Another Coffee Break: A PROPHETIC LOOK AT 2012
OK, OK, OK!! By now you've all probably heard just about every conceivable "prophecy" concerning events to come in the year ahead. That's NOT what this Coffee Break is all about. I suppose in a way it is, but that's not really what I want to focus on.
And -- before we get too far along, pour yourself a good cup of double-roasted French or some of that really dark-roasted Sumatran coffee. That'll get your day moving!
Most of you know that the Lord has used me or directed me in a prophetic stream for much of my life, and I've learned to be very careful about "prophesying" -- especially when it comes to events and people; and except when very specifically directed by the Holy Spirit I tend to shy away from making prophetic utterances concerning individuals and/or things that are taking place in their lives.
That's not to say that I haven't -- or don't -- but rather that it is the exception and not the rule. There are probably not more than a handful of folks who operate prophetically in this day and hour whose prophecies I trust to be accurate. There are a fistful of wanna-be prophets (or perhaps it would be better to refer to them as prophets-in-the-making) who honestly desire to minister prophetically and occasionally hit the mark, but I tend to not focus too much on their prophetic Words. That's NOT to slam them, by the way, or disparage their efforts.
Having been called by the Lord to a prophetic ministry when I was very young, throughout the years I have made some classic boo-boos with "prophecies" that have been way out in left field somewhere. That's been good for me! Those screw-ups have been times when the Holy Spirit has taught me the difference between the things I desire or wish for and try to make to come to pass by uttering forth declarations, and those things which I have genuinely heard from the Holy Spirit.
There's a huge difference, you know! As a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God and the Throne of the Most High, I have a personal responsibility to speak ONLY and EXACTLY what I'm instructed to speak, adding nothing and taking nothing away. That turns out to be a bit of a learning process. Thank the Lord for His patience in teaching and grooming us so that we are truly His representatives!
The apostle Paul had it right when he wrote, "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (I Corinthians 13:9-12)
Paul then opens up the 14th chapter of I Corinthians with this: "Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying." (I Corinthians 14:1-5)
So you get the picture. In I Thessalonians 5:20, Paul writes, "Despise not prophesyings." There's our command to not hold prophesyings or prophetic utterances in disdain -- even if the utterance is in error. That said, what I have to share with you is something that has been "seasoning" in my spirit for some time. I have bounced portions of this off brothers and sisters in the Lord whom I respect and trust to correct me if they find any of it as not fitting with what they hear the Holy Spirit saying.
With that preamble to today's discussion, let me get on with what I have to share.
I have heard a great many gloom and doom prognostications (and that's what I'll call them -- NOT prophecies) concerning horrific events to come upon this nation this year and in the near future. The reason why I call them prognostications is that they come from calculations based on rational thinking and reasoning rather than actually hearing what the Holy Spirit is saying.
The problem with most of these predictions is that they completely ignore the prayers, the intercession, the crying out of literally hundreds of thousands -- millions, actually -- of Christians who have been interceding for America, and the answer that God has given to the intercessors. Let me give you a few examples.
1. The U.S. Dollar is about to lose 40% of its value, and it will literally happen overnight.
2. A great earthquake is coming upon this nation which will literally split the nation in half, forming the Western States of America and the Eastern States of America.
3. Because of the tolerance of our nation's leaders and the compromise that has taken place within the body of Christ to permit the unchecked murder of more than 50 million unborn babies, as well as tolerating the perversion of marriage and the "normalizing" of homosexual relationships, God is about to rain down the same kind of judgment on America that He did on Sodom and Gomorrah. Those who make this claim often repeat the cliché that "God would have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah if He didn't destroy America for the same sins that brought down those city-states."
Let's deal with each of these claims in order.
1. There really are some tremendous changes about to take place within our nation's economy, but not the kind of catastrophes that many have feared. Della and I have talked about these changes among ourselves and with many of our brethren who share the same Word of the Lord that we've been hearing. Let me take you first of all to a promise found in Proverbs 13:22.
"A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just."
There has been a growing expectancy as well as a knowing in the core of our beings that there has long been a scheduled day in God's economy to transfer the "wealth of the wicked" into the hands of "the just." No, this is not some get-rich-quick scheme being promoted by the oft-denigrated "prosperity preachers." This is a firm Word -- a Covenant Word -- being sent forth by the Holy Spirit on the behalf of a people -- the Bride of Christ, if you will -- whom He trusts implicitly to use the resources He transfers to them for the sake of the great harvest of souls being gathered into the Kingdom in this hour.
