This message was preached on Sunday 1st March 2009.
"How to Speed up in the Supernatural".
Turn in your Bibles please to Hebrews chapter 12. The series we are on at the moment is; "Faith Conducts Heaven's Influence into the Earth". Jesus said; "Father Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, Your Kingdom come to earth and let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". This morning we are in the third part of the series and I really do feel like more and more of heaven is coming down. I am waking up to more of heaven in my room. I am waking up to a greater awareness of the invisible realm, the realm of the celestial, the transcendent realm. The Bible says set your minds on things above where your life is hid with Christ in God. It also says we are seated in heavenly places and are citizens of heaven. So too many Christians are earthly-concious and are not heavenly concious. So they are very good at practical things but are not very good at bringing heaven to earth so they act like practical atheists. Many Christians live fairly good moral lives but I know atheists that live fairly good moral lives. I know atheists that can do fairly good things such as the Rotary Club and organisations that do ethical good things. So what distinguishes them from us? Surely it has got to be a whole lot more - otherwise I am leaving the church and getting out of this stuff because I find just trying to be a good person really boring! I want to be a good person but if that is the objective of my life then you can be an atheist and do that!
We were born into this earth with a destiny for God to use our spirit and our soul and our body as a living conductor for heaven to come into the earth.
We are not the mediators or mediums! That is demonic! Jesus is the superior Mediator and what He is mediating is His finished work at the Cross as our great High Priest and what He is mediating can be downloaded from the Holy Spirit from heaven into our spirit and then released into the earth through us being conductors. Now I believe the primary place that should take place first of all is the church.
When we gather together like Acts 5 the Presence of God should be so powerful in the place that people feel awed and amazed and overwhelmed and some would be astonished and while some would mock and say; "These people are drunk with new wine" and would ridicule it and others would fall on their faces and others would jump out of wheelchairs and blind eyes would open because God has come down! Heaven has come down! And that happened again and again in the book of Acts that when God's people got together and you wouldn't know what would happen next! Today the church services are scripted according to a programme and governed by the hand of man. We have got so far from the original pattern that was the book of Acts. That was the church that Jesus birthed! He deserves in the 21st century the church He birthed 2,000 years ago come back to the earth!
Last time I checked - most morning services around the world don't have what I have just described. They have a lot of practical things, moralising, good programmes, they are good, nice, sweet, irritatingly nice people eating chicken meals and drinking their tea together in a sweet nice way while the world goes to hell by the millions! I believe God is raising up apostolic, New Testament churches in the earth today that are not for the faint hearted or who want an easy life. This is for those who love being persecuted and for those who can handle rejection and can be misunderstood and can endure and can come through and at the end of their life say; "I have ran my race and have finished my course!". I want to talk today about throwing off every hindrance and all umnbelief and running this race with perseverance this race that is marked out for us and having a church where 100% of the members conduct heaven's influence into a meeting! That there isn't one member sitting there analytical and skeptical and mocking and ridiculing and questioning "Is this God?" or appointing themselves as the moral policemen.
God didn't die and appoint any human being as the decider as to what is the Kingdom of heaven and what isn't. He gave the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to testify in our spirits and our hearts by the anointing what is the truth! You have an anointing and you know all things! You have an unction from the Holy One and the Spirit teaches you what is truth. He is the Spirit of all truth and the fear of being deceived means that person is already deceieved.
Because if you are frightened of being deceived then you are living in fear and the Bible says that God hasn't given us a spirit of fear but a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. So if you are operating from a motive of fear then you are ALREADY deceived. You are already in deception and analysing the truth from a place of deception and you need power from heaven to break your mind free of that religious demon! From that religious spirit that has held you bound in the traditions of men.
Some people have got a ministry of taking out the garbage and the garbage is what contaminates our minds. I am not talking about sin but unbelief, pride, traditions of men, conservatism, self-conciousness, inferiority complexes, criticism, judgemental attitudes. That is garbage and you won't even finish the race with that in your heart or in your mind. A lot of hindrances are going to snap off our lives today! I wanted to preach this message last week but I didn't get to it.
