And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. --Ezekiel 36:34
In the right season, there are great possibilities for change concerning gardening. It matters not how long a certain piece of ground has brought forth nothing but thistles, within three days their can be a total transformation. What has always been passes away and the unfruitful ground becomes a place of new life.
Given the right resources, an acre of land that is overgrown with kudzu, poison oak, thorn trees, and snake berries, can be utterly transformed into peach trees, apple trees, tomato plants, corn, and watermelons. All you need is a bull dozer, backhoe, front end loader, dump truck, and a John Deere tractor with all the implements and you will change the landscape:
I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water: “I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together: That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.-- Isaiah 41:18-20
We are the church of the Living God: We have the right resources. We have the precious Blood of Jesus for emptying of selves and cleansing, and we have the mighty baptism in the Holy Ghost for empowering and harvesting! It matters not how long Joe Smoke has been doping and Sister Delilah prostituting: The Almighty Blood of Jesus Christ immediately cleanses from all sin. He will transform all who repent and surrender all to Jesus, from selfishness to holiness. What are we waiting for?
For to long the church has been as a group of men hired to clear the forest of giant trees, that meets every day on a massive bull dozer. Every day they meet and form committees to search out the best way to move out the trees and clear the ground, all the while sitting on this dozer. There has even been a split within this group as they argued about the best way to sharpen their old single bit ax! What an outrage! What disobedience! What sin! Did I mention that multiple lives were depending on this land being cleared?
When it’s all said and done; it has already been said and done. Jesus has once and for all dealt with the deep rooted tree of sin in our life: “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). By the planting of himself, he has uprooted sin in man and made it possible for him to be an altogether new creation: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This Holy seed of Christ, when planted by the fire of the Holy Ghost in an awakened and repentant heart, is guaranteed to germinate!
It is time to change the countryside! The Lord is sending laborers to work in his business: " The Holy Ghost Landscaping Company." The pay is out of this world!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
This Ain't No Baby Formula
I have a two step formula for true success: Hear the voice of the scriptures and obey the voice of the scriptures. In doing so you will truly embrace Jesus and all that is in his heart, because as Hugh Von Railey has said, “ From Genesis to Revelation you will find Christ in every page!
“And he (Jesus) saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:15-18).
When the Heavenly Father revealed to Peter this glorious truth of Jesus Christ, you can be sure that it was of the same Spirit that breathed the scriptures to men of old: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). You can not separate what God has said in the Word from who he is. He is the Word upon which the church is built, is being built, and will be built. The God that is revealed in scriptures is the Lord that will be revealed in the last hour to the church and through the church.
Thank God for the priceless treasure of his Word!! The written Word of God is one and the same with the voice of Truth that will bring the true church into unity and victory: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5). Just as a river flows continuously, bringing wetness to everything it touches, the Word of God flows from the mouth of the Lord and brings faith to everyone who hears and obeys.
There is no uncertainty about the course from which this river of life flows: It is the scriptures. Know them and according to 2 Timothy “The man of God becomes perfect.” The word perfect here means “to be completely qualified” and comes from a word that means “right now, at this moment.” It is closely related to a word that means, “One in which all the parts are complete or whole and what they are supposed to be, so that they might serve their destined purpose!” The church that truly divides the word of truth and makes it the basis of all that they do and DO NOT DO, will in this hour without fail serve their destined purpose—they will make disciples of all nations.
You will understand this when you see that opposite of the word perfect is “crippled and maimed.” There are multitudes as of this moment in the valley of decision that are crippled and maimed because they do not know the Living Word, Jesus Christ. To know God today is to know that his heart goes forth to such as these, and thus he equips us with the sword of the Lord, sending us into his harvest: “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind” (Luke 14:21). These crippled will be made whole because of the God breathed scripture that will be flowing out of the mouth of his servants!! This will come through soldiers of the cross because this ain't no baby formula!
“And he (Jesus) saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:15-18).
When the Heavenly Father revealed to Peter this glorious truth of Jesus Christ, you can be sure that it was of the same Spirit that breathed the scriptures to men of old: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). You can not separate what God has said in the Word from who he is. He is the Word upon which the church is built, is being built, and will be built. The God that is revealed in scriptures is the Lord that will be revealed in the last hour to the church and through the church.
Thank God for the priceless treasure of his Word!! The written Word of God is one and the same with the voice of Truth that will bring the true church into unity and victory: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5). Just as a river flows continuously, bringing wetness to everything it touches, the Word of God flows from the mouth of the Lord and brings faith to everyone who hears and obeys.
There is no uncertainty about the course from which this river of life flows: It is the scriptures. Know them and according to 2 Timothy “The man of God becomes perfect.” The word perfect here means “to be completely qualified” and comes from a word that means “right now, at this moment.” It is closely related to a word that means, “One in which all the parts are complete or whole and what they are supposed to be, so that they might serve their destined purpose!” The church that truly divides the word of truth and makes it the basis of all that they do and DO NOT DO, will in this hour without fail serve their destined purpose—they will make disciples of all nations.
You will understand this when you see that opposite of the word perfect is “crippled and maimed.” There are multitudes as of this moment in the valley of decision that are crippled and maimed because they do not know the Living Word, Jesus Christ. To know God today is to know that his heart goes forth to such as these, and thus he equips us with the sword of the Lord, sending us into his harvest: “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind” (Luke 14:21). These crippled will be made whole because of the God breathed scripture that will be flowing out of the mouth of his servants!! This will come through soldiers of the cross because this ain't no baby formula!
Monday, May 11, 2009
What Do You See Your Father Doing?
After Jesus healed an impotent man of a thirty-eight year infirmity he spoke the following:
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. —John 5:19-21
We know that Jesus the eternal God has always been one with the Father. As the Son of God, he has always seen what his Father was doing, but this is not the position he took as he walked this earth—he took upon himself the form of a servant. Jesus as the Son of Man walked as our example: He did all that he did as a man full of the Holy Ghost and taught of the Holy Ghost. He did no work outside of that which was revealed to him by the Spirit through the scriptures. It was in Jeremiah and Isaiah and Daniel and David that he saw his Father do works that only God could do: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalms 119:18).
Jesus understood the absolute impossibility of circumstances changing the eternal truth of God’s Word. Circumstances said that this impotent man could not walk, The Word had declared in Isaiah 35:6, “Then shall the lame man leap as an hart.” The Word of God is as unchangeable and powerful as the Lord Almighty is!! You can not separate the two because they are One Spirit. What God has said is what God has done: His speaking and his action are one. When Jesus told the impotent man to “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk,” He was not quoting what God had said in Isaiah 35, he was revealing the truth of what God was saying and doing in him at that very moment:“The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10). Jesus through his virgin birth had become the Word of God made flesh: Everything that he did was a revelation of that which had already been revealed to the Prophets. It was impossible for it not to come to pass!
Nothing of his power has been diminished in the church today. We are to walk as he walked in absolute assurance that faith in his living word brings. Jesus lives and continues his ministry of all that is written in and through his body, which is the church. We have been given the wonderful power and authority of his exalted Name. To go forth in the Name of Jesus is to walk in all that he is and all the he is doing right now! It is time to pray in the wonderful Name of Jesus all that we see him doing in the scriptures: It is truly all that he will bring to pass! To see it in the scriptures surly means that without fail, we will see it come to pass in Dadeville, Jackson Gap, Alex City, and wherever he sends us!! What do you see your Father doing?
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. —John 5:19-21
We know that Jesus the eternal God has always been one with the Father. As the Son of God, he has always seen what his Father was doing, but this is not the position he took as he walked this earth—he took upon himself the form of a servant. Jesus as the Son of Man walked as our example: He did all that he did as a man full of the Holy Ghost and taught of the Holy Ghost. He did no work outside of that which was revealed to him by the Spirit through the scriptures. It was in Jeremiah and Isaiah and Daniel and David that he saw his Father do works that only God could do: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalms 119:18).
Jesus understood the absolute impossibility of circumstances changing the eternal truth of God’s Word. Circumstances said that this impotent man could not walk, The Word had declared in Isaiah 35:6, “Then shall the lame man leap as an hart.” The Word of God is as unchangeable and powerful as the Lord Almighty is!! You can not separate the two because they are One Spirit. What God has said is what God has done: His speaking and his action are one. When Jesus told the impotent man to “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk,” He was not quoting what God had said in Isaiah 35, he was revealing the truth of what God was saying and doing in him at that very moment:“The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10). Jesus through his virgin birth had become the Word of God made flesh: Everything that he did was a revelation of that which had already been revealed to the Prophets. It was impossible for it not to come to pass!
Nothing of his power has been diminished in the church today. We are to walk as he walked in absolute assurance that faith in his living word brings. Jesus lives and continues his ministry of all that is written in and through his body, which is the church. We have been given the wonderful power and authority of his exalted Name. To go forth in the Name of Jesus is to walk in all that he is and all the he is doing right now! It is time to pray in the wonderful Name of Jesus all that we see him doing in the scriptures: It is truly all that he will bring to pass! To see it in the scriptures surly means that without fail, we will see it come to pass in Dadeville, Jackson Gap, Alex City, and wherever he sends us!! What do you see your Father doing?
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The God Of Abraham, Isaac, and Charles Greenaway
One of the greatest preachers to ever grace a pulpit was Charles Greenaway. It was my privilege to hear him in person some twenty-five years ago and two things he said then are still ringing true today. The first was in the form of a question, “How did the early church accomplish all the mighty works as written in the book of Act’s? As some answered faith and others love, Dr. Greenaway said, “They accomplished everything that they did by laying hold of a promise.” Jesus promised his disciples that he would never leave them or forsake them, and they took him at his word, and turned their world upside down!
This still holds true today. We must lay hold to the same promise of his presence: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). This is the one great promise that contains all other promises! If we become the vessels through which Jesus Christ truly reveals himself, then we have embraced all, and will do all that is written.
Jesus is all in all. He was and is the promised power of Pentecost. Peter did not preach power; he preached Christ and the power fell. Peter did not preach divine healing; he revealed the heart of Jesus through the name of Jesus and the impotent man was healed!! Under the anointing, his name spoken is his presence—it is all he is and all he is doing. If we can once again reveal this same Jesus who was (and is) anointed of God and went about doing good and healed all who were oppressed of the devil, THERE IS NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE! There is nothing to be added because nothing else is needed!
The second thing Brother Greenaway said was, “Pentecostal power is for Pentecostal situations.” The anointing will be on our doing and becoming the will of God, not on our confessing something that we merely know. We must become obedient and lay everything aside in this last hour except the known will of God. This is the will of God for this hour: “Return to your first love which is equal to first works:“Thou hast left thy FIRST LOVE, Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the FIRST WORKS” (Revelation 2:4-5). The first love of the church was his presence encountered through prayer. From this union came forth many children: The word of God multiplied greatly through the great work of preaching accompanied by the confirming power of the Holy Ghost!
We must get into the Pentecostal position of prayer as a church. It is time to call off all “normal services” and pray till we become the gospel message we preach to a lost and dying world. God will not only meet us in this place, he is waiting on us there. We can change the eternal destiny of multitudes if we will obey his Word. We have an irresistible power! We have an undefeatable God! We are backed by limitless provision as we go forth accompanied by the very armies of the Lord. Let us meet on Holy ground: The Captain of the host is waiting with his sword drawn!!
This still holds true today. We must lay hold to the same promise of his presence: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). This is the one great promise that contains all other promises! If we become the vessels through which Jesus Christ truly reveals himself, then we have embraced all, and will do all that is written.
Jesus is all in all. He was and is the promised power of Pentecost. Peter did not preach power; he preached Christ and the power fell. Peter did not preach divine healing; he revealed the heart of Jesus through the name of Jesus and the impotent man was healed!! Under the anointing, his name spoken is his presence—it is all he is and all he is doing. If we can once again reveal this same Jesus who was (and is) anointed of God and went about doing good and healed all who were oppressed of the devil, THERE IS NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE! There is nothing to be added because nothing else is needed!
The second thing Brother Greenaway said was, “Pentecostal power is for Pentecostal situations.” The anointing will be on our doing and becoming the will of God, not on our confessing something that we merely know. We must become obedient and lay everything aside in this last hour except the known will of God. This is the will of God for this hour: “Return to your first love which is equal to first works:“Thou hast left thy FIRST LOVE, Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the FIRST WORKS” (Revelation 2:4-5). The first love of the church was his presence encountered through prayer. From this union came forth many children: The word of God multiplied greatly through the great work of preaching accompanied by the confirming power of the Holy Ghost!
We must get into the Pentecostal position of prayer as a church. It is time to call off all “normal services” and pray till we become the gospel message we preach to a lost and dying world. God will not only meet us in this place, he is waiting on us there. We can change the eternal destiny of multitudes if we will obey his Word. We have an irresistible power! We have an undefeatable God! We are backed by limitless provision as we go forth accompanied by the very armies of the Lord. Let us meet on Holy ground: The Captain of the host is waiting with his sword drawn!!
THE ALMIGHTY BLOOD OF JESUS
B.H. Clendennen tells the following in his teaching “The Almighty Blood:”
"I believe Dr. Billy Graham told this story on one of his telecasts, how two medical doctors had been born again in his crusade. In interviewing these medical doctors, Dr. Graham asked, “Suppose a man has lost a hand. Do you believe that God can put that hand back on that arm?”
The answer those doctors gave was very unusual and brought home to me this great truth about the blood of Jesus. They said, the genetic code that put that hand on that arm in the first place is still in the bloodstream, and only awaits the command of a man or woman of faith, and it will put that hand back on the arm.
When we are born again, we receive the blood of Christ. That is the life of this spiritual body, the Holy Spirit, the life of God, the blood. There is no pollution in that blood. In it are the genes of God. As the blood is allowed to flow, as we walk in the light as He is in the light, it is restoring in us the image of Christ."
It is truly amazing to realize that since we are in the same church as the one started in the book of Act’s, we have the same exact genetic code flowing through our spiritual blood veins as they did. This being true, the genetic code that brought MULTITUDES OF TRUE CONVERSIONS IN THE EARLY CHURCH IS STILL IN THE BLOODSTREAM OF THE CHURCH TODAY!!! It was the Blood of Jesus that raised three thousand souls from the dead on the day of Pentecost. Spiritually speaking, blind eyes that had never saw was opened that day, ears that had never heard was unstopped that day, lame legs that had never walked in the truth started walking that day! The Almighty Blood of Jesus brought forth everlasting life throughout the book of Act’s and that same Blood cries out today, “The harvest is truly great, go forth and gather fruit unto life eternal!
God IS RESTORING the church today to the image of Christ and that image aligns perfectly with the one pictured in the gospel: “I came not to save the righteous, but to seek and save that which was lost.” That image is one and the same with the voice of Jesus’ Blood speaking and the cry of the Spirit saying, “Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that he would send laborer’s into HIS harvest.” The same Blood speaks in us his servants as we return an answer, “Here I am, send me!”
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The Church Is Going To Meet
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. —Malachi 3:1
A careful reading of the scriptures will reveal that Jesus fulfilled this word twice: once at the beginning of his ministry and the other at the end of his ministry. Both cleansings was meant to bring his house back to its original intent: “My house shall be called a house of prayer.” The Jews response to this was driven of the devil; they wanted to kill him. After all, was he not the lowly carpenter, the son of Joseph? He did not fulfill their expectations; therefore they could not abide him. They could not stomach his ministry because they could not hear his voice: “For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him” (Acts 13:27). This was a most fatal error, because the voice of the scriptures and the presence of Jesus is one and the same.
