Thursday, May 5, 2016
The Jezebel Club
(Note: I say “club” to add a hint of hilarity to this extremely deceptive, demonic & extreme spirit)
To the person reading this in a non leadership type role in your Church, I want to start off by saying that unless your Spiritual antennas are up you most likely never see what I'm talking about here, and that is a good thing in some regards; otherwise you'd lose respect for many folks that you may hold in high regard. Though, if progressed far enough it takes very little Spiritual insight to discern the deceitfulness of this demonic spirit and its influence.
I further say want to insert here that some of the people in this ‘club’ may be used in positions of the Church. It's HIGHLY LIKELY that your Pastor is well aware of what's going on, but out of a shepherd’s heart he's making great strides in longsuffering to restore as many to their appointed place in God without reeking havoc on them personally nor the Church. He's doing his job.
The chief duty of this spirit and its adherents is to undermine the Spiritual authority of the Church. Anything that this spirit, or anyone under it’s influence, desires is to see confusion, division, an uprising and a wounded, weak and confused leader. Anyone that would be close to the Pastor is also a target to the masquerade put on by this group.
You call prayer, they won’t show unless they can come together. The old adage “there’s strength in numbers” is used in this club. It's absolutely certain that when I see someone walking in the door on a special called prayer meeting night it's because that someone else in their club will also be there. This spirit very rarely ever works alone unless they're collecting information to take it back to the leader. I've seen it.
Their spirit is ravenous and when you have crossed it will be very evident. They won’t praise, arms crossed, giving the death look to everyone. Marriages are put to the test in this due to the innocent spouse not wanting an eruption of chaos in their relationship. So, they develop a whooped puppy dog mentality. You'll also notice, the females in this club will always choose a weaker husband so their work can be accomplished much easier as they're easier to deceive and manipulate.
The jezebel club usually always has a leader. You can sit back and watch as people flock around her (or him) as they sit on their throned pew. She will always have her groupies under her thumb. If it’s a woman, her husband is under submission to her instead of the Biblical way (the Ahab syndrome); if it’s a man, then the woman is usually miserable unless she too holds membership to the club.
From the platform you can observe a constant stream of “club members” buzzing to and from the leader. Quick to give honor and praise to her (or him). Another observation that has been made is a good percentage of the time, the leader will be sick or afflicted with sickness as to have another way to manipulate their follower’s feelings of “poor pitiful me”. They're quick to be emotional about their sickness as well.
Instead of looking for ways to get involved in Church activities, they quite convincingly, create ways to get out of doing things. And it happens over and over and over. While the club is quick to cheer and admonish one another that they're in the right.
If the Pastor promotes something, they want to be the first to downplay the importance of it by not participating in it, especially if it's something that would ultimately draw them closer to God. (i.e. Prayer meeting, corporate fasting, etc) You call prayer, they won’t show unless they can come together. The old adage “there’s strength in numbers” is used in this club. They can't seem to go to the bathroom without holding one another’s hands. (That may be extreme, but you get the idea)
Have you ever known or heard of someone that plays the victim in everything? Regardless that they were the ones that stoked it, they can get emotional, anywhere on the spectrum, in an instant. The emotion displayed depends upon what the situation is and which will be the most effective in manipulating your feelings. Trust me. I speak from experience on this. They are quick and easy to cry and get emotional to have a facade of authenticity, but it’s only to gain approval or acceptance so they can continue their trek of rebellion and undermining anything and anyone in charge.
While we’re on this emotion thing, we can't fail to mention how they love to prey (not pray) on the weak! They will land on a weakling like a buzzard on a carcass so they can recruit them through weakness. Just recently I met a situation of this magnitude head on during a counseling session. (I've had many in both Churches and outside of the Churches that I Pastor, so if you're a Saint under my care don't be trying to figure out what it is!)
Sexual sin seems to be prominent as well in this club. They can roll out sexual inuindos quicker than they can Bible verses. They thrive in an environment where lust and dirty conversation takes place. Their jokes are almost always of this nature. They lay claim to holiness while exhibiting everything but that in their character, witness & attitude. (Jesus warned us of them; cleaning the outside of the cup while being full of dead men’s bones)
When it was dealt with the spirit became angry but captured it's emotions and created a “woe is me” aura in less than 5 seconds. It was one of the most deceptive things that I personally have ever witnessed. Had I not known what I was dealing with beforehand I could have very well been deceived in this situation. To God be the Glory that He helped me to see this beforehand.
Jezebel, and her club, will NEVER apologize unless it benefits THEM. It will never be sincere, it will be out of obligation just to keep any question marks out of your head concerning their perceived notions or intents.
