Your Three Voices

Did you know that you are one person comprised of three separate and distinct bodies, and that each of your three bodies has a voice, and that you can actually hear each of your three voices?

 After all, you are one person comprised of:

1)      A physical body: Your physical body obviously consists of such things as your arms, legs, brain and organs, etc.; through which all human beings exist in varying degrees of differences, such as height, weight, color, etc. Subsequently, your physical body has the voice of your five-senses, through which to empower you to interpret and interact with the world around you.

2)      A soul body: Your soul consists of your will, intellect and emotions through which to empower you to become different from everyone else. Subsequently, your soul has the voice of reasoning, whereby to empower you to make decisions.

3)      A spirit body: Your spirit consists of your life force that is able to empower your spirit, soul and body to interact together as one. Subsequently, your spirit body has the voice of conscience, which is your internal sense of right and wrong.

Consequently, and in an overly simplified manner, if you sought to put some sort of plan into action then you spirit, soul and body would speak to one another through your thought life in order to determine your courses of action. After all, your soul would perhaps determine types of goals to be met, while your body would reveal if you were physically capable of reaching those goals, while your spirit would speak whether or not those planned actions were the morale thing to do.

Granted, while this might sound a bit super-spiritual I can guarantee you that it isn’t. After all, you can easily see this symbolic parallel of yourself through your personal computer, as your pc is comprised of the same three basic components:

1)      Hardware: These are the physical components that your five-senses are able to interact with.

2)      Software: This is the “will, intellect and emotions” of your pc that your mind interacts with.

3)      Electricity: This is the life power that allows the hardware and software to interact together as one.

Now, in a perfect world your three-part body would exist in perfect harmony and unity as one; however, sin acts as a type of computer virus that divides the desires of your spirit, soul and body in order to create internal strife and discord. Therefore, in essence, holiness (a life free of sin) empowers your spirit, soul and body to interact together as one; while sin, on the other hand, acts as a type of virus that divides your spirit, soul and body in order that they seek to act independently from one another—as three instead of one—which seemingly makes your life more complicated.

Consequently, the primary reason that Jesus always knew the Father’s will was simply because Jesus was holy and free from sin, whereby He did not contain any spiritual viruses that would confuse and cloud His mind from receiving spiritual insights. Therefore, because He lacked this element of internal strife and discord He was empowered to always act upon His leadings simply because they were always so clear to Him.

In conclusion, the more that you seek to purge yourself of your sinful desires then the clearer that the Lord’s plan for your life can become, which in turn will strengthen your resolve to fulfill it. After all, isn’t that in essence one of the things that the Apostle Paul had discovered, through which he was able to fulfill God’s plan for his life through all of his New Testament writings? In like manner, just as the Lord had done for Paul so too can he do for you—that is if you’re willing and obedient to do as Paul had done!

Jesus Freaks

Have you ever known someone who was so “on fire” for God that religion consumed virtually every single aspect of that person’s life, a.k.a., a “Jesus Freak”?

As such, Jesus Freaks are those who have “their heads so high up in the clouds that they are of no earthly good”, as they oftentimes:

 -Make virtually every conversation Bible related.

-Speak many sentences with “Praise God”, or “the Lord told me”.

-Use every introduction as a witnessing opportunity.

-Make virtually every single Facebook post religious themed, and makes those posts multiple times a day.

In short, it’s hard for “Jesus Freaks” to relate to others without the ulterior motive of trying to change those others into agreeing with their own beliefs. Granted, many wonder if that’s really how the born again nature should be? Or, what constitutes extremism?

I suppose that in many respects there are no right nor wrong answers to those types of questions, as it’s up to the individual to determine how to be led by the Spirit, as well as does that individual have the right to learn, grow, and change along the way.  In fact, while it must be noted that it’s important to live a life of passion, it’s equally important to note that you must maintain control of your passions and prevent them from becoming addictive. Whereas, in short, Jesus Freaks are types of spiritual addicts that are unable to live a life of balance.

