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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Sunday, April 8, 2012

THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM, Part 2

9:08 AM | Posted by | | Edit Post
Another Coffee Break
THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM
Part 2
Felicitations!
It was in the spring of 1963. I was at First Assembly in San Jose, California. James Merwin was the senior pastor. Occasionally, when he preached he would come out with some one-liners, some zingers that made you turn your head and sit up straight.
This particular Sunday morning he made a statement just like that! "I would rather not even be here -- I'd rather be dead than to live for 10 seconds without the presence of the Lord!"
Now there's a wakeup for you! I fully comprehend that statement, and I absolutely agree! And honestly, looking back over my life, I can't think of a single moment when I haven't known the intimate presence of the Lord. There is a peace, a confidence and an assurance that defies natural reasoning. Actually, come to think of it, when you walk in that place of confidence in God, folks tend to think of you as arrogant; and that's because the world in general -- and unfortunately, many professing Christians -- have been deceived by the Enemy into thinking that the intimate presence of the Lord as a way of life is unattainable for them.
I was sharing with one of my sons the other day. I said to him, "Just because you say you're "saved", just because you've been baptized in water, baptized in the Holy Spirit, you speak in tongues, you operate in the gifts of the Spirit, lay hands on the sick and do all kinds of miracles, that's not the same as having an intimate love relationship with Jesus Christ."
In case you think I've lost it, or perhaps wandered off the reservation, let me draw a picture for you.
Once you've accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, once you've been baptized in water and then baptized in the Holy Spirit, you've really only just been "born again!" The Greeks have a series of words (and we see these words used in the Greek text of the New Testament) which describe our growth process from the new birth to a place of spiritual maturity -- that place where you've grown up spiritually and know what it is to have Father's heart.
I shared these five words in a recent series of Coffee Breaks, but for the sake of this discussion, let me briefly recap. Brephos is a word which describes the process of development in the womb as a child prepares to come to birth; and the first eight days immediately following birth up to circumcision. Nepios describes a babe-in-arms between the time of circumcision and being weaned from the breast (or the bottle).
Paidion is a child who has been weaned from the milk, but has not yet reached the age of reason (Bar-Mitzvah for boys -- age 12, and Bat-Mitzvah for girls -- age 13)). From this point forward children are referred to as teknon(s). Now the young person (still referred to sometimes as a "child"), having reached the age of reason, begins to undergo very strict training and preparation so that he/she is thoroughly metamorphosed into the thoughts, the ways, the practices, the business dealings, and the very heart of the Father.
The apostle Paul describes this period of time for Jesus as having "learned through the things that He suffered." It is intense. It is corrective. It is administrative. But it is also revelatory. This is that time when a person comes to understand, agree with, and flow with Father's desires. Father and son (or Father and daughter) develop a place of intimate and intuitive understanding with each other so that when a point of complete maturity is reached (generally around age 30), Father can release the son to act on His behalf, run His business, speak for Him and conduct any negotiations for Him as though Father were there in person.
When that day is reached (and that day is Father's prerogative -- it is not fixed in stone) a ceremony takes place in which Father announces, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Father takes the ring off his hand which bears the seal of his authority and places it on the finger of His son. A baptism takes place in which the "child" goes down into the water, is raised out of the water with the "child" now dead and gone, and a fully mature adult (the Greek word for this is "Huios") on display for the world to see.
This is where we have been being called to. This is the call of the Bridegroom -- the Lord Jesus Christ -- to us, His Bride-to-be!
We cannot simply stop with being "born again." That's not what it is all about. We cannot stop with water baptism or Holy Spirit baptism. That's not even "early childhood development" yet! All that has happened is that we've just been given the necessary equipping to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord. There's so much more to receive and to become in Christ Jesus! The call of the Bridegroom to everyone of us is to grow up in Him -- to become JUST LIKE HIM!
