Tag: fire

Who Shall Ascend? Keys to His presence

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Psalm 24: 3-5 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

Psalm 15 “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the Lord; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.”

Isaiah 33:14:16 “The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?” / He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil— / he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.”

Psalm 73:1 A Psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

Isaiah 1:16-17 Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil! / Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”

Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

James 4:8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

The Pagan Pulpit

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Many reading this may already know the one-man pastor system is no where to be found in scripture. It was and always has been God’s desire to be King among His people. However due to His people’s desires, He allowed man to rule over His people. God may allow things, though He never wills it. A great question then is what else do we do as a church that God has allowed, but never willed?

One is the pulpit. It is no where found in scripture. Even if there is no literal pulpit, many times our entire meetings are revolved around “the teaching.” Though a very challenging subject, there is much evidence to prove this structure is pagan in origin, stemming from Roman-Greek culture. One ministry in the five-fold has usurped all others, and it is often the least expecting, and it’s the teaching ministry.

Teaching is apart of five-fold ministry, and we absolutely need it to enter the fullness of Christ, but this writing is only a challenge to its current structure. Often our meetings, even those outside church system, have become centered around teaching. Even though the church has gone through many positive changes since the reformation, the structure is still in the mold of the harlot church. The package may have changed colors throughout the centuries, but it is still boxing the life of Christ and placing limits on Him.

It’s so simple, but we need to come back to the basics Christ taught. ONE is our teacher and we are all brethren. When our fellowships are truly centered around Him there is Life even though it may be different, unorthodox, and at times uncomfortable to our traditional thinking. If we want true Life we must come out of Babylon. Without even realizing we may have gone back into Babylon, or never have truly left. If we get together and know what to expect: worship then the teaching. It’s a good sign we are still slaves to Babylon. Christ has no program other than His own, and it is the job of true leaders to continually give the gathering into HIS hands no matter what that looks like.

Come back to your First Love. Come together and wait on the Lord. Let Him direct your steps as fellowships.

1 Cor 14:26 “How is it then, brothers? when ye come together, each one of you has a psalm, has doctrine, has tongues, has revelation, has interpretation. Let all things be done unto edification.”