Dear friends:The following excerpt from the "Coffee Break" newsletter of Regner A. Capener is excellent, with fascinating information.
His comments about the "be not conformed" exhortation of Scripture are profound, well-said, and the same thing the Lord has been impressing on me for some time.
Ironically, many respected spokesmen who decry and denounce deception embraced by others have themselves fallen prey to one of the devil's greatest lies and bought into the world's mindset, denying much of Scripture.
Be blessed.
Jim
____________________________The other day, I made this offhand remark about the number of man being 6.
That, of course, is something we've known as Christians because it is interwoven throughout Scripture. Numbers have always been significant in God's economy, and numbers have specific representation of various characteristics, power and authority within the framework of all that God has done, is doing, and will do.
Let me deviate momentarily from where today's discussion will ultimately go.
We know, for example, that the number of the Father in Scripture is 7. The number of Jesus is 8. The number of the Holy Spirit is 9. Consider, then, David's prophecy in Psalm 8:4 - 6: "What is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visitest him? For thou has made him a little lower than (Elohiym) God, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet."
Even numerically, we see the accuracy of what David writes. The number 6 is just below 7, or 8, or 9.Anyway, let's don't get too sidetracked with all of that. That is entirely another discussion. Let's get back to the number 6, and its significance in man.
As an engineer and a past member of the scientific community, one of the facts known to science is that it takes various combinations of sixes for the human frame to retain or activate certain things. Let me illustrate.
As an audio engineer, I proved out the theorem that it requires a person hearing something repeated six times in order to retain it permanently in memory. Every multiple of 6 thereafter reinforces and imprints it in a person's subconscious and conscious memory. Our electrical power that energizes our homes operates nominally at 120 volts @ 60 hz. That's 6 X 20, and 6 X 10.
As a television engineer, the number 6 is used repeatedly when it comes to visual clarity. The horizontal scan frequency of the old TV sets, 15,750 hz, is a 6X multiple of the number of times an electron gun sweeps across a television screen to create a single field. Two fields of 30 scans (or 60) make one frame of a television image in the old NTSC format.
In today's High Definition formats, you have 420p (420i is the number of interlaced lines you actually see on an old conventional NTSC television set) -- meaning that the lines are progressively scanned, creating a cleaner image; you also have 720p, 1080i and (upcoming) 1080p for a dazzling Hi-Def picture. More importantly, every one of these numbers are multiples of 6.
Why 6? Because it is the number at which the human eye best responds.
Consider this. The U.S. Department of Health some 12 years ago or so published a 600+ page study on the frequencies radiated by plants, fruits and vegetables in conjunction with the body frequencies of healthy men and women. What makes this particular study fascinating is that they found certain combinations of fruits and certain combinations of vegetables which, when combined, provide a frequency between 55 and 65 hz. As part of the human diet, these combinations either aid good health or detract from it.
This study also found that when the radiated frequency of a man or woman drops into the low-50's, they are prone to cancer and other diseases -- that all diseases are a byproduct of a sub-60 hz condition within the human neural system. Naturopaths and health professionals who rely on natural remedies often draw from this study in making their recommendations.
Now, I've said all that to say this: the number of man has been played upon by Satan and his demonic forces to be used against him in a direct battle against faith. Images used by ignorant (and knowing) advertisers under the control or influence of Satan to promote their products on radio, on television and in the entertainment industry are used to entice, to encourage lust, greed and selfishness, to promote the "man is God" theme, and -- most importantly -- to induce doubt, fear and unbelief when it comes to the things of God.
Anyone who watches very much television, or listens to the radio, or listens to the popular music entertainment of the day gets hammered repeatedly with images and messages that instill doubt, spawn fear, and programs them mentally in such a way that a person is flooded with unbelief when it comes to just about anything God says in His Word.
666 is the number of today's mainstream media and entertainment industries. Why do I say that? Because "666" is a Hebrew metaphor for "man setting himself up as God." It is the "mark," or symbol, or identifying characteristic that denotes "the Beast." Today's mainstream media does everything in its power to tell a (not-so-) carefully couched lie that righteousness is nothing more than bigotry and racism; that any leader who promotes righteous values is a terror in our society. The entertainment industry fills our theaters and homes today with stories, images and sounds that belittle faith and trust in God, and specifically the Lord Jesus Christ, and hammer home themes unequivocally stating that Man has ALL the answers to everything Man needs.
With all due respect to my friends in the medical profession and pharmaceutical industries, a concerted effort has been put forth to create the impression that medical science is the answer to all of man's health problems. Almost daily, we see "new" diseases created and invented, while the pharmaceutical industry promotes and advertises its "latest" development in a pill to cure these "new" diseases. Well-meaning men and women of integrity become pawns of a system designed to destroy faith and trust in the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ over all diseases, afflictions and ailments.
