ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: PLAYING POLITICAL RUSSIAN ROULETTE
During the 2003-2004 political campaign/election cycle I ran for the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Texas' 25th Congressional District. After losing the Primary a sizeable number of people approached me who apologized for not having voted for me. These were bankers, lawyers, businessmen, church leaders -- you name it -- all of whom crossed over to vote on the Democratic ticket thinking that they would cast their vote for the weaker of the two Democratic candidates and thereby alter the race dynamics in my favor.
Polling seemed to indicate to them that I had a fair lead against my Republican opponent, and they felt like I had the race in the bag. They felt safe in crossing over so as to alter the outcome of the Democratic ticket. In fact, their crossover vote made virtually no difference in the outcome of the Democratic Primary, whereas had they actually cast their vote for me my outcome would have been very different.
As a result I published a political commentary consisting of a somewhat abbreviated version of today's Coffee Break. Because of what we are currently seeing take place in the ongoing Primaries around this nation I felt the importance of once again expanding on that same commentary.
That said, Good Morning to you! Pour yourself a good 16-ounce cup of that Double-Roast French, pull up a chair and let's discuss the current spiritual state of our political spectrum.
One of the tragedies of modern society is the drive towards political correctness. Striving to be inoffensive to every segment of society and desiring to please everyone has created a tyranny of the minorities. Despite the fact that mainstream America overwhelmingly professes to be Christian, the majority succumbs to the pressure of the minority.
Election after election, people who privately hold mainstream, conservative, Christian values continue to vote for candidates who -- year after year -- peck away at, and incrementally erode the freedoms granted by our founding fathers in our United States Constitution.
Why is this? What is it that possesses people to compromise their values? How is it that we can go behind the curtain in the voting booth, away from the prying eyes of those who want to control the election outcomes, and vote contrary to what we know to be right?
The answer, plain and simple? Fear.
There are three families of fear that infect and contaminate the human race: the Fear of Evil, the Fear of Man, and the Fear of Death. These three families of fear operate respectively in each of the domains of human existence.
The Fear of Evil affects people at the level of their spirit. It manipulates the hearts of men and women to react in fear where anything spiritual is concerned. It causes people to be in terror of God, substituting a healthy respect and reverential awe of God for an unhealthy terror. The Fear of Evil is the driving force behind all religion and man-made efforts to please God. It substitutes a love-relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ for a set of rules, regulations and laws that are performance driven.
The Fear of Man works at the level of our human relationships. It works in the mind and soul of man, causing him to fear how others think of him or see him. In the same way that the Fear of Evil is a liar, the Fear of Man is a liar, invoking imaginary scenarios of how we see ourselves through the eyes of our friends and society in general. The Fear of Man drives modern politics in a way that seems to escape a large segment of the voting public; and people seem to be oblivious to the fact that their voting choices are being manipulated by an evil spirit.
The Fear of Death directly compromises us at the level of our flesh, our natural existence. It causes us to fear the unknown, creating imaginary situations that threaten our physical well being. With the modern push for a socialist society where Government becomes our source of supply, steals our trust and confidence in the Lord as our Source, and forces the nation into a "gimmee, gimmee" welfare mentality, the Fear of Death becomes an increasingly driving force in our electoral choices because we fear having that money or those benefits being taken away from us. The subconscious fear is that we will die or suffer physically if we lose those things a "freebies" from the government.
So, how exactly do these fears affect the way we behave in the voting booth? Let’s look at a series of events that have unfolded over the past 50 – 60 years.
First, let’s define an increasing political polarity.
For the conservative, the Christian, the individual who believes in the essential liberties granted in our Constitution for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – or, to quote the Apostle Paul, “….that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all Godliness and honesty,” the objective is a candidate who will promote and defend those liberties without taking any more from us than is absolutely necessary to accomplish the goal. Unfortunately, conservatives – by virtue of their very nature – tend to be passive and nonconfrontational.
The secularist, humanist, socialist liberal believes that he or she is entitled to those liberties at the expense of the state; that if the state lacks sufficient money to guarantee his or her “right” to have those liberties regardless of cost, it is perfectly acceptable – nay, mandatory – that the funds be extracted by whatever means necessary from those who have prospered by their labors. That mindset leads to a dependency upon the state. The state becomes the arbiter of all things, and the supplier of all needs. Personal responsibility diminishes as the state picks up more and more authority, and provides more and more services.
In the voting booth, the conservative – being more or less nonconfrontational – adopts a compromising attitude if the individual running for office mostly supports the concept of smaller, less intrusive government, and stands for some of the basic moral and spiritual values that epitomize conservatism. The fact that the candidate might be 55% conservative and 45% socialist humanist is set aside in fear.
That fear is not overpowering. It is not apparently or obviously driving the individual. It is subversive, and subconscious. It is persuasive. It is seductive. And it manipulates through either or both the Fear of Man, and the Fear of Death. Compromise or not, the voter casts the ballot for an individual who will ultimately chip away – ever so little, but ever so surely – some of the freedoms the voter currently enjoys.
On the other hand, the secularist, humanist, socialist fears a society that demands responsibility. Responsibility portends the possibility of failure. Failure threatens one’s existence. Failure threatens one’s “comfort zone.” The Fear of Death becomes a driving force.
The secular socialist has none of the peace that comes with a walk with Jesus Christ, nor the assurance that there will be a brighter day ahead by the help and provision of the Lord. A mandate develops, therefore, within the humanist to elect a candidate who will continue to ensure his or her livelihood no matter how much it costs the state.
Let’s take this to the next level.
Years of compromise – make that decades of compromise – have watered down the conservative stance of the Republican Party. Instead of standing for the principles that originally made up the GOP – principles that were rooted in smaller, more efficient, less-intrusive government and Christian moral leadership – we have seen a willingness on the part of Republican leaders to incorporate those as candidates who accept “a little socialism,” or “a little” larger, more intrusive government in order to have candidates that appeal to the voting public.
At the same time, because of the similar compromises made within the Democratic Party -- compromises with communism and the socialist principles of Marx and Lenin – the Democratic leadership has shifted to the far left of mainstream America. The Democratic Party supposedly used to represent the interests of the working man, the common man, the ordinary, every-day individual. You’d never know it today! The party leadership has moved towards a Robin Hood philosophy in order to provide “gimme” programs that encourage poverty and stifle productivity.
In a reaction almost wholly based in the fear of death, conservatives have compromised their values even more, thinking that the compromises would stop the march toward a completely socialist America. It is a fraud! It is a lie being perpetrated on conservatives and Christians.
Where once candidates stepped forward on their own volition, inspired by genuine concern and/or spiritual motivation to stand up against the march towards socialism, trepidation has taken over. Now, those who might normally present themselves as available for public office avoid doing so because avarice, greed, the love of money – and the need for enormous sums of money in order to even enter the race – have taken over.
Republican Party leaders have frantically sought for candidates they’ve calculated would be “viable” against their Democratic counterparts. Formulas have been devised. “Bean counting” has taken place in an effort to figure out how to strategically position candidates for a winning strategy.
Mathematical formulas and voter profiles have replaced integrity. Winning has become so important that leaders are willing to sacrifice conservative principles in order to elect candidates selected through compromise.
Between profiling possible candidates and studying statistical patterns in districts, choices are being made that eliminate candidates with true conviction and moral clarity. These are often candidates who can articulate clearly the conservative message in such a way as to convince undecided voters.
Business leaders who could and would financially support candidates that actually reflect their conservative values are discouraged from giving in order to direct the “available dollars” to the candidates “most likely” to win. It becomes a “numbers game.” We play the roulette wheel, hoping to cash in with the odds in our favor. Worse, it becomes a game of Russian Roulette in which we hope the hammer falls on an empty chamber.
And it is all motivated and driven by The Fear of Evil, The Fear of Man, and The Fear of Death.
Unless we as a people return to our core values and stop playing these games of compromise, THE HAMMER IS GOING TO FALL on a loaded chamber, and we will find ourselves living in a socialist, secular humanist state, deprived of the essential liberties our Founding Fathers sought to guarantee this nation.
In 1781, Founding Father Samuel Adams made the following statement, "Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual -- or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country."
It was in 1881 that President James A. Garfield made the following observation: "Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature.”
See the picture? Then come on, Folks! Let’s wake up and get our act together!
"The Spirit of God is preparing leadership by releasing upon them the anointing that rested upon the sons of Issachar. They had understanding of the time and were aware of what the people of God should be accomplishing (see 1 Chronicles 12:32). The Spirit of Truth is releasing revelatory insights for all who are actively seeking to fully follow God (see Jeremiah 29:12-13). Let me stress again that the Kingdom of God will not be established by mere words or abilities of men, but by the Spirit of God (see 1 Corinthians 4:20). This type of realistic confidence can only come from genuine union with Christ. It is abiding in His manifested presence that results in our boldness (see Proverbs 28:1)." (Bobby Connor)
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.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: A PROPHETIC LOOK AT 2012, Part 4
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: A PROPHETIC LOOK AT 2012, Part 4
Felicitations and Blessings to You All! And another best day of your life while we're at it!
The French Press is full and running over. Come on it and set a spell. Let's talk.
Actually, I thought I was going to get to move on to another topic today but realized after receiving many comments and reviewing some things I'd written that we really weren't finished yet.
That said, here is the theme of this Coffee Break series from Paul's second letter to the Ekklesia in Corinth.
"Wherefore, if any [person] be in [Christ] the Anointed One and His anointing, he is a newly formed creation; the old [nature] has perished and dissolved away; the whole [being] has causatively changed and re-ordered so as to become freshly new." (II Corinthians 5:17, my translation and amplification)
We really have been undergoing a DNA transplant -- a DNA reordering -- a complete restructuring of our character and makeup, our personality and our very nature. In short, John's promise to the overcomer as he recorded it in Revelation 3:12.
"Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name [onoma] of my God, and the name [onoma] of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name [onoma]."
