Even miracles and God’s presence will NOT always cause a person to repent!

The Presence of God, and gifts of the spirit, will not change a human heart….

As I read this passage, I am reminded of so many I have met over the years:

1 Sam 19:19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.

20 And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.

21 And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.

22 Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.

23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

Surely, we see a divine encounter with the kingdom of God here. Let’s think about what is going on here.

Saul disobeyed God, and the kingdom was stripped from him. The anointing of God was taken from him, and given to David, and an evil spirit came upon Saul. Saul, hates David, because he sees in him, that which he lacks in himself: courage, bravery, excellence of spirit, purity of heart, and a heart that is in love with God Himself.

Despite the fact that Saul has been throwing spears at him, and hunting him to kill him, David, on the run, refuses to take Saul’s life, and he continually cries out to God on behalf of Saul. Yet, Saul, determined to keep the kingdom, continually sends soldiers to attempt to kill David, and David, by hearing intimately the voice of God, is able to avoid them, every time.

Why did God allow David all those years in the wilderness running from Saul? I think it is because:

David had to hear God accurately, in life or death situations, if he was ever going to be fit to be king.

In this account, David has run for refuge from Saul to Samuel’s house, and they are having a revival meeting where the gifts of the Holy Spirit are very much in operation, so much so that when Saul’s soldiers come chasing David there, they are arrested by the Spirit of God, and find themselves prophesying under the anointing of God.

Saul does not want to hear this, so sends two more sets of messengers to Ramah, and each time, they too succumb to the power of God, and find themselves prophesying by the Spirit of God, and unable to apprehend David.

So, Saul Himself goes down to Samuel’s revival meeting, and what happens: v 24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night.

Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

So, you would think, after the Holy Spirit so humbled Saul, that he would repent, and begin again to serve the Lord, and leave David alone.

Yet, what did he do?

He went home, and again began to plot again how to murder king David!

Even after the presence of God had caused him to prophesy naked for a day and a night at the feet of Samuel!

In Luke 16, we read the account of the rich man and Lazarus. Notice here that this is not an allegory or parable, but a true story Jesus is recounting. The rich man went to hell, and the poor beggar went to Abraham’s bosum or paradise (Jesus had not yet risen from the dead, so heaven was not open yet).

We see this rich man in hell, seeing father Abraham, and crying out that someone be sent to his family, that they not end up in the same place.

Yes, people in hell are praying that we share the gospel with their families!

Let’s pick it up here:

Luke 16: ²⁹ Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

³⁰ And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

³¹ And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Notice what Abraham, in the afterlife said: that it is more important for people to hear the word of God, and repent, than to see miracles. In fact the implication here is strong: That if someone will not hear the word of God, even if they saw someone raised from the dead telling them of what was to come, they would not change!

So what is the moral of the story?

Simple: The gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the presence of God, will not change a human heart, unless that heart is willing to be changed.

I have heard it said:

that the only thing greater than the power of God in the earth, is the free will of man.

Saul might have been able to repent here, and be of some use to king David in his future reign, had he humbled himself, but he absolutely refused!

It eventually cost him his life, and the life of his son, and many others.

The only safe prayer I see in all of this, is the repeated theme of my life and ministry:

‘Father, please grant me purity of heart and purpose. Please open my eyes, and deliver me from my own delusions of grandeur, my will, and my way. Jesus, you are the way, please become my way, with no other agenda, no compromise. May I serve and fully obey You, in spirit and in truth, whatever the cost, for your name and honors sake, Amen’

A Place Called There! – Get There!

A place called there!

Mt 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Lu 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

In 1997, I left all I knew to be comfortable with, my home, my family, my country, to go to Rhema Bible Training Center here in Tulsa, OK. During that first week, I heard pastor Kenneth Hagin preach a message, that still speaks to me all these years later. The title of his message, was ‘A Place Called There!”

We read of the life of the prophet Elijah:

1 Kings 17:4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

1 Kings 17:9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

Elijah, like every true minister of God, had to discover that his provision, his very life depended upon his specific obedience to God. When God calls you or I, it is to a place called there, and there is always a people on the other side of our obedience.

