Christian evangelism is winning the hearts of people for the Kingdom of God through the sharing or witnessing of the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross and the Lord's bodily Resurrection of New Life.

Yes there have been bloody wars over what man has thought to be the correct doctrine of the nature of Christianity; however that is contrary of the Great Commission written in the Holy Scriptures.

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore[c] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.[d] (Matt. 28: 16 - 20 NKJV)

14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they[b] will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." 19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.[c] (Mark 16: 14 - 20 NKJV)

46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise[h] from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24: 46 - 47 NKJV)

21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." (John 20: 21 NKJV)

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me[a] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1: 8 NKJV)

These New Testament Scriptures demonstrate the true way to convert or proselytize people to Christianity: Find people, Share the Good News, People believe or disbelieve and people are Redeemed by the Blood of Jesus through belief or have chosen self-condemnation by disbelieving. Human force is not part of Redemption. Humanity then is divided up between the sheep and the goats at the Last Judgment and they are rewarded/judged according to their choice.

Of course we know as the nature of the human being, self-enthusiasm took the road of forced conversions and judgment of choice mostly in the Middle Ages through the Reformation. The Scriptures show that this was not the Way of Christ Jesus.

Now let us look at the Mohammedan way to win converts to their Allah.

Here are numerous Mohammedan scriptures that demonstrate that persuasion was part of the plan of conversion: CLICK HERE. Peaceful persuasion was not the example neither set by Mohammed nor even found in many of the Mohammedan scriptures.

Here is a host of Mohammedan scriptures that require forced conversion: CLICK HERE. Unlike Christian New Testament Scriptures it is inherent in Mohammedan scriptures to utilize violence, humiliation and mayhem to force a conversion or receive a judgment of death.

It is the path of forced conversion that spread Mohammedanism in multi-directions to build an empire. The only way such a huge empire could be maintained is to have loyal Mohammedan subjects as the majority who had power to humiliate and tax heavily an allowed minority of non-Mohammedans. Forced conversion was essential. It was like a Star Trek Borg thing - Resistance is futile. (I wouldn't be surprised if Roddenberry got the Borg idea from Mohammedans.)

So really Mohammedanism is a political ideology that uses religious rules and rituals to maintain control of the populace. As the centuries went by in the conquered lands the religious rules and rituals became inculcated in the minds of the populace as the generations of people went by.

At this point if you are still with me you have to be asking yourself, "Why is this guy making a point to show his dislike of Mohammedanism?"

Here is the thing. Mohammedanism - particularly the Islamist kind - is a program for one world rule by man utilizing religious cultic symbolism to maintain a system of despotic oligarchs by tribal leading elites or clerical leading elites. There is little respect of the rights of man in the Western sense because all sentient humans must submit to the will of Allah according to clerical (i.e. humans) interpretation of Mohammedan holy scriptures. In essence the rule of law is based on an often despotic ruling oligarchy which sometimes is transcended by a charismatic individual that is a supreme cleric (a Caliph or Ayatollah) or a supreme all ruling monarch or dictator.

The spread of Mohammedanism is non-Mohammedan peoples are by persuasion, deceit or violence. These three conversion methods are all a part of the Mohammedan scriptures. Although violence has been used in the history of Christianity to convert people, it is not a method prescribed in Christian Scriptures as fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

The one world aspect of Christianity is the result of the fulfillment of God-action not human-action. The martyrs that die for Mohammedanism die as a result of fighting for a devoted human leader (even if it takes innocent lives with him). The martyrs that die for Christianity die because they are persecuted or not willing to give up their faith to a belligerent human leader.

Now that I have defined my view of Christianity and Mohammedanism in the world today, let us look at Mohammedanism in lands that it is the minority or dar al-harb in Mohammedan language. (Lengthier description of the Islamist view of dar al-harb HERE)

In the West I still believe there is a large amount of Mohammedans that seek to live a Western law abiding life; however I also think this is a pendulum swinging toward the Islamist view of jihad and dar al-harb because most of the well financed Mohammedan Non-Profit Organizations (NGO's) and Mosques are being financed and/or are teaching radical Islam.

