Balance in the Body of Christ

1st of September

Warnings against the unhealthy.

This time I will start by quoting 2.Tim.1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. There are many translations and in my Norwegian the word fear is translated with discouraged. In another English one it says timid.

God pointed out this word to me and He showed me people, organizations and congregations. It was a tendency to overemphasize one or the other, but God wants us to have all three in the same amount.

If we have a spirit of fear or discouragement, we are under the influence of the devil and we do not walk in the Spirit. Sometimes we see negative things and we start being discouraged and maybe depressed. It is not God. God shows us something for a purpose. We should either pray or do something about it or He gives us a warning. He does not want us to come under the wrong influence. Jesus wept over Jerusalem and Paul had birth pains over his spiritual children. That shows us a deep grief and a real warfare, but nevertheless, WE ARE OVER AND NOT UNDER. When we are depressed, discouraged and fearful we loose our strength. The joy of the Lord is our strength and when we are fearful and discouraged, we loose it. The devil gets happy when we do lack power and this is a bad temptation for us who “see” in order to pray. I know that I have fallen into this trap and I have been so discouraged. All of a sudden I find myself week. Since the Word says that this is a spirit, let us throw him out. Jam.4:7 says that we should resist the devil and he will flee from us.

I attend a church that is very strong on the Word. All the teachings are built on a sound teaching of the Bible, but I have not seen many of the signs that should follow the believers.

When you read Mark 16:16-18, you can see which signs that should follow us. We are supposed to drive out demons, speak in new tounges, take up snakes and drink poison without being hurt. We shall lay hands on the sick and they shall be healed. We have seen a healing now and then, but not much. Jesus raised up the dead and He said that we should do even greater miracles than Him. To raise up the dead is definetely not a daily miracle in Sweden where I live. The Word has been preached, but where are the signs? We are baptized in the Holy Spirit and speak in new tongues. Jesus said that we should receive power when the Holy Spirit would come over us. We have the Holy Spirit and therefore WE HAVE THE POWER. What is lacking? Could it be that a faithchurch lacks faith?

I believe that we need a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit and we must be willing to walk in the Spirit. There is no sense to pour the Spirit over carnal Christians. We must be willing to share what we get with others. I believe that God is preparing us by cleansing us. I do believe that God sometimes keeps the Holy Spirit back in order to save our lives. He does not want us to die because we lie or harbour other sins in our lives. Read Acts 5. We must be prepared before a revival comes. The channels must be cleansed. I am therefore a little sceptic when people say that we can send a revival from one place to another. Is the soil prepared to receive? Have seen some real bad copies. Many want to skim the cream, but do not want to pay the price. Maybe we even have selfish motives. There is no doubt that Jesus wants us to do great miracles, even to raise those who die before due time. WE HAVE THE RESURRECTION POWER IN US. THE SAME POWER THAT RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD.

The other word that is mentioned is LOVE. Why should we have power? It says that Jesus was driven by compassion. His love was so great that He was even willing to give His own life in order for us to be saved. That is the greatest form of Love.

When we pray for the sick, we pray for the sick to become well. We are only channels for His love and healing power. If one wants power and gifts in order to get a name, the motives are totally wrong. We can read 1.Cor.13, the Love chapter. Faith without love is nothing. One can be burned and give away everything, but it is of no value if one does’nt have love. Love does not seek its own. This is a key. We are not seeking our own pleasure, but that of otheres. God has poured His love into our hearts(Rom.5:5). Love is therefore something that we have, but we can choose how to use it. Love never fails. We never give up either if we are driven by love. I LOVE YOU BECAUSE JESUS HAS LOVED US BOTH FIRST. I am so thankful to Him for His love and That drives me to love you. When I write, I do not write for myself, but for your sake.

The last word is: SOUND MIND. Paul says that we have been given a spirit of a Sound Mind. I look up this word in the Amplified Bible. There it is translated with calm, well-balanced mind, discipline and self-control. I looked at certain churches and thought that they could surely be said to fall in this category. The music was not too loud and the songs were nice. The service was easy to predict: three to four songs, the announcement, prayers, collection of money, two more songs, the sermon, maybe a song or maybe some prayers. A very few people might be healed. It was not dead, but one does not feel the ressurection power.

I have looked at revival from other parts of the world. There might be lots of signs and wonders, but also so many manifestations that we can call it chaos. I am open for the fact that peole can fall under the power of God. Where the Spirit of God is poured out, demon spirits can also start manifesting. I have many times thanked God for that since I have hoped that people would be set free. I have many times seen a lack of discernment and the leaders think that all manifestations come from God. The people are even encouraged to keep on with demonic manfestations. Then I could cry. I THANK FOR FOR THE MIRACLES AND CRY OUT FOR DISCERNMENT.

A Sound mind is not the same as controlling the Spirit. That is controlling spirits. A SOUND MIND MEANS THE THE SPIRIT CONTROLS THE MANIFESTATIONS.

People are sometimes comparing to be drunk in the Spirit with being drunk by vine. A drunk person can walk unsteady, cry, laugh or talk loud. He will often do stupid and sinful things. When one is drunk by the Spirit, one can also do some og these things, but for a purpose. One cannot behave indecent. When manifestations are brought forth by manipulations, they are carnal. A drunk person might feel free, but is bound by alcohol. When one is drunk by the Spirit, one is bound by the Spirit. That limits any demonic and carnal manifestations. We must keep in mind that the result of Pentacost was that three thousand were added to the Church. They had listened to Peter’s sermon about REPENTANCE. When we talk about revival, repentance must always be a central ingredience. People might believe after seeing signs and wonders, but it must lead to an encounter with the person Jesus. He delivers from sin, demonic oppression and He heals.

If we overemphasize one part of the Gospel, it easily leads to unbalance. That is also what is a sign of a sect. They believe that they have the whole truth and bind the members by control.

When we eat, we need a variety. THE WHOLE BIBLE MUST BE TAUGHT. ALL THE GIFTS MUST BE USED IN EVERY CHURCH. EVERY PERSON MUST FIND HIS PLACE AND FUNTION IN IT. WE MUST BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT AND FUNTION IN LOVE AND POWER. WE MUST RESIST THE DEVIL.

EAT TILL YOU ARE SATISFIED AND USE IT FOR OTHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mother Else