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March 14, 2008 - Issue #121 Nancy-TONI Youngbrandt - Editor Chuck-JOHNEL & Nancy-TON1 Youngbrandt 558-B Knapp Road Colville, WA. 99114 Tele # 1-509-684-4135 "(JESUS said:) LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP, AND LET DOWN YOUR NETS FOR A DRAUGHT...and when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitudes of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners... and they came, and filled both ships..."
(Luke 5: 5,6,7).
GOING INTO THE DEEPER THINGS OF CHRIST written by: Chuck- JOHNEL leaving*
"Therefore the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptism, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment."
(The Apostle Paul in Hebrews 6: 1-2)
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GOING INTO THE DEEPER THINGS OF CHRIST (continued) *Note: The word "leaving" in Hebrew is defined as: "to send forth" speaking of completion. The operative statement here is, " let us go on unto perfection" In the Amplified Bible the same verses read: "Therefore let us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrines of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily towards the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity..." (Ampli fed Hebrews 6: 1 a-b,J Once we are saved by faith by GOD'S grace through JESUS CHRIST and have been baptized and have repented of dead works, having faith toward GOD, and have embraced the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrines of Christ - we are to go onto the deeper things of Christ. But what is that? Sadly, too few of God's children have barely achieved the elementary stages whereby they might even become aware of greater vistas in Christ. But if they have then this is what they ought be aspiring towards:
"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God..." (Ephesians 1:I a) "And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and, some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure and stature of the fulness of Christ... But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." (E p h esians 4: 11-13, 15) Here the Apostle Paul defines these greater vistas in Christ as being: 1.The perfecting of the saints. 2. Until all come in the unity of the faith. 3. Until all come to the knowledge of the Son of God. 4. Until all come to the measure and stature of the fulness of Christ. 5. Until all speak the truth in Christ's love and grow up into Him in all things. When you hear someone deny that prophets exist anymore simply point them to what the Apostle Paul stated above in Ephes1ans 4: 1 1-13, 15. Prophets (among the others)
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GOING INTO THE DEEPER THINGS OF CHRIST (continued) would no longer be needed or given by God if" all of these 5 points on the previous page were a reality, fulfilled, completed - a done deal! They are not! Not even close! The plain and sad fact is that hardly a minority of those in the church have fulfilled
the "elementary stage in the teachings and doctrines of Christ"; and I would question if more than a mere handful have come anywhere near to attaining to the 5 "greater vistas in Christ" as listed at the bottom of the previous page. More recently, a survey reveals that upwards of 50% of church goers are turning from the faith. But that is not a surprise to me. Back in the mid 1970's JESUS shewed me (literally) that out of a sizeable congregation, some 70% were on the road to hellfire and were unsaved. He also revealed that this church was a microcosm of the church in America. This dire condition (70% on the way to hell) was not merely a local problem, it was churchwide across America.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? Generally speaking the vast majority of God's people in the church are either "not challenged to grow in Christ" or have no idea that they are called to grow in Christ or what that means. Most do not even have a hint of what is expected of them as Christians or the vast opportunity that they have in Christ. Let's take just one of the five points and take a look at it - number 3: 3. Until all come to the knowledge of the Son of God. It is pretty simple - we ought come to KNOW JESUS personally and intimately. This speaks of having a living relationship with the living Son of God. Consider this: JESUS said: "Man y will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out devils? And in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from Me, ye that work iniquity." (' ESUS in Matthew 7: 22-23)
As we seek to come to know JESUS, He will know us - we will not be strangers to
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GOING INTO THE DEEPER THINGS OF CHRIST (continued) Him as so many are. At this point I've shown you the scripture that outlines what we are to attain to go onto the deeper things of Christ, noted as the "5 greater vistas in Christ" (see the bottom of page 2). So the next question would be this:
"How do I go - onto the deeper things of Christ?" Humanly/carnally speaking it is actually impossible for anyone to accomplish this on their own. It can onl y be achieved by the outworking of the HOLY SPIRIT through JESUS CHRIST. How? 1. Learn the discipline of a life of prayer (praying daily looking to JESUS CHRIST) 2. In and out of a daily discipline of prayer we can learn to move In The Spirit', which is also a by-product of daily prayer. 3. By daily prayer and moving `In The Spirit' we can effectively learn to abide in Jesus Christ and add (abiding) this as a part of our daily discipline of prayer. 4. It is in and out of daily abiding in Christ that we can come to hear the Lord JESUS speaking to us and thereby we can learn to yield to and trust Him. 5. It is in and out of this daily discipline of prayer, moving `In The Spirit' and
abiding in Christ that as we learn to trust Him and yield to Him, JESUS CHRIST, that He begins to change us from within to without. 6. It is He, JESUS CHRIST, who will teach us, lead us and conform us to Himself; it is in His care and keeping that we are perfected, that we are drawn into the unity of the faith, that we come to know Him, and that through Him we will come to the measure and stature of the fulness of Christ speaking truth in His love and will grow up into Him in all things. ABIDING: In prayer we talk to God but it is in abiding that we quiet ourselves down to listen to God speak to us; more, it is in abiding in Him that He changes us from within to without. That process (change) is slow, gradual and at a pace He determines (not us). Our part is simple - as we come to trust His love, we learn to yield to Him.
