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Preparing the Bride of Christ For His Return By Janet Van Hierdan

Preparing the Bride of Christ For His Return By Janet Van Hierdan

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Saturday, June 27, 2015

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: SUPERNATURAL MATURITY, Part 15

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Another Coffee Break:
Supernatural Maturity, Part 15

June 26, 2015

OK.  We've spent the last three weeks on what it means to be the salt of the earth.  Now it’s time to get on with what it means to be the light of the world.  Once again, here’s how it reads in the KJV:

Matthew 5:13-16:  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 

Ye are the light of the world.  A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Since we’ve pretty much covered the first part of this statement, let’s move on to the amplified and re-translated portion of this passage:

[When I said, “Light be,” that was the light that brought this world into being.  I AM that light.]  (Because you are in me, and I AM in you, you are — likewise — the light of this world.  That is a light one cannot hide.

[As representatives of the New Jerusalem] you are like that City which is elevated on a high hill or mountain and cannot be hidden from view.  (You have been made and destined to be visible to this world.)  (Matthew 5:14, RAC Translation & Amplification)

No one lights a candle, and then hides it under some kind of covering or utensil.  Rather, they put the candle on some kind of lampstand or decorative piece in order to elevate it so as to give light to the whole room.

Let that light (My light) which is in you, therefore, radiate brilliantly in front of all men and women so that the value of your relationship with and in Me — manifested in the works, the signs and wonders — is demonstrated.  That, in turn, will cause Father in Heaven to receive glory and honor and praise!  (Matthew 5:15-16, RAC Translation and Amplification)

Consider, now, how John described Jesus and how His appearance impacted society:

John 1:5, KJV:  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

But look at how the Greek text really puts it:

And the light appeared in the midst of the darkness, exposing everything previously obscured to view; and the darkness was incapable of seizing, possessing and overwhelming it.  (The darkness couldn’t even understand the nature, character or makeup of that light).  (John 1:5, RAC Translation and Amplification)

Consider for a moment, the inability of physical darkness to deal with even the slightest amount of light.  Step into a closet, close the door, and unless the top, sides and bottom of the door have rubber seals to absolutely block out any incoming light, even a slight crack at the bottom or sides will allow you to see even dimly in the closet.  In order to illustrate what we are talking about with light and darkness, let me share a story with you.  This is a bit long, and it gets into a lot of  areas, but it highlights precisely where we are going with this discussion on the significance of our being the light of the world, and the inability of the natural world to understand and comprehend the dimension in which we live.

"Let me explain the problem science has with religion."  The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?'

'Yes sir,' the student says.

'So you believe in God?'

'Absolutely '

'Is God good?'

'Sure! God's good.'

'Is God all-powerful?  Can God do anything?'

'Yes'

'Are you good or evil?'

'The Bible says I'm evil.'

The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible!  He considers for a moment.  'Here's one for you.  Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'

'Yes sir, I would.'

'So you're good...!'

'I wouldn't say that.'

'But why not say that?  You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could.  Most of us would if we could.  But God doesn't.'

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'He doesn't, does He?  My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him.  How is this Jesus good?  Can you answer that one?'

The student remains silent. 'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says.  He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.

'Let's start again, young fella.  Is God good?'

'Er..yes,' the student says.

'Is Satan good?'

The student doesn't hesitate on this one..  'No.'

'Then where does Satan come from?'

The student falters. 'From God.'

'That's right.  God made Satan, didn't he?  Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?'

'Yes'

'So who created evil?'  The professor continued, 'If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.

Again, the student has no answer.

'Is there sickness?  Immorality?  Hatred?  Ugliness?  All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?'

The student squirms on his feet. 'Yes.'

'So who created them ?'

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question.  'Who created them?'  There is still no answer.  Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom.  The class is mesmerized.

'Tell me,' he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?'

The student's voice betrays him and cracks. 'Yes, professor, I do.'

The old man stops pacing.  'Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you.  Have you ever seen Jesus?'

'No sir. I've never seen Him.'

'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'

'No, sir, I have not.'

'Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus?  Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?'

'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'

'Yet you still believe in him?'

'Yes'

'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist.  What do you say to that, son?'

'Nothing,' the student replies.  'I only have my faith.'

'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats.  'And that is the problem science has with God.  There is no evidence, only faith.'

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own. 'Professor, is there such thing as heat? '

' Yes.’

'And is there such a thing as cold?'

'Yes, son, there's cold too.'

'No sir, there isn't.'

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested.  The room suddenly becomes very quiet. 

The student begins to explain.

'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'.  We can get down to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that.  There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees.  Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy.  Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat.  You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat.  We cannot measure cold.  Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy.  Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.'

Silence across the room.  A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

'What about darkness, professor.  Is there such a thing as darkness?'

'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation.  'What is night if it isn't darkness?'

'You're wrong again, sir.  Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something.  You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it?  That's the meaning we use to define the word.  In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester.

I know you're looking at me cross-eyed, wondering where this is going, but bear with me.  We'll finish the story and wrap this up next week.

I remind those of you in need of ministry that our Healing Prayer Call takes place on Mondays at 7:00 PM Eastern (4:00 PM Pacific).  Once again, the number to call for healing is (805) 399-1000.  Then enter the access code: 124763#.

At the same time, in case you are missing out on real fellowship in an environment of Ekklesia,  our Sunday worship gatherings are available by conference call – usually at about 10:45AM Pacific.  That conference number is (559) 726-1300, and the access code is 308640#.  We hope to make these gatherings available by Skype or Talk Fusion before long.

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
Email Contact: Admin@RiverWorshipCenter.org

All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted –provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are available at http://www.RegnersMorningCoffee.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.

If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.To remove yourself from the mailing list, please send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.

CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit: http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: SUPERNATURAL MATURITY, Part 14

1:34 PM | Posted by | | Edit Post

Another Coffee Break:
Supernatural Maturity, Part 14
June 19, 2015

Greetings and Solutions! Today, we were going to move on to the second part of Jesus' use of the two metaphors describing our authority in the earth -- the first one was the way we permeate and "season" our homes, our neighborhoods, our communities, etc., as salt -- and the second being our function in Christ as "the light of the world." We WERE going to move on to that second part, but I got to thinking about some experiences that really illustrate our "saltiness" and decided to share those today. We'll move on to the sharing on being light next week.

First of all, here again is the amplification to Matthew 5:13.

"In the same way that salt personifies the need for seasoning, restraint and protection from spoilage or rotting, and preparation for soil to produce; in the same way that salt represents wisdom and grace in one’s speech and behavior, you are that grace and wisdom, that seasoning and protection for the world. You are that which restrains and holds back the execution of my judgment upon a world corrupted, spoiling and decaying in sin. If you lose the ability to season and influence the world around, you lose your usefulness [to the Kingdom] and, like salt that has lost its ability to make things palatable, and winds up being thrown out, you become worthless [to the Kingdom] and cease to have (spiritual) value, requiring that you be cast aside." (Matthew 5:13, RAC Translation and Amplification)

I may have shared the following with you in the past, and if I'm being repetitive, well…be blessed! (grin!) During my years at Long Beach Christian Center, I found a house for the family on Harding Street in North Long Beach, perhaps a mile and a half or two miles from the church. It was in this house that the Lord stirred me to begin fasting at least once each year for forty days.

Following one of those early fasts, I just felt in my spirit to begin walking the neighborhood each morning. In Deuteronomy 11:24, we read of Moses’ prophesying in part to Israel prior to their entrance into the Land of Promise, “Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours.”

That scripture went through me like a shot! The emphasis of the Holy Spirit was that I should “possess” the territory where I lived – not by buying up all of the houses and property, but by exercising the authority of the Lord in a tangible way. I was also fulfilling the mandate of being "salt" for our neighborhood.

