A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR OUR LIFE
PART 43
THAT PERSON IN THE MIRROR

When is the last time you have pondered deeply about your relationship with God? We do not hesitate to stay organized and take inventory of our material possessions because we consider this a wise investment of our time. Why? Because it is good to know what we have, what condition it is in and what we need in order to be more aware and prepared. We are “protecting” our investments and being a wise steward over our estate. However, for some reason, we forget about the internal warehouse of thoughts, reasons, secrets and intentions that is piled and filled with unorganized clutter, which by the way we also own. When the mind and heart is in shambles, it can distort how we think and feel about everything. We all take in so much information similar to a hoarder that collects meaningless “stuff” but cannot bear the thought of parting with it. There are places within us that often go un-touched because maybe we are unlearned about certain things or just not willing to deal with it or do not care about it. Whatever the case, the point is that all of these thoughts and attitudes have a direct influence on the way we think and the way we feel. For example, a very important “fruit” of being a disciple is to live in a state of freedom and joy but if we are entangled and cluttered with negative thoughts, stress, worry, fear and sin, we can unknowingly be dialing up our emotions while dialing down our relationship with Jesus – (our true power source). The idea behind this way of thinking is that there is only room for one chair on the throne of our heart and usually our will has his bottom glued to it! The great question of the hour; how do we cast him OFF our throne and invite Christ to take His place there? It is simple yet excruciating – we must want to do it!

I understand there are many voices trying to distract us from God’s voice and turn our eyes away from Him. We use these excuses constantly and I am not saying they are not real but the problem of this merry-go-round tug of war will never change until we stop playing hide and seek with our flesh. The person who is overweight and trying to lose some pounds has no excuse for hanging around a donut shop the same as person with a problem with lust would go to a strip club to meet some friends. The desires and addictions that we love will always have the power to control us until they become dead to us! The concept of salvation declares that the old nature dies and we become a new creation in Christ and in the symbolism of baptism, we are immersed into Jesus as we go into the grave with Him and are made ALIVE in the resurrection of a brand new life! Our Spirit goes from a hopeless condition of death to a spiritually transformed new spirit that has eternal LIFE! But now wait a minute; I thought our old “nature” was also changed. Well, the idea is that since we are now “possessed” with Christ within our heart that we would not have the old desire to sin but rather we would want to live holy as He is holy. This is true to certain point, but much of our appetite for sin is connected to just how close we want to live with God. Even though we have been given salvation by grace and are forgiven through the blood of Jesus, we ALSO have a free-will that can “elect” who we want to sit on the throne of our heart. Whoever sits on the throne of our heart is the LORD of our life.

It seems that many people have become confused with the conditions of salvation by believing that all they need to do is raise their hand and accept Christ as their Savior. This can happen if we are being drawn by the Holy Spirit after we have been convicted by God’s Word and we should be forever grateful. Those that have been truly saved should realize they have entered into progressive relationship with the Lord that agrees to humbly yield their control so that He can live through us. If we continue after we are born-again to hold on to our will, then we will live defeated and are in store for some rough discipline from our Father. If we have settled on living however we want and just settle for a religious carnival ride, we can slowly become filled with the confusion and misery of carnality. I can envision a hot air balloon that is tied down with many ropes and as each one is cut – the vessel is allowed to rise. Our deep commitment to being in control is holding us down and not allowing us to grow and develop into the higher spiritual levels where God can use us. I realize it is very difficult to let go of the steering wheel and live by faith and trusting Him to be our pilot but that is exactly His desire. This process will start with prayer and will be maintained through prayer. Without a constant Holy Communion with Him in the depths of the secret place, we will remain entombed within our rebellious cocoon.

Beware of allowing stress to twist us up in knots until we are ready to explode. When our joy has been drained, we automatically become influenced with fear and sadness. This heaviness of discouragement and depression causes us to look and sound like a lost sinner without any hope or peace. We begin to forget about praying and worshipping because life becomes more of a survival than a celebration. We still “believe” in God but instead of being an overcomer that is helping Him in His Kingdom, we can easily become a hindrance and a representative of defeat and negativity. When you look at your relationship with Jesus, what is the primary motivating factor in why you follow Him? Do you follow only as long as you get your needs met, or do you follow Him regardless of the cost? This simple question shows why most people say they are a believer (as long as it is easy) and only a few are determined to be a disciple even though the journey requires serious sacrifice. Let us turn to the book of James as we continue thinking about our need to take a personal inventory of our soul. “But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any man be a hearer of the Word, and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a glass (mirror). For he beholdeth himself, and goes his way and straightway (immediately) forgets what manner of man he was.” (James 1: 22-25) This is the condition of many hearts today. We have heard God’s Word so many times that some have become “numb” to the realization that God is speaking to them. This is because we have drifted away from His presence which has left us LESS sensitive to His voice. It does not matter how much we know – it is how much it is causing us to DO His will. Selah.

