Crux magazine, by Crux Magazine

The sPiriT & Po

Crushing ProPheTi

hile preparing the minds of His disciples for the days ahead, Jesus told them in Matthew 24:11,’ “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” In Revelations 16:13-14, John corroborated this with a revelation: “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” This was unfolding within the backdrop of the judgment that was to befall the unrighteous in the end time. The deceptive strategy of the false prophetic order was designed to draw attention to themselves and by so doing mobilize many for the battle of the great day of the almighty. The prophecy of Malachi

in chapter 4 verse 5-6 (Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse) reveals the dimension by which righteousness will prevail in the end time. Elijah the prophet represents the ‘hand of God’ through which the false prophetic order will be exposed and terminated. The prophecy speaks of the reformation strategy that provides the standard through which God will judge the false prophets. At the time Prophet Malachi was declaring the prophecy, Elijah had actually come and gone in the flesh but for the avoidance of doubt, he was speaking of a future time when the spirit and power of Elijah will be released to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. This was a reference to John the Baptist as a forerunner of Christ. On the

Wer oF eliJah:

The False C order: other hand, it was a clear indication of a dimension of ministry that restores order to precede the coming of Christ, it was also vital for the second coming. “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. “He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” – Luke 1:15-17 “And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. “But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they

wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.” – Matt 17:10-13 When Jesus was clarifying the prophecy, He spoke not only of His first coming but inferred to the principle of His second coming. ‘Restoring all things’ in a way of apostolic reformation addresses several core principles that distinguish the false from the authentic prophets. In order for us to clearly understand this, let go back to Elijah’s encounter (1Kings 18: 30 - 31.) His confrontation with the prophets of Baal and Asherah comes up within the framework of a ‘broken down altar’. “Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the

tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “ Israel shall be your name.” Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.” Notice that while repairing the broken down altar, he took twelve stones and put them in place. In fact, the altar is broken down and worthless primarily because it lacks governmental structure. In restoring all things, the spirit and power of Elijah recovers the divine governmental structure by which authority to terminate the false prophetic is activated. Unless righteous standards are set, lawlessness will not be judged. Defining the False Prophetic Order (1King 18:19, Matt 24:11; 4-4, Mark 13:5-6) Sometimes, we are inclined to imagine that the ‘prophets of Baal and Asherah’, were false prophets because they were strange looking prophets who had no inkling of Christ. No! Instead, they were false because they were not in harmony with the will of God. Speaking the mind of God to provide edification and exhortation is of vital importance to discerning the Spirit of God. Once these elemental principles are missing, prophecy tends towards falsehood. The spirit of prophecy and the office of the prophet must flow through the Holy Spirit to provide spiritual direction in righteousness. The false

prophetic is anchored in deceit and projects the ministry of defilement. The prophets that Elijah confronted ‘ate from the table of Jezebel’. In other words, their doctrinal foundation is rooted in the spirit of Jezebel. Jezebel is a termagant false teacher seeking to cut off spiritual authority in the life of the believer. This is achieved through seduction by eliminating the true prophetic dimension of the church. “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.” – Prov. 29:18 When they succeed in causing the church to loose the power for spiritual advance (revelation), Jezebel uses the tool of witchcraft (control) to mislead. As a ‘prophetess’ (see Rev.2:20), Jezebel imparts a false prophetic ministry to those who feed from her table. The false prophets operate completely outside the scope and principles of the governmental structure of Christ. They promote idolatry and immorality (including sexual immorality) using weapons of fear – they have no love for truth. Like Jezebel, they are so seductive in using every available means to lure ignorant men away from the truth and unto themselves – even while using the name of Christ. The signs they perform provides an influence through which they are able to build massive economic platforms. They often appear to be loudest and more popular with men as they corner their hearts through deceit.

Battle of the Great Day (Rev. 16:14) When our Lord Jesus Christ went into the temple to confront the dove sellers and moneychangers, He was critical about the deviation of the House, which He claimed should be called a ‘house of prayer for all nations.’ These are days when the prayer focus of the church dwells only on promoting greed and ‘enemy consciousness’. The Lord is presently restoring apostolic and governmental structure to His church and this will provide the impetus to raise a fresh standard of righteousness. The true soldiers of Christ are on a collision course with the ‘prophets of Baal and Asherah’ in this season. The battle of the great day of the Lord almighty is prophetically pictured in the defeat of the Baal prophets in scripture. And the transition of the ministry of Elijah to Elisha and that of John the Baptist (who came in the spirit and power of Elijah) opens a new chapter in the quality of relationship that should exist through the principles of discipleship. We lose spiritual authority when we loose sight of nations that we must disciple (Matt 28:18-20). The table that must bring the hearts of Fathers back to that of the Son has to be set up again. The Church of this age is advancing into a season when Christ will truly be LORD. As Jesus overturned the table of the Moneychangers (spiritual harlots) and dove sellers (idolaters), the table of the false prophets is about to be overturned. Revelation 16 tells of the seven bowls of God’s wrath directed at wiping off every platform of Satan that has helped to project the false prophetic order.

