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Sermon 133 – Bi-Polar Narcissism

07 Oct

Recently, I was counselling a young man who was in torment over a corrective comment I made about his inappropriate behaviour. Months later he was still struggling to come to terms with my correction. One minute he was in agreement that he had done something wrong, and the next minute he was struggling to accept that he really had done anything bad. His mind would flip from one decision to the opposite analysis and he would convince himself that I had misunderstood his intentions, or explain that he hadn’t really done it, because it was only in his head so it hadn’t really happened.

My Bible says that if you’ve done it in your heart, then you’ve done it, but narcissism won’t accept that as the truth.

Ignorant Psychological Imbalance

Sadly, most of the Christians I’ve counselled over my 24 years of ministry have consistently displayed the psychological imbalance of bipolar narcissism.

Convinced that they are genuine Christians, they have no understanding whatsoever that their spirits are just white-washed sepulchers. You can talk to them and even convince them that they are mis-evaluating their spirit’s condition, but ultimately, they can’t accept your diagnosis, and therefore, they won’t take the medicine that would convert them.

Narcissism

Narcissism derives it’s meaning from Greek Mythology where a youth fell in love with his own reflection in a pond to such an extent that he pined away and died. Nothing else mattered than to have his self-image honored, and even worshiped and adored. Everything he did was to propagate his own self-image. Thus, he could never love anything. He just used everyone to manipulate them to love him, and he called this, love.

That’s why the Word of God declares in 1 Corinthians 13, that you can give all your money to the poor and even give your body to be burned but it avails nothing if it isn’t done because of your love for Christ. If you do anything to prove that you are good, or right, or loving, then you are doing it for yourself, and that’s narcissism.

Narcissistic Christian

In spiritual terms, a narcissistic Christian is simply someone who worships Jesus for the love of themselves. They believe they are so good that God would love them unreservedly and favour them. Their belief is … I love me so much, I can’t believe that you wouldn’t love me too, so if you challenge my thinking you must be wrong. They’re not a genuine Christian and they’re not saved from hell; they’re just using God to justify their own self-worship, and they’re committed to Jesus and do what He wants as long as it promotes their self-worth.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of a narcissistic Christian comes at the point of correction. Any suggestion that they made a mistake sets them in a spin. All they want to do is explain their thinking so you will understand why they did it. They’re so wrapped up in what people think of them they have to restore their self-image at any cost. In their heart they know you’re right, but their mind refuses to accept it a true, so they display bi-polar syndrome.

Narcissism is the fruit of no correction, or the fruit of defiance when you are corrected.

Bi-Polar Syndrome

Bi-Polar simply means being in two minds. It’s the modern term for schizophrenia. More than one personality dwelling in the same body. You see, if a person is above correction by explaining it away, then what they’re really saying is … you can’t tell me my own mind. Two personalities are really just the evidence of two spirits operating through you … you and a demon, and sometimes, Holy Spirit. If you can’t bring your mind consistently to faith in Jesus Christ when Satan tempts you with sweet voices like those of the mythological sirens, then Satan has you in his clutches through demonic occupation (2 Timothy 2;26) of your spirit, and you evaluate and analyse under the influence of this demon.

To a narcissist, their mind is correct, but to a righteous shepherd, if a narcissist’s mind can’t be brought to correction, then that person is spiritually bi-polar, like King Saul and the Pharisees.

The … Love doesn’t hurt my feelings Lie

Bi-Polar and Narcissism is really just a modern psychological way of describing “pride”. Nobody likes being told they’re proud, so they cover it with niceness, good works, generosity, skills, friendliness and any means that will hide their true self. A narcissist just can’t handle being told they’re wrong, but the real problem is that they’re just too proud to be told anything negative about themselves because it hurts their feelings and love doesn’t hurt feelings. To their mind, they’re infallible, and infallibility thinking is just  further proof that a narcissist doesn’t really believe that they need God; they can do it all themselves; they can even save themselves. A narcissist believes God needs them. But the cover-up actually blocks their salvation, because Jesus came to save you from your pride, so if you won’t expose it, He can’t save you. If correction doesn’t hurt your feelings, then it’s not correction.

Samson

In Judges 13 to 16, we read the story of a man who was given a powerful gift to use for God, but he decided he was the man and no one was going to tell him what to do, including his parents. God used Him for His purposes up to a point. He was so proud and full of his own self-image that even though he knew that the Philistines were laying in wait for him whilst he was committing fornication, he had full confidence in his self-ability to defeat them. He was totally narcissistic and bi-polar. Two different spirits operated through his body. The only way God could bring him to his senses and to his right mind was for him to lose his power and his eyes. How arrogant and stubborn that one has to lose their eyes before they’ll see.

