Hi all,

I had a spiritual dream with the Lord in it the other night, which is very unusual, but it is worth sharing. I had been asking the Father what was next, but didn't expect the dream, which was both now and the future. 

I was a mechanic, like an auto mechanic, with a group of other mechanics standing together in what seemed to be a paved parking lot, just off a busy street.  

The wall

As I looked out at the street I noticed a wall along the sidewalk, but to us the wall was transparent, and to anyone on the street it could also be transparent, but seemed to intimidate people. Some saw it sort of hazy, to some it was solid, and to some it was clear. Interestingly also to some it appeared from the street to be a wooden privacy fence, to others a chain-link fence, to others glass, and to others it seemed like a wall of mere air. 

I understood that there were Christians who saw the fence in different ways, with unbelievers seeing it in various forms of solid and opaque, yet the opening to join us was wide and easily accessed.  

Some would stop and look through the wall at us and then continue on with their busy lives, errands, and such. With one person I could see they were thinking about turning in, but somehow knowing their thoughts, I knew they said to themselves, 'Later'.  

The mechanics

Though I didn't know my fellow mechanics, I knew we were on the same team. Some were however blind to me, centered on their project while ignoring others, even when I expressed genuine interest in what they were doing. 

Some wanted to fellowship but only on a very light level, and some would come over and ask for advice about how to fix something but never wanted to get to know me deeper or be involved in my project. Some just wandered around taking small parts from other mechanics, like a wandering shop lifter, and one time a mechanic who had just had something taken from his pile of parts looked up at me with a smile as the thief that we both saw do it, walked away.  

Like most spiritual dreams (at least for me) I didn't realize it was a dream until our boss walked up and I realized it was Jesus and I was in a dream. He was the Master mechanic and knew everything about what was going on, and would join us watching cars and people pass by, a scant few turning in now and then to talk and get help from my fellow mechanics. It struck me that the Master Mechanic was wearing the same blue coverall the rest of us were wearing which was somehow comforting and humbling at the same time.  

The car

Then a car slowly pulled in and rolled up to me, and as it slowed to a stop the woman driving asked for directions to her new home, a campground nearby. The campground was a temporary home until she went to her permanent home she said, and somehow I knew the campground was CWOWI and my home too, and heaven was our permanent home.  

At that point for some reason I looked up and to my left, and saw a tree covered hill behind that was maybe a block or less in distance from the mechanic area where we were. In fact the hillside started rising just outside the back wall/fence of the mechanic area though getting there meant going out and around. 

The campground

The trees were huge and solid and healthy and provided wonderful shade, and there was grass and a sense of peace when I looked that direction. It puzzled me that it could be seen from the street, and yet was obscured because of buildings in the city, as was the path up to it unless you looked for it. 

The car was shiny red and in good shape on the outside, a 2 door hatchback without air conditioning or anything extra at all. This was an old car with no airbags and one of those very thin hard steering wheels from the 1970's, a stick shift, vinyl seats and it was dirty inside. The contrast between the appearance and the reality of what was inside struck me profoundly, but I didn't have time to linger on those thoughts. 

The woman and the girls

The driver was a woman who had dirty blonde hair, and she was gaunt and tired looking, reminding me of an addict due to her sunken eyes and gaunt face. In the back seat were 2 girls, twins about 9 years old, who looked exactly like their mother in every way, equally gaunt and tired looking. As she asked directions to her new home the Master walked up and she stopped mid-sentence, the scene frozen in place as He said:
"The girls are Wisdom and Knowledge, and they are malnourished. Their mother represents much of the church. She (the church) cannot feed Wisdom and Knowledge because she herself is malnourished and has been wandering around to this place and that, feeding herself on little more than junk food to the point she has become malnourished, exhausted, road-weary, and has come to the end of herself. The three are actually one; that is why they are identical to each other." 

