Hearing God for Salvation

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Few issues contribute to more disunity in the body of Christ than an age old debate over eternal security. Some say “once saved, always saved”, while others make the case for Christians being able to lose their salvation.

Proponents of a permanent salvation point to verses like John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” The same would be said for the verses Hebrews 10:14, “For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified,” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” and Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Those who advocate conditional salvation argue,”Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13 New King James Version (NKJV)

Nevertheless, how then can it be that we have to work out our salvation, when it is said in Ephesians 2:8, 9 that, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Is this an oxymoron or another issue that we need to re-learn in order to get it right. This is another matter of doctrine we need to see changed in order to understand why it’s important to hear God and know His ways.

Can We Fall from Grace?

Those who believe in what John Wesley called “backsliding” to the point of returning to a lost condition refer to verses like Hebrews 6:4-6, “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” 2 Peter 1:10 seems to indicate the possibility of a fall with the words, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.” This sounds like the writer is saying it takes diligence on the part of Christians to avoid a fall from grace much like is referred to in Galatians 5:4, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”

Which Side Is Right?

Each side of the argument has ample scriptural evidence to support their view point and this begs the question about which group is right. I believe that both sides are correct about what they espouse, however, both sides are wrong for not understanding the belief of the other camp.

Is This a Strange Paradox?

The issue concerns confusion over what it means to be born-again as differentiated from being saved. Many if not most Christians do not know the difference if they are aware of one at all. In fact, the dissimilitude is substantial.

The reason for the confusion is lack of understanding as to where the experience of being born-again or saved take place. The Bible teaches that in much the same way God is three-in-one we are also tripartite. In a similar way to God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit we are also soul, body, and spirit. This is illustrated in Hebrews 4:12, “For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” We can see in this verse that we are soul, body, and spirit. This is reinforced in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of Peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The born-again experience takes place in the human spirit. Jesus explained this to Nicodemus in John 3:5 when he said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus tells Nicodemus that being born again is a spiritual event in verses 6-8, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

John 1:12-13 informs us that the second birth gives us the power to become a son of God. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” which is bolstered in Romans 8:14 with, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

Rebirth takes place in the human spirit which allows us to communicate with the Holy Spirit, as well as the angelic host. Our quickened and eternal life filled human spirit gives us a direct line to Heaven and enjoys perfect communication with the Holy Spirit as opposed to our soul which is comprised of the mind, will and emotions.

Paul makes the distinction in 1 Corinthians 14:14, “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.” We see from this that the human spirit and soul (i.e. soul meaning: mind, will and emotions) can operate independently as Paul says in verse 15, “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.”

God’s sovereignty is reflected in Man’s soul, which is the seat of the intellect, volition, and all feelings. Christians are free in the soul to agree with or reject what is coming from Heaven via their human spirit. Salvation takes place in the soul and effects the mental and physical condition.

Spiritual birth takes place in the human spirit and cannot be affected by the soul or body, nor any outside influence. This is evidenced in 1 Peter 1:23 “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.”

We can look back at Philippians 2:12’s declaration to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;” and understand that spiritual rebirth is everlasting, separate, and different from salvation, which requires our deliberate attention and effort within our souls. Paul is in harmony with this train of thought when he says in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

The New Testament speaks of believing with the heart a great deal. The word heart means the seat of the desires, feelings, affections, passion, impulses, and thoughts. The heart operates in the area of the soul which governs the mind, will, and emotions. Romans 10:10 says, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Hebrews 4:12 tells us that thinking and exercising the will takes place in the heart, when the author writes that God “is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Our hearts are aligned with God’s when our spirit is quickened by His Spirit and our Soul– (mind, will and emotions) comes into agreement with His Spirit, this creates a covenant arrangement that will empower us to fulfill His Will on Earth as it has been proclaimed from Heaven above.

It is to be understood, therefore, that we are born again in our human spirits and saved in our soul. Our spirits have been made alive and are incorruptible, while our souls have the option to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, which is in communication with our human spirit. We work out our salvation with fear and trembling in our soul. Hebrews 2:3 implies that we can choose to neglect our salvation, albeit to our detriment.

Galatians 5:4 speaks to the problem of falling from grace and verse 1 of the same chapter admonishes believers to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” In our mind, will, and emotions we see many people that are entangled with the yoke of bondage in various forms, although they have had true conversion experiences.

An oft cited verse that specifically talks about “everlasting salvation” (not to be confused with eternal life), Isaiah 45:16-17, explains that “the makers of idols will go away together in disgrace, [they will all be put to shame and humiliated.] But Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put on shame or humiliated.” God had already promised that He would never completely destroy Israel, and by extension the spirits of those born-again, but those who created and sought other gods, including our desires outside His Will would be subject to “disgrace, shame, or humiliation.”

