Deception

Christian Mistakes, Warnings, Deceptions and Pitfalls

Evangelicals have distorted the image of Jesus from a Righteous, Reigning, Awesome King of Glory, to be feared, loved and obeyed down to a Friendly Neighbor. We have diluted the Gospel down to "Say a prayer and get your free ticket to Heaven."

Any gospel that does not include living Holy is incomplete! Any gospel that does not include obedience to God, but instead relies solely on Mental Assertions, is incomplete! Jesus is the Way, if you don't go on the Way, you won't get there.

Beware of the Cross-Less Gospel. It states that Jesus picked up His cross, but you don't have to. Sacrifice is still a major part of the Christian's walk, but sacrifice only what the Lord commands you to. Your spiritual maturity is determined by how much you are willing to sacrifice for the Lord.

If any gospel does not warn people of the coming struggles, but only focuses on having a blessed life, this gospel has been cheapened. And the recipient won't be ready for hard trials.

The "Once Saved Always Saved" doctrine contradicts many scripture verses, and contradicts many testimonies of people who have been shown Hell.

Those who withhold tithes and offerings from the Lord are disobedient Christians, they won't be ready for His return. This withholding of money by Christian's has kept many people of the world from ever hearing the gospel, because missionaries and resources were never sent out to them.

Accusing someone is a serious thing to do, not to be handled lightly, not for the immature, and not to be done without the prompting of the Holy Spirit. In scripture it was handled by the Apostles, by seasoned men and women of God. But even the disciples, as show in the Gospels, misjudged people (Mark 9:38). When you accuse another person without the prompting of the Holy Spirit, you'll be in danger of the trap of the enemy, who greatest weapon is using Christian to accuse other Christians, and cause division. Many times, in the name of "defending the truth", we are often "attacking the body". We are not doing God a favor by attacking His children.
Take a strong warning from a vision given several years ago in which the Lord standing with His arms outstretched. Soldiers in blue and gray uniforms were marching past Him on either side, and were laying their bloody swords on His arms. The Lord resolutely looked into the eyes of each one, saying, "No one who has their brother's blood on their sword will be used to build My house."

Pride + Bible knowledge will get you as far as it did with the Pharisees. (Saying foolish, presumptuous and religious sounding statements like, "It is not lawful to heal on the Sabbath", "no prophet come out of Nazareth")

Signs, wonders, miracles and healings are for today, they have NOT disappeared, nor has the gifts of the Spirit.

Many Christian will wait for a prompting, leading and confirmation from the Lord before they will do what the Bible already tells them to. Just do it!

Messages from God can sometimes be sharp, to the point, painful and hard to accept. But they must not be watered down or compromised. Pastors need to protect the flock from evil, but they should not protect the flock from the hard messages of God.

Never set your eyes on any defiled thing. Your eyes are a gateway to your soul and it pours filth into your heart when you look upon them.

The higher you go, the closer you walk with the Lord, the greater the devastation will come from your disobedience.

When Christian's argue, we must watch carefully the intentions of our heart. I have on occasion argued with Christian's using good biblical arguments and principles, while trying to cut the other person down to pieces. It was only when I ignored the facts, and focused on the intentions of my heart, did I realize what I was doing was evil, even though I masked it with good biblical doctrine.

It only take a few wounds to turn a sheepdog into a wolf; one who defends the flock into one who attacks it. When Christians have too many unhealed wounds, they only seem to be able to attack other ministries and people, and not edify.

When you talk about someone, only say what you would be comfortable saying in their presence. Otherwise you will be acting two faced. Remember every word we speak will be reviewed when our life is Judged. And when someone else is speaking gossip, Object, stop it, or get out of there! Hearing one bad comment or rumor about someone can pollute your relationship with them for years. Beware of the desire to witness people's shame and nakedness, this is what promotes gossip.

The greater your influence, the greater the ability you have to mislead people, when you are not walking with the Lord. Never esteem you influence, but take it with sober caution.

"My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations." But we have made it into a house of study. Our western church is founded on gathering knowledge about God. (Study does have its place, but not the main focus.) We've gathered 10 times the knowledge of the early apostles, yet have 1/10th their effectiveness.

As my experience has shown, you can be running TOWARD Christian Ministry and AWAY from the Lord's presence at the same time. (as with Jonah) My experience has also shown, (as with the Israelites), that I can take a valuable thing and mold it into a worthless idol.

No weeping saints, no weeping sinners. No night long prayer, no long lines to Church. I have seen for myself, the larger the congregation gets, the smaller the prayer group becomes.

When the Church preaches against a sin, like Homosexuality, drunkenness or Abortion, then battles rage in the heavenly realms against these principalities. But when the Church is silent on an issue, to avoid controversy or not to appear to be provocative, then these heavenly battles do not happen, and these spirits run rampant, going unopposed and finding victims all over.

