Uh oh! ... Am I a goat?

Am I goat ?!

Take a few moments to slowly ponder the following verses ....

Matthew ~ 25:31- 46

When the Son of man comes in His glory, and all His holy angels with Him, then He will sit upon the throne of His glory. And all nations will gather before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will set the sheep at His right and the goats at His left.

Then the King will say to those at His right, 

Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 

For I was hungry, and you gave me food; 

I was thirsty , and you gave me drink; 

I was a stranger, and you took me in; 

I was naked, and you clothed me; 

I was sick, and you visited me; 

I was in prison, and you came to me.

Then the righteous will say to him, 

Our Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? 

Or thirsty and give you drink? 

And when did we see you a stranger and took you in? 

Or that you were naked and clothed you? 

And when did we see you sick or in prison, and came to you?

Then the King will answer, saying to them, 

Truly I tell you, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.

Then he will say to those at his left, 

Go away from me, you cursed, to the everlasting fire which is prepared for the adversary and his angels. 

For I was hungry and you did not give me food, 

I was thirsty and you did not give me drink, 

I was a stranger and you did not take me in, 

I was naked and you did not clothe me, 

I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me.

Then they also will answer and say, 

Our Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in the prison, and did not minister to thee?

Then he will answer and say to them, 

Truly I say to you,

 Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of these least ones, you also did not do it to me.

And these shall go into everlasting torment, and the righteous into eternal life.

Today’s message is twofold- 

It speaks to those members of the body that are it's unseen members.

It also addresses those members that are highly visible to us all.

To the unseen members:

Ok my Lord and King, let’s do a reality check here and see if I’m a sheep or a goat. 

Let’s look at this year only. (2014)

1.   How many people have you supplied food to? 

     My answer - Once

2.   How many thirsty people did you provide drink to? 

     My answer – None

3.   How many strangers did you take in? 

     My Answer - None

4.   How many naked people have you clothed? 

     My Answer – None

5.   How many sick people have you visited? 

     Two

6.   How many people did you visit in prison? 

     None

Ok. Not Good. 

But wait my King, I have an answer !

I have provided much spiritual food to my brothers and sisters. I have provided them the water of life as drink. I only have so many hours in a day. I work at my job 60 hours a week. 
What free time I do have I try to spend in your word and in fellowship with you. I give what money I can to those in need. 
I love you with all my heart and soul and mind and might. 
I love myself and who I am as you have taught me to do. I am your son. 
You are my saviour!

My King responds; 

Greg, quit twisting my word. 

I appreciate very much that you Love me and try to do all that I ask of you. You have lived up to my first commandment. 

It’s the second commandment I have a problem with. 

Love your neighbor as you love yourself. 

You love yourself, but, how much do you really love your neighbor? 

Truly I say to you, Are you a sheep or a goat?

I have nursing homes and Hospitals full of my children. 

I have my children walking the streets with no food to eat or roofs over their heads or clothes to protect them. 

I have many children in prison that are so very lost. 

I have children dying because they take their own lives. 

Where’s the Love? 

This is my will; you don’t need to ask me what my will is. 

Just go do it! 

Truly I say to you; Are you a sheep or a goat?

Oh no, I’m more of a goat than a sheep ...

Please forgive me my King, I repent of this sin against you. 

Please help me this day to be a sheep and not a goat. 

I pray for all the members of the body my Lord, please help us all.

To the pastors, teachers, healers, miracle workers and all those who have ministries that is visible for all to see.

Matthew 7: 21-23

It is not everyone who merely says to me, 

My Lord, My lord, who will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, 

but he who does the will of my Father in Heaven.

A great many will say to me in that day, 

My Lord, My Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out devils and in your name do many wonders?

Then I will declare to them, 

I have never known you; 

Keep away from me, O you that work iniquity.

Have you ever asked yourself whom the Lord is referring to here? 

I have indeed asked many times over the years. 

It actually concerns me very much. 

To me it indicates that these are people who believe in the Lord and are doing these great things in His very name. 

By all appearances they appear to be disciples of the Lord. 

However, according to Holy Scripture, they are obviously not. 

Who do I think they are? 

Well who am I to judge? No one!

Although it is my duty to rightly discern the word of truth and then to speak as I am led.

I believe they are the leaders of the mega churches. 

They have thousands of followers. 

They live in million dollar homes. 

They have huge churches built by man. 

They have all they need. 

They preach the prosperity gospel. 

Give to us they say and the Lord will bless you. 

Send me $100.00 and I will send you a special vial of Holy oil that will heal you. They are the churches that meet weekly to praise the Lord and fellowship with him. 

They get high on the spirit! 

They see miracles and healings. 

Oh how wonderful, thank you Jesus!

