As we shake the confetti out of our hair,and recover from our time of fasting and "seeking the face of God" for our personal lives, ministries, businesses, and family relationships, one of the major areas of consideration, meditation, and supplication, is the religious avenues that we all walk, if we stake a claim to salvation, and having a portion among the "sanctified", and "the called" according to His purposes! Maintaining that same line of thinking, it stands to reason, that there won't be much argument that we have been "entertained", "wowed", and "amazed", clean out of the Spirit, at times, by those who are trained, skilled and savvy in "spiritual vaudeville", and the duplicating and replicating of the divine, sacred wonders of God, or who have mastered delusions (STRONG ONES), and illusions, much like the prophets of Baal, whom the man of God, Prophet Elijah, stood toe to toe with! Many of our "revivals", "Prophetic gatherings",and "conferences", have taken on the same essence of a "three-ring circus" with all the fanfare, the much celebrated "ring masters", the assorted "fire-eaters", "sword-swallowers", "bearded ladies", and "gentle giants"! Ministry ha been replaced with "showmanship", and prideful demonstrations of "come see a man, and what he can do"!, and the actual, factual, "blood bought" anointing of God, has been substituted for ,abominably "mixed" with rancid oil, perverted essences, and illegal "pharmakeia", (the mixture or formulas of the anointing oil, spiritually, and naturally")! The anointing is no longer relied on, nor suffered for, and in it's place, we find "snake oil", "ammonia remedies", and a number of other unbiblical "prescriptions", and "remedies" for what every believer should know that only the Blood of the Lamb, and the power inherent in the Matchless Name of Jesus, can cure, handle, remedy, or "fix"! It is of interest to note, that whenever Christ or the disciples were on their circuit, (not CIRCUS) doing the work of the Father, and the kingdom, the only P.R. or "media" fanfare used was the "word of mouth" testimonies of those who had been in His/their services before, and witnessed their power, effectiveness, and authenticity, and even then, Christ often admonished that the people keep silent, and not broadcast His presence, His miracles, or His location. He never "double checked" with those receiving ministry, to have them assure anyone that what they'd just said or done, was correct, and "on the money", or that they had "hit the nail, right on it's little narrow head"!!

2010 will show us, without, argument, or doubt just what God thinks about most of what we've offered up to Him as our humble, reasonable service, and He will do so by spewing it right back at us, or upon us, so that we may experience how He feels when we deviate from true sanctification in ministry, and rely on sacrilegious, compromising, and sometimes even, demonic, influences, to "fill the building", secure a maximally profitable "head count" and "flesh out" our wallets! God's of a mind, that everything DONE IN HIS NAME, shall be DONE BY HIS SPIRIT, and not for riches, prestige or fame! He's about to send a heavenly "wave of remembrance", that HE, indeed, IS THE LORD, and Holy in all of His ways, and nothing shall be done, or said presumptuously, in His Name, and men will no longer casually, assemble the people of God together, to "bewitch", "dazzle", or manipulate their minds or purses, under the guise of it being something consecrated, and spiritually beneficial, that HE has sanctioned! Those who are guilty of performing as "ringmasters", and disdaining the people of God, calling them "fools", or idiots, in the back rooms, and offices,have forgotten that not only is He Omnipresent, and Omniscient, but He is also "ALL HEARING", and He's yet trying the hearts of men, including Apostles, and Prophets, and whomever else may have fallen into such a pattern of deceit, because it's "lucrative"! In this New Year, there's nothing, unthought of, untried, unsaid, or never done before, no matter how we may try to "tweak it", improve upon it, or update it, because "Game has always been game", and "hustling" has always been "hustling".! Jacob, came into the world with a name, that identified him as such, and we all know where that got him, until he had an encounter of God's "wave of remembrance"! Out of all the promises, predictions, and assurances we've prophesied, declared, and decreed, we can not omit the chastening of God, and the other matters that are on His heart and mind, and we can not neglect the warning. and admonishments of the approaching "chastening", if we be who we say we are! Part of being processed in ministry is reaching the appointed place of recognizing that God loves the TRUTH, and if we love one another, we OWE them the TRUTH! Truth is exactly what shall arise from the ashes of the death of these "circuses",and men shall reverentially fear God, again, and think "twice", and a third and a fourth time, before daring to attribute any utterance, or rendering any service in His Name! Never has there been such an evident absence of Godly fear, and such great arrogance, and presumptuousness, but He''s reawakening some truths that have grown a little dusty from disuse, and He will begin by sifting through the Corporate Assembly of leaders, and disqualifying, weeding out, and shutting down the "ring masters"! His Word has declared "Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people and go from them, for they are an assembly of treacherous men! and they bend their tongues like their bow for lies, but are not valiant for the truth upon the earth, for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord"! Take ye heed, every one of his neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant. And they will deceive everyone his neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity! Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know Me, saith the Lord!" Therefore, thus saith the Lord of Hosts, "Behold I will melt them and "TRY" them! ... Shall I not VISIT them for these things, saith the Lord, and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation?"

This matter of "charlatans", and "star gazers", and other assorted "circus acts" is as old as dirt, and God has seen fit to address it many, many times throughout history, because when executed in integrity, purity, and under the blood washed anointing of God, these same gifts can bless the people of God tremendously, and bring immeasurable glory , honor, and reverence to His Name, as well as to the ministry of Jesus Christ, but it's no secret or mystery , that there's a counterfeit and abuse, for everything legal, and genuine, and someone looking to prostitute it, if there's even the hint of some sort of gain. "Gucci, "Fendi",and "Coach" were not the first victims of "knockoffs"! He has admonished us that "There shall not be found among you any one that useth enchantment,, observers of time, wizards, witches,charmers, consulters with familiar spirits, necromancers (be careful about folk ministering to you about the "dead"), for all that do those things are an abomination to the Lord., and because of this, He will drive them out from before thee! 'THOU SHALT BE PERFECT WITH THE LORD THY GOD!" I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, and I WILL PUT MY WORDS IN HIS MOUTH, AND HE SHALL SPEAK UNTO THEM ALL THAT I COMMAND HIM!" BUT THE PROPHET WHO HALL PRESUME TO SPEAK A WORD IN MY NAME , WHICH I HAVE NOT COMMANDED HIM TO SPEAK , OR THAT SHALL SPEAK IN THE NAME OF ALL ODS, EVEN THAT PROPHET SHALL DIE." And if thou say in thine heart, "How shall we know the Word which the Lord speaketh?" "WHEN A PROPHET SPEAKETH IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, IF THE THING FOLLOW NOT, NOR COME TO PASS, THAT IS THE THING WHICH THE LORD HATH NOT SPOKEN, BUT THE PROPHET HATH SPOKEN PRESUMPTOULY; THOU HALT NOT BE AFRAID OF HIM!"

Even when things do come to pass and there is truth in what the "ring master" may speak, you must still have the mature wisdom to TRY EVERY SPIRIT, AND SEE IF IT BE OF GOD, because remember, at the "circus" over at Mt. Carmel, where the Sent Man of God, Elijah, exposed the false works and false miracles., the "wonders of demons", of the "prophets of Baal"! Elijah arranged this particular "Barnum and Bailey" display, so that it could be "killed" by a single move of the sovereign God, and Ahab, the "ring master", came with circus "acts",and "performers", 450 strong! Recognizing that it was the nature of men, to be drawn to "entertainment", and things that appealed to the flesh, he questioned them "How long shalt ye be between two opinions?" If THE LORD BE GOD , FOLLOW HIM, IF BAAL, then FOLLOW HIM! And the people answered him not one word, not a single word of testimony of all that God had done and been to them, just like some testimony services today! The circus master brought out all of his secret weapons for this gathering, because the control over an entire nation, (congregation, denomination, assembly) was at stake, and it was decided that the determination, of Who the True and Living God was, would be done by a trial of fire, not knowing that He is the Lord, Who is an All Consuming Fire! As they set the stage for the "GREATEST ACT EVER", next to the :RESURRECTION", they began to realize, that Elijah, being the truly Sent One of God, didn't need a sack of tricks, illusions, magic acts, disappearing "bunnies", suddenly appearing "doves", or trained dogs! Even those skilled illusionists who were famed in eating fire, were not able to contend with the FIRE OF GOD, or His dunamis power in the hands of His man of God! They became so vexed, and agitated, that they seriously upped the ante,and began to cut themselves, "till the blood gushed out upon them." As the story played out, the circus acts, and ring master, tried every trick they knew to achieve the upper hand , and make Baal "God, but all they got for their effort was perhaps, "stitches", and some serious " anemia", because there's always been only One Elohim, and El-Elyon, one Only wise God, Omnipotent, Lord of ALL. Elijah gave them every possible advantage, and created a situation in which it would require an absolute Jesus miracle to pull it off, and no one would be able to deny it. Needless to say, that's one "circus" , and a troupe of circus acts that the Lord, Himself shut down, and dismantled, and it "died, literally, because everyone of those "acts" was murdered, and there was nothing they had in their bag of tricks that could help them, and after they were eliminated, the people returned to the God of Israel, acknowledging that "The Lord, HE IS GOD!", "THE LORD HE IS GOD!" Elijah was mindful to petition the Lord, in humility, before he attempted to carry out that particular assignment, and I'm sure, all others, by acknowledging him, and his dependency on Him to do all things and anything "Let tit be known this day that Thou art God in Israel,and I am Thy servant, and I HAVE DONE ALL THESE THINGS AT "THY" WORD!" "HEAR ME ,O LORD, HEAR ME, THAT THIS PEOPLE MIGHT KNOW THAT THOU ART THE LORD GOD!". He never once, asked God to move in the phenomenal, so that men would know that he was a "prophet", but rather that they know he was His servant!

It is the way of men, to hunger after the supernatural, the "awesome", the "mystical", the "strange", the "unexplainable",the "spooky",and yes, even the "weird", so it's not a wonder that "circuses" continue to thrive in this time of advanced entertainment options, and sophistication, even in the "church" setting. People are yet drawn to the mystical, and the mysterious, and just as in a typical "circus", they are willing to pay hefty "admission" prices for the privilege! What they fail to comprehend is that whatever spirit you are drawn or enticed by, yield to,or seek after, is what you're, eventually, going to be accommodated by, entertained by, "tricked" by, "hypnotized" by, and left in poverty by! A circus can not survive where there're no paying customers,and some towns forbid them to set up in their communities. Herein lies wisdom! While God, prepares to, sovereignly "eulogize" these circuses, you can do your part by "starving" them out! Well, watchman, what sayest thou of the night?!

Views: 19

Comment

You need to be a member of Black Preaching Network to add comments!

Join Black Preaching Network

Comment by Micah RaSun-Vann on January 5, 2010 at 8:19pm
Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey

Spiritually they have become puppets controlled by demonic puppeters -- God is gracious, merciful and faithful. He will save those he's called even if he has to removed them to do it.

He does not wish that any should perish but all come to repentance.

© 2024   Created by Raliegh Jones Jr..   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service