One of the tragedies of the western church world is the contamination of the Gospel with the "let's get everyone 'saved'" mentality. Getting "saved" [translation: getting one's "fire insurance"] has become the ultimate, the pinnacle of what we've all been called to. Being delivered from a future in Hell and having Heaven as our future dwelling is certainly important, but that's NOT what Jesus died on the Cross to accomplish. To leave us at the Cross with nothing more than a "born again" experience shortchanges us and cheats Lord Jesus Christ out of the very thing He gave His life to have.
His objective was a people who would be like Him, a people who would reflect His Glory, a people who would so demonstrate and manifest His love that the world would be drawn to Him simply by seeing who and what we have become as a result of our intimate relationship with Him! His objective was to have a Bride who would be His co-equal counterpart, His "Other Self."
The whole idea of "counterpart" is having that part of one's existence which is unfulfilled and incomplete made complete! I keep coming back to what I experienced when the Lord gave Della to me. Until we had each other, there was a constant void in us that was unfulfilled. To draw from the Hebrew metaphor, "I am black" (seen in the Song of Solomon, and also in Jeremiah's prophecies), there was a constant "search" in each of us for that one whom God had created that would be exactly what would fulfill and complete every aspect of our existence. Once the Lord had joined us to each other the void was filled and the "search" disappeared from our minds, our thoughts, and our spirits.
So how do we get to that place of intimacy with Lord Jesus Christ? How do we arrive at a place in our walk with Him where we live and breathe His presence?
We talked about this in Part 1 of this discussion. Because God is a spirit and "they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth," (John 4:24) our relationship with Him is founded in the spirit. Created in His image, we are first and foremost spirit beings. "Spirit" is the eternal part of our existence. It is that part of us that links us directly into the spirit realm and the means by which we can communicate on an intimate level with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Music is a realm created by the Lord specifically as a vehicle for spirit-to-spirit communication. The Psalms were sung and penned (mostly) by David to communicate the glories and the wonders of the Lord. Incorporated in the Psalms are praise, worship, prayer, intercession, prophetic decrees and declarations, and spiritual warfare. The Psalms were given to us partly as a means to introduce us to the realm of spirit-to-spirit communication. They were also given to introduce us to the concept of spiritual intimacy.
When David sang, he became totally lost in the realm of the Spirit. Not only did he bring the decrees of Heaven from eternity into the earthly, time-space realm, he bonded with the Lord in an intimate dimension in a way no person in history had been able to do before. Love flowed out of his being in the midst of his music. A pathway -- a channel, if you will -- was activated between he and the Lord by means of Holy Spirit.
The more he lived in that channel, the more the heavens were opened up to him; and the more God showed him of His plan and purpose for Israel -- and men and women in general -- and the deeper his relationship with the Lord grew. So loving and intimate did that relationship become that God began to refer to David as "a man after God's own heart." David pursued that relationship with every breath of his existence.
Sitting on a hillside one day with his harp, he sang, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" (Psalm 42:1-2)
That panting, that craving, that thirsting for the presence of the Lord God came as a direct product of the call of the Bridegroom. It was a drawing in him that consumed him more and more and more. Despite the grief that he went through during all the years he sat on the throne of Israel, that call never left his being. It became the anchor of his existence.
So much did the praise and the worship -- and more specifically, the realm of musical expression of the praise and worship -- become his very life's breath that he invented the musical instruments that the families of praisers and worshipers (the families of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun) played as they praised, worshiped, prayed, interceded, declared and decreed prophetically.
In the first part of this discussion last week, I was talking about some of the experiences that we had at Trail's End in Idaho during the nearly-six years we gathered together with folks from the northwest and Canada. The Lord spoke to Della one day as we were gathered for worship and said that He was -- through His Bride -- taking back the music of the past, the present, and the future. It seemed a bit unusual, until we realized that the music unfolding in our midst spanned the gamut of musical expression: from classical to jazz -- and everything in between.
We have heard Eastern music, Spanish music, Jewish and Mediterranean music, Slavic music, Russian music, Oriental music, ancient 12th - 14th century English music, music of the baroque era, music of the Elizabethan era, turn-of-the-century American music, music which harks back to the Roaring Twenties, music of the Big-Band era, Swing, Jazz, contemporary -- you name it! The single extraordinary aspect of this is that it all came in the midst of this new expression of corporate worship. It would be safe to say that it transcended anything any of us have previously experienced.
