What is it that God has placed in our hands and in our heart to watch over? What do we watch over that God has not placed in our hands or heart to do so? And...who watches over us to be our KEEPER?

KEEPER of my brother as Cain should have been:
Gen_4:9  Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"

KEEPER of the sheep as Abel and David:
Gen_4:2  And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
1Sa_17:20  And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.

KEEPER of the ground as Cain:
Gen_4:2  And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.

KEEPER of the prison or a freer from prison:
Gen_39:22  And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it.

KEEPER of the wardrobe:
2Ki_22:14  So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her.

KEEPER of the gate:
2Ch_31:14  And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the east gate, was over the freewill offerings to God, to apportion the contribution reserved for the LORD and the most holy offerings.
Neh_3:29  After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired.

KEEPER of the forest:
Neh_2:8  and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy." And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

KEEPER of the vineyards:
Son_1:6  Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother's sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!

WHO IS YOUR "KEEPER?"
Psa_121:5  The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.

In part 1 of the Coming Out From Among Them series I talked about Biblical discipline and how separation does not break unity but establishes Biblical unity.

In part 2 I addressed how we are commanded to Come Out From Among Them or separate ourselves from Christians who are unruly, meaning they are morally disorderly. 2 Thess.3:5-7 tells us to keep away from those believers who do these things. Matt.18:15-17 gives of the process we go through before we separate ourselves and declare them as tax collectors or Gentile meaning we are not to have any contact with them.

Here in part 3 of Coming Out From Among Them, I address those Christian brothers who do not follow the Word of God given to them.

2. SEPARATING FROM A CHRISTIAN BROTHER WHO DOES NOT FOLLOW THE WORD:  

This could be applied to an individual or to a corporate group that has placed the traditions of man over the Word of truth or those who just walk in what they deem right in their own eyes and refuse counsel. Again I will stress this is not a love issue. Of course we are to love our Christian brothers. However the same command to love them also says to separate ourselves from them if they are unrepentant. The reason for separation is for our protection and for their reconciliation and not for judgment.

2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 ESV (14) If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. (15) Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

Romans 16:17-18 ESV I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. (18) For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

When we speak about "coming out from among them" we are talking about those whom we are not to have fellowship with. We are "in" the world but we are not "of" the world.

When we are speaking about "fellowship" we are speaking communion or common union. The example was when Paul ordered the church at Corinth to expel the man guilty of sexual sins.

1 Corinthians 5:1-5 ESV (1) It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. (2) And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. (3) For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. (4) When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, (5) you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

Kicking him out of the of the church was not unloving. I don't know why we think that any Biblical act of separation is an act representing that we no longer love. We love the man that was expelled and we love the congregation that we saved from his ungodly example. Paul commanded that the church present the man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. That may sound judgmental and unloving but look at the rest of it. Paul wanted his spirit to be saved in the day of the Lord. There is a lot of different doctrines I could get into on this one but I will stay focused on the topic at hand. Paul revealed his love for the man. The goal of separation and the judgment was for the ultimate goal of reconciliation. We find in 2 Corinthians that the man repented and was restored into the fellowship.

So now having said that the main reason for separation from brothers is so that they be reconciled. And that separation does not mean that we stop loving them. I will get to the first group of people we are to separate ourselves from.
 
1. SEPARATING FROM CHRISTIAN BROTHERS WHO ARE UNRULY OR DISORDERLY:

This could be separating from an individual or from a corporate body of believers.

2 Thessalonians 3:5-7 ESV (5) May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. (6) Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. (7) For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you,

In 2 Thess.3:6 the word "idleness" means morally disorderly. The term "keep away from" in the Greek is to abstain from association. Again this is for protection of the group and the individual from falling into another man's sin. And it is so that the one in sin would have time alone to be convicted of the Holy Spirit and enter reconciliation. Again it is not a love issue. We never stop loving the person in sin. 

So what is the process or action of discipline that leads up to our of separating ourselves from a moral disorderly believer?  

Matthew 18:15-17 ESV "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. (16) But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. (17) If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

To be branded as a Gentile and a tax collector means that you are to have no contact especially religious contact, meaning not having them in a religious service with you. I know it goes without saying but for some I feel the need to point out that these are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we start confessing the Word and aligning our confession up with what the Word says then we will find that our lives will start coming into alignment with the will of God. Then the Word starts being manifested within us. The Word of God will become more than just a “head” knowledge or mental assent.

