The Three Battlegrounds by Francis Frangipane

Author:Francis Frangipane
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Non-Fiction, Spirituality
ISBN: 9781886296381
Publisher: Arrow Publications
Published: 1989-01-31T22:00:00+00:00

14

Casting Down the Accuser of the Brethren

One may ask, "How shall the kingdom of God come and what sort of people shall possess it? " The kingdom will be seen in a love-motivated people who know the power of prayer. For when they see a need, instead of judging, they pray for one another until all are transformed into the image of Christ who is their head.

How the Kingdom Comes

"Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night" (Rev.

12:10). There will be an actual point in time when the salvation, power and kingdom of God, as well as the authority of Christ, is manifested in the earth. While we wait patiently for the fulfillment of that glorious event, the spirit of this eternal reality can be possessed any time a people determine to walk free of criticism and faultfinding, and turn their sights toward purity, love, and prayer for each other.

There are God-ordained procedures to initiate correction within a church. These corrections should be done by "you who are spiritual... in a spirit of gentleness;... looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted." Your motive should be to "restore such a one" (Gal. 6:1). Accusations against an elder, though, should not even be received except on the basis of two or three witnesses (1 Tim. 5:19). The "witnesses" spoken of here are eye-witnesses, not the so-called "spirit-witness" someone receives apart from hard and visible facts. All too often, these alleged "witnesses" are sent by hell to destroy the harmony of a church with rumors and gossip.

When the scriptural approach to rectifying a situation is ignored, it opens the door to fault-finding, fleshly criticisms, and judging, which are the evidences that the "accuser of the brethren" is assaulting the church. Where these sins are operative, the movement of the Holy Spirit is restricted: salvations are few, power is minimal, and spiritual authority is crippled. Such a church is in serious danger.

To be truly anointed to bring Christ's corrections to a church, one must be anointed with Christ's motives. The Scriptures are plain, Jesus "always lives to make intercession for [the saints]" (Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:34). God does not call us to judge each other, but to pray for one another. If we see a need in the body of Christ, we must intercede and not simply criticize. our pattern must be to follow Christ in building and restoring, not to echo the accuser of the brethren in finding fault.

Many years ago I belonged to a national Christian organization that had a true vision from God, yet also had several serious problems. At that time I was pastoring a small church and I felt perhaps we should leave this group because of what was wrong. Together, the congregation and I began to seek the Lord, with periods of fasting, for forty days.

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