I’m Special

Sadly, my experience with people is that most believe they are ‘special’ or they think they have an important job to do, when really, all it is that they are too proud to see their stubbornness and arrogant pride. Their parents have told them they are special and they like it; but the truth is, like Cain, Joseph’s brothers, and Esau, they’re just secretly envious of their sibling’s favour. Narcissism is just really someone being full of the hate of someone else being more favoured. Their envy feeds their wounded pride, and like King Saul, most get occupied by demons, but a few like Samson wake up in the face of trauma.

Wanting Nothing

James 1:4 declares that the trials of our faith are for patience so that we learn to trust God by faith and want nothing other than to serve His will. If this isn’t the heart’s true objective then, the consequence is double-mindedness (v.8), or in other words, bi-polar. If you really want something instead of nothing, then you are trying to hide your narcissism and bi-polarity with a lie.

Torment

Once you secretly hide behind niceness, spirits of lying and spirits of fear will torment you. 1 John 4:18 declares … there is no fear in love. Fear has torment. Instead of experiencing the peace of God which passes all understanding, you’ll suffer from the torment of spirits of fear. Instead of owning the truth about your wrong, a narcissist ultimately always comes up with an explanation that justifies their decision, but it’s never the real truth; it’s always a truthful lie. Instead of repenting, you’ll reinforce the occupation of your spirit by lying spirits that will stimulate your fears.

Great peace have they which love My law and nothing shall offend them, Psalm 119:165.  Instead of peace, you’ll be constantly offended at any suggestion that you may have done something wrong or offended at any defamatory comment, and you’ll suffer the torment of your fears, yet in your stubbornness of rightness you’ll explain it away as the corrector’s misunderstanding error.

It’s interesting to note that the Greek word for torment is also translated in Matthew 25:46 as everlasting punishment. When you’re tormented by your fears, God is giving you a taste of what hell feels like in the hope you’ll wake up and see.

Love the World

Why are so many so-called Christians, bipolar. My experience is, they want to serve God, but they also want the world, so, like Samson, they live in two camps, trapped by the fantasies of their narcissism, afraid of persecution, afraid to be thought less-of, and afraid to really commit in case they lose what the world offers, and therefore, the love of the Father is not in them. Everyone is bipolar until they commit to Jesus Christ. He’s the only solution.

 

May God open the eyes of His remnant before our service is all wasted like Samson.

 

Pastor Clyde Rudledge

 
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Posted by on October 7, 2018 in Mind, Pride

 

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Sermon 124 – Dance to my Tune

29 Apr

In Daniel chapter 4, we read the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about a huge tree cut down to the stump. Daniel warned the king that he was that tree and that he was about to be removed from his throne because he was puffed-up with his own pride. Even this warning did not soften his stubbornness. His pride could only see his pride and to him it looked like greatness and importance. The moment he declared that his kingdom was established by his own might, he lost his sanity and became an animal. By God’s grace he came to his right mind but only after seven years had passed and then he made this final statement in v.37 … now I, Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride, He is able to abase.

The lie of our good gets good

This all happened whilst Nebuchadnezzar was compiling a list of the things that God had done for him (v.2). The problem was, the emphasis was on him, not God. So many of us believe the lie that the good things that happen to us are signs of how good we are and therefore, how much God loves and favours us. Our pride thinks that the good things are because of our goodness. Our pride might thank God but underneath we praise ourselves.

His pride could only see his pride, but to pride it looks like good

On a number of occasions, God had already revealed Himself to Nebuchadnezzar. The problem was, that every time God did something for Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar interpreted it as his own personal importance. Back further in chapter 2, Daniel not only interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream but he also recalled the dream he had forgotten. Nebuchadnezzar makes this declaration in v.47 … of a truth, your God is the God of gods, and a Lord of Kings, and a revealer of secrets. Yet, despite his proclamation, his heart remained full of his own importance. In fact, if God was giving him this information then surely he must be important (his pride would have suggested to him).

God reveals Himself to us and many times He resolves our issues, but we conveniently interpret it as our own personal value because we still like our pride. We can worship Him and honour Him, but we’re not saved until our pride is broken. Until it’s broken, our pride is silently proud of itself.

Who is on your throne?

You may praise God but you’re not saved until your pride is broken. Our pride is our god until we let God smash our pride and replace it with the faith of the true God.

Anyone who thinks they’re important or special will never know God until their pride is broken. Pride can only see pride, but to pride it looks like ‘special’, or ‘important’, or ‘gifted’, or ‘greatness’, so it looks good, not bad. Everyone thinks they’re something special; it’s inherent in our sin, but there isn’t any access to heaven until this self-importance is smashed. The thing Jesus came to save us from is our pride.  Our pride is the expression of our sinful nature and it’s our inherent link to Satan. An eternal relationship with Jesus will not occur until our pride is removed from our throne.

Pride blocks what God has done

In Daniel chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar built a golden statue of himself and demanded everyone bow and worship it whenever the music played. Three Jews refused, so in his anger, Nebuchadnezzar threw them into a fiery furnace, then in his amazement, watched as Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego simply walked through the furnace. Even his own soldiers had been killed by the radiating heat, but these three Jews were unscathed. In v.28, Nebuchadnezzar blesses the God of Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego and decrees that everybody must only worship their God. Yet, despite his own proclamation, he honoured God but with his pride still in place. If pride isn’t broken then your worship is in vain.