Meanwhile, the elderly are put in nursing homes to die, nobody cares. Those in prison continue in their sense of hopelessness. 

The great teacher John Hagee even said about those who commit evil 
“Lock them all up and throw away the Key!” 
I actually heard him say this and I shudder.

Now what kind of love is that! 

Drug addiction and suicide are running rampant in our communities. The food banks have to beg for donations to help feed and clothe the poor. 

The least among us have been ignored and forgotten by too many.

I could go on and on. 

The enemy has done his job very well. 

Go to church on Sunday, hear the wonderful sermon, see many saved and healed. These are all good things and we give great thanks to our Lord. 

Then we go home and repeat it all again next week.

But my disturbing discourse with my King has provoked me to express my ill-ease.  And so, truly I say to you, Are you sure you’re a sheep and not a goat? 

As leaders of the body, are you teaching your congregation what the true will of our father in Heaven is? 

I think the King has made it quite clear.

So my Brother and Sister, are you leading a flock of sheep or a herd of Goats?

I ask of all my brothers and sisters, if you are seeing more goats than sheep, then you need to step up to the plate and help change this. 

Serving the Lord is not about how much you receive. 

Ask yourself this, are you serving the least of these, our brethren?

The Lord requires us to lay down our life for the Kingdom of God. 

There is no greater Love than to die to personal needs and to lay down your life for another!

We all know that the Lord is pouring out his Holy Spirit like we’ve never seen before. 

We all know the time is near. 

We had better get this right or we will be deceived by the enemy.

We all need to humble ourselves and fulfill the true will of our Father and Lord.

I don’t want to be a goat !!!

Your brother,

Greg

Money is my Master! - Mammon & Ministry

                    

     Money is my Master!   

Ha! Ha! – Just kidding. I do have a sense of humor! :)

Dear family in Christ, before I extol my  thoughts around the leash mammon has held on ministry, let me begin with the words of Jesus.   

* Note: Scripture is quoted from the Aramaic Translation of The Word. 

Matthew – Chapter 6 – verses 24 to 34

No man can serve two masters; for either you will hate the one and like the other; or he will honor one and despise the other. 

You cannot serve God and money. 

For this reason I say to you, do not worry for your life, what you will eat and what you will drink, nor for your body what you will wear. 

Behold, is not life much more important than food, and the body more than clothing?

Observe the birds of the sky, for they do not sow, neither do they harvest nor gather into barns, and yet your Father in heaven feeds them. 
Are you not much more important than they?

Who is among you who by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

Why do you worry about clothing? Observe the wild flowers, how they grow; they do not get tired out, nor do they spin. But I say to you that not even Solomon with all of his glory was arrayed like one of them.

Now if God clothes in such the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow falls into the fireplace, is he not much more mindful of you, O you of little faith?

Therefore, do not worry or say, What will we eat, or what will we drink, or with what will we be clothed?

For worldly people seek after all these things. Your Father in heaven knows that all of these are also necessary for you. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will look after itself. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.

Please bear with me.

Now let’s go to  

Matthew ~ Chapter 6 - Verses 1 thru 4

Be careful concerning your alms (gifts), not to do them in the presence of men, merely that they may see them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

Therefore when you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, just as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the market places, so that they may be glorified by men. 
Truly I say to you that they have already received their reward.

But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 
So that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret, shall himself reward you openly.

Now let’s go to  

Matthew ~ Chapter 19 – Verses 21 thru 26

Jesus said to him, 
If you wish to be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give them to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven; then follow me.

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had great possessions.

Jesus then said to his disciples, Truly I say to you, It is difficult for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of heaven. 
Again I say to you, It is easier for a rope to go thru the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.

When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved?

Jesus looked at them and said; For men this is impossible, but for God everything is possible. 

Today’s message is twofold – 

1) The first is pertinent to those who are young in the Body of Christ.

2) The second is for those who have ministries in the Body of Christ.

Part One – Tithing as a member of the Body of Christ.

Over the years we have been taught that we should allocate 10% of what we earn and then give that figure to the church. 

Under the Old covenant, the Lord made with the Israelites, this was indeed a true teaching. 

However, we are no longer under the old covenant, we are under the new covenant. 
And nowhere in the New Testament does it state that we should give 10%. 
This is a false teaching. 

Jesus clearly taught that we should give what we can. 

It’s what comes from the heart that counts. 

Remember the widow who gave her last two cents?

Mark ~ Chapter 12 – Verses 41 thru 44

Years ago I had a sister in Christ come to me with a dilemma. 
The Church that she was attending strongly emphasized about tithing and the giving of 10%. 
She explained to me how she didn’t have 10%. 
The money she earned that week was only enough to pay her bills and feed her children. I explained to her about the old covenant and the new covenant. 

