HAS SOMETHING GOTCHA? (Part Two)

John 21:17-19

17He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

18Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

19This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

The scriptures stated above are the conclusion of a visitation from our Lord Jesus with His disciples after His resurrection. Our Lord had graciously prepared and shared a meal for His disciples. At the end of the meal, Jesus confronts Peter with the same question three times, "Peter, do you love me?" Many ministers have stated that the reason that Jesus asked Peter this particular question three times was due to the fact that Peter had denied the Lord three times on the night He was crucified. Perhaps.

Consider this question...What causes a person to excel? To rise above mediocrity and exceed expectations? Some would answer, "Desire", or, "Passion"; which are great motivators and will drive a person to achieve feats above the normal expectations of average human capability. But the characteristics of , "Greed", "Lust", "Pride", and especially "Fear", will do that as well. Unfortunately, the problem with all these "driving" characteristics is the same - they are governed by the the limitations of human nature and the goal is always, whether directly or indirectly, a selfish one, with "self-glory" the ultimate achievement.

Even Peter fell victim to this human fallacy, proclaiming on the night Jesus was betrayed, "Lord...I will lay down my life for Thy sake." (John 13:37) Peter meant every word of this; however, he was trusting in his own ability...his own capability...his own understanding...to accomplish this. This is really why Jesus asked that particular question of Peter three times - "Do you love me?" Jesus knew that, at that point, Peter only trusted in his own ability to "love" the Lord. Jesus also knew that in order for Peter to "go the distance" and accomplish all that he was destined to for the Gospel's sake; that Peter must realize that it would take a "driving" characteristic that would enable a person to go past the limits of human capability - a "motivator" that would give Peter the strength to push beyond "self-glory" and even "self-preservation". Beloved, there is only one thing that gives a person this type of drive and ability-LOVE.

"Now abideth faith, hope, charity(love), these three; but the greatest of these is charity(love)." - 1 Corinthians 13:13

There are many of our readers that would state, "I have faith", "I have hope", even, "I have love"; but we must realize that it will take more than these three characteristics on a level of human ability to stand in these last days. It will take a "super-natural" level of faith, hope, and "love" in order to stand firm and endure in the days to come. In fact, Peter did not have the super-natural level, or "power", he would need in order to fulfill the plan God had for his life until after a specific event occurred. (Acts 2:1-4).

Futhermore, possessing these characteristics in and of themselves is not the key to overcoming. It is object of our faith, our hope, our love that will give us the "power" to stand fast, to endure, to overcome, in last days. In the days to come, we will continue to expound on the "level" of love one will need in the days ahead and the "object" of that love....

HAS SOMETHING GOTCHA?

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

In the last devotional series from Watchmen of the Wall Ministries, we ministered to you the coming terror, which is to hit the sides of the planet Earth very soon. And, in that series we used the Apostle Paul, as an example of how to fight the fear and terror to come. We explained how that a “personal word” received by Paul, on the Damascus road, drove him all his life. I am convinced this is true by all the writings I have read of him, for he spoke of it often. This “experience” changed his life indeed. But I want to expound further on something that took over, later in his walk with Christ, that I dare say became even stronger than his personal encounter with Christ on that road.

I am a true believer of dreams and visions. The bible speaks of the time when “young men shall dream dreams and old men shall see visions” (Acts 2:16-17). I am a true believer in the supernatural working of the Holy Ghost. When God decides to grant a dream or vision, it does have the power to shake you up for a while. But I submit to you beloved, that living on these “experiences”, alone, will not satisfy you, they will not last to strengthen you on and on.
I know of Christians who can tell you the exact month/day/year that they had such a dream or vision. They draw strength from that “thing” ever since they received it. It could have been 40 years ago, and they still are in awe by it. The sad thing to say is, most of these people I know are backslidden or missing the will of God for there lives by light years! Here is the difference in an “Apostle Paul” type, and one of my backslidden Christian buddies.

Paul had a vision, a personal encounter with Christ, and it did alter his life forever, but he did not stop there. These dreams and visions, and “personal words” that God gives are only icing on the cake. They come only to serve to entice you deeper into the presence of Christ. These experiences only caused Paul to be attracted to the presence of Jesus stronger. I meant to say that that way. Just as you would “woo” a potential boyfriend or girlfriend into a relationship with you, God does these things only to allure you into the deeper presence of Christ, not for you to build a museum in your mind of the encounter, and live there the rest of your life.

Paul, through all his many dreams and visions God gave him, finally came to a place where all these things planted in his heart a burning desire to win Christ, Jesus himself, wrapped in his arms. Our scripture today says it best; he pressed for the mark of the prize, Jesus Christ, like a wild man hunting feverishly for some exotic treasure. I ask you, are you in love with some dream? Or are you in love with the dream maker? Does the day you got saved mean more to you than, say, today, when he spoke to your soul and your heart leaped anew with love? If this is true, make a change today, dear saint, now.

Our Lord's Surprise Visits
By Oswald Chambers

Be ye therefore ready also. (Luke 12:40 KJV)


The great need for the Christian worker is to be ready to face Jesus Christ at any and every turn. This is not easy, no matter what our experience is. The battle is not against sin or difficulties or circumstances, but against being so absorbed in work that we are not ready to face Jesus Christ at every turn. That is the one great need, not the facing our belief, or our creed, the question whether we are of any use, but to face Him.

Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical connections. The only way a worker can keep true to God is by being ready for the Lord's surprise visits. It is not service that matters, but intense spiritual reality, expecting Jesus Christ at every turn. This will give our life the attitude of child-wonder which He wants it to have.

