"He Must Increase, But I Must Decrease"
“He must become greater;
I must become less”
(John 3:30, NIV).
These famous words of John the Baptist
set the tone of true New Testament ministry. Yet how few ministers live by
them! John was referring to Jesus, answering a question put to him by others
puzzled about Jesus' ministry.
They did not understand why John's
ministry should be superseded. John was widely recognised as the one who had
come to prepare the way for the Messiah. Most of Judean Jewry accepted him
as a prophet sent by God to proclaim the imminence of Christ's Kingdom. He
forcefully and uncompromisingly preached repentance to the masses. And they
came to him to be baptised in acknowledgement of their acceptance of his
spiritual message.
With John's ministry so widely accepted
and acclaimed, who would have thought that it wasn't enough? Even John was
not clear on what was to follow after him. But one thing he did: he listened
to the Spirit and always acquiesced to God's will.
He sought no 'glory' for himself. He
willingly gave greater honour to another in God's service and was not
interested in any personal recognition. He didn't seek prominence, to be
noticed or acclaimed. Humility was the hallmark of his approach. It was the
fibre of his very being.
Compare this with most of today's high
profile preachers or evangelists and the contrast is striking! With them you
are hard-pressed to find much humility; they are so busy lifting themselves
up!
Despite the fact that Jesus was his
cousin, John honoured Him greatly. And John lowered his standing in the eyes
of others in order to give honour to another whom God had chosen to come
after him.
It didn't hurt him to do so. Yet it
hurts the pride of many of today's preachers or ministers!
For that reason alone, God will send
another to bring down those whose elevation or pride is their unseen
Achilles' heel.
The messages of Old Testament prophets
are charged with references to the high and haughty being brought down low.
It was the essence of John's message, and so it is top of the agenda for
true NT prophets. Needless to say it's not a popular message!
A short while ago Helena received a
dream about topping the mountains. While it refers to everything in human
society which is high and mighty being lowered by God's impending judge-
ment, it refers most emphatically and especially to the high and mighty
elements in the Church. (I use the term 'Church' in its broadest sense, to
include both those with the Spirit of God and those without but who claim
its ownership.)
People are going to be well and truly
brought down by what is about to occur!
When John came declaring his message
from God, the religious leaders wanted to get his approval so they wouldn't
lose theirs from the people. (Most of the 'common' people accepted John as a
prophet of God – unlike the reception for God's prophets today!)
John scathingly and cynically attacked
their hypocrisy:
Brood of vipers! Who warned you to
flee from the wrath to come? ...bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not
begin to say to yourselves... [then
followed the Pharisees' oft-used excuse or justification for their
unrighteous conduct] (Luke 3:7,8).
This stern correction, given with a
helping of unkind mockery, was not only hurtful; it was extremely insulting!
Such severe correction, if directed to today's lofty and arrogant religious
leaders would be considered totally unacceptable! Yet John's words were
inspired by the Spirit, as are similar rebukes of God's prophets today.
Church leaders and founders or
directors of ministries are among today's 'Christian' nabobs and luminaries.
These eminences – elevated by their positions of tradition, and often
posturing and posing – are little different in character from the corrupt,
money-conscious, influence- seeking, self-important religious leaders of
Jesus' day.
Just as they would not lower themselves
to elevate John or Jesus, today's counterparts won't lift up the heaven-sent
end-time ministries which bring equal confrontation to what they have
established and jealously protect. To them, the most important pursuit is
the preservation of their self-importance or what they have established.
John was not like these 'dignitaries'.
He was not concerned about personal gain or individual acclaim. He lived for
God, and for the undiluted promotion of God's message. THAT was what counted
with him, nothing less.
So, when another rose up to 'threaten'
his pre-eminent position, he was not threatened but welcomed it and stepped
to one side, giving the other man of God the honour that was due to him.
That's the NT principle.
Submitting to one another in the
fear of God (Eph 5:21).