We often make the people closest to the Lord into our idols. This is why Moses was not given a public burial, because God knew the people would have dug up his bones and worshiped them, making them into idols and relics, which is what eventually happened to Moses's staff.

The saints, prophets, disciples and apostles were NOT great people that met an average God, they were average people that met a Great God. So all the glory belongs to God alone and we must not idolize them.

When the Lord speaks through a person, what they say will be backed up by scripture. But also, when the enemy speaks, he will use misapplied scripture to defend his poison. How will you distinguish? If you're relying on your intellectual knowledge of scripture to distinguish, be careful, you're up against the one "more crafty than the rest." The truth is that you must know the voice of the Lord. If you don't, you'll believe the misapplied scripture of the enemy's agent before you believe the Lord's servant!

Don't minimize a move of God down to the phrase "an emotional experience," for often moves of the Lord bring people to tears.

Hiding, self-justification, wearing masks, and shifting blame, are all paths that will lead a good man, back to his sin, a dog back to his vomit.

The devil's main weapon against the Church is Division.

If you live a godly life, but do not verbally share Christ with others, you'll be as successful as Lot was in saving Sodom and Gomorrah.

Many Christian's are functional atheists. They believe the stories of the Bible, but if anything like those stories happens today, they'll be the first one's to call it false.

A fool would read the bible one time and say "I know all about the Lord." But a wise man would read the bible ten times and say "I know very little." The closer you get to the Mountain, the smaller you appear. The closer you are to God the more humble you become, but the closer you come to the devil, the more puffed up you become.

If there is a problem/issue that the Lord is taking you through, and you refuse to learn it. That issue will come back later and overcome you until it is dealt with. You will go "Around that Mountain" until the lesson is finished.

Before the Lord advances His church, the enemy will send out the fakes.

When the Lord advances His church using certain people, these people will be utterly defamed. If you research those people on the internet, most of what you'll find will be negative and written by "respectable" people with prestigious degrees behind their name. Similar to when Jesus walked the earth.

The false prophet is usually the first to accuse the true prophet.

If you miss the real prophets, then you will have less ability to recognize the false ones, and skepticism is not the same as true discernment.

You will need to go through many easy doors, to get the same spiritual growth as going through one hard door.

Your FAITH is not only your belief in who God IS, but who you are NOT. Without God, I'm foolish, weak and easily captured. Our Faith is in God alone, NEVER in man, NEVER in his institutions, and Never in the bride. I love my church, but many times we have failed and dropped the ball. And when people tie their anchor to a person or institution, they are bound for disappointment.

I find no evidence in the Bible, or among today's prophets, of a place of "Purgatory" that exists today.

The farther away from God you get, the more rules and regulations you'll come up with in an effort to maintain what you once had. And what was once living will soon become mechanical and artificial. (Take the machinery out of the church.)

If an pain caused by someone in your past still brings up negative emotions, then there is probably still un-forgiveness.

Avoiding deception from false prophets is important. But if you put too much emphasis on avoiding deception then you will reject the Lord's true prophets.

Church sermons that (indirectly) bring comfort to people who chose to remain in their sin, do them great damage.

I once drank a poison called “Don’t Convict Me,” it was sweet, but it lead to my death. It kept me in the dark for many years.

You can fall at any level in your walk with Christ. Never think that you're invincible, because pride comes before a fall. When mountain climbing, you can quickly tell when you are falling, but it is not so spiritually. Most don't know when they are falling.

You CAN'T preach the gospel using only gentle words.

There are no small sins. If there is a man, serving the Lord, helping the poor, and studying the word, and this man is only stealing a small about of money from work every week, he is in danger of hellfire. If there is a lady, serving in the church, leading people to Christ, and sponsoring missionaries, and this lady continues to cheat with only 1 adulterous partner, she is in danger of hellfire.

From here to your destination are a thousand prisons, learn how to get out, remember how you got in, and never say, "There are no more". What we often considered strongholds of truth, were really fortresses of fear.

The biggest threat to the Lord's anointed, is often the Lord's last anointed. For King David it was Saul, for Jesus it was the religious elite, for Luther it was the Church. Whenever there is any progress in the church, most opposition comes from the current establishment.

We desperately need a balance between study and service. I.E. Think about the last 4 bible studies you've attended. If in the time you've attended those 4 bible studies, you've never once went out to serve the Lord, help the needy, feed the hungry, encourage the weak, or edify the church, then you're probably out of balance. "The last thing some Christian's need is another bible study." (Purpose Driven Life) Jesus said, now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:17)

There are 2 pits on the side of the path of life. One pit says, "You must serve the Lord in drudgery and misery, never enjoying a moment." Occasionally I see victims there, the other pit is more common, it says "serve the Lord in comfort, remove all toil, suffering and anything unpleasant. Maximize pleasure as you do the Lord's work."