For the sake of those who've only been reading these Coffee Breaks for a short time and haven't heard the definition of this word, onoma, while this word is uniformly translated as "name" throughout the NT, J.H. Thayer, in his Greek-English Lexicon, defines it like this: "By a usage chiefly Hebraistic, onoma [shem] is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling which is roused in the mind brings by mentioning, hearing, remembering the name -- that is, one's rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds, etc."
Where "names" and/or "name-calling" are used in opposition, he characterizes onoma -- in contradistinction to "name-calling" -- as, "the reality of one's existence,"
Thus, we see the prophecy in Revelation in an entirely different perspective. This DNA change is literally a change of our character and nature. It is a change of our rank and authority because we are now "in Christ" and He is in us! It is a complete change of our interests and our pleasures. The things of this world no longer have an appeal to us. Our command is altered because instead of now being simply "followers of Jesus Christ," we are One with Him. That gives us the right -- and more so the responsibility -- to declare and decree with Kingdom commands the Word that comes directly to us by and through His Spirit.
Now you're getting the picture! We become identified not simply with "the name of God" but with His onoma. His city, His Kingdom, His dwelling now becomes our habitation and place of residency. We've become citizens of a different dimension, a different realm.
But here's the best part of this. He is, has been, and will continue, to write upon us, to engrave within our thought processes, our nature, our makeup, His new character, His new makeup, His new identity.
I know. I know. I know. That scarcely makes sense to us as rational beings. How or why would Jesus' very nature and makeup change? How or why would His character and identity be altered?
There are two aspects to this that I will share.
When Della and I got married, we both went through a change of personality and makeup. Friends like Dwain McKenzie who've known me for most of my life made statements in the years following, something like this: "Brother, you sure have changed! You are not the same person you used to be!"
They could or would probably recite a number of character or personality changes that had taken place -- most notably the fact that I was a much softer individual, not so driving, not so brittle or hard. And I would have to agree. Before the Lord gave Della to me I was incomplete. There was a constant "search" that went on inside my being for completeness, for something that would enable me to fulfill my destiny and be whom I am supposed to be. There was a "search," a craving, an insatiable desire for that one whom God had chosen as my counterpart, my other self.
Once we were joined together, everything changed! There was a release of new authority. There was a sense of satisfaction and joy in being complete. There was a knowing that -- FINALLY -- I was seeing tangible movement towards God's destiny! I was now a whole being!
That principle holds true with the Lord Jesus Christ. I've said this before, and I know that there are many believers who have struggled with the same concept, but from before the foundations of the earth, Jesus needed and desired a counterpart. There has been a constant drive on His part toward the day when He would be complete. He designed things this way, folks! I'm not making this up. This is not some new doctrine or funny contrivance of my invention.
From the beginning of time itself, all creation was spoken and set in motion to bring about a desired end -- a people who would become the counterpart, the other self, the very beloved partner of the Lord Jesus Christ. This would be a species of being -- a people -- who would reflect His Glory, be the expression of His love, function just like Him, flow with His authority and power, and -- ultimately -- enable Him to fulfill His destiny!
Why do you think the promise to the overcomer is, "And I will write upon him My New Onoma?" There is a process of overcoming that has to be made complete in us and we must come to that place the apostle Paul described like this:
"When I was a child (nepios), I spake as a child (nepios), I understood as a child (nepios), I thought as a child (nepios): 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 13:11-12)
Here's how John put it in his first general letter to the body of Christ:
"Beloved, now are we the sons (teknon) of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." (I John 3:2)
THAT is what this is all about! That is what it means to have His New Onoma!
Let's get something straight. This is what Jesus is coming back for! He's not coming back for a mealy-mouthed, Caesar-Milquetoast, namby-pamby people who behave like cowards, run at every appearance of Satan or his horde of demons, and are too intimidated to boldly declare and make the kingdoms of this world the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11:15). There's not going to be any rapture of the "ain'ts" until He can come and receive what He set out to have in the first place: a people who are once again in His likeness and image -- in other words, Saints!
And that is something, the scope of which, is a whole lot larger than the finite mind can even begin to imagine. Consider for a minute the onoma of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's how Paul put it when writing to the Philippians:
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name [onoma] which is above every name [onoma]: That at the name [onoma] of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)
There's so much in that statement I could almost write a book on that passage all by itself! Let's see if we can condense it into a few paragraphs for the sake of this discussion.
Father has exalted and magnified Jesus and given Him a name, an onoma that is above every onoma. OK, so far? But that onoma is not just an exalted name here on earth. He has rank and authority, power and greatness and glory which Father has given Him above even His own!
Do you see it? Let me preface what I'm about to share by saying that the word "things" does not exist in the Greek text. It was an addition of the translators to try to describe ALL beings -- whether heavenly, earthly or demonic. Now, here we go! "That at the onoma of Jesus every knee should bow, of all beings in Heaven (whether they be angelic or kosmokrator -- and we tend to describe all heavenly beings as "angelic" even though that's not accurate), all beings on earth (no matter what kingdom they belong to -- human, animal, sea-creatures, plant-life, etc.), and all beings (demonic or of Satan's kingdom regardless of classification) under the earth."
And THAT is the character and nature being bred and formed in us by Holy Spirit at Father's will so that Jesus Christ receives His full inheritance!
[The term, kosmokrator, is a Greek word which appears in Ephesians 6 where Paul describes our spiritual wrestling, and the term describes a "world ruler" -- what we might frame as "principality" or "power" -- and describes a being who exercises power or rulership in a spiritual dimension over a city, a state, a country or a region of the world.]
We haven't even begun to explore the significance of what it means to be "in Christ," or even what the phrase "Christ in us" really represents. These have become religious catch-phrases without true meaning in our vocabulary as Christians or believers in Christ. We know that the Word uses these phrases, and we gather some mental imagery around us each time we hear them, but having revelatory understanding of what it is all about is missed in the overwhelming majority of Christians. I wish I could go there today, but it would take too long (and it really is a topic for discussion all by itself), so -- once again -- let me draw a brief picture
As part of Jesus' prayer (John 17) when He was about to go to the Cross, He prayed something that is stupendous by any description! Watch!
" That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." (John 17:21-23)
This, my friends, is a merging process in which we are merged into Him, and He is merged into us. You see, when we have been made One with Him, we have also been made One with Father because He and Father are One. That's how it is possible for His Glory to be seen in us! It's really quite elementary, and yet because we're still stuck with our finite time-space-based thinking, it somehow goes right over our heads. Once the transformation of our DNA takes place in the realm of the Spirit, this merging is no more complicated than breathing in and breathing out! It's what we've been designed for, folks! It's what Jesus has been after from day one!
This is where agreement -- the principle of being united in thought, purpose, desire, goal and destiny -- has such effectiveness. This is where the love of God becomes so manifest and demonstrated to the world around us. Father specifically set this up so "that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them exactly as you have loved me."
There's only one word in the English language that fits this picture -- WOW!!!
Now, are you beginning to grasp the picture of why and how the greater works are possible? Let's revisit the five growth processes as we wrap up today's Coffee Break.
We've been on a path and in the midst of a process that takes us from Brephos to Nepios; from Nepios to Paidion; from Paidion to Teknon; and -- finally -- from Teknon to Huios. Jesus took this path as the "firstborn among many brethren." (See Romans 8:29)
There are five separate phases here, and they cumulatively represent God's grace at work. The word "grace" has often been used as an acronym to represent God's Riches At Christ's Expense. That's really a terrible oversimplification, but in this instance it is apropos for the process which takes us from Brephos to Huios. It really is something that Jesus paid for with His life in order to restore the long-lost path to our relationship with Father. He took this path and is therefore qualified to direct the work of Holy Spirit in our lives as we progress from our new-born state as a "babe in Christ" to the place where we are released with Father's blessing and approval as "sons in whom He is well-pleased."
And that brings us once again to what is happening in 2012. There MUST be a release of the "sons of God" in the earth! All creation is literally screaming for that manifestation. Every society on this planet wants answers that only God's people can provide. Despite Satan's deception and the guile he uses to keep folks focused on man-made solutions, government solutions and processes that so-called "wise men" devise through their strategies in order to solve wars, rumors of wars, famine and calamity on every hand, men and women the world over know in their heart of hearts that the solutions which have been tried are not only NOT working, things are getting worse by the day.
Thus a cry fills this earth today for a people who have God's answers for world solutions. A stupendous harvest of souls awaits. 2012 is a year in which we're going to see things break loose with Kingdom authority being released like never before. Jesus Christ is going to have a full house. He's going to have a very large family, thank you very much, and the responsibility and the opportunity have been thrust upon us.
2012 is the year of Huios!
"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles [nations and ethnic groups] shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." (Isaiah 60:1-5)
"Verily, Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do because I go to my Father." (John 14:12)
See you next week.
"The Spirit of God is preparing leadership by releasing upon them the anointing that rested upon the sons of Issachar. They had understanding of the time and were aware of what the people of God should be accomplishing (see 1 Chronicles 12:32). The Spirit of Truth is releasing revelatory insights for all who are actively seeking to fully follow God (see Jeremiah 29:12-13). Let me stress again that the Kingdom of God will not be established by mere words or abilities of men, but by the Spirit of God (see 1 Corinthians 4:20). This type of realistic confidence can only come from genuine union with Christ. It is abiding in His manifested presence that results in our boldness (see Proverbs 28:1)." (Bobby Connor)
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.
Felicitations and Blessings to You All! And another best day of your life while we're at it!
The French Press is full and running over. Come on it and set a spell. Let's talk.
Actually, I thought I was going to get to move on to another topic today but realized after receiving many comments and reviewing some things I'd written that we really weren't finished yet.
That said, here is the theme of this Coffee Break series from Paul's second letter to the Ekklesia in Corinth.
"Wherefore, if any [person] be in [Christ] the Anointed One and His anointing, he is a newly formed creation; the old [nature] has perished and dissolved away; the whole [being] has causatively changed and re-ordered so as to become freshly new." (II Corinthians 5:17, my translation and amplification)
We really have been undergoing a DNA transplant -- a DNA reordering -- a complete restructuring of our character and makeup, our personality and our very nature. In short, John's promise to the overcomer as he recorded it in Revelation 3:12.
"Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name [onoma] of my God, and the name [onoma] of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name [onoma]."
For the sake of those who've only been reading these Coffee Breaks for a short time and haven't heard the definition of this word, onoma, while this word is uniformly translated as "name" throughout the NT, J.H. Thayer, in his Greek-English Lexicon, defines it like this: "By a usage chiefly Hebraistic, onoma [shem] is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling which is roused in the mind brings by mentioning, hearing, remembering the name -- that is, one's rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds, etc."
Where "names" and/or "name-calling" are used in opposition, he characterizes onoma -- in contradistinction to "name-calling" -- as, "the reality of one's existence,"
Thus, we see the prophecy in Revelation in an entirely different perspective. This DNA change is literally a change of our character and nature. It is a change of our rank and authority because we are now "in Christ" and He is in us! It is a complete change of our interests and our pleasures. The things of this world no longer have an appeal to us. Our command is altered because instead of now being simply "followers of Jesus Christ," we are One with Him. That gives us the right -- and more so the responsibility -- to declare and decree with Kingdom commands the Word that comes directly to us by and through His Spirit.
Now you're getting the picture! We become identified not simply with "the name of God" but with His onoma. His city, His Kingdom, His dwelling now becomes our habitation and place of residency. We've become citizens of a different dimension, a different realm.
But here's the best part of this. He is, has been, and will continue, to write upon us, to engrave within our thought processes, our nature, our makeup, His new character, His new makeup, His new identity.
I know. I know. I know. That scarcely makes sense to us as rational beings. How or why would Jesus' very nature and makeup change? How or why would His character and identity be altered?
There are two aspects to this that I will share.
When Della and I got married, we both went through a change of personality and makeup. Friends like Dwain McKenzie who've known me for most of my life made statements in the years following, something like this: "Brother, you sure have changed! You are not the same person you used to be!"
They could or would probably recite a number of character or personality changes that had taken place -- most notably the fact that I was a much softer individual, not so driving, not so brittle or hard. And I would have to agree. Before the Lord gave Della to me I was incomplete. There was a constant "search" that went on inside my being for completeness, for something that would enable me to fulfill my destiny and be whom I am supposed to be. There was a "search," a craving, an insatiable desire for that one whom God had chosen as my counterpart, my other self.
Once we were joined together, everything changed! There was a release of new authority. There was a sense of satisfaction and joy in being complete. There was a knowing that -- FINALLY -- I was seeing tangible movement towards God's destiny! I was now a whole being!
That principle holds true with the Lord Jesus Christ. I've said this before, and I know that there are many believers who have struggled with the same concept, but from before the foundations of the earth, Jesus needed and desired a counterpart. There has been a constant drive on His part toward the day when He would be complete. He designed things this way, folks! I'm not making this up. This is not some new doctrine or funny contrivance of my invention.
From the beginning of time itself, all creation was spoken and set in motion to bring about a desired end -- a people who would become the counterpart, the other self, the very beloved partner of the Lord Jesus Christ. This would be a species of being -- a people -- who would reflect His Glory, be the expression of His love, function just like Him, flow with His authority and power, and -- ultimately -- enable Him to fulfill His destiny!
Why do you think the promise to the overcomer is, "And I will write upon him My New Onoma?" There is a process of overcoming that has to be made complete in us and we must come to that place the apostle Paul described like this:
"When I was a child (nepios), I spake as a child (nepios), I understood as a child (nepios), I thought as a child (nepios): 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 13:11-12)
Here's how John put it in his first general letter to the body of Christ:
"Beloved, now are we the sons (teknon) of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." (I John 3:2)
THAT is what this is all about! That is what it means to have His New Onoma!
Let's get something straight. This is what Jesus is coming back for! He's not coming back for a mealy-mouthed, Caesar-Milquetoast, namby-pamby people who behave like cowards, run at every appearance of Satan or his horde of demons, and are too intimidated to boldly declare and make the kingdoms of this world the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11:15). There's not going to be any rapture of the "ain'ts" until He can come and receive what He set out to have in the first place: a people who are once again in His likeness and image -- in other words, Saints!
And that is something, the scope of which, is a whole lot larger than the finite mind can even begin to imagine. Consider for a minute the onoma of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's how Paul put it when writing to the Philippians:
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name [onoma] which is above every name [onoma]: That at the name [onoma] of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)
There's so much in that statement I could almost write a book on that passage all by itself! Let's see if we can condense it into a few paragraphs for the sake of this discussion.
Father has exalted and magnified Jesus and given Him a name, an onoma that is above every onoma. OK, so far? But that onoma is not just an exalted name here on earth. He has rank and authority, power and greatness and glory which Father has given Him above even His own!
Do you see it? Let me preface what I'm about to share by saying that the word "things" does not exist in the Greek text. It was an addition of the translators to try to describe ALL beings -- whether heavenly, earthly or demonic. Now, here we go! "That at the onoma of Jesus every knee should bow, of all beings in Heaven (whether they be angelic or kosmokrator -- and we tend to describe all heavenly beings as "angelic" even though that's not accurate), all beings on earth (no matter what kingdom they belong to -- human, animal, sea-creatures, plant-life, etc.), and all beings (demonic or of Satan's kingdom regardless of classification) under the earth."
And THAT is the character and nature being bred and formed in us by Holy Spirit at Father's will so that Jesus Christ receives His full inheritance!
[The term, kosmokrator, is a Greek word which appears in Ephesians 6 where Paul describes our spiritual wrestling, and the term describes a "world ruler" -- what we might frame as "principality" or "power" -- and describes a being who exercises power or rulership in a spiritual dimension over a city, a state, a country or a region of the world.]
We haven't even begun to explore the significance of what it means to be "in Christ," or even what the phrase "Christ in us" really represents. These have become religious catch-phrases without true meaning in our vocabulary as Christians or believers in Christ. We know that the Word uses these phrases, and we gather some mental imagery around us each time we hear them, but having revelatory understanding of what it is all about is missed in the overwhelming majority of Christians. I wish I could go there today, but it would take too long (and it really is a topic for discussion all by itself), so -- once again -- let me draw a brief picture
As part of Jesus' prayer (John 17) when He was about to go to the Cross, He prayed something that is stupendous by any description! Watch!
" That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." (John 17:21-23)
This, my friends, is a merging process in which we are merged into Him, and He is merged into us. You see, when we have been made One with Him, we have also been made One with Father because He and Father are One. That's how it is possible for His Glory to be seen in us! It's really quite elementary, and yet because we're still stuck with our finite time-space-based thinking, it somehow goes right over our heads. Once the transformation of our DNA takes place in the realm of the Spirit, this merging is no more complicated than breathing in and breathing out! It's what we've been designed for, folks! It's what Jesus has been after from day one!
This is where agreement -- the principle of being united in thought, purpose, desire, goal and destiny -- has such effectiveness. This is where the love of God becomes so manifest and demonstrated to the world around us. Father specifically set this up so "that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them exactly as you have loved me."
There's only one word in the English language that fits this picture -- WOW!!!
Now, are you beginning to grasp the picture of why and how the greater works are possible? Let's revisit the five growth processes as we wrap up today's Coffee Break.
We've been on a path and in the midst of a process that takes us from Brephos to Nepios; from Nepios to Paidion; from Paidion to Teknon; and -- finally -- from Teknon to Huios. Jesus took this path as the "firstborn among many brethren." (See Romans 8:29)
There are five separate phases here, and they cumulatively represent God's grace at work. The word "grace" has often been used as an acronym to represent God's Riches At Christ's Expense. That's really a terrible oversimplification, but in this instance it is apropos for the process which takes us from Brephos to Huios. It really is something that Jesus paid for with His life in order to restore the long-lost path to our relationship with Father. He took this path and is therefore qualified to direct the work of Holy Spirit in our lives as we progress from our new-born state as a "babe in Christ" to the place where we are released with Father's blessing and approval as "sons in whom He is well-pleased."
And that brings us once again to what is happening in 2012. There MUST be a release of the "sons of God" in the earth! All creation is literally screaming for that manifestation. Every society on this planet wants answers that only God's people can provide. Despite Satan's deception and the guile he uses to keep folks focused on man-made solutions, government solutions and processes that so-called "wise men" devise through their strategies in order to solve wars, rumors of wars, famine and calamity on every hand, men and women the world over know in their heart of hearts that the solutions which have been tried are not only NOT working, things are getting worse by the day.
Thus a cry fills this earth today for a people who have God's answers for world solutions. A stupendous harvest of souls awaits. 2012 is a year in which we're going to see things break loose with Kingdom authority being released like never before. Jesus Christ is going to have a full house. He's going to have a very large family, thank you very much, and the responsibility and the opportunity have been thrust upon us.
2012 is the year of Huios!
"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles [nations and ethnic groups] shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." (Isaiah 60:1-5)
"Verily, Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do because I go to my Father." (John 14:12)
See you next week.
"The Spirit of God is preparing leadership by releasing upon them the anointing that rested upon the sons of Issachar. They had understanding of the time and were aware of what the people of God should be accomplishing (see 1 Chronicles 12:32). The Spirit of Truth is releasing revelatory insights for all who are actively seeking to fully follow God (see Jeremiah 29:12-13). Let me stress again that the Kingdom of God will not be established by mere words or abilities of men, but by the Spirit of God (see 1 Corinthians 4:20). This type of realistic confidence can only come from genuine union with Christ. It is abiding in His manifested presence that results in our boldness (see Proverbs 28:1)." (Bobby Connor)
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.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: A PROPHETIC LOOK AT 2012, Part 3
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: A PROPHETIC LOOK AT 2012, Part 3
And another great day of blessing and prosperity to you! Coffee's on! Grab one of those large "vitamins" and set a spell.
Let's pick up with where we left off last week. Here again is Paul's prophetic description of what God does in us at the point of our commitment in making Jesus Christ Lord of our lives.