He continued: "Now, only now, is she willing to lay aside all that seems good on the outside but is rotten on the inside, to search for a home in which to settle. In days past she has passed by here many times as she chased the spectacular, thinking that was supernatural, but was slowly becoming malnourished. Now, only now, is she willing to settle down to begin consuming what she was supposed to all along." 

Instructions

"I want you to go with them, and escort them to the campground though it is within walking distance, as you know." And as He ended His sentence the scene 'unfroze' and woman seamlessly continued her sentence, unaware the plans heaven had made for her as she talked and asked directions. I thought to myself how ironic the Master was standing right there next to me yet she didn't see Him. 

I told her I would go with her and take her to the campground, and she slid over and let me drive. I didn't fit at all, my knees were scrunched up and the headroom wasn't enough, symbolic I realized that I don't fit in the traditional auditorium nor fad elements of Christianity but was charged with helping her transition out of it.  

We drove out across traffic, turned left for about 1/2 block, and drove up the alley between 2 buildings - the buildings represented structures built by man and religion that actually kept people from experiencing God. 

At the campground

The campground was up a hill though the little car made it with determination and purpose. We could look down towards where we had been, and the Master Mechanic looked up at us and smiled. I remember seeing the woman and children looking at Him and smiling, their smiles saying they were at last home and at peace, and eager to become healthy. 

The campground was full of mature trees, grass, and was cool and refreshing. The girls saw a running river so pure and clean on the back side of the hill that was impossible to see from the street as the hill and trees blocked seeing it. They got excited and wanted to immediately jump in and get cleaned up, and they left the car immediately to run to the river. 

Their mom wanted to get cleaned up in the river too, but first she said to me, "Thank you so much for bringing me here. I have nothing to thank you with but myself, and you can have me if you want." I was horrified and quickly got out of the car, telling her that what I have I share freely, just sharing what the Master Mechanic had taught me.  

She seemed embarrassed by her proposition, and got out and walked slowly to the river, sheepishly glancing at me one more time as she walked. As she did so I realized that was just part of the world still hanging on her and she knew no better, and because we were still in the car when she said that, it was a type of the church somehow (and thankful she got out). Just then I turned and looked down the hill towards the Master Mechanic who had watched and listened to it all, and was looking up at us with a smile.  

He looked at me and said, "The church has long prostituted herself through the centuries in different ways, but there have also always been those who have refused to do so. These have never been malnourished, having always fed themselves on the things of the Spirit and sought wisdom and knowledge in Me..."  

Sorry to cut Him off mid-sentence - out of room. Dream continued next week, including the prophetic part...until then, blessings,

John Fenn

www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

Hi all,

Last week I shared how a category of sin at its core has to do with the purposeful and withfull knowledge, rejection of God and all that is His natural order. The US Constitution states rights are given by our Creator and government's job is to defend and define those rights. But some reject that, believing government gives rights and can define them. Therein lies the spiritual battle. 

On a practical level 

The rejection of God produces anger. Revelation 12:12 says Satan, the ultimate rejecter of God, has 'great wrath' he is spreading to the nations, and we are subsequently told in 11:18 'the nations are angry', so from here on out we will see anger being a part of society as we've never seen before.

As we now see auditorium churches being forced to decide where they fit socially, disciples will begin more and more gathering among themselves in homes - the Father had told me earlier in June "The world is about to change again" but I think we've only seen the tip of the iceberg. 

Christians, sin, righteousness

As we saw last week, there is a class of sin that at its root rejects God even at the most basic level, His creation, with the result of God turning a person over to experience the opposite of nature because that's what they insist on. But then there are Christians, people who say they are born again and love God, yet embrace sin and a lifestyle included in this class of sin. Where do they stand spiritually?

There are 2 principles; First that we are to judge the fruit of a person's life, not their heart. And the second is the concept it is possible to be righteous in most areas of your life and unrighteous in another area. 

First

To the church at Ephesus as seen in Revelation 2:1-4, the Lord commends them in verses 2-3 and then says in v4: "But I have this one charge to make against you..." He says similar things to the other churches, following the pattern of commending them and then bringing up 1 or 2 things they are lacking.

Many people think a person is 100% righteous or 100% unrighteous, but clearly that is not the case as seen above, and there would be no mention of having our wedding garments without spot or wrinkle on them*. The wedding garment is clean, but there may be a spot on it. *Ephesians 5:27

In I Corinthians 3:1-15 Paul says some believers had envy, strife, and divisions among them, revealing they were acting like mere (un-born again) people. He said that was wood, hay, and stubble that would be burned away, yet the rest would remain and they would be saved, just as having passed through fire. The gold, silver, and precious stones of spiritual reward would remain untouched by the fire of judgement.

And if anyone reading this has been a child or knows a child, you know the 'perfect child' still has flaws - yet you don't kick them out of the family. And if you work or have worked for a living you know there are employees great in some areas and lacking in others, yet they aren't fired. And remember the works of the flesh and fruit of the spirit (fruit of the born again human spirit) of Galatians 5:19-25 is written to Christians with the exhortation that if we walk in the Spirit we won't fulfill those lusts of the flesh. 

And we've all been in a place where we love God and are walking with Him as best we know, yet He is dealing with us about a certain thing in our heart or life - we are righteous except in this area He is shining His searchlight on that He wants us to deal with. So settle it no person enters heaven 100% having arrived - we will stand before Christ and some things will be burned away, and some will stand - meaning we live life that way too, ever growing towards Him but not perfected. 

Second

We are to judge the fruit of a person's life, not their heart. In Jesus' famous exhortation on false believers in Matthew 7:1-23 He starts in v1 saying we aren't to judge lest we be judged. That is talking about a person's heart, for in verses 15-20 He talks about judging false believers by the fruit of their lives. He said grapes aren't gathered from thorn bushes, so know that false believers will say one thing but live another way.

He continues saying to a group of people who called Him 'Lord, Lord', who claimed to have prophesied and cast out demons in His name, "I never knew you: Depart from me you who practice lawlessness."

This isn't about believers when He said "Not all who come to me saying, 'Lord, Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven" - as He said, 'I never knew you'. Never means never - these people were never born again, and in fact He is providing a glimpse at their judgement as He sums up His teaching on false believers. 

What is the solution?

IF a person is truly a believer, I John 3:2-3 says "Beloved, NOW are we the sons of God, but it doesn't yet appear what we will be, for when He appears we know we will be like Him for we will see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in themselves purifies themselves..."

Notice - he is talking about believers who hold close and dear the fact (#1) they are a child of God, and they are eagerly looking forward to seeing Jesus (#2) - so the result is (#3) their life is one of constant purification.

If you see believers whose lives are not constant growth while holding the hope of seeing Him in glory, then you look at the fruit of their lives - aware it isn't up to us to judge their heart - but judge the lifestyle.

What if....?

What if you hear of a Christian who says they just want to be accepted for who they are and love God with the rest of us?

The kingdom works by revelation, starting with the foundation of seeing nature and knowing there is a Creator, and going from there, the highest revelation is Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, as revealed to Peter in Matthew 16:16-18. Jesus called Peter a petros, a small throwable stone, but said upon the rock, the mountain, of revelation that He is the Christ, He would build His church.

Paul's prayers of Ephesians 1:17-23, 3:14-19, and Colossians 1:9-12 were all asking the Father to give them 'the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of your understanding would be enlightened...', 'spiritual wisdom', and to be 'strengthened in your inner man by His Spirit' so they could know the love that is beyond knowing in the natural - it is all about receiving personal revelation.

The whole kingdom works by revelation, so for those in sin we ask the Father give them revelation and that He would draw them close. 

Gather with those who hold the truths of I John 1:1-3 close to their hearts, as they are also purifying themselves as they look for His glorious appearance. Separate from those who love the world and don't hold these things close to their hearts - even if you have to meet at home, with family, or with just 1 other person on this same spiritual page. Start a family based, home based church in your home...consider it.

