ministries are just part of the machine that builds the kingdoms of men. This is what sucks the life out of the pastor and congregation. God’s kingdom is not a place here on earth. It is a place in men’s hearts where God has set up His throne and is made Lord over our lives.

    Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”   The Kingdom is within our reach all of the time.  Also, we can see from scripture that the Kingdom is demonstrated in power, “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:7-8 Therefore, God’s Kingdom is mobile and transferable.

The problem here is that our eyes come off of doing the above and the focus shifts to building projects, raising money, programs, advertising instead of protecting the presence of God in our lives. We stop seeking His Kingdom and His righteousness first. We get careless with our salvation because now we stop being concerned about our standards and allowing things to slip by us by making small compromises in our faith.  Holiness gets thrown to the wayside as we focus more on service, recognition and position in church.  Our passion to be right with God gets diminished in light of people’s admiration of our gifts and talents.  The next thing we know, our Christian example has become a mockery before the world. This should not be.

     The ministry is not really the problem it is our heart. More specifically the attitudes and motives of our hearts that have been polluted by our need to be recognized and admired. The gospel message becomes laced with covetousness and greed.  It is our ill financial planning that causes many ministers to start to manipulate people from the pulpit. The next thing you know you are threatening people by telling them that God will curse them if they do not give. This is legalism and extortion my friends. Especially if you feel like you are entitled to indulge yourself on the hard earned money of God's people. We are not entitled to anything! You will not find anywhere in Jesus ministry where he demanded a salary from his followers.  On the other hand if you have the means and are withholding  money from God's harvesters then you will have to explain why you built bigger barns instead of sending people into the harvest fields of souls. Jesus was not hung up on titles. He made his life and ministry about serving others. He went about setting people free, healing them and forgiving them.  He did not sit at an office taking calls. He demonstrated the kingdom and lived his life as an example.

     "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken"; "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame." Hebrews 12:1-2 If you have found any of the above wrong attitudes and motives in your heart I encourage to repent and come back to the true ministry of Christ. If you are under a ministry that is has lost its way I encourage you to build His Kingdom instead of building men's kingdoms. May the Lord guide you by the Spirit of Truth and help you find the true ministry of Christ. 

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

Trampling Unbelief In The Gate

Prophetic Word:
For years men and women who have sat in the gate of influence in the church have kept back the move of God! They have questioned my ability to open the windows of heaven over them and refused to believe the Word of the Lord through His servants. As a result the people of God have starved behind four walls. They have fearfully stayed within the walls of containment and mediocrity. For years they have missed out on the harvest which also holds prosperity for God's people. In this next season unbelief  will be trampled down in the gate and the outcasts of society or the unknown, unsung heroes will lead the way into plundering the enemy's camp! They will realize that all that the people of God have needed was just outside the walls all along! This new discovery will cause a movement that the church has not seen in a long time. Their hunger will drive them to follow those whose testimonies declare victory in the most dire of circumstances. No one will be able to stop this forward motion and those who doubted will not partake of the plunder.  I will cause my people to move into enemy territory and the footsteps of a few will sound like many. They will learn to share with one another the things that I give them. Great boldness and courage will be the mark of these End Time Saints! They will not fear what the enemy can do because I will walk with them in even a greater dimension. They will no longer consider the weakness of the flesh but the strength of their God!

2 Kings 7: 3-4 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? ⁴ If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also.

In this next season it will be the outcasts that will lead the way out of containment and famine. It will not be the church superstars but the unknown men and women who have spent time like Esther preparing themselves in the oil of My presence not considering their weaknesses; boldly moving towards the promises of God. They will see no other option than to plunder the enemy's camp. Have you ever felt like these lepers in this passage. Like no matter which way you go there is no positive outcome to your circumstance. There they were sitting at the gate of indecision, going hungry when they come to the conclusion that doing nothing will get them no where. Then they come up with a dangerous proposition. "Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die." Their solution was to go to the enemy's camp. I don't know about you but if I'm going hungry my first thought would not be to go and raid the enemy's camp. Yet they took the risk of going anyways.

2 Kings 7:5-6 And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. ⁶ For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!”
Earlier in the chapter Elisha had prophesied about the turnaround of events that were about to take place and a guard had mocked him. He was trampled underfoot for not believing the Word of the Lord by the people who were running to their new found provision.

