The Eagles Fest

An “Eagle Christian” means to be a partaker of the divine nature of God. Throughout the Bible, God likens Himself and His children to an eagle, and He protects, feeds and teaches His children as an eagle protects, feeds and teaches the eaglets. This is why we should seek to know and understand the life of an eagle and the following scriptures which reveals this truth. Ex 19:4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Ps 91:4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and buckler. The word eagle is mentioned about 32 times in the Bible. The number 32 in God's arithmetic means covenant. God desires to reproduce Himself in us while showing us His covenant through the hidden life of the eagle. God uses such metaphors and analogies to give us a better understanding of spiritual things. Rm 1:20 Ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature, namely, His eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. In other words, spiritual truths can be understood by studying natural things. Similarly, we can gain knowledge about the ‘overcoming' Christian life by looking at some of the characteristics of an eagle. Jesus always took something in the natural to explain a spiritual truth, as can be seen in the following parable while teaching about the sower. Mk 4:3-8 "Listen! A sower went out to sow, and as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty fold and sixty fold and a hundred fold." Mk 4:14-20 The sower sows the Word. And these are the ones along the path, where the Word is sown; when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the Word which is sown in them. And these in like manner are the ones sown upon rocky ground, who, when they hear the Word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the Word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the Word, but the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the Word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown upon the good soil are the ones who hear the Word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty fold and sixty fold and a hundredfold." Prov 30:18-19 Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden. These are things too wonderful or too great to understand. They are so glorious and mysterious that the world, and even Christians do not fully understand them. These four mysteries are symbolic to different aspects of the Church today. The way of a man with a maid, represents the relationship of Jesus Christ with His bride, the Church. The way of a ship on the high seas portrays the Church surviving in the midst of sin and the sea of wicked humanity. The way of a serpent on a rock speaks of the way Satan, ie the serpent, is trying to overthrow and destroy the kingdom of Jesus Christ , the Rock. Finally, the way of an eagle in the sky represents the mystery of the Christian who has learned to soar in the heavenlies, far above the winds of adversity and storms of life without any visible human means of aid or support. He has learned to partake of the divine nature, acting and talking like a child of God.  When a person becomes an “Eagle Saint”, it is one of the great mysteries of faith. He is no longer content to live with mediocrity, but begins to act like Jesus and live a dynamic, victorious and overcoming life. He becomes like an eagle who mounts up and rides on the air currents with hardly any effort. You are called to be an eagle, not a crow nor a sparrow. You are made for the heavens. Here is a story of an eagle that had lost his identity.  An eaglet once fell from his nest and a farmer found him and took him home. He put him together with the chickens. The eaglet began clucking and pecking at some grains on the ground as the chickens did, since he thought he was a chicken, as he was growing along with them. Once the farmer's friend visited the farm and when he saw the eagle amongst the chickens, he said to the eagle, “You are an eagle, you are meant for the heavens, what are you doing here with the chickens?” Hence he picked the eaglet and threw him in the air. The eaglet flapped his wings, but fell to the ground and went back with the chickens. The next time, the friend visited the farm, he saw the same eaglet with the chickens again. He now took the eaglet to the top of the barnyard and threw him in the air, the eaglet again flapped his wings and fell to the ground and again went back with the chickens. The farmer's friend was sad. When the farmer's friend visited the farm for the third time and saw the eaglet still with the chickens, he felt really sad and this time he took the eaglet to the top of a mountain and threw him high in the air. The eaglet, very frightened, flapped his wings and fell downwards. As he was falling down, he flapped his wings harder and harder until suddenly he soared up into the sky and disappeared. He had learnt to fly. You are not called to be with the chickens in the barnyard, but you are called to fly like an eagle in the heavens. When you are with the chickens, you may begin to think like the chickens. Your place is not with the chickens, you are made for the heavens.
	The Hebrew word for eagle: Nesher , which means "to tear with the beak." The eagle is the "King of birds". They are an international symbol of strength, beauty, authority and freedom. The eagle's wings are 71/2 ft. in width. Their talons are four times greater in strength than of a human hand. An adult eagle can weigh 10 - 11 kgs. The female eagle is usually larger than the male.
They have a lifespan of 15-20 years. Eagles are vulnerable to toxic chemicals in the environment. There are many species of eagles in the world, but their nature, their rearing of the young and skills of hunting are the same, they don't differ. Eagles from birth have very unique innate and physical characteristics. They are born with their mouths open and their eyes looking into the sun. They have a tremendous hunger and constantly cry for food. The eaglets are fed sufficiently, not too much or too little. Both the male and the female eagles are involved in feeding their eaglets. They tear the food apart into small bits and put it into the eaglet's mouth, feeding them carefully and with great love. As the eaglets grow, they begin to eat on their own, but their food is brought by the eagles. The eaglets are well fed at regular intervals and they grow stronger. In the same manner, when we Christians are born again, we have a tremendous hunger for God's Word. The babes in the Lord need to be constantly and sufficiently fed with the Word of God with great love in their respective Churches otherwise there is a great danger of them going in search of food (Word of God) to other churches. Eagles are the only creatures that can look directly into the sun. They have two sets of eyelids. One is used for hunting while the other is used while flying directly towards the sun. When we, as eagle Christians fall into trials and temptations, we too must fly directly to the Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Father of light and His light blinds the enemy! Another important aspect is the eagle's eyes. They are always wet. As an eagle Christian, we know that the Word of God ensures us joy. Ps 126:5-6 May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy! He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. An eagle Christian is one who is burdened and bearing.
	In order to fly, one must be strong. The eagle's strength is known to be in its diet. Eagles feed on freshly killed prey and don't eat anything that is dead, as long as they are not caged, they. An eagle can consume half a kilogram of fish in about four minutes, so voracious is their appetite. They are very wise as to see what they consume. Eagles cannot digest everything they eat, like bones and hair. These items accumulate in the craw (crop of a bird where food is stored), impairing their ability of free
flight. Eventually that hindrance must be expelled. It is said that the eagle hits his beak against a rock, till the hindrance comes out. Hyenas and vultures feed on dead carcasses, they eat what others have left and tend to overeat. Due to this they get intoxicated, such that they can neither move nor fly and thus become prey to other animals. They never seem to get along well with one another. If you take in dead stuff, you too will be intoxicated, unstable and become prey to Satan.Can you see a parallel? To be an eagle Christian we must check what goes in. Don't feed on things like pornography, slander, smutty jokes via mail or SMS, dirty scenes in movies and on TV. When you engage in such things, you are eating dead stuff. Make a decision never to get involved in any of this. Take refuge under God's wings. What enters in you determines your strength. You are what you eat. There are three gates from which you can take things in, the eye gate, the ear gate and the mouth gate. Be careful what you take in through your eyes, ears and mouth. If you want to know a person's character, listen to what he speaks, for example, slander, gossip, complaints, evil and negative talk. Man has a substance in him that hinders his spiritual ability to fly. It must be knocked out, before he can dwell in spiritual high places with the Creator. Self-will must be surrendered to God, subordinated to His will, before we can soar to the heights He has planned for us. If only “Eagle Christians” would do the same, what great deliverance it would bring to the church. Ps 34:8 "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good." The word "taste" here means "to eat, discern, perceive and evaluate it is more than just eating food, it is to have the capacity to choose and delight in good things." We need to taste and see that the Lord is good. Feast on His Word, meditate and delight yourself in His ways. Jesus said in Jn 6:57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me." Eph 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ps 1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. You are warned not to sit with sinners, if you sit with such people, even if you are not saying a word, as you listen to their talk you will take in the evil that is said and you will never fly. Be on guard. Prov 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.Be careful that no evil talk comes out of your mouth. Rm 8:6-8 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. The flesh and the spirit cannot go together. There is nothing dead about Jesus, there is only life in Him. Take what He offers and have life. Jn 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. Jn 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. Jn 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” Jn 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live,” Jn 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me.” Rm 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.
	An eagle has a strong vision up to 3 kilometers while flying in the sky. He has two foveae, or centers of focus, that allows the bird to look in the front and the side at the same time. An eagle's eye is almost as large as a human's, but its sharpness is at least four times more than that of a person with perfect vision. The eagle can probably identify a rabbit moving almost a mile away. That means, an eagle flying at an altitude of 1000 feet over open