Dance to my tune

Pride is building a golden statue of ourselves and demanding that everyone bow down and worship it every time they hear the music. What’s the music we play? It’s the music of moodiness, or false humility, or intimidation to get people to recognise our value and do things we want them to do for us. It’s getting people to bow to our wants and wishes and reacting with anger, fear or sadness when they don’t. Our reactions prove which god we really serve … if you won’t dance to my tune then I’ll throw you into my furnace of spite, envy and hate, until you do what I want.

None of us think we do that because we cover it with our lies and fake niceness; but when the opportunity arises, we do play our music and expect others to dance to our tune, and if they won’t, then we treat them as enemies and justify our hatred as them being the ones who are unloving. It’s not Holy Spirit; it’s satanic, and until we’re cut down to size, there is no salvation. In fact, if God isn’t cutting you down to size then He knows you’re beyond breaking.

Pride twists your mind

In Daniel 2:49, at Daniel’s request, Nebuchadnezzar had elevated Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego over the affairs of Babylon, yet when Nebuchadnezzar demanded everyone bend and bow to his golden statue, he didn’t have any regard for his valued servants. It was as though he didn’t recognise them. The same mind lapse occurred with King Saul in 1 Samuel 17:55. David used to play the harp to settle his spirit as well as be Saul’s armour-bearer, but when David killed Goliath he couldn’t recall who he was.

When the mind is full of its own importance there’s no room for the value of others; everything centres around our own value. You can camouflage it with niceness, helps and generosity but when the opportunity arises we demand everyone to bow to our music and dance to our tune. It’s the music that reveals our true selves, not the generosity or kindness.

The higher you are the further you fall

Why Nebuchadnezzar and not King Saul? Only God knows the heart of man. You’ll see Nebuchadnezzar in heaven but you won’t see King Saul. Most of us refuse to be broken no matter what the burdens against us, preferring to blame others, or God, or mother nature, too proud to see our own pride in the picture, always justifying our own rightness.

How stubborn is our human pride!

God uses evil to break our pride

God allows evil circumstances to bring down our stubbornness, so to wish for no hassles or no problems is just selfish foolishness. It’s the hassles of life that breaks our pride. The good things of life promote our pride. In fact, God said that those that live Godly in Christ will suffer persecution. The hatred of others towards you because you love God is a healthy sign (though not necessarily full proof) that your pride is in the right place.

Don’t think you’re not a Nebuchadnezzar

Don’t think that the story of evil Nebuchadnezzar is not relevant to you. If it wasn’t personally relevant to you, it would just be an historical fact. It wouldn’t be in the Word of God unless it was universally relevant. Everyone has a flavour of Nebuchadnezzar. Most feed that flavour, the chosen confront it by God’s faith through the hardships of life. The good news is, it’s not your goodness that saves you, it’s your brokenness.

 

Pastor Jonathan Faranze

 

 
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Posted by on April 29, 2018 in Pride

 

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Sermon 123 – It’s Simple

21 Apr

If you’re into position, you’re NOT saved. It’s that simple.

Jesus made Himself of no reputation and took on Himself the form of a servant … Philippians 2

Jesus said … if any man will come after Me, let him DENY himself daily, carry his cross and follow Me. For whoever will save his life shall lose it.

Jesus said … no man is above His Master. If they called the Master of the house Beelzebub, don’t be surprised what they will call you.

‘Special’ is opposite Jesus

If you think you are special, if you think you have an important job to do for God or the country or the political system, if you think that God is blessing you because you’re special, if you think that God has given you special skills because you’re special, you’re NOT saved, you’re simply listening to satanic voices appealing to your pride.

 “I think I’m important” is the voice of Satan, not the Holy Spirit

Satan is the spirit that’s into position. Satan hates Jesus because he has a higher position. His whole objective is to take Jesus’ position and ultimately get the Father’s position. Satan’s into destroying your relationship position with Christ because he hates you having it when he can’t … we’re not fighting flesh and blood but principalities and powers (Ephesians 6).

Jesus pursues the exact opposite desire. If Jesus said … deny yourself daily, carry your cross and follow Him, but you believe you’re something special, don’t kid yourself; your thoughts are opposite to Christ. They are therefore thoughts from ANTI-Christ. They’re thoughts of PRIDE, not humility, and you’re faking your relationship with God.

Holy Spirit is not into position. A fully surrendered spirit to the Holy Spirit has no thoughts about position. He will be tempted with them, but he will not live in them.

Delusions of Grandeur

If you think you’re important or have an important job to do somewhere down the track, then you’ve been deluded by your own pride of grandeur. You won’t find Daniel employing this lie, nor Moses, nor Elijah, nor Jesus, nor Paul (once he gave up Saul). You will find King Saul deluded by his own grandeur, as well as Samson, Miriam, Peter, and Judas. The one’s who were saved for eternity, had to give up their position.

