Do You Know What A Chiasm Is?

As I was studying yesterday, I came across an unknown word to me in one of my commentaries.  It was describing one of the methods many of the prophets used when they spoke to the people to get across their main point or to emphasize something. It sounded simple, like a take off of when things are mentioned 3 times, but I was curious to see if there was more to it then that, so I looked it up. I'm so glad I did because it opened up a whole new way of looking at God's Word!  Some of you may be familiar with this already.  It's called a chiasm.  Rather then try and explain it myself though, I'd like to just share a bit from the article about it that I read and then give you the link so you can read it yourself as well.  The author shares several verses and shows exactly how it's done so you'll be able to recognize them and have a try at getting a deeper meaning from the verses yourself as well.

Those of you who know me, know I would never go in for something that would change the meaning of God's Word, and this does not do that.  It's not looking for "hidden meanings" that you wouldn't find otherwise.  What it can do though is clarify what the person was really getting at with what they said, and by doing so may change your perception of what you thought was "most important" about a verse or verses, or what their main thrust was about. Or of course, it could also be a confirmation for you that what you thought was correct.  I've found it to be a really fascinating and exciting way to view scripture and a great aid to understanding too.  Like all study of scripture though this should be done with the Holy Spirit guiding and teaching you.  So always ask Him to help you first.  The Lord has already used this idea to link a number of scriptures together for me and show me their intended theme and how it linked them even closer together.  It was a theme I was already aware of to some extent, but didn't realize just how obvious and clear it was in those scriptures, or how they were linked together.  Here's a bit from the article now and a link:

What is a Chiasm (or Chiasmus)?

by Thomas B. Clarke

A chiasm (or chiasmus if you rather) is a writing style that uses a unique repetition pattern for clarification and/or emphasis. Chiasm is pronounced ky′-az-um. Often called the chiastic (ky′-az-tic) approach or the chiastic structure, this repetition form appears throughout the Bible yet it is not well known. The way you approach the Scriptures should be dramatically enhanced as you learn what a chiasm is, how to recognize chiasms, and how to glean a fresh application from these New or Old Testament passages.

Chiasms are structured in a repeating A-B-C ... C′-B′-A′ pattern:

A	As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you  (5b)
	B	Be strong and courageous … be strong and very courageous  (6,7a)
		C	Be careful to obey all the law … that you may be successful  (7b)
			D	Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth  (8a)
			D′	Mediate on it day and night  (8b)
		C′	Be careful to do everything written in it … you may be prosperous and successful  (8c)
	B′	Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged  (9a)
A′	for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.  (9b)
	(Joshua 1:5b-9)

Simply put, a chiasm is a repetition of similar ideas in the reverse sequence. The importance of the chiastic structure is found in its hidden emphasis. (See Being an Overcomer for an interpretation of the above chiasm, adapted from my book). And it is not insignificant – I suspect there are more than two thousand examples in the Bible!


The above is taken from the following page:
http://www.bible-discernments.com/joshua/whatisachiasm.html 
Please see the second page to get a clearer idea of this as there are some other types that you may not recognize otherwise:
 See Two Examples That Help Explain Chiastic Structures. 
http://www.bible-discernments.com/joshua/whatisachiasm_two.html 

May God bless you as you have fun digging for the many treasures of God's Word as you study it together with Him! 

Magic Charms Enchant Apostolic-Prophetic Movement

Magic Charms Enchant Apostolic-Prophetic Movement

Holly Pivec

Kits to remove curses, cards to interpret dreams, and music to heal people have become popular products in the apostolic‐prophetic movement, also called the “New Apostolic Reformation.” The movement, which is fast growing in charismatic churches, has long been criticized for its promotion of modern “apostles” and “prophets” who claim to have great authority and to speak for God. It is now being criticized for selling products that—many Christians believe—have more in common with the magic charms used in occult practices than with Christianity.

Property Dedication Kit. One organization that sells these products is the Elijah List, based in Albany, Oregon, which is founded and run by “prophet” Steve Shultz. The Elijah List e‐mails daily newsletters that feature prophecies—and advertisements for products like these—to more than 130,000 subscribers, according to its Web site(www.elijahlist.com).

One of the Elijah List’s top‐selling products is the “Portals to Cleansing Property Dedication Kit”—sold for $12—which is supposed to remove curses from houses and properties. Created by Henry Malone, a professional “house cleanser” and founder of Vision Life Ministries in Irving, Texas, the kit contains anointing oil and wood stakes, with Scripture verses on them, to drive into the borders of a property.

“Use it and make the enemy flee!” Shultz promised his Elijah List readers in an advertisement for the kit, sent on October 16, 2006. Shultz personally vouched for the kit, saying he’s cleansed his own 20 acres of land three or four times and, each time, has seen “a noticeable change in the atmosphere and circumstances.” He said curses are the only explanation for “certain sicknesses, diseases, and even death that comes upon very anointed and pure‐hearted people.”

A companion book written by Malone—titled Portals to Cleansing: Taking Back Your Land from the Hands of the Enemy (Vision Life Publications, 2002)—is sold separately from the kit. It promises to teach readers the “keys to reclaiming [their] land, home, possessions and animals from the power of Satan and his demonic forces.” (See the book and kit at: www.elijahshopper.com.) The book recommends holding a communion ceremony at the center of a property—where family and friends gather inside a circle drawn on the ground with anointing oil—then burying the unused bread and juice or wine.

After following the book’s advice, Matthew Spencer posted a review on Amazon.com saying that his home had a new “peace” and “lightness of spirit.” Spencer said, “I no longer feel uneasy walking through the house in the dark. Honestly, it is a night and day difference.”

Marcia Montenegro, author of the book Spellbound: The Paranormal Seduction of Today’s Kids (Cook/Life Journey, 2006) and founder of the Web site “Christian Answers for the New Age,” however, said Christians don’t need to worry about curses since they aren’t emphasized in the Bible. Even if curses were a threat, though, she thinks the kit would be powerless against them.

“How is that going to remove curses?” said Montenegro, a former professional astrologer and occult practitioner who converted to Christianity. She told the Journal that the kit has more in common with an occult worldview, comparing the anointing oil and wood stakes to “amulets”—objects that occultists believe have powers to protect them from evil, disease, or other harm.

“[With the kit,] it’s like you’re engaging in the occult to protect yourself from [the occult],” Montenegro said, adding that occult practices are banned by the Bible in Deuteronomy 18:10–12. She believes that a biblical response to threats is prayer to God—which goes straight to the source of divine power—rather than relying on magic charms. “What happened to regular prayer?” she asked.

