Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
COMING TO HIS TABLE
An old gospel song has profound meaning for me. It says, "Jesus has a table spread / Where the saints of God are fed / He invites his chosen people, come and dine."
What an exciting prospect: The Lord has spread a table in the heavenlies for his followers! Jesus told his disciples, "I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom" (Luke 22:29–30). Hungering for him means that, by faith, we also are seated at this table.
When the apostle Paul instructs, "Let us keep the feast" (1 Corinthians 5:8), he means let us understand clearly that we have been assigned a seat in the heavenlies with Christ at his royal table. Paul is saying, "Always show up. Never let it be said your seat is empty."
The sad truth is that the church of Jesus Christ simply does not comprehend what it means to keep the feast. We do not understand the majesty and honor accorded us by having been raised by Christ to sit with him in heavenly places. We have become too busy to sit at his table. We mistakenly derive our spiritual joy from service instead of communion. We do more and more for a Lord whom we know less and less. We run ourselves ragged giving our bodies and minds to his work, but we seldom keep the feast.
The one thing our Lord seeks above all else from his servants, ministers and shepherds is communion at his table. This table is a place for spiritual intimacy, and it is spread daily. Keeping the feast means coming to him continually for food, strength, wisdom and fellowship.
Ever since the Cross, all spiritual giants have had one thing in common: They revered the table of the Lord. They became lost in the vastness of Christ. They all died lamenting that they still knew so little of him and his life.
Our vision of Christ today is too small, too limited. A gospel of "vastness" is needed to overcome the complicated and growing problems of this wicked age. You see, God does not merely solve problems in this world—he swallows them up in his vastness! Someone with an increasing revelation of Christ's vastness need fear no problem, no devil, no power on this earth. He knows that Christ is bigger than it all. If we had this kind of revelation of how vast he is, how boundless, measureless, limitless and immense, we would never again be overwhelmed by life's problems.
Paul is an example to us. He was committed to having such an ever-increasing revelation of Christ. In fact, all he had of Christ came by revelation; it was taught to him at the Lord's table and made truth to him by the Holy Spirit. Remember, it was three years after his conversion before Paul went to spend time with the apostles in Jerusalem, and he stayed with them only fifteen days before continuing his missionary journeys. He later said, "By revelation he made known unto me the mystery" (Ephesians 3:3). The Holy Spirit knows the deep and hidden secrets of God, and Paul prayed constantly for the gift of grace to understand and preach "the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8).
The Lord is looking for believers who are not satisfied with sifting through all the conflicting voices to find a true word. He wants us to hunger for a revelation of him that is all our own—a deep, personal intimacy.
What an exciting prospect: The Lord has spread a table in the heavenlies for his followers! Jesus told his disciples, "I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom" (Luke 22:29–30). Hungering for him means that, by faith, we also are seated at this table.
When the apostle Paul instructs, "Let us keep the feast" (1 Corinthians 5:8), he means let us understand clearly that we have been assigned a seat in the heavenlies with Christ at his royal table. Paul is saying, "Always show up. Never let it be said your seat is empty."
The sad truth is that the church of Jesus Christ simply does not comprehend what it means to keep the feast. We do not understand the majesty and honor accorded us by having been raised by Christ to sit with him in heavenly places. We have become too busy to sit at his table. We mistakenly derive our spiritual joy from service instead of communion. We do more and more for a Lord whom we know less and less. We run ourselves ragged giving our bodies and minds to his work, but we seldom keep the feast.
The one thing our Lord seeks above all else from his servants, ministers and shepherds is communion at his table. This table is a place for spiritual intimacy, and it is spread daily. Keeping the feast means coming to him continually for food, strength, wisdom and fellowship.
Ever since the Cross, all spiritual giants have had one thing in common: They revered the table of the Lord. They became lost in the vastness of Christ. They all died lamenting that they still knew so little of him and his life.
Our vision of Christ today is too small, too limited. A gospel of "vastness" is needed to overcome the complicated and growing problems of this wicked age. You see, God does not merely solve problems in this world—he swallows them up in his vastness! Someone with an increasing revelation of Christ's vastness need fear no problem, no devil, no power on this earth. He knows that Christ is bigger than it all. If we had this kind of revelation of how vast he is, how boundless, measureless, limitless and immense, we would never again be overwhelmed by life's problems.
Paul is an example to us. He was committed to having such an ever-increasing revelation of Christ. In fact, all he had of Christ came by revelation; it was taught to him at the Lord's table and made truth to him by the Holy Spirit. Remember, it was three years after his conversion before Paul went to spend time with the apostles in Jerusalem, and he stayed with them only fifteen days before continuing his missionary journeys. He later said, "By revelation he made known unto me the mystery" (Ephesians 3:3). The Holy Spirit knows the deep and hidden secrets of God, and Paul prayed constantly for the gift of grace to understand and preach "the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8).
The Lord is looking for believers who are not satisfied with sifting through all the conflicting voices to find a true word. He wants us to hunger for a revelation of him that is all our own—a deep, personal intimacy.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
FROM THE BATTLEFIELD OF FAITH
When Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, it wasn't because he'd heard revival was breaking out there. He wasn't a discouraged preacher looking for someone to impart something of God to him. No—he states clearly, "I went up…to Jerusalem…by revelation and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach" (Galatians 2:1–2). Paul went to Jerusalem to share a mystery that God wanted to reveal to his people.
This godly man had his own full, glorious revelation of Christ. He didn't learn the doctrines he preached by shutting himself in a study with books and commentaries. He wasn't some isolated philosopher who dreamed up theological truths, thinking, "Someday my works will be read and taught by future generations."
Let me tell you how and where Paul produced his epistles. He wrote them in dark, damp prison cells. He wrote them while wiping the blood from his back after being scourged. He wrote them after crawling from the sea, having survived another shipwreck.
Paul knew that all the truth and revelation he taught came from the battlefield of faith. And he rejoiced in his afflictions for the gospel's sake. He said, "Now I can preach with all authority to every sailor who's been through a shipwreck, to every prisoner who's been locked up with no hope, to everybody who has ever looked death in the face. God's Spirit is making me a tested veteran, so I can speak his truth to everyone who has ears to hear."
God hasn't turned you over to the power of Satan. No—he's allowing your trial because the Holy Spirit is performing an unseen work in you. Christ's glory is being formed in you for all eternity.
You'll never get true spirituality from someone or something else. If you're going to taste God's glory, it's going to have to come to you right where you are—in your present circumstances, pleasant or unpleasant.
I believe one of the great secrets of Paul's spirituality was his readiness to accept whatever condition he was in without complaining. He writes, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" (Philippians 4:11).
The Greek word for content here means "to ward off." Paul is saying, "I don't try to protect myself from my unpleasant circumstances. I don't beg God for relief from them. On the contrary, I embrace them. I know from my history with the Lord that he's doing something eternal in me."
"That ye may be able to bear it…" (1 Corinthians 10:13). The word bear which Paul uses here implies that our condition isn't going to change. The point is for us to bear up under the situation. Why? God knows that if he changes our condition, we'll end up destroyed. He allows us to suffer because he loves us.
Our part in every trial is to trust God for all the power and resources we need to find contentment in the midst of our suffering. Please don't misunderstand me—being "content" in our trials doesn't mean we enjoy them. It simply means we no longer try to protect ourselves from them. We are content to stay put and endure whatever is handed to us, because we know our Lord is conforming us to the image of his Son.
This godly man had his own full, glorious revelation of Christ. He didn't learn the doctrines he preached by shutting himself in a study with books and commentaries. He wasn't some isolated philosopher who dreamed up theological truths, thinking, "Someday my works will be read and taught by future generations."
Let me tell you how and where Paul produced his epistles. He wrote them in dark, damp prison cells. He wrote them while wiping the blood from his back after being scourged. He wrote them after crawling from the sea, having survived another shipwreck.
Paul knew that all the truth and revelation he taught came from the battlefield of faith. And he rejoiced in his afflictions for the gospel's sake. He said, "Now I can preach with all authority to every sailor who's been through a shipwreck, to every prisoner who's been locked up with no hope, to everybody who has ever looked death in the face. God's Spirit is making me a tested veteran, so I can speak his truth to everyone who has ears to hear."
God hasn't turned you over to the power of Satan. No—he's allowing your trial because the Holy Spirit is performing an unseen work in you. Christ's glory is being formed in you for all eternity.
You'll never get true spirituality from someone or something else. If you're going to taste God's glory, it's going to have to come to you right where you are—in your present circumstances, pleasant or unpleasant.
I believe one of the great secrets of Paul's spirituality was his readiness to accept whatever condition he was in without complaining. He writes, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" (Philippians 4:11).
The Greek word for content here means "to ward off." Paul is saying, "I don't try to protect myself from my unpleasant circumstances. I don't beg God for relief from them. On the contrary, I embrace them. I know from my history with the Lord that he's doing something eternal in me."
"That ye may be able to bear it…" (1 Corinthians 10:13). The word bear which Paul uses here implies that our condition isn't going to change. The point is for us to bear up under the situation. Why? God knows that if he changes our condition, we'll end up destroyed. He allows us to suffer because he loves us.
Our part in every trial is to trust God for all the power and resources we need to find contentment in the midst of our suffering. Please don't misunderstand me—being "content" in our trials doesn't mean we enjoy them. It simply means we no longer try to protect ourselves from them. We are content to stay put and endure whatever is handed to us, because we know our Lord is conforming us to the image of his Son.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
WALKING WITH GOD
"Enoch walked with God" (Genesis 5:24).
The original Hebrew meaning for walked implies that Enoch went up and down, in and out, to and fro, arm in arm with God, continually conversing with him and growing closer to him. Enoch lived 365 years—or, a "year" of years. In him, we see a new kind of believer. For 365 days each adult year, he walked arm in arm with the Lord. The Lord was his very life—so much so that at the end of his life, he did not see death (see Hebrews 11:5).
Like Enoch, who was translated out of life, those who walk closely with God are translated out of Satan's reach—taken out of his kingdom of darkness and put into Christ's kingdom of light: "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Colossians 1:13).
Enoch learned to walk pleasingly before God in the midst of a wicked society. He was an ordinary man with all the same problems and burdens we carry, not a hermit hidden away in a wilderness cave. He was involved in life with a wife, children, obligations and responsibilities; Enoch wasn't "hiding to be holy."
"Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him" (Genesis 5:24). We know from Hebrews that this verse speaks of Enoch's translation, the fact that he did not taste death. But it also means something deeper. The phrase he was not, as used in Genesis 5, also means "he was not of this world." In his spirit and in his senses, Enoch was not a part of this wicked world.
Each day as he walked with the Lord he became less attached to the things below. Like Paul, he died daily to this earthly life and he was taken up in his spirit to a heavenly realm.
Yet while he walked on this earth, Enoch undertook all his responsibilities. He cared for his family: he worked, ministered and occupied. But "he was not"—not earthbound. None of the demands of this life could keep him from his walk with God.
Hebrews 11:5 says clearly: "Before his [Enoch's] translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." What was it about Enoch that pleased God so much? It was that his walk with God produced in him the kind of faith God loves. These two verses cannot be separated: "Before his [Enoch's] translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:5-6).
We hear this latter verse often, but rarely in connection with the former. Yet throughout the Bible and all of history those who walked closely with God became men and women of deep faith. If the church is walking with God daily, communing with him continually, the result will be a people full of faith—true faith that pleases God.
All around Enoch, mankind grew increasingly ungodly. Yet as men changed into wild beasts full of lust, hardness and sensuality, Enoch became more and more like the One with whom he walked.
"By faith Enoch was translated." This is an incredible truth, almost beyond our comprehension. All of Enoch's faith was focused on the one great desire of his heart: to be with the Lord. And God translated him in answer to his faith. Enoch could no longer bear to stand behind the veil; he just had to see the Lord.
Our brother Enoch had no Bible, no songbook, no fellow member, no teacher, no indwelling Holy Spirit, no rent veil with access to the Holy of Holies. But he knew God!
"He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). How do we know that Enoch believed God was a rewarder? Because we know that is the only faith that pleases God—and we know that Enoch pleased him! God is a recompenser, a remunerator, that is, one who pays well for faithfulness. How does the Lord reward his diligent ones?
There are three important rewards that come by believing God and walking with him in faith.
1. The first reward is God's control of our lives. The person who neglects the Lord soon spins out of control as the devil moves in and takes over. If only he would fall in love with Jesus, walking and talking with him! God would soon show him that Satan has no real dominion over him and this person would quickly allow Christ to control him.
2. The second reward that comes by faith is having "pure light." When we walk with the Lord, we are rewarded with light, direction, discernment, revelation—a certain "knowing" that God gives us.
3. The third reward that comes with a walk of faith is protection from all our enemies. "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper" (Isaiah 54:17). In the original Hebrew, this verse is translated as: "No plan, no instrument of destruction, no satanic artillery shall push you or run over you, but it will be done away with."
The original Hebrew meaning for walked implies that Enoch went up and down, in and out, to and fro, arm in arm with God, continually conversing with him and growing closer to him. Enoch lived 365 years—or, a "year" of years. In him, we see a new kind of believer. For 365 days each adult year, he walked arm in arm with the Lord. The Lord was his very life—so much so that at the end of his life, he did not see death (see Hebrews 11:5).
Like Enoch, who was translated out of life, those who walk closely with God are translated out of Satan's reach—taken out of his kingdom of darkness and put into Christ's kingdom of light: "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Colossians 1:13).
Enoch learned to walk pleasingly before God in the midst of a wicked society. He was an ordinary man with all the same problems and burdens we carry, not a hermit hidden away in a wilderness cave. He was involved in life with a wife, children, obligations and responsibilities; Enoch wasn't "hiding to be holy."
"Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him" (Genesis 5:24). We know from Hebrews that this verse speaks of Enoch's translation, the fact that he did not taste death. But it also means something deeper. The phrase he was not, as used in Genesis 5, also means "he was not of this world." In his spirit and in his senses, Enoch was not a part of this wicked world.
Each day as he walked with the Lord he became less attached to the things below. Like Paul, he died daily to this earthly life and he was taken up in his spirit to a heavenly realm.
Yet while he walked on this earth, Enoch undertook all his responsibilities. He cared for his family: he worked, ministered and occupied. But "he was not"—not earthbound. None of the demands of this life could keep him from his walk with God.
Hebrews 11:5 says clearly: "Before his [Enoch's] translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." What was it about Enoch that pleased God so much? It was that his walk with God produced in him the kind of faith God loves. These two verses cannot be separated: "Before his [Enoch's] translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:5-6).
We hear this latter verse often, but rarely in connection with the former. Yet throughout the Bible and all of history those who walked closely with God became men and women of deep faith. If the church is walking with God daily, communing with him continually, the result will be a people full of faith—true faith that pleases God.
All around Enoch, mankind grew increasingly ungodly. Yet as men changed into wild beasts full of lust, hardness and sensuality, Enoch became more and more like the One with whom he walked.
"By faith Enoch was translated." This is an incredible truth, almost beyond our comprehension. All of Enoch's faith was focused on the one great desire of his heart: to be with the Lord. And God translated him in answer to his faith. Enoch could no longer bear to stand behind the veil; he just had to see the Lord.
Our brother Enoch had no Bible, no songbook, no fellow member, no teacher, no indwelling Holy Spirit, no rent veil with access to the Holy of Holies. But he knew God!
"He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). How do we know that Enoch believed God was a rewarder? Because we know that is the only faith that pleases God—and we know that Enoch pleased him! God is a recompenser, a remunerator, that is, one who pays well for faithfulness. How does the Lord reward his diligent ones?
