Bashan Ministries - When your faith is being tested

Introduction

In this presentation I shall concentrate on the church and on what is happening in, to and for the church today and I shall cover much territory. I shall deal with current events in the light of prophecy, of opposition, the emergence of a new kind of ministry for such a time as this, and of how those who are healers often need healing themselves.

Please pause for a moment and invite the Lord to do what He did to two of His apostles on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection. They were having a heated theological debate but did not recognize Him until He opened up the scriptures to them! May the Lord open our eyes and ears and our hearts like that to hear truth. May He open the Word of God to us in ways that we may not have considered before.

The Church

The Lord Jesus Christ made a powerful and very accurate statement concerning His Church, having asked an important question about His identity.

But you,” he said to them, “who do you say I am?” Shim‘on Kefa answered, “You are the Mashiach, the Son of the living God.” “Shim‘on Bar-Yochanan,” Yeshua said to him, “how blessed you are! For no human being revealed this to you, no, it was my Father in heaven. I also tell you this: you are Kefa,” [which means ‘Rock,’] “and on this rock I will build my Community, and the gates of Sh’ol will not overcome it. Matthew 16:15-18

This was a personal question. Our relationship with God is personal. He knows us by name and we are His.

When Jesus prayed in John 17:1-3, as follows:

After Yeshua had said these things, he looked up toward heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you—just as you gave him authority over all mankind, so that he might give eternal life to all those whom you have given him.
And eternal life is this: to know you, the one true God, and him whom you sent, Yeshua the Messiah."

Our salvation is solely dependent on our individual intimate relationship with God as revealed by the word “know” that expresses the most intimate form of relationship any two individuals can have.
In the Greek it is γινώσκω (ginōskō) and in the Hebrew it is yā·ḏǎ.

It expresses the most intimate form of relationship we can share as in a Godly marriage.
In Genesis, Adam “knew” his wife Eve and she conceived.

Many wonderful people know “about” God, but do not “Know” God and this is the difference.

The disciples at that time knew “about God” but had not yet seen the revelation of who Jesus is.

He had to open the eyes of two of His Apostles as seen in Luke 24. This principle has not changed.

The Church (I usually capitalize the words when talking of The Church that Jesus is building, not “churches” as we know them) is a “mystery” to many if not most people without such understanding and Paul spoke much of this in his epistles, especially in Ephesians.
His prayers for us are on such lines.

Jesus stated that He would build His Church, not man and He stated that no power in all of creation could stop it.
This is great news for me.

The Church of which He spoke is not what we call “church” today.
His Church is a living body of individual members who are all are all priests and kings—His Holy Temples and each individual member has a specific place and part to play.

You fit in there somewhere and without you, His Body is incomplete.

This Church is wonderful indeed and it is more important than many people think. It is said that we are “the Bride of Christ” but the bible also speaks of another “bride”—a “wife” as seen in Revelation twenty-one.
This wife is the Heavenly Jerusalem”, the capital of Israel; the City of David.
It is very important to God and Isaiah spoke of her as follows:

Because I love Zion, I will not keep still.
Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent.
I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
The nations will see your righteousness.
World leaders will be blinded by your glory.
And you will be given a new name by the Lord’s own mouth.
The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—a splendid crown in the hand of God.
Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City” or “The Desolate Land.”
Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight” and “The Bride of God,” for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his bride.
Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem, just as a young man commits himself to his bride.
Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.
O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually.
Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord.
Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth. }
The Lord has sworn to Jerusalem by his own strength:
“I will never again hand you over to your enemies. Never again will foreign warriors come and take away your grain and new wine.
You raised the grain, and you will eat it, praising the Lord.
Within the courtyards of the Temple, you yourselves will drink the wine you have pressed.”
Go out through the gates!
Prepare the highway for my people to return!
Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders; raise a flag for all the nations to see.
The Lord has sent this message to every land: “Tell the people of Israel, ‘Look, your Savior is coming. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.’ ”
They will be called “The Holy People” and “The People Redeemed by the Lord.”
And Jerusalem will be known as “The Desirable Place” and “The City No Longer Forsaken.” Isaiah 62:1-12

Prophecy is being fulfilled

We are witnessing the fulfillment or partial fulfillment of many prophecies in our day and the conflict in the Middle East is a prime example.
Ancient Israel extended far beyond what contemporary maps depict, possibly up into what we now know as Turkey and much further into all points of the compass than contemporary maps show. God told Abraham to stand on the mountain and look in all directions, telling him that as far as his vision could permit was the land he would inherit. Palestine never existed.

