GOT ANY PRAISE LEFT?

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (Hebrews 13:15)


I find a lot Christians have a problem with worshipping God, when there is no reason to worship him. We have been conditioned by preachers and man-made denominations that the only right time to worship God is when the preacher says it okay in service, and how to worship by your local denominational rules.

We have been robbed and raped, by these rules and misguided preachers, from a key to entering into the presence and power of a living God. It is those who do not wait on a “right time”, or a goose bump feeling to praise God that enter into a fellowship and strength others miss out on, and ultimately loose faith in their trials.

It was easy for the children of Israel to praise God at the Red Sea, after they crossed over, after pharaoh’s army had drowned, after they crossed safely to the other side, then they sang a song of deliverance. Beloved, those are not true worshippers. Shortly after such great deliverance, because their worship was feeling based, they began to curse God and Moses at the waters of Mariah, 3 days later!

What Satan does not want you to know is this..... Praise and Worship of God, in your prayer time at home, thru the week, at your church enters you into the very presence God! This where you will find answers to your problems, deliverance from Satan, healing for your body, salvation for your loved ones and friends. The key to everything you need is in his presence, and true worship comes from your heart, whether in a song or by the words of your mouth, one on one with God. Whether you do it by tears or lifting of hands, whatever it is a physical act. I encourage you today, make up your mind to begin your prayers with worship, everday thru the week, not just on Sunday. And, don't let a preacher, a denomination or anything stop you from worshipping God. Start now, your key to what you need is there.

Make up your mind today, not to give God praise when you feel a big moving of the spirit, or when the preacher says so. Make up your mind to begin now to praise God because he is, and he is worthy. Lean not to your understanding, look not at your trial and trouble, and begin to praise God now. You will find he will come to you, and you will see his salvation and comfort, in the praise!

TAKE AUTHORITY! IN JESUS NAME!

We read in the book of Acts, Chapter 19, about a very powerful story. It seems there were seven sons born to a man named Sceva. These sons had heard of the preaching of Paul the Apostle, and how there was a man called Jesus, in whose name, when called upon, could perform miracles. Sceva was a priest in the city they lived in, so these men were familiar with the God, and knew the stories of miracles that he performed.

When these men believed the story of Paul, that the Messiah had come, and it is Jesus, they decided to take it upon themselves to use that name. In short, they came upon a man in the town who was possessed with a powerful demon. And upon facing this man, decided to try their new found name of Jesus against this demon. This story takes a turn for the worse when the demon speaks back to the sons this powerful statement; " Jesus I know, and Paul I know, BUT WHO ARE YOU?". These men were sent home running with the clothes tore from there bodies and barely escaping with there lives as the demon attacked them.

What happened here? Why did this name of Jesus not work? Is there no power in this name? Did God seemingly fail? NO! a thousand times NO!

Beloved, God is and always will be more powerful than any demon from Hell. The name of Jesus will ALWAYS be above every name in the universe for salvation, healing, redemption, deliverance. The missing key here for the seven sons of Sceva is very simple. Look at what the demon said here. He says Jesus he knows and Paul he knows. That word "Know" means in essence:

• To know one INTIMATELY, inside and out
• To have a PERSONAL connection

This demon was saying, I know Paul. I know very well he has an intimate connection with God the father. I know Jesus, he is Lord and King, even over me, and I know he is connected with God the father. But I also know YOU (the sons of sceva) have no connection, no personal relationship, with Jesus and this name. Beloved, the demon knew that these sons only knew this name Jesus from hearing about him. when you read this story you will see these men never knew Jesus, never had a personal relationship with him. there was no personal connection with the Holy Ghost living inside them and birthing them into the family of God. What they were using this name for was no more than a magical spell. And friend, there is no power in a magical incantation, even when you bring the name of Jesus into it.

Authority ONLY comes from one place. Time spent in the presence of GOD! My friend, if you have a personal connection with Jesus, if you have been born of the HOLY GHOST, if you have been birthed into the family of God, and you spend time in that presence getting to know Jesus intimately, and He you, then you have power with God just like Jacob. He gives you authority (POWER) to rebuke demons off your family, friends, finances, Pastor, Church. He gives you power to lay hands on the sick and see them recover. He gives you power to intercede for lost and backslidden souls just like abraham. And most important, He gives you power to be a son of God, to live like Jesus did, produce the fruits meet to be a child. To love your enemies, pray for them that hate you, and have faith in God thru the storms of life.

