Isaiah 58: 12 And [they that shall be] of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
What is the breach? What are the old waste places and former desolations?
This is the glorious temple of the Lord that once was laying in ruins. Why is it in ruins? Because the relationships between the living stones which once existed were severed and the mortar which once was between the stones became UNGLUED and with a mighty wind the entire wall was pushed over and the entire structure was destroyed.
What kind of event could have caused a once glorious building to be put to ruins? How was the building weakened to such a point that the enemy would be able to set the building in ruins? The answer to this is found in relationships. We are by analogy living stones in the temple which is not made by hands. The living stones are set in place by the Chief Architect according to the master plans which He has before Him. The stones set side by side are RELATIONSHIPS between individuals and the mortar between the stones is agape love.
Ephesians 4: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Now the STRENGTH of the BUILDING is only as strong as the individual RELATIONSHIPS between each stone. Furthermore, those relationships are only as strong as the MORTAR which is between them. As this mortar erodes away the strength of the building is weakened. As this happens on a mass scale the entire structure is weakened to a point were what once was IMMOVABLE is now able to be destroyed with a strong storm from the enemy.
Sometimes we do not see the implications of our own actions as having a greater effect on the whole. Relationships are the BASIS and STRENGTH of the entire structure. God's entire plan by analogy is build on relationships glued together in love. Many take relationships lightly looking toward "grander" and "greater" things not knowing that without relationships the greater plan or corporate calling of the church can never happen.
One of the SCHEMES OF THE ENEMY that the Lord has shown me is that Satan has been constantly working to destroy relationships and replace the emphasis of the corporate church from a RELATIONSHIP BASED BODY to an EVENT BASED BODY. In this scheme the stones come together corporately for an event but are neither fit together properly nor are the stones glued together in love.
Delusional and blinding spirits add to the deception by creating the feeling that the building is coming into UNITY and ONENESS and from all OUTWARD appearances seems structurally sound and immovable when in reality the structure being build has no STRENGTH due to the lack of relationships and once erected can easily be destroyed. It is this type of deception and scheme which the enemy wishes to use to destroy the Church.
Paul outlined how to combat the schemes of the enemy in this context.
Ephesians
4:
1 I therefore, the prisoner of
the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye
are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness,
with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
We combat the destruction or resistance by the enemy of relationships by the fruit of the Spirit. The mortar between the stones is the fruit of love which is patience, forbearance, longsuffering, meekness, and lowliness. The fruit is born so that the building being erected will be strong and sure and will WITHSTAND ALL ATTACKS BY THE ENEMY.
The focal point of this passage is the building itself. The unity of relationships is the strength of the building and vehicle by which the corporate church or MATURE MAN will be brought forth.
Ephesians
4:
11 And he gave some, apostles;
and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity
of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we [henceforth] be no more
children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine,
by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait
to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love,
may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ
If the structure falls all who are in the structure will likewise suffer GREAT LOSS, and it is therefore in the best interest of all that the structure is sound and secure.
1 Corinthians
12:
26 And whether one member suffer,
all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members
rejoice with it.
27 Now ye are the body of Christ,
and members in particular.
Now the one thing about relationships is the COST. To even come into relationship with another person will cost you something, and the deeper we enter into relationship with that person the more it will cost. It will cost time, money, pride, opinions, and anything in general related to self. Perhaps cost is the greatest deterrent to relationships being built.
It is because of self that the enemy is able to use his schemes and weapons. We are victors IN CHRIST and we are strong and mighty IN CHRIST. No weapon formed against us will prosper as long as we are IN CHRIST. Our strength against the schemes and tactics of the enemy is only as strong as we are dead to self. Otherwise he has a foothold by which to attack us.
As long as the self life exists within us as individuals, relationships will always be attacked by the enemy and successfully destroyed or deterred. Something will ALWAYS come up, some offense will ALWAYS arise or be taken, something of greater importance will ALWAYS come up. These are his schemes, and as long as self exists, the enemy has a weapon to use and be successful against us.
Many weigh the cost and find the endeavor not worth the effort. Some feel that the return on investment is not worthwhile while others will have to lay aside some pet doctrines for the sake of the relationship while others find that their friends needs money. Others are simply too busy doing "their thing". There are many other reasons but you get the point.
All of the schemes of the enemy are combated by the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT (Galatians 5:22-23). AGAINST THIS WEAPON the enemy has no counter-attack, and AGAINST THIS WEAPON no weapon formed against us will prosper. This is what Isaiah meant when he wrote that scripture.
Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue [that] shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This [is] the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness [is] of me, saith the LORD.
Jesus biblically set the tone when He said:
Luke 9: 23 And he said to [them] all, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
If any man COME AFTER ME, or perhaps better said, if any man SEEKS RELATIONSHIP WITH ME let him/her deny themselves (put relationship with Me first), take up their cross (on which the self life is to be put) and follow Me (enter into the fullness of relationship or intimacy that I desire to have with you).
Now all who have eyes to see and ears to hear and can see the greater plan of the Lord; and the glorious structure that He is planning on building are now given a choice on whether they will find the cost of laying down self for the sake of the INTEGRITY of the building worthy or not. Only those stones which are willing to submit themselves to the greater plan of the Lord and lay down their life for the sake of the INTEGRITY of the building will be chosen to be used in the building that God is building.
May we count the cost and choose to be RECONCILERS and REPAIRERS OF THE BREACH being worthy to be called PRIESTS OF THE LORD.
Blessings
Jim
Rinker
Temporal vs. Eternal
Jim Rinker
One of the aspects of the prophetic ministry is that prophets are fore runners and are given insight into what lies ahead. Now this is a very large topic and encompasses many different things so to be more specific to the topic at hand prophets get insight into the difference between what is temporal and what is eternal.
Now at first glance we would divide this into "what is flesh" or sin and "what is Spirit" or life and yes on one level this is certainly a truth. But there is another level that lies specifically in the realm of that which is Spirit or "Spirit-birthed" that would cause us to divide the works of God into that which is temporal from that which is eternal.
There are certain outpourings (or works) of God which have eternal value and there are certain outpourings (or works) of God that are only temporal. Both of these works of God have value but the only difference is that the temporal aspect of His work is only temporary and intended for a finite period of time. These works are meant to birth and bring forth that which is eternal. The temporal work is no less glorious than the eternal but the difference is that it was only intended to have a finite lifetime and function.
One biblical example of this is the five fold ministry itself. As glorious as this work in the church is and as vital as this gift to the body is, it is only temporal.
Ephesians 4: 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith
The limit is "until we all come in the unity of the faith". Prophets are given vision 'down the road" into what will stand and what will fall. Some of what will not exist in the future is not of the Lord at all. But specific to this topic, some that will not exist in the future is currently a glorious move of God that lies in the temporal category and had a specific temporal purpose FOR TODAY but is not INTENDED to stand forever.
This is were some prophets goof. They can see down the road but confuse what is temporal but of the Spirit with what is temporal in the fleshly sense and wind up judging wrongly a current move of the Spirit because they can see down the road it will not exist. The intention of the Lord revealing the temporal from the eternal works of the Lord is so the body does not miss God when the greater work arrives.
Many current ministries are temporal and serve a vital purpose now but will have to shift gears and realign themselves or even be totally dismantled as the next phase of the Lord's construction project begins. I must emphasize this, the laborer is rewarded for their obedience and not their function and/or visibility. There are certain members (or movements) in the body who (which) currently have high visibility who will go into obscurity in the future while there are some who are in obscurity who will be on the forefront at a later time. Neither should be judged. One brought forth the other or made it possible that the other existed. This is how the Lord's plan works. Each part must do what it is called to do so that the project is completed. The scaffolding is only put in place until the masonry work is completed then it is dismantled. It served a vital but temporary function.
The fore runner is shown these insights so that nothing temporal is held on to too tightly and that the greater eternal works which must be embraced will be recognized and received when they arrive.
As a more relevant example, in China right now the largest hydroelectric plant in the world is being build, a project that will last 10 years with completion in 2008 (est). Now in order to build this dam a very large TEMPORARY dam must first be built to divert the river so that the PERMANENT dam can then be constructed. Once finished, the temporary dam will be dismantled and the project completed. So the value of the first dam was only so the second one could be built.
Likewise, many ministries and movements of God today only exist so that the greater move of God can be built (or birthed) and the building raised higher. These ministries will likewise be dismantled when the permanent structure is birthed. By this analogy we can see that the current moves of God are not WRONG but rather temporal and exist for a specific purpose so that another move can come into being. Again, I must emphasize that the eternal is birthed and made possible by the temporal. That which is to come is being made possible by current moves of God. But if these are held too tightly and not recognized as temporal than the eternal move of God will not be received.
Luke 5: 37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. 38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. 39 No man also having drunk old [wine] straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
I pray that as the Lord begins to unfold His sovereign plan we would have a heart to embrace that which is eternal and hold loosely that which is temporal and I pray for the grace to recognize the difference between both works of the Lord.
Blessings
Jim
--
Jim,
Terri, and Joshua Rinker
1115 Fern Ave.
Kenhorst, Pa. 19607
610-796-4862 (H)
610-458-8959 (W)
http://landru.myhome.net/cmjhburl/Resource1.html
rinker@3dp.com
Back to: WHATS NEW PAGE or
DATED
FILELIST of
End Time Prophetic Vision