Amulets have a long history, according to Dr. Ron Rhodes, founder and president of Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries in Frisco, Texas, and author of New Age Movement (Zondervan, 1995). The ancient Babylonians, for example, wore cylinders that were supposed to ward off evil spirits, Rhodes told the JOURNAL. Today, New Agers wear crystals to ward off negative energies. The purpose of amulets—like all occult charms—is to harness and manipulate the power of a deity or the forces of nature, according to Rhodes. He sees this as the purpose behind the property dedication kit.

“It is definitely an example of paganism making its way into the church,” he said.

Third Heaven Vision Anointing Oil. Another top‐selling product for the Elijah List is “Third Heaven Vision Anointing Oil,” which is supposed to give visions of the heavenly realm. Sold by Tom Panich of Vancouver, Washington, it’s made with a base of virgin olive oil and six fragrances that are mentioned in the Bible: calamus, cassia, frankincense, myrrh, Rose of Sharon, and spikenard. A half‐ounce sells for $12.

Anointing oil often has been used by Christians on sick people—along with prayer—in accordance with a Scripture passage, James 5:14–15. Christians historically did not view the oil as having any special power, however; they saw its use simply as an act of faith in God. They also did not use the oil to induce visions or cleanse homes from evil, as it is used in the apostolic‐prophetic movement.

In this movement, different brands of oil are depicted as “anointed” and, therefore, as more powerful than other “non‐anointed” oils. For example, in the Elijah List’s first advertisement for Third Heaven Vision Anointing Oil, sent on March 22, 2004, Shultz said, “We’ve carried different anointing oils in the past. But I always try to carry anointing oil with true anointing on it. This oil fulfills that anointing ‘standard.’”

Panich—a graduate of Norvel Haye’s New Life Bible College in Cleveland, Tennessee—claims that, in 2003, God told him to make the oil. Panich said, later, he was in the shower one day when he was hit with “a lightning bolt of God’s Glory,” and the Holy Spirit gave him the name, “Third Heaven Vision.” Panich said, “Every time I mix up a batch [of the oil], a strong anointing hits me and I shake vigorously…Also, on the occasions that I have put a full box (144 bottles) of the anointing oil in the hands of two separate strong intercessors, they have been hit by the power and anointing of the Lord, almost to the point of falling to the ground.”

Panich also recommends that the anointing oil be poured over the wood stakes from Malone’s property dedication kit, something Panich said he has tried. “After I drove the first stake into the ground, I felt the Presence of the Lord come across the yard, hit me, and then I almost fell over,” he wrote on the Elijah List (Oct. 16, 2006).

Such descriptions of anointing oil (as having magical power) concern Montenegro. She said that it’s one thing for Christians to use the oil symbolically, “but it’s another thing if you think that the oil itself is somehow going to magically protect you,” she said. “To think that an object in and of itself has power is [to think according to] an occult worldview.” Such a use of anointing oil reminds Montenegro of the New Age practice of burning sage to cleanse and bless houses, she said.

Dream Cards. The Elijah List also sells “Dream Cards,” created by Barbie Breathitt of “Breath of the Spirit Ministries,” based in North Richland Hills, Texas. The laminated cards contain common dream symbols—such as numbers, colors, and animals—and their interpretations. They are sold for $10 each or in sets of 6 and 12—for $50 and $96, respectively.

Breathitt’s Dream Cards are endorsed by Patricia King, the founder of Extreme Prophetic Television with Patricia King—a half‐hour program featuring well‐known “prophets” that airs on Canada’s Miracle Channel.

“So many believers are having significant dreams but do not always understand the significance of the symbols within them,” King said. “Barbie Breathitt has done a marvelous job of preparing dream cards as a tremendous tool to help this process.”

Besides dream interpretations, one of the cards lists colors and musical keys that are supposed to bring healing to specific body parts. The use of music and colors for healing is also promoted in occult circles, as on New York psychic Ellie Crystal’s Web site (http://www.crystalinks.com/colors.html).

Rhodes said that dream cards that are similar to Breathitt’s are common in New Age stores: “The idea that it [dream interpretation] is penetrating the Christian church is kind of scary,” he said, adding that this represents a growing acceptance of mysticism among Christians.

Rhodes admits that the Bible records times when God’s people, like Daniel, interpreted dreams. He says that in those cases, however, they always made it clear that God gave them the interpretations, not dream cards.

Montenegro, who knew dream interpreters before she became a Christian, said that the assignment of meanings to symbols is subjective. “Who’s going to say what represents what? You can make anything be a symbol for anything,” she said, adding that the people she knew couldn’t agree on the meanings of symbols.

Besides being a waste of time, dream interpretation can encourage egotism, according to Montenegro. “If you start focusing so heavily on your dreams and think everything has a meaning, it leads to selfabsorption,” she said.

Prophetic Worship CDs. Another growing industry is “prophetic” worship CDs—combinations of music, teachings, and prophecies that are supposed to bring healing, visions, and supernatural encounters just by listening to them. Many of the CDs are recorded in live settings, where the musicians and “prophets” perform spontaneously, without preparation. They, allegedly, are taken over by the Holy Spirit—composing music and lyrics that come from the “throne room of God.”

One of these CDs, sold by the Elijah List for $15, is called Invitation to Intimacy. It was recorded by James W. Goll, the cofounder of Encounters Network in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while he was “caught up into another realm,” according to the advertisement. The CD contains over an hour of “prophetic, spontaneous worship and teaching with keyboard and instrumentation in the background.”

Divine encounters are offered by Ryan Wyatt’s CD, titled The Overshadowing. Wyatt—founder of Abiding Glory Ministries in Seymour, Tennessee—urges his listeners to “sit back and relax as you are taken into the Open Heavens and experience Visions of God! Rest under the wing of God as He overshadows and saturates you with His thick, weighty, intoxicating presence!”

CDs that offer physical healing include one by “prophetic revivalist” Matt Sorger of Seldon, New York, titled Healing in His Wings. The advertisement says the CD combines instrumental music and many other “heavenly sounds, healing scriptures, spontaneous healing prayers and prophetic song.” It claims to be a “powerful combination of both the biblical healing word and the manifest healing presence of Christ.” Another CD by Canadian “prophet” Todd Bentley, titled The Voice of Healing, promises to “bring the transferable, tangible healing anointing and atmosphere to your home, hospital room, or healing service.”

