Series: The Tower of Babel; Knowledge; New Era.
Sun 05 May 2019 – Kobus Swart
Ps. 119:105; Acts 17:11; John. 1:1; Col. 1:15; Gen. 11:4-9; Dan. 12:1-4; (Matt. 13:38); (Matt. 24:22); Gen. 6:3-9; Dan. 2:42-44; Ps. 139:16-17; Eph. 2:6-10; Matt. 18:19-20; (Ps. 37:4); (John 14:12); Matt. 16:13-19; Jer. 29:11
In the book of Acts, the apostles arrived at a place where the Bereans were living, teaching the Word. This is how the Bereans responded: Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so (Acts 17:11 NASB). I challenge you to search the Scriptures. You need personal confirmation by the Holy Spirit that this word is true.
Jesus came as the Word made flesh (John 1:1,14). He, who was the word made flesh, was tempted by satan after a 40-day fast in the wilderness. Each time, Jesus responded by saying, “It is written”. He, who was the Word made flesh, quoted the Scriptures to satan! Right at the end satan, the liar, took Jesus to a high mountain and showed Him the kingdoms of the earth. He said, “If you bow down and worship me, I will give you all these kingdoms”, as if they were satan’s. He is a liar. He who was the Word made flesh responded again, “It is written”, and satan disappeared. Do not underestimate the power of the Scriptures; not the dead letter, but the Spirit gives life to the Word of God.
Let’s look at what happened when they built the Tower of Babel. The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them” (Gen. 11:5-6). That was the all- knowing God speaking! But what was their motive? They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name (Gen. 11:4). This reflected the condition of their hearts. What was God’s will right in the beginning when He created Adam and Eve? Multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, not stay together and build a tower. This was contrary to the commission given to man. God knew that if left to themselves, man would quickly develop technologies that would enable them to do anything for better or for worse (Gen. 11:7-9).
In the Garden of Eden there were two trees, two voices; one was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the other one was the Tree of Life. Many people make a mistake to think that the good side of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not bad. The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil are both not good. It is the wrong tree! We have to eat from the right tree – the Tree of LIFE – to advance into new discoveries and developments. There are two seed lines that started after the Fall (Gen 3:14-19). These two seed lines run right through the Bible into the New Testament where Jesus taught about the wheat and the tares – sons of the evil one and the sons of God (Matt. 13:38).
Jesus warned about these days: Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved, but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short (Matt. 24:22). Which days? The days in which knowledge will increase exponentially. In fact, if God had not stepped in for good, along the history of man, we would have destroyed ourselves long ago.
The World Wide Web was originally conceived and developed to meet the need for automated information-sharing between scientists in universities and institutes around the world. It has gone far beyond that. Can you see something of “one language” returning? It is something like the re-birth of the Tower of Babel, trying to find a way to address the confusion of languages. No matter what language is spoken, you can tap into www and it can even translate when you want to talk to each other. This is not necessarily wrong or demonic, but you have to see the mind of the enemy behind this knowledge that increasing. It is not all negative but we can see that knowledge has increased and continues to increase.
In the beginning satan tried to create a superhuman race. Now at that time and for some time to come, a great warrior race lived on the earth. Whenever the sons of God would have sex with the humans’ daughters, the women bore them children who became mighty warriors (Gen. 6:4, VOICE). The result was a super human race called the Nephilim. God’s reaction? “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart (Gen. 6:3-6 NASB). Wickedness reached a point that made God utter these words. If it was not for Noah, God would have wiped out humanity (Gen. 6:8-9). There was no mixture that came from fallen angels in the genealogy of Noah, he was clean. And Noah with his family were saved and humanity continued after the flood. Can you see the enemy’s plan to interfere with God’s plan in the seed of men? As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men (Dan. 2:42-43).
However, let us not miss God’s ultimate Plan: In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever (Dan. 2:42-44). There will be a kingdom that will crush every other kingdom and will stand forever. That is why it is so important for us to spend time in private worship with the Lord, spend time in His presence, in His word and worship. Connect with God’s plan for your life; do not be a target so that the enemy can come and mix things, connect with God’s master plan! (Ps. 139:16-17; Eph. 2:6, 10). God has a predestined plan for us to walk in.
