ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM, Part 5

Another Coffee Break:

THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM

Part 5

This is a bit tardy, but allow me to express my thanks to the more than one thousand people who sent me individual birthday greetings for my 70th birthday!  Have to say that I was more than a little astonished to receive so many cards, letters and e-notes.  It more than doubled the largest number of birthday wishes I've received in any prior years.  All I can say is, WOW!!!  Anyway, once again, Thank You!

This past weekend was one of the most rewarding experiences in intimate worship that I've seen in more than a decade.  Asked to lead worship for a Full Gospel Businessmen's retreat, Rich Warren (close friend, brother, fellow-musician and bassist) joined me in leading somewhere between 120 and 150 men into the presence of the Lord.  It would not be overstating things to say that there were more than a few moments when we experienced the Glory of the Lord tangibly.

When you hear more than a hundred men singing at the top of their voice, "Blessing and Honor and Glory and Power be unto the Lamb forever and ever" ..... well, words fail me!!  Like I shared with a few folks with whom we fellowship regularly, your goose bumps get goose pimples!  (Grin)

There were more than a few occasions when a holy hush settled over everyone and we just basked in the immediate presence of the Lord.  One brother told me that he visibly saw angels with us as we worshiped.

 As we have done for more than 20 years, the overwhelming majority of the worship and praise music was spontaneous.  We had no list of songs to work from, no sheet music in front of any of the musicians, and -- except for Rich and me -- none of them had ever worked with us before; and none of them had ever been involved in a completely spontaneous setting like this before.

Last fall, Rich and I were invited to share this kind of worship at a Seattle high school.  Afterwards the band director requested us to stay on and speak with the band class and simply share with them what we were doing, how we got there, and how these young budding musicians could begin moving in this realm themselves.  We spent better than an hour sharing with the class.  Three of those students came to the retreat and brought their instruments to join in with us.  You'd have thought they'd been playing with us for years!  Those young men had been working together in the months since we'd shared with them and were ready to flow in the Spirit with us.

Craig Manley brought his (and his church's) drums and percussion, and he joined us for the first time -- again, flowing with us in the Spirit and (as he experienced) doing things in rhythm and percussion he'd never done before.

Finally, another young man from Spain joined us on the keyboard.  A trained classical pianist with a stellar reputation as a musician, this was a totally new experience for Jorge.  It was a bit reminiscent of our days back in the early 90's when Marcia Treend brought her cello into the mix.  Marcia had been principal cellist with the Detroit and Spokane Symphonies with a long career as a classical musician.  It was a struggle for her to adapt to a totally spontaneous mode without any sheet music in front of her, playing only what she heard in her spirit.  That same thing applied to Jorge, and it was marvelous to watch him adapt in less than three days and flow with us!

It really is a work of the Holy Spirit to bring such a group of musicians together and orchestrate a flow of worship with all of them in such a way that you would think they'd worked together for years!  But it is in exactly that kind of unstructured atmosphere with folks who have one mind and one spirit to minister to the Lord that the Holy Spirit can create the most extravagant flow, exhibiting the Glory of the Lord in such a profound manner!

 Once again, all I can say is, WOW !!!  What a way to live!

 Instead of just ending this Coffee Break in my usual manner with a note from one of the prophetic individuals I've come to know and appreciate, it seemed appropriate to begin this one with a word from Arthur (Art) Katz, a Messianic Jewish brother whose ministry I was introduced to some 40 years ago.

“‘The time is surely coming,’” says the Lord God, ‘that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord’” (Amos 8:11-12).

"The thought strikes me that the famine is not so much for the lack of speaking as the lack of hearing. I have had the increasing impression that God’s people do not know how to hear the word of God. Or, unlike the Thessalonian converts from paganism, they do not believe that the word they are hearing is indeed God’s word.

Therefore, the word is received casually if not indifferently as the word of man, that is to say, without effect. Perhaps we have been filling up on verbal “junk food” and have dulled our appetites for “real food” by the profusion of much speaking of our own that leaves us sated if not bloated, and therefore we suffer malnutrition in the midst of seeming plenty. Certainly we lack the evidence of growth and change that the word of God should accomplish, and we seem fixed in our immaturity and shallowness.

Perhaps we need to consider that the act of hearing is as much an act of grace as that of speaking itself.  Surely God's Word requires an attentiveness and retention for which the world has not schooled us.  The sobering caution, "When you hear My voice, harden not your hearts" implies that God's Word will not allow our indifference.  If there is not a hearing, then there will certainly be a hardening!"

This is an excellent admonition for God's people today.  Art's comment that "we have been filling up on verbal "junk food" and have dulled our appetites for "real food" hits the nail on the head.  That "verbal junk food" is partly a product -- as Art notes -- of much speaking, as well as the "mixture of truth with poison" to which I referred as we wrapped up the last Coffee Break.

Oftentimes, attempts by ministers to apply the formulas learned in Bible College or seminary to deal with critical situations in the lives of people they're supposed to be responsible for results in tragedy or even greater chaos.  When the formulas fail, and the lives of those people who depend on him crash, condemnation sets in.  Because the "minister" has put his dependence on formulas and doctrines which are now ingrained into the very core of his existence -- in the name of putting that dependence in the Lord -- the "minister" now feels that the Lord has failed him.  Despair sets in, depression reigns, and questions arise by the multitude.  What's the problem?

The "minister" never heard from the Lord.  Much of his upbringing and preparation for "ministry" was predicated on "profane, empty babblings which only serve to advance ungodliness."  Much of his upbringing and training was based in "performance."

This results in judgment and criticism of the people who fail in their efforts to apply the formulas he is teaching.  Condemnation and despair set in for those who cannot make their "faith" work according to the formulaic methodology they are taught and, all too often, they decide to give up trying because "they are not spiritual enough."  

This is not relationship with the Lord!   This is legalism and performance!   Those who have suffered these guilt pangs need to dump them as coming from Satan, and not from the Lord!  (I share these things from the perspective of having spent most of my life "in the ministry" [to use the common cliché] and having seen many of my brethren suffer in this manner.)

Referring back once again to the last Coffee Break (and the retranslation of II Timothy 2:15 from the Greek text) there is another side to this concept of "study" which affects all of us -- and particularly, those of us who have over the years received visions or experienced something where the Lord has revealed a truth with a specific application to us.

Like so many of my brethren, I experienced much in the way of revelation from the Lord in my early youth.   Although I was extremely blessed by the character and dimension of the experiences which the Lord gave to me, I grew up in classical Pentecostal circles with all of the attendant church structure.  The things which the Lord spoke within my spirit in those early days were of such a nature that I could not find a way to make them fit within my understanding.  When I attempted to share them with men and women in leadership within the denomination, the most common response was, "Well, that's wonderful, son!  Some day the Lord will use you as a pastor, or a missionary, or even an evangelist, and you'll win lots of souls for Christ."

In my spirit, I knew this was a wrong interpretation and application of what the Lord was saying, but there was absolutely nothing within the church structure which would permit me to function as the Lord had revealed Himself to me.  By the same token, I had no example of that which had penetrated my being by the Holy Spirit among any leaders whom I knew (or knew of), nor among my peers.  In my thirst for revelation knowledge, I read -- voraciously!  I couldn't stand books on doctrine, and I detested the great majority of the so-called religious books which were available, so I read the Bible -- from cover to cover -- again, and again, and again.  By the time I got ready to attend Bible college, I had been through the Bible, from cover to cover, at least 25 times, had memorized hundreds of verses, some entire books of the Bible, and many chapters verbatim from the KJV.