The concept of music or teaching that is composed directly by the Holy Spirit alarms Rhodes. “That whole idea assumes a direct pipeline to God,” he said, adding that if someone claims to receive revelation from God, then it needs to be perfectly consistent with the Bible. “But oftentimes it’s not,” he said. Rhodes also objects to the idea that an anointing can be transferred through a CD, saying, “There is definitely a pagan connection there—a transference of anointing or power or energy.”

Rhodes said that New Agers also have released music they claimed was inspired by the Holy Spirit, but they redefined the Holy Spirit in non‐Christians terms—as a nonpersonal force rather than as one of the three Persons of the Godhead. In the same way, people in the church sometimes redefine the Holy Spirit, Rhodes added. “Just because someone is talking about the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean it’s the Holy Spirit you and I know from the Bible,” he said.

Hocus Focus. Rhodes suspects that many of the people who sell dream cards, prophetic music, and similar products are motivated by a love of money—something the Bible warns against in places such as 1 Timothy 6:10. “People are capitalizing on, and ripping off, gullible people,” he said. Rhodes believes the biggest danger for Christians, however, is not being conned out of cash, but being deceived by a magical worldview that diverts their focus. “Their attention is being taken off of God and put onto objects and potions,” he said.

posted with permission

http://journal.equip.org/articles/magic-charms-enchant-apostolic-prophetic-movement

 

See also: False Spiritual Warfare Teachings: How the Church became pagan...

Is pleading the blood of Jesus biblical?

Is pleading the blood of Jesus biblical?

"Is pleading the blood of Jesus biblical?"

“Pleading the blood of Jesus” in prayer is a teaching that can be traced to some of the early leaders of the Word of Faith movement. When people speak of “pleading the blood of Jesus in prayer” they are referring to the practice of “claiming” the power of Christ over any and every problem by using the phrase “I plead the blood of Jesus over _______.”

“Pleading the blood of Jesus” has no basis whatsoever in Scripture. No one in the Bible ever “pleads the blood” of Christ. Those who “plead the blood” do so as if there was something magical in those words or as if by using them their prayer is somehow more powerful. This teaching is born from the misguided and heretical view of prayer that prayer is really nothing more than a way of manipulating God to get what we want rather than praying for His will to be done. The whole Word of Faith movement is founded on the false teaching that faith is a force and if we pray with enough faith, then God guarantees us health, wealth, and happiness and will deliver us from every problem and every situation. In this view, God is simply a way to get what we want instead of being the holy, sovereign, perfect and righteous Creator that the Bible reveals Him to be.

Those who teach this Word-Faith falsehood have an exalted view of man and our “rights” to plead what we want and get God to respond the way we want. This is in opposition to true biblical faith exemplified by Paul’s life and his approach to suffering and trials. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). But Word of Faith teaches that if we suffer or are sick or struggle with sin, it is because we do not have enough faith or that we are not pleading the blood of Jesus to claim what is rightfully ours. But we do not see Paul pleading the blood of Christ or claiming what is “rightfully his” when he was faced with trials and persecution. Instead we see his unwavering faith in Christ no matter what the situation: “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day” (2 Timothy 2:12).

Paul had “learned in whatever state I am in to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13). Paul’s faith was in Christ alone, and he could say with conviction “the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever, Amen!” (2 Timothy 4:18).

“Pleading the blood” as it is commonly practiced has more in common with mysticism—reciting a magical formula and hoping it works—than it does with biblical prayer. Saying certain words does not make our prayers magically more powerful. Furthermore, “pleading the blood” of Christ is not needed to defeat Satan. He has already been defeated, and if we are truly born-again, Satan has no power over us other than what God allows for His purpose and glory. Colossians 1:13 makes this perfectly clear: “For He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son in whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins.”

Rather than “pleading the blood” of Christ for protection or power, Christians should obey the command in James 4:7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Rather than practicing an unbiblical model of prayer, we are to follow the simple precepts of Scripture—leading a pure life before God, taking captive all our thoughts to avoid giving sin a place, confessing our sins when we fail those first two precepts and putting on the full armor of God as outlined in Ephesians 6:13-17.

The Bible gives us numerous instructions in victorious living in Christ, and pleading “the blood of Jesus” is not one of them. We have been cleansed by the blood of Christ and He is our High Priest and mediator who “always lives to make intercession” for us (Hebrews 7:25). As His sheep we are already under His protection, we simply need to live day by day trusting in Him for what He has already promised and provided.

posted with permission
http://www.gotquestions.org/pleading-the-blood.html

See also: False Spiritual Warfare Teachings: How the Church became pagan...
Magic Charms Enchant Apostolic-Prophetic Movement

God showed me something incredible about us!

I've been studying in Exodus lately and had gotten to the part where they're making the tabernacle or basically their traveling temple lol This morning, I commented to the Lord that while I'd enjoyed the study and did learn some interesting things, I felt as though I hadn't really learned anything that was really important to me. In earlier chapters I'd seen tons of things that applied to us and that was important, but in these, well, I just really didn't.... know what I mean? I"m talking about Exodus 35-40 mainly. I asked Him if I was missing something and of course I was and of course, He then began to show me. He first told me to go back to when it starts which is when Moses has to go back up the mountain for another 40 days to get another copy of the 10 commandments and hear the rest of the instructions. (chapter 32)

So I went back and the first thing that caught my attention was again how Moses was upset that the Lord had told him that because of Israel's idolatry with the calf, that He would no longer go with them, He'd just send an angel instead. I'm sure we're all quite familiar with these verses but I'll post them so we're all on the same page:

Exodus 33:15–16 —Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. *How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

Remember, up till then the Lord had been leading them in a way that everyone could see ever since they left Egypt.

Exodus 13:21–22 —By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. *Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
This was the "cloud" that sat atop Mt Sinai now, that Moses walked into to speak with the Lord and that the Lord told the people that no one else could come on the mountain while He was there. And the glory of God surrounding him like that is what caused Moses' face to glow so that he had to wear a veil to cover it.

OK, so Moses is wanting God to continue to lead them in such a way that the rest of the world will know without a doubt that they've been chosen by Him; that they're different, special and set apart by God. Moses was saying to God that if He didn't go with them like this, the rest of the world would have no way of telling that they were different and because of that, God wouldn't receive the glory He should from all He'd done for them. They might as well be children making up fanciful tales otherwise. Because God was pleased with Moses, He agreed to continue to go with them which was a great relief to all!

The Lord reminded me that just as His presence went with them, it also goes with us all the time from the moment we're saved! This is what sets us apart from the rest of the world too! It's what makes us special, and different from the rest of the world.