There are three important rewards that come by believing God and walking with him in faith.
1. The first reward is God's control of our lives. The person who neglects the Lord soon spins out of control as the devil moves in and takes over. If only he would fall in love with Jesus, walking and talking with him! God would soon show him that Satan has no real dominion over him and this person would quickly allow Christ to control him.
2. The second reward that comes by faith is having "pure light." When we walk with the Lord, we are rewarded with light, direction, discernment, revelation—a certain "knowing" that God gives us.
3. The third reward that comes with a walk of faith is protection from all our enemies. "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper" (Isaiah 54:17). In the original Hebrew, this verse is translated as: "No plan, no instrument of destruction, no satanic artillery shall push you or run over you, but it will be done away with."
Monday, August 9, 2010
HOW CAN YOU OBTAIN A WALK IN THE SPIRIT?
(ANOTHER PART TO THE "HOLY GHOST SERIES" FROM David Wilkerson)
The command to walk in the Spirit is given to all—not just a few super-saints! Here is how you can obtain this walk: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit…” (Galatians 5:16).
1. You must go after this walk with everything in you! First, ask the Holy Spirit to be your guide and friend.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Luke 11:9).
If you are saved, the Holy Spirit has already been given to you. Now ask him to take over—surrender to him! You have to determine in your heart that you want him to lead and guide you. Moses, speaking of the latter days, said, “But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).
2. Focus on knowing and hearing the Spirit—and get your eyes off your trouble and temptation. Paul, Silas and Timothy would have wallowed in fear and depression if they had focused on their troubles. Instead, they focused on God—praising and worshiping him.
Most of the time when we go to prayer, we focus on past failures. We replay our defeats time after time, saying, “Oh, how far up the road I could be if I hadn’t failed God and messed up in my past.”
Forget everything in your past! It’s all under the blood! And forget about the future, too, because only the Lord knows what’s ahead. Instead, focus only on the Holy Spirit, with your whole mind and heart.
3. Give much quality time to communion with the Holy Spirit. He will not speak to anyone who is in a hurry. Wait patiently. Seek the Lord and minister praises to him. Take authority over every other voice that whispers thoughts to you. Believe that the Spirit is greater than these, and that he will not let you be deceived or blinded.
“Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
The command to walk in the Spirit is given to all—not just a few super-saints! Here is how you can obtain this walk: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit…” (Galatians 5:16).
1. You must go after this walk with everything in you! First, ask the Holy Spirit to be your guide and friend.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Luke 11:9).
If you are saved, the Holy Spirit has already been given to you. Now ask him to take over—surrender to him! You have to determine in your heart that you want him to lead and guide you. Moses, speaking of the latter days, said, “But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).
2. Focus on knowing and hearing the Spirit—and get your eyes off your trouble and temptation. Paul, Silas and Timothy would have wallowed in fear and depression if they had focused on their troubles. Instead, they focused on God—praising and worshiping him.
Most of the time when we go to prayer, we focus on past failures. We replay our defeats time after time, saying, “Oh, how far up the road I could be if I hadn’t failed God and messed up in my past.”
Forget everything in your past! It’s all under the blood! And forget about the future, too, because only the Lord knows what’s ahead. Instead, focus only on the Holy Spirit, with your whole mind and heart.
3. Give much quality time to communion with the Holy Spirit. He will not speak to anyone who is in a hurry. Wait patiently. Seek the Lord and minister praises to him. Take authority over every other voice that whispers thoughts to you. Believe that the Spirit is greater than these, and that he will not let you be deceived or blinded.
“Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
Thursday, August 5, 2010
LET GO OF YOUR PRIDE AND BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST!
In both the Old and New Testaments, the Holy Ghost fell upon people in the most
unusual ways! He shook buildings. People's tongues began to praise him—in new
tongues. The Holy Ghost took full control!
At Pentecost he came with a mighty, rushing wind! Fire fell! When the Holy
Ghost comes down, things get shaken up (see Acts 2:4 and 4:11).
John the Baptist preached, "I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier
than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire" (Luke 3:16).
Beloved, the Bible makes it very clear: When Jesus comes to you, he desires to
baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire! The Holy Ghost brings fire—a red
hot, consuming love for Jesus. Why are so many believers hot one minute and
then cold the next, never totally yielded, never sold out? Is it because they
refuse to let Jesus baptize them with the Holy Ghost?
"When [the Holy Ghost] is come, he will reprove…of sin" (John 16:8). Could it
be that these believers are not convicted because the Holy Ghost has not yet
been invited to take his rightful place in them? He is God's plumb line.
Anything that does not measure up to Christ, he reveals—and he convicts us
and empowers us to conform to his Word! Truly he becomes our Comforter in this,
because as he convicts us of sin, he empowers us to forsake it. That is true
comfort!
The Holy Ghost will never make you do anything stupid. But he may come upon you
in such a way that sinners may think you are drunk! He is not welcome in many
churches because he is thought to be too noisy, too upsetting, too
unpredictable!
unusual ways! He shook buildings. People's tongues began to praise him—in new
tongues. The Holy Ghost took full control!
At Pentecost he came with a mighty, rushing wind! Fire fell! When the Holy
Ghost comes down, things get shaken up (see Acts 2:4 and 4:11).
John the Baptist preached, "I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier
than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire" (Luke 3:16).
Beloved, the Bible makes it very clear: When Jesus comes to you, he desires to
baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire! The Holy Ghost brings fire—a red
hot, consuming love for Jesus. Why are so many believers hot one minute and
then cold the next, never totally yielded, never sold out? Is it because they
refuse to let Jesus baptize them with the Holy Ghost?
"When [the Holy Ghost] is come, he will reprove…of sin" (John 16:8). Could it
be that these believers are not convicted because the Holy Ghost has not yet
been invited to take his rightful place in them? He is God's plumb line.
Anything that does not measure up to Christ, he reveals—and he convicts us
and empowers us to conform to his Word! Truly he becomes our Comforter in this,
because as he convicts us of sin, he empowers us to forsake it. That is true
comfort!
The Holy Ghost will never make you do anything stupid. But he may come upon you
in such a way that sinners may think you are drunk! He is not welcome in many
churches because he is thought to be too noisy, too upsetting, too
unpredictable!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
THE HOLY SPIRIT KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING!
The Holy Spirit does not perform his work in us in some disjointed, haphazard
way. He doesn't exist to simply help us cope with life, to get us through
crises and to see us through lonely nights. He isn't there just to pick us up
and pump in a little more strength before putting us back into the race.
Everything the Holy Ghost does is related to his reason for coming—to bring
us home as a prepared bride. He acts only in keeping with that mission! Yes, he
is our Guide, our Comforter, our Strength in time of need. But he uses every act
of deliverance—every manifestation of himself in us—to make us more suitable
as a bride.
Neither is the Holy Ghost here to just give gifts to the world. No, his every
gift has a purpose behind it. The Holy Spirit has only one message: everything
he teaches leads to one, central truth. He may shine in us like a
many-splendored jewel, but every ray of truth is meant to bring us to a single
truth, and it is this:
"You are not your own—you have been bought with a price. You have been chosen
to be espoused to Christ. And the Spirit of God has been sent to reveal to you
the truth that will set you free from all other loves. Truth will break every
bondage to sin and deal with all unbelief. For you are not of this world; you
are headed for a glorious meeting with your espoused and are being readied for
his marriage supper. All things are now ready and I am preparing you! I want to
present you spotless, with a passionate love in your heart for him."
That's the work of the Holy Spirit—to manifest Jesus to the church, so that
we will fall in love with him. And that love will keep us!
By David Wilkerson
way. He doesn't exist to simply help us cope with life, to get us through
crises and to see us through lonely nights. He isn't there just to pick us up
and pump in a little more strength before putting us back into the race.
Everything the Holy Ghost does is related to his reason for coming—to bring
us home as a prepared bride. He acts only in keeping with that mission! Yes, he
is our Guide, our Comforter, our Strength in time of need. But he uses every act
of deliverance—every manifestation of himself in us—to make us more suitable
as a bride.
Neither is the Holy Ghost here to just give gifts to the world. No, his every
gift has a purpose behind it. The Holy Spirit has only one message: everything
he teaches leads to one, central truth. He may shine in us like a
many-splendored jewel, but every ray of truth is meant to bring us to a single
truth, and it is this:
"You are not your own—you have been bought with a price. You have been chosen
to be espoused to Christ. And the Spirit of God has been sent to reveal to you
the truth that will set you free from all other loves. Truth will break every
bondage to sin and deal with all unbelief. For you are not of this world; you
are headed for a glorious meeting with your espoused and are being readied for
his marriage supper. All things are now ready and I am preparing you! I want to
present you spotless, with a passionate love in your heart for him."
That's the work of the Holy Spirit—to manifest Jesus to the church, so that
we will fall in love with him. And that love will keep us!
By David Wilkerson
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
THE HOLY GHOST IS RECEIVED BY FAITH!
"This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the
law, or by the hearing of faith?" (Galatians 3:2). Saints, this message should
ignite your faith, and by faith you should lay hold of God's great promises!
"Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of
the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he
shall receive any thing of the Lord" (James 1:6–7).
Have you asked God for this gift? Are you seeking the Holy Ghost? Are you
continually knocking? "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13).
Simply ask and you will receive! Seek your heavenly Father for the baptism of
the Holy Ghost and he will give it to you!
We face a mad devil on the loose in our world today. He is unleashing all the
power at his command, and legions of evil powers are digging in for the final
conflict with heaven. But Satan cannot stand up to a righteous, Holy
Ghost-filled child of God who walks in faith and obedience. Show me a truly
Holy Ghost-possessed believer and I'll show you one who puts the legions of
hell to chase.
God, send the Holy Ghost! Fall upon us! Baptize us mightily. And send us forth
against satanic strongholds with an uncompromising faith that he will prevail
in our day!
The apostle Paul said, "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust
of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). He also said, "If we live in the Spirit, let us
also walk in the Spirit" (5:25).
As Christians, we have heard this phrase throughout our lives: "Walk in the
Spirit." Many believers tell me they walk in the Spirit—yet they cannot tell
me what that truly means. Now, let me ask you: Do you walk and live in the
Spirit? And what does that mean to you?
I believe "walking in the Spirit" can be defined in one sentence: Walking in
the Spirit is simply allowing the Holy Spirit to do in us what God sent him to
do.
I believe you cannot allow him to do that work until you understand why God
sent the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Ghost has been sent down to us from the Father to accomplish one (and
only one) eternal purpose. And unless we understand his mission and work in us,
we will make one of two mistakes: One, we will settle for a small portion of his
work—such as a few of the spiritual gifts—mistakenly thinking this is all of
him and missing the grand work of his eternal purpose in our lives. Or, two, we
will quench the Spirit within us and ignore him completely, believing he's
mysterious and that his presence is something we must take by faith and never
understand.
The Holy Spirit has come to dwell in you and me to seal, sanctify, empower and
prepare us—he has been sent into our world to prepare a bride for marriage to
Christ!
An Old Testament type of this relationship between believers and the Holy
Spirit is found in Genesis 24. Abraham sent his eldest servant Eliezer to find
a bride for his son Isaac. Eliezer's name means "mighty, divine helper"—a
type of the Holy Spirit. And just as surely as this mighty helper came back
with Rebekah to present her as a bride to Isaac, likewise the Holy Spirit will
not fail to bring back a bride for our Lord Jesus Christ.
God chose Rebekah as a bride for Isaac—and the Lord led Eliezer right to her.
The servant's entire mission and purpose was focused on one thing: to bring
Rebekah to Isaac—to get her to leave all she had, and to be enamored of Isaac
and espoused to him. Rebekah's parents said to Eliezer, "The thing proceedeth
from the Lord…take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife"
(Genesis 24:50–51).
And, so it is with you and me! God chose us to be his bride. Our
salvation—our being chosen for Christ—was done by the Lord. He sent the
Holy Spirit to lead us to Jesus—and if we trust him, the Spirit will bring us
safely home as Christ's eternal bride!
By David Wilkerson
law, or by the hearing of faith?" (Galatians 3:2). Saints, this message should
ignite your faith, and by faith you should lay hold of God's great promises!
"Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of
the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he
shall receive any thing of the Lord" (James 1:6–7).
Have you asked God for this gift? Are you seeking the Holy Ghost? Are you
continually knocking? "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13).
Simply ask and you will receive! Seek your heavenly Father for the baptism of
the Holy Ghost and he will give it to you!
We face a mad devil on the loose in our world today. He is unleashing all the
power at his command, and legions of evil powers are digging in for the final
conflict with heaven. But Satan cannot stand up to a righteous, Holy
Ghost-filled child of God who walks in faith and obedience. Show me a truly
Holy Ghost-possessed believer and I'll show you one who puts the legions of
hell to chase.
God, send the Holy Ghost! Fall upon us! Baptize us mightily. And send us forth
against satanic strongholds with an uncompromising faith that he will prevail
in our day!
The apostle Paul said, "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust
of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). He also said, "If we live in the Spirit, let us
also walk in the Spirit" (5:25).
As Christians, we have heard this phrase throughout our lives: "Walk in the
Spirit." Many believers tell me they walk in the Spirit—yet they cannot tell
me what that truly means. Now, let me ask you: Do you walk and live in the
Spirit? And what does that mean to you?
I believe "walking in the Spirit" can be defined in one sentence: Walking in
the Spirit is simply allowing the Holy Spirit to do in us what God sent him to
do.
I believe you cannot allow him to do that work until you understand why God
sent the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Ghost has been sent down to us from the Father to accomplish one (and
only one) eternal purpose. And unless we understand his mission and work in us,
we will make one of two mistakes: One, we will settle for a small portion of his
work—such as a few of the spiritual gifts—mistakenly thinking this is all of
him and missing the grand work of his eternal purpose in our lives. Or, two, we
will quench the Spirit within us and ignore him completely, believing he's
mysterious and that his presence is something we must take by faith and never
understand.
The Holy Spirit has come to dwell in you and me to seal, sanctify, empower and
prepare us—he has been sent into our world to prepare a bride for marriage to
Christ!
An Old Testament type of this relationship between believers and the Holy
Spirit is found in Genesis 24. Abraham sent his eldest servant Eliezer to find
a bride for his son Isaac. Eliezer's name means "mighty, divine helper"—a
type of the Holy Spirit. And just as surely as this mighty helper came back
with Rebekah to present her as a bride to Isaac, likewise the Holy Spirit will
not fail to bring back a bride for our Lord Jesus Christ.
God chose Rebekah as a bride for Isaac—and the Lord led Eliezer right to her.
The servant's entire mission and purpose was focused on one thing: to bring
Rebekah to Isaac—to get her to leave all she had, and to be enamored of Isaac
and espoused to him. Rebekah's parents said to Eliezer, "The thing proceedeth
from the Lord…take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife"
(Genesis 24:50–51).
And, so it is with you and me! God chose us to be his bride. Our
salvation—our being chosen for Christ—was done by the Lord. He sent the
Holy Spirit to lead us to Jesus—and if we trust him, the Spirit will bring us
safely home as Christ's eternal bride!
By David Wilkerson
Saturday, July 31, 2010
A LITTLE TASTE OF HEAVEN
(NOTE FROM THE WATCHMEN: This goes with the previous devotional we have released. Please understand we are not presenting a denominational issue here, but a person you need and must meet with. He is a gift from God to you to endue you with POWER and Christlikeness. You will need him in these end times.)
A foretaste is an advance taste or realization. The Bible calls it an
earnest—"the earnest of our inheritance" (Ephesians 1:14). It means to bring
a taste of the whole before we have the whole. Our inheritance is Christ
himself—and the Holy Spirit brings us into his very presence as a foretaste
of being received as his bride, enjoying everlasting love and communion with
him.
Paul describes a people of God who are "sealed with that Holy Spirit"
(Ephesians 1:13). This speaks of a people specially marked by a work of the
Spirit. The Holy Spirit has produced in them a distinguishing mark, a glorious
inner work—something supernatural that has changed them forever.
They are not ordinary believers anymore. They are no longer "of this world,"
since they have set their affections on things above, not on the things of this
earth. They are not moved by the world's events; rather, they are unshakable.
They are no longer lukewarm or halfhearted. Instead, their hearts cry out night
and day, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus…."
What happened to them? What did the Holy Spirit do in these believers? What
marked and sealed them forever as the Lord's possession? Simply this: The Holy
Ghost gave them a foretaste of the glory of his presence! He came to them,
rolled back heaven—and they experienced a supernatural manifestation of his
exceeding greatness! He gives us "a little heaven" to go to heaven with—a
whetting of our appetite.
What kind of bride do you think the Spirit will present to Jesus Christ on that
day of revelation? One who is halfhearted? Whose love is lukewarm, or cold? Who
is not devoted to Jesus? Who does not want intimacy with Christ?
If you truly love Jesus, he's never out of your mind. He is present in your
every waking moment. Some Christians think, "That will happen after I die. When
I get to heaven, everything will change. I'll become the special bride of the
Lord then." No, dying doesn't sanctify anybody! This Holy Ghost is here today.
He is alive and working in you—to produce in you a passionate love for Christ
on this side of death!
Romans 8:26 describes one of the most powerful works of the Holy Spirit in the
heart of the believer. "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for
we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."
The Greek word used for groaning means "a yearning"—a longing for more of
Christ. You can yearn after Jesus so much that you sit in his presence and
nothing comes out but a deep groaning—something that cannot be uttered. It
says, "Jesus, you're the only happiness there is in this world. I have tasted
and seen that you're good—and I want all of you."
This is the mark of one who is walking in the Spirit. He has an insatiable
appetite for Jesus. Like Paul, he is just anxious to depart and be with the
Lord!
By David Wilkerson
A foretaste is an advance taste or realization. The Bible calls it an
earnest—"the earnest of our inheritance" (Ephesians 1:14). It means to bring
a taste of the whole before we have the whole. Our inheritance is Christ
himself—and the Holy Spirit brings us into his very presence as a foretaste
of being received as his bride, enjoying everlasting love and communion with
him.
Paul describes a people of God who are "sealed with that Holy Spirit"
(Ephesians 1:13). This speaks of a people specially marked by a work of the
Spirit. The Holy Spirit has produced in them a distinguishing mark, a glorious
inner work—something supernatural that has changed them forever.
They are not ordinary believers anymore. They are no longer "of this world,"
since they have set their affections on things above, not on the things of this
earth. They are not moved by the world's events; rather, they are unshakable.
They are no longer lukewarm or halfhearted. Instead, their hearts cry out night
and day, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus…."
What happened to them? What did the Holy Spirit do in these believers? What
marked and sealed them forever as the Lord's possession? Simply this: The Holy
Ghost gave them a foretaste of the glory of his presence! He came to them,
rolled back heaven—and they experienced a supernatural manifestation of his
exceeding greatness! He gives us "a little heaven" to go to heaven with—a
whetting of our appetite.
What kind of bride do you think the Spirit will present to Jesus Christ on that
day of revelation? One who is halfhearted? Whose love is lukewarm, or cold? Who
is not devoted to Jesus? Who does not want intimacy with Christ?
If you truly love Jesus, he's never out of your mind. He is present in your
every waking moment. Some Christians think, "That will happen after I die. When
I get to heaven, everything will change. I'll become the special bride of the
Lord then." No, dying doesn't sanctify anybody! This Holy Ghost is here today.
He is alive and working in you—to produce in you a passionate love for Christ
on this side of death!
Romans 8:26 describes one of the most powerful works of the Holy Spirit in the
heart of the believer. "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for
we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."
The Greek word used for groaning means "a yearning"—a longing for more of
Christ. You can yearn after Jesus so much that you sit in his presence and
nothing comes out but a deep groaning—something that cannot be uttered. It
says, "Jesus, you're the only happiness there is in this world. I have tasted
and seen that you're good—and I want all of you."
This is the mark of one who is walking in the Spirit. He has an insatiable
appetite for Jesus. Like Paul, he is just anxious to depart and be with the
Lord!
By David Wilkerson
Monday, July 26, 2010
YOU NEED THE HOLY GHOST
(NOTE FROM THE WATCHMEN: PLEASE READ THIS TODAY! THIS IS THE IMPORTANT NEXT STEP IN BEING PREPARED FOR THE COMING TRIBULATION AND PERSECUTION THAT THE WORLD AND THE CHURCH - MUST FACE!)
Some have been saved for a number of years, some perhaps a year, and some just
months or a few weeks. Being saved from sin is wonderful! Old things fade
away—and all things become new. I am so glad you're saved!
But in order to be a good soldier in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ, it's
not enough just to be saved. There is much more for you! You need to be baptized
with the Holy Ghost!
In Paul's time, some believers didn't even know there was a Holy Ghost. "He
said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they
said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost"
(Acts 19:2). These people were saved, but it is clear they were not filled or
baptized with the Holy Ghost.
I believe we are saved through the power and ministry of the Holy Ghost. But
Scripture tells us that in addition to this, there is also a baptizing, an
infilling, a possessing that the Holy Ghost does in us!
Jesus himself did not send his disciples and followers into the world until
they were baptized with the Holy Ghost. Certainly his disciples had pure
hearts. They had faith to heal the sick, to cast out devils. They had the Word
of the Lord and already had been preaching Christ and gaining converts. They
were witnesses to his resurrection. What more could there be? They were willing
to die for Jesus! Wasn't their love for him enough to send them into the world
to do his work?
Beloved, none of that was enough! Clearly, there was more. "But ye shall
receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be
witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto
the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
Do you really want the Holy Ghost? Do you want him to fall upon you and baptize
you with fire? You have to be convinced this is for you. You must come to the
place where you know you are nothing, have nothing and can do nothing without
the power and leading of the Holy Ghost.
You must know he is still baptizing, still falling upon believers—possessing
their bodies! "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost. For the promise is to unto you, and to your children, and to all that
are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:38–39).
Every hour of every day, multitudes worldwide are being baptized with the Holy
Ghost! They have read of this promise in the Bible or have heard it preached.
So they have cried out, claiming the promise, and they have been baptized!
The baptism is especially for those living in the last days. "And it shall come
to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all
flesh…. I will pour out in those days of my Spirit" (Acts 2:17–18). He is
yours for the asking: "How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13).
God wants you to live and walk in the Spirit. You should not run to find
someone else to meet a person's need. You are called to speak the Word of God
as the Spirit moves on you, and to lay hands on the sick and cast out devils
just as the apostles did. We are all called to be witnesses who are full of the
Holy Ghost and power!
By David Wilkerson
Some have been saved for a number of years, some perhaps a year, and some just
months or a few weeks. Being saved from sin is wonderful! Old things fade
away—and all things become new. I am so glad you're saved!
But in order to be a good soldier in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ, it's
not enough just to be saved. There is much more for you! You need to be baptized
with the Holy Ghost!
In Paul's time, some believers didn't even know there was a Holy Ghost. "He
said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they
said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost"
(Acts 19:2). These people were saved, but it is clear they were not filled or
baptized with the Holy Ghost.
I believe we are saved through the power and ministry of the Holy Ghost. But
Scripture tells us that in addition to this, there is also a baptizing, an
infilling, a possessing that the Holy Ghost does in us!
Jesus himself did not send his disciples and followers into the world until
they were baptized with the Holy Ghost. Certainly his disciples had pure
hearts. They had faith to heal the sick, to cast out devils. They had the Word
of the Lord and already had been preaching Christ and gaining converts. They
were witnesses to his resurrection. What more could there be? They were willing
to die for Jesus! Wasn't their love for him enough to send them into the world
to do his work?
Beloved, none of that was enough! Clearly, there was more. "But ye shall
receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be
witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto
the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
Do you really want the Holy Ghost? Do you want him to fall upon you and baptize
you with fire? You have to be convinced this is for you. You must come to the
place where you know you are nothing, have nothing and can do nothing without
the power and leading of the Holy Ghost.
You must know he is still baptizing, still falling upon believers—possessing
their bodies! "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost. For the promise is to unto you, and to your children, and to all that
are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:38–39).
Every hour of every day, multitudes worldwide are being baptized with the Holy
Ghost! They have read of this promise in the Bible or have heard it preached.
So they have cried out, claiming the promise, and they have been baptized!
The baptism is especially for those living in the last days. "And it shall come
to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all
flesh…. I will pour out in those days of my Spirit" (Acts 2:17–18). He is
yours for the asking: "How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13).
God wants you to live and walk in the Spirit. You should not run to find
someone else to meet a person's need. You are called to speak the Word of God
as the Spirit moves on you, and to lay hands on the sick and cast out devils
just as the apostles did. We are all called to be witnesses who are full of the
Holy Ghost and power!
By David Wilkerson
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
WILDERNESS JOURNEY
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian, pictured the Christian like someone trying to cross a sea of floating pieces of ice. The Christian cannot rest anywhere while crossing, except in his faith that God will see him through. He cannot stand anywhere too long, otherwise he sinks.
After taking a step, he must watch out for the next. Beneath him is the abyss and before him is uncertainty—but always ahead is the Lord—firm and sure! He doesn't see the land yet, but it is there—a promise in his heart. So the Christian traveler keeps his eyes fixed upon his final place!
I prefer to think of life as a wilderness journey—like that of the children of Israel. And King Jehoshaphat's battle, along with all the children of Judah, is also our battle (see 2 Chronicles 20).
Sure, it's a wilderness; yes, there are snakes, dry water holes, valleys of tears, enemy armies, hot sands, drought, impassable mountains. But when the children of the Lord stood still to see his salvation, he spread a table in that wilderness—rained manna from above—destroyed enemy armies by his power alone—brought water out of rocks—took poison out of the snakebites—led them by pillar and cloud—gave them milk and honey—and brought them into the Promised Land with a high and mighty hand.
And God warned them to tell every following generation: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6).
Stop looking in the wrong direction for help. Get alone with Jesus in a secret place; tell him all about your confusion. Tell him you have no other place to go. Tell him you trust him alone to see you through. You will be tempted to take matters into your own hand. You will want to figure things out on your own. You will wonder if God is working at all—there is nothing to lose.
Peter summed it all up: "To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).
"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else" (Isaiah 45:22).
"Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me" (Micah 7:7).
After taking a step, he must watch out for the next. Beneath him is the abyss and before him is uncertainty—but always ahead is the Lord—firm and sure! He doesn't see the land yet, but it is there—a promise in his heart. So the Christian traveler keeps his eyes fixed upon his final place!
I prefer to think of life as a wilderness journey—like that of the children of Israel. And King Jehoshaphat's battle, along with all the children of Judah, is also our battle (see 2 Chronicles 20).
Sure, it's a wilderness; yes, there are snakes, dry water holes, valleys of tears, enemy armies, hot sands, drought, impassable mountains. But when the children of the Lord stood still to see his salvation, he spread a table in that wilderness—rained manna from above—destroyed enemy armies by his power alone—brought water out of rocks—took poison out of the snakebites—led them by pillar and cloud—gave them milk and honey—and brought them into the Promised Land with a high and mighty hand.
And God warned them to tell every following generation: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6).
Stop looking in the wrong direction for help. Get alone with Jesus in a secret place; tell him all about your confusion. Tell him you have no other place to go. Tell him you trust him alone to see you through. You will be tempted to take matters into your own hand. You will want to figure things out on your own. You will wonder if God is working at all—there is nothing to lose.
Peter summed it all up: "To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).
"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else" (Isaiah 45:22).
"Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me" (Micah 7:7).
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
A VOICE
John the Baptist's definition of his ministry was blunt and simple: "I am the
voice of one crying in the wilderness" (John 1:23). This servant of the Most
High, who according to the Scripture was the greatest "among them that are born
of women," was the most blessed of all the prophets and a revered preacher of
righteousness.
The crowds flocked to hear John's scorching messages. Many were baptized and
became his disciples and even royalty came under his mighty influence. Some
thought he was Christ; others considered him to be Elijah raised from the dead.
John refused to be exalted or promoted. He was emptied of self-serving and he
continually withdrew from center stage. In his own eyes the greatest of all
prophets was not even worthy to be called a man of God—but only a wilderness
voice, modest, retiring, and unconcerned about honor or usefulness. He didn't
care about having a ministry or being "mightily used of God." In fact, he
considered himself unworthy to even touch his Master's shoes. His entire life
was devoted to "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world" (John
1:29).
What a powerful rebuke to us in this age of self-occupation, promotion of
personalities, influence-grabbing, ego-tripping, and seeking of honors. John
could have had it all, but he cried out, "He must increase, but I must
decrease" (John 3:30). And to reach that goal, John kept reminding all who
heard him, "I am just a voice."
The secret of John's happiness was that his joy was not in his ministry or in
his work, not in his personal usefulness or widespread influence. His pure joy
was to stand in the presence of the Bridegroom, hear his voice, and rejoice in
it. His joy was in seeing others, his own disciples included, flocking to
Jesus, the Lamb of God.
The greatest fulfillment a child of God can know is to lose self and all desire
to be somebody, and simply rejoice in being a son or daughter who lives in the
very presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Being totally occupied with Christ is
what satisfies the heart. John could stand there, in the Jordan River, with his
eyes fixed on Jesus, and be delighted by his presence. He fed his soul on
Christ—his heart was always going out to him in adoration and awe.
By David Wilkerson
voice of one crying in the wilderness" (John 1:23). This servant of the Most
High, who according to the Scripture was the greatest "among them that are born
of women," was the most blessed of all the prophets and a revered preacher of
righteousness.
The crowds flocked to hear John's scorching messages. Many were baptized and
became his disciples and even royalty came under his mighty influence. Some
thought he was Christ; others considered him to be Elijah raised from the dead.
John refused to be exalted or promoted. He was emptied of self-serving and he
continually withdrew from center stage. In his own eyes the greatest of all
prophets was not even worthy to be called a man of God—but only a wilderness
voice, modest, retiring, and unconcerned about honor or usefulness. He didn't
care about having a ministry or being "mightily used of God." In fact, he
considered himself unworthy to even touch his Master's shoes. His entire life
was devoted to "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world" (John
1:29).
What a powerful rebuke to us in this age of self-occupation, promotion of
personalities, influence-grabbing, ego-tripping, and seeking of honors. John
could have had it all, but he cried out, "He must increase, but I must
decrease" (John 3:30). And to reach that goal, John kept reminding all who
heard him, "I am just a voice."
The secret of John's happiness was that his joy was not in his ministry or in
his work, not in his personal usefulness or widespread influence. His pure joy
was to stand in the presence of the Bridegroom, hear his voice, and rejoice in
it. His joy was in seeing others, his own disciples included, flocking to
Jesus, the Lamb of God.
