Entering the Land 3

For sometime now we have been sharing how the last move of God has come to a resting place. The next move of God has not yet started, but we are at the threshold. Therefore we have been atempting to excite the church to pray, seek God and be alert, for the time is now. REV 3:2 'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.

If we miss another camp out we will still survive, but if we miss this next restoration of God we will miss something eternal!

I'm not trying to be melodramatic when I say THE TIME HAS COME FOR THE CHURCH TO AWAKE WITH A NEW VISION, A NEW CONSECRATION AND WITH A NEW SENSE OF REALITY.

From time to time I have been sharing about the disfuctional church. It is certainly true there is a church but it is not functioing in a scriptural, supportive way.

I'm not speaking specificly about this church fellowship but about the church in general, of which we are a part. If the church remains appathetic, it will miss the time of it's visitation. If the individual parts do not get fixed the whole will remain broken. That applies to the local church as well as the church in general.

If this is true, what then is the root evidence? Some in the church are fruitless, discouraged, stagnant, bitter,critical and hurting and little is changing to rectify the situation.

Thoes who think there is a quick fix through some new ministry just do not understand the problem or the time we are living.

In the past 22 years we have seen a systamatic change of emphisis. It started out with a tremendous emphisis on ministers and ministries, elders, and extra-local authority. Then changed to husband and wife relationships and the raising of children. Then changed to discipleship and shepherding

Then we saw the emphisis change to inner-healing and that whole mess of taking Jesus with you back through the birth canal to heal up hurts in past generations. There was a whole fantacy of walking hand in hand with Jesus to go back and forgive and ask forgiveness even of thoes who had already died. President Carter's sister was one of the well known leaders of that emphisis.

In that emphisis the scriptures were ignored or mis-used and many were hurt in that deception. Some of these emphisis were clearly based upon scripture, but some were not. Few produced the results that were promised. That doesn;t mean they were wrong. Many times it was not because the teaching was wrong. It was because the basic structure of the church coukd not support the experiences.

About 1700 years ago the church sank into a preacher: audience division that produced speakers and listeners. One group stood in the pulpit and the other group sat in the pews. The church was devided into ministers and laity. The church has never repented from this or recovered from it. The result is, the church has dumped it's responsibility on the shoulders of a paid, professional ministry. The leaders were supposed to take over the spiritual duties of thoes who gave money to support the professional ministers.

THe congregation relaxed and gave up seeking God or even studing His Word. Six days a week were given to worldly pursuits and one day was given for some kind of Holy Convocation, which resulted in some sacred hypocrisy, with no specific goals but to give our money and do our duty.

Stained glass windows, choirs, robes, rituals, candles, degrees along with comfortable and impressive edifices added to the whole theactrical system. The church slipped into a worship that involved a system of liturgies where people read their praises from the back of the song book. It was double dead and is still dying.

Changing to a new emphisis at this time will produce nothing. Producing a new ministry with new doctrines will change nothing. Even more dynamic preaching is just more words spoken into the walls or floor.

A new building will not bring in the revival that is needed at this time. There is very little in place at this time that will support the next move of God. The whole attitude, the structure, the consecration, and the ministry of the church must change. How I don't know!

In the book of acts we see the common person in the forefront of the move of God from Jerusalem to other parts of the world. Laity is not a New Testament word or even a New Testament concept. It was something that was adapted to the New Testament from the Old Testament concept of a divided priesthood with a seperated ministry and then the congregation of Israel.

In the New Testament the concept has changed to " ONE NEW PRIESTHOOD , after the order of Melchizedec. There are various ministries within one priesthood, but the whole congregation is that one new priesthood.

The congregation has become " THE BODY " with many members, but with one head. The ministry then is part of the body and not part of the head. This doctrine that the ministry is part of the head and not a part of the body has added to the lethargy of the church and has produced a confusion over what the body is supposed to do.

The result of this confusion is the body has let the head take the responsibility for the work and the body has become dysfuctional.

Israel didn't need a better leader than Moses to enter Canaan. What they needed was a better congregation. How many have figured it out that it wasn't Moses that kept Israel out of Canaan and kept Israel from participating in that tremendous move of God? It was the congregation themselves. But who did they blame? The leadership!

Let me see if I can say this crystal clear. It is not the ministry that will take you into the next move of God. It is not the doctrines or the miracles or the signs and wonders or the gifts.

IT IS YOU WHO IS GOING TO TAKE YOU INTO THIS NEXT MOVE OF GOD, AND IT IS YOU WHO WILL KEEP YOU OUT OF THE NEXT MOVE OF GOD. If you miss this next restoration of God let me tell you whoes fault it will be. YOURS!! Not mine! I'm going to do everything I can to participate personally. You better do the same.

Please! Let's not pretend this is just another day like any other. The sun comes up and the sun goes down. Nothing has changed. Today looks like yesterday. Yes, it has changed. This is a new time, a new dauy.

The last move has finished, the next move is about to begin. Another band-aid is not the solution. Holding someone's hand to comfort the backslidder by telling them a lot of others are also backslidden so you are not alone is not the message for today. That will not bring in the purpose of God.

It is time to tell them the truth. A lot of backslidders are going to get buried in this next advance. Some backslidders will get burned up. Some will get bitten by serpents.

Let us be honest and face the facts. This is a new day and only a new and better church will be able to respond to God and press into the Kingdom. Do you feel the urgency of the time!?


