July 30, 2013

Good Morning!

 

I always get excited when I see immediate answers to prayers, decrees and declarations -- but even more so when they take place in a corporate setting, and the individual(s) you are praying for or declaring over is literally across the continent!

 

In our last Coffee Break, I noted how our longtime friend, Eileen, had received healing and was progressing towards a full recovery following conferenced prayer over the telephone with George Robinson, whose track record of ministering healing to folks with cancer is unparalleled among people we know and with whom we fellowship.

 

Never let it be said that the Enemy misses an opportunity to launch an attack against folks who are on the frontlines of ministry.  Paul Keith Davis and Steven Shelley are two such brethren who have suffered physical attacks on their bodies by the Enemy and are in the midst of healing and restoration at the moment.  Ditto for George Robinson.  Some days ago -- more than a week, actually -- George took a spill (I believe it was on a stairway) and landed on his right shoulder.  It was severely dislocated and ripped a tendon in the shoulder.

 

When we were talking on the phone last week, he expressed to me the extreme pain he was going through, and said he was scheduled to go in for an MRI on Monday the 29th.  I prayed for him over the phone and declared his healing, but also let him know that our fellowship would be lifting him up before the Lord on Sunday.

 

Our gatherings tend to last for anywhere from 4 - 6 hours, and sometimes even more, because of the time we give to praise and worship, sharing around the meal table, fellowshipping together, ministering to one another, teaching, etc.  That said, on Sunday afternoon between 4:00 and 4:30, we took time to pray over George.  One of the things we've learned to do -- and we do this whenever specifically directed by Holy Spirit -- is to call for new body parts from the "body parts room" in Heaven.  Now, I know that sounds really strange; and some folks will think we've really lost it, but that's too bad!  We commanded a new shoulder for George as we were praying and decreeing his healing.

 

George called me later on Sunday night and he was pretty excited.  "The coolest thing happened to me tonight," he said.  He went on to say that he was teaching in a Sunday night service and was preparing to minister to a particular lady.  His arm had been swollen and black and blue from the bruising.  All of a sudden the swelling disappeared and the discoloration left.  He stretched out his arm over the lady to pray over her and the people sitting up front called out, "George, look at your arm!  See what you are doing?!"

 

He suddenly realized that he had complete and total mobility with his arm, that there was no pain, and the swelling and black and blue marks were gone.  The time frame was identical to the time of our prayer and declarations.  He went on to say that he had an appointment on Monday for an MRI on his shoulder and that he would call with a report.

 

Sure enough, he called back on Monday to report that the MRI showed that his shoulder displayed no injury whatever.  Don't you just love it when the Lord does really cool creative miracles like that?

 

Let's pick up our discussion today with a statement made in last week's Coffee Break.

 

This transfer of wealth we've been talking about is intended to deprive Babylon of its power to influence, to control, to manipulate people and to keep them subservient in poverty and continual need.  God's intention is to demonstrate to the world that Babylon, its spirit, its mindset and its mode of doing business are the exact opposite of the covenant life we have in Christ Jesus.

 

We're at war with Mammon.  We're at war with the king of Babylon.  This demonic principality (or ruler of the darkness of this age) continues to do everything in his power to prevent this wealth transfer into the Kingdom of God.  However, the end of this battle has been promised to us in the Word!

 

Let's get to some of the nitty-gritty today of just how Babylon, the spirit of Babylon -- Mammon -- the system, the structure and the economy are all going to take a big fall.

 

We've made several references to the new banking software and protocols that were put in place in February of this year.  Notice again that the software is referred to as "Babylon II."  That's significant, folks!  This is not the first Babylon.  This is not the ancient city of Babylon!  This is not a newly rebuilt city of Babylon with a thriving population and a monarchial government.

 

This is Babylon II.  This is the same spirit that ruled in the days of Nimrod, the same spirit that ruled in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, the same spirit that ruled Babylon when Israel was carried away captive, the same spirit that ruled the city and the land during the 99 years that Daniel prophesied, had visions and experiences and received prophetic pictures of the events that would unfold in the centuries to come.

 

Babylon II is not just computer software.  It is reflective of an effort to keep Mammon thriving off the backs of people -- and especially God's people.  It is (from a purely technical standpoint) some of the most advanced, state-of-the-art programming technology which seeks to continually monitor and adjust currency values worldwide against their relative asset bases and structures, and provides banks and currency-traders the ability to predict and profit from shifting currency rates on a day-to-day (and even a moment-by-moment) basis.

 

Babylon II: the name alone is hilarious!  Babylon comes from Babel: confusion.  The confusion that exists in the world's economies is staggering beyond belief.  The software attempts to make some sense out of the confusion and allow the financial structures of the various nations to operate in the midst of that confusion.

 

When Jesus said, "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon," He wasn't kidding!  With the Lord comes perfect order and harmony -- NOT the chaos of Babylon.  The strange and wonderful blessing of the Lord is that He has the capacity to take what Satan means for evil in order to manipulate, corrupt, entice and deceive us, and turn it into a blessing for His people while at the same time using it to expand and build up His Kingdom.

 

The transfer of such great wealth into the body of Christ deprives the king of Babylon of resources he might otherwise use against us.  The lie of Mammon -- and unfortunately many Christians have believed this -- is that money is the root of all evil; and therefore, it is evil for Christians to have a lot of money.  Not so!  The Word clearly tells us that "the love of money is the root of all evil."  That's a huge difference!  Sadly, many Christians seem to lack the ability to differentiate between having money and loving money.

 

The entire Babylonian system and mindset revolves around ..... well, let's take it straight from Revelation 18:9-19:

 

"The kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.  

 

^"And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:  The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,  And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.  

 

^"And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.  The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,  And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!   

 

"For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,  And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!   And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate."

 

Notice what is important to Babylon!  Let's see if we can categorize all of it -- and once you see this picture, it is nothing less than astonishing.  It is revelatory!

 

1.   Precious metals (gold, silver, etc.)

2.   Precious stones (e.g., diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, etc.)

3.   Rare or exotic woods

4.   Ivory

5.   Decorative (and even useful) things made of brass, iron and marble

6.   Perfumes, fine scented things (cinnamon, fragrant powders, incense, ointments and frankincense)

7.   Fine wines

8.   Oil, fine flour, wheat (a nice way to express the "importance" of fine cuisine)

9.   Flocks (cattle, beasts of the field, sheep, goats, etc.)

10. Might in battle (horses and chariots)

11. Slaves (having physical control over human beings, the way they live and the way they do business)

12. The souls of men (having control over the minds, the hearts, the thoughts and the desires of human beings) THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF THE MARK OF THE BEAST!!

 

We need to explore these categories in greater depth, but let me simplify, consolidate and then break them apart into the basic spiritual categories.

 

Over the years I have shared a revelation that Holy Spirit poured into me back in the late 70's and 80's on the three families of fear: the Fear of Evil (which affects our relationship with the Lord), the Fear of Man (which affects our relationships with people and causes us to judge ourselves -- or others -- against both "successful" men and women, and those struggling just to maintain an existence), and the Fear of Death (which does everything to artificially protect us against perceived threats to our well being, our future existence, and the care of our physical bodies).

 

Embodied in the above list we can see the manifestation of all three of those families of fear.  Watch!

 

John describes "the merchandise (or the buying and selling) of gold and silver, of precious stones, and of pearls."  Why do people "invest" in gold and silver or precious stones (as a commodity rather than a piece of jewelry)?  Everybody pretty much knows the answer to this one: because they want to protect their future existence; they want a hedge against possible future losses so that they will always be in a position to take care of themselves.

 

I'm not preaching against hedging in general; I'm referring to the underlying driving force that motivates people to go to extremes in order to protect their future.  That, folks, is rooted in the Fear of Death.  (I don't have time in this discussion to deal with this the way it needs to be dealt with.  What I'm addressing are motivating and driving issues that control a person's decisions.

 

The Fear of Man is abundantly apparent in several ways in the next groups.  Why do folks invest in fine or exotic woods or ivory?  Then there are the decorative pieces made of brass, iron and marble.  We're talking works of art, the workmanship of one's hands.

 

Then we come to perfumes or ointments that make us look and smell desirable.  Next we have fine wines.

 

Once more, let me make it clear that I'm not criticizing the need or the use of perfumes or ointments or spices.  The point I'm making is that many folks buy works of art because they want to have them around the house to impress others with their "good taste."  One could apply that same principle to having a wine cellar with the finest of wines on hand.

 

Are you seeing the picture?  Babylon uses works of art or the workmanship of artisans in order to distract and impress one's neighbors so as to lift up one's own status in the eyes of others.  Obviously we utilize perfumes and oils and spices in the same way.  What are we describing?  If we have a need to impress others, we are suffering from the Fear of Man.

 

There is a tricky balance in the addition of fine wines to this picture.  Depending on whether one treats wine as a natural benefit to good health (used in moderation), or goes to extreme in purchasing super expensive wines just to impress one's neighbors.

 

Oil, fine flour and wheat -- depending on whether the application is the provision of ample supplies of food to eat, or -- as we have seen with the Romans and the Greeks during the 3rd century BC through the 2nd century AD -- fine cuisine prepared artistically for the sake of impressing; you have a tossup between the Fear of Man and the Fear of Death.

 

Having a goodly supply of cattle, sheep, goats or other beasts of the field ensures that a person has an ample supply of meat.  Thus, we have again the preservation of one's existence.

 

Lest you think I'm saying this is not good, or that having an ample supply of foodstuffs and meat is somehow wrong or evil, think again!  What I'm getting at is Babylon's focus!

 

I'll stop here because I'd like to delve into the next categories at greater length, and then we'll come back to draw the overall analysis.

 

See you next week.

 

Blessings on you!