If we are going to be ready for Jesus Christ, we have to stop being religious (that is, using religion as a higher kind of culture) and be spiritually real. If you are "looking off unto Jesus," avoiding the call of the religious age you live in, and setting your heart on what He wants, on thinking on His line - you will be called unpractical and dreamy; but when He appears in the burden and the heat of the day, you will be the only one who is ready.

Trust no one, not even the finest saint who ever walked this earth, ignore him, if he hinders your sight of Jesus Christ.

Inspired Invincibility
By Oswald Chambers

"Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me." (Matthew 11:29 KJV)


"Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth." How petty our complaining is! Our Lord begins to bring us into the place where we can have communion with Him, and we groan and say - "O Lord, let me be like other people!" Jesus is asking us to take one end of the yoke - "My yoke is easy, get alongside Me and we will pull together." Are you identified with the Lord Jesus like that? If so, you will thank God for the pressure of His hand.

"To them that have no might He increaseth strength." God comes and takes us out of our sentimentality, and our complaining turns into a pæan of praise. The only way to know the strength of God is to take the yoke of Jesus upon us and learn of Him.

"The joy of the Lord is your strength." Where do the saints get their joy from? If we did not know some saints, we would say - "Oh, he, or she, has nothing to bear." Lift the veil. The fact that the peace and the light and the joy of God are there is proof that the burden is there too. The burden God places squeezes the grapes and out comes the wine; most of us see the wine only. No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God in a human spirit, it is an inner unconquerableness.

If you have the whine in you, kick it out ruthlessly. It is a positive crime to be weak in God's strength.

Moral Decision about Sin
By Oswald Chambers

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:6 KJV)


Co-Crucifixion. Have I made this decision about sin - that it must be killed right out in me? It takes a long time to come to a moral decision about sin, but it is the great moment in my life when I do decide that just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world, so sin must die out in me, not be curbed or suppressed or counteracted, but crucified.

No one can bring anyone else to this decision. We may be earnestly convinced, and religiously convinced, but what we need to do is to come to the decision which Paul forces here. Haul yourself up, take a time alone with God, make the moral decision and say - "Lord, identify me with Thy death until I know that sin is dead in me." Make the moral decision that sin in you must be put to death.

It was not a divine anticipation on the part of Paul, but a very radical and definite experience. Am I prepared to let the Spirit of God search me until I know what the disposition of sin is - the thing that lusts against the Spirit of God in me? Then if so, will I agree with God's verdict on that disposition of sin - that it should be identified with the death of Jesus? I cannot reckon myself "dead indeed unto sin" unless I have been through this radical issue of will before God. Have I entered into the glorious privilege of being crucified with Christ until all that is left is the life of Christ in my flesh and blood?

"I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me."

THE POWER THAT PRESERVES

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. - (Jeremiah 33:2-4)


For a week now, Watchmen of the Wall have endeavored to prepare and equip you with the means to combat the "Sudden Terror & Fear" attack that will engulf this world in the last days. We have provided examples found in the Word of God of believers receiving a "personal word" from the Lord and the dynamic difference that it made in their lives. Now, let us hear the conclusion of the matter...

The reason that a "personal word" from the Lord contains the power you will need to overcome in the last days is that it stems from an intimate relationship with God himself. It renders Satan of the ability to deceive a believer because it addresses the fallacy that has plagued the bride of Christ since the dawn of time. In order to explain this, we must recall and reflect its very origin; and it all began in the Garden of Eden...

Consider the following verses found in Genesis Chapter Two -

15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Furthermore, consider the following verses found in Genesis Chapter Three -

1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it; neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Here we notice the difference in the word God spoke to Adam and the version that Eve responded with to the serpent's inquiry. The reason that Eve's version of God's commandment was different than that of the actual one given by God is due to the fact Eve received the commandment through recourse from Adam; not from God directly. This is evidence that Eve did not have an intimate relationship with God herself and substituted the relationship Adam had with God in its place.

The reason that Satan was able to "beguile" and deceive Eve lies in the fact that Eve received the Word of God "second-hand." A word received in this manner is "diluted" and, although this will make some cringe, "polluted." In other words, a word received by any means other than the source does not contain the original power it possessed when it is received straight from its source. This has been the mistake, problem, and reason the children of God have been and still are victims of Satan's attacks and devices through the ages. When a person depends or relies on another avenue in which to receive God's words and instructions, (i.e. - pastors, preachers, teachers, evangelists, spouses, books, radio, etc.), that person forfeits the original power those words contained. When a person receives his/her words and instructions straight from God, the very power contained in the breath of God producing those words is also imparted and planted within the heart and mind of that person as well - a power the Devil cannot contend with and cannot overcome.

However, the key to receiving a "personal word" for oneself is not in asking God for a word directly. In order to receive a personal word from God, one must begin with cultivating a personal intimate relationship with Him first. Beloved, in order to draw power straight from the "vine" and not from its "branches", you must seek God with the sole purpose of discovering Him for who He is, and not with the motive of what He can give you. You must begin a journey of seeking God's face and not His hand with no pretence of how long it will take or in what manner God will respond. By faith, you must seek Him through prayer, fasting, bible-study - with your motive being simply to discover His nature and not His nurture. We must be honest with our readers...this is not an easy journey.Hebrews 11:6 declares - "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." What is that reward? The reward is a power undiluted and unpolluted...a power that heals the sick, protects the mind, motivates the heart...it is a power that preserves!