And Pastor, don't you dare teach that topic that will stir this club. It's this club that is most difficult to submit to the idea that God abolished the use of certain things while He promotes others. (Jewelry, true submission to authority, chaste conversation)
It's apparent when you have crossed their line or someone in the club. It will be on social media through subtle posts to indicate that they're being attacked or how will the world survive if they went ‘poof’.
With my observations and first hands experience I’m certain that I could write a book on this topic. It is hands down the most deceptive spirit known, at least to me. Yet, it is allowed to remain for years, decades & lifetimes. Not on my watch! Spiritual authorities, hear me, you won't have to lift a finger or speak a word, pray & fast for God to dissolve this club in your Church-He will.
Before you start thinking “what will we do without her (or him) in so and so position?” Think of the souls that will be released to come to your assembly because the strong hold will have been broken. Your Church will be stifled until this is subdued and removed.
This is definitely not an end all, all knowing list, but it's definitely the high points. I may expound even further on this topic in the future.
Friday, September 4, 2015
Parenting in Perilous Times | A Biblical Perspective
Through personal experience, years of observation, as well as being raised by a God fearing disciplinary mother that never went to Church regularly while raising us; I've witnessed a lot of stuff that works in parenting and a lot that doesn't.
This blog post is not to tell you about the do's and don'ts of parenting, but rather it hopes to equip you with principles, that if applied can strengthen your family even during these perilous times that we are living in. Since Pastoring I've witnessed young adults on both ends of the spectrum. Some live for God with their whole heart, some are as defiant as the devil because that's exactly what they've seen mom and/or dad do.
Paul told the Church at Rome that there "is no power but of God". Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 that "all power" was now His. If there is NO POWER outside of God giving it, it would be easy to say that we are subject to Him; either now or later, one way or the other. Shouldn't our desire be to please Him?
Parenting can sometimes feel like you're walking through a maze, dizzy and blindfolded in the dark. Kids change as they grow. Outside of the gene pool, their personalities are shaped by the environment in which they're immersed. Thankfully there are some constants that we can rely on to steady us in the days, weeks, months & years ahead. That's where I want to jump off from with 5 fundamental principles to teach and abide by in your families.
1) The Bible has to be the absolute authority for you, your family & home. It must be the centerpiece of your home. It must be read individually and as families. Your kids need to have memories of growing up reading the Bible.
-You, your spouse and your children must know that the Bible is the most important literary work in the history of mankind. It's not just "another book". It's God's divine and Holy impartation to a creation that He loves more than any other.
-If the Bible is right then there's no room for another ruling authority in your moral code. I haven't found a single thing, morally or Spiritually speaking, that I haven't been able to answer, or at the very least find a principle for in scripture.
-If you don't deem the Bible as God's Holy, unadulterated Word from all the ages to all the ages, then there's no need to read further. The Bible must be your compass to direct you and your family in all things.
2) In our current societal psychology, we must know what the original plan of God was for humans and the original design that He had in mind. We are being challenged on many levels on this topic.
-God created man in His likeness. Ponder on that before reading any further. God, the Almighty, made us in His likeness. No other creation in the universe has that honor and responsibility, other than humans.
-We must appreciate our God designed roles. When God first created Adam and Eve, Genesis 5:2 says that He called their name Adam. God desired that the man and woman be so knitted together that they would share a common name, to be inseparable. Then sin happened. Sin separates us from God, sin separated Adam and Eve's divine closeness.
-It wasn't until the early 1900's when our ladies had to leave the home to work that the moral fabric of our nation began to crumble from within, and it hasn't stopped. This isn't a male chauvinist pig statement, it's a statement honoring the irreplaceable role that wives play in keeping the home. Men, we don't have what it takes, I know that will hurt your pride, but thank God that He gave us a help meet to hold us together! Men, go to work and provide for your wife and children.
-Don't despise your role, honor it by living it out as God designed it. It works!
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Did you HEAR it?
Hear what? I'm glad you asked.
The question isn't whether a person must be born again in most religious circles. The unanswered question seems to be how a person is born again and if there's any immediate evidence of this new birth that Jesus said we had to experience in John 3, otherwise we could not see OR enter Heaven.
More specifically, there's a great divide and debate in religious circles all over the earth as to when someone is born of the Spirit of God. I personally have a background in a denomination that taught that you received the Holy Ghost once you "accepted the Lord as your Savior". (Spirit of God, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, Spirit of Christ are all synonymous terms that can be interchanged without meaning anything different)
It wasn't until a few years of being absent from this teaching that I was introduced to scripture that I was never taught and never searched out for myself. I only listened to what was preached and/or taught in my Church and thought that was all that I needed to do. My testimony of conversion comes from a black man full of zeal that brought his Bible and laid it at the end of the tables where we worked and would teach me scripture; a whole new revelation. It had always been there, but no one ever took the time to show it to me, and I, regretfully being in my late teens had no desire to spend the time searching for this on my own. I thought that I was saved with a prayer years before.