Last Sunday at 05:00 while I was praying not thinking of Hebrews 12:1 the Holy Spirit spoke into my heart and said; "I am a running Spirit, I am a moving Spirit, I am a sprinting Spirit!". I said; "What?!" and He said; "Yes! And I am anointing My people in City Church to run this race with EVERY hindrance gone! ALL unbelief gone! I am going to put that anointing on this church and you will see some acceleration, some speeding up taking place!".
So please walk this thing through with me. I am excited because the prayer meeting before the service basically prayed my message and they didn't know what it was. Wesley said; "I see God running to us!" and I said; "Yere that's right in the message!". Others were talking about contamination coming off, fire consumming hindrances and restrictions off us! That is the prophetic word to us today! I believe in the Word of God - I believe in the Bible and I believe in good doctrine. But all theology and all doctrine is not always present to your immediate situation. That's why prophets are not just teachers teaching general good theology. They preach and teach the "Now" word from heaven - what the Father is saying "Now!" to the church, "NOW!" there is a running anointg and "Now!" let the revelation come and invite you into anointing that can speed your life up. This is about speeding your life up in the supernatural but pleae hear this - this is also about what hinders heaven through us to the whole of Hong Kong. How many of you know that evangelism programmes are best in the world for handing out tracts and going door-door and having crusades and it is losing the race in Hong Kong!
At the present rate most of Hong Kong will be living a Christ-less eternity. So God wants the church to conduct heaven into the residential, geographical, spiritual zone of the world in which they live. God wants the church in Hong Kong (and not just us) to become divine radiation zones so that while we are sleeping, while we are not even thinking of doing it - heaven is finding a portal, open heavens is finding a conductor! In Dubai I saw one of tallest buildings in the world is still going up and it gets so much lightning. We are seated the highest places - in heavenly places and yet we are on earth as heavenly citizens to bring heaven to earth. So we are capacitated through faith to eminate heaven's influence into the earth.
I wish I could go back and give lesson number 1 as to where and why the earth lost heaven's influence because the earth was created in the image of heaven and the glory of heaven was over it all the time when Adam and Eve walked here. It was only after they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (which was religion - trying to do good and avoiding evil) that frustration came on our planet. Satan became the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) but at the Cross Jesus cancelled Satan's lease and said; "ALL authority in heaven and on earth is now Mine and I am going back to heaven to sit down but I am going to delegate My authority to My church to bring heaven to earth again because an illegal usurper called Satan is not legitimately or legally anymore the god of this world since the Cross and the Resurrection and the Church sits on it's blessed assurance and says "Why is God allowing wars and people to suffer and cancer and sickness?". - to the PEOPLE to not live part-time Christianity, to not pop into church when it is convineint but to become enlisted not as volunteers but arrested by eternal urgency to live as the people of God!
Nothing else is the Kingdom! You cannot be a part-time disciple! You will be taken out! You have to monitor your life and be clearly identifying what is hindering me? What is slowing me down? What is restricting me? And be ruthless in the way you deal with that so you can run! A race is marked out for you and you will give accollunt if you ran that race and finished that course! If there weren't things hindering us running that race then why are the majority of Christians in the world not serving Jesus supernaturally, why are they lukewarm, why aren't they moving in miracles, why have they abandoned themselves to convinience? Why do millions no longer go to church? Because they were part-time disciples, casual about this treasure and stewardship of the eternal realm in the temporary. They were casual about it and are not going to make the race. Unless churches come into awesome restoration of the book of Acts. Backslidden Christian will look up and see authentic people who are on the earth who have been through pain, rejection, set backs and disappointments and have brushed it off and run right through it because there is your life being removed so you can run right though it.
If you have got hindrances in your life then you will not run through the opposition. But if you get rid of the hindrances then you can run through every opposition from tday! Momentum is everything! When a massive locomotive is going 2km an hour you can put a little branch on the railway track and it will stop a train weighing many tons. But when that train gets up to 60 or 70 km an hour you can put a massive log on the train and it is gone! Hardly felt! Disappointments, rejection, hurts will come! This is normal to the Christian life! If you are part of this church then you are going to be hurt! "Rob I want a life where I don't get hurt!". Then I will pray for you and we will put a gun to your head, shoot you and you will never be hurt again!
