Paul James

God will give us what we ask for - according to His will. His will is found in the clear and plain writing of the Bible, especially the letters of Paul. If what we are praying and believing for is not according to God's clearly stated will, it won't happen. This is why God will not listen to any prayers asking for dream interpretation, because God does not support New Age spirituality.

There is nothing in the New Testament about interpretation of dreams. The spiritual gift is interpretation of tongues. Dream interpretation is New Age, and arises out of Sigmund Freud's book on the subject.

I like this as an objective survey of the relevant Scriptures concerning the spiritual gifts, without forcing it toward Cessationism or Continuance.

I have been involved with the Charismatic movement at different levels since I became a Christian in a Pentecostal church in 1966. Today's Charismatic movement is nothing like what it was then. In the late 1960s, the Charismatic movement was part of the traditional churches (Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist) and was pretty low level, and did not have all the hallelujah hootenanny stuff that the modern Charismatic movement has with all its falling over, shaking, babbling and false prophecy. I was discipled by a Pentecostal holiness pastor who believed that believers should be men and women of the Word and of prayer. Everything he taught came right out of the pages of Scripture. He would not have had a bar of the bodily sensory stuff that goes on today. He would have firmly suppressed it and taught that such behaviour is ungodly, unholy, and not of the Holy Spirit. People falling down and writhing around the floor like snakes is more demonic than Holy Spirit. The trouble is that modern Charismatics don't know the difference and that lack of knowledge and the lack of Biblical knowledge has so corrupted the movement in many places, that it is difficult to believe that such people are actually saved. But not all Charismatics are corrupted, but they are gradually becoming in the minority.

I agree. I can't find any evidence in the New Testament that would support that the OP's experience actually comes from God. I think he is, by saying, "God showed me", taking the Lord's name in vain. I don't believe that God showed him anything at all. This is just an example of Charismatic presumption that God shows people things that are not consistent with His written Word. God has said all He is going to say to mankind through the written Word. If we want to know what God is showing us, we need to read His Word, and if we want Him to speak with us audibly, then we need to read the Bible out loud. There are many Charismatic running around saying "God showed me" this or that, but it is all nonsense unless it is something the Holy Spirit has given insight in the Bible.

One Bethel prophecy given as "God told me", maintained that Trump would win with 71% of the vote. That certainly has not happened. so although the election has not finally been decided yet, the way the election has gone has proved the prophecies false. Also, Kenny Copeland, a while ago commanded Covid-19 to cease. That was false, because the pandemic got worse instead of better. Here is what I imagine Heaven's response to all the sound and fury that Copeland made in his strongly aggressive command:

All of the Bethel prophets said quite conclusively that God said that Donald Trump will have a second term. It is obvious that this is not going to be the case. This means that their prophecies were totally false and did not come from God at all. I wondered about that, and the answer came to me: God purposely arranged for a demonic lying spirit to speak through the mouths of these prophets to clearly expose these dreamers and charlatans to show genuine Christians that God definitely did not send them nor did He speak through them. He did it to show that not one of these prophets are sent from Him, not previously, not now, or any time in the future. Therefore, don't be deceived and drawn away from the true gospel of Christ through the lies of these false prophets.

I have a prophecy for our mate Kenny Copeland: "Sell all you possess and distribute the proceeds to the poor, and then follow Jesus as a true disciple."

I am tending to think that the youth pastor is want to "have his cake and eat it too" in terms of being in the world and of it at the same time. This is the problem with many youth pastors, and many church pastors as well. They use worldly methods in order to attract youth because of the incorrect belief that the gospel of Christ will be unattractive to them. Actually the truth is that the way to destruction is broad, while the way to eternal life is narrow, and few there be who find it. This is the same with some church pastors. They try to use a business model to attract members, or they adopt a liberal theology which it is not necessary to maintain a strict separation from the world and its ways. Of course, the type of people they attract are of the same mind, and genuine believers who will not go their way are seen as "different", "extreme", over religious, or eccentric. So, a worldly youth pastor will attract worldly youth to his group. He will have those of his own mind-set as his favourites, and anyone who holds to the true gospel of Christ and the need to be born again of the Spirit of God, and to live godly, holy lives is kept on the outer of the social group. Consider Demas who deserted Paul because he loved this present world. The Scripture says that anyone who loves the world, the love of God is not in him. This is a serious Scripture as far as this youth pastor is concerned. Because he and his wife are promoting worldly values, they are pointing their youth in the wrong direction and down broad road instead of directing them to the narrow gate of genuine conversion to Christ, and the principles of living a holy and separated life for the Lord. True, we are in the world, and not hermits, because we need interraction with our neighbours and non-Christian friends in order to share the gospel with them. But we don't do what they do in terms of the works of the flesh as shown in Galatians 5. Also, I think there is a lack of oversight in your church, allowing that youth pastor to conduct himself in the way he is. A good pastor and board of elders should be appraising his performance and giving him sound correction concerning the need to maintain the truth of the gospel in his ministry to the youth. I am not saying that youth should not have fun in the church, but there needs to be a balance and the youth need to know clearly what they are there for. Also, the youth pastor needs to be teachable, which I doubt he is, seeing that he is not prepared to listen to good advice, especially in the light of concerns that he is expressing a "lite" social-oriented gospel. However, those are my views, and I trust that they are helpful.

