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A Glad Tongue

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Something wonderful happens when a godly person gives him or herself wholly to the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Every part of their life becomes a fountain of Jesus Christ. He does not want us to imitate Him. He wants us to be filled with His very person. His divine nature absolutely flows from the saint that is wholly filled with His Spirit. I’m a Pentecostal and I can tell you that we Pentecostals have put too much emphasis on the ecstatic experiences and too little on the authority of His divine life in us. The gifts of the Spirit should not be ignored, but the life of Jesus Christ in us should be the central focus.

That life produces power — the fire of enthusiasm — and a total readiness to be spent for Him. All our physical facilities are Spirit-saturated and nothing is so sure a fountain as the tongue. A spirit-filled believer will manifest “a glad tongue.” Read carefully as Apostle Luke shows us a prophecy from the Psalmist David that connects Pentecost with “a glad tongue.” “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Acts 2:24-27).

David was speaking from His revelation of this coming Pentecostal baptism that was to occur at the “Feast of Pentecost.” He was overjoyed with this prophecy and stated, “Therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue was glad.” The fullness of the Spirit has always been associated with a happy spiritual life. You cannot be full of Jesus Christ and act like a prude. “It is joy unspeakable and full of glory.” (I Peter 1:8) The greatest witness in the world for Jesus Christ is when your “tongue is glad.” We possess no capacity in our physical person more powerful than our tongue. It (can be) an unruly evil full of deadly poison or it can be a fountain of joy and praise. It is your choice.

The Lord wants to sanctify our tongue, to strip it of quick unmeasured words and careless confusion and to make it “a glad tongue.” Too many Christians speak without wisdom — hasty words, condemning words, noisy words — and ruin their influence. In most lives, the tongue is the last stronghold of the flesh. If we can measure our tongue, we are called “perfect” (mature).

The Holy Ghost wants to quicken your entire body. “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:11). The tongue is the mouthpiece of the body, soul, and spirit. You can always tell the level of maturity, both personal and spiritual, by the tone of the tongue. “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). “A glad tongue” can make almost every gathering a place of pleasure and enjoyment. If this is so in the natural, imagine the power of “a glad tongue” in the House of God.

Attached Files:
openbible

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Obama’s Healthcare Microchip: The “Mark?”
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

The United States of America has taken the giant step towards universal control of every American citizen and anyone receiving any form of medical treatment and/or supplies. This is not the Mark of the Antichrist, but it is the precursor to that Mark. The amazing fact of this action is that it puts the United States in the driver’s seat of the One World Order. Congressman Ron Paul’s website has these exact words, “‘In real world speak,’ according to this report, this new law, when fully implemented, provides the framework for making the United States the first Nation in the World to require each and every one of its citizens to have implanted in them a radio-frequency identification (RFID) microchip for the purpose of controlling who is, or isn’t, allowed medical care in their country.” (http://www.dailypaul.com/node/105079).

By nature, I am a doubter when it comes to fear-mongering or conspiracy theories that have little or no supportive information. When this idea was first mentioned on our Open Bible Dialogue radio talk show, I doubted it openly. But, after a little help from others and a lot of digging myself, I knew something was very scary. Here is a little of the information from the US Department of Health and Human Services’ website. This information was slated as “Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff.” This kind of information cannot be accidental.

“This guidance document was developed as a special control guidance to support the classification of the implantable radiofrequency transponder system for patient identification and health information into class II (special controls). The device is intended to enable access to secure patient identification and corresponding health information in humans. This guidance is issued in conjunction with a Federal Register notice announcing the classification of implantable radiofrequency transponder system for patient identification and health information.

“This guidance document describes a means by which implantable radiofrequency transponder systems for patient identification and health information may comply with the requirement of class II special controls. Designation of this guidance document as a special control means that manufacturers of implantable radiofrequency transponder systems for patient identification and health information who follow the recommendations listed in this document, before introducing their device into commercial distribution in the United States, will also be able to market their device without being subject to the premarket notification requirements of section 510(k) of the Act.” (http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ucm072141.htm).

