Resurrection of good thinking

S. Sekou Abodunrin

1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deut 13: 1 - 3

When it says “dreamer of dreams” in that passage he is referring to a bona fide means by which the prophet’s office manifested in the Old Testament. This was one way that those ministries engaged the realm of visions. More properly a prophet is called a seer, he is one who sees. This seeing often came through prophetic dreams, which is referred to here as dreamer of dreams.

It seems that given the multiplied amounts of “prophetic and apostolic” conferences that have been hosted around the world we still largely know so little about what is really prophetic and apostolic.

The Lord used Moses, a genuine prophet, to bring beautiful instruction as recorded above.

The germ of the instruction above flies in the face of our current understanding, pursuit and practice of the supernatural especially where that which is called prophetic is concerned. What do I mean by that? You see, some people think that if there is a genuine manifestation attesting to the presence of God in a gathering, it must mean that the Lord endorses all that is happening.

Did you notice that the passage above is not even discussing a prediction that did not come to pass? It is assumed that the prediction came to pass. All you need in order to get to us charismatics is to just cite examples of the minister’s accuracy in the expression of the gifts of the Spirit, but is “accuracy” everything?

Do you realize that he is describing an area of trauma that is peculiarly true for those of us that accept the validity of the prophet’s ministry in our day? Think about it, if I do not believe in the ministry of a prophet, it doesn’t matter how many ways you exercise that ministry in my presence such expressions are not a door through which you would get to me. The real danger here is for us that rightly believe in the validity of the prophet’s for today.

The passage above shows that a prophet or a prophetic ministry could give accurate predictions that do come to pass and yet still fail the ultimate test. The ultimate test of any called ministry is not just the power, rapidity and accuracy of their predictions but the message that is tied to such operations.

The truth is that being humans there is a tendency to promote a message on the back of an accurate expression of the Spirit. If the manifestation is correct, but the message is wrong, then the message is to be rejected and the minister prayed for. The hearer is required to test the prophecy AND the message.

There is a key that we see in that passage. The key is this: an erroneous message does not thrive only because of the minister who is propagating it. It requires people who have a wrong slant in their hearts in order for it to succeed.

There are certain type of misuses of the anointing that will keep re-emerging in cycles until we learn to submit our heart and emotions to the Lord through his word. Some people assume that if miracles are prevalent then the message must be correct! That is not necessarily the case.

Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God 1 Corinthians 4:1

According to the word really, a minister is the servant or minister of Christ. In reality a minister will give account to his master. How we are hungry to have Christ ministered. There is a wealth in that term – minister of Christ! When Christ is not ministered, when he doesn’t gain influence, when his largeness is not communicated and received it leaves us in the waters of babyhood and robs us of functioning in the mind of Christ.

It is our responsibility as hearers, as people that give ministries audience, to check our hearts as to why we allow certain things to gain prominence by the attention that we give to them.

You see, I do not think that believers often use the level of authority that God has given to us in these matters. We cannot directly correct ministers, and that is simply because they are Christ’s servants and not primarily our servants. That is important. Be careful how you treat a minister of Christ.

While we do not have the scriptural right to directly correct a minister, there are equally effective ways to cause a minister to seek repentance. You see, a minister needs you to listen to him.

The Lord said through that wise man, Moses, that we are not to hearken to the words of such prophets!

I know of very few believers that will be disciplined enough in the spirit of love and in reverence for the word to know not to hearken to such. Some other people respond that God should stop the minister and that if God doesn’t stop the minister it must mean that he is in support. Hmm – how unscriptural can we get in our reasoning?

Think about it, if God calls you up to heaven every time you missed it, you know how many times you would have had to be resurrected? We must remain tender in our heart and not expect that the Lord will not extend mercy towards men.

You see, God has given us his word and his spirit within our new nature to build our resistance to these cheap substitute messages that we so readily fall for in the name of “spirituality”.

If a message has no followers then the “leader” is only influencing himself. That is key. It is likely that a fellow who wouldn’t be true to the word and will propagate unscriptural things because of miracles will also likely be a man who is moved by how people respond to his message.

The truth remains that it is the slant of our hearts that empowers certain ministers to be able to propagate the messages that rides on the back of the miracles.