You'll appreciate, I'm sure, that God would no more release untold resources to "babes in Christ" or immature, irresponsible "believers" than you would turn your new Mercedes or BMW over to your 4-year-old. (Grin) You get the picture, I'm sure. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit has been schooling tens (even hundreds) of thousands of believers for a day of release and immense prosperity.
That day of release is upon us! Why do it now? Why would God release almost unimaginable wealth on His people? Consider what He said in His Word!
"But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day." (Deuteronomy 8:18)
It is sad to say, but there are many Christians who will get angry at my saying this, but the truth is that the body of Christ has been so programmed with a poverty mindset, and the idea that one has to be broke and in debt in order to "remain humble" and "be like Christ," that it is absolutely unbelievable! It is nothing more than a perverted lie of Satan that perpetrates this abortion on the body of Christ so that they will never have the resources to fulfill God's commission. I don't want to get sidetracked on a discussion about prosperity, and I know that there have been some preachers who have abused the message of prosperity, but that's beside the point. That doesn't make the Word of God a lie, and it doesn't mean that God isn't going to establish His covenant with His people just as He promised He would!
Because we are already seeing a harvest of souls on a scale hitherto unknown in world history, and because the financial need to accomplish that commission is increasing exponentially, the time has come when the Lord IS GOING TO RELEASE finances to His people!
Again, I repeat: God is not randomly selecting people who name the name of Jesus Christ or try to use religious formulas in order to get rich. This is the fulfillment of a covenant promise to a people He can and does trust -- and it is happening even now!
Will there be hard times for others? You bet. Will there be economic struggles and a severe disparity of income levels? Without question. Will our nation go under economically? NO! And a resounding, NO! Not any time in the near future, anyway. There are things happening behind the scenes that God has orchestrated because of the millions of prayers that have gone forth that will give this nation respite from its current financial crisis.
That doesn't mean we will roll merrily along in the future. More hard times are ahead and there is a day ahead that I won't talk about now, but for 2012 and the next few years God is giving us a breather.
2. There has really been a spate of prophecies concerning earthquakes and a continent-dividing event that awaits this nation. What has generally been left out of these prophecies is the spiritual conditions that must precede such catastrophes. That's over-generalizing a bit, so let me be more specific.
The prophets Micah and Zechariah went into great detail about the Lord gathering together His people and putting the city of Jerusalem back together after it had been divided. We know that Jerusalem was united once again under Jewish and Israeli rule during the Six-Day War in 1967 (it was a topic of hot conversation for me as a talk radio host during that time) and that the promise of God was that the city would never again be divided.
I don't intend to revisit my discussions concerning God's promises to Israel (we already covered that topic fairly well in a recent series on Israel) other than to say that the Old Testament prophets were directed by God to issue dire warnings to any nation or nations who attempted to once again divide Jerusalem. The fact that the Obama administration has taken the position that Jerusalem should be divided among the Israelis and the Palestinians and that Israel should be partitioned along the lines that existed pre-1967 has been of great concern to many Christians and Jews alike.
It has been with that perspective in mind that some (in the mistaken belief that the Obama administration would succeed in its goals vis-a-vis Israel) have prophesied a massive earthquake of biblical proportions that would literally split America in two. What they fail to take into account is the fact that despite the Obama administration's expressed intentions, the administration does not have the support of the American people when it comes to Israel. It also lacks the support of both Congress and the U.S. Senate, and in a recent event there were some 97 U.S. Senators (out of a total of 100) who signed a letter to the President expressing their unwavering support for Israel. At the same time more than three-quarters of the members of the House of Representatives expressed their support for Israel and vowed to take action against the administration if it tried to enforce the division of Israel and Jerusalem.
I will not -- and cannot -- take the time in this Coffee Break to go into a series of visions and dreams that I have had with regard to the administration's negative stance towards Israel. They've been shared privately with a close circle of friends in the prophetic community and folks with whom we are in close fellowship for the sake of prayer and intercession, but I do not have the liberty to share them in an open forum like this.
Suffice it to say that the Hosts of Heaven would step in and bring sudden changes to the White House, the administration and any leaders who take it upon themselves to act in defiance of God's Word concerning Israel. The changes would be so swift and so complete that the world would look on in awe at the Hand of God moving so supernaturally. For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, I only have to say to you, Remember Korah!