Why get there sooner than you need to though because we are going to get there anyway but we need to bring IT HERE before we go THERE!
So journey with me on this thing! It is going to be very good! Remember last week I said that Galatians 3:9 says that those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham the man of faith? Faith means I believe God is good all the time. I know that He is good all the time! I don't care how much bad is happening in my life - God is good ALL the time! I am not in heaven and there isan enemy against me who is trying to do everything he can to hinder me. Faith means God is good all the time and wants to bless me all the time! Then we saw in Galatians 3:12 that the law is not based on faith.
Galatians 3:23 says we were held prisoners by the law locked up until FAITH should be revealed! It means that Abraham operated in faith 430 years before the law. Then the law came and it came because God didn't want to give the law or the sacrificial system or the Levitical system - He brought the law because Israel did not walk in the faith of Abraham but their unbelief in the goodness of God meant that God said He would give them something not based on faith. It is the law. So He gave them the law and they realised that under that law no one got blessed, no one got righteous only the curses of the law came! So Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law that the blessing given to Abraham may come to the Gentiles by faith through the promise of the Spirit. So faith being revealed is more than "you have got to have faith".
Faith being revealed as the only governing principle of the New Covenant. Law is no longer a governing principle at all!
Last week I said something radical and it is radical! If you don't see it it will become plain to you in the future! I only saw this in the last few months!
Under the Old Covenant of Moses sin is defined as "falling short of the law" or breaking the law. Sin is when you don't keep the law perfectly under Moses. Under the New Covenant of grace sin is clearly defined throughout the New Testament as unbelief in the goodness of God. Sin is not defined as falling short of the law or breaking the law. THERE AINT NO LAW ANYMORE!
There is no sin to measure your sins because you are redeemed from the curse of the law and we saw last week that in Colossians 2 Christ cancelled the written code, the rules and regulations that stood opposed to us nailing it to the Cross! So that is gone! So sin the New Covenant is unbelief in Jesus and unbelief in the goodness of God and unbelief in the grace of God! So you can see how much sin is going on in legalistic churches! When you put the law on people you are in unbelief because the law is not based on faith. The law blinds you to the goodness of God and the law drives you to self-righteousness and to try and earn the blessing of God because you think God is not good, He's stingy, He's mean and He wants to punish me so I better behave and do good to earn the blessing! That is not a good image of God and that is never the way God wanted to relate to man.
He ALWAYS wanted it to be by grace before time began!
So I could prove that a lot more but I need to move on. If you are taking notes and want to check it out - look at Hebrews 3 sometime from v7-13 and the writer of Hebrews makes it very clear that a sinful heart is a heart of unbelief in the grace of God. Then we see in Hebrews 10:26 that; "If we deliberately keep on sinning". That is not general sinning but a specific sin - the Hebrews were relying on the Levitical system, the priesthood and the blood of bulls and goats. The writer to Hebrews says; "You are trampling the blood of Christ under foot again, your sin is the sin of unbelief in the New Covenant, unbelief in the blood of Jesus and you are trusting in your own works, the Temple system and trusting in shadow and symbols when the substance and the reality have come in fullness in Christ". Hebrews 11:1 starts off; "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen". So faith is the evidence in your spirit of things you can't see and if faith stays there as the evidence while you can't see it then very soon you will start seeing it with your natural eyes as well! If you can endure long enough through faith and patience, faith is the evidence in your spirit of things not seen.
In 1981 I got faith that one day I would pastor a church where every member was a royal priest carrying the glory of God! That miracles, signs and wonders would not have to happen because of one man coming in and fasting or a special visit from an evangelist but that our meeting together would be so hot ... I haven't seen it yet but I have got the evidence of it in my spirit and sooner of later I am going to see it! I have got a dream and a hope and a substance to that hope! Because faith is the substance of that hope - I don't see it with these eyes but I have the substance in my spirit!