Position hates position

If you compare yourself to others, then you’re into position and if you’re into position, you’re into hate. You’ll hate people for being above you; you’ll hate it that you can’t do what others do, or can’t get what others have. Position hates; it can’t love, even though it pretends to love so it gets position.

The “I’m not special” lie

If you think you’re special, then you won’t want to be found out that you think that, because your spirit already knows that it is wrong, so most people will deny that they are special. Consequently, most people won’t admit that they think they’re special, but it’s a lie to cover-up your pride so you look like you’re humble. Generally speaking, everyone thinks they’re special, even the ones who are down and out and hurting and use their moodiness to manipulate you to make them feel sad for them.

However, the moment you compare yourself to someone in rank or skill or knowledge (2 Corinthians 10:12), or the moment you judge someone, or the moment you mock someone, or the moment you use moodiness to manipulate people to do what you want, then you’re automatically saying that you are more special than them. That’s position and you can’t have position without thinking you are special. That’s why God said the second great commandment is to love your neighbour as yourself. Competing for position is ant-Christ to God’s instructions.

Stop kidding yourself that you’re a Christian and get real with Christ

You won’t be saved until you get real and stop pretending. The Word of God declares that a genuine Christian lives content in whatever situation … good or bad (Philippians 4:11,12).  On the contrary, the modern Christian lives for good to get the benefits of good because they think they are special to God. It’s fake and it’s a lie.

Stop listening to the lies of the religious systems

If God gives you position, serve Him with gratitude. If He gives you poverty, serve Him with gratitude. You signed on for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness or health, so learn to trust Him, whatever.

I’ve lost count how many Christians I’ve observed who are in it for position. When the crunch comes, they walk away and either give up or try another religious technique, always looking for the next level of spiritual experience, or else believing in the validity of their current feelings, pretending to be respectful, but all the time living in their own agenda and beliefs, conveniently turning a blind eye to the truth of their wounded resistance. These Christians are called, but not chosen.

It’s PRIDE that makes you susceptible to Satanic voices

It’s easy to blame someone else for our situation and hassles, but the fact is, it’s pride that blames and it’s our pride that makes us susceptible to judging others for our hassles. Pride think it’s everyone else’s fault. It’s our pride that wants position. It’s our pride that makes excuses for our hate … you like him more than me, or, those Christians are hypocrites so I’m not going to be a Christian.

Pride holds others in our debt

Our pride stores up credits against people. It accumulates debts that people owe you … if I help you then you have to help me, or, if I feel sorry for you then you have to feel sorry for me, or, if I apologise then I expect you to apologise too. God calls this holding people in debt, which is why the Lord’s prayer is … forgive us our debts as we forgive those who are indebted to us; but pride holds onto the debts, it can’t forgive and it can’t repent, and it won’t be forgiven by God.

Jesus said … He’s drawn to the humble and contrite in spirit; He resists the proud … James 4:6.

Pride hates correction

Pride is not quickly open to correction. Like King Saul in 1 Samuel 15, like Adam and Eve in the Garden, and like Cain vs Abel, pride defends itself from looking bad. Pride measures correction as rejection pain. It only concedes to the correction when it’s cornered and has to admit its error.

Pride uses moodiness to manipulate others to do what it wants, and the demonic spirits behind your pride stirs others to react inappropriately so that it can control you with guilt. Our pride is demonic. It needs to die.

Once you are susceptible to voices, it’s proof that you have upped your position and got proud about yourself

One of the ladies in our fellowship was hurting, emotionally. Everyone started to feel sorry for her; but what was really happening? The woman was hurting because she was envious of someone else’s position. She submitted to satanic voices of unfairness, and then in her pain, manipulated others to support her position. The other Christians thought it was a good thing to empathise with her, but they couldn’t see that they were inadvertently supporting a demonic spirit. Why couldn’t they see this? Because each one had fallen already to some previous pride that had elevated their own position.

It’s your own pride that deceives you. The hurts from other people are just doorways for Satan to trap you in your pride and focus on your rights, instead of trusting Christ in the hurt.

Christian Maturity

Everyone is susceptible to their pride, but a genuine Christian moves on to maturity in Christ and learns to sacrifice one’s selfish demand for position. God calls it ‘eating meat’ instead of ‘drinking milk’ (1 Corinthians 3). He calls it ‘growing up’ instead of staying a ‘baby’.

The solution

Give up your position.  Every Christian has a choice between being a Peter or a Judas. You may be a Christian like King Saul, but you won’t be saved until you give up your position-pride. God calls it … dying to yourself, and if you won’t listen, like King Saul and like Judas, time will run out for you.