As my walks began, I started one block at a time. Each morning, I would walk the complete circumference of the block, praying over each home on that block, occasionally stretching out my hand toward a home as I was directed by the Lord and speaking something like this, “Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I establish your Kingdom authority in this home. Raise up righteousness here. Bring salvation, healing and deliverance. I claim this home and this family for the Kingdom of God.”
Over a period of weeks and many months, the practice continued. I began to enlarge the territory. For awhile it was simply one block. Then it was two. Then it increased to three, then four, then five, then six, and so forth, until I was covering a pretty large territory.

The practice was always the same. As I walked, I would pray in tongues. Sometimes I would pray with my understanding, saying, “Father, I agree with your Word, and I take this territory for your Kingdom. Everywhere the soles of my feet tread, I take this territory and possess it for your Kingdom.”

I frequently extended my hand towards homes, towards the public schools, toward businesses, praying over the occupants, the school children, the school administration, the businesses and their owners. There were other churches in the area, and I would extend my hand toward them, declaring the release of Kingdom authority and revelation by Holy Spirit. There wasn’t any visible effect from my prayers for perhaps as much as two years. One by one, I began to hear of or meet families in the homes I was praying over. Very few of them actually came to our church, but I began to find that many of these families were coming to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Frequently, as I met the families, they would tell me where they had begun to attend a church or become involved in some fellowship. In some cases, I actually met their pastors. People began to be saved, healed of various diseases and afflictions, and set free from evil spirits – all as a direct result of simply consistently walking the territory, praying over them and extending the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ as I walked and prayed.

One day, about a block south of our home, I happened to see the Long Beach police conduct a raid on one of the houses I had prayed over. It was a house I had really felt strange about, but was new enough to this kind of prayer and intercession not to recognize what I was sensing. It was a house I consistently proclaimed the authority of the Kingdom of God over. 

Turns out the house was being used for the manufacture and distribution of drugs – heroin and cocaine. The police shut it down and put the drug dealers out of business – at least in my neighborhood. I knew it was a direct result of the prayers and the consistent walking of the area.

A few months later, a house on the opposite side of the street and down a half block from our home was raided by the police and shut down. It was a whore house. Again, the Holy Spirit made clear to me the fact that it was because of the exercise of spiritual authority taking place.

I became emboldened. I called up Dick Parrish, who also served on the pastoral staff of Long Beach Christian Center, and asked him to join me in some of these walks. Then Dwain McKenzie (who had been my lifetime friend, brother in the Lord, and was the senior pastor at LBCC) began to join in the walks. We began to walk the territory near the church.

About two blocks from the church was a home where some bikers lived. Every time we walked past the place, I stretched out my hand toward the home and proclaimed the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

Nearly twenty years passed after we had walked that territory when the Lord orchestrated an opportunity for Della and I to meet the bikers who had occupied that home Dwain, Dick and I had walked past and prayed over. Della and I were in Atlin, British Columbia sharing and ministering with friends from Anchorage. We were invited to come over for dinner to the home of an artist and sculptor who lived in Atlin with his family. Sitting around the dinner table that night, we happened to mention Long Beach. The artist perked up his ears, as did his wife.

“You were in Long Beach, California?” he asked. “When was that?” I responded that I had been there for about five years in the early and mid-1970’s. “Wow, what a coincidence,” he exclaimed. “So did we!”

I asked him what part of Long Beach he had lived in, and he described the street where Dwain, Dick and I had walked. Now it was my turn to be amazed. He and his wife went on to tell us that they had been a part of the biker crowd, living a pretty wild, hippie kind of life. I started to laugh. “We never met during those days,” I said, “but you were surely some of the people we prayed for as we walked the neighborhood.”

He almost came out of his chair. “You! You! I used to watch you stop in front of our house and stretch out your hand toward us. Never could hear what you were saying, but we figured you must have been praying or something like that. That’s when my wife and I experienced the Lord Jesus Christ coming into our lives and convicting us. That’s when we came to know the Lord for the first time in our lives!”

I continued to walk the neighborhood where I lived, gradually increasing the size of the territory where I walked until I was walking portions of Atlantic and Long Beach Blvds. One day as I was walking Long Beach Blvd., I was shocked to see an X-rated porn theater that had just opened up. Something rose up inside of me in anger that Satan would attempt to so brazenly encroach on territory I had been claiming for the Lord. I walked right up to the front of the theater, put my hands on the building and began to proclaim the establishing of the Kingdom of God in the place.

