Tag Archives: responsibility

Prophets, Prophecy, Accuracy, and Accountability

Posted on by under Bible, Disciple, Discipleship, Excellence, Faithful, LifeGiving, Mature, Maturing, Message, Mission, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Teamwork, Training, Transformation

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_207f.jpgThere is not one Godly prophet in the Old or New Testaments, including Jesus, who prophesied something that did not come to pass within a reasonable amount of time, much less that never came to pass.

In the Old Testament when someone spoke in the name of the Lord and what they said was not true, or what they predicted did not come to pass, they died at the hands of God’s people.

This tells me that Isaiah, who prophesied a virgin would be with child eight centuries before Mary conceived Jesus in the Immaculate Conception, either had a special grace and favor with God and man, or in some fashion his predictive word came to pass in his lifetime.

In the New Testament, those who speak in the name of the Lord something that is not true, or that does not come to pass is not killed by God’s people, but their ministry can die because God’s people have the right and responsibility to judge what is said to be from God.

Paul and Silas found out that although the people in Berea were extremely excited for them to come teach them, they did not take what Paul and Silas taught as truth as being true until they searched the Scriptures themselves – daily.

“10 The brethren [in Thessalonica] immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” [Acts 17]

This examining of the Old Testament Scriptures [here Greek / graphe – written word] is a different word Paul used when he commanded the Thessalonicans to examine prophecy and those who prophesy. This word ‘examine’ means to investigate, sift, interrogate, question. It comes from a root word meaning to repeatedly and intensively forensically test. When teaching people how to study the Bible I encourage them to be like a detective walking into a crime scene with no preconceived ideas on what happened. There are six questions the inquisitive inquisitor should ask every text they read. They are: who, what, when, where, why and how.

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As you ask those questions gazing into the text you will begin to see the truths that are contained within it. Like looking at a hologram, it may take some time to see what is in there but when the time is taken to see the student will quickly begin to  learn.

This examination will be encouraged by Paul in his great instruction on judging prophets and prophecy in 1 Corinthians 14:29. We will “examine” that text later!

Apparently Paul and Silas were fine with being examined, as well as their teaching being examined by the Thessalonican people. Every legitimate minister is okay with being examined!

In many places nobility is lacking both in those who minister and those they minister to.

Credibility is such a rare commodity in our world today and I am greatly concerned a lack of credibility and accountability has crept into the church Jesus is building as well. Fact checking God’s ministers has been around since the beginning of when people started saying they came [to speak, to teach] in the name of the Lord. Too many “hear from God” and leave when the examination commences.

Even Jesus submitted His ministry to those He ministered to – “37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” [John 10]

Jesus’ words and His works matched the works of His Father which should have convinced the Jews He was legitimate. What we say is as important as what we do and when they are not congruent people have a right to reject what we say and do, which means they reject us as worthy to minister to them. unless we become vulnerable and accountable to them.

You cannot disconnect what a person says and does from that person! “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” so what we say reveals what is really in our heart.

Nicodemus who was a teacher of the Jews recognized this connection when he said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” [John 3:2].

In the Old Testament the punishment was so severe for speaking in God’s name something untrue, or that did not come to pass because God’s people did not have the Holy Spirit inside of them and could easily be led astray. Prophets were accepted as God’s delegated spokesmen.

In the New Testament every true born again believer has the Holy Spirit inside of them and it is their responsibility to test everything to ensure what they are told is true. Also, every born again believer has the right and responsibility to speak for the God that saved them, even moving in the gift of prophecy.

John wrote this in 1 John 2: “18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. . . . 26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”

When people run away from the very people they have said they love and are connected to because what they say and do come under scrutiny by those they say they love and are connected, it reveals a heart of corruption that John identifies as the spirit of the antichrist. John said many antichrists were on the scene in his day and those antichrists came from within the church. Keep in mind there was one church per region so it was unlikely those who left a church could become part of another one easily and inconspicuously.

Today, accountability is very difficult because there are multitudes of churches in search of gifted and anointed people. Most church growth is simply people shifting to different churches. Some simple fact checking could go a long way to rooting out the rebellious!

Two thousand years ago John referred to the time he lived in as “the last hour” twice in verse 18. John goes on to exhort the people to trust the anointing [Spirit of truth] that was in them would keep them safe from error. This means God’s people best be in God’s written Word [graphe in the Old and New Testaments] so they have God’s plumb line to line up what is being said or done in the name of the Lord with God’s eternal and established Word.

The anointing inside each believer is there to ensure they are not duped by the anointing of someone presenting themselves a representing God. When the one ministering insists their anointing is so good that those they minister to do not need to verify what they say and do is genuine, they misrepresent the God they claim to represent.

For all those concerned that we are living in the last days take a deep breath and relax, John lived in the last hour.

In fact, John wrote that Jesus spoke of this hour in the fourth chapter of his gospel.

“19 The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.’ 21 Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.'”

In this text Jesus revealed an hour was coming twice and the second time He referred to it He said, “and now is,” two thousand years ago. John and Jesus were speaking of a contemporary reality that was imminent to that generation. The last hour, which was the hour that was “now is [here]” was the total destruction of Judaism as a life giving system. In fact, by the time John wrote his “last hour” prediction the destruction of Jerusalem and the sacred Jewish temple was fast approaching.

The “hour” was not understood to be a literal sixty minute time span but an imminent time change that was about to take place. I believe that “hour” started ticking down when Jesus died on the Cross and God ripped the veil in the temple from the top to the bottom exposing the Holy of Holies as being void of the Ark of the Covenant.

Now I know that what I just said is considered ridiculous in our pop-culture Christian world but I believe every Book of the New Testament, including The Revelation of Jesus Christ, was completed prior to 70AD.

Paul said this in Hebrews chapter eight verse thirteen, “When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.” It is understood that Hebrews was written in or about 67AD meaning within three years or so Judaism died and was burned with fire along with Jerusalem and the temple.

Jesus had predicted prior to His Olivet Discourse and in that Discourse that the generation who heard what He said would see the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Jesus even referred to His disciples multiple times in His discourse. [See Matthew 23, 24; Mark 13]

The pre-incarnate Christ appeared to Abraham and Sarah revealing, “At this time next year you will have a son.” Here is the text found in Genesis 18 – “9 Then they said to him, ‘Where is Sarah your wife?’ And he said, ‘There, in the tent.’ 10 He said, ‘I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.’ And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. 12 Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’ 13 And the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ 14 Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.’ 15 Sarah denied it however, saying, ‘I did not laugh’; for she was afraid. And He said, ‘No, but you did laugh.'”