 Now, with that said, it seems to me that Exodus 3:2 provides us with some insights on how best to allow the born again nature to interact with the Lord, as well as with others:

 “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him (Moses) in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”

In this passage of text we see that the bush and fire had coexisted as one, and because of its unusual nature that Moses was drawn to it. As such, on the one hand you could say that the fire did not need the bush as its fuel source, while on the other you could say that the bush was able to control the fire, as both the fire and the bush shared a type of autonomous nature—to which Moses marveled at its beauty.

Simply put, the entire theme of this message really rests upon the definition of autonomous, because one who is autonomous is best able to live a life of balance. Subsequently, the Encarta Dictionary defines autonomous as:

1. Self-governing: politically independent and self-governing.
2. Able to choose: able to make decisions and act on them as a free and independent moral agent.
3. Self-sufficient: existing, reacting, or developing as an independent, self-regulating organism.

In short, the born again nature (Christ-likeness) is the bush, while the Spirit of the Lord is the fire, while Moses is the lost. As such:

The born again nature (bush) is meant to maintain aspects of its autonomous nature while allowing the Spirit of the Lord (fire) to draw the lost to it. Subsequently, much like gold as it’s being refined, the spiritual impurities of the bush are meant to rise to the surface for the fire to burn upon and purge, while not burning the bush itself. Whereby, in this purging by fire, both the bush and the fire are able to coexist as one without losing either’s autonomy, to which the lost marvel at the lifestyle of joy and holiness that the believer is able to exhibit—as it’s a type of passion that they themselves do not have!

Fortunately, those who are able to maintain this type of balance will be able to lead productive lives as they interact with society, through which the spirit of honesty and integrity that burns upon them will become inspirational to others, and will draw the lost to the Lord through them; such as Billy Graham had exhibited.

Conversely, those who are unable to maintain such a healthy balance have allowed themselves to be consumed by the fire, and will become manipulative and controlling of others, to the point that they will eventually burn out. In fact, they’ll do so because:

 -They’ve unknowingly become proud in their faith in God, as opposed to being proud of God Himself; therefore, in short, faith not properly mixed with grace does not have a future.

 -They’ll lead few to the Lord simply because few will be willing to receive from them. After all, Moses was drawn to the bush because the bush did not burn, while burning bushes are common and ordinary (as some bushes burn through sinful and addictive passions, while others through religious extremes).

 -One who is consumed by the fire will find the light so bright that, much like staring at the sun, too much light blinds the vision to the point of darkness. Therefore, those who have fallen into religious extremes have unknowingly entered into realms of deception.

 -Finally, those who are consumed by the fire will not be willing to receive from others because, in their eyes, they are always right. After all, the bush was willing and able to interact with Moses because the bush was not consumed. Most importantly, the burning bush did not seek to change Moses, but rather it was because of the nature of the bush that Moses sought to change himself.

In the end, what’s important is for the born again believer to learn for his or her self how to be led by the Spirit of the Lord in order to live and interact with others through a balanced life of passions.

To burn with wealth, yet, not consumed by greed—unlike Howard Hughes.

To burn with desire, yet, not consumed by lust—unlike Hugh Hefner.

To burn with religious intent, yet, not consumed by a religious spirit—unlike a cult leader.

Yes. To live a balanced life of passions that burns but does not consume is what the Lord desires for you to become:

To burn with wealth, yet, not consumed by greed—like Warren Buffett.

To burn with desire, yet, not consumed by lust—a faithful husband.

To burn with religious intent, yet, not consumed by a religious spirit—an Apostle Paul.

Truly, without question, it’s up to you to decide for yourself what type of bush you will be, and if you’re successful, others will be drawn to your unusual nature and desire to change in order to become as you.

Faith

There is a rhythm to the spirit

As a river would flow

Sometimes a river flows fast

Sometimes a river flows slow

Sometimes a river stands still

And would appear not to flow at all

That’s because you do not see

Its undercurrent below

That which you have so earnestly sought

That which your heart so desires

Do not worry

Do not fret

Because it has not come to pass

For though it would appear to stand still

And not to flow at all

It is simply because

You do not see

Its undercurrent below

 

By 

Gary D. Combs

  

                               ©2012    This is How the Lord Multiplies Your Seed Sown

Clothed in a Lie: Doubting Thomas

Have you ever felt misperceived by others, to the point that the gossip and rumors spread about had clothed you in a lie?