The primary thing Bible college did for me was to program me to fit those things which the Lord had revealed to me in my early youth into the framework of the church system or structure.  I became "a pastor."  For much of the first 25 years of pastoral ministry, I struggled to fit the mold.  At least three times, different pastors -- brethren with whom I was closely associated, labored with and deeply respected -- came to me and said, "Regner, I'm not sure what you are, but you certainly are not a pastor!"

The more they said it, the more frustrated I became, and the greater the internal drive to fit the stereotypical model.  It was not until the summer of 1974 that I received a direct word from the Lord which clarified the situation, and delivered me from the necessity of fitting the structural and religious mold.  I have from time to time continued on in a kind of pastoral ministry but I've now just pastored as a part of what God called me to.  I've been able to minister freely without the structural requirement or the pressure of fulfilling someone else's expectations of what "a pastor" is supposed to be.

Enter the next phase of deliverance.  (This was only the first of several stages of deliverance from "religion.")   In 1975, the Lord began the revelation to me of the vision which most of you have heard related as "The House of Praise."  Without relating all of the detail, suffice it to say that this vision began with a perspective of David, the tabernacle he set up, and the praisers and worshipers he appointed, and employed on a 24-hour-per-day basis to minister to the Lord.  Being still stuck in the "structure" of the church, I related everything the Lord was showing me to church structure, and tried to make it fit within that structure.   As a  result, I saw "The House of Praise" as a modern-day version of the ministry David instituted, with singers and musicians on a payroll, ministering to the Lord in a building, or structure, which would be called "The House of Praise." 

For fifteen years I was stuck with this "vision." It was not that the vision was flawed, or that the revelation came out of eating chocolate-covered jalapeno peppers before going to bed one night.  The problem was that I interpreted what the Lord showed me within the framework of my religious understanding, even going so far as to place advertisements in the Anchorage Daily News for musicians and singers who were "oriented towards praise" music, and then interviewing the respondents in an effort to "put this thing together."  From where the Lord has brought us today, this comes across as sincere stupidity.  (I was genuinely sincere -- and stupid!)   We laugh every time we talk about it.

Some months after Earle, Marcia, Della and I began to gather together daily for worship, the real truth of the revelation hit me like a ton of bricks.  Where our worship began with a few minutes each day, as the daily gathering continued throughout the months, we found that we were ministering to the Lord -- in the corporate sense -- for anywhere from an hour to three or four hours.

When we would break up and head to our respective homes at the end of the day, the worship continued in our beings on nonstop basis.  It became so strong that we would awaken in the middle of the night singing in the spirit.  When we arose in the morning, worship was going through our spirits.  During the workday, in the midst of performing normal work duties which would seemingly have nothing whatever to do with spiritual things, worship would be flowing uninterrupted through our spirits to the Lord. 

What David accomplished, and had to pay singers and musicians to accomplish after the flesh, the Lord accomplished in us after the Spirit.  We didn't have 128 singers and musicians like David did -- it just started with the four of us -- and we couldn't be gathered together 24 hours per day like those singers and musicians did in shifts, but worship was going forth, nonetheless -- in our spirits -- 24 hours per day.  We were the House of Praise!  We had become a House of Worship.

This is the very thing which the Lord is addressing in us, NOW.  Most of us have received visions of things to come; and most of us have, in some way, become involved in activities related to these visions in an honest effort to carry out what we believe the Lord has spoken to us.

Has the Lord spoken to us?  YES!   Has He given us a vision of His purposes for these end-times?  YES!  Have we tried to fulfill that which the Lord has given us according to our understanding?  With all of our hearts!  Is that understanding flawed by religious doctrines and years of indoctrination within the church structure?   Without question!   Have we missed the mark?   Sure we have!

Does that mean that we've completely set aside the idea of a physical location for a 24-hour ministry of praise and worship similar to the Tabernacle of David?  NO!

You see, sometimes it is necessary for Holy Spirit to rid us of preconceived notions and religious programming before He can move us forward with the vision He has imparted.  We must first be free of religion and religious concepts if we are to respond and act according to the Lord's plans and purpose.  We must first become that to which we are being called.  We must first become the visual of that which Holy Spirit has shown us before we can go any further!

Let's get one thing straight!  The call of the Bridegroom is to intimacy with Him!  The call of the Bridegroom is to and for a people who will fulfill Him, His heart's desires and His destiny for each of us within His Kingdom.  This is a call for an overcoming people -- not a people who are content with who they are in Christ Jesus, and not a people who are content with "business as usual."

Those "business as usual" Christians (and I use that word rather loosely) may actually make it to Heaven by the stupendous grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ, just by virtue of their acceptance and acknowledgement of His shed blood on the Cross, but they will NEVER be invited into the Bridal Chamber.

Finally -- and most of all -- the call of the Bridegroom is to and for a people who will literally and demonstrably BECOME HIS BRIDE, His Counterpart, His Other Self!

Are we clear?  Good!  Next week we'll move this discussion along as we talk about Practical Discipleship.

"God is waiting for those to arise who will lay down their own lives and agendas to become the intercessors He must have. He's waiting for preachers to arise who are willing to stand against any amount of scorn, ridicule, or persecution to declare God's truth, righteousness, and justice without compromise. He is willing. Are we?  The Lord lit the fire on the altars of His tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple in Jerusalem. He then commanded the priests to keep these fires going. Likewise, only God can start an authentic revival, but only man can end it by not keeping the fire going. For this to be done, there must be an underlying hunger for God and willingness on the part of His people to sacrifice their own purposes to give themselves for His purposes."   (Prophetic Word from Rick Joyner)

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES

709 South 7^th 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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ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM, Part 4

Another Coffee Break:

THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM

Part 4

If ever there has been a day for the manifestation of the Bride of Christ -- the Sons of God, THIS IS IT!

In the last Coffee Break I told you about Della's return from Alaska.  However, I did not tell you about an extraordinary event that took place with her and our longtime friend, Dorie Wassilie.

It was roughly ten days ago when Della and Dorie decided to take a drive from Anchorage to Seward -- a distance (one-way) of roughly 110 miles -- for no other purpose than to simply enjoy God's spectacular handiwork.  If you've never been to Alaska, it easily has some of the most gorgeous scenery you've ever seen in your life, and the drive to Seward takes you past some major glaciers.

On the return trip (and it was getting late in the afternoon) the sun was getting lower and lower in the sky, and at one point was somewhat obscured from their vision because of the mountains.  As they came around a particular bend in the highway, they had a very clear view of the sun in front of them.  What I should say is that they had a very clear view of TWO SUNS in the sky.  No, I don't mean a shadow or a sun dog; we're talking about two very distinct suns of at least equal brightness spread about 10 degrees apart in the sky!

If you've ever seen Star Trek or Stargate episodes where the main characters in the series have visited planets with two suns, or even the concluding scenes in the movie 2010: A Space Odyssey (the follow-up to 2001), then you know exactly what I'm talking about.  That's how clear it was in front of them.  What made it all the more interesting was the fact that there was a ring around the second sun (a sun dog) -- not the main sun!  They pulled off the road and got out to watch it.  They had to watch for five or more minutes before the second sun began to diminish in brightness and they realized that the sun dog surrounded it instead of the main sun.

Della called me immediately to tell me what was happening, and I asked her if she had a camera with her to photograph the event.  She had forgotten our camera, but Dorie had hers and snapped some pictures (unfortunately, AFTER the second sun was diminishing in size and brightness).