Prophecies reveal that many nations would turn on Israel and this is happening.

The United Nations is hostile towards Israel and that is easily tested by looking at how many criticisms and condemnations that have been lodged against God’s people—more than all others.
Intelligence reports from the US indicate that Iran may attack Israel.
They openly state that they want Israel and all Jews exterminated, but not all Israelis are practicing Jews.

Jerusalem in particular is home to Arabs and other religious peoples.
Such an attack will also kill fellow Arabs and Muslims—everyone! Evil does not care!

Israel is far from perfect. They, like all of us have made mistakes but God has chosen these people and we cannot ignore that. Scriptures clearly reveal that those who harm these people, risk incurring the wrathof God. We are told to pray for the peace of Jerusalem...

Prophecies are coming to pass—now. Isaiah’s prophecy—a prayer, is one.

Similarly, many prophecies concerning The Church are also falling into place.

Both Israel and The Church is under attack.

Country after country are introducing laws and legislations that threaten our very existence. Freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom for employers to choose believers according the their expressions of faith are being eroded. Reading a bible or praying is often forbidden. Such things as gender issues, that are intruding into “churches” are on the increase. I could cite many more illustrations, but you know some of them of course.

God is being taken out of the equation and whilst this should not be surprizing, it is happening in churches. Conduct your own research and test my statement. Jesus asked a pertinent question about finding faith on the earth when He returns. He will of course, but this poses a question about what He means by faith.

Many religious people talk about “being in the faith” or “the faith” but I seriously doubt if they are really born again and are often as useful as a toothache! I must be careful in what I am saying here, but I mention that to stimulate your own prayerful research. People need answers that work and the only place they can find them is in The Church, not churches. There is a difference. We do not “go to church”—because We are The Church. We are His body.

We are His representatives on earth, or as Paul put it, ambassadors for Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:20. See also Ephesians 6:20.

You and I represent the King and His Kingdom! This is not a position to be treated lightly and it means that the ambassador must possess specific qualities.

When we “have church” therefore, our meetings and programs should represent Him in every detail and we should conduct ourselves with dignity and decorum like royalty without going to extreme swings either side like the swing of a pendulum. We can have a dignity and a “presence” about us, or have a light inside us that is not seen in the world.

We can “carry the anointing” with us wherever we go, because we are the Temples of the Holy Spirit.

Paul said that we have an “aroma” or “fragrance” that is the fragrance of Christ. We can smell a woman’s nice perfume wafting in the air as she walks past us and not even see her. We can smell a man’s aftershave in like manner, hopefully without being overpowering. The kind of fragrance we leave behind is important. It means that we do not push our agendas, but do what the baptist did and give all the honor to the King, instead of taking it for ourselves and that is happening. That kind of behaviour is what the world does, but we do not belong to this world. We belong in another Kingdom and that is what the world cannot handle, wanting to get rid of us. This is some of what the prophets spoke of.

Under attack

There are times in our lives therefore when we may feel as if we are under attack. The world system can react for the simple reason that we are here! If they are in darkness, our light disturbs them. If they are in fear, doubt, unbelief and negativity, our quiet and confident assurance troubles them. They are not disturbed by religion, because the world is full of it. That’s why there are so many denominations and other forms of religion. The devil does not mind at all if anyone goes to a church but He dislikes it we are full of the Holy Spirit, know God’s word intimately and speak it, when we worship in the manner God accepts and when we start to act like Jesus. The devil can read a bible and quote from it, because he did so to Eve in the garden and spoke portions of scripture when he tempted Jesus.

This is the difference between pure theology and knowing truth. When the “real Church” stands up, he is then disturbed and wants to shut us down.

I dislike that term when Christians say that the devil has been attacking them. It is probably an apt description, as it may feel that way, but is it really correct? There was a time years ago when the Lord spoke quite angrily to me about the matter, saying that, to Him, it was like “worshiping the devil by default”. He stated, “That’s tantamount to telling Me that Calvary was not good enough”. Jesus nullified the enemy’s “power and authority”.