One day I was approached by someone and they asked me the question "Did you HEAR IT?". In ignorance of the question I thought that I missed something that they said. Then they explained that Jesus told folks in scripture that they would hear it when they were born of the Spirit. I was perplexed.
So I set out to prove them wrong! Then I found these scriptures.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. -John 3:8
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
God's Thoughts on the Clothes Line
I further realize that this is a highly debated topic that seems to create contention in many. If you do not agree with the scripture references or this blog my only plea with you concerning this is that you will sincerely pray and ask God for guidance. He will not leave you hanging if you sincerely desire His direction in this. I also ask that you hold any negative verbal attacks on anyone else that may comment on this blog or any other social media site that it may appear on. God Bless you as you read.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Heavy Hearted
I speak this as a heavy hearted Pastor just after midnight. As we are traveling back home my mind visited a familiar place of thought-eternity.
Many religions dumb it down as they lull their parishioners to sleep with religious, rhetorical lullabies that's absent of any scriptural foundation. Those that do embrace eternity quietly give cheap pats on the back to maintain the legacy of those that have blindly went before them...with no regard to scriptural salvation. "My grandpa done this, so it must be absolutely true". Belief in grandma's salvation doesn't give you a head start to Heaven. Obeying scripture is what puts any of us on the roll that we be called up yonder.
By the end of this week, Lord willing I will have attended 4 funerals/visitations and will have been involved in one of those. A stillborn baby.
Eternity is long folks. Really really long. Never ending. No Rolex. No stopwatch. No gas pedal to speed it up, nor brake pedal to slow it down.
We truly need an awakening. One to shake us to our innermost being. A revelation of the lake of fire that burns with fire & brimstone. A revelation of Calvary & the shed blood. (I'm so thankful Jesus didn't have a list of excuses as to why He couldn't make Calvary's appointment.)
I know we're under the New Testament Church age that's powered by Grace. But Grace is not a way out, it's THE way in. This may be the only time you ever read or hear this-but there is no other way to Heaven other than being born of the water AND the Spirit. (John 3:3-5 & Acts 2:38)
If you haven't died a spiritual death at an altar of repentance you must. If you haven't been baptized by submersion in Jesus Name for the remission of sins, you must. If you haven't received the in filling of the Spirit like the experience in Acts 2, Acts 10 & Acts 19; you must.
Get in. Excuse free. No negotiators will be allowed on our day of Judgement.
I love you in Christ Jesus, The Lord of Glory.
For Christ,
Pastor Brian D. Young
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
I'm Overwhelmed by a Burden
When I moved here 7 months ago I didn't realize the burden would intensify to the degree that it did.
Each time that I read a report from the newspaper or hear of another soul dying that we didn't reach the burden grows evermore. What more can I do personally, Lord to win my street, city & region to the Truths of your Word?
It was at the end of a long Saturday of outreach several months ago that I received a call from a man. He asked that we visit him as he had just received one of our doorhangers. As I hung the phone up God spoke to me and told me that this man had been contemplating suicide. We went to visit this man immediately. Not knowing exactly what we were walking into, I prayed all the way there. He met us on his front steps.
As we approached him tears began to flow down his cheeks from his wayward eyes. He invited us to come in. We prayed with him as I could feel the heaviness of the spirit of suicide lingering in the home. It was so real. Almost as if you could touch it with your hands. It seemed to wrap itself around you and engulf your emotions. When prayer was made and the Name of Jesus invoked I could feel the heaviness lift. As real as the spirit of suicide is, the Name of Jesus is even more real and even more powerful!
I asked him to go to a local restaurant to have a meal. As I sat down he asked me a question. "Pastor, has God showed you anything about me?" I said, Yes, you've been dealing with thoughts of suicide and God has a plan for your life.
The astounding look that appeared on his face was something that you rarely see on someone. Looking deep into his eyes I could see the despair, hunger & desparate cries of long sleepless nights and thoughts of lunging into eternity by his own hands. Confusion, yet relief, swept over him. Confusion from the enemy of his soul, yet relieved that he didn't have to remain confounded.
That was my 1st big experience with the spirit of suicide in this area. I believe it was that day that God pulled the veil on a dominant stronghold in our region to this young Apostolic Pastor. Since that day I've received reports of suicide attempt after suicide attempt. Many succesful in their pursuit of a duped exit from this natural realm. Some unsuccessful, to return only to the vices that catapulted them into their plight.
If you are suffering from this mental anguish I want to open myself up to you and our Church. There's only one true deliverance from the position that you find yourself in. Suicide is a spirit from the pits of hell and can only be broken and set free by the power of God.
As we draw closer and closer to the return of our Lord this spirit of deception, known as suicide, will intensify as satan continues his onslaught of the mortal as a way to gain the captive's eternal immortality. Below will have a list of ways that you can get in touch with me. Please DO NOT hesitate contacting me if you need help on your Spiritual journey.
Pastor Brian D. Young
TurningPoint Apostolic Church
1106 Forest Ave.
Maysville, KY 41056
606-584-7010 call OR text
pastor@maysville.cc
www.maysville.cc
Sunday, February 16, 2014
The Things That I've Learned in Two Years
God impressed me to write this blog the other day and I have been making notes since then. I do want to iterate that this is not an all inclusive list and should not be the expectation of your Church Planting, or similar endeavor.
There's just some things that are non-negotiable when it comes to this walking with God stuff. One is to never question God's voice. If it's God that you're hearing don't worry about the rest of it. He will make it happen. Your questioning doesn't validate God nor His omnipotence. Period.
I'm a quote fanatic and my favorite one at the moment is one that I seen on social media not long ago. "No one is greater than us". I can't do this Church thing as a one man show. I can't do everything that needs to be done in the Church, but the Church itself can. I've learned to empower people, it takes time but it allows you more time in the long term. Here's the kicker...people want to be used, but this is key-SET THE EXPECTATION. Never assume someone knows what you expect of them.
There's some people that want what I call in-directive positions. Simply a title but no true responsibility. They love to flaunt a title without pulling their weight in the overall direction of the Church. I've learned to use them in their strengths, try to develop them through their weakness and let God do the rest. God never called me to remold people, but he called me to lead them. It's not a bad thing if someone doesn't work in a position. That doesn't make them a bad person, it just simply means that their strength lies somewhere else.
Everyone that seems to have the gift of walking on water really don't. The super spiritual, holier than thou folks. You know...the ones that brags about how much they pray or how much that God uses them. These folks have to be handled carefully or they can cause much harm with little effort through this type of mentality, it's easy for others to latch a hold on it. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their super spirituality. What you do doesn't have to be sounded with a trumpet, God has ways of taking care of that.
Most folks that I've gotten to know in this Church plant truly want to be humble. Their desire is to like Christ, "Christ-Like", Christian. But one of the biggest things that I've learned in 2 years is being humble enough to apologize for things that you were unaware that you done, or said. I've found it much easier to apologize for something that you didn't do or are totally unaware of to keep ill feelings from being harbored. I know some in our movement have the mentality that this displays weakness in your position. I beg to differ, and God keeps record. Isn't it worth it to reconcile someone through a situation to see them saved versus the alternative?
From day 1 in our city we've been taunted, talked about and even told that people can't be saved in our Church. I'm so glad that God says differently. When Jesus said in Luke 6:28 to bless them that curse you, He said what He meant and meant what He said. It really works! My call isn't dependent upon what others opinions are...and for that I'm thankful!! It's one of the greatest feelings in the world to know that you are doing EXACTLY what God wants you to be doing. Are you doing what He wants you to do?
As a Church planter you learn to do without big buildings, a full suite of music...as a matter of fact you learn to have Church with NO music! You learn to have Church without new sound systems, a full Church staff, having the time to put into the Church that you feel like you need to. Here's the beauty-YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THIS TO HAVE CHURCH! The manifestation of the Holy Ghost has nothing to do with your sound system or whether or not your in a cathedral. The Spirit is made manifest when there's a hunger for the supernatural in you and your people. God wants it, we must also.
You can't afford, Spiritually, to have a bad Church service. Every service is like being on the front line of a heated battle. People are dying. People are making erroneous decisions. We DO NOT have time for ceremonial services with religious rhetoric. We are in a town that is heavily involved with traditional denominationalism. Very ceremonial. Fabricated by man. However, we MUST hear from the Almighty. We must hear a prophetic utterance from Heaven. Someone's eternal fate is in my hands when they're at my Church. We must treat it like that...every single service.
This is just a few things that I've learned in 2 years of planting a Church. Hope it helps, inspires and encourages someone. If you're a Church planter keep your head up and keep doing what God has placed upon you.
If you want to be a part of more than just another religion, you need to come to TurningPoint! Our anniversary services are less than 2 weeks away with some of the most dynamic preachers in Pentecost! Feb 28th - March 2nd.
In His Service,
Pastor Brian D. Young
TurningPoint Apostolic Church
606-584-7010
pastor@maysville.cc
www.maysville.cc