Spirit Life Magazine

Freedom From Fear

Welcome to Spirit Life Magazine! We hope you’ll return often!By David Wilkerson As the economies of the nations shake and crumble, fear is mounting worldwide. We are seeing Jesus’ words come to pass: “Upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity… men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are [...]

This Is Revival!

REVIVAL WILL COME… “If all the sleeping folk will wake up, If all the lukewarm folk will fire up, If all the dishonest folk will confess up, If all the disgruntled folk will cheer up, If all the depressed folk will cheer up, If all the estranged folk will make up, If all the gossipers [...]

How To Hear God’s Voice

By Andrew Wommack One of the greatest benefits of our salvation has to be that of hearing God speak to us personally. There can be no intimate relationship with our heavenly Father without it. But, as easy as it is for us to speak to Him, the average Christian has a hard time hearing His [...]

Weakness and Foolishness

Weakness and Foolishness By Art Katz God delights in choosing the things that are weak and foolish in the eyes of the world to usher in the holy and glorious. He wants to rub this into our consciousness, and that the way of the kingdom is utterly contrary to the way of the world. I [...]

Now I Declare New Things

God is the God of new things! He indicates multiple times in His self-authored Word that He specializes in declaring, decreeing, announcing, and thereby establishing new things! He is forever breaking molds, models, and methods, and casting new ones.

Now I Declare New Things

Posted by Editor on February 19th, 2007

[2012 Preface:]
Do you resist or receive change? Do you regard change as friend or foe? If you claim to be a true disciple (learner) of Christ Jesus, and are one who resists and regards change as foe, 2012 is going to be a horrible year for you! 2012 will be a year of significant, substantive, and even paradigmatic CHANGE!

Change is inevitable! As someone has said, the only thing that is unchangeable in this life is change itself. Change is a God thing, and therefore change is a GOOD thing! Change is from and of God! Change is God’s Will! Change is an inextricable part of God’s plan for your life!

God Himself never changes (Mal. 3:6), because perfection cannot be improved. But, you are not God, and you are not yet perfect, and you therefore NEED God-inspired change in your life. Change is a part of the process of sanctification. Because you are not now perfect, in order to be sanctified, i.e., made Holy, perfect, you must respond appropriately to the process of change God brings into your life, which means yielding to and assimilating it into your life. Resist God-inspired change, and you are resisting the Holy Spirit, as did the Pharisaic traditionalists possessed by religious spirits who murdered Stephen, who he resoundingly rebuked before they killed him by stoning: “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.” (Acts 7:51)

Keeping tradition for the sake of keeping tradition and thereby refusing change is not something that is either meritorious or Godly. In fact, Jesus said traditionalism INVALIDATES or NULLIFIES the Word of God in the life of the person who rejects the Word of God, which is His Will, in order to keep their religious traditions (Mat. 15:6). You cannot be in the Will of God, or even right relationship with God, when you embrace religious traditions that are contrary to the Word of God!

In 2012, If you are not willing to change, you will find yourself out of the Will and the purposes of God, which means you will be operating totally outside of His anointing and grace, i.e., Divine enablement to accomplish God’s purposes and plans for your life.

CHANGE is God’s Message for 2012! Throughout the Bible, the number 12 is the number for Divine Government (Authority), i.e., Divine Order. God’s Directive for 2012 to all genuine believers, individually and collectively, is centered on ORDER, AUTHORITY, GOVERNMENT! And, since all these things are elements of the Apostolic function, 2012 will also be the year for the genuine establishment of the apostolic office or function (despite the posits of others who insisted it occurred in previous decades). Thus, 2012 will be a year of true APOSTOLIC ALIGNMENT. There will be a supernatural unction and enablement for apostolic alignment in 2012 that is unprecedented in substance and outcome.

Freedom From Fear

Posted by Associate Editor on May 13th, 2012

By David Wilkerson

As the economies of the nations shake and crumble, fear is mounting worldwide. We are seeing Jesus’ words come to pass: “Upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity… men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken” (Luke 21:25-26).

Christ has given us a warning here: “Without hope in me, multitudes will die of fright at the things they see coming.”

This Is Revival!