In America there is a significant appearance that radical Islamist organizations have infiltrated the highest levels of American Government that at the very least may affect policy making decisions.

One example of this is the outrageous dismissal of Maj. Stephen Coughlin as an Islamist expert by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England at the behest of his friend advisor Hesham H. Islam. The Defense Department has given a cover story of termination of the Coughlin contract because his services were no longer in the budget. The thing that makes the cover story fishy is that Hesham H. Islam has been linked to American-Muslim organization Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) which was an unindicted co-conspirator in the HLF trial (Doc. Attachment A Section VII no. 3) and a front organization of the Egyptian Islamist organization Muslim Brotherhood.

Mohammedanism is clearly becoming a political force in the West and America where I live. The Theo-political cult is increasingly following the Muslim Brotherhood fifth columnist infiltration and it is a scenario I truly am not amenable toward.

JRH

I guess I don't get out much for I just ran into a concept on the NET about "Monastic Evangelicalism." Browsing some Christian blogs I found a link to a Christianity Today article so entitled.

This hit me like a ton of bricks because I think this might be a concept missing in Charismatic/Pentecostal/Prophetic circles. Charismatic/Pentecostal/Prophetic circles emphasize the gifts of the Spirit and the Holy Spirit very much to minister to the needs of man most often a corporate setting yet on an individual basis. There is a call to enter one's prayer closest to draw nearer to God (in my circles - according to the Word of God) and God will draw nearer to you.

For the Charismatic lacking discipline (cough) the prayer closest may be a happenstance occasion or a moment of listening to God but interpreting incorrectly what the Spirit of God is conveying. Sometimes this can lead to spiritual trouble.

Think what a Charismatic Monastic Movement could do. It could teach the discipline to a community of Believers yet not be insular like traditional Monastic Orders.  It  could a community similar to a Church yet rigorous to evangelize to witness of the Good News of Jesus Christ inviting transformation into the Kingdom of God the Light of the world via the Redemption of Christ Jesus with sign and wonders following.

The concept that comes to mind for me is the sharing of the Kingdom of God as the emphasis and not the material possessions or needs that God knows that we need. Seeking the Kingdom knowing provision follows without seeking the provision as a source of materialism. The Seeking of the Kingdom be a path of Union with God.

Of Course humble leadership would be a must or such a Charismatic Monastic group could easily fall into the trap of glorifying the leader more than the Christ. That is how cults are formed. Yet I still think it is a God idea.

Read "Monastic Evangelicals" in Christianity Today and see if God speaks to you.

JRH

***********************

Monastic Evangelicals

The attraction of ancient spiritual disciplines.

Chris Armstrong

Posted 2/08/2008 10:03AM

Christianity Today

A growing number of evangelicals-younger evangelicals in particular-are maturing the movement in another way. They are taking their newfound love affair with Christian tradition and the early church beyond the realm of books and talk and into their churches and Christian lives. Covenant's Kenneth Stewart noted at the Wheaton conference that more and more traditionally evangelical congregations are now experimenting with advent candles, sampling practices associated with Lent, and marking Holy Week with special services like Tenebrae-an evening service featuring songs, readings, and the gradual extinguishing of lights to represent Christ's death.

This fascination with early liturgy has perhaps grown out of the recent trend toward what Richard Foster has called "the classic spiritual disciplines." In his 1993 book Devotional Classics, Foster argued that "pure modernity makes us parochial," so we need to return to practices "weaned from the fads of the marketplace" that will give us "perspective and balance."

One aspect of these disciplines that has captured the imaginations of evangelicals is monasticism. In The New Faithful (2004), Colleen Carroll Campbell believes the public love affair with things monastic surged with the 1996 publication of Benedictine oblate Kathleen Norris's The Cloister Walk. Among evangelicals, the trend has extended to retreats at Catholic monasteries, recovery of Celtic spirituality, and observance of the divine hours. Not surprisingly (given the biblical focus of evangelicals), the slow, meditative monastic prayer technique called the lectio divina has captivated many. They have taken up the practice guided by such books as the three-volume Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle, The Rhythm of God's Grace: Uncovering Morning and Evening Hours of Prayer by Mennonite professor Arthur Boers, and a book for youth, Divine Intervention: Encountering God Through the Ancient Practice of Lectio Divina, by Minneapolis Emergent leader Tony Jones.

