The Spirit of a Jackass

Jeremiah 14:6
“Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights and pant like jackals; their eyesight fails for lack of pasture.”

The Spirit of a Jackass

Oh that men would praise Him rather than sing mournful hymns and songs. Oh that men of the cloth would have restored to them spiritual vision and insight. The religious man perishes and is made like dry bones. He pursues God only with his mind and intellect while his heart is far from Him. He has not the faith to embrace and hold the things of God because he stands upon the barren heights of man’s religion and tradition. It is what he has been handed down from his fathers and it is what he has learned to embrace. Now, as a wild donkey, he stands upon the barren and desolate heights of religious intellect and the traditions of his fathers to find he like the jackal is looking for some dead thing to feed upon. His spiritual eyesight fails to see that God is so much more than the cathedrals of theology and learning. He is not only the God of the past, but of the here and now. He doesn’t know how to find and relate with God in his own present tense. His soul is lean though his head is full of knowledge. He dwells in the land of famine and feeds upon the fodder of human reasoning. He has a form of godliness, but denies the power thereof. Thus, he finds no pasture and rest for his soul, but wrestles with fears, doubts and unbelief. The product of this man is found across the landscape of religion. They have their structures, their forms, their incantation, ceremonies and holy words, but their lives are devoid of the life giving power of true relationship and fellowship with Father God. There God is kept in their holy box instead of being a living fire in their hearts.
Though the truth is spoken to them they can not hear. They will not receive for they are like the wild donkeys, stubborn and set in their ways. They, in fact, resent and despise those who live in and speak the truth, for they are the heretics of their religious box. The religion and their tradition have become their idol and indeed it is the religion and form that they worship and not God.
Jeremiah 14:10 says, “This is what the LORD says about this people: “They greatly love to wander; they do not restrain their feet. So the LORD does not accept them; he will now remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins.” The strongholds of religion will fall. Their religious walls have only served to hide the hypocrisy and sin of those who inhabit them. The Lord Almighty has judged the form and tradition of religion, because like the law of Moses it has become an instrument of death and not life, it has only condemned with judgement and fear instead of giving life, liberty and freedom. God does not dwell in edifices and structures of men, but in the living stones of His peoples lives and hearts. “Unless the Lord build the house they that labor, labor in vain.” The Lord will establish His house. 1 Peter 2:4-10 speaks the mind of God concerning His house, “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,” 8and, “A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” This is God’s temple and this is His house that He has built through the hands of His Son, Jesus Christ.
God is calling His true people out of the former traditions and forms of men into the relationship with Him whereby you may cry “Abba Father”, Papa God. Our God is a God of relationship not of form and dead letter. He is desiring to bring you into the fellowship of His family and communion with His Holy Spirit. That relationship is not one of ceremony but of knowing Him in the intimacy of your heart and life through Christ. Wild Donkeys will not hear this word for they are stubborn and stiff-necked, determined in their own way even when it leaves them in famine and desolation, but those who have spiritual ears will hear and come out from among her to find that true and living church which isn’t in an organization, but is a living, functioning organism of His life, love and fellowship. This is the word of the Lord to His people this day.
Blessings,
#kent

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Four Wells (Part 2)

Four Wells
(Part 2)