iviarcn .i, /-uua rage I ne stair anq woru ministry GOING INTO THE DEEPER THINGS OF CHRIST (continued)
"Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not..." (I John 3: 6) If you take a close look at JESUS' Word in John chapter 15 you will realize j ust how much JESUS emphasized the importance of "abiding in Him." Unless you "abide in Him, JESUS CHRIST,"you cannot bear fruit in your life. "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me." (JESUS in John 15: 4)
The hidden stumbling block - Adam It happens often where a brother or sister in Christ that has had hands laid on them to receive the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues, that sooner or later they wiIl receive a word from whom they believe to be Jesus, but it is not Jesus. Many are deeply discouraged to learn that they have been deceived by a false word, it cripples many brethren spiritually and others, refusing to see their error, slip deeper into the grip of deception and fall. For this cause many men of God discourage or mistrust those moving in the gifts, especially if they are led in ways not understood thus feared. As a consequence many brethren are discouraged or turned away from an active personal relationship with Jesus for fear of deception, especially if they receive "mixed words" (part God, part man or Satan). That a Christian who is starting to move in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and is entering into a personal relationship with Jesus will face deceptive words and receive false leadings is normal.
THIS IS NORMAL?!? Every believer need understand that they were all born into this world through fallen Adam (the first Adarn) and so their soul was tainted from the start with what we sometimes call "the Adamic nature" or "a sin nature" or "the carnal nature." The bottom line is that from our earliest years we have ALWAYS heard this fallen Adam speaking to us, hearing/feeling his impulses and drives that brought/bring us to sin. When we receive Christ in our life the only new thing is JESUS' presence in our
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GOING INTO THE DEEPER THINGS OF CHRIST (continued) lives whereby we can now discern or detect this fallen inner being and can become aware of it. If we were keenly aware of the fact that this fallen Adam within us is very active and is still present even after we receive JESUS CHRIST as our Lord and Savior - then we would be better prepared to both recognize and deal with that "fallen Adam". When we begin to move by the Spirit of God and begin to enter into a living relationship with JESUS CHRIST, do we think for one moment that the fallen Adam within us is going to simply lay down and die? Think again.
WHEN YOU BEGIN TO GROW IN CHRIST FALLEN ADAM WILL FIGHT THAT! WHY? When Christians begin to grow in Christ and in Christ start being changed into His likeness and image by the SPIRIT OF GOD - fallen Adam must fight that with every means at his disposal for one simple reason. When the Body of Christ begins to move towards maturity in Christ, becoming like JESUS, doing what JESUS did - that spells the end of it for fallen Adam, Lucifer and all the host of hell - they are facing judgment day! They have a vested interest in keeping Christians in that immature carnal state forever. "...THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD COMETH, AND HATH NOTHING IN ME." (JESUS in John 14: 30b) Fallen Adam had nothing in JESUS, no hold through any carnality in Him (there was none), no sin nature (it was inactive), no strong carnal desire in Him whereby Adam might find a way to turn Jesus away from God's Will. The only way we can come to such a state (where the prince of this world has nothing
in us) is through JESUS CHRIST, in and out of abiding, in and out of His workings in us by His Spirit as we learn to both trust and yield to His Perfect Will for us.
THE BODY OF CHRIST IS ILL PREPARED/EQUIPPED Under JESUS' Commission I have spent the better part of 3 3 years calling Christians in America to pray and met a phenomenal resistance to prayer - demonic in fact.
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GOING INTO THE DEEPER THINGS OF CHRIST (continued) THE BODY OF CHRIST IS ILL PREPARED/EQUIPPED (continued) As a result of this intense resistance to prayer the Body of Christ is blocked from any opportunity to enter into a deeper relationship with Jesus. If this were a horse race, the vast majority of Christians are still locked in the starting gate and going no where fast.