space could spot his prey over an area of almost 1.5 sq kms. from a fixed position. When an eagle sights his prey, which may even be a rodent from this distance, he narrows his focus on it and sets out to get it. No matter what the obstacle, the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it. An eagle's weight lifting power is about 2 kgs. In the same manner, you have to narrow your vision, like a full grown eagle. You have to grasp the revelations that come from the Word of God for your life and your ministry. You have to fine tune your ears to hear the voice of God and be positive and obey it. Have a vision and remain focused, no matter what the obstacle and you will succeed.  The male eagle takes interest in the female eagle when he is around three years old. A game of tag between the male and female eagle begins. This could last for days. The eagle tests, before it trusts. The female eagle takes a stick up in the air, approximately 8 to 10 thousand feet high in a three dimensional figure eight pattern and drops the stick from this height, and the male eagle has to catch the stick before it touches the ground. The male eagle has to then return the stick back to the female eagle. The female eagle, each time, flies a little lower and faster with a larger stick. The game climaxes when the female eagle is less than 500 ft. from the ground and she drops the stick. At this point, the male eagle has to catch the stick before it touches the ground. If not, the female eagle will chase the male eagle off. If the male eagle catches the stick, the female eagle is satisfied that he will be able to catch the falling eaglets, while teaching them to fly, thus assuring her that he will make a fit husband, which shows commitment. Only then, will she allow him to mate with her! Whether in private life or in business, one should test the commitment of people intended for partnership
	The marriage vows of the eagles are made 10 to 15 thousand feet in the air. This ceremony is done by locking talons together and turning head over heels with both eagles screaming with joy. Eagles are totally committed to their mates. They will remain together for life, "In good times or bad, in sickness and in health, till death does them part!" What a difference this would make if the Church, the Bride of Christ, could make such a commitment as this to God and to their families! As eagle Christians, we should do the same. Once paired, eagles remain together until one dies; the survivor will not hesitate to accept a new mate who is not attached to any other eagle. After marriage, the eagles begin to build their home.
The first step is to seek a proper location. They look for a high inaccessible location with their backs turned to a rock wall where no predators can reach . A typical nest is around 5ft.-9ft. in diameter, weighing about 2 tons. A comparison to this in the Bible is in Job 39:27- 29 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? On the rock he dwells and makes his home in the fastness of the rocky crag. Thence he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it afar off. The building of the nest is begun with the male. He collects thorns and lays them on the crevice of the cliff, then flies back to collect twigs which he lays in the intended nest. He then picks thorns and lays them on top of the twigs and then covers the thorns with soft grass. He then flies back to pick rugs to put on the grass. When this first layering is complete, the male eagle again picks more thorns, lays them on the nest and then covers the thorns with grass and rugs, after which he plucks his feathers to complete the nest. The thorns on the outside of the nest protect it from possible intruders. Eagles work together to build their nest and to raise their young.
	The nest is deep with a shallow 18 inch brooding area on top. The mother eagle will lay one to three eggs in the brooding area. While preparing for birth, the mother eagle will pull from her breast, downy feathers that make soft and warm bedding for the eaglets. While in the nest, eagles move about with their talons balled into fists to avoid accidentally breaking of the eggs or skewering their offspring. Once the eaglets are born, they have a constant craving for food.
They are very unattractive with raccoon like eyes; however, they will grow into a beautiful species. The eagle brings threads, shiny metal, pieces of wool as toys for the eaglets. A good spiritual parallel to this is that we as eagle Christians should never judge eaglet Christians by their outward appearance and behavior. Is 33:22 says, "The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King: He will save us." The eaglets grow stronger and bigger and soon begin flapping their wings, but they do not take off. They just flap them and roam around in the nest. Once the eaglets reach a certain age, the mother eagle knows that it is time for the eaglets to learn to fly. This process begins with the mother eagle flapping her wings and sweeping out of the nest all the soft things and toys the eaglets have grown accustomed to. The mother eagle begins pulling out the feathers and wool from the nest, and what remains there are bare thorns. She stops bringing the daily food for her young. She does not cover and protect them from the storms. Suddenly, everything is no longer provided as before. In the same manner, God causes His children to grow up by allowing adversity and problems to develop in their lives. Ps 34:19 assures us, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivered him out of them all," I Pet 4:12 confirms, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you, but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings' that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." The mother eagle throws the eaglet out of the nest, who is scared, and jumps back into the nest which has bare thorns. When the scared eaglet jumps into the nest, he is pricked by the thorns. Shrieking and bleeding, he is wondering why the mother and father who love him so much, are torturing him. Next, the mother eagle pushes him off the cliff into the air. As he falls from a great height he shrieks in fear, but the father eagle flies and picks him up before he hits the ground, and brings him back to the cliff. This happens about 7-8 times, until they start flapping their wings. They are excited at this newfound knowledge that they can fly and not fall at such a high speed. The father and mother eagle support them with their wings. The changes in the nest teach us to prepare for changes in our life. The preparation for the family teaches us that active participation of both partners leads to success. Being pricked by thorns tells us that sometimes being too comfortable where we are, may result in our not experiencing life, not progressing and not learning to fly at all. The thorns of life come to teach us that we need to grow, get out of the nest and live. We may not know it, but the seemingly comfortable and safe haven may have thorns.In Deut 32:11 it says, Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions, the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no foreign god with him. The mother eagle then throws the brooding nest from the cliff and takes the eaglet for a wild ride on her back. While in the air, she flips over, and the eaglet tries to fly. All this while the papa eagle is overseeing the whole process. If he sees that the eaglet cannot fly, he flies down at a speed upto 100kmph to catch the eaglet, before it hits the ground. God will also do the same for us as He begins to stir our spiritual nest and remove us from our comfort zones. As you begin to fly spiritually, you need not fear because God is always near! In Deut 33:26 it says, "He descends from the heavens in majestic splendor to help you." Deut 33:26 “There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, and in His majesty through the skies.” When persecutions come our way, remember it is God teaching us to fly. He will come to our rescue and not allow us to get crushed. We must not grumble during trials and persecutions, for we are learning to fly. Its not in the first attempt, but only after being thrown down 7-8 times, the eaglet starts fluttering its wings and then suddenly realizes that he can fly and thus he learns to fly. Strive in being obedient to God's Word and through every trial and temptation, God will teach you to fly. As the eaglet struggles and flutters, learning to use his wings, he finally discovers that he can fly and overcome the wind currents just like his parents. In the same way, God teaches us to become over comers through the increasingly difficult trials and tests of our faith. Rm 8:37 assures us, that "in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." Most eaglets do not learn to fly the first time they try; however, they continue the flight lessons until they have accomplished the goal of flying. Once the eaglet learns to fly, the papa and mama eagle fly in a circle to celebrate. As with all eagles, the time will come for us to grow up and fly out from the nest. The eagle reaches his full potential when he learns to handle his adversary, with absolutely no fear at all. He is destined to be an over comer and not just a survivor. We must become full grown eagles, over comers who know how to attack the enemy, Satan. God wants us to become eagle Christians who dwell in the high places. He wants us to develop our wings of prayer and praise, and to sharpen our vision and understanding, to grasp the revelations of His Word and destroy evil strongholds with our fierce weapons. He wants our ears to be fine-tuned to hear and obey His voice. Whenever an eagle finds that he cannot fly higher, he pulls out loose feathers from his body. In the same way, we must flee from sin and anything that weighs us down in order to fly higher. Heb 12:1-2 Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus… He wants us to spend time with Him so He can renew our strength and fill us with Himself. God's cry is, "Eagle Saints Arise!!" In Ex 19:4 we read, "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself." God says He rescued us out of Satan's bondage and bore us on eagle's wings when He first brought us out of worldliness as baby Christians. We were His little ones, His eaglets. The word "bore" means to lift by divine form or power to the point of drawing to one's self. The adult eagle has five primary feathers on each wing. This is because the eagle can adjust his wings during long training flights to keep the eaglet from falling to the ground while teaching him to fly. The eaglet is always under the power of his father during training. eagle Christians should always trust that they too are always under their Father God's power when they are learning to fly spiritually. There is no situation that our Father God can't bring us out of!!
	The eagle is the only creature who understands wind currents, he stands on the rock and waits for the right wind to take off. He has cylindrical bones and therefore, just glides and the wind takes him forward. The eagle Christian is one who has learnt to stand on the promises of God and who waits for the right anointing of the Holy Spirit to take off. The Spirit leads and guides him and the supernatural follows him. He has not limited God to a set of rules and formulas.
