We live in a day of great lawlessness and demonic oppression. These are the days when men call evil good and good evil.
(Isaiah 5:20 ESV) Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:21 ESV) Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! (Isaiah 5:22 ESV) Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, (Isaiah 5:23 ESV) who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right! However, lest we feel like all is hopeless we need to remember that with the warning about the evil of the last days we also have the promise of a supernatural outpouring of the Person of the Holy Spirit in the last days. (Joel 2:28 ESV) "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. (Joel 2:29 ESV) Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. (Joel 2:30 ESV) "And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. (Joel 2:31 ESV) The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. A new wave of the Holy Spirit is flooding the Earth these days. We have the honor of living in one of the greatest outpouring of God's Spirit in the history of mankind. Great revelation is coming forth from the Throne of God to the Church through Word of God and true spiritual leaders of God. (Ephesians 2:19 ESV) So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (Ephesians 2:20 ESV) built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, (Ephesians 2:21 ESV) in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. Amos 3:7-8 ESV "For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. (8) The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?" Ephesians 3:4-5 ESV When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, (5) which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This is training and equipping the Saints as no other time in history. Every believer that is hungry and thirsty for truth is receiving an anointing and impartation of simple and practical and deep knowledge about the things of the Father. It is the Father’s longing to make every believer a true intercessor, a true spiritual warrior, and a man or woman of faith. A believer armed and ready to carry out the work of the Father effectively and in power. This will come about through the power anointing that the Father is pouring out in these last days. Remember this dear brother or sister in the Lord. You will either stand strong in the Lord and His Word as part of the solution to mankind, or you will fall faithless as a victim filled with excuses before man as part of the problem. God is not holding back from you, He is waiting on you. Having done all else....STAND!
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The PRAYER OF FAITH is exactly that. It is praying with the faith of God and faith in God. The one thing that I see among many in the body of Christ when praying for people or over people is a state of double-mindedness.
James 1:5-8 ESV If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (6) But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. (7) For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; (8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. THE PROBLEM WITH DOUBLE-MINDEDNESS: If this teaching of James ended with James 1:5 we would all get it and have no problems. But verses 6-8 are what get many Christians in trouble. See verse 7. “Anything” means just that “anything.” A double-minded man will not receive anything from the Lord no matter how much he prays. Does it say that a double-minded man is unstable in some ways? No! He is unstable in ALL his ways. He is a person who is torn between his carnal fleshly desires and the will of his spiritual man. When we pray we need to believe that we have received. Hebrews 11:6 ESV And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. When will you have your healing? When will you have your financial breakthrough? When will you have the anointing of God on you? When do you believe that you have received? When you believe, you will receive. Mark 11:24 ESV Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. We are not healed in prayer because we are a wonderful godly Christian going to Bible College. We are not healed in prayer because we are a terrible ungodly Christian. We are healed because we believe and we receive what the Father says and this is true for any area of need in our lives Some will always be sense-ruled and won’t believe anything until they see it or feel it to be right. Do we have brains? Have we seen them, touched them, heard them, tasted them, or smelled them? Yet we know that they are there in our head. A Double-minded believer: A believer who is unstable in all his/her ways and cannot be trusted or relied upon to be steadfast. They are situation or circumstance driven. Give me a "faith" Christian any day. Okay, so how do I get healed from double-mindedness? We need to allow the Word to come in over and over until it renews our mind. We need to give some people the permission to ask us the hard questions when we speak. Like "where did that statement come from?" We need to allow those whom we trust and love to reprove us of our double-mindedness without being offended or trying to justify our actions. Hey, if it were easy, everyone would be getting in line to get free. And if it were no big deal, our Lord would not have addressed it so sharply within the Word of God, and declared it so fruitless. 1 Peter 5:5-6 ESV Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (6) Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
