Summary So Far:

Let’s look back on where we’ve been over the last two weeks before moving on. It helps to summarize the main strategic points. I always welcome questions but since I don’t regularly receive that kind of feedback, I try to anticipate the areas that might be more difficult to digest easily.

True Doctrine:
Repeatedly, I have expressed the need to hear God’s voice in prayer so that you can know true doctrine. All the churches locally teach contrary to each other on some areas of doctrine. For example: 1) Methodist, Church of God, Presbyterian, and some nondenominational churches teach that women are equal partners to men in leadership and ministry. Women can be ordained as preaching pastors in those denominations. But in the Baptist, Church of Christ/Christian, Pentecostal, Apostolic, and some nondenominational churches, women are considered to be subordinate to men in areas of leadership. Also, 2) Some denominations believe that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit such as healing, speaking in tongues and prophecy can no longer be delivered from the Holy Spirit to His people. (Evidently the Holy Spirit lost His power or permission somewhere along the way.) And finally, 3) Some churches believe that there is a corporation of three gods that make up a god-head while others correctly wholeheartedly love only one God and are in covenant relationship with Him.

If you don’t know where you stand on any of these issues, please go back and read the study pages and articles posted on the previous days. I will continue to build on these topics but having a firm foundation in the Scriptures will be helpful to you as we progress forward.

Discerning God’s Voice:
Knowing God and learning to hear His voice in prayer are crucial to being a true disciple. As discussed before: 1) You must be in unbroken/restored covenant relationship with God which means that you must have a sincere forgiveness conversation with Him asking for specific areas of mismanagement (sin) to be evaluated and restored. You must learn from your specific mistakes so that you can prevent repeat occurrences. The conversation should never be “I’m sorry for everything.” Sin and temptations should be intentionally discussed for improvement. 2) You can only have one God, not three. God is Spirit. When God’s Spirit made Himself known in a human-born, flesh and blood frame, He was fully God (as Spirit) and fully man (as flesh). The flesh part was crucified on a cross so that we no longer need a priest to intercede or a blood sacrifice for atonement. Instead God gave us access through the torn veil to approach Him alone in prayer to humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness for sin. That is how we restore covenant relationship. 3) We must seek God, not advise God. That will require a major prayer shift for most people who have grown up in the church and heard prayers modeled that inform or advise God. We must learn to shut up and listen to God rather than counsel Him about matters that He intimately knows better than we do. Who wants a God that needs our advice? I don’t. Sure we’re allowed to talk to Him about our concerns, but we’re not supposed to try to convince God that our ways are better than His.

Women in Ministry/Leadership:
Too many women seem to be content with being lazy or refusing to accept the anointing and giftedness from God. Yes, I blame some of the false doctrine on the women who sit back and accept it. 1) The Holy Spirit anoints men, women, and children for ministry. He looks for a yielded spirit, right covenant relationship, spiritual maturity, and courage to step out. There is no gender bias from the Holy Spirit. There is no age requirement. There is no seminary degree or college certificate required. An hour spent directly with the Lord is equivalent to about 10 hours of doctorate studies. To repeat, you do not need a secular degree if you are learning at the feet of Jesus. He is the one and only God. There is no authority higher. If He anoints you, He expects you to be bold in that anointing. 2) The Bible clearly records that there were women leaders throughout history that were anointed by God as prophets, judges (deliverers), apostles, deacons, teachers, etc. While the law of the Pharisees prohibited women from leadership, they were also the ones who refused Jesus and crucified Him on a cross. You don’t need permission from a Pharisee to be God’s anointed daughter. 3) Women, we have an advocate who will fight for us and with us against those who perpetuate the lies of the devil about our royal authority as daughters of the King. We must use our voice of truth to speak out against the demonic oppression being delivered through those who don’t know God or true doctrine. You cannot be lazy and indifferent. You must stand up as true Kingdom champions, not little princesses who sit silently by while the devil makes a mockery of your spiritual DNA and heritage.

Attached are two pages about “The Laws of the Pharisees” from The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “Spiritual Crimes Against Women in Ministry”, August 2023, pages 6-7. I hope you will study the Scriptures included on these study sheets and speak with God about them. As I always say … “Don’t believe me. Ask God Yourself!”