Archive for the 'Spiritual insight' Category

Night Attack

John Havener August 7th, 2007

I recently talked to a much loved young friend that suffers significant depression, P0316961_2.JPGespecially in the morning. I felt evil spiritual forces of some sort were taking advantage of his resting state and launching a night attack on him, largely unopposed. I asked him if he asked God to cover him while he rested, and if he commanded the enemy to stand back while he slept…no, not really, until we talked.

Night attacks are very real to me. I am a Vietnam vet and was deployed in Danang,RSV during that war. At night, enemy fighters would set up big 5″ rockets and shoot them into our airbase…sometimes three attacks in one night. There is something about night combat that amplifies fear and terror and the possibilities of confusion and stupid actions. Something about stress in the night that can wear you down.  I would pray before or when I lay down and build my faith with the word of God…and keep my helmet and flak jacket very close!

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety. (Psalms 4:8) This was one of His promises that really helped me, and there were others.

By the way, the first successful night attack recorded in history was Abram’s attack on the kings who had kidnapped his nephew Lot and his family. By the grace of God, it succeded. The Scripture speaks of those who are “prepared for the terrors of the night.” “All of them are skillful with the sword; they are battle-hardened veterans. Each of them is armed with a sword, on guard against a night attack.” (Song of Solomon 3:8) May I suggest that you begin to build your faith and your families’ faith for safe passage through the night…spiritually and physically. A major terrorist attack or natural disaster may shut down local law enforcement ( Katrina and the New Orleans PD, for example). It might come down to you, God and possibly some good neighbors! Some starter possibilites regarding preparation are sharing good faith scriptures with your children, having good illumination ready, having a plan to communicate and assemble as a family, thinking through ways to communicate with the outside, and deciding beforehand whether or not firearms factors into your plan. There’s more, of course, like having a healthy, alert dog!

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night? Could it be the Lord, wanting to use you in prayer, or to alert you of something you might head off? It is time to take the possibility of night attack more seriously, whether spiritual, physical or both.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation. (Psalms 91:1-16)

May the good Shepherd keep you through the night! 

 

The ultimate “preparedness”

John Havener August 4th, 2007

     The tragic collapse of the I35 bridge in Minneapolis, MN this week drives home the need for each of us to be “ultimately prepared.” I have driven across this bridge a number of times, but never once did it occur to me, “This bridge could collapse while I am on it and I could die and go out into eternity to face my personal judgement by God Almighty.” I speculate that none of those on the bridge when it came  crashing down in less than a minute had any such thought either…and yet, in seconds or minutes a small number left this life and entered eternity to experience Heaven with Jesus Christ or hell without Him. The Holy Scriptures say simply, “It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgement…” (Notice that no one is recycled through reincarnation and given another shot at earthly life.) I believe in physical, mental, emotional and family preparedness ( It can save your earthly life), but no ammount of training, survival gear, etc. will prepared you for the day you die, except the proper spiritual preparedness provided by God through Jesus Christ.

This will sound too simplistic, too easy, not psycological enough or religiously ardous enough for some of you, but here is reality: you can get prepared for life’s ultimate challenge by turning complete ownership and control of your life and everything associated with it over to the Living Lord Jesus Christ! Afterwards you will find some things will have to go, and many others will become gloriously new, but preparation is completed by the big, initial “turnover” of yourself to Jesus. Total surrender. Your sins will be forgiven because of His lifeblood shed for you on the cross. Eternal LIFE begins immediately. This complete entrusting of yourself and your situation to the Living Jesus (not to a church, spiritual group, minister, priest, holy man, etc…to Jesus!) is called “conversion” in the Bible. If you have been converted to Jesus Christ (and are still surrendered to Him)…you are prepared, wonderfully  prepared!

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:2-3)

The Rise of militant atheism…the spirit of Antichrist blossoms

John Havener April 26th, 2007

In “The Forum” of the Monday, April 16, 2007 USA TODAY there was an interesting article called “Atheism isn’t the final word” which begins “Oh, for the days when one could safely stroll into a bookstore without tripping over the latest atheist title…Books making the case against God seem to be multiplying, becoming more strident and absolute with each turned page.” Thankfully the author, Don Feder, concludes by writing,” Atheists are free to disbelieve and propagate their disbelief in books and other intellectual forums. But saying the debate is over doesn’t make it so. A bit of humility might make their case more convincing. Then again, humility itself is a religious concept.” My point is to draw attention to the antiGod wave headed our way, not to argue against atheism…although there are powerful arguments against it…

Mr. Feder’s accurate observations about militant atheism were confirmed and illuminated by a frontpage Wall Street Journal from April 12, 2007 titled ” The New Crusaders: As Religious Strife Grows, Europe’s Atheists Seize Pulpit. Islam’s Rise Gives Boost To Militant Unbelievers.” This article focuses on Michel Onfray, whom the WSJ calls a “celebrity philosopher and France’s high priest of militant atheism.” Mr. Onfray, is 48, has published 32 books, and is a very popular lecturer. Consider this quote from the WSJ,
“Mr. Onfray argues that atheism faces a “final battle” against “theological hocus-pocus” and must rally its troops. “We can no longer tolerate neutrality and benevolence,” he writes in “Traite d’atheologie,” or Atheist Manifesto, a best seller in France, Italy and Spain. “The turbulent time we live in suggests that change is at hand and the time has come for a new order.” He recently shared a book by a favorite philosopher with a political opponent…Nietzsche’s “The Anti-Christ.” Should we think this stuff is just European weirdness? The WSJ pointed out the following, “The God Delusion,” a book by Oxford Professor Richard Dawkins, has been on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction best-seller list for 28 weeks.

Scripture describes The ultimate AntiChrist as a Satan possessed human, with formiddible deceptive powers and invincible war-making power, assisted and promoted by a “False Prophet” who will be world’s ultimate propagandist and architect of genocide. Behind them, a system which only the return of Christ will shutdown. Part of the mystery regarding the ultimate evils is this question: which comes first, The inspiring, inclusive antichrist worldview, the system which will execute its leader’s will, the False Prophet or the ultimate Antichrist himself? Regardless, here is the final outcome:

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. (Rev.19.19)

I am not alleging that Mr. Onfray is the Ultimate A/C or false prophet…but be sure of this: Europe is very far gone into apostasy and strong currents are swirling that may give rise to this ultimate human/ satanic evil. Perhaps, more disturbingly, is the possiblity that the antichrist spirits which are trying to consolidate and bring forth these supreme evils will be able in the meantime to bring forth violent antichristian persecution here and soon. I was grieved by a situation that occured recently. In New Jersey, in a place called New Burlington Township, school officials and “publical safety/ emergency management officials” held a first responder drill based on a senario which envisioned their High School being terrorized by fundamentalist Christian killers. This senario was a terrible case of implausible lies, bigotry, fear-mongering and stereotyping against fundamental Christians dubbed by the senario as the “New Crusaders.” Blatant prejudice of this sort can fuel an explosive atmosphere where violence is suddenly loosed against God’s people. Who really are the “New Crusaders?” To me the NJ situation is a small but potent example of The Rise of militant atheism…the spirit of Antichrist blossoms.

My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. (Proverbs 3:21-26)

Serious food for thought and prayer from Tommy James

John Havener March 28th, 2007

Preview of 2007

1. Mostly, things will continue as in the last few years with a greater separation occurring between the spiritual church and world systems. The worldly oriented Americans, who call themselves Christians, will continue to trust politics, both domestic and foreign, to make things different, hoping that by human effort, the world will be made a better place. Americans will continue to be content in very small personal circles of family and employment giving not much thought or concern to the role they might play as representatives and citizens of the Kingdom of God. This coming year will be like the days of Noah that the Lord Jesus spoke of. The Christians of America will not be too much different, but there is a remnant, those who follow the Lamb where ever He goes and hunger for the Presence of God, even secretly, and who are poised and ready to do the will of God in overt, power filled ways.

American life will change, but it will change slowly, so as to not alarm too many citizens at once. “We can’t have a rebellion in America!” the world leaders have decreed. Not yet anyway. Personal liberties and ‘civil rights’ will give more ground to government so that we may feel safe from terrorists. The peoples of the world have proven that they will sacrifice personal liberty for the sake of personal security. The rulers of this dark age know this and will continue the squeeze in order to fully control everyone everywhere. The loss of freedom will seem to be an acceptable price to ‘feel’ safe. “Perception is everything” while reality is changing.

2. The Spirit is saying expressly that this is a time to focus on covenant relationships. Covenants exist in all relationships whether they are written, spoken, assumed, agreed to, or not. Covenants, in simplicity, define the operating rules and boundaries, the benefits and responsibilities for relationships. All covenants should be of holy purpose, be equitable for all parties, and be conducted with righteous behavior.

We each have covenants with the ruling spirits of this world through submission and obedience of our ancestors and through that of our own lives. There are many ‘stealth’ covenants that exist between God’s people and unclean spirits. The Spirit of God says that we have a fresh opportunity to review all covenants with the world lords, to renounce them, and to ask the Father, the Judge of all the earth, to issue a divorce decree for the unholy alliances. These ideas promise a new and very great level of existence and fulfillment for the people of God. Few of us know that we are bound, in some measure, by bad covenantal relationship, but we are.

Once again the cry goes out, “Come out from the midst of them my people, be separated from them, and I will receive you to Myself! I will be your God and you will my people!” In this process there will those that will be ‘marked’ as the property of the Lord. A parallel phenomenon to Ezekiel 9:4 where the angel marked a remnant with the Hebrew letter Tav, the form of a cross, so that they would carry the brand of God in secret. Christians should seek God to be marked and identifiable to spirits. This mark carries with it authority, protection and power to work supernatural feats for the Lord. Those that bear the mark of God will have no fear of the loss of security and many will be beheaded, without fear or pain, at the hands of the servants of the false christs.

All covenants with other people should be reviewed and perhaps renegotiated. Some covenants are to be abandoned, some are to be strengthened and new ones are to be formed. Every covenant that restricts us in an ungodly way should be brought before the Judge for judgment and removal. See Psalm 103: 6.

3. The Spirit showed me an aerial picture of a church building. The roof was gone and the camera zoomed in to reveal a blast crater in the center of the meeting room. There was no one there. The floor, remaining fixtures and the crater were all black with soot as from a very powerful and destructive explosion. I have no further understanding at this point, but would instruct the reader to ask God if this vision has any significance at all for their local situation. This was a frightening scene for me to behold.

4. The school for Overcomers will intensify. (let the reader see Rev:2&3) and the day of unveiling comes closer but is not for this year. There is a promise to the potential members of this elect class in each of the seven churches of Revelation. Therefore there are candidates within each local church to answer the call of the Spirit to follow the Lamb. The tuition for this school is high. It will cost the candidate all that he owns and all that he holds dear. All that interests him in the natural will be taken so as to learn of all that is hidden in the spirit. Galatians 2:20, 6:14-15 will give a view to what is being worked out in real time, in real life; a transformation.

Beyond all other ideas that have been given my by the Spirit lately, the most pressing and persistent is this: Prepare for the coming of the Lord. Understanding that there are as many scenarios of how the ‘parousia’ will work out, the focus to me has been on the first ‘out resurrection’ of the dead and glory to be shown in those who are worthy to be included. Preparations to be found worthy, would include 1. Seeking to understand and harmonize with the Spirit of God who is our School Master. (We buy the oil for our lamps from Him. Matt

25:1) 2. Crucifixion of the old nature so as to be found ‘In Him’. 3. Giving complete allegiance and obedience to the Lord Jesus. 4. Completing the training exercises as they unfold out of the spirit into the natural. 5. Becoming more and more teachable.

 

5. Local Churches: There are many ‘Spirit filled’ congregations that linger in the realm of seeking God for Him to ‘do something’. But the Spirit specifically says that it is time for these congregations to seek God for individual marching orders and to begin to be the agents of God’s Kingdom rather than the seeking Him for hand outs.

The Word of the Lord is for all the churches that are stuck in a First Corinthians level of maturity, to transition, grow and mature into being like the Ephesians, ‘seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus’. The Corinthian church was a boot camp for post-Acts assemblies and instruction in many areas from church justice to recognizing the difference between the natural and the spiritual to prophetic protocols. Learners, full of mistakes and overemphasis’s, but teachable.

The Ephesians, by contrast, had matured in spiritual life and were proficient in spiritual warfare. These were called by the apostle to be “In” Christ in all things and in him to recognize and function in the authority and responsibilities of sons, (huios) rather than petitioners.

“Patchy dandruff” seen in many of our ministers!

John Havener January 7th, 2007

manscratching_1.gifHave you seen the TV commercial where a nice looking man approaches a lovely lady in the library only to have her “turned off” by dandruff on his clothes? Some of our ministers are like this…very attractive in so many ways, but presenting some flaky stuff that could drive folks away. This seems especially true of “cutting edge” ministers who seek to help people experience the power of the Kingdom of God. Earlier this week I had back to back experiences with attractive, powerful ministers, but had to get past some stuff to receive from them. One, a Hispanic-American evangelist, was very handsome physically and winsome in his demeanor before the congregation, and also had a powerful and needed message… but then there were facial and body contortions when he felt he was “under the anointing” or that he was conveying an important point… and then there was the altar call/ invitation…and his manner of prayer for some who responded. The other minister was a prophet, who has studied revival history and prophetic Scriptures hard, and who has seen some exciting realities about the Kingdom. But then there was shaky interpretations of church history, the generalization of other prophets’/ ministers’ experiences into governing principles of Kingdom life, most of which was set forth very authoritatively, even though questionable!

And yet with both men, God was there, touching and changing lives in some measure. What do we make of this? Do we “sanctify” these men’s style and opinions because God showed up? or hold them at a distance because we spotted some flakiness? Or what? Frankly, ministers sometimes learn ways to force their way into the advancing Kingdom that seem strange to us, but are authentic. At other times, the styles, opinions about Scripture, etc. are just there, but not of the Lord. The neat thing about actual dandruff is that it can be minimized through proper medication. Many aspects of ministerial flakiness could be reduced if ministers were actually under authority/ supervision (this is mostly an illusion in contemporary ministries, no matter what is on paper); if there were humble, mutually submissive peer relationships that could challenge excesses/ wierdness; if there were mentoring relationships in place that could protect emerging ministers from pitfalls…sadly there is not much of these things actually happening, so the Body of Christ
needs to be especially discerning!
Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
(1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 KJVR)
Somebody might ask, what about you personally? Well, I am a “cutting edge, power of the Kingdom of God” wannabe, and I have been battling a serious personal “dandruff” problem for years!!!

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