"Wherefore, if any [person] be in [Christ] the Anointed One and His anointing, he is a newly formed creation; the old [nature] has perished and dissolved away; the whole [being] has causatively changed and re-ordered so as to become freshly new." (II Corinthians 5:17, my translation and amplification)
What I shared last week was the fact that this initiates a reordering of our entire DNA. God's DNA has been injected into our being in order to conform us to His image and likeness. Let's recap the process using the five Greek words that describe us from birth to maturity before continuing.
(1) Brephos: [This word describes a child from the time he/she is in the womb to the time of birth and (for males) to circumcision.] In John 6:44, Jesus makes the statement that "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him..." It is that drawing by Father that begins conception. Holy Spirit nurtures and nourishes us so that we are more and more prepared for the new birth. There is a process (and this process varies with each individual, their calling, and their responses) by which Holy Spirit draws us to the moment of the new birth. When we are born again and come forth from that womb of the Spirit, we are born of the Spirit. (see John 3:6) The newborn babe in Christ, therefore, is brephos.
(2) Nepios: [From the time of circumcision forward, this word is used to describe a child during the period we commonly refer to as "a babe in arms" -- traditionally, 2 years of age.] Circumcision in the natural realm is designed to cut away flesh that interferes with the ability (in males) for the body to freely get rid of urine (or water-based waste products) in the body. Circumcision also prepares a male for the day when he will begin to procreate. In the realm of the Spirit, circumcision is represented by two kinds of baptism: (1) baptism in water (in which the old fleshly individual is put off, cut away, killed and buried) followed by resurrection from the dead (which takes place when a person is brought back up out of the water) and raised to new life in Christ Jesus, free from the Law of Sin and Death (see Romans 8:2); and (2) baptism in the Holy Spirit (in which the tongue and language of flesh is subdued so that the Holy Spirit now can speak the language of Heaven freely through the one baptized) a baptism which prepares one to receive the milk of the Word (see I Peter 2:2 and Hebrews 5:12-13) as babes and begin to grow up in the Lord. Nepios, therefore, represents that period of time between circumcision (baptism) and the weaning off spiritual milk.
(3) Paidion: [This word describes a child between the ages of 2 and 12 or 13 -- basically a young child who has yet to reach the age where they reach bar mitzvah (bat mitzvah in the case of girls) which roughly equates to "coming of age" -- being responsibly for their own actions.] By the time a baby is two or perhaps three years of age, they've been being weaned from the bottle and have begun to eat food -- pabulum at first, and then as they continue to age more and more solid foods. The same holds true in the realm of the Spirit. The more we eat of the Word and drink of the Spirit of Life, the more we grow and the more the realm of the Spirit begins to unfold to us. By the time we reach "the age of accountability" we've pretty much come to know what is acceptable in the sight of the Lord, and what isn't; and we know there are consequences -- spiritual, physical and emotional -- that can come if we persist in actions or activities, or pursue a thought-life that violates what we've come to know in our inner being in the sight of God. Thus paidion represents that time between being weaned from the "milk" and coming to a time of spiritual accountability with spiritual meat. Both paidion and teknon are periods of time in our preparation as "sons of God" in which we learn through the things that we "suffer" or "experience in the midst of making mistakes and being corrected." The "suffering" can be painful or not so painful, depending on how we respond to Father's correction.
(4) Teknon: [This word represents the period of time between the ages of 12 and 30 (the period may vary slightly according to the individual and the father's determination) during which a child undergoes serious training and preparation for adulthood. In the case of a boy/man, he is being trained in the ways of his father, prepared to take over his father's business and made to understand how his father's authority and power are exercised.] So it is with us as committed believers. In our early years of walking and growing up in God, as we respond to Father's voice, we are given more and more opportunities to speak, to pray for the sick, to exercise the operation of the Word in and through us to a greater and greater degree. The purpose, of course, is to bring us to a place of confidence in the efficacy of the Word and the sound of Father's voice in our innermost being. His objective is to bring us to a place of maturity as His representative. His Word must be so worked in us that we can be trusted to be faithful and obedient "sons," conducting His business exactly as He does -- and as Jesus did here on earth, and continues to do IN US.
(5) Huios: [This word is a picture of what it means to be practiced, exercised and fully mature, understanding AND IN AGREEMENT with -- mentally, emotionally, practically and functionally -- the father's plans, purposes and desires.] For us spiritually, this is a season and a time in which Father openly says of us, "this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." Whether we simply hear it in our spirit or we hear it audibly, a knowing takes place in our being that Father has released us with His full Kingdom authority and is ready to back us up with His power on display. We are taught and trained, practiced and seasoned in making decisions that Father approves of and is pleased with, and we now act as the direct agent of Father in all matters as He directs and instructs by the Holy Spirit.
Let me give you an additional picture of huios in order to help you understand why this is so necessary, and why Holy Spirit has been drawing us like a magnet towards this day.
As most of you know from my previous sharing, I grew up in the arctic in mostly native Eskimo villages and communities. Shamanism was (and still is in some areas) a factor to be reckoned with as a dark spiritual force which deliberately pitted itself against us as Christians, against the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and against our very presence in certain communities. In one of the villages where we ministered, the local Shaman made it his business to walk around our home and church on a nightly basis (in the dead of night) speaking curses over us and over our home in an effort to get rid of us.
When you are constantly pitted against individuals who have given themselves over to the realm of the demonic supernatural, you'd better be well-armed spiritually and know who Christ (the Anointed One and His Anointing) is in you, and who you are IN HIM! The Word had better be very alive in your being.
I personally went into this man's sod house (it was made out of blocks of sod stacked brick-style over a frame of whale bones) and shared the Gospel with him as Holy Spirit ministered. This man -- the shaman -- was extremely fearful of our presence in the community and despite everything I had to share with him (and it wasn't just my sharing; my parents shared with him as well) he rejected that Word, preferring instead to continue with his curses. A day came when (and no one knew exactly what caused it) his wood stove apparently ignited the sod while he slept. The dwelling burned to the ground and he died. I did not rejoice over this man's death. Rather, I felt a grief inside my being that he had chosen to reject the Word of the Lord.
This was a "training" experience. It falls under the heading of teknon! It was a tiny sample of things to come, and a foretaste of some experiences I would go through in later years. It was an initial foray into a realm of spiritual authority in which we are all supposed to become fully operational. There were going to be many more such forays and experiences for me in the years that followed that introduction.
Darkness has been increasing by leaps and bounds as the days, months and years go by. Never in the history of this nation have we seen such darkness, such wickedness and such corruption in our local, state and federal governments, society in general, the business world and even in the church. I'm differentiating between "the church" and the "Bride of Christ." Isaiah foresaw this day and he prophesied the Word of the Lord for this moment in time.
"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles [nations and ethnic groups] shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." (Isaiah 60:1-5)
You remember what I said in our last discussion? The world, our society, this nation is literally on a razor's edge screaming out for the "greater works" generation to be revealed. I'm referring, naturally, to Jesus' promise to believers when He prophesied, "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do because I go to my Father." (John 14:12)
We've seen and had tastes of the "greater works" during the last few years, but what we've seen is only a drop in the bucket for what lies ahead. The experience that I just shared with you is a tiny demonstration of the kind of demonic power that believers will be pitted against in the years ahead. Satan is so afraid of what is coming that he has amassed (and is amassing at this moment) every bit of power, every military tactic, and every individual who will cooperate with his agenda in order to stop this phenomenal harvest of souls of which we are on the cutting edge.
When I was first launched into the realm of deliverance and began to minister to people who were held captive by evil spirits, I came under some pretty unbelievable attacks. What made those attacks so remarkable was that -- with a few exceptions -- they all came from what purported to be the Christian community. Church leaders railed against me for preaching and teaching "heresy." Pastors invited me out of their churches. (I'm saying this as gracefully as I can. Grin!) Articles were written against me in religious publications. During my years with the Christian Broadcasting Network, many letters were written to Pat Robertson and other executives within CBN in a concerted effort to get the network to disconnect from any association with me.
Again, my purpose in sharing these things is not to focus on them but to help folks understand that there is an acid test that every huios will go through so that when the chips are really down, we can stand firm in our confidence that we have heard from Father, that we ARE in the middle of His perfect will, and that His Word is absolutely grounded in the core of our existence.
As I've said before, 2012 is a year of Huios! Father has determined within His economy to see many, many, many "sons" follow our pattern Brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, in not only performing the works that Jesus worked (which, as He Himself noted, were Father's works), but also "greater works."
One of the fundamental differences between sons who are huios and sons who are still teknon is that those who have Father's stamp of approval etched within their being and have heard Him say, "this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased," do not compete against other huios. They know who they are, and they know who Jesus Christ is in them! More than that, they know who they are IN HIM! There is a place of agreement in Him that allows them to work together in a sense of teamwork that those who are still teknons have yet to arrive at.
Now, before we run out of time today, let me get to the meat of what I need to share concerning this year ahead. Because of the nature of this vision and the significance of what I've heard and seen, I can only share a tiny bit of it in an open forum such as this one. I have shared this with a number of brethren in the prophetic community and they stand with me as having also seen what I'm about to share.
As I finish this Coffee Break and prepare to send it out, we are just entering the period on the Jewish calendar referred to as Purim. Purim is a name for the three days of fasting that all Israel entered into in honor of Esther's three-day fast without food or water. Esther's fast set the stage for the exposing of a Macedonian mole within the court of Xerxes (Ahasuerus in our English versions) who was bent on destroying God's people. I'm inviting as many believers as will to join Della and me (as well as other believers who stand in agreement) during the next three days to fast and pray for the deliverance of our nation from the Hamans who have infiltrated our various levels of government.
We have a Haman (or perhaps more accurately, a Haman and his sons) who is using our Federal government to destroy this nation and more specifically, the rights we have all come to know and enjoy under our constitution as Americans to worship freely and to name the name of Jesus Christ openly.
There are Hamans who have infiltrated our Congress and our Senate. There are Hamans who occupy governors' chairs across this land. There are Hamans who seek to manipulate and twist state legislatures in order to further their wicked agendas -- and it really is one agenda: Satan's!
