Some Thoughts I Never Thunk Before!

II Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

The faith teachers taught this as something tangible that I could DO to further my spiritual growth……..following their instructions, I thought I could actually implement the elusive command - take up your cross and follow me.

So I began my legalistic journey….. Daily, I IDENTIFIED what those IMAGINATIONS were. And of course cast them down…how did I do that? Well, if I had a thought that came against the written word or something that came into my mind that wouldn't be pleasing to my Father, I would speak out loud, stating like a lawyer would some particular part of the written word that refuted the thought..... faith talks, right? I told the thoughts they had no place in me or power to be fulfilled in my life and that I would not be moved, AND ADDED a lot of get thee behind me satan, commands........lol If in the presence of unsuspecting family and friends I would whisper a command that I thought was according to obedience.

Sometimes I used the written word and whipped or chided myself with it, thinking I was bringing my flesh under. If I feared something then that was the direction I was to take…..for he had not given me a spirit of fear…gritting my teeth, I trudged right in….was it a mountain? A wall? Then I could tell it to move, or jump over it……..always moving, speaking, doing…………I hope you don't think I am kidding because I am not.....Oh yes, I was zealous...lol

It’s taken the Lord lots of years to bring me back to himself and a true understanding of what – "take up your cross and follow", means. To understand how absolutely helpless I am to initiate or even cooperate with fulfilling it in my life……

Finally he is bringing me to the place of my own futility…….painfully my flesh has been exposed and the work of the cross is becoming real to me.

This week I found myself in a depressing battle……not even sure how I got there…….my soul would not leave me alone….I lost my peace in a much to do about nothing time. When I talked to the Lord, I was aware of his presence but he didn’t seem to have any input……lol…... when I slept I had fitful nightmares…… In this frame of mind I read an excerpt by Preston Eby and I got a little more than my peace back……..I found myself in need of repentance….with some thoughts I never THUNK before!

Joian
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It is not enough to make an occasional trip up to the cross, for death must become a mountain to us, we must go there and stay until the day breaks and the shadows all flee away! It bespeaks of a STATE OF BEING. To be dead is a state of being! We must abide in the condition of the Lord’s death. Today, many zealous Christians have the wrong concept. They believe they must fast, weep, pray, wait on the Lord, confess, and struggle in order to die. That is all good, but it is not death! To tarry at an altar is easy; to pray all night is easy; even to fast for a week or a month is easy; to confess with our mouth is easy; but to stay at the mountain of myrrh for a lifetime is not easy. We could all fast and pray for a long time without any sleep, but to stay in the Lord’s death means to so identify with His death that we renounce all the works of the flesh, we repudiate all the emotions of the soul, we abandon all the imaginings, reasonings, and inventions of the carnal mind, we disclaim all the hopes, dreams and aspirations of our own will and way, and forsake all the traditions, forms, methods, and foolishness of religion, so that we simply are dead.

(Preston Eby)

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Ephesians 2: 8-10
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

ANOINTED FOR BURIAL

Reposted by Joian from August 2007

By Jack Hennessey-

After I finished helping get my daughter through college last year it seemed my work as a wallpaper and painting contractor was rather abruptly derailed and God called me to a time much more given over to prayer, study and writing. It was quite frightening at first as I learned to live by faith as my work load was cut by at least three quarters. A year and a half later I have grown accustomed to seeing God miraculously provide all that I need even though those paying jobs are few and far between.

I am getting older and because of that the trade I have practiced for almost four decades is sometimes difficult. However God does sometime present me with a job and the strength to carry it out. So it has been for the last few weeks as I have been working that occasional job. Because of this I haven't the normal time and energy to do the writing on the blog that I normally enjoy. It is all truly good though as I never want to be tied and burdened to the things of God but only, to be fully given over to Him. Our types of service can so easily become a beast that must be fed instead of a venture in His grace and purpose ....... how subtle the turn where the individual services for Christ replace Christ Himself. So, I believe it is good to experience a respite from a steady service endeavor to discover what ever we are called to do, He will lead the way with His blessings and grace. Work has been tiring but good.

Anyway I have been reading a lot in the evenings lately instead of writing and it has been grand. It seems I stumbled across this writing tonight and it blessed me with confirming truth. The author of this message and I have traded a few thoughts in the past and although we don't see all things the same I found great agreement with this excerpt from a recent entry of his, on his web site. I pray it blesses you as it did me. I was certainly thinking of my friend Joian when I read it as I believe she has been called and "anointed for burial."

Jack

(this is taken from "Who Is the Antichrist" by Douglas B. Clarke)


The Anointing

To better understand what it means to come against or replace the anointing, it is helpful to consider what the word, anointing, means. If you have been a good Pentecostal or Charismatic you know the anointing as the manifestation of God’s presence when a prophetic word is given, or some other manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. Sometimes you hear people say, “That was an anointed word that brother Smith shared today,” or perhaps you have received an anointed word for someone and your heart pounded in your chest until you delivered what God had given you.

The best way to determine the meaning of “anointing” is to examine the context in which it is used. One example is when Samuel anointed Saul to be king over Israel. (1Sam 10:1) Oil was the physical substance used as a representation for the anointing, but the anointing itself was a purpose of God given to Saul to perform the task of being king over Israel. Or another way to express it is to say, the anointing is the power of God upon an individual to accomplish a given task.

When God gives an anointing there is a supernatural manifestation that often accompanies His directive. Sometimes it is His Holy presence, the Divine aura that emanates from the anointed person or persons. With Saul it was manifested as he prophesied with the prophets. When a truly anointed tongue or prophetic word is given there is a sense of God’s presence released into the atmosphere that is recognized by both sinner and saint.

There are other ways of experiencing an anointing other than the gifts of the Spirit. When I was a teenager I visited John Gardner Sr. while he was writing a letter to Derek Prince about the shepherding movement while the movement was still in its infancy. John was writing because the Holy Spirit had anointed him to do so. It was a rare occasion where I saw a true elder in the body of Christ being given a specific word of warning to an individual pertaining to a movement that would touch the lives of millions. I was around John twice during the thirty days he wrote the letter. On both occasions there was a Holy presence that emanated from him. What I sensed was the manifested presence of the purpose of God that was upon John Gardner Sr. for a particular task. When the letter was completed it totaled one hundred pages and was an allegory revealing how the shepherding deception was infiltrating the body of Christ and harming God’s people. The letter was then hand delivered and copies were mailed to other leaders in this movement. It was then John was released from the anointing that God had given for that particular task. When God anoints someone there is a confirming presence that is physically sensed that lets us know, indeed this is God! Yet, God’s confirming presence is only the manifestation of the anointing. The anointing itself is always the purpose of God given for a particular task. Sometimes it may pertain to a specific event in time similar to what John Gardner experienced, or it may be a general anointing pertaining to our maturing in the ultimate purpose of God – to become His expression.

In the New Testament we see evidence of two significant moments when Jesus was anointed. The first time was at the beginning of His public ministry when John baptized Him in the river, Jordan. John saw the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove, resting upon Jesus. The voice of the heavenly Father was heard saying, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” This was an anointing for healing the sick, feeding the hungry, raising the dead, casting out demons and preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God. This was the purpose of God given to Jesus for ministry to mankind. God has made provision for us to partake of this same anointing through the Holy Spirit given at Pentecost. This is what Jesus referred to when He instructed His followers to wait until the day of Pentecost where He promised they would receive power to be witnesses. This Pentecostal experience is the “anointing for service.”

The second example is after the ministry of Jesus had ended. His crucifixion was only a week away when a woman came into the house where Jesus was staying and anointed Him with a very expensive perfume. The disciples did not have their spiritual eyes open and were upset over what they considered an extravagant waste of expensive perfume. They wanted to sell it and use the money to feed the poor. The disciples were so accustomed to the anointing for ministry that they had trouble understanding this new directive that required the death of Jesus.