THE EMISSARY OF 1976 It was just past mid-1976 and my son, Stefan, was barely three months old. In a matter of a week's time we would gain entrance into Trinity Lutheran Church to begin the prayer work that JESUS asked of me back in 1974. The pastor of that church had for two years rejected and resisted every request to allow me and others to come into the church and pray. Through persistent prayer and intercession, the Lord JESUS would finally open a way for our small gathering of Christians to enter the church and pray. This was the birth of the Net of Prayer. By this time, I understood (through JESUS' Word and Commission) that my Call was to go out among His People, to warn them of coming judgments and to call them to repentance and prayer. It would he a nationwide work. One evening in mid-I976, just before permission was granted and the church opened for prayer, I was in my prayer closet (which was, at the time, my den), I was praying and meditating on the Lord Jesus, as was my discipline. Quite unexpectedly, an unwelcome visitor appeared before me. My visitor was an emissary sent directly from Lucifer, and I found myself looking straight at a demon prince. This creature had a princely bearing, stood about six foot tall and wore a robe of purple trimmed with gold. It had on a golden crown. It was very calm, smooth-talking and exceptionally self-assured. It began stating, "Greetings! My lord (it did not mean JESUS but Lucifer) sends me to you with this offer." It then went on to tell me of the work the "Lord " (it now meant JESUS) would have me do. That surprised me - how could it possibly know what Jesus wanted me to do? The emissary went on to offer me fame, wealth, power, rich houses, women, and then (to quote this creature directly), "respect, honor, and high placement in the Church, i7I would on/v refrain fi-orn warning of the coating judgment and ifI would not call people to pray. " It added, that I could teach about the Bible, I could preach salvation, and 1 could do many
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GOING INTO THE DEEPER THINGS OF CHRIST THE EMISSARY OF 1976 (continued) good works. It then asked me outright again to immediately agree to not warn of judgments and to not call people to pray. If I agreed, it said, it would grant me all that it had promised and more if I wanted it. I was absolutely astonished at the audacity of the creature. It not only interrupted my prayer time, but it actually tried to buy me. I was inwardly aware that it could deliver everything it promised. I answered the emissary with Scripture, saying, "...as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord JESUS CHRIST." (Joshua 24: 15f) With that, the demon emissary glared at me with hateful eyes. Its face contorted to a threatening posture, and it spoke in a rage, telling me that it (and its demon hoard) would kill my loved ones, my children, my wife, and last, me. It and they would ensure that I was hatred, reviled, rejected, and despised in the Church. It and they would also work to inflict want, suffering, and troubles in my life. It then continued to spew out threats and hatred like a flood. I quickly retorted saying, " I trust in the Lord JESUS CHRIST, who is my Lord
and Savior, and only except that He should permit any of this can it happen, for you have no power over me. I belong to Christ!" With that I rebuked the demon prince in Jesus' Name and commanded it be gone. And, with that, it was gone. In the years to come the enemy made any number of attempts on my family, my wife, my children and myself, and I might add, unsuccessfully. In the greater Church in America, gossip, false accusations, and lies against me spread like wildfire. That has continued to this day. IN 1982 following a major battle `In The Spirit' during which we (the Net of Prayer under JESUS' direction) overran and demolished a Satanic kingdom In The Spirit'. JESUS at this time, simply stated that, "THIS WAS SATAN'S KINGDOM AND IT WAS IN HIS CHURCH." Then some years later the HOLY SPIRIT gave me to see `In The Spirit' a meeting between Lucifer and a creature wearing a hood - they seemed to be meeting as equals, which was quite unusual. I then noted that this hooded creature moved into the Church, the Body of Christ, and disappeared there. I asked JESUS who this was and how it so easily moved to and from the Church - JESUS answer was quite direct, He told me that this was Satan whom we know as Adam.
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GOING INTO THE DEEPER THINGS OF CHRIST continued I'd long since seen the Scriptural evidence that pointed to Satan as being Adam, but now I'd seen this Adam/Satan meeting with Lucifer as a co-equal. THE LORD versus THE FATHER I once knew a young prophet who had been called to join with us on a prophetic mission and how he told us (Nancy-TONI and I) that when he prayed about going with us on this prophetic mission that he heard JESUS say, "GO!" but then heard the Father say, "DO NOT GO!" He then said, "Since the Father is greater than the Son, I will not go. " Because we knew this was a serious mission and many lives hung in the balances we asked
him to pray and fast the next day and seek the Lord again. He did and he got the same, JESUS said, "GO" and the Father said, "DO NOT GO." So he did not go and as a result the prophetic mission could not be unde rt aken (it required three prophets) and the result was horrific - well more than half a million living souls perished. I was confounded, how could he hear JESUS say one thing and the FATHER say the opposite? It made no sense. It took seeing Lucifer conferring with Satan/Adam, who also went in and out of the Church, the Body of Christ, with ease, and JESUS revealing who he was to understand what happened with this young prophet. He inwardly identified the second voice as being THE FATHER but did not discern which father it was and assumed it was FATHER GOD, but it wasn't - it was Adam/Satan.
THE GREAT CONTROVERSY = Adam is Satan In praying and searching the Scriptures in the late 1980's I found abundant evidence that pointed to the very thing JESUS revealed to me about Adam being Satan. You can come at it from many different directions but it was adds up to the same thing Adam is Satan. Some years back we produced a cassette tape in which I shared the revelation insights and Scriptures that point to Adam as being Satan. I was surprised by how many brethren wanted to and did defend Adam, some with some ferocity and some with contrary revelation. In that Adam was the one who brought death on all mankind, and whose repo rt in the Bible, after the fall, is hardly positive. To many I offered a simple challenge, 'find a Scripture after the fall that speaks well of Adarn " - none could because there are none. Nonetheless, brethren continue to defend Adam or are shocked to hear that I see Satan as being fallen Adam. For a time I wondered why? Then the answer became obvious as I
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GOING INTO THE DEEPER THINGS OF CHRIST (continued) pondered this unaccountable fan club he has among so many brethren in the Church. Why did so many brethren defend Adam? It is because they all have an innate or natural inner recognition of Adam as being "their father." When we are born into this world we are bo rn through fallen Adam and this is where our souls are tainted with a sin nature and so we are linked to a fallen one as being our "father". Indeed, that is not inaccurate, and until we receive JESUS CHRIST as our Lord and Savior, we belong to Adam, he is our spiritual father. Adam is our spiritual father?
