Another Coffee Break

Another Coffee Break - By Regner Capener

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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

A Tale of Two Brides is now available on Amazon.com:

A Tale of Two Brides is now available on Amazon.com:

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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

LIMITATIONS

7:04 PM | Posted by | | Edit Post
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: LIMITATIONS


Della has been working during the past few months at a home for developmentally handicapped (reduced mental faculties) people. These are folks, some of whom have the development of a six or seven-year-old, and a few with perhaps teen or pre-teen mental states who are in their 40's and 50's. It has been a real education for both of us. What has been evident is that in each case there is clear demonic activity with a couple of very severe cases that have a proclivity for violence.

Several weeks ago, she began taking her Bible with her, bringing some of the residents of the home out to a quiet place in the back yard and reading and praying with them. The spiritual impact of that one act alone was nothing less than dramatic. Now, each day when she arrives, she is greeted with, "Are we going to read out Bibles now?" or some similar question.

There are a couple of residents who have been easily triggered into screaming rampages or violent outbursts. With these folks, Della has begun praying with them each day and getting them to follow her in prayer, repeating after her something like the following: "Father, in the name of Jesus, I take authority over my mind and my thoughts. I place them under submission to you. I receive a Spirit of Peace in my being and I submit myself to you. Restore my mind. Restore my brain. Restore me so that I can achieve the destiny you have planned for me. I declare this in the name of Jesus. Amen."

To say that it has had an effect in them is an understatement. It gives a whole new dimension to the power and the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ that we can release with the words that come out of our mouths.

Obviously, Della isn't there in this group home every day, but other health workers in the home have seen what a difference this is making and they are picking up on it. With one resident in particular who is still easily distracted and set off, some of the health workers immediately stop this individual and initiate a declaration similar to the following: "I am at peace. Those are not my thoughts and I command them to leave now in the name of Jesus."

Without fail, it works! It gives an added dimension of understanding to what Paul wrote in II Corinthians 10:4-5, which reads: "(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

Folks, we need to wake up and realize that we tend to operate with limitations placed upon ourselves by our own minds, our thoughts, and by a demonic predisposition Satan takes advantage of when he sees the open door. We've got to get out of our mental boxes and discard the limitations of religion, religious doctrines, the traditions of men and the demonic restrictions we've allowed as a result.

Notice that I listed "demonic restrictions" last in this list. Satan has no power over us that we don't give him; and we open doors of opportunity for his ingress into our lives by our thoughts and our failure to "bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." I can't tell you how often I've heard (and continue to hear) people blame God for their state or for the misery they are in. It isn't His fault: it's ours for not believing and acting upon the authority given to us by virtue of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

That's not to say that we won't still experience mishap and difficulty: we do and we will. Jesus made the statement, AND the promise, "In the world ye shall have tribulation(thlipsis: pressure, heavy burdens, anguish, persecution): but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Hmmmm.... Looks like I just kind of dived in and forgot to say Good Morning to y'all! GOOOODDD MORRRNNNIIIINNNG !!! This is the best day of your life! Sure it is!

While we're still on the topic of dealing with emotionally and mentally handicapped or disadvantaged people, let me tell you about a remarkable event unfolding with our daughter, Rebekah. Like her mother, she works in a home dealing with some developmentally disabled or handicapped people. One of her charges is a young man who is in his late twenties. Several weeks ago she called us quite disturbed because the young man in question was waking up in the morning with what appeared to be bite marks and scratches all over his back. The injuries were clear and unmistakable. The other health workers in the home simply dismissed it as his having nightmares, sleep-walking and injuring himself in the process.

Rebekah has seen enough with our ministry throughout the years to know better and she called to ask what she could do about it. We told her to first document each instance, and if possible to get the agency responsible for the home to install a night-vision camera in the young man's room. The agency refused the request so Rebekah decided to do what she's seen us do and what we have challenged her to do in years gone by.

The young man in question has been greatly tormented for years, and yet he is -- and has been -- a Bible-believing Christian. Rebekah took him to some scriptures to show him how Jesus dealt with these issues, and made it clear to him that she felt he was dealing with evil spirits. He had grown up in a home where he was taught that Christians couldn't be tormented by evil spirits. It's a nice religious doctrine that pacifies a lot of folks and makes them feel good momentarily, but it doesn't get them the help they need, or the deliverance that Jesus paid for on their behalf.

After showing him some pertinent scriptures, Rebekah recommended that he pray with her and take authority over the evil spirits that had been tormenting him and command them to leave him in Jesus' name. He did so immediately.

We've shared with Rebekah the event that happened with Smith Wigglesworth many years ago (and a similar thing happened to Kenneth Hagin) in which he awoke one morning early to see Satan standing over him. Smith Wigglesworth looked up at him and said, "Ohh! It's only you," and turned over in his bed and went back to sleep.

Rebekah shared this with the young man and told him that he could do the same thing. Other than that, she said, "Just tell the demon or Satan to get out of your room and leave you alone in the name of Jesus."

A couple of nights later, that's exactly what happened. The young man woke up feeling pain in his back and turned over to see a demon standing there with his fingers dug into his back. He yelled at him, "Get out of here in the name of Jesus, and don't come back!" The young man was quick to tell Rebekah about it the next morning, and he was ecstatic! "It worked! It worked! Satan left me alone! He stopped scratching and biting me and left."

But that's not the end of the story. This happened more than two weeks ago, and the young man has been able to have a complete night's rest every night since, and the demon has not returned. That's not to say that Satan has given up on the young man yet, but he has had his first taste of Jesus' authority being operational in him and it is making a radical change in his whole makeup.

It's a funny thing! When folks begin to really taste of the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ operating in them, it alters their whole outlook on things. The fear which has been so resident and controlling in their lives begins to dissipate -- and if there is one common denominator in the developmentally disabled, it is FEAR! Once that fear begins to leave, their ability to reason returns or begins to develop the way God designed for them.

Kenneth Hagin used to tell the story of how he was urged to go and see a young woman in a mental asylum. This lady was locked in a padded cell, and had been there for many months. The Holy Spirit directed him to read to her from the Scriptures, pray over her -- and tell her every single day that Jesus loved her, and he did too. For one solid year he did this as the Holy Spirit instructed him. In that year, the woman's whole demeanor changed. She was transferred from the padded cell to the general population of the institution.

When Kenneth Hagin's year was up and the Holy Spirit said to him, "You're through. You've done all that is needed," he went his way and as time went by stopped thinking about the lady. Several years passed and one day he received a phone call from a lady who asked him to come to her place of business.

When he walked into the place, a well-dressed and elegant woman rose from her desk and shook his hand. "Brother Hagin, do you remember me?" she asked. He looked at her and confessed that he did not. "I was that woman in the padded cell in the insane asylum that you ministered to for a solid year."

She proceeded to tell him how she had grown up in the midst of extreme physical abuse and how it had driven her over the edge until she completely lost her sanity. During her growing up years she had been prevented from attending school and had no education whatever. She thus lacked any people skills and any ability to cope with her environment. When she was locked away, everyone gave her up totally considering that she would be institutionalized for the rest of her life.

Hearing the Word day after day, hearing the prayers, the declarations and prophetic decrees over her, and hearing that Jesus loved her (and Kenneth did too) slowly but surely brought her back to sanity. She learned to read by reading the Bible. In due time she was released from the insane asylum as completely sane and emotionally stable. In the years that followed she learned math and became financially proficient, eventually forming her own business. Her company became one of Texas' major trucking and transportation companies, and she became a pillar of society. More than that, she became a living, breathing testimony of how the love of Jesus transforms and restores an individual thought completely lost to society.

Are you beginning to get the drift in these events? These are miracles that are happening "outside the box." They go past the mental limitations -- the religious limitations -- that we tend to put on ourselves or allow Satan to trip us with.

How often have you heard someone say, "Oh, I can't do that!! That's for someone a whole lot more "spiritual" than me." Or maybe it came out like this: "I just don't have the faith for something like that."

Something like WHAT? Something that Jesus did? Something that He commanded us to do? Since when is it OUR faith that accomplishes it?

Jesus put it like this: "Have the faith of God." (Mark 11:22) Our KJV renders it, "Have faith in God," but that's not how the actual Greek text reads. OK, so if we are commanded to have God's faith, how do we get there?

Again, Jesus didn't leave us without clear and unmistakable answers. Consider how the apostle Paul put it in Romans 10:8: "The word (rhema: direct, spoken and uttered word) is near you, in your mouth and in your heart -- that is, the word (rhema: direct, spoken out loud word) of faith which we are preaching." (NASB)

Again Paul writes in the same place, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (rhema: direct, spoken out loud word) of God." (Romans 10:17)

Get it? We hear Him speak it inside ourselves. It may be quiet, it may be nothing more than a prompt, it might even be a whisper, but it is still something we hear. He doesn't shout it, He simply speaks it into us.

It becomes alive and active once we put wind to what we hear -- that is to say, it comes forth from our vocal cords in agreement with what the Lord is speaking in our spirit.

What happens, then, when we hear that prompting inside and respond to it by speaking what we hear is that we see tangible results -- the kind of results that Della has seen with the people she's working with, the kind of results that Rebekah has been seeing, the kind of results that Kenneth Hagin saw when he responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and spent that year reading and praying and speaking to that woman in the institution.

Roughly three months ago while gathered for prayer with a group of local pastors and church leaders, one of the men shared a prayer request for his granddaughter who was struggling with epileptic seizures. He had requested prayer for her a couple of times previously and we had all prayed our usual prayers of agreement for her healing and deliverance both times.

This time was different. As he shared how she was being battered about by the Enemy and the number of seizures was increasing dramatically, anger against the Enemy rose up in me in a way that's hard to put into words. There was a passion that came out of the core of my being. The Word of the Lord spontaneously came out of my mouth and I began to decree and declare the Word of deliverance for this young woman. I commanded that spirit to loose her from that moment forth and declared her complete healing and restoration from any physical or mental or emotional damage done to her on the basis of I Peter 2:24.

Her deliverance, her healing and her restoration were already paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ and He deserved to get from her what He paid for! Now bear in mind that this young woman is not someone I've ever met -- and still haven't to this day. She was many miles distant from our gathering.

Though I did not quote this particular Scripture, it is one that has come to mind more often in recent weeks and months than at any time previously, namely, "He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." (Psalm 107:20)

Jesus fulfilled that prophecy on several occasions. I remind you of the Centurion who said to Jesus, "Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." (Matthew 8:8)

Jesus did so. He sent His Word and the Centurion's servant was healed instantly.

The same thing happened when the Word of the Lord -- a rhema -- came out of my mouth. That was three-plus months ago, and the young woman has never had a seizure since. She was healed and completely delivered from those epileptic attacks.

One of the problems we all have as Christians is that we tend to think that this will work for someone else -- and it certainly worked for Jesus -- but "we're just not Jesus!"

Bahh!! Humbug!! Talk about a lie of the Enemy! Let's see, the last time I looked, God's Word hadn't changed. Last time I checked, Ephesians 1:15-23 still says that Jesus is the head of the body, and WE are the body. That makes us part of Him. We are inextricably woven with Him. His DNA is our DNA. (And I'll talk about that more in our next Coffee Break.)

You see, folks, we have to get our limitations removed. We have to stop thinking "in the box." Religion and religious thinking keeps us boxed in and prevents us from operating in the fullness of the character, the nature and the makeup of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has given Himself for us and to us, and His command is that we go forth IN Him with Him IN US!

More on this topic in our next Coffee Break.

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES

709 South 7th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133
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 now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.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 unsubscribe, 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.
Friday, September 9, 2011

KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE !!

4:09 PM | Posted by | | Edit Post
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK:
KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE !!
Greetings to all of you, and Blessings!
The past six-plus weeks since I last posted a Coffee Break have been eventful to say the least. Della and I were gone to a prophetic conference in Canada for nearly three weeks. When we got back, Della was asked to lead the memorial service for her uncle who had just passed away.
No sooner had that taken place when the sewer pipe to our upstairs bathroom decided to let loose and pour sewage down through the wall and ceiling of the dining room below. Our insurance company was slow in getting someone to come out and clean things up and dry out all of the water-soaked areas so -- being a carpenter (having helped my father build six of his seven churches) and skilled in most of the building trades -- I dived into (ummm....that might be the wrong term) the project and started tearing out the upstairs bathroom. Having done that, I began taking apart the ceiling in the dining room to let it air out.
Wrong move! Ever taken a shower in the sewer? I don't recommend it. Everything rained down on me. I want you to know I didn't waste any time afterwards in getting into a real shower and getting all that gunk off me. It was funny, but not funny if you know what I mean.
When the water remediation folks showed up to start drying things out with their equipment, all the fans and dehumidifiers caused the breakers to kick in the electrical panel -- twice in a row. My main computer was on when the breakers kicked and then came back on.
Even though I have a RAID array for safety's sake, it still took out the boot sector to my hard drives, and I was offline for days. The folks at Dell sent a technician with a pair of new drives to replace the bad ones, but it still took days to rebuild the RAID arrays with all of my backup data and get my system restored. Good thing I had everything backed up or I'd have been a sunk duck!
The fun continues as we wait for the restoration process to be complete. It's a pretty good spiritual illustration. You think things are taken care of in your life and you're crusin' along with the Lord; and all of a sudden something breaks and a whole lot of sewage comes out that you were not prepared for. Think maybe the Lord just might be permitting all of this to happen so that real cleaning, repair and restoration can take place? Yup. I think so.
Well, I thought I'd be able to get back to my experiences in Heaven, but that's going to wait a little longer. There are some things that need some immediate attention and there is a priority in the realm of the Spirit to cover these things. I'll get back to my experiences in Heaven in due time -- and I may yet do one more piece on Israel.
During the past month or so, participating in a conference with Chuck Pierce, Paul Keith Davis, Joshua Mills and Charlie Robinson -- not to mention the conference in Lancaster, California with Paul Keith, Neville Johnson and Sadhu Sundhar Selvaraj -- we've seen a consistency and a continuity of the message of the Holy Spirit to the Bride of Christ today. No matter where you turn, the Word of the Lord is the same.
The Holy Spirit is after a people who are more in pursuit of the indwelling presence of the Lord in His fullness with the accompanying manifestation of the greater works that Jesus promised -- more in pursuit of Him than they are in pursuit of their pet doctrines.
That may seem like a strange thing to say so let me be clear. I'll make it personal so no one takes offense or thinks I'm pointing fingers. There are lots of things that I believe. There are many things I have experienced in a lifelong walk with the Lord. But -- and here's the catch -- there are many things that I know, not just because I've experienced certain things, not because I've studied and researched and done a lot of academic pursuit of knowledge, (and I do love Biblical history!) but because they have been revealed by the Holy Spirit in my inner man.
If that sounds self-serving, it isn't meant to be. Here's how the angel of the Lord put it to John: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." (Revelation 2:17)
"Hidden manna" is something that comes by revelation -- not by study and research and careful calculation. There's a huge difference between "doctrines" and revelation. I grew up in traditional Pentecostal circles with a lot of "doctrines" being taught -- and a lot of those doctrines were predicated in study, research, mathematical calculations or even some personal experiences -- but they didn't produce the kind of inner life that the Holy Spirit is looking for in us.
Once again, let me repeat: there are lots of things that I believe. But believing is a whole lot different from knowing! Again, let me build some fences around what I'm saying. Let me give you some examples.
I know that Jesus is coming soon. How do I know that? First, because He says so in His Word. Secondly, because I've had personal visitations from the Lord, along with angelic visitations to specifically confirm that fact. My knowing is based in a combination of the Word -- and if it isn't in the Word, you'd better really consider what you think you know -- and in that which has been revealed by the Holy Spirit.
Now, watch!
I believe that we only have a few years before Jesus comes. I don't believe He will come this year, or next, or even the next year after that. Why? Because that isn't what the message of the Holy Spirit is in the body of Christ today. That doesn't mean I'm right -- and no one would rejoice any more than me if I were wrong -- but here's why I take that position. Consider what John wrote as he closed out the Revelation.
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)
The Bride of Christ is not saying, "Come, Lord Jesus." The Holy Spirit is not saying, "Come, Lord Jesus." What the Spirit and the Bride are saying is this: "Get the spots and wrinkles out of your garments, people! Make yourself ready to receive Him."
Consider these two scriptures: (1) (Ephesians 5:25-27) "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." (2) Revelation 19:7-8) "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."
If there is any message being trumpeted by the true prophets in the body of Christ today, this is it: Invite the Spirit of Judgment and Burning into your life to cleanse every last vestige of religion, every last vestige of flesh, every last vestige of sin or error of any kind! Make yourself ready so that Jesus truly receives the inheritance He paid for with His blood!
In Paul's instruction in the letter to Ephesus, he precedes his statement about the Lord giving Himself with a command to husbands to love their wives in the same way that Jesus gave Himself for His Bride. While Paul is speaking to husbands and wives, he does make it clear that Jesus gave Himself totally, completely and without reservation in order to redeem for Himself that people He designed for Himself before time began.
For Jesus to truly receive His inheritance in His people, they likewise must give themselves totally and unreservedly to Him -- no matter the cost -- so that His Glory can be seen in them, so that His presence will be seen, and so that all that He is will be demonstrated and manifested in the earth.
Sorry to have spent so much time on this topic. There's a whole lot more here to talk about -- and maybe in the future I can do a specific Coffee Break on the coming of the Lord -- but that's not what this discussion is all about today. What I'm getting at is that -- because of the above Scriptures -- I believe there are some things absolutely necessary to be accomplished in the Bride of Christ before Jesus can come. Understand?
What I believe is a bit different from what I know. I don't know the day or the hour that Jesus will come, and I refuse to speculate on it or guess at it. There is an alert that takes place in the realm of the Spirit for those who are prepared and there's no guesswork to that alert.
There are times and seasons in God, and we certainly know the season of Jesus' return. And it is important for us to know the times and the seasons. That said, my objective is to allow the Holy Spirit to do whatever it takes in me so that when the Lord Jesus Christ does return, He can receive in me everything He paid for. Am I clear?
One more clarification on this topic so there is no misunderstanding. I was awakened a couple of years ago early one morning with the audible voice of the angel of the Lord speaking. I sat up straight in bed when I heard it. He said to me, "You have no idea how soon the return of the Lord Jesus Christ really is!" Now there's an attention getter!
There is an alert that has gone forth in the earth today, but that alert is somewhat akin to the parable that Jesus gave in Matthew 25. The virgins (representing those who had their garments clean and spotless) were first made aware that the Bridegroom was on His way. That's the alert that has gone forth. The Bridegroom has delayed His coming so that He will have a Bride who is ready for Him. In Jesus' parable, there was a second alert, "Behold the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him." That alert has not taken place yet. Those who have ears to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying will hear that alert! What the Holy Spirit is saying is, "Bride, get yourself ready." He has not yet said, "Come, Lord Jesus." OK?
Good! Let's move on.
Some of you may wonder why I've taken this path in our discussions today. Folks, because of what God is doing in the earth today and because of what He is saying to the body of Christ, it is imperative that I share the following with you.
It has been clear for some time now that there is a clear dividing taking place among Christians -- a separating, if you will -- that is making many believers uncomfortable. After all, we well remember Paul's declaration in Ephesians 4 (verse 3) in which he instructs us to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." But Paul didn't leave it there. Watch what he writes a few verses later.
"And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers for the perfecting (katartismos: the complete furnishing) of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect (teleios: complete) man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. (Christos: the Anointed One, and His anointing)"
HELLO?????
Unto a perfect man? Unto the measure (metron: the rule or standard of judgment; the determined extent, the measured portion) of the stature (helikia: maturity) of the fullness of Christ? Us? Now, before we get to Heaven?
That's it, folks! NOW, not in "the sweet bye and bye."
One of the difficulties in the body of Christ is a wide spread of doctrines that push many things way off in the future, or "when we all get to Heaven" as if Heaven is our objective. Heaven is not our objective! Heaven is only home-base for the future.
By the same token, there are many things -- interpretations of prophecies, for example -- that get shoved into the 1000-year reign of Christ on the earth (the Millennium, if you please). The problem is these interpretations is that they fail to give the Lord Jesus Christ His due in us. Sometimes I wonder if people really understand what Jesus did for us, and if they understand what it cost Him.
Let's see if I can put this another way.
Every Christian believer knows that Jesus died on the Cross for him or her, and that their salvation from Hell rests in that fact. But does every believer understand that what Jesus paid for on the Cross goes way beyond "fire insurance"?
Fire insurance -- deliverance from the penalties of sin and an eternal damnation in Hell -- is only a fraction of what Jesus paid for. Let me digress for just a second.
If you go to Costco or Sam's Club or Wal-Mart or Safeway (or whatever) and you decide to purchase something, do you not expect to get what you pay for? Do you expect, for example, to plop down the cash or a check (or a debit card) for food or household goods, and then walk out of the store and leave them behind? If you paid for them, don't you deserve to get what you paid for? Aren't you legally entitled to get what you paid for?
Now, let's apply this principle to the price that Jesus paid. Let me take you to a transliteration of Isaiah 53:3-5 that I did from the Hebrew text:
(3) He is disdained and scorned, and considered as having ceased to exist by men: a man of anguish and pain, and has known grief by seeing and experiencing it; and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was disdained and scorned, and we maliciously fabricated, invented and treated His suffering and death as void.
(4) Surely He has suffered and accepted as His own our maladies, our anxieties, our calamities, our disease and sicknesses, and carried our anguish, pain and grief: yet we fabricated and maliciously invented His being stricken violently, beaten, punished, wounded and slaughtered as if by God -- choosing to believe that God browbeat, demeaned and looked down upon Him.
(5) But He was broken and profaned for our rebellion, our revolt, our apostasy and our [religious] quarrel against God; He was crushed, oppressed and smitten, and (emotionally) broken into pieces for our perversity, our evil, our mischief, sins and faults; the breaking and ridiculing of our peace, our welfare, our prosperity, our health and our safety was upon Him; and with His bloodied and blue wounds we are cured, mended, repaired and made thoroughly whole.
THERE!! That's what Jesus did, and that's what it cost Him! Understand?
Now! Consider Paul's prayer and admonition.
" I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 1:18-20 NASB)
Lastly, do you understand the word, "Salvation"? Do you know that this word was never intended to be just about "fire insurance"? This word is a translation of the Greek, sozo, (to protect, to deliver, to rescue, to defend, to save, to heal, to preserve, to cause to prosper, to make [completely] whole). It is the equivalent of the Hebrew, yasha (and its derivative, ye shu ah), with the same identical meanings.
Having said all of that, what do you believe? Now then, what do you KNOW? If Jesus paid for your salvation, has He received it yet? He paid for your defense from the Enemy. Do you KNOW that He is your defense? He paid for your healing. Do you KNOW that you are healed? He paid for your deliverance from poverty. Have you received, or do you walk in the totality of abundance that He paid for?
If Jesus paid for all of this with such a high price, has He received in you what He paid for?
What do you believe? What do you KNOW? It isn't your faith by which you receive all of this: it's Jesus' faith!
See you again soon.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
709 South 7th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133