If so, then take comfort in “Doubting Thomas”, who was perceived as so weak in faith that the pulpit actually titled his name by it. In fact, to tell you the truth, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sermon in which the word “doubter” wasn’t used in reference to Thomas; which is shameful, because he was a man of courageous faith.

Unfortunately for Thomas, John 20:24-25 is often cited for his doubt:

“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

However, with regard to the resurrection story, let’s now compare Thomas with the other disciples, as Luke 24:9-11 reads:

“And returned from the sepulcher, and told all these things unto the eleven (the eleven disciples less Judas), and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.”

Notice, from this portion of text none of the other disciples believed the resurrection story either; yet, Thomas is the only disciple labeled as a doubter, when, in reality, Thomas’ faith contained the exact same level of doubt as all the rest. Amazingly enough, as opposed to being the doubter, I now contend that Thomas was actually the most courageous of all the disciples, as John 11:14-16 reads:

“Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Here we find that Thomas is summoning the disciples to follow Jesus even to the point of death, as Thomas had a courageous Paul-like faith; but, you never hear this verse mentioned with regard to Thomas. Sadly, no one cites his willingness to follow Jesus to the point of death, nor that none of the other disciples believed the resurrection story either—until they physically saw for themselves the resurrected Christ!

Yet, even though the pulpit has for centuries labeled Thomas as “The Doubter”, his story isn’t all that uncommon today, as there are many among us that have also been clothed in a lie. After all:

What about that young man with a mental handicap who had been turned down for a certain job, as the interviewer just assumed he wasn’t the best candidate?

Or, what about the seemingly countless numbers of men and women who had been sent to prison for a crime they said they did not commit, only years later to be set free because of DNA?

In the end, regardless of what others may or may not say about you, the most important thing of all is that you sparkle with pride the truth and honesty that you know you possess, while allowing the courage of your convictions to shrug off the lies that they would have you to wear.

After all, Saul was a murderer, but Paul was not, while neither was Thomas the lone doubter, as Paul and Thomas each wore the courage of their convictions.

But One of You

Oftentimes we find ourselves in pits of self-condemnation for our past mistakes as we struggle in our attempts to press onward; when, in reality, it was only our perception of what had transpired that’s in error. Consequently, once we understand how we misperceived things then we’re empowered to forget about the past and move forward. After all, in essence, isn’t that what happened with Peter?

During the Last Supper Jesus said to His disciples, “…Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.” (Mat. 26:21)

Shortly thereafter Peter responded by saying, “…Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be.”

To which Jesus replied, “…Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.”

Which of course we later discover that Peter did deny Jesus three times before the cock crowed; after which he went into a period of self-condemnation for his denial, and it was a grievous spiritual wound that was hard for him to bear. Fortunately for Peter, Jesus had mercifully done something in advance to help Peter heal from his self-inflicted wound, as He had given Peter a prophetic message in order to help change Peter’s perception of that event—but Peter missed it!

After all, at the Last Supper Jesus said, “But one of you shall betray me.” Notice, He did not say that two of you shall betray me, but rather one of you shall betray me—as Jesus did not consider Peter’s actions to be that of betrayal. Granted, mankind will always view such slights as a type of betrayal, but Jesus did not simply because God and man do not always view events through the same set of perceptions.

In like manner, how many wander through their present state of life with haunted thoughts of the past, consisting of dreams not pursued, words too harshly spoken, and either accidental or intentional acts that brought harm unto others? Without question, there are many believers who have learned how to easily forgive others, but seeming can’t forgive their own self.

Yet, perhaps even harder still are those who had suffered from some form of addiction, through which they encountered the dark waters of detoxification during rehab, or unwanted pregnancies that might have been terminated, or brought forth a baby born with their very same addiction, like a “crack baby”. Surely there are many who desire to enter into a better future as they walk a spiritual tight-rope with their haunted thoughts of yesterday; but, how to overcome?