Let nothing be done through selfish
ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better
than himself (Phil 2:3).
...Yes, all of you be submissive
one to another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud but
gives grace to the humble (1 Pet 5:5).
Some would object, "Well, of course
John submitted himself to Jesus and deferred to Him, because Jesus was the
Messiah!"
But I maintain that John would have
done it even if the person had not been the Christ, but had been another
whom God had sent to supersede John's ministry. Why? Because John did not
regard the person of man. Nor did he have any pride. He was a very unusual
man!
That's why Jesus elevated him with the
unique accolade:
Assuredly, I say to you, among
those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist
(Matt 11:11).
God's Work Must Increase
John
fulfilled His heaven-sent assignment. When it was time for the next phase of
God's Work to proceed, he did not challenge it, resist it or fail to uphold
it, unlike all in God's service today!
That might
sound an outrageous statement, but consider that ALL the virgins are asleep
at this end time (Matt 25:5). That means they are all unaware of spiritual
realities in some way, and need awakening.
There is a
shaking coming to awaken them!
God is
doing His end-time Work of 'Elijah' and the chief players in that are
largely unnoticed. Most people don't recognise them, and ministry leaders
are the last to want to do that!
To these
established ministries, self-interest – even in handling the things of God –
takes precedence over what God wants. So, the 'Elijahs' of today are not
recognised!
O My
people! Those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your
paths (Is 3:12).
Things
haven't changed much in the earthly sphere. Isaiah was prophesying back then
against those who held God's people down. So it is today.
The Lord
will enter into judgement with the elders of His people and His princes:
"For you have eaten up the vineyard..." (Is 3:14).
That
judgement now looms over the leaders in His body who have not acknowledged
His message through the prophets He has sent. It will bring destruction to
those who resist it.
I mention
in the article which follows, of the death of Derek Prince, about the 'word'
which God spoke to him early on in his ministry and how that was fulfilled.
It has much bearing upon this issue and is illustrative of the reaction of
most to what God is now doing in His Work.
I have
mentioned in the past in our journal Awake! Awake! (I ceased
publishing that in 2000) some of the prophecies which God has given to
others about His Work at this end time. He pointed out prophecies which
pertained to us, such as the small light in Britain which would get bigger
and brighter as its influence spread. That vision was given to John Mulinde
in Uganda. (Reproduced in A Vision of Europe in Articles of Faith, Vol 5.)
There are
other relevant revelations which various individuals have received, which we
have published (as, for example, in Testing The Spirits), shedding
light on what God is doing here and why. In all these cases I have been
willing to give credit to the sources and even honour those individuals.
Early on in this ministry I promoted the ministries of others to the
exclusion and detriment of this ministry – until they rejected 'our'
message.
Like John
the Baptist, I was happy to give them a greater platform at our expense. I
didn't seek ministry. I was called to it from Above against my innate
desire. I do it willingly now, but it was not an appointment I wanted or
sought. I preferred to give others a 'leg up'. All I cared to see was the
Word of God and His truth go out, to deliver the oppressed from their
oppressions.
However, it
was not long before I saw that others didn't share the same aspirations. I
noticed ulterior motives, selfishness and personal ambition in many with
whom we were willing to share. But they were not willing to reciprocate.
They sought acclaim and pre-eminence. They gave us the 'cold shoulder'. God
laments about such people:
He said,
"Surely they are My people, sons who will not be false to Me"; and so He
became their Saviour... Yet they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He
turned and became their enemy... (Is 63:8,10, NIV).
What God Said To
Derek Prince
In the
early 1940s, Derek Prince received a visitation from Jesus. In that
formative event, Jesus told him that he would live to see the beginning of
the Great Revival in Britain which Smith Wigglesworth also described.
Derek
Prince died in September 2003. But where is the revival which Jesus
prophesied to him? To most eyes it is nowhere to be seen!
What's
happened? Did Jesus not fulfil His 'word' to Derek? How are we to understand
what Jesus told him then?