Consider something that Jesus said: "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken."  (Luke 21:25-26)

Then there's Joel's prophecy (the same one that Peter quoted on the Day of Pentecost):  "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call."  (Joel 2:28-32)

Now, put that double-sun event in the light of these prophecies, and we have a wake-up call from the Lord!  And let's not forget that at the time of Creation, (Genesis 1:14) God said that He was placing the sun, the moon and the stars in the skies as His "signs."  When we see a doubling of the sun, and a display that puts two distinct suns of equal brightness ten degrees apart (and by the way, to the best of my knowledge, this is an exceedingly rare event!), Holy Spirit is communicating something of great prophetic significance to us.

What is the significance?

Beyond the fact that we all know this portends and prophesies the return of Jesus Christ, let's get to the last statement in this prophecy since it spells out exactly what we've been talking about with the calling of the Bridegroom to the Bride.

First, let me share one other pertinent scripture which uses a unique description of Jesus in a way that no other prophecy uses: (Malachi 4:2-3) "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.  And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts."

Notice that Malachi refers to the Lord as the "Sun of Righteousness" -- NOT the Son of Righteousness.  Why does he phrase it like that?  Because Malachi has seen a prophetic picture of the Sons of God arising in this hour after the same pattern that Joel described.  Some of you may think that I'm really taking this out of context so let me remind you first of all how Malachi ends his prophecy, and then take you back to the specific wording that Joel uses.

Here we go: "And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts."

The rising of the "Sun of Righteousness" is manifested IN the people of God -- and more specifically, IN THE BRIDE, that same people Paul describes in Romans 8:19 as the SONS OF GOD!  Still think I've left the planet or that I'm out in La-La Land?  Then consider Joel's last statement in his prophecy.

"For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call."

Who?  Where?

In Mount Zion.  In Jerusalem.  In the remnant whom the Lord shall call.  If that doesn't make sense to you, or you are still seeing these words and phrases as a description of the literal city of Jerusalem (and in fact they are!) the prophets began to use these descriptions -- Mount Zion, and Jerusalem -- to prophetically describe, first of all, the larger body of God's people (Jerusalem), and then that distinct and called-out people -- the Bride -- (Mount Zion) who represented those who understood and sought after the heart and the heart's desire of our Bridegroom.

Of course, Jerusalem and Mount Zion were representative of God's people, Israel, and because His covenant was a covenant that lasts "through all generations" (the Hebrew phraseology makes it much clearer: the eternity of eternities), it certainly applied to the Jews, and more specifically, to those Jews who recognized, acknowledged and worshiped Jesus Christ!  But these prophets of old had a much larger vision which included the Vine (Jesus) and the branches (non-Jewish Christians) grafted into the Vine -- or, as Paul describes in Romans 11, we as Christians being grafted into the olive tree (the symbol of Israel) as God's chosen and called-out people.

So what are we saying here?  In Jerusalem and in Mount Zion SHALL BE DELIVERANCE!  Hello?  Are you seeing it?  Deliverance, Salvation, Healing -- it is all available to the world today in the Sons (Suns) of God as they are arising in the midst of this darkening world.

One more prophetic word and I'll get on (I hope) with where I originally planned to go in this Coffee Break.

What was it that Isaiah prophesied?  "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 shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising."

Now, WHO is arising?  The people of God!  That chosen, called-out and set-apart people we corporately refer to as "The Bride of Christ" -- or as the Song of Solomon phrases it, "My Sister, My Spouse" (KJV), and more accurately translated from this Hebrew metaphor, "My Counterpart, My Other Self!"  And, folks, this is a people arising and shining during a darkening age, an age in which "gross darkness shall cover the earth."

THAT, Family of God, is precisely what the call of the Bridegroom is designed to do: to call to attention, to commission, and to send forth in the earth a people upon whom the Glory of the Lord has arisen.  Now do you see the significance of the double-sun event?  Do you see, do you hear the call of the Bridegroom?  Do you see His signs in the heavens?  Then, my friends, you are beginning to grasp what Holy Spirit is doing and saying in the earth today.

Whewww!!!  That explanation took a whole lot longer than I expected -- and honestly, Holy Spirit just began to download things into my spirit as I wrote.  You're getting it fresh as I'm receiving it!

That said, perhaps you are seeing the immediacy that comes with a rhema Word.  Let me pick up with where I left off in our last discussion as we talk about the revealed (in us) Word vs. academic study of the written Word.

I have shared in these Coffee Breaks in time past the travesty of the KJV translation of II Timothy 2:15 in which the word "Study" has been translated from the Greek "spoudason" in contradistinction to the real message of Holy Spirit.  That message  is to "Be instantly responsive!"  What a huge difference in meaning!  What a huge difference that one single word represents to those of us who are pressing in for the intimate presence of the Lord.

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.

Reading this passage in the original Greek text one day, I discovered that it has some very immediate and potent applications in the call of the Bridegroom to the 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 is eminently 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 translation which renders this word "approved" is sort of OK, but you really need the context in order to appreciate it.

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.

Verses 16 and 17 of the same chapter reinforce this.  Without taking the time, here, to break down each of the pertinent Greek words or 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 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 majority of the doctrines which skillfully bring division among God's people. The push to "study" 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.

Please don't throw rocks at me for saying this!  I'm not quibbling with the need to study or (better, yet) immerse oneself in the Word.  David wrote and sang, "Thy Word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee." (Psalm 119:11)  In this case where we see "word" it is the Hebrew parallel to "rhema."  Thus, the "Word" that David was hiding in his heart was the spoken Word that he heard in his spirit.  It was directly spoken into him by Holy Spirit.  David had no written "Word" to "study."

Unfortunately, Bible colleges and seminaries tend to produce formulas and doctrines.  When the formulas fail, and the lives of those people who depend on the pastor or church leader crash, condemnation sets in.  Because the "minister" has put his or her dependence on formulas and doctrines which are ingrained into the very core of his existence -- in the name of putting that dependence in the Lord -- the "minister" now feels that the Lord has failed him.  Despair sets in, depression reigns, and questions arise by the multitude.  What's the problem?

The "minister" never heard from the Lord.  Much of his upbringing and preparation for "ministry" was predicated on "profane, empty babblings which only serve to advance ungodliness." 

I'll never forget the day that I asked the pastor of a large church how the Lord called him into the ministry.  He looked rather blank at me, stammered and stuttered around momentarily, and then said, "It just seemed like a good occupation for me to go to, and the pay looked pretty good, so I went to seminary."  When I tried to explain the call of the Bridegroom, and the absolute knowing that happens in one's spirit when you hear that call, it was apparent that I was speaking a language he did not understand at all.

Sadly, those who sit under these teachers receive a mix of truth with poison.  Taken to its logical extension, it results in "Christians" who have a name that they are alive, when in fact they are dead.  It is nothing less than the spectacular grace and mercy of God that many have survived this era in the life of the Body of Christ to come to a place of recognizing the reality of a love relationship with the Lord, and have responded -- even within the limited framework of their understanding.  Fortunately, the Lord is greater -- much greater -- than the church, the structure, and the doctrines of men; and He leads those on who follow by faith.

That's where we'll go next time.

"We are called to be heirs of God in Christ. There is no higher calling in all of creation. Everything happening in our lives is intended to prepare us for this high calling by working in us Christ's nature.  Christ is the answer to every human problem, and He is the answer to every problem we're now facing.  It is not just that He has the answers, but He is the answer.  If we are living in the knowledge that the One we serve is over all rule and authority and dominion, how can we fear?  Every challenge is an opportunity to grow in faith, so a key to the victorious life is to not waste our trials.  (Prophetic Word from Rick Joyner)

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
709 South 7^th 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.

