Spiritual Hierarchy & Authority, Part 19
February 23, 2018
We have lots of territory to cover
again today, so without any fanfare…….
Remember
that the Serpent did not come to Adam and Eve as an ugly, abhorrent, slimy
creature. He came as a beautiful
being. Ezekiel describes him this way,
Ezekiel 28:12,13, NAS: "You had the
seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of
God......"
By
the same token, the Dragon -- whom we know to be the serpent, Satan -- John
describes as being cloaked in the
innocence of a lamb. Again, the
tell-tale sign of his true identity, his true onoma, is the sound
which comes forth from his being. It is the sound of destruction. It is the sound of lies. It is the sound of treachery. It is the sound of deception. And it is deadly!
This
is the sound which fills the earth today.
Whether it comes head-on as the popular music of the day, or whether it
comes disguised as "church music," or "contemporary gospel
music," its purpose and goal are one and the same: to deceive God's
people; to prevent them from
becoming a part of the Bride of the Lord Jesus Christ; to prevent Jesus
Christ from obtaining the completed Bride, the counterpart for which He has
waited, the collective being who will be His "other self."
Before
continuing, I should perhaps note that I am not pointing fingers at any
individuals. It is not my purpose to
speak evil of Christians who are involved in the media, nor those who are
"contemporary Christian" musicians or singers, nor those who write
and compose Christian music. In that
which I now share, I am not indicting all television, all
radio, all print media, etc.
There
are some -- albeit it seems precious few anymore -- programs, recordings,
movies, videos, books and magazines which
genuinely convey and transmit the onoma of the Lord Jesus
Christ, our Bridegroom, and His heart's desire, whether by music, by dramatic
portrayal in documentary or fictional form, by stories which come alive as
parables, etc., etc.
There
is another way in which the "sound of the dragon" fills our
society. Much of our contemporary media
-- Radio, Television, Newspapers, Movies, Computer Games, etc. -- flood us with
information and disinformation. It is
the sound of confusion. Whether one
listens to music on the radio, or news, or talk shows, or information programs,
one is subjected continually to a barrage of the Enemy.
His
onoma is continually manifested. His sound immerses the listener in his
thoughts, his purposes, his desires, the very essence of his being. After more than 50 years in broadcasting, I
can say this will complete confidence — and most of you already know my desires
as far as the future is concerned.
Within
the print media -- newspapers, magazines, "information" circulars --
our society is bombarded daily with utter chaos. Much of the so-called "news" we
read is negative in nature, and tends to focus our attention on a spirit of
fear, despair, hopelessness, discouragement and depression. We frequently read aloud from the newspapers
or magazines, and the very sound of our voice speaking that which comes forth
out of these periodicals speaks agreement with the onoma of the enemy.
Back
in the 1970's, David Wilkerson was given a vision of these days, and he saw
television as a medium of pure filth.
Indeed, the situation has grown so bad that watching (and listening to)
television without being highly selective is destructive to one's spirit. One is subjected not only to gross sights,
but sounds -- sounds which come straight out of the spirits of Satan.
Some,
if not much, of the music which is the "mood" and
"backdrop" for television programs and movies is generated and
carefully orchestrated by individuals who, knowingly or unknowingly, are under
the influence or control of demonic forces.
More is transmitted in the music and sound tracks for these programs
than one sees visually. The effect is
more deadly because one's consciousness is sidetracked by the visuals.
It
becomes a lethal form of subliminal programming, subjecting those who watch and
listen to the onoma -- the very essence and makeup --
of an Enemy whose purpose and intent is to destroy. It becomes lethal because those who listen,
hear at the level of their subconscious without being consciously aware of that
which is penetrating their beings.
Television
has even been a hot topic of concern within our U.S. Congress from time to
time. Legislators have periodically
taken up the debate over the filth being promulgated as "talk shows,"
in which deviant life styles and activities are "normalized" within
our society by continuing to make them topics of discussion, interviewing those
who live amorally and immorally, hour after hour, day after day, week after
week, and month after month.
Here
again, in a different form, the "sound" of this filth is channeled
into the living rooms of people, and particularly Christians, permeating them
with the spirit which is behind this corruption.
This
is where we, as the Bride of Christ, absolutely must become discerning in that
which we see and hear. We must be able
to discern the spirit — the onoma — of that which we hear. If we can discern the onoma behind the sounds
that fill our daily life, we can rule over our own spirits and allow the peace
of God to fill our beings.