 

Pastor Michael  Kasanzgi

 
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Posted by on April 21, 2018 in position, Pride

 

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Sermon 115 – I’m Special vs I’m Dead

07 Oct

I was counselling a fellowship member who was struggling with a grievance against someone who had used her. I asked her to write down the definition of “grievance”. She defined it as ‘hurt feelings when someone does something to offend you.’

A personal definition

I suggested a different definition … ‘I think I’m special and you’re making me feel unspecial.’ Suddenly her eyes were opened and she realised that, although she had tried to repent of her feelings and to forgive the perpetrator, she still wasn’t free because the issue was not her feelings but her pride.

You can’t repent of your mood or ungodly reaction, without forgiving, and you can’t forgive whilst still holding a grievance. Most Christians live in a vacuum of false forgiveness, still holding onto the unfairness of their treatment, but, with time, settle their feelings so they think it’s all resolved.

Every Christian should look at their definition of “guilt” and “envy” in the same light. The personal definition for guilt is … ‘I think I’m a good person but you’re making me feel bad.’ And of envy … “I’m special, how come you got it and not me.”

Whenever pride is in the picture, blame and envy are the fruit

In Exodus 32 we read the story of the golden calf. The people were frustrated that Moses had not returned from meeting with God, so they persuaded Aaron to create a new god for them. Aaron didn’t even seem to baulk. He gathered their gold pieces together and threw them into the furnace and out came a golden calf, and they worshipped the Lord by sacrificing to the calf. How crazy is that? Not only that, but Aaron got them to be naked.

How could Aaron be so far out of alignment?

The answer is … I think I’m special, too, Moses. He had allowed the voice of temptation to infiltrate his spirit, and behind the scenes he had envied Moses’ miraculous ability. Aaron was on his way to hell. The only thing that stopped him from falling into hell was the prayer of Moses (Deuteronomy 9:20). God changed His mind about the destruction of the people and Aaron simply because Moses didn’t think he was special.

You won’t find the Holy Spirit thinking He is special

In Mark 3 we read a contrasting story about Jesus healing the man with the withered hand. The Pharisees were watching Him to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. Jesus angrily rebuked them and then healed the man’s hand. The Pharisees’ response was to go to the Romans and jointly plot Jesus’ death.

In other words, the church joined with the world for the destruction of the Creator. Why? Simply because Jesus could do things that they couldn’t, so they had to get rid of Him.

Jesus’ response was not … I think I’m special, so you have no right to tell Me what’s right or wrong. Rather, His response was … just keep doing what the Father wants. How was He able to turn off the hurt of their offense? Simple … He was dead to Himself.

How do we die to ourselves?

First of all, open your eyes to your human envy, and when you see it, repent of your sin. Any blame, any mood, any envy is simply the fruit of … I think I’m special. Whilst you think you’re special you will never access heaven. Like Aaron and the Pharisees, you can be in an important position in the church system, but your blindness to your envy will prosper the work of demons in you and you will fall into hell. Sooner or later, like Aaron, immorality will creep into your heart, and eventually, like the Pharisees, your envy will turn against Christ’s remnant with the blasphemy of thinking that the spirit in them is Beelzebub (Mark 3:22-30).

If you’re dead, there’s no mood or blame or envy, but only if you’re dead. If you’re dead, the Spirit of God protects your hurts and feelings because your faith and trust is wholly in Him.

Salvation isn’t by works or position

Salvation is only via death. To be reborn you have to die to yourself. Unless you die you can never be reborn. This principle is seen in a seed. For a seed to produce a tree it first has to die before it can germinate. This is the picture of Jesus the Seed of the Word of God. He died that all who die with Him could live.

In Luke 14:26 we read that … to be a disciple you actually have to hate yourself (not love yourself) and take up your cross (die to your selfishness) daily. This means that your self is of no value when it comes to servitude for Christ. He only is my life, not me.

That’s why Paul wrote … I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me, and the life that I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.

You can only access heaven through death, not works. In John 15, Jesus said … the world will hate you because it hated Me. The world will persecute you because it persecuted Me. A follower of Christ is not exempt from being hated; rather, if he is not hated then he is not a follower of Christ … for all that live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). Why? Because the church and the world will hate the different Spirit in you.

One clear piece of evidence that you are reborn is …

I’m no longer special, the only thing I’m interested in is knowing Him and serving Him.

 

May God open the eyes of His remnant to not be deceived by the false blessing philosophy that a Christian is a son who gets the deal.

 

Pastor Paul Justica

 

 
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Posted by on October 7, 2017 in Death

 

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Sermon 109 – Don’t Tell me what to do

28 Jan

In Luke 7 we read the story of the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus concluded the story with … I have not found so great faith, not in all Israel.

What was Jesus hinting at? What clue was He giving us about how to enter the kingdom of heaven?

Clearly, Jesus was telling us that faith and authority are very closely aligned. You can’t have one without the other. If you want faith you must be under authority.

Most people believe they are under authority. Most believe they are willing to be told what to do; but is that the real truth?