Christians are always and forever in right standing before God in their human spirit according to Hebrews 12:23, “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.”

Our regenerated human spirit is holy and without blame, while in the soul, there is an ongoing struggle to align our mind, will, and emotions with it. This involves a learning process and discipline on the part of the Christian to achieve the status of a heart, i.e. the mind united with the spirit, in line with God. This is what is meant by renewing the mind. It is no wonder why the spiritual armor associated with salvation in Ephesians 6:17 is a helmet.

Instead of “once saved, always saved“, we should rather understand that once we are born-again, we are always born again. Indeed, we can neglect our salvation and fall from grace to the effect that even a born-again person can experience a hellish existence because of sin.

Written by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet

Why Can’t I Hear God?

Could it be because you have sinned?

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In our recent history, God may have been overlooking some theological errors for the sake of what He wanted us to learn. But He is Now saying we need to address the things that have been truly keeping us from moving forward. This is the point of Apostolic Reformation– “Get it right, and My power will come“.
 

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained“.
(Acts 17:30-31 KJV)

 
We hear a lot about sin from Sunday pulpits and while there is variance among preachers concerning where the gray area ends and the sin begins the consensus generally is that they are against it. The same can be said for God in scripture. Not surprisingly the Lord has a firmer grasp on the subject.
 
Paul tells us in Romans 14:23 “…for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Paul is teaching in this chapter that if God has not by way of revelation given you liberty in an area it is sin for you to do it. He makes the point about whether or not one should eat meat or only herbs saying, “and he that doubteth is dammed if he eat because he eateth not of faith.” But Paul says for himself that God has assured him that it is permissible to eat both telling us in verse 14 “I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.”
 
In Romans 2:14-15 Paul talks about the law being written in our hearts “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)”
 
Paul says this is how even a gentile can do the will of God without actually knowing or practicing the law. God writes the law in the hearts of men. This takes us back to Paul’s premise “whatsoever is NOT of faith is sin” which gives rise to the question “How do we get faith?”
 
Paul addresses this question in Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.” Word in this verse is a translation of the Greek word “rhema” and means that which is spoken. Faith does not come from what is written like Jewish law or even the Bible. Rather faith comes from what Jesus speaks to us by way of the His Holy Spirit. This is an ongoing process until the day God takes us home to be with Him.
 
Romans 8:14 tells us “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The way it works is Jesus speaks, and His Holy Spirit shares His words with us by way of our born-again spirit and as a result we have to choose to obey. If we choose to disregard what Jesus says James tells us in 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
 
Romans chapter 1:17 says “…The just shall live by faith.” So quite literally we live by hearing God and obeying the law written in our hearts by Him. This gives understanding to Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him…” Paul indicates that this law written in the hearts of men is an individual process and that as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling we should not judge others that have not received the same faith yet.
 
Paul says for some it is alright to eat meat and for others their faith will not allow it. He calls neither wrong but only admonishes us not to let our liberty cause another to stumble. Let us all live according to the manner of Paul in Romans 14:22 “The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God, Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.”
 
Paul is letting us know that we should not look to our brothers and sisters in the Lord to emulate their behavior necessarily. What God has approved for another may not be the case for you. Once again, we cannot escape the truth that the Christian way is to Pray, Hear and Obey.
 
 

Written by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet

Dial into God’s Power

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Seek Me to Know My Power

“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but Denying its Power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:2-7 NKJV)

Finding Faith that Works:
*At some point, you’ll receive God’s Plan, by faith, and His Spirit will teach you how it works for you. Once you have received God’s Plan, yield to His Will by working toward perfecting it. -HKS

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?” (James 2:14 NKJV)

Power vs. Eloquence

“My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

“However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-6 NKJV)

Sounds too Good to be True:
*Every con-man is personable and extremely liked by most everyone; it’s a required trait in the profession of deceitful persuasion. -HKS

“Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:1-3 NKJV)

His Anointing Reveals Truth

“I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” (1 Corinthians 4:19-20 NKJV)

Christ Anointing Confirms Truth:
*Rightly discerning the Anointing of Christ is the key to discovering Truth. When you hear a message that embraces His Truth, the presence of His anointing will come upon you, confirming that it is from the Spirit of God. -HKS

“The Anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same Anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” (1 John 2:27 NKJV)

To Know Him is to Know What He Means

“Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.” (Matthew 22:28-30 NKJV)

Wisely Select Your Teacher:

*Being taught by the human spirit, void of the Knowledge of Christ, cannot equal life’s experiences with the Holy Spirit. Experience is a much better teacher, especially when the teacher is the Spirit of God. -HKS

“My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect (or mature) man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.” (James 3:1-3 NKJV)

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.” (2 Timothy 2:15,16 NKJV)

Written by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet

Pulling God’s String

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In 1959, Mattel Toys released a revolutionary new toy: Chatty Cathy, a doll that would talk, just by pulling its string.