So why have I chosen Purim as the moment to call God's people to prayer and fasting? Purim is a period of 72 hours. Last August I had a series of experiences in which the Lord showed me a 72-hour period in which the entire administration of this nation was changed. The change was of such magnitude, and the consequences so enormous that no one could explain the changes by any other means than it being the divine intervention of God.
What I saw had a direct and immediate bearing on the election cycle we are currently in. The outcome of our electoral choices was dramatically altered because of what God did in that vision! Candidates suddenly withdrew their names from contention because of the unfolding events. No one could possibly imagine the political earthquake that was going to bring this nation to its knees in prayer and return America to its constitutional roots. The politics of Washington, DC was radically altered because of these events.
Please excuse me if I seem to be too dramatic or sound almost melodramatic. That's not my intention at all. Because I am not alone in what I have seen, and the Holy Spirit has shown these same events to other brethren whose prophetic anointing and integrity I trust, it is incumbent upon me to call people to prayer and fasting.
Thinking about the deliverance of Israel that took place following Esther's fast, the enemy of God's people was exposed for who he was. The Jews were given the right to stand up and defend themselves against their sworn enemy and all who agreed with him. Haman was executed and his ten sons hung in open view for everyone to see.
America faces a crisis of the same proportions and unless God's people act with the same determination and integrity that Esther showed, we will see this nation succumb to an enemy who is out to undo everything our founding fathers bled and died for.
Folks, I'm not naming names here. This is not to target certain leaders or politicians. This is to bring down an enemy in the same manner that Daniel did when he fasted for three weeks. The angel of the Lord appeared to Daniel at the end of his fast and told him that he left the Throne of God with the answer when Daniel first began to pray, but that he had to defeat the prince of Persia (not a person but a demonic principality) before he could bring the answer to Daniel.
That's what we've got to do as committed believers. This is what it is going to take for the huios of God to be counted in this hour. This wicked administration must be toppled in the realm of the spirit so that the harvest of souls will freely and liberally unfold.
If you are an intercessor and want to be more involved in this fast, I'd be glad to share more details with you, and -- in that case -- please get in touch with me. Once again, I feel like I've only begun to scratch the surface. Maybe I'll get to share more of this picture later, but for now we'll leave it alone.
See you next week.
"There is a difference between a politician and a leader, and we are in desperate need of not just a leader, but a great leader. It is not the government that needs changing as much as the election process. America is now facing some of the most potentially deadly crises we have ever faced, in a time when the world is more dangerous than it has ever been. It is understandable that so many would be pining for another Reagan, but for what we are facing, we need a combination of Washington, Lincoln, Churchill, and Moses." (Rick Joyner)
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.
And another great day of blessing and prosperity to you! Coffee's on! Grab one of those large "vitamins" and set a spell.
Let's pick up with where we left off last week. Here again is Paul's prophetic description of what God does in us at the point of our commitment in making Jesus Christ Lord of our lives.
"Wherefore, if any [person] be in [Christ] the Anointed One and His anointing, he is a newly formed creation; the old [nature] has perished and dissolved away; the whole [being] has causatively changed and re-ordered so as to become freshly new." (II Corinthians 5:17, my translation and amplification)
What I shared last week was the fact that this initiates a reordering of our entire DNA. God's DNA has been injected into our being in order to conform us to His image and likeness. Let's recap the process using the five Greek words that describe us from birth to maturity before continuing.
(1) Brephos: [This word describes a child from the time he/she is in the womb to the time of birth and (for males) to circumcision.] In John 6:44, Jesus makes the statement that "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him..." It is that drawing by Father that begins conception. Holy Spirit nurtures and nourishes us so that we are more and more prepared for the new birth. There is a process (and this process varies with each individual, their calling, and their responses) by which Holy Spirit draws us to the moment of the new birth. When we are born again and come forth from that womb of the Spirit, we are born of the Spirit. (see John 3:6) The newborn babe in Christ, therefore, is brephos.
(2) Nepios: [From the time of circumcision forward, this word is used to describe a child during the period we commonly refer to as "a babe in arms" -- traditionally, 2 years of age.] Circumcision in the natural realm is designed to cut away flesh that interferes with the ability (in males) for the body to freely get rid of urine (or water-based waste products) in the body. Circumcision also prepares a male for the day when he will begin to procreate. In the realm of the Spirit, circumcision is represented by two kinds of baptism: (1) baptism in water (in which the old fleshly individual is put off, cut away, killed and buried) followed by resurrection from the dead (which takes place when a person is brought back up out of the water) and raised to new life in Christ Jesus, free from the Law of Sin and Death (see Romans 8:2); and (2) baptism in the Holy Spirit (in which the tongue and language of flesh is subdued so that the Holy Spirit now can speak the language of Heaven freely through the one baptized) a baptism which prepares one to receive the milk of the Word (see I Peter 2:2 and Hebrews 5:12-13) as babes and begin to grow up in the Lord. Nepios, therefore, represents that period of time between circumcision (baptism) and the weaning off spiritual milk.
(3) Paidion: [This word describes a child between the ages of 2 and 12 or 13 -- basically a young child who has yet to reach the age where they reach bar mitzvah (bat mitzvah in the case of girls) which roughly equates to "coming of age" -- being responsibly for their own actions.] By the time a baby is two or perhaps three years of age, they've been being weaned from the bottle and have begun to eat food -- pabulum at first, and then as they continue to age more and more solid foods. The same holds true in the realm of the Spirit. The more we eat of the Word and drink of the Spirit of Life, the more we grow and the more the realm of the Spirit begins to unfold to us. By the time we reach "the age of accountability" we've pretty much come to know what is acceptable in the sight of the Lord, and what isn't; and we know there are consequences -- spiritual, physical and emotional -- that can come if we persist in actions or activities, or pursue a thought-life that violates what we've come to know in our inner being in the sight of God. Thus paidion represents that time between being weaned from the "milk" and coming to a time of spiritual accountability with spiritual meat. Both paidion and teknon are periods of time in our preparation as "sons of God" in which we learn through the things that we "suffer" or "experience in the midst of making mistakes and being corrected." The "suffering" can be painful or not so painful, depending on how we respond to Father's correction.
(4) Teknon: [This word represents the period of time between the ages of 12 and 30 (the period may vary slightly according to the individual and the father's determination) during which a child undergoes serious training and preparation for adulthood. In the case of a boy/man, he is being trained in the ways of his father, prepared to take over his father's business and made to understand how his father's authority and power are exercised.] So it is with us as committed believers. In our early years of walking and growing up in God, as we respond to Father's voice, we are given more and more opportunities to speak, to pray for the sick, to exercise the operation of the Word in and through us to a greater and greater degree. The purpose, of course, is to bring us to a place of confidence in the efficacy of the Word and the sound of Father's voice in our innermost being. His objective is to bring us to a place of maturity as His representative. His Word must be so worked in us that we can be trusted to be faithful and obedient "sons," conducting His business exactly as He does -- and as Jesus did here on earth, and continues to do IN US.
(5) Huios: [This word is a picture of what it means to be practiced, exercised and fully mature, understanding AND IN AGREEMENT with -- mentally, emotionally, practically and functionally -- the father's plans, purposes and desires.] For us spiritually, this is a season and a time in which Father openly says of us, "this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." Whether we simply hear it in our spirit or we hear it audibly, a knowing takes place in our being that Father has released us with His full Kingdom authority and is ready to back us up with His power on display. We are taught and trained, practiced and seasoned in making decisions that Father approves of and is pleased with, and we now act as the direct agent of Father in all matters as He directs and instructs by the Holy Spirit.
Let me give you an additional picture of huios in order to help you understand why this is so necessary, and why Holy Spirit has been drawing us like a magnet towards this day.
As most of you know from my previous sharing, I grew up in the arctic in mostly native Eskimo villages and communities. Shamanism was (and still is in some areas) a factor to be reckoned with as a dark spiritual force which deliberately pitted itself against us as Christians, against the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and against our very presence in certain communities. In one of the villages where we ministered, the local Shaman made it his business to walk around our home and church on a nightly basis (in the dead of night) speaking curses over us and over our home in an effort to get rid of us.
When you are constantly pitted against individuals who have given themselves over to the realm of the demonic supernatural, you'd better be well-armed spiritually and know who Christ (the Anointed One and His Anointing) is in you, and who you are IN HIM! The Word had better be very alive in your being.
I personally went into this man's sod house (it was made out of blocks of sod stacked brick-style over a frame of whale bones) and shared the Gospel with him as Holy Spirit ministered. This man -- the shaman -- was extremely fearful of our presence in the community and despite everything I had to share with him (and it wasn't just my sharing; my parents shared with him as well) he rejected that Word, preferring instead to continue with his curses. A day came when (and no one knew exactly what caused it) his wood stove apparently ignited the sod while he slept. The dwelling burned to the ground and he died. I did not rejoice over this man's death. Rather, I felt a grief inside my being that he had chosen to reject the Word of the Lord.
This was a "training" experience. It falls under the heading of teknon! It was a tiny sample of things to come, and a foretaste of some experiences I would go through in later years. It was an initial foray into a realm of spiritual authority in which we are all supposed to become fully operational. There were going to be many more such forays and experiences for me in the years that followed that introduction.
Darkness has been increasing by leaps and bounds as the days, months and years go by. Never in the history of this nation have we seen such darkness, such wickedness and such corruption in our local, state and federal governments, society in general, the business world and even in the church. I'm differentiating between "the church" and the "Bride of Christ." Isaiah foresaw this day and he prophesied the Word of the Lord for this moment in time.
"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles [nations and ethnic groups] shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." (Isaiah 60:1-5)
You remember what I said in our last discussion? The world, our society, this nation is literally on a razor's edge screaming out for the "greater works" generation to be revealed. I'm referring, naturally, to Jesus' promise to believers when He prophesied, "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do because I go to my Father." (John 14:12)
We've seen and had tastes of the "greater works" during the last few years, but what we've seen is only a drop in the bucket for what lies ahead. The experience that I just shared with you is a tiny demonstration of the kind of demonic power that believers will be pitted against in the years ahead. Satan is so afraid of what is coming that he has amassed (and is amassing at this moment) every bit of power, every military tactic, and every individual who will cooperate with his agenda in order to stop this phenomenal harvest of souls of which we are on the cutting edge.
