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But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:23,24
This is the first of a series of messages I hope to share concerning my vision of where I believe we are in time, regarding God's purpose and plan for His church. The scripture I quoted above, is I believe key and I pray you can feel the import and currency in the words. What a wonderful time to know and be called of our beloved Christ. The marriage supper has been gloriously set and Christ's bride is now being directed to her appointed seat.
This copied message below speaks to God cleansing the cup both inside and out as the Father is making pure the bride for His Son. There is a corporate work of cleansing being done today that has been birthed first within the hearts of a remnant that hold a single eye for their Beloved Groom. I thrilled today to read this message on a forum this morning. It was comforting to see another, that has been taken even further than I, into the heart of the harlot and counterfeit church, come out and speak of where we are in God's purpose and plan today. I pray you catch wind of the Pure Breath/Holy Spirit of God in this account.
Jack
Merchandising the anointing
By Terry Somerville
Once again I turn on the TV and come to a Christian program. They are Spirit filled believers, sharing what God is doing. They seem to be sincere. Everything they say is true and scriptural. Yet, like every other time I watch, I'm bothered. My spirit is disturbed. Over the years I've asked God about this. This time it just hit me. They are merchandising the anointing! WE are merchandising the anointing! We don't even realize it.
Money Changers In The Temple
The religious leaders of Jesus day made merchandise of the most Holy place in Israel. The temple. The selling of animals started as a way to provide worshipers with a sacrifice. But it became corrupt as animals were resold and not actually sacrificed by the priests.
And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; 46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. And He taught daily in the temple....
Luke 19:45-47
Mixed Motives
Could it be we are doing exactly the same thing as these priests, only in the temple of our hearts? I know what it is like to start with heart to bless and minister and end up merchandising. I produced and hosted over 350 Total Change television programs. Television is expensive and we couldn't keep up. The Christian station urged me to be aggressive in fund raising and stay on. I tried "incentives" - offering books and DVD's if donors gave a certain amount. It felt wrong in my spirit, and I didn't know why so I stopped doing it. I began to "merchandise the anointing" to attract viewers. I didn't see it at the time, but I knew people were attracted to spectacular anointings, and so focused on that.
Making merchandise of the anointing is not just problem for Christian television. The whole church and worship industry is being defiled by the "manure of merchandise".
1. Adopting the practices of the world.
God warned Israel not to adopt the practices of the people around them, but they did. We too have mixed faith with the worlds business. Many "spirit filled" ministries employ secular firms to fund raise using proven social methods. We could have used them for our TV program. Even at the local church level, leadership has become mostly about management. Study the methods and employ them, Follow the successful methods of the leaders. What happened to prayer and hearing God?
Even worship has become an industry. Believe me, these "Christian" companies would love to make us pay every time we sing a worship song! A few years ago I interviewed a famous Christian music artist. Everything was great until I asked her about the "music business". She became sooo upset! She said "It's not about ministry, it's about money. All they care about is how I look, They don't care about me. " Her husband tried to dial her down, but I had hit a real "hot button."
2. Idols In The Temple
Strange as it may seem, western Christians have brought the worlds "idols into their hearts" (Ezekiel 14:3) Jesus said to "seek first the Kingdom, and His righteousness", but we seek after success, fame, youth, wealth, (church) size and (anointing) power. These are all idols of our culture, but we take them into our hearts in a religious guise. - A "holy" livestock market!
Much of my prayer life as a pastor was ....(wait for it).....to "build a successful ministry". Our inner temple is to be a "house of prayer", but even our prayer life turns to these selfish idols. I prayed for more people, more money, more power (anointing) All this was idolatry in the temple of my heart. Oh how we need a purification of our motives as Christians
3. Need for Kingdom Mindedness
The question is where is our trust in God? Where is His Kingdom at work? Inwardly we know God wants all the glory. God writes his own desires on our hearts. God will lead in His ways and provide for His work. If the temple was free of merchandise, the Lord could teach us. Then our own ambitions would fade away as we learn the Kings own agenda.
Cleansing The Temple Of The Holy Spirit
Jesus is about to cleanse His temple. He will not have mixture in His house any longer. There is time to repent, or be driven out! The Holy Spirit will not share the temple of our hearts with Christian merchandise. He's taking away the pleasure of mixture. Look what is happening in worship for instance. A few years ago Christians went from place to place looking for the best worship band. Now they are tired of it. GOOD! It's about worshiping Jesus, not the band!
In my city the Christians always were seeking the anointing. They would run from one anointed meeting to another, now they are getting tired of it. Why? Because they sought the anointing, not God's heart, and it's not pleasurable any more. Yes the Lord poured out His anointing to woo our hearts. But now He will not share the temple with the merchandise of the anointing. The Lord WILL have a holy people, who are after HIM.
Get ready. The whips are coming out. The tables will be upset and the livestock will disappear. On that day Christianity will smell different and sound different.
Blessings
Terry Somerville
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." John 3:8
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We cannot contain the overflowing cup of His love thus we share with you these messages of the Life of our Lord as lived out in His saints.