Posted by Associate Editor on May 4th, 2012

REVIVAL WILL COME…
“If all the sleeping folk will wake up,
If all the lukewarm folk will fire up,
If all the dishonest folk will confess up,
If all the disgruntled folk will cheer up,
If all the depressed folk will cheer up,
If all the estranged folk will make up,
If all the gossipers will shut up,
If all true soldiers will stand up,
If all the dry bones will shake up,
If all the church members will pray up…
Then we can have a revival!” -R. G. Lee

When men in the streets are afraid to open their mouths and utter godless words lest the judgments of God should fall; when sinners, overawed by the Presence of God tremble in the streets and cry for mercy; when, without special meetings and sensational advertising, the Holy Ghost sweeps across cities and towns in Supernatural Power and holds men in the grip of terrifying Conviction; when “every shop becomes a pulpit, every heart an altar, every home a sanctuary” and people walk softly before God-This is Revival! Today the word Revival has largely lost its real meaning. Our present generation, never having witnessed the mighty movings of God in nation-wide spiritual awakening such as has taken place in past generations, has little conception of the magnitude of such a “visitation.”

How To Hear God’s Voice

Posted by Associate Editor on April 26th, 2012

By Andrew Wommack

One of the greatest benefits of our salvation has to be that of hearing God speak to us personally. There can be no intimate relationship with our heavenly Father without it. But, as easy as it is for us to speak to Him, the average Christian has a hard time hearing His voice. This is not the way the Lord intended it to be.

Learning to clearly distinguish God’s voice is invaluable. Instead of going through life blindly, we can have the wisdom of God guide and protect us. There isn’t a single person receiving this letter who couldn’t have their life radically transformed by hearing the voice of the Lord better. The worst marital problem is one word from the Lord away from a total turnaround. If you have sickness or disease, one living word from the Lord will instantly heal you (Psa. 107:20). If you are in financial crisis, the Lord knows exactly how to turn your situation around. It’s just a matter of hearing His voice.

The Lord constantly speaks to us and gives us His direction. It’s never the Lord who is not speaking, but it’s us who are not hearing. Jesus made some radical statements about hearing His voice in John 10:3-5. He was speaking about Himself as the Shepherd of the sheep and the only way to enter the sheepfold.

The Myth of the Neat Little Boxes

Posted by Associate Editor on April 24th, 2012

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood….” (Lev. 17:11) The essence of human life is “in the blood.” As we all know from the flood of crime shows centering around CSI team techniques, the modern science of DNA analysis confirms and provides more context to the divine revelation Moses scribed thousands of years ago. The elements comprising life, including human life, are “in the blood.” As the Word of God so often signifies metaphorically, spiritual life is also in the Blood—the Blood of Christ!

In this article the author makes a metaphorical comparison about genuine faith that is obvious, when so stated, yet often not understood or overlooked in practical application. Faith is like the blood of life in every living being. All living beings have blood, which in the context of Moses’ words, is certainly no accident or coincidence, rather living beings are alive and living precisely because they have blood, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” Blood is liquid, and thus fluid, meaning it flows. In fact, the fluidity or flowing nature of blood is intrinsic to it being “life.” When blood stops flowing, death ensues, or is an indicator of the occurrence of death. So also, as the article author indicates, faith is fluid, it flows, it bleeds. And, thus, intrinsically, it cannot be contained, and more to the point of the article, it cannot be contained to the aspects of life to which agnostics, atheists, and nominal faith-people contend it should be. Faith, like blood, simply does not work that way. Blood flows into every corpuscle of the flesh of living beings, and if it isn’t, death quickly occurs in that part of the flesh where the blood-flow has ceased. Likewise, cut off the flow of faith in any part of human life, and spiritual death, along with all its consequences quickly ensues.

All this regarding the nature of faith is true in the case of politics as well. The notion that the DNA of genuine faith should or could be somehow excluded from a genuine believer in Christ’s thinking with respect to political matters, including the candidates they consider for elections, besides being a total practical impossibility, is a ludicrous and inane myth. [Editor]

Weakness and Foolishness

Posted by Associate Editor on April 22nd, 2012

Weakness and Foolishness
By Art Katz

God delights in choosing the things that are weak and foolish in the eyes of the world to usher in the holy and glorious. He wants to rub this into our consciousness, and that the way of the kingdom is utterly contrary to the way of the world.