  1. You’re certainly not under authority if you won’t do what you’re told
  2. You can’t be under authority if you do what you’re told with a mood.
  3. You aren’t under authority if you do what you’re told with a defamatory questioning of the instructions.
  4. You are not under authority if you do what you’re told, your way (eg. King Saul).
  5. You are not willing to be told what to do if you do it with an expectation of gaining a benefit or reward.

The tree of life

All of us are actually born with the inherent defiance of resisting authority. You don’t have to teach a child to be defiant or to be proud; it’s already in them. That’s because Eve took the fruit against God’s instructions. The tree of life became the tree of death. It wasn’t Satan’s tree to offer it. Satan deceived her into thinking that when she ate the forbidden fruit she would become as god ie. no one would tell her what to do. She herself would know what was right and wrong (but only what’s right in her own eyes); she wouldn’t need God to tell her. But it was a trap of servitude to the evil one who himself won’t be told what to do, and all of humanity has inherited that trait. It has to be killed to be saved.

I’ve lost count of how many Christians I’ve met who at some point won’t be told they’re wrong yet they’re absolutely bound by what’s right (but only what’s right in their own eyes). That’s because Satan has sold everyone the lie of the fruit, so everyone thinks they know what’s right and wrong. The irony is, they do but they don’t. They’re under the influence of Satan who more often than not appears as an angel of right but in his heart is seriously defiant. Your rightness is a lie if you won’t be told it’s a lie.

You don’t understand

I recall talking with a Christian woman who can’t stand knowing anything negative about herself. Any time you hint that there is an unhealthy issue in her spirit she would just reply with “you don’t understand.” But what she’s really saying is … “you won’t tell me. I know me, not you.”

This woman uses silence and knowing right & wrong as her tool of displaying her Christianity, but it’s just a scam. In this case, silent rightness is a satanic technique to control anyone who might expose her inner fear and inFEARiority. Consequently, her goodness is fake. It’s really just a scam under the occupation of a spirit of fear and a spirit of lying. She actually lies to herself that she doesn’t have a problem with her spirit. Using your truth in order to refuse the see the truth, is demonic, not God. You’re simply munching on the fruit you were told not to.

Who do you think you are?

I also recall another woman who controlled others around her by using her fear to aggressively intimidate people who might challenge her inFEARiority, with, “who do you think you are”? She became a church leader on the back of using her self-trained knowledge of knowing right & wrong to counsel people. It gave her great self-value.

Signs of Satan

Rightness and goodness are not necessarily signs of God; Satan can perform the same degree of sweetness.  You can camouflage fear and pride with coolness, helps and silence, but it doesn’t mean you’re good or right or fearless. The thing that separates a fake from a genuine Christian is they’ll be told what to do because they love and trust the Father. This is exactly what Christ did. He made Himself of no reputation and took on Him the form of a servant and became obedient unto death and torture, simply because He loved and trusted the Father (Philippians 2:7). Your inner attitude to authority will define your Christianity.

Don’t tell me what to do are the words of Satan, not Jesus. Besides earthquakes, wars, famines and pestilence, the ultimate sign of Satan, is “don’t tell me what to do.” You’ll never hear Jesus say them, even against the Pharisees. Yes, He didn’t do what the Pharisees wanted but that’s because He loved the Father, not Himself.

What’s a Christian?

Simple. A true Christian is one who does what they’re told (without a mood, without defamatory questioning, and without expectation of reward) because they love and trust the Father. Without the love of the Father in you, all your goodness is a scam. It’s not someone who has just invited Jesus into their heart; it’s someone who’ll be told for Christ’s sake. If you’re not into the love of the Father, you’re not a Christian.

Why is this the definition of a Christian? Because Satan is the exact opposite.

How do you know if you have the love of the Father?

He’ll test you by asking you to do something you don’t want to do. Your moodiness or lack of it, will define your heart’s true condition.

I’m special

The tree of life only gives life through the death and blood of Jesus Christ; not through a fake gift from Satan, and certainly not from eating it. Eating it simply fills you with the idea that you are special and important.

If the basis of your Christianity is founded on the belief that you are special, or gifted, or important then you are not genuine. Just because your mother told you that you are, doesn’t mean she was telling the truth; she was more likely feeding her own pride as she encouraged yours. Your belief will be tested when you are told to do something you don’t want to and you have a mood. You’re simply munching on the fruit that Satan’s offered you from the tree. You need to spit it out.

The self-judgment of God

When someone says “don’t tell me what to do”, they’re actually telling the other person what to do. A good shepherd doesn’t tell people what to do, he advises them away from the direction of the wolf and the cliff. A righteous pastor isn’t telling you, he’s counselling you. When you say “don’t tell me”, you expose, not the counsellor, but yourself as the defiant tell person. You expose Satan in you.

