Another Coffee Break

Another Coffee Break - By Regner Capener

Powered by Blogger.

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:

Translate

Saturday, September 14, 2013

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: THE SPIRIT OF JEZEBEL, Part 4

1:12 PM | Posted by | | Edit Post

The Spirit of Jezebel, Part 4
September 13, 2013
Good Morning!!  When I opened up our last Coffee Break, I neglected to follow up on the comment about some Amish brethren who were part of the praise and worship gathering a couple weeks ago in an area just a short distance from Lewiston, Idaho, and it is worth following up.

We were talking about the vivid display in the heavens with the extremely loud claps of thunder that shook the whole place, followed by close lightning strikes, followed by hail which fell as glass.  The Amish leader who was part of this gathering was a brother I know as Levi.  As they gathered together with believers who represented a cross-section of the Body of Christ, Levi stood up and said the following:

"I want you all to know that we are NOT Amish.  Neither are we Ex-Amish.  We are your brethren in the Body of Christ!"

THAT, folks is what is happening in this hour.  Barriers are coming down!  As people are being drawn into the immediate presence of the Lord, they are shedding their denominational rags as well as their sectarian and doctrinal positions and putting on the glory of the Lord. 

The spirit of Jezebel is notable in presenting itself as a prophet(ess) in order to teach men and women and entice them into immorality -- whether spiritual or physical or through mental fantasies (such as using pornography) -- often justifying that immorality with the use of certain scripture verses taken out of context.  Adultery and fornication are often justified through pornographic imagery by the spirit of Jezebel under the guise that "you didn't engage in any physical sexual contact with anyone."

Let's see.  How was it that Jesus put it?  (See Matthew 5:27-28)  "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

Get it?  Adultery or fornication is not simply engaging in a physical act.  It is the living out of the sexual act with someone to whom you are not married in the midst of mental and emotional fantasies.  We'll talk about the spiritual side of adultery and fornication in the days to come and the seduction associated with it that John was driving at in the prophecy to the Ekklesia in Thyatira.

This is a pretty heavy subject for a lot of people, and sometimes the real life aspects of how the spirit of Jezebel operates can get lost in the details.  That said, let's get back to the event I was sharing with you in the previous Coffee Break that took place some years back with my lifetime friend and brother in the Lord, Dwain McKenzie.

Got my good strong cup of French Roasted Columbian blended with some Jamaican Blue Mountain poured, and I’m on my second cup.  Better grab yours before it's too late.  A quick note as well: we're going to run long again in today's Coffee Break.

Last week, I ran out of time (and space) to complete a story on seeing firsthand the spirit of Jezebel in operation.  It never occurred to me at the time that this was what I was seeing, and not for several years thereafter did I understand the demonic nature of what transpired.  Not until the Holy Spirit led me into the ministry of deliverance did I begin to comprehend what had unfolded before me; and then I watched as the Lord brought both judgment and vindication.

As I wrapped up part one of this discussion last week, I said that as soon as I was gone from Barrow, a fake trial was held before the church board.  Dwain was found guilty in absentia.  He never had an opportunity to present evidence that would have cleared him.  Neither was I ever given an opportunity – as one who had personally worked with him and been involved in the day-to-day ministry – to present any evidence or testimony contrary to that of the conspirators.

Dwain was contacted while in California and advised to get back to Barrow to pack up his personal belongings, and told that he was through as a pastor in Alaska.  You can imagine his shock.  He flew to Fairbanks to meet with the District Superintendent (DS) to plead his case and was brushed off without so much as an ounce of grace.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m about the last person on the face of this earth to believe in conspiracies and I don’t abide conspiracy theories very well.  Nevertheless, as this situation unfolded, it became clear that certain preachers in Alaska wanted titles and political power within the Alaska Missions.  Because of my father’s long history of building and establishing churches and his pioneering ministry, they figured he was in line to become the top leader within the denomination and its operations in Alaska.

Dad was about as apolitical as any person you’ve ever met.  He wasn’t the least bit interested in titles or positions.  He was there because God called and anointed him to lay foundations, and build and establish the Kingdom of God throughout the arctic.  He didn’t have time for church politics and adamantly criticized those within the denomination for getting wrapped up in it.  Nevertheless, he was given a title (as General Presbyter – that’s an overseer and representative of a group of churches) and a certain amount of authority within the statewide operations of the denomination.  What Dad knew was that his authority didn’t come from the denomination; it came from the Lord who called him and sent him.  He used his position – not as a political power base, but as a means to extend his reach in ministry.

One of the things I’ve found to be true in a lifetime of ministry is that those who seek political power and position generally tend to be afraid of it; and their seeking after that power and position comes from a place of wanting the esteem of men.  Likewise, those who seek after power and political titles tend to believe that everyone else also wants that power.  It becomes a place of competition, manipulation and control.  Hence, it becomes a platform in their lives for witchcraft to take hold and function in and through them.

Thus, those who conspired to remove Dwain from the pastorate in Barrow did so because they felt he was a “vote” for my father to have the general superintendence of the denomination in Alaska.  Hervel was a pawn – a willing one, to be sure, but a pawn nevertheless.  His greed and willingness to subvert the Gospel for the sake of what he viewed as a powerful political position (he became the pawn of a spirit of witchcraft) made him an easy target for those who also had subverted the Gospel.

Dwain didn’t waste much time nursing any wounds over the conspiracy and his removal from Barrow.  He began ministering in a church in southern California as new doors opened up to him.  The conspiracy hadn’t ended, of course, but the Lord was setting the stage for judgment for the would-be conspirators.

By now, of course, I was in Nome, working at the bank and receiving my training to take the management of the Kotzebue branch; and at the same time helping our family friend and brother in the Lord, Paul Bills, in his pastorate of the church in Nome where I’d grown up in my early childhood.  A general unrest began to develop in my spirit in the midst of my bank management training, and I realized this was not the direction of the Lord in my life.  The job wasn’t paying a whole lot of money [unless you are in senior management in banking, you don’t make any money at all], and I was struggling to pay my bills.

Our young daughter, Debbie, was fighting with one sickness after another, and money was spending like water.  A friend I’d known from my youth was working for the state of Alaska as a civil engineer.  He knew of my engineering and math skills and offered me a high-paying job with the state as a surveyor on a remote highway project.  I decided it was time to get my bills paid off and actually make a move towards permanent, full-time pastoral ministry, resigned from the bank and took the surveyor’s job.

In the meantime, I discovered that the denomination was looking for a missionary to take the church in Nenana, Alaska so I submitted my name to the missions organization.  As soon as my father heard that I had put my name in consideration, he contacted the missions leadership and put in his plug on my behalf.  It never dawned on me – and certainly not on my Dad – that this move would be regarded in exactly the same way they regarded Dwain’s pastorate of the church in Barrow: namely, another vote for my father, and a threat to those who sought political power and position.  I waited, and waited, and waited, and waited some more.  It didn’t make sense that I wasn’t receiving any response from the missions leadership.  The need in Nenana was urgent and I was more than qualified.

Weeks turned into months, and still no response was forthcoming.  I asked Paul Bills to check on it for me and see if he could rattle some doors on my behalf.  The look in his eye when I asked should have spoken volumes, but I was naïve enough to think that he was fully supportive of my request.  After some five months had passed and still no answer was forthcoming from the denomination, a letter arrived in the mail from Audrey Mieir, the songwriter, arranger and singer whom I had known from my days in Bible College.  She asked me if I would pray about and consider taking over the youth ministry in her brother-in-law’s church in Duarte, California: Bethel Union Church.  There was an immediate “YES” in my spirit.  This was the direction of the Lord, and it was clear.

I still didn’t understand why I hadn’t heard anything from the denominational missions leadership, but decided to let it pass.  In the midst of the transition in moving from Alaska to California, I used my aunt and uncle’s home in Santa Clara, California as a stopover and a staging place from which to make the final move.  A letter from the missions board that was sent to my Alaskan address caught up with me in Santa Clara. 

To sum up that letter, it read, “with your life so out of order and your bills unpaid, how dare you apply for a place of ministry with us?”  Since I had paid off my bills before leaving Alaska with ample income I'd received as a surveyor, the letter was puzzling to say the least.  None of it made any sense, and I simply threw the letter in the trash can.  Besides, I already had my direction from the Lord.

Now.  Let’s fast forward to the late fall of 1976.  I’ve been ministering with Dwain McKenzie (again!) at Long Beach Christian Center for the past five years.  The events of a decade previous are long gone from our memories.  The past ten years have produced such change in me that I’m no longer anything like what I was in 1966.  There has been an unfolding of a series of miracles and spectacular works of the Holy Spirit as I could scarcely have imagined.  Now I’ve accepted Scott Hessek’s (Scott was the Satellite Communications Director of CBN) offer to take the ministry of CBN and the 700 Club to Alaska.

Arriving in Anchorage and on my way to Saint Paul Island where my folks are ministering, I spend a few days reacquainting myself with people I’ve known throughout much of my life.  On Sunday, prior to my Monday departure for Saint Paul Island, I decide to visit the denominational church in Anchorage where many of my past friends or acquaintances would likely be.  The Sunday morning service gets under way and the pastor makes a point of publicly acknowledging and recognizing my presence.  At the conclusion of the service, a hand taps me on the shoulder from behind and a familiar voice says, “Regner, I’m so glad to see you.”  It was Paul Bills.  I spun around, grabbed him and gave him a big bear hug.

“Brother Bills, I sure am glad to see you!  What are you doing here?”  I hadn’t kept track of him or his movements, and was unaware that he had been gone from Nome for some time.  Tears came to his eyes, and he began to weep.  “Brother, I need to ask you for your forgiveness,” he said.  You could have pushed me over with a feather.  “Why on earth do you need my forgiveness,” I asked.

“Ten years ago, I did you a terrible wrong.  When you applied for missionary status with the missions board and requested appointment to Nenana, I sent accusatory letters against you in order to block your appointment.”  He went on to relate the conspiracy that had taken place between him, the then-District Superintendent, and others in ministry in Alaska to block people from being in a position where they could become supporting votes for my father to have the general superintendence.

I responded, “Brother, you didn’t have to do that!  Dad couldn’t have cared less for the title or the position.  He was too focused on accomplishing what the Lord anointed and commissioned him to do.  Becoming the General Superintendent was the last thing on his mind!”

Paul Bills nodded his head.  “I know that, now, but I was too caught up in wanting the position myself.  I was wrong, Brother, and the Lord has taken me to task for it.  I am suffering His judgment because of my actions.  He has instructed me to put my house in order and prepare to die.  I have Lou Gehrig’s disease, and have less than two years to live.  I did you wrong, among others, in the midst of my greed and manipulation to have political power, and I’m asking you to forgive me.”

I was so overcome with emotion it was hard to speak.  “Brother Bills,” I said brokenly, “Whatever you meant for evil, the Lord has meant for good.  I wouldn’t trade the past ten years of seeing and experiencing all that the Lord has done in and through me for the whole world!  Consider yourself more than forgiven.”  I only saw Paul Bills a couple of times after that.  His health deteriorated rapidly and in less than two years, he was gone.  Inquiries into the whereabouts of the previous District Superintendent, as well as the would-be pastor in Barrow (Hervel) who had aided in the conspiracy to remove Dwain yielded the following, and I realized that the Lord was executing judgment.

The previous DS had also been stricken with a nerve disorder that eventually caused his death.  The church board in Barrow soon realized after Dwain’s dismissal that he was not guilty of the accusations leveled against him, and that in fact, Hervel had trumped up charges of criminal activity of which he was personally guilty.  The church asked for his removal and he was gone shortly thereafter, dismissed from the denomination.  He moved to Nome where he became its City Manager.  It didn’t take long for Hervel to resume his financial fraud.  An investigation by federal agents brought about an indictment for embezzlement.  His wife divorced him, and he wound up in prison.

See what the spirit of Jezebel does to people?  See what happens when folks become contaminated by the sin of witchcraft?  Remember the quote I shared with you from Revelation 2, “And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.   Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.  And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.”

That’s EXACTLY what happened to all those who committed adultery with the spirit of Jezebel in this case.  In case you haven’t seen it yet, this WAS the spirit of Jezebel hard at work to usurp the power, the authority, and the anointing of God’s anointed and appointed.  Those who committed adultery with the spirit of Jezebel were “cast into great tribulation” because they never repented of their deeds – at least not until it was too late.  Paul Bills publicly repented for his part in the ongoing conspiracies, and his public repentance exposed sin and corruption that had plagued the missions organization in Alaska for years.

In our last Coffee Break, I said that I would show you how the Lord vindicated Dwain after all of the false charges and accusations.

Let’s fast forward one more time – this time to 1988.  By this time, Della and I are in Anchorage.  Dwain calls me on the phone needing a place to stay for a day or two ON THE WAY BACK TO BARROW!!  That’s right.  Think the Lord doesn’t remember the afflictions of the righteous?  Think the Lord doesn’t make good when His anointed and His appointed are falsely accused and conspired against?  Think the Lord doesn’t have the last word in these affairs?

Think again!  After all the water that had gone under the bridge during a span of more than 21 years, Dwain was asked to consider taking the church again in Barrow.  Understand that he hadn’t been with the denomination during most of that span of time.  Nevertheless, there were people in Barrow who had kept in touch with Dwain, and when the opportunity presented itself they asked him to consider coming back.  Like me, Dwain had an adopted daughter of Eskimo heritage along with an adopted son as well, and the ties meant ongoing contact.

It probably isn’t necessary to go into all of the details that unfolded other than to say that Dwain resumed the pastorate of the church in Barrow, remaining there for 14 more years, and taking the church to new dimensions spiritually.  That didn’t mean he didn’t have a battle royal on his hands when he returned to Barrow.  He did indeed.  Some of those folks who had participated in the original conspiracy in 1966 thought he ought not to be back in Barrow and they once again raised their hands in judgment against him.

This time, the Lord demonstrated His judgment, and just about every single person who lifted up their voice or their hand in judgment against Dwain suffered a similar fate as those who initially led the conspiracy.  Some died painful deaths in the midst of diseases that wouldn't heal.  A couple wound up in prison.  God’s tolerance with Christians who submit continually to witchcraft and the spirit of Jezebel has grown shorter and shorter and shorter as the age has been drawing to an end.  When people continue to commit spiritual adultery with those wicked spirits, refusing to repent of their sins, the judgment of God has a finality about it that displays little tolerance.

I still want to take you in greater depth into the eight characteristics that depict the nature and character of this spirit, and that’s where we will go with it next week.

Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener                                                            
CAPENER MINISTRIES
709 South 7th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133

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

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.
Monday, September 9, 2013

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: THE SPIRIT OF JEZEBEL, Part 3

3:34 PM | Posted by | | Edit Post

The Spirit of Jezebel, Part 3

September 6, 2013
Good Morning!!  We are witnessing stupendous signs and proofs of what God is doing in the earth today as it relates to the purification of the Bride of Christ, and the great ingathering of souls into the corporate Ekklesia.  Over the past couple of weeks as the shofar has sounded during the conclusion of our praise and worship, we have witnessed simultaneous demonstrations of enormous claps of thunder in the heavens, followed by and uncountable number of lightning strikes, followed by hail appearing on the ground as pieces of glass, followed by buckets of rain the likes of which we haven't seen since Della and I were in Louisiana.

In the first instance, the hail appeared like you would normally expect hail to look like.  That same evening the Lord gave me a dream/vision of what we had just experienced, but this time I saw the hail as tiny pieces of glass.  The Lord spoke to Della and told her that He had shattered the glass ceiling or dome that the Enemy had surrounded His people with in an effort to keep their prayers from being effective.  At the same time, Holy Spirit spoke in my ear and said, "I have opened up the windows of Heaven, and I'm pouring out a blessing you can't even begin to contain."

That same Sunday night we had the experience of the thunder, the lightning and the hail, another group of believers being led by our friend, Ed Young, along with a group of Amish brethren (**more about this momentarily), were concluding a three-day period of praise, worship, intercession and prophetic decrees in an area near Lewiston, Idaho.  As they came to the crescendo of their worship, the skies seemed to explode over them. The thunder rocked the building they were in.  Lightning began to strike all around them and hail fell like glass!

Ed called me on Monday morning to share the experience.  His comment to me was, "I have NEVER, EVER seen hail looking like pieces of flat glass on the ground."  I shared with him our experience of the same evening and the subsequent dream/vision with the accompanying Word we had received from the Lord.  If I said that it was an emotion-evoking event, that would seriously understate things.  You get the picture, I'm sure!  We had the visible signs in the heavens of what the Lord was doing and saying to His people.

Now, let's get on with today's discussion.

Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics of Jezebel in Revelation 2 as John unfolds this prophecy – the characteristics of this spirit – and how it was contaminating the body of Christ even then, in or around 96 AD.  We mentioned them in the first Coffee Break in this series.

1. “She calleth herself a prophetess.”   Hmmmmm.….  OK.  False prophet (ess) and false prophecy.

2. “to teach and seduce my servants…”  Right.  This spirit poses as a seductive teacher, promoting doctrines and teachings that lead the people of God astray.

3. “to commit fornication.”  This seduction is both spiritual and sexual.  We’ll get into that in more detail shortly.

4. “and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.”  Uhh Huhh.  Idolatry: the worship or reverence of things, or individuals, or entities other than the Lord Himself: the prioritizing of doctrines over a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  Just wait.  It gets worse.

5. “I gave her space to repent of her fornication.”  So Jezebel (or those individuals contaminated with that spirit) are actively committing fornication.  That doesn’t mean they are necessarily running around, having promiscuous sexual relations, although they well may.

6. “and she repented not.”  So those afflicted with this spirit generally tend to be unrepentant.  They have no remorse over their sin, can’t see that what they are doing is sin, and refuse to repent when faced with exposure of their sin.

7. “Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.”  So it’s more than just fornication: it is adultery, too.  We’ll get into this more, too, as this discussion proceeds.

8. “And I will kill all her children with death.”  Strange phrase, isn’t it?  If one gets killed, they are dead are they not?  How do you kill someone with death?  This is an interesting Hebrew metaphor occurring in the Greek text.  In this case, the Lord is talking about more than physical death: He is talking about an eternal death and separation from all possibility of redemption or future relationship with Him.

If there is any hallmark of the spirit of Jezebel, or some particular characteristic that sums up and describes its overall purpose, it would be “usurper.”  The primary objective of the spirit of Jezebel is to usurp the operational authority of the Lord Jesus Christ in those who are anointed and appointed by the Holy Spirit to minister, to present itself as THE voice of the Lord instead, and to take control of the leadership of God’s people.

See that word, “control”?  It goes with manipulation.  It’s called witchcraft.  So what is witchcraft, really?  Black magic?  Hocus-pocus? Magical incantations?  Spells?

Whenever you use the word, witchcraft, people automatically associate it with magic, incantations, casting of spells, etc.  And that, folks, is exactly how Satan wants you to see witchcraft!  The Enemy wants you to focus on the superstitious aspects of witchcraft, the mythological and fantastical images of an old hag stirring a cauldron of some evil brew.  He doesn't want you to see witchcraft for what it really is: the deliberate manipulation of people through deception, mis-direction, creating suspicion of others and -- more specifically -- creating dissension among God's people by promoting false teachings which question just how far our relationship with the Lord stretches.

This is where the first description (She calleth herself a prophetess) plays such a major role within the Body of Christ today.  For centuries, God's people have been plagued with folks who've succumbed to this spirit, and I daresay that more men are contaminated with the spirit of Jezebel than women.

Let's talk for a minute about the role of the prophet(ess).  This word is derived from the original Greek, prophetes, which is a conjunction of two other words meaning: to proclaim, or to put forth the thoughts or expressions [of God].  The more common interpretation of the Greek term is to describe one who speaks forth under specific inspiration -- one who is a "forth teller."  That can describe one who foretells future events (and that is probably the most common perception of a prophet), but is more accurately referring to one who speaks forth under divine inspiration, "telling forth" that which Holy Spirit is speaking about or addressing under certain circumstances and in certain situations.  Foretelling the future is certainly a part of being a prophet.

All too often, however, the spirit of divination is what masks itself as the spirit of prophecy.  The spirit of divination is the demonic counterpart for the spirit of prophecy.  Divination is that which takes place when an individual is "inspired" with thoughts and pictures of unfolding events, either by the use of astrology, Ouija boards, palm reading, seeing images in a crystal ball and a myriad of other means.  The catch is that the spirit of divination often has a particle of accuracy in some facts, enough of which leads to deception -- both for the "diviner" and for the intended target of the divination.

Again, the spirit of divination will at times utilize Scripture verses out of context and in the wrong situation in order to lead men and women astray.  You may ask how that could be possible, or how people could fall prey to such deception.  The real truth is that when people do not live in a place of intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, when they do not continually live in a place of daily, moment-by-moment communication with the Lord where they hear His voice, they become susceptible to deception.

Once a person hears and KNOWS the voice of God, any other voice and any communication which comes out of a wrong spirit simply lacks the authority, the peace, the love and the power of God.  Many years ago (and I've shared this before) when I had my first trip to Heaven and had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Abraham, he said to me (in response to a question), "Once you've heard the voice of God, there is no other voice!"  That is absolutely true!

No matter how much Satan tries to counterfeit the voice of God through the spirit of Jezebel, no matter how much effort is made to seem like the authoritative voice of God in what seems like a prophetic word, if that word comes from a spirit of divination, the difference between that voice and the voice of God is unmistakable.  No demon, no voice of an evil spirit can match the supreme authority that rests in God's voice.  Any voice which speaks without the peace that passes all understanding -- especially if correction is being brought -- comes out of a spirit of divination operating through and in cooperation with a spirit of Jezebel.

When I hear the Lord speak to me, I don't have to sit and try to figure out whether I'm actually hearing Him, or whether I'm being led down the primrose path by a lying spirit.  The voice of Father God has supreme authority in it, along with agape love, and even in the midst of correction and reproof there is a peace that defies explanation.

I'd like to take you back into an event that took place a number of years back which demonstrates how easily one can be deceived and enticed by this spirit.

It was 1966.  I was in Barrow, Alaska, working with Dwain McKenzie and sharing with him in ministry.  (I've often spoken of Dwain throughout these Coffee Breaks.  He and I have known each other and labored together in the Gospel off and on throughout more than 55 years.)  Dwain was the pastor of the church I had helped my father build a little more than a decade earlier.  I was the Youth Pastor.  Because this was a missionary endeavor, my livelihood didn’t come from a salary or weekly paycheck from the church.  I was working for a branch of Alaska National Bank.

Dwain and his family decided to take a vacation trip to California.  He wanted to spend some time with his dad and mom and help his folks out with some needs, so he arranged for the Alaska Missions District (of the church denomination) to provide an interim missionary during his vacation.  The missions’ superintendent picked a likely young couple to fill in for Dwain, and they arrived in Barrow in the spring of 1966.

Hervel was the young minister’s name, and his vim and vigor obviously impressed the Alaska Missions leaders.  This was, to the best of my recollection, Hervel’s first real pastorate, and he was gung ho to show everyone what a good job he could do.  One problem.  He had never really undergone any period of discipline and preparation for taking on what was at that time one of the denomination’s largest churches in Alaska.

Once in Barrow, and once in the driver’s seat as the senior pastor, Hervel decided he didn’t want to let go of the position and the supposed prestige that came with it.  He began to scheme and connive and try to figure out how he could have Dwain ousted and remain on as the permanent senior pastor.

Are you with me so far?  Do you see the situation ripe for the spirit of Jezebel?  Right.

Hervel opened the door wide for that spirit, and it rushed in where angels fear to tread.  Before you know it, he had filed a formal complaint with the District Missions office alleging that Dwain had mismanaged the church’s finances, and that Dwain was misappropriating church funds for his own use.

As it turned out, my position at the bank allowed me to see every single expenditure of the church, as well as Dwain’s personal accounts.  When I first heard of the allegation, anger rose up in me at Dwain’s accuser.  However, I decided to hold my peace and personally (and surreptitiously) audit the finances of the church, as well as Dwain’s personal finances from my place at the bank.  It wasn’t my place to do it, and my actions were certainly unauthorized by either the church, or the denomination, or the bank’s management (at least at first).  The bank manager was a personal friend, and I explained to him the accusations being made, telling him (after I was already part way through the audit) that I was certain the accusations were fraudulent – that I wanted to either prove or disprove them.  He agreed, and we went to work on it.

As I had suspected, the accusations were completely unfounded.  I readied my documentary evidence to present to the District Superintendent, whom I knew would shortly be coming to Barrow to check things out.  Without letting Hervel know that I had evidence contradicting his allegations, I confronted him and asked him if he would kindly show me his proof.  He refused, telling me it was none of my business and saying that he was taking it up with the church board.  Not being a member of the church board, I had no standing and no way to compel them to allow me into the board meetings in Dwain’s defense.

I bided my time until the District Superintendent came to Barrow.  When I had my first chance to speak with him privately, I told him that the accusations against Dwain were completely spurious, and that I could produce documentary proof that the church finances had been handled in a completely above-board manner, and that I could account for every supposed mis-spent dime.  To my astonishment, he refused to hear me.

The District Superintendent was easily twice my age if not close to three-times.  I had known him since I was a young whippersnapper, and his refusal to hear any evidence from me in Dwain’s support was both baffling and angering.  My frustration overflowed in that moment, and I let him know that Hervel was deliberately conspiring against Dwain in order to take the church away.  My language was unequivocal.  Hervel was a crook, he was a cheat and a liar, and there was no integrity in him.

The DS shushed me up and told me “simmer down,” that he would look into things and deal accordingly.  I didn’t think there was any reason not to believe him, and I let it go.  He still refused my offer to provide him with the documentary evidence, however.

It wasn’t more than a couple of days later when I received a phone call from the bank president asking me if I would like to train to take the management of the Kotzebue branch.  He said I would have to move to Nome and train at the branch there.  It was an enticing offer.  I was not a happy camper working with a pastor whose greed and connivance to take control of a church through political maneuvering made me want to throw up.  As far as I was concerned, this man had no concern whatever for the Gospel, nor for the things of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He was simply a self-serving political operative using the Gospel for personal gain.

While I was still mulling over the offer to come to Nome and train for the management of the Kotzebue branch of the bank, I received a phone call from Paul Bills who was pastoring the church in Nome my father had built and pioneered.  Paul, of course, had been a friend of our family for many years.  He had filled in for Dad when we had taken a family vacation, and in fact, took over the church in Barrow when we moved on to build churches in Wainwright and Point Hope, preceding Dwain as Barrow’s pastor.

“I’m told that the bank has made you an offer to come to Nome.  I’m calling you to see if I can talk you into taking the position.  I need your help here in the church in Nome.”

Wow!  That was the clincher.  I called the bank president back and told him I would take the position.  But first I talked to the DS again to make sure he was going to get to the bottom of the issue in Barrow before I agreed to leave.  He assured me that no decisions would be made without Dwain having the opportunity to defend himself.

It didn’t dawn on me that I had been royally set up.  My move to Nome was orchestrated by folks with a whole lot more political pull than I imagined, and the objective was to get me out of the way so I wouldn’t prevent Dwain from being politically assassinated.

As soon as I was gone from Barrow, a fake trial was held before the church board.  Dwain was found guilty in absentia.  He never had an opportunity to present evidence that would have cleared him.  He was contacted while in California and advised to get back to Barrow to pack up his personal belongings, and told that he was through as a pastor in Alaska.

Next week, I’ll share with you the end of the story to show you how the Lord vindicated Dwain, and how both the DS and Hervel suffered Jezebel’s fate.

As we wrap up today's Coffee Break, following is an excerpt of a recent prophetic word delivered by Dutch Sheets, a brother with a profound accuracy in his prophetic utterances, and one whom I first met and came to deeply appreciate a good 30 years ago.  This word is relevant to what I've been sharing on the spirit of Jezebel.

"Opposition, both from the Church and the world, will increase as we break out of normal. Religious spirits will insist on maintaining old structures and systems, and the kingdom of darkness will react aggressively to the spirit of revival. Don't be alarmed at this. Stay the course and resist the demonic pressure!"

Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener                                                            
CAPENER MINISTRIES
709 South 7th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133


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

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.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: THE SPIRIT OF JEZEBEL, Part 2

1:20 PM | Posted by | | Edit Post
The Spirit of Jezebel, Part 2

August 30, 2013
Good Morning!!  In the same way that we began the last Coffee Break with a real story of an event which clearly marks the behavior pattern of the spirit of Jezebel, let me begin today's discussion with another story -- this one an experience that affected our family.

When we first moved to Alaska in 1944 and Dad built the first of seven different churches in the arctic and one in the Pribilof Islands (five of which I participated in building), my folks had been a part of a major denomination.  When we first left Washington state for Alaska, Dad's denominational leaders had forbidden him to go to Alaska and tried to entice him to go to China or Africa instead.  His response to them was, "Brethren, God didn't call me to China or Africa; He called me to Alaska, and I'm going."

The denominational leaders abandoned him and said, "You're on your own.  You will go without our support or backing."  It was behavior typical of the spirit of Jezebel, and it was to manifest many times in the years to come.  You see, if Jezebel can't get you to do things her way, (more accurately, it's way!) this spirit will do everything in its power to put roadblocks in front of you and make you think you can't do what God has directed you to do without Jezebel's involvement.

When you act in obedience to the rhema Word from the Lord, you need not fret over Jezebel's threats; and Dad wasn't about to allow Jezebel to prevent him/us from obeying the Lord.  Funny thing.  Five years later, the denomination decided that because the ministry in Alaska was paying such dividends, maybe they'd been too hasty and they needed to get on board.  In 1949, in response to a plea for help from Dad in purchasing a vehicle that could be used to transport folks back and forth to and from the church in minus 40-degree weather, the organization sent some financial help for the first time.

The church in Nome was the first one to be built.  Barrow followed in the mid-1950's, followed by Wainwright, Kaktovik (on Barter Island), Point Hope, and then Nuiqsut and Atqasuk.  In each instance, because the denominational organization seemed to have gotten fully behind my folks, despite the fact that the denomination didn't have so much as one penny of its finances invested in any of the communities, Dad had confidence that he could turn over each of the churches, the homes and the properties to the denomination; and that they would carry on the ministry in the same manner so that the Gospel would be preached until each community came to know the Lord Jesus Christ in an intimate way.

Along the way, and throughout the first 21 years of ministry, the Alaska missions organization (which was part of the denomination) had convinced Dad to serve on the state boards for the denomination in a representative capacity.  Pastors throughout the state began to lobby Dad to become the state's General Superintendent for the denomination.  He had just stepped away from his representative status as a General Presbyter.

When I talked to him about it, he said, "Son, what I've seen and what I've heard tell me that this organization is not the same thing I became a part of back in the 1930's.  It has become nothing more than a bunch of religious politicians vying for office and power and control.  I want none of it!  That's not what God called me to.  If they try to elect me, I will not take the office."

Despite this disgust with the politics of the denomination, Dad still had confidence in the organization as a whole and particularly with leaders whom he considered as his personal friends.  That being the case, in every instance -- namely, Nome, Barrow, Wainwright, Point Hope, Kaktovik, Nuiqsut and Atqasuk -- when the church buildings were complete, along with housing for each local pastor and family, he created a title deed for the property in each community and signed it over to the denomination, free and clear.

The fact that the denomination provided no funding for any of these pioneer efforts (Dad raised the money, or earned it with his own labors) made no difference.  From his perspective, it was all God's money anyway.  He considered that he was simply a servant of the Lord who'd been given both the opportunity and the abilities (along with the provision) necessary for each task.  Year after year my parents labored.  Year after year Eskimos, Indians and Aleuts came to know the Lord as a result of their labors.  Over the years, the effects of their ministry spanned the arctic from Alaska, through northern Canada, into Greenland, Iceland, and even into Siberia.

As their ministry moved to Saint Paul Island in the Pribilofs (an island group in the Bering Sea, north of the Aleutians), Dad began to see increasing evidence that the denomination was more interested in gaining title to the individual properties, the churches and parsonages, than they were in providing backup for individuals called by the Lord to each of these communities.  (At one point in the past few years, five of the churches were without pastors -- all at the same time -- and some that the denomination had sent in abandoned their churches because they simply were not called and prepared by the Lord for that type of ministry.)

In the mid-eighties, Dad's health began to deteriorate.  Della and I had taken my folks and her mother to Hawaii for a vacation.  We were sitting on the beach at Waikiki watching Dad frolic in the water with our oldest son, Chris, when Holy Spirit spoke to me very clearly and told me that Dad had two years to live, that he would be diagnosed six months before his death with inoperable cancer and told that he had six months to live.  I shared it with Della.  We felt to withhold it from the family and treated it as a preparatory word from the Lord.

Meanwhile, in the months that followed Della and I shut down our activities and moved out to Saint Paul Island to help my parents.  While there, Dad confided in me that he did not want to sign over the property to the denomination (he had lost confidence in the spiritual integrity of the leadership), and that he really hoped we would take over that ministry in the years to come.

He went home to be with the Lord on Good Friday in 1986.  Mom continued the ministry on the island until September of 2000.  While she was on her death bed at the hospital, my stomach almost curdled at the sight of the denomination's leader sweet-talking Mom and getting her to sign over the Saint Paul Island property -- which was easily the biggest and nicest property of all the building efforts my folks had created -- to the organization, never mind the fact that Dad had specifically said he didn't want that to happen.

Della and I were given three weeks to clear the place of Mom and Dad's personal possessions in the supposition that a family was coming out to replace them.  It didn't take place for months afterward, and then it turned out to be a couple of ladies who served more as caretakers for some short period of time.  When they left, no one came to replace them, and the property fell into a state of disrepair -- a condition that exists to this day.  From what we've been told, the organization made an effort to sell the property, but the sale never went through and it sits essentially abandoned.

You will appreciate the fact that the Lord really had to sit on me and quiet my spirit after what I saw take place.  You can also appreciate why I speak out so strongly against the spirit of Jezebel.  I'm not angry at the people in the organization; they are pawns who've been taken captive by a spirit whose principal objective is to steal, kill and destroy.

The spirit of Jezebel has a clear modus operandi, and that method of operation has been in evidence since the days of Jezebel and Ahab when Jezebel had Naboth killed off so she could take the generations-old vineyard and give it to her compliant and enabling husband, Ahab.

Notice how Jezebel did it.  Let's recap this story from I Kings 21.

Ahab sees and admires the fruitful vineyard that Naboth was tending.  This vineyard was old and it was producing a grape harvest which would have resulted in a fine wine.  More than that it was quite close to the king's palace and easily visible.

Ahab approaches Naboth and offers him a trade for a "better vineyard."  From Naboth's perspective, his vineyard represents an inheritance passed on down to him as the labor of his father, his grandfather and generations of family before him.  To treat that inheritance as a mere tradeable commodity for another vineyard in which he had no personal labor or investment was unthinkable.  Furthermore, from Naboth's point of view, to give up what his fathers had poured blood, sweat and tears into would be an insult to the Lord.  (I could take this further in terms of the Law of Moses but it would take us off-track.)

Naboth refuses to sell the vineyard to the king – at any price.  Ahab begins to pout and throws himself a hissy fit.  Jezebel sees him in a blue funk and says to him, “What’s your problem?”  Ahab cries on Jezzy’s shoulder, and Jezzy says, “No problem.  I can fix this.  I’ll personally give you Naboth’s vineyard.”

Now Jezebel commences to do something that is one of the primary tactics of that spirit in control of her, and epitomizes the manner in which it still works today.  She goes hunting for two men of political repute and standing in the area – men who are easily corruptible and easily swayed by Jezebel’s position as Queen – and gets them to conspire with her against Naboth.

First things first.  Set up Naboth.  Let’s call a public feast, let’s send out letters of invitation to a celebration, and let’s honor a “Man of the Year” shall we?  Piece of cake.  Guess who the “Man of the Year” is?  You got it!

Think Naboth has any clue that he’s being set up, that his pride is going to be his downfall?  Nope.  Neither do the overwhelming majority of Christians who fall into this same trap.  They become the willing pawns of the spirit of Jezebel once their pride has been appealed to, and they think they’re being “honored.”

Honor?  Some honor!  Sure enough, Naboth shows up for his “honoring”, and right in the middle of the celebration, these two so-called “men of standing” (men of Belial: wicked, worthless, evil and ungodly) stand up and accuse Naboth of treasonous activity – namely, blaspheming God, AND (Horror of Horrors!) King Ahab.

There was no trial, no opportunity for Naboth to confront his accusers, and no one who stood up for him.  This is something I’ve always found interesting about the spirit of Jezebel: its ability to intimidate even those who might under ordinary circumstances speak out on behalf of the righteous when falsely accused.  Despite the fact that Jezebel wasn’t even an Israelite; despite the fact that Naboth had lived and spent his whole life there in Jezreel where the folks knew him, knew his family, and undoubtedly had been recipients of assistance and favors from Naboth and his family, not one single person stood up in his defense against two spokesmen whose accusations were completely fabricated out of whole cloth.

And this is the norm for folks when they’ve been intimidated by the spirit of Jezebel.  The Fear of Death and the Fear of Man seal their lips shut.  They stand by, keeping silence, and allow the fabrications of lying spirits to come against men and women of God.  When judgment based on those lies is executed against the righteous, their silence is all the more sealed, and the spirit of Jezebel gets away with murder.

That’s exactly what happened with Naboth.  Not one single person stood up in his defense.  Folks who knew him as a righteous man, who knew that Naboth would rather die than blaspheme God or the king, stood by, capitulating to the spirit in Jezebel allowing him to be taken out of the town and stoned to death.

With Naboth dead and unable to defend himself or his lands, Jezebel seized his vineyard and proudly walked in to Ahab and handed him title to those lands he had coveted.  Thus the spirit of Jezebel is also liar, thief, murderer, and willing conspirator to those who capitulate to its usurpation.

The obvious companion spirit to the spirit of Jezebel is what I have come to call “the spirit of Ahab.”  Jezebel couldn’t have gotten away with such treachery had she not had Ahab to support and permit her activities.  The spirit of Ahab, therefore, is a spirit of capitulation in the midst of Jezebel’s usurpation.  In a modern sense and application, I have seen the spirit of Ahab operating in folks who were submissive or capitulative to a spirit of Jezebel, and rather than allow folks to defend the falsely accused, they move heaven and earth to see that the would-be defenders are moved somewhere else, or have no opportunity to speak out.

I want to break down for you each of the eight descriptive pictures or characteristics of the spirit of Jezebel that we referred to in the last Coffee Break, but I think I’ll wait on that until next week.

Once again, this is a pretty heavy subject and I don't want to weight folks down unnecessarily without reminding you all that there is no substitute for the presence of the Lord.  In His presence comes revelation.  In His presence comes deliverance.  In His presence comes the kind of true authority necessary to take on evil spirits like Jezebel.

Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener                                                            
CAPENER MINISTRIES
709 South 7th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133
 
 
A Tale of Two Brides is now available on Amazon.com: 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#_

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.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)