From God's Heart to Your's

WHAT DID PASTOR PREACH ON THIS MORNING?

2022-01-31T08:52:00.007-08:00

How Much Can You Remember?

Holy Spirit Reminds Us, Teaches Us and Gives Us Peace

John 14 Part 6

On any given Sunday, while driving home from church, how much do you
remember of your pastor’s awesome sermon? I am not a good a good auditory learner so by the time I’m half way home I’ve forgotten at least 80 to 90%. The disciples spent three years learning directly from Jesus and He knew that between not really understanding all He said, and His complete understanding of people, they forgot most of what He said too. But everything Jesus said and did was very important for the future of mankind and He had the remedy ready. These two verses so clearly proclaim the promise. Holy Spirit would not just remind us of what Jesus said, but would teach us all things.

John 14:25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.

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 all things that I said to you.

Holy Spirit communicates with us in so many different ways. Look at this list; I’m sure you probably can add to it, so please add by commenting on the blog.

https://americanbible.org/

Ø He opens our heart level understanding of the Bible as we read it daily.

Ø He inspires people to say things that touch our hearts, especially spouses and others close to us.

Ø He orchestrates the circumstances of our lives to teach us important life lessons and works all things together for our good.

Ø We hear pastors and teachers and often there is something that sticks.

Ø He brings conviction of sin so that we can repent quickly and get back on track.

Ø Anointed worship teams use music that so often speaks to the heart.

Ø He anoints people to proclaim prophetic words and all the other manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit.

Just think about every word in the Bible. Every word from every author was inspired by Holy Spirit to teach us how to live, to teach us the lessons of the legacy of people and events from Genesis through Revelation. It’s incomprehensibly amazing to ponder how much Holy Spirit is involved in our lives every day.

The Lord had another important thing to accomplish in speaking to the disciples and to us. These next two verses reflect the Lord’s desire for us to have peace because of the things He said.

John 14:27 Peace 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.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Some of us don’t remember specifics very well. Are you like me, the Christian that can rarely quote chapter and verse without looking it up? The Lord knows that if we are left to our limited brain power we will forget the specific things He said that we need for every situation. Not knowing what to do or what to say in situations can cause us to be fearful, worried, not at peace. Thankfully, we are not limited by our finite brains; Holy Spirit is always right there to bring what we need to remembrance or to impart the wisdom and grace we need to handle it. That makes me, and I hope you, want to shout Hallelujah. Thank God for John 14:26.

https://www.crosswalk.com/

This brings us to an important aspect of hearing, of listening to however Holy Spirit is communicating with us.

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

That hearing may be a scripture, but when it is, that’s spiritual hearing, that “the verse seemed to leap off the page,” is what this verse refers to. Yes, we can stand on every promise, every word in the Bible as we should, however, sometimes without that breath of the Spirit bringing a personal revelation, quoting scripture can be a presumptuous wish, not a prayer of faith. Presumption tries to put mind over matter. A prayer of faith has the expectation of God’s intervention in the situation. It’s when that ink on the page (or words on whichever phone Bible app you’re using) becomes alive; the Logos word becomes a Rhema word, in your inner man. When our hearts and mind are in tune with Holy Spirit, in sync with God’s heartbeat, we receive this faith that comes from such hearing. There is never any doubt when you know you have heard from God. Please be careful, however, concerning major decisions, there is wisdom in getting sound council from your pastor or other church leaders who know you and you trust.

God intends for us to have peace, to be at peace, all the time. The word peace occurs 397 times in the Bible. The concept of peace is greatly misconstrued in most people’s understanding. Peace is not the absence of war, of fighting, destruction killing or adversity. The peace the Lord is talking about is an inner peace; it’s something we can experience even in the midst of the most horrible of circumstances. Let’s look at this verse again,

John 14:27 Peace 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.

This peace we see is a gift from God. In almost every epistle, Paul wrote that he prays the phrase, “grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” for the churches. Paul and Silas had so much peace that they sang and worshipped the Lord in a horrible jail cell in the middle of the night. The Lord caused the earth to quake; He broke off the chains and opened all the prison doors in response. In the midst of horrible circumstance they had nothing to worry about and acted in faith – real faith that came from Holy Spirit. Turn the sound up and watch this short video, you'll taste HIS peace.

Are you catching the message about What Makes Jesus Tick? Jesus set the example of hearing from God and walking in obedience, empowered by the Spirit do whatever the Father led Him to do or say. Walking in the Spirit is our key to living without fear for the Lord said, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Such a level of communication with God is our source for wisdom and grace to go through all the stuff of life, just as Jesus did. We will only accomplish all God has called us to if we keep our eyes on Jesus.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Holy Spirit works overtime to help us exchange the works of the flesh for the gifts of the Spirit. Look up Galatians 5:19-24 to see the difference spelled out. Oh, the freedom to be experienced as we lay aside those weights of the flesh and receive the fruit of the Spirit. Another thing that Makes Jesus Tick is for us to be at peace, and full of those fruits so that we can run that race to the finish line successfully.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Holy Spirit to be in our hearts, that we can receive the Baptism of Holy Spirit and be saturated with Him. Help us to listen to the reminders, teachings and direction provided by that Presence. May our hearts always be in sync with Your’s. In Jesus Name we ask for Your guidance. Amen

PEACE OF MIND AND HEART

2022-01-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD =

PEACE OF MIND AND HEART

John 14 Part 5

Union with the Father and the Son is Newness of Life

John 14:19-24 describes the perhaps the biggest “WOW!” in the entire Bible. They describe the intertwined connections between Jesus, the Father and the people who, motivated by love, obediently follow HIM. Jesus has such a heart level understanding of the Father’s heart, and a love for the Father, that it is the motivation for everything HE says and does. We can grow in that as we grow in the same understanding of God’s heart. It’s not a pipe dream; it’s not bondage to legalism; it’s newness of life that is filled with eternal peace, joy and love for God and people.

John 14:19 starts out with a great promise, one every Christ follower will cherish with thankfulness:

John 14:19 After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.

Whenever we think of our own salvation, we realize that we are only alive because Jesus is alive. Say it out loud, “I am alive because HE is alive.” This new life is filled with hope, purpose, assurance and reason to confidently press on through every obstacle of life. There is no doubt I would not have lived to see the age of 22 had I not gotten saved when I was 20.

Think of the implications of this reality as they apply to how we live. The benefit

of this new life requires us to turn around, turn from the life we lived before and to surrender the sins that the Lord shows us are not according to His standard (the Bible) for our life. We don’t come under a set of rules and regulations that are a continual burden we can’t carry. Instead we begin a life led by the Holy Spirit. Following His lead becomes an integral part of who we are. God supplies the Grace and power to enable true repentance at the heart level followed by that same grace and supernatural power to obey every direction He leads us in. All we need do is choose to yield to that leading only. When we see the goodness and love of God at that level, we change; we begin to exchange our old nature for God’s character developing in us. I met Jesus 50 years ago and I still rejoice in increasing levels of freedom from those things that are not according to God’s standard for my life. This process so wonderfully shows us What Makes Jesus Tick.

The next verse takes us a step further into grasping the intellectually incomprehensible connections within the Godhead and with other believers. Don’t try to figure it out, just accept it all by faith and knowing the Bible is absolute Truth and we live in “that day.”

Look at it this way:

Ø Jesus is The Father

Ø The heart of every believer is in Jesus

Ø Jesus is in the heart of every believer

The cost for the second two bullet points is nothing to be taken lightly or for granted. It’s only by the blood of Jesus, the Father’s sacrifice of His Son and His resurrection from that death for us, that we can enter into this eternal relationship with the King of the Universe. The first part of the next verse describes the metric to evaluate if we are walking in this absolutely amazing reality of relationship with Jesus and the Father.

John 14: 21 The person who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father…” [AMP]

And, as we saw in the previous blog, John 14 part 4, THE LOVE OF THE FATHER

John 14: 15 “If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments. [AMP]

Remember, this was not a stern, unexplained “Because I said so!” These verses demonstrate how much God wants a close, loving relationship with people. The Lord so simply and specifically tells us what our part is in making this happen. Even young children can grasp it. Good parents and good leaders need to follow this example. Let’s break down verse 21 into 3 phrases.

1) “The person who has My commandments”

2 Timothy 2:15 Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth. [AMP]

Do you read your Bible daily? Not just read it like reading the headlines on some news website, but prayerfully finding nuggets of truth to take to heart? Do you sense the Lord showing you something to share with others as you think about what you’re reading? Or, here’s the kicker, is that point in the Sunday service when the pastor starts to preach your signal to sit back, relax and perhaps allow yourself to doze off a bit?

2) And keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me

How do your spouse, children and perhaps grand children know you really love them? We have to learn their love language in order to communicate our love for them in a way they understand. (You can learn more on this at https://www.verywellmind.com/can-the-five-love-languages-help-your-relationship-4783538. ) I think God speaks and understands all five love languages and obedience to the Word of God is part of each one.

1. Words of affirmation

2. Quality time

3. Physical touch

4. Acts of service

5. Receiving gifts

The second part of verse 21 makes me want to shout Hallelujah, especially this Christmas season,

3) and I will love him and reveal Myself to him [I will make Myself real to him].

Doesn’t the Christmas story make Jesus real to you? The whole story of the life of Jesus should never become so familiar to us that we take any event in it for granted. It’s all revelation of God’s heart, it all describes What Makes Jesus Tick. There is much more to understand and experience about the Manifest Presence of God and for that I refer you to the writings of Walter Beutler. (see https://wadetaylor.org/manifest-presence-of-god-2/ There is a lot there; it’s all “better felt than telt.” )

My life was so drastically changed on 12/17/1971 when I first experienced the supernatural manifest presence. I met Jesus in a eal and unmistakable, supernatural way. I knew in an instant that Jesus is the King of the universe, that includes of me, and that the Bible is absolute truth. Addiction to HIS Presence replaces all other dependencies and fills life with the joy of the Lord. God will continually reveal Himself to us and our lifelong love affair with Him grows and motivates us to be more and more like HIM. Our union with the Father and the Son is truly our source of peace of mind and heart in all circumstances. Thank God for this newness of life.

Prayer: Lord, please stir our hearts to love YOU more. Give us unending grace and strength to live this wonderful life of obedience to our LOVING KING AND SAVIOR JESUS. Let YOUR love flow through us and touch the lives of the people we come in contact with. Amen.

Parenting For Wonderful Maturing

2021-10-13T09:12:00.005-07:00

The Love Of The father

Parenting For Wonderful Maturing

John 14 Part 4,

Testimony of how God instigated my search for Him:

Sometime in late 1969 I was visiting my girl friend at her college, about 40 miles from where I was a student in another college. When it was time to go home I put my sack of clothes on my back and stood by the road outside her campus and stuck out my thumb. In those days my primary mode of transportation was hitchhiking. Soon a car came along and stopped, not to give me a ride though, it was a police car. Knowing I had some drugs in the sack I threw it a far as I could. The officer retrieved it and of course found the bag of contraband and took me off to a cell at the trooper station. I told him a story that I had no idea what that stuff was he found, that maybe somebody dropped in my sack. Scared stiff as I sat in that trooper station’s small cell, I wrote down a bunch of thoughts. The one thing I will never forget writing was, “If there is a God, GET ME OUT OF HERE!” Soon the officer came, opened the cell, threw my sack of cloths at me and said, “Get out of here, kid; don’t let me see you again.” I don’t remember how I got to the bus station but I will never forget looking out the window of the Greyhound Bus as the stark reality of what happened flooded my mind. For the first time in my life I knew that God existed, that HE got me out of that jail cell and I felt like I owed Him something. Thus, my intentional quest to find God started that day.

I shared all that to ask you the question: are you seeking God or have you found Him? I recently heard some disturbing statistics about a high percentage of American people that consider themselves Christians yet deny the absolute truth of the Bible. They deny that Jesus is the only way of salvation and eternal life. They even deny that Jesus is God. I can understand making those denials, but I cannot comprehend how people who do so can consider themselves Christians. How can you say you identify yourself with the Christ if you do not know who HE is and know HIM personally? I grew up in a Jewish community and had never heard the Gospel. I only knew that as a Jew I should not pay any attention to Christian proselytizers. It was at least a year and a half or more of diligently searching until HE found me with a ready heart. Perhaps the most life altering thing, mind set changing thing that came with Jesus miraculously revealing Himself to me at a Christian commune was that I found ABSOLUTE TRUTH. Since that confrontation with HIS Manifest Presence, there has never been a question about Jesus being the Lord our God, the King of the Universe, and that the Bible is absolutely true. The Gospel is absolutely true whether you believe it or not. TRUTH IS NOT RELATIVE. Everything changes in your life when GOD shows you that Jesus is the incarnation of ABSOLUTE TRUTH and LOVE.

So, now you ask, what has all that got to do with the title of this blog? Do you remember your parent telling you to do something and you rebelliously asked “why?” You must remember the “Because I said so!” stern response. I loved my parents but I hated that response. I love my children, all mature adults now, but I am sure they hated that response like most kids have for generations. John 14:15, taken by itself, seems like that, but read on and we see that Jesus answered the “why” and the “how.” Please take a few minutes and read the following verses a few times from the Amplified Bible. Let the reality of the Father’s love sink in. It will fill your heart with the confidence of THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR YOU.

John 14: 15 “If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments.

16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor - Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever

17 the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.

18 “I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, bereaved, and helpless]; I will come [back] to you. [AMP]

What Jesus said in verse 15 was not a stern, unexplained “Because I said so!” I think His tone of voice and body language was a plea of love. HE didn’t take up some easy way out of giving an explanation. NOR did HE try to bribe anyone with ice cream and cookies. Instead, Jesus made some great promises for our loving obedience to the Bible’s loving commandments. Verses 15-18 are simple, straight forward and a model for Simplistic Parenting that produces Wonderfully Matured offspring.

Let’s take a look at HIS loving promises to His instructions (that are conditional on obedience):

In John 14:16 Jesus promises to ask the Father to help us. He does this eternally as we see in the following verse Romans:

Romans 8:34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and HE is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

In times past, the rod of correction was applied to the seat of learning. I’m sure there were mother’s pleading with father’s to “go easy on the boy” on the way to the wood shed. So much more, Jesus took care of the wages of our sins. HE paid the price. HE took the consequences for our sins. We learn quickly that there are consequences for our actions, but, there is a remedy:

1 John 1:9 But if we confess our sins to him, HE is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. [NLT]

I am ever thankful for the promise of what Jesus is asking the Father for us. The Amplified Bible spreads it out so wonderfully. You may want to do a more thorough word study to uncover the meaning of each of the terms used in verse 16.

John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor - Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever

I made a bold, perhaps controversial statement earlier concerning relative versus absolute truth. The next verse describes the reason for the controversy. Acceptance of the absolute truth requires the revelation coming to a person’s heart from God. Personally, with the freedom from the wages of my sin and blessed hope of eternal life, this revelation set my heart and mind on a totally new, and wonderful, path of life. I sought and I found.

John 14:17 the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you. [AMP]

Verse 18 is the proverbial icing on the cake.

John 14: 18 “I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, bereaved, and helpless]; I will come [back] to you.

Christians are connected to GOD the FATHER. We are not like helpless, hopeless orphans left alone in the street. Holy Spirit is our comforter so we’re not stuck in perpetual grief. Jesus is our helper; HE is the other set of footprints in the sand. HE helps us as HE holds our hand so we can walk on the waters of life with miraculous and exceeding joy. And the cherry on top of the sundae… HE IS COMING BACK FOR US.

In Conclusion:

The Christian life need not be complicated. Seek and you will find, it’s a done deal. GOD THE FATHER simply loves as HE expressed in John 3:16. As believers of the Gospel, Holy Spirit is in us; we can get still and hear HIS heart beating within us, enabling us to stay in sync with Him. We mature in this relationship as we hope our children do also. Thus we hear so much of God’s Heartbeat.

Prayer:

Father, forgive us me for those times where we failed to love like you do. Help us to grow closer to YOU and reflect YOU to everyone we meet, in simplicity and TRUTH. As we to keep our hearts in sync with the TICK, TICK, TICK of your loving heart. Give us the boldness to manifest that love, not just by words and good deeds, but by going beyond the natural realm to do same miracles Jesus did, and then some. May we be as bright lights of Absolute Truth and God’s love to the deceived and dying people all around us. AMEN.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

2021-08-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

What Are You Doing?