“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Mt 26: 6-13

There is an anointing for death and burial that follows the anointing for service. This is often what separates “the called” from “the chosen,” for it is much easier to receive the anointing for service than it is to receive the anointing for death. Even Jesus prayed, “Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me.” The anointing for death does not manifest itself with clouds of glory. Those outside of its grasp rarely recognize this anointing, for when it manifests itself the recipient is led as a lamb to the slaughter, accompanied by rejection from those who loved you the week before, and finally, a very humiliating death. Many who observe this process see only failure. Although, a few who watch this process unfold may look up and say, “Truly this is a son of God.” Does this sound like what you are experiencing? Are you crying out to God, “Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me?” The truth is all who would become mature sons of God must drink from this cup. As the Lord spoke to one dear sister, “I must take everything if you are to be a savior in the Savior.”

What was accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ far exceeded His ministry of healing the sick, casting out demons and preaching the good news of the Kingdom. The same principle applies to those who embrace the anointing for burial. What God will do through us in our partaking of His death by laying down our own lives will far exceed all that could be accomplished through the ministry of Pentecost.

All of God’s children receive chastising from time to time. But no one wants the scourging required for becoming a Son of God. This is why it is evident to me that those that who are becoming mature sons did not choose this path on their own. No one follows this path of their own choosing. Instead they are apprehended by God. This truth does not deny the fact that most on this path experience moments of self-will. The mystery is not in the exercise of our will, but in the ability of the Divine to shape us regardless of which way we turn.

At times when I have shared these elementary truths of sonship some have cried out, “elitism.” Anyone who would make such an accusation has no idea what it means to be a son. Those who have heard the call to sonship appear in this world as the least of the least. The nature of sonship is seen in the life of Jesus who made no reputation for Himself, but took upon Himself the form of a servant. Do you want to see a true Son of God? Look for the person who has been crucified by their brethren and everything else in their life has fallen apart. If you see a look of compassion in their eyes and notice that he or she is praying, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing,” then you are beholding a Son of God in the making.

There is an anointing for sonship. It is a like a sweet perfume poured out upon us, drenching us with intimacy from God. It appears wasteful to those who have only experienced the anointing for service. “It could have been used to accomplish so many great things for God,” they say. Sonship is the ultimate purpose of God, hidden from countless generations since the foundation of the world. It is the unfolding plan of God to create a dwelling place for Him to live.

When Jesus made the transition from the “anointing for service” to the “anointing for His death,” this was the event that pushed Judas over the edge, causing Him to betray Jesus. It was immediately after the woman at Bethany anointed the head of Jesus that Judas conspired with the chief priests.

“Then one of the Twelve–the one called Judas Iscariot–went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.” Mt 26: 14-16

How many times have we read this account and have wondered how it was possible that someone who ate, slept and lived with Jesus, could betray him? Do you see that we have often done the same thing when confronted with “the anointing for our burial?” What a shocker it is when God reveals, the greatest opposition we will ever face regarding the purpose of God is not out there lurking in the shadowy blend of religion and politics, but is inside of us. The reason we are unable to recognize this inner deception is because it often hides behind “the anointing for service.” But when God lifts that anointing for service and reveals Himself in His stillness all sorts of things come to the surface. Not every believer will make this transition.

I had a friend who prayed every morning, “Lord, use me or kill me.” He preached the gospel all over the world and was used mightily until he died of a massive heart attack at age forty-six. He preferred to physically leave this world rather than submit to the anointing that requires everything of self to be stripped away. I know that He saw the Promised Land because He preached about it, yet he was not able to enter this place of rest in this life because he did not want to give up the anointing for service in order to embrace the anointing for his burial. Be careful for what you ask. I wonder if the outcome might have been different if my friend had prayed, “Lord, kill me that you may use me.” What a difference of ministry might he have experienced?

Some have embraced the various manifestations of the anointing without ever giving a thought as to the purpose of God behind the manifestation. This has become an earmark for many in the realm of Pentecost. It is here we see the tendency to replace the purpose of God with the gifts from God. So the very tools given for the purpose of growing us in Him become the end rather than the means to the end. In this process, the anointing, which is the purpose of God, is replaced with something else and this something else is a spirit of antichrist. This is why the Holy Spirit will often lift the anointing for service in those who have been apprehended for sonship.

I wonder how often when the anointing for death and crucifixion comes along that we continue to think with our ministry hat on? Like the disciples who were upset over the needless waste of expensive perfume we become frustrated when God ask us to lay aside our gifts and abilities. We are thinking of all the good we can do for the Kingdom while the Holy Spirit wants to prepare us for our burial. So many of God’s people stumble at this transition and so they align themselves with the spirit of religion so they may continue their work for God. This is what it means to resist the anointing! This is the spirit of antichrist at work!

When referring to the anointed one, or to the anointing the meaning is the same – the purpose of God given to accomplish a particular task. The significance of Jesus being the Anointed One was two-fold. First, it was a demonstration of a God-man — an expression of the Father in an earthly body. The second purpose was revealed in the words of Jesus when He said it was necessary for Him to go in order for the Comforter to come. It was when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church that we find out that God had ulterior motives in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, The Christ. Here we begin to see a new meaning to the prophecy, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.” Heb 10:5 Through out this age and continuing into this very moment God is preparing a many-member body for Himself.

This passage quoted in Hebrews was taken from Psalms 40:6-8 which reads:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, “Here I am, I have come– it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Young’s literal translation)

According to John Darby’s Synopsis of the New Testament: “The psalm says in the Hebrew, ‘Thou hast digged ears for me,’ translated by the Septuagint, ‘Thou hast prepared me a body.’” The piercing of the ear had great significance for the Israelite servant. The servant’s ear was pierced with an awl in the doorway of the house they were to serve. This signified hearing with obedience. When we separate the manifestation of the anointing from the purpose of God embedded in the anointing it is like seeing without comprehending what is before us, or listening without really hearing. The obedience to an outward law, as was the case in presenting burnt offerings and sin offerings, did not have the power to produce the type of obedience God was ultimately looking for …His law written in our hearts.

All that was fulfilled in Jesus is now being fulfilled in you and I who walk not after the natural man, but are filled with the Spirit of God. That is why the Bible says He was the first born among many brethren. If we are going to walk in all that God has for us then we must move beyond the first anointing to be witnesses and experience the anointing that leads to death to self. This anointing is something that no man can teach us. Only the purpose of God revealed in us can teach us this truth. This anointing is awakened from within, birthing from the innermost parts of our being and it IS NO LIE! (1 John 2:27)



(bonus material that blesses and confirms the above message by Brogden)

"He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).

We must see that everything God has done, everything God is doing, and everything God will do is for the purpose of INCREASING Jesus and DECREASING everything that is not of Him.

This principle is so powerful that it makes no difference if you agree with it, understand it, believe it, or like it. He MUST increase; therefore, He WILL increase and HE IS increasing. At the same time, I MUST decrease, therefore I WILL decrease, and I AM decreasing. This is a spiritual law, and it is working as we speak. For the Christian who is seeking first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness this is wonderful news. For selfish, carnal Christians it is a frightening thing, this talk of losing your life and taking up your Cross and denying yourself. That is why you hear so much about spiritual power and so little about spiritual brokenness.

EVERYMAN A CROSS

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And like a veil that has been lifted now I see
A glimpse of what the Father has for me
For there beyond the splendor
Lies a vision of the cross


I was having a hard time placing my most beloved of all, my children on the altar. It seemed my surrender was so close to complete but this last sacrifice was more than I could stand. Then God made real to me a term that I am still exploring. This term was the very prod that I needed to give up my babies. The term; "everyman a tree."

With those three words came an immeasurable wave of understanding. In simplest terms, my son and my daughter were destined to taste the fullness of Christ's cross that they might bring forth the full bounty of the Tree of Life which they would eventually be. The Cross and the Tree of Life are in reality the same tree and we grow up into that very Tree. Everyman a tree.

And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine. Eze 47:12

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of
the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Rev 22:1,2

Yes, whether on this side of the grave or the other we all will experience the full measure of the cost of love wrought by Christ and His Cross. We were in Christ at Calvary and soon we shall share the full remembrance. We suffer to fill up His sufferings and thus He ours. Christ within us, we within Christ, a mysterious symbiotic relationship likened unto no other. But as we and those we love suffer we, as I am sure Jesus did, can steal away to look upon the that great River of God that flows through eternity and see each of our "crosses turned Trees of Life .......... trees, beautiful, innumerable all born of one Root.

With such shared suffering comes the fullness of glory unspeakable and so does the cross made into the tree of life, for the healing of the nations. If you could picture it in your mind, the making of you, me and our children into Trees of Life is the most incredible of destinies. To heal, to love, to make whole all that have been maimed, tormented and disfigured inside and out by this fallen nature. To wipe away the last tears, amidst a chorus of song of unspeakable joy. Surely it can't get any better than that. And tonight I weep, for to soon experience such a glorious day of healing. I even thrill, that for some such a day has arrived.

The flow of God's river is surrounded on both sides by trees of life. A tree is "wood" which represents humanity. And on the trees are leaves representing life. This life is for to heal the nations. This is also "Theosis"......... Humanity becoming Divinity.

Yes, my children will suffer like me "all" of the cross of Christ that we may share in "all" of His glory, that God might be "ALL IN ALL" No substitutionary atonement here, as the Church teaches. We are all in it together and it could only be that way, with God being ALL IN ALL. Selah.

There stands the cost
And like a veil that has been lifted now I see
A glimpse of what the Father has for me
For there beyond the splendor
Lies a vision of the cross
And the Father calls to me
There stands the cost.


Lord bless you to know His Cross,

Jack



Note: opening & closing poem by Larnelle Harris

The Seed In Every Man and Hollyhocks

As I drove home today I noticed the Hollyhocks …..They seem to have taken up residence in every yard on Beverly Road…….their tall heads sticking out of hedges and up next to houses, even visible from backyards, just wherever that wild seed landed. A beautiful profusion of pinks, whites and burgundies. Ahhhh! Most who live here have no idea where the seed came from.

The first year I noticed the beautiful stalks along my neighbor’s fence was 1974. Our two neighbors were the first to take up residence on Beverly Road. The oldest resident, Pate Phillips built his house in the 30s and Bob’s family came a few years later. Pate liked to lean over the fence and share his life philosophy with me. He believed all roads led to God. and I believed (still do)……Jesus is the only way to the Father………. So back to my musings……..

On the other side, Bob Powley grew a beautiful vegetable garden, with a penchant for one flower, the Hollyhock. The Hollyhocks bordered his fences amassing into other areas each spring. I remember how I loved to walk out on my balcony any time of the day and view their fleeting beauty….

Bob and I often discussed our Lord, he from his staunch Southern Baptist view and me from my ever changing experiences which included my Nazarene beliefs all the way to the Kingdom Now message. Always a lively over the fence conversation…….lol

One summer day I was working in my yard and noticed Bob was cutting down his Hollyhock stalks. I yelled over, the Hollyhocks were sure beautiful this year. He walked over and handed me one of the dried stalks and said; here, now you can grow your own. He turned and as if to show me what to do, whipped the stalks he was holding into the air and said, now everyone will have some. We both laughed at the thought.

Pate died in the 80s and in the 90s, Bob met and married a lovely lady which took him to the state of Washington. With pleasant memories I think of them both, knowing we will meet again.

Today, when I noticed the Hollyhocks showing up all over the street, I felt a whisper from the Lord. Look honey, look what one mans seed planting did. A peace flooded me as I realized again the wind (holy spirit) blows wherever it wants to go…taking seed with it. The seed when buried in the earth goes through a most amazing change .....the outside covering rots away and falls off allowing the life inside to break free. It just naturally heads to the sunshine..……

Bob understood about seed both natural and spiritual........as the years pass I get more and more revelation concerning the spiritual kind......such a mystery is unfolding.......I am sometimes amazed that this earth is such a fertile mystery, only those who have been given eyes can see it.........well, it's been nice chatting over the fence with you...
LOL

Love,
Joian

John 12
24Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Mark 4
26And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 27And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.

And so it is, as in Adam all died……So in Christ shall ALL be made ALIVE!!!!