concepts of faith

8/22/2019 concepts of faith

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By Charles Capps

CONCEPTS OF FAITH

paulsthornin the

FleshSomeone has so aptly statedthat deception wouldnt be sodeceiving if it wasnt so deceptive.Pauls thorn in the esh is a deceptive

sacred cow, so to speak, that holdsmany in bondage. Religious ideasabout Pauls thorn have caused somany to suer needlessly, believingthey were pleasing God.

Several years ago, I was in acertain church, having gone thereto preach on Sunday morning. I

sat in on the pastors Sunday schoolclass. at was the wrong thingto do, because then I didnt feelfree to preach what I felt I shouldpreach, for it was going to plow hisground cross-ways. I learned that

everything I had to say was going tobe contrary to what he taught. Aerhearing what he taught, if I taughtagainst it, I would have caused a lot

of confusion. I didnt believe it waswisdom to do that in his church.e Sunday school lesson that

day was on the chastening of theLord. He said the Lord sometimeschastens us with sickness.

I said to myself, Self, you aregoing to behave and mind your own

business. But then he started talkingabout Pauls thorn in the esh. Hesaid, Ive been to several Biblecolleges, and no professor has everbeen able to tell me what Pauls thornin the esh was, and no one knows.

1st Quarter 2013 Charles Capps Ministries

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buet me, lest I should be exaltedabove measure. (II Cor.12:3-7)

e reason Pauls thorn hasstuck so many people is becausethey have assumed that God gaveit to him. It is that assumption thathas kept them from putting up anyresistance to that which Satan hasassigned to them.

I have heard that Pauls thorn

was everything from sore eyeballs toingrown toenails. But Paul identied itas the messenger of Satan to buet him.

It was not sickness, it was notsore eyeballs, or ingrown toenails.And it certainly wasnt blindness, forhe was healed of that when Ananiaslaid hands on him in Acts 9:18. Paulidentied the thorn as the messengerof Satan. He was dispatched to stirup trouble everywhere Paul preached.

Some say, We will never knowwhat Pauls thorn in the esh wasas though it were hidden from us.Others say, I dont understand why

God wouldnt heal Paul.

But since Pauls thorn was notsickness or disease, it wasnt a matterof God healing Paul. It was a matterof Paul acting on the authority ofGods Word to defeat the purpose ofthe messenger of Satan. James 4:7says, Submit yourselves therefore

to God. Resist the devil, and hewill ee from you. James didnt saythat the devil would ee from God.For it was not Gods responsibilityto resist him. But the devil will eefrom you who are here on earth.

So if Paul didnt resist bytaking authority over this messengerof Satan then God wouldnt. Letus say it another way, God couldnt

if Paul didnt. Jesus couldnt do athing about it, if Paul didnt act onthe authority of Gods Word.

e reason why many peopledont understand what Pauls thornin the esh was, is that they believeGod gave it to him. But, did younotice, that the Scripture didnt saythat God gave Paul the thorn in theesh? It was an angel of the devilwho was dispatched to Paul.

Yet some Bible commentariesstate that God gave Paul a thornin the esh and it was some sortof sickness or disease to keep

Paul humble. And because of that

mentality, they read the Lordsanswer to Paul, My grace issu cient for thee, and theyassume that Jesus said, No Paul, Iwont heal you. (II Cor. 12:9)

But that wasnt what He said atall. Notice verse seven again, Lest I

RESIST THE DEVIL AND HE WILLFLEE FROM YOU

Well, I had stood it about aslong as I could, and I said, Wouldyou mind if we take what the Biblesays it is? And of course, he agreed.So I turned to II Corinthians 12:7and read it. And lest I should beexalted above measure throughthe abundance of the revelations,there was given to me a thorn inthe flesh, the messenger of Satan

to buffet me, lest I should beexalted above measure.

But he already knew what theScripture said; he just didnt believeit because it was contrary to whathe had been taught. He had beenindoctrinated and his mind had beenblinded by religious ideas of men.

Subtle DeceptionIn II Corinthians Paul said:

But I fear, lest by any means, asthe serpent beguiled Eve throughhis subtilty, so your minds shouldbe corrupted from the simplicitythat is in Christ. (II Cor.11:3)

Notice that Paul didnt say,Im afraid, the devil is so great,hes going to defeat us in life. But,I fear, lest by any means, as theserpent beguiled Eve through hissubtilty, so your minds should

be corrupted from the simplicitythat is in Christ. Jesus said it thisway: You make the Word of God ofnone eect by the tradition of men.(Matt. 15:6) Following the traditionof men will make the Word of Godineective in your life.