Now we could take this predictive prophecy two ways. First, we could say that the Lord was saying Sarah would have an immaculate conception. But we know that is not what was meant because there could only be one immaculate conception and that would not happen for approximately 2,021 years. Second, Abraham and Sarah, although past the age of childbearing and quite possibly the age of engaging in sexual intercourse, went into their tent and had marital relations needed to conceive a child.

The second option seems more likely to me based on what Paul said in Hebrews chapter eleven and Romans chapter four.

Hebrews 11 – “11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.”

Sarah’s faith energized her reproductive organs and quite possibly activated her sexual desire. They had tried for twenty five years to have a child without success. In addition to being too old to have children in the natural [Sarah was ninety and Abraham was one hundred] we can safely assume the desire to try waned over the years too.

Romans 4 – “16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 [as it is written, ‘A father of many nations have I made you’] in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. 18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ 19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. 22 Therefore It was also credited to him as righteousness.”

‘Perform’ here means he was able to do the necessary work required to produce what the Lord promised them. Abraham took inventory of his natural condition and weighed that against the weight of God’s promise of a son with Sarah. Abraham faced the facts of Sarah’s and his condition but chose to focus on the truth of God’s word. As he considered what he was facing his respect for God far outweighed his history of losing expectation of becoming a father of the son of promise. Abraham’s faith grew stronger as he glorified God. As he became fully assured that what God promised was going to come to pass he was given the ability and desire to perform. His performance was credited to him as righteousness.

Agabus was a recognized prophet in the church in Jerusalem. His prophetic ministry is revealed in Acts 11 and Acts 21. What we find in those texts is Agabus was a predictive prophet because both times he is mentioned he is predicting future events.

It is interesting to me God used a prophet whose name means locust to prophesy a famine, but He did. Maybe Agabus himself was the message to the saints about a future problem in Judea!

“27 Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate [signify] by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. 29 And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea. 30 And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.” [Acts 11]

Luke writes that a plurality of prophets arrived in Antioch from the Jerusalem church. We do not know how many prophets were with Agabus and what the additional prophets did in Antioch. All we are told is Agabus prophesied a famine that would affect the whole world. Now, “whole world” can be interpreted as the whole world, the whole world Rome was ruling over, or the whole land of Judea. My guess is he was predicting a famine throughout Judea because that is where the relief supplies were directed and delivered to the elders – in Jerusalem!

We do not even know if Agabus and his team of prophets were a part of the eldership team in Jerusalem, just the provisions were delivered to them by Barnabas and Saul [Paul].

Did you notice his predictive prophesy came to pass during the reign of Claudius. Luke does not record Agabus placing a time frame on his word from God. Historians put this famine in 45AD. If Agabus prophesied in or about 40AD then his prophecy came to pass within five years.

The next time we find Agabus prophesying is in Acts 21 where he prophesied in Caesarea that Paul would be arrested in Jerusalem. Luke writes that Paul was arrested in the temple during that trip to Jerusalem.

Do you see that predictive prophets cannot claim they speak for God when what they predict does not come to pass in a reasonable amount of time? Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem within a generation [forty years – 30AD – 70AD] so the people had every right to expect that within forty years His prediction would come true. And it did!

Agabus did not put a time frame on either one of his predictive prophesies although it could have been, and very well may have been, understood Paul would be arrested on that trip into Jerusalem. And he was indeed arrested on that trip to Jerusalem.

There is no evidence that God ever releases a prophetic word that does not have a shelf life of a reasonable amount of time. And when a prophet gives a specific time frame, just as Jesus did in His Olivet Discourse, that prophet is on the hook for what they predicted to come to pass.

How else could God’s people “examine [test] everything carefully” and “hold onto that which is good” as Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5, if they must continue to hang on forever waiting on the word to come true?

“19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.

Paul first said, “Do not quench the Holy Spirit.” Many have interpreted that to mean “do not despise prophesies” but that is not what the Holy Spirit meant when He had Paul write it before “do not despise prophecies.” Quenching the Holy Spirit first and foremost means to not allow Him to function in His primary calling to comfort and convict, as well as to lead people into all the truth [God’s written Word].

Jesus first reveals the Holy Spirit as ‘Helper.” Then as the “Spirit of truth.” Then as the One who “will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” [John 14]

Helper means One called to come alongside for the purpose of providing aid, to advocate, assist, counsel, console, and intercede for.

.Then he said, “Do not despise prophesies” which means it is possible for God’s people to despise prophecy. We know that many church cultures refuse to allow prophets and the gift of prophecy to operate in their environments. Apparently prophecy is despised in some places today and I believe the reason is because of all the “words from God” that never come to pass.

Then he said, “Hold onto that which is good” meaning not to hold onto anything or anyone that is not good.

Lastly he said, “abstain from every form of evil.” ‘Abstain’ literally means: To prevent, to keep your distance from, and to not receive [have] anything evil [harmful, perverted, diseased, impoverished, and not productive].

What did Paul mean when he wrote, “examine everything carefully”? Paul uses language that those who tested metals and currency for purity and authenticity understood. Paul wanted the saints at Thessalonica to test by fire and by pressure what was offered to them, and those who offered it. Paul had written something similar to the saints in Corinth. “each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work [and words]” [1 Corinthians 3:13].

Paul was instructing the Thessalonican saints not to be credulous but to examine everything and everyone with great care. Where Luke wrote these same people poured through the Scriptures [Old Testament] carefully to compare what they were being taught as truth with the Truth, Paul wrote they were to examine everything and everyone with heated discourse, applying pressure in private, just like a smelter of silver and gold and the person tasked with ensuring the currency was not counterfeit, to discover what was in the heart of the people presenting themselves as legitimate ministers.

One great tool for the initial examination is the gift of the Spirit known as discerning of spirits. This gift is given by the Holy Spirit to alert us to what kind of spirit is operating in any given situation, individual or group setting. This gift discerns [distinguishes and identifies] whether it is the Holy Spirit, human spirit, angel or demonic spirit operating in our midst. The Holy Spirit is the first line of defense when we are hearing anyone speak for God. Being sensitive to the Spirit is vitally important and we must learn to recognize what He is saying inside of us. Then we must allow the Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth as found in the Scripture [graphe].

I believe this gift was used by Paul when he confronted the slave girl operating in divination [false prophecy] in Philippi [Ats 16]. “16 It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, ‘These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.’ 18 She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!’ And it came out at that very moment.”

Here we see it is possible to have an accurate word come from a person with a demonic spirit. Divination is obtaining unknown knowledge through a spiritual source other than God, thus the slave girl had a spirit of divination. She had given herself over to it because it gave her the ability to profit monetarily.

This spirit is a counterfeit to the gifts of the Holy Spirit called words of knowledge and words of wisdom, which often work in tandem with prophecy. The Greek word used is Pýthōn. Isn’t it interesting how that serpent is always looking for an opportunity to slip into our midst to deceive us? How did Paul know she was not a legitimate prophetic person? The Holy Spirit’s gift of the discerning of spirits is what I believe he used to recognize she was a fortune teller.

Paul cast that spirit out of her and that caused a riot and eventually a revival church to be birthed! In between there was pain, prison and then greater manifest Presence! That is usually God’s process to revival in an individual or a region!

In Philippi Paul and his team met a lady from Thyatira named Lydia. Lydia was an entrepreneur who sold purple fabrics. Lydia means travail and Thyatira means the odor of affliction. Lydia was a worshiper of God whose heart God opened to receive Paul, his team and their ministry. Lydia provided a temporary base of operations in Philippi for the advancement of the gospel of the kingdom to proceed into Europe.

I encourage you to read the resurrected Jesus’ words to the church at Thyatira found in Revelation 2:18-29. He begins with [verse 18] – “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:” In the middle of His word to Thyatira Jesus says in verse 23, “and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.” Do you notice a pattern?

We saw above what John wrote in 1 John 2 about the Holy Spirit [anointing] protecting us from being deceived in. He also wrote this in 1 John 5 [KJV] – “6 And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

Jesus, before he came as a human was known in eternity past as the Word [John 1:1]. John wrote the Word became flesh [1:14]. Now, since He ascended to the throne next to His Father He is known as the only Mediator between God and man, “the Man Christ Jesus,” Now in eternity present and future He is known as the Man who Mediates.

This is in and of itself a huge subject but suffice it to say the Father, the Word that still remains in heaven now that Jesus came to earth and returned as a resurrected Man, and the Spirit all bear witness in earth to that which is accepted in heaven for use in the earth.

Look at what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12 – “29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. 30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; 33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

Paul did not allow for prophecy to go without being judged and neither did he allow for prophets to escape judgment. Lets examine carefully Paul’s instructions on how to steward prophets and prophetic ministry.

  • In a particular service only two to three prophets should speak
    • I believe this is because every matter is to be established out of the mouths of two to three witnesses which means the two to three prophets prophesying should prophesy things that are in harmony with each other and God’s eternal Word
    • 2 Peter 1 – “19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
      • Scripture, all of it, is to be how we judge any prophet or prophetic ministry
      • If someone prophesies anything contrary to Scripture it is to be rejected and if the person prophesying refuses to admit what they have prophesied is not in line with Scripture they are to be rejected because they are self interpreting and judging their own prophecies and prophetic ministry
  • As each prophet speaks “the others” pass judgment
    • Is Paul referring to the other prophets or the others in the hearing of the prophets
      • I believe the answer is yes, both the other prophets and the others in the hearing of the prophecies are to judge what is prophesied and those who prophesy
      • What does “pass judgment” mean
        • Pick it apart
        • To separate by straining through a strainer
        • To render a judicial decision based on every aspect of what is said and or done
  • The purpose of judging prophets and their prophecies is so:
    • All may learn
    • All may be encouraged
      • Who are the “all” who may learn and be encouraged
      • I believe all is all inclusive meaning all the prophets and all those exposed to their prophetic ministry
        • Prophets, just like apostles, evangelists, pastors and teachers are to equip the saints for the work of ministry, so their primary function is training everyone in prophetic ministry
    • Each prophet is to steward his own spirit by keeping it clean and pure and submitted to the other prophets and prophetic people who have learned and are being encouraged in their prophetic ministry
    • A prophet who refuses to pass through the judgment is to be judged as false
    • Encouragement is one of the three legs the gift of prophecy stands on [v3]
  • God is not confused and He does not spread or allow the spread of confusion in any of the churches of the saints

Again, to judge prophecy is to judge the person prophesying, whether that person is a prophet or not.

The New Testament warns about these false people and ministers:

  • False apostles [2 Corinthians 11:13; Revelation 2:2]
  • False prophets [Matthew 24:11,24; Mark 13:22; Acts 13:6; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1; Revelation 16:13; 19:20; 20:10]
  • False Christs [saviors] [Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22]
  • False teachers [2 Peter 2:1]
  • False brethren [2 Corinthians 11:26; Galatians 2:4]
  • False witness [Matthew 15:19; 19:18]
  • False circumcision [Philippians 3:2]

A cursory reading of church history reveals within the generation that was alive when Jesus was walking the planet all of the above were contemporary concerns for the genuine Christian, Christian leader and church community. And in the two thousand years since they are still a concern for leaders of the churches of the saints.

James tells us in chapter 3 verse 1 – “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”

“Stricter judgment” means a greater, larger, louder and stronger condemnation of wrong. This means the decisions made carry more weight and will travel farther than the judgments [decisions] of those who do not teach God’s people. This phrase comes from a Greek word that means: To separate for the purpose of approving or disapproving, determining what is right or wrong, and what is safe or unsafe. What is intended is to determine whether the one teaching is worthy of being trusted as a teacher.

That is why James uses the word “become” a teacher. Teachers are gifts of Christ who He calls to be[come] teachers. This means anyone called better know that it is a holy calling and not to be taken lightly. ‘Become’ means: To arise into the position, and onto the public stage you were called to take.

Paul reveals that teachers are third in line of importance in the church Jesus is building [the churches of the saints]. “And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers.” [1 Corinthians 12:28]

So, if teachers who are third in line come under a “stricter judgment” what kind of judgment do apostles and prophets come under?

This is where accuracy and accountability intersect. If a person who teaches or prophesies speaks something that is not true or does not come to pass within a reasonable amount of time, then that person must be willing to give an account of what they said to those they said it to. Not only that, but they must root out the root problem[s] that caused them to speak in the name of the Lord something the Lord was not saying. It is not enough to say, “I’m sorry!” The person must understand and articulate why they said what they said.

