Discernment Needed

 The gifts of the Spirit are critical components of the gathering of Messiah's believers.  That will become increasingly true as the day draws near.  The subtle deceiver has had thousands of years of practice and we are no match for him. The Holy Spirit will grant the gift of discernment to those who admit they are poor, blind and lame. 

This subject is front and center in scripture.

Matthew 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves."

Acts 16:17-18 Following after Paul and us, she kept shouting, saying, “These men are servants of El Elyon, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” She kept doing this for many days. But Paul was irritated and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Messiah Yeshua to come out of her!” And it came out of her that very moment.

Acts 20:28-31  28“Take care of yourselves and all the flock of which the Ruach ha-Kodesh has made you overseers, to shepherd the community of God—which He obtained with the blood of His own.  29 I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Even from among yourselves will arise men speaking perversions, to draw the disciples away after themselves. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning you with tears.

There are lots more, but stop and "Selah" on this for a moment, "remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning you with tears."  That is powerful, it has a weight to it that indicates it was a real threat to the work that Paul has poured into the gathering at Ephesus.

Romans 16:17-18 "16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All of Messiah’s communities greet you. 17 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep your eye on those who are causing divisions and stumbling blocks, contrary to the teaching that you learned. Turn away from them. 18 For such people do not serve our Lord the Messiah, but only their own belly. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

2 Cor. 11:12-14 "12 But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off the opportunity from those who want an opportunity in what they boast about to also be regarded just as we are. 13 For such men are false emissaries, deceitful workers masquerading as Messiah’s emissaries. 14 And no wonder, for even satan masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is no great thing therefore if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their deeds."

Galatians 2:3-5  3 "Yet not even Titus who was with me, a Greek, was forced to be circumcised. 4 Now this issue came up because of false brothers secretly brought in (who slipped in to spy out our freedom in Messiah, in order to bring us into bondage). 5 But we did not give in to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the Good News might be preserved for you."

2 Timothy 3:6,7 "6 For among these are those who slip into households and deceive weak women weighed down with sins, led away by various desires, 7 always learning yet never able to come to the knowledge of truth. "

2 Timothy 3:13 "But evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived."

2 Peter 2:1-3 "But false prophets also arose among the people,just as there will also be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies. They will even deny the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 Many will follow their immoral ways, and as a result the way of the truth will be maligned. 3 In their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction does not slumber."

2 Peter 2:13 "They will be paid back for what they have done—evil for evil.They consider carousing in broad daylight a pleasure. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceitful pleasures while feasting together with you."

Jude 4 "For certain people have secretly slipped in—those who from long ago have been marked out for this judgment. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into indecency and deny our only Master and Lord, Yeshua the Messiah."

Revelation has 3 direct warnings and many indirect warnings because one of the things every community of Messiah will be overcoming is the deceitful ones who "rise up among yourselves".

Rev. 2:2 "I know all about your deeds and your toil and your patient endurance, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. You have tested those who call themselves emissaries and are not, and have found them to be liars."

Rev. 2:14 -16"“But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who was teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before Bnei-Yisrael, to eat food sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. [e] 15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent then! If not, I will come to you soon and make war against them with the sword of My mouth. "

Rev. 2:20 " “But this I have against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel,[h] who calls herself a prophetess—yet she is teaching and deceiving My servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. "

Our prayers will be led by God to include a cry for the gift of discernment, more and more as the day draws near.

Psalm 57 Honestly, This is How I am Doing

 Psalm 57:6 "They prepared a net for my steps; I was despondent. They dug a pit ahead of me, but they fell into it!  Selah"

The Psalmist here admits to be gripped by fear, pressed down, bowed down etc. by seeing the plots of his enemies.

He already knows your heart, but there is a beautiful freedom in being able to share it.  

Lord, help us to grow in trust and love.  You love us, we can trust You. 