Of course I had to say, "but Your Presence with us isn't visible like it was with them!" He reminded me though, that His visible presence wasn't always with them either, but had only been there during that critical beginning. After that, they had His laws, the way He'd told them to worship Him, etc well established in their lives which set them apart from the rest of the world just as much as His visible presence had before. Plus of course they had their prophets, judges, miracles etc which helped as well. God had also commanded them to tell the children of each generation all about this so they would know it so well it would be as though they'd seen it themselves. So their very lifestyle, attitudes, worldview, set them far apart from the rest of the world and made them quite different. (and still does!)

Unfortunately, they got an important part of it wrong. Instead of all they were taught causing them to realize their sinfulness and need of a Savior, they got caught up in the outward actions of obeying laws and rituals becoming proud, forgetting that there was a living God behind it all. They became snobs and instead of being a light to the rest of the world, they wanted nothing to do with anyone else and purposely isolated themselves. Because of that, the nation as a whole rejected Jesus when He came and the rest of the world was given the opportunity to Know the Lord and take over the job that had originally been given to Israel - to be His representative and a light to all.

OK, so what's so great about all this? At the exact second that we were saved, the Presence of God came to dwell within us! I know, we hear that all the time; no big deal. But wait, it really IS a big deal and I'd like to share some reason why it is that relates to all the above. Remember how Moses' face glowed after he'd been with the Lord? Do you know why it did? Was it just because He'd been in God's presence? Well, yes, and no. If we examine the life of Moses from birth to now, we see that he very obviously had grown spiritually a great deal during all this time. By the time they got to Sinai, Moses already had established a very close personal relationship with God. The bible calls Moses, "God's friend" and that's amazing! Because he loved God and was so close to Him, God's glory shined out of him too. See, Moses didn't have to go up into the cloud to talk to the Lord. He talked to God all the time anyway! God had already told Moses, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14) back when Moses asked him to continue to lead them all. So the glow was simply the spirit of God kind of "leaking" through for all to see. (sorry, lol, couldn't think of a better way to say that)

Now, the words "My Presence" in that verse is the word that's used for "Spirit" or "Holy Spirit" or "Spirit of the Lord" or "Spirit of God" etc. in other verses in both the old and new testament. At salvation, God's Presence, His Spirit, comes to dwell in us as He will never leave us! Jesus told us that the reason for this was so He could teach us, guide us, protect us, comfort us, etc. Jesus told His disciples that they need not feel bereft when He left, because when He left the earth physically, they would have something even better! Up till then, He Himself had taught them, guided them, protected them, and comforted them etc. but then they would have His Spirit dwelling within them who would continue to do all that for them! What is the purpose of the Spirit dwelling in us though, besides doing all the things just mentioned of course? Yes, He is our guarantee of eternal life, but there's still more. He sets us apart from the rest of the world just as God's presence set Israel apart from the rest of the world!

As we grow in our faith, God's presence in our lives become more and more obvious to the people around us. The more obvious it becomes, the more it sets us apart from others who don't have Him in their lives. The closer we get to the Lord, the more we quite literally reflect His glory to the rest of the world. We are transformed into the likeness of Jesus - not so we look like He did physically, but so that our lives reflect His life, His glory, just as Moses's life reflected God's glory so much so his face actually glowed. Eventually, we will be given our new bodies which will shine with glory just as Jesus's did at the Transfiguration. Remember who was with Jesus then? Moses and Elijah! The two men who had such close relationships with God that they were like His friends...they "walked" with Him. What a wonderful way to be!

Have you ever had someone tell you that you "glowed" somehow? Or that they could see Jesus in you? I'm sure many of you have heard that! What wonderful compliments, but oh how I'd love to hear that from the Lord Himself! I want to truly be so close to Him, that I really will glow from within!

We have the spirit of God in us right now and He's not in us just to go along for the ride. The more active we allow Him to be in our lives, the more it's going to show in our lives and possibly, eventually even in our bodies themselves. The more it shows, the more it sets us apart from the rest of the world, announcing to everyone that we are different; we're set apart from everyone else by God; we're special. We have to be careful not to fall into the sin of pride like Israel did because of that though and remember that part of the purpose of setting us apart is so that we can invite others to join us! 

His presence goes with us in an even more personal and special way then it did with them, for He literally dwells within us. That is just so amazing and yet we rarely think about the ramifications of it and what all it means. God teaches us in the OT when He's teaching about clean and unclean, that if something holy touches something that's unclean, His Holiness makes the unclean thing (or person) clean. It changes it completely and forever. For example, in the story about when the ark was returned to Israel after being captured, they couldn't use the cows that pulled the cart that had the ark on it for anything else. The ark touched the cart making it holy, which touched the cows making them holy. They then couldn't allow the cows to be seen as ordinary anymore or let them touch anything else and make yet more things holy, so they used the cows as sacrifices to God.

You see, God not only taught them that if His holiness touched something it made that thing clean and Holy, but that anything that was considered holy, could no longer be used or considered as "normal" or "regular". Instead it had to be cared for in very specific ways which included a great deal of respect and awe, and could never be used again as it had been.

Back then the Holy Spirit never stayed or dwelled within in a person. He simply would touch a person to inspire them to do the task before them and leave. But now, He actually dwells within us. God Himself dwells within each one of us! How amazing is that????

Yet, we treat ourselves and each other as though nothing is different then it was before we were saved. As though we're not really any different then we were before. Oh sure, we'll say we've been born again and all that, but we don't treat ourselves or each other differently because of it. We don't, because we can't physically see the change that happened with the Holy Spirit came into us. Nor can we actually see Him. But the Lord teaches in the OT that there was no outward change in things that were made Holy when His holiness touched them. They didn't suddenly start to glow, (well at least most didn't lol) get bigger, or more beautiful, etc. Those cows, and that cart, didn't look any different then they did when they were hauling hay the day before. But boy were they treated differently because the Israelites knew that there had in fact been a change in them, whether or not it could be seen.

This is the glorious Truth of what's happened to each of us who've been saved, and yet for the most part, we seem oblivious to it. For the most part we continue to use these bodies in which God Himself is dwelling with us, the same way we did before! Isn't it amazing? That's why Paul urges us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God. It's really absolutely amazing when you spend time and reflect on it all with Him.
 