Okay, you have crisis in your life, and what you have been doing is not working. Insanity, right, to do more of the same thing and expect different results. When I read Matthew chapters 6 and 7 about what our Lord said about worry, being anxious, faithless, and in fear, then it is insane to continue in that mode expecting things to get better, instead of walking in faith in God's Word. Let God our Father know your requests with an attitude of thanksgiving and not in fear and doubt. Sports are sports, but each sport has its own rules of operation. The same is true with prayer. In sports we cannot play golf with the rules for soccer. We need to know and operate in God's rules of engagement rather than our churches organization mode of operation. Tell me this: When people are first saved it seems like all their prayers are answered, but after being a Christian for a while answers to prayer seem to wane. Why? We need to walk again in child-like faith. As we get older in the Lord (not mature, just older), we seem to trust our Christian walk on the mental knowledge of the Word we have obtained instead of faith in the author of that Word. After being a Christian for a while we seem to rely on the faith and belief of others for us instead of our own faith and ability to believe. We are taught in our churches to place our Christian walk and faith in to the hands of the Pastor or an organization. We pay them to do our believing for us. Listen to the messages from our Pastors. We call those who attend church 3 times a week committed Christians and those who only attend Sunday mornings immature. This mindset needs to be re-evaluated because we need to ask those who come 3 times a week who are they committed to, the Lord or the church? This does not mean that everyone who comes 3 times a week is committed to a building or Pastor, nor does it mean that everyone who comes once a week is immature. But it does mean that whatever we do we need to be a people of faith in God and in His Word. Remember this. There are two great teachers, the Holy Spirit and repetition. When teaching the idea of "proper confession" sometimes we need to say the same thing over and over and over again until we really "get it" in our spirit-man. Sometimes we need to teach or to be taught something 21 times before we get it. It usually takes 21 days of hearing something to chance a habit or a mind set. Preachers somehow feel like they have to come up with a new message topic every week. The problem is that the people have not gotten the first thing that the preachers have taught internalized so that it has made a change. We need to get truth first within our mind and then deep within our inner man for it to make a change. We have Christians running around chasing the “something new” ministry. Get grounded in the old stuff first and then we will be able to discern the new stuff as to being Biblical or a repackaged New Age teaching. I love potatoes. I love potato salad, fried potatoes, French fries, baked potatoes and yes I even eat them raw. They are all the same thing as being potatoes, just prepared a little different. The same should be with the Word. Deliver it a little different but it should be the same Word. Proper confession of God's Word always begins with having the right word to confess. In praying the PRAYER OF CASTING OUR CARES UPON THE LORD we need to be a people with the right confession mixed with faith that God will do what He says that He will do. If we have a care problem and are distracted away from the Lord by those cares then we should read Matthew 6 and 7 over and over each day until it sinks in that we cannot change one hair on our head with our worry. God has not found us so spiritual and anointed that He has given us a special depensation to worry and fret over our cares. Do what it takes to get the Word in you and do not pray in fear, because that is not the prayer of faith. Violence fills our land. There are no more "SAFE" places except "In Christ."
Locking our doors and hoping for the best will not change the situation. Violence has come to our streets, our malls, our government, our schools, our churches, and within our homes. Taking our guns will not stop the spirit of violence any more than taking away alcohol to stop it's destruction. It is what is within the people that drives the violence, not the weapon. Let's look at some alcohol FACTS. 86.3 % of Americans reported they dank at least 1 drink. 26.5% reported they engaged in binge drinking. 14.4 million adults have a drinking disorder 401,000 teenagers 12-17 have a drinking disorder 88,000 people die a year from alcohol related death making it the 3rd leading preventable cause of death in America Alcohol abuse costs American tax payers 249 Billion dollars a year More than 10% of American children live in a home with alcohol abuse Would taking alcohol away stop the problem. Funny thing, America tried that once. I could go on......Yet our politicians major in the outward trying to legislate morality. We have enough laws on "THOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER" Sticking our head in the sand and ignoring it will not change the fact that we are in critical days where there is... NO Self-respect among people NO Respect of others and their possessions NO Respect of Life THE VOICE OF VIOLENCE: The selfishness of violence says "Because we have life we have the right to determine if someone else has life". THIS IS THE CURRENT STATE OF MANKIND: Jeremiah 22:17 ESV But you have eyes and heart only for your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence." However, we have this hope... A NEW DAY IS COMING IN A NEW LAND: Isaiah 60:18-19 ESV Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. (19) The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. In doing this "Casting Our Cares" series I have listed certain KEYS to remember as we learn to cast our cares upon the Lord. So far I have listed these two KEYS...
PRAYER KEY: God knows and understands our current need and our current position better then we do. PRAYER KEY: The Bible is God speaking to us. We can and should cast all our cares upon the Lord because He cares for us affectionately. The Father watches over His Word to accomplish it. Today we will address the third KEY in learning to cast our cares upon the Lord. PRAYER KEY: In daily life we all will have plenty of opportunities to worry and fear if we want to do it: I guarantee that you had many opportunities to worry and fret over this last week. And I bet you took ample time with some of those opportunities. So let me ask you this. Did any of the worry, fear, or fret achieve anything, change anything, or help in any way? Did that worry, fear and fret give you some feeling of control over the situation and it's outcome? Matthew 6:25-27 ESV “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (26) Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (27) And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Matthew 6:32-34 ESV For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. (33) But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (34) “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. I have been raised up from a death bed three times now, in 1979, 2007, and 2009 when my heart stopped during a medical procedure. In each of these times I had received both negative and positive words from family and friends about my health. Of course we typically get warm feelings when we get the positive words and we typically get emotionally down when we get the negative reports. However, our victory does not depend upon either the positive or negative words of people. The words we get from other people need to align with the Word of God and be in agreement with the Holy Spirit. We need to confess our sin of worry and be filled with God’s Word and His promises. Our faith should grow through trials. If we do not respond correctly in trials then our faith can wane. We need the Word of God in us because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word. We cannot pray correctly without knowing the Word of God and the Character of God. James 1:2-4 ESV Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, (3) for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. (4) And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Romans 10:17 ESV So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. I have been in places and situations were I would have run away had I not gotten a Word from God that assured me He put me there for a season and for a reason. Sometimes the only word I would get is “There are hard trials ahead, but they are not meant to destroy you, or make you a victim, for your good." Philippians 4:6-7 ESV do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. We live in crazy days. It is time for Americans to go back and reread the foundational truths of our founding fathers. Christians we know that we have spiritual freedom in Christ and that we are called to pray, which we should.
I wonder though: Were there any Christians in England that prayed and yet came to the new land to start a new way of life of freedom? I wonder: Were there any Christians that went to war against their former home land England for that right to have political, social, and religious freedom in this new land? I wonder: Were there any Christians that drew up and singed their names to the document we now as "The Declaration of Independence"? I wonder: What would these founding fathers say today if they saw what was doing on? I think I can answer that with a few lines within the document they signed. In reading The Declaration of Independence, we can know why it is under so much attack by the liberal controlling amoral group running Washington and our Country. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. MY SUBJECT TOPIC: I want to discuss Dr. King's statement "Riot is the language of the unheard". KING (interview): I will never change in my basic idea that non-violence is the most potent weapon available to the Negro in his struggle for freedom and justice. I think for the Negro to turn to violence would be both impractical and immoral. MIKE WALLACE: There's an increasingly vocal minority who disagree totally with your tactics, Dr. King. KING: There's no doubt about that. I will agree that there is a group in the Negro community advocating violence now. I happen to feel that this group represents a numerical minority. Surveys have revealed this. The vast majority of Negroes still feel that the best way to deal with the dilemma that we face in this country is through non-violent resistance I think that we've got to see that a riot is the language of the unheard. And, what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the economic plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. So that I would say that every summer we're going to have this kind of vigorous protest. My hope is that it will be non-violent. I would hope that we can avoid riots because riots are self-defeating and socially destructive. I would hope that we can avoid riots, but that we would be as militant and as determined next summer and through the winter as we have been this summer. OKAY: So in the interview Dr. King says that turning to violence would be impractical and immoral. He also said that those who chose to riot in violence is few and a minority. HOWEVER: He said that riot is the language of the unheard. This statement is a license to do what he said that he was against. RIOT DEFINED: According to dictionary A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property or people. Riots typically involve vandalism and the destruction of property, public or private. The property targeted varies depending on the riot and the inclinations of those involved. Targets can include shops, cars, restaurants, state-owned institutions, and religious buildings. Riots often occur in reaction to a perceived grievance or out of dissent. Historically, riots have occurred due to poor working or living conditions, governmental oppression, taxation or conscription, conflicts between ethnic groups, (race riot) or religions (sectarian violence, pogrom), the outcome of a sporting event (football hooliganism) or frustration with legal channels through which to air grievances. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots typically consist of disorganized groups that are frequently "chaotic and exhibit herd behavior." Why did I post this: Because violence seems to be the forst response in America to anything we disagree with, injustice we feel, or circumstance we find ourselves. Rioting is not limited to a specific race, religion, creed, ecomonic status, or gender. There are those prone to be violent and there are those who are easly swayed by the mob herd mentality, who would do with others what they woould never do alone. We need to educate all people as Dr. King was attempting to educate black people that rioting is not only NOT the answer but a display of chaotic insanity. We wonder why our first responders, police force and other public servants have backed away somewhat. Rioting is the answer. When a spirit of violence blows across a land, people will cast aside moral restraint and common sence and use any reason of disagreement to bring disorder, chaos, and civil unrest. This is America folks, the land of the free and the brave. Let us not misuse those blood-bought traits to do injustice and lawlessness and then say we had a right to do it. Freedom abused is bondage. We have been taking about how and why we should cast our cares upon the Lord. The key to walking a life of peace is having a life of faith. Everything we do needs to be "in faith." Even the things we have done naturally in our own strength and we could now do blind-folded. We don't need faith to do them, we need faith so that the Father gets the glory in it. I don't need faith to comb my hair by I need faith to please the Father and give Him the glory.