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8

And it is in union with him that you have been made full—he is the head of every rule and authority.
Also it was in union with him that you were circumcised with a circumcision not done by human hands, but accomplished by stripping away the old nature’s control over the body. In this circumcision done by the Messiah, you were buried along with him by being immersed; and in union with him, you were also raised up along with him by God’s faithfulness that worked when he raised Yeshua from the dead. You were dead because of your sins, that is, because of your “foreskin,” your old nature.
But God made you alive along with the Messiah by forgiving you all your sins. He wiped away the bill of charges against us. Because of the regulations, it stood as a testimony against us; but he removed it by nailing it to the execution-stake. Stripping the rulers and authorities of their power, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by means of the stake. Colossians 2:10-15

I love evangelism and like to see full churches, but I prefer a handful of mature and active believers in preference to a large number of spiritual babes. Although God does not want anyone to perish and that all men are saved, He desires quality rather than quantity. I met with several pastors of a church organization recently. They and the people in their churches are wonderful. They major on planting churches and I understand that, having done so in the past, but they are not doing what the Lord told us to do and that is to make disciples. My heart goes out to them, because they are babies, knowing very little and constantly talking of the need to repent. Godly repentance is a good thing, but not when the people go no further in their relationship and experience with God. The approach keeps bringing people into guilt and condemnation. They love the Lord, but are still not weaned!

When we come to the Lord as in becoming born again, Paul likens this to how an ugly grub goes through a transformation stage to become a beautiful butterfly.

Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new. And God has made all things new, and reconciled us to himself, and given us the ministry of reconciling others to God. In other words, it was through the Anointed One that God was shepherding the world, not even keeping records of their transgressions, and he has entrusted to us the ministry of opening the door of reconciliation to God. We are ambassadors of the Anointed One who carry the message of Christ to the world, as though God were tenderly pleading with them directly through our lips. So we tenderly plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Turn back to God and be reconciled to him.” For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we who did not know righteousness might become the righteousness of God through our union with him. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

If you look at the text on the right, the Greek word exaleiphō is used to describe how God "wiped the slate clean". It means to wipe away, to eliminate, cancel, erase and blot out.
It relates to a smearing out by the anointing! See also Psalm 85:2; Isaiah 43:25, 44:22, 55:7; Jeremiah 31:34; Micah 8:17; Romans 8:1.

I love evangelism and like to see full churches, but I prefer a handful of mature and active believers in preference to a large number of spiritual babes. Although God does not want anyone to perish and that all men are saved, He desires quality rather than quantity. I met with several pastors of a church organization recently. They and the people in their churches are wonderful. They major on planting churches and I understand that, having done so in the past, but they are not doing what the Lord told us to do and that is to make disciples. My heart goes out to them, because they are babies, knowing very little and constantly talking of the need to repent. Godly repentance is a good thing, but not when the people go no further in their relationship and experience with God. The approach keeps bringing people into guilt and condemnation. They love the Lord, but are still not weaned!

When we come to the Lord as in becoming born again, Paul likens this to how an ugly grub goes through a transformation stage to become a beautiful butterfly.

Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new. And God has made all things new, and reconciled us to himself, and given us the ministry of reconciling others to God. In other words, it was through the Anointed One that God was shepherding the world, not even keeping records of their transgressions, and he has entrusted to us the ministry of opening the door of reconciliation to God. We are ambassadors of the Anointed One who carry the message of Christ to the world, as though God were tenderly pleading with them directly through our lips. So we tenderly plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Turn back to God and be reconciled to him.” For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we who did not know righteousness might become the righteousness of God through our union with him. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

If you look at the text on the right, the Greek word exaleiphō is used to describe how God "wiped the slate clean". It means to wipe away, to eliminate, cancel, erase and blot out.
It relates to a smearing out by the anointing! See also Psalm 85:2; Isaiah 43:25, 44:22, 55:7; Jeremiah 31:34; Micah 8:17; Romans 8:1.

Timing Significance God's messenger Then... Our role model Humbling ourselves

The need for endurance

One essential character requirement throughout Scripture is endurance, but this is not a popular subject. Endurance is an essential element of victorious Christian living and it can only be cultivated by enduring. Once we accept this fact, we can begin to respond rightly to each “test” that comes our way. We may liken this to a marathon race or a steeplechase, when the athletes have to jump over hurdles. They encounter several in their event, but look forwards to the final sprint home in the straight to win the gold medal. See 1 Corinthians 9:25

James told us that we can count it all joy, knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience or endurance.