Here's some verses you can check out if you'd like:
1 Cor 6:19 —Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

2 Cor 13:14 —May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 Cor 3:18 —And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

1 Peter 2:4–5 —As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— *you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. *

2 Corinthians 6:16 —What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” *
Luke 9:29–32 —As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. *Two men, Moses and Elijah, *appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. *Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. *
Exodus 33:11 —The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. *

Exodus 34:29–30 —When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. *When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. *

Genesis 5:22–24 —And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. *Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. *Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. *

God's Sufficient Grace

God's Sufficient Grace

by John MacArthur

A certain poor man spent many years saving money to realize his dream of going on a cruise. When he finally saved the required sum, he bought a ticket. Knowing he could not afford the extravagant food on board, he took what he could afford—crackers and peanut butter.

After a few days of observing the other passengers eating luxurious meals, his peanut butter crackers became stale and tasteless. Desperately hungry, he begged a porter to allow him to work for food.

“Why, sir, didn’t you realize meals are included with your ticket? You may eat as much as you like!”

Lots of Christians live like that man. Not realizing the unlimited provisions that are theirs in Christ, they munch on stale scraps. There’s no need to live like that! Everything we could ever want or need is included in the cost of admission—and the Savior has already paid it for us!

There’s a single word that encompasses all the riches we find in Christ: grace. What a magnificent word it is! It is used more than 150 times in the New Testament to speak of divine favor bestowed on undeserving people. It is the means by which we receive every physical and spiritual benefit.

To some measure even unbelievers benefit from God’s grace. Theologians call that “common grace” because it is common to all mankind. Common grace is God’s continual care for all creation, providing for his creatures’ needs. Through common grace God restrains humanity from utter debauchery and maintains order and some sense of beauty, morality, and goodness in society’s consciousness.

Christians, however, receive a greater grace (James 4:6). To us God’s grace is inexhaustible and boundless, including all that we have talked in earlier posts about regarding the all-sufficient provisions of Jesus Christ.

We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8) and in grace we stand (Romans 5:2). Grace upholds our salvation, gives us victory in temptation, and helps us endure suffering and pain. It helps us understand the Word and wisely apply it to our lives. It draws us into communion and prayer and enables us to serve the Lord effectively. In short, we exist and are firmly fixed in an environment of all-sufficient grace.

Grace upon Grace

One of the most wonderful statements about our Lord is that He was “full of grace” (John 1:14) and “of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace” (John 1:16). “Grace upon grace” speaks of accumulated grace—one grace following upon another. Such grace is ours each day. It is unlimited and sufficient for every need.

Paul called it “the abundance of grace” (Romans 5:17), “the riches of [God’s] grace” (Ephesians 2:7), and “surpassing grace” (2 Corinthians 9:14). Peter called it the “manifold” (in Greek, poikilos, “multifaceted” or “multicolored”) grace of God (1 Peter 4:10). He used the same Greek word in 1 Peter 1:6 with reference to the various trials believers face. That’s a wonderful parallel: God’s multifaceted grace is sufficient for our multifaceted trials.

Super-Abounding Grace

Perhaps nowhere is the magnificence of grace more wonderfully stated than in 2 Corinthians 9:8–11. The superlatives here are staggering: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.… You will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God” (emphasis added).

In a sense, those two verses sum up everything that could ever be said about our sufficiency in Christ. Set in a context describing God’s material provision, they have meaning that obviously extends to limitless proportions. Surpassing grace indwells every believer (v. 14). Is it any wonder Paul could not restrain his praise to God for such an indescribable gift (v. 15)?

All-Sufficient Grace

Paul experienced God’s grace as few others have because he endured suffering as few others have. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 the Lord gave him one of the most profound truths in all revelation: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” That wonderful promise extends to every believer, but its context is one of severe difficulties, distresses, persecutions, and human weaknesses (v. 10).

In chapter 11 Paul chronicles many of the hardships and life-threatening situations he had endured. Included in his list are great physical trials—imprisonments, beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, dangerous rivers, robbers, Jewish and Gentile persecutions, sleepless nights, inclement weather, and lack of food and drink (vv. 23–27). More painful than all that was the daily concern he had for all the churches (v. 28). God’s people and His church were Paul’s greatest passion (Colossians 1:28–29) and presented the highest potential for pain and disappointment.

The greatest pain he ever knew came from some of the people he loved the most—those to whom he had given his soul and his gospel, but who now had turned against him. Their rejection, betrayal, criticism, false accusations, and even hatred cut deep into his heart. In 2 Corinthians he wrote as a man who was unloved, unappreciated, distrusted, and deeply troubled in his soul.

The Lessons of Grace

Paul’s distressing circumstances put him in a position to learn some marvelous lessons about God’s grace, which he passes on to us in 2 Corinthians 12:7–10:

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave from me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

There is so much to be drawn from this marvelous text. For the purpose of this post I’ll simply make brief mention of the lessons we can draw regarding God’s grace.

Humility. God knows that men are prone toward pride, especially when they are in positions of spiritual privilege. Therefore He often uses opposition and suffering to teach them humility. That God places trials in our lives to restrain our sin and produce godliness is an act of grace.

Dependence. Often other believers are channels of God’s grace, but He alone is its source. We tend to turn to people with our hurts, but God wants us to look to Him first of all in times of trouble.

Three times Paul appealed to God to remove the thorn—three times the Lord said no. He prayed persistently and faithfully, yet he learned that God’s purposes could be better accomplished by the answer no.

Sufficiency. Paul was content with God’s decision because he knew that God would supply sufficient grace for his trial. “He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you’ ” (v. 9). “He has said” is in the perfect tense in the Greek text, implying that every time Paul prayed, God said the same thing and kept on saying it. “My grace is sufficient for you” was his standing answer. After three times, Paul dropped the request. This was not a sign that Paul gave up on God, but that he rested in God’s sufficient grace.

Power. The same suffering that reveals our weaknesses reveals God’s strength, “for power is perfected in weakness” (v. 9). When we are least effective in our human strength and have only God’s power to sustain us, then we are suitable channels through which His power flows. And so we should praise God for adversity because that’s when His power is most evident in our lives. There is no one too weak to be powerful, but there are many too strong.

Contentment. Paul gives us a key principle in verse 10: “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul embraced his deepest trouble as a friend to lead him to greater spiritual usefulness.

Conclusion

God’s grace is more than sufficient for your every need. Is your relationship with Him deep and trusting enough to draw you to Him during times of difficulty? Are you content to endure weaknesses, insults, distresses, and persecutions for Christ’s sake so that you can be spiritually strong even amid physical and emotional weakness?

