BUTTER OR MARGARINE
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord. Deuteronomy 6:4
HOWARD BARNETT
"Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it."1
The prophet Jeremiah spoke a warning in the earth concerning an evil that God would allow to come upon a people because their thoughts were not His thoughts and they were not hearing His words, neither His law but rejected it. As minister after minister has preached, ‘repent for the kingdom is at hand', nation after nation has rejected the will of God for their own forms, fashions and traditions. The Lord had said "stand" and "see" and "ask" for the old paths, and walk therein, and they would find rest for their souls. But they wouldn't hear, and today they still don't hear. ‘You see it your way and I'll see it mine', is the thought of much of the church in this hour. They have heaped to themselves teachers, having itching ears: people who will strengthen them in their misconceptions concerning God's will for this generation. Their speakers for their revivals are handpicked from a small group of ‘good-old boys'. Someone to ‘whine and pine' people to their altars. God is looking for obedience not sacrifice. How much of the church has understood the Great Commandments spoken by Jesus?
Hear and Obey
When asked by one of the scribes, which is the first commandment of all, Jesus answered, "The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."2
Jesus in answering this question, laid the foundational growing rules for obedience to His children. The very first principle of His commandment "hear" presents a tripping hazard for many in this hour. For as Paul revealed "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?"3 This reveals the greatest hearing problem in our churches today. Real preachers are sent not elected or voted in. Real preachers can't be hired, and neither can they be fired. Real preachers when answering the call (and many are called) go to the "One" who called them. They don't confer with flesh and blood, but seek to be qualified by the only "One" who can truly send them (or choose them). There is a calling and there is a sending. Only the "chosen" are anointed to work His works. Most of the pulpits in our land are filled with good intentions, good words and much sacrifice. But only the anointing can break the yoke. Only the anointing can cause the deaf to hear. Without the voice of the shepherd the sheep have no direction. Without the commissioning from God to work as a shepherd in his vineyard, there will be only the blind leading the blind. The callings have produced many yeses in our church systems. But yes to form and yes to tradition and yes to fashion are not yes to God. A yes to Jesus is a walk into His will and vision for your new life in Him. The old man must be crucified and the new man issued the armor for His purpose. You may only get a sling and a few stones. But Praise the Lord for it. Just as there is no doubt in the calling of God. There is also, no doubt when He chooses and sends!!
The False Prophets
Most ‘form and fashion' in this day have a hard time explaining "The Lord our God is one Lord," which was spoken by Jesus as a precursor to loving God in the right order. The Jews never had a problem with this, nor did the early church. In fact, the doctrine of Trinity was begun by a lawyer by the name of Tertullian. Tertullian was born in Carthage around 160 C.E. and educated in Rome. He used his legal background to write texts that would influence those that followed him to deviate from the commandment of Jesus.4 In the next 1000 years the church would argue their way to ‘two Gods' then later to ‘three Gods', who are known as ‘three persons' by the modern church. ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord,' is falling on deaf ears, controlled by carnal thoughts that have believed a lie planted by the Evil One. Jesus, in the gospel of Luke, made the statement that every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.5 Jesus also said, "when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)."6 "Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days."7
The enemy has divided the faith of many of God's children into the worship of three gods. This blind worship in direct disobedience to the commandment of God, has allowed God to fulfill the statement of Jeremiah regarding "bringing evil upon this people." Their divided thoughts have brought the "strong delusion" into the temple of God (the Holy place). Isaiah prophesied of this people when he spoke by the spirit, "I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; a people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day."8
Paul spoke of these times in II Thessalonians, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God."9 The falling away was the dividing of the faith into believing in multiple gods. The man of sin, the son of perdition, that wicked, the strong delusion and the anti-Christ are all the same - the spirit of error. The word ‘strong' in the Greek [ENERGEO] means effectual working. And the word ‘delusion' [PLANE] in the Greek means imposter, deceiver, error. The same Greek word ‘PLANE' is translated as ‘error' in seven other scriptures. And is defined in 1 John, "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error (PLANE in the Greek, or delusion)."10 John had instructed the church to try the spirits [DOKIMAZO, Hebrew for ‘to test, discern, examine'], whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world.11 "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."12 The spirit of error is the spirit of the antichrist. This strong delusion is he "who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God".13 You are the temple of God, any spirit that doesn't reveal itself as Jesus in your temple is not the spirit of Christ. This is the deceiving spirit of the antichrist (the false Holy Ghost) which will be destroyed by the "fire of God with the brightness of his coming." The word ‘brightness' in the Greek [EPIPHANELA] means ‘a manifestation'.
In the days of Elijah he was outnumbered by the prophets of Jezebel's table 850:1. Four hundred and fifty of Baal and 400 numbered of the groves, who were fed by Jezebel's table.14 God had ordained a show down between the real and the imitation. Elijah challenged the worldly prophets to "call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God".15 The prophets of Baal offered sacrifice on their altar, leaped up and down, cried out with a great voice, cut themselves to cover themselves with blood, but there was no answer. All day they cried out and abused their flesh, but there was only silence. "And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measure of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time."16 Elijah had set the altar in order with the twelve stones. He prepared the sacrifice with the twelve washings. And at the time of the evening sacrifice "that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God."17 The people of Israel who had been double minded before this time, now understood there was only one God. The fire had opened their eyes to the real and the imitation.
Jesus in his statement concerning the commandment "the Lord our God is one Lord," presented the ‘stone of stumbling' to His church. "The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner."18 Peter was to declare, "This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."19 And, "Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."20
Jesus is the starting point of His tabernacle. He is Lord. He is your foundation stone. As the starting point of your faith, he is your hope of glory. He is the "one Lord" that you are built upon. The true anointing will only confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.21 Jesus the word takes root in the good ground of your spirit. This seed of Jesus has to die within you.22 But out of this death comes the new life. It first becomes rooted in the good ground, then as the garden of your spirit is watered (with the water of the word), the seed grows. It will break out of the soil (a birth) and begin to show forth in the light of His day. This seed contains all that we can ever hope to attain in God. All the fulness of all the nature of God is in his seed. As you learn the nature/name of this living seed, you understand your place in the kingdom of God. As you present your bodies a living sacrifice in praise and worship, the planting continues to grow to a time of ‘flowering'. This state of the new creation produces a love more intense than any worldly comparison. This ‘spiritual germination' is the baptism of the Holy Ghost. The seed (which is Jesus in you) has brought you to his manifestation of purpose for your life. Within this flower a new growth is coming forth, protected by a tough outer husk (chaff). As this new seed fills out into maturity it reaches its last stage. Behold, it is a many membered reproduction of the original planting! The glory of this planting begins to consume the husk, to reveal the new seed. The manifestation of this glory separates the seed from the tares. The tares have looked like the good seed. Their outward looks and appearance says ‘butter'. But it is not. Many that say Lord, Lord, will be margarine! ‘The strong delusion' has come into our generation. "Whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved."23
He who hath an ear to ear let him hear.
REFERENCES
1 Jeremiah 6:16-19
2 Mark 12:29-31
3 Romans 10:14-15
4 Sacred Origins of Profound Things, by Charles Panati, 1996, page 303.
5 Luke 11:17
6 Matthew 24:15
7 Daniel 12:10-12
8 Isaiah 65:2-5
9 II Thessalonians 2:3-4
10 I John 4:6
11 I John 4:1
12 I John 4:2-3
13 II Thessalonians 2:4
14 I Kings 18:19
15 I Kings 18:24
16 I Kings 18:30-34
17 I Kings 18:36-39
18 Mark 12:10
19 Acts 4:11-12
20 I Peter 2:6-9
21 John 12:24
22 I Corinthians 15:6
23 II Thessalonians 2:9-10
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