As part of my reading of John Calvin's commentary on Genesis, I saw his comment connected with Abraham, that believers' baptism replaces circumcision as the mark of godly faith. I found that a quite interesting thought.

The Holy Spirit is a Spirit and therefore not connected with our emotions. He is in us to guide us into all truth - that is, to make the Bible clear and understandable to us. We may have joy and a sense of amazement when He reveals some aspect of Scripture that we have never seen before, which causes us to want to rejoice and praise God for it. Any emotion we have is the result of something that has happened as the result of the moving of the Holy Spirit either in us or in someone else when we have ministered to them or encouraged them in some way; but it is not directly the Holy Spirit, but our own resulting emotions. We believe we have the Holy Spirit through faith - because the Bible says that when a person receives Christ as Saviour, they receive the Holy Spirit. So, according to our faith in God's Word, we have the Holy Spirit without having any associated feeling of Him anywhere in our body - because He is not in our body, but in our spirit.

Welcome to the world of the flesh warring against the Spirit! Read Romans 7 and you will see that Paul had the same struggles. 1 John 1:9 is a lifesaver for people in our position where we lose the battle against the flesh more often than winning it. A lying demon can put thoughts into your head and then make you think that they are your own thoughts. I have all sorts of thoughts come to me, and my view is that we can't stop birds landing on our heads, but we can stop them making nests there. I have "what if" daydreams at times and have thoughts of violence in my imaginary self-defence, and then I tell the the Lord, "This is just imagination and I reject it", and the day dream goes away. So, be open with the Lord about your thoughts, and tell Him what you think of them and that you are rejecting them. Then do something, read something that will put more positive thoughts in your mind. Quote the "Think of these things" verse in Philippians to the Lord. This way you are using God's Word to resist the thoughts.

The Scripture says that love covers a multitude of sins. Also, in Proverbs it says that it is the glory of God to conceal a matter (25:2). The question is: why would you want to tell everyone in creation about your ex-wife's sin? Whose business is it other than your and your ex-wife's? It is one thing to report something where it may cause harm to others, and it is quite another to gossip information to others when it is none of their business. You need to know that gossiping is a work of the flesh and Paul says that those who habitually engage in the works of the flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God. When my marriage broke up, a wise pastor told me that I should think of my ex-wife in terms of Calvary. When Jesus died for us, He took the penalty for our sins with Him on the cross, and God buried them in the deepest sea of His forgetfulness. What would you think of Christ if He told everyone in creation about your sins, failures and shortcomings? If Jesus wouldn't do it, then His example is a good one to follow.

If you feel uncomfortable about going back to church, then don't! Your faith is not based on church. It is based on Christ. Last Sunday was the first time I had been to my church since late March. But my faith was not affected, because my faith is not in my church, but in Christ alone. I had plenty of ministry resources at home through my books, audio on my iPad, and Youtube. I know that you might feel that it is your duty to go back to church, but the Lord would not expect you to put your health and maybe your life at risk by doing a "duty" that He may not expect you to do. So, follow your heart and your own judgment about it, and don't go back to church until you feel totally safe. Don't be coerced by others who may try to convince you that you are failing God by staying home at this time.