Faith is on the inside of me and faith is what pulls me forward! Then Hebrews 11:6 says; "Now without faith it is impossible to please God". Galatians 3:12 - "The law is not based on faith". If you keep the law 100% then God will NOT be pleased with you. Even if you did - no one has! Except Jesus! Because the law is not based on faith and it will just make you a moral person that is self-righteous and a Pharisee, Sadduccee, couldn't-see, wouldn't-see and a critical person! Faith is what God wants! I am not encouraging unholiness and please understand I am not encouraging sinning! If you are born again you don't want to sin according to the Old Covenant definition!
But if you don't sin according to the New Covenant definition - if you don't have unbelief in the goodness of God but have faith then I promise you that faith will attract heaven into your life and give you increasing authority over what the law calls sin!
So I am not encouraging sin! But I am going to say some radical things from the Bible here. The rest of Hebrews 11 goes on and it describes heroes of the faith. "By faith Enoch walked with God" and then got caught up into the heavenlies. "By faith Abraham did this" and "By faith Moses saw into the invisible world and endured the difficultiies he faced in Egypt". By faith Noah built an ark! By faith businessmen in Hong Kong are going to make billions of dollars and find a strategy of how to do that! By faith they conquered armies! By faith mothers brought their children back from the dead! Then the Scripture changes towards the end of Hebrews and talks about those who were sawn in half! They were also sawn in half with faith! That is a split personality in the extreme! They refused to give into the fear of man or the pressure to walk away from Who Jesus is! These are people that did mighty things through faith! That is Hebrews 11.
Then you get to Hebrews 12:1 and it begins immediately; "Seeing then we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses" - who is this great cloud? All these mighty men and women of faith in Hebrews 11! Now it says we are surrounded by them! Hello Abraham! Hello Joshua! I see you Moses! We are surrounded by a cloud of them - these people that endured and by faith marched around walls and walls came down!
These people that did amazing feats of miracles that are so foreign to modern Christians! They surround us! I am not saying their spirits are in this room but Pauil says in Ephesians 3 that in the removing of hindrances of unbelief we are able to conduct the faith experiences of the cloud of witnesses who have passed a baton to this end day generation that we might run the race that is marked out for us and in the faith of Moses and Abraham and Enoch and those who did awesome things!
Today God said "I am going to impart to those who have ears to hear the download of the trace memories, experiences and wisdom of the heroes of the faith into City Church International those who will take from the Spirit this cloud of witnesses!".
What is a witness? Someone who gives evidence in a court of law. These people show a life that gives evidence that the things they trusted for were manifested in mighty demonstrations. Hebrews 12:1 - "sinning". Take the whole context of the book of Hebrews and the New Covenant. What is that sin? An evil heart of unbelief that the Hebrews were constantly going back to the law. That is the sin of the New Covenant - unbelief in the grace of God! "Let us run with perseverance .. the Author and Perfector of our faith". When you hear the word "perseverance" - what do you think of? Tired! A long distance marathon runner who is staggering on his feet and just wants to give up! Why? It is a wrong picture! If you are entangled by unbelief then you will run your Christian race like so many marathon runners do! (v12); "Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees, make level paths for your feet so the lame might be healed". If you allow the instruction of God to build you, if you will throw off the hindrances then as you run with faith the ground will go level and mountains will come down and valleys will be filled and you will run with perseverance so that no opposition will be able to stop you penetrating straight through it!
I live for a whole church that understand this! It doesn't mean at times we will comfort each other, the church does have a hospital ward! But I have gone to churches where the whole church was a hospital ward. And it was all about everyone having therapy and my granny was hurt and my mother did this and my budgie committed suicide and I was abused by pastors. Come on! The whole church is not a hospital ward! The church is running for the nations! It is running for eternity and eternity's sake! It is running for the multitudes on their way to hell! This is a picture that shows us that the church doesn't have to be lame or disabled or running up through mountains or valleys! "God prove yourself - show You are the God of signs and wonders!" - God, You are on trial! No He doesn't have to prove a thing! We are the ones on trial! What will we do with what He has gven us? If we are faithful with what He has given us then He will give more. If it is faith then He will give a greater anointing. God is not on trial! He does not have to do another miracle to prove Himself! But He WANTS to do miracles because of His great love for us.
He cannot entrust the greater miracles and the stewardship of them to a people that can't endure! A hindrance "hinders" you - a hindrance makes it more difficult to go forward! How many of you have had a dream where you are running away from something that is chasing you and you can't seem to run? It is like you are in this syrup or soft sand? So you are putting out so much effort but not tting very far! That is a hindrance! That is your subconcious mind telling you that you have got thoughts in your mind that are hindering you in your marriage or ministry! This verse is so wonderful because it says "Throw off everything that hinders and the sin (unbelief) that so easily entangles".
Now the New Testament wouldn't say throw it off if we couldn't throw it off!
Let me just deal with another religious tradition that is a lie. If I had time today I would show you where wrong thinking came into the church and would take you on a history lesson and would trace from about 200 A.D when the church was moving in such power still with glory and were shaking nations. They said; "These Christians are turning the world upside down". But then the New Covenant was lost and for 1, 000 years the church went into the Dark Ages. Adolph Hitler said if you tell a lie often enough then people will believe it! So today in 2009 you have got generations being born into these lies! And people born into the church and absolutely believe they are sound in doctrine but they are doctrines of demons. Paul says in the last days there will be doctrines of demons - lying spirits. They were a priesthood and many didn't know God. They went to superstition and went to beating themselves, lying on spikes to try and get holy! We should be so grateful for our Bibles! We should be so grateful for this book in our hands For 1,000 years the priests would not let the people near it! Because they said if they read the New Testament for themselves then they will know they were being controlled and lied to. So doctrines of demons were passed and they are STILL in the church today!
You are either anointed and controlled by the Holy Spirit or you are controlled by religious demons - there is nothing in between!
I could show you doctrines of demons that are preached on Christian television and where they came in and they are not New Testament! They are hindrances! And one of them is this idea - that you are meant to run with hindrances. You are meant to! Some through mud and some through snow but one day it will all be worth it when we get to heaven. People even say this - running with this big elastic band on you and that is like going to the gym and doing resistance training and that is how you build your faith muscle by running against hindrances! If you built a faith muscle by running against hindrances then why does God say "throw it off?". Get bigger ones on?
You don't develop faith through resistance training. You develop faith by hearing your Father speak to you.
When perseverance comes that faith rises up because you have got substance and evidence. So you push through it and develop perseverance. But it is not the hard times that give you greater faith. If it did then India would be the place where they are raising the dead every day! Everywhere where people are suffering trials and difficulties they would be raising the dead, opening blind eyes and walking in miracles! No it is not walking in hard times, resistance that makes your faith great.
It is hearing God! Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God! Faith will be tested! But that doesn't make your faith grow - it makes your perseverance grow! Faith will push through the opposition because it's got no hindrances! No unbelief! Go to Galatians. Sometimes you have to press eternity as something urgent into people's hearts as long as it is not an artificial urgency that burns everyone out. But I don't think the church is in danger of that generally in the world. Galatians chapter 5. You guys are listening really well to something quite extreme that I am preaching and it is a sign of the maturity of this church. 3 years ago I could never have preached what I am preaching now. It would have been bouncing off heads! Free people are popping up and not under the dark ages anymore! Don't be seeker sensative and nice to our guests! Go crazy and our guests will become like us!
People want passion - that is why they take drugs! They are tired of boring lives! Married couples are tired of boring sex! That's why they go out and have adultery! They are tired of a life without passion! Tired of being so tired! Sick and tired of being sick and tired! So they take drugs and excess alcohol beyond what is wise! They will risk their character and integrity and whole standing for a brief moment of passion! Why? Because people hate boredom! And God is not boring - He is extravagant and intense and radical and random and awesome and almighty!
I don't know who some Christians worship on a Sunday morning but I promise you it is not God! They are worshipping a semi-senile Santa Claus who is on retirement and half the angels have got the Hong Kong flu and are complaining! You don't have to have adultery to have passionate sex! You just have to have romance and love one another! That is the only reason why Glenda and I haven't had an affair! Because we have a great marriage! I promise you good sex doesn't make a good marriage. Good marriage makes for good sex.