As massive as Obama’s Healthcare bill is, there is no way it can function without a complete system of control. The present cost of the health-related programs is draining our nation and it is only minute in comparison. This new law — already signed by the president — also requires every citizen and anyone else receiving health care to purchase insurance. This certainly suggests that every person living within our borders will eventually be assigned this radioactive chip. You can probably be assured that this chip will now or eventually have a GPS responder to locate you in case you get lost. Isn’t that nice of this crowd of liberals?

Is this idea just a fancy way to take care of our health needs? Or is it Big Government that is determined to control our lives? The Holy Bible is absolutely plain that this is the future of our world. The Antichrist will only have seven years to form his plan, implement it, and rule the world. He needs surrogates like President Obama to prepare the way. It is only reasonable to understand that almost every aspect of world control must be in place before he appears. With over six billion souls alive and dramatically growing, the stage must be set and in order.

We can see our world headed towards the One World Order from every direction. There are almost no national economies in the world. The world court is already conducting business and a great effort is underway to pressure every government to comply. A world religion is in place. The only religions not at the table are Orthodox Judaism and Fundamental Christianity. We are hated for such narrow-mindedness.

Let’s remember that the Biblical Prophecy writers and ministers have been warning us about this for decades. There are some writers that have set dates, made wild predictions, and missed the mark by wide margins. But, the mainstream writers and ministers have been right on target. Years ago I said, “If Jesus tarries a few more years, we will begin to think that we are already in the Great Tribulation.” Every day I feel a little more like that, while at the same time I know that the Great Tribulation cannot begin until the Rapture occurs.

The Bible predicted this future “Mark of the Beast.” “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:15-17).

Again, I remind you that Obama’s microchip is not the Mark of the Beast. This future Mark must be identified with the Antichrist and is in essence a form of devil-worship. Taking that Mark will be a choice between the worship of our Lord Jesus Christ and the devil, along with his false trinity. The present push for world control is certainly satanic. The entire Obama agenda has been evil from his first day in office. Remember that while he was being sworn into office, the website at the White House was programmed with his homosexual agenda, plus many other liberal directives.

It’s time to stand tall on every issue of life. Absolutely no one should take his chip. You will probably not even be able to buy your prescriptions without the druggist putting the cash register scanner on your right hand. The Rapture-ready crowd will be out of here shortly.

Attached Files:
microchipweb

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Except You Eat “HIS” Flesh
Friday, April 2nd, 2010

No statement that came from the lips of Jesus Christ created as much consternation as the above title. The Son of God brought all that was in His divine nature into His human experience. That divine life in Him is the same divine life that He gives to us. But no man has that life except they receive it by faith. The unsaved multitudes are living in a constant state of dying. Sin kills the victim slowly, so the world has become oblivious to the process. Jesus Christ came to give us life on a divine level, but the majority of the human race has no clue as to what they are missing.

Let’s first read the words of Jesus Christ, “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me” (John 6:53-57). “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:66-68). If we are willing to accept this challenge from God’s eternal Son, a powerful, even wonderful, life is available.

Now, we must understand the spiritual truth that Jesus was teaching. We are spiritual creatures, created just a little lower than the angels. The breath of God in us has the full capacity to know God and to fellowship with Him. That is why He created us. This spirit in man can have a relationship with God similar to a relationship between two individual persons. My flesh can eat wonderful food and maintain a healthy body. My spirit can enjoy God and receive His life and graces into my life and enjoy a healthy spiritual life. This is the life that flowed from Andrew Murray, A.W. Tozer, and many of God’s chosen stewards of the faith.

Most of our world feeds the flesh but never stop to feed the spirit. A multitude of those individuals that have recognized their inner spirit are seeking for spiritual substance in the wrong places. Satan has created many religions and is a master of deception. Those religions and similar spiritualistic schemes give nothing but bondage to their slaves. The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the one and only source to true spiritual life and triumphant living.