To state it as openly as this can be a bit of a cold water shock; but Scripturally it is quite accurate. Consider these Scriptures: "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have receive the
Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba Father." (Romans 8:. 15) "To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." (Galatians 4: 5) "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will..." ('Ephesians 1: 5)
ADOPTION (from what father?) Even if a child was adopted from an orphanage the plain fact is that he or she had a "father" - perhaps absent, perhaps unknown, perhaps dead; but nonetheless that child had a father. Scripture (above) speaks of us being adopted by JESUS CHRIST - who is also
known in the Bible as the "last Adam" -but adopted from whom? How about the "first Adam", the one with the checkered past. "...The first Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. " (The Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15: 22) "For in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (The Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15: 22)
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THE LAST ADAM (JESUS CHRIST) SUPPLANTED THE FIRST ADAM "...death reigned from Adam to Moses...For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God. And the gift of grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift; for the judgment was by one to condemnation.. .For if by one man's offence death reigned by one..." (Selections from Romans 5: 14-17). Our spiritual connection to fallen Adam is pretty intense and quite intimate in that our sin nature (death), which springs from him (fallen Adam), and our sinning was more than enough to condemn us all to eternal damnation and hellfire. Except JESUS came (last Adam) we would be in that fix to this day. Okay - you may be willing to acknowledge that fallen Adam was our former spiritual father, but that all changed when we came to know JESUS right!? Well, wonderfully and Praise be to God that through JESUS CHRIST we were saved and are now adopted sons of God through Christ who died for our sins! But let us take a look at one saved by Christ, one close to Jesus, who knew Him intimately: "He (JESUS) saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And JESUS answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, by My Father which is in heaven..." (Matthew 16: 15-17a) Then just a little while later (in Matthew chapter 16) Jesus began to show His disciples how that He must go to Jerusalem and be crucified and be raised on the third day. "Then Peter took Him (Jesus), and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee. But He (Jesus) turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offence unto Me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." (Matthew 16: 22-23)
One moment Peter is speaking out of a revelation from FATHER GOD and in the next moment Satan is speaking through him.
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GOING INTO THE DEEPER THINGS OF CHRIST (continued) A PERSONAL REVELATION In 1976 JESUS asked me and another prophet to take a 3-day walk through Chicago with The Staff. We asked our prayer group (about forty brethren) to pray about it but the elders declined. A number of brethren, elders included, thought it was a trap of the devil to kill us. Finally after weeks passed we had to have an answer to go or not go and the elders decided to call for a vote. The majority voted we should go. In that a number of brethren were convinced we would be killed on this walk, we lastly asked for prayer (it was a prayer group after all). During this time of prayer the HOLY SPIRIT fell on all present and all those who were most violently opposed to this walk spoke in JESUS' Name, saying He was sending us and it was His Will that we go. After the 3-day walk we wrote up all that Jesus had shown us on this walk (that judgment was coming on America). The elders and some other brethren asked us to come and talk about what we wrote. When we arrived we found ourselves in a kangaroo court where they were steadfastly accusing us of having been deceived by the devil and that Satan had led us on the walk. I was every bit stunned by this behavior and could see darkness in all these accusers. Then I spoke up and said, "Didn't all of you prophesy in JESUS' Name that He had sent us on this walk?" With that I saw the darkness in them disappear and for a moment the brilliant Light of Christ filled their faces and each of them said, "Oh yes, JESUS sent you on this walk! " Then, like turning off a light switch, the light of Christ vanished and the darkness returned and they picked-up where they left off accusing us of being led by the devil. This is how fallen Adam works in God's people all the time - but no one seems to take it to account or to address it for what it is. Consider the Apostle Paul saying this: "...in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily." (The Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15: 22) Paul was dying daily to his carnal nature, the fallen Adam, within which at one point he referred to as the "old man." This is a major stumbling block to God's people who want to grow in Christ and a seriously major problem if they do not know it exists or who it is.
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THE DEEPER THINGS OF CHRIST (continued "Satan " is defined in the Hebrew as being "the arch enemy of good, adversary, withstand, attack, accuse, resist." In the New Testament " Satan " is defined as "the accuser". The term "devil" is defined as being "a false accuser, slanderer,"
HOW DO WE RECOGNIZE ADAM? In prayer, in moving `In The Spirit' and in abiding in Christ daily we come to KNOW JESUS CHRIST as He comes to know us. There is a very distinct difference between JESUS' Word and Adam, although AdamiSatan is very clever and can sound "like" the Lord GOD - nevertheless, he is not and one can discern the difference. How? JESUS' Word is filled with Himself, His Love - Satan gives a word that can be stunningly accurate scripturally and sounds very good but it is void of Christ Love. Only as you come to know JESUS and draw near to Him can you discern the difference.