There you single ones! Don't be too quick to say "It's not fair - it's not fair!". There are some married couples saying; "It's not fair I am married! I shouldn't have!". An angel is not going to come down from heaven one day and make your life exciting. If you have got routines that are making your life boring and draining you and giving you a lack of passion then YOU change your routines, YOU change your calendar, YOU remove the fear of man that demands you do things that do not add to you but take from you so you have nothing to give to the precious ones who are important! I am not saying stop coming to church Sunday morning and Thursday evening! That is crazy! It is like saying; "I am going to change my life and not drink water anymore!". When we gather this is the life of heaven being poured out! You will miss the Word of God - you will be ambushed and you won't make it! And when we go we want to know that we got to the end of our race that God marked out for us! He has marked out one for you and you are going to have to finish this race! I promise you you won't with the sin of unbelief in the grace of God!
Look at the race. Galatians 5:1. "Stand firm". It is dangerous to stand passively in front of me! Not because I am a driven man trying to manipulate but because that worries me. In many areas in your career you make stands. But in hindrances you don't make stands and let him do what he wants! Just go down the psychiatrist and the priest and make it better?! The time for therapy is over! The Word of God - the Cross give us power to make level our paths so that the lame are running! I know what it's like in war to carry wounded fellows! You do it because you love them but it is endangering your life. In fact some of the enemy do it not to kill you but to disable you so they know it will put the platoon under real jeopordy because they have got to carry their comrades. A civilised army will take their wounded out but an uncivilised terrorist group will kill their wounded and maim their opposition! If I get wounded then I believe people will carry me and I pray that anyone who gets wounded in this church - we will carry you! When you are shooting yourself in the head and arms then wewill carry you a few times. But after that we will help you pull the trigger and say "Bye bye!" because we have got to go! New converts come in and their lives are a mess and we help them and carry them through but if 4 years later they are still saying "Carry me, carry me!" - no! Let the lame make straight their paths!
Rob don't bring that military language in! This is a church! Paul talks a lot of military language in the New Testament! He says we are here to please our commanding officer! Galatians 5:1; "By a yoke of slavery. (v7); "Who cut in on you?". When I was a physical education supervisor in South Africa I had to mark out the field for the 400 metre track! If you didn't get it right then everyone would break records that year or noone would break records that year! They trusted me to do that! I remember running track and you had to watch out because a strategy was to cut in on guys and you could fall right over them! Or you could stumble and they would box you in. It was all deliberate and you couldn't break out! Paul said you were running a good race! They were seeing miracles taking place in their midst and then they were cut in on and their good race came to an end!
When you try and obey the law it will hinder you from obeying the truth!
Anyone trying to obey the law longer trying to obey the truth! What is the truth? What is the truth? To obey the truth is so your thinking and actions line up with grace. If you try and obey the law you will not line yourself up with grace but will line your thinking up with trying to get God to like you again! You will not obey the truth of grace! (Galatians 2 v14) - What is obeying the truth? It is acting in line with grace and it is a phrase that Paul uses throughout the New Testament. (v11) - this is Peter the apostle! Not the first Pope! The church is not built on Peter but on the revelation that God gave Peter that Christ is the Messiah. If Peter is the first Pope and the church is built on him then God help us all! Because Paul spoke to the first Pope in a way that people should not speak to the first Pope! "When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he was clearly in the wrong!". So if he was the Pope then he clearly wasn't a perfect one! (v12). James was from the capital of legalism - Jerusalem. "He was afraid". Legalists will try to make you feel unholy and sinful. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy so that even Barnabus was led astray.
Paul uses the word "hypocrisy" twice and he uses the word "fear". What will try to hinder you is something that will try and bring you into fear and something that will cause you not to act in line with the truth of the gospel but to act as a hypocrite. What is the biggest criticism of the church by the world? HYPOCRITES! You know what? They are right and I am going to prove it to you now why the world says they are hypocrites! I have been guilty of this hypocrisy that I am about to describe! What is the issue here? This hypocrisy is not about Peter eating kosher food or Gentile food and other Jewish coverts eating Gentile food. As soon as born-again legalists who say we must keep the law, Peter sees the legalists and feels fear! He moves away from his Gentile brothers and goes back to eating Jewish food! That seems like such a little thing but Paul rebukes him to his face! How much do we let go in this modern world? The issue is about a hindrance that is big in the church world.