When I was first launched into the realm of deliverance and began to minister to people who were held captive by evil spirits, I came under some pretty unbelievable attacks. What made those attacks so remarkable was that -- with a few exceptions -- they all came from what purported to be the Christian community. Church leaders railed against me for preaching and teaching "heresy." Pastors invited me out of their churches. (I'm saying this as gracefully as I can. Grin!) Articles were written against me in religious publications. During my years with the Christian Broadcasting Network, many letters were written to Pat Robertson and other executives within CBN in a concerted effort to get the network to disconnect from any association with me.
Again, my purpose in sharing these things is not to focus on them but to help folks understand that there is an acid test that every huios will go through so that when the chips are really down, we can stand firm in our confidence that we have heard from Father, that we ARE in the middle of His perfect will, and that His Word is absolutely grounded in the core of our existence.
As I've said before, 2012 is a year of Huios! Father has determined within His economy to see many, many, many "sons" follow our pattern Brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, in not only performing the works that Jesus worked (which, as He Himself noted, were Father's works), but also "greater works."
One of the fundamental differences between sons who are huios and sons who are still teknon is that those who have Father's stamp of approval etched within their being and have heard Him say, "this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased," do not compete against other huios. They know who they are, and they know who Jesus Christ is in them! More than that, they know who they are IN HIM! There is a place of agreement in Him that allows them to work together in a sense of teamwork that those who are still teknons have yet to arrive at.
Now, before we run out of time today, let me get to the meat of what I need to share concerning this year ahead. Because of the nature of this vision and the significance of what I've heard and seen, I can only share a tiny bit of it in an open forum such as this one. I have shared this with a number of brethren in the prophetic community and they stand with me as having also seen what I'm about to share.
As I finish this Coffee Break and prepare to send it out, we are just entering the period on the Jewish calendar referred to as Purim. Purim is a name for the three days of fasting that all Israel entered into in honor of Esther's three-day fast without food or water. Esther's fast set the stage for the exposing of a Macedonian mole within the court of Xerxes (Ahasuerus in our English versions) who was bent on destroying God's people. I'm inviting as many believers as will to join Della and me (as well as other believers who stand in agreement) during the next three days to fast and pray for the deliverance of our nation from the Hamans who have infiltrated our various levels of government.
We have a Haman (or perhaps more accurately, a Haman and his sons) who is using our Federal government to destroy this nation and more specifically, the rights we have all come to know and enjoy under our constitution as Americans to worship freely and to name the name of Jesus Christ openly.
There are Hamans who have infiltrated our Congress and our Senate. There are Hamans who occupy governors' chairs across this land. There are Hamans who seek to manipulate and twist state legislatures in order to further their wicked agendas -- and it really is one agenda: Satan's!
So why have I chosen Purim as the moment to call God's people to prayer and fasting? Purim is a period of 72 hours. Last August I had a series of experiences in which the Lord showed me a 72-hour period in which the entire administration of this nation was changed. The change was of such magnitude, and the consequences so enormous that no one could explain the changes by any other means than it being the divine intervention of God.
What I saw had a direct and immediate bearing on the election cycle we are currently in. The outcome of our electoral choices was dramatically altered because of what God did in that vision! Candidates suddenly withdrew their names from contention because of the unfolding events. No one could possibly imagine the political earthquake that was going to bring this nation to its knees in prayer and return America to its constitutional roots. The politics of Washington, DC was radically altered because of these events.
Please excuse me if I seem to be too dramatic or sound almost melodramatic. That's not my intention at all. Because I am not alone in what I have seen, and the Holy Spirit has shown these same events to other brethren whose prophetic anointing and integrity I trust, it is incumbent upon me to call people to prayer and fasting.
Thinking about the deliverance of Israel that took place following Esther's fast, the enemy of God's people was exposed for who he was. The Jews were given the right to stand up and defend themselves against their sworn enemy and all who agreed with him. Haman was executed and his ten sons hung in open view for everyone to see.
America faces a crisis of the same proportions and unless God's people act with the same determination and integrity that Esther showed, we will see this nation succumb to an enemy who is out to undo everything our founding fathers bled and died for.
Folks, I'm not naming names here. This is not to target certain leaders or politicians. This is to bring down an enemy in the same manner that Daniel did when he fasted for three weeks. The angel of the Lord appeared to Daniel at the end of his fast and told him that he left the Throne of God with the answer when Daniel first began to pray, but that he had to defeat the prince of Persia (not a person but a demonic principality) before he could bring the answer to Daniel.
That's what we've got to do as committed believers. This is what it is going to take for the huios of God to be counted in this hour. This wicked administration must be toppled in the realm of the spirit so that the harvest of souls will freely and liberally unfold.
If you are an intercessor and want to be more involved in this fast, I'd be glad to share more details with you, and -- in that case -- please get in touch with me. Once again, I feel like I've only begun to scratch the surface. Maybe I'll get to share more of this picture later, but for now we'll leave it alone.
See you next week.
"There is a difference between a politician and a leader, and we are in desperate need of not just a leader, but a great leader. It is not the government that needs changing as much as the election process. America is now facing some of the most potentially deadly crises we have ever faced, in a time when the world is more dangerous than it has ever been. It is understandable that so many would be pining for another Reagan, but for what we are facing, we need a combination of Washington, Lincoln, Churchill, and Moses." (Rick Joyner)
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.
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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.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: A PROPHETIC LOOK AT 2012, Part 2
Another Coffee Break: A PROPHETIC LOOK AT 2012, Part 2
Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning!
No, my record isn't broke, I just need another cup of java to get my juices flowing for the day. (Grin) You can have some, too, you know. Join me for a cup, why don't you, and let's get right to our discussion.
Whenever a person comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, makes Him to be the Lord of their life, and permits the process of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, a transformation process begins. Listen to the way Paul describes it in his second letter to the Corinthian Ekklesia:
"Wherefore, if any [person] be in [Christ] the Anointed One and His anointing, he is a newly formed creation; the old [nature] has perished and dissolved away; the whole [being] has causatively changed and re-ordered so as to become freshly new." (II Corinthians 5:17, my translation and amplification)
What Paul is saying is that there is a change of our DNA. God's DNA has been put into our being -- and that very act compels a transforming process to begin in our being. It's not instantaneous! Not by any means. The shock factor of that kind of change is more than subnormal human flesh can withstand. God's purpose is to bring us back, to restore us to a place of "normalcy" -- that place we were originally designed for so that we can fellowship with Him, interact with Him on a minute-by-minute, second-by-second basis AT HIS LEVEL of interchange!
That injection of His DNA into us leads us to a moment of time in our lives where a supernatural transaction takes place in the realm of the Spirit. A contractual agreement occurs between us and the Lord. That agreement is going to lead us to covenant, but we're not there yet. When that transaction, that agreement occurs in us, it takes place below the level of our consciousness. Something happens subconsciously that is ironclad in our beings.
Let me describe this in personal terms, relating it back to something that happened to me at age nine.
There was a day, a moment in time, when I was out on the playground of our public school, playing on the rings, grabbing them and running around the pole until I became airborne for a few seconds hanging onto the rope as it swung me around the pole. As clearly as I've ever heard the voice of the Lord speak, I heard Him say to me (as he flashed me back in a split second to the experience I'd had a couple of years earlier when Jesus appeared at the foot of my bed and proceeded to lay out His plan and purpose for my life), "Will you go wherever I send you? Will you speak to whomever I instruct, regardless of whether it is an individual or a group of people? Will you say to them exactly what I tell you?"
I was honestly surprised at the questions, but without hesitation I blurted out loud, "Yes, Lord! You know I will. I thought you already knew that!"
His chuckle at my response resonated in my whole being, and yet I knew something tangible had taken place. His answer to me was to the point, "It was necessary for you to say so." In that moment I knew for the first time that just thinking my agreement with Him wasn't enough; it had to be verbalized.
My speaking -- verbalizing -- my personal agreement with Him set in motion a series of events that continue to this day. A contractual agreement had been made in my spirit two years earlier, but now that agreement had become a covenant relationship. The things that He had spoken to me earlier, and the promises He made to me in the weeks that followed when He took me to Heaven for the first time did not come to pass instantly. There was a process of DNA transformation that had begun in me. I was on a path to become something He was making of me. There was a day yet to be realized when His destiny for me would be fulfilled.
So, why am I sharing all of this? There are tens of thousands -- hundreds of thousands, even -- of people who will see and read this word to whom something very similar has taken place. There has been a moment in time -- perhaps in the recent past, and perhaps in the distant past -- when a contractual agreement has been struck in which you have agreed with God's call and purpose for your life. You've been on a trek ever since then; a trek which has been leading you toward your destiny in God.
Again, whether recently or at some time in the past, that contractual agreement with the Lord became a covenant engraved in your spirit, etched in your DNA. God's DNA has been changing you, transforming you, molding you and bringing you to the place where you can fulfill and accomplish all that God has placed in the core of your existence.
2012 is a year for that destiny to be manifested and for you to take your place in God's economy. Folks, as the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Roman Ekklesias, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."
You understand, don't you? The world, our society, this nation is literally on a razor's edge screaming out for the "greater works" generation to be revealed. I'm referring, of course, to Jesus' promise to believers when He prophesied, "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do because I go to my Father." (John 14:12)
Paul would never have written what he wrote concerning the earnest expectation of all creation (literal Greek) waiting for the manifestation of the sons (huios: fully matured and released with Father's full authority) of God had it not been for the fact that there was going to be that day of release. Let me take a couple of minutes to explain this term: huios.
Although there are other applicable words in the Greek and Hebrew texts that refer to sons, let me take the three principal terms used in the New Testament. The first word is paidion. This term is generally applied to a young child (there is another word that describes a babe-in-arms) between the ages of 2 and 12 years. The next word is teknon. This describes someone who has reached the age of bar mitzvah -- usually 12 years of age -- and has yet to reach a point of maturity in life and training. Between 12 and 30 years of age a young man is being groomed to step into his father's business and labors. This is an intense period of preparation, teaching, practice, making mistakes and learning "by the things that he suffers." (see Hebrews 5:8)
At or about age 30 (the determination of the exact timing is made by the father) the teknon becomes huios. At this point in Hebrew tradition and practice, a public ceremony takes place in which the father openly says of his son, "this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." A ritual and celebratory commissioning upon the son now takes place in which his father's full authority and signatory power is given. From this moment forward the son has the full signatory power of the father, he can conduct business in his father's name, he can make contracts or covenants on behalf of his father and his father will back him up 100 percent! The son is now huios. He is taught and trained, practiced and seasoned in making decisions that his father approves of and is pleased with, and he now acts as the direct agent of his father in all matters.
What we see taking place in Matthew 3 and Luke 3 perfectly describe a process that unfolds the transition from teknon to huios. Luke tells us that "Jesus himself began to be about 30 years of age." Both Matthew and Luke report that following Jesus' baptism (I'll speak to the significance of this at a later time) everyone heard a voice speaking out of Heaven as Father said of Him, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." It couldn't possibly have been more significant to those who saw and heard. It was a familiar phrase every householder was familiar with. Both Matthew and Luke report that as Jesus came up out of the waters of baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove.
Thus we see Jesus (1) being publicly marked with Father's approval, (2) being commissioned and sent forth under the power of the Holy Spirit and (3) having the signet, the seal of approval under which Father's business would now be conducted in the earth.
So why am I going into all this detail? Because I want you all to see a process that Jesus went through as the Pattern Son. We as committed believers have been adopted into the Family of God. For us to be released to do what Father says, to conduct His business and to demonstrate that Kingdom to which we now belong, there is a process that unfolds.
I've said this before and I'll say it again: there's no such thing as "automatic" in the Kingdom of God. Certainly we receive our "fire insurance" when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and so long as we walk with Him we can kiss Hell goodbye. But that's not what being a Christian is all about! Being delivered from an eternity in Hell and having Heaven as our future eternal base of operations goes with the package of accepting Jesus Christ, but that's nothing more than "paidion."
Actually it would be more proper to use a different Greek term in this instance, and that word is nepios. Nepios defines a child between the period of time between circumcision (8 days old) and 2 years. If you want to get really technical you can define a brand new Christian -- one just saved and prior to circumcision (water baptism) -- by the Greek word, brephos. Brephos is literally a child just delivered from the birth canal.
Now that I've really bored you with technical definitions, let's get to the heart of the matter. You see from the Greek terms a progression from the new birth to the place of maturity. Under no circumstances would Father release to a brephos, or a nepios, or a paidion (you get the picture) the stamp of approval and full authority that comes with the maturity and seasoning that it takes for one to become huios.
Many years ago when my daughters, Danielle and Rebekah, were in their teens I had a newspaper business with the Anchorage Daily News. Our family vehicle at the time was a new Chevrolet Lumina mini-van. There was no way I was going to hand them the keys to the car and let them take off on their own on the streets of the city. Danielle was 14 and Rebekah was 12.
Periodically I had extra large newspapers, and hundreds of deliveries to make. If I wanted either of the girls to help me (at 3:00 AM) I would awaken them and tantalize them with the car keys. It didn't take any great persuading for me convince them to help me when they got to drive the car and follow me down the streets. They were, at that point in their lives, teknon. There was a measure of trust and authority that I could release to them at that age, and it was a necessary release that would become a natural part of their existence in the years to come. Huios was yet to come.
Some years later Della and I were living in south Texas. Rebekah had moved with her family to be near us. When Della and I left on a trip for Alaska and were going to be gone for awhile, we handed the keys to our home to Rebekah, along with a signed document that gave her the authority to act on our behalf in our absence and conduct any necessary business. For all practical purposes, she became huios. Rebekah's two boys, Andrew and P.J., now were given the key to our garden tractor and both permission and responsibility to keep our yards, lawns and orchards cared for. They got to experience the same release and trust their mother had experienced years before.
That's a pretty feeble illustration, but you have the picture by now. This is what the Lord has been doing with us. Depending on the degree of our responsiveness and obedience to the direction of the Holy Spirit, we've been learning from Him and being given greater and greater levels of responsibility and authority. We've been brought to a point where Father can say of us, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased."
There is no substitute for that moment in our walk with God. The level of confidence that is released in us is beyond measure. With that moment comes a directive concerning Father's business, a commission, and with that commission the authority and power to back us up as we fulfill His destiny in us and for us.
There are many believers who are reading this who've been experiencing this process I've just described. You've walked with the Lord for years. You've experienced the pain and the correction that comes with disobedience, along with the love and grace Father gives to us as He patiently deals with us and gives us the opportunity to do it again. For many of us, Father's mercy is nothing less than astounding as He picks us up following our failures and continues to encourage us to move in Him and with Him to a greater and greater degree.
2012 is a year of Huios! Father has determined within His economy to see many, many, many "sons" follow our pattern Brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, in not only performing the works that Jesus worked (which, as He Himself noted, were Father's works), but also "greater works."
If you haven't already seen this in your spirit, let me give you a snapshot.
Stilian Mihailov is the regional bishop for the Church of God in the Stara Zagora region of Bulgaria. As you can imagine, true Christianity in this region of the world comes at a great price and believers had better have the goods if they are to stand in the face of certain persecution for their testimony.
As we sat at lunch one day, Stilian shared with us the story of a brother in one of the churches he is responsible for. This particular brother was being chased by two men who intended at the very least to do him serious bodily harm, if not kill him, for his testimony. As he came to a lake with no place else to run, he simply took off running across the water. [Yes, that's what I said! NOT wading into the lake!] As he neared the middle of the lake the two very surprised and frustrated antagonists decided to run around the lake and catch him on the other side. The believer simply stood still in the middle of the lake and watched them run. When they had passed the middle point he simply turned and ran back across the lake the direction he had come. His would-be attackers couldn't believe what they were seeing and simply gave up their pursuit. They left him alone from that day forward.
A brother in the Lord whom I have known in years gone by was Mel Tari, the author of "Like a Mighty Wind." As Mel once related it to me, in order to reach ministry destinations entire groups of people needed to cross a river. Instead of me telling you the story, watch this YouTube video uploaded from Patricia King's XPMedia site as Mel relates the story himself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93TKE8_4QC0
I have been in meetings where people were healed en masse of certain diseases. There was no healing line, and the person ministering at the time didn't call certain people out of the audience. He simply decreed the Word of the Lord over certain specific diseases or sicknesses, swept his hand over the people and longtime, chronic diseases simply disappeared. Those people were asked to please go home, see their physician and get a thorough checkup, and then report back with the physician's signed release. This is not a one-time event! I've seen this over and over, and the phenomenon is increasing.
John G. Lake (1870 - 1935) was a kind of modern forerunner for this "greater works" movement that's really beginning to unfold in this day and hour. He was famous for going into hospitals and literally cleaning them out, with every single person in the hospital being healed, no matter what the affliction, disease or sickness might be. Medical doctors testified that they watched (in microscopes) viruses die on contact with his hand.
We need to stop for today, but I've scarcely scratched the surface and haven't even begun to reach the core of what I need to share with you. Let's pick this up next week, shall we?
"There is a difference between a politician and a leader, and we are in desperate need of not just a leader, but a great leader. It is not the government that needs changing as much as the election process. America is now facing some of the most potentially deadly crises we have ever faced, in a time when the world is more dangerous than it has ever been. It is understandable that so many would be pining for another Reagan, but for what we are facing, we need a combination of Washington, Lincoln, Churchill, and Moses." (Rick Joyner)
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.
Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning!
No, my record isn't broke, I just need another cup of java to get my juices flowing for the day. (Grin) You can have some, too, you know. Join me for a cup, why don't you, and let's get right to our discussion.
Whenever a person comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, makes Him to be the Lord of their life, and permits the process of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, a transformation process begins. Listen to the way Paul describes it in his second letter to the Corinthian Ekklesia:
"Wherefore, if any [person] be in [Christ] the Anointed One and His anointing, he is a newly formed creation; the old [nature] has perished and dissolved away; the whole [being] has causatively changed and re-ordered so as to become freshly new." (II Corinthians 5:17, my translation and amplification)
What Paul is saying is that there is a change of our DNA. God's DNA has been put into our being -- and that very act compels a transforming process to begin in our being. It's not instantaneous! Not by any means. The shock factor of that kind of change is more than subnormal human flesh can withstand. God's purpose is to bring us back, to restore us to a place of "normalcy" -- that place we were originally designed for so that we can fellowship with Him, interact with Him on a minute-by-minute, second-by-second basis AT HIS LEVEL of interchange!
That injection of His DNA into us leads us to a moment of time in our lives where a supernatural transaction takes place in the realm of the Spirit. A contractual agreement occurs between us and the Lord. That agreement is going to lead us to covenant, but we're not there yet. When that transaction, that agreement occurs in us, it takes place below the level of our consciousness. Something happens subconsciously that is ironclad in our beings.
Let me describe this in personal terms, relating it back to something that happened to me at age nine.
There was a day, a moment in time, when I was out on the playground of our public school, playing on the rings, grabbing them and running around the pole until I became airborne for a few seconds hanging onto the rope as it swung me around the pole. As clearly as I've ever heard the voice of the Lord speak, I heard Him say to me (as he flashed me back in a split second to the experience I'd had a couple of years earlier when Jesus appeared at the foot of my bed and proceeded to lay out His plan and purpose for my life), "Will you go wherever I send you? Will you speak to whomever I instruct, regardless of whether it is an individual or a group of people? Will you say to them exactly what I tell you?"
I was honestly surprised at the questions, but without hesitation I blurted out loud, "Yes, Lord! You know I will. I thought you already knew that!"