The higher spiritual authority you have, the greater you can fall without love and humility.

Two false doctrines are in the Church, and they need to be dealt with. #1 "God has stopped speaking" and #2 "if the Lord speaks today, it is not as valid as when He spoke in the past."

Eight Pillars of the Lukewarm Church: (Eight great steps to keep your church weak and lukewarm.)
1. Don't talk about the Hell or the Judgments of God. You can talk about Love, Mercy & forgiveness. But Wrath, Judgments & Hell are just not popular messages anymore.
2. Don't talk about speaking in tongues, because of it's strangeness, you don't want to scare anyone away.
3. Don't talk about deliverance, demonic attacks or Spiritual warfare, these subjects are only for a select few, not everyone.
4. Don't acknowledge any current prophets, any current visions, or any current prophesies. You'll need to protect your church's reputation from anything controversial. If someone in your congregation is getting vision or prophecies, talk to them privately but don't let the congregation know about these.
6. Don't use the Laying on of Hands.
7. Preach the Cross is a way as to make people think that they need to pick up one.
8. Don't talk about being filled with the Holy Spirit, just assume that once a person says a little prayer and attends church, that he is already full of the Spirit, and nothing else is needed.
9. For prayer, a 5 minute pray before the sermon and other meetings should be enough.

When a friend of mine (a man of God) fell into temptation, he said he heard 2 messages from the enemy. Both of these were very crafty and destructive. The first message was "As long as you're down here in sin, you might as well enjoy the fruit." When he took this message to heart, he engaged in all kinds of sin that were never even his weaknesses. The second message was, "You can turn back to God tomorrow." When he took that message to heart, tomorrow never came until a year later in jail.

The devil, like a good wrestler, knows when to pull and when to push. he can resist anyone from entering their assigned ministry, but if that doesn't work, then he can then push them hard, causing them burnout.

Watch out, one of the most dangerous places for Christians is the spotlight. In the spotlight we focus on ourselves. Many of us can be just as effective serving the Lord from behind the scenes in a prayer closet than those who are up front in the spotlight.

Beware of the yoke of men. Man's yoke looks good, but it will only slow you down in the climb, and will make you less fruitful. The Lord's yoke is light, it lifts you up, but man's will weigh you down.

If a believer prays for the sick, and nothing happens, DON'T BLAME GOD! Many times Christians would pray for someone, and maybe that person dies, so they then make up some new theology about how it was the will of God for this to happen. This new theology is NOT consistent with scripture. When the disciples prayed, and could not drive out the demon, Jesus told them it was because of their lack of faith, not God's lack of compassion.

(A) Don't copyright what the Lord tells you. Unless there is a pressing need for a copyright, give it away free. Putting a copyright on God's revelations is like a person who has the gift of healing, but he charges everyone who wants to be healed. The Lords gifts are for His Church, not for profit!
For preachers, be very careful when your audience continuously applauds you during your sermon, because it puffs us up, and soon we start thinking they are applauding us.

Pastors beware of the "Just in Case" philosophy when conducting church services. It's human wisdom at its best and I see it creeping into churches. This philosophy says, "Prepare every detail of the service in advance, prepare the worship music exactly the way you want it. Prepare and rehearse the introduction of the sermon, so you don't stumble over your words. Get the closing prayer written down and ready. Then, Just in Case the Lord doesn't show up, you can still put on a great show!" Church service should NOT be like a Broadway production.

One trap I often fall into is this, the more power the Lord gives me, the less I think I then need Him. It is just the opposite.
Those who rely only on the bible, and never bother getting counsel from the Holy Spirit, can be deceived.
The Lord's power can be very corrupting to a person who is not crucified, not humble, and does not walk in love.

Principles to Live by

Love the Saviour, work only for HIS Glory.

Some parts of spiritual maturity that Christians strive and study for can be gained by the laying on of hands. But other parts must be slowly developed, tested and learned. The ministry of Laying on of Hands must NOT be ignored. Teachers often ignore it because they have more confidence in their teaching than the spirits ability to impart life.

If you have been given visions from the Lord, don't keep them a secret (unless instructed to) but rather share your visions with intercessors, so that they can pray over those things that need attention. Draw your visions down on paper, so that the rest of the Body of Christ can see. This will turn a prayer group into a prophetic intercessions group, which is much more strategic. Also be careful to no let other Christian's quench the Spirit, the enemy will often use other Christian's to discourage you from maturing in this powerful gift.

If you only minister to those who pay you, what are you doing more than others? Don't even sinful people do that? Minister to the whole body, not just your supporters.

There are 2 types of activities that Christians do. Eating and Working? By Eating I mean, things that edify yourself, bible studies, listening to sermons, Christian Concerts, etc. By Working I mean things that edify others. Preaching, Evangelizing, Charity, etc. Most everyone in the Church is Eating! Now stop Eating and Get to Work!

When you do something, don't do anything that would embarrass you, if everyone else were watching. If you're embarrassed before people who have low standards, how much more before a God with perfect standards. Remember, every action will come to light when our life is Judged.

If you go to 5 sermons, before you will go to one prayer meeting, then you're probably out of balance. If you spend 2 hours in Church and less than 5 minutes in prayer, you probably out of balance.

Losing confidence in yourself is good, if it is replaced by confidence in the Lord. Things that leads to greater dependence on the Lord are good, but things that lead to dependence on self can be dangerous.

Build up people, not ministries. Invest into people, not into processes. Many times Christian's get involved with ministries, and neglect the personal investment into people, which is the whole reason for ministry.

Judge yourself, before the Lord has to. Judge yourself with an IRON FIST, but judge others with a velvet glove. This will keep you from hypocrisy, but be careful not to fall into Self Condemnation and Despair.

When judging the actions of another, where you don't have all the information, assume the best, not the worst. Assuming the worst brings division and bitterness. I once heard a wise proverb from a Jewish friend that said "believe in a man's innocence, until the facts just won't let you."

Christian must learn to hear the voice of the Lord through other people.

When someone is on fire for the Lord, the enemy tried to snuff them out. Then they can go from one extreme to the other, becoming cold as ice. When you come across someone who is on fire for the Lord, take extra caution NOT to discourage them or quench the Spirit's fire.

You can't convince a good man he needs to repent to a bad god, you can only convince a bad man he needs to repent to a holy god. If an unsaved person doesn't understand his sinfulness and rebellion to God, then his repentance will not be on solid ground.

The main goal of a Christian is not to raise a happy family and be successful in this world. Thou these are nice to have, our main goal is to Love, obey, and server the Lord Jesus Christ. To be an extension of His will.

When people and institutions working for the Lord, do NOT receive revelation from the Lord, they often become dead skin, and a hindrance to the Lord. Thou they might be working on "Good" goals, they can interfere with the Lord's "Main" goals. We always need to listen for the Lord's direction, be ready to drop our old plans, and walk in the way He now directs.

Don't ever wave your trophies before the Lord.

People will learn more from your scars than your trophies.

Don't set your standards by other people's standards, but by the Lord's. When you reconcile yourself to someone you offended, it should be independent of how they react or whether or not they try to reconcile. Don't let other people's low standard stop you from doing what is right.

You can't set someone free if you yourself are still in bondage.

One of the foolish things I used to do before I would go out street evangelizing was to spend 1-2 hours preparing everything, training, practicing, materials, etc. and then spend 5 minutes in prayer. This bore very little fruit. I put all my trust in my preparation, and little trust in the Lord. It would have been better to pray 1-2 hours and spend 5 minutes in preparation.

90% prayer & 10% work! Ministries not immersed in prayer will fail.

Those who serve the Lord, but do not come close to Him, will be out of sync with Him. They will be harvesting when they should be sowing, comforting when they should be warning, or rebuking when they should be showing mercy. By this they will be fruitless. Each of us must know the seasons of the Lord.

Don't use the Lord's Name like a wash cloth. One time, I found myself doing this when an accusation came against me. When confronted, I quickly tried showing my Christian credentials. Later on, I found that I did more to lower the Name of the Lord, than to lift mine. John the Baptist was right when he said, "He must become greater; I must become less".

Wherever you go, leave the place a little better than you found it, and in this way you're are serving others. (My Dad helped teach me this lesson. If he needed to use a restroom in a gas station, and he found it very clean, he would often tip the attendant on duty.)

The pursuit of God is not an intellectual pursuit but a spiritual one. For many times in my walk with Christ, I would only gather information about Him, and not seek Him spiritually. Don't miss what's most important, to know Him intimately and love Him. Better to listen to a humble, loving, obedient servant of Christ, than a polished and eloquent professional, who has a mediocre walk. But to our dismay, we are always drawn to the professionals. A moment of being filled by His Spirit, His Love, His Presence, will transform you faster than any activity. DON'T KNOW HIM FROM A DISTANCE, GET INTO HIS PRESENCE AND BE TRANSFORMED!

The notion Christians have that there are so many people preaching on Hell, is just false. According to a survey from the June 19, 2002, edition or the Los Angeles Times called “Hold the Fire and Brimstone,” the mention of hell from pulpits is at an all-time low. This is mostly the result of the "Fear of Man," and the immaturity of Christians not wanting to preach uncomfortable subjects.