What is the issue of hypocrisy that hinders our running? Paul is pointing out in this passage that Jews know that the law did not stop sinning in their lives. "We pretended we weren't sinning and looked at Gentiles as sinners because they did not have the law". As Jews free from the law and living in grace, there is still some sinning going on in our lives so let's not feel ashamed that our sin will make it seem as if Christ is promoting our sin. It is just that our behaviour is not yet perfected.
Our position is perfect in Christ but we still have sin in our lives - but Christ has dealt with our sin fully at the cross!
The real hypocrisy is that we are trying to use the law as a pretence that there is no sin in our lives! The law is destroyed but you are re-building what is being destroyed because it will prove that you are a law-breaker and a sinner! Acting superior as Jewish people set free from the law is unreality and hypocrisy! It is hindering your lives as born again Christians and is confusing the Gentile Christians!
What is the hypocrisy that hinders the church conducting heaven into the un-saved world? It is Gentile Christians in the world who pretend that they don't sin by trying to appear as strict law-keepers! In recent years many many around the world top church leaders have been exposed as living in behaviour that under Old Covenant law would be serious sin. The sin they were doing did not shock the world. What shocked the world was that many of these preachers on TV or through books were judging the world and calling fire down on the world and saying the world is going to hell and God is going judge the world and acting like they were so holy so when their sin was exposed - the world wasn't shocked at their sin! They know about that kind of sin! What they were shocked at was the hypocrisy! The world needs to know that as Christians we are not under the law! We want to be holy and want to live obedient lives to the truth but we still have sin in our lives and we are on a journey!
That will change the way we see the world!
Paul goes on and he says if you Jewish Christians go back under law then the law will do it's job. It will make you concious of sin. That is the job of the law! To make you sin-concious. When you come to Christ you are no longer under the law therefore there should be no sin-conciousness in your mind anymore! If you rebuild what has been destroyed and if you put the law back up then you will feel sinful and you will think you are a sinner. Christ would not be promoting that sin-conciousness because Christ died for you to FREE you from ALL condemnation! The reason you blame Christ for making you feel condemned is because you have rebuilt the law back up over your life.
(v15); "Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners". That is the attitude! "By observing the law no one will be justified ... if I rebuild what was destroyed then it is clear that I am a law-breaker". Christ isn't promoting your sin conciousness! "Died to the law so that I might live for God". You can NEVER live for God if you are living under law. To the degree law keeping is in the church - to that degree you have got hypocrisy. They have been hindered and have a heart of unbelief in the grace of God and that translates into a blockage against sinners out there. The will of God is that there are churches who are not in the law at all so that heaven can come to and through the church - heaven has found a portal and the power of heaven begins to flow over the unsaved with love and with grace and convicts them of one sin - unbelief in Jesus. We are going to move into that because Peter had a big problem with that.
Peter walked with Jesus through Samaria and Peter and John wanted to call fire down on the Samaritans. That is the church in hypocrisy under law! How God will destroy the earth and judge people! "You are of the wrong spirit - that law spirit and that spirit of calling judgement down on sinners is Old Covenant". How can that spirit of wanting to call fire down from heaven on sinners be a conductor of heaven into the world? That is a hindrance! If you can get churches in Hong Kong free from that hypocrisy then heaven will come blasting through the church and into our streets, neighbourhoods, governments, and regions - that is when revival comes! The Presence comes and stays for months! God's will is that it stays for ever until Jesus comes again!
What are prophets and apostles doing smacking their heads against granite walls and local churches? We are throwing off these hindrances! Throwing off unbelief in the grace of God! Throwing off hypocrisy of ideas that have stopped us running a good race! So that we can conduct heaven's influence into Hong Kong so that millions can get saved even without an evangelistic crusade! There were some crusades but only one obviously in Acts! Mostly it was local churches conducting heaven so powerfully that whole regions came under the divine radiation of God and turned regions to God! Not because they felt God was against them and was going to judge them but because they felt the love of God and goodness of God leading them to repentance!
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