He has not grieved nor quenched the Spirit of God by determining when and how the Spirit would be allowed to manifest. In short, he acknowledges God in all his ways. He is led by the promptings of the Holy Spirit. You should discern to know that the Spirit of God alone is leading, if you are unsure, pray with other Christians to confirm the same.Eph 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. I Thess 5:19-20 Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophesying. Prov 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thy heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. We need to do three things Trust God with all your heart Not rely on your own understanding Acknowledge God in everything And, He will direct your paths. Be led by the Spirit, do not grieve the Spirit by sin nor quench the Spirit by despising His promptings, but follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Unlike any other bird, the eagle loves the storm; he can sense a storm before he sees one. While other birds run and hide from it, the eagle flies right into the storm using its currents to rise and fly higher. When clouds gather, the eagles get excited. They use the storm to reach higher places. Once it finds the wind of the storm, the eagle stops flapping and uses the pressure of the raging storm to soar into the clouds and glide. This gives the eagle an opportunity to rest his wings. The eagle Christian must love the storm and not fight the storm as some Christians do. We have to fight the enemy and not the storm, the storm is not our enemy. Don't bother to find out from where the storm has come. God has allowed it and He may use anyone to bring the storm in our life. An eagle Christian knows his authority in the Word of God and when the storms come, he faces them boldly in prayer. His life is balanced. He spends time in studying the Word, in prayer, and in fellowship with God and with other Christians. Complacent Christians are like chickens who accept problems, as if they are powerless to overcome them. Like the chicken, their wings are underdeveloped and they cannot fly. They may know the Word in their minds, but they do not have a heart to heart relationship with God, to walk in His power and to apply spiritual principles in their lives. They have fed not on Scriptures, but on worldly scraps that have made them fat and lazy. They do not know how to use the Word to fight effectively and win their spiritual battles.
	Eagles can fly to an altitude of 10,000 feet. During level flight, a bald eagle can achieve speed of about 15 - 20 kmph. Eagles fly alone at a high altitude and do not mix with other smaller birds. No other bird can fly to the height of the eagle. The eagle goes through a molting process which brings great depression. Calcium deposits accumulate on the eagle's talons and beak.
This is a painful phase that all eagles face. During this time, the eagle begins to walk like a turkey. He has no strength to fly and recedes into the valley. Other eagles, who have already gone through this molting process and survived, will fly above the valley in which the eagle is, and drop fresh food to help strengthen him. Unfortunately, some eagles do not receive the help of other eagles and will die in the valley, while others will, and regain their strength. Once they regain their strength, they climb the mountain in which they were raised. The eagle will then fly on the rock and beat the calcium deposits off his beak and talons. This is a very painful experience; however, it must be done. After this experience, the eagle will soar again with greater strength than ever before! As eagle Christians we too will definitely go through the valley, and without the help from the "Rock of our Salvation" Jesus Christ we will also spiritually die! Receiving help from our "Rock" is the only way that we will regain our strength, leaving behind those things that so easily beset us, making us stronger than ever before in the Lord! Eagles also have preening glands. This is especially important in preparing for the day. Due to the previous day's flight, the eagle's feathers are beaten and ruffled by the wind. The eagle runs the feathers through his mouth breathing out to steam them. This process is done in order to reshape and strengthen the feathers. Eagles have oil secreted by the preening glands. This is used to coat the feathers and make them moisture resistant. All this is especially helpful, considering fish as a primary source of food for most eagles. The preening process of the eagle is a great lesson in Holiness for the eagle Christian. As an eagle starts his day with cleaning and preparing himself for what is ahead, the eagle Christian must also prepare himself spiritually, removing all sin, getting ready to face the daily battles which they will encounter, often causing their spiritual feathers to get ruffled. When this happens, they definitely need a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit, to renew them. The eagle's deadly enemy is the serpent who robs the eggs from the nest. A serpent will never attack a full grown eagle for he knows the consequences. A full grown eagle is not afraid of the storm or the serpent. As eagle Christians, we know that we will always have to deal with the enemy, who is Satan. The eagle deals with the serpent in two ways: first by laying hold of him with his talons which are sharp like needles, and using his beak to peck the serpent's head till he dies or removing his head off totally, secondly an eagle will carry the serpent high up and drop him on a jagged rock a couple of times, causing him to die. The eagle Christian must use the spiritual gifts given by God to defeat the enemy and use the Word of God as a rock, to crush and defeat him. In Lk 10:19 it says, "Behold, I have given authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you." Christians are given authority over Satan with a promise that no harm will come upon them. Scripture describes God as an eagle who does not tire and He gives strength to the weak. Even athletic young men shall faint and grow weary, people depending on their own might and wisdom will ultimately run out of strength. Is 40:28-30 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might, he increases strength. Even youth shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted. It is totally against our nature to stand still and do nothing when we are facing perplexing trials. In fact, waiting patiently for God to act is one of the most difficult things to do in the Christian walk. Devoted Christians have a tendency to panic when the Lord does not move according to their time table; however, the waiting time is never a wasted time with God! During these times, God is putting the eagle nature within the Christian. 22 different Hebrew or Aramaic words were translated “to wait," but all of them don't mean the same thing. The word that was translated “to wait," in Is 40:31 and Lam 3:25 -26 was Qavah pronounced Kaw-vaw which means, "to wait upon” but it also means, "To bind together by twisting". The meaning of the word “wait,” as it is used here, has less to do with our awaiting God's delivery of something we need, even when He has promised it, and more to do with Him awaiting our decision to continue serving Him regardless of what happens next. Is 40:31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. and in Lam 3:25 -26 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. From the word "wait", we get our modern word braid. Braid means to "interweave," just as the Holy Spirit and the Word of God binds together with our spirit Ecc 4:12 A threefold cord is not easily broken. The eagle Christian waits on God, trusts in God's sustaining resources, and finds victory in acknowledging Jesus in every circumstance. Instead of burning out, he overcomes. Those who wait on Him, rather than rushing off on their own, will receive whatever strength they require to be over comers, which is a reward for waiting. Those who "wait upon" the Lord, as Isaiah pictured it, would on their own free will, bind themselves to God's will, confidently expecting His plan to produce the best possible results. The real point, of course, encourages us to bind ourselves to God's will, to be willing to accept His plan for our lives and eager to do whatever He commands us, regardless of circumstances. Another scriptural example that indicates “waiting" on the Lord as "being bound to His will," is found in Ps 37:9-11 Where "Qavah" is translated to "wait" in this passage. Ps 37:9-11 For the wicked shall be cut off; but those who wait for the LORD shall possess the land. Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look well at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall possess the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity. Num 12:3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all men that were on the face of the earth. Mt 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Mt11:29-30 “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”  You can be like an eagle when you wait on God, but you might have to wait with a servant attitude. You are a servant of God and to His people who need to hear and see your witness for Him. Wait on Him. Bind your will to His. Let Him determine your destiny. He knows the way because He is the way Jn 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me.” When the eagle grows old, his feathers become weak and his wings cannot take him as fast as they should. When he feels weak and feels he is about to die, he retires to a place far away in the rocks. While there, he plucks out every feather on his body until he is completely bare. He stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers, then he comes out and takes off with greater strength. We continuously need to shed off our old habits and sin that burden us and add no value to our lives. When the eagle becomes sick, he stretches himself on the rock and lies in the sun. The sun rays absorb the poison from the sick eagle and he becomes strong again. Christians must come to the Rock of all ages and prostrate before Him and His rays of love will remove all the effects of sin in our lives. Come into His presence every day and receive a fresh anointing and a fresh vision. Finally, when the eagle approaches the last moment of his life, he lies on the rock, looks into the sun and gives up his life. As God's people are filled with and led by the Holy Spirit and are soaring as eagles in a victorious and fruitful Christian life, we must always beware of the enemy's attempts to “clip our wings” or suck our blood, and destroy our effectiveness. Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The story is told of a man out hiking in the country. While walking, he happened to see a magnificent golden eagle flying upward into the sky. He watched it with delight and admiration as it soared higher and higher. But suddenly, something went wrong! The eagle seemed incapable of going any higher. As a matter of fact, it began to fall, and before too long lay at his feet as a lifeless mass. What possibly could have happened? No human hand had harmed it. No sportsman's shot had reached it. Filled with bewilderment, the man went over and examined the bird, only to discover an astounding sight. Still curled up in the talons of the great bird was a little weasel, no doubt the prey of the bird that had been carried off up into the sky. As the weasel had been drawn in close to the big bird's body for flight, it had managed to worm itself partly out of that grip and had bit into the breast of its enemy and proceeded to suck out the lifeblood of that great eagle. Unless we are on guard and walk in trust and obedience, the enemy can work like that weasel, weaken or destroy our witness and rob our joy and victory. The Word of God tells us in Eph 6:12-13 For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. In Christ Jesus, we have been called to be eagle Christians. To share in God's Majesty, not robbing Him of His Glory, but to reveal, as eagles, the glory of God to men. Let us always give glory and honor to the Master Eagle Himself who has mothered and fathered us, fed us, thrown us out of the nest, borne us on His wings and taught us how to fly. Let us give glory to the Author and Finisher of our flight lessons, Jesus Christ.