The story is told of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who was riding home one evening after a heavy day’s work, feeling weary and depressed, when the verse came to mind, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

In his mind he immediately compared himself to a little fish in the Thames River, apprehensive lest drinking so many pints of water in the river each day he might drink the Thames dry. Then Father Thames says to him, “Drink away, little fish. My stream is sufficient for you.”

Next he thought of a little mouse in the granaries of Egypt, afraid lest its daily nibbles exhaust the supplies and cause it to starve to death. Then Joseph comes along and says, “Cheer up, little mouse. My granaries are sufficient for you.”

Then he thought of a man climbing some high mountain to reach its lofty summit and dreading lest his breathing there might exhaust all the oxygen in the atmosphere. The Creator booms His voice out of heaven, saying, “Breathe away, oh man, and fill your lungs. My atmosphere is sufficient for you!”

Let us rest in the abundance of God’s wonderful grace and the total sufficiency of all His spiritual resources. That’s the all-sufficient Savior’s legacy to His people.

“May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure” (1 Peter 1:2)!

See previous parts of this series: Contaminated Cures for Soul Care;

 Insufficient Help, Part 1;  Insufficient Help, Part 2;

God's Sufficient Word, Part 1; God's Sufficient Word, Part 2;

God's Sufficient Spirit;

Posted with permission:

http://www.gty.org/blog/B140919/gods-sufficient-grace

 

God's Sufficient Spirit

God's Sufficient Spirit

The book titled I’m Dysfunctional, You’re Dysfunctional, by Wendy Kaminer, debunked much of the mystique of modern psychology.[1] The author did not purport to be a Christian. In fact, she described herself as “a skeptical, secular humanist, Jewish, feminist, intellectual lawyer.”[2]

Yet she wrote as a bitter critic of the marriage of religion and psychology. She noted that religion and psychology have always more or less deemed one another incompatible. Now she sees “not just a truce but a remarkable accommodation.”[3] Even from her perspective as an unbeliever, she could see that this accommodation has meant a change in the fundamental message Christians convey to the world. She wrote:

Religious writers would minimize or dismiss the effect of psychology on religion, fiercely denying that it has made doctrinal changes, but it does seem to have influenced the tone and packaging of religious appeals... Christian codependency books, like those produced by the Minirth-Meier clinic in Texas, are practically indistinguishable from codependency books published by secular writers... Religious writers justify their reliance on psychology by praising it for “catching up” to some eternal truths, but they’ve also found a way to make the temporal truths of psychology palatable.[4]

Some of the criticism Kaminer leveled against evangelicals is unwarranted or misguided, but in this respect she is right on target: Evangelicalism has been infiltrated by a worldly anthropology-psychology-theology that is diametrically opposed to the biblical doctrines of sin and sanctification. As a result of this accommodation, the church has compromised and hopelessly muddled the message it is to proclaim.

Psychology and worldly therapies have usurped the role of sanctification in some Christians’ thinking. Psychological sanctification has become a substitute for the Spirit-filled life.

But can psychotherapy possibly accomplish something that the Holy Spirit cannot? Can an earthly therapist achieve more than a heavenly Comforter? Is behavior modification more helpful than sanctification? Of course not.

The Paraclete

To understand the crucial role the Holy Spirit plays in meeting people’s inner needs, we must go back to what Jesus taught His disciples when He first promised them He would send the Holy Spirit. It happened on the night Jesus was betrayed. His crucifixion was drawing near, and the disciples were fearful and confused. When Jesus spoke to them about going away, their hearts were troubled (John 14:1). In that hour of turmoil, they feared being left alone. But Jesus assured them that they would not be left to fend for themselves. He comforted them with this wonderful promise:

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. (John 14:16–17)

“Helper” in verse 16 is the Greek word paraklētos, meaning someone called to another’s aid. First John 2:1 applies the same term to Jesus Himself: “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate [paraklētos] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” The word is sometimes transliterated into English as “paraclete.”

It describes a spiritual attendant whose role is to offer assistance, succor, support, relief, advocacy, and guidance—a divine Counselor whose ministry to believers is to offer the very things that so many people vainly seek in therapy!

The promises Jesus made with regard to the Holy Spirit and His ministry are staggering in their scope. Let’s look at some of the key elements of this text.

A Divine Helper

The word translated “another” (allos) is a key to understanding the nature of the Holy Spirit. The Greek text carries a precision that is not immediately evident in English. The word means “another of the same kind,” as in, “That cookie was tasty; may I have another?”

In using this word, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as “another [allos] Helper [of the same kind].” He was promising to send His disciples a Helper exactly like Himself—a compassionate, loving, divine Paraclete. They had grown dependent on Jesus’ ministry to them. He had been their Wonderful Counselor, Teacher, Leader, Friend, and had shown them the Father. But from now on, they would have another Paraclete, One like Jesus, to meet the same needs He had met.

Here, for the first time, Jesus gave the disciples extensive teaching about the Holy Spirit and His role. Note that our Lord spoke of the Spirit as a person, not an influence, not a mystical power, not some ethereal, impersonal, phantom force. The Spirit has all the attributes of personality (mind, Romans 8:27; emotions, Ephesians 4:30; and will, Hebrews 2:4) and all the attributes of deity (see Acts 5:3–4). He is another Paraclete of exactly the same essence as Jesus.

There was, however, a significant difference: Jesus was returning to the Father, but the Holy Spirit would “be with you forever” (John 14:16). The Holy Spirit is a constant, sure, trustworthy, divine Paraclete graciously given by Christ to His disciples to be with them forever.

A Guide to Truth

It is noteworthy that Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth” (v. 17). As God, He is the essence of truth; as a Paraclete, He is the One who guides us into truth. That is why apart from Him, it is impossible for sinful beings to know or understand any spiritual truth.

Jesus said, “The world cannot receive [Him], because it does not see Him or know Him” (v. 17). Echoing that truth, Paul wrote:

To us God revealed [things which the world cannot see or understand] through the Spirit... Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we might know the things freely given to us by God... But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (1 Cor. 2:10, 12, 14)

Believers are actually taught spiritual truth by God Himself (see John 6:45). In fact, much of the Holy Spirit’s ministry to believers involves teaching them (John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 1 John 2:20, 27); guiding them into the truth of Christ (John 16:13–14); and illuminating the truth for them (1 Corinthians 2:12).

After Jesus ascended to heaven, one of the crucial ministries of the Holy Spirit was to bring to the disciples’ minds what Jesus had said and to teach them what He meant: “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:25–26).

That means that the Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to recall the precise words Jesus had spoken to them, so that when they recorded them as Scripture, the words were perfect and error free. This assured that the gospel accounts were recorded infallibly, and that the apostolic teaching was unadulterated.