God Is Discreet
The
evidence of God's working is not always open, brash, bold and easily
visible. Often it is hard to see. It can be 'hidden' because it's not what
people expect.
When Jesus
came, He didn't fulfil most people's expectations. He didn't reveal all His
truths to everyone. He hid them from the so-called wise and prudent and
revealed them to 'babes'.
The way God
works is often like that. It turns the tables. It reverses trends. It
demolishes what men have established.
When people
do not share His desires, but would appropriate God's 'thing' selfishly or
in an evil way, He hides it from them.
When all
tables are full of vomit and filth (Is 28:8), he overturns them and starts
again somewhere else (Is 28:9).
For with
stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people (Is 28:11).
Would you
listen to a stammerer? Would you respect him and think that his words carry
weight? Would you listen to a foreigner, whose language you don't
understand? Don't kid yourself, then, that you would heed the prophets God
sends to declare the next phase of His Work!
People look
to what is established, what they can see with their eyes, and to the
approved and acclaimed men of God who have gone before. They don't respect
or accept the new boy on the scene, who does not come with their church's or
ministry's approval.
Amos came
straight from being a herdsman. Would you have let him through your door?
No. When
God does something new, and wants to take His people on further with Him,
there is huge resistance to it within the Church! What He does seems
strange, even unacceptable to most.
This is why
Isaiah wrote about God's 'strange work':
He will
be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon that He may do His work, His awesome
[strange, NIV] work, and bring to pass His act, His unusual act. Now
therefore do not be mockers, lest your bonds be made strong... (Is
28:21,22).
What God
does surprises! It doesn't fit the mould. It defies expectations. If often
offends, and it lowers the lofty.
It
challenges error and treads on toes – the toes of the proud and complacent.
Such people
cannot accept His truth. They are not building upon the foundation. They
have put themselves in the prime place which God reserves for Himself. So,
when God does His new thing, they don't recognise it unless they are willing
to humble themselves back to base- rock again.
Most won't,
so He bypasses them.
In 1992,
God spoke to me via a prophecy through another prophet that He would open a
dramatic door to me "in 7 days". According to Ezekiel 4:4,5), those 7 years
expired on 24th June 1999. ON THAT PRECISE DAY, He gave someone a vision of
my face – twice. That person phoned me up and I discussed with him reaching
this nation with the message of repentance which God has given us to promote
in our publications. I won't give you more details unless God shows me later
that I should. That should suffice for now.
Did the
whole Church see that dramatic door open then and the prophecy begin to be
fulfilled? No. The only ones who are privy to what occurred are those who
accept 'our' message, who have the humility to do as God is now revealing.
The door
opened, as God said, but it wasn't flung wide open. As in most things God
does, it began so small – the door was merely ajar.
Likewise,
Derek Prince did not recognise the time of God's visitation to him. I went
to him with the truth about God's Sabbath and he rejected it.
"What's
that got to do with seeing the revival coming to Britain?" you may ask.
A lot!
Everything, in fact, because this long forgotten and dismissed truth is some
of what God wants replaced in Christian doctrine and practice for the Bride
to be ready to meet her Groom.
God is
restoring all that has been 'lost'. As part of His work of Elijah, He is
replacing every hidden aspect of truth that the early Church had but which
Satan stole over subsequent centuries.
When I went
to Derek Prince with the urgent call which God had placed upon my life, he
was too well-established in his own venture to care about what God was
saying to me. I don't blame him. I am merely explaining what God did.
I'm sure he
has entered the heavenly realms and will receive his reward from Jesus for
the sterling work he did over the years. I don't want to downplay the value
of what he DID get right and promote from God's truth.
But he
didn't promote ALL God's truth, not even all available truth. I took
to him another aspect which is long overdue for restoration to the body of
Christ, and he rejected it for various reasons. Many don't want to accept
this truth because it upsets, disturbs and undermines what men have
established in their churches.