Dear reader, the key here is building a connection, personal and intimate, thru the spirit, with the father in Jesus name. If you wonder why your prayers go unanswered, why it seems God is not in your life situations, why you never feel what they do at church when the tears begin to flow on others, this is your problem. Jesus these people know, but who are you?

I beg you today to find time to make Jesus personal. There is no power in just a name. You might as well call my name out against a devil, it is just the same. The power in Jesus name comes when you have spent time alone, and personal with God, built a relationship one on one with him thru the Holy Ghost. I beg you, there are things coming upon this world and in your life that will take this "intimate authority" to make it or you will find yourself tore apart like the sons of Sceva.

Get alone with Jesus, read his word and seek his face, one on one while you still can. Then you will have something behind that name of Jesus when you use it.....POWER!

THE CRY GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS

I know that the above title causes one to feel offended. I can already here the statements of rebuke – “God hears all our cries” and “how dare you say God doesn’t hear me when I pray”. Beloved, I don’t refute that fact. God is omnipotent, omnipresent and is everywhere, in every place, all the time. He is right now beholding all the good, and all the bad, that you and I and all of humanity is doing right now. But, there is a difference between hearing and answering is there not? I could go to my earthly father when I was young, and ask him “could I have a brand new car?”. Oh yes, he could hear me, but to date I still haven’t got that new car.


Today, it is a fact that our churches suffer from “Lip worship”, “mouth praise” and “minimal effort” service to the living God. It is impossible these days to keep a congregation of believers interested past 3 songs in the praise and worship portion of the service. Past that and our backsides seem to grow magnets attracted to the back of the pew. It is impossible for our preachers to minister past the 12:00 o’clock mark, or our eyes begin to wander, and the king of our intestinal fortitude, (better known to the general public as our stomachs) begin to cry aloud at the sacrilege committed at hindering us getting to the nearest McDonalds on time.

Oh God, forgive us for losing the passion that was in Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel. Her cries to move God to open a dead womb went past lip praise and mouth worship. She pushed back the plate of food, cried tears till her tear ducts were dry, talked to God till no more words could be formed and only her mouth quivered under the power of a heart that was pouring out to God with everything it had in it.

Would to God we could regain the passion to call on him with everything we have in us. Just like the widow woman that lost all her money in her house. She swept and searched, cleaned and moved everything over and over and would not stop till she found it. With a burning fever of desire, she tore that house apart looking for those coins, until at last she found them.

It is a proven fact that we today have lost this cry, this burning desire that wakes God up and moves him to answer:

· Suicide rates are at an all time high in history
· The murder of babies in the name of abortion are at an all time high in history
· Hospitals are running out of space to house the sick, terminally ill, and drug or alcohol addicted souls


All while the “church” carries on with our powerless worship, skin deep spirituality and nonexistent presence in our services while proclaiming; “we are rich and increased with goods, we have need of nothing”. Beloved, I give you a word from the lord today; THUS SAITH THE LORD- I TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE MISERABLE, AND WRETCHED, AND POOR AND BLIND AND NAKED (Revelation 3:17).

It is not how many times you go to church, how many good things you do thru the week, or how long you have been saved that moves the heart of God to hear and answer your call. It is not how “squeaky clean” your track record is, and how good you have ran your “life race” that forces God to rush in and save the burning building that is your life. NO! I tell you a thousand times no! no matter what some preacher, or even your pastor, has told you.

It is a cry, that begins after all your strength , all your pretty and intelligent words are gone. After all the tears are shed, till no more can fall down your cheeks. It is a cry that causes food to no longer be a priority. It is a cry that transforms you! It turns you into a madman, a different person if you will.

This cry causes you to become so thirsty for God and his presence, you look like a wild deer running at top speed thru the woods looking for that stream of water you haven’t seen in days, knowing without it you will die. You turn into that woman mentioned in the Bible with the blood disease. No longer did she care how she looked in public or that she had to push thru the crowds on her hands and knees, just as long as she got to Jesus. This cry will turn you into that woman, because you will know in him, with one touch, will come life giving, sin forgiving, devil stomping, prayer answering, miracle working power. And let’s not forget the greatest benefit. With this cry comes Jesus, God in flesh, into your life! The very one who created the universe, framed the worlds, and made you, into your very life! The one who died for you. The one that says; “I love you, more than any mother, father, or spouse could ever love you”. Jesus! Glory to his wonderful name!

Dear saint, does this cry burn within you? Does it drive you to say, “I can’t live till I find him, I can’t breathe until I am once again in his arms!”. Is there a cry within you that causes everything, in the world, to lose its allure and charm. And the only thing that burns within you is a desire to have Jesus and be in his presence, because you know the only real peace and joy is there.

Child of God, we are near the end of all things. Satan is to be given freedom to ruin, persecute and destroy like never before. The antichrist is soon to take control of the earth. And the time of Jacob’s trouble (better known as the great tribulation) is just around the corner. And no matter what some big time preacher, Evangelist or Pastor has told you- YOU WILL BE HERE THRU PART OF THIS TRIBULATION. There is no such “early rapture” escape to get out early before it gets bad. You must be prepared.

And only those who are crying this heart cry- this “Hannah cry”- and possess this burning for Jesus- this “widow woman fever”, will have the strength to stand. Only those with this cry will have the ability to not be deceived by the Antichrist. They will have the power to resist his eternal damning mark, resist his temptations, and boldly proclaim; “I will not let go of the lover of my soul, I will not divorce my Jesus, only to follow you to eternal Hell to burn forever, I will love him till the end”.

Precious one reading this, there is still time:


1. The Door is still open to the throne of God thru Christ

2. There is still a chance to call on Jesus and have him hear and answer

3. There is still time to call on him while he is near, before the door is shut forever


Run to him now! Ask him to place this cry within you, now. Ask him to put this burning desire in you, now. You cannot generate this in your power and strength, but if you will call on Jesus, he will put this cry within you, this burning for him inside if you will just ask. Remember his promise to us; “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for the SHALL be filled”. Get a hold of this cry, it will save your life, in the coming storm.

HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN WE ARE IN A WAR?

"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of [this] life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." - 2 Timothy 2:3&4.

During World War II, as Hitler began his march across Europe, to control the people in the army, and the civilians in Germany, he used a very time tested and powerful technique. Hitler would begin each week dropping what was called “propaganda bombs” thruout the land. These missiles would be delivered like regular live bombs; but instead of exploding charges, inside were hundreds of letters. These letters contained lies and false information aimed at making the people believe they were going to win the war and take over the world. Also, they would contain lies about how evil and wicked Americans, Britians, Russians and any enemy poised against Hitler’s agenda were.

At first, one could imagine the people standing in wonder; “What is this?” and, “Is this stuff really true"? Maybe they even tried to check the newspapers and radio broadcasts to determine if what the papers stated was real. But Hitler, in his evil intelligence, knew that for the propaganda to work, he had to control all the FLOW OF INFORMATION. Now with his “propaganda bombs” plus controlling all the media, slowly the people began to accept what they were hearing as truth. Eventually, not only did they accept it as truth, but they became disciples of Hitler’s agenda. They joined the army to kill the “evil Americans”. They worked in factories to build weapons, taught their children that what Hitler was doing and saying was the gospel and he was their savior. Slowly, they were lulled to sleep into believing that what they were hearing and seeing was the war; but in reality, the REAL WAR was going on around them and they never knew the truth or what was trully happening. Finally one day the “evil Americans” invaded, and truly set the people free from the real evil of Adolf Hitler.

Beloved, do you realize what is happening around you? We are in a real war to the death. This a war between God and Satan and YOU are the battlefield. At the beginning, the church was on fire with this truth. After Jesus ascended to Heaven, the once clueless disciples were endued with power (Weapons) from the Holy Ghost and transformed into Apostles to fight this war. With these weapons from the Holy Ghost called the spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12), these men turned the known world upside down. But don’t think for a moment that they didn’t have any opposition. These men were beaten to bloody pulps, left for dead, snake bitten, thrown into the sea, crucified, beheaded for the cause of the truth that they preached. They had a enemy called SATAN, let that be stated one more time, an enemy called SATAN, and his army of demons, that were and still are real today, and wanted these men and their message stopped at all costs. Satan, knowing that persecution only makes the cause of the people grow stronger, stopped his all out physical attacks for a much better plan. One that has proved today to have worked.