Well, in a similar fashion, the Apostle Paul had a sin nature that he wasn’t very proud of either, as in Romans 7:15-25 he wrote a strife-filled confusing passage of scripture to illustrate his frustrating fight with his own sin nature, as he consistently choose to do those things that he desired not too. (Though he did not reveal to us what his sinful habits were.) Yet, regardless of his sin struggles, one of the greatest attributes of the Apostle Paul was his refusal to let anything (past, present or future) stand in the way of his destiny. Whereby he was able to convey to each and every single one of us the greatest lesson that he had learned in order to heal one’s own self:

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but one thing, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14

Imagine, out of all of the marvelous revelations that the Apostle Paul had penned in his New Testament writings that he places this one revelation above the rest as the one that he has apprehended; as such, how much more should we?

Mistakes of Pentecostal Secrets

As a child my favorite book was, “From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler,” by E.L. Konigsburg. This is the story of a young girl named Claudia Kincaid who had grown tired of her daily routine of chores and homework, and had decided to run away from home; however, she didn’t want to run away from something, but rather she wanted to run to something. She had decided to go on a type of journey in which she would somehow return home differently—and she found that difference through the knowledge of a secret.

When Claudia discovered a certain secret regarding a sculpture, made by Michelangelo, then she was able to return home as a different kind of person, because she allowed that knowledge of her secret to grow and blossom within her to the point that it acted as a type of filter that “colorized” her world around her—blessing everything that she heard, felt, saw, tasted and touched.

Unfortunately, this aspect of life is something we no longer cherish as we ought, by which we no longer seek those aspects of life that can truly enrich us. In like manner, I believe that the knowledge of a secret is something that Jesus had learned at a very early age, through which He constantly strengthened and encouraged Himself. After all, Jesus knew all along the purpose of His future death, burial and resurrection, whereby He kept His knowledge of that secret to Himself; which is why 1 Corinthians 2:7-8 reads, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery (secret), even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.”

As such, Jesus knew all along that He was to be crucified, whereby He chose to keep His knowledge of His secret to Himself in order to prevent the wrongful involvement of others. In turn, that knowledge of that secret provided Him with a sense of purpose for everything He did, and “colorized” the world around Him—to which He never lost focus concerning how to prepare Himself for it.

Now, I point this out because my experience in Pentecostal circles reveals that way too many have developed a self-destructing habit of so regularly proclaiming that, “God told me…,the Lord said to me…, God revealed that…” Unfortunately, though many did actually hear from the Lord, they were supposed to keep that leading to themselves as a type of secret, one to meditate upon without the distractions of others, whereby their knowledge of that secret would provide an empowering sense of purpose in order to prepare for it. This is why Luke 12:47 reads, “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will (secret), and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes (disappointment, guilt, regret, etc.).

Unfortunately, far too many Pentecostals, myself included, unwittingly fall into a state of pride while seeking how to discern the will of the Lord. In so doing a habit of speaking revelation knowledge becomes commonplace in order that others will know that we have heard from the Lord. Of a truth, this is a very dangerous habit to fall into because whenever storms arise contrary to what we had said that the Lord had revealed to us then we wither and lose heart, even quit. When, in reality, our knowledge of our secret was meant to empower us through that storm, which it would have done had we kept it to ourselves and used that knowledge to mentally and physically prepare ourselves for it.

Therefore, in conclusion, consider the plight of Samson. As you well know the mighty Samson believed that the secret to his great strength rested in his locks of hair, simply because his hair had never been cut; subsequently, Samson lost his strength and became a slave after Delilah cut his hair. Yet, unfortunately for him, Samson was wrong to believe that the secret to his strength rested in the fact that a razor had never cut his hair; as, in reality, the secret to Samson’s strength rested in his ability to maintain his secret, because it was ONLY after he spoke out his secret that he lost his strength.

In like manner, many Pentecostals have learned how to hear from the Lord, only to lose their spiritual strength as they fail to understand the purpose and power of secrets.

The Few Who Matter

Over the years I’ve read a number of articles that were critical ofthe Reagan era, specifically with regard to the Trickle Down Theory of economics. Unfortunately, all of those articles were in error simply because they did not incorporate the theme of human nature, because with regard to job creation it’s the few, not the many, who matter.