A frightful thing is occurring this very hour. Jesus has once again come to his temple at the end of all things and the church at large does not recognize his voice. Jesus is standing today at the church of America just as he stood at the door of the church at Laodicea,“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). This voice is “put on the shelf” because it is once again being spoken by “lowly carpenters.” This is because the scriptures are no longer the only authority required; now you have to have led a “major move of God.” Listen to what one of the modern day “prophets” asked someone who “dared” to question adultery in the life of a healing evangelist, “What gives you the credentials? What moves of God have you led? What have you built?” This line of thinking exposes a MAJOR FUNDAMENTAL ERROR!! Credentials, moves, and buildings can NEVER be the criteria for judging moves of God—see Jeremiah.If the size of your meeting constituted your being able to speak for the Lord, then Madonna and Lil Wayne would lead the way! Poor Jeremiah wouldn't stand a chance; he never led a big revival. The only fail proof standard by which we can judge anything is the Word of God!!!
The Word of God is the only judge and standard we need because the Word of God is alive and breathing and is not SILENT! Jesus is the Word of God and for all who has ears to hear he is speaking his commandments once again to his church. You must understand that Jesus did not knock on the door of the Laodicean church forever; He finally did get some of them to the door. We read of this in Luke 14:17-20:
“And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”
This is exactly where we are at in the church today:consumed with the things of the world including man made doctrines! The true voice of the Lord is not recognized because we are listening to another voice and are preparing for something of this temporary life. God is fixing to take his church out of the world! In this last hour the most dangerous thing to a man is a piece of land, an ox, and a wife that has become the focus of what the kingdom of God is all about. In this hour of where the “Titanic” has already begun taking on water, the gospel message is not focusing on that which is destined to be burned, it is zeroing in on but ONE thing: SOULS, SOULS, AND MORE SOULS.
When the servant reported back to the Master of the house and told him of all the “lame ox” excuses he had been given, we read of the response of Jesus. “Then the master of the house BEING ANGRY said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. This MANDATE TO GO QUICKLY is the word that is proceeding out of the mouth of the Lord today. This preaching of the gospel to the halt, the maimed, and the blind is one and the same with the five wise virgins who were pouring their oil into the wounded. All this represents the church that is hearing the heartbeat of the Lord and therefore are in one mind and one accord! It is the church coming full circle back to it’s first love. A church that is going to meet first in the upper room of the Passover for cleansing from sin; and then in the upper room of Pentecost for prayer, then power, then multiplication of souls. This church may have to meet again at the cave Adullam, but it is going to meet!!!
ALL THIS WILL BE DONE TO FULFILL THAT WHICH WAS SPOKEN BY THE PROPHET JESUS IN THE BOOK OF JOHN THE APOSTLE: "THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE;AS THOU, FATHER, ARE IN ME, AND I IN THEE, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US:THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT THOU HAST SENT ME. Amen:so be it unto us according to his word!!!
A careful reading of the scriptures will reveal that Jesus fulfilled this word twice: once at the beginning of his ministry and the other at the end of his ministry. Both cleansings was meant to bring his house back to its original intent: “My house shall be called a house of prayer.” The Jews response to this was driven of the devil; they wanted to kill him. After all, was he not the lowly carpenter, the son of Joseph? He did not fulfill their expectations; therefore they could not abide him. They could not stomach his ministry because they could not hear his voice: “For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him” (Acts 13:27). This was a most fatal error, because the voice of the scriptures and the presence of Jesus is one and the same.
A frightful thing is occurring this very hour. Jesus has once again come to his temple at the end of all things and the church at large does not recognize his voice. Jesus is standing today at the church of America just as he stood at the door of the church at Laodicea,“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). This voice is “put on the shelf” because it is once again being spoken by “lowly carpenters.” This is because the scriptures are no longer the only authority required; now you have to have led a “major move of God.” Listen to what one of the modern day “prophets” asked someone who “dared” to question adultery in the life of a healing evangelist, “What gives you the credentials? What moves of God have you led? What have you built?” This line of thinking exposes a MAJOR FUNDAMENTAL ERROR!! Credentials, moves, and buildings can NEVER be the criteria for judging moves of God—see Jeremiah.If the size of your meeting constituted your being able to speak for the Lord, then Madonna and Lil Wayne would lead the way! Poor Jeremiah wouldn't stand a chance; he never led a big revival. The only fail proof standard by which we can judge anything is the Word of God!!!
The Word of God is the only judge and standard we need because the Word of God is alive and breathing and is not SILENT! Jesus is the Word of God and for all who has ears to hear he is speaking his commandments once again to his church. You must understand that Jesus did not knock on the door of the Laodicean church forever; He finally did get some of them to the door. We read of this in Luke 14:17-20:
“And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”
This is exactly where we are at in the church today:consumed with the things of the world including man made doctrines! The true voice of the Lord is not recognized because we are listening to another voice and are preparing for something of this temporary life. God is fixing to take his church out of the world! In this last hour the most dangerous thing to a man is a piece of land, an ox, and a wife that has become the focus of what the kingdom of God is all about. In this hour of where the “Titanic” has already begun taking on water, the gospel message is not focusing on that which is destined to be burned, it is zeroing in on but ONE thing: SOULS, SOULS, AND MORE SOULS.
When the servant reported back to the Master of the house and told him of all the “lame ox” excuses he had been given, we read of the response of Jesus. “Then the master of the house BEING ANGRY said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. This MANDATE TO GO QUICKLY is the word that is proceeding out of the mouth of the Lord today. This preaching of the gospel to the halt, the maimed, and the blind is one and the same with the five wise virgins who were pouring their oil into the wounded. All this represents the church that is hearing the heartbeat of the Lord and therefore are in one mind and one accord! It is the church coming full circle back to it’s first love. A church that is going to meet first in the upper room of the Passover for cleansing from sin; and then in the upper room of Pentecost for prayer, then power, then multiplication of souls. This church may have to meet again at the cave Adullam, but it is going to meet!!!
ALL THIS WILL BE DONE TO FULFILL THAT WHICH WAS SPOKEN BY THE PROPHET JESUS IN THE BOOK OF JOHN THE APOSTLE: "THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE;AS THOU, FATHER, ARE IN ME, AND I IN THEE, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US:THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT THOU HAST SENT ME. Amen:so be it unto us according to his word!!!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Do You Recognize Him?
Throughout the scriptures God has appeared in a way that was not expected. Abraham expected God to show up in his prime; He showed up in his utter weakness. Joseph was all set to enroll in the local “Prophetic Protocol Workshop” and receive pain free impartation; God enrolled him in his favorite college, The University of PIT—“prophets in training.” After David had slew Goliath, he surly figured he had found a way to get “a head” in life; he soon found himself as head pastor of the “Church of Adullam.”
Jesus always comes in a way that can not be recognized with the natural mind: “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:10-11). Man, when it is all said and done, is nothing more than a handful of dust. It is simply not within his ability to receive the things of God: “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). You can sooner teach a worm to pass trigonometry than a natural mind the scriptures.
After his resurrection Jesus did not appear in recognizable forms. To Mary he appeared as a gardener; on the road to Emmaus he was an ordinary traveler; on the seaside he was someone who had cooked fish. There is a great truth we must see here: It is never after that which appears to the natural eye that we will discern his presence. It is only when you look past that which is seemingly ordinary will you see the extraordinary Christ! You must through the Spirit of God look past what everybody else sees, and perceive what God wants you to see. It has always been this way: How easy it would have been for King David to say of those discontents that came to him at the cave, “This sure isn’t Abner and Jonathan!”
In this last hour it is imperative that we discern the true body of Christ. This really should not be that hard: It will always be that which aligns it’s self in total agreement with the Head!! It will always be according to the scriptures!
Jesus is once again coming to his temple in the form of a common place gardener, will you recognize him?
Jesus always comes in a way that can not be recognized with the natural mind: “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:10-11). Man, when it is all said and done, is nothing more than a handful of dust. It is simply not within his ability to receive the things of God: “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). You can sooner teach a worm to pass trigonometry than a natural mind the scriptures.
After his resurrection Jesus did not appear in recognizable forms. To Mary he appeared as a gardener; on the road to Emmaus he was an ordinary traveler; on the seaside he was someone who had cooked fish. There is a great truth we must see here: It is never after that which appears to the natural eye that we will discern his presence. It is only when you look past that which is seemingly ordinary will you see the extraordinary Christ! You must through the Spirit of God look past what everybody else sees, and perceive what God wants you to see. It has always been this way: How easy it would have been for King David to say of those discontents that came to him at the cave, “This sure isn’t Abner and Jonathan!”
In this last hour it is imperative that we discern the true body of Christ. This really should not be that hard: It will always be that which aligns it’s self in total agreement with the Head!! It will always be according to the scriptures!
Jesus is once again coming to his temple in the form of a common place gardener, will you recognize him?
Friday, May 1, 2009
Behold Therefore The Goodness And The Severity Of God
The greatest tragedy recorded in the scriptures is the witness of Israel’s rejection of the one they had so long waited for: “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:11). They had prophesied his coming and no doubt celebrated his coming, but when he came as the lowly carpenter they despised him. This scorn of their pride turned to utter loathing as they misjudged him on the cross. They failed to see the truth of the cross because they refused to bear witness to what the word had faithfully foretold: It was their sin and shame that was hanging naked on the cross.
All of this point to a fundamental truth that we must understand in this last hour of the Lord’s return: Jesus always comes in a way we do not expect him. The failure of Israel to discern his presence, was rooted in their damnable sin of unbelief in refusing to believe ALL that was written in the Word of God. In their mind, they would have readily accepted Jesus annihilating the Roman army as a conquering King, but they couldn’t accept his coming as a Lamb led to the slaughter. Both the Lamb and the King were foretold in the scriptures, but in the minds of the Sanhedrin, only one of these truths fit the image of God that would save the nation of Israel. In this blatant discarding of the whole truth, they changed the image of God into a lie and God gave them over to a reprobate mind: They crucified the Prince of Peace and embraced a murderer. In trying to save their position, they lost it:Their nation was completely destroyed some thirty years later.
We refuse to believe all that the scripture teaches us about God because of the brain damage we suffered at the fall in the garden: We think we know what God is supposed to look like and what we look like. We embrace his goodness, but reject his severity. We hold on to the erroneous belief of our own goodness and push away the notion that our hearts really are desperately wicked. We rejoice in a God that made Heaven; we try to ignore the God that made Hell. We love the New Covenant promise that all our sins are forgiven; we ignore the New Covenant declaration that those who continue in the works of the flesh WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
To make God out to be something he is not and then to preach this “golden calf” as the true God is the very essence of idolatry! We must reverence the living Word of God as that which is unchangeable. God is exactly who he says he is and it is not for me to pick and choose the parts I like: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:18-20).
All of this point to a fundamental truth that we must understand in this last hour of the Lord’s return: Jesus always comes in a way we do not expect him. The failure of Israel to discern his presence, was rooted in their damnable sin of unbelief in refusing to believe ALL that was written in the Word of God. In their mind, they would have readily accepted Jesus annihilating the Roman army as a conquering King, but they couldn’t accept his coming as a Lamb led to the slaughter. Both the Lamb and the King were foretold in the scriptures, but in the minds of the Sanhedrin, only one of these truths fit the image of God that would save the nation of Israel. In this blatant discarding of the whole truth, they changed the image of God into a lie and God gave them over to a reprobate mind: They crucified the Prince of Peace and embraced a murderer. In trying to save their position, they lost it:Their nation was completely destroyed some thirty years later.
We refuse to believe all that the scripture teaches us about God because of the brain damage we suffered at the fall in the garden: We think we know what God is supposed to look like and what we look like. We embrace his goodness, but reject his severity. We hold on to the erroneous belief of our own goodness and push away the notion that our hearts really are desperately wicked. We rejoice in a God that made Heaven; we try to ignore the God that made Hell. We love the New Covenant promise that all our sins are forgiven; we ignore the New Covenant declaration that those who continue in the works of the flesh WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
To make God out to be something he is not and then to preach this “golden calf” as the true God is the very essence of idolatry! We must reverence the living Word of God as that which is unchangeable. God is exactly who he says he is and it is not for me to pick and choose the parts I like: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:18-20).
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