Good! You are in exactly the right place to know that Jesus Christ is your only foundation. If you read in 2 Corinthians 1, you will see that Paul became so depressed that he despaired even of life. He said, "We have the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead". Jesus has already shown up. He came 2000 years ago and died on the cross for you, and has taken the penalty for your sin, faults and shortcomings on Himself. You have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, and that is the same as Jesus being right there with you. Everything that God has and will say to you is recorded in the Bible. When you read the Bible, God will speak to you through it. Just sit down and start reading it from Genesis, and before long, you will hear the voice of God in your heart as passages of Scripture leap out at you showing you things you didn't see before. When we pray, we are speaking to God, and when we read the Bible or the writing of Godly men, God speaks to us. Lester Sumrall said, "If you want to know the will of God, read the Bible. If you want to do the will of God, do the Bible!" The times we feel highs or lows are short, and most of the time we feel just normal as we live from day to day in our normal routines. Jesus Christ is our Rock, and everything else, including our emotions and the way we feel about ourselves is shifting sand. If your faith becomes set on your feelings, or your view of your own success as a Christian, you will find yourself sinking into a quicksand of doubt and despair. But if you base your faith in Christ as you see Him in the Gospels and other parts of the Bible, then your faith will stabilise, and your joy will return. Reading through Psalms is an exercise of strength because you will see that David and the other psalmists had many of the same experiences you are having right now.

I have a large list of resources concerning domestic violence on my website http://www.personal-communication.org.nz You can scroll down near the bottom of the page to access them. I was a victim adviser for the New Zealand Ministry of Justice for 10 years, dealing mainly with DV victims, and my list of resources is the result of my research and experience over that time.

Part 5: Please excuse my missing tooth. I forgot to put it in for this one.

Part 4:

Part 3:

The next part:

I have uploaded the first part of my video set to Youtube for your viewing pleasure. There are three more videos to complete the set. I hope that these may be helpful.

The Anglican, Baptist and Presbyterian churches I have fellowshiped over the years would never accept some guy who got up and advertised himself as a Prophet to the body of Christ. So, because of that, the guy could never be a true New Testament Prophet. He might be accepted as a Prophet in, say, the WOF movement, but nowhere else, so he could only be a self-appointed prophet to that movement, while all the other denominations and movements would reject him and his prophecies. Anyhow, the majority of "Prophets" who have given prophecies have spoken dreamed up non-Biblical nonsense which no sensible believer would accept!

The problem is that most born-again believers in the denominations wouldn't accept some self-appointed "prophet" who advertises himself as such. All you have to do is to give one example of a true NT prophet who is recognised by every born-again believer in every denomination.

I am presently going through a commentary on Genesis, and the first chapter has links to many Old Testament references that show that God created the universe out of nothing, set the stars in place, all to a perfect design. It is interesting that the world was created first, even before space and the rest of the universe. Evolution says that there was a big bang and the universe formed before the world, which was a molten ball of lava which eventually cooled. The Bible says that a cool planet, totally surrounded by water was formed first out of nothing, then God created the space around it (the firmament), then planted it with trees and vegetation, then the sun, moon, and stars. It is interesting to note that God created light first, and divided it into light and darkness, before the sun and moon were created. So there was another light source before the sun. So, God called the light "day" and the darkness "night", before the sun existed! In the book of Job, God designed the positions of the stars, so that we could see the constellations. In the reference He mentions the constellations Orion among others that He deliberately formed. So the stars did not haphazardly spread out with no design. It is also interesting that God, by just speaking, formed the dry land and separated it from the sea - before the sun, moon and stars were created. He created all these things by just say, "Let it be". To say that all this happened by time and chance (Evolution), is to say that God did not create the world in the way that Genesis says He created it. To say that God did not create all this out of nothing, in an instant of time, just by speaking it into being, is to rob Him of His almighty power and glory. In fact, it is a monstrous blasphemy to say that God had to create the universe and the world in a way that arrogant, fallible man, with is limited reasoning could comprehend. If man could comprehend everything that God does, and how He does it, He cannot be God. One day, we will all see God roll up the whole universe and destroy this world in very short order and with a tremendous noise. This will show God's stupendous power. Some of us will rejoice that this sinful, imperfect universe will be destroyed by fire and replaced by a perfect one as it was before the Fall. Others will wail and gnash their teeth because they will know that they were wrong to insult God by rebelling against Him and robbing Him of the glory that is due to Him.

who said it was an allegory. Jesus didn't. He treated it as real history. You say it is an allegory, Jesus says it is real history. I'd rather take the words of Jesus rather than that of fallible man who can't believe in an almighty god who can create a whole universe by just telling it exist in an instant of time. You may need to confirm that your god is not just a figment of your imagination.