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 now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.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 unsubscribe, 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.
Friday, July 15, 2011

ISRAEL & THE PSALM 83 PROPHECY, Part Three

7:00 AM | Posted by | | Edit Post
ISRAEL & THE
PSALM 83 PROPHECY
Part Three
“Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day; I’ve got a wonderful feeling…..!
OK, sorry ‘bout that. Sometimes those oldies from years gone by seem to run through my mind. Anyway, Good Mornin’ to ya! This is the best day of your life!
I’d really like to get this series finished. Della and I will be doing a considerable amount of traveling during the next month, and it’s likely I won’t have a lot of opportunity to do much posting until we return.
Della’s uncle, Jesse Evans, went home to be with the Lord in this past week so there’s a lot of family activity ongoing as preparations are made for the respective memorial services, etc.
The responses from readers to this series on Israel have been pretty amazing. The comments from them have been overwhelmingly positive and we’ve been adding about a hundred new subscribers to our database every couple of days. Wow! That said, there sure have been a few folks whose religious indoctrination just won’t let them accept that the prophecies in the Old and New Testaments apply to both natural and spiritual Israel, or that the term “God’s Chosen People” has a natural as well as a spiritual implication. What they don’t seem to realize is that they are arguing with God’s Covenant – not with Israel. (But that’s another topic.)
Oh well! Trying to convince folks who don’t want to accept that the Word has much greater depth to it than a simple surface explanation is an exercise in futility. All I can do is share the Word and the revelation I have and leave it there for folks to deal with. Hey! If you have a struggle with anything I’m sharing, put in on the shelf. Don’t simply discard it. The Holy Spirit just might accidentally bring revelation to you that differs from what you think you already know. D ‘ya think?
Let’s begin today with something I said in the last Coffee Break. What happens in and with Israel is a direct prophetic correlation to what God is doing in the earth! It is a picture of the in-gathering together, the great harvest of souls for the Kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ taking place around the earth even as we speak. It is the fulfilling of Paul’s prophecy in Ephesians 1:18-19: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” (NASB)
Jesus’ inheritance is found not only in the Gentile “church” – it is found in Israel and in the Jews! That inheritance is so multi-faceted and multi-layered as to defy description.
[Note: I really don’t like the term “church” because of the pictures it conveys which are so contrary to everything we know about the early believers. They had Ekklesia – not the structured “church” concepts familiar with western society today.]
Let’s get back, now, to the way Asaph prayed against the enemies of the Lord.
Once he has described the ten nations or tribes who assemble themselves against Israel, he now launches into a character description of them, describing past victories God has given Israel, and likening the character and nature of those past enemies to those assembled against Israel. Asaph could easily have named many other enemies whom God had given into Israel’s hands, but he chose these specifically because of the way their names – their makeup and essence – paralleled those of the ten-nation confederacy.
Let’s take them in order as they are described:
(1) First, he describes the Midianites. The name “Midian” in Hebrew means strife. Midian, you’ll remember, was descended from Abraham’s lineage through Keturah. Not part of the covenant family through Isaac, the Midianites still dwelled in relative peace with Israel for several generations. Think back to Jethro, the priest of Midian, who became Moses’ father-in-law, and – through wise counsel to Moses – brought forth the form of government that served Israel for hundreds of years through tribal councils, elders and chosen representatives. (We know this form of government today in the U.S. Our nation’s founding fathers called this a “republican government.”)
The peace and tranquility between Israel and Midian did not last once Moses led Israel out of Egypt toward their promised inheritance in Canaan. Midian had grown to occupy part of the territory God promised to Abraham through Isaac, and they feared Israel. Once Israel entered the land they were occupying, Midian formed an alliance with the Moabites and turned on their erstwhile brethren.
(2) Next we have Sisera, Captain of the Host for the Canaanites under Jabin, their king. Sisera’s name is Egyptian and translates out as “servant of Ra.” The Canaanites we know from Genesis 9:25 where this firstborn son of Ham bears the curse of his father’s sin for committing a homosexual act against his father, Noah. Canaan fathered each of the seven nations whom God commanded Israel to destroy and erase from the land of promise. [That’s a separate study which you can find in the Coffee Break archives (http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/)] The Canaanites were sworn enemies of Israel and continually sought to prevent them from receiving God’s promises to Abraham.
(3) Jabin, the king of the Canaanites, whose name means “to separate mentally, to be cunning, to understand,” thought to use his cunning and craftiness against Israel in order to keep them under subjection to himself. He built for himself an arsenal of 900 chariots made of iron to go with an army that the Hebrew text describes as “locusts” for their multitude. For twenty years Jabin had held Israel in fear and had ruled them, manipulated them and made them a laughingstock in the land. Because Israel had made the unbelievably stupid mistake of following the gods of the Canaanites and bowing to them, the Lord permitted them to come under Jabin’s dominion as punishment. (More on this in a moment.)
(4) Next we have Oreb, whose name means “raven.” In scripture the raven was forbidden to eat because it was an unclean bird, feeding mostly on carrion or dead birds and animals. One notable characteristic of the raven was its tactic of picking out the eyes of helpless birds or small animals and then feeding on them while they still lived. Oreb came by his name honestly as a prince of the Midianites. He specialized in preying upon the weak or defenseless among Israel, picking them apart and utilizing their resources for himself.
(5) His companion prince was a man named Zeeb whose name means “wolf.” The Hebrew term for him was “yellow” – a descriptive word for someone who was cruel and treacherous. Wherever we see Oreb in Scripture, we see Zeeb. These two Midianite princes worked together as a treacherous pair killing, persecuting, terrorizing the Israelites and continually committing acts of war against pockets of Israelites.
(6) Then we have Zebah, a Midianite king whose name says it all in Hebrew: slaughter; sacrifice (as in offering up animals [or in this case, people] as burnt sacrifices.
(7) Finally we have one more Midianite king, Zalmunna, whose name in Hebrew translates literally to: “shade has been denied.” It is a perfect description of one who deliberately removes any available protection and goes out of their way to expose a person (or a group of people) to the kind of danger that will ultimately take their lives in a cruel and debilitating manner.
Now, consider what happened in history to each of these individuals. See how history graphically portrays the significance of Asaph’s prophetic prayer.
(1a) Though the Midianites were permitted periods of time by God to persecute Israel because the nation had departed from worshiping Him, in battle after battle beginning with their confederation with Moab when Balak tried to bribe Balaam to curse Israel, God continued to rout them with Israelite leaders and armies who were severely outnumbered and out-weaponed.
(2a) Sisera represented the Egyptians, and in this case, had become confederate with the Canaanites. The Canaanites represented five separate lesser tribes who had banded together because they were not large in size. The banding together enabled them to become a mostly cohesive people who, because of their Hamite lineage, had grown into the most corrupt and sexually perverse people among the seven nations God covenanted to give to Abraham. Sisera stands out in Asaph’s prophecy because of the way in which he died (see Judges 4). He was an arrogant man who thought his incredible military strength would be more than sufficient to defeat Barak’s piddling 10,000 men. He was wrong! Sisera died at the hands of a woman – Jael – who drove a nail into his temple while he slept, thinking he was safe and secure in hiding in an Edomite home. The Edomites were no particular friends of Israel (think Esau vs. Jacob), but one of the families of Edom – Heber, the Kenite (and father of the Kenizzites) – had become integrated into Israel’s history and heritage through Caleb, and then Othniel. Sisera never bothered to check out the family where he tried to hide, and died in his sleep.
(3a) Jabin, the Canaanite king, had been allowed by God for a period of twenty years to subdue Israel, and he thought himself secure with his expert Egyptian commander, Sisera. When Barak – with the prophetess Deborah – came out against Jabin’s forces in order to free Israel from tyranny, he felt absolutely confident in his military might to put down the rebellion. Judges 4:23-24 tells us that following Sisera’s death and the utter defeat of his great armies, Barak hunted him down to his death and destruction.
(4a & 5a) When you consider the story of Gideon (Judges 7) and how once again the Lord used a tiny contingent of 300 men to roust the armies of Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian. Their army had been joined by the Amalekites, the Syrians and (from all we can tell) Ishmaelites. The number of people gathered together in the Valley of Jezreel was “as grasshoppers for multitude.” In order to appreciate Gideon’s feat consider this. A rabbi once told me that the sound generated by the breaking of the pitchers from Gideon’s high perch above the valley would be analogous to the sound of hundreds of swords being drawn at once from their scabbards. Add to that sound the picture of all the lights spread out in single file on the hilltops, and it created the illusion of a vast army coming against them in the middle of the night. The Midianites, the Amalekites and all of the Arab nations were (and still are for the most part) ruled by and through fear and terror. Their reaction to this sudden explosion of sound and light created utter panic causing them to turn on one another in the darkness and kill each other. Of one hundred thirty-five thousand soldiers pitted against Gideon, only 15,000 survived.
(6a & 7a) Those 15,000 fled to a placed called Karkor, a relatively walled up (and “dug in” according to Gesenius) secure place east of the Jordan, along with the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna. The two princes, Oreb and Zeeb, had already been killed, and now it was time to take out the kings. Gideon’s band of 300 – even in their weakened and wearied state – took out the 15,000 and brought Zebah and Zalmunna to him. Judges 8:21 tells us that Gideon killed the two kings with his own sword and took the large royal medallions that hung on the necks of their camels. There is a great significance to taking these medallions because they had the images of the gods that the Midianites worshiped. Thus, Gideon not only took out their armies, but also took away from them the symbols of the gods they worshiped, demonstrating that the God of Israel was supreme over all other gods.
There is a side note to this story worth telling. As Gideon and his men pursued after Zebah and Zalmunna, they came to a place known as Succoth. Succoth, at that time, was occupied by Arab families who had not joined in the battle against Israel. When Gideon requested food and provisions for his band of 300 in their wearied state, they stubbornly refused assistance of any kind despite the obvious victories God has wrought through Gideon. Gideon warned them that there would be retribution for their passive assistance to the Midianites, and when he and his men returned from the victory at Karkor they stopped at Succoth, took the elders of the city, and rather than kill them, he sent a message to all who would provide aid and assistance to the enemies of Israel by whipping them with thorns and briers.
Gideon’s great victories over the Midianites, their kings and their princes, with his tiny band virtually ended the power of Midian, and except for harboring Hadad, an enemy of Solomon, many years later it was the end of their military forays against Israel.
There is one more picture here relevant to these great victories. Judges 6:34 tells us that “the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon.” This is a unique phrase in the Hebrew and it literally tells us that “the Spirit of the Lord clothed Himself with Gideon.” Get it? When God’s enemies rise up against His people, the Lord clothes Himself with them in such a way that they become Him on the battlefield.
Now you begin to get the picture and the great significance of Asaph’s prophetic prayer, and why he prayed the way he did. He was prophesying the same kind of doom and destruction against a confederacy of ten nations who thought to wipe Israel off the map. He is saying to the Lord – or more accurately, the Lord is saying through Asaph – “Do to these nations and peoples exactly what was done to the Canaanites, the Egyptians, the Midianites, the Moabites and the Syrians (and all of the other unnamed Arab peoples) who pitted themselves against God!”
Yup. Let me paraphrase the rest of this prophecy.
“O my God, make them like a wheel (that goes in circles around itself), as stubble before the wind. As fire burns wood and flames consume a mountain, so create a firestorm and tempest against them, and make them afraid to ever come against You again! Shame them, O Lord, not to their utter destruction but so that those who remain will seek after You. Let those who reject You for their false gods be forever confounded, put to shame and perish, that men worldwide may know that You, Yowd Hey Vav Hey (Jehovah), are the Most High God over all the earth!”
That, my friends, is exactly what we are about to see. Whether it happens within a year, two years, five years – or whenever it takes place – these same peoples of whom Asaph prophesies will rise up against the Lord God saying, “Let us take and possess the houses of God for ourselves.”
The Lord will respond with a roar! He will clothe Himself with Israel and the world will see a military victory that will make the Six-Day War look like an afternoon skirmish.
There is one other factor to consider in this prophecy.
Pay attention to each of the ten nations, where they are located, and the culture, the philosophy, and the religion of each of them. Religion – no matter by what name it is called – is and has always been the enemy of God. Every religion has at its roots man in control, or man being the final arbiter of himself.
Let’s make one thing clear, too. True Christianity is not a religion. In fact, it is anything but! Christianity is a personal, intimate relationship with a living God – a living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Those who truly worship God worship Him in Spirit and in Truth! True Christians are those who know, understand, and walk in the love of God – and I don’t mean the “sloppy agape” that has permeated the church world. Yes, there is a religion that calls itself “Christianity,” but denies the power of God, and puts on a façade that seems to have the form of Godliness, but lacks in the signs following that Jesus promised.
Folks, true Christianity has the signs following. It does! The sick are healed, the dead are raised to life, the lepers are cleansed, demonic prison bars are smashed as people are set free from evil spirits, and people’s lives are radically changed for the better. Anything that calls itself “Christianity” that lacks this evidence is a poor substitute religion.
That said, when you look at the ten nations or groups identified by Asaph’s prophecy, there is a common denominator in today’s world: Islam! Asaph’s prophecy in Psalm 83 spells the end of Islam. It is the coup de grace to a religion that has imprisoned men and women and children for centuries, taken away basic freedoms guaranteed by God, and forced people to worship a false god – the same false god that the Canaanites served, the same false god that the Midianites served, the same false god that the Lord God warned Israel NEVER to serve: Baal.
Never mind the fact that Baal is now called “Allah.” Allah is none other than an incarnation of the demon, Baal, and he is about to suffer a defeat such as the world has never known!
Buckle your seatbelt! Baal has never gone down without a fight in the past, and he is about to mount the greatest attack on the people of God – Israel and Christians – such as recorded history has never known. But the Lord – through Asaph – makes us a solemn promise in this prophecy. Baal and his servants – his followers – will see such shame that the world will fear and reverence the Lord God and honor Him as Yowd Hey Vav Hey!
Believe me! When God comes to your defense when you’re under attack by the Enemy, He has a spectacular way of doing things – and He often does it conditions we would consider impossible.
Because of our travel schedule, I’m not sure when the next Coffee Break will be published, but I will try to get one or two out while we are on the road.
As Christians we have a mandate from the Lord to bless Israel. Those who bless Israel are blessed and become a blessing themselves. God’s promise to Abraham was, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
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