Recovered In Christ

Be very careful of any books or people who speak of God in the first person..(‘Trust in me my child’…’I will be there through everything that is going on around you’….’have no fear my child for nothing can actually hurt you’…etc. etc.) as if they are channeling God! That is not how prophecy or revelation works. ONLY the Holy scriptures of the Bible have the authority to do that!

It may not seem like a big deal…it may even ‘seem’ in alignment with scripture, giving you a beautiful message. But its roots and origins are from the snake Himself. First, it’s extremely arrogant to speak on God’s behalf…not even the prophets ‘channeled’ God…they clearly distinguished when they were speaking versus “Thus Says The Lord”…and second…are we really going to accept someone’s literary claim that they are channeling God??? Can we remember the warning we have about adding to the word of God? “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” Revelation 22:18-19

Think this through guys…the original disciples and apostles themselves were never recorded speaking as a channel “My dear children, hi, this is God, so this is what I want to tell you…” they were recorded and confirmed as having the authority to receive and relay a vision or revelation as recorded in Revelation for example, so if the apostles didn’t just casually throw out a “channeling”  – why is some 21st century writer claiming God has written a book/devotional through them?

It’s dishonest, at best it’s a cheesy attempt at role playing God’s voice (how do you think God actually feels about that?) and at worst…it leads you to believe that God actually speaks to you from outside of you through a ‘medium’…rather than through the Holy Spirit working in and through your own spirit. It will also lead you into listening to evil spirits who know scripture a lot better than you, and who will customize their voice to win your trust.

“For the unbeliever the Holy Spirit has a ministry of leading them to the Son. He has been sent to convince unbelievers of sin, righteousness and judgment. Sin-To show they are sinful, having fallen short of God’s standard. Righteousness– To convict them of not having a righteousness of their own to be accepted by God, but in need of God’s righteousness that he freely gives through accepting the gospel. This righteousness is only found only in Christ. And judgment– in that there is more than meets the eye, that there is a time they will have to answer for how they lived their life. There is a hereafter,  there is more than just a physical life.

The first work of the spirit is to show one that they sin and are in need of a righteousness that they do not possess. As His work progresses eventually one will hear about Jesus Christ who forgives sin, the gospel so they can be saved.

He is to have a moral influence on our life and thus produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the executor of God’s nature. He is the source of the new birth and brings out the nature of Christ in the individual believer. He conforms us to the nature of Jesus, who is God as well as the ultimate human. He reveals the nature of God by transforming believers to be like him. His indwelling restores the image of God in man that became damaged by the fall, now we can reflect God’s moral qualities and characteristics as He intended. The Fruit of the spirit is only displayed when we walk in the spirit. All these qualities are reflective of Jesus Christ who was seen in the flesh.

For the one who believes in the gospel (1Cor.15:1-4) the Spirit is immediately given as the seal of ones justification or right standing in the New Covenant. They are cleared of all guilt before God and start with a new slate. Eph 1:13 “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” Mike Oppenheimer – (Let Us Reason Ministries)

“The safe path for believers at the close of the age is one of tenacious faith in the written Word as the sword of the Spirit, to cut the way through all the interferences and tactics of the forces of darkness, to the end.” – Jessie Penn-Lewis