Now, we can begin to understand what the Son of God was teaching us. His theologies were not some strange, mystical ideas. He came to fill us with the life that Adam and Eve had before they sinned. They talked directly with God and were fully ready to live forever. Sin entered the human family and this couple ran to find cover when the Father’s footsteps echoed in the garden. Everything that Satan stole was replaced in His passions of death. Our spiritual life is available today, and our eternal physical life will be replaced at the Resurrection.

This spiritual life is what we receive when we “. . . eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood” (John 6:53). It is a genuine spiritual experience. It is not eating a wafer or unleavened bread nor drinking wine or grape juice. Yes, we should take communion because we show forth His death until He comes. But, this life on a spiritual level is what Christ described when He was speaking of His flesh and blood. He clearly stated, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

All that the Son of God possessed in His divine nature was brought into His physical person so that it could then become part of our redemption. By the Holy Ghost’s inspiration, John stated, “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). Everything He was and is, is also ours and is received by faith and total surrender.

How far below this abundant life we have fallen! We must discover what we have lost and return. Remember, His words are spiritual words. Your spirit — after it is renewed by the Holy Spirit at the Born Again experience — becomes fully capable of feeding on the Holy Scripture and fellowshipping with God. Prayer is ordained by our Father to be fellowship, not just begging. It is perfectly right to make your request known but only in fellowship with Him. Learn to wait and welcome the Holy Spirit to draw you after Christ. When you go to prayer, stay there until fellowship and communion is established and His presence is real. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:6-7, 9-10).

Your spiritual life will begin to grow and, more and more, His presence will satisfy your deepest longing. Nobody can teach you the beautiful life of “eating His flesh and drinking His blood,” except His Holy Spirit. If I should try to teach you, it might be treated as mechanical; but if He teaches you, it will be divine. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (II Corinthians 4:7).

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Dark Depths of an Undisciplined Life
Thursday, March 25th, 2010

The human temple is a marvelous, living machine. The human mind is a powerhouse of potential. But, it is scary to see the place where an undisciplined mind or life will finish its train wreck. The potential for greatness has a perfect balance in its capacity for disaster. All of these possibilities of living are decided in the conference center of the human will. The great capacity of the human brain is at the choice of our will. You can use your mind if you will and, once the will is set, the die is cast.

A sharp shooter is the result of a disciplined will. This individual has set their mind to train and harness themselves until shooting is more instinct than aim. The entire human body becomes tuned into the process. It’s a matter of disciplining the total person for the mastery of that skill. This is equally true of the world of art, the world of communication, the skills of a great physician, or a master athlete. There is no possibility of greatness until there is the presence of discipline. The human will must be harnessed and set for the dream.

God’s kingdom needs men and women that will discipline themselves to Christ with the same abandonment we see given to worldly goals. Read what Apostle Paul said by the Holy Ghost to the believers at Corinth, “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (I Corinthians 9:25-27). The picture of discipline in that Christian mastery is breathtaking.

The Holy Spirit is speaking the language of self-control and selflessness towards the Christian life. “Striveth for the mastery” are words of passion to a soul that can dream. The dream here is of surrender and devotion to Jesus Christ and the incorruptible crown that a saint of God can obtain. The key words are “temperate in all things” or self-control. No one can discipline your heart and mind but you. Incarcerated prisoners can be forced to be disciplined through fear and intimidation; but, after a few hours on the street, they are wild again.

King Saul was heads and shoulders above his fellowmen. The Father chose him to be the first king of His people, Israel. When he was anointed, another Spirit came on him and He began to prophecy. Greatness was in his future because the Father had a plan for him. “And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day” (I Samuel 10:9). But King Saul had a core problem. He could not discipline himself under the prophet of God. “And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever” (I Samuel 13:13).

The Bible never hid the failures of many potential success stories. The elder son of Adam and Eve followed in the path of his mother and refused to offer a Biblical sacrifice and became a vagabond. Esau, the elder son of Isaac, was crass and wild. Today, his heirs are the Islamic terrorists. David, who became a “man after God’s own heart,” brought shame on his life that never ended, even in his greatness. Judas Iscariot could have had his name on one of the foundations of New Jerusalem, but “by transgressions fell” (Acts 1:25). Every failure was the result of an undisciplined life. They never lacked in opportunity but they lacked self-control.

