"SPIRITUAL WISDOM!"

Spiritual wisdom is acquired through an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit honored by grace through FAITH. In short, spiritual wisdom is gained by FAITH (Ephesians 1:17-23).

The Holy Spirit has revealed to us the profound difference between "intuitive" knowledge and, that is, the "inner man" or "spirit man" (Col. 1:27) knows all things while the "outward man" or "carnal man (the flesh)" remains ignorant.

I will provide you with an illustration:

• (A) = represents the "carnal man" who is "ignorant" (being ignorant is NOT being STUPID. Stupidity and ignorance are totally different paradigms).
• (B) = represents the "spiritual man" who is "all knowing" as a result of tapping into the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

(A) knows that (B) exists inside of him. (A) does not know that (B) is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. Therefore, (A) is ignorant and summarily powerless to resist the tricks of the enemy.

(B) is frustrated with (A) because (A) will not believe what (B) is telling him about who he is, what he has inside of him and what (B) has already done to prepare a way for him from the foundation of the world.  

It is critical for (A) to move past the "renewal of his mind" (Rom. 12:1-2) into "spiritual wisdom" the place of "freedom and peace" in the Holy Spirit (the place where all channels are clear from any distraction so that (A)'s mind can:

1. "discern":  receive continual revelation from the Holy Spirit;
2. "understand": comprehend what he has seen and process the information in his mind; and,
3. "perform": execute what has been revealed to him by FAITH and believe that he has already received it by becoming an "active participant" by serving God's people in the marketplace.

"SANCTIFICATION: Impartation is not Imitation!"

  "And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."       (Hebrews 10:10)

Sanctification is the act of being made holy and set apart by God for service in His kingdom. It is also a gift from God through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus at Golgotha that the Believer receives immediately but grows into gradually over time. The sanctification is ready, pure and holy for the Believer right away, but the flesh needs time to recover, to heal and be delivered from a lifetime of sin.

However, please do not take it lightly that you received the "impartation" of sanctification not the ability to "imitate" the sanctified life. The expectation of the Lord God is that we exhibit the perfect qualities of sanctification through our mortal bodies as did Christ Jesus. It ain't easy; but it can be done!

This impartation happens as a result of  God's grace through faith in the One who became sanctification for me; the One who died for me and the One who lived for me (through His Spirit). What is this gift? It is the gift of His patience, love, holiness, purity, faith and godliness manifested through every soul.

Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the ability to be holy...it is drawing from Jesus the (very same) holiness that was transferred to and exhibited by Him from the Father

Imitation is impersonation. It is advanced behavior whereby an individual observes and then attempts to replicate the traits and characteristics of another. It is the will of God that we receive Christ and not be a "knock-off" imitation of His mortal body. It is His intention that we receive and become all the perfect qualities that are exhibited in true sanctification where the Believer can only be kept by the power of God! Selah...

                "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and sanctification and redemption..."    (1Corinthians 1:30)

"HEALING In The Name of JESUS!"

          “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.”   

                                                                        (Isaiah 53:4-5)

          This may be the most misquoted scripture in the Bible. I know this is going to upset some folks and make a whole lotta pastors mad at me, but people have got to slow down and read the Word. This is the “go to” scripture to get church folks shoutin’ and screamin’ and rollin’ on the floor and barkin’ at the moon right before passin’ the plate, but the “healing” Brother Isaiah is talking about here is “spiritual healing” NOT sickness and disease. I can hear you saying, “Brother Nick, you done loss your mine!”

          Check this out. From the end of Isaiah 52 through Isaiah 53:4-5, the Prophet is giving us the revelation that “…He was wounded for our transgressions (manifestation of our sin); He was crushed for our iniquities (our inclination toward sin).” These are both sins that are conceived in the heart and mind and subsequently executed through the carnal body.

          Every man born of a woman is a sinner and none are righteous (Romans 3:10). But it is the Name of Jesus that makes us (gives us access to becoming) righteous (that is, right with God and man). Therefore, the greatest healing that transpires for mankind is not in the body (which is temporal) but in the spirit (which is eternal) through faith in God by the shedding of the Blood of Jesus on Calvary.

          We now have peace with God because Jesus became sin (took upon Himself the weight of both our inclination toward sin and our manifestation of sin) at the Cross thus tearing the veil (barrier between man and God because of sin) in two and giving us direct access to the Throne of Grace.

          Healing is the prerogative of God. He heals whom he wills. Healing (the power to heal) does not come from any man; but only from God and only for His Glory.

          “Modern Day Healing ITNOJ”

          Healing ITNOJ is a very volatile subject in the Body of Christ because a lot of preachers claim to have the power (gift) of healing (on demand). Now, I am not one to doubt God; all things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26). But with man, there is a great deal of skepticism.

These trumped up “Healing Services” and the “Laying on of Hands” lines at the end of every service for every affliction is a bit much. Slappin’ people in the head, punchin’ folks in the stomach, blowin’ on people, throwin’ your coat on folks, sprayin’ water bottles on the congregation and pushin’ folks on the floor like they are actually being slain in the spirit is all a bunch of foolishness. My personal favorites are the televangelists that claim to heal people over the airways through their televisions. What a mockery!

          When you think about it, how can a pastor plan a healing service for Tuesday, March 25 (I’m just picking a random date in the future for illustration purposes here) as a special occurrence in his ministry? How many people do you know have ever been truly healed at any of these events? The only man who ever lived with the ability to heal at will was Jesus Christ and the Apostles received the gift of true healing (the ability to heal others through the power of the Holy Spirit NOT of their own accord) from God through the Lord God in the Name of Jesus.

          When was the last time your Pastor formed a line at your church service for deliverance from “sin?” I rest my case! Selah...

          “…We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

                                                                          (Isaiah 53:6)

         

"FINANCIAL BLESSINGS and Other FAIRY TALES!"

Newsflash: You CANNOT receive a financial blessing from God by paying TITHES & OFFERINGS!

         When you were a child, your parents would read stories to you about various kinds of fantasy places and other world activity that fascinated and captivated you. Mostly, it was to entertain you and stimulate your eager, young mind to explore new realms of thought and imagination.

          As you got older, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella and Peter Pan didn't get you warm and fuzzy anymore. Why? Because you matured and realized they were just fairy tales. It was all make believe. In short, the stories were not real!

           In the monstrosity that has become the Modern Day Church (MDC), there is a pervasive movement to steer the financial resources of all of its members toward achieving a financial blessing (FB). They maintain that this FB can only be achieved through tithing; specifically, tithing in the name of Jesus! This concept makes absolutely no sense because Jesus never tithed and the very nature of this paradigm goes against the principles of the Kingdom of God where FAITH is the currency for pleasing God, not money.

          When you think about it, how is it that an individual can work for more than twenty years with a good job and be praying to God for a FB at the same time? What became of the lessons he was taught in Sunday school on good stewardship? Did the man forget about his instruction on creating a budget and sticking with it? Does the woman learn to pay herself first by both saving and capturing her money? Captured money is money that goes into a fund and can’t be touched until retirement. It is the life blood of creating and establishing a legacy for future generations.

          The only reason a Believer would need a FB is if they are a TITHER! My brother and fellow author, Franklin Cunningham, says that after working for these many years, “I don’t need a FB, I need a Brink’s Truck! Any Christian praying and believing God for a FB is outside the Kingdom.” 

          The hard truth is that money is an unacceptable offering to a Holy God. He will reject it every time. Cain and Abel gave us the earliest example of a man trying to “pay God off” with substance when God has always required a sacrifice from us. The one man, Abel, has been venerated throughout human history while his brother, Cain has been vilified even until today.

I have said countless times that, “God does not need your money and the devil doesn’t need it either!”  Giving God your money doesn’t require anything. Sure, you may have worked hard to earn it and believe that it is your obligation to give God 10% of your income but there is a profound difference between “free will giving” and “tithing.”  

The Myth of FB’s have been conjured up by the witches and warlocks stirring their caldron’s full of BS and dishing up bowls of it to the poor, desperate and suffering souls who have no relationship with the Lord God and are woefully ignorant of His Word. They are a generation of non-readers and they suffer needlessly because of laziness. 

Put down your purse and your wallet and pick up the Bible and read it!

"The Power of AGREEMENT!"

"Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven." (Matthew 18:19)

The Power of Agreement (POA) is a powerful weapon in the Kingdom. It can be utilized to thwart the enemy at every turn. You may not know this, but "the devil ain't givin' errbody the blues!" He is just leavin' some people alone because they tight wit God. They start laughin' at him soon as they see him comin'! The devil don't have no choice but to break camp!

The POA is a profound spiritual weapon against the kingdom of darkness. I have always been drawn to this scripture as a husband because I have seen over the many years that I have been married that "disagreement" (POD) can have a profound effect on your relationship as well. For the first few years of our marriage, my wife and I couldn't agree on much of anything. Her pitfall was this; "The devil never stops whispering in Eve's ear!" My calamity was, "I was a boy trapped in a man's body!"

We were both young and immature and still very selfish. We constantly butted heads and spent most of our time jockeying for position. We were more interested in being "right" than being "righteous." How could we be righteous? We were both unbelievers!

Once we became Believers, there was a dramatic shift in the heavenlies. God became real and His grace overtook us. The real power associated with the POA is rooted in "TRUST" (Joshua 1:9) between the individuals involved. Once you trust someone, there is no limit to what you can do. Over a period of time, my wife and I learned to trust one another. We conquered various challenges in our marriage and, as a result, the two of us became one. In short, we are a united front against the wiles of the enemy. We stood in flat-footed defiance against him and told him that he was not going to destroy our faith or our marriage!

The love, joy and peace connected with the POA is immeasurable. Once we focused on being in agreement, we couldn't lose. We were able to do anything...together. The revelation that I received from the Holy Spirit is that we weren't in agreement with each other per se. We were (and still are) in agreement with God. We are in partnership with Him by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the love that we have for God that broke down the walls of fear, selfishness, deception and confusion and built up the fortress of faith, giving, truth and clarity.

Through the POA, the voice of the devil has been silenced and a boy has become a man! Selah...

"Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation and the CHURCH!"

"So God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Genesis 1:27)

Gender Identity (GI) and Sexual Orientation (SO) are hot topics in global social, cultural and political circles. In religious circles, not so much. This is one of the 1o topics most churches won't touch. The modern church and politics are like oil and water; they don't mix! 

GI is one's sense of oneself as a male or female. SO is a person's physical and/or emotional attraction to the same of opposite gender. There are more than 50 gender classifications and countless categories of SO and sexual preference. Where did we go wrong? How did we fall so far off of the grid? The simple answer is, "there is no limit to the depths of human selfishness" and our "unbridled sense of tolerance and entitlement" have created a nation of narcissistic egomaniacs who believe that they can do anything they want to do without any retribution. God said He created male and female. We have to hear what God is saying!

Recent political maneuvers by the school board in Fairfax, VA have force-fed the GISO agenda and (gulp) curriculum for elementary school kids down the throats of the bewildered and helpless parents whose rights to "opt-out" of the classes for their babies have been taken away. This movement is being spearheaded by the federal government.

Once again, the church is SILENT. Not one news thread, sound bite, tweet or post from you favorite celebrity pastor. Not even a whisper of outrage over the fact that 5 and 6 year old kids will be taught about same sex marriages and what being a homosexual means. This curriculum will teach 4th and 5th graders about incest, oral sex and anal sex. Oral sex and anal sex! Are you kidding me? I think my head is going to explode!

7th and 8th graders will also receive instruction on the intricacies of oral and anal sex. That doesn't sound like a good idea to me. I wouldn't readily provide this type of information to a group of horny teenagers! I'm just saying! In addition, 9th-12th graders will attend GISO classes on heterosexual, homosexual, bi-sexual and transgender relationships.

But the powers that be have forced God out of the schools (with the exception of national tragedies, school shootings and other forms of terrorism), they have shut down prayer in the schools because they don't want to offend non-Christians (again, unless there is a local or national tragedy). This same contingent of people have also removed the Ten Commandments from state houses, government and office buildings across the country.

So let me get this straight; you are okay with teaching various forms of perversion to our babies, but you don't want them to hear about God in any way unless there is a major crisis at hand...where or where are the defenders of the faith? Where are God's soldiers?

Sounds to me like the major crisis has just arrived!...Selah

"POLLUTED BREAD: The Spirit of MALACHI!"

The Spirit of Malachi has been trashed by a generation of greedy church leaders looking for a quick payday on the backs of the poor, widows, orphans, uneducated, naive and just plain stupid! This Book in NOT about TITHING! It is about forgetting the love of God. Malachi revealed the reality of the sin of Israel. Israel was in denial. Israel had fallen away from their love of God. Israel was unfaithful to God and itself. Divorce was rampant. Poverty was prevalent. Yet, Malachi prophesied of John the Baptist and Jesus. He told them that the Messiah would bridge the gap between God and man.

Malachi, whose name means "My Messenger" in Hebrew, was a warrior in the purest sense. The Lord God deemed the prophet an "oracle." An oracle is a person through whom a deity (God) is believed to speak. He had the burden of judging the priests and the people, for their blatant transgressions against God. It was the priests who were "robbing God" with food not "money." They were robbing God of their affections and loyalty. Their hearts were wicked and their affections ran cold. Israel had become a nation of idolaters, adulterers and thieves. God hated them for that and He told them so!

Malachi indicted the priests for their repeated offenses against the spirit and letter of the Law. The priests were keeping the best offerings for themselves and giving God the scraps. I am calling their offerings "polluted bread" because they were stale, molded and contaminated. They were "blemished sacrifices" because they were ineffective, afflicted, diseased, lame and sick just like the raggedy sheep they offered up to God.

However, God rejected their offerings by sending Malachi to tell the corrupt priests, "Don't you fools know that I can see what you're doing? I CAN SEE YOU!" I just told you that Malachi was an oracle and an oracle is a person whom God speaks through. However, it wasn't Malachi, it was God who was judging the priests! God was also judging the people of Israel as well. His chosen nation of sons had progressively become a nation of bastards.

The same holds true today. You see my friend, the modern Christian has become very lazy. The modern day preacher has "changed the offering from food to paper." The simple fact is that God doesn't need your money and neither does the devil. He never has and He never will. The priests were not giving sacrifices; they were merely doing what was convenient. They did just enough to appear to obey God. This attitude is called righteous indignation.

Polluted bread is hearing a word that unquestionably came from God to build your ministry and the first thing you do is run to the bank (world system that is run by Satan that translates into DEBT and SLAVERY) to ask for a LOAN before waiting to hear how God is going to do it for you. Polluted bread is reducing the Book of Malachi to the Book of Tithing. Polluted bread is the preacher that continually pressures his congregation into giving money they are NOT REQUIRED to give by quoting Malachi 3:10. Polluted bread is creating the spirit of guilt, shame and ridicule among those not able or willing to give.

But most of all polluted bread is the man that keeps taking his family back to the "Baker" (Satan) who repeatedly sells him the stale, molded and contaminated loaves wrapped in a pretty package marked "made fresh daily" and the man still buys the polluted bread wrapped in the pretty package (deception) every single time! Selah...

"Why The CHURCH is SILENT on SOCIAL ISSUES!"

When I think about the pervasive social injustices running rampant through our nation, I shudder to think what God's response will be to all of this. Mass shootings, the Confederate flag, foreign wars, total disregard for our eco-system, same sex marriage, "open season" on Black men and women by the police and blatant corruption in our political system at every level is sending our country into a tailspin. Protesters are placing life and limb in harm's way to counteract this wave of terrorism.

Conspicuously absent from almost all public dissent is THE CHURCH. The Church is so quiet on these issues that "we don't even hear CRICKETS anymore!"

Why is the Church silent? Most entities that are silent are those those that don't have a voice. Sadly, the social voice of the Church has been silent for decades. It's silent because it has no power to influence its own people. It's silent because its leadership doesn't really care about its people. It's silent because nobody gives a damn about these celebrity preachers outside of their mega church congregations! It's silent because when you don't "hear from God" (for real) you can't have anything meaningful to say.

I am sickened by the persistent "knee-jerk" reaction of the Church that only happens when our country experiences a national tragedy. Other than that, the church folk wallow in prayer, indecision and church activities while the neighborhoods around them burn to the ground with rage, fear, neglect and hopelessness!

The Church is silent because it doesn't want to offend the world. Isn't that crazy?The world offends the church sixty times each minute and gloats in its face like a big ole bully does in grade school. That bully can't wait for you to bring "his lunch" to school, take your money and beat you up at recess! You live in terror each day for fear of when you will confront your nemesis in the hallway between classes!

The only way to stop a bully is to stand flat footed and confront him face to face. Call him out! Challenge his tail to a fight. Become the aggressor. Churches are a lot like bullies. They look big and bad on the outside until they are confronted by someone who  ain't scared of them. Then everybody finds out the bully is really just a COWARD! After the bully gets exposed, you don't hear a peep outta his butt!

I just said CHURCHES are a lot like BULLIES! Selah...