Friday 27 July 2012

God of miracles 3 - "Wisdom makes your face shine"

We had a guest speaker at our church this week, Apostle Guillermo Maldonado from Miami Florida. He preached an amazing message called “Gospel preached in the now”.

Ecclesiastes 8 (AMP)

1. Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his countenance is changed.


2. I counsel you to keep the king’s command, and that in regard to the oath of God [by which you swore to him loyalty].
3. Be not panic-stricken and hasty to get out of his presence. Persist not in an evil thing, for he does whatever he pleases.


4. For the word of a king is authority and power, and who can say to him, What are you doing?


5. Whoever observes the [king’s] command will experience no harm, and a wise man’s mind will know both when and what to do.

The Gospel is not a tradition. It must be experienced! You, would not be allowed to be called a “witness” in a court of law, if your knowledge of a situation was second hand... Witnessing from a historical or motivational point of view does not make for a credible witness...

Revelation 12:11

11. And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony...

In order for us to witness and testify with conviction, we have to have experienced firsthand what it feels like to meet the God we serve.

On Sunday Apostle Maldonado, called out names into the camera, (as the service was broadcast live into Africa) and I am sure that many sceptics doubted that these people actually existed.

One of the names called, was a woman named Martha. I received a phone call the next morning; a woman that I had been discipling for a couple of years (as a cell group leader), was on the other line. She was sobbing and I could barely hear what she was saying. Eventually she managed to tell me that when Apostle Maldonado called out her name, MARTHA! - she felt “things” leave her body. She has always loved the Lord, but has lived a life of struggle, in and out of mental institutions, depression and heart problems. She was healed.

So many others received and testified of what God had done for them, deaf ears opened, blind eyes healed, even one of our long time church employees, a man named General, received hearing after being deaf in his one ear for many years.

We are called to be firsthand witnesses!


Thursday 26 July 2012

Love even when you hate

My mom gave me some good advice at the beginning of my marriage, she said that you need to love your partner enough, to love them even in the times when you hate them. There will always be times of hatred, but divorce is not the solution. By divorcing, you turn a temporary state of being into a permanent state of being, each as painful as the other, only difference is its time span. I have found that unforgiveness is like sticky tape for demons; it attracts illness, depression etc. Press the reset button on your marriage every morning, and don't carry yesterday's anger into today.

- to my friend A xxx

Matthew 6:14-15 (AMP)

14 For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.

Friday 20 July 2012

The Knowing 3 - "Sing Like a Refrigerator!"




...God was preparing a clean slate for me to get to know Who He truly is and I was in for the ride of my life.

Shaking foundations

The next Sunday, I went to a Pentecostal1 church for the first time in my life. The same church the young pastor (who chased the demon out of our house) was a part of. 

It is amazing how God tested my heart - I always said that I did not want to go to a “happy clappie” church, because the preachers have long oily hair and they scream at you; never mind the weird “tongue talking” thing and falling on the ground! Well, that is exactly what I got when I stepped into this church!

Ironically this specific church’s Pastor, has short grey (nice clean) hair and he rarely gets exited enough to raise his voice at all, but this particular Sunday, he was preaching elsewhere... The oily hair pastor was a travelling evangelist (later found out there are 5 different types of preachers who preach in Pentecostal churches and evangelists are usually the ones who like to raise their voices...) who just came to preach on that particular Sunday!

If God had not already instructed me to let go of all pre-conceived ideas about Him and His church, I probably would have walked out. After working through the little issue of the long oily hair and the screaming, I was able to participate in the whole of service, and not just focus on what I thought I didn’t want.

The people in the church seemed so sincere when they sang at the beginning of the service. Each person singing with their eyes closed, their arms up in the air and expressions of true love, as if they where singing to woo the love of their life. First they gave thanks, with sounds of a cheering crowd at a sports arena, and later it turned into a love song that would bring even the rocks to tears. The physical air in the building seemed to thicken and gain weight, pressing down on my shoulders like a heavy rain cloud about to drop out of the sky.

Why is it that so many churches teach, that emotional stirring “leaves the body” when you walk out of church, on the other hand, cold hard facts on the bible will stay with you if you sit in church like a corps and sing like a refrigerator. Why do we not love God like the bride in Song of Solomon?

Song of Solomon 1:13-14 (Amp)

13 My beloved [shepherd] is to me like a [scent] bag of myrrh that lies in my bosom.
14 My beloved [shepherd] is to me a cluster of henna flowers in the vineyards of En-gedi [famed for its fragrant shrubs].

Psalm 23:1

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

Luke 19:40

He replied, I tell you that if these keep silent, the very stones will cry out.

Matthew 23:27

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you are like tombs that have been whitewashed, which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything impure.

To be continued...


1. Definition: "Pentecostal" Christians may also be described as "Charismatic." Pentecostals include Protestant Christians who believe that the "manifestations of the Holy Spirit" are alive, available, and experienced by modern-day Christians. These manifestations or gifts of the Holy Spirit were seen in the first century Christian believers (Acts 2:4; 1 Corinthians 12:4-10; 1 Corinthians 12:28) and include signs and wonders such as the message of wisdom, the message of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, discerning of spirits, tongues and interpretation of tongues. The term Pentecostal, therefore, comes from the New Testament experiences of the early Christian believers on the Day of Pentecost. Pentecostals believe in the "Baptism in the Holy Spirit." -  Mary Fairchild

Tuesday 17 July 2012

The Knowing 2 - "Talking Picture"




...I had my first vision from God.