Final Words The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” – Matt 24:29-31 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” – Rev. 16:15

Apostle Lemmy Russel

www.gospelhouseministries.org

PARENT

WHY ARE YOU

here is not a single parent that I know of that has not been surprised by a behaviour that their child has displayed. From throwing a tantrum in school to doing something shocking elsewhere. Proverbs 22:15 tells us that ‘Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child’, why are we surprised when we see or hear concerning reports? The definition of ‘foolishness’ is; unwise, ridiculous, lacking good sense or judgement. So in other words unwise or ridiculous behaviour is bound up in the heart of a child. If it’s there, then the next thing we should be asking is ‘How do we get it out?’ Real life example: 6 years ago a lovely teenager who I’ll call Jane approached me at church, saying she was pregnant. Her father and mother who were both committed in the church reacted by throwing her out. I understood the disappointment of the parents but what I learnt during my separate counselling sessions with the parents and Jane was that they were so out of touch with each other. Jane and her siblings complained about understanding their lives in Christ. Amongst the 25 things we raised and addressed, comment number 7 is so common “Children’s church is for kids, youth church discusses irrelevant topics, everyone pretends and adult church we don’t understand...so the car park with friends is better usage of our time.” (I use this example because in my many years as a parenting and family mentor, many of the children I have encountered in such situations have come from Christian homes). The reaction to such news may firstly be one of shock, embarrassment, shame and even disappointment, but after we go through this we have to figure out how we intend to deal with this unwise behaviour.

Insight

Children do things with little or no knowledge of the implications or even the dangers that may follow their

actions. Remember the more information our children have, the more able they are to make informed decisions.

Think

If we leave it to the schools to teach our children sex education, why get shocked and embarrassed when sons and daughters announce parenthood at 15. If we allow the media dictate that certain dress sizes and lifestyles are acceptable to our children, we will continue to see unrighteous trends emerging.

Act

We are not only to teach them about sex but also the sacredness of it and how they should value themselves and their bodies. That they are created in the image and likeness of God. We are to be their role models. We are to dictate and set the trends as our Heavenly Father gives us wisdom. Proverbs 22:15b says ‘The rod of correction will drive it (foolishness) far from him’. Now to each individual the ‘rod’ may mean something different. Whatever it means, it has a job to do and if done properly we are assured that it will drive foolishness far from our children. A more hands on approach to discipline is ok as long as it is not abusive in any way. Be sure to communicate why they are being disciplined as well as why they should no longer engage in such an unwise or ridiculous behaviour. The challenge here is that many parents believe when they have addressed the behaviour of a child once, they no longer have to repeat it. The solution: Is to consistently re-enforce the correction until it grows roots deep down on the inside of their hearts. Always use the word of God to back anything you are trying to teach your children. The word of God is full of wisdom. I Corinthians 13:11 says ‘When I was a child, I spoke as a child; I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but

TING 101

U SURPRISED?

Thought

Training up children is an evolving process. Potty training at 2-3, telling the time at 7 and not succumbing to peer pressure at 12, the list goes on.

Action

Parents do the training up.

Recognise

Children start to have their own opinions and ideas. If you continue to address them without realising that you have to change as they change, you will find that you are not getting through to them. They feel you don’t understand them and you can’t figure out why they are not listening to you. It now becomes hard to communicate. Another church based example; 5 years ago in south London, while a Church brother was at evening service, his son was murdered on the streets. Murdered! Why because this boy lived a double life, hours and hours of time in church is not the same as “Training” as the scriptures teach us. When I had a discussion with this beloved brother some things were apparent. Looking ahead I ask ‘do we still take our children to church hoping to avoid gang culture and teen pregnancy? Remember Eli the priest, he took his children to the house of God but they lay with the women there and he knew and did nothing about it. I am Not a firm believer of the statement “As you take care of Gods business he will take care of yours”. God will not come down from heaven to raise your children, He will use you to do that.

What He will do is give you the wisdom you need to do it. Take time to understand your child, one of the best ways to do this is to understand that God knows your child. He knows everything about your child and can reveal to you things that you need to know about your child in order to help you to help them. He will also know what method of discipline will work with your child. It’s not enough to do what your neighbour is doing because it worked for them. No two children are the same, therefore what works for one may not work for the other. With God’s wisdom and guidance through His word and your prayers and patience, the rod of correction will drive out any foolishness from your child. The key word being ‘Patience’. Just because you do not see a change straight away does not mean you give up. James 1:4 ‘But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.’ Tola Onigbanjo is a family and parenting mentor. She is also a speaker and trainer on parenting and youth issues. She hosts a weekly parenting show called ‘Wise Words with wise Tola’ on Tuesdays on www.playvybz.com from 4-6pm and is also the founder of www.parentingdomain.com, and www.stepstogether.com.

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when I became a man, I put away childish things’. There is a way that our children speak, understand, think and act that is different from that of an adult. If it takes us time to grow up to become adults it tells me that it will also take time for the behaviour of a child to change to that of an adult. Proverbs 22:6 ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it’.

To contact Tola email; tola@stepstogether.com or call 07958329910.

Apostle Lemmy Russel

www.gospelhouseministries.org

The sPiriT & Po

Crushing ProPheTi

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oWer oF eliJah:

The False iC order: other hand, it was a clear indication of a dimension of ministry that restores order to precede the coming of Christ, it was also vital for the second coming. “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. “He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” – Luke 1:15-17 “And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. “But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they