Since Childhood, This Kind

 Two of the gospels record the boy who was demon possessed and the disciples could not cast it out.  Yeshua asks a question of the father of the boy.  "How long has he been like this?"  Jesus does not waste words, He only says what the Father says to say, so we need to pay attention to this.  So this boy had been under this oppression since before he could have been the volitional cause of it.  Once Yeshua has that information, He casts out the demon that the disciples could not and later on when they ask why they could not, He starts the explanation with the words, "This kind..."  Trying not to read anything in to this or add anything to it, Yeshua identifies this as a special kind, that requires a more intimate connection to God the Father, to discern and there is some kind of requirement to be living in victory over your own flesh in such a way, that you are empowered to cast it out. (prayer and fasting).  I would not fell comfortable going beyond that because that is what the text states.  Is this "legal ground" as the result of the sins of the father, grandfather, great-grandfather of the boy?  Seems like a legitimate question.  The sins of the fathers being visited on the 3rd and 4th generation is meant to "wake-up" the current generation to the seriousness of their error and have them repent when they see the effect it is going to have on their children and grandchildren.  Also being aware of the mercy of God that "death" is not what is being passed on, the child can be brought to Jesus and receive victory and restoration.  Deut. 24:16 "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin." makes it clear that although things can be passed down that are detrimental, a death-sentence is not one of them.  Very grateful for mercy.

Still Learning, Still Thinking

 Still thinking about why prayer isn't answered and what we can learn from the demon possessed boy, that the disciples could not help.

Yeshua does say, "This kind..." indicating that this demon and this case are of a specific kind.  I believe the Lord may be showing us that this is related to the words of scripture that speak of sin being passed down to the third and fourth generation.

We will look into it a little more.  It is always good to just go to God like a child and say, "We don't know what to do but our eye is on you."

Lastly, I want to put together all the scriptures that speak of people coming into our fellowships/gatherings/communities who are planted by Satan to steal, kill and destroy from the Body.

We are warned to be on the look out, to be discerning, but are we??

Why Weren't My Prayers Answered?

 A friend posted her young son asking this "Mommy? Why does Scripture say if you have faith as small as a mustard seed you can say to these mountains move from here to there and they will? Because… I’m pretty sure I’ve done that before, and it hasn’t worked."

  Two days later, I was able to put together this response.

I would appreciate feedback, comments, really any help anyone can give as we try to approach the question of unanswered prayer.  email  chuckabean@hotmail.com  or FB message me. Thanks.

Apparently the Rabbi's would delight in the talmid, the disciple, who would ask the best question. Grantham would be top of the heap. This section is taking place in a specific setting. A father has brought a son with a demon and the disciples are not able to cast it out. They had been given this authority many chapters earlier. Bolstered by previous successes they were perplexed by being unable to cast this one out. Mark (chapter 9) adds some detail. Torah teachers and others were surrounding the disciples who were unsuccessful in their attempt to drive out the demon and there was a big hullabaloo. (isn't that a great word) Mark also adds the detail that the boy was mute, from very young, and when Yeshua casts it out He calls it mute and deaf. Casting out demons was a known ministry in Yeshua's day, but they would typically ask the demon to identify itself, but with a deaf and mute person this method would not work, so it was seen as a sign of the Messiah, that He could handle even this difficulty. (Matthew 9:33, 11:5) I think Matt. 17:17 gives us a key, “You faithless and twisted generation!” Jesus said in response. “Exactly how much longer must I be with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Obviously the answer to that question is; "Yeshua you will have to put up with them until You are taken back into heaven, but then everything changes. The Holy Spirit is released in an unprecedented way and those who follow You will no longer be faithless or twisted, they will have Your very life empowering them and the 'powers of the age to come' will be displayed through their ministries, whenever and however and wherever Your wisdom chooses." I think it is key to tie this sentence in because there is a clear division in Yeshua's thinking about this generation as opposed to the Kingdom to come. In the Kingdom to come all the mountains, symbolic of governments will be cast down and only His government will rule and reign from His throne in Jerusalem. Ultimately our prayers will be heard, we are called to persevere and have faith, "till the end". Lastly, in Mark 9 Yeshua replies this kind comes not out except by prayer, then it is disputed whether or not "and fasting" was also said. And if your Bible has Matt. 17:21 it says by "prayer and fasting". This is a hard fact, but it is a freeing fact. Our hearts are not naturally in perfect alignment with God. His wisdom and the fact that we live in "this evil age" will often combine to bring situations across our path that we "feel" God would want us to "pray away", but we pray and nothing changes. The deep truth is, we must pray first and foremost to be dead to self and alive to Yeshua, then from a place of broken submission He will direct our prayers. Later Yeshua will say, "It is better for you that I go away." This is such a startling statement, we cannot blame the disciples for doing the ultimate "Wait! What??" What Yeshua knows is, the the Holy Spirit is going to bring in an opportunity for unity with God for everyone who looks to the cross. What Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, David had was going to be released to a multitude of followers. It is possible to pray sincerely and with all faith that a situation will change and it not change. Since we know God is both sovereign and loving, that should cause us to go back to Him, humbly seeking in what way we were not in alignment/unity with His Spirit. Prayer as a lifestyle is how we do that and fasting as led and empowered by God is one way of keeping the flesh down. 2 Cor. 11:27 " in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness" When Paul speaks of his qualifications as an apostle one is being put in a situation where he is hungry and thirsty, and one is putting himself voluntarily in that situation (fastings). Our unity with the Father is the ultimate key to this passage, it is costly, but glorious, "I only do/say what I see/hear the Father doing and saying." A life of total dependence!