Once I practice this in the small things that don't seem to matter it will be easier to stand in faith when the big issues or the crisis comes. We are out on a limb in big trouble if we get in the habit of trying to exercise faith only when we are in a crisis and place of extreme need. It is like telling the Father that we can handle this thing called life on our own and we will call on Him when we need Him. This is definitely not a life of faith. Hebrews 4:2 ESV For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. PRAYER KEY: God knows and understands our current need and our current position better then we do: Our Father knows what we need before we ask. But we are still supposed to ask in faith. The cares of life are heavy. It is Scriptural to pray for strength while in trials, but it is unscriptural to pray for grace and strength to carry your load or cares. I have heard people pray this "Lord, give me strength to carry this burden I have been given." The Lord told us that we are to take His yoke upon us and that His burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 ESV Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." PRAYER KEY: The Bible is God speaking to us. We can and should cast all our cares upon the Lord because He cares for us affectionately. The Father watches over His Word to accomplish it. Jeremiah 1:12 ESV Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it." Do you need a good word from the Lord today? Then read your Bible and find out what God says about your situation. Ask the Lord to remind you to stand in the position of faith throughout the day. We, as believers, choose to present to the Lord a heart that says “AMEN” at the beginning of each day. An AMEN heart is one that says yes to the Father no matter what He says. We will present a “So be it” and an “I’ll do it” heart to the Father so that we can hear the voice of the Father.
The Laodicean Church: I’m going to begin with some “WE MAY” statements. We may very well be the last generation of human culture and life as we know it. We may be approaching what is known as the end of the age. We may, as the body of Christ worldwide, seem to be manifesting some of the the traits of the Laodicean Church spoken of in Revelation 3:14-22. What if these statements are true? What if the Church is manifesting the signs as if she were that Laodicean church, that end of the age church, that last generation church? What our Lord Jesus sees! Revelation 3:13-16 ESV He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.' (14) "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. (15) "'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! (16) So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. How the church sees herself! Revelation 3:17 ESV For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Command from our Lord: Revelation 3:18 ESV I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Invitation from our Lord: Revelation 3:19-20 ESV Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. (20) Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Reward from our Lord: Revelation 3:21-22 ESV The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. (22) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" It is my intent to share with all of us from the Word of God in such a way that we can determine where we are in our Christian life. It is the belief that the Word going forth has to do with a woman who wants to make herself ready for the return of the Lord. If this is the end of the age then there are really two things evident from the Word of God happening at the same time. First we will see a portion of the Church making herself ready for the Lords return. Secondly we will see a portion of the Church so deceived that she does not even know where she is or who she is. Which portion are we a part of? Actually we can't answer that question now can we? If we knew that we were deceived we would do something about it. We can only know truth if we have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying. We all know this passage of Scripture from Psalms 37.