During one particular gathering at the ranch at Trails' End, because of the busyness of sharing together, and the other activities unfolding, we did not sit down until very late one evening to begin our corporate worship -- like 11:30 PM! As always, the worship was completely spontaneous -- the music fresh and unrehearsed. Something like six or seven new pieces of music emerged -- some very classical in style and content, some as progressive jazz, and even one which was very Brazilian with a bossa nova rhythm. A Canadian sister, Beryl, sat there marveling at this progression, and shared afterward that she had asked the Lord where this would all end, or if there was an end. The Lord's response to her was that "there is no end to the music in Heaven," and that as we continued in His presence, there would be no end to the music which came forth.
In the midst of these experiences, one thing which Holy Spirit began to emphasize within us was that much of we have known and referred to in times past as "the Church" is not His heart. Since the whole concept of "church" as we have known it (we refer here to the concept of gathering within the structured hierarchical system) is predicated on principles which the Lord absolutely abhorred and hated, He has been continuing the process of revelation in showing us what His heart's desire really is!
Before you jump ship on me, let me explain.
Without getting into a long, historical review of how the concept of "church" came into being -- as opposed to what is referred to in the original Greek as "Ekklesia" -- let me simply state that "church" -- from its historical perspective -- along with its present-day structure, make-up, and doctrinal dogma, did not begin to exist until 225-226 A.D. in the time of the Roman emperor, Alexander Severus (the first "church" was only a remodeling of a former temple). It was not until after the "Edict of Toleration" issued by the emperor Constantine in 313 A.D. that churches actually began to be built, and even then the mode of gathering differed greatly from what we know today.
In referring to churches, here, let me make it clear that this is a reference to "structure" in the sense of hierarchical systems where there is a distinct line of separation between the "ministers," or clergy, and the "laity", or common people. You understand, of course, that they are referred to as "common" in the sense that they supposedly had no call from the Lord to fulfill. "Structure" also refers to democratic systems (in which the "ministers" and "elders," etc., are elected by a vote of the people. Both of these systems and their structures came out of the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, who were Judaizers (Both Pharisee and Sadducee).
Neither of these systems represent the heart of Father, nor the desire of Jesus Christ in the preparation and completion of His Bride. That's not to say that the Lord hasn't used them throughout the centuries: He has! It's safe to say that the overwhelming majority of folks who will read this (and I'm included) have grown up in one or both of these types of church structure. The catch is that the Lord has called us (and continues to call people) out of the old structure and into Ekklesia in order that He can grow us up into Him.
It is also important to note that the word, "church," is derived from the Greek, kirios, which means "the lord's place" (in the sense of a castle or fortress -- a place from which absolute authority is demanded). Kirios never appears anywhere in scripture, and the whole concept of this word is the very antithesis of Jesus' expressed desire for "servants" in His people.
From the standpoint of the Bridegroom, however, "Ekklesia" -- in contradistinction to "church" -- represents the calling together -- first and foremost -- of those who have responded to the call of the Bridegroom, Yeshua ha Mashiach (the Lord Jesus Christ) to become His Bride. Secondly, it represents the gathering together of those who are being prepared by the "Paraklete," (Holy Spirit) groomed, fitted, and equipped to be a Bride whom the Lord can present to Father and say, "This is my Beloved in whom I am well-pleased!"
"Ekklesia" can be described as the preparing of the Bride by the Paraklete, Holy Spirit. It is the gathering of those called by the Bridegroom to be His Bride, and the preparation by the Paraklete. The term, "paraklete," which is the Greek word occurring in the original text, is most often translated in our English versions as "comforter" or "helper," and sometimes "advocate." In a variant form, it is translated, "exhort," "intreat," "pray," or "beseech" (request). These terms convey only fragments of the true picture of the Paraklete, who has the full authority of the King to accomplish that which He has been assigned -- and who comes to prepare, train, equip, and endow with all the gifts and graces necessary.
There are some spectacular pictures of just who and what a paraklete is and does scattered throughout the Word. In our next Coffee Break, I'll draw some of those pictures for you.
More to follow in our next Coffee Break.
"This a moment that I am drawing the line, and earthly orders are coming from the heavenly realms. Tune your ears to hear the instructions of Heaven, for you are living in a strategic moment when you will see kingdoms that have not been able to come down, come down. New strategies are coming down, and it is a strategy that will pierce the deepest darkness that could not be pierced in the past. Listen to the sounds of Heaven, for in the sounds of Heaven, you will hear your next step!" (Prophetic Word from Chuck Pierce)
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.
Thursday, March 22, 2012

PLAYING POLITICAL RUSSIAN ROULETTE

5:54 PM | Posted by | | Edit Post
Another Coffee Break:
Playing Political Russian Roulette
During the 2003-2004 political campaign/election cycle I ran for the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Texas' 25th Congressional District. After losing the Primary a sizeable number of people approached me who apologized for not having voted for me. These were bankers, lawyers, businessmen, church leaders -- you name it -- all of whom crossed over to vote on the Democratic ticket thinking that they would cast their vote for the weaker of the two Democratic candidates and thereby alter the race dynamics in my favor.
Polling seemed to indicate to them that I had a fair lead against my Republican opponent, and they felt like I had the race in the bag. They felt safe in crossing over so as to alter the outcome of the Democratic ticket. In fact, their crossover vote made virtually no difference in the outcome of the Democratic Primary, whereas had they actually cast their vote for me my outcome would have been very different.
As a result I published a political commentary consisting of a somewhat abbreviated version of today's Coffee Break. Because of what we are currently seeing take place in the ongoing Primaries around this nation I felt the importance of once again expanding on that same commentary.
That said, pour yourself a good 16-ounce cup of that Double-Roast French, pull up a chair and let's discuss the current spiritual state of our political spectrum.
One of the tragedies of modern society is the drive towards political correctness. Striving to be inoffensive to every segment of society and desiring to please everyone has created a tyranny of the minorities. Despite the fact that mainstream America overwhelmingly professes to be Christian, the majority succumbs to the pressure of the minority.
Election after election, people who privately hold mainstream, conservative, Christian values continue to vote for candidates who -- year after year -- peck away at, and incrementally erode the freedoms granted by our founding fathers in our United States Constitution.
Why is this? What is it that possesses people to compromise their values? How is it that we can go behind the curtain in the voting booth, away from the prying eyes of those who want to control the election outcomes, and vote contrary to what we know to be right?
The answer, plain and simple? Fear.
There are three families of fear that infect and contaminate the human race: the Fear of Evil, the Fear of Man, and the Fear of Death. These three families of fear operate respectively in each of the domains of human existence.
The Fear of Evil affects people at the level of their spirit. It manipulates the hearts of men and women to react in fear where anything spiritual is concerned. It causes people to be in terror of God, substituting a healthy respect and reverential awe of God for an unhealthy terror. The Fear of Evil is the driving force behind all religion and man-made efforts to please God. It substitutes a love-relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ for a set of rules, regulations and laws that are performance driven.
The Fear of Man works at the level of our human relationships. It works in the mind and soul of man, causing him to fear how others think of him or see him. In the same way that the Fear of Evil is a liar, the Fear of Man is a liar, invoking imaginary scenarios of how we see ourselves through the eyes of our friends and society in general. The Fear of Man drives modern politics in a way that seems to escape a large segment of the voting public; and people seem to be oblivious to the fact that their voting choices are being manipulated by an evil spirit.
The Fear of Death directly compromises us at the level of our flesh, our natural existence. It causes us to fear the unknown, creating imaginary situations that threaten our physical well being. With the modern push for a socialist society where Government becomes our source of supply, steals our trust and confidence in the Lord as our Source, and forces the nation into a "gimmee, gimmee" welfare mentality, the Fear of Death becomes an increasingly driving force in our electoral choices because we fear having that money or those benefits being taken away from us. The subconscious fear is that we will die or suffer physically if we lose those things a "freebies" from the government.
So, how exactly do these fears affect the way we behave in the voting booth? Let’s look at a series of events that have unfolded over the past 50 – 60 years.
First, let’s define an increasing political polarity.
For the conservative, the Christian, the individual who believes in the essential liberties granted in our Constitution for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – or, to quote the Apostle Paul, “….that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all Godliness and honesty,” the objective is a candidate who will promote and defend those liberties without taking any more from us than is absolutely necessary to accomplish the goal. Unfortunately, conservatives – by virtue of their very nature – tend to be passive and nonconfrontational.
The secularist, humanist, socialist liberal believes that he or she is entitled to those liberties at the expense of the state; that if the state lacks sufficient money to guarantee his or her “right” to have those liberties regardless of cost, it is perfectly acceptable – nay, mandatory – that the funds be extracted by whatever means necessary from those who have prospered by their labors. That mindset leads to a dependency upon the state. The state becomes the arbiter of all things, and the supplier of all needs. Personal responsibility diminishes as the state picks up more and more authority, and provides more and more services.
In the voting booth, the conservative – being more or less nonconfrontational – adopts a compromising attitude if the individual running for office mostly supports the concept of smaller, less intrusive government, and stands for some of the basic moral and spiritual values that epitomize conservatism. The fact that the candidate might be 55% conservative and 45% socialist humanist is set aside in fear.
That fear is not overpowering. It is not apparently or obviously driving the individual. It is subversive, and subconscious. It is persuasive. It is seductive. And it manipulates through either or both the Fear of Man, and the Fear of Death. Compromise or not, the voter casts the ballot for an individual who will ultimately chip away – ever so little, but ever so surely – some of the freedoms the voter currently enjoys.
On the other hand, the secularist, humanist, socialist fears a society that demands responsibility. Responsibility portends the possibility of failure. Failure threatens one’s existence. Failure threatens one’s “comfort zone.” The Fear of Death becomes a driving force.
The secular socialist has none of the peace that comes with a walk with Jesus Christ, nor the assurance that there will be a brighter day ahead by the help and provision of the Lord. A mandate develops, therefore, within the humanist to elect a candidate who will continue to ensure his or her livelihood no matter how much it costs the state.
Let’s take this to the next level.
Years of compromise – make that decades of compromise – have watered down the conservative stance of the Republican Party. Instead of standing for the principles that originally made up the GOP – principles that were rooted in smaller, more efficient, less-intrusive government and Christian moral leadership – we have seen a willingness on the part of Republican leaders to incorporate those as candidates who accept “a little socialism,” or “a little” larger, more intrusive government in order to have candidates that appeal to the voting public.
At the same time, because of the similar compromises made within the Democratic Party -- compromises with communism and the socialist principles of Marx and Lenin – the Democratic leadership has shifted to the far left of mainstream America. The Democratic Party supposedly used to represent the interests of the working man, the common man, the ordinary, every-day individual. You’d never know it today! The party leadership has moved towards a Robin Hood philosophy in order to provide “gimme” programs that encourage poverty and stifle productivity.
In a reaction almost wholly based in the fear of death, conservatives have compromised their values even more, thinking that the compromises would stop the march toward a completely socialist America. It is a fraud! It is a lie being perpetrated on conservatives and Christians.
Where once candidates stepped forward on their own volition, inspired by genuine concern and/or spiritual motivation to stand up against the march towards socialism, trepidation has taken over. Now, those who might normally present themselves as available for public office avoid doing so because avarice, greed, the love of money – and the need for enormous sums of money in order to even enter the race – have taken over.
Republican Party leaders have frantically sought for candidates they’ve calculated would be “viable” against their Democratic counterparts. Formulas have been devised. “Bean counting” has taken place in an effort to figure out how to strategically position candidates for a winning strategy.
Mathematical formulas and voter profiles have replaced integrity. Winning has become so important that leaders are willing to sacrifice conservative principles in order to elect candidates selected through compromise.
Between profiling possible candidates and studying statistical patterns in districts, choices are being made that eliminate candidates with true conviction and moral clarity. These are often candidates who can articulate clearly the conservative message in such a way as to convince undecided voters.
Business leaders who could and would financially support candidates that actually reflect their conservative values are discouraged from giving in order to direct the “available dollars” to the candidates “most likely” to win. It becomes a “numbers game.” We play the roulette wheel, hoping to cash in with the odds in our favor. Worse, it becomes a game of Russian Roulette in which we hope the hammer falls on an empty chamber.
And it is all motivated and driven by The Fear of Evil, The Fear of Man, and The Fear of Death.
Unless we as a people return to our core values and stop playing these games of compromise, THE HAMMER IS GOING TO FALL on a loaded chamber, and we will find ourselves living in a socialist, secular humanist state, deprived of the essential liberties our Founding Fathers sought to guarantee this nation.
In 1781, Founding Father Samuel Adams made the following statement, "Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual -- or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country."
It was in 1881 that President James A. Garfield made the following observation: "Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature.”
See the picture? Then come on, Folks! Let’s wake up and get our act together!
"The Spirit of God is preparing leadership by releasing upon them the anointing that rested upon the sons of Issachar. They had understanding of the time and were aware of what the people of God should be accomplishing (see 1 Chronicles 12:32). The Spirit of Truth is releasing revelatory insights for all who are actively seeking to fully follow God (see Jeremiah 29:12-13). Let me stress again that the Kingdom of God will not be established by mere words or abilities of men, but by the Spirit of God (see 1 Corinthians 4:20). This type of realistic confidence can only come from genuine union with Christ. It is abiding in His manifested presence that results in our boldness (see Proverbs 28:1)." (Bobby Connor)
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.
Saturday, March 17, 2012

A PROPHETIC LOOK AT 2012, Part 4

11:07 PM | Posted by | | Edit Post
Another Coffee Break
A PROPHETIC LOOK AT 2012, Part 4
Felicitations and Blessings to You All! And another best day of your life while we're at it!
The French Press is full and running over. Come on it and set a spell. Let's talk.
Actually, I thought I was going to get to move on to another topic today but realized after receiving many comments and reviewing some things I'd written that we really weren't finished yet.
That said, here is the theme of this Coffee Break series from Paul's second letter to the Ekklesia in Corinth.
"Wherefore, if any [person] be in [Christ] the Anointed One and His anointing, he is a newly formed creation; the old [nature] has perished and dissolved away; the whole [being] has causatively changed and re-ordered so as to become freshly new." (II Corinthians 5:17, my translation and amplification)
We really have been undergoing a DNA transplant -- a DNA reordering -- a complete restructuring of our character and makeup, our personality and our very nature. In short, John's promise to the overcomer as he recorded it in Revelation 3:12.
"Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name [onoma] of my God, and the name [onoma] of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name [onoma]."
For the sake of those who've only been reading these Coffee Breaks for a short time and haven't heard the definition of this word, onoma, while this word is uniformly translated as "name" throughout the NT, J.H. Thayer, in his Greek-English Lexicon, defines it like this: "By a usage chiefly Hebraistic, onoma [shem] is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling which is roused in the mind brings by mentioning, hearing, remembering the name -- that is, one's rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds, etc."
Where "names" and/or "name-calling" are used in opposition, he characterizes onoma -- in contradistinction to "name-calling" -- as, "the reality of one's existence,"
Thus, we see the prophecy in Revelation in an entirely different perspective. This DNA change is literally a change of our character and nature. It is a change of our rank and authority because we are now "in Christ" and He is in us! It is a complete change of our interests and our pleasures. The things of this world no longer have an appeal to us. Our command is altered because instead of now being simply "followers of Jesus Christ," we are One with Him. That gives us the right -- and more so the responsibility -- to declare and decree with Kingdom commands the Word that comes directly to us by and through His Spirit.
Now you're getting the picture! We become identified not simply with "the name of God" but with His onoma. His city, His Kingdom, His dwelling now becomes our habitation and place of residency. We've become citizens of a different dimension, a different realm.
But here's the best part of this. He is, has been, and will continue, to write upon us, to engrave within our thought processes, our nature, our makeup, His new character, His new makeup, His new identity.