Elijah prophesied the famine by the Spirit of God, yet that very famine he prophesied would have killed him too (if wicked king Ahab didn’t get him first), had he not specifically obeyed the voice of the Lord, to get to the place of his provision. God had provided for Elijah, in both cases, in the place He sent him, a place called ‘There’.

You need to understand that God has provided for you too, but He gives you a command, and your provision a command, and you need to be in the right place at the right time, and when you are, your provision will manifest. It may not be literal ravens bringing you breakfast and supper, but He will send provision, and it usually blows my mind when it shows up.

Like the time I led a missions trip to Arizona, to the Navajo reservation with 17 people. When we had loaded the two trailers we were bringing, and began to pull out, I realized I only had $80 left for gas, food, lodging everything, for the next 10 days. I went home, hit my knees and said ‘Lord, what do I do?’

He said to ‘Take $30 and put it in the offering slot at Victory Christian Center, and put the other $50 into your gas tank’

And so we pulled out of Tulsa, with 3 vehicles and two trailers full of donations for a project we were going to build.

As we started out of town, my cell phone rang, and Dr. Matt Mclure called me and asked: ‘Hey, are you still doing that trip to the Navajo nation?’

“Yes, I answered, we are just pulling out of Tulsa now.”

“Got any room? I just got in from the Sioux reservation and checked my work schedule at the hospital. Seems I am not scheduled this rotation, mind if I come with you?”

“Where are you? Right now?”

“Just off hwy 75 at 121st st in Jenks”

“We are on hwy 75 right now!”

“Can you swing by and pick me up?”

“Sure! My wife is riding with uncle Harry, so you can ride shotgun with me”

So, we picked him up, and when he got in the Jeep, he looked at the gas guage and said: ‘Looks like you have a full tank, you got this one, I’ll get the next one!”

And so it went, the whole trip! I did not have to ask anyone for money, God supernaturally provided, exactly what we needed, exactly when I needed it, because we were in our place called there.

At one point on I-40 we stopped at Dairy Queen (because I needed gas) and had no money. The other two vehicles had gotten ahead of us 30 mins, because I had 3 children, and they had wanted to stretch their legs, so we stopped in Albequerque and hiked up the Petroglyphs.

So there I was, with three tired children that wanted ice cream, and only 1/4 tank of gas, feeling hot, tired, and desperate inside.

This couple approached me, and asked if I would mind if they bought the children ice cream (Yes, God cares about ice cream for children).

As we visited over an ice cream cone, turns out this couple was named Mike and Julie Pearson, and they were WALKING across America, to raise awareness and support for a homelessness in the US. They were raising support for a ranch, they were trying to build. As we walked out the door, Mike handed me $20, which I immediately put in the gas tank. This got us to Sky City, where God miraculously gave us $60 to fill the tank again.

To this day, I stand in awe of how God provided for this trip, yet He still does it for our family, daily!

Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac, where? On mount Moriah, yet at the same time God spoke to Abraham, He also spoke to a ram, to start wandering toward the mountain, and even allowed it to be caught in the bush, taking the fight out of it for Abraham.

Where?

In a place called there!

Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Your provision is not in heaven, but in the earth. Men have it. God knows which men, have your money, food, vehicles, houses, computers, and everything you need to obey Him. His will, is His bill.

Yet, you must give, and obey specifically, what He commands you to do. When you are on the journey of life, in obedience to Him, along the path, He will send men and unlock their hearts to give to you. Our job is to pray, and obey, always, continually putting pressure on promises, never on people. He is well able to wake folks up in the night, and ruin their sleep to get our needs met.

We are required, to give, to hear His voice, to obey, and this will be a life time journey of relationship with Jesus, through the Holy Spirit.

You have been praying, crying out to God for provision, and He has answered, always.

Where?

In your place called ‘There!’.

Sometimes, you gotta move, to move God.

