Repent!

Romans 2:4, “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”

Many say they are called to exhort people to repent, but their call so often is exhibited as something of a one-off from what we know the Old Testament prophets were; for them repentance centered more in the root than the fruit as they sought to bring people back to God. Today the call to repentance seems to take the form of spreading a rebuke, such as, “’You think you are saved, but you are not! You call yourselves My children but do not act like My own. If you would have loved Me you would have kept My word. I am going to cut you off and give your portion to those that obey Me,’ thus says the Lord.” It is fairly consistent and only ends in condemnation, even though we know that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Men instruct on the topic of discipline with a similar approach and fervor, and that, too, ends in condemnation. The offenders’ sin is pointed out, coupled with a threat to punish. Because of such teaching by the religious who wrongly present God’s judgment, one fellow said, “I wish I would have waited to accept Christ until the last minute, got baptized, and had someone shoot me as I came up out of the water. At least that way I would not have accumulated so much of the judgment of God as a believer.” This man expressed a common feeling that has occurred among Christians throughout the centuries, but this kind of view of judgment is not dealing with the root but rather the behavior, the fruit. There are two types of discipline: one is punishment, which reaps few benefits and is rarely successful, and the other is a self-discipline that takes a person back to Christ. A Christian who finds himself continually in the deeds of the flesh does need discipline, but it is that found within himself that can enable him to begin and end each day recognizing the presence of Christ. It is our job as disciple-makers to pull that person aside and urge him to go to the Lord and abide. The subsequent awareness of the fact of Christ’s indwelling that is living through him will free him from the deeds of the flesh. (“If perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,” II Timothy 2:25.) It has been proven that continually emphasizing a person’s deeds of the flesh will never set him free from the flesh. (“But the sorrow of the world produces death,” II Corinthians 7:9.) Believers ought to be disciplined in recognizing Christ. It does take time to teach that understanding; Jesus spent three-and-a-half years with his disciples. However, the fruit of taking this approach is verifiable, for Jesus said that the Father prunes. To say it another way, when we abide, the deeds of the flesh fall off of us. Unfortunately, there are those that will refuse this discipline; they willingly continue in the deeds of the flesh, making themselves an unhealthy leaven in the Body, and at this point to disfellowship them is appropriate. As for the call to spread the message of repentance, it generally is meant to be a call to stop a particular behavior, and repentance is seen as different from forgiveness. The hiccup enters in when Christians do repent and subsequently continue in the same behavior. This is again where Jesus is tying the hands of man and forcing us to a life of abiding, for only the living Christ within can make a permanent change in behavior. Therefore, the message of repentance without the message of the indwelling Christ is incomplete and will not be attainable.

Russian Seminar Video

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Part 2 coming soon!

Italian Conference Video

We have posted a conference filmed in Italy with our translator. You can view the online video here:

http://abidinglife.com/resources/italy/video/

Latvian Radio Interview

Listen below as Mike Wells is interviewed in Latvia with a translator.

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Satan Never Shuts Up!

“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.” (Zechariah 3:1)

I remember as a university student taking a cross-country trip with a fellow I barely knew; he was catching a ride with me to a city some distance away. I did not know the fellow had no capacity to shut up, but rather, there appeared to be a random firing in the brain that connected to the tongue. What made it even more frustrating is that he presumed to know everything about nothing in particular. Like the doll that has a string in its chest for a child to pull and hear talking, he prattled, but by pulling his own string. When he did stay on a topic, the longer he talked, the more it sounded like he might know what he was talking about, but I was probably just getting brainwashed. I began to look for a blowhole in the top of his head that enabled him to keep talking without seemingly ever taking a breath. The monologue just went on and on and on. I have only had that experience with one other being, the devil. He never shuts up, never. If he followed Jesus into the wilderness in order to get on a topic and not let up, how much will he do to us? A brother told me one day of the appearance of a demon who spoke to him, and he asked what I thought about that. All I said was: “Do not talk back, because the longer they talk, the more sense they make.” One day a friend sent a letter that really frustrated me. He was judging everything I was doing. I put it aside and refused to answer immediately. For the next two weeks all my thoughts were harsh, critical, driving and condemning toward the brother. Oh, it made me mad. Finally, I got the letter back out and prepared to respond (or, actually, react). I reread his letter only to find that it said nothing of what I had thought it said! It was completely supportive and positive! Satan had twisted the whole meaning of the letter. Satan gets on to our flaws, the things that make us safe for God to work through us, the things that brought us to Christ, and the things of the flesh that do not change apart from abiding; and he harps, and harps, and harps until we are left wondering why God does not just kill us, or we ask God to take our life. He also talks through others; we all have had a share of that. How he loves to play off of our self-life through the offense of another, a failure, a disapproving glance from someone, a criticism, and more. He knows everything about nothing; he is a liar that never shuts up! According to him we are all hypocrites, hopeless, in terrible relationships, and being constantly abused; we are the unhappiest people in the world, surrounded by a world that is conquering us at the whim of wicked men, and more. He never shuts up. He is a liar, the father of lies, and just as a judge grants visitation rights to his children, if we receive a lie, Satan will have the legal right to visit it in us. Once he has gained access to us in that way, he torments us. We must for the sake of our own sanity bring every thought captive to Christ. Christ knew us at our worst and yet chose us. We have been stupid, and yet look at how, because of Jesus, we continue to be blessed. God is nothing like what Satan is attempting to tell us. God has not judged us, wiped us, punished us, or killed people that we love just to see us weep! God is love, and Satan is the liar that never shuts up; he is a noisy being, and those that follow him on the earth are noisy. When all the noise gets to be too much, first of all, do not give the enemy your attention by starting to do battle. Jesus showed us how to handle him by saying, “Lord rebuke you!” That is enough; any more and things will get worse. Second, go to 1 Corinthians 13 and read what Love/God is and let His peace and Truth flood over you. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you” (Romans 16:20).

Contacting ALMI

What is the ALMI Organizational Structure?

Often we at ALMI are asked, “How can I become a part of this ministry?” Here is a secret: You already are a part of this ministry. ALMI does not strive to become that which is typically associated with being an international organization: methods, programs, buildings, and staff members. ALMI does not seek to create a kingdom. Instead, it recognizes the organism that already exists called the Vine and the branches. Imagine two separate branches in vases on a table, each trying to graft other branches onto themselves and both competing, but neither completing. The branches in the vases are recruiting to themselves. In contrast, now imagine two branches connected by the same Vine; though unique, both have the same Life flowing in them, creating a perfect completion. Christ is the Vine, and we are all connected to His organization and Kingdom, which is a living organism. We at ALMI are not recruiting but recognizing. Once a branch is recognized as having a like call and passion, we encourage that personal ministry by offering training and the free use of the materials. It is not our goal to add staff in the conventional sense, but to recognize staff throughout the world and support them as co-laborers. Because it is our conviction that with the call comes the physical provision, we recognize that a branch’s provision comes from the Vine, not ALMI. This has been a very effective approach over the years, since there are now hundreds of Vine-connected branches who have started their own self-supported ministries or stayed in their place of ministry to share the abiding life. We call this a WITH approach to ministry. One branch is neither above nor under another, but they minister WITH one another on the Vine. ALMI’s resources are not funneled into the physical realm of financially supporting staff and buildings, but rather are used specifically for training, the translation of materials, the publication and distribution of materials, and the hosting of conferences in developing countries.

The International Ministry of ALMI

How is ALMI supported?

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