The Believers Authority

OVERVIEW



-In order to address this, we’re going to have to deal not only with the authority we have but the authority of Satan. He has been blown out of proportion. Christians have been led to believe we are fighting a being whose power is superior to ours, and we are just barely are able to cope with him. That’s not what the Scripture teaches at all. It does say in

Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

So Satan is a factor; he does exist. He has a hierarchy of principalities and powers that we’re dealing with, but in the verse just prior to that, it says that we have to stand against the wiles of the devil. The only power Satan really has against us is deception. He doesn’t have power to just overcome us. In Genesis 3 we see that when the first temptation came against Adam and Eve, Satan didn’t come with some superior force. For instance, instead of inhabiting a mammoth or an elephant, putting his foot on Adam’s head, threatening them, and saying “Serve me or else,” he inhabited a snake, the most subtle creature God made. The word “subtle” means “sly, deceptive, or cunning.” The reason Satan came through the snake was because he really didn’t have the power to force Adam and Eve to do anything. He could only deceive. He came against the nature and character of God and began to criticize Him, saying, “God doesn’t really love you—

He’s holding things back from you.” He used deception to tempt Adam and Eve to sin against God. They were the ones who had all the authority, and the reason Satan had to do it this way was because he didn’t have power to come against God. There’s so much more I don’t have time to go in to, but one of the main points I want to get across is that concerning the authority of the believer, you have to recognize that Satan has zero power and authority over you. He is a defeated foe. His only power against you is to come against you with lies and deception. If your life is being destroyed, you can say “Satan is the one who is firing these shots at me,” but you are the one who is giving him the ammunition. You’re the one who has to respond to his lies and deception. If you didn’t yield to Satan, he would have no inroads or power against you. In

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 it says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

-These scriptures are talking about the weapons of your warfare, and every weapon mentioned refers to your mind, dealing with thoughts. Satan doesn’t have the power to do anything to you except through deception. I want to quickly summarize some things. In the beginning God, of course, had all authority. All power and authority has to emanate from God because He is the only one 91 who has power in Himself. Everything else is delegated from Him. When He created the heavens and the earth, He had all power and authority.
Then in Genesis 1:26, when God created Adam and Eve, He said, “Let them have dominion…over all the earth.” Put that together with Psalm 115:16, which says, “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.” God had ownership of everything by right of being the Creator, but He gave dominion, or authority, over the earth to physical human beings.

Satan has never had the right and power to rule over the earth. He took it through deceiving man to sin. God gave that power to mankind, and when man fell, he yielded his God-given authority and power over to the devil. Satan was never given power by God to oppress man or to rule this earth. Scripture does say that Satan is the god of this world, but it’s not because God made him the god of this world. God never put Satan in a position above mankind. He gave mankind dominion and authority over this earth. The only reason Satan has ever been able to oppress, dominate, or cause the problems he does is because people yield their God-given authority to him. This posed a real problem for God, because He was a Spirit, and He had given authority over this earth to physical human beings. Only people who had a physical body had the authority and power to rule and exercise influence in this earth. Satan had to come to us and get us to yield our authority to him. That’s the reason that he likes to inhabit a body. In Scripture, demons had to have a body to possess because Satan can’t do anything unless he is using a physical human body to work through. Because God was a Spirit and had given authority to physical human beings, now in a sense He had His hands tied. It wasn’t because God didn’t have power and authority but because of His integrity. He gave authority to physical human beings, and to be true to His own Word, He couldn’t just take it back and say, “This isn’t the way I wanted it; time out, stop, we’re going to do it over.” No, God bound Himself by His own Word. Throughout history He looked for someone He could flow through, but the problem was that all men were corrupted and had yielded themselves to Satan. So what was He to do? What God finally did was come to the earth Himself and become a man. This is tremendous when you understand it, because now the devil was in big trouble. He had been using mankind’s power, and God couldn’t intervene directly to solve all these problems, because man was willfully, legally yielding his God-given authority to Satan. Satan was wrong in what he did, but man gave him the authority and power that was theirs to give. But now, here came God, and He was no longer only the Spirit but was in the form of physical flesh. This put the devil in a bad situation, because God not only had authority in heaven, but becoming a man gave Him authority on the earth. Jesus said in

John 5:26-27, “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.”

He was referring to His physical body. Jesus came and exercised God-given authority. The devil tempted Him, and Jesus never yielded to him. Satan lost in every battle with Him. Then Jesus took our sins, died for them, went to hell, rose again, and said in Matthew 28:18, “All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” He won back the authority God had given mankind, which 92 man misused, and as God in the flesh, Jesus now had all authority in heaven and in earth. In the very next verse He said, “Now you go, and you do these things.” In effect He was saying, “I now have all authority in heaven and earth, and I’m sharing it with you.” This time, however, there’s a unique difference in the authority God has given back to us as believers. It is joint authority between us and the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s no longer given to us solely as it was to Adam and Eve. They could give the authority away, allow the devil to oppress them, and basically be hopeless, but today our authority is shared with the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s like having a joint bank account that requires both signatures in order to cash a check. Our authority is shared with the Lord Jesus, and His authority is shared with the church. Although we may fail, God is never again going to sign this authority over to the devil. Satan is absolutely powerless. He has no ability to do anything in your life except what he deceives you in and what you voluntarily yield to. You may give him authority in your life, you may suffer personally for it, but the God-given authority that was given to man will never again pass solely to the devil. It is now shared between us and the Lord Jesus, and He will remain faithful regardless. You need to recognize that you’re the one who now has authority and the power. Satan is fighting you with thoughts, and your weapons are such that you can take these thoughts captive. You can recognize that it’s wrong for the devil to oppress you physically and find out what the Scripture has to say about healing.
 John 8:32 says, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 

-You’re the one who has power and authority. God has given it to you, and the only thing that keeps you from exercising it is that you haven’t yet taken your thoughts captive. You haven’t used these spiritual weapons to renew your mind and to realize what you have. It’s encouraging to find out that you’re one with authority and power. I pray that you’ll take this, meditate on it, and God will give you the revelation that you’re the one Satan trembles at. You shouldn’t be trembling at Satan, because you are the one who has God-given power and authority. If you resist the devil, he will flee from you (James 4:7).

DECENCY AND ORDER

                         

1Cor. 14:40-  Let all things be done decently and in order.

Mature prophets know how to flow in the house of God. Our society is filled with those that come into our churches who have formerly opened themselves up to New Age mysticism, witchcraft, the occult, and spiritualism. To protect the flock from false anointing and familiar spirits, there is a proper order in which the Holy Spirit likes to flow. When you understand this order you will compass biblical prophetic operations.
Mature prophets understand how to work within the local church. Scripture declares, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17). That is not to say that one has the freedom to do just whatever he or she wants to do during a church service. The Word says, “Let all things be done decently and in order (taxis).” Order, from the Greek word taxis we get our English word taxi. “Taxis” means an ordered flow. Those in prophetic ministry understand the meaning of taxis within prophetic operations. Prophetic operations sometimes occur during church services. Let’s review some suggested guidelines for an ordered flow.

PROPHETIC TAXIS

Our society is filled with those that come into our churches who have opened themselves up to New Age mysticism, witchcraft, the occult and spiritualism. Because of this it is important “prophetic taxis” be taught, and prophets submit to the order of the house as set by their leaders.

“Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order.” (1 Corinthians 14:39-40)

The Apostle Paul taught to “covet prophecy” but urged to do so “decently and in order.” To reverence our God and flow in the liberty of the Holy Spirit, I suggest there is a proper order that the Holy Spirit likes to flow. That order we will call prophetic taxis sets the stage for prophecy within local church services. It also helps protect the flock from false prophecy and the working of familiar spirits.

With any move, revival or prophetic voice from the Holy Spirit, it is the responsibility of the local pastor (set-man) and church leaders to set biblical parameters in receiving, judging, encouraging and guiding in the move of God. This includes guidelines for prophecy and order within the local assembly. We do that through such things as a study of the Word, prayer, reverence toward the Lord and worship. There are many biblical examples for preparing the house of the Lord all given by the Spirit such as Moses, Exodus 25:40, and David, 1 Chronicles 28:10-12.

As order is established within the local church the Holy Spirit can move freely and minister to the congregation “dividing to every man severally as he wills” diversities of gifts, administrations and operations (1 Corinthians 12).  When this takes place, the spiritual dynamics within the assembly are amazing as the Holy Spirit empowers believers to grow and mature in the Lord.

With these boundaries rightfully in place, any move of the Holy Spirit creates strong, stable Christians, not flaky ones. Therefore, spiritual submission to the order of the house always brings about spiritual stability that guards the flock and allows the Holy Spirit to speak without hindrance. This means that guidelines for prophetic taxis must be set within the local church.

Because of the spiritual nature of our church services mature leadership is a must. We offer the following guidelines for prophetic operations during local church services and give examples of general prophetic error. Again, these are incomplete and suggested. They may change according to your particular church’s leadership and culture.

1. CAREFUL WITH “GOD SAID”

You have probably heard someone preface a prophecy with the words, “God said.” It can be used so often that we become callous to the saying and don’t pay much attention to it. There are times when God speaks prophetically, yet there are other times when God doesn’t say anything. If you are not sure that God said anything then say something like, “I sense that God is saying.” Later in this essay we will give examples of people that used those words, “God said,” inappropriately.

2. BECOME A KNOWN PROPHETIC MINISTER

Become a known prophetic minister within your local church under the approval of the church’s leadership.

David sinned by arranging the death of a faithful servant Uriah and taking his wife Bathsheba. In response, the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to tell the king a story of a stingy, rich man that robbed a poor defenseless man of his only pet lamb. After hearing this “David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth the man that hath done this thing shall surely die and he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” Nathan responded to David, “Thou art the man” (1 Samuel 12).

This was a dangerous prophetic meeting. Any prophet other than Nathan could have been killed for such a prophecy. Nathan, however, had a personal relationship with David. Because Nathan was a recognized prophetic voice in David’s life he received Nathan and repented of his sin.

I attended a special church service with a prophet from our ministry. After service, we were invited to a private dinner with some veteran ministry gifts. The prophet with me wanted to share a prophetic word with the leaders at the dinner. I wouldn’t let him for several reasons. First, I didn’t have a witness in my spirit to the word. Second, he was a young prophet in training. Next, the timing was inappropriate and the topic sensitive. Finally, he would not have been received as a prophetic voice since he was unknown to these particular leaders. When it comes to personal prophecy, prophetic ministry gifts are “better received” when they are recognized as from the Lord. This is the lesson we learn from the relationship between Nathan and David.

3. KNOW THOSE THAT LABOR AMONG YOU

As already said if a person is a ministry gift from Christ set in the local church that ministry gift should be recognized by the local pastor or set man. If the local pastor or set man does not recognize a person as a prophetic gift, then that individual is not sent as a prophetic voice to that particular congregation. I present this as proper order. Scripture says, “And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you” (1 Thessalonians 5:12). Some come like sheep to our churches acting like prophets who are ravening wolves. We can only know them by their fruits.

“Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15-16)

It takes time to know people by their fruit. The only plant that grows fast in a garden is a weed. We are not judging one’s salvation but we are rightfully inspecting their fruit. Pastors are responsible to know their flock. This also includes those allowed to labor prophetically. Scripture confirms this, “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks and look well to thy herds” (Proverbs 27:23).

4. USE CAUTION WITH AMBIGUOUS PROPHECIES

Ambiguous prophecies can be confusing and are open to many interpretations. Use caution with them. Remember not everyone that comes into a local church came for the same reason you did.

“I appeal to you, brethren, to be on your guard concerning those who create dissensions and difficulties and cause divisions, in opposition to the doctrine (the teaching) which you have been taught. [I warn you to turn aside from them, to] avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites and base desires, and by ingratiating (good words) and flattering speech, they beguile (deceive) the hearts of the unsuspecting and simpleminded [people].” (Romans 16:17-18 AMP)

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NEXT LEVEL PROPHETIC MINISTRY TRAINING
WHAT EVERY PROPHET NEEDS TO KNOW

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There is personal prophecy that is nothing more than “smooth sayings,” witchcraft or those prophesying out of their own imaginations. When the Holy Spirit speaks it will be expressly and whatever God reveals will be understood. To speak expressly means in a plain and definitive way.

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

To manifest the Holy Spirit through prophecy exalts the lordship of Christ and not man. Scripture declares, “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). We urge extreme caution with ambiguous directive prophecy, visions or dreams and encourage you to present them to your spiritual leadership to be judged. Your pastors offer a safety net with their biblical experience and spiritual astuteness.

5. AVOID DARK SAYINGS

I define dark sayings as prophetic experiences, including dreams and visions that are difficult to understand. I am insistent the Holy Spirit is capable of express communication. Christ does not give revelation without the ability to grasp what He is saying. All spiritual experiences need to be judged especially directive prophecy, dark sayings, dreams, and visions.

Some have mystical dreams that are not from the Holy Spirit. Perhaps this is happening to some when they sleep. We willfully choose to serve our Christ each day. When we sleep our will relaxes and we enter a dream-type state as our body shuts down to sleep. Our spirit is like a filter that picks up on things in the spirit realm throughout the day or even around us at night. It is these things that we may dream about in that sleepy realm. If those dreams, however, are only dark sayings that can be interpreted many different ways, they should just be ignored. Wash everything, including dreams, with the written Word of God. Remember our God is not strange, weird or mystical. He speaks expressly.

6. DISCERN HOLY SPIRIT OR VAIN IMAGINATIONS

Mature prophets understand the difference between the Holy Spirit and imagination. Imaginations (images and pictures) form within the spirit of your mind. God created us with a seeing ability. If I were to say, “Dog,” for example, you would see a picture of a dog in your mind. You would not see the letters d - o - g. If I were to say, “Tree,” you would see a picture of a tree in your mind. You would not see the letters t - r - e - e. The point is that people think and see in pictures. That is the way God created you.

The Word says the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to profit us. To one is given the word of wisdom and to another the word of knowledge (1 Corinthians 12). It does not say, to one is given the manifestation of a picture of knowledge or a picture of wisdom. This means we receive a word but that word is seen through pictures. Some, however, are not hearing anything from the Holy Spirit but only seeing pictures formed in their own imagination. The danger is when they tell others God told them something when He didn’t say anything. It may be nothing more than pictures seen inside one’s own imagination. Again, discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit or vain imaginations is important. Here are examples of people wrongly prophesying.

a. CHANGE OF MIND

One person told me that God sent them to the grocery store to buy a certain product. On arrival they found the store out of stock. They told me God spoke again saying, “Now go over to the other store and they will have it.” Was God unaware the first store didn’t have the product? Did God just simply change his mind or did this person never hear from God to start with? I hope you chose the latter.

b. THUS SAITH THE LORD

A pastor in Amsterdam, Holland told the story of a person standing up in church declaring, “Thus saith the Lord, just as Noah led the children out of Egypt” ...silence…. “Thus saith the Lord, I made a mistake…. Just as Moses….”

c. GOD TOLD ME TO TELL YOU TO READ THIS

I was standing on the platform worshiping the Lord during a service with my eyes closed. A woman left her seat heading toward me. She plunged her Bible into my stomach startling me saying, “God told me to tell you to read this Psalm right now!” I responded, “Not now, go and sit back down.” She was offended and left the church. Did God really speak to her?

d. YOU’RE GOING TO DIE

A certain man was not acknowledged as a prophetic ministry gift at our church, Spirit of Life Ministries, Hallandale Beach, Florida. He said to me, “Thus saith the Lord, because you have not accepted me as your personal prophet you will die in thirty days.” This was a sad day for me. I was forced to deal sternly with this man.

e. YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORK

Another said that “God told him” not to get a job and work because he was to live a total life of faith. We found that he was around fifty year’s old living off his mother’s social security and had put his foreign wife out to work on his behalf. This man was using “God said” as an excuse for laziness.

f. THROWN OUT

Another person wanted to give a prophecy not in the right flow (taxis) of the church service. When not allowed to deliver it right then he stood and began to cast the devil out of the pastor. He was thrown out of the church by the ushers.

g. REBUKE YOUR PASTOR

A man showed me a video of a prophet telling him to rebuke his pastor and set him in order. He asked me to judge the prophecy. I told him he did not have any authority to rebuke his pastor and the prophecy was not from the Holy Spirit. The man got angry with me and said I needed deliverance. If I would have agreed with the prophecy, however, then surely I would not have needed deliverance.

All of these are real life examples of Christians that violated prophetic ministry. We love them but must uphold an atmosphere of prophetic taxis in our churches and ministries. Our God is not a flake. By keeping the right order in the house of God we raise mature prophets.

7. STAY CONNECTED DURING SERVICES

Some groups are notorious for having their own thing going on during a church service. During services it is important to get into agreement with your pastor. Don’t lay hands on, pray for, or prophesy to someone while the church service is in progress. No private ministry please. Keep an atmosphere of faith, reverence, worship, intercession, agreement, and expectation.

During some services deliverance takes place. During times of deliverance stay in your seat and don’t touch people who are being prayed for unless asked. We had a woman in our church that was slain in the Spirit and laying on the floor. A friend started to pick her up and escort her back to her seat. The ushers saw her and stopped her because they knew the Holy Spirit was not finished ministering to her. A few moments later the lady was delivered from the hold of an evil spirit. Had her friend succeeded in taking her back to her seat it’s likely she would have been robbed of her deliverance. As already said, “Let all things be done decently and in order (taxis).”

CONCLUSION

• The Greek word taxis means an ordered flow (2 Corinthians 3:17).
• The Apostle Paul taught to “covet prophecy” but urged to do so “decently and in order.”
• Prophetic ministry gifts are better received when they are recognized as being sent from the Lord. If a person is truly a ministry gift from God, set into a local church, that ministry gift must be recognized as such by the local pastor or set man.
• If the local pastor or set man does not recognize a person as a prophetic gift then that individual is not sent as a prophetic voice to that particular congregation.
• “The Holy Spirit speaks expressly” (1 Timothy 4:1). To speak expressly means in a plain and definitive way.

SWEET POISON

                   

      

                              THE SWEET POISON OF ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,” (1 Timothy 4:1)

One of the most dangerous, deadly teachings which have been rooted in certain segments of Christian Denominations is in fact the doctrine of unconditional eternal security (or better known as once saved always saved). It is this doctrine of demons which is leading multitudes upon multitudes to hell, and worse, many more will follow in their footsteps because of a lie many have chosen to believe because of what they were taught.

I was speaking with a pastor friend of mine who relayed to me a particular story in which a man whom had done many bad and wicked things that resulted in prison time, told my friend that even though he had done many evil things to others, lived an evil life and hurt many, explained that regardless of what he did, he would still make it to heaven simply because he got saved when he was a little boy. Yet sadly, there are countless multitudes after multitudes who have died, and will die lost and end up in that place Jesus called Hell simply because they were told that they were saved (born again) at some point in their life, and as a result, they lived how they wanted, counter to the gospel and a life full of rebellion, sin and wickedness.

So what exactly is unconditional eternal security?

In essence, unconditional eternal security simply states that when someone comes to Christ at some point in their life, be it a child, teen, young adult or elderly person, that person is forever saved, never to lose their salvation regardless how they live, and will die with their salvation assured. This is in fact the core belief of unconditional eternal security.

So why is this teaching (doctrine) false? It is false because it’s rooted in a twisted view of scripture. One of Satan’s most deadly attributes to his lies is the ability to twist scripture. When God told Adam not to eat of the tree of good and evil, it was Satan who tempted Eve by twisting God’s word with a half truth “Did God really say?” (Genesis 3:1) It was this subtle twist of the word which Satan used to bring about man’s fall from grace and brought the world into sin and rebellion. Yet even today, nearly 6,000 years since that time in the garden, Satan is once again tempting man by twisting the words of God thru others which another type of gospel by suggesting “Did God really say?” when it comes to salvation and what it means to not only be born again, but to stay in the faith.

So the question that needs to be asked is, can one really lose one’s place in the kingdom of God? The answer is YES! If the object of ones faith fails to continue to be placed in the finished work of Christ and what he did on the cross, then at some point in that persons life, sin will become once again the dominant force in the person and ultimately that person will grow further and further away from the truth, that to a point in time, the person no longer desires the things of God and worse, begins to live a life of sin and eventually they will no longer feel the convicting pull of the Holy Spirit and when that occurs, whatever saving faith they had in Christ will be forgotten, they will become reprobate in action and idea to such a degree that the Holy Spirit will remove himself from such a person and leave that individual to their own demise, hopelessly lost for all eternity if they do not repent.

We see this fact in the lives of several throughout the word who once knew the Lord but fell away from the faith and died eternally lost, Demas (2 Timothy 4:10), Judas Iscariot (Matthew 27:3-8, Acts 1:18-19), Hymenaeus and Philetus (2 Timothy 2:16-18), Alexander the Coppersmith (1 Timothy 1:18-20) and Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). In each of these men, not only did they indicate a full knowledge of the truth (Christ), but they followed Jesus as well, yet they lost their place in the kingdom of God and fell away from the truth, never to return back to the faith.

Even in the sad case of Judas Iscariot, one who not only was selected by the Lord. Yet even Judas who knew the Lord, called by the Lord and anointed by the Lord, would not only betray the Lord Jesus, but in the end would succumb to his own demise thru suicide, sadly cementing himself forever in the corridors of hell to await his stand at the judgment. Some would suggest that Judas never knew the Lord to begin with, but they fail to read the scriptures which clearly show not only Judas as well as the others doing the will of God, but equally, Judas was mentioned in prophecy found in Psalm 109:8, where we read Judas was foretold of his betrayal and his removal from the faith – “Let his years be few; let someone else take his position.”

In each of those listed above as references, it clearly shows one can forfeit their salvation. The teaching which declares ‘once saved always saved‘ is simply not only untrue, it will damn a soul for eternity. Yet it must be understood by the word, that if the believer continues in sin, continues a lifestyle of sin and not dealt with nor repented of, then that person is at risk of losing their eternal hope.

The word speaks about what a believer can do in regards to losing their standing in the faith:

1. Fall from grace – Gal. 5:1-4,13
2. Be led away with error – 2 Pet. 3:17
3. Err from the truth – James 5:19-20
4. Weak brother may perish – 1 Cor. 8:11
5. Fall into condemnation – James 5:12
6. Be moved away from the hope – Col. 1:21-23
7. Deny the Lord who bought them – 2 Pet. 2:1
8. Depart from the living God – Heb. 3:12
9. Can be a castaway – 1 Cor. 9:27
10. Can become accursed children – 2 Pet. 2:14

About a year ago, a young woman no older than 25, stated that she was a Christian, that she believed in Jesus Christ and that she prayed on occasion, but didn’t read her Bible nor could she remember when she had last went to church (not that it’s a requirement for salvation mind you) and that she believed in God. Now, all of this sounded great and encouraging until she further explained that her lifestyle was one of partying, drinking and sleeping around. When asked how she knew she was a Christian, she explained that, “I prayed the sinners prayer when I was a little girl.”

Months ago I received an email from a young teen who took exception to my comments about homosexuality and it’s affect on people’s lives and why God does not permit such behavior. The young woman proceeded to tell me that she was a Christian, she goes to church faithfully, she sings in the choir, goes to teen camp and was baptized. The problem is, she is a lesbian and active in the homosexual lifestyle. Yet she insists that she is a Christian.