When I was saved in 1952, there was great pulpit mastery all over America. I can recall pulpiteers that fed my soul with powerful preaching that set my course to love the Word of God and to master its truths. The greatest drought in America and the church world is the absence of fearless preachers that can storm the gates of Hell. Some of these formerly great men are still alive but have become wimpy and frivolous. Instead of scaring the world, they are now scared by the world. Instead of longing for the mastery of a powerful anointing, they are pursuing the gold and silver of a “Name It, Claim It” gospel. They are train wrecks.

But, all is not lost. The human soul and mind can still be so surrendered and disciplined that Christ can be revealed to this lost generation. Your temple is a marvelous, living machine. Jesus Christ is challenging the present saints to “eat His flesh and drink His blood” until Christ is formed in your life. This is a depth that only the selfless and self-controlled can experience. If you are wild and a law unto yourself, you are close to being a castaway. Your train wreck is right down the sad road of self. The Holy Ghost is calling out to the humble souls that want the dreams of our Master. Believe me, there is no joy like the joy of our whole life being attuned to the deep life of Christ. Like the sharpshooter, when our temple is all surrendered and disciplined, the whole life is disciplined in the love of His will.

Attached Files:
road-signs

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The Artistry of the Holy Ghost
Thursday, March 18th, 2010

The Son of God saw the sadness and gloom that gripped His disciples when He said He was leaving them. They were overwhelmed with the sense of disappointment and helplessness. As He felt their pain, He spoke some of His most powerful words, “But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:5-8). His purpose in life was to die and His death was going to produce more than just a sacrifice for sin; it was going to guarantee that His Spirit would come to men to affect everything His death accomplished.

His dying would have served no purpose if there was not a plan to supernaturally craft all of Himself and His redemption into all of us who would believe. The Holy Spirit has been appointed by the Father to the office of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit is His eternal name, but the title of Holy Ghost is His office to absolutely represent another, even the Son of the Living God. The translators of Scripture in the King James Bible saw this great truth and translated “Holy Spirit” to “Holy Ghost” in each instance where His office of representing Jesus Christ was evident. The work of the Spirit is the “Artistry of His Cross” in redemption and newness of life. He takes the old, sinful, and debauched human life and crafts the new man of grace and redemption. The Comforter has come and His work is breathtakingly beautiful.

One of the eternal truths of the Bible is the helplessness of human flesh. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Sin has robbed man of His expressions of likeness to God. Man’s spirit is bound in death and physical helplessness. He may pant after God and seek Him in many ways and in much religious action, but until the Holy Ghost finds the open door to his heart it is all in vain. Jesus said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44a). Humility is not a pious face but a broken heart before God. Until man is willing to accept the complete defeat of himself, even his search for God, and declare absolute surrender to God’s sovereign mercy; there is no salvation. We do not chase and find God, He reveals Himself as we follow Him.

Jesus knew what was in man. He said great things to express this fact, “But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man” (St. John 2:24-25). Three chapters of Saint John were almost exclusively given to declare the gift of the Holy Ghost and His unfailing value to His saints. The Holy Spirit is a person possessing every attribute of the Godhead and He was sent to perfect in the body of the church every value of redemption. The church world is so full of flesh and human activity — void of the spiritual manifestations of God — that it is all a laughingstock to Satan and his hordes. Our Father and our Lord is calling us out of this malaise back to His Book.