We've often admonished people to be in prayer and intercession for the President, the administration, the leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives, Governors and state Legislatures, and Della and I have often lifted up the President before the Lord. What I saw in my dreams and visions left me sick at the pit of my stomach, but the actions of the Heavenly Hosts were exercised only over a few individuals and not against the entire nation. Folks, there are far too many believers who are praying over this nation.
I only need remind you of Genesis 18:32 where the Lord speaks to Abraham and tells him that He will spare the cities if he can find ten righteous within Sodom and Gomorrah. To suppose that God would wreak such vengeance on America as a continent-dividing catastrophe in the face of the prayers and intercession of millions of righteous just flies in the face of God's covenant. America does NOT stand against Israel! We stand with Israel, and even if our current administration is grudging in its support of Israel during the coming war with Iran, that support will stand because of the outspoken support by the overwhelming majority of our leaders, and the prayers and intercession of millions of Christians.
Now, I've said all that and still haven't addressed the coming earthquakes that will shake this nation. Guess that will have to wait for the next Coffee Break. Let me move on to the third example.
3. America is the only nation formed in thousands of years which was assembled in the midst of a covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ. Several years ago I did a series of Coffee Breaks on the American Covenant in which I dealt with the unique history and historical documents that abound which detail our nation's founding fathers' love for the Lord and the written commitments they made when they swore to make this nation a place from which the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ would spread abroad throughout the whole world. Every single constitution of every single state in this union accords its existence and its purpose to the Lord God.
Despite the efforts of a tiny minority of very vocal rebels throughout the past few decades to separate our government and our nation's existence from its dependence on the Lord and its worship of the Lord, America -- at its roots and at its core -- still remains a nation under God.
Despite the mistaken and exceptionally ignorant statement of Barack Obama that "America is no longer a Christian nation," a recent Gallup poll still demonstrates that 57% of Americans refer to themselves as "Born-Again Christians" (regardless of whether they classify themselves as Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist or Pentecostal, or whatever) and more than 80 percent still affirm a fundamental faith in God. Roughly ten percent refer to themselves as Jewish, seven percent are broken up among atheists and other non-believing groups and some two percent call themselves Muslim.
That said, the responsibility for permitting the wholesale murder of the unborn lies at the doors of the body of Christ. The same can be said for the breakdown of morality and the perversion that tolerates and even normalizes LGBT activities.
Judgment MUST begin at the House of God! In so saying, it must be pointed out that judgment has already come to the House of God on a scale to which many if not most Christians seem oblivious, and there's a lot more to come. I'll get into that in our next Coffee Break.
"In the midst of the turmoil all around us we need to see the coming Kingdom. The shaking has started and the Kingdom of God is about to be manifest in this world like never before. The greatest move of God that the world has ever seen is knocking on our doors if we have ears to hear and inner eyes to see." (Neville Johnson)
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
709 South 7th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133
All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted – provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.
If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.
CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: CONTEXT
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: CONTEXT
After a long absence from writing and posting these Coffee Breaks, we return belatedly to begin our eighth year of publishing. That said, GOOD MORNING, GOOD MORNING, GOOD MORNING!!
Our schedule during the past two months has been nothing less hectic beyond words. Between dental and doctor visits for Della (she's doing just fine, thanks....nothing serious!) lots of court time on behalf of friends and some members of the family, acting as an advocate and legal advisor for them, then taking a trip to Alaska to bring our young granddaughter back to her family, taking a look at some potential investment properties ..... anyway, you get the idea! Whewww!! Maybe things will quiet down to a dull roar now for awhile.
One coffee comment before we get started ... and y'all know what a coffee connoisseur I've been, and how much I've promoted Starbucks coffees over the years. Starbucks Coffee Company has within the past few weeks become an active financial backer and promoter of a successful measure in the state of Washington to legalize homosexual marriages. Their corporate leadership has taken a strong anti-family position in the process. For that reason we have taken a public position against the company and recommended to friends and family that they avoid Starbucks' kiosks and shops, and purchase other coffee brands instead.
We refuse to spend our monies with a company which takes such a prominent public position on an issue which is clearly anti-God, anti-Scriptural and anti-family! For those of you who understand and agree with our stance, we recommend that you likewise send the same message to Starbucks -- and especially to Howard Schultz, the company chairman. When corporate leaders get the message from the buying public and that message affects their bottom line, they will respond.
Several years ago, Ford Motor Corporation's executives decided to back homosexual activists and publications. As the then-owner of a recently purchased F-150 Heritage pickup, I wrote the president and chairman of the board and let them know that if they continued this policy of anti-family activism, it would be my last purchase of a Ford Motor Company product. Literally hundreds of thousands of other Ford owners participated in a letter-writing campaign stating basically the same thing. It paid off. Ford's bottom line dropped off so precipitously that the board of directors fired the president and replaced him. The new president immediately announced that Ford would no longer support homosexual activism and activist publications, and the company began to recover financially almost immediately. We can make a difference, folks!
In my last Coffee Break I said that I would be continuing my series on Heaven. The next edition of that series is almost complete, but there are some things taking place -- both spiritually and politically -- that I need to talk about, so bear with me if you were expecting that series to continue right away. I will get back to it.
In Proverbs 4, there is a unique contrast between righteousness and wickedness and it is a prophetic picture of what is unfolding today all around us.
"But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble." (Proverbs 4:18-19)
Let me re-translate this passage out of Hebrew and amplify it a bit for you.
"But the well-trodden way of the uncompromisingly righteous and upright is like an increasingly brilliant light that shines brighter and brighter to reveal [and lead him to] his day of prosperity. The mode and course of the violator and morally, ethically wrong person is dark and progressively gloomy; he has no understanding or revelation of that which causes failure."
Guess I could have amplified it even more -- the Hebrew here is very colorful -- but you get the picture, I'm sure.
We have a very clear contrasting picture of what is unfolding around us in this day and age. The so-called "progressives" are headed down a path that is darker and darker, and they seem to have no understanding of the issues that are causing catastrophic failure for them, and for their communities, their states or provinces, and their nations.
Those who walk in the light of God's Word are being led toward greater and greater prosperity in the knowledge of the Lord as well as life itself. That's as it should be! The Word of the Lord IS revelatory for those who walk in it.
That's the key phrase, however -- FOR THOSE WHO WALK IN IT!!! It doesn't apply for those who try to play with the Word or try to make The Word fit their agenda, doctrine or thought processes.
Amplifying the Hebrew makes it clear that it is the UNCOMPROMISINGLY RIGHTEOUS who prosper in their way. Get it? No compromise! We don't get to alter or shape the Word of the Lord to fit our thought processes, our agendas or our doctrines.
My Presbyterian and Episcopalian friends are in the midst of real turmoil right now because their denominational leaders have compromised the Word and tried to make it fit with societal decay and the moral decadence that has infiltrated parts of the body of Christ. You have denominational leadership okaying homosexual "pastors" and homosexual "marriages" and justifying their acceptance predicated on a deliberate alteration of Romans 1:22-32 and other like passages in the O.T. Tens and hundreds of thousands of Presbyterians and Episcopalians are choosing to leave their denominations because their consciences simply will not allow them to tolerate this abuse of the Word.
Then you have "Christians" and church leaders of many stripes ignoring the context of Psalm 139 (and specifically, verses 13-16) or perhaps Jeremiah 1:5 in order to justify abortion and the myth of "a woman's right to choose" as though this is somehow enshrined in our nation's Constitution. Our nation's founding fathers could not have even imagined the evil that has been perpetrated using a divinely inspired Constitution to justify horrendous violations of the Word of God -- that same Word they all held sacred.
That brings me to the title of today's Coffee Break: CONTEXT. Within the body of Christ -- and growing increasingly so -- is the practice of taking the Word out of context in order to create (or justify) a doctrine which is comfortable. Even well-meaning believers have fallen into this trap, and it is an easy trap to get caught in.
Let me go back in time to draw some perspective of what I'm trying to share.
First, consider the Old Testament. Who was it written by, and under what inspiration? The Old Testament -- without exception -- was written by men whose mindset, whose thoughts and whose culture was entirely Hebrew. It's been said -- and I'm sorry if you disagree with me, but I agree with this -- that the Hebrew thought and mindset as it is revealed in Scripture is not simply "Hebrew" or "Hebraistic:" it is the thought and mindset of God. What we refer to as a "Hebrew mindset" is honestly the mindset of God Himself.
When you look at the New Testament nothing has changed. Every writer of the New Testament was Jewish. While Paul the apostle was certainly a Roman citizen, he was groomed at the feet of Gamaliel, the chief rabbinical teacher or professor of the day. He was of the sect of the Pharisees. The writers of the gospels -- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John -- were all Jews, all raised with the same Hebrew culture, thought patterns and mindsets. Luke was the author of the book of Acts, and other than Peter, James and Jude whose writings and epistles we have in addition to the aforementioned, every one of them were Jews with a Jewish or Hebrew upbringing.
Mark was considered to be the lone exception having been raised in a Greek-oriented lifestyle; and yet, he too was a Jew and a disciple of Peter's.
Virtually every translation of the Scriptures that we have today is "westernized." Our modern "church" concept is totally foreign to everything of either Old Testament or New Testament life. There were no churches in the first or second or even third century. An old Roman temple in Nova Roma (the city later became known as Constantinople) was remodeled in 225 or 226 AD during the reign of Alexander Severus for use as a gathering place for Christians, but the idea of a "church" didn't take place until after Constantine's Edict of Toleration in 313 AD -- and even then, the mode of gathering scarcely resembled anything we know today.
One of the problems in our modern church setting is that we try to fit Jewish or Hebraistic understanding and thought into a westernized picture. In doing so our understanding of the Word loses its context and frequently loses sight of a very clear picture of what the Word of God was given to communicate. I frankly find it nothing less than miraculous that in spite of the westernized setting we've tried to fit the Word into, the Holy Spirit still manages to communicate the very fundamental truths of the Gospel into our lives bringing change and transformation to us.
I'm often amazed at the silliness that comes out of the mouths of some Christians when you talk to them about the need to accurately divide or discern "the Word of Truth."
One oft refrain is, "Whaddaya mean? It's right there in front of you in plain English!"
The only answer one can give is that the Word wasn't written in English to begin with; what we have is an attempt to translate two picture languages -- the only two languages in the world that do this: Hebrew and Greek -- into something that closely approximates their meaning in our language. Even the best of our English translations -- such as the Amplified Bible -- sometimes miss it because it can take a whole paragraph to describe the picture that is drawn by a single Hebrew or Greek word. Within that picture are nuances that are easily lost in our language.
Let me share a classic example of how a simplistic English translation can lose the context of what the Holy Spirit is seeking to communicate.
A verse of Scripture which we have all heard hundreds, if not thousands of times, is found in II Timothy 2:15. The KJV renders it, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
This is an absolutely tragic translation. Although the NASB and NIV both render it more accurately, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth," the KJV rendition, "Study," has been a mainstay of many messages and doctrinal presentations.
I felt quickened to read this passage in the original Greek text, and discovered that it has some very powerful applications in that to which the Lord has been calling His Bride.
The verse begins with the Greek word, "spoudason." While the NASB rendering, "Be diligent," is an acceptable translation, this word has some deeper meanings. It would be more accurate to translate it, "Be instantly responsive..."
Where the Greek word, "dokimon," is rendered "approved" in most of the translations, this word has a unique background, and a special application for this particular passage.
"Dokimon" was a word originated among numismatists to identify the process by which gold and silver coins were tested after smelting in a crucible. It was the process which allowed them to determine the genuineness and purity of coins, as well as to detect any counterfeit coins, bars, etc. The coins were heated to the melting point. If they were real, there would be little if any dross. If they were fakes or counterfeit, there would be very little real silver or gold in the crucible. The process duplicated the smelting of the gold or silver ore during refining. If the coins were real, you would have the same amount of molten gold or silver in the crucible used to stamp the original.
In the same vein, the word, "parasteesai," translated: "to present," was first used by the Septuagint translators within the context of "making oneself available for the purpose of being questioned," as well as "making oneself available" metaphorically "for fellowship and intimacy."
It therefore becomes a powerful message from the Holy Spirit when we translate it thus: "Be instantly responsive to the Lord, making yourself available to Him in the midst of the crucible, a tried and tested laborer, who has no fear of being examined -- one who, by virtue of God's testing and the time spent in the crucible with Him, knows the proven word of truth."
The "proven word of truth" in this instance can be identified as a "rhema" word from the Lord which has been walked out and put to the test in our lives. It is an experiential word! It is an incontestable word no man can combat with any doctrinal argument or theory. How else would it have been possible for men and women to stand in the face of martyrdom? Once the Word had been worked in them so that they -- like Jesus -- had become "the Word made flesh," there was no threat leveled against them with the power to dissuade or convince them to recant the truth, even with their lives forfeit! They had been in the crucible! The Word had been tested and tried and proven in them!
Verses 16 and 17 of the same chapter reinforce this. Without taking the time, here, to break down each of the pertinent Greek words and phrases, it can be rendered, "Stand aloof from, and avoid the untested, untried "word" which comes forth from those who would propagate speculation and create their own doctrines. These profane speculations and so-called "words" are empty babblings which will only serve to advance ungodliness; and those who spread these doctrines will only yield a gangrene pasture -- a source of poison to those who ingest their "word"......"
The unbalanced emphasis on "Study" which has been ingrained into the fabric of church structure has led to a large number of the doctrines which skillfully bring division among God's people. The push to "study" (and I'm emphasizing the academic focus) has led to the creation of seminaries and Bible colleges, with the subsequent "ordination" of those who complete the "approved" courses of study. Those who graduate are supposedly ready for "ministry," ready to step out and speak in the name of the Lord, ready to administer guidance and correction to those who are growing in the Lord.
This, my friends, is what happens when the Word loses its context. This is what happens when the Word becomes academic rather than revelatory and experiential. Jesus NEVER intended for anyone to go forth to preach and teach something from "book learning." Every command that He gave to the disciples incorporated a living, tangible demonstration of the power behind the Word.
They were commanded to "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8) See also Luke 9:2 and Luke 10:9.
Mark 16:15-18 reads like this: "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
When the Word of God is put into you, tested in you in the midst of the crucible and tried in actual practice, it ceases to be a theory; it ceases to be a religious doctrine; it ceases to be a theory! NOW it is the Word in its proper context!!
"In the midst of the turmoil all around us we need to see the coming Kingdom. The shaking has started and the Kingdom of God is about to be manifest in this world like never before. The greatest move of God that the world has ever seen is knocking on our doors if we have ears to hear and inner eyes to see." (Neville Johnson)
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
709 South 7th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133
All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted – provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.
If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.
CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.
After a long absence from writing and posting these Coffee Breaks, we return belatedly to begin our eighth year of publishing. That said, GOOD MORNING, GOOD MORNING, GOOD MORNING!!
Our schedule during the past two months has been nothing less hectic beyond words. Between dental and doctor visits for Della (she's doing just fine, thanks....nothing serious!) lots of court time on behalf of friends and some members of the family, acting as an advocate and legal advisor for them, then taking a trip to Alaska to bring our young granddaughter back to her family, taking a look at some potential investment properties ..... anyway, you get the idea! Whewww!! Maybe things will quiet down to a dull roar now for awhile.
One coffee comment before we get started ... and y'all know what a coffee connoisseur I've been, and how much I've promoted Starbucks coffees over the years. Starbucks Coffee Company has within the past few weeks become an active financial backer and promoter of a successful measure in the state of Washington to legalize homosexual marriages. Their corporate leadership has taken a strong anti-family position in the process. For that reason we have taken a public position against the company and recommended to friends and family that they avoid Starbucks' kiosks and shops, and purchase other coffee brands instead.
We refuse to spend our monies with a company which takes such a prominent public position on an issue which is clearly anti-God, anti-Scriptural and anti-family! For those of you who understand and agree with our stance, we recommend that you likewise send the same message to Starbucks -- and especially to Howard Schultz, the company chairman. When corporate leaders get the message from the buying public and that message affects their bottom line, they will respond.
Several years ago, Ford Motor Corporation's executives decided to back homosexual activists and publications. As the then-owner of a recently purchased F-150 Heritage pickup, I wrote the president and chairman of the board and let them know that if they continued this policy of anti-family activism, it would be my last purchase of a Ford Motor Company product. Literally hundreds of thousands of other Ford owners participated in a letter-writing campaign stating basically the same thing. It paid off. Ford's bottom line dropped off so precipitously that the board of directors fired the president and replaced him. The new president immediately announced that Ford would no longer support homosexual activism and activist publications, and the company began to recover financially almost immediately. We can make a difference, folks!
In my last Coffee Break I said that I would be continuing my series on Heaven. The next edition of that series is almost complete, but there are some things taking place -- both spiritually and politically -- that I need to talk about, so bear with me if you were expecting that series to continue right away. I will get back to it.
In Proverbs 4, there is a unique contrast between righteousness and wickedness and it is a prophetic picture of what is unfolding today all around us.
"But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble." (Proverbs 4:18-19)
Let me re-translate this passage out of Hebrew and amplify it a bit for you.
"But the well-trodden way of the uncompromisingly righteous and upright is like an increasingly brilliant light that shines brighter and brighter to reveal [and lead him to] his day of prosperity. The mode and course of the violator and morally, ethically wrong person is dark and progressively gloomy; he has no understanding or revelation of that which causes failure."
Guess I could have amplified it even more -- the Hebrew here is very colorful -- but you get the picture, I'm sure.
We have a very clear contrasting picture of what is unfolding around us in this day and age. The so-called "progressives" are headed down a path that is darker and darker, and they seem to have no understanding of the issues that are causing catastrophic failure for them, and for their communities, their states or provinces, and their nations.