The power of agreement with God is necessary (Matt. 18:19-20). This has been misinterpreted by the bulk of Christianity because you can manipulate agreement. Come into agreement with truth, come into agreement with God. The word ‘agree’ comes from the Greek ‘sumphoneo’, meaning symphony. When a harp with all its strings, or the keys of a keyboard, are tuned to blend, there is an agreement and there is a symphony. This type of prayer-agreement – like a symphony – reaches the Father. I would like to see that when we come to a place of agreement with God in his Word, that not my dream, but God’s desire, will become my desire. He will then give me the desire of my heart because it comes from Him. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you His desires in your heart – that is agreement! (Ps. 37:4).
I believe we are in for an amazing era and the Church is going to awake around the world. Believers are going to discover the futility of the old way of having Church and religion. They will discover new ways, and will come into a symphony with God and there will be creativity like we never, ever imagined possible. Jesus said, “”Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” (John 14:12).
Knowledge will increase but we are not going to take the short cut; we are not going to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That is the wrong tree! We will eat from the Tree of Life. Jesus is the Tree of Life; He is the only way into the truth and this new creativity.
Jesus asked the people, “Who do you say I am?” (Matt. 16:13-19). When Peter answered Him correctly by revelation, He said: And you are Petros (a stone), and upon this ROCK (Petra) I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it! And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth, shall have been loosed in heaven!”. We cannot just bind and loose what we want. You have to correspond and agree (come into symphony) with what has been done in heaven. (the finished works!). That is when we will use the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever we loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. The gates of hell cannot stop us because God wants us to loose what has been loosed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not even Hell can stop us. Those of us with the keys to the kingdom of heaven will be given this mandate. It is calling for a response from God’s people. Knowledge coming from the Tree of LIFE, will increase!
There is a divine Architect and His motives are founded in love. The love of God! His motives are founded in love and His thoughts towards us are for good and not for evil (Jer. 29:11).
Series: Renewal of the Mind; New Era; New Creation Realities
Sun Am 17 February 2019 – Kobus Swart
(Matt. 9:17 & Luke 5:37); Rom. 12:2 (Mirror); Eph. 4:23; Prov. 23:7; (Col. 3:2); Isa. 54:2; 2 Cor. 3:6; (John 1:1 & 14); (John 14:9, 12); John 3:13; (Gen. 5:24); (John 10:9); (Jude: 14); (Isa. 66:1); (Eph. 2:6); Eccl. 3:11; 2 Cor. 5:19; Rev. 3:20 (TPT)
Every time a mental stronghold is broken or demolished, it makes room for fresh new revelation. Jesus said, no one puts new wine into an old wineskin (Matt. 9:17 & Luke 5:37). When a wineskin is without wine for a while it dries up and it becomes inflexible, it turns hard like many structures in the Church over the years.
In 1999, there was a book published by Peter Wagner titled Church-Quake. Some quotes:
The Church was, and still is, going through changes worldwide. However, there are currently several apostolic voices in different nations who agree that we are entering into a New Era. A lot of what has been downloaded in what has become known as the “Apostolic Season” was informational. As important as doctrine is, there is clearly a need for more. Presently there is a new shaking happening in the true Church – a ‘mind-quake’. Everybody who has a hunger and a thirst for knowing God will know what I am talking about.
In order to experience this new era, we have to go through this mind-quake. The word experience is becoming very precious to me in my interaction with God. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom. 12:2). This renewing of the mind is not a once only experience; it’s an ongoing process. In the process as our minds are being renewed, we are going to encounter areas where the religious world has put signs up saying, ‘forbidden territory’. Here is the challenge for you and me. In the process of our minds being renewed, coming to the place of experiencing what we are talking about, we must recover truths that have been hi-jacked and perverted by the new age movement, which the old order, the religious system, has called ‘off-limits’. That is a trick of Satan. Do not allow current religious tradition to mould you into its pattern of reasoning like an inspired artist give attention to the details of God’s desire to find expression in you become acquainted with perfection…to accommodate yourself to the delight and good pleasure of Him will transform your thoughts afresh from within (Rom. 12:2 – Mirror). … And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind… (Eph. 4.23). What is the ‘spirit of our mind’ referring to? As a man thinks in his heart so is he (Prov.23:7). It is not talking about the physical organ of the heart, but about your subconscious mind. Who is limiting you? Who is limiting me? It is a certain concept that has become an immovable mindset.
Instead of just having concepts and information in the mind, I want to experience the present Truth. What stands in the way of my desire to experience it? My old experiences! They limit me; they have formed certain pillars and filters in my mind. These filters that have been formed in our mind by decades of old experiences and will limit us from experiencing the eternal realities that are ours in Christ. What does that mean? These old experiences will even rob us from having the mind of Christ. Set you mind on the things above (Col. 3:2). The mind of Christ is accessible by every hungry believer.
As a man thinks in his heart so is he (Prov.23:7). There is a difference between your brain and your mind. Your brain is an organ in your head and your mind is the thought life that feeds the brain. In your brain there are a hundred billion cells; it is an amazing structure. When you get a certain thought pattern from your mind into your brain, there is a path it follows. Then there is a place in between some of these billions of cells, and if you hear that same thought by repetition, it forms a solid bridge in your brain. A mind-set has formed. Everything on that topic that we hear again, our understanding will be influenced by that mind-set. We hear it a certain way because there is a filter, a bridge that influences the way we receive what we hear.
There are different mind-sets for instance: suspicious, poverty, defeatist, confused, fearful, angry, and rebellious mind-sets. These are just a few mind-sets that influence the way we receive information. We must be enlarged (Isa. 54:2). How do we become enlarged? By revelation, present truth, new wine, obedience, and submission to present Truth – the renewing of the mind. We are enlarged by receiving present truth from those who are carrying current apostolic and prophetic grace. When these mind-sets are removed, it feels like a mind-quake. I am sure many of you have already experienced shaking in the way you used to think – your old experience of things.
What are we really looking for? Is it enough to just read the Bible? There are monks who know the Bible cover to cover but have never met God because the letter alone kills, the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6). Is doctrine enough? Doctrine is important but it is not enough. What are we looking for? You need to meet the God of the Word! The Word is not just a letter on a page. We need a relationship with God! How can you have a relationship with a God that you have never seen? God became visible in the person of His Son Jesus Christ. He made the Father visible. “If you have seen me you have seen the Father” (John 14:9). “A living encounter with the living God beats a theology about Him any day” (Mark Virkler). What is a walk with God? It is, amongst other things, having the mind of Christ. What does it mean to have the mind of Christ? It means living in heaven on earth like Jesus did. Jesus was in heaven on earth (John 3:13), and He is the pattern Son. … the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father (John 14:12). We need an experience, a living encounter which will lead to a relationship with God.
Enoch “walked with God” (Gen 5:24); he must have had an intimate relationship with God. I believe Adam was still alive when Enoch was there after the fall and they may have had some conversations. Adam must have had a very intimate relationship with God before the fall. Because Enoch had a walk with God and an intimate relationship with God, he escaped the effects of the fall; he escaped death.
Walking with God – having a relationship with God – remains the ultimate and the highest quest for man. We were made after the image and the likeness of God. Yes, the fall marred the whole image it but it is still there and through Christ it is re-awakened. In His death and in His resurrection that quest is sharpened again. There is a quest in every man to find God, to have a walk with God. Jesus said “I am the Gateway” through which we go in and out and find pasture (John 10:9). Enoch was the seventh from Adam (Jude 14). Seven means the completion, the place of rest. Enoch is a type of the finishing generation (or the last day Church). This last generation will go from life to life, into the next realm of life. Parsons puts it this way: “Jesus died to give us access to heaven not only when we die; eternal spiritual life begins here and now”. Not death and then life but life now is available in Christ.
Jesus is seated in rest next to the Father! He is waiting for a people that will be like Him in heaven on earth. Do we understand that we are a new creation in Christ? Even that concept has to fight its way through old concepts and pillars and resistance in the mind.
Jesus died to give us access to heaven. Paul said we are seated with Him in heavenly places. (Eph. 2:6). Eternal spiritual life begins here and now. Every man on this planet has eternity in his heart (Eccl. 3:11). God in Christ has reconciled humanity to himself (2 Cor. 5:19). He has done His share; it is our responsibility to say “yes” and to go into a new era. He wants us to be ambassadors to proclaim reconciliation and not condemnation. Parsons reminds us: He died and rose again and is alive today – He is alive in heaven, He is alive in us, He manifests His presence here with us. Because of our relationship with Him we can have an intimate relationship with the Father as adopted sons and with one another as brothers and sisters in God’s family. We are connected to the Source of life and the Source of life is connected to us. Within our spirit there is a door that connects to God and to heaven. It is up to us to open that door. Behold, I’m standing at the door, knocking. If your heart is open to hear my voice and you open the door within, I will come in to you and feast with you, and you will feast with me (Rev. 3:20, TPT). God is challenging every old mind-set that stands in the way. When we choose to open that door on a daily basis, He comes in, He fills us and manifests so that people see and experience Him through us.