Let’s Pray:

“Father, we believe you love us, and we believe your Word, knowing full well that we do not live by brad alone, but by every Word that proceeds from your mouth. Speak to us Lord Jesus, to get us to the place you have commanded Your blessing and provision, show us where, our place is there, Amen!’

 

The Poor are Rich!

I do not usually use anyone else’s material, but these words leaped off that page at me.

A Trustworthy Name

I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. (Zephaniah 3:12)

When true religion is ready to die out among the wealthy it finds a home among the poor of this world, rich in faith.

The Lord has even now His faithful remnant. Am I one of them?

Perhaps it is because men are afflicted and poor that they learn to trust in the name of the Lord.

He that hath no money must try what he can do on trust. He whose own name is good for nothing in his own esteem, acts wisely to rest in another name, even that best of names, the name of Jehovah. God wilt always have a trusting people, and these will be an afflicted and poor people. Little as the world thinks of them, their being left in the midst of a nation is the channel of untold blessings to it. Here we have the conserving salt which keeps in check the corruption which is in the world through lust.

Again the question comes home to each one of us. Am I one of them? Am I afflicted by the sin within me and around me? Am I poor in spirit, poor spiritually in my own judgment? Do I trust in the Lord? This is the main business. Jesus reveals the name, the character, the person of God; am I trusting in Him? If so, I am left in this world for a purpose. Lord, help me to fulfill it. Wood John http://jesusprayergroups.webs.com/

As I read this quote today, it provoked me to thinking…

I thought of people who’s walk with the Lord I admire, and I think of God’s servant Heidi Baker, when she had completed her Phd in systematic theology, and God told her and Rolland, to “Go to Mozambique, and sit with the poor, and learn about my kingdom’.

I think Jesus, the great king, is also the greatest of servants and loves to use, poor, broken people, to teach us about Him. He is love, He is mercy, and He is humble.

In all my study, and depths of prayer and soul searching, I see the needs of this broken world, and am reminded that His love, His power, His grace are sufficient, but if I want to see it.

Matthew 5:3
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Heaven is where the power of the Holy Spirit is authorized from. This is where the Father, receives our prayers through Jesus our high priest and answers in signs, wonders, and miracles…

How I long to see the power of God in the earth, healing the sick, mending shattered lives, hearts, dreams.

Yet, the kingdom of heaven is for those who are poor in spirit, yet rich in faith.

Today, I see tremendous things occurring in his kingdom and I have the privilege to be part of some of them. Yet, in my own life and family, I need some miracles….

If you are truthful with Him, so do you…

For these, let us come together before Him, and humbly ask:

“Father, I need you. Your power, Your provision, Your grace, Your wisdom, Your understanding, Your insight into my life, that I might walk before You, pure, and able to be some sort of solution to this broken hurting world. Jesus, though You have gifted me greatly, I, just like the poorest of the poor, see my great need of You. Meet with me today, and do what only You can do.’

A Place Called There!

A place called there!

Mt 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Lu 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
In 1997, I left all I knew to be comfortable with, my home, my family, my country, to go to Rhema Bible Training Center here in Tulsa, OK. During that first week, I heard pastor Kenneth Hagin preach a message, that still speaks to me all these years later. The title of his message, was ‘A Place Called There!”

We read of the life of the prophet Elijah:

1 Kings 17:4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

1 Kings 17:9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

Elijah, like every true minister of God, had to discover that his provision, his very life depended upon his specific obedience to God. When God calls you or I, it is to a place called there, and there is always a people on the other side of our obedience.

Elijah prophesied the famine by the Spirit of God, yet that very famine he prophesied would have killed him too (if wicked king Ahab didn’t get him first), had he not specifically obeyed the voice of the Lord, to get to the place of his provision. God had provided for Elijah, in both cases, in the place He sent him, a place called ‘There’.

You need to understand that God has provided for you too, but He gives you a command, and your provision a command, and you need to be in the right place at the right time, and when you are, your provision will manifest. It may not be literal ravens bringing you breakfast and supper, but He will send provision, and it usually blows my mind when it shows up.

Like the time I led a missions trip to Arizona, to the Navajo reservation with 17 people. When we had loaded the two trailers we were bringing, and began to pull out, I realized I only had $80 left for gas, food, lodging everything, for the next 10 days. I went home, hit my knees and said ‘Lord, what do I do?’
He said to ‘Take $30 and put it in the offering slot at Victory Christian Center, and put the other $50 into your gas tank’
And so we pulled out of Tulsa, with 3 vehicles and two trailers full of donations for a project we were going to build.
As we started out of town, my cell phone rang, and Dr. Matt Mclure called me and asked: ‘Hey, are you still doing that trip to the Navajo nation?’
“Yes, I answered, we are just pulling out of Tulsa now.”
“Got any room? I just got in from the Sioux reservation and checked my work schedule at the hospital. Seems I am not scheduled this rotation, mind if I come with you?”
“Where are you? Right now?”

“Just off hwy 75 at 121st st in Jenks”
“We are on hwy 75 right now!”
“Can you swing by and pick me up?”

“Sure! My wife is riding with uncle Harry, so you can ride shotgun with me”
So, we picked him up, and when he got in the Jeep, he looked at the gas guage and said: ‘Looks like you have a full tank, you got this one, I’ll get the next one!”

And so it went, the whole trip! I did not have to ask anyone for money, God supernaturally provided, exactly what we needed, exactly when I needed it, because we were in our place called there.
At one point on I-40 we stopped at Dairy Queen (because I needed gas) and had no money. The other two vehicles had gotten ahead of us 30 mins, because I had 3 children, and they had wanted to stretch their legs, so we stopped in Albequerque and hiked up the Petroglyphs.
So there I was, with three tired children that wanted ice cream, and only 1/4 tank of gas, feeling hot, tired, and desperate inside.
This couple approached me, and asked if I would mind if they bought the children ice cream (Yes, God cares about ice cream for children).

As we visited over an ice cream cone, turns out this couple was named Mike and Julie Pearson, and they were WALKING across America, to raise awareness and support for a homelessness in the US. They were raising support for a ranch, they were trying to build. As we walked out the door, Mike handed me $20, which I immediately put in the gas tank. This got us to Sky City, where God mirculously gave us $60 to fill the tank again.

To this day, I stand in awe of how God provided for this trip, yet He still does it for our family, daily!

Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac, where? On mount Moriah, yet at the same time God spoke to Abraham, He also spoke to a ram, to start wandering toward the mountain, and even allowed it to be caught in the bush, taking the fight out of it for Abraham.

Where?

In a place called there!

Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Your provision is not in heaven, but in the earth. Men have it. God knows which men, have your money, food, vehicles, houses, computers, and everything you need to obey Him. His will, is His bill.

Yet, you must give, and obey specifically, what He commands you to do. When you are on the journey of life, in obedience to Him, along the path, He will send men and unlock their hearts to give to you. Our job is to pray, and obey, always, continually putting pressure on promises, never on people. He is well able to wake folks up in the night, and ruin their sleep to get our needs met.

We are required, to give, to hear His voice, to obey, and this will be a life time journey of relationship with Jesus, through the Holy Spirit.

You have been praying, crying out to God for provision, and He has answered, always.

Where?

In your place called ‘There!’.

Sometimes, you gotta move, to move God.

Let’s Pray:
“Father, we believe you love us, and we believe your Word, knowing full well that we do not live by brad alone, but by every Word that proceeds from your mouth. Speak to us Lord Jesus, to get us to the place you have commanded Your blessing and provision, show us where, our place is there, Amen!’

 

Even miracles and God’s presence will NOT always cause a person to repent!

The Presence of God, and gifts of the spirit, will not change a human heart….

1 Sam 19:19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.
20 And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
21 And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.
22 Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.
23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

Surely, we see a divine encounter with the kingdom of God here. Let’s think about what is going on here.

Saul disobeyed God, and the kingdom was stripped from him. The anointing of God was taken from him, and given to David, and an evil spirit came upon Saul. Saul, hates David, because he sees in him, that which he lacks in himself: courage, bravery, excellence of spirit, purity of heart, and a heart that is in love with God Himself.

Despite the fact that Saul has been throwing spears at him, and hunting him to kill him, David, on the run, refuses to take Saul’s life, and he continually cries out to God on behalf of Saul. Yet, Saul, determined to keep the kingdom, continually sends soldiers to attempt to kill David, and David, by hearing intimately the voice of God, is able to avoid them, every time.

Why did God allow David all those years in the wilderness running from Saul? I think it is because David had to hear God accurately, in life or death situations, if he was ever going to be fit to be king.
In this account, David has run for refuge from Saul to Samuel’s house, and they are having a revival meeting where the gifts of the Holy Spirit are very much in operation, so much so that when Saul’s soldiers come chasing David there, they are arrested by the Spirit of God, and find themselves prophesying under the anointing of God.

Saul does not want to hear this, so sends two more sets of messengers to Ramah, and each time, they too succumb to the power of God, and find themselves prophesying by the Spirit of God, and unable to apprehend David.

So, Saul Himself goes down to Samuel’s revival meeting, and what happens: v 24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night.

Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

So, you would think, after the Holy Spirit so humbled Saul, that he would repent, and begin again to serve the Lord, and leave David alone.

Yet, what did he do?

He went home, and again began to plot again how to murder king David!

Even after the presence of God had caused him to prophesy naked for a day and a night at the feet of Samuel!

In Luke 16, we read the account of the rich man and Lazarus. Notice here that this is not an allegory or parable, but a true story Jesus is recounting. The rich man went to hell, and the poor beggar went to Abraham’s bosum or paradise (Jesus had not yet risen from the dead, so heaven was not open yet).

We see this rich man in hell, seeing father Abraham, and crying out that someone be sent to his family, that they not end up in the same place.

Yes, people in hell are praying that we share the gospel with their families!

Let’s pick it up here:

Luke 16:

²⁹ Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

³⁰ And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

³¹ And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Notice what Abraham, in the afterlife said: that it is more important for people to hear the word of God, and repent, than to see miracles. In fact the implication here is strong: That if someone will not hear the word of God, even if they saw someone raised from the dead telling them of what was to come, they would not change!

So what is the moral of the story?

Simple: The gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the presence of God, will not change a human heart, unless that heart is willing to be changed.

I have heard it said, that the only thing greater than the power of God in the earth, is the free will of man.

Saul might have been able to repent here, and be of some use to king David in his future reign, had he humbled himself, but he absolutely refused!

It eventually cost him his life, and the life of his son, and many others.

The only safe prayer I see in all of this, is the repeated theme of my life and ministry:

‘Father, please grant me purity of heart and purpose. Please open my eyes, and deliver me from my own delusions of grandeur, my will, and my way. Jesus, you are the way, please become my way, with no other agenda, no compromise. May I serve and fully obey You, in spirit and in truth, whatever the cost, for your name and honors sake, Amen’

The Third Voice

May 1, 2011 at 12:50am

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The Third voice

 

There is the voice of God, the Holy Spirit, where He speaks to people as only He can. His children hear, obey, and proclaim what He speaks, and He backs up His Word with mighty acts from heaven.

 

Satan knows this well, so he must destroy the Word, the person, or the credibility of the person who has authentically heard God.

 

In Eve’s life, the serpant came to the woman, and said, ‘Has God really said?”

Immediately, the enemy caused the woman to doubt, to question her husband, and her husbands clear command from the Lord.

 

The rest is history. She ate of the fruit. She talked her husband into eating of the fruit, and he chose to listen to his wife instead of God. Therein is wisdom husbands, know when to listen to your wife, and when to say, NO, as for me and my house, we shall serve the LORD!

 

Well, humanity was plunged into darkness that day, and we have all be born into, and born out of Adam’s sin by the blood of Jesus.

 

Yet, like Adam, our life is designed to affect multitudes for good, for the kingdom of God. As we grow in the Word of God, and learn to hear clearly the voice of God, and to search the Scriptures to ensure we are hearing accurately, there comes kairos moments in the life of a man or a woman of God, where God reveals Himself in glory, and we know, but we know what we must do.

 

Then comes the test of time, as the onslaught of hell and hellish circumstances threaten to overwhelm the loving heart trying to honestly obey God. Satan screams to the mind and the emotions, the same old lie, ‘Has God really said?’, then brings his regular arsenal of weapons to bear on the holy life, and pure heart. His ABC’s are accusation, blame and criticism, and his whispering campaign begins in the lives of those around us. Gentle insinuations, allegations, innuendoes, designed to malign the character of the saint trying to obey God.

 

Like Adam, multitudes depend upon our obedience to God, and purity of heart, our courage to uncompromisingly obey. Satan knows this, and as we press into Jesus and His Word, he begins to speak to others around us, to try and subvert the clarity of the call, with worldly wisdom, and the counsel of religious men. Their counsel sounds so wise, so Biblical, yet our heart screams!

There are so many examples in the Scripture where the multitudes were saying one thing, claiming it to be God, where God was speaking the opposite. Micaiah in 2 Chron 18, and 1 Kings 22, actually had a clear revelation of the throne of God, and spoke a pure word from God, and got hit and persecuted for it, when 400 supposed prophets of God spoke the exact opposite (1 Chon 18:5).

 

So it has been my experience over the years. God speaks to an individual, and if we are lucky, to the other key people involved in what He has called us to do, then for whatever reason, many good Christian people, are left in the dark. They try to reason what I have heard through the Scriptures, but is they are wise, they say, “Unless the Lord reveal it to me, I have no way to judge what has been said.”.

 

Most though, are not humble enough of heart to take this stance, so they join the 400 false prophets, and declare Scriptures, and proclaim ‘Thus saith the Lord!” when He has not spoken.

 

I am slowly learning, to not cast my pearls before swine, and to reveal what God has told me, no matter how passionately it was spoken me of heaven, unless He shows me to reveal it.

My biggest error over the years, has been talking to much. Sharing precious revelations from the Lord, that were for me, or a select few I was called to walk with during different seasons of my life and ministry.

 

I heard Mike Murdoch make the statement, ‘All godly relationships are destroyed by the counsel of a third voice.’, and he went on to explain how godly people’s lives are destroyed by counsel of one usually close to us. One who often cares deeply about us, but who has not heard God, nor understood fully the direction God has us to walk.

 

Remember Peter and Jesus? Peter had just experienced an authentic revelation from heaven that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah. Jesus praised Him, then went on to explain to Peter a difficult thing that must come to pass in His life. He told his disciples to keep secret who He was for a season and look what happened.

 

Matt 16: 20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

21 ¶ From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

 

Peter loved Jesus, and wished Him no harm. He wanted to protect His master from pain, yet look at Jesus response.

 

23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

 

Jesus rebuked Peter, and determined to obey His Father, and head for the cross.

 

So it has been with often good friendships and sometimes even family relationships from people who honestly love me and want to protect me from pain and hardship.

 

Chris, don’t do that, you’ll lose everything you have worked for.

 

Were they right? In a sense, yes. I laid down my education, my career, my athletic career, and every earthly desire to follow Jesus, to the ends of the earth.

 

These people were not evil people, many of them were Christians who honestly cared for me, but they did not know nor understand what the Spirit of God was saying to me, and I had to go and embrace my own personal cross, in obedience to Him.

 

Look at Paul in Acts. God had told him to go preach in Jerusalem, and a prophet Agabus, confronted him with the hardships he would face there.

Ac 19:21 After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.

Ac 20:16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

Ac 20:22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:

Ac 21:4 And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.

Ac 21:11 And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

Ac 21:12 And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Ac 21:13 Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

 

Interesting thought in the life of Paul! I believe Paul heard God to go to Jerusalem, and was on His way. In Acts 21, the Holy Ghost sent disciples to warn Paul not to go to Jerusalem, yet Paul determined to go anyway. Did he miss God here? I don’t think so, and here’s why I believe that. Paul continues on, and Agabus the prophet confronts Paul and shows him what pain will welcome him in Jerusalem, but here Paul’s response:

Ac 21:13 Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

The prophet was right. Paul was bound, beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, yet testified in both Jerusalem and Rome, that the whole earth might hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Obviously God thought much of Paul’s life, allowing much of the New Testament to be written by him, and according to Jesse Duplantis in his trip to heaven, accorded a place among the 12 apostles of the Lamb in heaven.

 

So it is with me. I am in a difficult season of life, transitioning again at divine command, again seeing the multitudes, and being moved with compassion towards the nations.

 

All of what I have described here has happened or is happening in my life, yet my face is set like flint upon the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. It is a time of radical intimacy with Jesus through the Holy Spirit, and a time of great consternation for those close friends around me, who know me, care about me, and yet do not have the revelation from heaven I have been given specifically for me to obey personally. His love is a radical thing, and heaven is real! Like Jesus, like Paul, I must press forward in the call of God, no matter how persecuted, misunderstood, or misrepresented others have been to me. In light of eternity, only one thing matters: “Did you do what I asked you to do?”

Takes courage, but my prayer for you is the same as for me.

 

“Father, show me your perfect will for my life, without compromise, and give me the courage to obey it, no matter the cost. Amen”

The Lord Takes His Own Side!

The Lord takes His own side!

Josh 5: 13 ¶ And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
15 And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

Who’s side you on God? Thought you were with us?

I am on the side of the one who is with me, for I am holy.

Learning to walk in this, to always, no matter what, take Jesus side in life, before, during, and after every battle.

Last night, as the tornado sirens blared, and we watched the Doppler, screaming at the storm, commanding it to leave, to stop it’s destruction, and one touched down less than a mile from where we are living, it is good to be on God’s side!

Why? While other places received destruction and golf ball sized hail, we were untouched, unharmed, and enjoyed a good night’s sleep.

We are on God’s side!

How about you?

‘Let’s pray
Jesus, you are not just THE Lord, but I want you to be MY Lord. Show me the ways I am doing my own thing, and straying from your perfect will for my life, and show me what I need to do, to get back on track with you, not just THE Way, but my Way, and Waymaker. Amen’

The Place Where We Were Was Supernaturally Shaken!

Acts 4:31 When they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim God’s message with boldness.

Had this happen today. While pastor Richard fixed an elderly lady’s toilet, I visited with her and her grown daughter. She told me she was 87 years young, and had been faithfully serving the Lord all her life in her Baptist church. She had played the keyboard in her church, and she really loved Jesus, her children, and her grandchildren. So, before we packed up to leave, we decided to pray for one another. As I prayed for her, I literally felt the wind of God come into her dining room, and like a power surge out of my hand into hers while we prayer. I prayed ‘Fill her Holy Spirit, give her fresh oil, and reveal the fire of Your presence!’ She began to scream, and speak in other tongues, and pray for me and my family, and I failed to notice her daughter and pastor Richard run into the kitchen. The glory of God was so evident, I began to laugh in the joy of the Lord!

After we wished each other good-bye, Richard said: ‘Did you feel that when you prayed?’ “I sure did I exclaimed” He said ‘Did you hear what happened in the kitchen? I asked what he was talking about: He said that as we were praying, the house shook, so violently, that all the pots and plates in the kitchen began banging so loudly, that he and the woman’s daughter, ran in there to see what was going on. Everything was shaking supernaturally, making a loud clanging, that neither the woman or I even heard.

She insisted on having us sing with her: Heavenly Father, I appreciate you…’

Truly the final chapters of the book of Acts have yet to be written, and God is on the move in the United States of America.

Let’s Pray:

‘Father, we do appreciate you! Send Your power again. Come Holy Spirit, and breath Your love, Your power, presence, and passion. Fill us with fresh oil, new wine, the fire of Your love, in Your name I cry out Lord Jesus, Amen’