It's good to wake up early in the morning and pray over the things of that day. I believe the Lord sends us ministering angels. And that we should send them out to do His will. So if you find yourself waking up very early, it may not be an accident, you may have a host of angels waiting for an assignment.

If you've been given the gift of tongues, you should spend time in it each day. I've noticed that a lot more things get done (spiritually) when I do this. It really does edify me when I use the language a lot. And when people say that tongues no longer exists, or you should never pray without an interpreter, they are mixing human wisdom with spiritual gifts, as it was said to Jesus "Don't heal on the Sabbath."

Believers are commanded to lay hands on the sick, so that they may be healed. We are to obey this command, whether or not we see results! Use any opportunity that is given to you.

When you pray, don't be afraid to ask for the Lord's judgment against anything that hinders His kingdom. Don't pray like a wimp. Remember how Jesus cursed the fig tree, in Mark 11:21. Not every prayer has to be "Bless this and Bless that". But never pray for the Lord's wrath on any person, because one soul is worth more that all the riches of this world.

You'll get more heat from the red coals than the dark ones. And those who are passionate about the Lord will also impart a zeal to you. But it can be discouraging to walk among the lukewarm.

Christian idols and images are also an abomination. Don't kneel before a statue, or speak to a picture, or revere any Earthly object.

If you don't tell the guy behind you how you fell, he's going to stumble over the same rock.

The worst thing you'll see in Heaven is the absence of your friends & loved ones. Work now to prevent it. Share, pray and intercede for them.

The Lord has set a Mountain before us, do not perch yourself on the first ledge and say "I've made it". No! Keep Climbing. If you fall, get back up and climb. Don't wait for the flood, you might get swept away, or won't be able to out climb it then. Run the race as to win now. Not everyone at the Wedding Banquet will be the bride.

You cannot march in the Army of God wearing flesh.

If you want to become a great Christian, study the lessons from the great ones, don't study the wimps.

The person who picks up the biggest cross will have the most influence to change others.

When correcting someone, first do it privately, don't do it in front of others to embarrass them. I did this when I was immature. I used other people to embarrass someone into submission, with fear. Rather than having that person look and agree with the correction.

Christians need to learn the art of recruiting. Which I learned from a friend named Joy. Whenever she met another Christian, instead of chatting doctrine, she would quickly get down to business, on how they can advance the Kingdom of God. (Strategies, tools, techniques, resources, connections) The heavy focus sure on recruitment, made some people uncomfortable, but sure motivated and educated others.

Quickly write down your dreams when you wake up, before the memory is stolen from you.

The more you lean on your own understanding, the less you will trust in God.

General Teaching

Selfishness destroys.

If the armies of God are NOT fighting in a specific battle, then you shouldn't fight there either.

There is NO forgiveness, NO salvation, NO hope and NO 2nd chance for anyone who receives the mark of the beast, (666). When it comes, avoid it at all costs. (Warning) One of the main Christian message after the rapture will be, "Don't receive the mark"

Anything not built on the Rock will eventually fall. (Systems, Organizations, Businesses, Countries, Groups, Cultures, etc.)

A humble servant close to the Lord is more powerful than a King who is away from the Lord.

Human goodness and human compassion may help others, but it won't lead them to the cross, where their real healing is. All true blessings come from God, and everything He does is redemptive, leading others to Himself. Therefore is you bless someone in a way that does not lead them to God, you've given them no eternal benefit.

The Church today walks in very little power, very little of what we are called to walk in. One reason is because "we have not received a prophets reward." Few Christians can even name a prophet who is living today. A prophet's message is just not as popular as a message from a Christian Celebrity, Singer or professional writer.

Whenever there is a question regarding a certain Doctrine, always check the foundation, the RED letters of Christ. His words are where many of our Christian disagreements are solved.

I've been told that you can't please everyone, but I've seen that used as an excuse not to care. And I've seen that a humble man will make few enemies.

Search, and you will find that acting on un-given authority (presumption), is the most common sin shown in the gospels, and a very common sin today.

The false prophet will often try to establish his credibility early on. And establishing his reputation will be a major concern for much of his speaking. A true prophet won't put heavy focus on this.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but the Love of the Lord is the fulfillment of wisdom.

Anything you believe differently than Jesus Christ is deception, and we all have some.

The purpose of all things is the Glory of God, not the happiness of man (humanism).

The Power of God is Christ Crucified, and the power of Christ is you Crucified. A crucified and obedient servant of the Lord can be entrusted with great authority, and will do great exploits.

Past servants of the Lord have left Mantles for us to take up and continue.

Your real friends are the ones that will suffer for you.

One of the main messages of Jesus today, is to prepare for His return, even though this is a rarely preached message. Prophets that are close to me, have had visions of many Christian's left behind. Two prophets that I trust, were told that about 80% of Christians are NOT ready. One prophet has even seen entire congregations left behind, resulting in the pastor getting beat up in the very pulpit he preached in, by the people he preached to.

