The Daily Word of Righteousness

Be Careful How You Drink the Water!, continued

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:14-16—NIV)

It is time to remove the distinction between clergy and laity. It is time for every member of the Body of Christ to seek the Lord for the proper use of his or her talent so the Body may be built by that which every joint supplies.

The Lord is coming soon with His army to judge and deliver the peoples of the earth. We will be part of the marvelous appearing of Christ if we learn now to overcome Satan, our flesh, and our self-will through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord's return will not take place until the Bride becomes unblemished, until righteous, holy behavior is evident. In addition we must learn to be sternly obedient to our Father in Heaven.

Any move that is of God will point toward the coming of the Lord. It will exhort us to practice justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.

If instead we are pointed toward weird exhibitions of the flesh and soul we are not hearing from God. Best to leave all such acrobatics and contortions and to seek Jesus until we are walking in a godly, sane manner, giving glory to God not only in the assembly of saints but also in the home, on the job, on vacation, in school, or wherever we are. We need to be clothed with Jesus and in our right mind.

Let us point to Jesus, not to wild, uncontrolled patterns of behavior. Let us not permit people to lay hands on us until we are certain they are godly and truly serving the Lord. Who knows what spirit we might pick up by having unclean hands, self-seeking hands, laid on us!

If the behaviors taking place today during "revivals," jerking, shaking, falling down when prayed for, howling, barking, pretending to drink liquids, pretending to give birth, "uncontrollable" laughter, pretending to dive into water, are not from the Spirit of God, then what is their origin? Are Christians accepting unclean spirits?

If these are unclean spirits, then Satan has a purpose in their entering the believers. If this is so, what would Satan's purpose be?

We submit that Satan has a goal in mind today, and that goal is to destroy the testimony of the Christian churches.

What is the testimony of the Christian churches? In addition to the facts concerning the atoning death and triumphant bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the testimony of the churches is righteous and holy behavior on the part of the Christians. Can you agree with this?

Isaiah speaks of righteousness and praise springing forth in the sight of the nations of the earth. The Lord Jesus told us that when people see our good works they will glorify God.

But because of the current teaching of lawless grace, the believers are not seeking God for the purpose of being able to keep the commandments of Christ and His Apostles. Evangelical doctrine is off course in the area of righteous behavior—the testimony the Father desires; the testimony the world is waiting to see.

To be continued.