What I
wrote to Derek Prince 11 years ago is contained in the article Paedophiles In The Church! (In
Articles of Faith, Vol 4.)
Jesus had
various reasons for telling Derek Prince that he would live to see the
outbreak of revival in Britain before he died. One is that now, on the other
side of the 'veil', he can see the full panorama of God's working and will
be humbled by the fact that he dismissed a prophet whom God sent, and
blocked the next move of Jesus.
I'm sure he
will have repented, because he was a good man. I have great respect for him
and for what he achieved in his ministry. (Compare this with the sour grapes
letter on page 15.)
But that
must never occlude the greater respect we all need to have for Jesus, and
for the inviolability of the Word of God. Every minister and believer in
Jesus should, first and foremost, uphold the purity of His truth!
Derek
Prince will now be able to see the full scope and far-reaching impact of
Jesus' prophecy:
For days will come... when your enemies... will not leave in you one stone
upon another, because you did not know the time of your
visitation [the visitation from God – they didn't acknowledge God's Prophet
at that time] (Luke 19:43,44).
Everything
that man has built contrary to the Word of God will be torn down! Churches
will be dismantled! Those to whom Jesus spoke back then didn't recognise the
time of God's visitation. Nor do God's people heed His prophets today!
Judgement fell. Jerusalem was destroyed.
It will be no less drastic for the Church in our time!
It's The Glory Of God
To Conceal A Matter
When I 'went' to Derek Prince in 1992, no one else saw it, other than God of
course and our family and co-workers. There was no big public proclamation
at the time. The incident was later written up so that others can learn from
what happened. But it was concealed from most eyes at the time. Why?
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter (Prov 25:2).
Because God is working out a definite purpose, one in which each person is
being tested and humbled. I will explain more in a moment.
When Jesus visited Derek Prince with further truths, He did so through us. I
didn't sit down one day and decide "what a good idea" it would be to present
these things to him. It was a prompt from the Spirit of grace.
Jesus has His reasons for all He does.
When I
heard that Derek Prince had died, I was surprised. I didn't expect that
would occur until after he saw – in the flesh – this ministry jettisoned
into prominence through the raising of the dead.
My immediate reaction was one of puzzlement. I wondered what Jesus had meant
by His previous word to Derek that he would live to see the Great Revival
begin in the UK.
Then His
Spirit spoke to me. He simply dropped into my mind about Simeon in Luke 2.
There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just
and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was
upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would
not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ (Luke 2:25,26).
The rest of
that account relates how Simeon saw the Christ as a baby, and held the small
child in his arms. Then the Holy Spirit came upon him. 'Instinctively', he
knew at that moment – by the Spirit – that he was holding the Messiah. Then
he prophesied:
"Lord,
now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;
for my eyes have seen the salvation which You have prepared before the face
of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of
Your people Israel" (Luke 2:29-32).
There is a
parallel in the Derek Prince saga. He saw the "young child" which God had
birthed to bring more of His truth and deliverance to all peoples. He held
it in his hands.
But, unlike Simeon, when the Holy Spirit enlightened him in that moment of
truth, Derek Prince dismissed the revelation and failed to give glory to God
in that instance. Why did he not see it? Why was the
truth 'concealed' from him?
It is a
salient lesson to all of us!
It's easy
to miss what God is doing!
Why didn't
God make it plain to Derek Prince – and many other evangelists whom we
contacted – that He was sending us to them? Why didn't He clearly show them
more of His truth as He showed us? Why
did He leave him blind to various aspects?
Because the human will is very much involved in the acceptance of God's
truth. You have freedom of choice. That choice is an essential aspect to the
building of divine character in you. God never forces anyone. He never
brainwashes them. He never violates their free will.
You can want to receive truth – or not. If you don't want it, He won't force it
upon you. He will let you do what is wrong and reject what is right. But
that will bring spiritual blindness upon you, to the degree you don't want
truth (Matt 5:6; 6:22-23; 25:24-29).