Somewhere I have a quote from a Roman official from around the 2nd century writing to another official about the new wave of persecution against Christians. He said something to the effect of, "It's good to see the temples full again now that we've started this new effort against Christians."  Are you ready to go underground? 

Next week my spiritual dream. Until then, blessings,

John Fenn

www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

Hi all,

With a recent ruling in the US I wanted to share some thoughts from a perspective I've not seen yet, which I hope will provide some insight as to the ways of the Lord. 

I could list any number of sins and works of the flesh from the New Testament - strife, adultery, witchcraft, hatred, drunkenness - But in none of these is it said God becomes directly involved. They are just a person being a sinner, or struggling disciples doing what disciples in process do. (Galatians 5:19-21 list works of the flesh, and he is talking to believers, not the unsaved) 

When God does become involved: Not all sins are equal

But in Romans 1:18-32 Paul lists a classification of sin God does become directly involved with, which explains why discerning people can sense there is a spiritual battle taking place. The context is the lowest form of revelation about God: People who see Him or evidence of Him in nature, yet reject Him.  

"Who hold the truth in unrighteousness...because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." v18-20 

Not ignorant of God

Paul lays out the case that the most basic, foundational way of realizing and knowing God is through His creation - in nature His nature and eternal power can be seen. He says the same in Acts 14:17, that "He has not left Himself without a witness, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our lives with food and gladness." 

But for people who reject evidence of Him in nature, and THIS is the key, he says: "For even though they knew God (some translations say 'knew about God'), they did not honor Him as God nor give thanks, but they became futile in speculations and their foolish heart* was darkened." v21 

What God expects

God has an expectation within Himself that when someone sees nature they at the very least will acknowledge there is a Creator, and perhaps give thanks to Him for His creation. This group of people see Him in the natural world, but refuse to honor Him as God nor give Him thanks to Him for nature. 

"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man, and of birds and animals and crawling creatures." v22-23  

This speaks of idolatry and the principle that this group of people begin purposely giving homage to creation rather than the Creator - the core root of idolatry is elevating creation to the level of Creator thus elevating the rule of man rather than the rule of God - in other words, it becomes a personal effort against God. 

Now watch what God does when they decide to reject knowing Him and purposely - that is the point - purposely do things to deny Him:
"Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worship and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error." v24-27 

Paul restates yet again in conclusion: "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper." v28  

Understand that context: Because they rejected God in nature, He allows them to experience the ramifications of what rejection of nature means - living the opposite of what is natural. God promises that what we sow is what we reap. Therefore to reject creation in proper context of Him as Creator opens a person to the opposite of that nature. 

Un-believing the lie

In principle it isn't different than a person who rejects the sanctity of his or her marriage vows, which opens them up to the opposite of the marriage vows they forsook, divorce. It isn't any different than a person who rejects sound financial practices as outlined in scripture opening themselves to the opposite of sound handling of money, and encountering financial hardship.  

The difference is this sin involves people who know or know about God as seen at the most basic level possible, in nature, and still reject Him - therefore by rejecting nature they experience the opposite of nature. They don't want Him, so He turns them over to what they want. 

Don't make the mistake

If a Christian doesn't know the spiritual root of this class of sin they could easily get caught up in the politics or emotions of the day. 

Paul concludes by listing sample behavior that follows such a rejection of God and His turning them over to their own minds to pervert nature as they have already settled in their hearts to do, but the list isn't meant to be all-inclusive, and concludes that they "..give hearty approval to those who (also) practice them." 

The reason I am writing this essay

I see churches divided over the issue, caught up in the emotion and wanting to demonstrate their love to all, completely oblivious to foundational spiritual context. The issue is that SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) has elevated a sin which is the result of the rejection of all that is God as seen in nature, to Constitutional right status.  

The NT lists many 'works of the flesh' in Galatians 5:19-21, but he doesn't say God became involved in turning people over to those sins. In I Corinthians 3:3 Paul tells them because there is envy, strife, and divisions among them they are living like un-born again people and are mere babies in Christ - but He doesn't say God became involved to turn them over to that sin. 

The issue Paul brings up is that when people see God and evidence for Him in nature, and then reject what they see of Him in nature, He allows them to live out the rejection of the very nature they rejected, which results in perversion.  

Sin, all sin, is like fruit on a tree. You can pick fruit all day long but not affect the root of the tree. As defined by the Bible, sin is the throwing off of the government of God, therefore the issue is first acknowledging God as God, even at the most basic level of seeing Him in nature, and then, 'Who is Jesus?' 

Next week - what about Christians in this category, and where is the USA headed?

Blessings,

John Fenn

www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

 

 

 

Hi all,

I've been talking about how God won't make you be out of control - He can overwhelm you, cause you to lose strength in His presence, but when people talk about being overwhelmed or 'it just hit me' sort of thing, STILL, He would have let you withdrawal from His presence if you had wished. 

The first time I went to heaven wasn't the first time the Lord wanted to give me a tour. Three weeks before my 'tour' I was praying at home and had a visitation from the Lord. It was one of the 'teaching visitations' I wrote about in my first book, Pursuing the Seasons of God, and after He left my angel remained and told me he had been given permission to give me a tour of heaven.  

My eyes were wide open as with nearly all these visitations, but my spiritual eyes were also opened to see in His realm at the same time. My angel said, 'Take my hand.' And I saw my left forearm of my spirit man come up out of my physical arm to almost grab his hand - but I stopped short...I became concerned about whether this 'tour' was a round trip or just one way! I had a wife and 3 young boys, the oldest handicapped, and I didn't want to leave them yet.  

As overwhelming as the Lord's presence was that evening, and as much as I wanted to continue to give myself to the experience of seeing heaven, I backed out though I was resisting what seemed like an almost magnetic drawing to heaven...but I backed out asking, "Is this a round trip?" My angel said 'Round trip of course!' But as I hesitated he backed up and I was immediately out of the Spirit and alone in my living room. 

Once I settled some things in my heart after talking to the Father that He really was giving me a round trip, I told Him, "Okay, if you want to again I'm ready this time, as long as it is a round trip." About 3 weeks later while praying and I saw my angel's forearm appear in the air above my left arm, and he said, 'Take my hand', and I went this time and saw many things in heaven.  

Those details are at the end of Pursuing the Seasons of God and more fully in the sequel (e-book) 'Knowing the Ways of God'. My point is you are always in control and no matter how overwhelming your experience seems, the Word remains true; The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets - you are in control. 

What the Argentineans said

They were a group of 8 who made an appointment to see me, and were very insistent and passionate. They had just come from the Brownsville revival and TACF (Toronto) before that, and had come to Tulsa looking for answers. Somehow they were directed to me, as the views I've shared in this series I was teaching to the Bible school where I was Director. Their leader started the conversation:
"We are confused. We went to TACF and Brownsville and saw people shaking and convulsing and doing all sorts of things, which we understand as demonic or the flesh, but they were calling it God. In Argentina during our crusades we put up 2 tents on the grounds. Then we have ushers who walk through the crowd and if they see anyone acting like what we saw in TACF or Brownsville, they bring them down to the tents and people inside cast the demons out of them, or instruct them what is happening if it isn't a demon. We thought America was much more spiritually mature than we are, yet we find such ignorance, why is this?" 

What a visit that was! That conversation helped me fill in the gaps of my research trying to trace backward in time how the various revivals got to the point they thought God would cause someone to bark, crow, slither on the ground like a snake, lose control in convulsions, and even manifest the kundalini (snake spirit coiled around the spine) from yoga and Eastern religions and call it God.  

Years before I had already seen a video a friend had of a woman pulling feathers out of her sleeves in a very well done sleight of hand, and by the time of my visit with the Argentineans the cell phones were coming out with cameras in them I had guessed the incidence of these stigmata would soon fade corresponding to the rise of all things being recorded, and that is what happened. 

As far as I've been able to tell, in Argentina there were real miracles of gold fillings and such, which my new friends confirmed, explaining dental care is almost non-existent for many people, and these were miracles of healings and wonders God was doing on behalf of the people. How did it become entertainment in the US? 

The Lord did do many miracles among the people of South America, and many of these people remained in the Roman Catholic faith that dominates South and Central America. These stigmata moved northward becoming more and more a part of the Catholic/demonic/natural religions of Mexico and Central America, and we started hearing of stigmata that included gold dust, jewels, feathers, blood and oil in the hands. From there it made its way to the US retaining that mix of the demonic rooted in Mexican and South American Catholicism but readily accepted among sign-hungry US believers. 

I know it may be strange for some to think that demons could manifest alongside a sign from God, but if you've attended any church for any length of time, you know there are demons that love church and church goers - ha! People forget these things -  God will do a real miracle to help someone, like a tooth filling or other healing in a service, but when gold dust or feathers are also seen, and you have people not able to tell a demonic assisted 'sign' with God - but then Jesus acknowledged even as He was casting out demons disciples of the religious leaders were also casting out demons, and the same with Paul in Ephesus. (Matthew 12:27, Acts 19:13-14)

I don't doubt some of the stigmata are real, my point is they aren't from God any more than the statue of Mary crying tears of blood in Salto Grande, Argentina or Mary in a glass case in Monterrey, Mexico crying. If not a hoax, they are the mix of the demonic with Christian religion. As Paul said in II Corinthians 11:13-14, Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light along with his deceitful workers and false apostles.  

Signs, wonders, healing

The big picture is that the earth is in the process of undergoing a restoration. Romans 8:20-25 that creation was subjected to sin in the certain hope it would one day be delivered, and is now 'waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God' for the curse to be lifted. God is doing is moving in the direction of restoring the earth and man to the wholeness it once knew. That is why humanistic environmentalism is so prevalent now, because man's efforts at healing earth is what the world (and the spirit behind it) wants - the government of man rather than the government of God restoring earth.  

That is why healing is what God does - He is always moving in the direction of wholeness. That is why He does miracles like water into wine or multiplying food - it moves the person or event towards wholeness. That is why He brings peace to an arguing couple, deliverance to those bound in sin - He is moving towards 100% restoration and wholeness in all things and the cross was the legal means of bringing that about. 

Signs appeal to the intellect. Wonders appeal to the imagination. But it all moves towards wholeness, and when we see His highest creation, man, barking like a (lower creation) dog or crawling on the ground like a snake, it isn't God as it isn't moving that person higher and towards wholeness.  

Signs and wonders find their conclusion in wholeness that is Christ-centered. False signs are self-centered. The Father seeks worshippers, not applause like an entertainer. 

I was in a meeting where gold dust appeared, and many were in awe...I knew the speaker and pulled him aside afterwards. He talked of gold dust appearing on people who came forward for prayer and was still on his hands a little. I noticed his Bible hanging in his right hand rather loosely and partially hidden as we talked, so I asked what version he used, and without thinking he brought it up for me to see. 

I held it up to him and noted the gold leaf edges of the brand new Bible - the silence was deafening - he finally admitted 'Maybe the gold dust on the edges got onto my hands as I preached and then on the people when I laid hands on them'. At least he didn't try to pull feathers out of his sleeve. 

So...the Lord will overwhelm you, but you will always have the opportunity to go deeper, or not. Anything He does in your life is moving towards wholeness, and He does nothing just for entertainment purposes. Balance, balance, the Word and Spirit always agree, and there is nothing in the Word that says God will make you bark, crow, or crawl on your belly like a reptile! Service in the kingdom is voluntary, you can go deeper or back out as you wish. Further up and further in! 

New subject next week...blessings,

John Fenn

www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com