Those who walk in the light of God's Word are being led toward greater and greater prosperity in the knowledge of the Lord as well as life itself. That's as it should be! The Word of the Lord IS revelatory for those who walk in it.
That's the key phrase, however -- FOR THOSE WHO WALK IN IT!!! It doesn't apply for those who try to play with the Word or try to make The Word fit their agenda, doctrine or thought processes.
Amplifying the Hebrew makes it clear that it is the UNCOMPROMISINGLY RIGHTEOUS who prosper in their way. Get it? No compromise! We don't get to alter or shape the Word of the Lord to fit our thought processes, our agendas or our doctrines.
My Presbyterian and Episcopalian friends are in the midst of real turmoil right now because their denominational leaders have compromised the Word and tried to make it fit with societal decay and the moral decadence that has infiltrated parts of the body of Christ. You have denominational leadership okaying homosexual "pastors" and homosexual "marriages" and justifying their acceptance predicated on a deliberate alteration of Romans 1:22-32 and other like passages in the O.T. Tens and hundreds of thousands of Presbyterians and Episcopalians are choosing to leave their denominations because their consciences simply will not allow them to tolerate this abuse of the Word.
Then you have "Christians" and church leaders of many stripes ignoring the context of Psalm 139 (and specifically, verses 13-16) or perhaps Jeremiah 1:5 in order to justify abortion and the myth of "a woman's right to choose" as though this is somehow enshrined in our nation's Constitution. Our nation's founding fathers could not have even imagined the evil that has been perpetrated using a divinely inspired Constitution to justify horrendous violations of the Word of God -- that same Word they all held sacred.
That brings me to the title of today's Coffee Break: CONTEXT. Within the body of Christ -- and growing increasingly so -- is the practice of taking the Word out of context in order to create (or justify) a doctrine which is comfortable. Even well-meaning believers have fallen into this trap, and it is an easy trap to get caught in.
Let me go back in time to draw some perspective of what I'm trying to share.
First, consider the Old Testament. Who was it written by, and under what inspiration? The Old Testament -- without exception -- was written by men whose mindset, whose thoughts and whose culture was entirely Hebrew. It's been said -- and I'm sorry if you disagree with me, but I agree with this -- that the Hebrew thought and mindset as it is revealed in Scripture is not simply "Hebrew" or "Hebraistic:" it is the thought and mindset of God. What we refer to as a "Hebrew mindset" is honestly the mindset of God Himself.
When you look at the New Testament nothing has changed. Every writer of the New Testament was Jewish. While Paul the apostle was certainly a Roman citizen, he was groomed at the feet of Gamaliel, the chief rabbinical teacher or professor of the day. He was of the sect of the Pharisees. The writers of the gospels -- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John -- were all Jews, all raised with the same Hebrew culture, thought patterns and mindsets. Luke was the author of the book of Acts, and other than Peter, James and Jude whose writings and epistles we have in addition to the aforementioned, every one of them were Jews with a Jewish or Hebrew upbringing.
Mark was considered to be the lone exception having been raised in a Greek-oriented lifestyle; and yet, he too was a Jew and a disciple of Peter's.
Virtually every translation of the Scriptures that we have today is "westernized." Our modern "church" concept is totally foreign to everything of either Old Testament or New Testament life. There were no churches in the first or second or even third century. An old Roman temple in Nova Roma (the city later became known as Constantinople) was remodeled in 225 or 226 AD during the reign of Alexander Severus for use as a gathering place for Christians, but the idea of a "church" didn't take place until after Constantine's Edict of Toleration in 313 AD -- and even then, the mode of gathering scarcely resembled anything we know today.
One of the problems in our modern church setting is that we try to fit Jewish or Hebraistic understanding and thought into a westernized picture. In doing so our understanding of the Word loses its context and frequently loses sight of a very clear picture of what the Word of God was given to communicate. I frankly find it nothing less than miraculous that in spite of the westernized setting we've tried to fit the Word into, the Holy Spirit still manages to communicate the very fundamental truths of the Gospel into our lives bringing change and transformation to us.
I'm often amazed at the silliness that comes out of the mouths of some Christians when you talk to them about the need to accurately divide or discern "the Word of Truth."
One oft refrain is, "Whaddaya mean? It's right there in front of you in plain English!"