After God's
purpose for human life is worked out, when you go into the spirit realm and
see things in total clarity, you will see what you did wrong and what you
did right – everything! It is a shocking experience for many! It is also
humbling – extremely humbling! And rightly so, for what is man compared with
God?! Nobody can glorify God before being humbled!
God wants
everyone to voluntarily come into line with His will. And for there to be
total harmony, that must occur. But He will not force anyone. Those who will
be saved are those who willingly accept the things of God and who want to share His mind and be like Him.
That finally
brings glory to God – when people voluntarily want ALL of Him.
People have
to see the fruit – end result – of their own ways. Then those who want to do
good will finally accept all that God says and be saved. They will live with
Him for eternity. Those who want to do evil will not; they will be rejected.
Jesus
promises each of us:
Behold I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me,
to give to every man according to his work (Rev 22:12).
It's better
to accept ALL Jesus says now, than just part of it. Better to accept ALL His
will than just some of it. Better to accept ALL His truth than just a
section of it.
The more of
God which you are willing to accept now determines how much you will glorify
God, and how much God can reward you beyond the veil.
About Derek Prince's Ministry
Derek
Prince, 1915-2003, was a Bible scholar and author of 45 books. Among his
most highly acclaimed are Shaping History Through Prayer and Fasting
(with which title I disagree, because prayer and fasting is meant to shape
you, not history – God has history all mapped out beforehand – He
wants to see you fit in with His master plan!) and The
Spirit-Filled Believer's Handbook, which have been translated and
distributed worldwide in over 60 languages.
He is also
known for his very good teaching on generational curses and demonology.
However,
when a man becomes elevated despite what he promotes, he becomes an idol to
his audience. They are his followers. They don't see that they are
committing idolatry because the transfer of affection or loyalty is so
subtle.
This is why
God gave a dream about the relative value of various ministries, ranging
from large ones to small. The dream was given in 1999 to a young man who was
in contact with us, to illustrate to him what God considers the value of
these ministries with which he was familiar. I will not repeat that here,
because it is contained in The Acid Test in our journal Awake!
Awake! 8-3. Suffice it to say that God warned of serious deficiencies in
Derek Prince's teaching whereby some people would not be saved who think
they will be.
Several
years ago God gave Helena (my wife) a dream which portrayed Derek Prince
Ministries as a huge shop-front with all their materials in the window for
sale. The man's name was emblazoned in massive lettering across the
shop-front above the window, as in worldly commercial enterprises. The
meaning should be clear to the spiritually discerning. The man was being
lifted up – exalted!
In another
dream given to Helena on 26th November 2001, she was shown:
I saw Derek
Prince riding a motorbike, arriving to start a new office.
Helena was
given the meaning of these dreams. Derek Prince has a large ministry,
dominated by the leadership rather than by Jesus. Because of this wrong
approach, God has to destroy what man has built. Derek Prince will have to
start learning all over again on certain issues when he passes on. Truth and
error are a dangerous mixture – not acceptable to Jesus. The Church has to
be purified.
On
19th September 2000 God gave me this:
Dream of Derek Prince.
He was depicted as old in this dream, and like most old people, not willing
to change. He asked me if I could obtain for him a pony and trap, so that he
could use it for travel. (Indicative of how old-fashioned he is in some
of his views and his unwillingness to review his beliefs and doctrines.)
I said that I thought I would be able to get him one and asked if I could
contact him by e-mail to confirm that I had managed to get one. He said that
he doesn’t use e-mail. (This was because of his unwillingness to move on
with the times, even though it was sensible, considering the damage
computers do to one’s health.)
The
dreams emphasised that, despite all the good which Derek Prince did
throughout his life, he still retained errors in his teachings. It is
unlikely that those who continue in his footsteps will address those errors.
If that is so, the edifice of DPM will be torn down in the Tribulation along
with other man-made edifices in Christendom!