If a person doesn't have a holy fear of the Lord, then they are much more likely to fall away under pressure.

The only reason people hate God, or are not excited about God is because they are wearing veils. They have believed some lie about God that has distorted His glorious image.

What's the Lord's stance on Abortion?

The greatest secular thing is not even worth the least Holy thing.

The Lord can be glorified in our weaknesses, but in our strengths we gain fame. Its better to have a weakness that causes humility, than a strength that causes pride.

When you please your master, he rewards you. If your master is good, you will be rewarded for good, but if he is evil, you will be rewarded for evil.

The best time to worship the Lord, the most meaningful time to worship the Lord, is when you're under trials and struggles. And remember, He's bigger than all our problems.

When the world condemns God or His people, they only set themselves up for their own condemnation.

I trust a person more if he walks with a limp. Meaning, he has suffered a major defeat, and learned hard lessons of who the Lord is and who his enemy is. A defeat is usually the only thing that will sober us up.

There is a unity coming over the body of Christ that I've seen, to where a 30 second encounter with another member can develop bonds that are stronger than family ones. For blood is thicker than water, but spirit is thicker than blood.

A healthy relationship with God will involve many tears. And if you've never cried while worshiping or seeking the Lord or repenting, then something is missing.

I've noticed a strange thing. I've noticed that when I am tempted with an evil/impure thought that if I breath out my nose quickly, the temptation seems to go away away. I've also noticed that worship times, if I fully exhale out of my mouth, the Worship gets more intense. I've noticed these 100's of times, but I can't explain why.

The Judgments of God are to be eagerly desired in your life. Better a slap on the wrist now, a correction early on, than unquenchable regret later. Metal is made stronger by pounding it, and we are made stronger by the discipline we get.

The stronger you make the foundation, the higher you can build.

If you lack wisdom, you'll find Him at the crossroads. Those who go without wisdom, will be captured, robbed & beaten. Then they will cry out and be rescued again. Christians, like me, learn most of their lessons after taking a beating.

The Banquet is ready, the Bride is Not!

Israel belongs to the Jews. The biblical prophesies that refer to the Jews, still refer to the Jews and not necessarily the Church. The Church needs to continue to support and intercede for Israel.

Will we ever reconcile Science and Religion? Science is the study of our physical world. Religion is the study of the spiritual world. Modern Science has an unwritten rule that there is NO spiritual realm, and no God. Therefore anything that points to a spiritual world, not matter how logical or obvious the evidence, it must be wrong. Science does not recognize the spiritual world, but tries to explain everything physically, which is impossible.
It's like trying to study colors, while using a black and white camera.

Science explains consciousness as a chemical process,

the creation of life as an accident,

the universe-the results of big random explosion,

dreams as biological processes,

the soul as a myth,

Good and Evil as non-existent,

Miracles as a freak of nature explainable by complex physics,

Mankind as a superior form of monkey,

and God as fairytale believed in by ignorant people who haven't studied science.

Scripture verses can be misapplied, when they are not prompted by the Holy Spirit.

It is Hard to enter the Kingdom of God. As we are finding out from some of the Lord's Messengers who have visited Heaven, a lot less made it than we thought.

The strength of your spirit is determined by your will power to obey God and resist evil.

Ministries that don't train up the next generation won't last.

Obedience is more important than results. In building the ark, Noah was obedient to the Lord for over 100 years, yet it didn't save anyone besides his family.

Though your body is locked in this physical world, your spirit can be soaring in the heavens or down in the depths.

The Earth has been given to man, therefore the Kingdom of God, and the kingdom of evil come mainly by invitation.

Even for the "mature" there are still many veils and stumbling blocks to overcome. Those who listen, will have their veils removed the fastest.

The spirit of Faith is at work opening peoples eyes, find these people and share the gospel with them. Those who have not been visited by faith, won't listen to you. And if you're not paying attention, you won't know who to go to, making your work fruitless.

God is unchanging. But He is NOT static! The Lord is fluid, an idol is static. That which is fluid is greater than that which is static. Many times we have missed a move of God, because it was not what we were expecting. The Spirit is always moving.

Many people who we think are our enemy, are actually our friends. And many people we think are our friends, are not. And many people we give the most respect to, are still not mature.

All famous and influential role models, will either lead people toward Jesus or away. They will either gather or scatter.

Much of the teaching of the Kingdom of God is the unlearning of what the world taught us.

When events happen in the spiritual realm there is usually a reaction in the physical realm. Those who have eyes to see, will see and understand, but those without will casually ignore these things. The spiritual world is much more integrated into the physical world than we think. The physical world is a vague mapping of the spiritual realm.

