Tweet
This man finally seen the great error of the church of this nation:
DOING AWAY WITH the CROSS
by Vern Kuenzi
The Lord has spoken three times over the last six years about
the absence of the cross in the current vision and affairs of the
church. These are among the strongest and clearest words the
Lord has ever spoken to me. At the time of each of these
speakings, the Lord put me into a desolate place so that I would
get the point and there would be no confusion that He was
speaking and about what He was saying.
The first time was in late 1996, at a major men's evangelistic
meeting here in Honolulu. At that meeting were the best of
speakers, the best of musicians, an upbeat evangelistic message,
and an altar call to accept Jesus as Savior. I tried to fit in with
the flow of the meeting and went down onto the arena floor to
hopefully distribute my quota of pledge cards, but I was ineffective
and became very grieved in spirit and walked back up to my seat
and sat slumped there until the meeting was over. I thought the
problem was with me. I didn't even want to attend the next day's
meeting, and as I lay in bed the next morning stripped of all
enthusiasm, I was very surprised when the Lord clearly spoke
through David Wilkerson's latest newsletter and said, "They have
done away with the cross." Obviously the very best that we can
come up with in terms of evangelistic efforts amounts to nothing
if we do away with cross. It might look good and sound good but
still be wood, hay, and stubble. The cross is the wisdom and
power of God, and without it the captives remain bound.
About two years ago, I attended a charismatic home meeting
near my house here in Pearl City. A known minister was invited
and signs and wonders and prophetic utterances seemed to flow.
Saints were slain in the Spirit and some claimed healings. The
next morning when I woke up it was as if the Lord had pulled a
plug and drained every bit of spiritual life from me. All I could
think of was, "I'm not gonna make it." I have never been so empty
in my life. But there was a small "Free Grace Broadcaster"
pamphlet beside me on the bed which I picked up and began to
read. The article that presented itself was titled, "The Glory of
the Cross." And as I began to read that short article, I could feel
the life flowing back into me. The Lord spoke clearly through that
article by saying, "God forbid that you should glory in anything
but in the cross of Jesus Christ." Apparently I had been glorying
in many things that night other than in the cross.
Most recently... I was reviewing several books written by popular
authors who embrace and oversee a current apostolic/prophetic
movement. The common vision of those authors is that the church
is called to overhaul the political, economic, financial, and
educational systems of this nation before Jesus returns. I felt so
out of step with this vision that I became unsettled for several
days and wondered again what was wrong with me. I tried to buy
one of the books at the Christian bookstore where I was browsing
it, but the cash register was malfunctioning and I went home
without the book feeling a check in my spirit. The next day I went
back to the bookstore and I picked up that book again and began
to reread portions of it. I asked the Lord to show me where I was
in error, and I also asked Him to keep me from being deceived.
Suddenly the Lord seemed to say, "Where is the centrality of the
cross in this vision?"
Three times the Lord has spoken severely about things that seemed
like "good" things, and in all three cases, the problem that He
identified was the absence of the cross.
When we look at the end of this age as described in the Bible,
we see a much different picture than the overhaul of the political,
judicial, financial, and educational systems. We see a remnant
of saints who are turned over to satan for 3-1/2 years and are
crushed and broken even as their Lord was. We see a remnant
of saints who overcome satan by the blood of the Lamb, the word
of their testimony, and by loving not their lives unto death. The
book of Daniel concludes by saying the end of the age will come
when the power of the holy people has been shattered. We see
a snapshot of this in the lives of the two witnesses of Revelation 11.
Together the books of Daniel and Revelation establish the true
vision for the church at the end of this age, and that vision is not
victory in a worldly sense, but victory through demonstration of
the wisdom and power of the cross. The true remnant church is
destined to follow Jesus and walk the path of the suffering
servant. God's eternal purpose is to involve His saints in the
defeat of the devil, and that defeat will be accomplished only as
the church walks in demonstration of the wisdom and power of
the cross. When Jesus hung shattered on the cross, it must
have looked like anything but victory. When the remnant church
of Jesus Christ lies shattered at the end of this age, it will again
look like anything but victory. BUT IT WILL BE VICTORY,
ULTIMATE VICTORY !
The great dividing issue at the end of this age will be the issue
of the cross of Jesus Christ. Those who embrace it as the Holy
Spirit leads them will overcome. Those who do not, and rely on
the understanding and abilities of natural man, will fall away...
NOTE: This is why the Name of this site is: Jesus Christ Crucified.
Paul wrote that he wanted to preach NOTHING BUT JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED.