God Has Greater Things for You

John 14 Part 3,

Today I want to start out with some verses that are perhaps the most challenging verses for Christians to consider. The purpose of this “God’s Heart Beats For You” blog is for us to hear God’s heartbeat and stay in synch with What Makes Jesus Tick. When musicians play together they either use a metronome, follow the drummer or watch the conductor to stay together. fortunately for me, I've been playing solo for the last 10 years or so, freeing me up to just play by however I feel the song at the time. That doesn't work well when playing with others, Without synchronization the music is discordant. Likewise, God’s synchronization tool for our lives is the Bible and it records that Jesus declared,

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

I love that life, don’t you? Do you agree that we want our lives to stay in sync with the Master? If so, let’s look at this challenge, remembering that we cannot do what Jesus says using our carnal mind and flesh.

John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

Do you see a gap between these verses and what you experience in life? It sure bothers me when I do. If you say you have completely bridged that gap than you’re most probably wrong.

I do believe that the Lord anoints us to do what He did and greater things, and that He does answer prayer spoken in His name. Believers started to walk in such miracle power right after the Pentecostal outpouring in the upper room about 2000 years ago. There is no scriptural precedent for believers to ever stop doing that. Everything that started that day continues. Nothing was just for then and not for now. I also believe that God is no respecter of persons and all the gifts of the Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 12:4-11) are for every believer until Jesus returns. The manifestation of those gifts is according to God’s timing and place. The Spirit is like the wind and we need to flow with Him, NOT according to flesh, uncontrolled zeal, or our limited human intellect.

Some people get radically saved, baptized in the Holy Spirit and explode with the power, they are greatly used by God to heal, save and deliver. Sadly we’ve seen some stumble and fall. I’ve seen that these precious saints fell because they had no depth of character nor had they been sufficiently discipled. With no longevity of really getting to know the Lover of their soul and no commitment to a local church, they had a short lived honeymoon, there was no long term follow through of discipleship and the enemy drew them back into darkness. 1 Timothy chapter 3 describes the qualifications for ministry and this verse describes what can happen of someone lacks those qualifications and steps too far out in ministry.

1 Timothy 3:6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

The Great Commission is to make disciples. Jesus took His disciples through three years of discipleship, and then they had to wait four months until the Day of Pentecost when they were endued with power when the Holy Ghost baptized them. It was after that that they started doing “the works that I do… and greater works than these.” Those of us who have walked with the Lord for some time, have received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, have been discipled and stay in the Word, have the responsibility to follow through with the discipleship process for the young believers. His love compels us to be sensitive to Holy Spirit, to always obey His direction. Only then we will be doing what Jesus did and more so with no fleshly effort or self-glorification. This will build the bridge over that gap between what Jesus said and how we live no matter what we see. HALLELUJAH.

The challenge doesn’t end there, it is intricately woven into our prayer life. These verses specifically define that the Father desires to be glorified in the Son and that one way that happens is in answering prayer.

John 14:13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Repetition = emphasis. The first thing is that we must ask in Jesus name. That is not just a magic phrase added onto the end of a prayer that will magically force God to answer what we want when we want it. When you say anything in someone else’s name you are speaking what that person told you to say. That person either requested, or ordered, you say it and it is in that person’s authority you speak. The other part of the equation is the motive of our asking, “that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

This brings us to the question, What power, what authority, does Jesus have and what does He want us to do with it? I am sure you are very familiar with the “prime directive”, the “Great Commission,” the “Church’s marching orders,”

Matt. 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. [KJV]

Praise God! He doesn’t lead us to go out into the world with only great words to say. He sends us with the power to do what He did, as you just saw in John 14:12. Jesus did so many supernatural, wonderful things for people that had great and eternal consequences for them. If you are reading this you probably have experienced some in your own life. Your testimony of that to others is incredibly significant. We need to pray for “Devine Appointments” to share Jesus with people, in word, by our lives and by the power of God doing miraculous things through us that demonstrate His great love for them. To be truly effective in such a life style we must have our hearts in sync with God’s, we have to walk in the Spirit, constantly listening for the leading of His still small voice, having that inward knowing of the metronome of What Makes Jesus Tick.

Prayer: Father, we pray for an abundance of Devine Appointments, for times of interaction with people where we share YOU with others. Move Lord, do miraculous things through us, Your people, that will draw multitudes out of darkness into the Light as we see You do “things and greater things” through us. Amen.

Your chance to follow up: We live in a day when, more than ever before in our history, we need to share our portions of manna with each other. All who follow this blog would be greatly encouraged if you would take a few minutes to briefly share some personal testimony of what Jesus did in or through you. Whatever media you are reading this blog in, the intention is for it to be a forum, a place of interaction, not just my teaching. Please also be sure to click the Like button, emoji a thumbs up and Share these posts, it means a lot.

GOD'S GREATEST DESIRE: THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YE MAY BE ALSO

2021-06-29T14:42:00.003-07:00

That Where I am, There Ye May Be Also.

John 14 Part 2, Jesus and the FATHER are One

The last blog focused on battling against worry (see https://lnkd.in/d6HwhYV if you’ve not read it). It brought your attention to the 20 times where Jesus uses the word FATHER in John 14. So much repetition indicates the supreme importance of HIS relationship with the FATHER. It was HIS lifeline during HIS time on Earth. It was the source of HIS breakthrough in the many adverse situations. Jesus set the example of making the effort to get quiet in the FATHER’s presence and listen to the tick, tick, tick of the FATHER’s heart. The clock spring is the love of the FATHER for the Son and for people. Grasping this reality will bring great peace to our hearts and allow God to put HIS love for people in our hearts too.

John chapter 14 starts out with a most encouraging two part verse,

John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in ME.

To rephrase, you are not to let worry get to the heart level!! Please don’t cross the line from concern worry, it’ll soon become panic or lead to paranoid behaviors.

The Promise and God’s Greatest Desire for Mankind:

In these verses, as we’ve often seen, Jesus sets a stage for what He is about to say or do.

John 14:2 …I go to prepare a place for you.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.

In verse 5, below, Thomas is confounded by what Jesus said. To paraphrase, he’s saying, “What are you talking about, Jesus?” Notice how Jesus redirects the conversation, drawing attention to the higher priority in verse 6.

5 Thomas said to HIM, “Lord, we do not know where YOU are going, and how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the FATHER except through ME.

Verse 6 answers so many questions and makes the Gospel so simple a little kid could get saved just hearing it. So many people who don’t accept Christ hang onto the false teaching that there are many ways to God, but this verse definitively nails that lie. Of great significance is the way Jesus lovingly emphasizes the necessity of our getting to know the FATHER. It reminds us of God’s great desire for mankind as expressed in John 3:16. We should always be asking the Lord for wisdom to be able to redirect conversations to the basic fundamental of relationship to God the FATHER through the Son. I have nothing against honest, intellectual debate, but we never see Jesus argue. HIS declaration in verse 6 should end doubtful disputations; people accept or reject what HE says but there’s little left to discuss if they reject it.

Let’s back-up a little in order to see more of this emphasis on our coming to the FATHER. Look back at verses 2 and 3. They beg the question, “Where was He going?” We see the answer in a few places after the Resurrection. Among them is:

In Peter’s first sermon right after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit began-

Acts 2:32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the FATHER the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

Then just before Stephen was stoned-

Acts 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

So we see where Jesus is preparing a place for us to be with HIM. Hallelujah!!! This is the greatest desire of God’s heart, “that where I am, there you may be also.”

The rest of the chapter shows the supernatural, intellectually incomprehensible, reality of the Trinity and what a relationship with GOD the FATHER is all about. Our finite brain cannot grasp an infinite GOD, but we know HIM because of the faith that came when HE knocked on the door of our hearts and we invited HIM in and let Him sit on the throne of our hearts. Look at Philip’s struggle trying to comprehend what Jesus was describing of HIS connection with the FATHER-

John 14:7 “If you had known ME, you would have known My FATHER also; and from now on you know HIM and have seen HIM.”

8 Philip said to HIM, “Lord, show us the FATHER, and it is sufficient for us.”

I am sure that, due to my engineering brain, I would have reacted like that too. Jesus goes a step further-

John 14:9 Jesus said to HIM, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known ME, Philip? He who has seen ME has seen the FATHER; so how can you say, ‘Show us the FATHER’?

Don’t you just love it when Jesus short circuits limited human reasoning? yet HE can say, “He who has seen ME has seen the FATHER”

This verse challenges all disciples of Jesus with these questions:

§ Do people see Jesus in us?

§ Do people hear HIS voice when we speak?

§ Do people sense the supernatural Presence of the Holy Spirit when we’re around, or when they visit our churches?

There’s a great old book that shows the process involved to move toward an answer of “Yes” to all of the above. You can download a PDF, “The Release of the Spirit” by Watchman Nee, with a study guide, for free at https://thechurchincupertino.net/Watchman_Nee/Books/The%20Release%20of%20the%20Spirit.pdf

Check out the nutshell description from the preface:

The author strongly recommends to all the servants of Christ that they learn a most fundamental lesson in their Christian experience; namely, the breaking of the outward man for the release of the inward spirit. Work which is out of the spirit is alone the work of God. And only through the breaking of the outward man can the Holy Spirit freely work.

The Lord’s response to Philip, in John 14:8 above, shows the completeness of the connection of The FATHER and the SON. They are so intertwined that they are one.

The following verses are just mind blowing and critical to keeping our hearts in sync with God’s. The SON is in the FATHER and the FATHER is in the SON.

Prayer: FATHER, continue to draw us closer to You, cause us to hear and reflect Your heart to people. Help us to yield to Your power that releases Your Spirit through us. Teach us to discipline our lives to take time to spend with YOU alone, with the Word, daily, so that You make the Word flesh in us.

For further study: Watch this young man’s 16 min. You Tube video teaching, from the Hebrew, about the intertwining. You will hear God’s heart’s desire for oneness with people. My friend Joe Taverna's son will bless your socks off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41hc2zPAddc&t=5s

LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED - DON'T WORRY

2021-06-01T17:05:00.003-07:00

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

John 14 Part 1, Avoiding the Temptation to Worry

Intro:

There are many very familiar verses in John 14 chapter. I hope the insights shared will both remind you of things the Lord has worked in your hearts and perhaps to see them from a different perspective. I pray this helps you apply what Jesus says to your daily life and growing relationship with the Father.

I counted 20 times where Jesus uses the word FATHER in John 14 (skim
the chapter and see if I missed any, also get an overview of the whole chapter before we dig into it piece by piece.). So much repetition indicates the high importance of His relationship with the Father. It was the source of His breakthrough in the many adverse situations during His time on Earth. When we take the effort to get quiet in His presence, we’ll hear the tick, tick, tick of God’s heart. The clock spring is the love of the Father for the Son and for people. This will bring great peace to our hearts.

John chapter 14 starts out with a most encouraging two part verse,

John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled;

you believe in God, believe also in Me.

That first phrase is a loving commandment. To rephrase, you are not to let worry get to the heart level!! There are many life situations that are matters of great concern and it is too easy to let that concern cross the line into worry. Worry quickly becomes fear and the Bible frequently admonishes us not to fear. I grew up in a Jewish home and often heard, “A Jewish mother has the right to worry.” That is not true. Think of the difference of how people act when gripped with worry, fear and panic versus coping with a stressful situation with level- headed concern.

In the natural, human, worldly way of thinking, this command seems impossible to keep in all situations. It took me a long time to learn and implement the lesson that as Christians we can look at the stressful situation, look at difficult or desperate situations and declare, “BUT GOD.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Jesus defined that “way of escape” in the second part of John 14:1, “you believe
in God, believe also in Me.” It’s the lesson Peter learned when he got out of the boat to walk to Jesus on the water. His frame of reference shifted from doing what Jesus told him to do, to the stormy sea he was on. With attention on the stressful situation (i.e. the waves and wind), Peter’s worry turned to panic very quickly. Let us always keep our eyes on Jesus and never give place to worry and fear. Jesus spent time alone with His Father and was consequently always victorious over fear.

I have a confession to make. I have a heart condition that required a 2^nd procedure to fix the problem. The temptation to fear was there, BUT GOD!!! I’ll turn 70 in a couple of months, leaving me with at least 10 years to accomplish all the Lord has given me to accomplish. This problem can’t prevent that. I take this way of escape: I choose to follow God’s process to deal with the negative emotions that want control,

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

King David brings out this principle so beautifully in many places. Psalm 42 leapt off the page during my “breakfast with Jesus” one morning and Psalm 43 the next. The Psalms are such great stress relief. I like to read through them about once a year.

Psalm 42:5 and 11, and again in Psalm 43:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?

And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him,

The help of my countenance and my God.

Repetition, as always, represents high importance. The Psalmist is frequently distraught throughout this great book, but he always demonstrates the way from that to the peace and joy of the Lord. Notice that he talks to himself. Once we recognize a problem in our spirit we must always do likewise. OH, what victory comes from verbal declarations. They cause great things to happen in our hearts as we hear ourselves declare things like this very partial list:

Ø Of the goodness of God,

Ø rebuking the enemy who is trying to trip you up, by saying

“SHUT UP DEVIL, GET OUT OF MY WAY!!”

Ø Confess Scriptures that describe what is really going on

Ø Whatever else starts pouring from your heart

The expression in caps comes out of my mouth quite often. Just remember it is only uttered to the enemy of our soul.

In Conclusion, let me remind you of the verse that started this lesson, it reveals an important focus of What Makes Jesus Tick is our walking in what it says.

John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled;

you believe in God, believe also in Me.

The key to how to not let your heart be troubled is found in the direction and promise quoted from Philippians 4:6-7

Prayer: OH that God’s people would consistently yield to that peace of God and not to worry. That we would always just take the time to wait in His Presence, experience that peace of heart and mind that only comes that way, and then begin to intercede for others with fervent prayer. May we always realize that our troubles are insignificant compared to what others are going through and earnestly pray for one another, pray for supernatural healing of spirit, soul and body. Lord, help us to hear the tick, tick, tick of the Father’s heart every day so that we can walk in and demonstrate that incomprehensible peace of God in all situations. Amen.

LEAN ON JESUS, HEAR HIS HEARTBEAT

2021-04-29T14:03:00.004-07:00

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

John 13 Part 2

Mat. 11:6 “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

John 13:19 Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.

20 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”

The sequence of events leading up to The Passion is moving quickly. Jesus and the twelve disciples just finished the Last Supper and Jesus’ heart is troubled because He knew that Judas was about to betray Him. Some very stressful circumstances were about to come. The acid test of our spirituality is when we are under stress. Jesus wanted to prepare the disciples for what was about to happen so they could pass that test. We can clearly hear His heart beat as we break down these two verses quoted above.

In verse 19, Jesus explained why He is letting them know of the betrayal; that He wants them to know who He is. He always yearns for all people to know who He is; that is key to salvation. We see in Matthew’s Gospel that when John the Baptist was under the stress of being in prison he had doubts about who Jesus is. The Lord’s message to John was profound and reassuring. He also did not want John the Baptist (or us) to be offended by what was soon to happen at Calvary.

Matt. 11:2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples

3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:

5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

What Jesus said in John 13:19 above is in sync with what He said to John in verse 6 of Matthew 11. This foundation of knowing who Jesus is, knowing in the deepest places of our being, is critical. Not just for our own assurance of salvation but, as we see in Jon 13:20, there is a progression from our receiving Him to people receiving Him through us. All who receive Him enter into the relationship with the Father that John 3:16 facilitates. The disciples would soon be launching the ministries that continue today; we are responsible to be the ones doing what is listed in Matt. 11:4-6.

This next verse gives us a picture of the love relationship God seeks with all of humanity. The level of close friendship provokes us to love Him more.

https://spiritualdirection.com/2016/08/11/end-
your-long-distance-relationship-with-the-lord

John 13: 23 The disciple that Jesus dearly loved was at the right of him at the table and was leaning his head on Jesus. [TPT]

You know there are those times when you need a reassuring hug. It has nothing to do with anything immoral or even hinting at the appearance of evil. This disciple had seen What Makes Jesus Tick for three years. In this special occasion, knowing something was deeply troubling the Master, I think he wanted to hear that Divine heartbeat. Perhaps this disciple was sensing the stress of the hour and knew the only source of hope was to lean on Jesus.

The story of the Shulamite in Song of Solomon climaxes with the phrase,

Song of Solomon 8:5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?

https://www.pinterest.com/
pin/859061697660452284/

Why was she leaning on him? All her natural strength, all her striving and futile attempts to please him by her own strength and ability, proved to be insufficient. Her leaning indicates that she came to that place of absolute surrender to the love of God. Oswald Chambers calls this exhaustion and says in “My Utmost for His Highest,”

“Exhaustion means that our vital energies are completely worn out and spent. Spiritual exhaustion is never the result of sin, but of service.”