Almost everything we connect to the work of the Holy Ghost has to do with emotions, but His real activity is in the human spirit and human soul. The Holy Ghost indwells the saints to craft Christ into every aspect of our being. Jesus Christ said, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (St. John 14:26-27). It is when Christ sanctifies our life, spirit, soul, and body that beauty replaces carnality and flesh. Even our faces reflect the deep work occurring inside. The Divine artistry of this redemptive work is heavenly. Apostle Paul said it perfectly, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The Scripture speaks much of our relationship to this deep work of the Holy Ghost. The Bible says that we are “sealed by the Spirit.” We are warned not to “grieve the Spirit” or “resist the Spirit.” In Thessalonica Paul wrote, “Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. 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. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-24). Paul said, “…Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Romans 8:9b). He, also, said, “In whom all the building (our temple) fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:21-22).

The redemptive process of our Lord Jesus Christ is beautiful. The Holy Spirit was sent by the Father to craft into His body, the church, the very image of Jesus Christ. The saints were called “Christians” at Antioch because this spiritual activity was glaring and life-changing. The world trembles when the Eternal Son has been recreated in the saints. The Holy Spirit has come to do the “Artistry of Calvary” in the lives of the redeemed.

Attached Files:
BibleCandle

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The Best Wine At the End
Friday, March 12th, 2010

A marriage celebration is a wonderful occasion. It is God ordained to both meet the deepest physical joy of man and to prophetically portray the ultimate joy of the Lord Jesus. When Adam had finished naming all the created creatures, the Father saw that his highest earthly creation was lonely and without a companion. From Adam’s rib, God made woman and joined them by heart to each other. From the first memorial event until this day, wedding feasts have brought laughter, celebration, and union. Satan was furious and devised a foolish alternative called sodomy. Sodomy actually blasphemed the beauty of God’s pure plan both for man and for His Son. It is the lowest point of human depravity.

It is fitting that Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding feast. Every aspect of this event was filled with prophecy, but nothing as beautiful as the miracle of the last wine. The wedding had progressed for days until the supply of wine was gone. Mary, the mother of Jesus, told Jesus and then said to the servants, “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it” (John 2:5). Great containers for purification were available and Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the waterpots with water” (John 2:7). When this was done he commanded, “Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast” (John 2:8). The guests were astonished when they began to drink the miracle wine and explained, “Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now” (John 2:10). The wedding feast ended in a blaze of excitement because of this miracle and the “best wine at the end.”

This great miracle is prophetic of the day in which we live. Wine is a great type of spiritual blessing and the joy of the Holy Ghost. The Pentecostal experience has touched millions since the Day of Pentecost. We have witnessed the “early rain, moderately,” but soon, even any moment, the latter rain is ordained to begin. Joel said, “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you” (Joel 2:23-25). He firmly stated that this would occur in the first month. That is exactly the day which the Feast of Trumpets is ordained to occur. The Feast of Trumpets is the Old Testament type of the Rapture of the Church. The feast begins thirty days earlier with a daily trumpet and ends on the very first day of the first full month. Prophecy in Scripture is perfect, so it shall transpire.

I believe the Latter Rain is scheduled to begin a short period before the Rapture and then continue right through the Seven Years of Great Tribulation. It will then literally explode when the Jewish people are converted at the beginning of the thousand years of the Millennium. Isaiah proclaimed, “With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26:9). The greatest harvest of all time is yet to come. The Pentecostal experience we have witnessed in our lives is but a shadow of this prophesied Latter Rain.

The best wine is saved until the end. The entire story of His first miracle is a story of the harvest in beautiful typology. The harvest started with His ministry, continued with the early church, and has been intermittent for two thousand years. It will explode in the End Time. We are privileged to live in this prophetic day and to be a part of the best wine of all history. The grapes are ripening for the final harvest.

Attached Files:
grapes

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Weeping For Lost Souls
Friday, March 5th, 2010

The spiritual business that is the closest to the heart of God is that business of weeping and travailing for lost souls. Just as a mother cannot give birth to her child until the pains of travail are upon her, neither will the saints win the lost until there is much weeping. The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart some months ago. He said, “I cannot answer prayer in your altar until I first answer prayer in your prayer closet.” I hear much despair in the church because most converts are shallow and have little change of lifestyle. It is apparent to me that the level of change in our converts is the direct results of the level of prayer by the leaders and soul winners themselves.