John 14:16-17 ESV And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, (17) even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 16:13 ESV When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

We need to speak what the Word says. When we talk about it we get stirred up about it. Proverbs says that the best way to put out a fire is remove the wood. Words create and cause things to happen in life. That would be both negative and positive words.

Proverbs 26:20 ESV For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.

Again I quote from John 14:17. “You know Him.” Speak this truth. We need to declare what the Word says about us. The Word says that we know the Holy Spirit. We might not know everything but we have the great revealer within us. He knows all things. We are walking around with the great revealer living within us. We are walking around with the third Person of the Holy Trinity dwelling within us. He knows what is going on around the throne at all times. We have someone on the inside of us that knows our future. Holy Spirit, we are glad You know all things and because You know, we can know.

If you want to know more about the work and Person of the Holy Spirit you can purchase my book, "The Four Positions Of The Holy Spirit" on Amazon.

Separating from some people as believers is not breaking Biblical unity. We have a false teaching in the church about unity which teaches that we should walk in fellowship with anyone at all times. This is a false unity that can cause us to be tolerant and compromising of sin. The Word of God is clear in that it instructs us there are some whom we are to separate ourselves from. This study is to identify from God's Word who we are to separate ourselves from in order to be the people God has called us to be.

The fruitful Christian who is walking a sanctified (set apart), holy, undefiled daily walk with our Lord has a responsibility to walk a certain way and with certain people.

It doesn't take much reading from the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 to see how the doctrines of men and demons brought about the rebuke of our Lord. I know that it sounds spiritual to say that we are waiting for a “Word from the Lord” in departing from a place or an individual, but we already have the Word of God written in the Scriptures. So while we say we are waiting for a Word or a release, in reality the Father is waiting for our obedience to what He has already said.

Psalms 1:1-2 ESV Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; (2) but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Proverbs 1:10-16 ESV My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. (11) If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; (12) like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; (13) we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; (14) throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse"— (15) my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, (16) for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.

Proverbs 13:19-21 ESV A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools. (20) Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. (21) Disaster pursues sinners, but the righteous are rewarded with good.

We hear a lot about Laodicea from Revelation chapter 3, but the church is also mentioned four times in the Book of Colossians.

Colossians 2:1 ESV For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face,

Colossians 4:13-16 ESV For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. (14) Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. (15) Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. (16) And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

In writing to the Christians in Colossians Paul sends greetings to them through a Laodicean woman named Nympha who had a church in her house, (See 4:15). He also greeted Archippus  (See 4:17) who may have also been from Laodicea.

Since Colossians was written by Paul we can assume that there was a strong Christian group in Laodicea as early as 50 AD. In Rev.3:15-16 we have the severe rebuke from our Lord Jesus Christ against the believers in Laodicea.

Revelation 3:15-16 ESV "'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! (16) So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

The question then arises as to what is meant by our Lord when He classified the believers of Laodicea as being "lukewarm."

It is thought that the Laodiceans were being criticized for their neutrality or lack of zeal in spiritual principles, therefore, being lukewarm. Based on this understanding the term "Laodicean" is used to refer to those who are neutral or indifferent in the matters of the faith.

There is another meaning however other than being neutral or indifferent. The water supply to the city was lukewarm water. There were hot springs in nearby Hierapolis. Laodicea had an aqueduct from the hot springs of Hierapolis that carried the water five miles to the city of Laodicea. The water was lukewarm and tepid making it hard to drink. The idea is that hot water is useful and cold water is useful but lukewarm water is not and therefore spit out of the mouth.

1. Insanity is doing more of the same thing and expecting different results:

2. It is a Biblical error to assume that a true test of spirituality is whether or not something is comfortable:

3. If the customer is always right than you've got to give the customer what the customer wants on the terms that the customer would accept. 

4. There is something terribly wrong in letting people dictate the terms of their salvation:

5. What began as a mighty spiritual movement in Jerusalem (Acts 2) has become, a philosophy in Greece, an institution in Rome, a culture in Europe, and an enterprise in America:

6. God does not nor will not yield to the mega church or the market capitalistic mentality.

7. God is not ignorant of how to grow a church. (John the Baptist in his unorthodox dress, diet, location, and message grew a church in the desert.)

8. Each new move of God will be persecuted by the former move of God.

9. We must be willing to be dispensable. If we are not willing to live with a dispensable mentality we will find ourselves competing against and persecuting the next move of God:

10. When God says, "Thank you, you did a great job, but now your job is over," we must have as much fun closing the ministry down as we did building it.

As believers we really know more than we might think that we know. This is a work of God through the Person of the Holy Spirit. I wrote a book called "The Four Positions Of The Holy Spirit" which outlines the work of the Person of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.

John 14:16-17 ESV And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, (17) even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Look at those three little words in John 14:17, “You know Him.”

Have you ever asked, “God if I know you so well, why don’t I discern the healing anointing, the glory cloud, the presence of the demonic or anything else in the spiritual realm better than I do?” God, many times I feel like I am clueless to what is going on around me.

You may have asked sometime in your life, “God, do I really, really know You?”

How did you get saved? You confessed Him and received Him according to the Word. So, if the Word says that I know the Holy Spirit then I have to come into alignment with the Word, instead of coming into alignment with my feelings or my stinking thinking. Confess what the Word says.

How do I come in alignment with the Word? The first thing I do is speak the Word back out to God. “Father, I found out today that I know You and I know the Person of Holy Spirit.” “God, You are more real to me than my car, my house, or my family.”

If you want to know more about the work and Person of the Holy Spirit you can purchase this book "The Four Positions Of The Holy Spirit" on Amazon.

CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK: We are building a Biblical and historical foundation establishing the time and season of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. In doing so we will re-examine the holiday of Christmas asking ourselves why do we do it, where did the holiday originate from, who gave the Christian church the holiday and it's traditions, and is it Biblical to celebrate it. We will start off today with a continuation of Scriptures from the Book of Matthew as we look at the Biblical and historical account of our Lord's birth.

Matthew 1:18-21 KJV  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.  19  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.  20  But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.  21  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Matthew 1:25 KJV  And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Although the world’s view acknowledges the birth of a man named Jesus, they would strongly disagree with the Biblical account that He was born of a virgin and was God and is God and that He died on a cross for our sins. The fact that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin is crucial to the Christian doctrine, however there are many who would say that it is not important to embrace the virgin birth to be a Christian. This doctrine would take pages for me to explain and would be getting off the main topic of the Christmas Challenge. However I will take the time to state that in John 16:8-11 we see the convicting work of the Holy Spirit as He draws people to the Lord Jesus Christ. If God is not the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Scriptures state through the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a virgin, then Jesus cannot be sinless in nature and cannot die for the sins of the world.

What have we established so far? Joseph and Mary were engaged to be married which is as good as married in Jewish culture. It would take a bill of divorce to break their engagement. They lived in Nazareth which was about 63 miles north of Jerusalem. Mary was a virgin and became pregnant of the Holy Spirit with the Son of God. 

John 7:16-18 ESV So Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. (17) If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. (18) The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

The purpose of reading John 7:16-18 is to turn our thinking from the “old man” to the new man in Christ. It’s to cause us to hear the Holy Spirit when He is speaking.

THE HEART THAT IS "WILLING TO DO"
In John 7:17 there is a principal expressed. It is a principle which is expressed in many places in both the Old and New Testaments. Our Lord Jesus Christ is saying, “He that is willing to do God's will that person shall know of the teaching whether it is of man or of God.” 

The principal teaching of John 7:17 is, "BE WILLING TO DO." The one who is willing to do, is the same one who SHALL KNOW. With God, knowing only comes to those who are first willing to do.

Luke 1:38 ESV And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Mary, the mother of our Lord, stated this principle when she said “be it unto me according to thy word.”

Typically with us, we want God to say what it is He wants us to do so we can judge whether or not we will do it.

God will not speak to the heart of a man who is unwilling. God speaks to the man or the woman or the child who first presents to Him a heart that says, “I’ll do it!” 

The interesting thing about the mother of Jesus and her encounter with the angel is the angel did not approach Mary asking her permission concerning her role. The angel, by way of the knowledge of heaven, already knew the answer Mary would give. And that was why she was most favored. The angel knew that in Mary’s heart she was already available to God for whatever God spoke to her.

What does God the Father already know about you? Are you willing to do? Is there a YES in your heart towards the will and way of the Father? 

CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK: We can start looking at the New Testament Scriptures to see what it reveals concerning the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The accounts of Mark and John reveal nothing about the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ that could give us a clue as to the time or season. On the surface, the accounts of Matthew and Luke reveal little about the time of Jesus’ birth. No dates are given and no season of the year is actually named. However there are clues whereby we can surmise certain truths. We will not attempt to stress a doctrine out of Biblical silence but we can draw conclusions on limited evidence if the evidence is Biblical and historical. First we will look at some Scriptures from the Matthew account of our Lord’s birth and see if there are any clues that we can draw from. The process of going through these Scriptures may seem elementary and basic Christian teachings, but it is necessary to build truth upon truth, and precept upon precept.

Matthew 1:16 KJV  And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

We know Biblically and historically a man named Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It is such a documented fact that even our calendars reflect dates such as B.C. and A.D. around his birth. From this Matthew 1:16 Scripture we surmise that our Lord was born through the genealogical line of Mary and Joseph, which can be studied in detail in Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 3. The Matthew account traces the genealogy of Joseph and the Luke account traces the genealogy of Mary. We also see that His name is Jesus but He was called Christ. Christ was not "nick name" or His middle name, but was the role or purpose that He left heaven and took on the form of man. The name "Christ" means anointed or Messiah.

Exodus 26:33 ESV And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.

The Veil was made using the four colors blue, purple, scarlet and white (of the fine linen) that correspond with the four gospels. The Veil is the final door to pass through, to enter into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies. Entry was forbidden to all except one, the High Priest, and his access was not free. He was permitted entry only one time a year, which was on the Day of Atonement, when he brought the blood of the sacrificed goat to sprinkle on the lid of the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant.

The Veil reminds us that we are excluded because "we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). However, just as the Passover lamb was slain for the redemption of the children of Israel in Egypt, and the goat was slain so that its blood could obtain God's forgiveness for the Israelites on the Day of Atonement, so Christ Jesus "bore our sins in His own body on the tree" (I Peter 2:24).

As our Lord Jesus was hanging there on the cross, God laid on Him the iniquities (the wrongdoings) of us all (Isaiah 53:6). The final pain of death came as Jesus cried out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). Seconds later "He cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit" (Matthew 26:50). He cried "It is finished!" (John 19:30). And He died.  He was buried. But bless God, He arose from the dead. The physical veil of the temple was torn. The physical veil of our Lord's body was also torn. Therefore, we have access behind the veil and can come boldly before the throne of God.

Matthew 27:51 ESV  And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

Hebrews 10:19-22 ESV  Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,  (20)  by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,  (21)  and since we have a great priest over the house of God,  (22)  let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 4:16 ESV  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

It is easy to become a Christian and then get acclimated within "church life." Don't get me wrong, fellowship with the saints in both enjoyable and necessary. However, sometimes we get in the mode of knowing so much about church life, that we fail to know more about the "God life." What I mean is that there are many things about the spiritual life we might not know spiritually or intellectually. Even Paul addressed this when he addressed the Corinth church. In the KJV Bible, the word ignorant is translated uninformed or unaware in the Greek. Paul was saying that he did not what the believers to be in a position of not knowing.

1 Corinthians 12:1 ESV Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.

Sometimes, we just don't know what we don't know. Sometimes we are so uninformed in an area that we not only don't know the answers, but we are not smart enough to even ask the right questions. Here are some other Bible verses with the idea of people not knowing what they didn't know, and therefore needed to be informed.

Romans 10:2-3 ESV For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (3) For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.

2 Corinthians 2:11 ESV so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 ESV (13) But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

1 Timothy 1:13 ESV though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,

I was born and raised in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia in a small town of less than 250 people and I did not see indoor plumbing until I was 13 years old. We don't know what we don't know. I was not aware of indoor plumbing.

We heated the house with a wood stove in the living room and cooked on a wood stove in the kitchen. At the age of eight, I was going to the mountains with my dad and grandfather every Saturday to cut firewood. We don't know what we don't know. I was not aware of central air and heat. I was unaware of oil furnaces. I bathed in a small foot tub where water was heated on the wood stove and poured into the tub. We don't know what we don't know. I was not aware of bathtubs or showers.

The outhouse was about 100 yards away from the house. We don't know what we don't know. I was not aware of the concept of a water closet, bathroom, john, toilet, and commode. I was 18 before I ordered a meal and ate down to eat in a restaurant. We don't know what we don't know. I was not even educated on how to go into a restaurant and place a order.

Why do I share this? I was unaware and unknowing of indoor plumbing, toilets, bathtubs, showers, central heat and air conditioning. Because I didn't know about these items doesn't mean that they didn't exist. They did not exist in my mind because I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

At age 13 my family moved to a larger town of 2,000 people, and we had indoor plumbing and central heating. I remember my family standing in the bathroom flushing the toilet and running the water in the tub totally fascinated. I wondered, “Where did the water come from and where did it go?”

I didn't understand anything about these new luxuries in my life but I adapted to them quickly. I enjoyed my Saturdays being free because I no longer needed to work in the mountain cutting fire wood. These new things were only new to me and my siblings. They were not new to most people.

So it is with the things of God. If we lock ourselves within the walls of what we only currently know, we might miss the things of God that others have known about all along and are enjoying in the fullness. Don't build a fence around your four and no more assuming you have received it all. You just don't know what you don't know.

Where has the dependence upon the Person of the Holy Spirit gone? Will we as the body of Christ get back to trusting God to do the supernatural in our midst and not be satisfied with the fluff and buff, and bells and whistles we have been generating?

I remember a day when believers as a whole cried out for God to move in mighty ways. We longed to walk on water, (yes I tried and sank). We prayed over the lame to walk and the dead to raise.

It was a time and season when believers dared to trust in God, His Word, and the indwelling Person of the Holy Spirit to see the supernatural manifested. However, over the years I have witnessed an exchange of that longing and desire for a sense of Christian entertainment. It would seem that the believers now come to church to see a show. It is a show that seems to have been rehearsed all week long. The sad thing is that the believers leave the assembly satisfied and convinced that God was among them.

With all the church buildings and all the preachers and all the Bibles in America I ask, why is it that morality continues in a downward spiral? Why does it seem that the church is so powerless to heal the sick, raise the dead, and stand before kings against immorality. Is it because the church has exchanged the power of God and the Holy Spirit for something that we can do well, which is the ability to entertain? 

2 Timothy 3:5 ESV having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Where are the Prophets that would speak a true warning from the Father? Where is the true power of heaven being manifested? Why are the heathen allowed to tear down the places of God in order to establish their idols?

Psalms 74:7-9 ESV They set your sanctuary on fire; they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground. (8) They said to themselves, "We will utterly subdue them"; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land. (9) We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long.

Where are the Christians that are sick and tired or being sick and tired? If we do not get back to seeking and walking in the anointing, the power, and the Person of the Holy Spirit we will find ourselves saying, "MY BUSH IS NOT BURNING AND I AM ALL OUT OF MATCHES".

CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK: I will getting into the Scriptures hard and heavy in about two more posts. Before I start the defense using Scriptures I have wanted to lay out the foundation that keeps many people from receiving illumination and revelation concerning doctrinal truth. One of the problems I have experienced within the body of Christ is that we are all teachable as long as someone teaches what we already believe.

Many Christians already have their mind made up pertaining to what they believe concerning the doctrine of seasons, feasts, and holidays. These beliefs may have been passed down from family members, from a church or denomination, or come from their own personal experiences. In any of these examples, the doctrine established typically has an emotional bond associated with it. Those holding to these doctrines may not be able to produce a Scriptural basis for what they believe or why they believe it, but they are unwilling to change due to the emotional or mental bond. What they hold to may be nothing more than meaningless erroneous ideas all the way to demonic practices, all of which were picked up somewhere in their Christian walk. This emotional or mental bond is sometimes expressed verbally as an intellectual argument, but lacks the ability to be substantiated with Scriptures or historical facts.

Although Christians cannot Biblically or historically substantiate their doctrine and belief in their Christmas traditions, many are quick to verbally attack those who teach the Biblical truth concerning the birth of our Lord. I have been called a religious fanatic and a cult leader, among other names, because of my Biblical stand against the feast of Christmas. I had Christian brothers separate themselves from me and disfellowship from me because of my stand. It was not that I was preaching or teaching them in an effort to draw them away from practicing Christmas. The separation came because I would not join in their celebration.

That is the way it is with the flesh. If everyone around us does not participate and endorse in what we are doing than the easiest thing to do is to eliminate them from the equation. It happened to John the Baptist, to Jesus and to the disciples. It works like this. First, there is the attempt to discredit the message. If one cannot discredit the message then comes the attempt to discredit the messenger. If one cannot discredit the messenger, the next step is to remove the messenger from the circle of friends and activity. Watch this process as you read the gospels with John, Jesus and the disciples versus the kings and religious leaders.

The challenge for the week is to do historical background on the Christmas feast that is celebrated in December and the actual original feast tied to December 25th. Investigate how Christ's birth got tied to this feast and what religious group made it happen. (Who gave us the current holiday we celebrate on December 25th). And ask why it was outlawed for so long here in America. All of this can be found on your Google search engines or your encyclopedia. More later.