Despite the fact that folks were standing out front of the place and staring at me like I’d lost my marbles or something, I began to speak out loud, “Father, in the name of Jesus, I establish your Kingdom authority in this place. I shut this theater down!” It was several weeks later that I was driving down Long Beach Blvd. and decided to check on the porn theater. Not too surprisingly, it was shut down. All of the billboards and placards were gone and the theater marquee was empty. I thought to myself, Wow, this is just too good to pass up!

I parked my car and walked over to the front of the building, and again I placed my hand on the outside of the place and began to proclaim the Word of God. I said, “Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I again establish your Kingdom in this place, and I raise up righteousness. Let this building become something that will serve your purposes and be to your Glory.” Then I got back in my car and drove away.

Again it was some weeks that passed before I thought of the theater and decided to go and check on it. As I drove towards the building, I saw a man standing on a ladder putting letters on the theater marquee. I pulled over and parked and watched him spell out the following, one letter at a time: E – V – A – N – G – E – L T – E – M – P – L – E. 

Brother, did I ever let out a war whoop! It had worked! What was once an X-rated porn theater was shut down, and a church and worship center opened up in its place. I’ve no idea how long that church functioned in that building, but years later when I came back to Long Beach for a visit, it was still operating.

Naturally, I wasted no time in sharing it with the folks at Long Beach Christian Center. Dave Dobbs, who was also part of the pastoral staff, happened to be driving with his wife in the San Fernando Valley some months later. They came across a huge construction site where a large number of construction workers and a lot of equipment were busy building some very elegant appearing structure.

Dave drove around the place out of curiosity to see what was being built. A large sign with an artist’s rendition displayed a future Buddhist temple. Dave remembered my experience and sharing about the theater and thought, This is a principle we need to apply here.

He and his wife parked their car, got out and walked to the chain link fence that surrounded the property. They stretched their hands towards the partially constructed building and proclaimed, “Father, in Jesus’ name, we establish your Kingdom over this place, and we shut down this project now!”

It must have been two or three months that passed before they happened to be back in the Valley and thought about the incident. They drove back to the construction site of that building, and –- to their astonishment –- saw weeds grown up around the place. Construction had ceased almost from the day they had spoken the word of authority.

It must have been almost a year later that Dave was back in the Valley and thought about checking on the place one more time. The Buddhist trappings of the place were gone, and it had been redesigned into a nice office building.

By now, you are beginning to understand what I mean when I talk about our ability to season and alter the taste (to the Lord) of the areas where we live. That is the authority of the Holy Spirit working in folks who are submitted to the Lord and sensitive to His voice and leading. That's the authority that comes when you function IN Christ Jesus as the Salt of the Earth!

That’s the kind of authority that brings healing. That’s the kind of authority that brings deliverance to people in captivity to Satan. That’s the kind of authority that tears down the thrones of spiritual rulers – the apostle Paul refers to them in the Greek text of Ephesians 6 as kosmokrator: world rulers of darkness – demon princes who exercise power and influence to execute wickedness.

What is so incredible is that Joe everyday Christian has access to that authority, if he only knew it. Folks get cheated out of living and walking in this realm because of false teaching, because of screwball doctrines, and mostly because of fear, doubt and unbelief. If Christians could see themselves in Christ Jesus, and Him in them, they would understand their role as salt right where they live! If Christians would begin to exercise this kind of authority right in the neighborhoods where they live, we would have a radically different world today.

I said it last week, and I'll say it again! That means that those people will truly season, add savor, and alter the status quo in the earth the way they are supposed to. We have been commanded to be the salt of Heaven in the earth. We have been commissioned to be God’s salt to restrain, to hold back, to preserve this earth.

We have been commanded and commissioned to season the societies that live therein until the day our role as salt has completed that purpose. That role can never be minimized or degraded, or else we suffer the consequence of losing our “saltness,” and cease to fulfill the destiny He has set before us.

Let's do it, folks! Let's bring back an America under God! Let's restore the savor of God's presence in this nation, and on this continent! Let's be the seasoning of Heaven!

OK. Now we can move on to being the "Light of the World" -- next week, that is.

I remind those of you in need of ministry that our Healing Prayer Call takes place on Mondays at 7:00 PM Eastern (4:00 PM Pacific). Once again, the number to call for healing is (805) 399-1000. Then enter the access code: 124763#.

At the same time, in case you are missing out on real fellowship in an environment of Ekklesia, our Sunday worship gatherings are available by conference call – usually at about 10:45AM Pacific. That conference number is (559) 726-1300, and the access code is 308640#. We hope to make these gatherings available by Skype or Talk Fusion before long.

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
Email Contact: Admin@RiverWorshipCenter.org

All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted –provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are available at http://www.RegnersMorningCoffee.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.

If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.To remove yourself from the mailing list, please send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.

CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit: http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.
Saturday, June 13, 2015

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: SUPERNATURAL MATURITY, Part 13

7:07 AM | Posted by | | Edit Post

Another Coffee Break:
Supernatural Maturity, Part 13

June 12, 2015

Good Morning!  Gotta share a recent event that took place as an illustration of our continuing study of what it means to be "the salt of the earth."

A couple weeks back, our daughter, Shelley, stopped in to see us and brought a friend of hers (whom I will call "Arlene" for the sake of this discussion).  Arlene had pretty obviously been through the mill and had been battered emotionally, mentally, spiritually -- and possibly even physically.  Drugs and alcohol had played a big role in recent years and the destruction of the Enemy showed.

Nevertheless, at some time in her past she had been exposed to the Gospel and had at least made some kind of mental assent to the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ.  When Shelley and Arlene walked in the front door, they were scarcely through the living room and into the dining room when Arlene began to cry.  She said, "The peace in this house is unbelievable!  I've never felt anything like this.  There are angels in this place."

Shelley had brought her friend over so she could shower and clean up, and Della told her to help herself.  After a lengthy period, she finally came out of the shower and sat down on one of the bar stools in our kitchen.  She continued to struggle with her composure and kept reiterating that she'd never felt anything like what she was feeling.

It gave Della and me a perfect opportunity to share with her, and Holy Spirit gave us some direct words of knowledge about her that we were able to utilize in ministering to her.  The occasion was ready-made by the Lord.  Arlene had never actually accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, but she readily prayed with us and wept buckets as she invited Jesus Christ to take over her life.  The glow of His presence was all over her as she left with Shelley later that afternoon.

It was a perfect illustration of what happens when we are in Christ, and He is in us.  The saltiness of God's presence so affected the atmosphere that even though this perfect stranger -- Arlene -- had never met us and knew nothing about us, other than the fact that we were Shelley's parents, it brought change and the savor of the Lord into this young woman.

It's not unlike the story of the FedEx driver I shared with you not that long ago who had this startled look on his face when he visibly saw an angel standing behind me when he answered the door.  We can't help but chuckle over the fact that he still reacts that way when he comes to the door with his packages, glancing up over my shoulder to see if the angel is still visible.

OK, time to get back to our discussion.  Here again is the amplification to Matthew 5:13-16.

"In the same way that salt personifies the need for seasoning, restraint and protection from spoilage or rotting, and preparation for soil to produce; in the same way that salt represents wisdom and grace in one’s speech and behavior, you are that grace and wisdom, that seasoning and protection for the world.  You are that which restrains and holds back the execution of my judgment upon a world corrupted, spoiling and decaying in sin.  If you lose the ability to season and influence the world around, you lose your usefulness [to the Kingdom] and, like salt that has lost its ability to make things palatable, and winds up being thrown out, you become worthless [to the Kingdom] and cease to have (spiritual) value, requiring that you be cast aside."   (Matthew 5:13, RAC Translation and Amplification)

"[When I said, “Light be,” that was the light that brought this world into being.  I AM that light.]  (Because you are in me, and I AM in you, you are — likewise — the light of this world.  That is a light one cannot hide.

"[As representatives of the New Jerusalem] you are like that City which is elevated on a high hill or mountain and cannot be hidden from view.  (You have been made and destined to be visible to this world.)"  (Matthew 5:14, RAC Translation & Amplification)

"No one lights a candle, and then hides it under some kind of covering or utensil.  Rather, they put the candle on some kind of lampstand or decorative piece in order to elevate it so as to give light to the whole room.

"Let that light (My light) which is in you, therefore, radiate brilliantly in front of all men and women so that the value of your relationship with and in Me — manifested in the works, the signs and wonders — is demonstrated.  That, in turn, will cause Father in Heaven to receive glory and honor and praise!"  (Matthew 5:15-16, RAC Translation and Amplification)

Let's take a different approach to the concept of being the salt of the earth.

In Genesis 18 and 19, we have the story of Abraham pleading with the Lord concerning the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.  God tells Abraham that His intention is to destroy the cities because their sin is “very grievous.”

The Hebrew text uses the word, kabad, to describe the weight of their sin and its impact on the region.

These two cities resided in the “Vale of Siddim.”  That translates to “the Valley of Salt.”  These two cities were supposed to be “salt” in the region — an influence for good.  Instead, they had become the epitome of all that is evil and wicked in the earth.  Their “salt” had become perversion of every kind and God would no longer tolerate it.

Consider Abraham’s plea.  In cities numbering an estimated population of more than 50,000 people each, Abraham — understanding the significance of the righteous as salt to preserve those cities — began with 50 righteous in asking God if He would destroy the cities were there 50 righteous.  God agreed with Abraham that if 50 righteous were to be found between the two cities, it would suffice to keep them from being wiped off the map.

Abraham took it step after step after step until he reduced it to ten righteous — five for each city, or one righteous person for 10,000 wicked.  God promised him that if there were even ten righteous found among the two cities, He would preserve them.

Genesis 19:24 makes clear that He did not!  We are told that He “overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.”

Talk about destruction!  The destruction with fire and brimstone so reduced the area to ash that absolutely nothing has been able to live there ever since.  In 1987 and 1988, a friend by the name of Henry Gruver accompanied the archaeologist, Ron Wyatt, as he surveyed the area and found that the ash remains as a kind of burned salt — and it is the only place on the planet where that kind of ash exists!  The brimstone produced a valley of salt unlike any anywhere else in the world.

What makes this so fascinating to me is the fact that this fits exactly what Jesus was saying, “if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”

The “salt” of Sodom and Gomorrah had long since ceased to have the savor that God wanted for the land.  It became “good for nothing.”  In order to demonstrate to the land — and to the world of that day — just how critical our role is in seasoning and making the area around us palatable to the Lord (and I’ll address this more, momentarily) and how abominable these cities were to the region, God sent fire and brimstone to rain down upon those cities of the Valley of Salt and render their salt worthless for all time!

Ever wonder why God considers it so important for us to be palatable and to make the world around us palatable to Him?  One only has to go back to Creation to see that the world and all that God created were nothing but perfect.

Genesis 1:31a: And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

The Hebrew word translated “very” in this passage is the word, meòd.

There is a vehemence in this word, indicating that everything was finished to perfection.  The world wasn’t simply palatable to God, it met His definition of “finished, complete, whole, perfect!”

When Adam ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and brought sin into Creation, it was no longer palatable to God.  The smell and taste of the Earth had become corrupted.  It smelled rotten because of Satan’s presence and influence, and tasted even worse!

In 1996, when the Lord enabled me to travel backward and forward in time, and I was transported into the Garden of Eden, the beauty was indescribable.  It was stunning!  But there was more.

There was a fragrance to the Garden that I have only smelled a very few times in my life when that presence of the Lord flooded the atmosphere where I was.  There was a peace and a quiet that the world of today does not know.  That peace and quiet was punctuated by the sounds of birds singing or chirping musically — harmonically.  Their sounds were not discordant or strident.

Eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil changed all that!  It seems strange that a single act like that could bring such corruption, but David expresses it quite succinctly in the Psalms when he writes:

Psalm 115:16:  The Heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath He given to the children of men.

That brings us back to the origins of that rulership.

Genesis 1:26-28:  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

God had given man absolute dominion over the earth and everything in it.  With Adam’s disobedience, there was a consequence.  That consequence was death.  Nothing about God’s Creation was ever designed to corrupt and/or die.

If the DNA of humans, plants, animals, birds, fish, etc., is corrupted so that it now begins to break down and die, there is a rottenness and a stink that comes with it.
Salt greatly slows the breakdown.  Salt will, in some cases, eliminate the odor of spoilage.  Salt changes the flavor and causes things that might otherwise not be palatable or edible to be consumed easily and tastily.

When God covenanted with Israel, therefore, His covenant with them was a Covenant of Salt. They were to make the earth tolerable to Him.  They were to be the seasoning in the earth that provided seasoning to those peoples and nations that didn’t yet know Him.  He required the priests and Levites to add salt to the sacrifices as a symbol of the necessity of their restoring what had been lost.

At the same time, He required that the priests offer up incense in order to make the fragrance of the earth around them “a sweet-smelling savor” to Him.  Each sacrifice and each offering had an enormous spiritual significance which related back to God’s original Creation, the dominion which had been given to man, and the corruption that came into the earth as a result of sin.  Each sacrifice and each offering was designed as a prophetic symbol of the redemptive plan in which each aspect of Creation would be restored.  No offering, and no sacrifice, was offered without salt.  Salt was a symbol of the coming redemption.

Now, let’s return to Jesus’ statement:

In the same way that salt personifies the need for seasoning, restraint and protection from spoilage or rotting, and preparation for soil to produce; in the same way that salt represents wisdom and grace in one’s speech and behavior, you are that grace and wisdom, that seasoning and protection for the world.  You are that which restrains and holds back the execution of my judgment upon a world corrupted, spoiling and decaying in sin.  (Matthew 5:13a RAC Translation and Amplification)

This may seem like a deviation from our sharing, thus far, (and what I’m about to share may fly in the face of some traditional doctrines) but consider something that Paul wrote to the Ekklesia in Thessalonica:

II Thessalonians 2:3-7: Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

You see that word, “letteth”?  That’s an archaic English word which, in today’s usage, means the exact opposite.  The word in the original Greek text is, katecho.

This word means, to restrain, to hold back, to hinder, to hold fast.  Get it?  So who is doing the restraining?  Who is doing the preserving?  Who is hindering the full-blown rottenness and decay in society and in the world?  Right!  You’ve got it!  The salt of the earth!  The people of God who, as Daniel so appropriately puts it:

Daniel 11:32b:  But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

That means that those people will truly season, add savor, and alter the status quo in the earth the way they are supposed to.  We have been commanded to be the salt of Heaven in the earth.  We have been commissioned to be God’s salt to restrain, to hold back, to preserve this earth.

We have been commanded and commissioned to season the societies that live therein until the day our role as salt has completed that purpose.  That role can never be minimized or degraded, or else we suffer the consequence of losing our “saltness,” and cease to fulfill the destiny He has set before us.

Obviously, we never got to the second part of Jesus’ statement concerning our being the light of the world.  That’s where we will pick this up in our next Coffee Break.

I remind those of you in need of ministry that our Healing Prayer Call takes place on Mondays at 7:00 PM Eastern (4:00 PM Pacific).  Once again, the number to call for healing is (805) 399-1000.  Then enter the access code: 124763#.

At the same time, in case you are missing out on real fellowship in an environment of Ekklesia,  our Sunday worship gatherings are available by conference call – usually at about 10:45AM Pacific.  That conference number is (559) 726-1300, and the access code is 308640#.  We hope to make these gatherings available by Skype or Talk Fusion before long.

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
Email Contact: Admin@RiverWorshipCenter.org

Our book, A Tale of Two Brides, published by Destiny Image, is available on Amazon.com as an E-book: http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Two-Brides-Relationship-ebook/dp/B00BSV6HZC/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1363139096&sr=8-8&keywords=A+Tale+of+Two+Brides#_

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