Spirit of the scribes and pharisees.

This evening I witnessed a beautiful performance by children who put in hard work to offer praise worship and dance to the lord.

My spirit was troubled when a certain leader of the church then spoke condemning it as worldly and profane that the children should focus on memory verses and not praise in the form of song and dance of the world

I for one believe that such a rebuke was unnecessary and certainly was not of the spirit in the house of the Lord.

The children performed and the congregation joined in singing and prising in spirit so how can that not be from the lord?

The Bible warns us of such spirits of confusion it is called the spirit of Scribes and Pharisees.

In Mathew 23:13 Jesus rebukes these spirits

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in [yourselves], neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

The scribes and pharisees were appointed by men and they professed knowledge of the law of God. They were guided by the spirit of  exclusion to judge and throw the first stone at Mary Magdalene or pour scorn on people like zacheceus and accuse Jesus of breaking the law of God by preaching and casting out demons on a Sabbath.

The spirit of Christ is different, its inclusive, compassionate with a hallmark of love and forgiveness. To lead by example and to practise what you preach.

The spirit of the scribes and pharisees was the spirit that excluded children from coming to Jesus and that is why Jesus the commanded  in Mark 10:13-16



 ¹³And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
 ¹⁴But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
 ¹⁵Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
 ¹⁶And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

The spirit of the pharisees and scribes will not allow others to get close to God. By being strict in the interpretation of the law to the exclusion of the spirit and the child like love for God they stop others from going close to God. The exodusus of youth from the Church in such circumstances is a curse unto the church.

We may follow the law of the bible to a tee as the scribes and pharisees but if we lose the childlike love for God and the guidance of the holy spirit we will not enter the kingdom of God as stated in Mathew 23:13 being seduced by the spirit of the scribes and pharisees into thinking that by following the law of the Bible we are holier than others or condescend on the spirituality or lack thereof of others.

In such circumstances leaders of the church will lose their anointing as warned by Jesus in Mathew 23.

We should also not blindly follow as stated in Mathew 23 1-3, just because someone sits on Moses seat doesn't mean you have to follow everything he says. Always discern with the Holy spirit within you.

Matthew 23
 ¹Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
 ²Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
 ³All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.



The scribes and pharisees look and judge on your outward appearance but God looks at our hearts.

Back to worship, our modern day scribes and pharisees infuse culture with religion. Mixing of males and females forbidden, easily forgetting that we are all children of God presumably guided by the spirit, I wonder when Jesus preached on the mount whether males and females were segregated. or where Jesus thought he should rebuke the congregation for the mixing of sexes that the sermon that he gave on edifying the spirit?

Singing dancing praising the lord is without a shadow of doubt from the Lord.

Psalms 150:4 says praise him with timbrel and dance in fact The whole psalm talks about how to praise him.

150:1	Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary;     Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
150:2	Praise Him for His mighty acts;     Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
150:3	Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;     Praise Him with the lute and harp!
150:4	Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;     Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
150:5	Praise Him with loud cymbals;     Praise Him with crashing cymbals!
150:6	Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.     Praise the Lord!

Interestingly God created angels but no where in the Bible does it say that Angels sing. So although every being worships God in the end only us children of God worship him with singing. How lovely those praises must be to God in Song.David knew this and that is why he showed is love for God by his offering of song and dance and God was most pleased. Who therefore is man to come between children offering their praises to God in song and dance.

Psalms 87 :7 
As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.


Psalms 149 :3
Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.


2 Samuel 6 : 14
  ¹⁴And David danced before the LORD with all his might;  

Therefore we must discern between the spirit of the scribes and pharisees and the holy spirit. just because someone sits on the throne of moses ( or preaches from the pulpit ) doesn't mean he is right. If the words distance from worshipping God for whatever reason, it is the spirit of the scribes and pharisees. God has given us this power to discern through the spirit.feel...

John 14 :24
  ²⁶But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you 

AMEN 

Work it !

Faith without works is dead- JAMES 2.20

To understand the knowledge of God one has to work one's faith.To try and take it to the next level.

To work it. To receive the gifts of the spirit , to meditate to fast and pray to listen to his voice , his calling.