Matters of the Heart
Overpage, you will see an example of how church leaders, ministry directors,
and ecclesiastical eminences block the move of God's Spirit. The Work of
Elijah today bypasses such people. God chooses many of least esteem or low
station in life to take His spiritual work of restoration forward.
To the
novice, this seems incongruous and just 'untrue'. Why on earth would church
leaders resist the advance of the very Spirit they purport to promote? In
one word: motive.
The things
of God are matters of the heart, not merely of the head. It's not what you
know that is as vital to your spiritual sanctity as what you do
with what you know. And for a deceived person – deceived about himself and
about truth – it's not even a matter of what he knows, but of what he thinks he knows! This is why many preachers and Bible teachers will find
out one day that Jesus never considered them part of His family (Matt
7:15-23). What they did, they did for themselves, primarily.
"Every voice that rises up against you..."
When Jesus
takes us to other 'men of God', invariably we encounter a smile and nice
words on the outside that hide a hostile unreceptive heart. So God causes
something to happen to expose what is within them. It's not for our benefit.
It's for yours – and theirs, if they would accept correction.
These men
(probably as much as 99% of church leaders, preachers, ministry directors,
etc.) are hypocrites. And Jesus had few compliments to pay such people! (See
Matt 23.) He cut them down! Why?
Because He
was acting as Prophet of God.
When God appointed me as a prophet, I didn't seek to be one. When someone
told me that I had just been appointed such by God, I didn't believe them.
But God told me through another prophet as he prophesied over me, "Every
voice that rises up against you, you will condemn..." Only later did I
understand, as I saw God at work through what He got us to do.
So, God chose the least esteemed, so that no flesh should glory in His
presence (1 Cor 1:29). He brings down the high and lofty, the proud and
arrogant. He has always worked this way (see Is 57:15; 66:1,2).
We get a lot of criticism for 'criticising' others. Such people fail to
understand that the purpose of prophets is to 'tread on toes', that
hopefully people will see the wickedness in their own hearts and turn. But
usually the response is otherwise, as Isaiah wrote:
I was enraged by his sinful greed. I punished him, and hid My face in anger,
yet he kept on in his wilful ways (Is 57:17, NIV).
It's why the religious leaders had Jesus crucified. And they're still
crucifying Him today!
This is WAR In The Church!
Through
dreams, God has been giving us warnings elaborating on a deep seated problem
that is rife throughout the Church – leadership dominance! And I
don't mean the dominance of the leadership of the Spirit of God – such is
not the case, although it should be. I mean the domination of human leaders.
It brings repression!
I have
mentioned earlier about the recent death of Derek Prince, who did a sterling
work for God after Jesus called him in the 1940's. A very memorable 'word'
which he had received from Jesus was that he would live to see the revival
in this land before he died (see pages 7-9). Yet he died without seeing the
full flow of that.
Jesus' word
was not wrong. I also explained, according to what has been revealed to me
by Jesus, what He meant and what the implication is. But the DPM office
manager in Britain is hostile towards me for having revealed that (pp 7-9).
After that
article was written and published, my wife was reading it one night before
going to sleep. That night God gave her this dream:
8th Nov. H. The Old House of DPM.
I saw an
old-fashioned house, with big beds against the walls. Someone was switching
the TV on, trying to find old programmes by Derek Prince.
There was
very little food in the house. I found some bread but it was old and stale.
The house was untidy and disorganised.
There was a
group of people standing neatly and patiently outside the house. They were
staging a demonstration. [This must depict in symbol a future approach.]
They were wearing a plain uniform which made them look cloned. These people
were not happy with the organisation of DPM, which has let them down
spiritually. The teaching is controlled and regimented. Being the main
teacher and leader, now Derek Prince is dead, he has become a cult figure.
Following
that dream, we got a prompt from the Spirit to send the office staff there
some of 'our' literature. So, we got together the recent Newsletter with
quite a number of publications and sent them, addressed to 'The Office Staff
of DPM', with a note encouraging them to read what was sent, and ONLY after
having done that, to pass them on to the office manager. That was what the
Spirit moved us to do. Needless to say, it got up the nose of the autocratic
'jumped-up dictator' who rules the premises there and is proud of his
position and power.
What God moves prophets to do is often not salutary. He offends the mind
to reveal the heart. That is one of the most fundamental principles
which underlies prophetic work, because, before repentance and reform can
occur, brokenness must be achieved.
Of course, the stubborn resist such moves of the Spirit. They want to retain
their pre-eminence and control. They don't want the wind of the Spirit
blowing their tidy little piles of papers all over the place. Nor do they
want any outside prophet coming in like a spy from the cold, exposing what
they do not care to see.
Predictably, the office staff were too cloned and loyal to their human
set-up to follow these 'sinister' instructions. (I was this way once, for
many years! That's how we all learn – by making mistakes.) They passed on
the note with all the literature to the office manager, who dutifully dumped
it all in the bin. Having 'thwarted our attempt' (not that they could see
what we were attempting to do), he then wrote me this insulting letter:
December 3rd, 2003
Dear Malcolm (I assume
it was you)
I am writing in
response to the note and magazines you sent to my staff and myself.
I would simply say –
"Shame on you."
I am disgusted by your
willingness to defame the dead but unsurprised by your cowardice in doing so
anonymously. Fortunately the discerning majority in the body of Christ will
recognise that, although Derek was not perfect, he was nonetheless, a
fruitful man of God.
I suspect they will
also join me in recognising the "sour grapes" tone of your article. I found
your constant assertions of your own rightness and superiority extremely
distasteful and I would urge you to humble yourself before you take any more
pot shots at your elders and betters in the Lord.
I have deposited your
magazines in the appropriate place and I would appreciate you not sending
any more of them to my staff or me. I noted with interest your instruction
(enclosed with the magazines you sent) [Newsletters, actually – Editor] to
distribute them to all the staff and only then to give a copy to me. Your
intentions are abundantly clear but, in this instance, you have not
succeeded.
Yours sincerely,
Mark A Buchanan
I replied sarcastically:
6th
December 2003
Dear Lord
Buchanan,
I am in
receipt of your arrogant and contemptuous letter of 3rd December. It is an
affront to the Spirit of God. Your impertinence in insulting a prophet of
God, sent to expose your error – to correct in order to redirect – is
unjustifiable. I know my Commission. You don’t. You don’t honour me when I
come to you at Jesus’ command, and by so doing you also dishonour the One
who has sent me.
But your
response does not surprise me. You have shown your true colours before.
False ministers will not receive correction, and as I wrote in the article
about your mentor which you disparage:
“What God
does surprises! It doesn't fit the mould. It defies expectations. If often
offends, and it lowers the lofty. It challenges error and treads on toes –
the toes of the proud and complacent. Such people cannot accept His truth.
They are not building upon the foundation. They have put themselves in the
prime place which God reserves for Himself. So, when God does His new thing,
they don't recognise it...” (Newsletter 24, p 3.)
You accuse
me of defaming the dead. Besides your other glaring errors, do you also
worship the dead? Put your glasses on first and read without prejudice, and
you might see straight! I wrote: “I don't blame him. I am merely explaining
what God did. I'm sure he has entered the heavenly realms and will receive
his reward from Jesus for the sterling work he did over the years. I don't
want to downplay the value of what he DID get right and promote from God's
truth.” (Newsletter 24, p 4.)
Then you
arrogantly talk about my need to do what you should have done when I
followed the lead of the Spirit to come to you – humbling isn’t in your
style, merely your vocabulary. You, sir, walk with a false humility. I have
not asserted my superiority. Your false accusation is based upon your wilful
ignorance of what I have written and asserted – that the truth we bring to
doctrinally correct and redirect your wayward work, which is now becoming
more unbiblical by your arrogant leadership, is superior to the error-ridden
teaching that Derek Prince promoted and refused to correct when he was
alive. I have it from God that he has now seen the errors in his earthly
teaching and I’m sure he is glad now to accept the fuller truth.
Your
blocking a prophet of God in his divine commission will not hinder our work
for Him. You will reap the rewards of unrighteousness that you have chosen,
like every false minister who has gone before you and surely found out that
the judgement of God is no light matter.
Doubtless
you will take no notice of this rebuke. But if you had the Holy Spirit
living in you, you would have assessed the many dreams which God has given
to us confirming that we speak in His name as prophets of the Almighty.
Your name will be hung up to dry as an example to all others of the
rebellion of the wicked who hypocritically sit in the
seat of the righteous, exerting subtle controls over the spiritual lives and
freedom of the sheep whom you have cloned and penned in. Your spiritual
repression will not stop God doing His will in reaching those whom He will
reach through the public witness and display of His resurrection power.
We have
told you about it, but you have continually disdained our witness. Like all
those who pierced Jesus and who will see Him at His coming, so you will see
what we have prophesied but too late to do anything about the high-minded
contempt and insolence which you need to reverse.
Thanks for
dumping ‘our’ materials in the bin. Spiritually, that is where God will dump
you. MBH
Harsh Words Merit Harsh Treatment!
Some tender
souls may find my words too caustic. They won't be the first to have
criticised without wisdom. They should read of the former prophets who
insulted those who insulted God. Their justified insults were from God's
inspiration. That was the way God worked through them.
For
example:
-
Isaiah
offended the leaders of Israel when he addressed them as rulers of Sodom and
people of Gomorrah (Is 1:10). That was the worst insult he could have come
up with!
-
Jeremiah
lambasted the false prophets who opposed him, blatantly labelling them for
what they were – false – liars – reckless (Jer 23:32) and worthy of severe
punishment (23:33-40). Those words are among the most scathing and
contemptuous in the whole Bible!
-
Jesus
ruthlessly reproached religious leaders when they were arrogant hypocrites.
How would you like to be called a sewage pipe?! (He called them 'whitewashed
sepulchres', which stunk just as badly as our modern sewers! See Matt
23:27.) The whole chapter of Matthew 23 is loaded with insults against these
'men of God'! The reason is simple – they weren't men of God. They were the
opposing force.
And, the opposite forces are with us just the same today.
Jude wrote about these bastards. They are not sons of God. They are children
of the evil one.
These
are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they
mouth great swelling words, flattering people
[except true prophets, whom they slag off] to gain advantage... These are
sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit (Jude 17,19)
...serving only themselves (12) ... these speak evil of whatever they do not
know (10) ... woe to them... for they have perished in the rebellion of
Korah (11).
When that
letter of 3rd December from DPM was in the post, before it arrived, God gave
me this dream:
6th Dec. M. Derek Prince Ministries.
A man wrote
to us. The envelope was addressed to 'God’s Church – Whose Authority?' PO
Box 29, Aylesbury, etc.
Explanation:
After this dream was given, the hostile and falsely accusative letter came.
The writer demonstrated his subtle manipulation and control of his staff. He
limits their spiritual freedoms, so much so that they don’t know Midnight
Ministries. Hence the absence of the name on the envelope. This is spiritual
repression. The antidote is to know what is in
God’s Church – Whose
Authority? and to live by its truths.
Helena's
comments, further explaining what the dream conveyed, were very apt:
People have
been deprived of fresh revelation given to the Church through the prophets,
who are not welcomed.
God is
doing an ‘Elijah work’, preparing the Bride for Christ. Truth is being
restored just as Jesus and the OT prophets foretold.
God’s
people need to come out of humanly organised religion and give their
loyalty to Jesus who wants His body united, one in TRUTH and one in SPIRIT.
Leaders have become IDOLS. If they do not step down off their idolatrous
pedestals, God will reject them.
God is turning the tables. Now is the time for those
who are elevated to humble themselves, that the 'lesser' may become
'greater'.
Malcolm B
Heap
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