Those
of God's people who give themselves over to hearing the sound of these spirits
day after day, week after week, month after month, eventually become what they
hear. Those spirits permeate and
infiltrate their spirits, filling them with doubt, unbelief, fear, anger,
frustration, confusion, depression, etc., and robbing them of faith, hope,
praise, worship and intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Stores,
shops, boutiques, shopping malls and centers, restaurants and cafes
continuously play either radio programming in the background (to set a
"mood" for their clientele and shopping customers) or preprogrammed
music which is supplied via an encoded high-frequency radio channel or by tape.
A great majority of this music comes
straight out of the onoma of Satan.
This
cannot be a part of the life of the Bride!
Again, I am not talking about not watching any television,
not listening to any radio, not reading any magazines or
newspapers. I am talking about the
giving of one's self continually, daily, to the spirits which motivate these
sounds.
A
Bride who is in love with the Lord Jesus Christ will give herself, her time,
her thoughts, her desires to Him! She
will live a thought life, a hearing life, a speaking life, which is reflective
of the One to whom she belongs.
In
the mid-eighties, while working as a professor, teaching classes in commercial
broadcasting, I took one of my classes and asked them to conduct a search of
popular music themes, and the music of popular contemporary singers and
musicians, looking for the specific theme and central thought behind each piece
of music. Some of my students even began
looking for subliminal messages and themes which had been added to the music in
the post-production and editing process.
Their
findings, while not much of a surprise to me, astonished them. Those findings confirmed what the Spirit of
the Lord has been saying to us. They
found that the central themes being pushed -- the thoughts which were being
communicated, either consciously or subconsciously -- revolved around (1) promiscuous sex, (2) greed, (3) fear,
and (4) rebellion. Way down the list was "love" -- and
that was subject to what one interpreted as "love." Very little of that “love” was a
God-generated love.
One
student found a series of repetitious messages which had been added in the
post-production process to some early Beetles recordings. These messages were not "backward
masked" in an effort to conceal their existence. They were simply recorded at a very low level
behind the music. The message: "Buy
me." It was a purposeful effort to
subliminally manipulate people into buying their music. They found a few backward-masked messages
among the so-called "acid-rock" recordings. In each case, these messages were blatant
Satan worship, messages of hate, anger, rebellion and fear.
If
nothing else came out of these studies and experiments, it was visible and
audible proof of the onoma of an Enemy whose whole purpose and
desire is to subvert the desire, the drawing, the purposes of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It was a graphic portrayal of an
onoma whose entire existence and purpose revolves around its opposition to the
onoma of the Lord.
Consider
now some pictures of the sound as it relates to the Bride. Most of you have heard me share during the
past few years on David, and the way in which the sound of the Lord went
through him. I will not take the time in
this letter to recount that whole picture except to draw a couple of
illustrations.
As
a shepherd feeding his flock, David heard the sound of the Lord. As he sat on the hillsides with his harp,
David would praise and worship the Lord. He epitomized the sound of the Lord. The Spirit of God would flow through him hour
after hour after hour as he ministered to the Lord. Spontaneous worship was the norm, not the
exception.
Saul
was the king in Israel at the time.
Because of his rebellion against the Lord, his disobedience in the matter
of the Amalekites, and his arrogance in attempting to usurp Samuel's place as
priest and prophet, the Lord rejected Saul from being king. From that day, evil spirits began to plague
Saul and he was continually tormented.
Word
had already spread throughout the area
that David was a unique individual -- that something extraordinary occurred
when he would pick up his harp and begin to play. Saul's aides sent for David to play. As David sat there in the throne room
ministering to the Lord, the onoma of the Lord flowed
through the sound of the worship going forth.
The evil spirits that were plaguing Saul departed and left him in peace
-- at least for the time being.
David
learned some valuable lessons during these sessions. When he became king in Israel, his first
royal act was to recover the Ark of the Covenant and appoint the sons of Asaph,
Heman and Jeduthun to minister to the Lord on a twenty-four-hour-a-day basis.
For
the forty years of his reign, the sound of the Lord went forth throughout the
land. David had victory over all of his
enemies, and those who rose up against him did not stand. The land and nation prospered as it had never
prospered in its entire history.
Israel's erstwhile enemies sued for peace. The Egyptian Pharaoh struck a peace treaty
with David. Hiram, who was the King of
Lebanon, became one of David's close friends.
The King of Gerar, an Amorite king, struck a peace treaty with David and
gave him his daughter for a wife.
Other
kings of surrounding nations and regions, with whom David had not necessarily
had conflict, feared him and sued for peace treaties. Israel had never seen anything like it. David's last act as king was to expand the
sound of the Lord in the land by appointing a much larger contingent of
worshippers.
When
Solomon came to the throne, he too enjoyed the peace and prosperity established
during his father's reign; and with another forty years of the sound of the Lord going forth, the world feared Solomon as it had feared David, his
father. Israel reached the pinnacle of
its power as it prospered abundantly.
Even though David was known as a man of war, and his son, Solomon, as a
man of peace, Solomon was more feared than David.
It
was not Solomon, however, who instilled this awe from Africa to Asia. It was the Sound of the Lord going forth in
the land, hour after hour, day after day, year after year. Solomon, and Israel, prospered in an even
greater measure than did David.
That
pattern of the sound of the Lord been one and the same throughout all of history
-- from the Garden of Eden to the present day.
Whenever His onoma goes forth in prophetic sound, His
authority is released and His enemies, and the enemies of His people flee.
Demons tremble at His sound. Any force
which stands in His way, falls to defeat and/or destruction. His sound is the most feared sound on the
face of this earth. It is also -- among
the nations and societies of the earth -- the most hated.
Why?
Because
the sound of the Lord uncovers the hiding places of all those who would seek to
continue a life and lifestyle which directly opposes His Word. Because the
sound of the Lord brings life, and exposes the efforts of a multitude of
spirits within mankind who seek to destroy and kill. Because the sound of the Lord convicts men
and women whose lives are not in tune with Him.
The
sound of the Lord is the sound of His onoma. It is the onoma which is above
every onoma -- in heaven and in earth. The universe was created, and the worlds were
formed because of His onoma.
The earth, and all that is therein, came into being because of His
onoma. It was created by Him and for
Him. His onoma creates a distinctive and
powerful sound -- a sound which transcends every other sound in heaven and
earth. That sound incorporates His word.
When
His sound and His authority goes forth as prophecy through His Bride, His authoritative
word goes forth, whether articulated as speech or
not. When His sound goes forth, life
goes forth. That life penetrates into
the recesses of death, disease and sickness, bringing health and strength. That life permeates a sphere of depression
and gloom bringing hope and joy. That
life immerses the weak of heart and spirit, spreading faith. That life speaks creatively to those who
respond, and destructively to those who rebel.
This sound is the same whether it comes through the Lord, or His Bride
-- His Counterpart, His Other Self.
The
sound of the Lord is a river. It is a
river which issues forth from His throne.
It is both liquid and light. John
saw that river and described it as flowing out of the Throne – the seat of His
authority -- having the Tree of Life in its midst, bringing healing and life to
the nations.
For those of you
who’ve participated during the past three years in our Monday night Healing Prayer
Conference Call, this is just a reminder that the calls have resumed on a
once-a-month basis, the first Monday of each month. If you have a need for healing, or you have
friends in need of healing, here is the number to call: (712) 775-7035.
The Access Code is: 323859#. For Canadians who have
difficulty getting in to this number, you can call (559) 546-1400. If
someone answers and asks what your original call-in number was, you can give
them the 712 number and access code.
At the same time, in
case you are missing out on real fellowship in an environment of Ekklesia, our
Sunday worship gatherings are available by conference call – usually at about
10:45AM Pacific. That conference number
is (712) 770-4160, and the access code is 308640#. We are now making these gatherings
available by Skype. If you wish to
participate by video on Skype, my Skype ID is regner.capener. If you miss the live voice call, you can dial
(712) 770-4169, enter the same access code and listen in
later. The video call, of course, is not
recorded – not yet, anyway.
Blessings
on you!
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Temple, Texas 76504
Email Contact:
CapenerMinistries@protonmail.com
All Coffee Break articles are
copyright by Regner A. Capener,
but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in
part, is granted –provided proper attribution and this notice are included
intact. Older Coffee Break archives are available at http://www.RegnersMorningCoffee.com.
Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.
If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email,
please send a blank email to:
AnotherCoffeeBreak@protonmail.com with the word, “Subscribe” in the subject line. To remove yourself from the mailing list,
please send a blank email to
AnotherCoffeeBreak@protonmail.com with the word “Unsubscribe” in the subject
line.
CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to
participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact
us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit: http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.