I know. I know. I know. That scarcely makes sense to us as rational beings. How or why would Jesus' very nature and makeup change? How or why would His character and identity be altered?
There are two aspects to this that I will share.
When Della and I got married, we both went through a change of personality and makeup. Friends like Dwain McKenzie who've known me for most of my life made statements in the years following, something like this: "Brother, you sure have changed! You are not the same person you used to be!"
They could or would probably recite a number of character or personality changes that had taken place -- most notably the fact that I was a much softer individual, not so driving, not so brittle or hard. And I would have to agree. Before the Lord gave Della to me I was incomplete. There was a constant "search" that went on inside my being for completeness, for something that would enable me to fulfill my destiny and be whom I am supposed to be. There was a "search," a craving, an insatiable desire for that one whom God had chosen as my counterpart, my other self.
Once we were joined together, everything changed! There was a release of new authority. There was a sense of satisfaction and joy in being complete. There was a knowing that -- FINALLY -- I was seeing tangible movement towards God's destiny! I was now a whole being!
That principle holds true with the Lord Jesus Christ. I've said this before, and I know that there are many believers who have struggled with the same concept, but from before the foundations of the earth, Jesus needed and desired a counterpart. There has been a constant drive on His part toward the day when He would be complete. He designed things this way, folks! I'm not making this up. This is not some new doctrine or funny contrivance of my invention.
From the beginning of time itself, all creation was spoken and set in motion to bring about a desired end -- a people who would become the counterpart, the other self, the very beloved partner of the Lord Jesus Christ. This would be a species of being -- a people -- who would reflect His Glory, be the expression of His love, function just like Him, flow with His authority and power, and -- ultimately -- enable Him to fulfill His destiny!
Why do you think the promise to the overcomer is, "And I will write upon him My New Onoma?" There is a process of overcoming that has to be made complete in us and we must come to that place the apostle Paul described like this:
"When I was a child (nepios), I spake as a child (nepios), I understood as a child (nepios), I thought as a child (nepios): but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (I Corinthians 13:11-12)
Here's how John put it in his first general letter to the body of Christ:
"Beloved, now are we the sons (teknon) of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." (I John 3:2)
THAT is what this is all about! That is what it means to have His New Onoma!
Let's get something straight. This is what Jesus is coming back for! He's not coming back for a mealy-mouthed, Caesar-Milquetoast, namby-pamby people who behave like cowards, run at every appearance of Satan or his horde of demons, and are too intimidated to boldly declare and make the kingdoms of this world the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11:15). There's not going to be any rapture of the "ain'ts" until He can come and receive what He set out to have in the first place: a people who are once again in His likeness and image -- in other words, Saints!
And that is something, the scope of which, is a whole lot larger than the finite mind can even begin to imagine. Consider for a minute the onoma of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's how Paul put it when writing to the Philippians:
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name [onoma] which is above every name [onoma]: That at the name [onoma] of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)
There's so much in that statement I could almost write a book on that passage all by itself! Let's see if we can condense it into a few paragraphs for the sake of this discussion.
Father has exalted and magnified Jesus and given Him a name, an onoma that is above every onoma. OK, so far? But that onoma is not just an exalted name here on earth. He has rank and authority, power and greatness and glory which Father has given Him above even His own!
Do you see it? Let me preface what I'm about to share by saying that the word "things" does not exist in the Greek text. It was an addition of the translators to try to describe ALL beings -- whether heavenly, earthly or demonic. Now, here we go! "That at the onoma of Jesus every knee should bow, of all beings in Heaven (whether they be angelic or kosmokrator -- and we tend to describe all heavenly beings as "angelic" even though that's not accurate), all beings on earth (no matter what kingdom they belong to -- human, animal, sea-creatures, plant-life, etc.), and all beings (demonic or of Satan's kingdom regardless of classification) under the earth."
And THAT is the character and nature being bred and formed in us by Holy Spirit at Father's will so that Jesus Christ receives His full inheritance!
[The term, kosmokrator, is a Greek word which appears in Ephesians 6 where Paul describes our spiritual wrestling, and the term describes a "world ruler" -- what we might frame as "principality" or "power" -- and describes a being who exercises power or rulership in a spiritual dimension over a city, a state, a country or a region of the world.]