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR YOUR LIFE
PART 42
THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

There is a popular world view that has become the battle cry for those who hate to live according to the way God’s Word has demanded. The intention of these rebels is to condemn the old way of thinking and promote a “new standard” which is changing the way we think about everything in the name of “freedom.” May I say that I believe there is certainly nothing wrong with seeking and studying spiritual truth for ourselves, and there may be valuable wisdom that we learn, but at the same time there are specific absolutes that are a part of God’s wisdom that cannot be altered or compromised (no matter how intelligent we think we are). Of course we can believe whatever we want, but just because people are convinced of specific views and thoughts – that does not mean it is true. Even if the entire world decided that God and His Word cannot be a reliable source of spiritual enlightenment and perfection – it would not change the reality of absolute truth. This New Order now proclaims that if a person believes an idea is true – it is true to them, and this may be partially correct, but there is only one TRUE truth and when someone believes something that does not agree with God’s Word – it is wrong.

Many views are connected to spiritual doctrines and as we take a glimpse of some of these new “standards” that focus on outward appearance, we notice how it exposes what we really are on the inside. Our image is a visible part of who we are and is the exterior housing that “performs” our thoughts. We are quick to judge and have an opinion instantly when seeing someone because that is how our mind has been programmed. This is why we are so paranoid and sensitive to the way we look because we know that everyone who sees us is doing exactly the same thing we are doing. There is nothing wrong with making sure we are clean and to be aware that it is alright to make a good impression, but may we also be more concerned with being who God made us to be. This explains why in order to have a clear mind and peace within our conscience, we must come to terms with how we look and learn how to accept and “fall in love” with our image. Selah. I know cancer survivors that have had extensive surgeries and are sensitive to the way they look and what others may think. There are many people that are sick, overweight or think they are unattractive and they realize that everyone is noticing them. This is completely normal. The strength of being a survivor is more than just enduring the pain of loss and rehabilitation, it is the knowing within your heart that your life is not finished and that you are the same person (except now you are stronger and wiser). Life is all about allowing the perfect love and beauty of God to be released from an earthly vessel that is not perfect. For those who know God, we realize that He is passionately in love with us no matter what state we are in. If you had a flock of sheep and one of them had a limp, would you not love that one as much as the others? God is the Father of His children and loves each one more than you and I could ever love anyone. This confidence in being loved by the God who made us, fills our heart and mind with strength and hope so that we can face any trial with mountain moving faith. And what is this hope? To know that Christ has promised His people that after this brief life of “training” in this world, we will be given a NEW glorified body that is completely whole, strong and perfect! We will run and dance and sing and be filled with joy and peace forever! Allowing Him to use us in this fragile body, (whatever may happen to it) is the opportunity to demonstrate all of the attributes, fruits, gifts, character traits and attitudes of Christ. We were made to “release” HIS glory!

Being content with the way we look is not the same thing as being content with the way we are! Selah. Many can change their appearance and there are some who cannot unless they receive a miracle. Nonetheless it is the condition of the heart that we should be concentrated on because our highest responsibility to allow God to transform our “heart.” In other words, we do not need to look like a model to have the radiance of Christ shining from us, and likewise we can be strong, healthy and beautiful but be very repulsive and ugly in our personality. In this light, we must ignore the world’s standard idea of beauty and embrace God’s definition of reflecting HIS image. Though He may love each of us where we are in our journey, He is not satisfied when we have no intention or desire to continue with His metamorphous process. The flesh gets all excited when it hears the motivational speeches about how it’s OK to stay exactly like you are including bad attitudes and willful sin because the world’s concept of beauty rarely has anything to do with the “beast” on the inside. God’s idea of true beauty is a heart that is surrendered to Him and has become determined to cast down the beast of wicked thoughts and desires of carnality. Allow me to say that He is far more interested in how serious we are to yield our will and love Him with all of heart than how muscular, toned, shapely, handsome or pretty we are. Amen.

This brings us to an important question; when it comes to physical appearance, who was it that set the “standards” for what is desirable or unattractive? In other words, when we look in the mirror, who are we comparing ourselves to and why do most everyone generally agree when it comes to what looks good and what does not? We can pick up any magazine and see women and men that grace the pages with an extreme amount of confidence and the idea behind the marketing of the physical body and beauty is to cause everyone in the world to dream of the pleasures and satisfaction it would bring to look like that. I personally believe the world has been deceived by this interpretation of what is beautiful. “The Possible You” includes learning and developing in many different areas and one of them is to understand exactly what is going on behind the scenes of reality. The devil controls the “media” and uses the lights and smoke screens of pride to “influence” and SELL his services which include, peer-pressure, intimidation, depression, embarrassment, condemnation, insecurity, fear, doubt, jealousy, resentment, low self-esteem, being self-conscious and a general sense of inadequacy and shame. All of these attacks to our mind can many times be related to how we see ourselves and how we “think” others are judging and creating an image of who we are. There are several things we need to consider in order to enjoy and thrive in who we are and where we are right NOW. Amen.

First, let us settle an issue that many people have tucked away in a closet in the back of their mind. It is common to believe that if we looked more handsome or more beautiful that others would be drawn to us and we would be far more “happy.” Living the dream has many meanings but some are convinced that if they had six-pack abs, a breast enhancement, long flowing blond hair or a symmetrically proportioned body that life would be filled with opportunities and that everyone would not only be envious but would flood them with respect. Allow me to burst the bubble of this lie. The way we look on the outside has nothing to do with who we are on the inside including our level of joy and peace. There have been numerous people that for example have lost impressive amounts of weight and became the physical specimen they envisioned and guess what? They were just as miserable as they were before because technically they were still the same person – only a different version. Yes, it may open the doors to some opportunities but no one really wants people to admire them only because the “the default system” now approves them as more worthy? Worth more to whom? The world of beautiful people is just a collection of pride and arrogance that is very temporal – here today, gone tomorrow! Exercise is fine because it promotes good health but to think that becoming more “shapely” will automatically make you more valuable or loved is going to be very disappointing. In fact, it could make things worse by adding more negative attributes (like vanity) than you had before you started.

We can get into deeps waters fast when we try to figure out just who was responsible for the way we look. Many are angry with God for making them the way they are and see life through a peephole of hopelessness because again they associate the physical with who we really are. They have never received the revelation from God that the real person that God created is our spirit man that is directly connected to the spiritual realm. We must remember that God’s original creation in the Garden of Eden was perfect and the first man and woman likewise were perfect in GODS sight. When sin destroyed the perfect world it affected EVERYTHING including our DNA and opened the floodgates to diseases, deformities, immortality, and imperfections. It would be impossible to answer all the questions about “why” certain people were born with sicknesses or why so many become stricken with devastating health problems in their lives. The truth is that all of us are born under the curse of sin and are vulnerable to the random attacks of an infected environment. It is like when you plant a garden and everything looks so perfect and orderly only to find that within two weeks there are all kinds of tiny sprouts of “weeds” that just “show up.” Where do they come from? They are a part of the default system like everything else that was altered and distorted through the judgment for sin. God is sovereign and He can do whatever He wants in order to accomplish His perfect will and He can intervene in people’s lives in all sorts of ways but I would say that most “exteriors” of the human body are random consequences of an imperfect environment.

When considering what we look like and why we were made a certain way, it is wise NOT to second guess God or allow resentment to infect our heart, but rather it is how we react to the “cards” we have been dealt. Selah. Learning how to trust Him with every ounce of our being must reach a confident level of spiritual maturity because we cannot minister to anyone else until we have something to give and have the faith to do it. When it comes to our external appearance it is all about allowing the beauty of our spiritual love to become the point of “accepting” who we are. We must embrace that God does everything perfect and that He never makes a mistake! “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: MARVELOUS are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” (Psalm 139:14) This includes allowing the power of God to project and generate “through us” to the point where people sense the presence of His Spirit STRONGER than what they are noticing about our physical appearance. If we are only focused and worried about what we look like – so will everyone else! It is when we turn inward and follow His leading that He can use us more effectively than any ideas we may have had about how we look. Shame on us if we were to ever allow our appearance to stop us from serving our maker. Our outside has nothing to do with who we are on the inside! There are individuals that are ministering God’s message around the world that do not have legs or arms while healthy Christians complain that they do not have time or any interest to serve Him. (?)

I have a picture in my office of a girl that was born with no arms that is typing at a computer with a specially made instrument that she holds in her mouth. Her name is Anne Rindfleisch and her personality is very vibrant and enthusiastic and I quote what she said in the interview, “Life is what you make it. If you make it productive and happy – you’ll be happy.” It is obvious that our joy has nothing to do with what we have or what we look like. The decision to be happy in the Lord can overcome all of the doubt in the world. Do not listen to any influence that is not positive and filled with hope! Evil lies are waiting to penetrate our soul with a spirit of rejection and “faith crushing” depression but it is NOT the truth of the Lord. God always speaks the truth and in our times of prayer and communion it is His boundless love that will encourage us.

Being content with our life in God is not the same thing as being satisfied with who we are. We must realize that knowing The Lord is the greatest miracle in the universe but we have much room to improve in the areas of our mental, emotional and spiritual maturity. The world is establishing a politically established way of thinking that everyone must accept each person completely “inside and outside” WITHOUT the need to be changed by the power of God. It seems there has been a terrible misinterpretation of the old hymn “just as I am.” The intention of the song was that the sinner would recognize their hopeless condition and through the conviction of the Holy Spirit would “see” their desperate need for a Savior that can CHANGE them. True, it is God’s promise to the LOST that it does not matter what a person has done, they can come and receive Jesus Christ – just as they are. However, it does NOT mean that God and everyone in the world must embrace what you and I are if we have no intention of surrendering to the power of God’s love. We are to love everyone, but God is not tolerant of a rebellious nature that has decided to live independent from His desire to intervene and transform. Selah. This life is all about embracing the theistic view of obeying His will and submitting to His authority – (not to respect the views of humanism or anyone that teaches the opposite of His Word). This is true worship and true faith that believes everything The Lord creates is beautiful in its own way. Do not allow the devil to prevent you from knowing that you are God’s most valuable possession.