Eschatology (what you believe about the end of the age) Drives (motivates and makes you cry out for the Life of Yeshua to empower you) Discipleship (the beautiful, terrible ongoing process of being conformed into the image of Yeshua)

 Big fancy words, but filled so much truth in 3 words. "Eschatology drives discipleship." When we have revealed to us by the mercy of God, that we are living in "this evil age" then our outer self wasting away is not the main concern, in fact "loved not their lives unto the death" is our ultimate power over the fear, threat, intimidation and violence of satan and his forces. Everything that the hand of God permits to enter the life of a believer is redeemed as we cry out for Him to use it to make us more like His son. As we accept it and trust that He will turn it for our ultimate good. (as defined by Him and Him alone, we want no part of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, its fruit is DEADLY still) Everything in this evil age is transient, temporary, dung. (very polite religious word for ... well you know!) The things that are unseen are not some "harp and cloud heaven" type imagery, they are unseen things of the Kingdom of God on earth that is yet to come. It is because they are in the future, not because they are spiritual, that they are unseen. Plato and Origen are not our God, The Messiah King of Israel, ruling from David's throne in Jerusalem is our King. That is who we are crying for when we say Maranatha! Our prayers center around the peace of Jerusalem, because that is a cry for His return as only His return will bring ultimate peace and the false peace before He returns is going to be a stone of stumbling. Our prayers cry out for the grace and supplication to be poured out on the Jewish people because that is the ultimate end of "this evil age", national repentance and national salvation, a nation born in a day. 1 John 3:2,3 "2Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. 3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure." THIS HOPE, the Kingdom to come, is the driving force behind our crying out for the purity that only His life brings. We love because He first loved us. His heart for Israel is poured out on us and we love "His brethren" with His heart of unbreakable commitment and love. He has shown such mercy to me, how could I ever withhold it from anyone! Maranatha!

Love Hopes All Things!

 I sinned today.

I knowingly, willingly, let my eyes look upon things that for me are sin.

There is no sacrifice for willing sin.

There is only a broken, repentant cry for mercy.

The God of Israel heard my heart cry for mercy.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob came running and collapsed on my neck.  We embraced and held onto each other, weeping and rejoicing in the reuniting of our hearts.

The Messiah of Israel willingly, lovingly became the slaughtered Lamb for moments like this.

Overwhelming love and gratitude filled my heart and I wept and prayed for many people by name, that they would come to know this love, this mercy, this healing.

Good News!  Good News!