It is easy to get off the path, but hard to get back on. A fisherman's hook is made to go in easy, but difficult to get out. Also with sin, easy to start, hard to stop.

Revivals have often been preceded by strong consistent prayer from a small group of people, and then a strong repentance from a much larger group.

If you see a radical change for the worse, in someone's personality, suspect that a spiritual agent is involved.

Most attacks of the enemy, do not work on a person who has a crucified flesh. And humility is an armor that is hard to penetrate.

When first starting to read the bible, it is best to start with the RED LETTERS, the Words of Jesus from the Gospels. First master these, they are the Foundation. When building a house, no one builds the walls before the floor is finished.

The tears of the Lord walk around, they say "who will host me? Is there no one who will cry for him? Is there no one who will weep for her"? Open your door to them, let them into your house, and sit at your table, do not leave them outside. One tear weighs more than a pound of sweat. Its the most perfect prayer.

When a person is born again, they are given a new body, a spiritual body. They then have two sets of ears, one physical and one spiritual. This helps them not only to hear what a person is saying with their mouth, but also hear what a person is saying with their heart. Through many mistakes I have learned the hard way that it is more important to understand what a person is truly saying from their heart rather than the polished words from their lips, especially when they try quoting scripture. The Lord looks at the heart, not the outward appearance.

A person's spiritual maturity is determined by how much they are willing to sacrifice for the Lord. The less they sacrifice, the slower they will mature.

That which is puffed up tries to float to the top of the water, though it looks big, it does not weigh much. But that which is heavy and full will settle for the bottom. Evil men seek to be in charge, but godly men have no problem serving.

You can often find some good, in the most evil of people, and some bad in the best of men.

Many of the Lord's people are currently in the prisons of the enemy, being used by the evil one. Though they have the appearance of being spiritual, but because of fear, they'll usually oppose the strategic moves of God, for supposedly religious reasons. How crafty is the devil? Crafty enough to get God's people to do his work.

(The Power of God) + (Man's wisdom) = Ineffectiveness

There are 7 Mountains that have influence over Nations. Whoever controls these mountains can take nations. The 7 Mountains: CHURCH, FAMILY, EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT, MEDIA, ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT & BUSINESS. We cannot just protect the Church and let the other mountains fall to the enemy, we have to fight hard on all 7 mountains.

In order to build a better house, you'll occasionally need to tear down the old one.

Very often when satan wants to slander God's people, he will simply tie what they are doing to money, in order to make it appear that greed is the only motivation.

If you saw 10 men carrying a heavy log, and 9 men were one end of it and 1 was at the other side, where would you help? In making Disciples, we should do the same. Go to where we are most needed.

Those who don't appreciate what they have, will be given less.

The Bride knows less that she thinks she does. And many times, when things are said in the name of the Groom, it's really the Bride speaking. When the Groom does speak, few people realize it, especially the person it was spoken through.

Man was created with the ability to walk on Earth physically, while spiritually walking in the heavenly realm with God.

According to 2 prophets that I respect, less than 20% of Christian's are ready for the Lord's return! The rest will be left behind.

Salvation is a free gift from God, but certain anointings can come at a cost, and testings will be needed before great authority is given.

It can be very difficult to realize when you have lost the Lord's anointing, as with Sampson, when he lost the Lord's strength, (Judges 16:20) "He awoke from his sleep and thought, 'I'll go out as before and shake myself free.' But he did not know that the LORD had left him."

Many people in the church are NOT yet born again.

The devil will make the same offering to people as he did to Jesus. The devil will give the kingdoms of this world to those who bow down and worship him, and many have taken this offering.

Baptizing children was not practiced in the new testament. If you were baptized as a child, it is not a valid baptism.

Whether by circumcision (the easy way) or Judgment (the hard way), the Lord will destroy your fleshly nature.

Spiritual Warfare

Anywhere a devil or demon exists on Earth is illegal, they have NO rights, they are always criminals, and are all condemned. They are not to be negotiated with, but instead Cast Out! They have no good motives, use only deception and plan only evil. Don't treat them like they are just an annoyance, but instead like murderous fugitives. Give them no ground, vehemently and militantly oppose them, and use the Name of Jesus Christ against them.

Every time the enemy successfully attacks us, our understanding of God becomes a little more veiled, and God look a little less glorious, and our zeal for Him diminishes.

The enemies strategy for the Church is Deceive, Divide and Destroy. Deceptions brings strife, quarrels, fighting, backbiting, slander, etc. These will bring division into the Church, separating God's Children away from the family, away from the shepherds. Once separated, the enemy can more easily overpower us and take us out. Once we are overpowered and captured, we can then easily be used to attack the church, (in the name of helping God.)

The safest place to be during spiritual warfare is on the Cross.

A soldier who is not willing to take any scars, is not much of a warrior. And a Christian who stays away from controversial issues is not much of a warrior either.

Whenever the Lord shows up somewhere, the enemy will come by later to mess up any good work. Be ready. Don't miss an opportunity when you see it, for tomorrow, it may be gone. I learned this hard lesson from a friend of mine, he was never receptive to the Gospel until one day when Jesus spoke to him in a dream. His heart was tender and ready. But foolishly, I did not go to him right away and share with him. 4 hours later, he was as mad as can be, and wanted nothing to do with Jesus. I missed a great opportunity, and am awaiting another.

Remember it only took one hole to sink the Titanic. And one sin that is not dealt with, can take out a strong man of God, one sin that continues to grow, can destroy a ministry.

The Lord gives His power to those who are wise and mature enough to use it. The evil one gives his power to those who are foolish and immature enough to be used by it.

In spiritual warfare, the enemy we are fighting today are not the same as before, they appear to be more sophisticated, organized, unified and trained.

A wise man may sacrifice some of his lesser goals in order to accomplish a bigger one. And our enemy is willing to support lesser Christian goals in order to derail the more important ones.

When we are in darkness, we hug our enemies and beat our friends.

The enemy attacks the shepherd in order to destroy the sheep, he attacks the pastor in order to destroy the congregation, bribes the celebrity to destroy their fans, deceives the author to destroy their readers, fools the teachers to destroy their students, and corrupts leaders in order to destroy their followers. The devil attacks those who have influence. When he comes after you, be sure to cover your bases, those you oversee.

The devil's goal is to mock God, by showing man (created in God's image) in the lowest, most perverse, disgusting, twisted, animal state.

When the Light of Christ shines on demonic spirits, they become very small and weak.

The enemy is called the twister, always distorting the true things of God. But our God can untwist anything, untangle any knot, and can turn a crippled hand into a iron fist.

What the Lord brings is freedom, what the devil brings is slavery. Never point to something that the devil gives you and call it freedom. That's as foolish as a doctor handing you a bottle of poison, and calling it 'medicine.'

The enemy tried to kill Moses 80 years before his ministry, and tried to kill Jesus 30 years before His ministry. Therefore he can probably throw something against you days before your breakthrough.

Often our greatest breakthroughs are right after our most difficult struggles.

A small cut can lead to a big infection. It's not the cut that harms you, since it is just a small hole, with little loss of blood, but it's the infection that comes in afterwards. And so with sin, a little sin can be the downfall of a great man, because the devil will pour his kingdom through that little opening.

The worst thing we can get from the enemy is a reward. The reason we don't gamble, is not because we might lose, it is because we might win. Every "blessing" from the devil turns out to be a curse.

If you choose to believe the lies of your enemy, it makes his job of destroying you much easier. All that the enemy needs in order to control you is to have you believe his lie.

Christian's, including me, are not in the habit of rebuking unclean spirits, and driving them away. But we need to remember how important it is, and how often Jesus did this in the Gospels.

As Christians, we are hit many times by the enemy's invisible hand, before we even recognize it's there.

Truth without grace is what the devil brings, when he comes as the "angel of light." Don't focus only on the facts, sometimes you need to see the true motivation behind them.

If a gust of wind shakes a house, what will happen to it when the flood comes? Can it stand? If you get overtaken by little temptations, then you'll never be ready for the strong ones.

When a leaf falls off a tree, it can stay green for many days. But eventually all of them will die, only what stays on the tree will last. Only those on the Vine of Christ, will be able to handle the storm, all others will fall.

The enemy has agents in the Church, (Judas is still in the Church), we don't know who, but when the opportune time comes, the enemy will use them, so be warned and be ready.

Always expect a counter attack right after a great victory, be prepared.

You can't just displace evil, the vacuum must be replaced by light or the enemy will come back stronger than before. If you cast a devil out of a person who loves his sin, he will soon go back into bondage, even stronger than before.

The enemy can also give us dreams. As I have seen, in one dream I had a long discussion with a false christ, who eventually cursed the Father, and thereby ruined his credibility.

They enemy comes over the lowest part of the wall. Remember, it only takes one opening, and the enemy can sack the whole city. The enemy often comes at night.

Every time the enemy attacks, he reveals his position, which is why you will get the greatest opposition before the greatest break through. It was once said, "If you want to see who the Messiah is, find Judas, and see who he betrays." So after an attack I ask myself, "Why did he attack that? Why was it so important to him?"

Only when you're free can you help others. How can you free someone from jail, when you're behind bars?

If you pray against a certain spiritual principality, be ready for a counter attack on that very issue. (An individual told me that they learned a lesson the hard way after cursing a number of pornographic businesses.)

The true worship of the Lord can heal many wounds. Devils, demons and unclean spirits hate the praise the worship of Jesus.