Remember that parable below:

Bark like a dog, roar like a lion and by the presence of gold dust, hundred and thousand fold returns shall the angel Emma appear to and lead many into the land of nod where they shall have many minds suspended from scriptural reasoning and many brains unexercised.
1 cor 4:40

I wanted you to laugh at that, but really it isn’t far-fetched just turn on the TV set and these things are already on Christian television. We will have a return to a deep love for Christ-centered living.

There is a genuine, scriptural and tangible expression of the Spirit of God as the Spirit of Glory and of a sound mind and it is coming back to the church in a stronger measure than what we have seen in the last four decades. There is coming a restoration of good thinking and deep reverence to the church.

Expressing God

S. Sekou Abodunrin

I remember the story of a fellow who was encouraged to take a particular cough mixture so as to ease his dry throat before he ministered. The friend forgot to tell him that a side effect of taking this drug was that he’d feel dizzy. The young minister took the drug and midway through his sermon he started feeling light headed. The young minister assumed that it was the anointing and so he paused asking all that needed ministry to come forward – there were tremendous miracles afterwards. The young man made a habit of taking this drug before he ministered and felt more confident as he preached as he had little or no reason to have to clear his throat while ministering.

Each time he had this light-headedness he stepped out and always experienced outstanding miracles. Cases involving demonic oppression and depression were resolved in a jiffy – the demons obeyed him.

One day his friend came by apologized for not telling him about any side effects and then proceeds to describe to him how it is that some people feel dizzy after taking the drug. He now knew why he started experiencing the light-headedness. It wasn’t exactly the anointing but his body system reacting to a drug that he was taking to deal with dry throat.

The fact remains that the demons did not ever challenge him that it wasn’t the anointing but dizziness induced by drugs! Firstly you need to realise that demons are not all knowing. their comprehension is bounded and limited. They go largely by how we act. If the demons could they would have. They were whipped by a fellow that acted on things that the word had said. You know you could feel fear and yet laugh in the face of the devil. You'd give him fits of confusion!

The man went by a dramatic feeling in his body. The feelings were everything to him. He believed it to be the anointing of God and on the basis of this started acting on the word by laying hands on the sick and expecting to see instant or near instant miracles and he saw them. He had moved into confidence unconsciously. This confidence placed on tap the anointing that was available all the while.

The secret was not the feeling or in reality what induced the feeling but the fact that he had stepped into a place of confidently acting expecting the cooperation of the living God.

Samson was a fellow who was no stranger to the anointing. We can learn some important lessons about the anointing by certain facts that we glean from his life.

And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol Judges 13:24

I want you to notice that it says that the Spirit of the Lord moved Samson all the time. Did you see that? No you didn’t.

We are told that the Spirit of the Lord moved Samson at times. Samson did some of the silliest things one could think of. You see, the anointing will not take everyday decisions for you. Some people want a “thus saith the Lord brush your teeth” but thank God he isn’t like that at all.

Say it out loudly – God is not a puppeteer.

Samson kept company with a woman that had given him ample evidence that she didn’t mean him well. She wasn’t silent about it. She diligently and systematically showed him time and again that she wanted to have him become the laughing stock of the philistines. Was Samson expecting the anointing to make up his mind for him?

Yet, when the Spirit did move upon Samson tremendous acts of power took place. You need to realise that Samson was not muscular. If he was, Delilah and the leaders of the philistines had a low IQ and there was no need for Delilah to ask for the obvious source of his power – right? It would have been obvious with the 7 or 8 pack muscles and all. Samson was a usual man until the Spirit moves upon him and even then the secret wasn’t his muscular development but the anointing that he responded to.

And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. Judges 16:20

Wist is old English for know. In that verse it is really past tense, so it is “knew not”. I want you to read that slowly. The Spirit of the Lord had departed from him as a matter of fact but Samson did not know it. How come Samson did not know it?

We have read severally of the superhuman feats Samson performed when the Spirit came upon him. He clearly knows something about the Spirit of the Lord when it comes to acts of power. Think about it – if he did not know that the Spirit of the Lord had left him, it must mean that he was not going by feelings.

Lets assume that he used to go by feelings. Whatever feeling it is, it must be a feeling that was obvious to him otherwise the feeling served no practical purpose. If he still felt like old times then it must mean that the feeling was still there otherwise he should have felt different. If he had felt any different he would have a sign that the Spirit had left. We are told Samson did not know that the Spirit had departed. The implication is that Samson did not go by feelings.

There are many people that wait for a feeling before they step out to minister to anyone. They rest in this feeling more than anything else. We usually call this “feeling” the anointing. In reality the anointing rests upon the spirit of man and it is neither a hot or cold feeling. The effect of the anointing though as it flows through the body can be hot or cold, but that is the effect of the anointing and not the anointing itself per se. Some of the most amazing things happen when we have no feelings to go by.

One of the big hindrances to seeing more of God in manifestation are the traditions that we have submitted our minds to. If I am persuaded that I can only administer the Spirit when I feel a particular way, my experiences will support my belief system and it will be true that there will be more of God expressed when I have these sensory evidences.

Hebrews 11 gives us a clue about Samson.

32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens Hebrews 11: 32 – 34

We have the witness of God for it; Samson acted in faith when it came to the anointing of the Spirit of the Lord. Samson therefore gives us a strong hint. The thing to note is that the Old Testament doesn’t say things like “and Samson acted in faith” – you wont find it in the Old Testament. That we do not find it there however does not mean that it is not the case. The New Testament takes us behind the scenes.

We see a fact that when it comes to supernatural manifestations of God, man must give God expression. God supplies the power by the anointing of his Spirit and MAN supplies the action.

Samson shook himself. Notice that he didn’t shake heaven; neither did he shake God for there was nothing in God or in heaven that required such a shaking. Today, we largely are waiting for God to do something. We call this revival – we say we are waiting for revival. Some folks even talk of a great move of God in the past and say that God is not moving now. This would imply that the scarcity is because God is not willing to move in our day like he moved in yesteryears. If the truth were told revival is not the move of God, but men shaking themselves under the influence of God!

Revival is men responding to God.

That which we are waiting for to “drop” out of heaven is already on earth. We are the temple of God therefore we can and we will manifest him. I do not want you to rush over what you just read, you see there is a theory of faith, a set of creeds that we are ready to use as a batting stick to out-argue other believers in defending what our group or denomination believes. In reality we are the temple of God ad this is the genius of the new creation - God is available in you right now. It is traditions in thought, belief and lifestyle that rob the word of its power. We must adopt a tradition of belief, of promptly acting on the word and of believing that the anointing we need is not out there somewhere but abiding in us already. What remains is acting on it.

The true measure of what we know is what we are everyday. Just watch your everyday life, it is an accurate summation and reflection of what you really know. What you know you are is what you’ll do.

Vowing beyond scriptural bounds

S. SEKOU ABODUNRIN

I encourage you to read 1 Sam 14:24-45 & Judges 11 before proceeding.

Likely Saul’s intent in making that vow was so that there will be less time spent in anything other than warfare. If the people actually ate some food they would be better off than fighting in famished conditions. They were suffering the effect of Saul’s vow!

It is noteworthy that the people abided by the vow of their king. There was nothing wrong with abiding with that vow, but in reality God did not demand it and coming under the power of this vow later exposed them to conditions under which they violated God’s word by eating animals raw with the blood in them! Saul was not killed for this vow, which he made and broke. In reality it was borne of ignorance and rashness.

There were people who knew what Jonathan had done. It was obvious that Jonathan was ignorant of his father’s vow. It was also obvious to the people that the victory was largely due to the operations of God through Jonathan. They knew that informing Saul would hasten Saul to take the life of his noble son who was a loveable man.

Clearly the one who had broken the vow was Jonathan. God knew that Jonathan should not face the consequences of Saul’s rash vows. The people also knew this. Only Saul was in the dark, he was zealous but beyond the bounds of scripture. He was vindictive.

Whereas Saul didn’t know when not to go ahead with the execution of a rash vow, the people around him knew enough of God’s character and nature to know that it would be foolish for Saul to make good his vow. This same people that obeyed their king’s vow not to eat and also obeyed his order that they also forgo sleep knew that Jonathan ought not to die.

The people also resorted to vows! They swore that Jonathan would surely not die.

You realise that Saul was an anointed man. Even though he was anointed, it would be foolish for this king, anointed man that he was, to kill an innocent son because of a foolish vow that he made.

There is another father who typifies this in the Bible - Jephthah.

If Jephthah didn’t actually offer up as a burnt offering with literal fire, he had achieved the equivalent in attitude and slant. In ancient Israel a woman carries the privilege of bringing forth the future of the family. If she remains a virgin, this potential goes unfulfilled. It is in effect the death of motherhood. It guarantees that she has no children to sustain and care for her in old age hence exposing her to destitution or needless lack. In effect so much of “what could have been” has been sacrificed.

She would live her whole life without husband or children because her father had delivered her over to such by the strength of his vow. We are told that this was an only child, therefore all the hopes of Jephthah was hinged on that lady. Jephthah by his actions then effectively ends his own lineage for he had no other child besides her. It is possible that he was upset not so much by her dying a virgin, but by her living on as one throughout her earthly life. He would have a continual reminder of the solemn fact that the state of things was a product of his use of words and the rashness of his vow.

Some people assume that God was in support of what Jephtah did. You must realise that the fact that the bible records an event does not imply that it sanctions it. God granted Jephthah victory. Does this mean that His granting the victory validated the vow? This is a question that perplexes Bible students.

Jephthah got this victory by the anointing of God’s Spirit. I want you to notice that Jephthah was already anointed before he ever vowed. It is easy to reason that since the Lord gave Jephthah victory after he made the vow, then it must mean that the vow was the reason for the victory. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him and this was before he made any vow. The anointing upon him and the victory he functioned in are both from the Lord. His vow did not secure a victory, nor did the Lord require it. In this specific instance his vow secured the end of his posterity!!

We marvel at Jephthah’s dedication, but what a price to pay. He was paying the price of being too quick to make a vow.

In the Old Testament the Spirit was upon only the prophet, priest or king. When it does come upon any other person it is for a specific service. Consider the instances cited below

Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet Judges 6:34

The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. Judges 14:6

Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon me, and he told me to say: "This is what the LORD says: That is what you are saying, O house of Israel, but I know what is going through your mind."
Ezekiel 11:5

From the passages above, we see a pattern that holds true in scripture - when the Spirit of the Lord comes upon anyone, there are specific things he comes to do and this is often stated right after it says “the Spirit of the Lord came upon..”

Therefore we can deduce from the bible that what the Spirit of the Lord comes upon to do is stated immediately after we are told whom the Spirit has come upon.

It seems clear then that when the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, he came upon him so that he could move around recruiting the army that he was taking to make war upon the Ammonites. This is significant.

You notice that at the onset Jephthah responds to the anointing and accurately determines that it was for mobilization of troops for war, and so he goes about.

The key is the phrase “pass over”. As long as Jephthah kept “passing over” the anointing flowed strongly. He should have relied more on the anointing than on his vow in this instance.

Jephthah begins to enter into troubled waters when he steps out from that which he had already discerned that the Spirit is upon him to do and he starts making bargains with God! For reasons best known to Jephthah he sees a need to make a vow. Keep it in mind that this vow was not initiated by God, but by Jephthah.

Some people wonder why God didn’t stop Jephthah from making this vow. We must realise that God allows people to make choices whether right or wrong ones. He makes his word available to provide wise counsel about what his ways and thoughts are, but as it turns out, religious zeal by itself could have dire consequences. So the fact that an anointed man makes this kind of decision does not mean that God causes them to make these choices or that God condones them.

The Spirit was not upon him to make bargains, but to utterly defeat the Ammonites.

Nevertheless this mighty man resorts to vows. Just imagine the vow he made:

"And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering."
Judges 11: 30-31

What did Jephthah expect to see when he got home? Someone else’s child? A neighbour? A neighbour’s grandmother that had come visiting? Maybe he was expecting his mother-in-law [laughs]. Whatever the case Jephthah was ready to “sacrifice” a family member for victory. Irrespective of what is meant by sacrifice. Irrespective of how Jephthah planned to keep this vow, it is not commendable because he clearly had no specific “offering” in mind. It was “whatever met him”.

It was up to the fathers in those days to give away their daughters. The ultimate decision to keep them single or married had a lot to do with their fathers. His intentions were good but nevertheless went beyond the demand of scripture. He seemed to have more respect for his vow, than he had for the life of his daughter or for the ability of the anointing that was already active in his life.

Jephthah put himself in this tight spot. He made a vow in exchange for victory over the enemies of Israel. This qualifies as a rash vow. We know it was rash because he didn’t wisely guide his words in making the vow. His reaction shows that when he was making the blanket vow he didn’t have it in mind that his daughter would qualify.

There are situations orchestrated by yourself or some other person where you will be exposed to a strong urge to vow, I encourage you that you do not do it, just give the money, but do not vow. The giving is the important thing. The vow is not. However once you step into the realm of vows you are in tight territory.

… to be continued