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Through Christ Alone

For all have direct, personal access to God through Christ Jesus by His blood that spilled down the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. We do not have to go through a priest or special holy man because Christ made the way clear for us all. Yes, the curtain was torn from top to bottom so that the Holy of Holies is open to all who are washed in the blood of Christ for all time. We do not have to ask an apostle, prophet, pastor or anyone else to have access to the Lord. We can each go boldly before the throne of our heavenly Father.

Men have no right to put themselves over you and in front of Christ, for those who do such things are in great risk of the judgment of God unless they repent. For God is a jealous God - jealous for His Son - jealous for the people that His Son bought with His own blood. We are all His sheep, and He is the great Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

We do well to remember Christ's warning to us - that many will come to Him saying, "Lord, we prophesied in Your name" - "We cast out demons in Your name" - But He will say, "Depart from me you worker of evil. I never knew you. For you did not care about others but only cared about yourselves."

He warned us that in the last days, many would come in His name but they would not be from Him, there would be ravening wolves sent to secretly introduce false doctrines and heresies. Many would run after them with itching ears hearing only what they want to hear - deceiving others and being deceived themselves.

About Buildings

Let us stop building our kingdoms. Stop telling Christ how to build His Church. Christ said, "I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." But if we try to build it in our image then it will fall, much as the house on the sandy soil when the storm came. The gates of hell will prevail against them.

The reason there is so much stress and burnout today is because we are building on sandy soil. When a building is on unstable ground, it moves and cracks. It needs a lot of maintenance which causes stress for the owners who have to work hard to keep it from falling.

However, when the building is on the Rock, it will stand in all weather. There will be no worries about it falling. Their yoke will be easy and their burden light.

A pastor once told me, "It's so hard to run a church." What came to me was, "That's because you are running it and not the Lord." We should all be like burning bushes that don't burn out, being filled with the Holy Fire of the Lord and not some strange, smelly, smoky, worldly fire.

Defiling the Lord's Body and Blood

Many today are defiling the table of the Lord. They break bread with sin and unforgiveness in their hearts. The WORD tells us that we should put things right with our brothers. Leave your gifts at the altar and make peace. If you break the bread and drink the cup in an unworthy manner, you bring damnation on yourself. This is the reason many are weak and sick among you, and many fall asleep before their time.(1 Cor 11:30)

Lack of discernment in this one area is why there is so much division in the Body of Christ - that there is so much false teaching coming back into the Church.

Let's wait upon the Lord and not think we know better. Remember, He created the universe. He is all wise, all loving, all powerful, for He is LORD.

Let us take our hands off His church and watch it grow with everyone using the gifts and ministries God has given them. Let us get out of each other's way and stop telling the Lord what to do in others for He made us all in His image.

For He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. He gave us gifts of healing, gifts of tongues, gifts of prophecy, gifts of helps and many more - ALL for the building up of His Church. Let us not forget the most important thing - To win the lost and set the captives free in Christ which we cannot do very well if we are doing things our way.

Let us repent and fear not! May we not put each other in boxes. May we not think we are above others. May we not try to control others around us for our gain, but may we see Christ formed within them. May we get out of His way so that He will be able to work in and use others as He wishes, not as we think.

Let us humble ourselves before Him who paid for us with His blood. Be humble before each other preferring others above ourselves. His ways are higher than our ways - His thoughts deeper than our thoughts. We are all the sheep of His pasture - AND He is our Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

Who is the Greaest? - JESUS CHRIST IS LORD



Dave Howe, 8 July 2002
LIving Waters Fellowship
Wellspring Prophetic Ministries, England