In short, the term “trickle down” has been attributed to humorist Will Rogers, who said during the Great Depression that “money was all appropriated for the top in hopes that it would trickle down to the needy.” Yet, the term was made most famous when President Reagan began his supply side economics in order to create tax cuts for the wealthy in an attempt to spur economic growth for the nation as a whole. As you well know, at that time the nation was suffering from a deep recession and facing a triple threat:

-double digit inflation (13.5% in 1980)

-double digit interest rates (20% in 1980)

-double digit unemployment rates (10.4% in 1983)

Therefore, in essence, Reagan knew that the single most important thing that he had to do was to create jobs in order to get America working again. However, he wasn’t satisfied with creating jobs just to create jobs, as he wanted to create a large percentage of higher paying jobs. As such, he implemented policies (Reaganomics) through which we witnessed the computer revolution, the financial services explosion, as well as the massive military buildup, through which millions of higher paying jobs were created—and put the middle class back to work into a greater realm of prosperity!

Remarkably, by the end of President Reagan’s second term a complete reversal of fortune had taken place, but why?

It was simply because Reagan understood that employment is the driving force of the economy, while employment is created by the private sector, and not by the government. As such, with regard to job creation, Reagan understood that it’s the few, the Vanderbilts, the Carnegies and the Rockefellers of the world who have the entrepreneurial courage and foresight to bring some idea for a new product or service to life—through which employment opportunities are created.

After all, take Frederick Smith for example; he had an idea for an overnight package delivery system. Granted, virtually any major airline, UPS, or even the post office could have come up with the idea for this service, but only he capitalized on it. He had to arrange the funding, vendors, employees, jets, vans, so on and so forth by which to build his enterprise, and overtime he created millions of new higher paying jobs through not only FedEx, but through also all of those other companies that support it.

Or, take Steve Jobs. He had an idea for a user-friendly personal computer. Granted, IBM could have easily created user friendly personal computers, but it was Steve Jobs who capitalized on this innovative idea. In 1976, he began his little enterprise in the garage of his parent’s home, and in less than 35 years it became the world’s largest publicly traded company (in terms of market capitalization). In fact, in 2012 Apple was worth in excess of $650 Billion; while in line with that, Steve Jobs also created millions of new higher paying jobs through not only Apple Computer, but also through all of those other companies that support it.

Simply put, though the names are legendary, the list is relatively short, as with regard to job creation it’s the few, not the many who matter. It’s the few, the Bill Gates and Howard Hughes of the world, not to mention each and every single small business owner who has the courage to part the waters of adversity in order to build a dream to life by which employment opportunities are created—whereby the middle class can find higher paying occupations.

Reagan understood that, and he sought to implement policies whereby to encourage and support the entrepreneurial spirit of the few through which the middle class could find employment, through which the unemployed or those in poverty could find ways of escape; or, in other words, to cause monetary gains to trickle down through the natural order of things. Yet, not only that, but in turn his policies created the longest and most successful bull market in the history of mankind—eventually creating millions of new jobs in many new fields (such as technology), whereby also creating trillions of dollars in wealth.

Conversely, consider what has been transpiring more recently. Today there is a trend that favors a more socialistic attitude, one which believes that it’s many and not the few who matter. Several years back, in an effort to jump start the economy, American citizens were sent checks from the government that the many were supposed to spend in order to spark the money flow in the economy. What happened?

The many primarily purchased foreign made goods whereby a large percentage of that money was eventually sent overseas; which, in essence, meant that a great deal of cash had left our banking system. Granted, had these checks been mailed 40 years ago while the US was still a dominate manufacturing nation that was running trade surpluses, then that money would have stayed within the US banking system and created many subsequent flows through the economy, but with trade deficits that scenario is no longer true as trade deficits force capital to be sent to other economies.

Yet, what’s important to note is that the many play a huge role in our economy, as the many have the power to dictate which companies will grow and flourish, or wither and die, as the many vote with their dollars. Whereas, it’s the many that have the power to sustain employment, while it’s the few who have the power to create employment.

Therefore, in conclusion, if you want to create employment opportunities then do as Reagan had done and encourage and support the few who have the courage and fortitude to brave the obstacles of adversity in order to create something that will help make life better for others—through the better paying jobs that they themselves create. Because Capitalism empowers the few to employ the many, while socialism enslaves the many by never allowing the few to rise above mediocrity.