His chuckle at my response resonated in my whole being, and yet I knew something tangible had taken place. His answer to me was to the point, "It was necessary for you to say so." In that moment I knew for the first time that just thinking my agreement with Him wasn't enough; it had to be verbalized.
My speaking -- verbalizing -- my personal agreement with Him set in motion a series of events that continue to this day. A contractual agreement had been made in my spirit two years earlier, but now that agreement had become a covenant relationship. The things that He had spoken to me earlier, and the promises He made to me in the weeks that followed when He took me to Heaven for the first time did not come to pass instantly. There was a process of DNA transformation that had begun in me. I was on a path to become something He was making of me. There was a day yet to be realized when His destiny for me would be fulfilled.
So, why am I sharing all of this? There are tens of thousands -- hundreds of thousands, even -- of people who will see and read this word to whom something very similar has taken place. There has been a moment in time -- perhaps in the recent past, and perhaps in the distant past -- when a contractual agreement has been struck in which you have agreed with God's call and purpose for your life. You've been on a trek ever since then; a trek which has been leading you toward your destiny in God.
Again, whether recently or at some time in the past, that contractual agreement with the Lord became a covenant engraved in your spirit, etched in your DNA. God's DNA has been changing you, transforming you, molding you and bringing you to the place where you can fulfill and accomplish all that God has placed in the core of your existence.
2012 is a year for that destiny to be manifested and for you to take your place in God's economy. Folks, as the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Roman Ekklesias, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."
You understand, don't you? The world, our society, this nation is literally on a razor's edge screaming out for the "greater works" generation to be revealed. I'm referring, of course, to Jesus' promise to believers when He prophesied, "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do because I go to my Father." (John 14:12)
Paul would never have written what he wrote concerning the earnest expectation of all creation (literal Greek) waiting for the manifestation of the sons (huios: fully matured and released with Father's full authority) of God had it not been for the fact that there was going to be that day of release. Let me take a couple of minutes to explain this term: huios.
Although there are other applicable words in the Greek and Hebrew texts that refer to sons, let me take the three principal terms used in the New Testament. The first word is paidion. This term is generally applied to a young child (there is another word that describes a babe-in-arms) between the ages of 2 and 12 years. The next word is teknon. This describes someone who has reached the age of bar mitzvah -- usually 12 years of age -- and has yet to reach a point of maturity in life and training. Between 12 and 30 years of age a young man is being groomed to step into his father's business and labors. This is an intense period of preparation, teaching, practice, making mistakes and learning "by the things that he suffers." (see Hebrews 5:8)
At or about age 30 (the determination of the exact timing is made by the father) the teknon becomes huios. At this point in Hebrew tradition and practice, a public ceremony takes place in which the father openly says of his son, "this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." A ritual and celebratory commissioning upon the son now takes place in which his father's full authority and signatory power is given. From this moment forward the son has the full signatory power of the father, he can conduct business in his father's name, he can make contracts or covenants on behalf of his father and his father will back him up 100 percent! The son is now huios. He is taught and trained, practiced and seasoned in making decisions that his father approves of and is pleased with, and he now acts as the direct agent of his father in all matters.
What we see taking place in Matthew 3 and Luke 3 perfectly describe a process that unfolds the transition from teknon to huios. Luke tells us that "Jesus himself began to be about 30 years of age." Both Matthew and Luke report that following Jesus' baptism (I'll speak to the significance of this at a later time) everyone heard a voice speaking out of Heaven as Father said of Him, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." It couldn't possibly have been more significant to those who saw and heard. It was a familiar phrase every householder was familiar with. Both Matthew and Luke report that as Jesus came up out of the waters of baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove.
Thus we see Jesus (1) being publicly marked with Father's approval, (2) being commissioned and sent forth under the power of the Holy Spirit and (3) having the signet, the seal of approval under which Father's business would now be conducted in the earth.
So why am I going into all this detail? Because I want you all to see a process that Jesus went through as the Pattern Son. We as committed believers have been adopted into the Family of God. For us to be released to do what Father says, to conduct His business and to demonstrate that Kingdom to which we now belong, there is a process that unfolds.
I've said this before and I'll say it again: there's no such thing as "automatic" in the Kingdom of God. Certainly we receive our "fire insurance" when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and so long as we walk with Him we can kiss Hell goodbye. But that's not what being a Christian is all about! Being delivered from an eternity in Hell and having Heaven as our future eternal base of operations goes with the package of accepting Jesus Christ, but that's nothing more than "paidion."
Actually it would be more proper to use a different Greek term in this instance, and that word is nepios. Nepios defines a child between the period of time between circumcision (8 days old) and 2 years. If you want to get really technical you can define a brand new Christian -- one just saved and prior to circumcision (water baptism) -- by the Greek word, brephos. Brephos is literally a child just delivered from the birth canal.
Now that I've really bored you with technical definitions, let's get to the heart of the matter. You see from the Greek terms a progression from the new birth to the place of maturity. Under no circumstances would Father release to a brephos, or a nepios, or a paidion (you get the picture) the stamp of approval and full authority that comes with the maturity and seasoning that it takes for one to become huios.
Many years ago when my daughters, Danielle and Rebekah, were in their teens I had a newspaper business with the Anchorage Daily News. Our family vehicle at the time was a new Chevrolet Lumina mini-van. There was no way I was going to hand them the keys to the car and let them take off on their own on the streets of the city. Danielle was 14 and Rebekah was 12.
Periodically I had extra large newspapers, and hundreds of deliveries to make. If I wanted either of the girls to help me (at 3:00 AM) I would awaken them and tantalize them with the car keys. It didn't take any great persuading for me convince them to help me when they got to drive the car and follow me down the streets. They were, at that point in their lives, teknon. There was a measure of trust and authority that I could release to them at that age, and it was a necessary release that would become a natural part of their existence in the years to come. Huios was yet to come.
Some years later Della and I were living in south Texas. Rebekah had moved with her family to be near us. When Della and I left on a trip for Alaska and were going to be gone for awhile, we handed the keys to our home to Rebekah, along with a signed document that gave her the authority to act on our behalf in our absence and conduct any necessary business. For all practical purposes, she became huios. Rebekah's two boys, Andrew and P.J., now were given the key to our garden tractor and both permission and responsibility to keep our yards, lawns and orchards cared for. They got to experience the same release and trust their mother had experienced years before.
That's a pretty feeble illustration, but you have the picture by now. This is what the Lord has been doing with us. Depending on the degree of our responsiveness and obedience to the direction of the Holy Spirit, we've been learning from Him and being given greater and greater levels of responsibility and authority. We've been brought to a point where Father can say of us, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased."
There is no substitute for that moment in our walk with God. The level of confidence that is released in us is beyond measure. With that moment comes a directive concerning Father's business, a commission, and with that commission the authority and power to back us up as we fulfill His destiny in us and for us.
There are many believers who are reading this who've been experiencing this process I've just described. You've walked with the Lord for years. You've experienced the pain and the correction that comes with disobedience, along with the love and grace Father gives to us as He patiently deals with us and gives us the opportunity to do it again. For many of us, Father's mercy is nothing less than astounding as He picks us up following our failures and continues to encourage us to move in Him and with Him to a greater and greater degree.
2012 is a year of Huios! Father has determined within His economy to see many, many, many "sons" follow our pattern Brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, in not only performing the works that Jesus worked (which, as He Himself noted, were Father's works), but also "greater works."
If you haven't already seen this in your spirit, let me give you a snapshot.
Stilian Mihailov is the regional bishop for the Church of God in the Stara Zagora region of Bulgaria. As you can imagine, true Christianity in this region of the world comes at a great price and believers had better have the goods if they are to stand in the face of certain persecution for their testimony.
As we sat at lunch one day, Stilian shared with us the story of a brother in one of the churches he is responsible for. This particular brother was being chased by two men who intended at the very least to do him serious bodily harm, if not kill him, for his testimony. As he came to a lake with no place else to run, he simply took off running across the water. [Yes, that's what I said! NOT wading into the lake!] As he neared the middle of the lake the two very surprised and frustrated antagonists decided to run around the lake and catch him on the other side. The believer simply stood still in the middle of the lake and watched them run. When they had passed the middle point he simply turned and ran back across the lake the direction he had come. His would-be attackers couldn't believe what they were seeing and simply gave up their pursuit. They left him alone from that day forward.
A brother in the Lord whom I have known in years gone by was Mel Tari, the author of "Like a Mighty Wind." As Mel once related it to me, in order to reach ministry destinations entire groups of people needed to cross a river. Instead of me telling you the story, watch this YouTube video uploaded from Patricia King's XPMedia site as Mel relates the story himself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93TKE8_4QC0
I have been in meetings where people were healed en masse of certain diseases. There was no healing line, and the person ministering at the time didn't call certain people out of the audience. He simply decreed the Word of the Lord over certain specific diseases or sicknesses, swept his hand over the people and longtime, chronic diseases simply disappeared. Those people were asked to please go home, see their physician and get a thorough checkup, and then report back with the physician's signed release. This is not a one-time event! I've seen this over and over, and the phenomenon is increasing.
John G. Lake (1870 - 1935) was a kind of modern forerunner for this "greater works" movement that's really beginning to unfold in this day and hour. He was famous for going into hospitals and literally cleaning them out, with every single person in the hospital being healed, no matter what the affliction, disease or sickness might be. Medical doctors testified that they watched (in microscopes) viruses die on contact with his hand.
We need to stop for today, but I've scarcely scratched the surface and haven't even begun to reach the core of what I need to share with you. Let's pick this up next week, shall we?
"There is a difference between a politician and a leader, and we are in desperate need of not just a leader, but a great leader. It is not the government that needs changing as much as the election process. America is now facing some of the most potentially deadly crises we have ever faced, in a time when the world is more dangerous than it has ever been. It is understandable that so many would be pining for another Reagan, but for what we are facing, we need a combination of Washington, Lincoln, Churchill, and Moses." (Rick Joyner)
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
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: A PROPHETIC LOOK AT 2012
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.
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.
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
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