Infallible truth says, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy; He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5-6). There is no such thing as compassion for a lost soul that does not cause great sorrow in the heart. It is painful to bear a lost person on your heart and to stand between them and the fires of hell. Almost no one preaches about a literal Hell, where the lost will be tormented for eternity. Neither do we weep over those on the way to that horrible place. God has ordained that every born again saint never forget from what he was saved.

Apostle Jude said, “And some have compassion making a difference: and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garments spotted by the flesh” (Jude 1:22-24). When we see souls on their way to hell and want to “make a difference,” then we will “fear” for them and for ourselves if we have no compassion on their souls to pull them out of the fire. It is an awesome reality that the business of soul winning is on our shoulders. This is the reality that drove those like Hudson Taylor to inland China, where the millions were perishing. Unless we come to understand that we are responsible for the unsaved before our God, nothing will change.

Untold millions will spend eternity in hell because nobody will weep for their souls. The whole business of the Holy Spirit in conviction of sin awaits the travail and great compassion of God’s saints, “We are labourers together with God, ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building” (I Corinthians 3:9). There is no backup plan for the harvest of souls, but “ye are God’s husbandry” (the keepers of His vineyard of souls). The prophet of God, Ezekiel, warned us of our responsibility to the wicked, “When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul” (Ezekiel 33:8-9).

“Pulling them out of the fire” has got to be one of the greatest statements ever voiced by the Holy Ghost to Christ’s church. Any approach to “travailing of prayer” that does not grasp this promise-filled statement will fail to win. We, the Spirit-filled saints of Almighty God, have been promised and warned that we are the gate watchers of hell. We can pull souls back from the precipice of fire and at least give them one last choice. No, we cannot decide for them, but we can guarantee that they will hear the call and invitation from the mighty Spirit of the “Lover of souls” that “waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth” (James 5:7). He patiently waits, but we must be the harvesters of the fruit.

Nothing describes my Heavenly Father and His Son better than these words, “Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain” (James 5:7b). In one verse of Scripture we are called the husbandry. In this verse He is called the Husbandman. Souls are His business and our business. “We will reap if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9) and bear the pain of travail and great weeping. That’s our fellowship of His suffering.

Attached Files:
ManPraying

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The Surrender Of Our Will
Friday, February 26th, 2010

Something beautiful happens when an individual surrenders his will to Jesus Christ. Our Creator has a sovereign plan for each of our total lives, and that design is so spectacular and heavenly that nothing can compare. He has predestined us from the foundation of the world to His glory. His Word declares that He alone is the foundation on which we must build. After we surrender to this single foundation, then He begins the beautiful process of revealing the rest of His story plan to us. The Spirit said to the Ephesus church family, “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself” (Ephesians 1:9). He cannot, and will not, reveal His will until we surrender our will to Him.

Jesus Christ was our perfect example. The Gospel of John reveals His absolute subordination to His Father. He never spoke of His own ideas or plans. In fact, He had no other plan but His Father’s. “Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:16-17). I love this divine statement. First, He said, “I have no will but the Father’s.” Then, He said, “If you will surrender to His will, then you will have the enlightenment of knowing in your heart that My doctrines are pure and divine.” Something supernatural happens in our very spirit and mind once we surrender our will to the Heavenly Father. The Son of God was plain-spoken. “If any man will do his will he shall ‘know’…”

This is divine revelation. Multitudes are asking, “How can I know the will of God?” Multiple books are being written on “finding God’s Will.” All of the searching and hand wringing could end quickly if each person would totally surrender their will to Him. No book but the Holy Bible can reveal the will of God for you. But the one addition to that Book is God’s readiness to apply the truth of that Book when you give up your own will. Only the Spirit of God can reveal in your heart all the plans for your life. Your profession, your partner of a wife or a husband, your time, and every aspect must be discerned as you are totally yielded and free of all your preconceived plans.