	NO.3 ENTERING THE LAND For sometime now we have been sharing how the last move of God has come to a resting place. The next move of God has not yet started, but we are at the threshold. Therefore we have been atempting to excite the church to pray, seek God and be alert, for the time is now. REV 3:2 'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. If we miss another camp out we will still survive, but if we miss this next restoration of God we will miss something eternal! I'm not trying to be melodramatic when I say THE TIME HAS COME FOR THE CHURCH TO AWAKE WITH A NEW VISION, A NEW CONSECRATION AND WITH A NEW SENSE OF REALITY. In the family meetings we learned about disfunctional families. They are indeed families, but they are not functioning properly in a scriptural,supportive way. From time to time I have been sharing about the disfuctional church. It is certainly true there is a church but it is not functioing in a scriptural, supportive way. I'm not speaking specificly about this church fellowship but about the church in general, of which we are a part. If the church remains appathetic, it will miss the time of it's visitation. If the individual parts do not get fixed the whole will remain broken. That applies to the local church as well as the church in general. If this is true, what then is the root evidence? Some in the church are fruitless, discouraged, stagnant, bitter,critical and hurting and little is changing to rectify the situation. Thoes who think there is a quick fix through some new ministry just do not understand the problem or the time we are living. In the past 22 years we have seen a systamatic change of emphisis. It started out with a tremendous emphisis on ministers and ministries, elders, and extra-local authority. Then changed to husband and wife relationships and the raising of children. Then changed to discipleship and shepherding Then we saw the emphisis change to inner-healing and that whole mess of taking Jesus with you back through the birth canal to heal up hurts in past generations. There was a whole fantacy of walking hand in hand with Jesus to go back and forgive and ask forgiveness even of thoes who had already died. President Carter's sister was one of the well known leaders of that emphisis. In that emphisis the scriptures were ignored or mis-used and many were hurt in that deception. Some of these emphisis were clearly based upon scripture, but some were not. Few produced the results that were promised. That doesn;t mean they were wrong. Many times it was not because the teaching was wrong. It was because the basic structure of the church coukd not support the experiences. About 1700 years ago the church sank into a preacher: audience division that produced speakers and listeners. One group stood in the pulpit and the other group sat in the pews. The church was devided into ministers and laity. The church has never repented from this or recovered from it. The result is, the church has dumped it's responsibility on the shoulders of a paid, professional ministry. The leaders were supposed to take over the spiritual duties of thoes who gave money to support the professional ministers. THe congregation relaxed and gave up seeking God or even studing His Word. Six days a week were given to worldly pursuits and one day was given for some kind of Holy Convocation, which resulted in some sacred hypocrisy, with no specific goals but to give our money and do our duty. Stained glass windows, choirs, robes, rituals, candles, degrees along with comfortable and impressive edifices added to the whole theactrical system. The church slipped into a worship that involved a system of liturgies where people read their praises from the back of the song book. It was double dead and is still dying. Changing to a new emphisis at this time will produce nothing. Producing a new ministry with new doctrines will change nothing. Even more dynamic preaching is just more words spoken into the walls or floor. A new building will not bring in the revival that is needed at this time. There is very little in place at this time that will support the next move of God. The whole attitude, the structure, the consecration, and the ministry of the church must change. How I don't know! In the book of acts we see the common person in the forefront of the move of God from Jerusalem to other parts of the world. Laity is not a New Testament word or even a New Testament concept. It was something that was adapted to the New Testament from the Old Testament concept of a divided priesthood with a seperated ministry and then the congregation of Israel. In the New Testament the concept has changed to " ONE NEW PRIESTHOOD , after the order of Melchizedec. There are various ministries within one priesthood, but the whole congregation is that one new priesthood. The congregation has become " THE BODY " with many members, but with one head. The ministry then is part of the body and not part of the head. This doctrine that the ministry is part of the head and not a part of the body has added to the lethargy of the church and has produced a confusion over what the body is supposed to do. The result of this confusion is the body has let the head take the responsibility for the work and the body has become dysfuctional. WHAT I'M SAYING IS THIS " WE DON'T NEED A BETTER MINISTRY. WHAT WE NEED IS A BETTER CHURCH. Israel didn't need a better leader than Moses to enter Canaan. What they needed was a better congregation. How many have figured it out that it wasn't Moses that kept Israel out of Canaan and kept Israel from participating in that tremendous move of God? It was the congregation themselves. But who did they blame? The leadership! Let me see if I can say this crystal clear. It is not the ministry that will take you into the next move of God. It is not the doctrines or the miracles or the signs and wonders or the gifts. IT IS YOU WHO IS GOING TO TAKE YOU INTO THIS NEXT MOVE OF GOD, AND IT IS YOU WHO WILL KEEP YOU OUT OF THE NEXT MOVE OF GOD. If you miss this next restoration of God let me tell you whoes fault it will be. YOURS!! Not mine! I'm going to do everything I can to participate personally. You better do the same. Please! Let's not pretend this is just another day like any other. The sun comes up and the sun goes down. Nothing has changed. Today looks like yesterday. Yes, it has changed. This is a new time, a new dauy. The last move has finished, the next move is about to begin. Another band-aid is not the solution. Holding someone's hand to comfort the backslidder by telling them a lot of others are also backslidden so you are not alone is not the message for today. That will not bring in the purpose of God. It is time to tell them the truth. A lot of backslidders are going to get buried in this next advance. Some backslidders will get burned up. Some will get bitten by serpents. Let us be honest and face the facts. This is a new day and only a new and better church will be able to respond to God and press into the Kingdom. Do you feel the urgency of the time!? THE NOW WORD IS THIS; ' DON'T COMPLAIN, PRESS.