Who? Who is this Yeshua, this Isa guy that Rick Warren signed off his inaugural prayer with Tuesday? Jesus is who we’re following not some guy named Isa! Ah, the limiting belief systems that we embrace that hold us back from being who we ARE. Until we increase our consciousness and move out of the religious molds that have been built for us to inhabit, we’ll never see the Kingdom- here on earth!
Jesus is quoted as saying in Luke 9:27, “I assure you that some of you standing here right now will not die before you see the Kingdom of God.†Well, either Jesus got it wrong as the rapture didn’t happen, or some did SEE the Oneness of they and Father-Consciousness: the Kingdom, then and there.
When we limit God to a particular place in time (defeating the omnipresence principle) and when we stop growing, thinking, evolving the Kingdom is missed. It’s not that God has changed, but that we’re increasing in our understanding of the Creator. Why would we think that we could get or know ALL there is to know about God by the time we were 20: or 30, 40, 50, 60, or 100? If we’re not seeing God in new ways, we’ve stopped going within and the light of our being is being covered by our belief system(s).
We must re-envision ourselves. We must always re-think the Source of our being.
Isn’t that what FAITH is?
If we think we have God figured out, we’re deceived. If we think we know what sin, justice and judgment is by virtue of reading the Bible, we’re wrong because even the Scriptures tell us that the Spirit of God will come and REVEAL to us how we’ve wrongly thought about so many things- if we’ll listen. If we think we know what a verse means and it cannot mean anything else, we’re limiting God. God is STILL SPEAKING and what I’ve seen more often than not is that He’s correcting our misperceptions of who we think God is!
The Creator is WITHIN! We are ONE! Enjoy! 
So, thank you Rick Warren for speaking of Isa as well as Jesus, and others. And may we not be surprised if Jesus did indeed travel to England with Joseph of Arimathea, and spent years in Tibet during those 18 silent years. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and many other Indian sages claim and know Jesus as one of their own who lived in their midst 1,900 years ago. Until we let go of our religious beliefs that have put God in a box (can you say 66 boxes?), we remain in one ourselves.
You’ve probably heard it dozens of times before, but it’s still valid today- “let go and let God (be God)”.
I agree that the Spirit is still speaking today. Unfortunately, so are other spirits that aren’t from God. That’s why Paul warned God’s peeople “that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” (I Tim. 4:1). He continues to tell Timothy that by “pointing these things out to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of sound doctrine which you have been following.” (v.6) Timeless wisdom from one who had an incredibly unique relationship with Jesus!
Great Post! Thanks Ernie….
Linda- Again giving Mr. Paul credit for a follower’s writing. Ever think the latter times spoken of in that verse might have been shortly after it was written. Spirits & demons….could those be symbols of some teachers or other people who instructed counter to the Pauline line? Sound doctrine huh? According to the writer, who ever he was.
Don, the Thompson Chain Reference Bible (NKJV), Life Application Study Bible (NLT), and the Key Word Study Bible (NAS) all concur the author of I and II Timothy is Paul. Even if they’re wrong, I have to believe the writings are totally credible, because I believe in the sovereignty of God in bringing the Bible together.
The warnings about false doctrine and teachers came originally from Jesus. He repeatedly told His followers to be careful of what they were listening to. In Matthew 24:24, he warned about false prophets misleading the elect. In I Peter 2:1 and Jude 4, we have two other authors who give similar advice.
Jesus spent a great deal of time casting out demons, and gave His followers the authority to do the same (Mark 16:17, Luke 10:19). Although false teachers are influenced by demons, no where in the Bible are they symbolic for these foul entities. Demons are clearly represented as evil spirits that can totally change your personality if given the chance. Just ask the man who was delivered from a legion of demons. You’ll find him in Mark 5:15, clothed and in his right mind.
Perhaps the only “doctrine of demons” from which we need deliverance is one based upon the presumption that “I know”. We are so afraid of detaching ourselves from our stale understanding of God and scriptural writings that we live life as possessed by the ego’s need to be correct. And it is ironically the same scripture that we so vehemently defend that tells us to “let go”, to “be still” and to “lean not on our own understanding”.
When we allow Spirit to illuminate the darkness of our understanding, then we will stand as one clothed in the true knowledge of who WE ARE….of who I AM–totally within and of Right Mind. That realization creates an atmosphere in which we may find our mourning to have been turned into dancing, our sorrow into joy, and our bondage to the limitations of our understanding totally transmuted into sheer and utter Freedom. This is true deliverance.
I don’t see the scripture as a stale understanding of God when we realize the word of God is living and active (Heb. 4:12). When the Spirit is guiding us into all truth, with the word as our foundation, there are many things of which we can be certain. For example, Paul did not want to the church to be ignorant of Satan’s schemes, so they wouldn’t be taken advantage of (2 Cor. 2:11). Although there are obviously some things we’ll never understand (Deuteronomy 29:29), lack of understanding the principles God has revealed is seen as a detriment to spiritual health (Hosea 4:6; Romans 1:18-32).
Linda- You have your sources which you believe are correct and I have mine. You believe God put together and preserved the texts of the Bible, and I believe it was a document written by men with particular agendas in mine, nonetheless of great value to all of us. We will, mostlikely, not change our minds, so as Ernie says, we will agree to disagree. If you continue to state things which I disagree with, which I find to be counterprodutive to a person’s spiritual development and freedom, I will post my opinions and counter your post as best I can.
I have been reading these posts and it is amusing to me. We all seem to entertain ourselves by arguing over doctrine, thoughts (and some can put them together so much better than others). At our last moment of breath this will be “all for naughtâ€, for the “answers, whatever they be†will be “answered†in that split second. Probably completely differently than any of us have imagined. The one thing, as Ernie has said in most of his “teachingsâ€, is that the bottom line is coming together as one and accepting and loving each other. If each of us “minds our own house†and listens keeps his “senses†open and just let each of us live what “our chosen reality†is, then we would savor a lot more in friendships, learning from each other and become part of that “wholeness in higher conciousnessâ€.
You cant MAKE people love you, you cant MAKE people hate you, they either do or dont. Why does anyone think THEY have the answers to OTHER peoples lives. Does it make them a superior spirit and get one of those golden condos on 199601 cloud street if they succeed in changing someone’s mind to their own. To my way of understanding that is feeding ones on EGO in convincing THEMSELVES of THEIR OWN TRUTH.
Linda, I have known Ernie for a large part of my existence and listened to him for years progress from FUNDAMENTAL BAPTIST PREACHING…..to becoming someone that is not satisfied quoting scripture literally and having his flock spend their lives worrying about being good enough “to die”, and to internalize the scriptures in a meaningful way in order to find the “mysteries” and “depth” of the biblical words and realizing we all responsible to our own belief system in which we chose to live OUR lives individually and not OTHER people’s.(wow, what a long sentence
Ernie knows every scripture and verse to the point of ad nausea (mostly memorized I’m sure), and can refer to the same of many many references to these scriptures, such as those in STRONG’s Concordance. I can just see Ernie “in his swing” one day , while drinking his “tea” and being, “peristant” in meditating, praying, thinking ,reading (which he does probably 75% of his time)and decides to start figuring out what HIS reality REALLY IS, and not the “establishment” of his past years.
It was so refreshing to me the first day Ernie stuck his neck and everything else “out there” and said, What if Jonah wasn’t swallowed by that Whale?” At that moment, I felt great relief in someone I truly respected and felt,that if a self-learned man in his search for TRUTH could be “TRUTHFUL” to himself and explore deeper truths and meanings of the Bible and throw them out to “us”, to start us thinking about what we really could latch on to and believe in and admit that NO ONE REALLYk nows, that it is ALL the posibilities. And because of this search becomes a kinder, more gentle loving human being, husband, father,spritual leader, with a transformation in his own life that GOD (consciousness) would smile about, then “what is the Greater Truth”.
It seems to me, Linda, my friend, you are making it your “life’s mission” to try and “resave” Ernie from the great abyss, and in reality God would never send anyone on such a mission. I am just thankful that Ernie continues to “love us” enough to put “everything” on the line to help us , his little sheep, to dare to open our minds and to have “tolerant” hearts towards each other, and not try to bring people into our beliefs, but to try and understand and love other people for what they believe. Ernie has always been able (“gifted by his ,ie God Consciousness) to see deeper meanings in what he reads and sees. Think of the many inspiring messages from ‘movies” such as Braveheart that have reached deep inside us to bring out a strong heartfelt emotion and speak to our Spirits.
You are preaching to the choir, Linda, only the choir is learning “new songs”, new ways to enjoy The Abundant Life, and in doing that , bring joy to the Creator who made us just for that purpose.
Wow! Thanks Beverly for those wonderful words. May we take those in as a long drink of fresh cool water. Blessings to you.