Psalms 37:4-7 ESV Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (5) Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. (6) He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. (7) Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! The word “commit” in Psalms 37:5 means “to roll.” We are to roll our way on the Lord. We need to obey the Word of God if we expect results in both the spiritual and physical realms. Would you like for me to pray for you? Do you expect me to come in agreement about what you need prayer for. Well the most common answer to those questions would be yes. And I would want you to pray for me and come in agreement with me concerning my prayer request. Someone might come up to you with an unspoken prayer request. They will say, “The Lord knows my prayer request.” You should tell that person “Then leave the request with the Lord.” This is not being mean or hateful. If we are going to pray for people we need to know what they are praying for. How can I come in agreement unless I know what they are praying for? They might be praying worry, fret, and fear. You don’t want to come into agreement with that. We know that in our daily needs we already have a promise and our prayer should be one of thanksgiving, even if we do not see the reality of our need. Matthew 6:31-34 ESV Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' (32) For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. (33) But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (34) "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Luke 12:22-26 ESV And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. (23) For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. (24) Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! (25) And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? (26) If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? There have been many times when I have preached that worry is a sin and someone would come up to me and say, “Oh pastor, I don’t have worry, I have Godly concern.” It is amazing how we can rename things like our emotions in order to justify our faithlessness towards God’s Word. Worry is a sin and it does reveal a lack of faith and trust in God and His Word. Therefore, it will affect our payer life tremendously. Hearing the voice of the Father is by far the most important communication we will ever have, therefore it is vital when we hear a voice that we know who it is that is speaking. I have had the unfortunate experience of acting when I was sure that I was hearing the voice of God only to find out later that I was listening to “other voices.”
When we talk about hearing the voice of the Father we need to know there are other voices in competition for our attention. In fact over the course of our childhood we have been conditioned to listen to the other voices. We have to train our ear to learn to hear the Father’s voice. One of the biggest problems is NOT the hearing of voices, but distinguishing which voice is speaking. In order to hear the voice of the Father we need to shut out or quiet the other voices that are screaming for our attention. What or who is the source of those other voices that bombard our soul, the inner man, both in our waking and sleeping hours. That is right, we have voices in our sleeping hours also. This is our dream state. We are warned in the Word of God to be careful how we hear and to what we hear. We know that the Word of God teaches us that words carry life or death, and blessing or cursing. Therefore we are warned to take heed and pay attention to what we hear. Mark 4:23-24 ESV If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." (24) And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. Luke 8:18 ESV Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away." Hebrews 2:1 ESV Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. It is nothing new when I state that Christians undergo trials and are sometimes afflicted, brokenhearted, crushed, and depressed. We just want peace. How does God our heavenly Father respond to us in these times?
Psalms 34:18-19 ESV The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (19) Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. The Lord knows the afflictions and trials of the believers and the Lord’s deliverance is ready for those who ask and surrender the cares upon Him. If we want deliverance we need to know that it does not come by our telling the Lord what He already knows. He knows we are hurting. It is not enough for us to know that God knows, understands, and cares for us. We must do what His Word tells us to do. Every distraction that keeps us from walking in the rest and peace of the Lord needs to be cast or thrown upon Him. Philippians 4:6-7 ESV do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 1 Peter 5:7 ESV casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. The things we fear and fret over nullify our prayers. We need to turn them over to the Lord. The Greek in 1 Peter 5:7 actually says to cast or throw them to the Lord. How do we know if we have turned these things over to the Lord? If we have fear and worry then the Lord does not have it because we have not given it over to the Lord by faith. If the Lord has received your frets, fears, and worries then you no longer have them. When we still have the frets, fears, and worries and are anxious we are trying to figure out a solution to the problem. God does not need to figure out a solution to a problem. If you can’t sleep or eat because of the constant thoughts of the cares then they have not been committed to the Lord, no matter how long or hard you have prayed. When we really, by faith, cast our cares upon the Lord it is a done deal. We don’t have to do the same ones over and over again. The world would like to tell us that we are who we are in our physical body. The commercials draw our appetite towards fulfilling the desires of the soul. However, the Word of God teaches us that our spirit is who we really are. Our soul is being transformed daily as we walk with the Lord. So, we are a SPIRIT, we have a SOUL, and we dwell in a BODY.
From the spirit realm God created the natural realm. The Spirit realm has always existed with the Father. But the natural realm had a beginning and has an end. When God spoke from the realm of the Spirit things came about in the natural. He spoke and bam, there it was. He spoke and things were created. The key is that God spoke. He made man and then He breathed the life of Himself into man. Because we are spirit that has a soul and live in a body we can operate in the spiritual realm. Living in the spiritual realm means that we can know what God knows. Acts 17:28 ESV for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.' The Words we speak have power. We are spirit as God is Spirit and we are called to walk in dominion whereby God will back us up. But who are we listening to? Are we still living out of the past life of hurt and rejection or are we living in the new life of the spirit as a child of God? We can speak and declare. Are we listening from our flesh because it hurts? Are we living in the lies of our forefathers? Declaration as a Spirit-filled person: I am a spirit, I have a soul, I live in a body, I am walking in dominion over my circumstances, I am righteous, God rules in my life, I speak what He speaks, and I declare what He declares. Because I have His Spirit I can know His mind. We all have done things in our past that if we allow ourselves we would feel regret and shame and use our past mistakes as an excuse for neglecting present service. What if you were Moses? We speak about the great signs and miracles. We teach our kids about the burning bush experience. We marvel about what it must have been like on that mountain with God receiving the Ten Commandments and seeing the Glory of God walk by. It would seem that Moses' life was filled with wonder and awe-gazing encounters with the Creator of the universe.
However, what about Moses' past? Do you think that any of it was on his mind when he stood at the burning bush and God was speaking to him? Do you think that he felt a little hypocritical when he watched God write the Ten Commandments on a stone? Especially the Commandment, "thou shalt not murder." After all, Moses went from second in command, only to the Pharaoh's son, to running for his life for murder. He was burdened because of the way the Hebrew men were being abused so he started his own ministry. It was called the "dead Egyptian in the sand" ministry. Moses was guilty of murder. Don’t you know that the memory of the Egyptian abusing the Hebrew slaves weighed heavy on his mind during these mighty encounters with God. The fact that he was a "wanted man" in Egypt for murder weighted heavy on him. We are not certain that Moses knew the horrible conditions the Hebrew people in Egypt had fallen into over the forty years of his absence while he hid in the desert. But we know one thing, God saw and God had not forgotten His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for the Hebrew children. The same is true in these days in which we live. No matter how crazy the world gets and no matter how much persecution falls on God’s people, we know that God sees and God remembers His promises. The New Testament is filled with great promises that have yet to be fulfilled, but they will be. The Father is raising up leaders likened unto Moses who may have a weighted past. The Father has been placing them in the SEPARATION & PREPARATION stage in the wilderness place for years and is ready for a divine revelation of these leaders. I will repeat an aged old saying that I feel we need to be reminded of. In our modern world we train Pastors for four years in order to minister for forty years. In the Old Testament and in the New Testament it seems that they were trained for forty years to ministry for four years. We have lost the importance of a lifestyle of the SEPARATION & PREPARATION process so that when God calls us we do not use our past mistakes for present excuses. God uses people who have a soiled past. The key...learn to ask and receive forgiveness and live in the present and not in the past. Exodus 2:23-25 ESV During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. (24) And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. (25) God saw the people of Israel—and God knew. Exodus 3:1 ESV Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Hebrews 11:27-29 ESV By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. (28) By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. (29) By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. The word "intentional" seems to be the "buzz" word among the church lately. Therefore we should know what it really means. It is doing something that is deliberate, calculated, conscious, intended, planned, meant, studied, knowing, willful, purposeful, premeditated, preplanned, and preconceived.
I can only imagine: Can we wrap our minds around true worship that was intentional? In worship I am not speaking about music of any kind, because that is praise. I am speaking about bowing the head, the body, getting on one's knees, or laying down flat before the Lord. Intentional means that It was already deep seeded in the heart to do this, and not being caught up in the moment of the crowd and moved into something by emotion. God is always interested in the heart of man, especially the intentional heart. In the Old and New Testaments the men came from all over the land to the temple three times a year. Many would walk a hundred miles to get to the temple in Jerusalem. Imagine what they told their sons along the way about God and the privilege to come to the temple and give into the kingdom for all God’s rich blessings. Imagine, if we had a year, a month, a week, to think about and prepare our heart for intentional worship to God our Father. Oops, sorry, we do. We need to intentionally do it. Worship: A physical position of bowing the head, the body, the knees or laying flat on the floor before the Creator of heavens and earth. Worship is a mandate robbed from the church because we renamed it to mean a music team, a musical song, or the music time. These are all acts of praise, and does not relieve us of our responsibility of worshipping in Spirit and truth. |
AuthorCharles Morris. Founder and Senior Pastor of RSI Ministry, RSI School of Ministry, and RSI Publishing L.L.C.. Archives
March 2021
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