More radically than the sometimes cafeteria-style adoption of monastic practices, a small but growing group of Protestant "new monastics" has now taken up the task of molding their lives by ancient practices. Their goals are described in the book Schools for Conversion: 12 Marks of the New Monasticism, and their desire to learn from the monks and nuns of the early and medieval church is explored in Inhabiting the Church, by Jon Stock, Tim Otto, and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. At the conference, Trinity Western's Mark Charlton noted that the phrase "new monasticism" now crops up almost every day on Internet news services, and that writers such as Rodney Clapp, Jonathan Wilson, Arthur Boers, Tom Sine, and Brian McLaren have all been calling evangelicals to monastic models as a guide for the future.

___________________

Monastic Evangelicals

Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today.

"This article first appeared in (2/8/08) issue of Christianity Today (Online). Used by permission of Christianity Today International, Carol Stream, IL 60188."

February 11, 2008

When Satan attacks Believers it is a vile thing indeed. I do not have all the answers but I do believe in Divine Healing (1 Peter 2: 24). Many call this faith healing. I call it a promise in the Word of God and connected to at least three Gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12: 1 - 11).

I have speculations which are of not profit to the faith about why healing or death occurs to Godly Righteous people even with these promises. Since there is no profit in dwelling on speculation that engenders doubt more than faith, I will not go there. Believers should do what the Word encourages - BELIEVE.

I say that because I am aware of a married couple that has been used mightily by the Kingdom of God to witness Salvation to the Lost and peace to the faithful in a prophetic ministry.

James and Michal Ann Goll have both been attacked with cancer. Over the years they have good reports and bad reports.

In a recent email James Goll has asked for urgent prayer for the healing and health of his beloved Michal Ann. She has had a collapsed lung, fluid in the lung and the discovery of more tumors. This is an unacceptable report for a person Redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ and transferred from the kingdom of darkness in the King of the Son of the Father's Love in which Divine Uncreated Light extinguishes all darkness.

So I offer the email from James Goll's email list and join him in faith to ask for prayer the unstoppable overpowering prayer of a righteous person for Michal Ann Goll.

JRH

*****************************

Urgent Health Crisis for Michal Ann Goll!

We are in the hour when we need to see a miracle!

Email Date: Thu 07 Feb 2008 05:13:26 PM EST

Encounters Network

Thank you for continuing in the fight for divine health for Michal Ann and I in our battle against cancer over the past few years. This past Sunday, February 3rd, Michal Ann was experiencing difficulty breathing and was taken to the Williamson Medical Center Emergency Room in Franklin, TN. After a series of tests they found that her left lung had collapsed due to excessive fluid surrounding the lung. In addition, tests showed the right lung full of tumors and that tumors had multiplied in her liver.

In a surgical procedure on Tuesday afternoon, February 5th, the doctors removed almost 3 liters of fluid from Michal Ann's left lung. The upper cavity of the lung soon re-inflated on its own, and though the lower cavity did not, Michal Ann experienced much relief in her breathing. After this procedure she was able to sleep through the night. They will continue to watch the lung to see if it will completely re-inflate as well.

As of Wednesday, February 6th, Michal Ann was breathing, sounding and looking remarkably better from earlier in the week. Today, Thursday, February 7th, Michal Ann will have a port placed into her chest cavity as she will begin a regimen of chemo. This will allow it to be administered directly into her artery. Also, as of today fluid had begun to again collect around the lung. So a semi-permanent shunt will be inserted to drain the fluid over the next several days. The hope is that this will result in the fluid being completely removed so as not to return.

Michal Ann will remain at the hospital for an undetermined period so that she can regain her strength and so that her medications can be monitored. So, though the procedure has given Michal Ann a boost in energy and she is breathing more freely, this is still a major health crisis and we need to see a miracle!

Feb 14th is Michal Ann's Birthday...

On another note, Michal Ann's birthday is coming up on February 14th - Valentine's Day. So we are going to have a surprise card shower on her birthday. We are asking you to send cards, prayers and sentiments to Michal Ann so that we can surprise her with them on her birthday.

Please send all cards to:

Encounters Network, PO Box 1653, Franklin, TN 37065

Please pray with us that the Lord will do a major miracle in Michal Ann's life!

Thanks for your love and support.

James W. and Michal Ann Goll and the Encounters Network Team

If the ministry of James and Michal Ann Goll and Team has blessed you, please consider giving a financial contribution so that we may continue to serve you and others. Checks can be made out to Encounters Network and sent to our office address or contributions may be made on line as well. Gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law and a receipt for your donation will be mailed to you. Thanks for your consideration.

>>>Click Here<<< for Web Donations

If you would like to give specifically to the Oasis program or our medical expenses, please select "Mercy Assistance Fund" from the drop down menu. All "General Donations" will go toward the ongoing operational expenses of Encounters Network.

____________________________

© Copyright 2008 Encounters Network. All Rights Reserved.

Here is some excellent advice on the efficacy of praying in Tongues or if you prefer in the Holy Spirit (Ghost for you KJV Believers)

JRH 2/12/08

*********************************

Beyond What You Can Ask or Think

Gloria Copeland

Devotional Email

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Monday, February 11, 2008 1:34:32 AM

Few things in the Bible have created more fuss than the issue of speaking in tongues. Churches have split over it. People have been persecuted for doing it. People have even been killed for it.

Who's behind all the trouble? Satan himself. He's so frightened of our ability to pray in tongues that he's continually trying to steal it from us through persecution and strife.

You see, the devil knows (even if we don't) that praying in tongues is the only way you and I can pray beyond what we know. It's the tool God has given us to use to tap into the mind of the Spirit.

When we pray in tongues, we activate the Holy Spirit within us and He begins to teach us and enlighten us. If you want to see an example of what praying in tongues can do, look at the Apostle Paul. He said he prayed in tongues more than anyone in the whole Corinthian church and he was responsible for writing most of the New Testament!

Another example is the first church at Jerusalem. They didn't yet have any of the New Testament to read. They couldn't turn to Ephesians and find out what God's plan was for them.

They just had to pray in tongues until the revelation light of God dawned in their hearts. That's all the equipment they had. So they used it and turned the world upside down.

Some years ago God began directing me to spend an hour a day praying in tongues. After I did it awhile, I began to talk to other Christians who'd been directed to do the same thing. God was speaking to believers all over the world to spend time praying in the Spirit.

If you haven't made a commitment to spend some time each day praying in tongues, make one now. Set aside all the disagreements and confusion the devil has stirred up about it and just say, "Lord, I'm going to do it. I don't care what the devil says. I don't care what any man says. I know You have plans for me that are so good my human mind hasn't even conceived them--things that are beyond what I can ask or think. And by praying in the Spirit, I'm going to receive them."

Don't let the distractions of the devil disturb you. Tap into the mind of God. Speak forth His wisdom. Pray in the Spirit today.

________________

Scripture Study:  Isaiah 28:9-12

Ron McGatlin writes of a snapshot of the Church or the ekklesia that may ruffle some feathers; however as the actual Last Days approach I think it is a picture of the strength of Christianity as the Church is looked down upon even in Western culture.

JRH 2/23/08

*************************

Apostolic Networks And The God-Family

By Ron McGatlin

2/23/08

OpenHeaven.com Digest (InJesus Group)

Item #1

God is connecting His scattered people through the Holy Spirit into close spiritual families and extended families. All are to be part of heaven's God-family of Father, Son and Holy Spirit preparing a Bride/Wife/Mother raising up children to become mature sons of the Father.

The current worldwide shift among God's people toward the original plan and model of Christ Jesus and the first century disciples has two primary characteristics.

(1) The leadership of man-made religious church systems and organizations are giving way to Holy Spirit led relationally based family style groups under the direct headship of Christ Jesus by the Spirit. The ekklesia was birthed on the day of Pentecost when about 120 men and women disciples received the initial return of the life-giving Spirit of Christ Jesus. The life of Christ began to flow in and through them empowering them to do the works of Christ drawing thousand to Christ as they preached and demonstrated the kingdom of God in the Holy Spirit.

(2) The worldwide shift of today is characterized by the return to the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom of God instead of the man-focused gospel of being saved to go to heaven when we die and all the man-focused church that developed around it. The reign of Christ Jesus as King on earth by His Spirit living in His Body is the focus of the gospel of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. It is a spiritual Kingdom ruled by God, Who is Spirit, living in redeemed mankind who is spiritual and natural (heavenly and earthly).

Our natural minds can limit our ability to discern and participate in the realities of the Spirit and the spiritual realm. God's design for mankind includes man's mind serving under the Spirit of God as a tool for functioning in the physical world to bring forth the plans and purposes of Spirit God on earth from heaven. From the time of Adam's partaking of the tree of knowledge man's fallen mind has attempted to overrule God's will and desires.

1 Cor 2:14: But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The tension between living in the ways of the natural as opposed to the spiritual continues to be a factor for all seeking to function as sons of God in the natural world. The religious church system with its many denominations and hierarchical ruling structures is the product of natural thinking overtaking and replacing life in the Spirit. The ekklesia of God began in the Spirit and eventually it will finish in the Spirit even though many centuries of walking in the natural have brought devastation to the real kingdom of God from heaven on earth. Life in the Spirit has been eroded by the continued practice of walking in the natural mind or the flesh portion of the natural/spiritual makeup of man.

Gal 3:3: Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

God's people are the interface between the Spirit realm of God from heaven and the natural or physical world. The design of creation is to reflect the glory of God revealing His glorious character and nature of unchanging love, righteousness, wisdom and power far beyond human understanding. Only as mankind walks in the Spirit can he fulfill his place of bringing forth the will and plans of God from the spiritual into the natural.

Walking in the Spirit means our minds, will and emotions are saturated by the Spirit of God and functioning by the empowerment of the Spirit of Christ.

The great overall God-family consists of Heavenly Father, Son Christ Jesus and Bride/Wife/Mother on earth. Spiritual babies are born that must be nourished and trained to grow into mature sons of God. In the spiritual Body of Christ on earth, there are spiritually mature (elder), younger or less mature, small children and babies. It is the design of God that the Spirit of Christ impart tools to the mature (elder) to bring the whole family to spiritual maturity. The mature ones are known as elders and serve like fathers or more accurately as elder brothers to lead the families into spiritual maturity. The spiritually mature are those who have been seasoned through the experiences of walking in the Spirit. Their spiritual discernment has grown keen by way of exercise.

Heb 5:14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

It is by the Spirit of Christ that the people of God are being built up into mature sons unified in love to fulfill God's purpose of returning the kingdoms of this world to the kingdom of our Father. The Spirit of Christ imparts special servant gifts of Himself to some for the job of building up the saints into mature sons. These gifts cause certain elder sons to function in specific areas to equip others to build up the Body of Christ - the whole connected organism of sons under the one Head of His Body, Christ Jesus.

Eph 4:11-12: "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,"

Elder (mature) sons of God function in the Spirit of Christ to provide the specific functions needed to equip the Body to buildup itself in the love and oneness of God. The functional service gifts to the Body are apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd and teacher. Not all elders function in these service gifts. But all who function in them are elders - mature sons who lead the families toward their heavenly Father through Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit.

1 Pet 5:1-3: The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

This is truly organic spiritual reality that develops as love relationships and does not require the confines of organizational structure devised by natural man. It is spiritual networking and flows from the spiritual realm of heaven which is beginning to imprint its patterns for life on earth as it is in heaven. It is the New Jerusalem living patterns coming down from heaven, the beginnings of the manifesting of the purified holy Bride city - the New Jerusalem / Bride of Christ lifestyle.

Rev 21:2-3: Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

Evidence of the spiritual family of God is seen in the reality of the spiritual networking of close spiritual families with connections to extended families. The servant gifts of shepherd, teacher and evangelist are functioning within the families. The special gifts of apostle and prophet are especially emphasized and needed in the season of major shift from the religious past to the family of God relational reality of the future. True apostolic and prophetic works are being expressed to make the deep and sometimes difficult changes required to move from religion to relationship.

The demise of the family of God reality in the ekklesia came about as men established a human structural framework to govern the spiritual reality of the God-family on earth.

The original God-family ekklesia was birthed at Pentecost as Christ Jesus returned in the Spirit to abide in His people and express the special gifts and power to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. There was only Christ Jesus as head directing the birthing of the kingdom within the ekklesia through the Holy Spirit.

In a similar way the rebirth of Pentecostal reality poured out in the 20th century began to bring forth the God-family on a broad scale again for the first time since the takeover by man's ways around the 3rd century. This is the great shift and transition of this time in history.

The same natural fallen-world concepts that brought the demise of the ekklesia of the early centuries is hard at work seeking to again replace the headship of Christ Jesus with man-made structural framework.

Apostolic Networks

Multitudes are seeking a greater reality of spiritual relationship with God outside the man-made structural frameworks of religion. Often a season of isolation which is sometimes referred to as a wilderness experience is used of God as part of the process of removing ingrained patterns of the past religious framework prior to being reconnected in close spiritual family groups as the ekklesia of God.

I believe Father wants to enlighten us regarding two major snares the enemy is attempting to use to entrap fledgling family style groups. They both stem from the same error of substituting man-made structural frameworks for the real headship of Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit.

The first snare is allowing the focus of the family group to become purely human fellowship. There is a vast difference in Christians fellowshipping in the natural and real spiritual fellowship with Christ Jesus and the Father through the Holy Spirit.

There can be a good and refreshing time in a group that is only bringing forth their natural human personalities and natural gifts without any real spiritual fellowship with God taking place. A group like this is easily led into deception and can fall into fallen-world practices.

Spiritual fellowship takes place as each person brings forth the Spirit of Christ from within to the group. Christ Jesus truly becomes evident among the group as real spiritual fellowship brings adoration, worship and thanksgiving to the glory of God in the Holy Spirit. Love and powerful spiritual ministry may flow life from Christ by the Holy Spirit. As each joint flows to the group, the Holy Spirit brings forth the ministry of Jesus to cleanse, heal, strengthen, empower and spiritually refresh the group.

The second snare is to reestablish man-made structure as a framework to order the release of the Spirit among the group. This can happen entirely within the family group or by connecting the group to a leadership organization that is not free of man-made structure. The group could be a traditional church that is not yet changed or it could be an apostolic or prophetic network that is emerging but is also not yet fully free of man-made structure that impedes the headship of Christ flowing through the Spirit.

Christ Jesus is today flowing His life as apostle through prepared and selected elders who are apostles sent to oversee the ekklesia. The supernatural wisdom of God flows from them to the groups to help with foundational understanding and direction. The discernment of the prophet is needed as well to clearly see and confirm specific situations and encouragement. All of the gifts of the Spirit of Christ are needed. Some will be resident within the group but others will be transient. Several apostles or prophets may be sent from time to time to impart to a family group or gathering of groups and will relate as part of the God-family. All of this is to be ordered by the head of the ekklesia, Christ Jesus. The kingdom of God is in the Holy Spirit.

God is Spirit.

The apostolic headquarters is in heaven at the right hand of the Father. The leadership of Christ flows by the Spirit through the sons of God on earth who walk in the Spirit. We need to remember that God is Spirit. Jesus was Spirit in heaven with Father who is Spirit. The Spirit Christ Jesus became a man on earth and eventually returned again to earth as Sprit to abide in a many-membered Body. Yet, He remains at the throne in heaven. There is no problem for Sprit God to be in all places at any time.

From Pentecost onward it is possible for God's people to walk in the Spirit. The first century apostles were examples of walking in the Spirit. The power, wisdom, and sacrificial love of Christ Jesus lived within their beings and did the works of Christ Jesus according to the will and way of the Father. They are recorded examples of apostolic elders. Apostles today will move by the same power, in the same love and wisdom by the same Spirit.

Elders with the gifts of prophets, evangelist, shepherds and teachers will operate from the same Spirit as those gifted as apostle. Only their functions are different. All of these are simply the work of Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit leading, equipping and edifying the body into love and oneness with God. They are NOT a separate class of believer. Without the work of the Spirit of Christ we all can do nothing.

1 Cor 12:12-13: For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body; whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free; and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

Rom 12:4: For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

From the youngest to the oldest, all in the Body of Christ are brethren one with another and with Christ Jesus in the God-Family. All who have been added to the family are connected by the spiritual bloodline of our Father through Christ Jesus. In the God-family there is no longer male or female, bond or free, Jew or Gentile nor any other division that would cause one member to have dominion over another. Yes, in the natural human existence there are all these things and there are offices and men ruling over men. But in the spiritual reality in which we live and move, as we walk in the Spirit, these things do not exist. The only vertical distinction is maturity and it is temporary. The heir of all is like a servant only until he matures. Mat 23:8-10: "But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren." Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. "And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ."

Heb 2:11: "For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,"

God gave dominion on earth to mankind but God did not give man dominion over other men.

In the first century, there were those who called themselves apostles and were not. There are those today who do the same. Beware of so called apostolic networks that set up a hierarchy of rule and revert to the same errors of man-made systems of government that brought the demise of the spiritual ekklesia of the past. Walking in the Spirit and God-family life was replaced with religious systems of men over men that was called spiritual authority. The false two-class system of clergy and laity is attempting to be implemented again in some man-made apostolic networks. Even networks that begin functioning by the Sprit can easily slip into human organization, rule and leadership while claiming to be Spirit-led.

Rev 2:2 "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;"

Apostolic connections are vital. We must depend on the Holy Spirit to connect us into close family style groups and also with extended family. We must receive the itinerant elders gifted as apostles, teachers and prophets who will help the local elders bring oversight and connections to the Body.

Keep on pursuing love.
It never fails.

Ron McGatlin
Coordinator OpenHeaven.com

http://www.openheaven.com/
basileia@earthlink.net

[Editor: I ran a spell check to correct some grammar; however I left the spelling intact as Brother McGatlin originally posted this article on his InJesus website.]

This gal below has a said story and she sounds like she has given up. If you are an intercessor she needs your faith and prayer for the power of God to change her life in health and redemption.

I am withholding her name for she set her blog entry to private for only a select few to read it. I am honoring her privacy by with holding her name; however the power of God has no limitation in time, distance or dimension.

Healing, healing, and healing in the NAME OF JESUS.

JRH 2/27/08

*************************

Ever play a scratched vinyl album?

27 Feb 08 Wednesday

Remember how it would repeat the same bit of sound over and over until you moved the needle or replaced the album? Well that's just how I felt listening to my latest doctor read the report from a recent exam.

Quite a few of you have been asking how I'm doing. I want you to know that I'm not ignoring you but rather, I'm trying to become accustomed to this latest bit of distasteful news myself.

There were 6 or 7 negative line items on the report. 3 were sufficient to lend me to tears. Once more, I have tumors and this time they appear on my kidney, liver and right ovary. The organs are tentatively functioning correctly.

I'm not surprised; I'm distraught. It's too much, too soon and too serious while all I can do is cooperate with sometimes ignorant physicians who aren't always listening.

The good news is, I'm going snow skiing. I figure however the docs choose to address it will probably incapacitate me if not worse so I may as well have fond memories of peaceful snow covered hills, blue skies lined with white puffy clouds and the handsome ski patrol on the hill ;o)

How's that for making lemonade out of lemons?

Take care ya'll!