We live in a religious world that says you can bring all your talents, plans, decisions, etc., into your Christian walk. Some would even suggest that there are many different paths to serving God and God wants you to just be yourself. This concept is not only wrong, it is terrible. The eternal God knows your name, your abilities, your sins, and your thoughts. He has the perfect solution for all your needs and the perfect plan for all your life. He wants you to surrender your will totally and submit to His revelations for your life.

Our nature is depraved. The most eloquent and cultured person among us has a wicked heart that must be washed in the Blood. This is the greatest struggle in the present church world. Multitudes are willing to profess Jesus Christ as long as it is on their own terms. Salvation is not just the redeeming of the old nature but the renewing and transformation of that nature. It is the miracle of being “born again.” He does not sanctify my will but totally changes my will to His will at my surrender.

A man, who was born blind, was seated by the path where Jesus and His disciples ministered. His disciples ask Jesus, “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John 9:2-3) Every situation of every individual soul on this earth has been allowed or designed for God to reveal Himself in that life. Your worst nightmare is an ordained opportunity for God to change your life. He is sovereign over His universe. Nothing that happens is meaningless. Whatever your situation or heartbreak, surrender your will to Him and He will begin the process of miracles.

When you give up all your will and great plans to the “Master Designer of Human Lives,” He will reveal His design and you will discover a glorious life. He awaits somewhere beside the path you are struggling to navigate. His plans may not always take you through a flower garden, but it will always end in one.

Attached Files:
repentance

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Genuine Enthusiasm Begats Anointing
Thursday, February 18th, 2010

God cannot anoint an unenthused person. If you are not excited about the Lord Jesus and His presence, how can He make you His vessel for His glory? Study the history of great awakenings and Sovereign visitations from God and you will find that the Lord always used enthusiastic servants. A Godly person, full of the Holy Ghost, will simply flood forth with a contagious excitement that stirs others for the Lord. Look at Apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost and compare him with the Peter before the Holy Ghost was sent down. The timid became the bold, the discouraged became the world shaker, and the denier became the proclaimer.

You do not just receive enthusiasm when the Holy Ghost moves upon you. He actually fills you because you are enthused about the Lord Jesus in your life. You will never see the Spirit of His Pentecostal blessing move upon a bunch of dead saints sitting around with the mulligrubs. But, let them began to hunger and thirst after God and to draw near to Him in worship and adoration, and He will draw near to them (James 4:8). All I ever have to do to have a wonderful prayer time or a great worship experience is to truly get excited about my Lord and doing His will.

Hope is almost an unexplored word among the New Testament thinkers. Hope is really enthusiasm or bridled excitement. The meaning of the word in the Greek is actually “joyous expectation.” It is faith springing forth into action and obedience, expecting God to apply the supernatural to our surrender. Biblical hope is a fire of enthusiasm to which God cannot deny His presence. The Psalmist said it well when He proclaimed, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel” (Psalms 22:3). Genuine praise that bellows forth from Godly young people and adult saints will create an atmosphere that draws sinners and changes lives.

Apostle Paul had to deal with the enthusiasm of the Corinthian church and teach them how to measure their life in this exciting atmosphere. He taught them that the work of the Holy Ghost was subject to the prophets and that they must do all things “in decency and in order.” Why would He have to teach this? Because enthusiasm is so wonderful and so full of joy that the saints must be disciplined in their response. As you read the history of every great revival, the leaders had to guide the people in disciplining their emotions. Enthusiasm without discipline is the enemy of reason and will bring great confusion. In fact, many people feign enthusiasm as anointing and a multitude of people do not discern the difference.

“Joyous expectation” is so wonderful that it takes mature people to handle it. “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city” (Proverbs 16:32). Oh, for the glory of having to handle our excitement instead of dying in gloom and discouragement. “Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees” (Hebrews 12:12). It’s time to be enthusiastic for the kingdom of God! “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12). It’s amazing how close enthusiasm is to violence. We must become radically excited about taking the kingdom for the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s ours for the taking, but it won’t be taken until we are consumed with enthusiasm and obedience.