In II Corinthians chaptertwelve, we find Pauls accountof his revelation and the reason

why the messenger of Satan wasassigned to him.

And I knew such a man,(whether in the body, or out of thebody, I cannot tell; God knoweth,)

How that he was caughtup into paradise, and heardunspeakable words, which it is notlawful for a man to utter.

Of such an one will I glory:yet of myself I will not glory, butin mine inrmities.

For though I would desire toglory, I shall not be a fool; for I willsay the truth: but now I forbear,lest any man should think of meabove that which he seeth me tobe, or that he heareth of me.

And lest I should be exaltedabove measure through theabundance of the revelations,there was given to me a thorn inthe esh, the messenger of Satan to

DECEPTION WOULDNT BE SO DECEIVINGIF IT WASNT SO DECEPTIVE.


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should be exalted above measurethere was given to me a thorn inthe esh(II Cor. 12:7) Some havethought that Paul had too muchpride because of the revelation. SoGod gave him a thorn in the esh tokeep him humble.

I dont believe you can nd inScripture any evidence that God hadanything to do with giving Paul a

thorn in the esh. God does not giveHis minister a revelation of His Wordand then hinder him from preachingit. at would be totally out ofcharacter with God and His Word.

e phrase, Lest I should beexalted above measure, is referringto the fact, that if it had not beenfor the messenger of Satan assignedagainst Paul to stir up trouble,everywhere he preached, Paul wouldhave been exalted to the point thathe could have inuenced the knownworld with this revelation. But hewas not able to preach it freely, for

Satan hindered him on every hand.

Ask yourself this question:Why would God give Paul arevelation of the new birth andassign someone to cause troubleeverywhere he went, so he couldnt

preach that revelation? The answeris obvious, God didnt do it butSatan did.

Trouble Startedat Antioch

Evidently, this messenger

of Satan was assigned to Paul atAntioch. For the Scripture says, thedisciples were called Christiansrst in Antioch. (Acts 11:26) atis signicant, because Paul spent onewhole year at Antioch preaching therevelation. (v.26)

Paul taught this revelation withsuch eectiveness that the peoplebegan to call them Christians. Nodoubt, Paul shared the revelationof how the rebirth of the humanspirit had caused them to becomenew creations that never existedbefore. I believe the preaching of

this revelation so exalted Pauls

ministry in the eyes of people thathe had the potential of reaching theknown world with the Gospel. Forthat reason Satan assigned an angelof the devil, to buet Paul and stop

this revelation.Paul had both revival and a riot

almost everywhere he preached.e riot was caused by the angel ofthe devil sent to stop his message.Antioch is where the persecutionstarted, evidently it was because ofthe revelation Paul preached.

In John 11:47-48 when Jesushad raised Lazarus from the dead, thePharisees and the chief priests said,What do we? for this man doethmany miracles. If we let him alone,all men will believe on him.

In Jesus ministry the Gospelwas growing to such measure,until they said everyone wasturning to Him. I believe this iswhat Paul is referring to in essence,Lest I should be exalted abovemeasurethere was given me athorn in the flesh. He was saying,

I would have been exalted abovemeasure through this revelationeven to the point that the worldwould have received this gospel.

You may say, Well, I dontknow about this thorn in the eshbeing an angel of the devil.

e Bible says, In the mouthof two or three witnesses shallevery word be established. (II Cor.13:1) So, lets go to the eleventhchapter of II Corinthians.

For such are false apostles,deceitful workers, transforming

themselves into the apostles ofChrist. And no marvel; for Satanhimself is transformed into anangel of light. (II Cor. 11:13-14)

One translation says, Satantransforms himself into an angel oflight. is word angel is the verysame Greek word that is translated

messenger in chapter 12, verse7, where Paul says, there wasgiven to me a thorn in the esh,the messenger of Satan. SoPaul is literally saying, ere wasassigned to me an angel of the devilto buet me.

e word buet used heremeans to strike with a clenched stor an open hand. In other words, itwas a steady bueting, to keep therevelation from being preached. Itwas not sickness and disease. ere was given to me a thorn in the

esh, the messenger of Satan.So, if Paul said his thorn in theesh was an angel of the devil, whoare we to say that he was wrong? Itwas his thorn and he ought to haveknown what it was.

ReligiousIdeas DeceiveIt is amazing that so many

religious people say Pauls thorn was

MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU

THE REASON PAULS THORN HASSTUCK SO MANY PEOPLE IS BECAUSE

THEY HAVE ASSUMEDTHAT GOD GAVE IT TO HIM.


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In this wonderful teaching by CharlesCapps you will find out how your mouthcan give away your power and authority!

CHARLES CAPPS PAGE 6

something other than a messengerof Satan when in the same versethat Paul mentioned it, he plainlystated what the thorn was. It is alsointeresting that they believe it wasGod who gave Paul the thorn.

But even common sensewould tell you God did not sendan angel of the devil to buet Paul.God wanted him to preach that

revelation, but the devil wanted tokeep him from obeying God.Pauls statement, the

messenger of Satan to buet mein the Interlinear Greek-EnglishNew Testament states it this way,that me he might buet. Apersonal pronoun is used here inthe Greek text. at tells us it wasnot sickness.

For this thing I besought theLord thrice, that it might departfrom me. And he said unto me,My grace is su cient for thee: formy strength is made perfect in

weakness. Most gladly thereforewill I rather glory in my inrmities,that the power of Christ may restupon me. (II Cor.12:8-9)

My Grace is su cient for you.What does that mean? Jesus

didnt say, No, Paul, I wont healyou, or, No, Paul, it is not My willfor you to be delivered.

e Lord said, My grace issu cient for you. In other words,Gods grace was su cient to deliver

him, but Paul must act on GodsWord and resist the devil. If Pauldidnt resist him, he wasnt going toee. e messenger of Satan was notgoing to leave unless Paul resistedhim. It was not Gods responsibility.It was Pauls responsibility toexercise his God-given authorityhere on earth. Yet, it was Godsanointing that Paul must rely upon

for eective deliverance.

Exercise YourAuthority

Some of you reading thisnewsletter need to exercise authorityover the messenger of Satan that hasbeen assigned to cause you trouble.ey cause problems in nances, inyour physical body and many othersituations. Satans goal is to keep youo balance physically, nancially

and spiritually so you cannot fulllyour calling.God wants you free, but unless

you exercise your authority, nothingwill change. e good news is thatyou have been delivered from theauthority of darkness and you aremore than a conqueror throughJesus Christ. Dont wait six monthsto act on your God-given authority.Victory is available through acting onGods Word!

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Finances, work, parenting, and relationshipscome with all sorts of decisions. Some choices areeasy, some take work, and others can come withfeelings of anxiety and being overwhelmed. Inorder to stop confessing our self-doubt to friends,or ruminating in our thoughts, we all need to finda way to make our choices with wisdom, speakthe right words, and move on to living our livesinstead of dwelling on our past decisions.

James 1:5(NKJV)5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask

of God, who gives to all liberally and withoutreproach, and it will be given to him.

The simplicity of the Word of God canbring amazing inspiration. The solution seemsso obvious, but so life-changing. In moments ofindecision or restlessness, we must stop and askfor Gods wisdom, and confess the Word of Godthat we have put in our hearts.

The most important thing my grandfather hastaught me is that the words that come out of ourmouths are powerful! Instead of speaking aboutour troubles, lets start confessing gratitude for Godswisdom in every decision we make. After spendingtime studying the Bible, it will be easy to have thewords coming out of our mouths be the right ones.

John 14:26-27(NKJV)26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My

name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance allthings that I said to you. 27Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you;not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled,neither let it be afraid.

Gods wisdom and peace will f lood over us when we follow His Wordand ask for His help and guidance. When every decision is made fromGods insight there will be no place left for anxiety in our lives. Let usmove on with a clear head and peaceful heart knowing we have asked,confessed, and received the wisdom of God.

BreAnne Brueis t e aug ter

of Beverly, andgranddaughter ofC ar es & PeggyCapps. Workingor C ar es CappsMinistries for

nine years, s eis current y t e

Creative Director.reAnne an er

husband Zacharyive in Ok a oma

an ave a 4 yearold daughter and

year o son.

getridofanxiety!

BREANNE BRUE PAGE 9


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or physical distresswould be considered a

faith-failure. Insteadof seeking support fromthe body of Christ,many have kept theirpain to themselves,suering as they keep

up a good front.Unfortunately, relationship

and marital failures have explodedalso. Rather than admit theirdi culties, many have found itnecessary to leave the churchbecause of the judgmental attitudesof their peers and leaders.

Jesus taught that our faith

in God is to be used to solve allthe problems of life. We all havesomething to recover from. Whetheryou have experienced the trauma ofphysical, sexual, and verbal abuse,

or just have a negative self-image,God is the answer to your ultimatehealing and recovery.

Anyone who appears to have it

Today we hearmuch aboutrecovery. ere are divorce recoveryworkshops, alcohol & chemicaldependency support groups,co-dependency recovery classes. Itseems that there is a great emphasis

on restoring the soul (mind, will, &emotions) and rightfully so. ereare many, many wounded peopleeven in the church. Maybe I shouldsay, especially in the church.

In faith circles, people aresometimes hesitant to admit theydont have it all together. To admitthat you are in mental, emotional,

all together is not showing an honestface before the world; whether it bebecause of fear or ego. If any of uswere perfect, Jesus would not haveneeded to make the trip toplanet earth!

It was my privilegeto participate in aseminar on restoring thesoul. e honesty of the

speakers in sharing theirown struggles was in itselfvery healing. Many ofthe letters and commentsthat I received after theseminar said, ank youfor your honesty. Thankyou for showing how touse our faith for healingthat unmentionable area,the emotions.

I want to share withyou highlights of whatI believe to be one of the bestteachings that I have done.

sources & origins

of mental &

emotional

distress

ere are some teachers who wouldlead you to believe that all mentaland emotional problems are causedby demonic activity. I will be the rstto admit that I have seen demonicoppression cause a great amountof turmoil in the emotional arena;

however, every case of emotionaldistress is not demonic, there areother sources to consider:

(1) Your ought Life (I Cor.10:3-5, Phil. 4:8)Feelings are directlylinked to thoughts.When you constantly

dwell on the negative, youwill be depressed, fearful,

and in a bad mood nomatter how much youpray and read the Bible.(2) Trauma OrDysfunction in theFamily of OriginPhobias, nightmares, andunreasonable fears canafflict adults as wellas children who haveexperienced abuse ortraumatic situations. Loss

or traumatic situationscan produce depression, fear,physical ailments, or other

disorders in adulthood.(3) Heredity & GeneticPredisposition (James 3:6)

When the Bible speaks of the sins ofthe fathers aecting 4 generations,I believe genetics are involvedin making those generations

vulnerable to attack in a particulararea. Mental weakness can bepassed on, but it can also be brokenthrough the power of the tongueand the name of Jesus.

(4) Chemical ImbalanceManic depression, schizophrenia,

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God is the answer to your ultimatehealing and recovery.


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and hormonal imbalance whichcreate altered mental and emotionalstates are oen veried by bloodchemistry tests. Certain drugs canalleviate symptoms.

(5) Spiritual Warfare(Acts 10:38)

All of the four above can beaccompanied by or caused bydemonic oppression. It is my

opinion that most of the timedemonic oppression does not gaina stronghold without one of theabove situations.

Several months ago, a verydear friend of mine who was myformer secretary and had workedfor my ministry for 12 years

became seriously depressed andsuicidal. During a one year periodshe had several losses includingher mothers death and the endingof a serious relationship. Thetrauma started her on a negativecourse of thinking along with thenatural grief that comes from loss.I prayed for her and tried everynatural means possible to bringher out of it, but to no avail.

Because I was concernedabout the suicidal thoughts shewas having, I persuaded her tosee a doctor and begin takingan antidepressant. The suicidalthoughts stopped, but her attitudedid not change much. I wasincreasingly concerned as wereother close friends.

One evening she visited my

home expressing her emotionaldistress to my husband and me.I said, Well, lets pray. At thispoint, she did not have much faith

in prayer and to be honest neitherdid I aer all the months I hadprayed for her. As my husbandand I joined hands with her and

began praying, the anointing came.I saw in the Spirit, the evil powerthat had attached itself to her willto drain her of life itself. I brokethe power of that evil spirit in thename of Jesus and she was set free.It was an instantaneous change andshe has been free since that night!(She shares her testimony ondisc #1 of this seminar RX forEmotional Recovery.)

P T

Disc 1 Expands on five of the sources andorigins of mental and emotional distress.Disc 2- How to handle grief, loss, and trauma.Disc 3- Practical instructions on what to do whenyou are hurting and healing.

This book will show you how toreverse the emotional curse and openthe door for physical healing andmiracles.

Doctors cannot reverse the curseof sickness. Only Jesus can reverse thecurse and bring perfect healing andwholeness to an individuals life.

In this book, you will learn how toactivate Gods power in your body byspeaking and acting your faith uponGods Word.

ANNETTE CAPPS PAGE 12

visit: www.annettecapps.com

In faith circles, people are sometimeshesitant to admit that

they dont have it all together.


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