Some time back a young man called me intolerant, but what he exposed was the fact that it was himself that was intolerant of people. You make judgement against people based on what is your rightness. If you think it’s right to just tolerate those you don’t like, then when you are corrected you’ll judge the authority as intolerant, but it’s actually your own judgment on your own head. Christ is always tolerant of people; the only thing he’s intolerant of is the demonic. There’s a time to be intolerant against evil, but general intolerance against people is Satanic.

I recall a man who said I was angry, but when I challenged him, he agreed that it was his anger he was feeling, not mine. Whenever he didn’t get what he wanted he got angry.

All of these judgment reactions against people are simply the fruit of “don’t tell me what to do.” It doesn’t look like it, but they are. It really means that you’re munching on the fruit Satan’s offered you.

Spare the rod and spoil the child

The modern world has outlawed corporal punishment. Under the influence of fake rightness the world contradicts the instructions of God to smack the child when they act defiant. The modern school systems endorse the belief that children should be allowed to learn for themselves without parental discipline. The only consequence of this policy is anarchy. You don’t stop paedophilia by removing discipline to the child; you stop it by not letting the child grow up to be a paedophile. You stop it by retaining disciple not removing it.

Warfare

We’re in a warfare against evil. Satan is selling the church a cheap ticket to self-importance. Will you keep blindly eating the fruit or will you stand up and own your sin and come under Christ’s authority and rule? The truth is, no one truly respects authority until they die to themselves because they love Christ who died for them.

 

Pastor Norm Wakefield

 
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Posted by on January 28, 2017 in Authority

 

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Sermon 82 – WHICH GROUP?

16 May

We recognise that David was on the side of the Israelites and that his enemy were the Philistines, but we fail to see that David’s group was also divided into two groups … those that were with him and those that envied and hated him.

The Israelites represent God’s people, the Church; yet we fail to see that the church has always been divided into two groups. The church at Corinth and the church at Laodicea and Pergamos are just three examples. Even Christ’s own disciples were divided and Judas exposed himself as a traitor.

Group 1 … The TELL group

The largest group of people in the church are those that see God as their Father and thus believe that God is responsible to protect them and supply all their needs and perform for them what they need from Him. This group believes they are a child of God and thus have the right to TELL the Father how He is supposed to perform towards them. This group murmurs when God doesn’t do it according to their expectations. They murmur if God takes longer than they expect.

The Pentecostal Church has flourished on the back of this group’s selfish expectation, to the point where it preaches that if you don’t get what you want from God then you don’t have faith. Like a bacterial infection, this belief has spread like wild-fire through fake churches that promote the worldly lie that you can be whatever you want and have whatever you want, just believe. This group simply expect God to perform their wishes and have a MOOD when He doesn’t. Like a two-year old child, the purpose of a mood is to get the authority to change their mind and give you what you want; and that’s the underlying behaviour of this group. This group is envious of what someone else is achieving or has a better deal.

Example

I was counselling a young so-called Christian who admitted he was wrong but that the punishment he received of being grounded was over-the-top. He was defending that he hadn’t done anything that bad, but was blinded to the real issue that he couldn’t be told. He couldn’t see that it was the resistance that was being addressed, not the act.

If you stop and look at that reaction, what does it tell you? Clearly, it’s telling you that the young man is TELLING the authority what’s right and wrong. He’s more interested in not looking bad than in being corrected. It’s revealing to you that the young man is questioning the authority, and really declaring that he is not that wrong, but that the authority is the one that’s wrong. This is an incorrectable, unrepentant spirit, and as such is really a spirit of anti-christ. Holy Spirit would not react this way! A genuine Christian would admit that he was wrong, full-stop, no BUT.

The angel of light

This group is often perfectly good, not because it flows from God, but because if you’re good you can’t get told you’re bad, and if you’re good you get rewards. Thus goodness is simply a tool to get. In fact, this artificial goodness flows from Satan. Anyone who thinks they’re good is actually declaring that they are not of God. Jesus Himself said in Luke 18:19 that there is no one good except God; so if you think you are good then you’ve been deceived by Satan into being your own god, and thus see yourself as above others. If you think you are good then you are contradicting the Word of God that says you’re not. This is the spirit of anti-christ, and definitely not the Holy Spirit.

We fail to comprehend that Satan can come as an angel of light. Right from the beginning Satan has employed two key tactics … attack and destroy, and infiltrate and soften. He uses these in the church because he has the power over the church. Contrary to Pentecostal mis-conception, Satan’s power has not been diminished and won’t be until he is cast into the bottomless pit. He’s just as powerful now as he’s ever been. Only God is more powerful. But the church tells you that you can put Satan in his place because you’re a child of God and heir to the throne. It’s blind to its arrogance. Like the fake church in Communist China, it’s simply the world camouflaged as the church.

Good + TELL

Goodness and Tell are key signs of the spirit of the anti-christ. Despite its apparent goodness, eventually this spirit will expose itself by TELLing the authority what is right and wrong. Eventually this group will display its control with superiority, intimidation, and obligation. It will use the scriptures to try and control you especially by using the 5th commandment to respect their authority, whilst all the time blindly mis-using the 7th, 9th and 10th commandments.