The only answer one can give is that the Word wasn't written in English to begin with; what we have is an attempt to translate two picture languages -- the only two languages in the world that do this: Hebrew and Greek -- into something that closely approximates their meaning in our language. Even the best of our English translations -- such as the Amplified Bible -- sometimes miss it because it can take a whole paragraph to describe the picture that is drawn by a single Hebrew or Greek word. Within that picture are nuances that are easily lost in our language.
Let me share a classic example of how a simplistic English translation can lose the context of what the Holy Spirit is seeking to communicate.
A verse of Scripture which we have all heard hundreds, if not thousands of times, is found in II Timothy 2:15. The KJV renders it, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
This is an absolutely tragic translation. Although the NASB and NIV both render it more accurately, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth," the KJV rendition, "Study," has been a mainstay of many messages and doctrinal presentations.
I felt quickened to read this passage in the original Greek text, and discovered that it has some very powerful applications in that to which the Lord has been calling His Bride.
The verse begins with the Greek word, "spoudason." While the NASB rendering, "Be diligent," is an acceptable translation, this word has some deeper meanings. It would be more accurate to translate it, "Be instantly responsive..."
Where the Greek word, "dokimon," is rendered "approved" in most of the translations, this word has a unique background, and a special application for this particular passage.
"Dokimon" was a word originated among numismatists to identify the process by which gold and silver coins were tested after smelting in a crucible. It was the process which allowed them to determine the genuineness and purity of coins, as well as to detect any counterfeit coins, bars, etc. The coins were heated to the melting point. If they were real, there would be little if any dross. If they were fakes or counterfeit, there would be very little real silver or gold in the crucible. The process duplicated the smelting of the gold or silver ore during refining. If the coins were real, you would have the same amount of molten gold or silver in the crucible used to stamp the original.
In the same vein, the word, "parasteesai," translated: "to present," was first used by the Septuagint translators within the context of "making oneself available for the purpose of being questioned," as well as "making oneself available" metaphorically "for fellowship and intimacy."
It therefore becomes a powerful message from the Holy Spirit when we translate it thus: "Be instantly responsive to the Lord, making yourself available to Him in the midst of the crucible, a tried and tested laborer, who has no fear of being examined -- one who, by virtue of God's testing and the time spent in the crucible with Him, knows the proven word of truth."
The "proven word of truth" in this instance can be identified as a "rhema" word from the Lord which has been walked out and put to the test in our lives. It is an experiential word! It is an incontestable word no man can combat with any doctrinal argument or theory. How else would it have been possible for men and women to stand in the face of martyrdom? Once the Word had been worked in them so that they -- like Jesus -- had become "the Word made flesh," there was no threat leveled against them with the power to dissuade or convince them to recant the truth, even with their lives forfeit! They had been in the crucible! The Word had been tested and tried and proven in them!
Verses 16 and 17 of the same chapter reinforce this. Without taking the time, here, to break down each of the pertinent Greek words and phrases, it can be rendered, "Stand aloof from, and avoid the untested, untried "word" which comes forth from those who would propagate speculation and create their own doctrines. These profane speculations and so-called "words" are empty babblings which will only serve to advance ungodliness; and those who spread these doctrines will only yield a gangrene pasture -- a source of poison to those who ingest their "word"......"
The unbalanced emphasis on "Study" which has been ingrained into the fabric of church structure has led to a large number of the doctrines which skillfully bring division among God's people. The push to "study" (and I'm emphasizing the academic focus) has led to the creation of seminaries and Bible colleges, with the subsequent "ordination" of those who complete the "approved" courses of study. Those who graduate are supposedly ready for "ministry," ready to step out and speak in the name of the Lord, ready to administer guidance and correction to those who are growing in the Lord.
This, my friends, is what happens when the Word loses its context. This is what happens when the Word becomes academic rather than revelatory and experiential. Jesus NEVER intended for anyone to go forth to preach and teach something from "book learning." Every command that He gave to the disciples incorporated a living, tangible demonstration of the power behind the Word.
They were commanded to "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8) See also Luke 9:2 and Luke 10:9.
Mark 16:15-18 reads like this: "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
When the Word of God is put into you, tested in you in the midst of the crucible and tried in actual practice, it ceases to be a theory; it ceases to be a religious doctrine; it ceases to be a theory! NOW it is the Word in its proper context!!
"In the midst of the turmoil all around us we need to see the coming Kingdom. The shaking has started and the Kingdom of God is about to be manifest in this world like never before. The greatest move of God that the world has ever seen is knocking on our doors if we have ears to hear and inner eyes to see." (Neville Johnson)
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
709 South 7th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133
All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted – provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.
If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.
CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)