What is Salvation? The definition of salvation is the act of saving or protecting someone from harm, risk or destruction. In Biblical terms, salvation is the act in which a person accepts (by faith) the truth of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he did on the cross. Meaning, when a person realizes that they are a sinner, separated by God due to sin, they accept and believe that Jesus Christ was and is the son of God, they accept that his death on the cross was for the remission of sin and that by faith and repentance for their sins, they believe completely that they are now born again and begin to follow him. That is the Biblical doctrine of salvation. (Eph. 2:8-9, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12, Luke 13:5, John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Romans 10:9, Romans 10:10 and Romans 10:13)

Now, many will say, “I said a prayer – I’m saved and that’s it. I can go on with my life now.” Sadly, the truth today is, this all too common in the church today. But the truth is much more deeper than just saying a prayer, it’s much more. And let me just say that I by no means discount saying a prayer, I’m not advocating that at all. It is through prayer we talk to God, it is through prayer that our requests are made known as well as answered, but the truth is, salvation is a process, although it is immediate, it is still a process in which one must continually maintain and develop, it’s not something we just use like a coat or sweater, putting it on part of the time and removing it at other times. Salvation is a way of life and the sad truth is, there are untold millions who call themselves saved and they are not! And shocking even more, the church and most Pastors are not confronting this issue head on and they are just as guilty.

When we are born again in Christ, a tremendous change has taken place from the inside outward. A person who has accepted Christ will begin to mold him or herself to the image of Christ in their conduct, in their thinking, in their direction, in their habits, in their day to day life, a person who has accepted Christ willfully turns their life over to Jesus Christ and submits to his prescribed order. Now, does this happen overnight? No it doesn’t, again, I repeat this, this is a process, but there are certain immediate changes which take place or should take place in the new converts life which show that they have been changed. A new desire to put off the old ways is one of those changes.

2 Cor. 5:17 states, “He that is in Christ is a NEW creature, OLD things have passed away, behold all things are brand NEW.” meaning, when a person comes to Christ, they are new in God’s eyes, for he sees the blood of Christ applied to their lives, no longer does that person think the way they used to think, no longer does a person act, behave, conduct their life as they once did, for SOMETHING has taken place and that something was salvation.

The issue we have happening within the church today is that people who merely profess Christ yet they do not strive to serve, conduct or apply his teachings to their life, are sadly being mislead into believing they are believers. Jesus states in John 8:31 “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, then you are truly my disciples.” Salvation comes with a price, while salvation is free, there is a requirement for the follower and that is you are now conformed into the image of God. You have a demand placed upon you to follow Christ and that means giving up the things which led you into sin in the first place.

Sadly, there are people today, who still insist that they can live however they wish, never walk according to the teachings of Christ as we are commanded to do (2 john 1:9) and they insist they are saved. The truth is, they are as lost now as they were then and what’s worse, they have pastors who actually tell them they are saved! This is why God allows tares to be sown with the wheat, for it’s not our place or job to expose those who are false converts, it’s our job as true believers to preach the gospel and lead men to Christ. God will eventually weed them out.

I have sat in services where the Pastor or visiting evangelist would simply tell people to “say a prayer” or simply raise their hands if they want salvation and “BAM!” they are now new in Christ without telling them what is required, i.e., repentance, counting the cost, these are things we have set aside today because we no longer take the time to tell people what salvation requires, that there is a genuine cost to be a Christian. It’s not about simply saying a prayer and going on ones way, it’s about conforming to Christ, taking up one’s cross and following him. We’ve done a disservice to the gospel by advocating such foolishness and we are sending many to hell thinking they are saved when they are not!

Jesus himself stated that does one build a building without going over the cost of such endeavor? (Luke 14:28) Then why are we telling people that they get saved without going through the steps of what salvation really means? What it truly represents to be a Christian? It’s because we are now more focused on building churches through means other than traditional, Biblical teachings which rely on the gospel being preached and the holy spirit having his way and instead, trusting in man made means to an end. This is the new gospel today and why the crowds are so large in many of today’s churches.

I’ve often wondered why so many of these churches are large and enormous to the point of overflow? The answer is found in what they are teaching, not in what they should be preaching. I can guarantee this, if most, if not all, of these mega churches, even the modest ones running into the thousands were to truly preach the gospel as it is required, the numbers would not run consistent. Actually, the numbers would drop! Why? Because people would have to face the real truth that the salvation truth they have accepted is not what Christ offered. Actually, Christ himself had great multitudes which followed him everywhere he went, but toward the last of his life and ministry was near complete, the multitudes vanished! Why? Because they didn’t desire to truly follow him, they wanted a gospel or ideology which tickled their ears and didn’t require a price to be paid for salvation. This is why Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.” (Matt. 7:13)

To follow Christ is to deny ourselves completely. It’s forsaking all for the kingdom, this means, everything that we love, cherish and seek after. It means that we no longer desire our will, we desire his will. Salvation, when one accepts this great gift, does so on the basis that they understand that their life is not their own anymore, a genuine change has taken place and from that point on, their mind has been transformed to mind of Christ.

Salvation by today’s standards in most churches today is not the same as found in the word. This is a new doctrine that advocates personal accountability to no one which considers true salvation as a method which is too strict, too demanding and too costly. It doesn’t lift up self, it doesn’t make us feel good and it doesn’t bring about change where needed. The modern church has adopted this new kind of salvation message which is therapy based and not Bible based.

Let me just say, it saddens me to see so many misguided, misinformed people today who are being deceived almost daily in many of these conforming churches lead by liberal Pastors who have all but rejected the word of God. But I stand firm that there is hope and that hope is that those who truly desire Christ and truly desire to seek him will find him, for God has promised us in his word that if we seek him, we will indeed find him. ( Jeremiah 29:13)

Once again, to set the record clear, to believe in unconditional eternal security is to believe a lie, and those who teach such are not only teaching a damnable heresies (2 Peter 2:1), but to those who would believe such a lie will lose their place in the kingdom of God and find themselves in hell for all eternity. Remember the words of Jesus in Mark 4:16 (Luke 8:13) “And in a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; (they believe for a while) and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.” Jesus is speaking about those who knew the saving faith of the cross, but later would fall away.

Even the apostle Paul declared in 1 Timothy 4:1 that in the last days, many would fall away from the faith. The word gives us other admonitions to keep the faith:

1. Be steadfast immovable: 1 Cor 15:58
2. If these qualities are yours…2 Pe 1:5-11
3. We will reap if we do not grow weary: Gal 6:9
4. Be faithful unto death and I will give crown of life: Rev 2:10
5. Practice these things and God will be with you: Phil 4:9

To accept anything other than the truth of continuing in the faith, and instead believe a lie proves that salvation is a daily effort by which we can only do by keeping ourselves in the cross, the finished work of Calvary and keeping our eyes on Christ and allowing him to guide us and lead us into perfect truth. This is why we must discern and weigh all teachings which come along so that we too will not become seduced by the seduction of false teachings, in this case the dangerous false doctrine of unconditional eternal security.

Bro. Christopher

christopher152@gmail.com