On the screen in front of me appeared a horizon, cluttered with buildings. It was a smoggy cityscape in tones of grey. Above it, the sun was busy setting. Out of nowhere a great hand appeared and wiped away all the manmade structures. Then the hand, using the thumb, drew a strait line from my perspective, strait into the horizon.

I had no idea what this meant...

Then God spoke and said to me: “Forget everything you have ever known about Me, I will teach you”.

There I was, speechless on my garden step.

It has taken me some time, but I have come to realise, that one can not learn anything new about a subject if you think you already know all there is to know. Old knowledge (buildings) on a subject stands in the way of knowing a new thing.

I had to let go of all the doctrine that I had been thought, because it would have taken years to figure out what was correct and what was man made. It is the “leaven” that Jesus so often spoke about. One little lie can make everything you know tainted.

God was preparing a clean slate for me to get to know Who He truly is and I was in for the ride of my life.

To be continued...

Monday 16 July 2012

The Knowing 1 - "Revelation Relationship"




Is “knowing Jesus” the same as having a “revelation as well as a relationship with Jesus”?

When talking about revelation - I am talking about a supernatural transferral of insight into “Who God is” that consequently affects every part of your tri-partite being1 (body mind and spirit).

What does the Bible say about the difference between “knowing Who God is, in a purely historical and character sense” versus “knowing God in context of a personal Father son relationship”?

Is “knowing Who Jesus is” going to mean heaven for you? If you are uncertain whether “, just knowing” in itself, is enough; we could just ask Satan and his fallen angels...

Does this seem harsh? James, Jesus’ brother didn’t seem to think so.

James 2:19 (New Living Translation)

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible: “...the devils also believe; the Arabic version reads, "the devils likewise so believe"; they believe the same truth; they know and believe there is but one God, and not many; and they know that the God of Israel is he; and that the Father, Son, and Spirit, are the one God; they know and believe him to be the most high God, whose servants the ministers of the Gospel are; and they know and believe that Jesus is the Holy One of God, the Son of God, and the Messiah, Acts 16:17.

And tremble; at the wrath of God, which they now feel, and at the thought of future torments, which they expect, Mark 5:7 and which is more than some men do; and yet these shall not be saved, their damnation is certain and inevitable, 2 Peter 2:4 wherefore it follows, that a bare historical faith will not profit, and cannot save any; a man may have all faith of this kind, and be damned; and therefore it is not to be boasted of, nor trusted to.”

(Read more - http://bible.cc/james/2-19.htm)

Who do you say Jesus is?

Matthew 16 (Amplified Bible)

13 Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is?
14 And they answered, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
15 He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am?
16 Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and [d]to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.
18 And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros—a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra—a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the [g]infernal region) shall [h]not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it].

Jesus had been teaching the 12 disciples (for 3 years) everything He could, in order for them to know Him, and to be able to plant churches and even to write the New Testament (by inspiration of the Holy Spirit). It stands to reason that they knew Who Jesus was. Why does Jesus then make such a big deal about Peter’s answer of His question?

The Word says “For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you...”These words seem to hold a clue.

Who told you Who Jesus is? Your Sunday school teacher...? Your Parents...?

I thought I knew who Jesus was, until He revealed Himself to me and I realised that I had not known Him at al, despite my Christian upbringing.

A young pastor came to our house years ago; our children had seen a “ghost” in our house, and I had long suspected that we where not “alone” in our house. He first straitened out our thinking about the misconception of ghosts being dead people who didn’t somehow qualify for Heaven or Hell, and explained that it would always be either an angel or a demon.

He followed up his teaching by warning us against FEAR and also explaining how powerful the name of Jesus was. (Understand this - listening to someone talk about unseen things is a stretch, but backing up your “crazy talk” with some hardcore application is a whole different ballgame!)

Hebrews 11 - (Amplified Bible)

1 Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].
2 For by [faith—trust and holy fervor born of faith] the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things, which are visible.

The young pastor sat in our living room, and while drinking his cup of tea, he closed his eyes and in a gentle tone of voice said “Dear Jesus” (as a start of a prayer) he was no further than that when this demon manifested it’s voice, sounding like a dying, out of breath, wolf! Three puffs and the demon was never to be seen again.

It just hit me: “The power is in the Name”. His Name spoken from your mouth represents your level of faith that is stored in your spirit and soul.

What revelation backs up the Name Jesus when you say His name out loud?

What power is attached to your understanding of Christ?

This “knowing” resonates as a faith-drenched explosion, which rips the very air from the lungs of the enemy! Why do you think the devil has revived blasphemy to be such a big part of everyday speech? Even Christians use the acronym “OMG” that stands for “O my God”. Using God’s name in vain desensitises us to the All-consuming Fire that is stored up in a faith filled utterance of the NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES! I now knew, for a fact that you could stop a 10 ton - out of control truck, from slamming into a car, IF you have the power of pure faith attached to your utterance of the Name of Jesus.

Strait after this event, I left the house, so consumed by this revelation of Power in His Name, that I almost could not breath. I sat down on a step in our back garden, with my hands covering my eyes. Thinking, “I just saw the power of Jesus”. I took my hands away from my face and it seemed as though a TV screen appeared out of nowhere.

I had my first vision from God.

To be continued...

1. Man is a tri-partite being – spirit, soul and body. It is with his spirit that a man worships, and may contact God. The soul includes the conscious and subconscious minds, the realm of emotions and the will. Soul gives a man personality, self-awareness, rationality and natural feeling. (http://www.christian-faith.com/forjesus/spirit-soul-and-body-tripartite-nature-man)

Friday 13 July 2012

God of miracles 2 - "Shopping Bag Circus Act"




I watched an episode of the game show “Minute to win it” recently. In one of the games the contestant had to keep 3 balloons flying in the air at the same time for 60 seconds.

This morning I woke up and progressively started feeling inadequate. I realised that my 9 year old is growing up so fast that she is starting to face spiritual matters that I didn’t expect her to deal with for another few years, the house is on its head, as my cleaning lady is off sick, and on top of it all I feel a need to spend more time studying the Word because there is just so much to learn.

Then it dawned on me - I am not able to keep all the balloons flying...

God reminded me of an event a few weeks ago. I had 2 hungry tired kids in the mall; way to many bags in my hands, and my daughter was late for her first gymnastics class. The three of us where running down the length of the mall, desperately trying to get to the car, (that was down 2 sets of escalators), when my daughter lost her footing, smashed down in the middle of all the shops, and screamed in agony. I didn’t have the hands or frankly the time and energy to help her up, so she just had to “suck it up” and drag herself behind me crying. As our little trilogy of “screaming kids and shopping bags circus act” reached the pay point, I felt like an athlete in the last 10 meters of a marathon. I only had my pinkie finger available to remove my ticket and a single silver 5 Rand coin in my purse. I managed to put the coin in the machine, and it just fell straight through... So I pick it out of the slot and insert it again... It falls through again, 5 or 6 times. By then I realised that the machine was just not going to accept this coin, and I didn’t have another to replace it with.

I closed my eyes and said out loud: “Dear God, You have to help me, I can not handle this right now.” I meant it, I truly was at my wits end. Low and behold, I stick my hand into the slot to find not one but two R5 coins, my old one and a different one, which immediately worked when I inserted it. I burst out laughing and gained back all my lost energy.

We are not able to keep our balloons flying all the time. Sometimes we just have to take a moment and ask God, in faith (truly believing it will happen), to catch our balloons for us.

Matthew 17:20

He said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith [that is, your lack of firmly relying trust]. For truly I say to you, if you have faith [ that is living] like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

Thursday 12 July 2012

God of miracles 1 - "One Holy Spirit"

Matthew 13 (Amplified Bible)

14 In them indeed is the process of fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: You shall indeed hear and hear but never grasp and understand; and you shall indeed look and look but never see and perceive.
15 For this nation’s heart has grown gross (fat and dull), and their ears heavy and difficult of hearing, and their eyes they have tightly closed, lest they see and perceive with their eyes, and hear and comprehend the sense with their ears, and grasp and understand with their heart, and turn and I should heal them.
16 But blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear.

I can start by writing about the big miracles that I have seen over the years, but prefer to begin with the small ones, those miracles that we so often shove into the “coincidence box”.

I believe that if you knew how, you would be able to see God’s hand around you every day.

We recently moved to a new town and leaving friends behind is always hard. This whole week I have been wanting to phone a friend that I have not had any contact with since we moved away, 6 months ago, to ask her about her dad. He was a minister of a church all his life, and has been bound to his bed, for much longer than anybody should be; cut off from the world and his family because of his advanced Alzheimer disease.

For three days I have been randomly thinking about her father and today I got the message that he has passed on.

What does this mean? To me this is evidence that all Christians have one single Holy Spirit in our bodies, tying us together in one single body, no matter what our denomination or preferences are.

God knew that I had prayed for her father, and that I was concerned that he would be better off with his Father, so the Spirit of God tugged on my heart to tell me that it is done, that God had fetched one of His sons.

Wednesday 11 July 2012

God talks to us in our sleep…


Proverbs 6:22 (Amplified Bible)

22 When you go, they [the words of your parents' God] shall lead you; when you sleep, they shall keep you; and when you waken, they shall talk with you.

It is not uncommon for God to speak to us when we sleep. After I had my first revelation of who God really is, I often felt like God had spoken to me all night. I often wake up halfway through a worship song in my mind, and I just know that my spirit praised God all night. Or I would wake up with a scripture reference in my head, and when I read it, it would either be prophetic or just wisdom I need for that moment in my life.

Almost every big life changing decision or potentially dangerous or heartbreaking event that I have had to live through since my salvation has been preempted by a dream I have had during the night. I have even experienced friends having dreams about me, and on telling me about their dreams; I know exactly what it means. Even my 9 year old helps me to make the right decisions about her life through dreams God gives her.

Dreams where one of the main tools God used to direct Joseph’s life...

If you are already a Holy Spirit filled Christian, and you have had a feeling that your dreams might hold deeper meaning, I would suggest buying a good CHRISTIAN dream dictionary, and ask God to start speaking to you in your sleep.

Just remember that God tailor-makes the communication system between you and Him (not just dreams), all you have to do is be willing, have no fear and put your faith in the Living God.