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR OUR LIFE
PART 41
SEEKING AFTER A SIGN

As many of you know, I started these weekly writings in 2009 with the first year’s theme about worship. I was a worship pastor at the time and was inspired to write about my experiences along with my studies about worship throughout the years. With those writings, I have been working to compile them in a book called, “Wonders of Worship” and it has been a grueling job to cut, tweak, edit, add, merge, separate, and organize to make it clear and presentable. In the process of putting this book together (my first), it has stirred my heart and allowed the Holy Spirit to “convict” me as well. It is no secret that I have been (I guess you could say) dis-enchanted with the church environment for many years and with His mercy and love, He has allowed me take another step of maturity and enjoy the freedom that comes from His truth. While proof reading my previous comments, I am seeing worship in a bigger picture with a deeper insight than ever before and I would like to share it with you.

I have been asking the Lord to enlighten me about His church for years and what He has told me is not exactly what I wanted to hear. Sadly, He has revealed to my heart that I have had a lot of pride and much of it has been connected with looking through a microscope instead of binoculars. Generally speaking most of the time we think we have pride under control and are convinced that the self-discipline of our conscience prevents the darkness from sneaking around in our life. But of course, as we have said before, deception is “silent but deadly” and can quietly hold us captive within our mind and heart without us even recognizing it. The danger is that it is only invisible to the one who cannot see it as this character trait of our old carnal nature is usually noticeable to everyone except the one that is in denial and is especially common in those who think they know a lot about their favorite subject and have spent much time becoming smarter than everyone else. Unfortunately, many people believe they know more than anyone else and have a difficult time listening to someone that might have a new insight that is worth considering. I have said all of this because many times even though we are highly convinced in our conclusions – things are not always the way they seem. I believe we can agree that all of us are like this to a certain point and the difference between those who continue learning God’s wisdom and those who are hindered by their rebellious attitude comes down to being open minded. In this light, we can see that pride is actually a “damn” of sorts that can prevent us from moving forward and can hold us as slaves to ignorance and blindness. It can also cause us to have a calloused conscience where we spend more time criticizing the way everyone else lives instead of having compassion and demonstrating how Jesus wants us to live. I did not mean to spend this much time about the dangers of arrogance but I certainly needed it for my own soul.

For many years I have taught and written about the church and my endless pursuing of its purpose and mission. Like most people, my studies and experiences have influenced my theological views and molded my convictions into what I believe. In my quest to find the mysteries and wonders of God’s glory in this realm, I have seen bits and pieces of His super-natural interventions and on these rare occasions my faith has been strengthened. I am convinced that we must continue to have these visions which are an internal clarity of God’s will that is given through the intimacy of seeking Him personally. Without knowing Him, we have no clue as to what He is saying or how to please Him. However, it seems that in my journey of trying to serve Him, the church has repeatedly been a place of hurt, misunderstanding, rejection and disappointment for me. I have always thought I had much to offer and had no shortage of enthusiasm or willingness to be involved, but it has been my perception of how things “should be” that has frustrated me. I realize that I am guilty of actually adding to the problems of church by thinking that I am the “judge” of how it should operate and I am realizing that if this attitude is not controlled by the conviction from the Holy Spirit, I will continue to lead discord, resentment and strife. Yes, it is common for the average church to have these difficulties but instead of making it worse, I should invest my time in trying to make it better!

My mothers, dad used to always say, “everyone else is crazy” yet through this comical expression is a serious hidden infection that can and will hinder clear thinking. While it is true that many do not comprehend truth, there are some that do and if we build walls around our reasoning, our opinions can sometimes betray us. When we refer to a specific topic, it is important to remember not to include everyone because there are usually exceptions. For example, to say the church has failed, we are saying there is not a single person that can be found faithful. If our discussion about the church is to remain intelligent, I believe we need to remember that devotion for our Lord was never expected to be huge but actually rather small. When Ephesians chapter five talks about the “glorious” church, it did not say that it would be massive because Mathew 7:14 says, “Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and FEW there be that find it.” He was emphasizing a holy, spotless bride which consists of the remnant disciples that are few and far between. Within many assemblies there may only be a handful of true disciples and as it may be true that the church as a whole has not followed God’s voice, it does not mean that everyone that attends is only a religious spectator. God invites all who hear HIS Word to respond and will save all that is His, which gives us the assurance there is and will be a band of overcomers, a victorious bride and a holy remnant that He is excited about and has lovingly called them to serve His purpose

I know the Bible teaches about groups of people that have gathered together to worship God since the beginning. There has been praise music, and leaders that teach and relay what God is saying to the people and there are tithes and offerings that were used to support the ministries and outreaches of these groups. We observe everything from the Old Testament where we see Moses and the tabernacle, the congregation of Israel, and the law of God’s Word all the way to the Pharisees, the temples, and the observance of religious ceremonies in the day of Jesus. Then after Christ we see the New Testament Christian church developing in the callings, offices and gifts of the Spirit, having meetings in the upper room and the revival at Pentecost. Then of course we read about the condition of the seven churches in the book of Revelation and all of this gives us a small insight about these assemblies of believers that were organized and observed the commands and commission of God’s will. But, I must admit that I am still confused because I have been thinking that the “church” as an organism would rise up “stronger” in the power of God and be a recognizable representation of God’s glory here on earth instead of growing weaker. When studying about the restoration of the tabernacle of David and trying to identify it, mostly what I have witnessed in my life has only been a gathering of believers that sing and talk. However, the reason why I began with mentioning about my pride is because evidently my views have been distorted by my lack of understanding. It all has to do with comprehending that the CHURCH is not the building down on the corner because that is just a practical meeting place for God’s followers. The literal CHURCH is a sold-out individual that is a member of a chosen generation and a holy nation that make up the body of Christ – the TRUE church. Like the commercial says, “everybody knows that.” But, it is amazing how many still cannot separate the church as a building from the church that is a person. Within this reality of there being few serious Christians around, mostly of the assemblies are filled with spiritual babies that have chosen not to surrender their will. Seeing this revelation, it is understandable why the mighty rushing wind does not blow through the buildings, people are not healed and delivered, or angels are not seen flying throughout the sanctuary. To make a long story short, my disappointment of not seeing the phenomena is now put in the perspective that the general church population is not abiding in the Spirit and do not have any intention to do so. AND, this lukewarm and carnal attitude explains why the “church service” is not as miraculous as God desires for it to be. In order for the manifestations of God’s glory to be revealed – Christ must be OVERFLOWING within the life of the believer. The church service is a direct reflection of the heart of the people and if they are “the walking dead” so will the church service! Allow me to say this; if we are waiting for the glory clouds, angels and lightning and thunder from God’s presence to fill the sanctuary – we are probably going to be disappointed. I am NOT losing my faith or compromising in defeat and negativity, I am just trying to see clearly what the glorious church is all about. Yes, the Lord desires to move mightily when His children meet together but He cannot manifest the literal glory of His throne in the brick building across the street when the majority of the members do not believe it and do not want it! Since we are the “temple” of the Holy Ghost, I believe this mystery is being revealed unto those that are “seekers of truth” and have become determined to give their entire life to God. These are the ones that will be used to perform miracles one moment and be martyred the next as they represent the Kingdom of God. The beauty of holiness and the perfection of His holy love WILL BE the demonstration of His presence and will be accompanied with the power and glory of the super-natural. God longs to reveal His wonders and mysteries to those who desire to see heaven on earth but it will not be with a vessel of dishonor or a conscience controlled by carnality.

I have poured out my heart to simply say that I have been expecting something that will not come the way I thought it would. This is not to say that God will not manifest Himself in meetings but I believe it will mostly be through individuals that have become refined and willing to be used as His instrument. The remnant overcomers will conquer their flesh and as they surrender the control of their will, He can fill them with the power of His Spirit. It is faith that releases God’s authority that will generate miracles for His honor and purposes. These holy expressions of love will NOT be treated as pearls before swine or a carnival side show of unexplained magic tricks, it will be done according to God’s perfect will and always an extension of His ransom of love. I have always thought the glory cloud would fill the church sanctuary and the foundations would shake like Isaiah talked about. I have heard people testify that during a worship service they saw gold dust falling from the ceiling and angels or an image of Christ that manifested above the congregation. Allow me to say, God is not against bringing healing and deliverance or showing His glory, but the problem with us “weak” humans is how the phenomena captures our attention more than instruction. I noticed with the gold dust testimony that nothing was mentioned about God’s Word or how He had convicted them to repent or change their life. All that was talked about with the meeting was the “sign.” We can clearly see with modern technology that it is taking more and more entertainment to hold people’s attention because we have a tendency to move away from discipline. Maybe in trying to see the super-natural, people like me forgot to appreciate the people and that my ministry was to intercede and love them like Jesus does. Instead of spending my time in the prayer closet learning how to live holy life and allowing God’s anointing to be a blessing to everyone, I became frustrated and critical with everyone’s failure to be holy. A good suggestion would be to not spend as much time worrying about why other people have not yielded their will, and just do what Jesus is telling us to do. May God help me to learn that I CANNOT change anyone! To even think that we could transform a congregation and set them on fire for God is arrogant. The best chance for anyone to be touched through our life is for them to see God in us! When we are living in the awareness of His presence and have allowed Him to become our Lord, people will sense the anointing and be convicted to search for His truth.