The greatest fulfillment a child of God can know is to lose self and all desire
to be somebody, and simply rejoice in being a son or daughter who lives in the
very presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Being totally occupied with Christ is
what satisfies the heart. John could stand there, in the Jordan River, with his
eyes fixed on Jesus, and be delighted by his presence. He fed his soul on
Christ—his heart was always going out to him in adoration and awe.
By David Wilkerson
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
PROVING MAN
"God left him, to try him" (2 Chronicles 32:31).
We have become so preoccupied in proving God that we have not prepared our hearts for the great tests of life whereby God proves man. Could it be that the great trial you are now facing, the burden you now carry, is actually God at work proving you?
"God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him…. Take now thy son…and offer him there for a burnt offering" (Genesis 22:1–2). God proved an entire nation to find out what was really in its heart.
"The Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no" (Deuteronomy 8:2).
We see an amazing thing in 2 Chronicles 32:31: God left a great king for a season to prove him. "God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart."
Often, while in the righteous pursuit of God's work, the steward of the Lord finds himself apparently forsaken—tried to the limits of endurance and left all alone to battle the forces of hell. Every man God has ever blessed has been proved in the same manner.
Do you find yourself in strange circumstances? Do you feel forsaken and alone? Do you fight a losing battle with an unpredictable enemy? These are signs pointing to the proving process.
Victory is always desired, but should you fail, remember: It is what remains in your heart that God is interested in, your attitude after you have won or lost the lonely battle. Your devotion to him in spite of failure is his desire.
Jesus has promised never to leave us or forsake us, but the record of Scripture reveals there are seasons when the Father withdraws his presence to prove us. Even Christ experienced that lonely moment on the cross. It is in these times that our blessed Savior is most touched by the feeling of our infirmity—and he whispers, "I pray for thee, that thy faith fail not."
Jesus says we are to take up our cross and follow him (see Matthew 16:24).
What is that cross? It is the flesh with its frailness and weakness. Take it up, move on in faith, and his strength will be made perfect in you. Is your cross of self and sin too heavy? Then, my friend, take up your cross and follow on.
He understands and is there beside you to lift the heavy burden!
We have become so preoccupied in proving God that we have not prepared our hearts for the great tests of life whereby God proves man. Could it be that the great trial you are now facing, the burden you now carry, is actually God at work proving you?
"God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him…. Take now thy son…and offer him there for a burnt offering" (Genesis 22:1–2). God proved an entire nation to find out what was really in its heart.
"The Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no" (Deuteronomy 8:2).
We see an amazing thing in 2 Chronicles 32:31: God left a great king for a season to prove him. "God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart."
Often, while in the righteous pursuit of God's work, the steward of the Lord finds himself apparently forsaken—tried to the limits of endurance and left all alone to battle the forces of hell. Every man God has ever blessed has been proved in the same manner.
Do you find yourself in strange circumstances? Do you feel forsaken and alone? Do you fight a losing battle with an unpredictable enemy? These are signs pointing to the proving process.
Victory is always desired, but should you fail, remember: It is what remains in your heart that God is interested in, your attitude after you have won or lost the lonely battle. Your devotion to him in spite of failure is his desire.
Jesus has promised never to leave us or forsake us, but the record of Scripture reveals there are seasons when the Father withdraws his presence to prove us. Even Christ experienced that lonely moment on the cross. It is in these times that our blessed Savior is most touched by the feeling of our infirmity—and he whispers, "I pray for thee, that thy faith fail not."
Jesus says we are to take up our cross and follow him (see Matthew 16:24).
What is that cross? It is the flesh with its frailness and weakness. Take it up, move on in faith, and his strength will be made perfect in you. Is your cross of self and sin too heavy? Then, my friend, take up your cross and follow on.
He understands and is there beside you to lift the heavy burden!
Friday, June 11, 2010
GOD'S HOUSE TURNED INTO A DEN OF THIEVES
Jesus went up to Jerusalem at Passover and entered the temple (John 2:13-17).
What he saw appalled him. Merchants had taken over the house of God! He came
seeking a house of prayer and what he found was a preoccupation with the
promotion, display, and sale of religious merchandise. The religious leaders
were counting their profits. What busyness! Men of God had become hucksters of
religious merchandise, running about promoting their goods.
Tables had been set up everywhere in God's house to promote and sell sheep,
oxen, doves, candies, incense, and other merchandise for religious purposes.
Money changing hands made the loudest noise in the house—money that was being
made on God and religion.
What terrible pain caused our Lord’s compassionate heart to boil with holy
anger? His great suffering caused his meek spirit to rage with righteous
indignation.
Can you picture that moment? With whip in hand, our Lord stormed into the
temple and began flailing in all directions, overturning the tables piled high
with merchandise. He scattered the promoters, the pitchmen, the hucksters.
"Out!" he thundered, "Out of my Father's house! You have desecrated this holy
place, turning the house of prayer into a commercial market!"
It was one of the most painful experiences in all his ministry but he could not
stand by and permit his Father's house to become a den for religious thieves.
Are we willing to fellowship with Christ in this aspect of his sufferings
today? Do we share his hurt at seeing God's house once again being turned over
to merchandisers? Will we be outraged by the horrible commercialism of the
gospel? Will we feel his rage against spiritual hucksterism enough to withdraw
from all such activities? Do we feel his hurt enough to renounce ministries
that grind out merchandise just for the sake of making money?
Can we share his suffering at this point enough to stand against those who
would turn God's house into a theater or entertainment center for promoters?
Can we grieve over all the profiteering on the name of Jesus? Can we get our
eyes off the cash and back on the cross?
What he saw appalled him. Merchants had taken over the house of God! He came
seeking a house of prayer and what he found was a preoccupation with the
promotion, display, and sale of religious merchandise. The religious leaders
were counting their profits. What busyness! Men of God had become hucksters of
religious merchandise, running about promoting their goods.
Tables had been set up everywhere in God's house to promote and sell sheep,
oxen, doves, candies, incense, and other merchandise for religious purposes.
Money changing hands made the loudest noise in the house—money that was being
made on God and religion.
What terrible pain caused our Lord’s compassionate heart to boil with holy
anger? His great suffering caused his meek spirit to rage with righteous
indignation.
Can you picture that moment? With whip in hand, our Lord stormed into the
temple and began flailing in all directions, overturning the tables piled high
with merchandise. He scattered the promoters, the pitchmen, the hucksters.
"Out!" he thundered, "Out of my Father's house! You have desecrated this holy
place, turning the house of prayer into a commercial market!"
It was one of the most painful experiences in all his ministry but he could not
stand by and permit his Father's house to become a den for religious thieves.
Are we willing to fellowship with Christ in this aspect of his sufferings
today? Do we share his hurt at seeing God's house once again being turned over
to merchandisers? Will we be outraged by the horrible commercialism of the
gospel? Will we feel his rage against spiritual hucksterism enough to withdraw
from all such activities? Do we feel his hurt enough to renounce ministries
that grind out merchandise just for the sake of making money?
Can we share his suffering at this point enough to stand against those who
would turn God's house into a theater or entertainment center for promoters?
Can we grieve over all the profiteering on the name of Jesus? Can we get our
eyes off the cash and back on the cross?
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
GOD WANTS TO PLANT US ON THE MOUNT OF HIS PRESENCE
"And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of
the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways..."
(Isaiah 2:3).
"Them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of
prayer..." (Isaiah 56:7).
The message of the Holy Spirit today to all God's people is, "Get back to the
mount—get back into his holy presence." Many are now hearing that call and
making time for prayer and seeking God. Others, however, go about their way,
too busy with kingdom details to climb the holy hill.
Isaiah saw both the glory of an awakened ministry and the tragedy of blind
watchmen, asleep. While some watchmen shake themselves and go back to the mount
of God to hear a fresh word from heaven, others will be lost in endless
activities and self-advancement.
"His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are dumb dogs, they cannot
bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs, which
can never getting enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they
all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter" (Isaiah
56:10-11).
Isaiah said they got that way—self-centered and preoccupied with the works of
their own hands, interested only in what they are doing, spiritually
dead—because they "forsook the Lord and forgot his holy mountain" (see Isaiah
65:11).
Ministers of God, we had better listen to the warning of the prophet Isaiah
when he said, "The Lord [shall] call his servants by another name" (Isaiah
65:15). He will raise up unknown seekers to awaken his church.
The Spirit is raising up an army of "mountain men" who will spend time alone
with God, shut up in his holy presence, hearing his voice, getting new vision,
and returning with joy to deliver "those who wail because of broken spirits"
(see Isaiah 65:13-14).
Oh, yes! They shall return—but with power and dominion.
His refining fire is going to awaken new and godly principles in us. For too
long we have been dead to the godly principles needed to save the church from
chaos. No longer will the Lord be satisfied with a general good in his house;
he now seeks the fire of Christ in the heart.
By David Wilkerson
the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways..."
(Isaiah 2:3).
"Them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of
prayer..." (Isaiah 56:7).
The message of the Holy Spirit today to all God's people is, "Get back to the
mount—get back into his holy presence." Many are now hearing that call and
making time for prayer and seeking God. Others, however, go about their way,
too busy with kingdom details to climb the holy hill.
Isaiah saw both the glory of an awakened ministry and the tragedy of blind
watchmen, asleep. While some watchmen shake themselves and go back to the mount
of God to hear a fresh word from heaven, others will be lost in endless
activities and self-advancement.
"His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are dumb dogs, they cannot
bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs, which
can never getting enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they
all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter" (Isaiah
56:10-11).
Isaiah said they got that way—self-centered and preoccupied with the works of
their own hands, interested only in what they are doing, spiritually
dead—because they "forsook the Lord and forgot his holy mountain" (see Isaiah
65:11).
Ministers of God, we had better listen to the warning of the prophet Isaiah
when he said, "The Lord [shall] call his servants by another name" (Isaiah
65:15). He will raise up unknown seekers to awaken his church.
The Spirit is raising up an army of "mountain men" who will spend time alone
with God, shut up in his holy presence, hearing his voice, getting new vision,
and returning with joy to deliver "those who wail because of broken spirits"
(see Isaiah 65:13-14).
Oh, yes! They shall return—but with power and dominion.
His refining fire is going to awaken new and godly principles in us. For too
long we have been dead to the godly principles needed to save the church from
chaos. No longer will the Lord be satisfied with a general good in his house;
he now seeks the fire of Christ in the heart.
By David Wilkerson
Thursday, May 20, 2010
WHERE ARE THE TIMOTHYS?
It was to the Philippian Christians that Paul first introduced the truth, “Let the mind of Christ be in you.” Paul wrote this message to them while he was imprisoned in Rome.
It was from a jail cell that Paul declared he had the mind of Christ, casting aside his reputation to become a servant of Jesus and his church. Now he wrote, “I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state” (Philippians 2:19).
This is the thinking, the outworking, of the mind of Christ. Think about it: Here was a pastor, sitting in jail, yet he wasn’t thinking of his own comfort, his own hard situation. He was concerned only about the spiritual and physical condition of his people. And he told his sheep, “My comfort will come only when I know you’re doing well, in spirit and body. So I’m sending Timothy to check up on you, in my behalf.”
Then Paul makes this alarming statement: “For I have no man like-minded, who will naturally care for your state” (2:20). What a sad statement! As Paul wrote this, the church around him in Rome was growing and being blessed. Clearly, there were godly leaders in the Roman church. But, Paul says, “I have no man who shares with me the mind of Christ.”
Why was this so? “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s” (2:21). Evidently, there was no leader in Rome with a servant’s heart—no one who had cast aside reputation and become a living sacrifice. Instead, everyone was set on pursuing his own interests. None had the mind of Christ. Paul could trust no one to go to Philippi to be a true servant to that body of believers.
Paul’s words here cannot be softened: “Everybody’s out for himself. These ministers seek only to benefit themselves. That’s why there’s nobody here I can trust to naturally care for your needs and hurts, except Timothy.”
Our prayer should be: “Lord, I don’t want to be focused only on myself in a world that’s spinning out of control. I don’t want to be concerned about my own future. I know you hold my path in your hands. Please, Lord, give me your mind, your thinking, your concerns. I want to have your servant’s heart.” Amen.
It was from a jail cell that Paul declared he had the mind of Christ, casting aside his reputation to become a servant of Jesus and his church. Now he wrote, “I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state” (Philippians 2:19).
This is the thinking, the outworking, of the mind of Christ. Think about it: Here was a pastor, sitting in jail, yet he wasn’t thinking of his own comfort, his own hard situation. He was concerned only about the spiritual and physical condition of his people. And he told his sheep, “My comfort will come only when I know you’re doing well, in spirit and body. So I’m sending Timothy to check up on you, in my behalf.”
Then Paul makes this alarming statement: “For I have no man like-minded, who will naturally care for your state” (2:20). What a sad statement! As Paul wrote this, the church around him in Rome was growing and being blessed. Clearly, there were godly leaders in the Roman church. But, Paul says, “I have no man who shares with me the mind of Christ.”
Why was this so? “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s” (2:21). Evidently, there was no leader in Rome with a servant’s heart—no one who had cast aside reputation and become a living sacrifice. Instead, everyone was set on pursuing his own interests. None had the mind of Christ. Paul could trust no one to go to Philippi to be a true servant to that body of believers.
Paul’s words here cannot be softened: “Everybody’s out for himself. These ministers seek only to benefit themselves. That’s why there’s nobody here I can trust to naturally care for your needs and hurts, except Timothy.”
Our prayer should be: “Lord, I don’t want to be focused only on myself in a world that’s spinning out of control. I don’t want to be concerned about my own future. I know you hold my path in your hands. Please, Lord, give me your mind, your thinking, your concerns. I want to have your servant’s heart.” Amen.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
DEALING WITH THE FINAL BATTLE
I am concerned for the body of Christ. As I look into God's word and ponder on the coming Tribulation and Second Coming of Christ, which is just around the corner, I become concerned at what I see.
Multitudes are not ready to meet the coming persecution that must baptize the church with fire, and make her ready for the return of Christ. You may say; "I am ready, I have been saved for years", are you? Do you truly believe the arrogance that it takes to say such a thing? Then, if you truly are, I applaud your victory in freeing yourself from the besetting sin, the thing that you had in your life that kept you in continual rebellion against God's word and his Holy Spirit.
Now, I hear some readers replying in their mind,"I didn't say that, we all sin daily", do you? If you are, then stop it! NOW! You can walk in victory over ALL sin day to day! The benefit of Christ is these promises:
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (MATTHEW 5:48)
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh (SIN), but after the Spirit. (ROMANS 8:1)
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.(JOHN 8:36)
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (ROMANS 6:1-2)
And finally the big one:
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (ROMANS 6:12)
Why would God give us these promises that we could walk free from the chains of lust, addiction, pornography, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, Hatred if it were not true? There has been a devilish lie preached in our churches the last one hundred years by ministers of the gospel, telling us we sin every day, and we can't help it. DON'T BELIEVE THE LIE! Yes, the Bible speaks of if we sin, we have an advocate with the father- Christ- but God gave us that in the event of all our efforts to not sin, we fail. He never intended that to be used as an excuse to keep on doing that little sin no one sees you do, that thing you know is wrong but you just can't stop.
God sees what you are doing, every time you do it.
But I come today with a message of hope, not condemnation. We are about to enter the end, this time as we know it is winding down to the return of Christ to this earth. But before we hear the trumpets, we must feel the fire. Before we see him in the sky, we must, the church, go thru a time of persecution and testing such as the world has never seen, nor ever will. And, it is God's love and grace that will allow us this chance to go thru it! You see, no sin, no disobedience will enter into God's heaven. Saved or unsaved, it doesn't matter. In fact, if you have been saved, you really have no excuse when you stand before God with unrepentant, non-turned away from sins and rebellion. We must be made perfect, freed from sin and bondage, without spot or blemish, to make it in. (Read Luke 12:37-47)
I beg you today reader, their is power in the presence of God, power to be free from that thing you think you never will. Power from bondage to the "big sins" as well as things like loneliness, depression, suicide, fear, failure, hopelessness. All it takes is you, making the first step, coming to God, completely honest, and laying them at his feet. Don't leave his presence until you feel the touch from your father, and KNOW you are free. Do it now, to wait till the time of persecution may be to late. You taking action now makes the difference in making it to the promised land, or dying in the wilderness. Your eternal soul depends on it.
Multitudes are not ready to meet the coming persecution that must baptize the church with fire, and make her ready for the return of Christ. You may say; "I am ready, I have been saved for years", are you? Do you truly believe the arrogance that it takes to say such a thing? Then, if you truly are, I applaud your victory in freeing yourself from the besetting sin, the thing that you had in your life that kept you in continual rebellion against God's word and his Holy Spirit.
Now, I hear some readers replying in their mind,"I didn't say that, we all sin daily", do you? If you are, then stop it! NOW! You can walk in victory over ALL sin day to day! The benefit of Christ is these promises:
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (MATTHEW 5:48)
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh (SIN), but after the Spirit. (ROMANS 8:1)
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.(JOHN 8:36)
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (ROMANS 6:1-2)
And finally the big one:
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (ROMANS 6:12)
Why would God give us these promises that we could walk free from the chains of lust, addiction, pornography, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, Hatred if it were not true? There has been a devilish lie preached in our churches the last one hundred years by ministers of the gospel, telling us we sin every day, and we can't help it. DON'T BELIEVE THE LIE! Yes, the Bible speaks of if we sin, we have an advocate with the father- Christ- but God gave us that in the event of all our efforts to not sin, we fail. He never intended that to be used as an excuse to keep on doing that little sin no one sees you do, that thing you know is wrong but you just can't stop.
God sees what you are doing, every time you do it.
But I come today with a message of hope, not condemnation. We are about to enter the end, this time as we know it is winding down to the return of Christ to this earth. But before we hear the trumpets, we must feel the fire. Before we see him in the sky, we must, the church, go thru a time of persecution and testing such as the world has never seen, nor ever will. And, it is God's love and grace that will allow us this chance to go thru it! You see, no sin, no disobedience will enter into God's heaven. Saved or unsaved, it doesn't matter. In fact, if you have been saved, you really have no excuse when you stand before God with unrepentant, non-turned away from sins and rebellion. We must be made perfect, freed from sin and bondage, without spot or blemish, to make it in. (Read Luke 12:37-47)
I beg you today reader, their is power in the presence of God, power to be free from that thing you think you never will. Power from bondage to the "big sins" as well as things like loneliness, depression, suicide, fear, failure, hopelessness. All it takes is you, making the first step, coming to God, completely honest, and laying them at his feet. Don't leave his presence until you feel the touch from your father, and KNOW you are free. Do it now, to wait till the time of persecution may be to late. You taking action now makes the difference in making it to the promised land, or dying in the wilderness. Your eternal soul depends on it.
Monday, May 10, 2010
THE LAST OUTPOURING
I know some will not receive what I am about to say, yet many will. I do not
believe we have yet seen the glory and fullness of the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit as prophesied by Joel. What we have seen are just a few sprinkles! Yes,
we have had a worldwide charismatic renewal and love has brought many together.
It has been an experience shared worldwide, yet it is just a foretaste.
God will permit nothing to hinder what he plans to do. The enemy is in for a
surprise. Just as it appears the church will be inundated by a satanic flood,
the Spirit will raise up a standard. Understand what that standard is, and you
will understand what God is about to do. The standard is a holy people, pure,
undefiled, delivered from the corruption that is in the world. That standard is
a new breed of sanctified Christians, who will shine forth as lights in the
midst of a wicked and perverse generation. It will not be just a renewal of
love and praise, but a restoration of holiness unto the Lord!
There will still be shouting and praise, but it will be the shout of victory
over sin and compromise, fulfilling the purpose of the last outpouring: "That
all who call on his name shall be delivered..." (Joel 2:32). Delivered from
what? From sin! From the spirit of the world!
We will not have had the fullness of the Spirit's outpouring until baptized
people separate themselves completely from the world. We must emphasize
separation and purity of heart. The purpose of the Spirit's coming is to
sanctify and prepare a people for the Lord's return, a people without spot or
wrinkle.
When the fullness of the Spirit's outpouring comes upon all flesh, conviction
for sin will be everywhere. "He will convict the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). That is the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit!
Tragically, too many speak with tongues, but then live like the devil. Sin was
never uprooted and all they received was an experience of ecstasy. God blessed
them just enough to call them into a deeper life of holiness and submission,
but they stopped and went about saying, "I’ve got the Holy Ghost."
Oh, there is so much more! I thank God for the privilege of praying in an
unknown tongue; it is my way of releasing all the pent-up praises to God in a
communication beyond my understanding. But you can speak with the tongues of
men and even angels, and without charity, you have received nothing. But I say
it goes even deeper. You are not truly baptized with the Holy Spirit until
every hidden part of your soul has been exposed—and every sin confessed and
forsaken.
By David Wilkerson
believe we have yet seen the glory and fullness of the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit as prophesied by Joel. What we have seen are just a few sprinkles! Yes,
we have had a worldwide charismatic renewal and love has brought many together.
It has been an experience shared worldwide, yet it is just a foretaste.
God will permit nothing to hinder what he plans to do. The enemy is in for a
surprise. Just as it appears the church will be inundated by a satanic flood,
the Spirit will raise up a standard. Understand what that standard is, and you
will understand what God is about to do. The standard is a holy people, pure,
undefiled, delivered from the corruption that is in the world. That standard is
a new breed of sanctified Christians, who will shine forth as lights in the
midst of a wicked and perverse generation. It will not be just a renewal of
love and praise, but a restoration of holiness unto the Lord!
There will still be shouting and praise, but it will be the shout of victory
over sin and compromise, fulfilling the purpose of the last outpouring: "That
all who call on his name shall be delivered..." (Joel 2:32). Delivered from
what? From sin! From the spirit of the world!
We will not have had the fullness of the Spirit's outpouring until baptized
people separate themselves completely from the world. We must emphasize
separation and purity of heart. The purpose of the Spirit's coming is to
sanctify and prepare a people for the Lord's return, a people without spot or
wrinkle.
When the fullness of the Spirit's outpouring comes upon all flesh, conviction
for sin will be everywhere. "He will convict the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). That is the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit!
Tragically, too many speak with tongues, but then live like the devil. Sin was
never uprooted and all they received was an experience of ecstasy. God blessed
them just enough to call them into a deeper life of holiness and submission,
but they stopped and went about saying, "I’ve got the Holy Ghost."
Oh, there is so much more! I thank God for the privilege of praying in an
unknown tongue; it is my way of releasing all the pent-up praises to God in a
communication beyond my understanding. But you can speak with the tongues of
men and even angels, and without charity, you have received nothing. But I say
it goes even deeper. You are not truly baptized with the Holy Spirit until
every hidden part of your soul has been exposed—and every sin confessed and
forsaken.
By David Wilkerson
Monday, April 26, 2010
THE FINAL HOUR
And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.
(Mark 15:36)
We here at Watchmen of the Wall Ministries have calling out to you for many months of the coming storms. We have been showing you, by the scriptures and by the spirit of the Lord, the sign of the times and of the soon coming return of our Saviour and king, Jesus Christ. I dare say, reader, that you are without excuse on what is going on in the world and in the church regarding what is happening right now, if you have been following our warnings.
We have been warning you of the signs happening to the world. The coming rash of earthquakes, the rise of demons and evil activity, the soon coming famine for food and necessities and eventual destruction and judgment of this wicked world (read Matthew 24). We also have been warning you of the coming judgment to the church, something the Bible plainly says would happen before anything else; "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17).
Truly, God must judge a system that has turned from what was in the beginning, "what can I do to serve you Lord?"- to a system that preaches and teaches the same poison the prodigal son fell prey to; "And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living." (Luke15:12). A system that says I want what God has for me now!, notice all the times that selfish little word "me" keeps popping up here. This trap the orgainized church has fallen into of the selfish, self-centered "it's all about me" gospel has caused us to become powerless and ineffective to a world lost and racing toward Hell and will be judged.
But I am here today to speak, not of the sirens and trumpets to blast at the world, not the shaking and persecution coming to the church, but of the final test you, dear reader will face. And, no matter who you are or what part you may play in these end times, this one test all must face and I hope you will listen to me as I make this as short and to the point as I can, your life depends on it!
There came a point in the life of Jesus, in the final hours on the Cross, when all forsook him. From the disciple who loved him and laid his head on his breast, to the gallant, cheast beating Peter, who with self determination cried; "Thou all forsake you, I will never do it!", to the huge crowds of people who worshipped him as King. Everyone, even his mother, though standing near by, did nothing but watch. And just when that type horrible lonliness was crushing down on him, the worst possible feeling of left for dead that could ever be came crashing in our dear saviour, when he felt God the father turn his back to him, leaving him TOTALLY alone; "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)
What will be your greatest test will not be the shaking of the world, nor the shaking of the church, for all these things a person can weather when he or she can rely on friends and family and ministers to find strength and encouragement. Your greatest test will come, when there is no one around, no one to call, no one to run too. And I warn you here and now, it will feel as though even God has left you for dead. How do I weather this you may ask? The same way Jesus did, of course! For though he cried aloud in his flesh,"where are you God?" under the weight of the curse, in his heart he had a promise! And he carried this promise with him to the Cross. We find it in John 16:32, "Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me".
I ask you, when this time of testing comes, and it will come to you, will you enter it with a promise to God, or will you end up believing the lies of your flesh. Will you believe the poison that Satan will bring, "your alone, finished, washed up! you have no one and no help and you will die!". Let me give you something that will help you win in this time of testing, and it is this:
IT IS NOT THE PROMISE FROM GOD THAT WILL SUSTAIN YOU, IT IS THE PROMISE YOU MAKE TO GOD THAT IS THE THING THAT WILL CARRY YOU THROUGH.
Think about it, the three hebrew boys made a promise to God right there at the furnace, "He is able to deliver us-but if not we will not bow oh king", Paul made a promise facing the choping block, "I am persuaded he is able to keep that which I have commited to him against that day". These and many others made a promise and made up there minds to follow God and his promises before the time came. Dear reader, it is time, now, before the final hour comes becuase then it will be to late. Where do you stand? Get ready and check yourself now, the final hour is approaching, do you have what it takes to stand?
(Mark 15:36)
We here at Watchmen of the Wall Ministries have calling out to you for many months of the coming storms. We have been showing you, by the scriptures and by the spirit of the Lord, the sign of the times and of the soon coming return of our Saviour and king, Jesus Christ. I dare say, reader, that you are without excuse on what is going on in the world and in the church regarding what is happening right now, if you have been following our warnings.
We have been warning you of the signs happening to the world. The coming rash of earthquakes, the rise of demons and evil activity, the soon coming famine for food and necessities and eventual destruction and judgment of this wicked world (read Matthew 24). We also have been warning you of the coming judgment to the church, something the Bible plainly says would happen before anything else; "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17).
Truly, God must judge a system that has turned from what was in the beginning, "what can I do to serve you Lord?"- to a system that preaches and teaches the same poison the prodigal son fell prey to; "And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living." (Luke15:12). A system that says I want what God has for me now!, notice all the times that selfish little word "me" keeps popping up here. This trap the orgainized church has fallen into of the selfish, self-centered "it's all about me" gospel has caused us to become powerless and ineffective to a world lost and racing toward Hell and will be judged.
But I am here today to speak, not of the sirens and trumpets to blast at the world, not the shaking and persecution coming to the church, but of the final test you, dear reader will face. And, no matter who you are or what part you may play in these end times, this one test all must face and I hope you will listen to me as I make this as short and to the point as I can, your life depends on it!
There came a point in the life of Jesus, in the final hours on the Cross, when all forsook him. From the disciple who loved him and laid his head on his breast, to the gallant, cheast beating Peter, who with self determination cried; "Thou all forsake you, I will never do it!", to the huge crowds of people who worshipped him as King. Everyone, even his mother, though standing near by, did nothing but watch. And just when that type horrible lonliness was crushing down on him, the worst possible feeling of left for dead that could ever be came crashing in our dear saviour, when he felt God the father turn his back to him, leaving him TOTALLY alone; "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)
What will be your greatest test will not be the shaking of the world, nor the shaking of the church, for all these things a person can weather when he or she can rely on friends and family and ministers to find strength and encouragement. Your greatest test will come, when there is no one around, no one to call, no one to run too. And I warn you here and now, it will feel as though even God has left you for dead. How do I weather this you may ask? The same way Jesus did, of course! For though he cried aloud in his flesh,"where are you God?" under the weight of the curse, in his heart he had a promise! And he carried this promise with him to the Cross. We find it in John 16:32, "Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me".
I ask you, when this time of testing comes, and it will come to you, will you enter it with a promise to God, or will you end up believing the lies of your flesh. Will you believe the poison that Satan will bring, "your alone, finished, washed up! you have no one and no help and you will die!". Let me give you something that will help you win in this time of testing, and it is this:
IT IS NOT THE PROMISE FROM GOD THAT WILL SUSTAIN YOU, IT IS THE PROMISE YOU MAKE TO GOD THAT IS THE THING THAT WILL CARRY YOU THROUGH.
Think about it, the three hebrew boys made a promise to God right there at the furnace, "He is able to deliver us-but if not we will not bow oh king", Paul made a promise facing the choping block, "I am persuaded he is able to keep that which I have commited to him against that day". These and many others made a promise and made up there minds to follow God and his promises before the time came. Dear reader, it is time, now, before the final hour comes becuase then it will be to late. Where do you stand? Get ready and check yourself now, the final hour is approaching, do you have what it takes to stand?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
THE SAME FAITH
Isn't it shocking that the children of Israel believed God could get them out of Egypt, but they couldn't believe he could get them into the Promised Land?
They had survived ten supernatural plagues. They watched in horror as death claimed all the firstborn children in Egypt, and yet not one of them died. They had witnessed the unbelievable sight of a sea piling up on both sides to open a dry passage right through it—and they walked through the sea! Then they watched in amazement as the sea fell in on Pharaoh and his army, drowning them.
"Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore…and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord" (Exodus 14:30-31).
How excited Israel was! They were now saved! The old life was gone and new life was theirs. They danced for joy, filled with anticipation of a glorious new life in a land of beauty and rest.
"Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance…which thou hast made for thee to dwell in…" (Exodus 15:17).
Only six weeks later, the people were down in the pit of despair! They were miserable, troubled, fearful and complaining. They had forgotten all about God's miraculous power.
"On the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt…the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses.... Would to God we had died in the land of Egypt…” (Exodus 16:1-3).
In the months ahead, these same people doubted God on ten different occasions.
Jesus said, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).
God wants to give me a kingdom? Where is it?
"The kingdom of God cometh not with observation [visibly].... The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20, 21).
It is something you possess in your inner man. It is a liberated life!
"For the kingdom of God is not meat or drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Romans 14:17).
They had survived ten supernatural plagues. They watched in horror as death claimed all the firstborn children in Egypt, and yet not one of them died. They had witnessed the unbelievable sight of a sea piling up on both sides to open a dry passage right through it—and they walked through the sea! Then they watched in amazement as the sea fell in on Pharaoh and his army, drowning them.
"Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore…and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord" (Exodus 14:30-31).
How excited Israel was! They were now saved! The old life was gone and new life was theirs. They danced for joy, filled with anticipation of a glorious new life in a land of beauty and rest.
"Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance…which thou hast made for thee to dwell in…" (Exodus 15:17).
Only six weeks later, the people were down in the pit of despair! They were miserable, troubled, fearful and complaining. They had forgotten all about God's miraculous power.
"On the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt…the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses.... Would to God we had died in the land of Egypt…” (Exodus 16:1-3).
In the months ahead, these same people doubted God on ten different occasions.
Jesus said, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).
God wants to give me a kingdom? Where is it?
"The kingdom of God cometh not with observation [visibly].... The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20, 21).
It is something you possess in your inner man. It is a liberated life!
"For the kingdom of God is not meat or drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Romans 14:17).
Friday, April 9, 2010
HATE LIFE TO FIND IT!
“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this
world shall keep it unto life eternal" (John 12:25).
The key to abundant life is right here in this seemingly insignificant and
confusing statement. This is his challenge to our small world! Understanding
what he means here is the door to a life-giving revelation. Jesus also said:
"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and
children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be
my disciple" (Luke 14:26).
Certainly Christ cannot mean hate in terms of a classic dictionary
interpretation: to loathe or detest; to dislike or reject. God's Word says,
"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer…" (1 John 3:15). "Husbands, love
your wives, and be not bitter against them" (Colossians 3:19).
It is not life that is to be hated, because life is a gift from God. It is not
people we hate; that is unscriptural.
We must learn to hate the way we are living life. We must hate what our
preoccupation with families and loved ones has done to us. Is your life all
wrapped up in just your children, husband, wife, or parents? Are all your joys
and problems limited to this small circle?
God is simply calling on us to widen our circle of living. Life must be more
than simply draperies, bills, kids' schooling, parents' welfare, family
relationships. Martha was addicted to a life of trivia but Mary wanted to grow!
Mary wanted to expand her horizons—and Jesus approved of Mary's approach to
life.
You cannot grow until you hate your present immaturity. You don't have to
forsake your duties and obligations to family and friends, but you can become
so bound by duty that it stunts your growth. One day you must wake up. A holy
anger, a holy hatred, must arise in your soul, and you must cry out, "Oh, God!
I hate what I have become. I hate my temper tantrums. I hate how irritable I am
at times. I hate my moodiness. I hate how small I have become. I hate it! I hate
it! I hate it!" You must hate your present life so much that you cry out to God,
“Lord, translate me into your glorious kingdom of power and victory!” (See
Colossians 1:13)
by David Wilkerson
world shall keep it unto life eternal" (John 12:25).
The key to abundant life is right here in this seemingly insignificant and
confusing statement. This is his challenge to our small world! Understanding
what he means here is the door to a life-giving revelation. Jesus also said:
"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and
children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be
my disciple" (Luke 14:26).
Certainly Christ cannot mean hate in terms of a classic dictionary
interpretation: to loathe or detest; to dislike or reject. God's Word says,
"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer…" (1 John 3:15). "Husbands, love
your wives, and be not bitter against them" (Colossians 3:19).
It is not life that is to be hated, because life is a gift from God. It is not
people we hate; that is unscriptural.
We must learn to hate the way we are living life. We must hate what our
preoccupation with families and loved ones has done to us. Is your life all
wrapped up in just your children, husband, wife, or parents? Are all your joys
and problems limited to this small circle?
God is simply calling on us to widen our circle of living. Life must be more
than simply draperies, bills, kids' schooling, parents' welfare, family
relationships. Martha was addicted to a life of trivia but Mary wanted to grow!
Mary wanted to expand her horizons—and Jesus approved of Mary's approach to
life.
You cannot grow until you hate your present immaturity. You don't have to
forsake your duties and obligations to family and friends, but you can become
so bound by duty that it stunts your growth. One day you must wake up. A holy
anger, a holy hatred, must arise in your soul, and you must cry out, "Oh, God!
I hate what I have become. I hate my temper tantrums. I hate how irritable I am
at times. I hate my moodiness. I hate how small I have become. I hate it! I hate
it! I hate it!" You must hate your present life so much that you cry out to God,
“Lord, translate me into your glorious kingdom of power and victory!” (See
Colossians 1:13)
by David Wilkerson
HATE LIFE TO FIND IT!
“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal" (John 12:25).
The key to abundant life is right here in this seemingly insignificant and confusing statement. This is his challenge to our small world! Understanding what he means here is the door to a life-giving revelation. Jesus also said: "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26).
Certainly Christ cannot mean hate in terms of a classic dictionary interpretation: to loathe or detest; to dislike or reject. God's Word says, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer…" (1 John 3:15). "Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them" (Colossians 3:19).
It is not life that is to be hated, because life is a gift from God. It is not people we hate; that is unscriptural.
We must learn to hate the way we are living life. We must hate what our preoccupation with families and loved ones has done to us. Is your life all wrapped up in just your children, husband, wife, or parents? Are all your joys and problems limited to this small circle?
God is simply calling on us to widen our circle of living. Life must be more than simply draperies, bills, kids' schooling, parents' welfare, family relationships. Martha was addicted to a life of trivia but Mary wanted to grow! Mary wanted to expand her horizons—and Jesus approved of Mary's approach to life.
You cannot grow until you hate your present immaturity. You don't have to forsake your duties and obligations to family and friends, but you can become so bound by duty that it stunts your growth. One day you must wake up. A holy anger, a holy hatred, must arise in your soul, and you must cry out, "Oh, God! I hate what I have become. I hate my temper tantrums. I hate how irritable I am at times. I hate my moodiness. I hate how small I have become. I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!"
You must hate your present life so much that you cry out to God, “Lord, translate me into your glorious kingdom of power and victory!” (See Colossians 1:13)
The key to abundant life is right here in this seemingly insignificant and confusing statement. This is his challenge to our small world! Understanding what he means here is the door to a life-giving revelation. Jesus also said: "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26).
Certainly Christ cannot mean hate in terms of a classic dictionary interpretation: to loathe or detest; to dislike or reject. God's Word says, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer…" (1 John 3:15). "Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them" (Colossians 3:19).
It is not life that is to be hated, because life is a gift from God. It is not people we hate; that is unscriptural.
We must learn to hate the way we are living life. We must hate what our preoccupation with families and loved ones has done to us. Is your life all wrapped up in just your children, husband, wife, or parents? Are all your joys and problems limited to this small circle?
God is simply calling on us to widen our circle of living. Life must be more than simply draperies, bills, kids' schooling, parents' welfare, family relationships. Martha was addicted to a life of trivia but Mary wanted to grow! Mary wanted to expand her horizons—and Jesus approved of Mary's approach to life.
You cannot grow until you hate your present immaturity. You don't have to forsake your duties and obligations to family and friends, but you can become so bound by duty that it stunts your growth. One day you must wake up. A holy anger, a holy hatred, must arise in your soul, and you must cry out, "Oh, God! I hate what I have become. I hate my temper tantrums. I hate how irritable I am at times. I hate my moodiness. I hate how small I have become. I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!"
You must hate your present life so much that you cry out to God, “Lord, translate me into your glorious kingdom of power and victory!” (See Colossians 1:13)
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
FULL CONTROL
There is no formula for living wholly dependent upon the Lord. All I can offer to you is what God has been teaching me in this area. He has shown me two simple things about how I’m to give him full control.
First, I must be convinced the Lord is anxious and willing to make his will known to me, even in the smaller details of my life. I have to believe that the Spirit who abides in me knows God’s will for me, and that he will guide me, lead me and speak to me.
“When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John 16:13-14).
Maybe right now you are in the midst of some affliction, perhaps one that has been caused by too quick a decision. Even so, the Lord promises you, “Your inner ear will hear my Spirit speaking to you, ‘Go that way. Do this. And don’t do that…’”
Secondly, we have to pray with unwavering faith for power to obey God’s direction. Scripture says, “Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord” (James 1:6-7).
When God tells us to do something, we need power to stay the course and obey him fully. Over five decades of life in ministry, I have learned that Satan and the flesh will always plant doubts and questions in my mind. And I need strength from heaven not to say “yes” to any situation when Jesus has said “no.”
Many of us pray, “Lord, I know what you told me. But I’m still not sure that was your voice speaking. I’m not sure I’m spiritual enough even to recognize your voice. Please, just open or close the door for me on this matter.”
That is not the faith response he’s looking for from his children. You can pray all you want, for hours or even days at a time. But if you don’t pray with faith—believing the Holy Spirit will guide you, as Jesus has promised—you will never have the mind of God conveyed to you.
He waits until he sees you’re committed to accepting whatever he says, and to obeying it without question.
First, I must be convinced the Lord is anxious and willing to make his will known to me, even in the smaller details of my life. I have to believe that the Spirit who abides in me knows God’s will for me, and that he will guide me, lead me and speak to me.
“When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John 16:13-14).
Maybe right now you are in the midst of some affliction, perhaps one that has been caused by too quick a decision. Even so, the Lord promises you, “Your inner ear will hear my Spirit speaking to you, ‘Go that way. Do this. And don’t do that…’”
Secondly, we have to pray with unwavering faith for power to obey God’s direction. Scripture says, “Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord” (James 1:6-7).
When God tells us to do something, we need power to stay the course and obey him fully. Over five decades of life in ministry, I have learned that Satan and the flesh will always plant doubts and questions in my mind. And I need strength from heaven not to say “yes” to any situation when Jesus has said “no.”
Many of us pray, “Lord, I know what you told me. But I’m still not sure that was your voice speaking. I’m not sure I’m spiritual enough even to recognize your voice. Please, just open or close the door for me on this matter.”
That is not the faith response he’s looking for from his children. You can pray all you want, for hours or even days at a time. But if you don’t pray with faith—believing the Holy Spirit will guide you, as Jesus has promised—you will never have the mind of God conveyed to you.
He waits until he sees you’re committed to accepting whatever he says, and to obeying it without question.
Monday, April 5, 2010
FEELINGS, THE MESSENGERS OF SATAN
I am so glad my feelings have no meaning. I am even more grateful they do not affect my salvation or my relationship to the Lord. When the enemy comes in like a flood, trying to drown me in depressing feelings and negative thoughts, I have a tendency to blame myself.
I say to my heart, “Why am I cast down, O my soul? Why am I suddenly disquieted in spirit? Why so restless and irritable—when I don’t want to be? What evil thing have I done to deserve these negative, depressing feelings?”
My negative, blue feelings did not come from God so I don’t have to put up with them!
“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
I can reject every negative feeling because I know not one of them is from God. Feelings that make one afraid are not sent from heaven, they are messengers from the pits of hell! They are to be rejected and bound through the power of prayer and faith.
God is saying to us, “I didn’t give you these feelings of fear and doubt. Instead, I’ve given you a spirit of love, power, and authority.”
He calls us to abolish these unwanted thoughts, bringing them into captivity and obedience to himself. We dare not allow our feelings to master us. We dare not permit them to linger and grow into roots of bitterness and doubt. We must come against them in the name of Christ the Lord and cast them down. We are commanded to do so!
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Every downcast feeling is the fruit of a satanic seed of mistrust. It is the old serpent at work trying to make us question God’s faithfulness, question God’s care, question God!
These lies are the seeds of negative feelings and God commands us to war against them.
I say to my heart, “Why am I cast down, O my soul? Why am I suddenly disquieted in spirit? Why so restless and irritable—when I don’t want to be? What evil thing have I done to deserve these negative, depressing feelings?”
My negative, blue feelings did not come from God so I don’t have to put up with them!
“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
I can reject every negative feeling because I know not one of them is from God. Feelings that make one afraid are not sent from heaven, they are messengers from the pits of hell! They are to be rejected and bound through the power of prayer and faith.
God is saying to us, “I didn’t give you these feelings of fear and doubt. Instead, I’ve given you a spirit of love, power, and authority.”
He calls us to abolish these unwanted thoughts, bringing them into captivity and obedience to himself. We dare not allow our feelings to master us. We dare not permit them to linger and grow into roots of bitterness and doubt. We must come against them in the name of Christ the Lord and cast them down. We are commanded to do so!
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Every downcast feeling is the fruit of a satanic seed of mistrust. It is the old serpent at work trying to make us question God’s faithfulness, question God’s care, question God!
These lies are the seeds of negative feelings and God commands us to war against them.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).
In this exhortation the apostle Paul is telling the people of God, “Let the mind that is in Christ—the very thinking of Jesus—be your thinking also. His mindset is the one we all are to seek.”
What does it mean to have the mind of Christ? Simply put, it means to think and act as Jesus did. It means making Christ-like decisions that determine how we are to live. It means bringing every faculty of our mind to bear on how we actually can have the mind of Christ.
Every time we look into the mirror of God’s Word, we’re to ask ourselves: “Does what I see about myself reflect the nature and thinking of Christ? Am I changing from image to image, conformed to Jesus’ very likeness by every experience that God brings into my life?”
According to Paul, here is the mindset of Christ. “(He) made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7).
Jesus made a decision while he was still in heaven. He made an agreement with the Father to lay down his heavenly glory and come to earth as a man. He was going to descend to the world as a humble servant. And he would seek to minister rather than be ministered to.
For Christ, this meant saying, “I go to do your will, Father.” Indeed, Jesus determined ahead of time, “I am laying down my will in order to do yours, Father. I subjugate my will so that I may embrace yours. Everything I say and do has to come from you. I’m laying down everything to be totally dependent upon you.”
In turn, the Father’s agreement with the Son was to reveal his will to him. God said to him, in essence, “My will won’t ever be hidden from you. You will always know what I am doing. You will have my mind.”
When Paul states boldly, “I have the mind of Christ,” he is declaring, “I too have made myself of no reputation. Like Jesus, I have taken on the role of a servant.” And Paul asserts that the same can hold true for every believer: “We [all can] have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
In this exhortation the apostle Paul is telling the people of God, “Let the mind that is in Christ—the very thinking of Jesus—be your thinking also. His mindset is the one we all are to seek.”
What does it mean to have the mind of Christ? Simply put, it means to think and act as Jesus did. It means making Christ-like decisions that determine how we are to live. It means bringing every faculty of our mind to bear on how we actually can have the mind of Christ.
Every time we look into the mirror of God’s Word, we’re to ask ourselves: “Does what I see about myself reflect the nature and thinking of Christ? Am I changing from image to image, conformed to Jesus’ very likeness by every experience that God brings into my life?”
According to Paul, here is the mindset of Christ. “(He) made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7).
Jesus made a decision while he was still in heaven. He made an agreement with the Father to lay down his heavenly glory and come to earth as a man. He was going to descend to the world as a humble servant. And he would seek to minister rather than be ministered to.
For Christ, this meant saying, “I go to do your will, Father.” Indeed, Jesus determined ahead of time, “I am laying down my will in order to do yours, Father. I subjugate my will so that I may embrace yours. Everything I say and do has to come from you. I’m laying down everything to be totally dependent upon you.”
In turn, the Father’s agreement with the Son was to reveal his will to him. God said to him, in essence, “My will won’t ever be hidden from you. You will always know what I am doing. You will have my mind.”
When Paul states boldly, “I have the mind of Christ,” he is declaring, “I too have made myself of no reputation. Like Jesus, I have taken on the role of a servant.” And Paul asserts that the same can hold true for every believer: “We [all can] have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
What does it all mean when prayers go unanswered? When hurts linger and God seems to be doing nothing in response to our faith? Often God is loving us more supremely at that time than ever before.
The Word says, "Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth." A chastening of love takes precedence over every act of faith, over every prayer, over every promise. What I see as hurting me could be his loving me. It could be his gentle hand spanking me out of my stubbornness and pride.
We have faith in our faith. We place more emphasis on the power of our prayers than we do on getting his power into us. We want to figure out God so we can read him like a book. We don't want to be surprised or bewildered and when things happen contrary to our concept of God, we say, "That can't be God; that's not the way he works."
We are so busy working on God, we forget he is trying to work on us. That is what this life is all about: God at work on us, trying to remake us into vessels of glory. We are so busy praying to change things, we have little time to allow prayer to change us. God has not put prayer and faith in our hands as if they were two secret tools by which a select group of "experts" learn to pry something out of him. God said he is more willing to give than we are to receive. Why are we using prayer and faith as "keys" or tools to unlock something that has never been locked up?
Prayer is not for God's benefit, but for ours. Faith is not for his benefit, but for ours. God is not some eternal, divine tease. He has not surrounded himself in riddles for men to unravel, as if to say, "The wise will get the prize."
We are so mixed up on this matter of prayer and faith; we have had the audacity to think of God as our personal "genie" who fulfills every wish. We think of faith as a way to corner God on his promises. We think God is pleased by our efforts to back him against the wall and shout, "Lord, you can't go back on your promise. I want what is coming to me. You are bound by your Word. You must do it or your Word is not true."
This is why we miss the true meaning of prayer and faith. We see God only as the giver and we are the receiver. But prayer and faith are the avenues by which we become the givers to God. They are to be used, not as ways to get things from God, but as a way to give him those things by which we can please him.
The Word says, "Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth." A chastening of love takes precedence over every act of faith, over every prayer, over every promise. What I see as hurting me could be his loving me. It could be his gentle hand spanking me out of my stubbornness and pride.
We have faith in our faith. We place more emphasis on the power of our prayers than we do on getting his power into us. We want to figure out God so we can read him like a book. We don't want to be surprised or bewildered and when things happen contrary to our concept of God, we say, "That can't be God; that's not the way he works."
We are so busy working on God, we forget he is trying to work on us. That is what this life is all about: God at work on us, trying to remake us into vessels of glory. We are so busy praying to change things, we have little time to allow prayer to change us. God has not put prayer and faith in our hands as if they were two secret tools by which a select group of "experts" learn to pry something out of him. God said he is more willing to give than we are to receive. Why are we using prayer and faith as "keys" or tools to unlock something that has never been locked up?
Prayer is not for God's benefit, but for ours. Faith is not for his benefit, but for ours. God is not some eternal, divine tease. He has not surrounded himself in riddles for men to unravel, as if to say, "The wise will get the prize."
We are so mixed up on this matter of prayer and faith; we have had the audacity to think of God as our personal "genie" who fulfills every wish. We think of faith as a way to corner God on his promises. We think God is pleased by our efforts to back him against the wall and shout, "Lord, you can't go back on your promise. I want what is coming to me. You are bound by your Word. You must do it or your Word is not true."
This is why we miss the true meaning of prayer and faith. We see God only as the giver and we are the receiver. But prayer and faith are the avenues by which we become the givers to God. They are to be used, not as ways to get things from God, but as a way to give him those things by which we can please him.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
TEMPTING CHRIST
“Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.” (1 Corinthians 10:9).
What does Paul mean here when he speaks of “tempting Christ”? Simply put, tempting the Lord means putting him to a test. We tempt him whenever we ask, “Just how merciful will God be to me if I move forward into this sin? How long can I indulge my sin before his anger is stirred? I know God is merciful and this is an era of grace, with no condemnation toward sinners. How could he possibly judge me, when I’m his child?”
Multitudes of Christians casually ask the same question today, as they toy with a wicked temptation. They want to see how close they can get to hell-fire without facing the consequences of sin. In short, they’re tempting Christ. And all the while, such believers are casting off conviction from God’s Word.
Any time we go against truth that God’s Spirit has made clear to us, we’re casting off Paul’s warning: “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall…. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand” (1 Corinthians 10:12, 8).
Ask yourself if you are testing the limits of God’s precious gift of grace. Are you tempting Christ to indulge your sin in the face of your outright rebellion? Have you convinced yourself, “I’m a New Testament believer. I’m covered under the blood of Jesus. Therefore, God won’t judge me.”
By continuing in your sin, you are treating Jesus’ great sacrifice for you with utter disregard. Your present willful sin is putting him to an open shame, not just in the world’s eyes, but before all of heaven and hell (see Hebrews 6:6).
In 1 Corinthians 10:13 Paul describes a way of escape from all temptation: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
What is this means of escape? It’s a growing knowledge and experience of the holy fear of God.
What does Paul mean here when he speaks of “tempting Christ”? Simply put, tempting the Lord means putting him to a test. We tempt him whenever we ask, “Just how merciful will God be to me if I move forward into this sin? How long can I indulge my sin before his anger is stirred? I know God is merciful and this is an era of grace, with no condemnation toward sinners. How could he possibly judge me, when I’m his child?”
Multitudes of Christians casually ask the same question today, as they toy with a wicked temptation. They want to see how close they can get to hell-fire without facing the consequences of sin. In short, they’re tempting Christ. And all the while, such believers are casting off conviction from God’s Word.
Any time we go against truth that God’s Spirit has made clear to us, we’re casting off Paul’s warning: “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall…. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand” (1 Corinthians 10:12, 8).
Ask yourself if you are testing the limits of God’s precious gift of grace. Are you tempting Christ to indulge your sin in the face of your outright rebellion? Have you convinced yourself, “I’m a New Testament believer. I’m covered under the blood of Jesus. Therefore, God won’t judge me.”
By continuing in your sin, you are treating Jesus’ great sacrifice for you with utter disregard. Your present willful sin is putting him to an open shame, not just in the world’s eyes, but before all of heaven and hell (see Hebrews 6:6).
In 1 Corinthians 10:13 Paul describes a way of escape from all temptation: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
What is this means of escape? It’s a growing knowledge and experience of the holy fear of God.
Monday, March 29, 2010
WE ARE TOO EARTHBOUND
Have you noticed there is very little talk nowadays about heaven or about leaving this old world behind? Instead, we are bombarded with messages on how to use our faith to acquire more things. "The next revival," said one well-known teacher, "will be a financial revival. God is going to pour out financial blessing on all believers."
Any message about death bothers us. We try to ignore even thinking about it and think that those who discuss it are morbid. Occasionally we will talk about what heaven must be like, but most of the time the subject of death is taboo.
What a stunted concept of God's eternal purposes! No wonder so many Christians are frightened by the thought of death. The truth is, we are far from understanding Christ's call to forsake the world and all its entanglements. He calls us to come and die—and to die without building memorials to ourselves. To die without worrying how we should be remembered. Jesus left no autobiography—no headquarters complex—no university or Bible college. He left nothing to perpetuate his memory but the bread and the wine.
How different the first Christians were. Paul spoke much about death. In fact, our resurrection from the dead is referred to in the New Testament as our blessed hope. But nowadays, death is considered an intruder that cuts us off from the good life we have become accustomed to. We have so cluttered our lives with material things, we are bogged down. We can no longer bear the thought of leaving our beautiful homes, our lovely things, our charming sweethearts. We seem to be thinking, "To die now would be too great a loss. I love the Lord—but I need time to enjoy my real estate. I married a wife. I've yet to prove my oxen. I need more time."
What is the greatest revelation of faith, and how is it to be exercised? You will find it in Hebrews:
"These all died in faith...and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.... But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city" (Hebrews 11:13 and 16).
Any message about death bothers us. We try to ignore even thinking about it and think that those who discuss it are morbid. Occasionally we will talk about what heaven must be like, but most of the time the subject of death is taboo.
What a stunted concept of God's eternal purposes! No wonder so many Christians are frightened by the thought of death. The truth is, we are far from understanding Christ's call to forsake the world and all its entanglements. He calls us to come and die—and to die without building memorials to ourselves. To die without worrying how we should be remembered. Jesus left no autobiography—no headquarters complex—no university or Bible college. He left nothing to perpetuate his memory but the bread and the wine.
How different the first Christians were. Paul spoke much about death. In fact, our resurrection from the dead is referred to in the New Testament as our blessed hope. But nowadays, death is considered an intruder that cuts us off from the good life we have become accustomed to. We have so cluttered our lives with material things, we are bogged down. We can no longer bear the thought of leaving our beautiful homes, our lovely things, our charming sweethearts. We seem to be thinking, "To die now would be too great a loss. I love the Lord—but I need time to enjoy my real estate. I married a wife. I've yet to prove my oxen. I need more time."
What is the greatest revelation of faith, and how is it to be exercised? You will find it in Hebrews:
"These all died in faith...and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.... But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city" (Hebrews 11:13 and 16).
Thursday, March 25, 2010
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Most of America knows that the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled the Ten Commandments cannot be displayed in any government courthouse. This landmark decision has been covered exhaustively by the media. But what does the ruling mean?
A courthouse is where laws are enforced. The Ten Commandments represent God’s moral law, which never shifts or changes. It is as fixed as the law of gravity. If you defy that law, it’s like stepping off a high building. You can deny that the law affects you, but there are consequences sure to be paid.
Simply put, the Ten Commandments are eternal laws designed by God to keep society from destroying itself. Yet, amazingly, many sand-blasting companies are at work right now grinding away those Commandments—as well as God’s name—wherever they’re engraved in courthouse marble or concrete.
What a telling picture of the state of our society. These unchangeable laws were originally engraved in stone by the finger of God. And now they are being erased from stone by the law of man.
Some Christians are saying, “What’s the big deal? We are not under the law. Why should this be an issue?” No, we are not under the Hebrew law, meaning the 613 additional commandments added by Jewish rabbis. But every Christian is under the authority of God’s moral law, which is summed up in the Ten Commandments.
I wonder what goes through God’s mind as these sand-blasters erase his laws from before our eyes. Some believers claim, “We don’t need these displays of the Commandments. All that’s really necessary is for us to have them written in our hearts.” That’s not what God’s Word says. Consider the very visible presence God intended for the Commandments as they were delivered to his people:
“These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart… and [thou] shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
A courthouse is where laws are enforced. The Ten Commandments represent God’s moral law, which never shifts or changes. It is as fixed as the law of gravity. If you defy that law, it’s like stepping off a high building. You can deny that the law affects you, but there are consequences sure to be paid.
Simply put, the Ten Commandments are eternal laws designed by God to keep society from destroying itself. Yet, amazingly, many sand-blasting companies are at work right now grinding away those Commandments—as well as God’s name—wherever they’re engraved in courthouse marble or concrete.
What a telling picture of the state of our society. These unchangeable laws were originally engraved in stone by the finger of God. And now they are being erased from stone by the law of man.
Some Christians are saying, “What’s the big deal? We are not under the law. Why should this be an issue?” No, we are not under the Hebrew law, meaning the 613 additional commandments added by Jewish rabbis. But every Christian is under the authority of God’s moral law, which is summed up in the Ten Commandments.
I wonder what goes through God’s mind as these sand-blasters erase his laws from before our eyes. Some believers claim, “We don’t need these displays of the Commandments. All that’s really necessary is for us to have them written in our hearts.” That’s not what God’s Word says. Consider the very visible presence God intended for the Commandments as they were delivered to his people:
“These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart… and [thou] shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
FREEDOM FROM SIN’S SLAVERY MUST BE ACCEPTED BY FAITH
Faith is something you do about what you know. Knowledge means nothing unless it is acted upon.
The children of Israel received the good word that God had given them Canaan for a homeland. That information would have meant nothing at all to them if they had remained in Egypt as slaves. But the Bible says, "By faith [they] forsook Egypt...by faith they passed through the Red Sea" (Hebrews 11:27, 29).
The Israelites did not march to the border of Canaan, fire one volley of arrows, and expect all the enemy armies to drop dead. The land was theirs, but they had to possess it "one dead soldier at a time."
What does that have to do with my getting victory over the grip of sin? Everything! Christ settled the issue of slavery to sin by declaring you emancipated from its dominion, but you have to believe it to the point that you do something about it.
It is not enough to say, "Yes, I believe Christ forgives sin. I believe he is Lord. I know he can break the power of sin in my life." You are mentally consenting to what you heard, but faith is more than that. Faith is stepping out on that promise of freedom and acting upon it.
Believers overcome the evil power of this world through faith. True faith is the only thing that can help you stand up with confidence against the powers of temptation. Self-control is possible only when, by faith, the truth about being emancipated is accepted.
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:3-4 NKJV).
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever” (1 Peter 5:8-11 NKJV).
The children of Israel received the good word that God had given them Canaan for a homeland. That information would have meant nothing at all to them if they had remained in Egypt as slaves. But the Bible says, "By faith [they] forsook Egypt...by faith they passed through the Red Sea" (Hebrews 11:27, 29).
The Israelites did not march to the border of Canaan, fire one volley of arrows, and expect all the enemy armies to drop dead. The land was theirs, but they had to possess it "one dead soldier at a time."
What does that have to do with my getting victory over the grip of sin? Everything! Christ settled the issue of slavery to sin by declaring you emancipated from its dominion, but you have to believe it to the point that you do something about it.
It is not enough to say, "Yes, I believe Christ forgives sin. I believe he is Lord. I know he can break the power of sin in my life." You are mentally consenting to what you heard, but faith is more than that. Faith is stepping out on that promise of freedom and acting upon it.
Believers overcome the evil power of this world through faith. True faith is the only thing that can help you stand up with confidence against the powers of temptation. Self-control is possible only when, by faith, the truth about being emancipated is accepted.
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:3-4 NKJV).
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever” (1 Peter 5:8-11 NKJV).
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
THE "BLINK" GENERATION
Many Christians read the Bible regularly, believing it is God’s living, revealed Word for their lives. Over and over in the pages of Scripture, they read about generations who heard the voice of God. They read of God speaking to his people again and again, with this phrase repeated time after time: “And God said…” Yet many of these same Christians live as though God doesn’t speak to his people today.
An entire generation of believers has come to make decisions completely on their own, without praying or consulting God’s Word. Many simply decide what they want to do, and then ask God to validate it. They move ahead forcefully, their only prayer being, “Lord, if this is not your will, then stop me”
We are now living in a time referred to as the “blink generation.” People are making major decisions in the blink of an eye. A best-selling book has been written on this concept, titled Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. The theory is, “Trust your instincts. Blink-of-the-eye decisions prove to be the best.”
Think about all the hurried-up “blink language” we hear every day: “This is an offer of the century. You can make a bundle overnight. But you have only a short window of opportunity. Get on it now!” The driving spirit behind it all is, “Blink, blink, blink!”
Such thinking has begun to infect the church, affecting the decisions made not just by “blink Christians” but by “blink ministers.” Scores of bewildered parishioners have written to us telling the same story: “Our pastor came back from a church-growth conference and immediately announced, ‘As of today, everything changes.’ He decided we would become one of the popular trend churches overnight! He didn’t even ask us to pray about it...we’re all confused.”
Just a few years ago, the watchword among Christians was, “Did you pray about this matter? Have you sought the Lord concerning it? Are your brothers and sisters surrounding you in prayer? Have you received godly counsel?” I ask you, has this been your practice? In the past year, how many important decisions have you made where you honestly took the matter to God and prayed sincerely? Or, how many of those decisions did you make “in the blink of an eye”?
The reason God wants full control of our lives is to save us from disasters—which is exactly where most of our “blink decisions” end up.
An entire generation of believers has come to make decisions completely on their own, without praying or consulting God’s Word. Many simply decide what they want to do, and then ask God to validate it. They move ahead forcefully, their only prayer being, “Lord, if this is not your will, then stop me”
We are now living in a time referred to as the “blink generation.” People are making major decisions in the blink of an eye. A best-selling book has been written on this concept, titled Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. The theory is, “Trust your instincts. Blink-of-the-eye decisions prove to be the best.”
Think about all the hurried-up “blink language” we hear every day: “This is an offer of the century. You can make a bundle overnight. But you have only a short window of opportunity. Get on it now!” The driving spirit behind it all is, “Blink, blink, blink!”
Such thinking has begun to infect the church, affecting the decisions made not just by “blink Christians” but by “blink ministers.” Scores of bewildered parishioners have written to us telling the same story: “Our pastor came back from a church-growth conference and immediately announced, ‘As of today, everything changes.’ He decided we would become one of the popular trend churches overnight! He didn’t even ask us to pray about it...we’re all confused.”
Just a few years ago, the watchword among Christians was, “Did you pray about this matter? Have you sought the Lord concerning it? Are your brothers and sisters surrounding you in prayer? Have you received godly counsel?” I ask you, has this been your practice? In the past year, how many important decisions have you made where you honestly took the matter to God and prayed sincerely? Or, how many of those decisions did you make “in the blink of an eye”?
The reason God wants full control of our lives is to save us from disasters—which is exactly where most of our “blink decisions” end up.
Monday, March 22, 2010
NO LONGER SLAVES
Abraham Lincoln is said to have "freed the slaves" with the Emancipation Proclamation. This legal document declared that slavery was dead and all the slaves were set free.
When this news first spread through southern plantations, many of the slaves would not believe it. They continued slaving for their masters, convinced their promise of freedom was a hoax. Numbers of unscrupulous landowners told their slaves it was just a rumor and kept them under bondage.
But little by little, the truth dawned on them as they saw former slaves walking about, happy in their newfound freedom. One by one, they threw down their loads, turned their backs on slavery, and walked away to begin a new life.
Maybe you haven't heard yet, or maybe it sounds too good to be true, but Christ emancipated all the slaves to sin at Calvary. You can now "walk out" on the devil! You can throw down your load of sin, walk away from Satan's dominion, and enter into a new life of freedom.
Let me show you what the Bible means when it talks about dying to sin. When Lincoln emancipated the slaves, the "issue" of slavery died. Not the slave master—not the slave. The slave could walk away free, saying to himself, “Slavery is a dead issue.”
Now the slave could slip back into the field and pick a few more rows of cotton—perhaps through fear or instinct—but that in no way made him a slave again. He was free, but he had to exercise his freedom. The proclamation couldn't force compliance, and neither could the slave master force him to return. It was a matter of the will of the slave.
The Bible says, "...he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe we shall also live with him" (Romans 6:7-8).
What that means is simply this: Since the matter of your slavery to sin is a dead issue, seeing that Christ has already declared you emancipated, you are now free to live as a new person in Christ by thinking of yourself as unchained.
Christ can't make you do right, and Satan can't make you do wrong.
Christ declares you are free by faith, but you must act as a free person.
When this news first spread through southern plantations, many of the slaves would not believe it. They continued slaving for their masters, convinced their promise of freedom was a hoax. Numbers of unscrupulous landowners told their slaves it was just a rumor and kept them under bondage.
But little by little, the truth dawned on them as they saw former slaves walking about, happy in their newfound freedom. One by one, they threw down their loads, turned their backs on slavery, and walked away to begin a new life.
Maybe you haven't heard yet, or maybe it sounds too good to be true, but Christ emancipated all the slaves to sin at Calvary. You can now "walk out" on the devil! You can throw down your load of sin, walk away from Satan's dominion, and enter into a new life of freedom.
Let me show you what the Bible means when it talks about dying to sin. When Lincoln emancipated the slaves, the "issue" of slavery died. Not the slave master—not the slave. The slave could walk away free, saying to himself, “Slavery is a dead issue.”
Now the slave could slip back into the field and pick a few more rows of cotton—perhaps through fear or instinct—but that in no way made him a slave again. He was free, but he had to exercise his freedom. The proclamation couldn't force compliance, and neither could the slave master force him to return. It was a matter of the will of the slave.
The Bible says, "...he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe we shall also live with him" (Romans 6:7-8).
What that means is simply this: Since the matter of your slavery to sin is a dead issue, seeing that Christ has already declared you emancipated, you are now free to live as a new person in Christ by thinking of yourself as unchained.
Christ can't make you do right, and Satan can't make you do wrong.
Christ declares you are free by faith, but you must act as a free person.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
FOLLOWING HOLINESS
God’s Word tells us in no uncertain terms: “Follow…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
Here is the truth, plain and simple. Without the holiness that’s imparted by Christ alone—a precious gift we honor by leading a life devoted to obeying his every Word—none of us will see the Lord. And this refers not just to heaven, but to our present life as well. Without holiness, we won’t see God’s presence in our daily walk, our family, our relationships, our witness or our ministry.
It doesn’t matter how many Christian conferences we attend, how many preaching tapes we listen to, how many Bible studies we are involved in. If we harbor a cancerous sin, if the Lord has a controversy with us over our iniquity, then none of our efforts will produce godly fruit. On the contrary, our sin will only grow more contagious and infect everyone around us.
Of course, this issue goes beyond all lusts of the flesh, to corruption of the spirit as well.
Paul describes the same destructive sin in this passage when he says, “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer” (1 Corinthians 10:10).
So, dear saint, will you allow the Holy Spirit to deal with all the lusts you may be harboring? And will you instead seek and trust in the escape that God has provided for you? I urge you to cultivate a holy fear and trust in these last days. It will keep you pure, no matter how loudly wickedness rages around you. And it will enable you to walk in God’s holiness, which holds the promise of his enduring presence.
It is all a matter of faith. Christ has promised to keep you from falling, and to give you sin-resisting power—if you simply believe what he has said. So, believe him for this godly fear. Pray for it and welcome it. God will keep his Word to you.
You cannot break free from the death-grip of besetting sin by willpower, by promises, or by any human effort alone.
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6)
Here is the truth, plain and simple. Without the holiness that’s imparted by Christ alone—a precious gift we honor by leading a life devoted to obeying his every Word—none of us will see the Lord. And this refers not just to heaven, but to our present life as well. Without holiness, we won’t see God’s presence in our daily walk, our family, our relationships, our witness or our ministry.
It doesn’t matter how many Christian conferences we attend, how many preaching tapes we listen to, how many Bible studies we are involved in. If we harbor a cancerous sin, if the Lord has a controversy with us over our iniquity, then none of our efforts will produce godly fruit. On the contrary, our sin will only grow more contagious and infect everyone around us.
Of course, this issue goes beyond all lusts of the flesh, to corruption of the spirit as well.
Paul describes the same destructive sin in this passage when he says, “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer” (1 Corinthians 10:10).
So, dear saint, will you allow the Holy Spirit to deal with all the lusts you may be harboring? And will you instead seek and trust in the escape that God has provided for you? I urge you to cultivate a holy fear and trust in these last days. It will keep you pure, no matter how loudly wickedness rages around you. And it will enable you to walk in God’s holiness, which holds the promise of his enduring presence.
It is all a matter of faith. Christ has promised to keep you from falling, and to give you sin-resisting power—if you simply believe what he has said. So, believe him for this godly fear. Pray for it and welcome it. God will keep his Word to you.
You cannot break free from the death-grip of besetting sin by willpower, by promises, or by any human effort alone.
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6)
Friday, March 19, 2010
THE CROSS TEACHES US HOW TO DENY SELF
Never once does our Lord say, “Stoop down and let me lay a cross on you.” Jesus is not in the drafting business; his army is all volunteer. Not all Christians carry crosses. You can be a believer without carrying a cross, but you cannot be a disciple.
I see many believers rejecting the way of the cross. They have opted for the good life with its prosperity, its material gain, its popularity and success. I’m sure that many of them will make it to heaven—they will have saved their skins—but they will not have learned Christ. Having rejected the suffering and sorrow of the cross, they will not have the capacity to know and enjoy him in eternity, as will all the cross-bearing saints who have entered into the fellowship of the suffering.
You will have to carry your cross until you learn to deny. Deny what? The one thing that constantly hinders God's work in our lives—self. Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). We are misinterpreting this message if we emphasize self-denial, that is, the rejection of material or unlawful things. Jesus was not calling upon us to learn self-discipline before we take up our cross. It is far more severe than that. Jesus is asking that we deny ourselves. This means to deny your own ability to carry any cross in your own strength. In other words, "Don't take up your cross until you are ready to reject any and every thought of becoming a holy disciple as a result of your own effort."
Millions of professing Christians boast of their self-denial. They don't drink, smoke, curse or fornicate—they are examples of tremendous self-discipline. But not in a hundred years would they admit it was accomplished by anything other than their own willpower. They are practicing self-denial, but they have never denied self. In some ways, we are all like that. We experience "spurts" of holiness, accompanied by feelings of purity. Good works usually produce good feelings, but God will not allow us to think our good works and clean habits can save us. That is why we need a cross.
I believe Jesus is actually saying to us, "Before you take up your cross, be ready to face a moment of truth. Be ready to experience a crisis by which you will learn to deny your self-will, your self-righteousness, your self-sufficiency, your self-authority. You can rise up and follow me as a true disciple only when you can freely admit you can do nothing in your own strength—you cannot overcome sin through your own willpower—your temptations cannot be overcome by your self-efforts alone—you cannot work things out by your own intellect.
Your love for Jesus can put you on your knees but your cross will put you on your face.
Sermons David Wilkerson Today, Daily Devotions
I see many believers rejecting the way of the cross. They have opted for the good life with its prosperity, its material gain, its popularity and success. I’m sure that many of them will make it to heaven—they will have saved their skins—but they will not have learned Christ. Having rejected the suffering and sorrow of the cross, they will not have the capacity to know and enjoy him in eternity, as will all the cross-bearing saints who have entered into the fellowship of the suffering.
You will have to carry your cross until you learn to deny. Deny what? The one thing that constantly hinders God's work in our lives—self. Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). We are misinterpreting this message if we emphasize self-denial, that is, the rejection of material or unlawful things. Jesus was not calling upon us to learn self-discipline before we take up our cross. It is far more severe than that. Jesus is asking that we deny ourselves. This means to deny your own ability to carry any cross in your own strength. In other words, "Don't take up your cross until you are ready to reject any and every thought of becoming a holy disciple as a result of your own effort."
Millions of professing Christians boast of their self-denial. They don't drink, smoke, curse or fornicate—they are examples of tremendous self-discipline. But not in a hundred years would they admit it was accomplished by anything other than their own willpower. They are practicing self-denial, but they have never denied self. In some ways, we are all like that. We experience "spurts" of holiness, accompanied by feelings of purity. Good works usually produce good feelings, but God will not allow us to think our good works and clean habits can save us. That is why we need a cross.
I believe Jesus is actually saying to us, "Before you take up your cross, be ready to face a moment of truth. Be ready to experience a crisis by which you will learn to deny your self-will, your self-righteousness, your self-sufficiency, your self-authority. You can rise up and follow me as a true disciple only when you can freely admit you can do nothing in your own strength—you cannot overcome sin through your own willpower—your temptations cannot be overcome by your self-efforts alone—you cannot work things out by your own intellect.
Your love for Jesus can put you on your knees but your cross will put you on your face.
Sermons David Wilkerson Today, Daily Devotions
Thursday, March 18, 2010
YOU CANNOT CARRY YOUR OWN CROSS
Jesus said to his disciples, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). However, Jesus could not carry his cross and neither can you!
As Jesus bore his own cross to Golgotha, led by his tormentors, he was too weak and frail to carry it for long. When he had reached the end of his endurance, his cross was laid on another's shoulder. The Bible doesn't tell us how far Jesus carried his cross but we do know Simon, the Cyrene, was compelled to pick it up and carry it to the place of crucifixion (see Matthew 27:32).
What does this mean to us? Would our Lord make us do something he could not do? Did he not say, "...whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27)? A cross is a cross, be it wooden or spiritual. It is not enough to say, "His cross was different—our cross is spiritual."
Personally, it gives me great hope to know that Jesus could not take up his own cross. It encourages me to know that I am not the only one burdened down to the ground at times, unable to go on in my own strength.
Jesus knew exactly what he was saying when he called us to "take up our cross and follow him." He remembered his own cross and that another had to carry it for him. Why then would he ask us to shoulder a cross he knows will soon crush us to the ground? He knows all about the agony, the helplessness, and the burden that a cross creates. He knows we can't carry it all the way in our own strength.
There is a truth hidden here that we must uncover, a truth so powerful, it could change the way we look at all our troubles and hurts. It may sound almost sacrilegious to suggest Jesus did not carry his own cross, but that is the truth.
God knows that not one of his children can carry the cross they take up when following Christ.
We want to be good disciples by denying ourselves and taking up our cross, but we seem to forget that that same cross will one day bring us to the end of our human endurance. Would Jesus purposely ask us to take up a cross that he knows will sap all our human energies and leave us lying helpless, even to the point of giving up? Absolutely yes! Jesus forewarns us, "Without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).
So he asks us to take up our cross, struggle on with it, until we learn that lesson. Not until our cross pushes us down into the dust do we learn the lesson that it is not by our might or power or strength, but by his power.
That is what the Bible means when it says his strength is made perfect in our weakness.
Sermons David Wilkerson Today, Daily Devotions
As Jesus bore his own cross to Golgotha, led by his tormentors, he was too weak and frail to carry it for long. When he had reached the end of his endurance, his cross was laid on another's shoulder. The Bible doesn't tell us how far Jesus carried his cross but we do know Simon, the Cyrene, was compelled to pick it up and carry it to the place of crucifixion (see Matthew 27:32).
What does this mean to us? Would our Lord make us do something he could not do? Did he not say, "...whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27)? A cross is a cross, be it wooden or spiritual. It is not enough to say, "His cross was different—our cross is spiritual."
Personally, it gives me great hope to know that Jesus could not take up his own cross. It encourages me to know that I am not the only one burdened down to the ground at times, unable to go on in my own strength.
Jesus knew exactly what he was saying when he called us to "take up our cross and follow him." He remembered his own cross and that another had to carry it for him. Why then would he ask us to shoulder a cross he knows will soon crush us to the ground? He knows all about the agony, the helplessness, and the burden that a cross creates. He knows we can't carry it all the way in our own strength.
There is a truth hidden here that we must uncover, a truth so powerful, it could change the way we look at all our troubles and hurts. It may sound almost sacrilegious to suggest Jesus did not carry his own cross, but that is the truth.
God knows that not one of his children can carry the cross they take up when following Christ.
We want to be good disciples by denying ourselves and taking up our cross, but we seem to forget that that same cross will one day bring us to the end of our human endurance. Would Jesus purposely ask us to take up a cross that he knows will sap all our human energies and leave us lying helpless, even to the point of giving up? Absolutely yes! Jesus forewarns us, "Without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).
So he asks us to take up our cross, struggle on with it, until we learn that lesson. Not until our cross pushes us down into the dust do we learn the lesson that it is not by our might or power or strength, but by his power.
That is what the Bible means when it says his strength is made perfect in our weakness.
Sermons David Wilkerson Today, Daily Devotions
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