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM, Part 3

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM, Part 3

Blessings upon you this first day of the rest of your life!

This may sound like a really strange way to say things, but FINALLY! I'm whole again. Now, don't start laughing at me. Della has been in Alaska for most of the last three weeks, visiting and sharing with our daughter, Danielle, and her family, and our son, Joshua, and his family, getting to see our latest granddaughter, Trinity Elizabeth, for the first time (this one is #24), and continuing to lay the groundwork for our return to Alaska.

When you have been joined by the Lord to your counterpart, absence for any length of time from one another is not something easily tolerated. You feel incomplete without your counterpart present, lacking, inadequate. Of course, with today's technology, one can still stay in touch (and, brother, do we ever!) by telephone, by computer, etc. But it's just not the same!

You'll remember how I started off the previous Coffee Break, sharing the event in which James Merwin made the statement that "I'd rather be dead than live for 10 seconds without the presence of the Lord." THAT'S INTIMACY!! What we have with the Lord in that place of intimacy is life itself. Paul said that he was, "willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord!"

That's probably a great description for the relationship the Lord has given to Della and me. What the Holy Spirit has given to us in our earthly relationship throughout the decades has been a tiny microcosm of the same bonding that we have with the Lord Jesus Christ. Our bond with Jesus Christ is a bond of intimacy, a bond of love, a bond of absolute trust and confidence. By the same token, He has given to Della and me that same kind of bond in this natural realm -- a bond which is a picture for those who see us and know us of what we have in Christ.

That said, let me pick up where I left off in the previous discussion, and draw upon this picture of intimacy and the developmental process designed to get us there with the Lord Jesus Christ. We were talking about Ekklesia as the preparation of the Bride of Christ.

Ekklesia is not an event. It is not something one can attend, in the sense of attending a church. It is not something one can decide to join at his or her choosing. One does not make an intellectual decision based on circumstances to be joined in an intimate relationship to the Lord. It is a life to which one is called by the Lord Jesus Christ.

The call goes forth by the Holy Spirit. Individuals hear -- not a message of "get saved so you can go to heaven" -- but that Jesus paid the ultimate redemption cost to purchase for Himself a people who would be groomed, fitted, and prepared to be His counterpart, His "other self," His Bride! Having heard the call from the Bridegroom to "come away with Me" deep within their spirits, they respond to the preparation processes that now begin.

(Once again I emphasize the fact that in the same way that we see developmental stages of growth between birth and maturity, we MUST experience and respond to the processes laid out for us by the Paraklete at the Bridegroom's direction. This is not for us: this is for Him! We were and are created for His pleasure -- not the other way around. And that's not to say that we won't experience pleasure in this relationship -- we will!!!)

Ekklesia is the gathering together, the forum in which this preparation process is directed by Holy Spirit under the leadership of those in whom He has already made much preparation and given a vision of His objectives. It is designed as that same microcosm I just described of bonding and joining in the realm of the Spirit. The objective purpose of Holy Spirit is for us to be so bonded together -- first, with the Lord; and secondly, with each other -- that the world can look on and KNOW that we walk and live naturally supernatural and supernaturally natural as sons and daughters of God!

I do not say these things in order to manipulate individuals into joining us, nor is it some clever way to suggest that people should come under subjection or submission to some special set of doctrines we might hold to. As has been clearly stated, this is not something that people can join! At the same time, Ekklesia is not some kind of exclusive club with a set of requirements to keep "undesirables" out.

Perhaps this can best be explained out of John 1:12-13 through an illustration which the Lord gave to Della recently. Rendered from the Greek text, it reads like this: "But as many as believed in, and responded to Him, to them He gave the authority and ability to become -- and be transformed into -- begotten children of God, specifically to those who entrust their future existence and well-being by faith in His name, rank, position, character, personality and being; who were begotten, not of flesh and blood, nor because human flesh determined it by its own decision, nor because the mind and intellect of man seized upon it and willed it into existence, but by God as a sovereign act of His will and determination." (my translation)

It becomes clear, therefore, that:

(1) Ekklesia begins with the Lord, through and by His Spirit calling and choosing us;

(2) it requires a response of obedience predicated on believing His word and the voice of His Spirit;

(3) our character and nature begin a process of transformation so that we, as spiritual beings, can be joined to Him;

(4) no act of our flesh is involved in the process;

(5) we are begotten by the Spirit in a genetic sense of the word;

(6) neither strong personality, nor an intellectual decision to become "one" with Him play the slightest part in any transformation which takes place in our life;

(7) we cannot "will" ourselves to become a part of the Bride, nor can we "choose" by arbitrary decision to participate in anything which the Lord is doing in His people;

(8) everything which occurs as a part of the developmental processes initiated by Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection, does so because the Father first spoke it, willed it so, and called those who are undergoing the processes.

For those who see the foregoing as an impossible situation, and find themselves at the height of frustration because they feel that they are being by-passed by others in a spiritual sense; that others are hearing and responding, but they are not; there is a simple answer. It is no more complicated than saying to the Lord, "Whatever it takes for you to accomplish your will and heart's desire in me, do it, Lord! Enable me to hear your voice so I can respond!"

This is the very essence of all He asks. To respond to His direction and calling! Change begins to occur within our lives thereafter because of what we are rapidly coming to refer to as His "processing." Processing is nothing more or less than the dealings of Holy Spirit, His identifying those areas of our lives which need to be conformed to the nature and character of Jesus Christ, and His beckoning for us to respond.

When Jesus Christ, by a sovereign act of His will, brings individuals into the Ekklesia He has built among us, there generally are, or have been doctrinal disagreements. The Lord, however, has a unique way of dissolving those disagreements, or at least setting them on a back burner. What He has done, instead, is to bring us into a "unity of the Spirit."

This is a principal priority! Once that unity of the Spirit is established, He then can deal with the "unity of the faith." Those who make "the unity of the faith" their priority usually do not stick around (and have not) since this so-called "unity" is generally based on some pet doctrine or set of doctrines to which they choose to cling.

Those, likewise, who do not allow the establishing of worship and intimate love between them and the Lord do not remain. If there is a common denominator in all that the Lord has been speaking to us, that common denominator is worship. That does not mean that we have found some magic formula to bring us into the presence of the Lord. It simply means that people who resolve for themselves that the Bridegroom's desires are THE highest priority find that He places within them an overwhelming yearning for His intimate presence.

Worship may be expressed in different modes whether musically, verbally or by some act or action on our part. Worship always has a prophetic component to it. Though accompanied by music, the spoken word, or some actions on our part, it ALWAYS takes place in, by, and through spirit communication -- and that transcends the intellect. Without the joining that happens in the realm of the Spirit, what we've often referred to in time past as "worship" is really nothing more than some form of praise, prayer, or testimony.

Because many of us have been involved in some of the previous great moves of God, there are certain bondages that each of us must be free from -- most of which are very "religious" in nature. It has been frequently said that "those who are a part of one particular move of God usually resist the next move of God, and in fact, persecute those of the next move."

The resistance and persecution generally come from the fact that each successive "move" brings God's people -- and specifically, the Bride -- closer to perfect union with the Lord Jesus Christ. It almost seems paradoxical that anyone would resist this; yet, when we consider that each successive "move" also exposes more and more things which have been hidden within our spirits, it becomes quite clear.

These are flaws, or spots which cannot continue to coexist if there is to be union with Jesus Christ. These are parts of our character which are under the motivation or control of evil spirits who find their authority and operation being challenged, and their hiding places exposed. Exposure and subsequent deliverance mean greater freedom for the individual in his or her relationship with the Lord.

At the same time, these wicked spirits want to keep us bound within the religious structure we have known in times past, and blinded in such a way that we can only accept the "truths" thus far revealed. Hence, these "religious" spirits oppose and resist any new move of the Holy Spirit which would bring them into the light, or expose their hiding places; and, consequently, motivate contention and strife within the individuals who are bound by them towards those who do yield to that "new" word which the Holy Spirit is bringing.

For this reason, the Lord has specifically directed Della and me to frequently lift up all those who are coming into, or responding to, that which Holy Spirit is calling His people to in this day and hour: an intimate love relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The significance of this "call" to intimacy is obvious. This will bring a union between the Bride and Bridegroom. Hence, we have been directed on many occasions to undertake specific fasting.

We have also been directed to fast on behalf of those who, for physical or emotional reasons, are unable to fast during times or periods when Holy Spirit calls for a corporate fast. For many of them, the Lord will bring them to a place where they can fast, and will experience little, if any, physical difficulty or side effects during the time they are directed to fast.

Toward the end of one of Della's times of fasting, the Lord showed something to her regarding one of the principal reasons why so many people struggle to receive "new" revelation from Holy Spirit, and come into an understanding of what the Lord desires of them. Della was directed back to Genesis 3 to review what we have all been taught as "the original sin."

We have all been taught, and have understood, that the original sin was "disobedience" when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. What the Lord showed Della was that the original sin occurred before they ever ate, and that this sin is at the heart of the problem within the corporate church structure.

The original sin took place progressively, and the progression goes like this:

(1) The Serpent (Satan) began the temptation by bringing
them back to the original word which God had spoken
to them with the question, "Hath God said?" (see Genesis 3:1)

(2) In raising the question, he caused them to question the
integrity of God and challenge the word of the Lord to them.
(see Genesis 3:2-4)

(3) Once the question of God's intent had been raised
in their minds, God's motive was challenged. The idea
was planted that He was trying to prevent them from
becoming like Him. Were they to become like Him, His
authority would be challenged. They would become "wise,"
being able to discern what was "good" and make their own
judgment regarding "good," as well as determining "evil," and
make their own decisions with regard to "evil." Hence, they
would be "as God." (see Genesis 3:5)

(4) The "original sin," therefore, occurred in their questioning
of God's word to them, and judging His motive in
commanding them not to eat of this one particular tree. The
"original sin" occurred when they elected to make their own
independent decision, choosing to believe Satan's version of
"wisdom," and choosing "knowledge" over a relationship of love
and trust between them and the very God who had so carefully
and lovingly created them. (see Genesis 3:6)

(5) The "original sin" came when they agreed with Satan
in direct violation of the word which the Lord had clearly
spoken to them. Had God said? Absolutely!

(6) The disobedience which followed (vs. 6) was only the "fruit"
of the original sin, and compounded the original sin by violating
a spoken commandment, given in love as a warning from the
Lord God, who knew that such action would bring an end to
their "cool-of-the-day" intimate fellowship.

God's people have been re-enacting this sin ever since that day, and it is at the core of the corporate church structure. We are taught repeatedly and continuously, through various doctrines of the "church" to pass judgment on the word of the Lord which comes to us. We are educated to the concept of getting as much "knowledge" about the Lord, and the things of God, as possible; trained to make our own decisions and determinations of what we will respond to, and made to feel perfectly justified in not responding to certain "words" from the Lord.

Education, knowledge, and "wisdom" are made to become GOD. The lie of this, and the deceit of the Enemy, comes in the exchanging of receiving the "Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ" (see Ephesians 1:17) for "getting" wisdom, knowledge and understanding (i.e., "education") by "study" -- in other words: "man's way," as opposed to "God's way". It is the very thing which has separated us from an intimate love relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have shared in these Coffee Breaks in time past the travesty of the KJV translation of II Timothy 2:15 in which the word "Study" has been translated from the Greek "spoudason" in contradistinction to the real message of Holy Spirit. That message (and we'll get into it more in our next Coffee Break) is to "Be instantly responsive!" What a huge difference in meaning! What a huge difference that one single word represents to those of us who are pressing in for the intimate presence of the Lord.

We'll explore that difference in depth in our next Coffee Break.

"We are called to be heirs of God in Christ. There is no higher calling in all of creation. Everything happening in our lives is intended to prepare us for this high calling by working in us Christ's nature. Christ is the answer to every human problem, and He is the answer to every problem we're now facing. It is not just that He has the answers, but He is the answer. If we are living in the knowledge that the One we serve is over all rule and authority and dominion, how can we fear? Every challenge is an opportunity to grow in faith, so a key to the victorious life is to not waste our trials. (Prophetic Word from 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.

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM, Part 2

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM, Part 2

Felicitations!

It was in the spring of 1963.  I was at First Assembly in San Jose, California.  James Merwin was the senior pastor.  Occasionally, when he preached he would come out with some one-liners, some zingers that made you turn your head and sit up straight.

This particular Sunday morning he made a statement just like that!  "I would rather not even be here -- I'd rather be dead than to live for 10 seconds without the presence of the Lord!"

Now there's a wakeup for you!  I fully comprehend that statement, and I absolutely agree!  And honestly, looking back over my life, I can't think of a single moment when I haven't known the intimate presence of the Lord.  There is a peace, a confidence and an assurance that defies natural reasoning.  Actually, come to think of it, when you walk in that place of confidence in God, folks tend to think of you as arrogant; and that's because the world in general -- and unfortunately, many professing Christians -- have been deceived by the Enemy into thinking that the intimate presence of the Lord as a way of life is unattainable for them.

I was sharing with one of my sons the other day.   I said to him, "Just because you say you're "saved", just because you've been baptized in water, baptized in the Holy Spirit, you speak in tongues, you operate in the gifts of the Spirit, lay hands on the sick and do all kinds of miracles, that's not the same as having an intimate love relationship with Jesus Christ."

In case you think I've lost it, or perhaps wandered off the reservation, let me draw a picture for you.

Once you've accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, once you've been baptized in water and then baptized in the Holy Spirit, you've really only just been "born again!"  The Greeks have a series of words (and we see these words used in the Greek text of the New Testament) which describe our growth process from the new birth to a place of spiritual maturity -- that place where you've grown up spiritually and know what it is to have Father's heart.

I shared these five words in a recent series of Coffee Breaks, but for the sake of this discussion, let me briefly recap.  Brephos is a word which describes the process of development in the womb as a child prepares to come to birth; and the first eight days immediately following birth up to circumcision.  Nepios describes a babe-in-arms between the time of circumcision and being weaned from the breast (or the bottle).

Paidion is a child who has been weaned from the milk, but has not yet reached the age of reason (Bar-Mitzvah for boys -- age 12, and Bat-Mitzvah for girls -- age 13)).  From this point forward children are referred to as teknon(s).  Now the young person (still referred to sometimes as a "child"), having reached the age of reason, begins to undergo very strict training and preparation so that he/she is thoroughly metamorphosed into the thoughts, the ways, the practices, the business dealings, and the very heart of the Father.

The apostle Paul describes this period of time for Jesus as having "learned through the things that He suffered."  It is intense.  It is corrective.  It is administrative.  But it is also revelatory.  This is that time when a person comes to understand, agree with, and flow with Father's desires.  Father and son (or Father and daughter) develop a place of intimate and intuitive understanding with each other so that when a point of complete maturity is reached (generally around age 30), Father can release the son to act on His behalf, run His business, speak for Him and conduct any negotiations for Him as though Father were there in person.

When that day is reached (and that day is Father's prerogative -- it is not fixed in stone) a ceremony takes place in which Father announces, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."  Father takes the ring off his hand which bears the seal of his authority and places it on the finger of His son.  A baptism takes place in which the "child" goes down into the water, is raised out of the water with the "child" now dead and gone, and a fully mature adult (the Greek word for this is "Huios") on display for the world to see.

This is where we have been being called to.  This is the call of the Bridegroom -- the Lord Jesus Christ -- to us, His Bride-to-be!

We cannot simply stop with being "born again."  That's not what it is all about.  We cannot stop with water baptism or Holy Spirit baptism.  That's not even "early childhood development" yet!  All that has happened is that we've just been given the necessary equipping to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord.  There's so much more to receive and to become in Christ Jesus!  The call of the Bridegroom to everyone of us is to grow up in Him -- to become JUST LIKE HIM!

One of the tragedies of the western church world is the contamination of the Gospel with the "let's get everyone 'saved'" mentality.  Getting "saved" [translation: getting one's "fire insurance"] has become the ultimate, the pinnacle of what we've all been called to.  Being delivered from a future in Hell and having Heaven as our future dwelling is certainly important, but that's NOT what Jesus died on the Cross to accomplish.  To leave us at the Cross with nothing more than a "born again" experience shortchanges us and cheats Lord Jesus Christ out of the very thing He gave His life to have.

His objective was a people who would be like Him, a people who would reflect His Glory, a people who would so demonstrate and manifest His love that the world would be drawn to Him simply by seeing who and what we have become as a result of our intimate relationship with Him!  His objective was to have a Bride who would be His co-equal counterpart, His "Other Self."

The whole idea of "counterpart" is having that part of one's existence which is unfulfilled and incomplete made complete!  I keep coming back to what I experienced when the Lord gave Della to me.  Until we had each other, there was a constant void in us that was unfulfilled.  To draw from the Hebrew metaphor, "I am black" (seen in the Song of Solomon, and also in Jeremiah's prophecies), there was a constant "search" in each of us for that one whom God had created that would be exactly what would fulfill and complete every aspect of our existence.  Once the Lord had joined us to each other the void was filled and the "search" disappeared from our minds, our thoughts, and our spirits.

So how do we get to that place of intimacy with Lord Jesus Christ?  How do we arrive at a place in our walk with Him where we live and breathe His presence?

We talked about this in Part 1 of this discussion.  Because God is a spirit and "they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth," (John 4:24) our relationship with Him is founded in the spirit.  Created in His image, we are first and foremost spirit beings.  "Spirit" is the eternal part of our existence.  It is that part of us that links us directly into the spirit realm and the means by which we can communicate on an intimate level with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Music is a realm created by the Lord specifically as a vehicle for spirit-to-spirit communication.  The Psalms were sung and penned (mostly) by David to communicate the glories and the wonders of the Lord.  Incorporated in the Psalms are praise, worship, prayer, intercession, prophetic decrees and declarations, and spiritual warfare.  The Psalms were given to us partly as a means to introduce us to the realm of spirit-to-spirit communication.  They were also given to introduce us to the concept of spiritual intimacy.

When David sang, he became totally lost in the realm of the Spirit.  Not only did he bring the decrees of Heaven from eternity into the earthly, time-space realm, he bonded with the Lord in an intimate dimension in a way no person in history had been able to do before.  Love flowed out of his being in the midst of his music.  A pathway -- a channel, if you will -- was activated between he and the Lord by means of Holy Spirit.

The more he lived in that channel, the more the heavens were opened up to him; and the more God showed him of His plan and purpose for Israel -- and men and women in general -- and the deeper his relationship with the Lord grew.  So loving and intimate did that relationship become that God began to refer to David as "a man after God's own heart."  David pursued that relationship with every breath of his existence.

Sitting on a hillside one day with his harp, he sang, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.  My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?"  (Psalm 42:1-2)

That panting, that craving, that thirsting for the presence of the Lord God came as a direct product of the call of the Bridegroom.  It was a drawing in him that consumed him more and more and more.  Despite the grief that he went through during all the years he sat on the throne of Israel, that call never left his being.  It became the anchor of his existence.

So much did the praise and the worship -- and more specifically, the realm of musical expression of the praise and worship -- become his very life's breath that he invented the musical instruments that the families of praisers and worshipers (the families of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun) played as they praised, worshiped, prayed, interceded, declared and decreed prophetically.

In the first part of this discussion last week, I was talking about some of the experiences that we had at Trail's End in Idaho during the nearly-six years we gathered together with folks from the northwest and Canada.  The Lord spoke to Della one day as we were gathered for worship and said that He was  -- through His Bride -- taking back the music of the past, the present, and the future.  It seemed a bit unusual, until we realized that the music unfolding in our midst spanned the gamut of musical expression: from classical to jazz -- and everything in between.
We have heard Eastern music, Spanish music, Jewish and Mediterranean music, Slavic music, Russian music, Oriental music, ancient 12th - 14th century English music, music of the baroque era, music of the Elizabethan era, turn-of-the-century American music, music which harks back to the Roaring Twenties, music of the Big-Band era, Swing, Jazz, contemporary -- you name it!  The single extraordinary aspect of this is that it all came in the midst of this new expression of corporate worship.  It would be safe to say that it transcended anything any of us have previously experienced.

During one particular gathering at the ranch at Trails' End, because of the busyness of sharing together, and the other activities unfolding, we did not sit down until very late one evening to begin our corporate worship -- like 11:30 PM!  As always, the worship was completely spontaneous -- the music fresh and unrehearsed. Something like six or seven new pieces of music emerged -- some very classical in style and content, some as progressive jazz, and even one which was very Brazilian with a bossa nova rhythm.   A Canadian sister, Beryl, sat there marveling at this progression, and shared afterward that she had asked the Lord where this would all end, or if there was an end.  The Lord's response to her was that "there is no end to the music in Heaven," and that as we continued in His presence, there would be no end to the music which came forth.

In the midst of these experiences, one thing which Holy Spirit began to emphasize within us was that much of we have known and referred to in times past as "the Church" is not His heart.  Since the whole concept of "church" as we have known it (we refer here to the concept of gathering within the structured hierarchical system) is predicated on principles which the Lord absolutely abhorred and hated, He has been continuing the process of revelation in showing us what His heart's desire really is!

Before you jump ship on me, let me explain.

Without getting into a long, historical review of how the concept of "church" came into being -- as opposed to what is referred to in the original Greek as "Ekklesia" -- let me simply state that "church" -- from its historical perspective -- along with its present-day structure, make-up, and doctrinal dogma, did not begin to exist until 225-226 A.D. in the time of the Roman emperor, Alexander Severus (the first "church" was only a remodeling of a former temple).  It was not until after the "Edict of Toleration" issued by the emperor Constantine in 313 A.D. that churches actually began to be built, and even then the mode of gathering differed greatly from what we know today.

In referring to churches, here, let me make it clear that this is a reference to "structure" in the sense of hierarchical systems where there is a distinct line of separation between the "ministers," or clergy, and the "laity", or common people.  You understand, of course, that they are referred to as "common" in the sense that they supposedly had no call from the Lord to fulfill.   "Structure" also refers to democratic systems (in which the "ministers" and "elders," etc., are elected by a vote of the people.  Both of these systems and their structures came out of the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, who were Judaizers (Both Pharisee and Sadducee).

Neither of these systems represent the heart of Father, nor the desire of Jesus Christ in the preparation and completion of His Bride.  That's not to say that the Lord hasn't used them throughout the centuries: He has!  It's safe to say that the overwhelming majority of folks who will read this (and I'm included) have grown up in one or both of these types of church structure.  The catch is that the Lord has called us (and continues to call people) out of the old structure and into Ekklesia in order that He can grow us up into Him.

It is also important to note that the word, "church," is derived from the Greek, kirios, which means "the lord's place" (in the sense of a castle or fortress -- a place from which absolute authority is demanded).  Kirios never appears anywhere in scripture, and the whole concept of this word is the very antithesis of Jesus' expressed desire for "servants" in His people.

From the standpoint of the Bridegroom, however, "Ekklesia" -- in contradistinction to "church" -- represents the calling together -- first and foremost -- of those who have responded to the call of the Bridegroom, Yeshua ha Mashiach (the Lord Jesus Christ) to become His Bride.  Secondly, it represents the gathering together of those who are being prepared by the "Paraklete,"  (Holy Spirit) groomed, fitted, and equipped to be a Bride whom the Lord can present to Father and say,  "This is my Beloved in whom I am well-pleased!"

"Ekklesia" can be described as the preparing of the Bride by the Paraklete, Holy Spirit.  It is the gathering of those called by the Bridegroom to be His Bride, and the preparation by the Paraklete.  The term, "paraklete," which is the Greek word occurring in the original text, is most often translated in our English versions as "comforter" or "helper," and sometimes "advocate." In a variant form, it is translated, "exhort," "intreat," "pray," or "beseech" (request). These terms convey only fragments of the true picture of the Paraklete, who has the full authority of the King to accomplish that which He has been assigned -- and who comes to prepare, train, equip, and endow with all the gifts and graces necessary.

There are some spectacular pictures of just who and what a paraklete is and does scattered throughout the Word.  In our next Coffee Break, I'll draw some of those pictures for you.
More to follow in our next Coffee Break.

"This a moment that I am drawing the line, and earthly orders are coming from the heavenly realms. Tune your ears to hear the instructions of Heaven, for you are living in a strategic moment when you will see kingdoms that have not been able to come down, come down. New strategies are coming down, and it is a strategy that will pierce the deepest darkness that could not be pierced in the past. Listen to the sounds of Heaven, for in the sounds of Heaven, you will hear your next step!"   (Prophetic Word from Chuck Pierce)

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.

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM, Part 1

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM, Part 1

Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord and Bridegroom, Jesus Christ!

With all that the Lord has been doing in our midst, and all the changes that have been and are occurring, it seemed appropriate to cover the significant things He has been speaking, as well as some of the things we have been experiencing.

First and foremost, the Holy Spirit has been sounding a clarion call to the Bride. That call has been to intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ -- our Bridegroom. This call is different from anything heard in previous generations, or moves of the Holy Spirit.

Where, in previous generations, the call has primarily been heard within the "Church, or corporate "Body of Christ" for a people who would grow up in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, this call has been for a people who will come away from the "Church" -- away from everything they have known in the past: their doctrines, their understanding of the Lord, their "ministries," their gifts, their talents -- everything -- and lay them down. This is a call to an intimate, personal love relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. His desire is for a Bride whose only priority is Him! Just Him!

Allow me for a moment to sound like a radical. Jesus Christ, our Bridegroom, is not calling us to prayer! Not intercession! Not Bible study! Not preaching or teaching! Not the singing of Praise! Not listening to good teaching CD's, or praise CD's! Not being involved in church activities! Not doing things for the Lord in order to please Him! Not preparing for "end times," or worrying about the "rapture!" Not concentrating on what needs to be done in order to prepare for His coming! Not praying for the sick, ministering deliverance, or laying hands on people!

It sounds almost heretical, doesn't it? These are all the things we have known and done in the past. It is not that there is anything wrong with prayer, intercession, Bible study, preaching, teaching, praise, etc. In fact, these things are a natural part of our existence as believers. All of these things are areas to which the Lord has previously called and directed our attention. It is, simply, that the Holy Spirit is drawing attention to the fact that these things have become priorities which have supplanted the priority which is the deepest desire of our Bridegroom's heart. The Holy Spirit is instructing us to come and spend time with the Bridegroom, and set aside all of these things -- and everything else He addresses -- as the important, priority activities.

Let me clarify these remarks lest the Enemy twist things out of context for some. Each of these areas of activity have been important parts of our foundation in the Lord, and coming to know about Him. They are essential introductions in getting to know Him. Referring to one of the last Coffee Breaks, this is all a part of that period of growth in our growing-up in God we know as "teknon." When we say that the Holy Spirit is calling and instructing the people of God to lay these things down, it is not -- and I repeat, not! -- that they do not continue to be a part of our lives.

What happens is that our emphasis and focus changes. They are no longer the central thrust of our lives. Of course we still pray and intercede as the Spirit of the Lord directs. Reading the Bible and meditating on that which is quickened by the Lord still remains an ingredient of our daily lives. Teaching......well, what do you call this Coffee Break?

Praise as a disciplined part of our daily life is a natural byproduct of our whole relationship with the Lord. It was repeatedly commanded by David -- under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit -- as a daily activity, and he certainly demonstrated it with his assignment of the families of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun to the daily ministry of praise and worship unto the Lord.

Yet, we are instructed not to stand still -- to be content doing the same things we have always done. We are being called onward. We are being called into His presence. We are being called to intimacy with Him.

Most prayer is inherently one-way communication. It incorporates supplication, intercession, pleadings and simple requests. Prayer -- or that which we think of as prayer, anyway -- is something which puts us in the role of the supplicant. The Lord Jesus Christ is looking for a whole lot more out of His Bride than "supplicants." While prayer begets answers, it does not beget the kind of intimacy that the Lord is after.

(I know this is going to get me in trouble with a lot of folks who will think I've wandered off the reservation and gotten myself into heresy. Bear with me, people! Bear with me. When I refer to "prayer" in this context, I'm only speaking of "prayer" within the traditional use of the word, NOT in the true scriptural context!)

Bible reading and meditation serve a wonderful purpose in that we can learn pattern principles of the heart's desire of the Bridegroom as we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us. The preaching and teaching we have received -- and continue to receive -- out of the life experiences of those who have learned and received from the Holy Spirit provides the fundamental foundations of growth in the way we relate to the Lord. Pattern principles, however, are no substitute for that real and personal, intimate love relationship sought after by the Lord.

Praise is an act of our will. It requires a mental thought process. With praise, we extol the Lord for His wonderful works and His greatness. We laud Him for the things He has done, and is doing. But praise is not worship, and worship is not praise. Praise comes from the intellect while worship comes from the spirit.

Jesus said, "An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is a Spirit; and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." (see John 4:23-24)

The call of the Paraklete, the Holy Spirit, therefore, is for a people who will "come away" with Him -- in the realm of the Spirit. This is a call to intimacy with Jesus Christ.

He does not want us to come predicated on the things we have done, or are doing. He is not impressed with our gifts, our talents, or our I.Q. since they came from Him to begin with. He is not impressed with our "ministerial" titles. He does not want us coming to "study" Him. He does not want us coming as supplicants, or intercessors. He wants us to come as His loving Bride, whose first and only priority is to love Him, and know Him.

Everything we have done in the past -- all the previous moves of the Holy Spirit -- have served to help us learn about Him. We have learned about His graces. We have learned about His gifts, and how to operate in them. We have learned about His ways, and caught glimpses of His plans and desires for the future. None of these things, however, have brought us into a place where we know Him as He knows us. None of these things, as wonderful as they have been, have brought us into the Holy of Holies. None of these things have brought us into a relationship with our Bridegroom-to-be which separates us from all activities, all doctrinal predispositions, and all other people so that we can be alone with Him.