Allow me to clarify what I am saying. All of these phenomena are wonderful and God wants to do it and can perform it anywhere He wants, but I was looking in the WRONG location! Instead of coming to the service and waiting for the Shekinah cloud to fill the house, He desires to manifest His power and glory in our heart and soul all the time! If His glory is going to be revealed when we are in church – then someone who is anointed by God will release it and everyone will recognize it! You see, this is the reason why many meetings are cold and dry, He will not force His presence and I believe that many times He feels that He is not welcome. The level that He can move among us and in us comes down to how determined we are to give our life over to Him. A church assembly that is filled with carnality and lukewarmness is nothing more than a room of religious spectators “What? Know ye not that your body IS THE TEMPLE of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own.” (I Corinthians 6: 19) I am not suggesting that He cannot or will not manifest His presence in the church service, but I saying He wants to demonstrate it within US first! I did not intend to be someone who always seeks after a sign but rather wanted everyone to “SEE” His majesty and be filled with His love. The wisdom that I need to apply here is that this can still happen through the way I live – not where I go to church. “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And He left them, and departed.” (Mathew 16: 4) Everything that God is trying to do in the earth – He desires to do through His disciples. What we call church has been swallowed up by the same religious spirit that contaminated the Pharisees. Our programs and rituals cannot take the place of allowing God to possess us! Allow Him to “pour out” His Spirit in you and fill you to overflowing. Let us yield our will completely to Him so that we can be in the position to be seen as a spotless virgin bride. I have been in many services where it seemed the mission of the day was to “pump” everyone up into a state of excitement. To be honest as a leader, I learned over the years how to do this myself. In some churches where this is the accepted style, if the song leader and pastor does not perspire through their shirt and a few saints run around the sanctuary a couple of times, they have not had church! Allow me to say without offending either side of the fence, that emotion is not necessarily the anointing. I have been guilty of wanting all of the gifts of the Spirit to be activated every service and I thought I was extending my faith! I have prayed to see miracles that could not be explained along with outpourings of God’s power that would bring salvation and deliverance and was disappointed when it did not happen. I now realize it is still wonderful to have expectations – but the members will only be as anointed together as they are individually. If the people are not walking in His Spirit, the church will not be empowered. Nothing takes the place of “abiding in the vine” and it is time we understand that it is God’s presence “radiating” from within the overcomer. If you and I really want to “see” God manifest His glory, let’s fast and pray for a week while we ask Him to open the eyes of our understanding. Let’s make a decision to intercede 2 hours a day for the lost that is in our network so they might be saved by God’s grace. Mmmmm…it seems we all want the fishes and the loaves without having to personally drop our nets and follow Him. It is true that God IS and has done many awesome miracles and He had a reason for every one of them, but His utmost desire is to convict us, change us, equip us and use us as an extension of Himself. Selah.

“I am sorry Lord for all of the times I was looking for your miracles instead of looking for you. I wanted to see your power without desiring to be transformed and filled with your Spirit. Forgive me for looking for you all around me – and not within me! Your truth was there all the time and I could not see it. It was like I could not see the forest for the trees. Thank you for speaking to my heart and revealing your truth. It is so easy to become confused with deception and I pray for all Christians who are living in denial. Stir the hearts of your pastors and leaders. Convict them to fall on their face and learn from you. It is a snare trap of arrogance to think that we know it all. Help us O God, we are desperately needy for you, we love you, amen.”

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR OUR LIFE
PART 40
HOLY SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION

There are Christian leaders that are falling all around us and most of the world has come to disrespect and not trust anyone that professes Christ. Christians have portrayed the religious ideas and done a lot of talking over the years but what the world needs to see is someone who walks in the image of Jesus. Whether you and I are dwelling at this spiritual level or not, it does not mean that God’s expectation is not real or that His Word is not true! When preachers preach God’s truth and fail to live it, this does not mean that God’s commands are not expected, it is impossible to live, or that we should stop trying to follow His instructions to be holy as He is holy. It just means that many who know what to do – are not doing it! This may discourage us but it should not keep us from fulfilling what God is telling US to do! In fact it should inspire us even more to become what God has called us to be so that we can “prove” and demonstrate His authority. We will only be responsible for OUR sins and the choices WE have made which means we should spend less time judging the failures of others and be more concerned with how we are living. In discussing the difference between the believers and the disciples and with the help and wisdom of the Lord, let us continue trying to understand the way we have been living and what we need to become that we might give Him the glory He is worthy of.