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Tithe - A God who saves

Introduction

First and foremost: I 100% believe in the blessing of the Tithe, but I question the validity of the curse and subsequent fear that is cultivated in preaching the Old Testament tithe message, without New Testament revelation, specifically pertaining to the scripture reference in Malachi 3:10.

I believe there are mainly two types of belief systems when it comes to tithing...

The first group believes…

You must accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Believe that He died for you on the Cross and rose from the dead on the third day. He then rose to heaven where He presented His blood to His father to buy all who accept him, back from the dead, which in itself has the legal implication that we are free from the curse of the Law of Moses and that we can not do a single “work” on earth to buy this right standing with God, other than “choosing Jesus as our Lord and Saviour”.

Now we have to work at our Christ-likeness, and make sure to grow from “glory to glory”, knowing that God has abundant grace for our misguided steps. But we have to be sure not to fall into the trap of repetitive un-repented sin because it could cause spiritual death in the long run, as it influences our personal love relationship with the Godhead if we are constantly and purposefully going against what God’s will is for us.

Also go to the Old Testament and study what it says. You will find wisdom in the Law of Moses. “The Law” which Jesus said He came to fulfil and not to do away with, now serves as kingdom principals (or guide) rather than a Law, as the Law in itself carries punishment when overstepped. Rather it stands to help us tap into God’s way of doing things. In a way God was training us to be disciplined Christians who are not controlled by our instincts and flesh but rather our Godly knowledge of the way God’s system runs at full capacity.

Tithing is a good example. If we had to give 10 percent under the law, should we not want to give more under grace and love? After all, it has many benefits. You are sowing into the building of God’s kingdom, you are supporting the people who work day and night to bring you the uncompromised Word of God and as an added benefit, it teaches you to, not only to bring order in your finances but, it will serve as a point of contact for your faith to rise in trusting God to prosper you financially.

In a sense you are saying to God, “Because You said, that “what we sow we shall reap”, God I lovingly, with gladness in my heart sow into the building and the sustaining of your kingdom on earth, knowing that you are a God of love and you will bless me with wisdom, for I have sown in wisdom, and you will bless my finances, because I have sown finances etc.

It is not the “nithe” or the “fithe” it is the “tithe” the word “tithe” is derived from theword “tenth” and according to Gods wisdom it is just enough to keep the pesky spirit of mammon off our shoulders. It is interesting that when God mentioned that we “cannot serve two God’s”, he did not mention Satan as His no. 1 nemesis when it comes to being worshiped by man, rather He chose Mammon (the evil spirit of the love of money).

Isn’t it sad that Cane killed Abel because Abel’s offering was accepted but not Cain’s? Why did God prefer Abel’s offering despite the fact that they gave the same quantity? Could it be the love factor?

If God can trust you with the tithe, then surely he will see you as a good steward and entrust you with more…

The second group believes…

You must accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Believe that He died for you on a Cross and rose from the dead on the third day. He then rose to heaven where He presented His blood to His father to buy all who accept him, back from the dead, which in itself has the legal implication that we are free from the curse of the Law of Moses.

Yet, keep in mind, that although all sin was taken to the cross, we dig it up and bring back its power if we don’t keep a clean slate pertaining to sin. If we sin, God stands back folds His arms and says, “I can’t help you, now the devil has free reign in your life, because you have personally resurrected the power of sin, I want to help you… but I can’t…”

Remember that you have the power to undo what Jesus did for you by overstepping some of the more prominent ordinances, laws and commandments.

Firstly don’t worry about the animal sacrifices because Jesus became our offering. Also don’t worry about the “abomination” of eating lobster and snails, Jesus said that the problem is not what goes into our mouths that is foul but rather what comes out of it that is wrong.

Then, let’s not be silly, don’t worry about burning frankincense when you pray (Lev 2:2), and don’t worry about dressing up your Minister, Pastor or Priest in pointy hats and scarves because we are free from those “little ordinances” (Lev 8:8-9).

But be sure to tithe because the tithe was there before the law...

The following quotes are taken directly from either Pastors or Members of a prominent church in RSA:

“If you do not tithe, your prayers will not be answered” - Pastor – morning offering message. (Direct quote)

“My husband and I had trouble falling pregnant. Doctors didn’t have hope for us ever conceiving. We never use to tithe, and when I lost my baby during my pregnancy, God told me that it was not Him who killed my baby, but rather that He was powerless to stop the devil’s attack, because I put myself outside the of His protection because I didn’t tithe. We choose not to be under the protection of God if we don’t tithe.” – Pastor – cell meeting -  (Paraphrase)

“You can not be under God’s protection, the protection of the Covenant of Abraham if you don’t tithe. You step outside the boundary of God’s power over your life, by choosing not to tithe.” - Pastor (Paraphrase)

“I am a single woman who works for tips. I have been tithing for over 15 years. A few months ago I physically just could not afford to tithe as well as pay my rent. For that entire month I was in fear of even driving my car. I was sure that I might be in an accident, as I was outside the protection of God, because of my disobedience.” – Long-time church member


What does the Word say in the New Testament?

2 Corinthians 3:9 (Amplified Bible)

9 “For if the service that condemns [the ministration of doom] had glory, how infinitely more abounding in splendor and glory must be the service that makes righteous [the ministry that produces and fosters righteous living and right standing with God]!”