This group won’t be told even though they act like they will; in their heart they resist instruction as a put-down. They simply have a mood till they get what they want, even a silent mood of goodness (like the rich young ruler); yet they can’t see that they’re being defiant and simply refusing to repent because they believe that they’re not bad and that if you are saying they are, then you’ve got the problem, not them.

Hatred of men is a sign of anti-christ

Embedded in this group are many women who have a hidden hatred of men. They hate the fact that men have authority over them. They secretively don’t like being under authority and being told what to do. They think they’re better than men. They TELL men how they’re supposed to behave towards them. This is the spirit of anti-christ. You can clearly see this spirit flooding the world today, and this worldly spirit is clearly in the church. God decreed in Genesis 3:16 that man would have authority over the woman and anyone who objects to that is clearly against God.

This group is full of their own importance … “I think I’m special or have a special call”

Many men, both in the church and in the world, are under this female spirit. Self-decoration of ear-rings and tattoos, and homosexuality and cross-dressing are just signs of feminism. Many men have been told by their mothers that they can do anything or be anything. Like Eve vs Adam, their mothers have been used of Satan to fill their sons with their own importance. This is the spirit of ant-christ and its purpose is to subtly destroy. Christ said in Luke 14:26 that unless you hate yourself you cannot be my disciple; the opposite to what the world and the church teaches.

Over the years, I’ve become aware that most people think they’re special, to the point that they sincerely believe that if you have a problem with them then you are the problem, and if they have a problem with you then you are still the problem. They sincerely believe that they have a special call on their life and that God values them higher than others. The simple truth is that they feel so inferior and wounded they have to live in the fantasy of their own puffed-up self-importance. Sadly, the church is just copying the world by indoctrinating people with this false positive thinking instead of teaching the flock to die to self so that God reigns in you. The spirit of anti-christ is alive and well convincing people of their self-importance in direct contradiction to the Word of God which declares that God loves a contrite heart.

A spirit of FEAR

This group is like King Saul. It is occupied by a spirit of fear and thus uses intimidation to try and control people to do its will and put you under its fear.

Ezekiel 33:31 … they come unto you and sit before you as my people and hear your words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their covetousness.

Group 2 … The ‘willing to be told’ group

The second group are like David. They don’t think they are good; it doesn’t enter their thinking. They don’t think they deserve anything from God. They serve God because they appreciate His love for them. They don’t serve to get a reward. They don’t serve Him to get to heaven, but like Moses who was willing to go to hell for the people of Israel, they serve God with a grateful heart. This group doesn’t expect anything from God, they’re just grateful for being considered His child.

This group doesn’t TELL God what He’s to do for them; they ask Him what He wants them to do for Him. Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they ask Him for His protection but leave the outcome to His discretion. This group doesn’t envy what they’re neighbour has, but rather they’re grateful that God has blessed them. This group doesn’t think it’s special, but rather is amazed that God might consider them worthy to serve Him. Moses’ response to God was “who am I?” David’s response to Saul re marrying his daughter was, “who am I?”

This group makes judgments based on their heart relationship with God (it talks it over with God and waits on Him), and not just on whether a person has done good or bad.

FEAR

This group has to face fear from the first group. Like the Pharisees who intimidated the parents of the man born blind in John 9, the first group uses its power to keep you in its group, and if you want to be in the second group you will have to face the fear of what the 1st group thinks.

This second group takes correction when it’s wrong, and doesn’t stand defiantly when it’s mis-judged for doing wrong when it didn’t. It takes its concerns to God; it doesn’t react with a mood.

Conclusion

  • If you love God you serve Him. If you love yourself you get God to serve you by being good.
  • If you love being important then you’re in the first group.
  • If you judge people based on right or wrong/ good & bad, you’re in the 1st group.
  • If you worry whether someone is doing it right or wrong, then you’re under the influence of the spirit of anti-christ.
  • If you disrespect or question your husband, father or pastor then you’re in the first group.
  • If you think you are good, then you are god, and you’ve taken the bait of self-importance from the spirit of anti-christ.
  • If you think you are special, then you’ve taken the bait of the spirit of anti-christ.
  • If you have a mood because it’s not working out the way you want then you are under the influence of the spirit of Satan. Holy Spirit does NOT react that way.
  • The real reason you’re in the first group is that you’re too arrogant/stubborn and too fearful to change.
  • Everyone’s born to be a somebody, but you won’t find God till you’re a nobody. 

You can change groups. In fact, it’s essential that you do. The first group will never find salvation no matter how much they learn about Christ; they’re the tares. Everyone is born in love with themselves; that’s the influence of Satan, but you have to wake up to yourself if you want to change groups. It just takes a revelation that you are the one who is acting and trapped in group one, and the courage to face your fears of what people might think, and swap groups.

May God open the eyes of His remnant.

Pastor Jim Desmond

 
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Posted by on May 16, 2015 in Special

 

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