As drops of water dripping on a rock that slowly over time breaks that rock down to pebbles, Satan began to take control of the flow of information after the Apostles died out. Little by little, thru the ages, he slipped in his little propaganda bombs of lies mixed with truth, setting in false prophets and preachers who looked and talked like the real deal, but had doctrines and false truths that poisoned the church and the people that the Apostles built. Oh, at first, like the German people, we bucked up on this assault. People like Martin Luther, Smith Wigglesworth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lester Sumerall, and David Wilkerson cried out at the poison doctrine and preachers that were trying to destroy what God was building. But over time, these men and women of God were silenced by the voices of television, movies, and radio. Preachers, that were either false from the beginning, or had been seduced to the dark side, began bringing “new” doctrines of self reliance, humanism, and twisted theology that God was some “Grandfather” who like a genie, winked at your sin and if you rubbed him right would grant you any request. And now the damage has been done.

Now, sinners come to church and leave out laughing at how, they once again, left untouched by a powerless message, not birthed out of a prayer closet with God, but of some minister’s book of sermons. We no longer can lay hands on the sick, bound, oppressed and possessed and see the wheel chairs, crutches and demons pile up in the trash corner; but only watch as Satan laughs at or jiggling and wiggling, while we hide the pet sins that are killing our power and anointing. We want to jump and dance under the “power” at church, while thru the week we run our brother and sister down with our mouths and even stab them in the back; as long as we don't get caught at it. Jesus said, "Pastor, preacher and congregation member, if you say you love me, and hate your brother in any way, you are a liar and the spirit of God is not in you!" (1 John 4:20).

And then it works its final poison...no longer can you hear, see or recognize that you are on a Hell bound journey that is pumping you full of lies, false doctrine, hybrid truths (that’s lies mixed with just enough truth to fool you). You feel everything is ok, you and God are in good standing. Just like a drunkard who can feel no pain, you are on a HIGH that has been coming from the enemy to fool you into thinking' “I don’t need to check myself. I am ok with God”. Satan will tell you, "Its ok”...while you watch that pornography on HBO and the internet....while you cheat on your spouse...while you put that drug needle in your arm...while you listen to that false preacher on TV and radio tell you, "Its all about you, you can command the blessing, you will always be saved and can never backslide into hell", or "I must get wealth to be a child of the king".

We have been bitten by the snake.

The snake of self reliance, of religious humanism, of eternal security and of how good you are. There are some of you out there who think you are running this race better than Paul the Apostle. You have a squeaky clean track record. You say, “ I have not committed murder, adultery or been bound by drugs or alcohol”. But reader, are you guilty of harboring faithlessness to God, anger at God for something you feel he failed you on, or pride in how good you have ran this race without doing the “big sins”. SIN IS SIN my dear reader. God hates the pride in your achievements as bad as if you pulled a trigger on a little baby. There are also some who think right now, “I don’t have to worry about any of this, the Blood of Jesus protects me from any punishment from God”. Reader, if you have been truly saved, and are guilty of any of these, or doing nothing for the Kingdom of God, these scriptures are for you:

 

"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." - Hebrews 6:4-6.

If you are guilty, and have not repented (that means pray for forgiveness AND turn away from doing it again), then the blood of Jesus is not present in your life right now to save you. This is war. Satan has dropped the bomb on all of us. And it is time, right now, before it is to late, to repent! Cry out to God in tears and turn from our wicked way. Some of you haven’t shed a tear in prayer since the day you were saved, or not at all. There is a word from the Lord for everyone reading this. And it simply this;

 

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14.

What is said today is said in love, for all our sakes. Because God loves you, this word is sent to you today - If you are guilty of this, you are in danger of Hell. God is looking for a bride when he comes - spotless and pure...waiting for his return like an anxious school girl waiting for her new boyfriend to knock on the door. He is not looking for a whore, who has slept with everyone (someone, caught up in what has been mentioned here today)...who is dirty, unclean, and doesn’t care to change. God is calling you to check yourself, against this word, and repent now! Jesus is on his way to gather his bride and soon the door will be shut forever to repent and get ready. There is a war that is raging right now. Don’t become a P.O.W, or choose to stay M.I.A. 

Repent and fight till the death.

A Battle You Have to Lose to Win

"And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids." - Genesis 33:1.