Hence, the call of the Holy Spirit (and this call is going forth on a world-wide basis) is for believers who will become His Bride -- not just servants, and not just friends. It is a call to come away with Him into His secret place, and be alone with Him. (See Song of Solomon 2:14, Psalm 91:1.) This is a call to know Him -- not simply know about Him, His ways, His gifts, His graces, His ministries, etc. -- to know Him as our other self; and to be known as His counterpart, His other self: the Bride whom He has prepared as His co-equal, groomed, fitted, trained and equipped to sit with Him on His throne.

This is a call to know Him after the Spirit -- not after our flesh -- and, not after our intellect. This is a call to WORSHIP! It is, first and foremost, a call to personal worship -- a call to separate ourselves unto Him.

(By this, I don't mean that we should run away and hide in the wilderness, or to cut ourselves off from others.) We may, indeed, find ourselves cut off from others because we no longer perform to their expectations, or measure up to their religious standards. Let's make it clear, however, that we are not (and should never be) the ones who are cutting ourselves off.

A further note while we are on this topic: There is a dividing and separating which is taking place which we have nothing to do with. As the Holy Spirit calls, and we respond, there are brethren and sisters who, for reasons we do not know or understand, either have not heard, or have not responded to the call of the Bridegroom. Frequently, these are friends whom we have known, loved, and fellowshipped with for many years.

Our response to the Bridegroom's call necessarily causes separation. It is not something we choose or desire -- and it may not be a long-lasting separation -- but when we respond to the call to "come away", it is not a call to "come away with" our brethren and sisters: it is a call to come away with the Bridegroom. Hence, our response produces something within our spirits towards the Lord Jesus Christ which others may not understand, and is foreign to prior upbringing and indoctrination within the "church" structure.

Only as our brethren respond themselves will the gap be bridged and understanding be generated within their spirits. We do not want them cut off. We want to see them respond to the "romantic" beckoning of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, and must be, however, a decision which is strictly between them and the Holy Spirit.

The call of the Bridegroom is, secondly, a call to corporate worship. By this, I am referring to a gathering together of those who have individually heard His call and responded: Ekklesia in its purest form! These are those who have responded to the call of the Bridegroom, "Come away with me, my Beloved!"

They have left all to be alone with Him. In the corporate setting, the Holy Spirit brings these individuals together to experience a unique expression of intimacy in Him: unique in the sense that it is not available in any other way, and unique in the sense that none of us have ever before seen or heard the Bridegroom express Himself in such an extraordinary way.

Within this corporate setting, we find ourselves literally transported beyond our earthly setting into a dimension where the Lord reveals the things nearest and dearest to His heart; and where He allows us to see and experience His purposes -- then respond to Him. We are enabled to see, in graphic visual manner, events unfolding in the heavenlies, and instructed how to proceed.

Where, in time past, the focus of our attention has frequently been on intercession, or prayer for certain individuals, or the unfolding of specific events, we now find that with the focus of attention on ministering to the Lord -- worshiping and adoring Him -- things are accomplished in the realm of intercession without attention being specifically given to it. Needs are met, provision is made, bondage is broken, people are healed or delivered, families see the intervention of the Lord in their affairs, etc. It occurs, however, as Bridegroom and Bride -- in union -- accomplish it as a matter of natural course by virtue of their being joined together. There is singleness of purpose in this union -- and singleness of action.

There is a power and authority that none of us could possibly imagine released in the midst of this corporate worship. It is important to note that this is something the Lord does, and not something which we accomplish by any act of our will. There are no formulas to follow which can bring any of this about. It all takes place at His will and choosing in the midst of our corporate gatherings.

I've been reminiscing a bit, thinking back over the past 20-plus years since the Lord began to bring us into this dimension. None of this happened or began immediately when we first began to gather together for this kind of worship. Earle, Marcia, Della and I had been gathering together daily for months, disciplining ourselves to meet for worship, even if all we had was ten or fifteen minutes out of the day, in the midst of unbelievably hectic work schedules.

As we continued to meet daily, the Lord began to give us these experiences. At first they were sporadic. As the worship continued, however, we began to experience visions. The corporate gatherings increased in the number of people, and we found that we were, from time to time, being literally picked up and transported into the heavenlies. Sometimes this happened with only one or two people during the worship, and sometimes with many.

(I do not mean to imply that we were physically picked up -- that is, in the flesh. Rather, this happened (and continues to this day) in a spiritual dimension where we lost our awareness of those present; and the Lord transported us in the same way that the Apostle Paul relates in II Corinthians 12:2-4.)

It is important to remember that these experiences were not (nor can they be) the purpose of the corporate gathering. The excuse that "I am not an accomplished musician or singer," will not wash. It matters not whether you can sing like Whitney Houston, or carry a tune in a bucket. One does not have to be an Andres Segovia or a Chet Atkins to pick up the guitar and play.

We do not come to spend time with the Lord with expectations predicated on our musical skills or accomplishments -- even though those skills are a blessing from the Lord. Our gathering for worship is not a musical performance based in one's musicianship or vocal skills. There have been times when we have gathered with no instruments at all!

Two of the songs on one of our early recordings, THE BRIDE'S RESPONSE, "Arise, My Love, My Fair One," and, "I Will Come Away," came to Della when she was alone with the Lord -- and not even around others in a corporate setting. The Lord gave Earle the music to "The Processional," while he was driving down the freeway in his truck, worshipping the Lord. He grabbed his pocket recorder and whistled the tune into it in order to remember it and share it with me later. The Lord gave me "Arise, My Beloved! Arise!" when I was by myself in the bathtub. The common denominator in these is that they all came while we were worshiping -- alone.

By the same token, much of our music comes spontaneously while we are gathered together corporately. There are no formulas for this. The lack of musical backgrounds cannot be an excuse for not gathering. For those who struggle to enter into worship because of past programming within the structured "church," or have only understood and participated in praise, this should not be a block. The Lord takes us where we are. It is only necessary to ask Him to place a spirit of worship within you and to build upon it. He will do it -- in abundance!

We have been gone from Trails' End for 15 years but the gatherings continue, and the spontaneous praise, worship, prayer and intercession all continue. Being involved in this kind of spontaneous praise and worship as a musician is still amazing to me! I have frequently said to Rich Warren (who mostly plays the bass) that I find it totally astounding to watch him. We get started with some piece of spontaneous praise or worship and he just sits back, closes his eyes and gets lost in the Spirit.

We may have never played or even heard the music before, but he listens with his spirit to the flow of what the Holy Spirit is giving and tracks the music, hitting the right bass note flawlessly. He doesn't watch me, he doesn't pay attention to how my fingers are positioned on the neck of the guitar in order to get some cue as to where I may go next, and we don't have any discussion between us as to what we're doing. It just flows!

We continue to experience an incredible peace and joy which envelops our whole beings in the midst of this worship. It is transmitted through the music in a manner which defies natural explanation. Change is taking place in our beings as a result of living in this worship. We don't fully understand, yet, all that is taking place but know that the change is a product of the continuous presence of the Lord.

We are simply responding to the call of the Bridegroom to the Bride.

More to follow in our next Coffee Break.

"This a moment that I am drawing the line, and earthly orders are coming from the heavenly realms. Tune your ears to hear the instructions of Heaven, for you are living in a strategic moment when you will see kingdoms that have not been able to come down, come down. New strategies are coming down, and it is a strategy that will pierce the deepest darkness that could not be pierced in the past. Listen to the sounds of Heaven, for in the sounds of Heaven, you will hear your next step!" (Prophetic Word from Chuck Pierce)

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.