We need to be and are obliged to be as what we were created to be, to have dominion ; not to be subservient to sin, sickness, sorrow and despair.

To achieve this we need to spend our energy and focus on increasing prayer, to be guided by the spirit to fast and pray, to wait on the Lord  to meditate on his word.

When we are ready to receive his anointing for each of the many heavenly gifts that will be bestowed such as the power to heal, to see the future to understand the past to prophesy etc...we have to be even more vigilant and watchful; for we shall be even more accountable to the lord.there is literally and spiritually no such thing as a free lunch you have to work for it.

When St Paul said..work out your Salvation with fear and trembling, he meant every word of it.

the most important truth in the bible is simply this...Life is the ultimate final exam. To pass you have to be saved. There is no second chance after that. Its an eternity in heaven or an eternity in the lake of fire. How is that for motivation?

You may think this is preposterous, but consider this..what if I'm right and you are wrong !
please take further note, all armchair Christians BEWARE !you have to work on your salvation. Don't be lulled by a false sense of security just because you go to church and pray. BELIEVE! feel the pain of the crown of thorns the weight of the cross each nail that pierced him meditate on this this is our salvation.The base and the basis of our faith. This is the rock on which we should work our faith.

When we talk about faith and works look to Christ as the example.

Work it, work it work it.!

Amen

Last Among Equals

What is required of you is faith and a sincere life,not loftiness of intellect or deep knowledge of the mysteries of God.- Thomas a Kempis

This sounds strange in light of my last post yet it is entirely compatible.

In getting to the knowledge of God, our intelligence and intellect are actually hindrances and stumbling blocks to the attainment thereof.The more we try to think about it the less we will get it.

The knowledge of God is a place.

It is a place or platform or consciousness that we can connect to in our spirit not our mind.A place where past present and future intertwine.The will of God, his calling, his instructions are all clear as day. a place of  praise and worship that emanates from the soul not our mouths where we literally feel God, walk  and talk with him.

I believe that King David was in this spiritual place when he wrote the psalms, Moses when he wrote about the past, prophets Isiah , Jeremiah John the baptist, Apostle John were all in this spiritual plane when they saw and wrote about the future like wise Daniel and so on and on.

A place where we understand and unlock the dominion over everything, the gift that God has given us which also includes the gifts of healing where it is the will of God. Where everything submits to the will of God through you i.e miracles performed by Moses and Jesus to name a few. where all beings comply with the will of God like the lions in the den with Daniel.It is never you but the will of God.it is the will of God that created everything in the first place. that is why he is the Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end.That is why God commands us not to fear but believe. to be still and know God.

King Solomon in proverbs writes of this understanding and wisdom.All ..including Jesus on this topic have one common denominating factor..The last shall become first.

In other words, it is a journey you take in spirit, leaving everything else behind, the person that you think you are is broken down completely there is nothing of you left.At this point...you are last..not first. At this point of completely divesting yourself of yourself save the spirit..you become first because now...you are in the knowledge of God.You are in his place. you are in his will. there is no you but his spirit his knowledge, the soul cries out it praise of this wondrous love. God is love.we are the love of God. we are beloved of God the twinning of his love is the understanding that we are there because we submit entirely to his will. we are nothing we are nothing LORD.

It is a journey of faith, of love of complete submission.even Jesus went into the hills for fourty days and fourty nights to submit to the will of the father, to meditate and receive instruction.

 I realise now how important fasting, meditating and waiting in the presence of God is. What ever success, material gifts etc has absolutely no meaning as is our flesh and blood. All that is of importance is our spirit and soul our journey or race is to connect with him unto eternity.Our faith is all we need  to take for this journey.

Strangely it appears a complete u turn from my postings before this of success material gifts etc. I now know without a doubt that It is so. God gives us what we want in our hearts and our minds and leads us quietly to a realisation of what it is that is most valuable of all...The love of GOD. to be one with him..the reason why he created us in the first place. To be his own, to choose him of our own fee will to choose an eternal life by his side by our own will. To return home.We have hurt him by hiding from him like Adam. It hurts him to know his beloved children have forsaken him were doomed as a race from the beginning to destruction because of sin. He sacrificed his only son for us.No greater or purer love can the be.

We must work out our salvation, we must take this journey. It doesn't end in physical death. Our salvation is the lifeblood to our life with God to eternity.our salvation is the price of the ticket to go on this journey paid for in full and in advance by Christ by his blood on the cross.

We, like Adam are hiding, everyday we are hiding..Every moment as a father as a shepherd he is calling..We may not understand his call but we know he is calling..he is calling.. we must heed his call. we must realise the journey has still a far to go.We as Christians are fortunate because we have the ticket for this journey we have been called to go.have we packed our bags are we ready to go? the train will leave soon we don't want to be left behind.

To win this race, we must be last.we must be last to be equal to him as he has called us to be Kings and Priests in his Glory..everything else well...is worthless.All things of this world will be left behind it has no value in eternity.It is a vanity.a distraction. ( all this coming from a man who just took delivery of a new Lamborghini.) All I can say is that the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. The last shall be the first.perhaps I wouldn't have realised the impact had I not been blessed with all my material desires or if God had not humoured me  by entertaining my vanity.

A friend once commented." If you want to make God laugh,..tell him your plans ".

This is what I believe king Solomon who had been blessed with all material wisdom and wealth, realised this secret and is evident in he book of Proverbs...

This..is the End Game. The End game is the End of our self and the beginning of Him. The first will indeed become last and the last will then indeed be the first.

Amen.

Eyes Wide Shut.

In the last post I talked about "the secret" to success.

It is my belief that success is not quantified by mere material blessing.

When God showers his blessings upon us as his children, material blessings are just a part of of the gift flowing from heaven.

We should look for and indeed yearn for the the most precious part of the gift, which is spiritual growth and most importantly, the opening of our eyes of understanding which are usually shut.

To claim the spiritual gift we must walk in the way of the lord, to walk with him we need to heed his calling.To do that we need an understanding that is in tune with him.

People say how can we know the mind of God?

God is open to answers if we look to him; naturally , some answers will be given when we show the appropriate spiritual maturity. Example, a parent may not teach a child sex education until the child attains a certain age.

St Paul prays in Ephesians 1:18


The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

I often wondered how the saints in the bible had, for example the spirit of revelation i.e Isiah, Jeremiah..John etc.

It becomes clear that the reached a level of spirituality, where they walked with God, Their eyes of understanding open to something very very very important and which may be described the ULTIMATE SECRET OF THE BIBLE that transcends all levels of human intelligence logic and brilliance, which is to be tuned into the KNOWLEGE OF GOD.

This is illuminated in the book of proverbs 2

1	My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2	so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
3	yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4	if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5	then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

The key is the route to the knowledge of God

1st Kings 4

²⁹ And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.

And finally, Eyes wide shut or open ?

Numbers 24:16

He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:


Net result a much happier you, happiness that money can't buy.

Proverbs 2:

When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

Wouldn't it be great to tap into the knowledge of God? to walk and talk with God to be in tune with, in Sync with a whole new level of understanding,to know the plan of God in our lives, to see the future , to heal etc...? Amazing...power..enlightenment..

So you see at the end of the day, the material blessing seems pale in comparison...nothing compared to the real...gift...to be in tune with the knowledge of God.

Please remember the route stated above, don't be fooled into seeking it for the sake of pride and pleasure like Eve did to her utter downfall.

Genesis 3:

4	And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5	for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6	And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7	And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Be careful what you ask for...Amen

The Secret

A few friends were talking recently about the book called the secret.It's a self motivational composition, the thrust of it being that if you want a thing in your life you put all your focus on it and will it to happen, it will.

My thoughts on the subject is that the Secret to success is in the bible, it works for me.


Psalms 128

1	Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.
2	For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

The secret to success is to put all your focus on God to try to walk in his ways the best you can and work hard for it.

God the father, like any father wants us, his children, to have a great life and to do good in our lives as best we can. To succeed, to achieve, to be the best that we can be in our vocation.

Ephesians 4

1Walk yeworthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called

Thus to do good, work hard and achieve success is the will of God.

Success defined:
Success may mean, but is not limited to: a level of social status; achievement of an objective/goal; the opposite of failure

I would add also a spiritual level.The goal being to draw closer to God at a spiritual level.

Abraham, Joseph, Esther and Solomon to name a few; succeeded in this ( being successful on earth whilst all the while drawing closer to God ).

Ecclesiastes 3

¹²I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life

¹³And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

Success is Gods Gift to man to attain the joy of his heart

Ecclesiastes 5

	19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. 20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

The Success that God gives, brings no fear or sorrow.

PROVERBS 10

²²The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

The secret?

Mathew 6:33

This is the promise of God:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.


FEAR NOT ONLY BELIEVE

Amen.

In His Time

I recently had a chat with a close friend who was grieving his brothers passing.It prompted me to share the following:

What I understand to be claiming God's promises of healing and the apparent paradox of death.

My take on this is this:

That the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our personal saviour, the issue of death becomes irrelevant in the whole scheme of things.

The reason for this is we become alive in Christ. Just as we believe that Christ is alive.

At this point death is an illusion, misnomer and irrelevant. I believe that this revelation prompted St Paul to say

"Death is swallowed up in victory."

"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. "

Three verses in 1 st Corinthians 15 above show us that death (as we know it ) is an illusion to a christian.

Death is the illusion created to deceive children of God that they are defeated. That they were defeated from the start, the fall of Adam.

Hence, When Christ arose from the dead, Death was swallowed up in Victory.

St Paul understood this, that physical death to a christian is a victory for God.That his purpose on this earth in us has been accomplished.

That is why St Paul says in the same chapter that "the sting of death is Sin".

Our loved ones who have passed on are alive in Christ just as we are.

The day of death of a Christian, is one of rejoicing in heaven for our heavenly father welcomes home his beloved.

Please note: in the same chapter he says " flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God."we have to be changed. Changed in death or in rapture.

"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,"


It is the day we can say to our heavenly father that we have fulfilled his plan in our lives and look forward to being with and rejoicing beside him forevermore.
In Ecclesiastes chapter 7 it is written:

1A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.

2It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.

3Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.

4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

We cannot understand the mind nor the purpose of God in one's life; yes, we may pray for healing and claim promises of healing, But we must remember the words and promises of God serve only one purpose, that is the will of God in our lives.

Ecclesiastes chapter 8

17Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

It may be that our loved ones may pass away (for death is the ultimate healing)

We must accept that there is a time for everything in God's perfect plan.The perfect plans includes victory in death.

to sum it up,Ecclesiastes 3:

1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

9What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

10I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

11He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

AMEN!

Life is a four letter word !

"Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead,focus on what to do next,Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer;"

- Dennis Waitley


Quite often we are haunted by the past, of how, perhaps we should have done things differently,Of how things went wrong. How confusing times can be. We sometimes go..."If only...."

In Phillipians 3 verse 13, St Paul says: Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.

Look forward..!

A friend of mine once said (thanks David Liu) that Life is a Four letter word.

Its EASY! Life is EASY! remember the song.." 'coz I'm easy...easy like Sunday Morning"?.. well, It is easy!.when you look forward, look to Christ!

LIFE is a four letter word! EASY!

The Gospel of St Mathew chapter 12 verses 28 to 30:

"COME UNTO ME ALL YE THAT LABOUR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.

Take my yoke upon you,and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is EASY and my burden light."

Look forward with ease forget about the past.

Christ says "come unto me" look forward... as Peter did.

Walk in a water? a cinch..as long as we look forward to Christ and do not look back.

Looking forward there is no fear There are only blessings in Christ.

ECCLESIASTES 5: 19,20

Every Man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and had given him power to eat thereof and to take his portion,and to rejoice in his labour ; this is the gift of God.

For he shall not much remember the days of his life;because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

LIFE is indeed a four letter word.

LIFE is EASY..in Christ, Look forward !

'coz its easy ...easy like Sunday Morning'...

P.S
1.Inspired to write again by Dr Victor Chen and Y.A Dato' Mary..Many thanks for getting me off my butt.
2.Inspired by the song...easy like Sunday morning... by Lionel Ritchie
3. Inspired by the holy Spirit for the material provided.

Thank you