This great book goes on to explain that such exhaustion in our service to God and people is preventable,

“Continually look back to the foundation of your love and affection and remember where your Source of power lies. You have no right to complain, “O Lord, I am so exhausted...” Be exhausted for God, but remember that He is your supply. “All my springs are in you” (Psalm 87:7).” https://utmost.org/are-you-exhausted-spiritually/

Do you remember the chorus form the old hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”?

Leaning, leaning,

Safe and secure from all alarms;

Leaning, leaning,

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

The whole hymn will bless you if you’re unfamiliar with it or need a reminder. (Relax and listen for a few minutes. https://youtu.be/FBJgFa4MZLg )

The next scene in the chapter shows us a reason why we must lean on Him as our source of the power to live the Christian life. Judas leaves to meet with the Pharisees, putting the logistics of the betrayal together. Jesus makes it clear that God is glorified in Him and that He is leaving to a go to a place the disciples can’t go yet. Rather than leaving things at that, the Master instructs:

John 13: 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Aren’t the strengths and weaknesses of the Church measured by these two verses?

We trick ourselves to think that our proclamation of the Gospel has any validity if we don’t measure up to verse 35. What do they think when the world see Christians bickering over petty stuff that has nothing to do with demonstrating His love to them? What do they think when they see a supposed Christian with a beer or cigarette? We would see much better fruit if we flee from the appearance of evil and demonstrate God’s love with more than empty words. The power of God to do miracles will accompany us, but even that would be for naught if we are not mirroring the heart of God. That new creation Jesus wants us to become emerges more and more, touching the lives of those around us, as we seek God to impart the reality of What Makes Jesus Tick deep and deeper into the fiber of your being,

Prayer: Father, please help us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, constantly led, constantly empowered by Holy Spirit. Continue to cause us to drop the weights of the junk of our old life and lean on Jesus more and more completely. Oh God, please use us to save souls. Father, draw our unsaved family members to Yourself. May we have Holy Ghost duck feathers (the Shield of faith) so as to ward off that which would offend us. LET YOUR LOVE AND POWER FLOW IN US AND THROUGH US TO A LOST AND DYING WORLD. Amen

Pray for America and Against the Socialist Regime in Washington

2021-03-12T08:22:00.000-08:00

Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking

An urgent call to persistence in prayer, with no time limit.

Matt. 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

A few days ago I felt the Lord directing me to read the book of Matthew. Each day since, some verses popped off the page. Today, this verse above struck me with a message of urgency. It speaks of persistence in prayer, with no time limit. We live in a time for us to put on our “INTERCESSOR” hats. No, “hats” is the wrong word, our uniform of the armor that God has given us would be more appropriate. My pastor is preaching a series on this uniform and the Lord showed me how critical it is for every Christian to be skillful with every piece of armor NOW, for we are in the midst of a war like America has never seen.

Eph. 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

The Lord inspired the founders of our nation to create a system of government that was new to the world. America was created to be the freest, most prosperous, most generous, most God fearing nation since Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. God has used America to send messengers to every corner of the world with the message of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Never before now has America seen such a proportion of blatant evil in our Federal government. The first ever blatantly Socialist Regime, led by a puppet president, is demonically inspired to lust after power and to destroy the foundations of the American Socio-Economic and political system. This reality should drive home to every God fearing, freedom loving, American patriot the necessity of fervent, persistent prayer for our national leaders to repent and believe the Gospel, and to pray for another Great Awakening that will establish a Godly culture and government.

The Biblical path to victory is clear,

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,

2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name

Ø will humble themselves,

Ø and pray

Ø and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways,

Ø then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

I urge true Christians in the U.S.A. and throughout the world, to personally hear what God is saying at the heart level, to receive a personal impartation from the Father. This will instill the faith to put feet to those prayers for Revival and cause you to reflect His love and power to people everywhere, pointing people to Jesus at every opportunity.

If you agree, type in an Amen, Like & Share this post. Then join us in prayer for the coming Revival that will turn millions and millions to God.

INTRO. TO WHAT MAKES JESUS TICK

2019-11-12T19:27:00.003-08:00

Discover WHAT MAKES JESUS TICK

An Inspirational Look At the Gospel of John to see and apply the following to our lives:

WHAT did Jesus do or say, WHY HE did or said that

HOW HE accomplished His objectives in the Gospel of John.

PREFACE:

https://christianlifecoachrhonda.files.wordpress.com/
2012/04/295269_208783385902066_
157496957697376_352879_1274149131_n.jpg

Falling in love with Jesus implies falling in love with the Word, the Bible. We love the Word because that is who Jesus is. I’ve advised new believers to read this Gospel and think about the character of Jesus, to seek to know the person Who is the “Lover of Our Soul.”

There is an old amazing book, “In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?” by Charles Monroe Sheldon. It details what changes as Christians determine not to do anything without first asking, “What would Jesus do?” By studying what Jesus did, and meditating on the why and how, we become better equipped to answer this question and, by His grace, function accordingly.

These written portraits will assist the reader in gaining that understanding, at the heart level, to flow with the Spirit of God down this river of understanding. May the Lord increase our hunger for Him as we digest the Word into our inner man and see the love of God so vividly that we desperately want to be like Him.

John 1:1 In the beginning the Word already existed, The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He existed in the beginning with God.

3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.

4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.

14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

This writer makes no claim to exclusivity, nor intention, to present a detailed exegesis covering every point completely. It is always is my intent to share some things that reveal the Character of Jesus, sharing from God’s Heart to yours.

12 Baskets of Words of Life

2019-10-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

Jesus frequently makes statements that show us the limit of intellect and our carnal mind.

John 7: 32 When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus.

33 But Jesus told them, “I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me.

34 You will search for me but not find me. And you cannot go where I am going…”

35 The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. “Where is he planning to go?” they asked.

36 What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me but not find me,’ and ‘You cannot go where I am going’?”

How can we not just love it when the Master makes statements like that in such a context? We can only surmise that the Pharisees just walked away shaking their heads. John’s Gospel just moves on to another day, leaving the crowd and the Pharisees wondering. God is Spirit and unless one is walking in that Spirit He will blow our minds to show us the limit of intellect and our carnal mind. Do you remember trying to read the Bible before you were saved? I did and thought it was an interesting historical novel. Now that ink on those pages comes so alive when the Spirit if the Lord has given us life.

Prayer: Lord give us the wisdom of heart we need to face the situations of each day and stay true to Your plans and purposes. It’s only by Your Spirit, by Your supernatural inspiration that we understand the Truth and can communicate it as the Words of Life. When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” help us to realize that is that that is some revelation of You that feeds our Spirit man, and feeds so abundantly that there is enough for everyone and 12 baskets full left over.

STICK-TO-IT-IVNESS REQUIRED

2019-09-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

STICK-TO-IT-IVNESS REQUIRED

Job 5:7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

WHAT IS OUR part in GOD’S plan?

IS STICK-TO-IT-IVNESS PART OD WHO YOU ARE?

DID JESUS EVER SAY FOLLOWING HIM WOULD BE EASY?

DOES YOUR LIFE PRESENT A SUGAR COATED THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL?

Dear reader, please don’t let your familiarity with these verses and concepts distract you from this message about them.

STICK TO IT IVNESS!!! The following verses are not a promise of instant answer, instant gratification. Faith grows by testing. God answers prayer in 3 ways, Yes, No, and Wait.

Matt. 7:7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. [NLT]

What stands out here are the 3 verbs, the action words, ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK. These are not passive words; they require us to actually do something. The NLT translation makes the point even stronger by preceding the words with “keep on.” Not all of God’s blessings come floating down from heaven or handed to us on silver platters. We have to do something, we have to take the steps Holy Spirit leads and it all takes the grace of God.

Further down in Matt. 7 Jesus drivers the point from a different angle

Matt. 7:13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.

14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. [NLT]

The people of God have great love, and it motivates us to act, but there is another side to the equation.

Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor un-circumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. [NKJV]

We’re not on the Love Boat, hanging out on deck and enjoying the cruise; we’re on a warship battling the forces of darkness and experiencing the victories because we are co-laborers with Christ. The Word is full of great and precious promises but almost all are conditional. We have a part in His plan that requires faithful obedience to meet those conditions. Thank God it is not by our own capabilities that we meet those conditions but the grace and capabilities He works into the fabric of our being.

DON’T SUGAR COAT THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL.

What do unbelievers see when they look at you? Your life speaks more than your words.

None of us are perfect yet, nor will we be, until the rapture or we pass from death to life. But that is not an excuse for lack of trading those imperfections for God’s character. As He exposes our imperfections to us He simultaneously shows us some aspect of His character giving us the opportunity to make a choice. Do you want your junk or His greatness? Here is the challenge,

Philippians 3:17 Brothers and sisters, together follow my example and observe those who live by the pattern we gave you. [Amp.]

The provocation to make this point was the last 2 verses we read, Matt 7:13 & 14. Look at them again. That phrase at the end of verse 14 ("and only a few ever find it") breaks my heart and I am sure the Father’s too, we want to see everyone find, and get on, this narrow road.

What is filling some Churches? I am not inferring that every growing church, or mega-church is like this but I suspect there is considerable soft peddling, many “Love Boat” presentations of the Gospel. Are people being fed a line that if they come to Jesus everything is sweet and rosy? I am sure people who really know any of the Christians I am in fellowship with see that our lives are not trouble free. Do those outside those circles consistently see us getting thru the trials with grace and often miraculous blessings along the way?

Let me give you an example. My oldest daughter is the Clinical Director at Peniel, a Christ based drug and Alcohol rehab program in Johnstown, PA. My wife and I recently drove up there to visit her and I met with the Pastor of the church affiliated with program. I asked him about the percentage of graduates of the program still free after 5 years. He said they are still about 70%. It’s not an easy path to get thru that program; it’s a tough 13 months of getting set free and prepared for life. “The gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult.” Shorter, easier, programs, that are not Christ based, are usually at 5%, 15-20% at best.

Matt. 7:14 is so short, sweet and to the point. I fear that just as there many addicts on the street who have been thru short term secular programs, some of them repeatedly, there are vast multitudes that are lost but, for many reasons, may be sitting in church pews. Worse yet is that because their lives do not portray Jesus, so many are not getting opportunity to see Jesus through His people.

Coney Island Light House

I grew up in Sea Gate, a small peninsula on on the western tip of Coney Island, at the entrance to NY harbor. Our lighthouse is an important landmark for ships coming to port. The consequences for its lamp getting very dirty or broken could be catastrophic. It’s automated now but for over 100 years the keeper tended it carefully. Jesus calls us the light of the world. We must STICK TO IT IVLY keep our hearts clean, focused on the task of pointing souls to Jesus. I encourage believers to do a little soul searching and figure out it others are see Jesus in your life – they are watching.

JESUS IS OUR HIGH PRIEST, AND YOU’RE A PRIEST TOO.

2019-06-20T15:19:00.001-07:00

LOOKING PAST CALVARY

Revelation 5:10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” [NKJV]

Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. [NKJV]

I want you to see something. Picture the ascension. Do you understand where Jesus is and what He is doing on your behalf? He is passed through the heavens and sits at the right hand of the Father. When the accuser tries to lay condemnation on you, Jesus holds up His nail pierced hand and the Father sees your sin paid for. Your sin was nailed to the cross. Therefore, this verse ends with the admonition to, “hold fast our confession.” In other words, live what you say you believe. We need to understand, and be mindful of Jesus functioning in HIS priestly role and interceding for us before the Father. He is our role model.

Heb, 4:14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.

15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Romans 8:33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing,

2 Timothy 1:3 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers.

The Altar if Incense pictures this wonderfully. There’s a song we do with the chorus,

DAY AND NIGHT,

NIGHT AND DAY,

LET INCENSE RISE

Exodus 30:1 “Then make another altar of acacia wood for burning incense..

7 “Every morning when Aaron maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the altar.

8 And each evening when he lights the lamps, he must again burn incense in the Lord’s presence. This must be done from generation to generation.

Rev. 8:3 Then another Angel, carrying a gold censer, came and stood at the Altar. He was given a great quantity of incense so that he could offer up the prayers of all the holy people of God on the Golden Altar before the Throne.

4 Smoke billowed up from the incense-laced prayers of the holy ones, rose before God from the hand of the Angel. (MSG)

Hebrews 5:1 Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins.

2 And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses.

This says allot about the responsibilities and qualifications of priests. We are called to be a kingdom of priests so let’s walk worthy of the calling. Priests are taken from people and appointed for people. Now, in Christ, priesthood is not a leadership position; it is a responsibility of every believer with Jesus being our Great High Priest. Jesus took care of the offerings for sins, now He has left us with the obligation to forgive and to exercise the compassion specified in Gal. 6: 2 below.

Gal. 6:1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

If we are, “appointed for men in things pertaining to God,” every believer has intercessory responsibility. Pray for people, hold them before the Lord, We are accountable to each other. If we see someone stumbling or fallen; love dictates that we help them get back up, always beginning with prayer and hearing from the Lord how best to do that.

We are not left alone to stumble, but placed in the Body of Christ. It has often been said that there are no “lone rangers” in the Body and this is why. Is there enough love in our relationships for us to be at this level of help and accountability to one another? If so, intercession becomes more personal

James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

The old covenant priesthood had the responsibility of performing sacrifices for their own sins and the sins of the people until Jesus came and finished the work. These guys had to slaughter and butcher, boil and burn many animals every day. Thank God our priestly responsibilities don’t involve all the blood gore and guts every day, but sometimes the Lord puts an intense gut level burden for something or someone in us. We get a taste of praying for others with such intensity that the physical body sometimes feels some pain and their spirit groans, aching for the deliverance from sin, sickness, brokenness of people. Sometimes we feel the pressure of someone else’s adversity. Priestly intercession often includes identification with the sins of others. Oh how much we need the prayers of the intercessors and to be willing to be in that role ourselves. Jesus exemplified intercession at this level, especially in the garden just before they came to take Him.

This may sound negative but look at the last phrase. The scriptures say allot concerning the fear of the Lord. When we understand that we find so much hope, realizing God hears and answers prayer. Going through the troubles of life should cause us to develop compassion for others and enable us to pray for them more effectively. Ask any of the hundreds of thousands of people who couldn’t find a good, long-term job. I was there several times. Companies downsizing and reorganizing, or just going out of business left us suffering the feelings of failure and rejection. Oh the wonder of His grace, the beauty of His face. We look at His face instead of the face of adversity and find that grace to help in time of need. People joining with us in prayer over things we can’t control lessens the load.

Jesus’ whole earthly existence was so focused, so directed to this purpose. Everything He did, everything He said, everything He experienced was for our salvation and set the example of how we ought to live and love.

Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

”You died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3); there is no sacrifice, only loving obedience to our loving savior. All we are, all we have, we have on loan from Him. Jesus looked past the Cross and saw you. Wow, this realization always overwhelms me, what did Jesus see when He looked past the Cross? Was it the grandeur of Heaven? Was it the enemy of our souls cast into the bottomless pit? These things are real but were not what He went to Calvary for. I believe He was looking at us, and seeing us as born again, filled with His Spirit and in right relationship with the Father, walking in the Spirit and experiencing the Joy of the Lord. He saw us tapping into His grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4:16). He saw us as His beautiful bride in that pure white robe, free from the bandages of sin. Knowing this should drive us to our knees in thanksgiving and urgently praying for those without Christ or living with less than what God has for them.

There are so many people whose hearts are hard, who just don’t want to hear it. There are lukewarm pew sitters, believers not committed to local churches, fence sitters. My heart cries out for the fire proofed kids and grand kids of those who were on fire. There are many scriptures that address these “dull of hearing” people.

Isa 6:10 "Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed."

Acts 28:27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them."

In all these, we see God’s heart is that the broken people would hear and be

healed, be made whole. Every believer not in this category can probably think of some broken, “dull of hearing” people. I know Jesus gives us the intercessory burden for. Don’t try to manufacture intercessory burdens, just make yourself available. Join us here Sunday mornings before service praying for those walking in the door to wake up from their spiritual slumber.

As a body we all need each other and grow together in Christ, we all are responsible to bare each other’s burdens and to reach the world for Christ.

One final thought. Considering the verse:

Revelation 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Can you wear this hat?

THE RIVER OF GOD

2019-05-28T14:35:00.001-07:00

Enter The River of God as we Worship

I am very thankful to be part of a church where the worship is anointed, dynamic, where the Spirit of the Lord flows as we worship.

Before getting into this message, think back to times and places you’ve been where the worship was different, in a good way. Have you been at a church that was “In Revival”, places like the Ramp, or Brownsville, or Toronto or other places where there was a great outpouring of the Holy Ghost? We’ve heard some stories of a move of God here years ago, when the church was packed and worship was exuberant. Share what it was like.

The Lord wants to provoke us to enter into a higher realm of His Spirit when we come together to worship. My wife and I were spiritually birthed in the Fire; we thrive on extremely anointed and exuberant worship. We didn’t need to go to a gym for a workout, we rejoiced in the Lord with dancing and whirling, shouting and making music, with all our might as King David taught us to. For awhile there was so much Spirit prompted laughter. Such an experience is the greatest stress release you could ever imagine. The following verses became so real as we were all “drunk in the Spirit.”

Psalm 126:2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”

Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart does good, like medicine…(There’s healing in this kind of laughter)

Job 8:21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, And your lips with rejoicing.

Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ

Psalm 2:4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh…

Now that we’re much older we’re still eager to use whatever strength we have to worship the King.

Entering into this place requires some heart level understanding of the River of God, where’s its head waters are, where it flows, what it means to get in and get wet.

Psalm 46:4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

John 7:37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.

38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Let that connection between these verses churn around in your brain for a minute.

With that in mind, let’s look at Ezekiel’s vision that shows us some of what happens in worship and when we are walking in the Spirit. Turn to Ezek. 9. I’m intentionally leaving out portions of the verses for the sake of time and to stay to the point.

Ezek. 47:1 In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side.

2 The man brought me outside the …and led me …to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the … gateway.

3 Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 583 yards…The water was up to my ankles.

4 He measured off another 583 yards and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 583 yards, it was up to my waist.

5 Then he measured another 583 yards and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through.

6 He asked me, “Have you been watching, son of man?” Then he led me back along the riverbank.

7 When I returned, I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river.

8 Then he said to me, “This river flows east through the desert into the valley of the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will make the salty… Dead Sea fresh and pure.

9 There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows. (NLT)

This river and the trees are referred to again in Revelation,

Rev. 22:1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

So we see that these trees with roots in the riverbank. There’s life, there’s healing wherever the river goes. Do you see that the Lord is the source of the water of life? We are the conduit that brings those waters from heaven to earth. Miracles and healing are the norm wherever the River is flowing. This is more evident as you look again at Ezek. 47:1 where we see the water flowing out from under the door of the temple. Where to you ever see water flowing out from under a doorway? From a flooded room. There is a flood in the temple as the rivers of living water flowing out of believers hearts, come together forming this mighty river. Here is the headwaters of the River of God.

I grew up on the beach at the western end of Coney Island, Brooklyn NY and swimming in the ocean. As a teen I would swim out about 50 yards from shore into the deep water, out into the current. There I was passed the crowds, passed the rocks and could swim the ¼ mile or so from one end of the beaches to the other. Reading this passage in Ezekiel I see myself swimming out, getting to where the river reaches the sea and just keep on going effortlessly. In a similar way, look at what Jesus told the disciples to do:

John 5:3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word, I will let down the net.”

6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

There is an application of this concept of launching out into the deep. I love praying for people at alter calls because it is where I have to launch out into the deep and experience a very special anointing. This stepping out is not exclusive to when we come together to worship the Lord in the congregational setting, nor is it exclusive to “the 5 Fold Ministry,” but that’s where tonight’s focus is. Do you have an experiential understanding of “entering into worship?” Launching out into the deep is to enter the Presence of God with “Reckless Abandon” When you do, anything can happen. Allow God to touch your spirit, just yield yourself, body soul & spirit, to the flow of the river, to the winds of the Spirit, to the Manifest Presence of God. When you do, there will be some outward expression. We may laugh, or weep, or shout praises, or manifest some gift of the Spirit, or run around the sanctuary shouting praises to the Lord, or get on the floor with face down and linger there for an extended period of time. There’s no limit to what such expressions may be. Remember there is healing in that river. There is a reason we Pentecostals were called “Holy Rollers”, and from our perspective, there is nothing negative in that. The manner of the expression is not what we seek, but experiencing the Manifest Presence of God is what is critical.

King David set the example for worship when bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem:

2 Sam. 6:12 Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness.

13 And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep.

14 Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod.

15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

16 Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

David worshipped the Lord with Reckless Abandon. He took off his outer Kingly attire, danced and shouted praises to God, leaping and whirling as they publically paraded down the main drag into the city. Those who entered in this worship were greatly blessed. We were in a church of about 1,000 in Long Island for about 2 years. Men on the platform where required to dress in ties and jackets, but during worship the jackets came off. The large alter area was stuffed full with people doing the Pentecostal Jig and all our shoes were in a big pile. The River of God was flowing at Love Church. Miracles and healing was the norm. People living in the deepest pits of sin came and were saved very often.

Before I met Johanna, I was living in an apartment towards the north end of Main Street in Cortland, a small college city in the geographic center of NY state. Main St. had its share of shops, bars and restaurants, many catering to the students. I don’t remember if it was a vision or a dream, but I saw, in the Spirit, the river flowing. There was a spontaneous Christian parade down the middle of Main Street. We went down the stairs, into the street and, with reckless abandon, began to praise the Lord while walking south. The further we walked the bigger the crowd of excited believers grew. There where hundreds of us, walking and leaping and praising God. You could see the progression in the depth of the river. Maybe someday it’ll happen there but we need to experience such excitement when we come together to meet with King Jesus with healed, purified hearts.

POSTSCRIPT: Additional Biblical References to the River of God

Source of God’s Provision:

Gen 2:8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made.

9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches.

11 The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found.

12 The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there.

Looking at several maps that attempt to locate Eden and Havilah, it appears that Havilah is was near Kuwait and Eden west of there. Someone got the gold many centuries ago, perhaps Solomon, but now they have found black gold, Texas tea; Oil; another source of great wealth. Just like the wise men brought the wealth for this area to Mary and Joseph that financed their life in Egypt, the God’s river should flow through the garden of our hearts.

Psalm 65:9: You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile. The river of God has plenty of water; it provides a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so.

There is life wherever the River flows. The rest of Psalm 65 expounds of verse 9, read it at your next opportunity.

OVERCOMING HINDRANCES TO WALKING IN FAITH

2019-05-03T15:01:00.006-07:00

Feed your faith, starve your doubt, HEAR FROM GOD.

Is there anyone here who doesn’t struggle with doubt? Do you struggle with uncertainty about decisions you need to make? Are you one of those people who don’t think the Lord has ever spoken to them? Do you understand the difference between real faith and presumption? Do you struggle with double mindedness? Tonight we’re going to leave with a better understanding of the way out of these dilemmas. You’ll also have the opportunity to share how you found that way out.

Last Sunday we were taught a great Biblical definition of the the word believe. I looked it up in Strong’s online, the Greek word is pisteuō. It is translated:

believe (239x),	be committed unto (1x),
commit unto (4x),	be put in trust with (1x),
commit to (one's) trust (1x),	believer (1x).
be commit to one's trust (1x),

https://steemit.com/christian-trail/@ademayo89/
walking-in-the-spirit

I think we can say that for most Christians, all the verbs listed in this definition are beyond doubt or question concerning the love of God and our salvation. But there is so much more to life, beyond those two things, where the struggles I just listed get very real. There are things in our minds and hearts that can be inhibitors to believing, inhibitors to clear decision making that is based on knowing where the Master is leading. Doubt, presumption and the lies of the enemy are probably the top 3. If Jesus is the Lord of our lives than we have to continuously follow His leadings, we must consistently be walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

Think about what it took for you do the actions listed in this definition concerning accepting salvation and God’s love. Take this a step further concerning the other most important commitment in life – who you marry. Anyone going into full time ministry, especially foreign missions, must be able to say that they believe God has called them to whatever that ministry is. An intellectual decision will never get anyone there.

To take the actions of believing is often referred to as “steps of faith” So this begs the question, where or how did you get such faith in something or someone that you would stake your life on it? Sometimes it takes a SUDDENLY from God.

Acts 2:2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.

3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.

Did you ever have a suddenly when in prayer? Suddenly you had knowledge and wisdom about from God, you know you should do something, perhaps outside your comfort zone. Talk about Grace Episcopal

John heard from the Lord that day in Patmos. Part of this “Suddenly” was a direct instruction to:

Rev.1:11 It said, “Write in a book everything you see, and send it to the seven churches…

Obviously he did what the Lord instructed, we’re reading and studying it now, 2,000+ years later. John understood that the Lord was the leader of his life and he knew that his leader loved him. I’ve said for many years that it is imperative that we, as disciples of Jesus, learn to hear His voice so we can follow where the Master is leading us.

Rev. 1:10 emphasizes the need for us to live in the spirit. There are countless verses with this same admonition. We need to be in the continual communication with God in whom we have our life, our being. God most often communicates with us at the heart level, in the spiritual realm. We are constantly making decisions and we should want His direction in everything. Sometimes His leading does not make sense to us because we it evaluate carnally or without our Father's infinite wisdom.

There are many forks in life’s road; we need Father to let us know which way to go. Spectacular manifestations however, are the exception, not the usual way God speaks to our heart.

Isaiah 30:21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.

Such spectacular events were rare in the lives of the great prophets or the patriarchs, or any other Bible characters. They were few and far between in proportion to the ages of these people of great faith. I have had a few such experiences, although not as dramatic as John’s, and each has changed the direction of my life, or sometimes just my day. Elijah’s experience was very different and it shows this beautifully,

I King 19:11 Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake;

12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

We see, from in these encounters with God, that John and Elijah experienced the spectrum of God communicating with people. It is as vast as there are different people. How wonderful it is when suddenly we just know that we know that we know something. We experience that special something from God, that gentle nudge in our Spirit, that gentle touch on the heart that is His leading. We understand that the Lord makes ordinary grace for ordinary life stuff, and extraordinary grace for those extraordinary situations. God communicates with us in just the right way at just the right time.

These extremes from the lives of Elijah and John are examples of men who heard from God in a personal, life changing way. They heard what God said at the heart level and they believed. Sometimes we experience this while reading the Word, or in church, or when fellowshipping with other believers in Christ centered conversation, or more often just in our time talking with God. You are probably familiar with the following verse,

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

That’s what it takes for you to have that personal first hand faith, the personal conviction April talked about Sunday. The Lord will provide direction your for life, or just wisdom to deal with a particular situation.

OK, let’s edify each other with some testimonies. Write in the comments area below about some time in your life when you “Knew that you knew that you knew” the Lord spoke something to your heart, you believed and acted on it. What was your SUDDENLY like. Maybe it was something pretty dramatic or simple but, importantly, it met your need. Maybe you stepped out in faith and exercised any of the Gifts of the Spirit or you were convicted of some area of your life you needed to repent of.

With the GRACE AND PEACE FROM GOD You Have FIRM FOUNDATION

2019-03-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

GRACE AND PEACE UNTO YOU

Farewell Message to Glad Tidings Tabernacle, Greer SC

Although our assignment at Glad Tidings is complete and they now have a permanent Pastor, this Blog will continue. This was my final message to the wonderful saints at that church and we will be in each other’s hearts forever. The Lord has a great future for that church and we are honored to have had a part in paving the way for the things God will be doing.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

The theme I shared in several messages when I first started at Glad Tidings was on Grace and Peace unto you. The expression, “Grace to you and peace” is used in eleven epistles in the New Testament. Such frequent repetition is worthy of lengthy meditation. The Lord knows how desperately we need these two in order to get through the realities of life on planet Earth.

Rev 1:4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace; that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

I have wonderfully watched many of you receive this grace as you’ve gone through some tough trials of life over the past year. There is something very powerful about grace, and something so wonderful about the fact that God wants to give it to us when we need it.

Peace starts with Jesus, the Prince of Peace,

Isa 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The complete fulfillment of this verse is hard to see if you look at the condition of the world today. Let us ever remember that we have dual citizenship as born again believers. Though we may be Americans, our eternal citizenship is in the Kingdom of God.

Rom 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Peace is a key attribute of the Kingdom of God, it is ours as we walk in the Holy Spirit.

Matthew Henry said:

What blessing it is which he pronounces on all the faithful in these churches: Grace and peace, holiness and comfort. Grace, that is, the good-will of God towards us and his good work in us; and peace, that is, the sweet evidence and assurance of this grace. There can be no true peace where there is not true grace; and, where grace goes before, peace will follow.

Philippians 4:5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I urge you to continue to yield to, continue to experience, God’s grace and peace no matter what life throws at you.

My wife reminded me that part of our call in life is to lay foundations. Looking back over the past year we’ve done that. I’ve always tried to bring spiritual truths down to where we live, where the rubber meets the road. You’ve been taught the 16 Fundamental Truths, exhorted to walk in the Spirit, to be a people who hear the voice of the Lord and walk in loving obedience to the Lover of our Souls.

Over the year you were taught those fundamentals of what we believe and the application of them to life. I taught on the Tabernacle in the Wilderness exemplifying our roles as priests and kings. We talked about worship as detailed in the 1^st 7 chapters of Revelation. We talked about the gifts of the Spirit and God’s gifts of the 5 Fold ministries to the church. The love and respect you have demonstrated to Johanna and I are indicative that, as Melody once said, that you put what you are taught into practice. What a wow for a pastor to hear that.

I want to remind you of this prophetic message the Lord spoke to my heart about 4 years ago. At the time I was uncertain about the application so I just wrote it down. I ran across it a few months ago and saw how it applied to Glad Tidings and the rich history of revival in the church.

Dig wells for revival is coming. Dig wells for my glory will be poured out. Prepare your hearts for the blessing of the Lord that makes rich and adds no sorrow. For sooner than you expect you shall find fulfillment says the Lord. Your dreams, your visions, and the desires I put in your heart shall come to pass. Dig wells for the river shall flow for a time and the rain of heaven shall fall for a time, so dig wells to contain it for a long time.

Clean out the hard drive between your ears and make room for wisdom and knowledge of the Lord.

Proverbs 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. “

In closing I exhort you to blend in with the new congregation, serve and love the new pastor as you have us. May there never be a distinction between those folks and y’all. You, plus all the Lord sends here, are Glad Tidings. Your roles will change but your servant hearts will grow.

Also, may desperation for real revival burn in your hearts. Those of you have experienced it in the past, like us, can’t stand the smoke.

Always desire the real stuff, not the fluff.

Finally, you are a rare and wonderful bunch and we will always love y’all. You, Glad Tidings, have a firm foundation and we know you will be a great blessing in the future. Y’all are just too deep in our hearts and always welcome in our home.

GOD’S PROMISE OF POWER TO BE HIS WITNESSES

2019-03-12T18:03:00.001-07:00

THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

GOD’S PROMISE OF POWER TO BE HIS WITNESSES

If you prefer, the 30 minute audio file of this message is: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AorNyYbt-j75aQwfPJ_gLw9Nbhs

Try to imagine what life would be like if we had something we really wanted—and even needed—yet could not possibly obtain on our own. Do you ever ask yourself questions like:

· “If only there were a way...”

· “I’m such a shy person; if only I could witness better”

· “I sure wish I could help that coworker who is struggling at home, but I just don’t know what to say”

· “Sometimes I struggle in myself, not living up to what I know God wants me to do.”

Almighty God wants everyone to know Him as more than some vague concept, more than God way up there in heaven, more than some spooky mystical bunch of garbage that people fall into and end up worshiping some fancy piece of wood or stone.

Well, how do people find this out?

It’s usually by someone telling them. Just spouting out a bunch of nice sounding words you learned from a book or someone told you is pretty ineffective in bringing about the change of heart that has to happen for someone to come to Christ. Coming to Christ transcends the intellect; it is not a mind game. We are saved by grace through faith and faith is not an intellectual decision. Remember how we get that faith? Rom 10:17 says that it is the result of personally hearing from God.

The capability to communicate with God, and for Him to inspire you to speak in such a way as to build up someone, exhort or comfort anyone, in a way that goes beyond the intellect, starts with receiving His gift of the Holy Spirit. This goes beyond the indwelling of the Spirit that happens at salvation, it is an immersion, a saturation of your now alive spirit man in the power of God.

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5-just-ask-jesus-into-your-heart/

The Baptism in the Holy Ghost is a promise from God to every believer. It should be emphasized that this supernatural power is a promised gift for every believer. Because it is a gift, it is received, never earned.

Some verses about the promise:

Indwelling

John 14: 15 “If you love me, obey my commandments.

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.

17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.

Baptized into

Luke 24: 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

48 You are witnesses of these things.

49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Acts 1: 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.

5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Does Acts 1:8 sound like a wishy washy, maybe kind of thing? Of course not, it is as definitive statement as we saw in Gen.1 when God said, “And let there be…” and there was

The Promise is for all believers:

29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

Peter was speaking to a group of people, not long after he received this gift, and take note of their reaction and what he says to them. It shows how God moved through the spoken word of a believer who was baptized in the Holy Ghost:

Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

What Happens when you receive this gift?

