P.O.W.

This message is for the pastors and leaders that are prisoners of tyrannical coverings. When studying war tactics, one will discover a very interesting situation. Prisoners of war or (POW's) are usually kept in dark places, with very little or no light exposure. This depravity of light does a lot of things to a person mentally, physically, and emotionally. Without light, your body's circadian rhythm will get off, hurting it's ability to go through certain night time processes of cleansing and repair. This will cause your body to build new cells upon old cells that should have been destroyed forming tumors which leads to cancer and other illnesses. (cell apoptosis). Without light, your body doesn't get certain vitamins it needs to build strong defenses against diseases and viruses. And without proper light, your mind loses memory retention and alertness. This makes the P.O.W. defenseless against the enemy and will usually get them in the place of surrender or make them so delirious that they will talk without even knowing they are talking. Night torture does strange things to these prisoners.

The sad part is that many of our soldiers in the army of God have been captured by selfish, godless pastors and false teachers in today's carnal church movement. These POW's are being held in the darkness, deprived of the light of God's word, and are being weakened and stripped of their true identity. The problem is that the catholic church hierarchy has been adopted by the protestant church. The very authority that was given to the Pope is now given to Bishops of these movements. The rank system has created a funnel affect that works wonders for Satan's agenda to sabotage God's true apostolic authority and replace it with men selected by men to rule over men. This is not what God prescribes for his church, yet this is what is being modeled by a new wave of men that desire to have what men before them had. And this will continue until people begin to revolt against this demonic hierarchal structure.

I'm not saying that men should not be accountable one to another. I'm all for accountability and mentorship. And there should always be a leader among God's people in the form of a pastor (overseer, bishop, shepherd, elder, all have the same biblical meaning). But the spiritual covering or mediator of these leaders should be God alone according to the Word! When men are covered by natural men, it creates an abominable structure that protects the interest of the man at the top of the hierarchy. In other words, if you are pastor and you put a man over you, and he becomes corrupt, how can you divorce yourself from his authority without looking like you are being insubordinate? This traps the pastors that desire to move according to God. After all, God would not have you submit to corruption, but if this man is given power over you, then you are trapped and cannot escape from being his POW. If he has authority over you, you must submit or look as if you can't honor or respect authority. Then he will shun you and make a bad name for you among others he has authority over. And if he gave you your church, gave you money/opportunity, or you consider him your "father", then you can NEVER really break free from his authority without causing serious damage to your own following, his following, and your own heart. This is a trap. Pastors and leaders of Gods people should be covered by God. Sure we have mentors and examples, but the bottom line is, only Christ can be a spiritual covering for men.

Because of the lack of fathers in the homes of many of our pastors and leaders while they were growing up, some are constantly seeking men to get "under" or they are replacing natural fathers with pastors and bishops. This is dangerous because it's giving the power to "make him or break him" to men in leadership and causing the men under them to submit in ways that are not godly. And because they owe so much to these men that they have adopted as fathers, they can never really sever ties with these men, even when they become corrupt. You have heard of the phrase, "Birds of a feather flock together." Well, in these cases, good men's manners and stances are corrupted because the men over them are corrupt. But because they have deemed these men "fathers" they cannot escape the perverted authority.

God specifically stated that a man that is doing God's work cannot have a mediator other than Christ. Men are to be accountable one to another and should NEVER have male coverings or men that oversee their lives like a natural father would. Learning from and honoring a pastor or leader because they feed you is one thing, but giving a man authority over your ministry, home, and your life like a natural father is something altogether different. That is not God's desire for pastors and shepherds! Yet this perversion will continue because it creates prestige, finances, and a false sense of authority for men that would not otherwise have it. The POWs are the ones that are true soldiers but kept hostage in these systems and cannot really move into the true call that God has for them because they are being deprived of light.

The light of the glorious Gospel is being held back by the draw of titles, positions, and false governments in our churches and denominations. Corrupt leaders that seek opportunity and platforms have duplicated themselves by pulling men under them and ruling over them in a perverted way. Now, people are making a grand exodus away from these types of ministries and our churches are dying because people just don't want to be deprived any longer. You can't lock up a member, deprive them of light, and continue to preach prosperity to them. With the access to knowledge, the internet, and social networking, people will seek out light for themselves and eventually divorce themselves from these hierarchies all together. This births people that will eventually have no tolerance for any kind of religion. As a result, a generation of selfish people are being birthed, that are not concerned about the well being of others, only themselves, because our leaders are operating in a structure that was not ordained by God.

I know plenty of good men that have a true call of God, but are in bondage to leaders that want fame and money at any cost. Many of these good men want to break free and be independent of their hierarchy but are reminded constantly of who they are under and who they must submit to. This is absurd but because they lacked natural fathers or strong male authority in their homes growing up, their desire for male authority is being exploited and they operate with a perverted ceiling over them. Their church attendance is dwindling, their spiritual authority is weakened and their very purpose is being challenged because they have accepted and remained loyal to a perverted structure. They model their own ministries after the perverted structure before them, and God's true plan for them is never able to be implemented! Sadly, they are deprived of light because they have submitted to and are being held captive by a dark leader. They are being tortured and don't even know it. They are trying to grow new cells on top of dead cells and thus creating tumors. Their ministries have malignant growths that are cancerous and slowly dying, all because they cannot see the light while being covered by darkness.

Because of this, it's no longer about souls but it's about members. It's no longer about changing lives, but it's about counting lives. It's not about door to door witnessing, but it's about door to door recruiting. The church is trying to grow financially before it can grow spiritually all because the true men of God are being held captive and are POW's under the authority of opportunistic leadership. It's time to divorce ourselves from these lascivious leaders that only want to make a name for themselves. If you do not move, you will be caught in the cross hairs of God's judgment. 2012 will be the year that God's hand will move upon this catholic structure and if you are tied to it, you will be judged with it. Break free man of God. Take a stand for what is right no matter what it costs you. Loyalty is only true when it's Godly, so get some fortitude and remove yourself from that authority that is not ordained of God. The god of this world has truly blinded them with the darkness of fame, prestige, and carnal greatness. It's time to break free my friends. It's time to revolt.

1Cor. 11:4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.

1Tim. 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

1Tim. 3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Matt. 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Psa. 79:11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;

In His Authority,
G. Craige Lewis