A couple of days ago I reached out to my church to see if they had anyone that could help with spiritual warfare and healing.  Saturday, I met with the man my church pastor directed me to.  He was a nice man, conscientious, courteous, fatherly and kind. 

I've only been a Christian a couple of months, I have been around the Christian world and the culture and been familiar with many things in the bible.  I have been churched almost my entire life other than the years towards the end of college till recently.  I did not attend a church from 2004 to 2008 but my parents have always been there and they have always sent blessings towards me and been an example of what a true Christian is.

So since I've become a Christian in truth rather than one in culture, I have been desperate and desirous and passionately trying to know Jesus more and to be and do what he says.  And in truth, its not really about being who he says to be, but knowing and loving Jesus that drives a desire to follow him and do what he says.  I have yet to be baptized in water, and yet to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, yet like the apostles whom Jesus sent out to preach the good news, to heal and to cast out demons in his name, I have cast out demons in his name, I have shared the good news, I have not healed to my knowledge.  But, I know that should it be required, should I be called upon to do it, I will be graced to instigate the healing of someone by the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is not me, but God in me that does these things, as Paul said.

Back to this nice man.  So, I had a sit down with him at Panera Bread and related all of what has happened the last few months, what is happening with other things in my life.  Why I think I need some help and intercession and help with some spiritual warfare and healing. I was sorely disappointed with his response.  I want to talk about it a little.

He started off by drawing a scale on a piece of paper.  Looked something like this.

He said, this is a scale of your relationship ship with God, where do you think you are on this?

Well, I got confused on what he was talking about.  I told him, 3 months ago, I was a 0 but now somewhere above 0.  He quickly corrected me.

"You have accepted Jesus as your savior right"
"Yes"
"Well, then your a 10, relationship wise, its all or nothing, either your a 0 or a 10"

Ah... yah of course, but I wasn't thinking positional relationship, I was thinking walk relationship, faith, knowledge, blessing all that. I didn't say that to him however because I got what he was talking about.

He drew a second scale.

"This is the scale of your discipleship, where do you think you are on that? "
"Well, I thought that was what you where referring to with your first scale, sorry I was confused"

Well it didn't really come out like that, was more fluid and conversational of talking over one another quickly but I hope you all get the idea.

He then proceeded to explain how the level of discipleship fluctuates over time, sometimes it rises sharply, sometimes it plateas for a while, sometimes it falls, basically giving a verbal representation of something like this:
Now I'm listening to all of this, and I'm thinking.  Am I an idiot?  Did I contact them to talk about being a good Christian?  Did I contact them, and call on them to get a salvation message?

No, I did not. 

I contacted them to get help with attacks from the enemy, I contacted them to seek healing for my loved ones that as yet I don't have the grace to give myself, or don't have the knowledge or communication relationship with the Holy Spirit to know if, how, why, when, where to do it.  And this nice man is telling me about something completely different.

In all of this, he has not mentioned demons, or angels or even Jesus and his casting out.  He focuses on Romans 12:1-8 and tells me that I should focus there and work on myself and not to focus on devils and demons cause I'll see them around every corner.

I don't really know what to say now about this, but ... durring all of this, there was no potency to him, there was no feeling of life that I get when I am around my parents, or in the presence of someone who IS a true Christian and connected fully with the Holy Spirit.  The God of this man, is my God, yet it is a blunted God. His sword and his faith is a blunted sword and a blunted faith.  His Jesus is a truncated Jesus, one who did not cast demons out, one who did not command us to cast demons out, one who only gave us the commision to go out into the world and spread the gospel, but the signs, who needs them!

It was suggested that I do a 1 on 1 Mentorship with somebody from the Church, but how can I find life, how can I fill myself with living water from a stagnant well?  If my church can not believe in the existance of demons, of the enemy, of the personified sin that crouches at our door, then how can it do the job of freeing the captives, how can it do the job of breaking the chains of oppression.

I'm comming to believe that the "Church" in America is under influence of The Culutre of Christianity. And that being blunts the belief of believers by creating unbelief in the full and powerful being of Jesus.

Take away your truncated savior, give me the full being of Jesus. The one who in anger overturned the moneylenders, the one who said "Get behind me Satan" to his own apostle, the one who said, oh ye of little faith! The one who cast demons out, healed the sick and lame, preached the hard word and was the narrow path.

Jesus rewarded faith, and he rewarded faith many fold.  Time and again, men and women would come up to Jesus and they would be healed because they had faith in him.  Their faith wasn't the kind of faith that said. "Jesus is Lord" and then went about their day.  Their faith was the Faith that required action.  They sought to touch him, they saught to get his attention.  Men were let down through roofs, a women sought only to touch the edge of his robe, a Centurion said to him "You are a man with authority, but say the word and my servant will be healed"  And in each time, Jesus said to them "Your faith has healed you."  It wasn't him healing them but rather that releasing of his healing power because their faith turned on the water sprigot.

Faith requires action! 

My Jesus is the Jesus who knew his enemy was real and didn't ignore it.  My Jesus was the Jesus who won victory of that enemy, defeated it and sits at the right hand of God.  My Jesus is the Jesus who has given me the tools and the authority to fight that enemy directly because he has given me his name, he has given me his sword, he has given me his shield.

Paul said put on the full armor of the Lord.  Well you don't need armor if all your going to do is pray to God all day long and speak Gods name and the gospel.  You don't need armor if your never actually going to go and FIGHT the enemy.  You don't need armor if you don't even acknowledge the existence of the enemy being all around you.

That nice man was wrong though.  Its not about discipleship.  It has never been about discipleship.  Its about faith.  I'm not here to be a disciple, I'm not here to follow the teachings of Jesus.  I'm here to follow Jesus himself!  I have faith not in the teachings of Jesus, or in the Bible, or in what I hear from pastors or teachers or other Christians. I have faith in Jesus and Jesus alone.

Lord Jesus, bring me to those who also have faith in you and you alone and let me have fellowship with them and let us be as Iron sharpening Iron that we may follow YOU.