We haven't even begun to explore the significance of what it means to be "in Christ," or even what the phrase "Christ in us" really represents. These have become religious catch-phrases without true meaning in our vocabulary as Christians or believers in Christ. We know that the Word uses these phrases, and we gather some mental imagery around us each time we hear them, but having revelatory understanding of what it is all about is missed in the overwhelming majority of Christians. I wish I could go there today, but it would take too long (and it really is a topic for discussion all by itself), so -- once again -- let me draw a brief picture
As part of Jesus' prayer (John 17) when He was about to go to the Cross, He prayed something that is stupendous by any description! Watch!
" That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." (John 17:21-23)
This, my friends, is a merging process in which we are merged into Him, and He is merged into us. You see, when we have been made One with Him, we have also been made One with Father because He and Father are One. That's how it is possible for His Glory to be seen in us! It's really quite elementary, and yet because we're still stuck with our finite time-space-based thinking, it somehow goes right over our heads. Once the transformation of our DNA takes place in the realm of the Spirit, this merging is no more complicated than breathing in and breathing out! It's what we've been designed for, folks! It's what Jesus has been after from day one!
This is where agreement -- the principle of being united in thought, purpose, desire, goal and destiny -- has such effectiveness. This is where the love of God becomes so manifest and demonstrated to the world around us. Father specifically set this up so "that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them exactly as you have loved me."
There's only one word in the English language that fits this picture -- WOW!!!
Now, are you beginning to grasp the picture of why and how the greater works are possible? Let's revisit the five growth processes as we wrap up today's Coffee Break.
We've been on a path and in the midst of a process that takes us from Brephos to Nepios; from Nepios to Paidion; from Paidion to Teknon; and -- finally -- from Teknon to Huios. Jesus took this path as the "firstborn among many brethren." (See Romans 8:29)
There are five separate phases here, and they cumulatively represent God's grace at work. The word "grace" has often been used as an acronym to represent God's Riches At Christ's Expense. That's really a terrible oversimplification, but in this instance it is apropos for the process which takes us from Brephos to Huios. It really is something that Jesus paid for with His life in order to restore the long-lost path to our relationship with Father. He took this path and is therefore qualified to direct the work of Holy Spirit in our lives as we progress from our new-born state as a "babe in Christ" to the place where we are released with Father's blessing and approval as "sons in whom He is well-pleased."
And that brings us once again to what is happening in 2012. There MUST be a release of the "sons of God" in the earth! All creation is literally screaming for that manifestation. Every society on this planet wants answers that only God's people can provide. Despite Satan's deception and the guile he uses to keep folks focused on man-made solutions, government solutions and processes that so-called "wise men" devise through their strategies in order to solve wars, rumors of wars, famine and calamity on every hand, men and women the world over know in their heart of hearts that the solutions which have been tried are not only NOT working, things are getting worse by the day.
Thus a cry fills this earth today for a people who have God's answers for world solutions. A stupendous harvest of souls awaits. 2012 is a year in which we're going to see things break loose with Kingdom authority being released like never before. Jesus Christ is going to have a full house. He's going to have a very large family, thank you very much, and the responsibility and the opportunity have been thrust upon us.
2012 is the year of Huios!
"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles [nations and ethnic groups] shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." (Isaiah 60:1-5)
"Verily, Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do because I go to my Father." (John 14:12)
See you next week.
"The Spirit of God is preparing leadership by releasing upon them the anointing that rested upon the sons of Issachar. They had understanding of the time and were aware of what the people of God should be accomplishing (see 1 Chronicles 12:32). The Spirit of Truth is releasing revelatory insights for all who are actively seeking to fully follow God (see Jeremiah 29:12-13). Let me stress again that the Kingdom of God will not be established by mere words or abilities of men, but by the Spirit of God (see 1 Corinthians 4:20). This type of realistic confidence can only come from genuine union with Christ. It is abiding in His manifested presence that results in our boldness (see Proverbs 28:1)." (Bobby Connor)
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
709 South 7th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133

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