 

The above scripture is a powerful story if you read the whole ordeal from Genesis chapter 32 and 33. Let me give you just a brief summary. Jacob here had for all of his life been a con artist. Whenever he was in trouble, or when he desperately wanted something, he schemed and conned his way to get it. Jacob was a very intelligent man, and with his charm and whit would trick people into getting what he wanted. He tricked his brother Esau out of the family blessing, which meant whoever got this blessing was officially the ruler of all the people and anointed of God. He tricked his father-in-law Laban out of two daughters and the best of all his flocks and herds, and his gold and silver. Jacob came to believe with this power he possessed of whit and trickery, he could master any situation he got into.

Beloved, do you see the trap here? Jacob came to believe he had the power to manipulate his way out of any situation. This trap is called the trap of self reliance. You come to believe YOU possess the power to control your life, and the only one you need to rely on is you. It makes you to believe you are the master of your destiny and you control the outcome. But dear reader, if you are a child of God, you must remember you made a contract, with God, the day you got saved, that no longer were you the master of your destiny. You covenanted with Jesus Christ, to make him lord of your life and take control of your future. We forget this truth, and only invoke this when we are in trouble, or when we go to church on Sunday. Yet through the week, where it counts, we are like Jacob, maneuvering and manipulating people and events in our life to get the outcome we want. And I must warn you, when you get to this point in God’s eyes, something will happen to put you in the place where all your tricks, all your manipulating, will not save you. And I must let you know who will put you there, it will be God himself!

Go back to the scripture reference above. Jacob came to the place here, where Esau and four hundred soldiers were now after him to kill him. On the other side, Laban and his army were after Jacob for his thievery. I could see Jacob’s heart pounding with fear, as he finally came to the “no win” scenario. With both armies coming, cutting off all escape routes, Jacob still tried to manipulate his way out. He sends presents to both men, sending messengers to them to calm down the situation and beg for mercy. But for poor Jacob, every trick worked to no avail. And as the clock is ticking down to his own demise, Jacob finally does what God has been wanting from him from the beginning, he cries out to the Lord for help.

Would to God, that we could understand this truth before we get into the hot seat or the no win scenario. God is a god that will not accept our relying on anything other than him. We have so many scriptures that deal with the fact God wants us to come to him first, cast our cares on him, talk to him first and bring our problems to him to solve. There is a reason for this beloved, God wants faith! And that faith is simply complete trust that HE is in control, HE can fix any situation, and HE wants you to totally rely on him, and have no faith in your abilities, powers and intelligence. And I can promise you, if the “Jacob disease” is in your life, if your reading this and are feeling the conviction this is me, I do try to trick and manipulate people and situations, my friend God is going to put some situation, some trouble in your life that will cause all your tricks not to work, and the only thing left is to cry out to him.

I sense that someone is reading this, right now, that all of Hell is come at you. Everything has been stripped from you in your life. You’ve lost a job, a friend, bills are piling up or the doctor has come to you with bad news. Also, someone is reading this who had everything going good in their life till just recently. Now, you feel this overwhelming depression, a pit so deep you canfind no way to come out. Your life no longer has meaning or fun, your prayers hit the ceiling right now and God feels a million miles away. You have no clear direction on what to do and you have tried everything (trick) in the book, but all you have is silence and confusion. Let me speak to you right now, for I have a word from the Lord for you.

You have been put in the place where God is trying to teach you, stop relying on your abilities and strength. Your faith is not in me alone. For awhile now, you have manipulated your situations, and even me (God) to get what you want, and now I am teaching you, and allowing you to come to the end of your abilities and strength, so you will realize I am your answer, I am your God, and there is no problem or situation I cannot solve, but you must come to me first, and utterly have total faith that, I (God), will take care of it.

Beloved, what you are feeling right now, the depression, the loneliness, the fact that all of Hell and Satan are seeming to take everything out of your life and your situation looks hopeless, is not what it looks like. Remember the reference above. When Esau finally caught up with Jacob after he prayed to God for help, he didn’t get what he thought he would. Instead of Esau taking his life, he ran to him, fell on his neck and embraced him. In the end, because Jacob finally gave up on his strength, and gave all to God, Esau became one of his best friends till the end, and Laban ended up blessing Jacob and helping him the rest of his life. God turned what was to be the NO WIN scenario into the greatest blessings of Jacob’s life. I tell you now, if you will cry out to God, give up on the fact of figuring it all out, believing what the Devil or the Doctor is saying, and totally throw all your trust and help on Jesus, you will see your situation turn around. You will find, your steps have been ordered all along, and that God was always with you, wanting you to understand; “it’s not by might nor by power, but by MY spirit, sayeth the Lord of Hosts”.