The following article is re-printed, with permission, from Reverend Dan Bohler's Newsletter:
The Urgency Of Repentance by Richard Owen Roberts (Quote) "Edited from a message delivered at the "Heart-Cry for Revival" Conference near Asheville, North Carolina. May 23-27, 2000. Richard Owen Roberts is founder and president of International Awakening Ministries, Wheaton, Illinois. There is very little said these days in the church on the subject of repentance, and in many circles, what little is said is not accurate. Even in cases where it is accurate, it is said in such an inconsequential fashion that nobody catches the real consequence of the issue of repentance. There are many places where they teach and preach that repentance has nothing whatsoever to do with salvation. I have been told by listeners, when I finished speaking in various places on repentance, "You don't seem to realize, Mr. Roberts, repentance is a work, and we're not saved by works; we're saved by faith alone." Nonsense. It is impossible to believe when you are going in the wrong direction. Repentance is mandatory to salvation. You must turn from your sins, and you must turn to Jesus Christ. You cannot turn to Christ unless you have turned from your sins. It is also apparent that to repent and not believe would be a travesty indeed. It would put a person in a position similar to the situation Christ described when He
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spoke of seven demons being cast out of someone, and the place swept and garnished, but because nothing came in to take the place of the demons that were expelled, his last state was worse than his first (Matthew 12:42-45). Repentance and faith are wed together, never to be divorced. Wherever you have a church that is negligent on the subject of repentance, you have a very erroneous and grievous situation. Every preacher reading this ought to be pleading with God: "Give me, Lord, a new sense of the urgency of repentance, so that I can preach it with vigor and power, and that the Holy Spirit will use it to change my congregation." Corporate Repentance I ask you if you have ever weighed carefully the significance, not alone of personal repentance, but of corporate repentance. It should be obvious to all of us that just as individuals sin, so corporate entities sin. I almost never hear anyone say anything consequential on the subject of corporate repentance. The few who do say something about it tend sometimes at least, to make it more the public confession of private sin. One of the aberrations in recent years accompanying revival efforts is that people are invited and urged and pled with even to make a public confession of a private sin. You may feel there is face value in that, but whatever value you place on it, surely you must not confuse it with corporate confession of corporate sin and corporate repentance. As each individual sins, so each entity sins, and by entity I'm being inclusive. A married couple is an entity. A married couple with children is another entity. There is the extended family. There's the local church, the school, the business. Whatever the entity, just as each individual sins, so each entity sins. The passage Second Chronicles 14:7 is not directed to individuals. Indeed, most of the passages in Scripture on the subject of revival are not directed to individuals but to a corporate entity. When you're using Second Chronicles 14:7 is never enough to find some individuals who are responsive to that and to think that God is now under obligation to do something in relation to healing the land. It is when the people of God corporately humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from their wicked ways, that we begin to approach what is called for in the passage. But today we don't see any real response to that on the part of churches nationwide. It is never enough to think in terms of repentance and the individual; you must think in terms ofthe corporate entity. When you go away from this conference don't merely take joy in the fact that you yourself have come to a deeper level of repentance—thank God that will be true for many of you—but burden your heart immensely for the corporate entities in which you are involved, and realize that they, too, must come to repentance.
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SEVEN MYTHS OF REPENTANCE Myth Number One: Repentance equals sorrow, this is a very prominent myth. Many people think they have come to repentance because they have been overwhelmed with sorrow. Others are fearful they have not repented, because they see some around them weeping profusely, and they say, "I've never wept like that. Maybe I don't know true repentance." Tears have their place. I'm not speaking depreciatingly of tears. I would hope to God there were more tears in our meetings, and more tears in my own life. I think tears are an urgent need, but we dare not equate sorrow and repentance. They are not the same thing. Often those who express sorrow are not expressing sorrow over sin, but sorrow over having been caught in sin. Several years ago we had a wonderful touch of the Holy Spirit on campuses across the nation, in some fifty schools, it is estimated. Many tears were shed, and many students stood and confessed unspeakable sins. They did so in a flood of tears with absolute sincerity, but that's not the same as repentance. Many of those dear students were drawn back into the web of their iniquity because unwisely they were led to believe that sorrow equals repentance. Myth Number Two: Repentance and self-defense can exist together. Whenever you find a person who is seemingly repentant and yet he or she is busily defending himself or herself, you know it is not repentance. Take for instance King Saul, who was commanded to go and utterly slay the Amalekites (1 Samuel, chapter 15). Instead, he spared the best of the sheep and the goats and some of the gold, and he spared the king. When God spoke to Samuel the prophet. He said, "King Saul has disobeyed me; go down and confront him." When Samuel confronted Saul, Saul said, "Why, I have done what the Lord commanded me." Samuel said, "What then is the meaning of this bleating of the sheep and goats in my ear?" "Oh," said Saul, "you have to understand that the people preserved the best of the sheep and the goats." And he was told, "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (verse 22). When he couldn't squirm out of it any longer. Saul cried out, "Oh, I have sinned, but the people made me do it." Repentance and self-defense never g o together. When the prophet turned and started to walk away from King Saul, King Saul reached out and grabbed hold of his garment. Samuel kept walking and the garment tore. Then Samuel turned back and said to Saul, "Just as you have torn my garment, so has God torn the kingdom from you and given it to a neighbor who is better than yourself." Saul blurted out, "Oh, I have sinned, but don't tell the people and the elders." Samuel was wiser than some of us. Samuel knew that there was no repentance in King Saul because he was linking repentance and self defense.
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When a public figure repents, the whole of his public should know it . If you sin, and your public doesn't know whether you've repented or not, you have some repentance yet to deal with. Repentance and self-defense never exist together. Myth Number Three: Repentance can be selective; one can pick and choose the things from which they repent. When anyone resorts to selective repentance, the tendency is to repent of the glaring matters, the things of which everyone knows he is guilty. There is no potential for selectivity in genuine repentance. Even if someone in your church is caught in adultery and sheds buckets of tears, and makes no self-defense, and admits openly and candidly to an adulterous relationship, it is not necessarily repentance. You have to be sure that the underlying cause of adultery has been turned from, and that cause in most instances is pride. Take as an example, a woman who forsakes her three children and her husband and
runs off with a local university professor. When she is confronted by the church, she at first says, "Well, if you knew the beastly fellow I'm married to, you'd understand." But the church is very earnest in bringing her to repentance and so finally she says, "Well, I admit that I did the wrong thing." Do we then rejoice? I'd want to get underneath and discover whether she had turned from the pride that made her think she didn't need to be bound to this miserable man.
I'm thinking now of a pastor who invited me to conduct a series of meetings, and one of the first things I discovered was that he was in an adulterous relationship. Recently, twelve years after the original event, he tracked down where I was preaching and came every night to the meetings. The last night he said to me, "1 have come to the awareness that all of my attempts to repent of adultery have been without meaning because underneath it all is pride." Then with tears coursing down his face he said, "Do you think there is any hope for me?" I said, "Only God knows," because I didn't see any evidence that his pride was broken. One of the myths of repentance is that one can be selective. Myth Number Four: Repentance is purely personal. Sin is not personal! Sin is always against somebody. If you ask what is the very essence of sin, you come to the certain determination that the essence of sin is self. Sin is me against you; you against me; me against God; us against God. Sin is very purely personal. Sin is always against somebody. Even the secret sins of the heart, which some people imagine are against nobody but themselves, are nonetheless against God . The great evil of all sin consists of the fact it is against God . That's why in Psalm 51 David cried out, "Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight." Wait a minute, David, you sinned against Bathsheba; you sinned against her husband; you sinned against a whole nation; you sinned against your own family. How can you say "Against Thee and Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight?"
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March 5, 2008
Ah, that's what you're bound to say when you come to recognize that the great evil of all sin is that it is against God. So when you come to repentance, it is not enough to secretly repent; it is not enough to engage in some serious work with God concerning your own life. Your sin has been against somebody. Sure there are times when it is solely against God, but there are pastors who have allowed some secret sin in their lives and in doing so, have sinned perpetually against their congregation. You have never dealt adequately with sin in repentance unless you come clean before you congregation. There are deacons who are regularly sinning against the congregation that has put them in the office. To say that repentance is purely personal is a mythological statement. Myth Number Five: Repentance consists ofturningfrom the evilIhave done. This is what is usually taught. No, it is deeper than that. Why did David say in Psalm 51, "In sin did my mother conceive me"? Was he pinning the blame for his adultery and his murder on his mother? No indeed. He was acknowledging that his problem was not merely what he had done; his problem was what he was. When one comes to repentance, it is never enough to repent of what y ou've done. You must repent of what you are . We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. When we come to repentance, we must repent of what we are, that we are shot through with sin, that we were born in sin and that sin has a vice grip over our lives. You can repent a thousand times of the things that you have done, and if you have never repented of what you are, you still have to repent . Myth Number Six: Repentance is a single act. A person comes to a conference like this, or to his church on Sunday morning where the Spirit is using the Word of God like a very sharp sword. His heart is pieces; his sin is apparent. He determines then and there to repent and so he makes some overt action against that sin. He turns from it_ Someone conies to me and says, "I want you to understand that twelve years ago I repented" or "Two nights ago I repented." It's never enough to say, "I repented." I must be able to say, "I am repentant—day in, d ay out, y ear after ,y ear, unceasingjy I live in the spirit of repentance ." Our churches are loaded down with people who can testify to the occasion in which they repented, and yet sin has shot through their lives. They are utterly worthless as
witnesses of the grace of God. They do vast damage in the church because they think that repentance is something that occurs in a point of time. No, repentance is an ongoing spirit and attitude. We live consistently in repentance, just as we must live consistent) in faith. Oh, the pity of the millions in America who can tell you the day and the hour they accepted Christ, and yet they have no ongoing faith. Both faith and repentance are continual. They must not cease . It is only a myth when one clings to something in the past.
Page 18 The Staff and Sword Ministry March 5, 2008 The Urgency of Repentance by Richard Owen Roberts (continued) Myth Number Seven: Repentance is an act of self-preservation. In a typical
evangelistic meeting, certain things are dangled in front ofthe congregation—threats, if you will, frightening things, things to be avoided. In some cases something is said on the subject of hell, and repentance and faith are offered as a means of escaping the penalty of hell. Other times the appeal is based on loneliness. "You're here tonight and you have had the greatest and most profound disappoint of you life, because the man to whom you entrusted yourself in entirely has betrayed your confidence and has forsaken you. You are alone. Come to Christ and get a friend." Christ is the greatest of friends. But self-preservation is not repentance. One may begin moving in the direction of God in some selfish fashion, like seeking to escape hell, but if that is where it ends, it ends before it becomes genuine repentance. Repentance is not something I do for myself. repentance is something I do for God . Why are our churches loaded up with dead wood, people who will not lift a finger on behalf of the Kingdom of God? Why do we see so much burnout among pastors? Why are so many who are not burned out bone weary, wondering if it is worth the struggle? It is because they are dealing with all kinds ofunrepentant people who are trying to use God for their own advantage. True repentance is when one comes to the end of himself and stops_ using_ others including God, and he becomes a person who is dead to self, and then in faith, alive to the Lord Jesus Christ . Do any of these myths hit you? Is it possible that what you've been thinking of as repentance is none other than a grievous myth? And what about your church? Is it possible that the real problem in your church are people who have embraced myths rather than reality and have been deprived of the glories of Jesus Christ in their own souls, because you have allowed them to cling to some myth, instead of helping them come to genuine
repentance?"
THE PRICE OF GOLD and BUYING A NEW CAR 1
Yesterday (March 6` ') the price of gold reached $983 an ounce - compared to the $658 an ounce in August, 2007 when JESUS had me buy some gold with a portion of my Dad's Estate. Part of that investment in gold was to be applied to the purchase of a new auto. We have decided to buy a Toyota Prius (2008 model) which is a hybrid (it gets 48 mph) . At this point the gold I bought is worth 5325 an ounce more than when I purchased it just 61/2 months ago. JESUS just yesterday (March 6 `h ) told me not to sell the gold until this June, 2008.1 do not know if that means its price will go up higher or not (it could sure mean that) but this is what JESUS told me. I promised to let those know on the mailing list if JESUS said anything about selling some of the gold we bought back in August, 2007. I just have.
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FOR A LITTLE FUN -WHO IS THIS? FAR The photo below below cvu^d could be: Richard-DANIEL 5ydor Sydor yr or Chuck-JOHNEL or Chuck-]QHNEL ar David-DANIEL SQuires David-DANIEL Squires or Glen LePage or Jason Emrich or ar
Dr. Daniel E. E. Bohlen Bohler or Richard Wilcox or Al Gore or Jesse-JACOB Brough or 3esse-JACOB ar Rick-DAVID Tones Rick-DAVID Jones or
Mark-SAMES Grimes Mark-JAMES Jim-REPHEAL Grandon Crandon Mike Huckabee Jim 'Wallace Wallace James Humberd
Hint: He was a soldier in the U.S. ARMY, this photo was taken in 1950. 1960. The answer will found on be fQUnd onthe thenext nexttotolast lastpage pageof ofthe theADDENDUM ADDENDUMto to this this Newsletter. Newsletter.
DR. DANIEL E. 17R..DANIEL E.BOHLER BQHLER--JESUS' JESUS' PROPHET brother Dan Svhler Bohler and GREAT STORMS STQRMS COMING: COMING: In In the the first first part part of of Februa February, 2 08 brother ry , 2008 I talked by phone and he shared same some ^f of the things the Lard Lord has has repealed revealed to to him, him, that that some some great storms were coming coming in in the the south south pastern eastern U.S.A.. U.S.A.. ItIt was was hardty hardly aa matter matterof ofdays daysbefore before the first fierce storms swept 5 Southern states killing 5$ 58 aid andcausing causingsi^,nificant significant destruction. I^feffect If effectDaniel DanielBohler Bohlentold tad me me that "Great storms were were coming, coming, high high winds, winds,#^aoding flooding and 2008 such such storms storms will will sweep sweep Miami, Florida, move moue into the Gulf Guif and then that in Ap ril ^Da8
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THE PROPHET ANTON JOHANSON
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.2 n/on f0hanson THE CHRISTIAN SEER FROM THE, NORWEGIAN FINNMARK Way back in 1977, when we were first getting out the Lord's Word and Revelation of
coming judgment, a brother in the Lord who was cleaning out his departed grandfather's attic, came across this old book about Anton Johanson. He sent me the book as he thought
it might prove interesting to us - indeed, it did.
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The Staff and Sword Ministry
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THE PROPHET ANTON JOHANSON (continued) This book was published by Osterhus Publishing House in Minneapolis. The book was translated and compiled by Nathan Carlson and copyrighted in 1930. The first printing of this book in America came in May of 1940, now some 68 years ago. This little book runs 96 pages. Some years ago "Osterhus Publishing" gave us permission to re-print it and we now offer this book at cost (paper, printing and postage) for $10.00 a copy. Brother Anton saw a vision of the Titanic before it was launched and that it would strike an iceberg and sink in the Atlantic on its maiden voyage - which happened. He then was given vivid visions of World War I and warned the leaders of Europe to avoid being entangled in this war which would tear Europe apart. I recall that Anton gave a rather cryptic revelation that World War III would begin in Chicago, Illinois of the U.S.A. which is why this brother sent this book in 1977. In effect, the monster earthquake that will destroy the Midwestern U.S. and center in Chicago would be the event that triggers Nuclear World War III - revealed to me in 1973/1977. The book is old but interesting. I saw in 1977 that the experience of prophets is pretty much the same from generation to generation. We offer this book on the enclosed RESPONSE FORM , again as always, at cost. A SAD NOTE: This prophet, Anton Johanson, was a major prophet for his time; and except that I was sent a copy of this old faded book there would be little if any evidence that he ever existed. The Church has a nasty habit of rejecting, ignoring and then forgetting its prophets which I discern have been in the church and doing God's Will for the past 2,000 years.
MORE SCHOOL SHOOTING RAMPAGES, EXCEPT FOR ONE Some weeks ago now a man walked into a University Campus in Illinois with a shotgun and several pistols who began by shooting to death a professor - he killed a total of 5 and wounded 16 others before he took his own life. This campus, like so many, was a "gun free zone" which being interpreted means "a killing zone that attracts murderous gunmen." The Fox News broadcasters that reported this tragic event heard an anti-gun advocate say that it is too dangerous to arm teachers or to allow students to carry concealed weapons on campus and that they favored more gun laws (which do not stop bullets) and hiring more armed guards on campus. It was at this point that the Fox news reporter stated something to this effect, "Don 't you remember how just a couple of weeks ago that a man drew out a pistol and began
shooting, wounding one student, when two other students in the class who had concealed weapons drew them and killed the shooter before he had a chance to shoot again."
The Staff and Sword Ministry Page 22 MORE SCHOOL SHOOTING RAMPAGES,
March 8, 2008
Cont'd. Although I keep a pretty good eye on news events, I didn't hear anything about this event. Sorry, I do not remember what State this happened in except that its State Legislature passed a law permitting students and teachers to carry concealed weapons on University campus's. It got no press or notice - why? Because the armed students stopped a massacre. I might also note and remember that brother Dan Bohler prophesied in 2007 that there would be more school shootings to come. They keep coming.
THE MADNESS OF THE GLOBAL WARMING CULT "CLIMATE OR FREEDOM" On a recent interview of the President of Czechoslovakia (Mr. Klaus) on the Glenn Beck TV show - this Mr. Klaus (who had lived under Communism for 48 years) observed the strong likeness between the Global Warming panics and Communist rulers (Progressives) and stated, The real issue is of Climate or Freedom. "If the Global warming crowd gets their way they will eliminate all personal freedom (the government will dictate everything you can or cannot do), shut down all free enterprise and collapse the economies of the nations of the world. In Australia, where the "progressives" have banned all guns (gun violence and crime is up 300% as a result - now only criminals are armed), one scientist has stated that they must eliminate all personally owned automobiles - and go 100% to bicycle or foot to get around. That will throw Australia back into the 18 t " century and there will be no appreciable difference or improvement in the climate regardless. Why? The vast majority of scientists do NOT agree with the global warming stats or hysteria nor Al Gore's movie (An Inconvenient Truth) which has been made a "must see" for every school child in America as more and more people are being propagandized to believe these falsehoods and politically motivated lies. The rise of CO2 is NOT connected with the rise of Earth's temperature (it is less than 1 degree in the last 100 years) and the increase in temperature has been directly connected with the sun - the sun is going through a cycle of intense flares which is heating earth up a little more than ususal. By the way - we are not aiming to buy a Toyota Prius because it is "planet friendly" (which is a joke) but because it gets the best gas mileage (48 mph city driving/ 45 mph highway) as we make frequent trips to Spokane (about 75 miles) for shopping (Ministry paper, ink, stationary, etc.). Our Mazda SUV, which is a great road car, (long trip, cross country and for hauling heavy stuff) gets about 22 mph. Gas prices up here now stand at $3.41 a gallon and rising (regular unleaded).