I told her to go back to her pastor and tell him what I said, which she did. 
The following week she came to see me again to explain what had happened. 

She told the pastors wife first. The pastor’s wife told her to give them the 10% as required and then they would write her a check from the church fund to help fill her needs.
( Ok, that’s a step in the right direction I thought to myself.) 

Then she proceeded to tell me that the pastor told the congregation that he had a dream and in that dream it was revealed to him that a wolf in sheep’s skin was amongst them. 
He told them I was the wolf!! He told them I was a devil!!
(I met this pastor once when I was looking for a local body to fellowship with.) 

Needless to say, I have not seen this pastor since or the sister. 
I never did find out if she gave the 10% or not.

So the ultimate question here is - Which teaching is correct?

I, for one, will abide by the understanding that I have received as I have read His Word.

Give what you can when you can. 

There is no need to worry about anything. 

Our Father in Heaven has everything under control. 

The evil of the day is sometimes more than one can bear. 

Deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow the Lord. 

That is sound doctrine.

Part Two – Ministers of the Body of Christ

As a member of the body of Christ, each one of us has a special gift. 

Of course we have all the gifts, but, we each have one special gift that stands out above all others. 

It is your duty as member of the Body to find out what that gift is and excel in it. 
(I will go into this later in another teaching.)

Today I want to address those members who have gifts that have led them into full time service for the Body of Christ. 

I’m sure some will be offended.

Do you know how much it turns off people when you ask for money to support your ministry? 

Whenever I watch a You tube video or read something on Facebook where the brother or sister starts asking for donations, I tend to find that very offensive. 

I begin to question if you are being led by the Spirit of God. 

I begin to think that you created this ministry and were not led by the Holy Spirit to do so. 
If your ministry is truly Spirit led, then why are you asking for money? 

You speak to me through fear tactics. 
You have used attempts to make me feel guilty and obliged to bless your ministry. 
I am offended by this!
It makes me want to run away!!!!    

 Luke ~ Chapter – 9 – Verses 1 thru 3

Then Jesus called his twelve, and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to cure every disease. 

And he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 

And he said to them, Do not take anything for the journey, neither a staff nor a bag nor money, nor have two shirts.

Am I missing something? 

The word proclaims clearly that our Father will supply all our needs. 

Where is your Faith?

Let's be clear, I have no problem with your having a donation button on your page. 
How else would I know where to send the money if so led by the Holy Spirit?

However, this asking for money is not good for young believers in Christ to witness. 

Solicitation presents a false impression of our walk in Christ.
This is not correct doctrine. 

You have been taught by the Lord to put all your faith and trust in him. 
I challenge you to step up to the plate. 
Believe the Word of the Lord, and trust in His supernatural provision.

Cease asking man for money.
Have the courage to discover if your ministry is truly from the Lord. 
The Lord will supply all your needs if you are truly following his direction. 
If it's not, you will discover this truth very quickly.

One last thought, and this is for those who have the gift of pastoring a flock. 

Every week you pass around the collection plate. 

Is this not in direct contrast with the giving of my alms? 

Jesus said we should give our alms in secret. 

So much so that he said not to even let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. 
How can I accomplish this when your putting that plate in front of me? 
Sometimes I have nothing to put in that plate, it brings shame upon me when that happens. 

Surely there must be a better way? 
A way that befits the Word that we have been fed.

I want the truth to be spoken. 

I want us all to come into perfect harmony. 
In these last days the enemy is trying his hardest to deceive us. 
We have to keep up our guard. 
We are in a spiritual warfare.

We need correct doctrine to be taught to all the members of the Body.  

If even one atom of the truth is compromised it weakens the Body and obstructs it from functioning as it should. 

Love,

Brother Greg

My friend Tom Fischer shared his testimony with me about this subject of money and trusting the Lord for provision.   

Here is his testimony:

" Greg, I’ve been living by faith for close to 5 years.   

When I say living by faith, it may mean something different than what others call living by faith.   

A little over 6 years ago in the early fall of 2008 the Lord started using me in healing.  Before that time, I was a regular, church going, tithe paying believer with his own lawn maintenance business.   

About a year and a half into this new life of supernatural healing power flowing through me, I decided to sell the small business I operated and step out by faith into full time ministering.  

I decided this because I felt it was important to spend more time ministering in the power of the Lord, than in cutting grass.   

The business was about 35 lawns that I cut either weekly or every other week.  It was just me doing the work.  I had no employees.  The price I received wasn’t a huge amount of money, so it ran out in less than 6 months, if I recall correctly.  

At that point, I was essentially living by faith.  

I decided that I wouldn’t ask anyone to support me, but rather, trust in the Lord to move hearts to want to sow into the ministry.   

I had already begun my Youtube channel where I posted live street healing situations and I put a Paypal donate button on the channel for those who wanted to partner with me.  This gave people who wanted to sow into the ministry the opportunity to do so without having to directly ask anyone for money.   
It’s important to not prevent people from sowing into good soil because giving is good and the word says, “He gives seed to the sower”.    

It was around that time that I learned more about tithing and the Law of Moses.  Although the Law of Moses is good and leads us to Christ, we’re not to live as if justified by the keeping of the Law of Moses.   
I received a revelation that I was tithing with the wrong attitude.  

I was following a rule rather than listening to the Spirit in order to know how much to give and when.   
I decided to quit tithing and wait on the Spirit to lead me into situations where I could give.  

It was at that time, that people started giving into the ministry.  
In fact, the week I stopped tithing was the week that the first person sowed into the ministry.   

Up to the present moment, I have never asked anyone to give into this ministry.   
The Lord has always moved hearts to support what I am doing.   

This is a Spirit led life and every decision you make should come from the direction of the Holy Spirit and that includes giving to those in need." ~ Tom Fischer

The Rapture - and a new body in Christ

                           

                

As members of the Body of Christ, this is a promise that we await earnestly to be fulfilled. 
A new body that will never get sick or die. 
A marvelous, quite remarkable existence; one that is free of pain and burdens. How great would that be!
 

Pre-trib or post-trib – MY oh MY 

What controversy this has caused amongst the members of the body. So much so that we are now segregated and affixed with the labels - pre-trib or post-trib. 

How do I feel personally? 

Well now, thanks for asking.
 

The first point I’d like to make is that I feel I have already been raptured. 

- I try to set my mind on things above. 
- I try to be Christ minded at every moment of the day. 
- Only my body is here; my soul and spirit are not. 
- I am not of this world.
- I battle in the spiritual realm, not the physical.

I do realize that you are mindful of this. 
The difference is arriving at the point of knowing that we are not of this world. 
Be as they but not as they. 
That is the reality of what The Word teaches. 

In essence, I am raptured daily. 

Jesus made it very clear that His Kingdom was not of this world. He stated quite unequivocally that if we wish to be his disciple that we are to give up everything in this world and follow in His footsteps.

He also made it very clear that this world belongs to the evil one. 

Be set apart.

Our brothers Paul, John, Peter and James also point out in their epistles that we are not of this world. And so we are to put to death the deeds of the flesh and heed the divine will of our Father in Heaven and our Lord Jesus. We are to engage the mind of Christ and put on the full armor of God so that we can rise up and defeat the evil one. 

We are told that our battle is not with just Flesh and blood, but with angels, and with powers, with the rulers of this world of darkness, and with the evil spirits under the heavens. 

With all these words that we have been given I can only come to one conclusion.  

We are not of this world !!!!!!! 

Therefore, I maintain that I strive to be raptured daily. Every second, every minute, every hour, every day.

The second point that I assert is that I don’t concern myself if I’m here for the tribulation or if I’m not.

That is not my decision. 

My goal as a member of the Body of Christ is to be in perfect harmony with the rest of the members of the body. 

I pray daily that I will hear and understand the will of our Father and our Lord. 

I pray daily that I can obey the first two commandments that our Lord gave us. 

I pray daily that I can follow in the footsteps of our Lord and have a mind like his. 

Most important of all, I pray that my love will be as great as our Father and Lord have showed towards us. 

This love now brings me to my third point.

God is LOVE according to our brother John. If you want to know who God really is we have to understand what love really is, then perhaps we can have a better understanding of who our Father and Lord really are. 

As brother Paul taught, strive for love, the greatest of all!!!

As I’ve come to love the Father and Lord over time I’ve found that I’m not too anxious for the rapture to come. 

Why you say?

Because I’m fulfilling the second commandment. 

Love your neighbor as you love yourself. All the inhabitants of this vast earth are my neighbors. I love each and every one. At times that proves to be very difficult in action, yet I still try to remain loving. Even though I may fall short and become angry at the wicked things that people do to each other, I don’t allow the sun to go down on my anger. 

'Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.'

That is true love. 

I have many people that I know ( both friends and family ) , that have yet to be born again and saved by our Lord. If the Lord comes tonight or tomorrow they will be lost. That thought really grieves me in my heart and it's a heavy burden that I carry. My prayers for these lost ones have become increasingly urgent in the past few months. We all know the time is getting near, we can sense it in our spirit.

No, I’m not in a hurry for the rapture. 

The Love that I have come to know will not permit me to pray “Come Lord Jesus”. 

In fact, my true prayer is “Just a little more time please.”

Remember, 

LOVE is long suffering and does not seek its own.

Our Father and Lord are coming soon.

Are you fulfilling the second commandment?

May our Father and Lord bless all the members of the body.

Love,

Brother Greg