Archive for the ‘Previous Messages’ Category

Most of us have grown up to understand “church” to be a structured Sunday morning meeting with some room for the Holy Spirit to come in and do His thing. Yet he’s only allowed to move within the allocated time slot, the non-offensive Christian jargon or comfort zone we allow Him to move in. In some churches still the Holy Spirit is just about as welcome as the Devil himself…

Very few people reach the sobering point in their walk with God where they actually stop and question their motives for going through their religious motions. Some people attend Sunday meetings for years and years without even wondering why. Because we tend to relate to God on the basis of how good we perform (read Bible, pray, attend church, etc.), we never try and stay away for a few weeks or months at a time because the feeling of guilt just gets too much to deal with. So we put on our Sunday best and go back for more…

The sad thing is that most church goers seem to have based quite a large degree of their spiritual identity and security in their association with the church movement or institution that they attend. It’s remarkable though that they never stop and wonder what will happen to their spiritual walk if that carpet is pulled from underneath their feet. How long will they be able to stand if their local church closed its doors? How secure is their relationship with God AWAY from that institution?

“Christianity started in the Middle East as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise” – Sam Pascoe.

Throughout the centuries all kinds of clever manmade doctrines have been introduced to keep people spellbound to the spectacular Sunday performances, for example that we have to be “Accountable” or under the “Covering” of an institution or church movement somewhere. Yet we never see this example modeled by Jesus.

“The doctrine of covering is an old lie with a new name. It is fundamental to the maintenance of a false hierarchical religious system controlling many Christians in this day. Without the power of this erroneous mindset, it is even doubtful that some sections of the “church” could survive” – Cheryl McGrath.

Our Bodies: God’s Temple

In the Old Testament God used to live in temples built with human hands. During the dedication of the Tabernacle (Ex 4:34) and also of Solomon’s temple (2 Chr 5:11-14) God’s presence filled the building like a cloud and that was where He chose to dwell among His people. The building was not made for people; only the high priest could enter once per year to make sacrifices. The building was for God alone.

In the New Covenant God does not live in buildings anymore – He dwells in people: [1 Cor 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?].

Now we are His holy priests, given free access into the Holy of Holies: [1 Pet 2:5 Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ] (GNB). The only reason we should have for wanting to meet in a physical building is to prevent the rain from falling on our heads or being scorched by the sun. The building only serves to accommodate the people. So to say that we are “going to church” or that “we attend church” is actually erroneous, since we ARE the church.

Getting together in buildings on Sundays has also had the regrettable effect of making people more “meeting focused” than “Christ focused”, to the extent that believers have nearly become incapable of functioning effectively outside their structured meetings on Sundays. We shouldn’t need a special sermon, “anointed” worship or anything of the sort to be intimate with our Father. He’s right there with us every step of the way, simply enjoying us because we are His own.

Are Sunday Morning Meetings Unbiblical?

The simple reason why Sunday meetings work so well for most, is because that’s when everyone’s free. If people for example had Mondays off, then church meetings would probably have been held on Mondays. No day is more special than another day (Gal 4:9-10).

As for the fact that Sunday morning meetings are labeled as unbiblical by some, that’s utter garbage. Everybody should have a place of fellowship to connect with the rest of the body (on whichever day of the week they want to); we weren’t meant to run this race on our own: [Heb 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching].

We are all part of the same body and none of us are supposed to try and function in isolation. It’s a sad reality though that many parts of the body are being forced to connect with each other outside of the formal church setting, since the biggest part of the body is rampantly infected with the diseases of traditions, formalism, religion and rules.

When we found ourselves stuck in the same spiritual rut year after year, we should really be asking ourselves whether our church attendance is doing us any good. Perhaps we need to come out from the manipulative bondage that some church leaders impose on their people, and taste and see for ourselves that God is good.