Such testing may take time, so even if we do not like it or perhaps understand it, the best course of action is to keep going until God’s purpose has been fully worked out and He brings it to a conclusion.

He rarely tells us in advance something like, “This test will last six months.” That’s approximately 180 days, so imagine what may happen if we say, “I can’t take any more of this; I give up!” and quit on the 179th day.

There are two possible outcomes. What God wanted for us may never come, or we may have to undergo another test.

I actually believe that God will not withdraw His tests until His purpose has been accomplished. The sooner we learn the lesson and to endure, the more rapid will be our spiritual progress.

When conducting my research, I read the book of James in most of my translations (I refer to 24 versions selected from all versions I possess that I have installed on my computer) and came across this, taken from the Message translation:

When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does.
Outsiders, on observing this, conclude that there is nothing to the religion business except, perhaps, business—and dishonest business at that.
Insiders see it differently. Just as a hospital collects the sick under one roof and labels them as such, the church collects sinners. Many of the people outside the hospital are every bit as sick as the ones inside, but their illnesses are either undiagnosed or disguised. It’s similar with sinners outside the church.
So Christian churches are not, as a rule, model communities of good behavior. They are, rather, places where human misbehavior is brought out in the open, faced, and dealt with.
The letter of James shows one of the church’s early pastors skillfully going about his work of confronting, diagnosing, and dealing with areas of misbelief and misbehavior that had turned up in congregations committed to his care.
Deep and living wisdom is on display here, wisdom both rare and essential. Wisdom is not primarily knowing the truth, although it certainly includes that; it is skill in living.
For, what good is a truth if we don’t know how to live it? What good is an intention if we can’t sustain it?
According to church traditions, James carried the nickname “Old Camel Knees” because of thick calluses built up on his knees from many years of determined prayer. The prayer is foundational to the wisdom.
Prayer is always foundational to wisdom.

Please note the reference to hospitals and illness. In our modern society, what is often known as “the church” is, sadly, like a hospital with a mixture of patients and medical staff of varying degrees of training and competence.

The day will come and is indeed upon us when we might not be able to trust all doctors or hospitals and must rely on ourselves before God to live safely and in good health. There are many good practitioners of course and I am not denigrating the medical profession in any way. External influences upon them by governmental agencies and the financial controls by “big pharma” may exert unwanted influences upon us.

Conduct your own research and see what is in the medications being used, what chemicals are being introduced into our food chains and water supplies and compare your findings with “end time prophecies”such as Revelation chapter 18, especially verse 23 where it speaks of pharmakeia. It means enchantment by drugs. A derivative of this word is pharmacy!

Read the labels on our foods in supermarkets! Check the shelves and see what is empty and what is full.

The first sign Jesus gave us about prophecy in Matthew 24 is deception.
This is increasing rapidly in our day and is everywhere—everywhere! I am not being alarmist and negative. On the contrary, I am looking at biblical trends or precedents, such as the plagues in Egypt prior the Exodus of God’s people and this excites me, because I see distinct pattern emerging that indicate Jesus’ return is imminent. If this is correct, then His bride—The Church will need to be without wrinkle, spot or blemish.

Understanding times & Seasons

When it was the right time

When it was the right time for Jesus to enter into His public ministry, He first went to John to be baptize and the Holy Spirit came upon Him. He then went into the wilderness where the devil tempted Him in three ways by appealing to the natural senses in the same ways he does to us. They are the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life. On each occasion, the Lord responded by referring to the Word of God. He ministered as a man like you and me and as a man, His own faith was tested and He passed every one of them. On each occasion, He said, “It is written”.

The art of successful living for us today in a modern society that is getting darker is by following His example, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit and by proper use of God’s word. Those are the two keys. The Holy Spirit equips and enables us; guides us, leads us and teaches us. The word of God provides comfort and assurance, gives us understanding, corrects us and reveals God’s heart to us. We can put the two together to know where we stand and how to live properly.

We need to understand what is happening around us today—an understanding of the times and seasons in which we live, so that we will know what to do. We can obtain facts and figures and assimilate information and still miss the word in 1 Chronicles chapter eleven, David was made King and a list of worthy and capable men who followed him is then seen and in chapter twelve and verse thirty-two, special mention is made of the children of Issachar, because they had that discernment. They knew what to do with such understanding. This brings me back now to the role and function of the Holy Spirit in our lives today and I am shocked at how He is being overlooked. I am also very disappointed with the performance of other ministers. Some of our “testing” will be at the hands of our own brethren.

I have noticed an increasing number of pastors and other ministries attacking other preachers on different social media platforms. Different forms of excess and error that we cannot discount do exist, but there are scriptural ways to go about handling problems. Many of those attackers seem to exist solely to “expose” faults in others. They seek them out and I rarely see them give any form of encouragement or a positive message of some kind. They often seem as if it is their “duty” to tear other preachers apart, criticize and condemn them and some “specialize” in such fault finding.!

They display common traits, often times easily seen in their appearance. Many seem angry, are pompous and display forms of self-righteousness. They are like the Pharisees Jesus encountered. Some have large churches and others do not, but a common thread is a denial of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in our midst today.

They usually “attack” Pentecostals and charismatics, accusing them of having false doctrines, or forms of worship they do not like.

Some have gone as far as to accuse certain preachers as having demons. The Pharisees did that to Jesus of course and He said that some of us will be on the receiving end of such treatment. He spoke of being qualified to cast the first stone.

The problem is that whilst excess does sometimes exist, the real and valid ministries are also attacked. As a result, The Church—Christianity is being portrayed in a poor light to the very people we say we want to win for the Lord.

People who may never read a bible or attend a church of any kind see this total lack of unity and harmony and the good Name of the Lord is abused.

Such activities are more than denying the validity of the gifts of the Spirit—especially speaking in tongues. It is more than a denial of the ministry gifts that Jesus gave to His Church that are still valid and desperately needed for one simple reason is that we are divided and immature. It is a direct attack on the entire Body of Christ, negating the way that the Holy Spirit works in our lives in the here and now, so that we can know God intimately and to understand the times and seasons and know what to do!

Jesus clearly said in John’s gospel that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. He also said that we may also be able to hear other voices, but have the ability to flee from them. If He said that He speaks to us, He does speak to us, yet many people who say that they are believers are incredulous, often antagonistic, when we say that God spoke to me/us.

Paul told us in Romans 8 that the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God. He stated there that the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits of our relationship with God. If we do not allow Him to do His tasks, where do we stand? How do we have that inner “witness” that we are real believers, when we can meet someone for the very first time? How do we explain things when we suddenly think of a brother or sister in the Lord on the other side of the world and they suddenly send an email asking for prayer? This often happens as some of you can affirm.

John told us in 1 John 4 to test the spirits.

Paul said:

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. 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. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Romans 16:17-20

Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?
2 Corinthians 13:5

Obviously there are errors and excess, but it exists on both sides of the fence. In correcting others, many people have gone from one extreme to the other and in so doing, both are wrong. I say that because it often leads to confusion and God is not the author of confusion.

Look for the fruit and put things to the test, but if we are to put things to the test, the issue is how to go about it. Rather than trying to take the splinter out of my brother’s eye as many of them are trying to do, it seems better to me to ensure that my own walk and lifestyle before God is beyond reproach, before embarking on a continual program of exposing other people’s issues. If you are in doubt, ask the Lord to reveal truth to you. Test all the spirits. Follow the example set by the church in Berea in Acts 17:11.

In our present world situation, we do not need more information, but Godly wisdom and knowing how to live in a manner that pleases God. This principle of being able to discern the times and seasons is seen in 1 Chronicles 12:32.

Jesus

Jesus appeared at the appointed time and John came before Him at the appointed time or season. There are at least 36 mentioned of seasons in the Old Testament, so this is an important principle. Understanding that can help us today to be ready for whatever comes and to make the most of the moment.

When He started His public ministry, He emerged in “the Power of the Spirit” at such an important time. He went to the Synagogue and read from Isaiah, but we may easily overlook something significant. He had already been teaching in their Synagogues before that and was gaining popularity and respect everywhere except for His home town. Luke stated.

Yeshua returned to the Galil in the power of the Spirit, and reports about him spread throughout the countryside.
He taught in their synagogues, and everyone respected him. Now when he went to Natzeret, where he had been brought up, on Shabbat he went to the synagogue as usual. He stood up to read, and he was given the scroll of the prophet Yesha‘yahu. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written... Luke 4:14-17

He was in the Synagogue at Nazareth at the time and no one there really believed Him. He was the carpenter’s son. To them, He had been conceived outside of marriage.

He was the boy who grew up and went to school with all the other kids, but He was not accepted! The religious leaders did not want Him, but He was received elsewhere.

When He entered the Synagogue in Nazareth, He followed Jewish custom, by standing to read the relevant portion.

Practicing Jews revere God’s word more highly than many of us do. You and I can read a bible any time we want, but in a Synagogue service reading from the scriptures publicly is a different matter.

Firstly, Hebrew texts must be accurate! The slightest deviation from the original is almost like sacrilege.

The Torah Scrolls and Mezuzah must be handwritten by specially trained men we may well liken to the scribes of His day, not by printing press. They are to be written on special parchment and if one error is found, the entire writing is abandoned and the scribe starts again.

I am Jewish by natural birth but never practiced Judaism, having been raised in a Christian environment. I have attended Shabbat and attended Passover in Synagogues but not “qualified” to read a scripture portion publicly.

I was warmly welcomed to Shabbat, given a good seat and my host, the Synagogue President, kept me informed during the service as it was all in the Hebrew and I am still learning it. The Rabbi conducted most of the service and at an appropriate time, the Torah Scrolls were opened and everyone stood in reverence. The President invited different men to read portions, but I was not asked.

As we see in “Christianity” with numerous “versions”, there are several forms of Judaism and so slightly differing forms of expression, but one thing in common is their absolute respect for Torah. It is so highly revered that the scrolls are not touched when reading.

This is usually done to prevent the natural oils and salts from our fingers from damaging the special inks and parchments. They use a form of pointer. This also helps the reader stay on the correct word as it is read aloud.

Jesus was “ordained” to read Torah. Such” ordination” for males is called Bar Mitzveh, around the age of twelve or thirteen. They read from the text and then give an explanation of what it means. They are “tested”.

By standing to read the portion for the day that was from Isaiah, He was “asking permission” to do so and exercising His right to read according to custom—but He did not open the scroll. It was already unrolled to Isaiah before He stood up and He merely went to chapter 61 and possibly used one of those pointers.

Because such readings are calendar based, the reading of this particular passage at that time was no accident.

It was the “right time” for Him to openly declare His mission. Making such a declaration at any other time would have not meant a thing and I suspect that He would have been “out of order”. He was a Jew and He fulfilled those manners and customs and prophecy. He did not read the entire prophecy however. The portion in question is:

He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.
To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago.
They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations.
Foreigners will be your servants.
They will feed your flocks and plow your fields and tend your vineyards.
You will be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God.
You will feed on the treasures of the nations and boast in their riches.
Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor.
You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.
“For I, the Lord, love justice.
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering and make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants will be recognized and honored among the nations.
Everyone will realize that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”
I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!
For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels.
The Sovereign Lord will show his justice to the nations of the world.
Everyone will praise him!
His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere.

This is referring to Israel!

Our present time

If we now bring this into our time, this nation is being reviled and attacked in unprecedented manner. This is like a build-up to a final showdown.

The Church has a different contract, but the blessings and the judgments are similar. There are certain things we do in the church, that may or may not be strictly “correct”, but God never changes and His word abides forever. We no longer need to offer sacrifice and follow the Old Testament laws and observances strictly to the letter, but certain “principles” remain the same. Sin is still sin. Repentance is still repentance. A lie is still a lie. Adultery is still adultery and so on.

God’s specifications or qualifications for ministry are still the same. A full and comprehensive list for the qualifications for priesthood is seen in Leviticus chapter sixteen. Whilst the priesthood as such is no longer required because Jesus is our Great High Priest, we are now all in a priesthood as seen in Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 and God’s high standards remain.

A call to ministry is a high honour and privilege, but it has of necessity certain requirements.

We are not all “called into the ministry” but we are all ministers of some kind.