Preachers of the Gospel become pawns of the Beast by teaching that "the day of miracles has passed. It died out with those first apostles." The promises that Jesus made when He said, "These signs shall follow them that believe..." are rendered as fantastic things of a bygone era and "dispensation" in God's economy. They effectively teach and preach the same conniving trickery that Satan pawned off on Eve when he said, "Hath God said?" relegating the realm of the miraculous to a few "super-Christians" and depriving the body of Christ at large of its covenanted power and authority in Christ.
And yet, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)
How about this one? "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." (Hebrews 10:38)
In order for the just to live by faith, every day has to be one in which a person stands in faith. Everything in our society today beats a drumbeat of doubt, fear and unbelief. It's no wonder that we, as Christians, need complete re-programming. In order to stand in faith and believe God for anything -- whether it be finances, health, healing, prosperity, healthy and balanced family relationships, prosperous marriages, you name it -- a person literally has to fight his way through a lifetime of pre-programmed doubts and fears, along with getting past the lies of an increasingly liberal mindset in many segments of the church.
Writing to the Romans, Paul says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Brother! Is that ever a mouthful!
Let me break that statement down for you from the original Greek text.
"And be not conformed (unreadable Greek letters) to this world...." There's a 64-dollar word for you. (unreadable Greek letters) is a contraction of two other words, sun, and schema. Sun is a primary preposition in the Greek language denoting with or union, either by process, association, companionship, resemblance or possession, and generally implies having been completed in that union. Schema (from where we get our word in the engineering professions, schematic, for a figurative drawing or representation) represents a mode or circumstance, an external condition, a figure.
We thus have a picture of one who has co-opted into becoming just like the world in thought process and mindset.
And Paul says that change comes by being transformed "but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (metamorpho -- metamorphosed) through having our minds and thoughts (anakainosis -- renovated) made freshly new.
Before I finish with Paul's statement to the Romans, let me refer you to his second letter to the Corinthians in which he writes, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."
The transformation of our minds and thought processes, therefore, demands that we cast down the imaginations and lies of this world system, the Beast, Mammon -- by whatever definition you call it: every high thing (thought) that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.
Everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God promotes doubt, fear and unbelief. Everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God says, "Hath God said?" Everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God says, "Well, maybe it works for some people, but that really isn't for you."
Get the picture? I'm sure you do.
OK, let's finish up with Paul's statement to the Romans.
"...that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." There is a very unique word in the Greek text that occurs in this phrase. That word is (unreadable Greek letters), and is extracted from dokimon. Being a student of etymology, or the study of the history of words, I found this one fascinating. This is a word which comes from numismatists -- folks who are involved in the creating of coins, those who smelt gold and silver and other precious metals. It literally means "to put to the test in the fire," to apply great heat to for the sake of refining, to assay.
Now do you understand the framework from which Paul writes? Nothing could more clearly delineate our need for "standing" in faith. Everything the world around us promotes and encourages needs to be expunged from the mind. THAT, my friends, doesn't happen overnight!
We are challenged to believe God and take Him at His Word. We are challenged to believe God for healing, even when the doctors say there is no hope. We are challenged to believe God for miracles in our lives when society around us laughs at the whole idea.
We take our stand. We speak what God has spoken in our spirit. We put feet to our faith. We confess daily that which we have heard. Yet the evidence doesn't show up right away.Do we give up? Do we accept the lie of Satan that says, "that's just not for you. It just isn't God's will for you to be healed. It just isn't God's will for you to be delivered." Do we then turn to the world's answers having allowed the circumstances around us to defeat our confession?
Not this guy!
Brother! There's so much more I want to share on this. I'd planned on resuming our American Covenant series on Monday, but I guess we can wait another day. Have a great weekend, everyone. See you Monday.
Believe the unbelievable! Expect, and DO the impossible! God is a covenant-keeper with His people who makes the impossible normal.
Blessings on you.
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
700 South 6th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 837-4657All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted provided proper attributiion and this notice are included intact. Coffee Break archives are available at: http://groups.msn.com/RegnersRangers/, or http://www.CoffeeBreakOnline.com. Coffee Break articles are published daily, Monday through Friday, except for holidays.
If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email with the word “Subscribe” as the subject to: Capener@aol.com. To unsubscribe, please follow the same procedure with the word, “Unsubscribe” as the subject.
CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses.
To arrange for speaking engagements, please call Della Capener at (956) 490-7171.