Personal Testimony

I’ve come to experience that there is no difference between the way I feel when I’m at a “church” meeting or when I’m alone at home, or at work, or with friends or in the street, where I’m actually supposed to BE the church. Over the past 7 or 8 months, having not been formally involved with any “church”, it’s become natural to lay our hands on sick people at BBQ’s, to talk about the Kingdom with friends at restaurants or in the living room and to enjoy God’s residing presence with us every day.

We meet with some friends every 2^nd Friday evening simply to chat, eat and fellowship. If we are led to talk about a certain subject, we do so. If someone feels they want to pray, they do it. When we sense the Spirit wanting to infuse the room with prophesy, words of knowledge, songs of worship or tongues, we let Him. And we let everybody contribute, not just one lonesome warrior who comes with his revelation of God every Sunday, requiring the rest to remain passive while the message is delivered. Yes there is a time to sit quietly and listen, but not the way it is done Sunday after Sunday, week after week.

There aren’t any people or movements that I know of who have managed to set into place a structure for this type of freedom. I would imagine it gets a bit tricky when you have lots of people. If anybody is part of something like this, I’d like to find out what you are doing, because I’m trusting God to show us how to plant a church this side, without it just being another institution. This I believe is the key to seeing the worldwide move of God manifest: The revelation of BEING the church – Christ in us, the hope of glory.

In Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Through Adam’s submission to satan, he became a slave to satan’s devices and by implication allowed satan to become ruler of the earth. That which we allow ourselves to be overcome by, becomes our master: [2 Pet 2:19b ...for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage] and also [Rom 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?].

This is how satan managed to stand in heaven before God in the book of Job: [Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it”]. Adam was a son of God, but through his act of disobedience surrendered that position of authority to satan, who legally became the ruler of this world as even conceded by Jesus: [John 14:30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me].

The devil tried the same tactics with Jesus as what he did with Adam. Remember how satan made Adam and Eve question whether they were really like God, when in fact they were already created in God’s image? [Gen 3:5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil]. In exactly the same way satan asked Jesus if He was the Son of God during Jesus’ 40 days in the desert. But unlike Adam, Jesus knew who He was and what was at stake. He knew He had to come and strip satan of his authority as ruler of the earth. Because satan was the ruler of earth’s kingdoms, he could legally entice Jesus to worship him and promise Jesus the kingdoms of the world in return: [Luk 4:5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours”]. Through Adam’s disobedience satan had become the prince of this world and the kingdoms of the world were legally his to give away.

But after defeating the devil at the cross and stripping him of his authority, God reappointed man to the highest position as ruler of the earth (the position that Adam had lost), along with giving believers the authority to trample on satan and his demons: [Luk 10:19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you]. God even went as far as parading the devil and his fallen angels in a humiliating manner before their enemies: [Col 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross]. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, obedience and consequent death He did what Adam neglected to do: He conquered evil and ruled over the earth, guarding over it and subduing it in the manner God had commanded Adam to do. Jesus Christ destroyed the works of the devil as far as He went, healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out devils and providing for people’s physical needs (such as multiplication of food, obtaining tax money from a fish’s mouth, etc). As a normal man He portrayed to the entire mankind what it can look like to live a life fully surrendered to the Holy Spirit. Apart from being born from a virgin, Jesus had no other advantages over any other believer. Everything He did, all the miracles and wonders, He did as a normal man through the power of the Holy Spirit, just like the rest of us: [Phil 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross]. Jesus became the last Adam, the One who restored mankind’s lost authority and restored God’s children to unhindered, unbroken fellowship with the Father. Death came through Adam’s disobedience, but life came through Christ’s obedience. [1 Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive] and also [Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous].

Now this naturally poses the following question: If the enemy has already been defeated, why is he still causing so much havoc in the world? Why are there so many wars and diseases; why all the violence and poverty? Why are people suffering and dying by the millions daily? Because just like Adam, we are not doing our job in guarding the earth properly. The devil was stripped of his authority over 2000 years ago and the only authority that he now has is an illegitimate authority. He poses as an intimidating and powerful adversary when in fact he has no right to steal, kill and destroy anymore! That is why it is so simple to evict demons and infirmities from people’s bodies and lives, because the faith accompanied mention of the Name that destroyed them is enough to make them shiver and leave at once.

Another important factor is that God does not impose His will on mankind. Just like any love relationship between two people can only be truly beautiful when it exists as a result of the free will of both parties, in the same manner God wishes for our affection from within our own free will. He did not create dummies or robots to control. If God really wanted to stop Adam from eating that fruit in the Garden of Eden, the Spirit of God inside Adam could have easily hit the fruit out of Adam’s hand. But that would have violated God’s permissible will which allows mankind to make its own free choices.

It is therefore simple to see that God relies on His children to enforce His kingdom in the earth – we are His hands and feet! Let us therefore take up the authority which we have been given and rule the earth like we are supposed to. Let’s stop this defeated adversary in his tracks and do away with the suffering and harm he causes. Christ in us is the hope of glory!

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

[John 1:16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace].

A predominant doctrine doing the rounds in the church today is the fact that we have to keep asking God to give us more anointing, more power, more boldness, etc. to serve better and be more effective for God. And yet when we look at what Scripture says, we are told again and again that we have already been given EVERYTHING we will ever need, pertaining to life (which talks about our physical needs) and godliness (talking about our spirituality). [2 Pet 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness].

You will find that most mainstream church leaders are rejecting & opposing this theology because it takes the blame off God (for all the things He DOESN’T do for us) and it puts the responsibility squarely back on the believer to go out and do what God commanded us to do in the first place: [Matt 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give]. Note that Jesus didn’t say we should pray for the sick, He commanded us to HEAL them! This clearly puts the responsibility on the believer, whereas simply “praying for the sick” puts the responsibility on God. Under the Old Covenant God fought for us – under the New Covenant He fights through us.

[John 14:12 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will]. Now consider this: Do you think that Jesus would have made this statement if He didn’t mean it? Would He have said this if He knew we would never be able to do the works He did, thereby making Him a liar? Of course not. Jesus would never make a promise like this and then leave the church short changed & unequipped to do what He commanded them.

Now I am not speaking as one who claims to be moving at the level of signs & wonders that Jesus did, but I have definitely made the shift in my mind that if the person I have prayed for didn’t get healed, I know the blockage and the problem is with me and not with God! The same principle goes for this verse: [Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me]. If I am not seeing this manifest in my life yet, then maybe it’s time I stopped blaming God for what’s going on in the world, stopped asking God “why me?” and stopped asking Him to give me more boldness, more power, more anointing etc and started to realize and use what I have ALREADY BEEN GIVEN. It is important to realize that at this very moment the Holy Spirit dwells in us in fullness, which means all His power, His nature & His character resides within us. [Col 2:9 For in Him (Christ) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power].

The greatest obstacle is NOT knowing what we already have! [Philemon 1:6 That the communication of your faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus]. We will become more effective in communicating our faith (this includes healing, deliverance, provision, etc) when we begin to acknowledge that which is already inside us. If God has commanded us to rule the earth, and given us EVERYTHING that pertains to life & godliness (see 2 Pet 1:3 again), then by saying we want “more” power, “more” faith, “more” anointing, etc. we are basically telling God He HASN’T given us everything. No, we discover what God has already given us by getting to know Him better. [2 Pet 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness].

Many of the songs we sing in church tell God how thirsty and how hungry we are and that He should come and fill us and let His water flow over us. In the following 2 verses Jesus is talking SPECIFICALLY about salvation, and He says that whosoever comes to Him (which means to receive salvation for the first time), such shall never hunger or thirst again. [John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life]. [John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst]. Whilst there is nothing wrong with being passionate for God and seeking after Him more and more, there is definitely something wrong with telling Him that the reason we are not moving in signs & wonders is because He hasn’t equipped us! The truth is that acknowledging any form of “lack” in what God has given us, is actually an insult against the cross. If we tell God that we are thirsty for Him, well then maybe we should get saved and receive the Holy Spirit so that we will never hunger or thirst again. [Matt 5:6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they shall be filled]. Once you receive the righteousness of God as a gift (when you are saved), you ARE filled!

Almost all the times the apostle Paul prayed for “more”, he was talking about knowing God better & having more revelation of what we HAVE BEEN given (Col 1:9, Eph 3:19, etc).

Now you may be thinking: “But we are sincere when we sing these words to God (that we are hungry & thirsty), and He would still honor our sincerity.” But have you considered that many people in this world who believe they are sincere, are sincerely wrong? Being sincere doesn’t make it right, and God wants us to worship Him in Spirit and in TRUTH. Muslims & Satanists are also sincere in what they believe.

If you’ve managed to keep reading this article up to here, it means you are probably looking for truth on this matter. The key is simply to make the shift in our minds and to decide to live FROM our position of victory, living from the inside out. We need to let what’s inside us flow out to change the world around us. [Col 1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory]. When the world begins to see Jesus living through us, they will not be able to deny the authenticity of the love and power flowing from the lives of God’s children. And it all begins with acknowledging what we have ALREADY been given: Fullness in Christ!! Amen!!!

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

The Gospel of the New Covenant centers around the fact that God has changed the way He relates to mankind, not through the obedience of the law, but through Grace alone. Through faith in Jesus Christ alone we are justified: [Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.]

God made promises to Abraham in Gen 12 that Abraham would be blessed, that God would make his name great and that in him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. God later in Gen 17 confirmed these promises to Abraham with a covenant. And for the simple reason that ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, God counted Abraham’s faith to him as righteousness. [Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness] and also blessed Abraham with earthly possessions [Gen 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.]

430 Years later, God made another covenant with a group of “stiff-necked” people. [Deut 6:9 Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.] After having just brought them out of Egypt with 10 mighty plagues, providing for their every need in the desert, Israel still refused to believe that God wanted to bless them SIMPLY because He is a good God – therefore God gave them the Law. Under the law they would have to live morally, perform rituals, make sacrifices and fully hold up their side of the deal in order for God to bless them. But during a major part of the Old Testament in the Bible, we see the sad unfolding of Israel’s failure to comply with the requirements of the Law. They were defeated, taken captive, their cities destroyed, and scattered across the earth.

And here is the shocker: At any moment in their history, Israel could have chosen to come out from under the law, and live under the covenant that God had made with Abraham, once again believing that God would bless them & see them as righteous NOT BECAUSE they tried to live up to the Law, but simply because they believed in God. The covenant of the Law did not cancel the promises that God made to Abraham!! [Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.] During that period there would have been two covenants operational in the earth, since the Old Covenant only became obsolete after the cross.

Under the Old Covenant, the Laws were given to obey. Under the New Covenant, promises are given to believe in. Jesus came to the earth more than 2000 years ago to fulfill the requirements of the law, thereby canceling it and effectively nullifying the Old Covenant. (Heb 8:7-13). Those who were still trying to live according to the Old Covenant tried to oppose Jesus, claiming that they were children of Abraham because of their natural descent. This was Jesus’ reply to them: [John 8:39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him... 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not]. Here we see that these people did not believe in Jesus.

Therefore we see that those who believe in Jesus are sons of Abraham, and are blessed along with Abraham simply because they believe. [Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham]. [Rom 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all].

When we understand this, it changes the way we receive (because we don’t have to think about whether we’ve been good or bad in order to receive from God); it changes the way we pray (because we’re praying from a place of victory, and not for victory); it changes the way we see God (not a harsh being who judges us for being bad or blesses us for being good, but a loving Father that blesses simply because we believe in Jesus His Son).

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe