Come back to the revelation and the message of the cross. by Pieter Kirstein

The Lord shall judge His people.

False teachers are God's judgment on people who do not want God but in the name of religion wants everything their carnal hearts desire. 2 Timothy 4

1  I charge you therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2  Preach the word; be diligent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they draw to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto myths.

Verse 3
but after their own lusts shall they draw to themselves teachers, having itching ears.

Of these same people it is declared in Isaiah 66:3 Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations. 4  I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear: but they did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.

God says they have chosen their own ways which means they are gone out of the only way that is found,  proclaimed and revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 7:13  Enter in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad isthe way, that leads to destruction, and many there be who go inthere:14  Because narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it. 15  Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16  You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17  Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. 18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19  Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20  Therefore by their fruits you shall know them. 21  Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into thekingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father who isin heaven. 22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out demons? and in your name done many wonderful works? 23  And then will I profess untothem, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.

People get misled and deceived by false prophets and false teachers because they pursue men and not God. We can never hold people's personalities in admiration or adulation because even the anti-Christ will be the most charismatic friendly deceitful angel of light that the world has ever seen. There are many anti-Christs even masquerading as true Apostles within the church and we need to ask the Lord for His constant discernment.

1 John 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. 20  But you have an unction from the Holy One, and you know all things. 21  I have not written to you because you know not the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22  Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son. 23  Whoever denies the Son, the same has not the Father: he that acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24  Let that therefore abide in you, which you have heard from the beginning. If that which you have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, you also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

John 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; 32  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

There is only one gospel and pattern given to us by the Father which is revealed and demonstrated in the life of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. If we follow His example and embrace His doctrine we shall experience and walk in His freedom. Any other teaching revelation or doctrine that teaches you to walk contrary to Christ is not of God.

1 John 1:6  If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 2:4  He that says, I know him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5  But whoever keeps his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: by this we know that we are in him. 6  He that says he abides in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

1 John 4

1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2 John 1:9  Whoever goes beyond, and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, has not God. He that abides in the doctrine of Christ, he has both the Father and the Son. 10  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11  For he that bids him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

1 Timothy 6:3  If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; 4  He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting over questions and disputes of words, out of which comes envy, strife, railings, evil suspicions, 5  Perverse wranglings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw yourself. 6  But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8  And having food and clothing let us be with these things content. 9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which plunge men into destruction and perdition. 10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11  But you, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you are also called,

Verse 3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness.

Godliness signifies god-likeness which speaks of Christlikeness. We are called and admonished throughout scripture to follow Jesus and to become like Him. There is no greed or earthly desire in the love of God and the call of Christ is proclaimed in Matthew 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

We see this same pattern and calling demonstrated in the life of Christ as we read in Philippians 2

1  If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affections and mercies, 2  Fulfill you my joy, that you be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3  Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. 4  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not a thing to be grasped to be equal with God: 7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9  Therefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12  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.

Then the exact same pattern and call of the cross of death to self is demonstrated and proclaimed in the life of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:7  But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but rubbish, that I may win Christ, 9  And be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Of the people who walk contrary to the call and the pattern of the cross of the Lord is is said by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3: 18  (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19  Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) 20  For our citizenship is in heaven; from which also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21  Who shall change our humble body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

I want to share a rhema utterance by the Lord the Holy Spirit about the message of the cross of Jesus Christ to which we are all called to conform because there is only one gospel.

The Spirit speaks: A fleshly person is captured by, ruled by, governed by, controlled by, driven by and preocupied with the things and matters of this temporary world. He is a prisoner of the god of this world (THE PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR) because his soul (mind, will and emotions) has been captured by and is kept in bondage to material and fleshly pursuits. When placed in a balance, he has been enriched through these fleshly pursuits and is really bank-rupt compared to spiritual matters because the desires of his flesh enslaves him. He indulges his flesh but keeps his spirit starved.

He is a bond-servant of the god of self because he worships the idol of self. He is imprisoned in his own desires because he is in bondage to himself.

WHAT YOU FEED ON YOU WILL GROW ON SO IF YOU FEED ON WORLDLY THINGS YOU WILL GROW AND BE STRENGTHENED IN CARNALITY. IF YOU FEED ON THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT THEN YOU WILL GROW AND BE STRENGTHENED IN GODLINESS. GODLINESS IS GODLIKENESS WHICH MEANS WE BECOME MORE AND MORE LIKE JESUS. WHEN WE FEED ON THE WORD OF GOD WHICH IS THE BREAD OF LIFE AND WE OBEY IT THEN IT PRODUCES THE LIFE OF CHRIST WITHIN US.

We need to ask the Lord to increase and to strengthen our spiritual appetite and desire toward the things of the Spirit. A desire defined is an inward drive of the heart and passion to seek satisfaction or fulfillment in a certain thing. Your passion is determined by your inward drive. Your inward drive will cause you to be passionate about the object of your affection. In other words, the condition of your heart will be determined by those things which you pursue. Worship is an act of admiration towards the object of your affection. It is an outward expression of an inward affection. The one who has won your heart is the one that you will worship. He is the one that will control and rule your desires. He is the one you will be passionate about. He is the one through whom your heart will be enriched because he will become your treasure.

The person to whom you have surrendered all desire shall be your conqueror. Who is in control of your desires child of God? Understand this: all worldly desires and fleshly pursuits must be considered threats through which the enemy of your soul operates to brake or distort your devotion, pursuit and worship of God. Therefore the child of God are admonished and commanded throughout the gospel of Christ, through the cross of self-denial, to not conform to the former lusts through which Satan works to keep us in bondage to this fallen world. The principle is this: If you want to live the higher life with God in the Spirit then you must renounce and abstain from worldly pursuits that causes you to be dominated by the lower, earthly and fleshly life. These things produces spiritual death and has no eternal value and through the pursuit of these things we accomplish nothing. Pursuing the kingdom of God, which is of eternal value, is an inward matter of the heart because the King of this inward kingdom wants to capture and conquer and rule your heart. He already demonstrated His devotion and love toward us when He sacrificed himself on the altar of His passion. He denied himself unto the death of self because He desires intimacy with us.

True love is demonstrated by what we are willing to sacrifice to be intimate with the object of our affection. The only power made available to us by God to conquer the god of self is the love of God revealed in the cross of Christ through the call of self-denial. The god of self is Satan because he rules man through self-desire. The principle of satan is self-exaltation so when we humble ourselves through the denial of self we conquer and dethrone the god of self. How can Satan rule you when he looses the throne of SELF? Self-exaltation through the indulgence of the pride of life, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes glorifies and enthrones Satan within the heart of man whereas the humility of self-denial liberates the heart and glorifies and enthrones the God of the cross.

This is why the cross is not preached in most churches because the god of this world who rules the desires of the flesh has infiltrated and corrupted their doctrines through self-desire and many justify and disquises their greed through a deceptive fleshly gospel of prosperity and self-indulgence. This is why God rebukes this insanity in Rev3:17 Because you say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: The eternal gold that holds real value with God is sincere faith that has conformed itself to the godly character and nature of Christ through the price of self-denial.

The love of God liberates the heart of man through self-denial because there is no worldly desire in His love. His love cannot be satisfied by the things of this world. His love can only be satisfied by being with you because to Him you are His world. When we can come to the place where our hearts are so surrendered and captured by and totally controlled by the divine love of God then we will begin to experience real freedom because His love is the fragrance of heaven. His love is the highest ecstacy that one can experience because He is the climax of eternity.

O may we renounce and break away from the pig-pen of Satan's carnal empire and be liberated into the joy and the freedom of Christ's kingdom where GOD'S LOVE RULES THE HEART OF HIS ROYAL SUBJECTS. God knows the sinfulness and greed of the fallen human heart that has conformed itself to the ways of this world and His whole goal and desire is to rescue and deliver us from ourselves because our fallen desires deceives and blinds us from the reality of the awesomeness of God.

He is the greatest most wonderful and pleasurable experience and Person to be with because He is love in its purest essense and form. We were designed and created to respond to and indulge ourselves in God because as LOVE He is the greatest satisfying and comforting factor to the human heart. He is love and as love His desire is to be with the ones He created for himself out of himself. Yes we come from God and came out of God and our need is to be made one with Him again. When we choose to replace His love then lust will invade our world. A heart in pursuit of worldy things is a heart that is void of the love of God and it is a heart that has been invaded by Satanic lust and lust is a bottomless abyss that can never be filled.

The love of the Spirit can be defined as Godly passion and desire that will put you in pursuit of God and will drive you into the arms of God. It will empower you to build a close and intimate relationship with the One from whom you were taken and it will restore your eternal value. Nobody can love you like God. IS HIS CROSS NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE OF THAT? Then why are we resisting Him? It is because we are idol worshippers and we need to repent and cry out to God to rescue us from ourselves. It is what is keeping us in bondage on the inside through our brokeness that prevents us from responding to His love and we need to be delivered. Through the fall we became estranged from God because we wanted our own way and we are called to return to Him. When we rebel against the higher spiritual ways of God by persisting in our own ways then a fall will always be the result and we will always be plunged into the lower ways and darkness of the flesh. We must allow His love to clean up and heal our hearts by sacrificing the things and desires that keeps us in bondage.

Why would we want to hold on to the things that Satan uses to destroy us and the things that produces spiritual death? Why would we want to keep pursuing the temporary things through which we accomplish nothing and destroy our eternal goal? The call through the cross is a call of repentance to turn away from fleshly things and come back to God. The working of the cross in the heart of the believer is a divine work of love because it liberates the heart from the desires that are used to destroy us. The power of the cross will set your heart free from the deception and bondage of wordly desire if you embrace it and it will transform your heart into a dwelling place, a garden of God where you will experience the true fulfillment, joy and freedom of divine love. You were made for Love, now return to Love by allowing Him to clean up your heart. Never be offended against the call of the cross through a life of self-denial because to be offended by His cross is to be offended by His love. Relationship only is priority. Everything else is secondary. That is a bride mentality. Love towards God in the way of the cross is to lay down, resist, root out, demolish and destroy, by the power of the Holy Ghost, those things working through the flesh that would interfere with our devotion towards Him and things that are being used by the god of the flesh to draw us away from the things of the the Lord. A son must be about the Father's business. Things which are pure and uncontaminated by the world, things which are praise-worthy, things admirable in the presence of the Lord, all things which are Godly and righteous that would srengthen, add to and build up our foundation and relationship with God. These are the things which the children of God should devote themselves to then all other things about our lives and future will fall into place in a natural way.