Dear One,
The Lord bless you!
…but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Cor 2:4-5 NKJV
What killed the Church in Europe? Cessationism. I learned this reality in research on my dissertation. When our professor asked the question in class, he and I were the only ones to give our opinions. He thought it was materialism, but under David’s reign and part of Solomons Israel had immense prosperity and incredible spirituality. I thought it was the effects of two world wars, but the Church’s decline began long before the twentieth century, and the Church has always thrived in persecution, chaos and war. We were both wrong. Let me explain…
God lite a fire under the European continent with the Reformation. Luther’s ’95 Theses’ in 1517 were taken from the door of the church at Wittenberg and spread like wildfire across the German countryside. But within a hundred years or so, the Renaissance happened and, as universities flourished under the Church’s authority – spiritual rebirth always makes people smarter and wealthier – brilliant agnostics began to arise, as tares among the wheat, who challenged the Church’s basic assertions and truths of the Gospel. “Where is your God?” they said, “Demonstrate His power!” And…the Church couldn’t! Why? Because of the doctrine of ‘no more power’ – cessationism.
Let me say that their demands were reasonable. The world demands a witness of the resurrection of Christ, and they should get it. Their logic was simple – if God can’t do things down here, how can you be assured He can do things ‘up there’? and even, is there a God? Reasonable questions that can be met with incontrovertible evidence and demonstrations when you are filled with the Spirit!
This is true TODAY. This is why YOU should be a part of our six-month Holy Spirit Seminar (HSS) training. The HSS is incredible. By the end of it you will be walking in all nine gifts of the Spirit, competent to do miracles, healings and demonstrate the incredible power of God, even if you have never spoken in tongues before starting the HSS. This will rock your world even if you are a seasoned Spirit filled believer and ignite a new passion in your heart for God and people. For our first world friends the course is a ridiculously inexpensive $295, and for our third world friends it is the equivalent of $20. You can sign up for the course at our website at Lightbearers-ministries.com or email our beloved Aaron Bowen for more details at aaronb@lightbearers-ministries.com. Get started today and change the world tomorrow!
Love you! KRP
BEYOND PRISON WALLS
…and nothing will be impossible for you. Matt 17:20 NKJV
Unbelief builds self-imposed prison walls that shackle the soul of the believer. Over the weekend I watched a series of documentaries on famous successful escapes from prison. True stories! It’s important to understand that God can use even the examples of unrighteous men to teach righteous truth. I watched five episodes, each one depicting men conquering seemingly impossible odds through persistence, ingenuity, cleverness and boldness. What they had was a vision of their free selves, and they never stopped until they reached that vision, if only for a few days. The guys who escaped Alcatraz, America’s first supermax prison on an island in San Francisco Bay, made inflatable life jackets out of old rubber raincoats – think about that – all under the eyes of the guards. The life jackets worked! Four of the episodes dealt with criminals and one dealt with Allied POWs in WW2 who were sent to a special ‘escape proof’ Nazi prisoner camp, Stalag Luft 3…
The escape that was the basis of the classic 60’s movie THE GREAT ESCAPE was led by a man named Roger Bushell, a British pilot and officer. With a small team he devised a plan to build three tunnels that would allow 200 men to escape. Their purpose was to create such havoc behind German lines that many soldiers would be needed to capture them again. They were successful beyond their wildest dreams. Of the two hundred, seventy-six actually escaped. As the escapees spread out, over five million German soldiers were involved in their capture. When they were captured, the wicked German chancellor demanded that they all be killed. Fifty were executed but even in their deaths they contributed to the Nazis’ destruction. Many top German leaders were appalled by the murders and turned against Hitler. Bushell was murdered. By the way, he was just thirty-three years old. ‘Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.’ Mk 12:31. Yeah, I was touched…
You and I need to attack our unbelief like those guys attacked their prison walls. You need a vision of your free self and then you attack those walls with a determination that says ‘I will succeed or die trying. I WILL NOT live in prison anymore!’ One of the great examples along this line that I have personally been involved was regarding a young wife who couldn’t get pregnant. For twenty years her husband and herself struggled to get through those prison walls, and the struggle was great. The details are incredible, but they persevered, and the HS brought me alongside to help with their faith. After two more years the twins were born. Samalie and Samuel Kevin are eight now!
There are a number of concepts that we need to look at regarding unbelief and faith. There are seven Greek words translated or relating to ‘unbelief:’ APISTIA, APISTEO, APISTOS, APEITHEIA, APEITHEO, APEITHES and OLIGOPISTIA.
Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil (Grk. PONERA) heart of unbelief (Grk. APISTIA) in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Heb 3:12-14 NKJV
Unbelief is serious business. The Greek word PONERA means ‘hurtful in effect or influence.’ When you are talking about influence, you are always talking about a leader. You must be wary of leaders who seek to influence you with their unbelief. You don’t want to fellowship with APISTIA in others. This is what happened in Europe when cessationist leaders killed the Church. Serious business indeed!
APISTIA and its derivatives refer to ‘unbelief due to ignorance or inadequate teaching.’ To overcome APISTIA unbelief you need good teaching and discipleship, like we provide in the HSS training.
APEITHEIA and its derivatives refer to unbelief where there has been adequate teaching but refusing to believe. APEITHES, a derivative of APEITHEIA is only used six times in the Greek NT, and each time it is translated DISOBEDIENT.
OUR FAITH – GOD’S RESPONSE
PISTIS (FAITH) – CHARIS (GRACE)
APISTIA (UNBELIEF) – ELEEO (MERCY)
APEITHEIA (UNBELIEF) – ORGE (WRATH)
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath (Grk. ORGE) of God comes upon the sons of disobedience (Grk. APEITHEIA) Eph 5:6 NKJV
God responds to our faith and our unbelief. His response to our faith is always grace, which is why we seek to never take credit for anything, because even when we believe, it is still by grace that the answer comes. Where it seems most of us live is in APISTIA unbelief, and God’s response is mercy, to a point. The point that changes everything is when we have been adequately taught, because now we are not ignorant, we’ve been taught. Now the concern is APEITHEIA unbelief, which manifests in disobedience, and positions us for the wrath of God, which for us means that He takes His hand off. You are still born again but you are getting the consequences of your refusal to believe. With FAITH – GRACE, God gives us what we don’t deserve. With APISTIA UNBELIEF – MERCY, He doesn’t give us what we do deserve. With APEITHEIA UNBELIEF – WRATH, we get what we deserve. I told you this was serious business, and it explains a lot of what we see in ourselves, our own lives and the Church today…
Now briefly, OLIGOPISTOS ‘little faith’ and TOSOUTOS PISTIS ‘great faith.’
God is not arbitrary. God is mathematical. This is the ONLY way He can be just and impartial in His judgment. We are all born naked on an absolutely flat playing field from God’s perspective. He meets each one of us where we are, regardless of our parents, where we were born, our socio-economic circumstances, our genetic predispositions or any other factor. He meets us where we are and says, ‘HERE I AM! Come to Me!’ ABBA is completely vindicated in His judgment of all mankind because there is not one of us that He has not reached out to. Your faith is all about your personal relationship with God.
“I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name. 2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; Isa 65:1-2 NKJV
Faith is mathematical. If you have fifty units of faith, and your objective requires a hundred units of faith, you will not achieve it until you build your faith. You can practice the biblical truths that build faith until you achieve your goal. You can also have someone else come alongside and add their faith to yours. The young couple who wanted children had ninety units of faith when I met them, and their goal required one hundred units, so I just gave them eleven units of my faith. 90 + 11 = 101. Bam! The twins were born. A man once came to Lake and said, “I don’t have any faith for healing!” Lake said, “I have faith enough for both of us!” The man got healed, bless God forever.
When you have ‘little faith,’ get built up so that you have ‘great faith.’
Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. John 8:36 NKJV
Nothing is impossible especially if you desire it for the glory of God and the advancement of His Kingdom. You should sign up RIGHT NOW for the HSS and let your faith get built to overcoming levels. The effect of the young couple striving for twenty years to have twins, and me coming alongside them, touched a whole nation and led to the wife having a ministry to couples without children in similar circumstances. Today through her ministry I think sixteen children have been born, bless God forever. Nothing is impossible and faith is infectious. I once asked a sister for an impartation of her anointing to bring disparate peoples together. She said, “Raise your hands!” When she touched my hands, the HS blasted both of us, and we almost went down. She said, “You got a good dose.” My prayer is that you get a ‘good dose’ of faith and blast through your prison walls of unbelief. That will bring the light of a new day! Amen? Love you!
Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…