Some of us have been specifically called by God, ordained by God, anointed by the Spirit of God and given a specific assignment by God that does not make us better or superior than others as we often see. Servanthood is also part of ministry, but that is another matter.

Where we stand in our present time is I believe unique in human history and if so, then God is looking for ministries that are designed “for such a time as this” as we see in the story of Purim. The Church is facing Haman again. Israel is facing Haman again. History is repeating itself. The technologies may be different, but the principles are the same.

On every occasion, God raised someone up to fulfill His purpose. He had a Gideon, a Sampson, a David, a Deborah, a Joshua, a Caleb, a Rahab, a Joseph and others. Many of then had personality problems and failures, but so do we. God is not as interested in our supposed good points as we are, but in our availability at the right time for that particular purpose.

They were far from perfect, but God chose them. They all passed a test of some kind.

Abraham is known as the father of our faith, but he lied about his wife and raised an Ishmael. God stopped taking to him for 13 years after that.

Joseph was the second most powerful man in the known world but he was betrayed by his family and was sold into slavery before fulfilling God’s purpose.

We call Gideon a doubter, but is we look more closely into the account that is not so.

Rahab was a prostitute, but she believed God and was “saved” and her family tree is linked to David who was a man after God’s own heart but he was an adulterer and orchestrated a murder. He was king but his family did not want to know him. Saul tried to kill him, yet he is mentioned in the family tree of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A look at Hebrews chapter eleven reveals that many of our champions went through things I would not like to go through.

A new breed

It is clear that a new breed of ministry must emerge and is about to emerge. They have been through the refiner’s fire. They have “battle scars” and some of their wounds have been at the hand of their own brethren. The scripture says, “Physician heal thyself” so they are the wounded healers.

They are not perfect in the way we assess each other, but have been in the school of the Holy Spirit, tested and are about to graduate. They are not the sanitized, immaculate version of a believer that many of us say they should be, because they are just like the “failures” and “misfits” I have mentioned.

They have messed up and then gotten back up. Trampled and left for dead, God restored them! They have no image to protect or ego to wound and they gained brand new appetites in the furnace of affliction. They do not need the glory, and they eschew titles and awards. You cannot get them to fight over doctrine, because they have been to the Cross.

They know the Blood that bought them and then brought them back to life.

They are like Peter at Pentecost. Only a soul who has been handed another chance after denying the Lord three times will understand the inner fire of a wounded healer. Who could write such a dangerous song as Amazing Grace but John Newton whose plaque says:

Once an infidel and libertine / A servant of slaves in Africa / Was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST / restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the Gospel which he had long laboured to destroy.

You cannot find such zeal in religious do-gooders and theologians who never brave beyond ivied halls of respectability.

You will not find this flame in the bleachers where cold souls sit and keep score, but who will never take the field.

Wounded healers do not boast of clean uniforms and of battles evaded, but of scars and gates of hell invaded.

They have no preaching pedigree, only a song that sets the captive free. They are like Daniel 11:32 that says:

Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

A few verses later, Daniel 11:35 says:

And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.

If you think that you are “under attack”, it is not to destroy you but to refine you! Your rejection and your abandonment is not meant for shame, but for purity. It does not matter how your garments appear to the Pharisees who are still with us, only that they are white before God. Though religious voices have disqualified them, their destiny is yet for an appointed time! Doors previously closed to them are opening and doors that God opens cannot be shut!

People like this are able to reach people that the regular church cannot and often will not. Therefore, they are the perfect choice for this moment, at the end of all things.

People who have been tested and have received God’s approval may not wear denominational labels. They do not need committee approval or the approval of cookie cutter Christians, only the seal of approval from Almighty God.

There is a lost world that has never heard of church fights, church politics, legalistic regulations, pomp, tradition and ceremony. If they do they avoid everything and may never meet the Lord.

The widow Elijah met was not concerned about the kinds of vessels or their condition, but collected as many as she could so that God could fill them.

This new breed of preacher is like those pots and pans—a collection of different sizes and shapes, dented, battered and bruised and perhaps showing the soot and scorch marks of fire, but able to hold that precious oil and that is what matters.

If you fit into one of those categories I mentioned and there are many more, do not be surprized that your faith is being tested and such testing is to bring you out the other side a much better person, more equipped and productive and be presented to the Lord in a manner that pleases Him.

Blessings to you,

Robert