If they refuse to make themselves and their ministry accountable then they are to be judged as false ministers because their heart is not holy.

The only way for a person judged as false can be reinstated in good standing is by repenting and submitting to the delegated authorities in the church of the saints they worship in.

Receive and steward God’s passion, power, presence, priority, process, promises, protection, provision, pruning, purging, purity and purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin

A spiritual revolutionary

 

Sheep Pen or Discipleship Den

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Disciple, Excellence, LifeGiving, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training

Is your church the cool place to be or the correct place to be? Both places will result in a death. ‘Correct church’ will cause your flesh [carnal, selfish nature] to die so you can live in your divine purpose and ‘cool church’ will cause your destiny to die so that your flesh can live.

I feel it is time to release this word to those who call Jesus, ‘Lord’, but who are trapped in sheep pens instead of being raised to maturity in a discipleship den.

I have written and spoken often about the truth that society’s snowflakes did not start on college and university campuses in the late 20th or early 21st century. The snowflake syndrome began in seeker friendly and sensitive ‘spiritual’ environments in the mid to late 20th century where large pens were constructed to attract as many sheep as possible. Maybe the ‘spiritual’ leaders picked up on the post World War II hope for peace and the “let’s all try to get along” mentality.

Friends, if you will still call and consider me your friend, there can never be a spiritual detente with the devil. There will never be a cease fire with the fire of hell. There will never be a time to take it easy. And there will never be a season where the Holy Spirit will take a vacation from His vocation of equipping the saints for His mission, message, mandate and method of ministry.

Under the guise of “‘we believe” in the supernatural but we are not going to focus on it” or “how can we disciple people if they are not here” these under shepherds of God’s flock take them from the mountain of the Lord to the hill of man believing on the lower level of exertion they will find rest. If you compromise Biblical truth to trap people in your pen of coolness you will have to trick them with pseudo spiritual language so they will not discover the vastness of pasture that the Great Shepherd wants to lead them out to feed in.

David, the forerunner shepherd to the Shepherd was deceived out of his promised bride who was his soul mate. His virtuous bride was given instead to another man whose name mocked the man God had chosen to lead His covenant people. Merab [increase] was given to Adriel [flock of God] the Meholathite [meadow of dancing]. This marriage made in the mind of a mad man resulted in death of the offspring of Saul’s offense.

David handed the five sons born out of deception over to the Gibeonites [little hill] who “hung them in the mountain before the Lord” in the “first days of harvest” [2 Samuel 21:9]. This is a prophetic warning to every leader who uses deception to deprive true shepherds of their rightful increase.

Look at what Jeremiah prophesied about this type of leadership, “6 My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside on the mountains; They have gone along from mountain to hill and have forgotten their resting place.  7 All who came upon them have devoured them; And their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty, inasmuch as they have sinned against the Lord who is the habitation of righteousness, Even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.'” [Jeremiah 50]

Anytime we reduce the mind of God down to the mind of men we open ourselves up to satanic seduction and devilish deception that will ultimately lead to someone’s destruction.

How can you tell if you are in the correct church? One way is to ask Jesus, the Head of the Church?

1 Corinthians 12:18

“But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.”

Have you ever considered where God desires you to go to church? Did you even know God has desires? Did you know God has desires for you? “[God], who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” [1 Timothy 2:4].

Salvation is not to get you into heaven as much as it is to get you into truth and to get Truth into you. Jesus said of Himself, “I am the way! I am the truth! I am the life!” The way to real life must go through “the truth.” Jesus came that we may have life and that [life] in abundance. Modern Christianity has reduced abundance to a life of comfort when its original context called for extreme sacrifice to fulfill divine purpose.

People flee “correct church” to go to “cool church” so they can escape the process of preparation to their purpose. While there is spiritual abuse that can never be tolerated or justified many accusations of mistreatment are nothing more than not being able to manipulate the people God has called them to submit their personal process to promotion to.

All of a sudden God ‘speaks’ to them to change addresses and their new address is usually with a leader who will never address their rebellion, immaturity and irresponsibility.

“Cool church” has all the programs a person or family needs. “Cool church” has the cool looking facilities. “Cool church” even customizes their services so no one will be inconvenienced in time or expectation of growing up. The messages are customized to the least mature or the least committed so as not to offend anyone.

Catering to a congregation [a collection of people in the same place] instead of assembling [placing people in their rightful place] sanctified saints these relevant revelers do a great injustice to the ones justified by the One who justifies all who by faith in and faithfulness to the Father live their lives.

Another way to tell if you are in ‘correct church’ is – are you becoming more comfortable or more comforted? Christ does not want us to be comfortable. He sent the Comforter to comfort us as we go through the process of dying to self so that we can pursue our divine purpose on purpose. The Comforter leads us into all truth. Too many Christians find their comfort level in the truth they have always believed and resist being established in present truth.

Jesus is the Head of the Church and He is the good Shepherd of the sheep. As Head of the Church He is Commander and Chief of God’s army of kingdom advancers. His kingdom suffers violence by those who refuse to live the que sera, sera Christian life. The status quo is sickening to those who desire destiny instead of sympathy. The Shepherd Jesus leads the sheep in and out of the fold [pen] to find pasture.

That sounds like an oxymoron to me. Why would sheep need to find pasture in the pen? The answer is found in the Greek words in the verse and in verse 3, “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

Here is what verse 9 says, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” Confusion comes in by not studying the Greek words in the verse. The same Greek word is used for the English translated words ‘enters’ and ‘go’. The words ‘in and out’ after ‘go’ are not in the original Greek. The Greek word is eisérchomai [ice-er’-khom-ahee] which means ‘to enter’ and ‘to go in and out’. The translators in verse 9 added ‘in and out’ because of the use of the word ‘enter’. Their interpretation, in my opinion, was biased.

I believe the translators would have been more accurate if they would have maintained the theme Jesus set in place in verse 3. Here it is again, “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

Shepherds lead sheep out to find pasture and lead them into the pen for greater protection. To me this is where the analogy of a believer in Christ Jesus as a sheep begins to break down. Sheep are basically dumb animals that need to be watched closely and led around or they will run off and get lost. In other words, sheep cannot think for themselves and keep themselves safe.