I have been in many church services throughout my life. This does in no way make me an expert but it does give me some insight to compare different situations and religious style. I will be completely honest today and admit that I have been disappointed with most of them. It is not that church is conducted in a wrong way because most all assemblies have a traditional format and seem to follow a familiar agenda. For example, I recently visited a small church in my area on a Sunday morning and it was a typical service of opening prayer, two songs, a message and an alter call. Like I said, there is nothing particularly bad about a meeting like this because as some would ask; “what more do you want?” Others may be thinking another question like, “why don’t you start your own and show the world how it’s done!” I understand the attitudes and intentions of these responses and instead of trying to defend my statements, I am humbled by the thoughts and feelings within my own weaknesses and inadequacy. I am not criticizing technique, but rather intentions concerning the reason I am writing about this in the first place – the lack of God’s visible power in the church! There are tons of activities and people that can go through the motions of religious contributions but where are the miracles? Where are the obvious manifestations of His glory that was seen on a regular basis when Jesus walked the earth? I thought the church is to be His assembly of disciples that move in the power and evidence of Christ who is the healer, the deliverer and the one who can change any circumstance or situation!

It seems there is always a box filled with “excuses” why the power of God is not present in the church but rarely do we hear messages about the real reason. It is because we are all to blame and we do not want to deal with it or talk about it. To face the reality of our lack of spirituality is just too insulting to our pride. Most church members will become angry and ready to fight when someone challenges them or even insinuates that they may not be as knowledgeable or holy as they think they are. It is common to look in the mirror and feel quite confident of our Christian walk especially if we have been involved for a long time because our ego associates the idea of time spent with spiritual maturity. This is NOT the same thing! As I have said before, the time spent behind the walls of the church has very little to do with how spiritual we are. I realize this is like a foreign language to many people but it is the truth. Another thing that can also cause deception along with our collection of knowledge is how much support we have contributed toward the cause of church. Just because someone invests their time and money into a religious activity does not automatically fill them with the Holy Spirit or the attributes of Jesus. I realize it is hard to believe that a church could be filled with members and have plenty of money in the treasury yet be spiritually dead but it is not only possible – sadly it has become normal.

“Now brother, I think that all Christians are good people and all Christian churches are representing God in the earth.” If only that were true. As we have said before, the first problem is that many “members” of the local church are not members of God’s family. The wheat and tares look very similar and most of the time cannot be detected as being any different. The reason why the tares do not know they are lost is because they have nothing else to compare their life to. In other words, they themselves do not know the difference between God’s presence and their emotions because they have never experienced God personally. The second part of the problem is that the ones who are truly His children have allowed the world to pull them away from the outline of what the “real” Christian life is supposed to be. As much as my flesh loves to believe that we do not need to do anything for God, my spirit is not that dumb. We can play games of fantasy and live in an imaginary realm of fiction and deny that we are going to be held accountable for our life but God’s Word is very clear about His demands. I have thought about this for many years and I will admit that it has hindered me in my willingness to join churches, (even though I have been a member of many different types). I realize that people are the church, but the gathering together as an assembly has given me much grief. I am not saying that much of my frustrations are not caused by my own misunderstanding because I do believe this could be the case many times, but I am also convinced that God’s people (including myself) are hesitant to obligate our life to His service the way He is calling us to do.

I do not want to spend a lot of time about this because we have talked about it in the past but it is good to recall just how sensitive God is to the way we think and act as believers. I get a little enthusiastic about this passage and feel a fire within my heart when I read about the condition of a soul that has been rocked to sleep by the deception of religion. How many times will we need to be reminded that if we are not red hot – we are NOT being pleasing to God? It is not what we do or how much we do; it is being obedient to His voice within the sincere passion entwined around our intimate love for Christ! This is not a message to Mars but to the church and has always been the prophetic word of wisdom for His church. “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich; and white raiment, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness will not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye-salve, that you might see.” (Revelation 3:18) When people hear these words, usually the first thing they think of is how God spoke to this church 2000 years ago because they were blind and carnal. I personally believe that He is speaking this now to the modern church of today. He mentions GOLD that is tried in HIS fires of purity which signifies cleansing and the divine value of true holiness. He speaks of His people wearing white clothing which represents being a spot-less bride, a sanctified disciple and putting on the garment of praise, love, peace and joy. And the third point is the salve for the eyes of the heart which is a type and shadow of spiritual clarity, focus, devotion, correct priorities, worship and the faith to seek heavenly insight and wisdom to live as an overcomer. The devil is a heavy influence on those who are living comfortably in their lives as he tries to reassure our flesh that we do not really need anything. This life of pleasure and comfort can be a blessing from God but can also be a distraction from doing His will. The church world is filled with abundance and everything seems to be going wonderful just like the Laodicean assembly. However, this story was told in order that we might NOT make the same mistake and allow me to say this is devastatingly serious! “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I wish you would be one or the other. So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.” (Verse 15-16) Do you believe this means they are going to heaven? This is more than chastising because when we spit something out, we dispose of it, cast it away and it is gone forever. Let us go on. “Because you say I am rich and increased with goods, and have need nothing; yet you do not realize that spiritually you are wretched, and miserable and poor, and blind, and naked.” (Verse 17) Many of the churches today have beautiful buildings, riches, and professional programs but are empty when it comes to releasing God’s anointing and power. What good is having a service if God is not there? The reason why religion is popular is because many are trying to ease their guilt. The Pharisees did not realize that God was displeased with them and neither did these Laodicean church members. All they were concerned with was putting on a beautiful show and performing all of their programs and meetings with worldly quality and excellence. Even assemblies that do not have the resources still have become so set in their ways of ceremonies and rituals that they are not even concerned with what God really wants to do in their church – or their life!