But this promise of our Lord also reveals the Holy Spirit as a supernatural Teacher who ministers truth to the hearts of those whom He indwells. The Spirit guides us into the truth of God’s Word. He teaches us, affirms the truth in our hearts, convicts us of sin, and often brings to mind specific truths and statements of Scripture that are applicable to our lives.

The Indwelling Presence

Look a little more closely at Jesus’ words at the end of John 14:17: “He abides with you and will be in you.” Our Lord was promising that the Holy Spirit would take up permanent, uninterrupted residence within His disciples. It was not only that the Spirit would be present with them; the greater truth was that He would be resident within them permanently.

This promise was not limited to the eleven apostles who were present that night. The Holy Spirit indwells every Christian. In verse 23, Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him” (emphasis added). Paul, writing to the Corinthians, said, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Thus each believer enjoys the permanent, continuing presence of the Holy Spirit living within.

The Holy Spirit in Biblical Counseling

The new birth is the Holy Spirit’s sovereign work (John 3:8). And every aspect of true spiritual growth in the life of the believer is prompted by the Spirit, using the truth of Scripture (17:17). The counselor who misses that point will experience failure, frustration, and discouragement.

Only the Holy Spirit can work fundamental changes in the human heart. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is the necessary agent in all effective biblical counseling. The counselor, armed with biblical truth, can offer objective guidance and steps for change. But unless the Holy Spirit is working in the heart of the counselee, any apparent change will be illusory, superficial, or temporary, and the same problems or worse ones will soon appear.

Conclusion

It is futile to follow the path of psychology and look within ourselves to find answers to our problems. And it is certainly true that those who focus on themselves, their childhood traumas, their wounded feelings, their emotional cravings, or other egocentric sources will never find genuine answers to their troubles.

The true believer, however, does have a Helper who dwells within. He is the Holy Spirit, who applies the objective truth of Scripture in the process of sanctification. Yet even He does not draw our attention inward, or to Himself. Instead, He directs our focus upward, to Christ. Jesus said, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (15:26).

Ultimately, it is unto Christ that the counselee’s focus must be directed. “Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, [we] are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corithians 3:18). That is the process of sanctification. And it is the ultimate goal of all truly biblical counseling.

Posted with permission

http://www.gty.org/blog/B140917/gods-sufficient-spirit

See previous parts of this series: Contaminated Cures for Soul Care;

 Insufficient Help, Part 1;  Insufficient Help, Part 2;

God's Sufficient Word, Part 1; God's Sufficient Word, Part 2

Contaminated Cures for Soul Care

Contaminated Cures for Soul Care

What is your response when someone bares their soul to you, sharing their emotional or spiritual struggles?

Few things reveal our inadequacy more than listening to someone’s problems and not having a clue what to say. When people use words like “depression,” “anxiety attack,” “addiction,” or “mental illness,” we tend to shrink back. These are words that describe deep problems, likely requiring a combination of medication and professional counseling. Or do they?

During the last century, the church began to drink from the well of psychology. The water promised to be the elixir that would resolve emotional, mental, and even spiritual problems. Psychology cast troubles in a new light, identified new sources for our problems, and proposed new solutions to solve them.

Even with its multitude of contradictory theories and questionable therapies, psychology has successfully altered how the world thinks about and responds to the problems of life. Tragically, setting aside its infinite spiritual resources, the church of Jesus Christ embraced this revolution of humanistic thinking.

A Movement in the Wrong Direction

For centuries the burden of caring for the souls of men and women was gladly borne by the church. With its trust in Scripture, its empowerment by the Spirit, and the all-sufficient grace of Christ, the church could provide comfort in affliction, light in darkness, rebuke in rebellion, help in weakness, and hope in every trial.

Famous preachers of the past are known rightfully for their faithful expositions, powerful evangelism, and insights into Scripture. But many of these men were also exemplary in their care for sinning and suffering saints through their preaching, writing, and counseling.

A supreme example of intense and practical pastoral care is Richard Baxter’s A Christian Directory—an extensive work on practical Christian living and handling life’s problems. John Bunyan, Thomas Watson, John Owen, and many other puritan pastors likewise left a legacy of faithful preaching and shepherding souls.

In contrast, many of today’s preachers are known almost exclusively for engaging and culturally relevant sermons that merely scratch the felt needs of their congregations. So what happens when someone seeks help for intense personal struggles? It is common for him or her to be referred to a professional counselor outside the church.

Most churches are no longer centers of soul care. Whatever else they are, they are not the place where sinning and suffering souls can go for help and comfort.

The Wrong Kind of Help

Admittedly, many charismatic churches seek to be places of spiritual healing. Healing Rooms International is a clear attempt by charismatic churches to care for troubled souls. Additionally, books and sermons from charismatic leaders address the struggles of life in an attempt to meet the needs of the suffering.

The problem is their solutions are no better—and perhaps worse—than the humanistic doctrines of psychology. Just like psychology, charismatic soul care comes with its own set of unique terms, diagnoses, and solutions.

Leanne Payne is a leading voice in charismatic soul care. Through her writing and teaching ministry, she has trained thousands in her unique view and style of healing prayer.

In her book, The Healing Presence: Curing the Soul Through Union with Christ, Payne has strong words for those who rely on humanistic theories and practices. She rallies support by saying, “This is why our eclecticism (so prevalent in the Church today, as many non-Christian ideas flood in) will not work. Herein is the (dreadful to some) exclusiveness of the Christian truth and reality that we are to proclaim” (p. 96).

And yet, her book is filled with quotes from evangelicals, Catholics, poets, novelists, and others. Scripture references are rare and scarcely used as the foundation of her ideas. Furthermore, she betrays a clear acceptance of at least some theories from psychology.

At one point Payne provides a case study of a man struggling with homosexuality. She writes:

The strong compulsion he suffered I’ve come to call the ‘cannibal compulsion,’ the twisted way we try to take into ourselves that which we think we lack. In reality, it is that within us which (for whatever reason) is unblessed, unaffirmed... The pedophile, for example, attempts to gain a childhood he never had by ‘swallowing up’ young boys[1]

While she coins her own term (“cannibal compulsion”), she essentially parrots the modern psychological dogma that one’s current struggles are the result of deficiencies in his childhood experience. What is clearly lacking in her diagnosis is the concept of sin, and therefore what was lacking in her treatment was repentance. How does Payne propose dealing with such problems? Offer a multi-sensory experience of healing prayer to heal past memories, the “diseased mind,” and most importantly, invoke God’s “healing presence.”

In fact, the very first chapter begins with a step-by-step example of how she sought to heal a man from fear and depression.

First, I applied holy water to his forehead and began the prayer by invoking the Presence of the Lord. In Christ’s name, I then broke and put to flight the demonic force that had been banding, ever more tightly, this young man’s mind. Next, anointing his forehead with the healing oil (making the sign of the Cross as the symbol of present and future protection of his mind), I prayed for God’s healing light and love to enter in and fill his mind and heart, to dispel all fear and torment, and to grant peace and quiet. Going on to gently press his temples, I sensed this cleansing and healing taking place, and continued thus to pray until I could give thanks to God that it was done.[2]

There is little in that ritual that resembles Christianity, and much akin to witchcraft. The Scripture provides no instructions that would lead one to develop such a practice.

Keep in mind, Leanne Payne is not an isolated practitioner. I was directed to her material by Dr. Michael Brown, a vocal critic of John MacArthur’s book Strange Fire, and a self-proclaimed leader in the charismatic movement.

One could also point to Bethel Redding’s “Prophetic Ministry” as a similarly mystical attempt to exercise the care of souls. Healing Rooms International, where similar practices also occur, has hundreds of locations in the United States, and hundreds more throughout the world. These are not isolated ministries in the dark corners of the church.

Turning to the Source

Thankfully, there is a growing movement to return to the true source of soul care. The Author of Life has not left us to invent coping mechanisms for life’s problems. He has given us abundant and sufficient resources in Scripture to handle struggles with sin and suffering.

That movement is known as the biblical counseling movement, which began in the 1970’s under the guiding light of Jay Adams. To promote biblical soul care and ensure continued fidelity, the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (formerly the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors) actively equips and certifies counselors through numerous training seminars and conferences. In fact, John MacArthur will be a featured speaker at this year’s national conference addressing the issue “God’s Truth in a Culture of Mental Illness.”
True biblical counseling is not about creating a class of professionals or new schools of thought. It does not have its own lingo, theories, and remedies. Rather, it returns the care of souls to its proper sphere—the church of Jesus Christ. It restores the only meaningful purpose to counseling—making more and better disciples of Christ. And it utilizes the only true power to change—the Word of God energized by the Spirit of God.
True biblical counselors are not professionals. They are Spirit-empowered, Scripture-saturated, compassionate members of the body of Christ. Some, by virtue of their gifting and calling, may be pastors or vocational counselors. But the majority of biblical counselors are simply mature believers skilled in wielding the sword of the Spirit as they care for those with serious emotional or spiritual struggles.

It’s been said, “Everyone is a counselor—you’re either a good one or a bad one.” While we may often feel inadequate in responding to the spiritual needs of others, that feeling is not due to our lack of resources; for “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness...” (2 Peter 1:3). I’m persuaded we often feel inadequate because for too long the church has taken its cues from the world and convinced us that, indeed, we are inadequate.

For the next two weeks we will be focusing our blog posts on the insufficiency of psychology and the all-sufficiency of Scripture, the Spirit, and grace. John MacArthur will correct the false advertising of the world’s ideas, drawing our attention back to the rich resources we have in Christ. This is a series you won’t want to miss.

The next part is: Insufficient Help, Part 1

Gabriel Powell
Internet Ministry Coordinator

posted with permission: http://www.gty.org/blog/B140908/contaminated-cures-for-soul-care

What is God's Will for my life?

KNOWING GOD’S WILL

Ephesians 5:17–18 —Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

I've often heard people say they wondered what God's Will was, and I used to say that too until I realized that His will isn't hard to discover. It's in His Word. No, it won't tell us what car to buy, but it will tell us what our motive in buying the car should be and what our attitude should be about it, and that's a lot more then most folks have. I started a list of things that are God's Will for us who are saved. I say it that way, because if I was making a list for all people, including the unsaved, the first thing on it would be "to be saved". I only went up to 25 things, although I could have gone on much longer, but I thought you guys might want to add some things for yourselves.. I listed scriptures at the bottom, not in any particular order, but they do pertain to at least one of the 25 items I listed.

What is God's Will for those who've been saved?

1. To be sanctified
2. To do good works
3. To give thanks in all circumstances
4. To be eager to do good
5. To bear fruit that will last for His Kingdom
6. To declare His praises to others
7. To live for Him instead of ourselves
8. To bring praise to God
9. To become more and more like Jesus every day
10. To live a holy life instead of living like the rest of the world does
11. To grow to spiritual maturity & be fully assured
12. To be filled with His Spirit
13. To submit to those God has placed in authority over us
14. To do good so no one can say anything bad about you
15. To suffer for His sake
16. To avoid sexual immorality
17. To be Holy, perfect
18. To live a life of love; love God, love others; love sacrificially
19. To be joyful always
20. To pray continually
21. To give thanks in all circumstances
22. To fear God
23. To keep His commandments
24. To make sure God is before everyone and everything else in our lives.
25. To someday share in our Lord's gloryHere are a few more scriptures that talk about His Will for us:

1 Peter 1:2 — who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. *

1 Thessalonians 4:3 —It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; *

Ephesians 2:10 —For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. *

Titus 2:13–14 — while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. *

John 15:16 — You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. *

1 Peter 2:9 —But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. *

2 Corinthians 5:15 — And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. *

Ephesians 1:11–12 —In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

Romans 8:29–30 —For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. *And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. *

2 Corinthians 3:18 —And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. *

2 Timothy 1:9 — who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, *

1 Thessalonians 4:7 —For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. *

2 Thessalonians 2:14 — He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. *

Mark 16:15 —He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. *

Ephesians 5:17–18 —Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. *Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. *

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 —Be joyful always; *pray continually; *give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. *

1 Peter 2:13–15 —Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, *or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. *For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. *

Romans 12:2 —Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Colossians 4:12 —Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. *

1 Peter 4:2 —As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. *

1 Peter 4:19 —So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. *

1 Peter 3:17 —It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. *

Matthew 22:37–40 —Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ *This is the first and greatest commandment. *And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ *All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” *

John 13:34–35 —“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. *By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 14:15 —“If you love me, you will obey what I command.

Leviticus 19:2 —“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. *

Matthew 5:48 —Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. *

1 Peter 1:15–16 —But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; *for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Ephesians 5:1–2 —Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children *and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. *

2 Peter 3:18 —But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. *

Hebrews 13:16 —And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. *

Ecclesiastes 12:13 —Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. *