Attached Files:
TheCross

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The Marvelous New Heaven
Friday, February 12th, 2010

It seems extreme to speak of a Heaven that is even more marvelous than Heaven already is. But the Book of Revelation makes it plain that God is going to create a “New Heaven” and a “New Earth.” The very language He uses proves that He is planning something so magnificent that its description is beyond words. The Holy Spirit said, “And I saw a new Heaven and a new earth: for the first Heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:1-2). Our Great God is full of unfathomable and unfailing plans for our future.

While it is perfectly grand to simply wait until we arrive to see all of the glory that the Father has designed, the Bible would suggest it’s also okay to see a little of it in advance. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). Let’s be cautious as we consider some of the exceptional changes that we can expect.

Satan has been a part of our Biblical scene from the beginning. Before we were created, he was a beautiful angel and held a strong position in the Father’s Kingdom. This lovely creature that may well have provided Heaven with his exceptional music decided that he wanted the Father’s throne. He lost his place and the Father’s Son saw him falling from Heaven. He wasn’t barred from Heaven but lost his dwelling place and became a vagabond in this great universe.

Since that day he has been the accuser of men that seek to please the Father. He also labors to hinder the holy angels that busy themselves with the Father’s pleasures. An angel confessed to Daniel that a prince from Satan’s realm had withstood him for twenty-one days as he came to this servant of the Lord with the Father’s answer, “And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me” (Daniel 10:11-13). Heaven has tolerated this scroundel as the great redemption plan has unfolded and stretched toward the final finishing moments. Almost simultaneously with the Rapture, Satan will be cast from the Father’s presence and forever forbidden from the celestial world. He will never even see the New Heavens, much less seek to render it unclean by his evil presence.

Presently, the great hosts of angels that call Heaven their home are busy on duty as ministers to the saints in their struggles with Satan. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14). The angels ascend and descend at the command of “The Lord of Sabbaoth” to care for our needs. Jesus Christ is that Lord and has all power in Heaven and in earth, so Heaven is never free of our burden and cares. Heaven is the staging ground of these ministering spirits, “And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Luke 4:11). The Father has not left His saints to fight alone.

The Heavenly Temple in God’s Capitol City is the center of His glory. Here is the great altar of which the Ark of the Covenant was but a golden shadow. This is the grand center of the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ. Here, He intercedes for the saints continually because there is no night here. Every burden and care that has been entrusted to Him is remembered. The Son of God has the Father’s ear to defend our cause and accomplish the Father’s actions. In his dying minutes, Stephen looked within the Heavenly realm and saw the exalted Son standing at the Father’s right hand. “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” (Acts 7:55). This business of redemption will be finished when the New Heaven appears.

The multitude of saints that are absent from the body, but present with the Lord, are waiting to return with Christ for the living Saints. Their presence in Heaven is without their glorified bodies. It is beyond my words to describe the future addition of this grand company with their shouts and worship throughout God’s New Heaven. Apostle Paul said that Jesus Christ would bring them with Him and wake up those that are awaiting resurrection, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:14-16).

When this great Hallelujah Multitude reaches the shores of the present Heaven, it will certainly prove that something majestic is in the air. This event we call the Rapture will start the Redemption Apocalypse. We will arrive on time and will probably have the joy of watching from the Ivory City as Michael organizes his angelic battalions of angels. You will be out of place if you do not believe in shouting God’s praises because Heaven will be alive with glory. The devil and his evil hordes will be seen in great defeat as they depart the Heavens for their last time. Not one of his fallen angels will see the face of God again. There will still be a lot of glory in the present Heavens as the Marriage Supper occurs. The multitude of saints will see New Jerusalem waiting the moment that it will descend. I believe the rewards given at the Marriage Supper will conclude with our mansions in the New City and we will occupy the city while we rule the earth for the Millennium.

To tell the whole story of the coming New Heaven and New Earth is not for man to know at this present time. What I already know is certainly enough for me to say goodbye to this world and to live under the hope of tomorrow. Remember, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Attached Files:
colorful-sky

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