The pattern for what happens when experiencing this gift is spelled out through the book of Acts. In chapter 2 we see the very dramatic event on the day of Pentecost, from which we get our label as Pentecostals. There are several additional examples of believers receiving this gift. These include:

Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

The Baptism in the HG provides people with the supernatural capability to do things you could not ordinarily do, starting with speaking in tongues.

Acts 8:14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.

15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,

16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Here we see another way the Lord gives this gift.

Acts 8:18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money

19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!

What was it that Simon the sorcerer saw that provoked him to act with such ignorance (or was it stupid selfishness trying to maintain his control over the people?).It is a safe assumption to say that they spoke in tongues, especially in the light of these other verses.

Acts 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.

Acts 19:1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples

2 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. (NKJV)

Results in the believers lives of receiving this gift

The gift is not just for you to have fun with it, or just to build yourself up in faith (1 Cor. 14:4). Remember we talked about Acts 1:8. Being filled with the spirit is God’s gift of power to be a witness of Jesus. This requires power over temptation so that your life is the evidence of God changing lives.

Most importantly we are given this power to be witnesses of Jesus. Our lives change as we are empowered by the Spirit of God. We should be intensely motivated to share the Gospel and praying for every opportunity to do so with more than words.

Remember, all you have to do is ask in faith, understanding in your heart that the Father wants you to experience Him in a supernatural way that will change your life for good and forever.

Luke 11:11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?

OUR GOD GIVEN HOPES AND DREAMS AWAIT US

2019-03-04T09:07:00.001-08:00

Our God given hopes and dreams await us

AS WE actively watch and wait,

growing in oneness with HIM.

This is the 2nd blog on the theme of STAYING UNDER THE CLOUD IN ONENESS WITH GOD

My wife came across a prophetic blog post by Mario Murillo. This word from the Lord filled my soul with renewed expectation and hope for what my heart yearns deeply to see. Every promise listed and things we are desperately watching and waiting to see. There are many thousands it applies to but I felt as though this was addressed to me and my wife.

But to the righteous core—the faithful pastor—the diligent intercessor, come these mighty words of life: You will shine like the sun! Your enemies will be driven back. The funds for God ideas are being released! Your children will be carried back to you. While many mourn and weep you will see a bumper crop…even out of dry ground!

https://mariomurilloministries.wordpress.com/2019/02/21/why-all-the-lies-are-now-being-exposed/?fbclid=IwAR3c8lfdWW8wV2JguLah2QXqIHFIvCQ6ZHFwQuURjtVIfMRAAzhUGIOquh8

In my last blog I wrote of how the broken things in our lives get fixed as we grow in oneness with God. This message picks up on that theme as it relates to Watching and Waiting on the Lord, being careful of His timing; allowing Holy Spirit to guide us in making decisions. The faithfulness and diligence the prophet specified as the condition for the promise above of are the natural by-product of growing in oneness with Him. Keep in mind that both the verbs watch and wait can be passive or active and always involve, in this context, communicating with the Father.

A Bible school teacher / preacher, Walter Beutler, a man who experienced the Presence of God in ways few people do, was quoted as saying that the Lord told him, "You go, you pay. If I send you, I'll pay." How often have we made bone-headed decisions because we didn’t take the time to hear from God about whatever it was? I am sure we can all say, “Guilty as Charged.” Think of the difference between starting something on our own initiative as compared with His initiative. Sometimes the Lord just might bless it or more than likely He used it to teach us a lesson, to bring some correction. Our intellect is insufficient.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.(NLT).

Isaiah 55:8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. (NLT)

https://slideplayer.com/slide/7612335

We need to continue to learn to think like God does, to go through the Romans 12:1&2 changes. Think of the difference of the outcome of the creation story and some dumb attempt you made to try to accomplish something of little value. God is mentioned thirty-two times in Gen. 1. Everything starts with God. Everything was good because, “in the beginning God.” Look at the oneness that exists between Jesus and the Father expressed in these verses from John 10, they will provoke you to progressing in this oneness process:

28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,

29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.

John 10:30 The Father and I are one.”

Marriage is also a picture of this oneness,

Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2016/09/09/study-2-the-pillar-of-cloud-by-day-and-the-pillar-of-smoke-by-night

For today’s School of the Spirit Lesson, open your textbook to. Numbers 9, verse 16 until the end of the chapter, Moses redundantly explains the process of following the cloud, of waiting and watching that cloud so that we know which way to go.

Numbers 9:22 Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. But as soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on.

23 So they camped or traveled at the Lord’s command, and they did whatever the Lord told them through Moses.

The cloud of God’s presence rested over the Tabernacle in the wilderness during the day and the Fire of God at night. When the cloud or the Fire lifted it was time to hitch up the wagons and follow the cloud. They rested in their tents for as long as the cloud was there. It could be a short time or a very long time, they never knew but they were always watching and waiting. With that in mind, what do we do when we have decisions to make?

Ø Are we impulsive and decide on what seems the most logical, practical or pleasurable?

Ø Are knee-jerk shortsighted “solutions to a problem” ever a good long term solution?

Ø Do we get hot headed and react, doing something stupid and/or hurtful?

Ø Do we at times think nothing will ever happen unless we get out there and make it happen ourselves?

Ø Maybe we take time to think it through and make a decision based on whatever facts we’ve been able to put together.

We’ve all made these blunders multiple times and what were the chances that the results were in line with God’s best? Whatever decisions we make in life, our steps need to be steps of real faith, nor presumptuous steps of our own choosing. The last one in the list above is a good thing to do but we still need to hear from the Lord. We flippantly take consolation in Rom. 8:28 even when we didn’t fulfill the condition for the promise, I.E. walking in that calling.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

We must always be watching and waiting to see what direction the cloud is moving. When it’s still we watch and wait for movement. When it’s moving we watch and wait for when it stops. Who here has patience to do this all the time? I didn’t think I’d see any hands. We have to wait and listen for God’s still small voice, His gentle prodding, or His shove to get going. If we’re staying under the cloud, in step with God, our steps will always be steps of faith.

Hebrews 11:6 But 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.

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Ever think about what God was doing during those times when the cloud stayed put for a long time? Perhaps the most important thing He was after was that His people learn to spend time with Him that He might get them ready for the next part of the schlep to the Promised Land. Whether moving, or still, He will be revealing Himself to us, drawing us further into oneness with Him as we watch and wait.

Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Ever notice that sometimes God’s answers to the questions we ask Him are answered almost instantly. More often we experience the harder part of the process, the many other times when we wait much longer than our flesh wants to. Just as the Israelite's experienced that cloud and fire, the Lord wants us to experience a life of listening faith, of watching and waiting, of sensing His moving and hearing His voice. Are there 2 sets of footprints in the sand next to each other? Are our footsteps next to His, not wandering around, not lagging behind or running ahead?

WHOLENESS OF HEART REALIZED

2019-02-22T14:57:00.000-08:00

Wholeness means nothing broken

1 Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

The world is often a noisy place. So many homes have a TV or radio blaring most of the time. Many restaurants have multiple TVs, sometimes so loud it’s hard to carry on a conversation. Many people just can’t function without some background noise. The image of teens doing their homework with loud music in their room or headphones has been common for a long time. For most it’s just habit, something they are used to; for many I suspect such an atmosphere is an escape from whatever is going on in their hearts and minds. I wonder if this need for noise is for some to drown out loneliness, fear of something or even guilt. Sometimes it’s the enemy’s tactic to try to drown out the still small voice of God.

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with watching wholesome things on TV, listening to music, talk radio or things like that. I’ve always been a musician and love to listen to great music in many genres. Any noise distracts me from the task at hand. It’s so much easier to experience His Presence when our environment, or brains and our hearts get quiet. Shutting out the noise of the world helps us to quiet down our hearts and increase our sensitivity to Holy Spirit speaking, or just being there, in the depths of our hearts. Just His Presence is so wonderful and stress relieving .We receive an inner strength, a greater capability to reflect His love even in the midst of turmoil and strife. As we Practice the Presence we progress in the process described in these verses:

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

John 15: 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Many of you spend time alone with God every day and understand the necessity of that time. Be encouraged to continue and not allow the things of the world, or the distractions the enemy or even other people, to deter you of that habit. Some years ago I read something about prayer that stuck in my heart. The greatest flaw in church leadership is prayerlessness. It’s so easy to get too busy, even when you are doing what you do in service to the King, to do the most important thing you can do in life, which is to spend time with our Father. How long do marriages last without times of intimacy? My wife and I have always had a house rule that one we don’t leave the house without a good kiss. Now that I’m retired we’ve added a good morning kiss once mouths are rinsed.

Psalm 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

http://www.relatably.com/m/touchy-memes

How often to I say something with a bark?

The effectiveness of our times alone with God should be reflected in how we act in various situations. Life and people close to us test us without even trying. People get so offended these days, touchy, have too many buttons for people to push that cause us to act in a way that doesn’t reflect Jesus. I struggle with tone of voice. How often, when someone, especially a spouse, says something to us in what we perceive to be a harsh tone of voice do we respond likewise? How often to I say something with a bark? It’s human nature to do so but never the best thing to do. Even when they were about to stone Him, or when they arrested Him and were to crucify Him, Jesus never lost His cool. There was only 1 time when Jesus seemed to lose his cool and it is repeated in Matthew, Mark and John.

John 2: 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.

15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables.

16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”

17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”

Psalm 69:9 because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

Just this week something came up that got my blood boiling. My wife said my face was dark red and my ears purple. I was hot about something personal and confidential that could happen that I am opposed to, that demanded my action the next day. There was no way I could just go to sleep that night without praying through, calming down. It took a while but I pressed through into God’s Presence. A wonderful peace overwhelmed all the agitation and stress in my soul and I had a great night’s sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I had to pray through again. I spoke to people I look up to and trust then took appropriate action, leaving it all in God’s hands. The freedom that comes from surrendering our situations to Jesus is just beyond words. This wasn’t the first time in life I’ve gone through drama like this; sure it won’t be the last. I am so thankful the Lord is our burden bearer. My wife is sure that had I not been able to exchange the burden for God’s peace I would have had a stroke. I’m a husband, a Dad, A Grandpa, a Pastor, and when I see something broken I want to fix it.

All this explains the process we can go through to be made whole, to get our brokenness fixed. People often have areas of their lives that are broken. There’s a choice when you first realize something in your life is broken. Unfortunately too many choose the Humpty Dumpty approach. That can become a horrible downward spiral to the gates of hell. Over the past couple of weeks I heard of 4 suicides and met a young man who had flat lined in a suicide attempt before the EMTs brought him back. Pity parties lead to depression, hopelessness and a despair that can get so bad that drug abuse and suicide all too often seem like the only way out. The opiod crisis isn’t new, just on a bigger scale. When I grew up in Brooklyn, gang violence was minimized because heroin use among the gangs took the fight out of them. I knew of junkies that OD’ed, Acid freaks (LSD) that flipped out so bad they landed in mental hospitals, speed freaks (now referred to a meth) that got so emaciated they couldn’t eat and suffered horribly from malnutrition and other things that come along with drug abuse. I would say that, except in some rare circumstances, suicide is an instant trip to the fires of hell; there was no opportunity for repentance from that sin. It is eternal separation from God.

https://www.wattpad.com/user/Whimsicaland

There’s a much better way to deal with our brokenness – LET JESUS MAKE YOU WHOLE. One of those suicides was a good friend’s brother who was addicted to meth for many years and intentionally overdosed. Another was this same friend’s ex-wife who rejected the Lord and fell down the pit of loneliness and despair. She had an extraordinary experience with the Lord at a Church, experienced joy like she had never had in life during a service, joyfully dancing and singing as the Lord moved in many hearts. Then we never saw her again. It wasn’t long after she rejected the Lord that she rejected her husband and just went down and down.

At this point I have to ask, “What does Oneness with God look like? The Word gives a picture of it right in the beginning of the creation story,

Throughout the Scriptures we see marriage as a type for man’s relationship to God. Leave and cleave, separate and join to. We separate ourselves from the sinful life we had before coming to Christ and become part of the Church, the Bride of Christ. OK, these are nice sounding analogies but let’s talk about what they mean relative to life in the here and now, where the rubber meets the road.

Isaiah 54:5 For your Creator will be your husband; the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.

How different would have been the outcome of this lonely woman I just mentioned who killed herself, if she had this kind of relationship with Jesus? So how does that relationship happen? - Leave and cleave, separate and join to. As we take steps of repentance, steps away from a lifestyle that is a death trip, and take steps towards God who gives us life, we grow in this oneness. Your mind can’t grasp how close God can be to you. Relationship with Him is one of faith, acceptance of what the Bible says in our hearts.

Deuteronomy 30:14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

Romans 10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):

Let me challenge you to act on this message repeating Paul’s prayer:

1 Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

The move of Holy Spirit in our hearts becomes a motivation for something. The Grace of God is the enabling power to follow through with that motivation. That motivation in our hearts often starts with the realization in our heart of that brokenness I spoke of. The grace of God then becomes amazing to us and we know what to do and know we can do it. Are you ready to leave your brokenness behind and cleave to Jesus?

v Perhaps it’s to come to a church altar and kneel as a public act, with no fear of what anyone might think or say. You just want to get right with God, regretful of the things you did to break that relationship with Him and ready for a new start.

v Do you need to intensify your commitment to God, to this love affair with Jesus? How long has it been since you experienced Him ever so close because you took down all your barriers to where He can go in your life?

v Maybe He’s speaking to your heart about somebody you need to go to and apologize, ask them to forgive you for something stupid you did.

Come now, stop fighting with God, find a place of prayer and make that surrender you know you need to make.

WHOLENESS MEANS NOTHING BROKEN

WHO ARE YOUR ROLE MODELS?

2019-02-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

Who are your role models?

1 Cor 14:3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.

Prophecies are important, we need to pay close attention, listen and receive the edification, exhortation and comfort. We frequently make the mistake of saying, “wow, what a great word, the Lord knew what I needed,” then we walk away & forget all about it. We should take the prophetic words, sermons or other inputs from the Father to heart, write them down if necessary, meditate and apply what the Lord spoke to your heart. Discuss it with others who were there and find the application. Words of hope and comfort remind us that God is in control. This is one of the reasons I publish my sermons every week, they are definitely too long to remember everything so reading them again later will help it sink into your mind and more importantly, your hearts. You can consider them like a devotional, read some of it each day during the week.

We were in a small house church in Maryland. One Sunday morning the Pastor had a prophetic word for the body, something for that church at that time. I sensed a special significance of that prophecy as it came through our Pastor. The Lord has put gifts in the body of Christ, not just the Gifts of the Spirit listed in 1Cor. 12.

Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Anyone here feel excluded from this promise? Anyone wanting to can be on the receiving end of God’s gifts.

Eph 4:11- The 5 Fold Ministry, God’s gifts to us.

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

I don’t know of any church that has arrived at verse 13 so I guess we still need these gifts among us. Who’s eligible? – Whoever desires. Don’t you want His gifts fully functioning?

https://www.ltw.org/read/my-devotional/2016/09/the-good-shepherd

Today we’re just focusing on the gift of the Pastor. I said a few words about this last week. The longer I fill-in in as your Pastor the more I am coming to understand the work of a shepherd and I see my heart growing in His love and with compassion. The more I realize a shepherd’s 1^st obligation is to be an intercessor for his flock. Christians have a God given responsibility to properly relate to such a leader, that we might be not just called but chosen, that we might receive all God has for us and be a blessing, that we would be edified and equipped for the work God has for us to do.

Just a great side note from a friend, when Christians spend time in intercessory prayer we are like artillery in God’s army. We send prayers up and they come down with a devastating effect on the evil that tries to destroy the people of God.

Heb. 13:7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

Evaluate that conduct, are they Godly people pointing people to Jesus and caring for the flock?

17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Without the Godly shepherds watching out for us, we are prey to the enemy of our soul who would lead us away from the path of choosing. Godly leaders must give account to the Great Shepherd for how they take care of the portion of His flock He has given them responsibility for. No matter what your calling God has those with this responsibility for you. It is sad that egotistical people have blown this teaching out of Biblical proportions. Leader’s should never be ogres, but, filled with the love of God, they watch out for things that will harm or pollute you. The way to learn to lead is to serve because that’s what true leaders do. True leaders are servants 1^st.

If you give them grief in this process, than “that would be unprofitable for you.” “Lone sheep” get attacked by the wolves of their own ego and the enemy of their souls. I am so thankful for the sheep of this flock, none of y’all give me grief.

https://www.allprodad.com/10-ways-to-get-your-kids-to-stop-whining/

Now there are some who say, “why do I have to have anyone rule over me? I can hear from God too? I can read and understand the Bible.” When you get to know the benefits it’s a no brainer to check your attitude. Let’s go back to

Eph. 4

Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.

15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Some of those things that will harm or pollute, things leaders, and especially Pastors, watch out for.

· Distractions, vandalized road signs – situations when the shepherd has to use that big hook & pull us back on the path. Eph 4:14 stuff.

· The enemy seeks to get you get us off course. He is s liar and has no problem with vandalizing a road sign.

· Signs of being distracted are Manifestations of the flesh.

Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,

20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,

21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

· Predatory people

o Women looking to lure men into fornication and adultery. We know guys do this but the cases we’ve seen over the years were mostly women. The enemy sends them in with a lustful spirit and men, weak in the faith, stuck in the porn pit, maybe lonely or recently divorced get caught in a web they can’t get out of. Ladies, if you see a woman come in, not a 1^st time guest, with a very low cut blouse it’s OK to politely ask her not to cause the men to stumble.

o Charlatans, sent by the enemy to steal whatever resources they can from the church and it’s people.

· Example: Back in the 1970’s a friend of ours was pastoring another small country church in a nearby town. They had an evangelist doing “Revival Meetings.” We visited on a Saturday night and realized quickly that most of what he was preaching was not Scriptural. My wife wrote a list of many such statements. At the end he took an offering, having worked the crowd well. The people who never gave enough for the church to be able to adequately support the pastor and his family emptied their wallets, their bank accounts, their jewelry boxes. Some sold everything to travel with the thief. I was so concerned I drove to the church on Sunday morning before church, bringing the notes my wife took, to share with the pastor of the travesty we saw recommending he kick the guy out quickly. That charlatan left that church in much worse shape than before he came.

Always remember, “Wherever there is super-spirituality there is always immorality.”

People who love you know how to lovingly let you know when you get in the flesh. Pastors have the shepherds tools, they keep us sheep on track if we let them.

Practical / Customary Courtesies about our relationships with Pastors.

This isn’t taught much probably because pastors feel as awkward about teaching it as I do today.

First of all, I would never miss a service without letting the Pastor know ahead of time. Especially in a small church like ours, even if it’s a last minute thing, a phone call, a text or email with some brief explanation is appropriate. We’re watching over you and concerned for you, especially when you’re going through some adversity. The 1^st indication of a problem is that you’re not in church, so please give us a heads up. Pastors react like parents do when their kid is late getting home from school or it’s past their curfew.

If anyone starts bad mouthing a pastor or church leader, stop them quickly. Do not listen to gossip. Always track things down to the source. If anyone has an issue with the pastor, or anyone else for that matter, they should go to that person in a loving way, eager live in peace with one another. If you ever hear of negative stuff going on behind the scenes, please be sure to bring it to your pastor’s attention.

Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

Some people get a bug up their nose about something that rubbed them the wrong way, or they listened to a juicy, gossipy rumor, and determined to leave a church they have been committed to. Rarely is this the right thing to do without meeting with the pastor. If the pastor is in error there are ways to deal with it in the Assemblies of God and most other denominations.

In this context, I need caution you about social media. This is a great tool to point people to Jesus. Use less public ways to let folks know you need prayer. Wait to publicize what you went thru until you have the testimony of how the Lord got you thru it. FB is a bad place for dirty laundry. A prospective employer will go beyond your resume to your FB page. Is there something there that questions your character or ability to handle the job and fit in with the culture of the company? Before you put something out there, ask yourself if it fits Biblical criteria.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

1 Corinthians 14:3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.

SOME Personal pastoral role models

Ivan & Pearl Mullen – Mom and Dad to many people. I was only saved for a few months when the Lord directed me to their church. They were very typical middle Americans in Central NY. I was a hippie from Brooklyn, NY - very different culture.

This Mom and Dad Taught me God’s love by example and grounded me in the Word

They have hearts that hear from God and the theme of the ministry was “A Pastor’s heart.”

I received stern correction when needed, caused them some grief, but the repentance brought us to a much higher level of honor & respect for each other.

Had the right balance of teaching the Word and encouraging us in using the gifts of the Spirit

Dad Mullen also became the pastor of the church where I was doing missions work in the swamps in Fl. after graduating from college. I was over the 3 room school house and when some of my old bad leftist attitudes were offending people. The Lord used “Dad’s” tough love to change those attitudes quickly.

Not long after our 1^st baby was born, she was sick. We followed the Biblical pattern and called for the elders of the church. Our Pastor and Assistant Pastor came out to our house out in the country. After praying for Sarah one of them was compelled by the Lord to tell us that we should sell that house and move into town. We were pretty far out and when the snow was flying it was sometimes dangerous to get to work or church from our house on the snow covered hill. The other guy couldn’t believe what he was hearing because the Lord had told him to tell us the same. They loved us and stayed in close relationship even when we didn’t receive that right away.

Later, when I was out of work I did handy man work with Pastor Hunter’s. Our talks with me while we worked together, and those car rides, were his opportunities to speak God’s ways into my life and I am so thankful he loved me enough to do so.

We had a pastor in Charlotte whose daughter got pregnant out of wedlock. They were so concerned as to how the flock would perceive the situation, and to avoid undo criticism or rumors flying, they visited every cell group in 1 night to share their hearts with everyone in the small group settings. Humility, wisdom and love flowed that night.

When that pastor heard about the Brownsville Revival he took our worship leader and went to Pensacola to see it for himself. Those guys and that church were never the same. The pastor jumped in with both feet when he got a taste of real revival. He established relationships with the leadership at Brownsville who brought that move of God to our church. We came to Charlotte from a church on Long Island that was in revival and prayed for 10 years before came to this church in Charlotte. That river of God flowed for about 2 years and the residuals of that anointing can still be felt 20 years later.

Bob and Gail Barth were our Pastors in MD. They’re love for their people is extreme They’ve been graced with some high maintenance people who take unfair advantage of their love and generosity. Even years after Bob & Gail moved away they get calls for council from some of those people, who don’t follow the advice when it;’s not what they want to hear – very dangerous attitude. Johanna and Gail still talk for hours as Gail pours out her frustrations.

Recognizing God’s call on my life before I saw it, they took me to the monthly district meetings, what a tremendous blessing. There were church leaders from around the state sharing their hearts, the issues and the glorious things God was doing in their churches. Bob also worked for the Air Force and traveled a lot on business. They trusted me to fill in anytime Bob had to be out of town.

For the 10 years before the Lord opened up my current service at Glad Tidings, I served, and still do, the Lord under Mark White at Christian Assembly Upstate (CAU) in Greenville SC. Pastor White is the most loving guy you will ever meet. A people magnet, everybody wants a hug from this big guy, especially during the Christmas season when he transforms into Santa Clause. He’s extremely generous, always with an eye to demonstrate God’s love. I learned so much while meeting with him during the several months of required mentoring for Bible School. He is very sensitive to the moving of the Holy Ghost in services and protective of the Presence. He’s been thru a lot during about 38 years as pastor at CAU.

To wrap this up, ask yourself, as not so young anymore adults’ anymore,

Ø Who are your role models?

Ø Who did you see Jesus in and gave you some understanding of how you should be?

Ø What kind of a role model are you?

Ø What kind of an example you are to the next generations?

Ø Are we leaving legacies that others might aspire to?

Ø Do you treat Pastors with the Practical / Customary Courtesies?

CAN YOU STAND THE SHAKE?

2019-01-28T08:07:00.001-08:00

CAN YOU STAND THE SHAKE?

Is your personal relationship with the Lord one of those “things which cannot be shaken?”

Do you know some lukewarm, fence sitting Christians who don’t realize how shaky ground is where they’re standing?

We need to pray for opportunities to warn such people and point them to the solution to the crisis they may not realize they are in. Please do not hesitate to send them a link to ajl-heart.blogspot.com in hopes they will read these teachings and be strengthened in their love for and commitment to Jesus.

Talking about what the Lord did at Mt. Sinai, the writer of Hebrews says,

Heb 12:26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven."

27 Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, … that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

One of Paul’s prayers for the Ephesians shows us how to get rock solid, unshakable. Let’s take a very close look at this prayer and see what the Lord may speak to our hearts.

Ephesians 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--

19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

To go through these verses starting with the Grek word for comprehend.

Ephesians 3:16 that He would grant you

Paul asks God to give us a grant, not a loan. Both have specific accountability:

Ø Grant – must be used for intended purpose

Ø Loan – must be paid back with interest.

For example, the Baptism in the HG – a grant given for a purpose,

Acts 1: 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Ephesians 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,

We get a GRANT - It’s a gift given, “according to the riches of His glory.” Is there any limit to the riches of His Glory? Of course not! but are we using that grant for the specific purpose given?

Now let’s take a look at the things Paul prays God will grant us.

v to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man

Anyone who says that living as a disciple of Jesus is easy does not know what he is talking about. It is impossible to walk, “worthy of the calling with which you were called,” by mere human will power and intestinal fortitude. (see Eph 4:1-3). This picture describes the war going on for our soul. (Suggested reading, "The Release of the Spirit by Watchman Nee).

What does Paul mean by, “the inner man?” It's the soul, the seat of conscience, of will and emotions. It is that part of us that is being renewed, sanctified and saved.

Ø It is that battleground where the Holy Spirit within you and your old dying fleshly nature and the enemy of our souls wage war.

Ø What Jesus has conquered in you needs to be well fortified.

Ø As the Lord remakes us from the inside out, the stuff inside that has been made new should be expanding & the forces contrary to that staying in retreat.

Ø This renewed “inner man” needs the strength to withstand the counter offensives of the flesh and of the enemy.

Ø What happens when “your buttons get pushed?”

The list of things that Paul is asking God to grant us is progressive. Without this strength in the inner man, we couldn’t receive or maintain the rest.

v that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith

Not addressed to unbelievers, this statement is to Christians, to people who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. There is a process going on the heart of every believer. Jesus will conquer all the ground we yield to Him. The portion of our hearts where He lives should be increasing all the time.

Isa 54:2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; (KJV)

Ø We don’t want to just maintain a nice little room for the Lord to hang out in, a tidy little corner of our lives reserved just for God.

Ø We don’t necessarily go get a big loan and add on to our house.

Ø Your heart is much bigger than that Sunday morning attitude some people adopt to fulfill their religious obligation.

Ø The Lord desires to fill it and make it bigger.

Ø Faith is something that grows.

Ø Our capacity for God, our ability to yield to His leading, the amount and quality of fruits of the Spirit in our lives, and our relationship with the Lord and His people, will grow.

v that you, being rooted and grounded in love

There is no doubt about who Paul is talking to. As we said in Brooklyn, “Hay you wid’da hair on ya head, an you too, baldy!”

Where are a tree’s roots? Hopefully, in the ground. We need to be sure our roots keep growing deeper and deeper in God. We also need to be sure they are in good ground, in a stable place. When bad storms, bad circumstances, come, many trees go down. Some trees are as deep and wide below ground as they are above, these stay put, like the giant sequoias on the west coast. The roots go deep and branch out in all directions. What’s the ground made of that He tells us to be rooted in? Love, who is love? God!

This phrase goes to the core of your being, to the deepest recesses of what motivates you.

Ø The love of God is what we want to fill that place.

Ø A test of how you are doing in this process is to look at your attitudes and actions compared to 1 Cor. 13, especially when under pressure.

Ø Allow the Spirit of the Lord to dig down and reveal what you are capable of dealing with.

Ø Life has plenty of storms and we shake in the wind.

Ø The Lord does a work in your life and tests it (shakes things up a bit).

Ø There are also the wonderful winds of the Spirit that refill us with His love and reveal His character to our inner man.

We must be strengthened in the inner man; we must be rooted and grounded in love before we …

Verse 18, may be able to comprehend…

This is a get ready phrase. We poured the foundation. We need it solid to receive this 1^st thing Paul prayed for us to have.

Webster’s definition of comprehend is just to understand. This is much less than what the Greek says: katalambano; which means to take eagerly, to seize, possess, to apprehend, attain, come upon, find, obtain, perceive, overtake. Strong action verbs, not just a passive intellectual understanding.

Paul is praying that we really get a hold of something. The ability to grasp spiritual things requires Grace. This isn’t something we can do with our own human capabilities. If it was Paul wouldn’t have to ask the Lord to grant it to us. Grace is not just unmerited favor; it is also Divine enablement.

God’s Grace is available for us to seize this comprehension down deep in our gut. And what is it that we need to comprehend?

v Comprehend the width and length and depth and height

Our limited brain power cannot grasp the two abstract concepts crucial to knowing God: eternity and infinity.

Ø It is only by faith that we understand that God is Eternal, that we were created in His image and therefore also have an eternal soul.

Ø By faith we understand that history has an infinite length, as does the future.

Ø Now, to really short circuit the brain, God’s love, God’s Grace, God’s power, God is bigger than the infinite dimensions of the ever-expanding universe He created.

David prayed,

Ps 139:17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

So how do we put a box around this and measure it? YOU CAN’T PUT GOD IN A BOX.

Ø The spiritual truth behind the natural analogy is this: to stand the shake, we must comprehend that this love we are rooted and grounded in is

ü infinitely long,

ü infinitely wide,

ü infinitely deep and infinitely high –

ü It extends beyond creation.

Ø God gives us, His kids, the Grace, the supernatural ability, to “katalambano, “to grasp this eagerly.

This knowing, this understanding of His love is not just the ability to memorize a definition, its katalambano. Rooted and grounded in that you can stand some shaking. The following verses from an old hymn best sum up our response:

v EPH 3:19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge

This stirs up the old chorus, Such Love; it leaves us in wonder and a life quest to grasp the simplicity of God’s love for mankind.

Psalm 8:4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?

5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

This verse is a paradox. How can you know something that is beyond knowing? I love it when God short circuits our finite human brain power. Thus, the verb “to know” must be on a level beyond an intellectual understanding.

Such Love, such love, such wondrous love

That God should love, a sinner such as I

How wonderful is love like this

v that you may be filled with all the fullness of God

Everything else in these 4 verses builds to this statement.

Ø Every believer in Jesus goes through the process of death to self.

Ø As the old nature decreases, there is more of a filling with God.

Ø There are 3 choices as to what we are filled with: self, God or demons.

Ø The shaking the Lord allows to happen in our lives shows us what we are filled with.

Just being a Spirit Filled believer is not the same as what this phrase refers to. There are many wonderful Christian people who have not received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost yet their lives testify that God fills them. Paul went through a lengthy and difficult sanctification process before he could pen this phrase. I thank God we are not all called to shakings like Paul’s, but we do have to go through the process.

Col 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Look again at these 4 verses. (Go back to them and re read) See the progression; see the process. If we understand (katalambano) everything up to the last phrase we can handle such a filling, we can stand any shaking.

May the Lord Jesus grant us and those lukewarm folks we know and love, all this prayer asks for. Reception of the grant is to repent and let Him have the junk in your life He’s bringing to your attention.

SINGING A NEW SONG – EVERYDAY TIMES FOR WORSHIP

2019-01-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

PSALM 96 Sing A New Song of Praise to God

This Psalm is so uplifting. And when we follow through with things said for us to do it lifts our spirits and highly motivates us to look for opportunities to “Tell somebody about Jesus.” When you look at how you spend your downtime you'll find so many opportunities to express your heart to the Lord.

There are some quotes from Matthew Henry's commentary laced in this lesson. Anything in italics is from https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/psalms/96.html

Psalm 96:1 Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Matthew Henry said concerning this new song,

“Sing a new song, an excellent song, the product of new affections, clothed with new expressions… the newness of a song recommends it; for there we expect something surprising. A new song is a song for new favors, for those compassions which are new every morning… A new song is a song that shall be ever new, and shall never wax old nor vanish away; it is an everlasting song that shall never be antiquated or out of date.”

Lamentations 3:22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

Me with my old Martin 12 named Eva

Good music is not mechanical, not intellectual, not just ones’ ability to play the right note at the right time. Rather it emanates from the heart, it flows with emotion. When was the last time you turned the radio off in the car and just talked with Jesus while going down the road? Do you break out into a song in the shower, or while walking? Do you let your thoughts drift to praising the Lord from your heart? If you’re a musician, do you forget about written music and just play from your heart and maybe make up some words to go with whatever your fingers are doing? Sometimes an old song wells up inside and you worship with it with a freshness like eating Grandma’s Apple Pie while still hot. Sometimes church worship leaders are moved way off script and a new song comes out, a Holy Spirit led, spontaneous new song. I’ve been in services where people with little to no vocal talent will sing a new song prophetically.

Take a minute right now, to sing praises to the Lord. You can praise in tongues or your native language. You can be very quiet and private if you must, or as loud as you like, just let the Spirit flow through your lips in praise to the Father and Son. Don’t worry what it sounds like. If you're a musician it's such a blessing to let it flow from your heart through your instrument.

Psalm 96:2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

Let all the earth sing this song, … all that are redeemed from the earth, learn and sing this new song. This is a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles; all the earth shall have this new song put into their mouths, shall have both cause and call to sing it.

The 2^nd phrase of this verse, "bless His name;" has particular meaning that we so often overlook. The Hebrew word used in this verse is barak, which is translated to kneel down, to praise, to salute, to thank. Kneeling is sign of submission to whoever you kneel before. It could be said that blessing God is to submit to or placing ourselves at His service. When we bless other people we are either giving them some gift or asking, “How can I be of service to you?”

The second part of the verse, "Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day," and the next verse, take these concepts to another context. We are admonished to speak the good news of salvation daily. May the Lord open up the doors of people’s hearts to receive this good news as we speak it.

3 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

Let the subject-matter of this song be his salvation, the great salvation which was to be wrought out by the Lord Jesus; that must be shown forth as the cause of this joy and praise.

Are we as excited about getting saved as we were when that 1^st happened? I was so excited that on the night I got saved (Dec. 17,1971) I walked up the hill, on middle of the main road full of nice homes, that went up to the college, in knee deep snow, jumping and shouting praise to God in the middle of the night. For the rest of my time in college, along with other students, we did all kinds of crazy stuff to tell people about Jesus. Think about what this verse says to do, and the next verses tell us why.

Psalm 96:4 For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

The Lord is great, and therefore greatly to be praised and to be feared, great and honorable to his attendants, great and terrible to his adversaries. Even the new song proclaims God great as well as good; for his goodness is his glory … He is great in his sovereignty over all that pretend to be deities; none dare vie with him: He is to be feared above all gods —all princes, who were the nations.

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Deut. 10:12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?

Think of who we consider great in American society? Are they made into idols. Are Music stars, sports stars, some politicians, some preachers and those who do good things for society idolized? Do we use the word “great” too flippantly? Of course we should do whatever we do striving for excellence but who gets the glory for the good things we do?

We need to be careful not to take compliments too personally, all glory goes to God who enabled us to do whatever was worthy of the compliment.

Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens.

https://www.heartlight.org/gallery/5018.html

The Lord made the heavens and all their hosts; they are the work of his fingers (Ps. 8:3 )… The gods of the nations were…the creatures of men’s fancies; but our God is the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars, those lights of heaven,. He is great in the manifestation of his glory… among his angels in heaven and his saints on earth

My wife read a fascinating book called “The Improbable Planet.” by High Ross. With deep scientific analysis, his conclusion is that all of the universe was created and set in motion in such a way as to make life possible on this Earth. Any anomalies to the way God created it and Earth could not sustain life. Just think of it, all of creation exists because God spoke it into existence with such perfection because He loves us and wants a loving relationship with mankind.

Psalm 8:3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?

Splendor and majesty are before him, in his immediate presence above, where the angels cover their faces, as unable to bear the dazzling luster of his glory. Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary, both that above and this below. In God there is everything that is awful and yet everything that is amiable. If we attend Him in His sanctuary, we shall behold His beauty, for God is love, and experience His strength, for He is our rock. Let us therefore go forth in His strength, enamored with His beauty.

Webster defines majesty as sovereign power, authority, or dignity. It’s great for us to be servants of “GOOD KING JESUS.” And to honor Him as our Lord. King David must have had an experiential understanding of the 2^nd part of this verse when he also wrote,

Psalm 27:4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.

Psalm 96:7 Give to the Lord, O families of the nations, give to the Lord the honor and strength that He should have.

8 Give to the Lord the honor of His name. Bring a gift and come into His holy place.

9 Worship the Lord in holy clothing. May all the earth shake in fear before Him.

The Hebrew word for give is also translated ascribe which isn’t a word we use every day. Webster defines it as to refer to a supposed cause, source, or author : to say or think that (something) is caused by, comes from, or is associated with a particular person or thing. The instructions in these verses are pretty specific. Simply stated, we are all to recognize that all glory and strength comes from God. The response to that recognition is to come to into the courts of the King with an offering and with worship. He cloths us in His Holiness, remember the gold plaque on the Priests turban that said Holiness to the Lord.

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Philippians 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The message we are entrusted to share with all the earth is so simple even a young child can grasp it and respond. Yet it’s so profound that it goes over the heads of even very brilliant adults. People need to understand that whether they accept the truth or not, the Lord is God, He is the absolute ruler of the universe, and that His judgment will reflect the loving heart of Jesus who came to seek and to save the lost. This truth is established as unchangeable as that we are on this planet, that what goes up will come down. Even the folks up there in the ISS are under the sovereignty of God. Because we believe in Jesus we have a firm anchor for our lives, we should realize this be stable, unshakeable, standing in faith through all circumstances. Now that’s a freedom to shout about. Matthew Henry put it this way,

The natural world shall be established. The standing of the world, and its stability, are owing to the mediation of Christ. Sin had given it a shock, and still threatens it; but Christ, as Redeemer, upholds all things, and preserves the course of nature… Let them be told that Christ’s government will be incontestably just and righteous: He shall judge the people righteously, judge the world with righteousness, and with his truth,

The pictures below are all that needs to be said about verses 11 & 12

Psalm 96:13 before the Lord. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.

https://ichallengeyouproject.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/he-is-coming-2/

That he shall rule in the hearts and consciences of men by the commanding power of truth and the Spirit of righteousness and sanctification. When Pilate asked our Savior, Art thou a king? he answered, ‘For this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth’ (Jn. 18:37 ); for he rules by truth, commands men’s wills by informing their judgments aright. Let them be told that his coming draws nigh, that this King, this Judge, stands before the door; for HE comes, for HE comes.

The lyrics of this old song sum it all up, The Lord Reigns by Lindell Cooly .

Listen to it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=H9PdovuZURg

The Lord reigns, The Lord reigns, The Lord reigns

Let the earth rejoice, Let the earth rejoice, Let the earth rejoice

Let the people be glad, That our God reigns

A fire goes before Him, And burns up all His enemies

The hills melt like wax, At the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the Lord

The heavens declare His righteousness

The people see His glory,

For You O Lord are exalted Over all the earth, Over all the earth

Our God reigns, Our God reigns

Catching the Vision for Your Life and Your Church. PART 2

2019-01-14T12:39:00.000-08:00

A VISION OF HOPE AND EXPECTATION FOR GREATER THINGS,

Catching the Vision for Your Life and Your Church

I am so glad to no longer be in an environment where completing certain goals by some random dates on a calendar is a hard driving pressure. There is little worse than time pressure to get me gets me stressed out. I understand why companies establish monthly, quarterly and annual sales or shipment goals, why projects have deadlines; you will never hit a target if you don’t have one. A wise manager once told me, when I was a young engineer, that whenever you’re asked how long it’ll take you to complete a project double it. My point is that the only time constraint in catching God’s vision for you is His timing and how open your spiritual ears are. Don’t be in a hurry and take to heart every lesson to be learned while you wait.

American Indians market interesting craft items called Dream Catchers, not bad but pretty useless for ascertaining the next steps God has for you take. We must never be driven by the random waves of men’s whims, demonic influence or people with ungodly agendas. Sometimes our own “good ideas” are just that, not the voice of the Spirit of God. Jesus is our Lord; therefore we must always be led by the Spirit of God. When we are, we will accomplish great things that are motivated by HIS love. He must the time keeper and painter of the vision.

Let’s see what we can glean from some scriptures concerning vision. Remember that the type of vision I am talking about is multifaceted in application. Allow the Lord to speak to you concerning your future, your career and the future of the ministries of His church. His plan and purpose for your life doesn’t end at our retirement, it unfolds as long as that heart beats in your body. We need only be seekers and obedient when He answers prayer. Here are some pointers about that search.

Psalm 77:11 I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

Psalm 143:5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.

Isaiah 46:9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,

I was a history major in college and see clearly that when people do things without historical perspective they repeat the mistakes from the past, they re-invent the wheels that were made in the past, and often not as well as the old ones. A principle I learned about research is to find whatever has already been said about whatever you’re researching before starting to write that paper, thinking you know it all. Remember the Biblical principle of meditation, to role something around in your mind, to look at it from every angle in order to get complete understanding. I had a colleague who had a sign in his office that said, “Seek first to understand.” What happened in the past will give us some insight into the future.

Last week I asked Kathie, a woman in my church that was there since the 1980's or before, a couple of questions about the history of Glad Tidings Tabernacle. We talked a bit about what was happening back then. What she said was so encouraging to me. What she said confirmed to me that many of in my church have experienced what God did back then. That provides some insight into the Pasture “B” I spoke of last week.

My wife and I experienced similar moves of God in our small country church in McGraw, NY (near Cortland which is the geographic center of NY state) through the 1970’s and 80s, again a large church on Long Island from 1986-88, then again at Christian Life Center in Charlotte in the late 1990's. There were spectacular events in peoples’ lives, salvation, healing deliverance, manifestations of the Spirit, exuberant and powerful times of Praise and Worship. We didn’t need to go to a gym; worship was a great physical workout as we danced before the Lord for long periods of time. The history of Christian Assembly Upstate in Greenville SC is similar and now it’s pretty common to experience wonderfully anointed worship, powerful times at the altar, miracles of healing and prophetic words happen there sometimes. We are blessed to be a part of that church as I pastor at Glad Tidings. I am extremely thankful we also experience this at Glad Tidings, but my heart cries out for the much more we experienced in times past. Not that I am nostalgic but because of the changes in so many peoples' lives. There was a common term used among Pentecostal and Charismatic people, “When you’ve been born in the fire you can’t stand just smoke.” There is another wave coming, maybe different than ones from the past but as long as God moves in peoples’ lives we’ll know we are on the right track.

I read this next verse during morning quiet time recently and it got the wheels in my head turning. I sparked the need to learn a bit more of the history of the church so as to get a glimpse of the Pasture B.

Psalm 87:5 And of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her;

And the Most High Himself shall establish her.”

6 The Lord will record, When He registers the peoples:

“This one was born there.” Selah (NKJV)

Selah means to stop and think about it, meditate about what was just written. To do that I looked at several translations and the way it is paraphrased in the MSG Bible turned a light on:

Psalm 87:5 The word’s getting out on [or about] Zion:

“Men and women, right and left, get born again in her!”

6 God registers their names in his book: “This one, this one, and this one—born again, right here.”

I hope that all you have been in Zion, in the manifest presence of God, that you’ve seen what the Lord does in the lives of people in times like these were, and that you are not content with less.

Let me put it another way. I grew up on the western tip of the Coney Island beach in Brooklyn, NY. When the water was rough we would wade out about waste deep and look out to sea, looking for the biggest waves coming. When it got to us we would jump, lay stretched out, hold our breath and let the wave carry us to shore. Then we would wade out again and watch for the next one to catch. Revival comes in waves and we need to be praying, watching and preparing for the next wave. The classic book about the Azusa St. revival is called, “Another Wave Rolls In”

Habakkuk 2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

The book of Hebrews refers back to this verse,

Heb. 10:36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

37 For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.

God is never in a hurry but He’s always right on time.

Right now I find myself standing waist deep in the ocean. The little waves just keep rolling past me and I look hopefully for that big wave to catch. It’s a bit frustrating, I know it’s out there but I just can’t see it yet. The temptation was always to take the smaller wave, only to be disappointed because riding that one I missed the big one just behind it.

The pressures of life get big, adverse circumstances try to cause us to make a major decision without hearing from the Lord. We panic and take action, often doing something dumb. That is a tactic of the enemy to try to counter the will of God in our lives. Wait just a little longer. Remember what Saul did concerning offering the sacrifice at Gilgal (1 Sam 13). He panicked, jumped the gun and disobeyed a specific instruction. Saul lost the kingdom, not just for himself, but for his lineage. Samuel got there, just a little later than Saul expected, a little latter than the circumstances seemed to dictate.

The parable of the 10 Virgins is another example (Matt. 25). The Bridegroom came, just a little later than expected. The wise were ready and the foolish were not. We get ready by spending time with the Lord, allowing Him to fill us with His Spirit. Oil is often a type of the Spirit and we need to be full. Just about any decision I’ve made in life that was made quickly, under pressure, without getting all the facts and not hearing from the Lord was not the best decision. So often we need to take a Selah time rather than just start doing something because it’s better than nothing. It may only take a minute, or it may take longer but waiting on the Lord is the best thing.

The monthly Evangelistic healing & deliverance meetings we’ve started are a step toward Pasture “B” but the vision of that field is only a glimpse. I know the Lord will build on what He created in our lives, our experiences, and our history of life with Him. This much the Scripture and the heart beat of God is emphatic about, the Great Commission must be a part of any church vision. Many of us have experienced times of great outpourings of the Spirit and we know there will be another wave. We already are walking in the paths of righteousness, led of the Spirit, doing some good things. Notice the path is not straight, remember we learn a lot and grow by taking all the twists and turns God puts along the way.

Success in whatever direction the Lord leads you, leads the church, your business, etc., requires a saturation of prayer. Be faithful.

James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Let me conclude with this statement of great hope future of the church:

Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

GOD'S HELP FOR ADVERSITY

2019-01-14T08:30:00.001-08:00

Lamentations 3:22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

Are you are going through some tough “stuff of life” circumstances? Dealing with family issues, sickness, financial problems, job related issues or people problems, etc., etc., etc? There's all kinds of junk that is the stuff of life. Lord knows I’ve been through plenty. All this stuff can make us stronger in character and our relationship with God as we practice the Presence of God in our lives as we rise above the circumstances by “mounting up with wings as eagles.” If you know someone else going through adversity, please share the link to this blog with them.
https://ajl-heart.blogspot.com/2019/01/gods-help-for-adversity.html

Through the years I have found His peace in many storms by remembering verses like those listed below. When we don’t take God’s way through these hindrances the enemy just adds more to keep us from where the Lord is drawing us, he is always trying to distance us from the Lord. There’s a long list of verses here but I feel like we need a heavy dose of:

Eph. 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

Sit and soak in this garden tub of the Word of God. After you let these verses sink into your inner man you’ll feel ready to conquer whatever you face.

Jeremiah 17: 7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.

Are you hoping some person will come through? Do you expect your proverbial “ship to come in”? Like the old song says,

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face,

and the things of earth will grow strangely dim

in the light of His glory and grace.”

http://www.ancientpages.com/2016/01/11
/10-ancient-fortresses-of-historical-importance/

Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”

Read the whole Psalm when you get a minute, it’ll really increase your confidence in the Lord when in the midst of any adversity

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

When you know that you are fulfilling the condition of this promise it’s not that hard to take things in stride, to leap over the hurdles and reach the finish line stronger. Job added an exclamation point to this:

Job 23:10 But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

11 My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside.

12 I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

James 1:2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Hebrews 7:19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

Romans 8:38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A VISION OF HOPE AND EXPECTATION FOR GREATER THINGS

2019-01-07T07:50:00.001-08:00

Preparing to Catch the Vision for your life and your church. Part 1

Do you have hope for your future? Are there some visions or dreams that God has birthed in your heart for yourself and your church? Do these line up with Scripture? God has a plan an purpose for your life and your church and this will motivate you to follow Him and BRAG ABOUT JESUS.

https://getalongwithgod.com/living-loved/wait-for-him-in-quiet

Jesus was a shepherd, not a cattle rancher. You can’t drive sheep, they have to be led. I am not the kind of leader who gives orders and micro-manages what people do. Those are managers, bosses, and I’m nobody’s boss. It’s better to let the Lord be boss so that we practice hearing from God and walking in the Spirit as we follow His direction. As a leader I much prefer to just provide general direction. We’re in Pasture A. Pasture B is over there on the next hillside. God will lead us there, step by step. Prophetically I can say that while we’re walking He will give us the wisdom to see or anticipate pitfalls and snares to avoid. He will also give us increasing clarity of what’s in Pasture B that will excite us like a woman in her 9^th month of pregnancy. The enemy will lie, and steal and distract but as we keep our eyes on Jesus, our hearts towards God, the enemy’s efforts are no more than annoyances to be thrust aside by the power of God working through us.

Let’s start with some scriptures about the importance of vision and the leading of the Lord. I pray that before we leave today we will be energized, motivated and eager to hear from God about things concerning His plan for your personal life and your roles in the growth of our church. There are two sides to this concept, though the emphasis may appear to be on us as a church, please keep in mind that these principles also apply to our individual lives. Concerning both sides of this coin, remember what the message included last week, the desire that the Lord would send us people to disciple who will in turn make disciples. We’ll repeat those 6 things we need to do and continue to do as He answers that prayer at the conclusion of this message.

You’ve probably heard this quoted before. Did you think about the opposite, “Where there is vision, people thrive” (Tobin Perry, “Vision, Mission and Purpose.”). Having vision for the ministry (service) of our church is very important. So is having vision for your life. Tobin goes on to say,

“Your church was not meant to survive—your church was meant to thrive! Too often, when we ponder how we want our church to thrive, we focus on what our church isn’t. We figure: (italic items added by Pastor Andy)

ü we’re too small, we need more people so we can do_________ (you fill in the blank)

ü too mono-cultural,

ü Too traditional to impact our community in a meaningful way.

ü Add whatever other excuse you can come up with. (Remember the definition of an excuse).

https://leadershipfreak.blog/2015/03/19/well-excuuuuse-me/

So we make every effort we can to change ourselves. But what if the key to unleashing your church’s ministry potential isn’t trying to be something you’re not, but embracing who you are and developing a growth and legacy plan around that? What if you currently have everything you need to be the church God has called you to be? How could that change the future of your church?”

Photo by Pastor Andy

As this applies to our own lives, I am prone to react strongly when I hear someone short change themselves. Of course we have natural limitations and temporary afflictions that inhibit doing what we might like to do, BUT, never let that prevent you from obeying the Lord.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

So what’s in those dreams, those longings, and those motivations in your heart? Do you immediately try to scale them back to fit the box of what you think is realistic? As we walk in the Spirit God goes before us and moves within us. He has chosen to use His church, His people, to be channels of His power and love, as the vessels used to unleash His best on the world.

Are you not born of the Spirit? Have you put up the sail in the boat of your heart so that the wind (the Spirit of God) can blow you to a destination? Remember the change in the lives of the 120 after the wind blew into that upper room.

When you wait on the Lord do you spread your wings so you can fly very high and see everything from God’s perspective?

Ponder these metaphors and get a glimpse of how they apply to you and to your church.

Before we get too far along on this, we need to take this in light of the Word so as not to be misled by our carnal nature, by the enemy or by those who would try to manipulate according to their personal agenda.

The following verses will help us gain insight into going from Pasture A to Pasture B. These principles will keep us on track; they’re like our GPS for the road to understanding God’s Vision.Jer. 10:23 I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course...

Psalm 25:4 “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.”

Exodus 33: 13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight:...(KJV)

Isaiah 55:8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Prov. 16:1 The preparations of the heart belong to man but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

9 We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

Prov. 19:21 There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path

Psalm 25:10 “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

Now this last verse is one the Lord has frequently spoken to His body, and to me personally. Each new chapter in our lives brings the lessons learned in the previous chapters but change happens as we turn the page.

Isa. 43:18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

These verses are the foundation for decision making and planning. Planning without vision is to me a bit senseless. Just doing something for the sake of “it’s a good thing to do” or the cliché politicians overuse, “it’s the right thing to do” begs the question, is this plan in line with God’s direction for me, or for our church? Is it in sync with the vision He has planted in our hearts? Which side of these proverbs is such a plan? Who is determining these steps? What’s the motivation? Listen carefully to the contrasts in these verses.

Prov. 16:1 The preparations of the heart belong to man but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

9 We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

Has God planted a seed, vision for your life in your heart? He doesn’t often get very specific because if He did we would try to accomplish it in our own strength with our finite brain. We would miss all the twists and turns in the road God has for us to get there that prepare us for the fulfillment. It’s good to take things one day at a time, one step at a time, but determining if we’re talking the right steps is important. Are we being Spirit led in those steps, following the answer from God’s tongue? Are we taking steps of faith or presumption?

OK, let’s bring this all home to where we live and to our church. I hope you have personal goals, things you know the Lord has put in your heart. They may or not be timed but at least there is something directing you, giving you hopes for something great in your future. Now think along the same line concerning your church. How would you define you're churches' Pasture "A"? Perhaps it's like some burning embers

that had been just glowing for a long time, desperately needing the wind of the Spirit of God to gently blow on those embers to get some flame. Your church leadership needs to feed it with just the right fuel so that it grows but isn't smothered. Maybe it

has become a small campfire where you gather around and worship, being blessed by the gentle breeze of the Spirit but there's little spiritual or numerical growth. If you stay there you’ll be going around the mountain again and again, just being a “Bless me club” in maintenance mode. As a pastor, I know enough about Pasture B to make me want to lead the church there. I don’t know the details but I know we all want to see the church grow and function to the greatest capacity concerning the Great Commission. I hope the Lord is giving you the desire and wisdom to take lots of small steps get to Pasture B. The other thing I see about Pasture B is that it’s a place of healing and deliverance that seeking people will find.

To that end, let me remind you of the 7 things from last week. I was praying as we went back and forth from Pensacola beach for Christmas with my son and daughter in law, “God send us people to disciple who will in turn make disciples.” After I cried out to God for awhile I asked the Lord about what steps may needed to take, or that we be prepared to take as HE answers that prayer? The following 6 things came to mind.

1) Be a people who spend time alone in His Presence. We follow the words of the old song, Turn your eyes upon Jesus until the things of earth grow strangely dim. Disciples must, above all else, practice the Presence and hear from God personally.

2) Walking in the Spirit while in the world, we also practice the Presence. This practice in all parts of life we consequently lead others by that example.

3) We need to have a powerful prayer life so that people know we are a people of prayer and seek us out when they face the stuff of life and realize they need prayer. I’m not necessarily talking about mature believers. May we have such an experiential understanding of our role as priests of God that people will seek us out for help.

4) We experience God’s Presence as the power, and experience Him so that others are provoked to do likewise.

5) As we stand in the gap for people, we eventually will see them get connected to Jesus. Then we step into the role of the great commission and take the opportunity to make disciples.

6) The Lord sending us “fresh fish” may require us to change our routine, to alter our time priorities, perhaps make changes in our church service and/or add an additional meeting for prayer and Bible Study. We need to be willing to do whatever the Lord leads us to do when He leads us to do it. Jesus is Lord and works all things together for our good.

7) Make every effort to invite the people that need to hear the message of salvation, healing and deliverance and that they experience Jesus.

May God give us more and more opportunities to share our testimonies and brag about Jesus to those outside the church.

JESUS WANT TO HANG OUR WITH YOU.

2018-12-31T16:47:00.001-08:00

Ex. 25:8, “And let them make me a sanctuary;

that I may dwell among them.”

The title of this series is “Dwelling with God.” The title of the blog that this series is a part of is “From God’s Heart to Yours.” I need to share some of God’s heart on this topic before finishing up the teaching with a review of the applications of the priest's uniform.

Let’s start with some Scriptures that mostly clearly express God’s desire for what our heart’s desire should be.

Psalm 84:1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

2 I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!

Psalm 27:4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.

Psalm 63:1 O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.

2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.

3 Because Your loving kindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.

While my wife was doing most of the driving down to and back from Florida on our Christmas trip to see our son and his wife, I had time to lay back and pray, and as I did the Lord stirred up a heart cry, “God send us people to disciple who will in turn make disciples.” After I cried out to God for awhile I asked the Lord about what steps we, as a church, may need to take, or be prepared to take as HE answers that prayer? The following 6 things came to mind.

1)
Be a people who spend time alone in His Presence. We follow the words of the old song, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus until the things of earth grow strangely dim." Disciples must, above all else, practice the Presence and hear from God personally.

2) Walking in the Spirit while in the world, we also practice the Presence. This practice in all parts of life we consequently lead others by that example.

4) We experience God’s Presence as the power and experience Him so that others are provoked to do likewise.

5) As we stand in the gap for people we eventually will see them get connected to Jesus. Then we step into the role of the great commission and take the opportunity to make disciples.

6) The Lord sending us “fresh fish” may require us to change our routine, to alter our time priorities, perhaps make changes in our church services. We need to be willing to do whatever the Lord leads us to do when He leads us to do it. Jesus is Lord and works all things together for our good.

Let’s pray for, and expect, that after a few months of the Evangelistic Crusade type meetings with Peter Kumar every 1^st Friday, we will see this happen. Let’s make every effort to invite the people that need to hear the message of salvation, healing and deliverance and that they experience Jesus. May God give us more and more opportunities to share our testimonies and brag about Jesus to those outside the church.

Meaningful results of any outreach requires that the intercessors be faithful to saturate things in prayer.

Exodus 19:6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ …

As we review the teaching on the priests’ uniform, let’s keep what I just said in mind. Everything I’ve taught about the Tabernacle all leads to our role in God’s process of building His church.

God’s Call of the Priesthood:

Heb. 5:4 And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.

5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: "You are My Son, today I have begotten You.” (NKJ)

Likewise, we are children of God.

God’s Purpose for the Priesthood

Heb 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

2 He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also beset by weakness.

Moved with compassion, Jesus did miracles. We should follow His example and see Him do things beyond our human capabilities.

https://blogs.bible.org/impact/hal_warren/

gods_heavenly_pattern_for_our_spiritual_transformation

_-_part_vi_the_priestly_garments

God’s Purpose for the Priests Uniform:

Exod 28:2 "And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. (NKJV)

Psalm 132:16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. (NKJV)

This calling is to a joyous lifestyle of loving others more than ourselves. It’s is so rewarding and liberating.

As we looked closely at this uniform, we saw things that apply to how we conduct ourselves as a nation of priests unto God. It is like when you dress up in a fancy dress or suit, you are more mindful to watch your manners and are acutely aware of why you are dressed up. It is also like a solder dressed in full battle gear, ready to use everything he (or she ) is wearing.

Ø The clothes are a constant reminder of the dignity and responsibilities of the office the Lord has called us to. We are Christ’s ambassadors. Our lives reflect Him to the world. We should conduct ourselves in such a way that people see His love and holiness in us, without hypocrisy, without grounds for accusation.

Ø These clothes were for beauty and glory. God sees us, His bride, as beautiful. He invested His Glory in us - Christ in us, the Hope of Glory.

Review of the NOW applications of various parts of the uniform

Ø the Golden Crown of Aaron,

o Would you live your life any differently if you wore a hat or tee shirt that said Holy to the Lord on it?

Ø The Ephod, a fancy embroidered over garment held together at the shoulders with stones engraved with the names of the 12 tribes

o WE CARRY THE NAMES OF OUR LOVED ONES ON OUR SHOULDERS

o Sometimes we may experience this weight as a burden to pray.

Ø The weight on the shoulders was increased

because also hanging from the them was the

Breastplate of Judgment:

o 9” square plate holding 12 engraved stones is hanging from the shoulders and fastened around the body, held close to the heart. Each stone was big enough for the name of a tribe to be on it.

When we are empowered by the Spirit, even the heaviest of these burdens is

light because Jesus is the burden bearer.

o Exodus 28:30 Insert the Urim and Thummim into the sacred chest piece Aaron will always carry over his heart the objects used to determine the Lord’s will for his people.

Hear the still small voice of God directing your steps.

Bells on the bottom hem of the blue robe

Ex. 28:33 "And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around:

35 "And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the LORD and when he comes out, that he may not die.

The fancy embroidered pomegranates could have been symbolic of the sweetness of God’s Holy Presence. The bells were a signal to everyone within earshot that the priest was going into the Holy Place; it was a call to prayer. Thank God it’s no longer an annual ritual.

Conclusion: Experiencing the Shekinah.

History changed when the Tabernacle was completed. Everything was in place. Then suddenly, like on the day of Pentecost, God did the unexpected and started something marvelous in motion.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/strange-physics-trick-lets-people-create-a-cloud-in-their-own-mouth-10476817.html

Ex. 40: 34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

All the Hebrew and Greek words translated as Tabernacle refer to a dwelling place, a booth or a covering. Just as the cloud covered Israel in the wilderness, and the fire held enemies at bay and provided light at night, the Shekinah enters our room. Because they followed the cloud & the fire, they became bearers of the Presence.

Psalm 65:4 Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple.

Psalm 85:9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land.

The Almighty dwelling with man, showing us His glory can be such an awesome demonstration of God’s great love There is nothing in life as fantastic as experiencing the Shekinah, God’s Manifest Presence in such awesome power. It causes you to just fall in love with Him, intensely. Things happen when the Lord shows up in His power. Lives are changed. Miracles, healings, deliverance, Divine callings are realized. The chains of the power of sin and of the enemy of our souls are broken. Our emotions react to Him, tears may flow, hysterical laughter may break out, bodies may shake, people may dance and sing – all spontaneously.

Let me repeat what I said in my opening of this sermon find an altar, to do this and pray for whatever specific needs you may have. Please, don’t leave still carrying burdens you came in with.

You can send your prayer requests as a MESSAGE from the Glad Tidings Tabernacle facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/gladtidingstabernaclegreersc/

Let’s pray for and expect that after a few months of the Evangelistic Crusade type meetings with Peter Kumar every 1^st Friday, we will see this happen. Let’s make every effort to invite the people that need to hear the message of salvation, healing and deliverance and to come to Glad Tidings Tabernacle, that they experience Jesus. May God give us more and more opportunities to share our testimonies and brag about Jesus to those outside the church.

From God's Heart to Your's

WHAT DID PASTOR PREACH ON THIS MORNING?

How Much Can You Remember?

Holy Spirit Reminds Us, Teaches Us and Gives Us Peace

John 14 Part 6

PEACE OF MIND AND HEART

RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD =

PEACE OF MIND AND HEART

John 14 Part 5

Union with the Father and the Son is Newness of Life

Parenting For Wonderful Maturing

The Love Of The father

Parenting For Wonderful Maturing

John 14 Part 4,

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

What Are You Doing?

God Has Greater Things for You

John 14 Part 3,

GOD'S GREATEST DESIRE: THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YE MAY BE ALSO

That Where I am, There Ye May Be Also.

John 14 Part 2, Jesus and the FATHER are One

The Promise and God’s Greatest Desire for Mankind:

LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED - DON'T WORRY

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

John 14 Part 1, Avoiding the Temptation to Worry

LEAN ON JESUS, HEAR HIS HEARTBEAT

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

John 13 Part 2

Mat. 11:6 “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

Pray for America and Against the Socialist Regime in Washington

Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking

An urgent call to persistence in prayer, with no time limit.

INTRO. TO WHAT MAKES JESUS TICK

Discover WHAT MAKES JESUS TICK

PREFACE:

12 Baskets of Words of Life

Jesus frequently makes statements that show us the limit of intellect and our carnal mind.

STICK-TO-IT-IVNESS REQUIRED

STICK-TO-IT-IVNESS REQUIRED

Job 5:7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

WHAT IS OUR part in GOD’S plan?

IS STICK-TO-IT-IVNESS PART OD WHO YOU ARE?

DID JESUS EVER SAY FOLLOWING HIM WOULD BE EASY?

DOES YOUR LIFE PRESENT A SUGAR COATED THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL?

JESUS IS OUR HIGH PRIEST, AND YOU’RE A PRIEST TOO.

LOOKING PAST CALVARY

THE RIVER OF GOD

Enter The River of God as we Worship

OVERCOMING HINDRANCES TO WALKING IN FAITH

Feed your faith, starve your doubt, HEAR FROM GOD.

With the GRACE AND PEACE FROM GOD You Have FIRM FOUNDATION

GRACE AND PEACE UNTO YOU

Farewell Message to Glad Tidings Tabernacle, Greer SC

GOD’S PROMISE OF POWER TO BE HIS WITNESSES

THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT GOD’S PROMISE OF POWER TO BE HIS WITNESSES

OUR GOD GIVEN HOPES AND DREAMS AWAIT US

WHOLENESS OF HEART REALIZED

WHO ARE YOUR ROLE MODELS?

Some of those things that will harm or pollute, things leaders, and especially Pastors, watch out for.

SOME Personal pastoral role models

CAN YOU STAND THE SHAKE?

CAN YOU STAND THE SHAKE?

Ephesians 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

Ephesians 3:16 that He would grant you

Ephesians 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,

SINGING A NEW SONG – EVERYDAY TIMES FOR WORSHIP

PSALM 96 Sing A New Song of Praise to God

Catching the Vision for Your Life and Your Church. PART 2

A VISION OF HOPE AND EXPECTATION FOR GREATER THINGS,

GOD'S HELP FOR ADVERSITY

A VISION OF HOPE AND EXPECTATION FOR GREATER THINGS

Preparing to Catch the Vision for your life and your church. Part 1

JESUS WANT TO HANG OUR WITH YOU.

Conclusion: Experiencing the Shekinah.

THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

GOD’S PROMISE OF POWER TO BE HIS WITNESSES