DOING AWAY WITH the CROSS
by Vern Kuenzi
The Lord has spoken three times over the last six years about
the absence of the cross in the current vision and affairs of the
church. These are among the strongest and clearest words the
Lord has ever spoken to me. At the time of each of these
speakings, the Lord put me into a desolate place so that I would
get the point and there would be no confusion that He was
speaking and about what He was saying.
The first time was in late 1996, at a major men's evangelistic
meeting here in Honolulu. At that meeting were the best of
speakers, the best of musicians, an upbeat evangelistic message,
and an altar call to accept Jesus as Savior. I tried to fit in with
the flow of the meeting and went down onto the arena floor to
hopefully distribute my quota of pledge cards, but I was ineffective
and became very grieved in spirit and walked back up to my seat
and sat slumped there until the meeting was over. I thought the
problem was with me. I didn't even want to attend the next day's
meeting, and as I lay in bed the next morning stripped of all
enthusiasm, I was very surprised when the Lord clearly spoke
through David Wilkerson's latest newsletter and said, "They have
done away with the cross." Obviously the very best that we can
come up with in terms of evangelistic efforts amounts to nothing
if we do away with cross. It might look good and sound good but
still be wood, hay, and stubble. The cross is the wisdom and
power of God, and without it the captives remain bound.
About two years ago, I attended a charismatic home meeting
near my house here in Pearl City. A known minister was invited
and signs and wonders and prophetic utterances seemed to flow.
Saints were slain in the Spirit and some claimed healings. The
next morning when I woke up it was as if the Lord had pulled a
plug and drained every bit of spiritual life from me. All I could
think of was, "I'm not gonna make it." I have never been so empty
in my life. But there was a small "Free Grace Broadcaster"
pamphlet beside me on the bed which I picked up and began to
read. The article that presented itself was titled, "The Glory of
the Cross." And as I began to read that short article, I could feel
the life flowing back into me. The Lord spoke clearly through that
article by saying, "God forbid that you should glory in anything
but in the cross of Jesus Christ." Apparently I had been glorying
in many things that night other than in the cross.
Most recently... I was reviewing several books written by popular
authors who embrace and oversee a current apostolic/prophetic
movement. The common vision of those authors is that the church
is called to overhaul the political, economic, financial, and
educational systems of this nation before Jesus returns. I felt so
out of step with this vision that I became unsettled for several
days and wondered again what was wrong with me. I tried to buy
one of the books at the Christian bookstore where I was browsing
it, but the cash register was malfunctioning and I went home
without the book feeling a check in my spirit. The next day I went
back to the bookstore and I picked up that book again and began
to reread portions of it. I asked the Lord to show me where I was
in error, and I also asked Him to keep me from being deceived.
Suddenly the Lord seemed to say, "Where is the centrality of the
cross in this vision?"
Three times the Lord has spoken severely about things that seemed
like "good" things, and in all three cases, the problem that He
identified was the absence of the cross.
When we look at the end of this age as described in the Bible,
we see a much different picture than the overhaul of the political,
judicial, financial, and educational systems. We see a remnant
of saints who are turned over to satan for 3-1/2 years and are
crushed and broken even as their Lord was. We see a remnant
of saints who overcome satan by the blood of the Lamb, the word
of their testimony, and by loving not their lives unto death. The
book of Daniel concludes by saying the end of the age will come
when the power of the holy people has been shattered. We see
a snapshot of this in the lives of the two witnesses of Revelation 11.
Together the books of Daniel and Revelation establish the true
vision for the church at the end of this age, and that vision is not
victory in a worldly sense, but victory through demonstration of
the wisdom and power of the cross. The true remnant church is
destined to follow Jesus and walk the path of the suffering
servant. God's eternal purpose is to involve His saints in the
defeat of the devil, and that defeat will be accomplished only as
the church walks in demonstration of the wisdom and power of
the cross. When Jesus hung shattered on the cross, it must
have looked like anything but victory. When the remnant church
of Jesus Christ lies shattered at the end of this age, it will again
look like anything but victory. BUT IT WILL BE VICTORY,
ULTIMATE VICTORY !
The great dividing issue at the end of this age will be the issue
of the cross of Jesus Christ. Those who embrace it as the Holy
Spirit leads them will overcome. Those who do not, and rely on
the understanding and abilities of natural man, will fall away...
NOTE: This is why the Name of this site is: Jesus Christ Crucified.
Paul wrote that he wanted to preach NOTHING BUT JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED.
Comment