There are pastors [shepherds] who believe their people [sheep] are not capable of functioning without them. I was sitting in a service years ago when the pastor told his people, “You need me to be your pastor.” I was shocked! That kind of attitude proves the pastor has not empowered his people to mature. That attitude proves the pastor has taught his people what to think not how to think. That attitude proves the pastor needs people who are not as spiritually savvy as he is because he needs them to need him. That pastor served for his own needs not the needs of those he was supposed to be leading ‘out’.

Going back to John 10:3 we will find the words “them out” are not in the Greek. The Greek text ends with “leads”. Leads means – to lead out, away from, and to a goal. It comes from a root word meaning – abundance, exceedingly above and beyond. Jesus wants His ‘sheep’ to move out into the abundance that He came to give them. Jesus wants His ‘sheep’ not to stay in the pen but to reach their goal. What is the goal Jesus wants His ‘sheep’ to reach?

Paul tells us in Philippians 3:14 – ” I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Every believer’s goal should be Christ Jesus and the call of God that is in Christ Jesus. Nothing short of that is satisfactory for the true saint who is set apart to the purpose God has them on the planet.

Pen

A small enclosure where animals are kept, or where people are confined. A very restricted space.

God’s people are systematically herded into spaces where they are confined in their present level of maturity. This severely restricts them in them understanding their responsibility as believers in Christ Jesus. Even those who attend church in a large building with large open spaces are susceptible to the pen mentality of leaders who see people as sheep and not soldiers.

A great way to tell if your leader is limited in their understanding of their responsibility to lead is they allow their people to choose whether they will develop into disciples, and what timetable they will develop if they indeed ever do develop. Jesus did not leave maturing to chance. He immediately brought change to a culture that produced unproductive kingdom citizens.

Integration in immigration is critical to keeping the community of the believers pure and powerful. We are seeing how this has severely weakened our country [USA] as we have treated illegal immigrants as rightful citizens. If we have no common core values [a Constitution] we are not a genuine country. If we have no recognizable boundaries [borders] we are not a legitimate country. If we do not have a plan to integrate how can we expect to legitimately protect our land.

Terrorism does not have to be bombastic. It can be simplistic. A case in point is how in less than a generation in the USA people have become fearful of holding to, expressing and expanding Biblical Christianity into every sphere of influence.

The same is true in our church communities. If we allow people to come into our communities who do not have our common unity of core values then the level of commitment begins to drop to their level. This is especially true if we do not present to them the standard of excellence Christ expects of everyone and desires to hold them to.

What about the shepherds who have compromised God’s core values for the sake of their position, a promotion and a pay check?

“Our citizenship is in heaven” which means we must have, maintain and protect our common core values. Our core values are based in the Constitution of God’s kingdom, which begins with the Sermon on the Mount and the continued revelatory teachings of Jesus and those who followed Him in the first century.

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 5:48] – ” You are to be perfect just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Now, there is no timetable in that statement but there is a definitive goal of perfection. Well maybe there is a timetable. Jesus expected these men to mature to the place of fatherhood in the three years He would spend training them before He would ascend back to His Father’s side.

In most modern or post-modern churches the modern mindset of Christianity is perfection is not possible so full commitment to Christ is optional.

Look at what John the apostle said about personal responsibility and development.

1 John 2

“1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. 3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. 14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”

In these verses we find four levels of personal maturity. They are ‘little children” in verses 1 and 12, “fathers”, “young men” and “children” in verse 13, “fathers”, “young men” in verse 14.

So we have little children, children, young men and fathers. You may be asking why have I listed children and little children separately? In the Greek New Testament there are four levels of maturity in the childhood stage of development. ‘Children’ is the third level and ‘little children’ is the fourth. Then we have young men and father’s. All four have distinct characteristics of maturity.

Let’s take a cursory look at the characteristics of each level of maturity beginning with the children level found in verse 13.

Children, according to John, are those who know the Father. Keep in mind this is the third level of maturity in the childhood stage of development. ‘Father’ is capitalized so John is talking about the heavenly Father. This is so critical to our understanding of the truths being presented in this Blog. Remember, Jesus said we are to be just like our Father. John is revealing that what makes it possible for Christians to mature to the perfection of Father is we know Him personally and experientially as children.

Next, in verse 1 John writes that little children can learn that sinning is not permissible. What does that do to your theology? Do you automatically begin to argue with what John wrote 2,000 years ago. Remember, John was the one who laid his head on Jesus’ chest and is known as the apostle of love. John said he wrote to the little children so they would know they “may” not sin. John did not say, “can not sin.” This is a huge truth that must be accepted and embraced in order to pursue such a possible feat.

John then addresses young men. These “young men” I believe coincide with the second level of maturity called sonship [sons and daughters]. These young men are strong. These young men have God’s word in them. And these young men have overcome the evil one. These young warriors no longer pray, “Deliver us from the evil one.” Now that they have progressed in maturity to the point that the devil prays, “Deliver me from these young men.”

Lastly, John writes to fathers who know God who is from the beginning. What beginning is John alluding to? Maybe John is talking about “in the beginning” of Genesis 1. Or maybe, as I believe, John is talking about knowing the God who has been with them the entire process of maturing from childhood to fatherhood.

The key verse to me in this wonderful chapter of 1 john is verse 6 which says, “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” John puts the onus on [all of] us. “If” we “say we abide in Him” then we “ought to walk in the same manner as Jesus walked.” That my friends separates genuine Christianity and genuine Christians from religious Christianity and religious Christians.

In the New American Standard New Testament we find the word sheep as it pertains to people 39x and the word soldier as it pertains to believers 5x. Once we move out of the Gospels those numbers change considerable to sheep 4x and soldier 5x. Paul the apostle is the only New Testament author connecting saints to soldiers. That may be because he saw his mission of advancing God’s spiritual kingdom in a hostile natural world as a military campaign. After all, the word ‘apostle’ is taken from the Greco-Roman world of military warfare.

Den

A wild animal’s lair or place of habitation. Our modern understanding of a den is a comfortable place where a person can pursue an activity in private. ‘Den’ comes from a Germanic word meaning ‘threshing floor’ which certainly does not present comfort. A threshing floor is a place where chaff is separated from wheat or some other grain used for feeding people. The process of threshing at times is violent in nature as the fruit [core of the kernel] has to be separated from the husk by crushing and then further separated by blowing wind. For this blog lets think of comfort as a place we feel at home being comforted by the Comforter in His making us uncomfortable in our call as Christians.

All Christians begin as ‘wild animals’ who need to be trained in righteousness. One of the main places of training is the proverbial threshing floor of discipleship where we are supposed to learn that purity and power are two main characteristics of a true Christian.

Discipleship is about becoming like the Lord who all Christians are to be discipled to.

Are you being discipled to the leader who lets you stay in your pen?

Or are you being discipled to the Leader who wants you to get out of the pen and be discipled in the den where threshing creates thriving and purpose gives you vision to endure the pain?

Are you being discipled to the leader who wants you to stay a child so they can feel important and even superior to you?

Or are you being discipled by a leader who is not threatened by your maturity and wants you to grow into manhood?

Your future awaits you but you will have to decide in the present what is going to die.

Will your destiny or your carnality die?

You ultimately determine your destination!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin

Keep HIS Passion, Power, Presence, Purity and Purpose!

Common Sense Christians & Voting!

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Excellence, Hard Work, LifeGiving, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit

NEWSFLASH: Memo to self!

Jesus is not running for President of the USA this year!

Jesus, nor His apostles, nor any New Testament writer lived in a country or culture that allowed for its citizens to vote for those they wanted to lead them. They all lived in countries and cultures like most of the earth’s population today where dictators and despots ruled the people.

Do you honestly realize the privilege you have and the responsibility that comes with being a citizen of the USA?

Not voting is really not an option!

Common sense Christianity and Christians realize that we pick Presidents who are flawed.

Common sense Christianity and Christians realize that beyond the person we pick for our President there is a platform their Party adopts that defines certain core values of that Party and the people representing that Party.

So Mr., Miss, or Mrs. Christian who is struggling to vote for either person running for President representing their respective Party:

Have you read the Democrat and Republican Party’s platform?

Have you considered what the candidates have accomplished in their personal lives?

Have you considered you are not voting for the lesser of two evils but for the best of the two flawed candidates and their Party’s platform?

And no the “other” candidates are not viable options because they have zero chance of winning.

In this election, since Jesus is not running, I have to say that it seems to me that Donald Trump and the Republican platform is the closest to Christian core values that Jesus, His apostles and the New Testament writers stand for.

But don’t take my word for it!

Do your own research and come to your own conclusions. But please remember, just because Jesus is not running does not mean He is not watching!

I know Mr. Trump is really a flawed human being, really flawed. That being said, as far as I know he is not being investigated by the FBI, has not made decisions that cost American lives needlessly, lied to the parents of those who died, has not represented a child rapist nor attacked the child that was raped, has not been married to an accused serial sex offender, nor has he been involved in and accused of shady pay for play deals while serving in a governmental position.

Just research Planned Parenthood, its founding and founders. That alone should cause you to cringe if or when you think of voting for Hillary and not voting for Mr. Trump.

These are things that I have researched and thought about. I hope and pray you will too before you stand before God and vote for your next President.

Keep HIS Faith! Keep HIS passion! Keep HIS purposes!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin
A Historyaker

The Throne! The Opportunity! The Responsibility!

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Excellence, LifeGiving, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training

One of the most misunderstood events in the purposes of God is the ascension of Jesus the Christ into the realm of heaven and His being seated on David’s throne.

There are many who believe that Jesus is not sitting on a throne right now and that He must return to earth in order to sit on David’s throne where He will begin His righteous reign on the earth.

I have not figured out what these people believe Jesus has been doing for the past 2000 years unless they think He has been disengaged from His responsibilities of being the King of kings and Lord of lords, and the Head of His Church. Maybe they think He has been in planning meetings on what the third temple in Jerusalem and His throne should look like.

Not happening and not going to happen!

“30 Therefore, [David] being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne.

31 He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.

32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.”

[Acts 2]

I have good news for you for the New Year!

Jesus has been sitting on David’s throne for about 2,000 years in fulfillment of the Father’s promise to King David. Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit said the resurrection of Jesus the Christ, THE promised descendant of David who would not suffer corruption [decay] in death, was to exalt Him to David’s throne.

One of the benefits resulting from Jesus’s ascension to and being seated on David’s throne is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that began on the Day Of Pentecost, but is promised to every person in every generation who believes on the Christ.

This promise of the Holy Spirit is for the empowering of believers to represent God in a way that truly represents God – in purity and power!

Christianity is only Biblical Christianity when the purity and power of the Holy Spirit is the leading indicators of the life and ministry of the people who call themselves Christian.

Look carefully at these words – “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” [1 John 2:6 NAS]

Jesus lived the Christian life to demonstrate for the Christian how God expects us all to live. He did this by maintaining a faith filled and faithful life of purity, and an overwhelming power over all the works of the devil, including temptation.

If you are waiting for Jesus to return to earth to sit on David’s throne then you have misunderstood the purpose of Father God in the Person of His Son, Jesus the Christ, and the Person of the Holy Spirit!

By waiting on Jesus to come back to begin His reign on earth you are missing your opportunity to rule and reign with Him right now.

Instead of waiting for something to happen why not step up and into your rightful place as a result of what has happened and begin exercising your God-given authority in a world that is waiting for responsible sons of God to arise.

There are many places in the Bible I could go to convince you, if you need convincing, that Jesus is reigning right now as you read this blog, but I will stick to this one –

1 Corinthians 15:26

“For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.”

2016 is a year that is poised for the sons [mature children] of God to rise up like the Son of God and fulfill what the Son commanded the sons – disciple nations!

“According to your faith will it be done for you.”

Let’s do this!

Keep HIS Faith! Keep HIS Passion! Keep HIS Purity! Keep HIS Purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin

HIS Hisstorymaker

 

 

 

 

 

Cain, Rejectee Or Rejector?

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Excellence, LifeGiving, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training

Have you ever felt rejected personally when you believed the person you valued did not appreciate the work you had done for them?

People who have their identity in what they do and not who they are do not respond well when their hard work is not enough to keep them where they believed their hard work had placed them. Their “old self” shows up.

The question that must be asked and answered is: Was there ever a new self or did the person just hide their “old self” well until they believed they were rejected? And then everyone gets to see their old self!

Cain was such an individual. Cain worked hard for God. Cain believed his hard work positioned him in a special place with God, and when God did not have the same value for his hard work, Cain proved his heart was never after God’s heart. This is the very reason Cain’s hard work was rejected. By the way, God did not reject Cain! God rejected his hard work as an offering of true worship.

Cain never understands their hard work does not place them where they are. Acceptance, value and honor place them where they are but their lack of honor disqualifies them for remaining where they had been placed!

When what we do is rejected we discover our lack of depth in the relationship with the one we did the work for! Cain saw God as his problem and the one who did not value their relationship.

3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. 4 Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; 5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” 8 Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” Genesis 4

When the Lord rejected Cain’s offering [of the work of his own hands] the world around Cain felt the wrath of Cain’s lack of honor for God and His will [true worship based on His work].

God is looking for those “whose hearts are fully His!” [2 Chronicles 16:9] This statement is within the context of King Asa who only obeyed God when it was convenient. The king lashed out at the prophet who represented the God who rejected his partial obedience.

People who think God is impressed with their hard work and deserve special treatment because of their hard work reveal that they do not understand real relationship with God, or the kind of worship God looks for. God looks for those whose heart is fully His.

That is why Jesus would later talk about a people, “Who worship Me with their lips but their heart is far from Me.”

Relationship with God and His people begins with valuing what He values. Cain never connected to God’s heart because he was only interested in his hard work. His false belief created a heart that was hard and out of his hard heart he fell into what he carried in his heart – wrath.

People who carry wrath in their heart instinctively want judgment on others who do not do what they want.

They believe God has judged them so now they have a license to judge others!

Punishment of others is comfort food for Cain!

God gave Cain the opportunity to rise up after his countenance fell. God offered Cain a promotion! God offered Cain the opportunity to rise above the place he dwelt in his heart so that he would be able to see and experience God’s heart. Cain rejected the promotion!

Instead of seeing what God had offered him, Cain, because he did not value God or God’s community, continued his downward slide toward murder. Cain carried murder in his heart before God rejected his offering. When God rejected Cain’s offering Cain took it as personal rejection. The rejection did not create Cain’s hard heart but it did reveal it.

There are a lot of Cain’s in Christian communities [churches]!

Cain, God bless them, worship what they create instead of worshiping the Creator!

There are many examples of this in Scripture. Lucifer, Cain, Saul, and Judas are just a few of the personalities in Scripture that fell because they worshiped ‘their’ worship instead of the God who looks for worshipers who will worship Him in [by] spirit [not self] and [His] truth.

Idolatry is false worship and is condemned by God because it elevates what we have done above what God has done and is doing.

False worshipers become apparent when their expression of worship [what they worship] is not accepted by God. They look for someone else to blame instead of dealing with their false worship. This reveals their true intentions and why they are in the Community of believers. They need people of faith to affirm what they do because they do not have a real relationship with God. We know this is true because when they feel rejected they begin accusing God and those who they feel have rejected them.

They want and need to be accepted for what they do because they are hiding among the baggage of their old self! Never realizing they have been accepted and if what they do is rejected it is not a reflection of the value that God or His Community has for them!

When we believe we are rejected instead of understanding that our behavior is being rejected we disconnect from the people and place that has accepted us!

In verse 8 we read, “Cain told Abel his brother.” What did Cain tell Abel? Did Abel respond to Cain? If Abel responded to Cain what did he say?

Let’s look at a possibility!

Abel was Cain’s brother until Abel did not come into agreement with Cain. People who want others to tell them what they want to hear cannot handle being told what they need to hear. Now, Cain has felt the sting of rejection by God and his brother. And Cain is going to destroy the very one who was representing God to him by telling him the truth!

When Cain shows his true self [his old self] he proves he was not worthy of being in the Community.

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. 11 “Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 “When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear!14 “Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord appointed  a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled  in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” Genesis 4

Verse 16 is a sad but revealing verse. “Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” Cain settled [sat in judgment] in the land of Nod [aimlessness, no connection to anything stable], east [that which is before] of Eden [the place of God’s pleasure].

The Garden God created for man to have access to and have responsibility over was ‘east of Eden’. Cain, because of his irreverent and dishonorable behavior settled farther east of the place of God’s original pleasure, which was the place He placed original man, his parents.

Cain wanted nothing to do with God or what pleased Him. Again, this decision revealed what Cain carried in his heart the whole time he was in God’s presence. He wanted the benefit of a relationship without being responsible in the relationship and when he did not get his way he totally disconnected. That never works out well!

Many people believe God drove Cain out from His presence! Cain is the one who said God was driving Him away. Cain, who was never truly connected to God, now totally disconnected from God! “Cain went out from the presence of the Lord.” Cain was still operating out of his will be done, not God’s!

God stated in verse 12 what had always been a reality in Cain’s heart. “You will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.” God was simply revealing to Cain the truth that he was already a vagrant [a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging; one who wavers] and a wanderer [an aimless traveler] on the earth.”

To waver means you can not settle on what is established truth. Cain mixed his version of truth with God’s truth and then he settled on his version of truth.

People who mingle their version and perception of truth with God’s established truth will always feel rejected by those who have settled the matter of whose truth they will live by. Unsettled people cannot connect completely to settled people!

They are vagrants and wanderers. These are the ones who say, “God called me to serve you and to serve with you” and then when their lack of honor and reverence show up and is confronted, God mysteriously changes His mind. Now, “God told me to go over there and serve over there.” No He did not! God knew where you needed to be and when what you carried in your heart was confronted by those God called you to serve you revealed your vagrancy and your inability or unwillingness to settle down in established [God’s] truth.

Nepios [carnal, childish] believers are revealed by their instability!

Ephesians 4:14 – “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine [their own version of truth], by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;”

Mature believers can handle the truth because they speak truth!

Ephesians 4:15 – “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,”

Truth is found in what God wants us to hear not what we want to hear!

Can you handle THE truth?

From their instability nepios [immature] believers blame the mature believers when they are not moved [manuevered or manipulated] by their immature behavior.

Instead of staying connected to those who are stable they disconnect and drift into places where they find other immature believers so they can feel comfortable with their immaturity.

The Cain’s of the Community are self-centered!

Verses 13 and 14 reveal this truth – “Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is too great to bear! Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the [good and productive] ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.'”

Cain continued to blame God for his condition because the Cain’s of the Community can never be in the wrong!

“Whoever finds me will kill me” is a clear indication that Cain was looking for self preservation. He was not concerned with the preservation of God’s established truth or his brother Abel’s life. Cain’s only think of themselves! ‘How is this affecting me?’ is one of their core values when, ‘How is my childish behavior affecting the Community?’ should be their core value!

Loyalty and faithfulness are discovered in the process of disagreement and options!

Can you, or will you be loyal and faithful during disagreement or will you use the disagreement as your excuse to disconnect?

Because you have so many options for “worship” will you stay in the process of refinement where God called you to be and set you in to grow, or will you use the disagreement to move to Nod farther east of Eden, and therefore be a vagrant and wanderer forever, or at least until you decide to quit running and hiding?

Only you can answer these very important questions!

One thing is for sure, your future well-being depends on how you answer these questions!

Keep HIS Faith! Keep HIS Passion!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury

His Hisstorymaker

Grace Works!

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Excellence, LifeGiving, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training

This is what we find in Genesis 6:8 KJV.

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of God!”

This is such an interesting statement. What makes it so interesting and profound is the context in which Noah found what he found when he finally looked into God’s eyes. Actually, Noah was able to see all the way into God’s heart when he looked into His eyes. God’s grace does not originate in the eyes of God but the heart of God.

The context is God was sorry that He had made mankind. The reason for God’s feeling the way He did was that His prized production became vile and violent.

“Then the Lord  saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” [Verse 5]

To understand the veracity of this scene you must understand that Noah was included in God’s description of the condition of mankind.

Grace Is

What caused Noah to look into God’s eyes when he and every other person were only interested in living their life so loosely?

I believe that we find the answer in verse 3. “But My Spirit will not strive with man forever.”

God, by His Spirit was striving with every man, but only Noah responded to God’s striving. The word striving has to do with contending with, working with, judging in the sense of acting as an umpire. An umpire oversees sports events letting the participants know what is safe and what is out, what is fair and what is foul. Striving also means to plead with and to vindicate.

What we discover in this verse is that God will, after every effort is exhausted, cease to work with man to get him to change the direction he is heading in that is contrary to God’s heart for him. Noah must have submitted to God’s dealings with him, and by submitting to God he discovered and accessed the part of God’s character [grace] that empowered him to live totally for God.

Noah’s name means rest. Noah finally stopped his striving against God and rested in the nature of God. When we find the rest of God we will discover the rest of God.

What was the evidence that Noah found grace in God’s eyes? He began working with God! Noah cooperated with God and as a result of his submitting to God, God was able to co-mission him in the primary mission to save mankind from themselves.

God’s grace enabled Noah to work for and with God, not against God! Somehow work has become a four letter word in some ‘grace’ circles. Well meaning people, I am sure, reduce grace to the ability to decide they don’t have to work, or to be productive. In other words, they have deduced that God is a-okay with their laziness and or sinfulness.

Noah [rest] worked! Noah [rest] performed a task! Noah [rest] performed his task to the standard God required of him! That is what grace does. It enables us to get God’s work done God’s way.

We must realize that work is not a part of the curse that resulted from Adam and Eve’s sin. Unproductive work is a result of the curse.

Work is a part of creation and God’s redemptive purposes for the earth!

In Genesis 3 we find two very interesting verses:

Verse 8 – “The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.”

Verse 15 – “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.”

Verse 8 reveals that God gave man access to the Garden and verse 15 reveals that God gave man responsibility for the Garden. There are a lot of people who have been given access but refuse responsibility. If you will not be responsible for something then you cannot be given authority over something.

That’s something isn’t it?

Friends, grace works and grace works very hard. Grace is not lazy and those who accept God’s grace also work very hard. Otherwise, it is not God’s grace.

For HIS Glory!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin

Be Fed Or Dead

Posted on by under LifeGiving

When I was growing up I did not like school. The only reason I went to class in high school was so that I could play football and baseball. I loved, and still do love to learn, but I hated school [going to class]. I felt like I was being forced to conform to a system that did not assist me in learning.

My mother was a very wise woman, and very intelligent. She was a gifted secretary and wordsmith. Her command of the English language was exceptional. Whenever I would use the excuse “the teacher does not know how to teach” or “the teacher did not teach the material” she would always respond with, “Don’t you have a textbook? Read the material! Teach yourself!”

That used to grate my nerves. How dare my mom put the responsibility to learn on me. I used to think she was so ignorant, so out of touch with reality. My mindset was, “They pay the teacher to teach.”

 

Now that I am a teacher

[a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ]

I see from “the other perspective.”

 

That same mindset is pervasive in most Christians. “They pay the preacher to do that.”

It is true, we do reap what we sow. Ouch!

Now, as a teacher I understand the wisdom my mother had. It is amazing how little most Christians know of the Bible. We live in a time when obtaining a Bible is so easy. Most Christians have multiple Bibles in different translations. With the advent and advancement of the internet a person can have access to most all of the translations of the Bible, concordances, Bible dictionaries, atlases, encyclopedias, lexicons and the list goes on and on.

In other words, we are without excuse for not reading and knowing the Bible.

John the beloved and longest living original disciple of Jesus Christ said this, “26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teachesyou about all things, and is trueand is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, youabide in Him” [1 John 2:26,27].

John is not telling his readers that teachers are no longer necessary. He is telling them that the anointing [the presence of Jesus Christ within them] will let them know if what they are being taught is true. The key, according to John, is our abiding in Him. To abide in Him we must abide in His Word because He is the Word.

In Acts 17 we see an interesting story ~

10 “The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word [they were being taught] with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”

These Berean saints did not rely on the teachers [Paul and Silas] to tell them what was being taught was true. They examined the Scriptures [O/T Scriptures] for themselves to make sure what they were being taught “were so”.

Saint of God, read, study, meditate on, memorize and learn the Bible. Your very life depends on it. Don’t be like the “church in the wilderness” [Acts 7:38 KJV] that said to Moses, ““Speak tous yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak tous, or we will die” [Exodus 20:19].

If the only “Word” you get is what your “Moses” says God is saying then you will shrivel up and you may eventually die. Your spirit is longing for the Word of God. You will not die if God speaks directly to you. It will not kill you to invest quality time with God in His Word. But you may die if you don’t invest the time to feed on God [His Word and His presence].

Jesus quoted Moses out of Deuteronomy 8:3 – “Man shall not live on bread alone but by every word that PROCEEDS out of the mouth of God” [Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4]. God is always speaking – He is called the Word of God. Jesus is the Word made flesh.

Saint, teachers are great assets to your spiritual development but they can never take the place of your personal communication with the Lord. You do not need an interpreter to communicate with God. Read the Bible and hear His voice. He has some really great things to say to you – Today!

For HIS Glory!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury

Positioned For Purpose

And A Hisstorymaker