I feel like declaring war on Charismatic and Pentecostal “Amens” and “Hallelujahs” — anything that presumes to know anything, and I just want to be utterly foolish and celebrate failure, confusion and everything that characterizes what I believe is the true work of God; for only the true work of God will compel the attention of the world. I am suspicious of anything that is outwardly impressive, well-funded, runs smoothly, has an ambitious building program, or has programs producing shining examples of disciples. It seems to me to be not of God, but has rather the stink of man precisely because it is too efficient. If something works too well, and has been accomplished without the suffering of the cross, we are likely out of the purposes of God.

The Problem with Cheap Grace Churches and Preaching

Posted by Associate Editor on April 16th, 2012

The Problem with Cheap Grace Churches and Preaching
By Dr. Joseph Mattera

The past several decades we have seen a dramatic decline in doctrinal and biblical preaching. We have gone from theology to therapy in the pulpits. In the past decade we went from therapy to motivational speaking instead of preaching.

In addition to this, whole churches and movements have oriented themselves to a distorted understanding of the gospel by espousing a “cheap grace” approach that trickles down to not only what they preach but who they allow to minister and teach. (I was told there is even a new television station devoted to this view of “grace.”)

Furthermore, many churches and preachers refuse to take a stand against sin and rarely if ever mention the need for repentance and topics like hell and judgment! For example, I heard from one leader that in our recent battle against same-sex marriage he only knows of one evangelical leader who actually spoke against same-sex marriage from the pulpit. This is in spite of same-sex marriage being the most important cultural battle of our generation besides abortion! Many of these same churches allow people to minister in music, as small group leaders, and even as ministers with no personal accountability while looking the other way when they are living sexually immoral lives and regularly engaged in drunkenness!

That’s My King

Posted by Associate Editor on April 9th, 2012

The late Dr. S. M. Lockeridge, a pastor from San Diego, California, preached this dynamic and timeless message as part of a sermon in Detroit in 1976.

My King was born King. The Bible says He’s a Seven Way King. He’s the King of the Jews—that’s an Ethnic King. He’s the King of Israel—that’s a National King. He’s the King of righteousness. He’s the King of the ages. He’s the King of Heaven. He’s the King of glory. He’s the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords. Now that’s my King.

Well, I wonder if you know Him. Do you know Him? Don’t try to mislead me! Do you know my King? David said the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. My King is the only one of whom there are no means of measure that can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of the shore of His supplies. No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.

The Reality Of Faith

Posted by Associate Editor on April 1st, 2012

By Andrew Wommack

Many people think faith is acting like something is so when it really isn’t so, and if we do that long enough, then it will become so. But that’s not it at all. Faith is real.

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Faith is substance. This is saying that faith is real. It is the evidence of things not seen. Notice it didn’t say “things that don’t exist.” They do exist. They just aren’t seen.

Even in the natural world, we’ve come to realize that there are things that do exist that we can’t see. We can’t see television signals, but they do exist. In fact, wherever you are right now, there are television signals right there with you. If you say, “No there aren’t,” just because you can’t see or hear them, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. It just means you aren’t very smart. They do exist, they are just unseen. They are unseen realities.

A television set can make unseen signals visible. When we see the images is not when they became real. They were already there. A television set doesn’t generate images. The set just receives the signal and converts it into sights and sounds that we can perceive. But the television signals were already there, before we tuned them in.

Faith Laughs at Impossibilities

Posted by Associate Editor on March 31st, 2012

By Leonard Ravenhill

Peter in prison! What a jolt!

We are too far removed from the actual scene to catch the atmosphere of dismay the Christians of that day felt.

Peter had moved from Pentecost to prison, from jeers to spears. He was guarded by sixteen soldiers. One wonders why such a defenseless man needed such a group to watch him. Could it be that Herod feared the supernatural, seeing he knew that Jesus escaped such a group that guarded Him?

Had Peter been hedged in by sixteen hundred soldiers, the problem would not have been increased nor the escape less sure. Peter was bound not only by two chains, but also by the thick walls of the prison, by the three wards of the prison, and finally by an iron gate.

When Peter is in prison, does the church organize a plan to get him released? No. When Peter is jailed, do the believers offer a plea to Herod or suggest a price to offer the lawmakers for his freedom? No. Peter had released others at the hour of prayer; now others must believe for his release.

The Similarities of Muhammad and Joseph Smith

Posted by Associate Editor on March 12th, 2012

Editor’s Note: We publish this concise article as part of a mosaic of articles we’ve posted in the interest of demonstrating clear and irrefutable evidence that, contrary to the nascent ecumenically motivated push by many claiming to be legitimate Evangelicals, neither Islam nor Mormonism are consistent with orthodox/Biblical Christianity. We find it tellingly interesting that this push coincides with a time in history when this nation has in office a President of undeniable and undenied Muslim heritage, who claims to be Christian, but whose policies and actions, both foreign and domestic, clearly reflect Muslim biases and patronage, and when a multi-generational Mormon, who inexplicably and antithetically claims Jesus Christ is his personal Savior, is a leading candidate of the opposing party seeking to unseat the incumbent President in this year’s election. Our belief and stance is that to in any way buy in to these totally unscriptural and unspiritual attempts to somehow narrow the great chasm separating legitimate Christianity with Islam or Mormonism is essentially a giant leap off the cliff to a precipitous free-fall into outright apostasy. This matter, we believe, intrinsically is neither a social nor a political issue, but a spiritual and a Kingdom issue. The profession of Christ, which is the ageless stumbling block that every human being who has ever lived and who will ever live are confronted with, is that He Himself is THE exclusive Way to God and Eternal communion with God, THE only Truth, and THE Eternal Life and Source of Life. Moreover, the profession of the Word of God, which Jesus Christ is, is that He is THE King of Kings and Lord of Lords, whose Kingdom shall have no end, and there are no coequals or contenders. Jesus Christ is both the Alpha (Beginning) and the Omega (End) in His inimitable Kingdom, and that excludes and eliminates all others. Either Muhammad, Joseph Smith, Buddha, and all the other self-proclaimed messiahs and their “sacred books” were right, or Jesus Christ and The Bible are right, but it can’t be both. Thus, for authentic believers in Christ there are no spiritual alterations, no social compromises, no political plumbing to find the middle. Period. Any and all of that is only the work and philosophies of “CINOs” — Christians-in-Name-Only.[end Editor's Note]

The Signs of an Emotionally Emasculated Man

Posted by Editor on March 2nd, 2012

Editor’s Note: This article identifies a matter—emotional emasculation—that has been a very troubling matter in modern American culture for several decades now. But, what is even more troubling to us is its incursion into the church, particularly the Charismatic/Neo-Pentecostal church, and even more particularly the apostolic and prophetic stream of the church.

Yet, while we are deeply troubled by this matter, we are not at all surprised. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, and there is no segment of the church where there exists more light of revelation and truth, as well as dynamics of the anointing, than in the apostolic/prophetic. Thus, it is this segment of the church that Satan most wants to surreptitiously intrude and usurp.

Despite how controversial such a statement will be to many, as a person who has been operating in the area of deliverance with a strong operation of the gift of the discerning of spirits for three and a half decades, I will state categorically that there are no small number, relatively speaking, of individuals identifying with the various streams of the apostolic/prophetic movements upon whom I discerned an effeminate spirit. Some of these I have met personally, simply because the Lord led me to attend their meetings in order to witness and affirm what I was discerning firsthand and in person. Some are living as what the modern culture would term a “metrosexual”—a male who is not outright “gay” in terms of sexual orientation and engaged in homosexual relationships, but nevertheless to varying degrees effeminate emotionally and behaviorally, as opposed to genuinely masculine. There’s quite a number of those in the apostolic/prophetic segment, including a number who have thus far attained some measure of success in leading prophetic networks or becoming the darling-d’jour of prophetic networks.

Does God Require Absolute Obedience to Civil Government?

Posted by Editor on February 19th, 2012

With many laws being passed that have an anti-Christian bias, many believers in the blogosphere are saying that we need to unequivocally submit to whatever the laws of the land are, since this is what Romans 13:1-7 teaches. In other words, acts of civil disobedience—praying in front of abortion clinics, public prayer in schools, and the recent arrests of New York City pastors for praying in front of the New York City Law Department to protest the looming evictions of churches from public schools—are contrary to the word of God. According to the strict interpretation of this passage we should not only cease from all acts of civil disobedience, but we should not even complain about these laws and just pray for our civil leaders.

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