In other words righteousness exceeds condemnation…

Colossians 2:14

14 “Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us (hostile to us). This [note with its regulations, decrees, and demands] He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to [His] cross.”

Romans 8:1

1 “THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.”

I understand that we cannot just walk and do as we please. We should do as Jesus did and even more importantly we should do it for the same reason Jesus did it. Jesus often didn’t go according to the letter of the law, yet He was without sin and God said that He fulfilled the whole Law. He chose not to stone the adulteress woman because love and compassion supersedes the letter of the law. I know that tithing was there before the Law, but the moment it became a part of the Law it became a curse at the same time, IF we think that without it we are not righteous (i.e. in right standing with God).

Romans 5:17

17 “For if because of one man's trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God's] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”

Galatians 3:10

10 “And all who depend on the Law [who are seeking to be justified by obedience to the Law of rituals] are under a curse and doomed to disappointment and destruction, for it is written in the Scriptures, Cursed (accursed, devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal punishment) be everyone who does not continue to abide (live and remain) by all the precepts and commands written in the Book of the Law and to practice them.

Romans 11:29

29 “For God's gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.]”

We can become faithless Christians because of the religious doctrine of tithing and all the threats and accusations that accompany it, because we then believe that God’s hand is not upon us if we don’t tithe, and because it is our belief that God needs the tithe in order to save and help us, that in itself becomes the curse. That in which you have faith becomes your downfall. We have faith in our own works, that leads to a self inflicted curse that God warns us about when he tells us not to be deceived by our lack of knowledge and understanding.

The Malachi issue

Context is very important when reading Malachi. At the time when Malachi was written, Jesus had not yet presented His blood to become the righteousness for His people. Burnt sacrifices for atonement and the keeping of the entire Law of Moses was the only way people could be in right standing with God in the time when Malachi was written.

The people spoken of in the book of Malachi, became “religious” about their giving and doing of the Law because they lost their reverent fear of the Lord. Instead of giving their best animal in their flock to God, they would give a blind useless animal, so that they would not “feel” the sacrifice in their pockets. They had become selfish.

Malachi also talks about their moral decay. The priests were not in a ‘right-heart-condition’ towards God. Husbands were leaving their Hebrew wives for heathen wives. Malachi also mentions that there was a general feeling that people who were not doing God’s Law seemed to get away with it unscathed. The people to whom this letter was written, were questioning why they must do all the tedious ordnances of Moses’ Law, when in fact, those who didn’t, were as far as they could see, getting away with it. Also they made up excuses to get away from their duties by saying ‘we have not, therefore we give not’.

God then speaks through the prophet Malachi in Malachi 3:9 (Amp) “You are cursed with the curse, for you are robbing Me, even this whole nation.”

Barnes' Notes on the Bible:

“Ye have been cursed with the curse - (not "with a curse"). The curse threatened had come upon them: but, as fore-supposed in Leviticus by the repeated burden, "If ye still walk contrary to Me," they had persevered in evil. God had already shown His displeasure. But they, so far from being amended by it, were the more hardened in their sin.

Perhaps as men do, they pleaded their punishment, as a reason why they should not amend. They defrauded God, under false pretences. They were impoverished by His curse, and so they could not afford to pay the tithes; as men say, "the times are bad; so we cannot help the poor" of Christ. "And Me ye still are defrauding" Me, ye; man, God. And that not one or other, but this whole people. It was a requital as to that in which they had offended. "Because ye have not rendered tithes and first-fruits, therefore ye are cursed in famine and penury." "Because the people did not render tithes and first-fruits to the Levites, the Lord saith, that He Himself suffered fraud, whose ministers, constrained by hunger and penury, deserted the temple. For, if He is visited by others in prison, and sick, is received and cared for, and, hungry and athirst, receives food and drink, why should He not receive tithes in His ministers, and, if they are not given, be Himself deprived of His portion?"

– Barnes

Why where they robbing God?

Because they took something that was owed to God, in order to be in right standing with Him.

Do we as pure reborn Christians still owe God anything under the New Covenant today? This is what God says about “external religious worship”:

James 1:27

“External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.”

… I have to say “no” we do not owe God anything, not even the tithe… Salvation is a free gift! We are not subject to the wrath of God for bringing Him lame and blind offerings any more. We have fallen short and will fall short according to Moses’ Law till Kingdom come. The Good News is that we have been redeemed not to need fleshly works at all to earn our place in God’s Supernatural covering and protection. We have done all we can do to earn our “free gift” by purely accepting Jesus as our Lord and saviour.

Sanctification, holiness and Christ-likeness is a whole different story…

Yes, don’t bring your lame, unloving offerings and fear based tithes to the Lord, because we cannot “fool” God into believing that we are worshipping or loving Him, just as Cane could not “fool” God by giving in the same volume as his brother Abel, but without love. Without love and the joy of giving, nothing we do means anything.

As a matter interest rather than pure theology…

I read through the whole of Leviticus in a single stretch to really get a feel for the subject matter being discussed in this article, and I found something very interesting…

Up until Leviticus 26 the Law is laid out. Some trespasses are called sin others are called abominations, some sins are warned against and others have penalties or death sentences attached to them. Then in Leviticus 26 God explains the blessings attached to the obedience of The Law, and after that, also the extent of the curse for those who overstep The Law given.

This is what I found interesting - nowhere before the reading of the blessing or the curse, (that appears in chapter 26) is tithing mentioned… only after chapter 26 in chapter 27 the last 4 verses of the entire book of Leviticus it is explained. And what God has to say about the tithe explains exactly how I think we should look at the tithe:

- “it is holy to the Lord”

Leviticus 27:30-34

30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord.
31 And if a man wants to redeem any of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it.
32 And all the tithe of the herd or of the flock, whatever passes under the herdsman's staff [by means of which each tenth animal as it passes through a small door is selected and marked], the tenth shall be holy to the Lord.
33 The man shall not examine whether the animal is good or bad nor shall he exchange it. If he does exchange it, then both it and the animal substituted for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
34 These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.

1 Corinthians 13

1 “IF I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God's love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

Why then do I personally tithe?

Because the Word says that it is “Holy unto Him”, in other words, it is very special to our Father. This is a high priority and intimate moment between you and your Father where you present an offering from your HEART.

When is dreaded unbiblical “religious” behaviour born?

Manmade religion is birthed the moment we think that right standing with God can be bought or earned or even guaranteed by any other means rather than Jesus’ blood and God’s unconditional, unmerited, undeserving, LOVE and boundless MERCY AND GRACE. This idea that sin removes us from the power that God has over our lives and that our disobedience leads to His “pulling away and leaving us, so the devil can have a “Job-like dance” with our lives and the lives of our children” is nothing short of heresy in my opinion! We all sin all the time, just looking around in a church at the way people are dressed can lead to lust, not to mention “sticky sin” that almost every human combats on a minute to minute base, like pride, un-forgiveness and jealousy.

We are all sinners, all the time, and there is no such thing as “more” or “less” condemning sin, except maybe to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, which the Bible says is unpardonable.

Why didn’t tithing make the “top 10” most focused-on points in the Old Testament?

If, not tithing, as a Christian, can leave you out there like a sitting duck, with no protection from God, why didn’t God warn us in the 10 commandments? Surely such a trap and threat with such a dire-some curse attached to it should at the very least be mentioned with - not worshipping idols, and killing people?

Old Testament teaching on the tithe without New Testament revelation (not just scripture on being a cheerful giver, but true revelation on grace in the tithe message) to me is the equivalent of rape versus love, it might be the same in its mechanics, but in essence is not the same thing at all…

Are we using FEAR to draw out our tithes? Or are we using FAITH and our commitment to the GREAT COMMISION? And do we need to use FEAR as a tool, if we give people enough revelation on the subject of building God’s physical churches, as well as, the reality of the cost involved in bringing His Word and His Love to others?

This is not rebellion or an attack on any church in any way. I do believe that we unwittingly curse our congregations by saying things like, “If you don’t tithe your prayers will not be answered” and “If you don’t tithe, you render God completely powerless over your finances and life”. Doesn’t the Word say that what we bind on earth is bound in heaven?

I believe that we gain great intellectual and influential minds for God, with great means to uplift ministries, but the moment they have revelation on New Testament grace, they often leave their first-love-church, to find churches that don’t challenge their beliefs on the doctrine of tithing and its lack of grace. To make matters worse, there are so few churches out there that will not offend people with the “tithe-curse” that they end up, not going to church at all.

In my opinion people don’t leave churches because they are uncomfortable talking about money, prosperity or even parting with their money. They leave because they feel like they are put under condemnation, and are tied under a “give or just see what happens if you don’t …” curse. Especially those who come from conservative background churches, who are not completely desensitised to the constant threats that God will leave them “out in the cold” without His 10% payment.

“Do not perplex the weak believer”

As a church, we rarely have any idea what a new converts life was like before they entered the doors of our building. It is my personal conjecture that you have 2 extremes to deal with, those who need a measure of sanctification and those who need even more...

Example: You have person “A” walking out of a boardroom, with beautiful wife and children, who have had a fairly normal childhood, and “Christian morals”. They know the Bible because of years of attending a conservative church, but had never had true revelation or ever really understood the power of the Holy Spirit until they walked into your Spirit filled church. This person has sin in their lives. Maybe they smoke, maybe they don’t love their family like they should etc. Righteousness is instant the moment they surrender themselves to Jesus but sanctification is the road the Holy Spirit will walk with them. I believe that God’s mercy tailor makes each one of our “top 10 lists” of things we need to do or lay down, to be closer to Him and when we get done dealing with those things, He will update our lists with “10 more things” we must do.

Is it fair to say then, that Tithing might make person A’s so called “top 10 list”? It might... But what about a person who was sold into prostitution by their own parents when they where 7 years old? Would tithing be on their “top 10 list”? It’s harder for me to imagine that.

It is our duty as the body of Christ not to perplex people by confusing them with our own ideas of the shortest road to reaching Christ-likeness, versus the more excellent plan the Holy Spirit already has in mind for every new person who is saved.

My point is that we as ministers of the Word we cannot force revelation, on the topic of tithing, onto new believers, purely because we personally benefit from it in the flesh. It is our duty to teach the principle of the tithe as we would any other revelation the Word gives us on how to be a successful Christian. I believe that we have to teach the principal of the tithe, with all the truth and New Testament grace that the Bible has to offer, and add no curse brought forward from the Old Testament.