Like all prophetic words in order to activate them one must step out in faith to receive them.  It's going to require that we take some risks. We can not allow ourselves to be immobilized by fear or indecision. We must step out into the realm of faith to gain access to God's blessing. If God give us something and we don't act on it someone else will. In this next move, God will use whoever is bold enough to believe Him! He does care about degrees or ordinations or the approval of men. His kingdom is not run that way. He will take two loaves and five fish to feed the masses. He will use what little you have and bring multiplication to much needed provision if you will just be concerned with feeding God's sheep who are faint from following Him. God will even use your own brokenness to pour you out and distribute you that you might become bread to the hungry. Don't count yourself out. The four lepers didn't. All they knew was that they were hungry and knew they had nothing to lose. Some of us need to stop making excuses and consider not the weakness of the flesh but the strength of our God. It's time to plunder the enemy's camp!

When the word of the Lord comes to a church it can be the greatest blessing or greatest danger because just like this city that was under captivity and famine; the word always brings two choices…to believe or not to believe…to act or not to act.

    The prophetic promise that came to bring a breakthrough can be stopped through unbelief. What if they would have hesitated, procrastinated in believing? Unbelief is disobedience to the Word of the Lord to your life. Be bold and step over into your time of fulfillment!

     Miracles are always released by acting upon faith.  Jesus said, “Come” and Peter got out of the boat.  Jesus said, stretch out your hand and the withered hand was healed.  Go wash in the pool of Siloam and the man did and he could see. Pick up your mat and the man got up.  The point is there has to be a corresponding action to the word of the Lord in faith for a miracle. So the city had a choice to believe the word of the Lord or continue in famine and accept their captivity.

          
My friends there is a gate that everyone stands at daily and we are the gatekeepers. Let's look at the gate.

     Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
         Keep watch over the door of my lips.

    
Proverbs 21:22-23 A wise man scales the city of the mighty, 
      And brings down the trusted stronghold. 
       ²³ Whoever guards his mouth and tongue 
      Keeps his soul from troubles.

In the old times keeping the gates guarded was important part of keeping the city fortified. It may seem that our gate is very small compared to the size of that city; but in the book of James it gives this perspective.

James 3:3-5 "Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. ⁴ Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. ⁵ Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.: We will either boast in the greatness of our God or talk about the greatness of our circumstances.

Faith will not consider the circumstance it is experiencing, the personal limitation its dealing with or the physical condition its facing. It will believe contrary to what is sees.

Romans 4:18-22 Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” ¹⁹ And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰ He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, ²¹ and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. ²² And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

    
Ecclesiastes 11:4 He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap.

Scripture: 2 Kings 7: 19-20 Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, “Now look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” 
And he had said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” ²⁰ And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.

      

    What is the word that stands at the gate of your mouth? 

Mark 11:23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. By his confession of unbelief he slammed the windows of heaven shut over his life. Understand if you choose not to believe it will not keep others from receiving. Will we trample underfoot the words of unbelief or stay in a fortified city of famine and captivity? Who’s the gatekeeper in your life?  Is it your friends, your kids, your unbelief, your spouse, your circumstances or your own confession? Trample underfoot unbelief by confessing, agreeing and acting in faith with God’s promises.

Scripture: 2 Kings 4:8-37

Has your prophetic dream died?

    The Shunammite woman received her prophetic promise because she made place for the Lord in her life through inviting the man of God to stay with her. Prophetic destiny is birthed in the place where we have made room for God and it is sustained by intimacy. Sometimes it seems that we don’t even ask for a word from God or a dream when all of the sudden it seems that dream has died. The woman was wise in being a doorkeeper and saying, “It is well.”  Elisha did not allow Gehazi to speak to anyone on to restore the promise so that no one could speak into the situation.

    If we allow ourselves to go back into the bedchamber and put our eyes to God’s eyes, our mouth to His mouth, and allow his hands to be our hands we will see our promise came back to life again.  It will only happen in a place of intimacy and prayer.

2 Kings 7:5-6 And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. ⁶ For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!”

Earlier in the chapter Elisha had prophesied about the turnaround of events that were about to take place and a guard had mocked him. He was trampled underfoot for not believing the Word of the Lord by the people who were running to their new found provision.

Like all prophetic words in order to activate them one must step out in faith to receive them.  It's going to require that we take some risks. We cannot allow ourselves to be immobilized by fear or indecision. We must step out into the realm of faith to gain access to God's blessing. If God give us something and we don't act on it someone else will. In this next move, God will use whoever is bold enough to believe Him! He does care about degrees or ordinations or the approval of men. His kingdom is not run that way. He will take two loaves and five fish to feed the masses. He will use what little you have and bring multiplication to much needed provision if you will just be concerned with feeding God's sheep who are faint from following Him. God will even use your own brokenness to pour you out and distribute you that you might become bread to the hungry. Don't count yourself out. The four lepers didn't. All they knew was that they were hungry and knew they had nothing to lose. Some of us need to stop making excuses and consider not the weakness of the flesh but the strength of our God. It's time to plunder the enemy's camp!

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