When Isaac dug the third well they didn’t contend with Isaac for it. This was called Rehoboth or ‘the wide places or streets’. Isaac said, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” There are times of peace and stability within our Christian walk, but the Holy Spirit is a dynamic force and if we are walking in the Spirit then we won’t remain idle for long. We will continue to move and grow in one dimension or another. The well as Rehoboth is like the well of salvation that has been placed in the wide place of humanity. It is open to all who believe and wish to partake of it. It is a well of peace for it excludes no one who wishes to drink of its waters.
Finally we see Isaac moving up to Beersheeba. At Beersheba God speaks to Isaac and he builds altar there to God. This is a place where we dig a well beyond our salvation experience. This is a place of personal revelation and purpose in God. It is a well dug in a place of worship and encounter with the Lord. It is a place where people will recognize and acknowledge the blessing and the anointing of Christ in your life and they will come to you. You are the representative of God to them and they will desire to make peace and covenant with God. You are in Christ and He is in you to the point that others will acknowledge His presence. Where they were hostile before now they come in peace to make peace with God.
We see Abimelech coming to Isaac and we see represented with him the whole man. There is Abimelech the spirit, Ahuzzath the adviser as the soul and Phicol the commander of the forces like the body. Isaac stands now in the place of priesthood to bring those without the covenant, into covenant and peace with God. This covenant is for the whole man, spirit, soul and body. It is interesting that immediately after the covenant was made they found water that same day. The Spirit will produce the life if we will dig the well and the well will become a source of life to sustain and keep us.
Beersheba means, ‘well of the sevenfold oath’. There is no doubt a great deal more truth that this well holds than what we are sharing here. Perhaps what we are seeing as Isaac moves from well to well is a progression and growth in spirit. Gerar, the land in which Isaac had been dwelling, means just that, ‘dwelling place’. God had sent Isaac there during a time of famine rather than allowing him to go back to Egypt. In times of need God doesn’t want us to go back to the world, but He places us in a dwelling place where we can grow in our faith and in our relationship with Him. What we see in Isaac is that He was producing life wherever he was. He was always redigging the wells of His Father. That is what God wants in us, to be well diggers, searching out His truth and becoming that source of truth for others. There will be those who strive and contend with us over it. That’s okay, just move on to dig the next well. Keep uncovering the truths of God’s word. They have been there all of the time, but they have been covered over. God has wells He wants you to dig in your life.

Blessings,
#kent

Orphan, Son and Father

Luke 15:11-31
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

13“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Orphan, Son and Father

Many of us have read or heard sermons on this parable many times before, but the Lord was dropping into my spirit just a few key principles from this example that I don’t know that I had ever heard or thought about before.
In the midst of Christianity today there are many of us that have an orphan spirit. It is one that really doesn’t know its identity. It is one that is not secure in who they are in Christ and they don’t often have a good sense of what the nature of their Father is. They are often only looking after their own best interests, they like to hoard and keep things for themselves and they really lack that security of just being loved and accepted. As a result most of their world is pretty much about them.
In this younger son we see such a spirit. He had everything and yet all he could see is what he thought he didn’t have. He didn’t want to build into his father’s house, but wanted to take his inheritance and use it to his own self-indulgence which is another quality of an orphan spirit. So father gave him his inheritance and let him go. Now, an orphan spirit, isn’t interested in legacy or building and sowing into something greater than himself. All he really sees is himself and often carries a victim mentality and sense of entitlement. After all, his father “owed him” his inheritance because it was rightfully his. He had a “right” to be free and spend his inheritance how he wanted. What an orphan spirit does is take us down a road of perpetual poverty, because we never see beyond ourselves. All that we think we have or gained becomes dust and blows away, because we don’t have a vision to see our Father’s heart.
Now this orphan spirit son finds himself where this spirit will always tend to lead you, being dependent upon others to feed you the pig’s food. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20So he got up and went to his father.” Finally, he gets a revelation that even his father’s servants are living better than he is and it would be better to go back to father as a servant than to live starving and dwelling among the pigs. He now sees the fruit and the consequences of his orphan spirit.
Now we see the heart of the Father as he comes back home. ““But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”
You see the Father’s heart is always for restoration and legacy. He was willing that his son departed for a time that eventually he might come to repentance and be restored. The Father never saw this boy as any less than a son when he left and when he returned. His love, his heart and longing was always for him. The father didn’t receive him back because he deserved it. He didn’t kill the fatted calf and celebrate because of his great choices and he didn’t put the ring on his finger because he deserved to be a part of the family any longer, but because the father wanted him to know who he was to him and know that he still belonged to the family not just as servant, but as a son.
Now we see the spirit of the son. “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
The older son has been faithful to his father and to his father’s house. He has staid the course and paid the price, so this causes a great offense in his heart when he sees how his younger prodigal brother is received back with celebration and royalty. He becomes very angry. For those that are in the Christian faith who have been sons and have walked the walk and staid the course, take note, because the day is coming when the prodigal is going to come home and your hearts are going to be tested in similar manor. The son sees from the perspective of what is deserved, but the Father’s heart is one of grace and restoration. Just because we are sons doesn’t mean that we have a father’s heart, but God wants us to get one, because it is the next level of maturity. It is where we understand that it is not about us and never has been. It is about the kingdom. It is about restoration and reconciliation of that which was lost being restored back to the Father. It is not that the father didn’t already love the older faithful son, but what did he tell him?
““‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” This is what we must understand as sons; all that that the Father has is ours and it is our for a reason so that which is lost may be found and restored back to the Father. As sons we have to catch the Father’s heart or we will be offended. Just like Jesus, we must descend so that we can ascend and bring others up with us. It is not about us, it is about the Father’s house and kingdom, His love for the lost and His desire for legacy which is a lasting representation of His nature and character in the earth.
Thus we see the Father’s heart to restore the orphans to sonship and the sons to fatherhood, so that Father God’s kingdom will come and His will, will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

Blessings,
#kent

From the Place of Suffering

Romans 8:17
Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

From the Place of Suffering

Some thoughts the Spirit was dropping into my heart today:

Behold, all I have given you is good.
The evil that befalls man has been the consequences of choices.
Free will always carries with it the responsibility of your decisions.
Those decisions do not affect you alone, but the lives of others as well.
The world lives under the tribulation and subjection of the god that mankind surrendered it too.
This also was the consequence of man’s choices.
My heart has always been to redeem you from all of those wrong choices.
Many want to blame Me for the consequences of sin in the world that is seen through sickness, corruption, disease, pestilence, wars, famine, drought, suffering and all of the evils that plague this world. Unless man sees and experiences what the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil produces, they will never fully appreciate the Tree of Life and the fruit that it produces.
Light is never fully appreciated till one has lived in the darkness or warmth, till one has experienced the cold, or health till one has experienced the pain of sickness.
That is why I came as the suffering savior to experience and take all of these sufferings upon Myself, not as the result of My sin, but yours. I did it that I might redeem you spirit, soul and body. I overcame it all and all of that victory is in Me and in you, if you are in Me.
I told you in the world you would have tribulation, but I also told you to be of good cheer for I have overcome the world. Your victory is not in avoiding all suffering, but in finding my strength and peace to overcome in all suffering. It is not the outward wholeness that reveals my righteousness it is the brokeness that releases My life. It is in your brokeness that My life makes you whole. It is from that place that you can minister My life into the broken lives of others.
Mary was willing to break the outward beauty of the vessel that contained the sweet perfume in order to anoint Me. She was breaking her own vessel of self-respect and dignity to pour out her love and lavish it upon Me. When you are willing to fully lose yourself and become broken, then are you best able minister to the death in others, the sweet perfume and fragrance of My life and salvation. Christianity and religion just dabs the perfume onto the humanity around them, but like Mary’s alabaster jar typified My body that was broken, so that the sweet fragrance of My blood and life could be spilled out upon humanity. You also must be willing to be broken, if you want to fully spill out My life in you. It means you meet people where they are at, not where you are. It means becoming all things to all men, if by any means you might win them for Me. It means that you are willing to die and be poured out that they may live through what I am releasing in you and through you. Christianity was never meant to be a life of glory, but the willingness to suffer along with Me that you might, through that death, be partakers of My glory. You are the sweet grapes, crushed under the feet of fallen humanity, much of it religious in nature. My purpose is make from those crushed grapes the sweetest wine that will make the hearts of men glad through their sacrificial message of good tidings.

Blessings,
kent