In Conclusion:

Our fight is not against “flesh and blood” it is against a spirit realm dominated with truth-like lies of which the worst are inherited lies. I thank God for planting me into a Spirit filled church, and pray that until He comes to fetch me, I will be renewed in my mind and views on every letter of His Holy Word, daily.

Words create and destroy

We do not always know the weight of our words. Words have power. God calls His own words a “two edged sword” that separates joints and marrow.

Hebrews 4:12 (Amp)

For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.

Do we fully understand what this means?

If I where to carry a sword, would that make me a swordsman or a knight?

We need skill to operate words.

We need different blades to cut different things in life. A butter knife is blunt, yet it serves a purpose. If a butter knife were to be sharp it just would not be as efficient. A fish knife has no cutting ability, yet the angel of the blade makes it ideal to separate fish on our plates. A chainsaw cuts down a 1000-year-old tree in a forest. A scalpel on the other hand is sharp, but smooth, thin, and uncontaminated, ideal to cut into flesh with minimum destruction of tissue and it is sterile, as not to cause infection.

Using words out of context and without careful consideration is the equivalent of using the wrong blade in an operating theater. Chainsaws, however effective out in the wild, are just not great tools when used for delicate reconstructive medical procedures.

If one had to line up four men, each equipped with one of the above-mentioned blades, the guy with the chainsaw would at first glance look like the most powerful man. Yet, if one gave the lineup more than an initial glance, one would realize that the real power lay in the scalpel. Anybody can operate a chainsaw yet very few have the skill to operate a scalpel.

In Genesis, God tells Abram that He is his Shield. Let no man’s unfitting blade cut your heart, and think twice on every blade you operate, for it will be the testament of your wisdom and skill.

Gossip is cutting into another persons flesh with a scalpel. The spreading of gossip however, is cutting into the same wound with a chainsaw, and blaming the original cutter.

The reason gossip is so destructive, is because the second person usually tells the story with no regard or reference to the situation, intention, environment or original context in which the original message was conveyed.

We should aim to gain knowledge, to operate with all types of words. Low-impact-everyday-words, gentle-words with a twist to keep things sophisticated and interesting. Words that can stop the course of history, wiping out unfair ways of life, cutting into the core of an issue and bringing down the injustice of its origin. And words, that skillfully heals and constructs with little pain and massive results.

Ask the Holy Spirit to guard your mind, ears, tongue and heart, every day, and you will radiate wisdom and you will experience the respect that is earned by effective Spirit lead words.

Family values


I spoke to an old friend of mine, recently, who lives in Australia. We where best friends at varsity. I was not a born again Christian at the time. He lives his life as a homosexual man, but our friendship is so strong that we have remained friends, despite our differences in Spiritual matters.

His love and friendship over the years has led to something miraculous... He tolerates me speaking about God, miracles, the church and Bible, without getting into disagreement with me.

Last week as we spoke, he said the most amazing thing, and it made me wonder how many Christians have ever grasped this concept?

He said to me “It would appear to me, that what you believe is true, because I know that you are not crazy. But it also seems that parallel to the reality that you live in, is the reality I live in. Both realities seem equally real.”

Without knowing exactly what amazing revelation he had, he indirectly got hold of the truth that there are 2 kingdoms operating on earth, that of darkness and of light.

The WORD says:

Matthew 6 (Amplified Bible) (also Luke 11)

9 Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The word COME is so interesting to me...

Q It doesn’t say:  Your kingdom STAY in heaven, until we die and become part of it.”

It says:
10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

What is a kingdom?

It is a system of authority. I am not sure if you have noticed, but God is a God of order. By order, I don’t mean a God of no surprises or even a boring God.

One of the few times I audibly heard God, was when I was driving my car. I had been questioning the way creation came about, and what God’s roll was in it.
This is what He said to me: “I am the only random force that leads to order”.

What He was saying to me is that nothing created happened by accident...

Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that no matter how random it may seem that we are born, God has a plan for you

I wonder how many of you know that King Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, who wrote the most of the book of Proverbs, was the son of King David and Bathsheba. You all know how wrong their relationship started.

This is one of the most amazing examples to me of how God would take that which we have done wrong, and repented to Him, and turn it into, not only good, but, the bloodline of Christ himself.

So if you are a child of Godless people, or your family told you that you where and accident or you where a baby conceived out of rape, or out of wedlock, surely the story of Solomon will teach you that God still has a plan for you.

Look at the Old Testament. It is a system, a Law to teach us that order is a good thing.

But humans are not perfect, and it is impossible for us not to become “out of order” at times.

The New Testament takes it further and teaches us that “ORDER without LOVE is a CURS”, because too much order leaves no room for love.

Jesus proved that when he told the Pharisees to pick up the first STONE to kill the adulteress woman.

There was a Law in place, an orderly structure to deal with the problem, but Jesus chose to supersede this Law and to replace it with love and forgiveness. This incident could possibly be seen by some as breaking the Law, yet God says that Jesus not only did not have any sin, He also fulfilled the entire Law.

Why am I speaking about Law and structures?

Because if we understand how the Kingdom of God on earth and in heaven operates, we would also understand the importance of the family structure as well as the grace that is needed to turn “family structure” into a place where Gods kingdom and WILL is reflected and a GOD KIND OF LOVE is grown.