It was a big deal, in the 60’s and 70’s, as I recall.

“Pull the string and Chatty Cathy will talk to you.”

The first model had 11 programed sayings that made your baby seem real. TV commercials moved little girls to tears, forcing their Moms and Dads to run to the toy store and secure their very own special gift for Christmas. There were many fights over these talking dolls since there were usually very few, if any remaining, before Christmas Day.

I hope, by sharing this bit of history, that you are stirred to wonder,

“Can we make God talk?”

“Does God have a string we can pull?”

“Can you really make God talk back to you?”

I have spent the better part of the last 30 years of my life teaching about the ways we hear God. Of course, this is a much broader topic than it sounds.

The fact is, He can speak in an audible voice, drop His Thoughts directly into your soul [your mind, will & emotions], reveal the answer through dreams and visions, impart strong impressions into your spirit, move within your body, illuminate His Will through objects, the Holy Scriptures or any written word and the list goes on.

What we really want to know is: “Can we pull God’s string whenever we need to know something that cannot be found anywhere else? If we can, how do we go about finding His String?”

If you are ready to meet this challenge, I will do my best to take you through the maze of hiding places, where you can find His Prophetic Word, when needed.

Each Sunday, at 2:30PM CST, I will be broadcasting on live stream, sharing all that I have learned about playing God’s favorite game: ‘Hide-n-Seek’.

Join us, it will cost you nothing, except your time. The information on how to login to join is at the bottom section of this News article.

Each week, we will be traveling through a new part of God’s maze, as we make our Prophetic Quest, our Journey into the Unknown.
 
 

Written by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet

What Went Wrong?

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This past Sunday we began the arduous journey of gaining understanding. Isn’t that what we understand the Prophetic Quest was all about?

We are learning new things on this journey and to abandon the process now would be equal to denying the Oath we all made Sunday November 4, 2018.

There are so many different views about what prophecy is and its purpose for the Body of Christ. The title alone screams of an injustice that is far too harsh. The problem is more about the lack of understanding of what prophecy is for, and how prophecy is to be used.

Allow me to use a few personal phrases that I have shared over the years to those who are wanting to either operate in the gift of prophecy or walk in the office of a prophet.

“It’s not enough to hear God,
you must understand what He means.”

This one phrase, in my humble opinion separates the true gifted prophetic people and the wannabe prophets. It takes years to master the interpretation of God’s personally encrypted messages, which are uniquely coded for each individual minister.

To say one word fits only one meaning for everyone is wrong. What God gives you to speak is not as clear as you might think. There is a process of interpretation that is drastically needed in order to craft the true meaning of the prophetic word from God.

In the Bible, even the Disciples of Jesus said; “Speak plainly, for we do not understand You.” It would appear that it would be much easier to understand our Lord if we were hearing Him with our natural ears. How much more difficult is it to understand what He means when He is speaking to us Spirit to spirit? So, if the disciples had problems, how much more challenging is it for us today?

“The only difference between a Brand Name Prophet and an Unknown Prophet is one can afford a Marketing Manager, Publicist and access to loads of money.”

Branding of a prophet or prophetic minister is key to obtaining a successful platform, giving them power to be heard by multitudes. Once that minister is in the spotlight, they are expected to continue performing on a regular basis, in order to keep their elevated status. Thus, they become more of an entertainer than a true prophet of God. This error leads to many presumptuous words that are like dark clouds, but have no rain.

It is interesting to see how many Doomsday Prophets keep declaring that current events are actually the prophetic signs found in the Book of Revelations; however, their predictions never appear to manifest. These types of prophetic ministers obtain a foothold that grants them special privileges in the Body of Christ, they are 100% incorrect, yet still draw the crowds, sell books, recordings and get richer by the day; go figure!

“Prophetic people need a Prophetic Protocol with a Code of Ethics that guides those who are giving prophetic words, as well a balance of Expectations for those who are receiving prophetic words.”

I have learned many things over the years about today’s Prophetic Movement. The one major problem I see is that the Body of Christ has turned the Prophetic Movement into an entertainment event.

Many people have no business seeking after a prophetic word unless they know what the true purpose of the word is for. The problems we are experiencing these days do not all come from the prophets or those who prophesy.

The vast majority of people who receive a word expect all kinds of things to happen according to their own private interpretation. There is very little, if any instruction given by the prophetic ministers before giving a prophetic word from God. Here again, the correct interpretation by the prophetic minister before delivering the prophetic word and the recipient having a proper expectation of what that word truly means is paramount for today.

I have much more to write, but little time to do so. These are just a few things I debate over with other prophets. You see, we, the prophetic community, are far from being anywhere close to a unified position.

Therefore, without a proper measuring rod, we cannot find the correct point of center, where all can be measured.

Written by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet