PART 5 of 7

An excerpt from Chapter 5 in David Orton's book,
"Snakes in the Temple: Unmasking Idolatry in Today's Church"

“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ”
 2 Cor 11:2-3 NIV

The Image of God

So, what exactly was the image that I was forcing on myself; and, was I sinning against the commandment:

“You shall not make for yourself any carved image…” (Ex 20: 4, 5 NKJV)?

by Brett Jacobsen

Historically, there usually seems to be a counterfeit before, after and during real moves of God. The current reformation and the restoration of the true apostolic are in no way exempt from histories repetitious woes. 

In this modern Christian setting we need to be on guard against things which pretend to be something biblically genuine, but are in fact not. It is perhaps more crucial in this season where God is re forming the structures of leadership and church. Many men and movements profess reformation. In reality they are clinging to the old ways of carnal Christendom and dressing them up with new lingo, programmes and positions.

PART 4 of 7

An excerpt from Chapter 5 in David Orton's book,
"Snakes in the Temple: Unmasking Idolatry in Today's Church"
 
 “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ”
 2 Cor 11:2-3 NIV

Strongholds of Self-Justification
Ezekiel was asked,

“…do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land’” (8:12 NASB).

There are many who have jumped on the current bandwagon of preaching about the Kingdom of God. However, in my estimation there seems to be few who are truly presenting His Kingdom. A majority of Christian leaders are trying to package the Kingdom message into their constructs and systems, their paradigms, their doctrine – their kingdoms.

Ron McGatlin is one of the few who I see bringing the message of Christ’s Kingdom without squeezing it into what man is religiously comfortable with. This article is a worthy contribution to the advancement of the true Kingdom in this hour.

Bretto

By Ron McGatlin

Legalism- Written rules and Carnal codes

by Brett Jacobsen

This says the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm [zerowa- strength], and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jer 17:5-8)

Growth- Seeking statistics and Competing companies

by Brett Jacobsen

This says the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm [zerowa- strength], and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jer 17:5-8)

Traditions of men- Set schedules and Patterned practices

by Brett Jacobsen

This says the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm [zerowa- strength], and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jer 17:5-8)

Ministries- Stage strutting and Went ones

by Brett Jacobsen

This says the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm [zerowa- strength], and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jer 17:5-8)

Money- Luring with luxury and Mammonistic manipulation

by Brett Jacobsen
 

This says the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm [zerowa- strength], and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jer 17:5-8)

Church constructs- Cathedrals and Owned organisations

by Brett Jacobsen

 
This says the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm [zerowa- strength], and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jer 17:5-8)  

Leadership- Hierarchical and Humanly official

by Brett Jacobsen

This says the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm [zerowa- strength], and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jer 17:5-8)  

Programmes- Sterile services and Flamboyant events

By Brett Jacobsen

This says the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm [zerowa- strength], and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jer 17:5-8)  

Cursed be the man that trusts in man

By Brett Jacobsen
 

This says the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm [zerowa- strength], and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jer 17:5-8)

I resonate with many of Roger’s points in this article. Many who have come out of “traditional churches” have a hard time not becoming a mini-me of the very thing they thought they'd left behind. (It seems that no-one is exempt from this paradigm struggle). It is not enough to switch venues for church, we must move forward by the Spirit as He teaches us how to be the church rather than going there (even if it is in a house). If we learn, by the Spirit, to live the Kingdom of God all day every day, we don’t need event evangelism, nor do we need exciting meetings (even in homes). We will be living by the Spirit in everyday life, as well as when we gather together to break bread.

This small article is an excerpt from my book Heaven's Underground Blueprint. It is a prophetic/teaching book about the current, ongoing reformation of His church. You can obtain a hard copy for cost price + freight, or a free e-version from http://www.christisall.org/hub-book. Peace.

by Brett Jacobsen
 

Crossing into the Promised Land is not a prophetic picture of salvation; that would be the exodus from Egypt. It is however, a representation of us walking into “the fullness of Christ”. Whilst coming to Jesus is wonderful, it is only the beginning of the heavenly journey which should gravitate towards the fullness of Christ, in and around our lives. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians lifts the standard from just scraping into heaven to a more complete faith:

by Tom Sparks
                                                                                                                 

Today I’d like to share some things with you, on the subject of Intentional Gatherings.

I love that word - “Intentional.”  It has a ring to it that bears witness with something very deep within my spirit.  It is a term that is moving among the body of those who have come out of the traditional Church, so it’s not unique with me, but it says something very important.  For me there is a “knowing” that it is a God thing, a “deep that calls to deep” formation within me.

by Brett Jacobsen

This brief article is an excerpt from the author's book Heaven's Underground Blueprint which is available here - http://www.christisall.org/hub-book.

 
It was a shady church that nose-dived headlong into the Dark Ages and it is a shady church that has existed ever since. We would be kidding ourselves to say or think that it has been anything more than a shadow of the complete “fullness of Christ” church that God is searching out and preparing.

An excerpt from Chapter 9 in David Orton's book,
"Snakes in the Temple: Unmasking Idolatry in Today's Church" 

Part 6 of 6

by David Orton

God views a human king as idolatry

Third, Samuel was shown that in rejecting him, as prophet, Israel was not only rejecting God but, in fact, pursuing other gods: “…but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods” (1 Sam 8:8 NIV). The kingship was the product of the nation’s idolatry and proven to be so by its unfolding history as the kings by-and-large led the people further in their pursuit of false gods.osea, as a prophet recognised the connection between idolatry and human government: “They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction” (Hos 8:4 NIV).