The WORD says:

James 2:10

For whosoever keeps the Law [as a] whole but stumbles and offends in one [single instance] has become guilty of [breaking] all of it.

Without LOVE the structure of family is just as much a curse, as the Old Testament Set of rules that did not include Love or Grace and left no space for mistakes.

What does God say about the order of authority?

1 Timothy 3:5

For if a man does not know how to rule his own household, how is he to take care of the church of God?

.........Look at Jesus’ relationship with his disciples
Thinking about the way Jesus loved his diciples, so should a man love his family, and thinking about how the disciples loved Jesus, so should a family love the father of the house.

What type authority is needed to take care of the household?

Ephesians 5:21-23

21 Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

(....Why must we be subject to each other? “Out of reverence for Christ!”)

22 Wives, be subject (be submissive and adapt yourselves) to your own husbands as [a service] to the Lord.
23 For the husband is head of the wife as Christ is the Head of the church, Himself the Savior of [His] body.

Ephesians 6:1

Children, obey your parents in the Lord [as His representatives], for this is just and right.

8. God’s order is: God, Jesus, Man, Wife, Children

Does this mean that God loves men more than woman, or woman more than children?   NO

Galatians 3:28

There is [now no distinction] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

What this means, is that God does not regard men as being more important, or grownups being more important or holy than children.

God designed each of us to be a certain way, to fit into an order that leads to a successful life.

Q Why are we getting it so wrong when it comes to our roles in God’s structure?

Q Why did woman decide in the 1960’s and 70’s that they no longer want to stand in the traditional role of woman?

Q Could it be that we have taken our authority over each other out of context to what God wanted in the first place?

Q Do we use worldly ideas of authority to do what we think, instead of what God wants?

What is our information or wisdom about leadership?

All we have to do is look at the leadership all over the world to know that we have a crisis.

Is leadership having all the power in one person’s hand and using it?

Q Did Jesus make all the decisions or did He ask the Father what to do?

Lets think what that means... how did Jesus rule over the church and His disciples when He was on earth?

Q Did he lead a life as dictator of the church?

Q Did he ever raise His hand to the church?

Q Did he have Judas killed when he knew that Judas was going to betray him?

or

Q Did He give his life so the church could have life?

Q Did He lead a life of poverty, so that His church could have “life and life abundant”?

Q Did He humble himself as a servant to his church by washing their feet?

What I understand from this is that being the head of a house, in the structure of God, is a life of service, sacrifice and love.

Look at how Jesus handled the people around him...
The adulteress woman
Peter who denied him
Judas who betrayed him

Jesus used God’s wisdom to solve every problem.
Not His loud voice
Not His superior position
He never threatened anybody
He never put Himself above His church

Now lets look at the wife...

Q If she is the church, how does she have to treat her husband?

Q Should the church be afraid of Christ?

Q Should the church love Jesus against their will or is it a choice?

or

Q Should the church be in love with Jesus to the point of giving up the old life and beginning a new life?

Q Can the church have more than one Jesus or false Gods?

Q Should the church only love Jesus outwardly?

What I find interesting is that in the eyes of God, not only does He love us equally, but also we both seem to have the same assignment or job:

“Service, sacrifice and love”

Woman: The world’s kingdom tells us that men must be warm and fussy... but that is also not true. God gave men a much stronger emotional constitution, so that they would not cry every time they have to kill a bear to save the sheep. They where built to be warriors, hunters and fighters.

Men: The world’s kingdom tells us that woman should be ruthless and hardcore...this is also not true. If woman didn’t set the emotional tone in the house, the children would wear steel wool diapers, and girls would only get to date when they where 40! Woman where built to be warm and fussy. We are the ones who enforce love.

Q Why is the world so obsessed with changing roles and questioning authority?

Families as a structure are not working, because we are trying to do it our way, instead of, God’s way.

I had an interesting revelation, talking to my sister on this issue this afternoon...

If men are the rule giver in the house and woman are the primary love and grace giver.

Then men reflect the Old Testament and woman the New Testament.
Together we are a reflection of the complete Word/Bible (also names referring to Jesus) Thus we achieve Christ likeness in our unity.

The worst part is... that we thought God had it wrong when in reality we are destroyed for our own lack of knowledge.

Interesting - STUDY

A Swiss study, published in 2000 showed that “it is the religious practice of the father of the family that, above all, determines the future church attendance of the children.”

Mother attends church regularly. Father does not attend church at all:
2% of their children will end up attending church regularly
60% of their children will end up not attending at all

Father attends church regularly. Mother does not attend church at all:
44% of their children will end up attending church regularly
34% of their children will end up not attending at all

Do you even realise the power of your own words?

Q How does a curs come upon a person?... “With our mouths” We curs our own children, wives and husbands daily...

You are “always”: late, poor, slow, unloving, not cleaver enough, not strong enough, not pretty enough.

Proverbs 10:11

The mouth of the [uncompromisingly] righteous man is a well of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

Proverbs 18:21

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].

“Don’t run you WILL fall”
“Don’t do that you WILL fail”

Q Are the fears we have, being projected as curses, with which we wear down our own flesh and blood?

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you a moment in time, when you where cursed by someone who loved you, that might have stopped you from being the best family member you possibly can be.


EXTRA

Ephesians 6

4 Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.