I have always heard that worshiping God is very personal – and I do agree. Most people do not desire to show any emotion at church and heaven forbid that they would ever step out in faith and exercise a spiritual gift. One reason is because many Christians do not believe that such things exist which conveniently excuses them from even seeking to be used in this capacity. The traditional group is convinced that spiritual gifts and demonstrations have passed away and that we do not need all of the “spooky” stuff. On the other side of the spectrum, we find the highly charged emotional crowd that seems to place more emphasis on trying to produce a phenomenon than to learn how to be filled with the nature and character of Jesus. It is sad but true that many Christians really do not care whether they do anything for God or not. I can say this confidently because most of the Christians I have ever known have lived this way. Many that proclaim to follow Jesus have been taught that if you are a believer in Jesus, you are saved and guaranteed a place in heaven for all eternity. It has been widely presumed with the help of songs and sermons that mention cabins in the corner of glory or making it in by the “skin of our teeth” that it does not take much effort or sacrifice to enter into the pearly gates. I personally feel that the masses are convinced they are OK if they do nothing, the same as they will if they do a lot – so what is the motivation to surrender the will? For some reason many have accepted the concept that a person can just “believe” in God, yet live however they want, and float through life without being obedient to God’s perfect Word and they will be accepted by God with open arms and all the angels will sing “joy to the world.” God’s grace and the power of His love are awesome – but this may be stretching this reality into a dangerous fantasy. An overcomer is a disciple that has given everything in order to fulfill God’s purpose for saving them. Jesus said that if we are not an overcomer we will not be invited to be with Him around His throne. “To him that overcomes (wins the victory) will I grant to sit with Me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” (Revelation 3:21) The church sings “Victory in Jesus” but most do not understand what they singing about. Yes. It is true that Jesus won the victory but He desires and is waiting for you and me to live victoriously over our flesh and the devil by faith and courage in the Name of Jesus! If we truly have faith – where is our demonstration? Selah.

I understand that it takes time to spiritually develop and that God is patient unto those who are sincerely trying to learn and grow in Him. But our topic lately is very blunt about the possibility of being deceived in our thoughts of salvation. Disciples are believers but not all believers are disciples! We are all guilty of picking and choosing certain verses that give us peace but being saved must be studied in the entire context of God’s requirements and our accountability. His grace was not given to be used as an excuse or “free-pass” for our rebellion, but rather an opportunity to embrace His truth that we might be transformed into His holy bride. I believe that many churches are not teaching the depth of God’s Word and the masses have drifted away from the reverential fear of His holiness. We are to teach the same gospel that Paul was inspired to relay in that it is time to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, that we may be found blameless and harmless as the children of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. Many times I have felt that maybe I am expecting too much from the church services but then I begin to wonder that if our services are dry and powerless then is this not a reflection of the people’s hearts? We do not need more programs – we need a holy spiritual revolution! Yes, it is good to fellowship and make friends in church and yes it is good to feel that we are a part of a community and family of like-minded believers but what good is all of this if we are not being God’s disciple? “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and DIE, it abides alone: but if it DIES it brings forth much fruit. He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.” (John 12:24-26) Are you “dying” to be His disciple?

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR OUR LIFE
PART 39

THE BELIEVERS AND THE DISCIPLES

“Not everyone one that saith unto me (Jesus); Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; BUT HE THAT DOETH THE WILL OF MY FATHER which is in heaven.” (Mathew 7:21) This has been a puzzling statement because ministers have always pleaded to their listeners that all one needs to do in order to be saved is just call on the Lord. Evidently, salvation is not always this easy because it has much to do with the attitude of our intention. I do not believe that Christ does not give eternal life and save whosoever chooses to accept Him, but rather it must be something that is done correctly on the receiving end. This divine process is not just a small matter but could become the most devastating misunderstanding in someone’s life. For the Lord to reveal such a statement there is a definite message that He is trying to expose so that no one becomes deceived in their comprehension of what God requires in the born-again experience. There are many that have responded to an alter call but have lived as though they did not know Christ at all. I have come to the conclusion that IF we are truly saved, we will accomplish our destiny that He has planned for us because this is “doing” the will of our heavenly Father. For those who just believe that His Word is true but for some reason He never enters into their heart, it can be said that this failure to become an heir of promise is what makes the difference between being saved or lost. For example in first Corinthians we read about how important it is to have and express love and if we do NOT have God’s love within us then we do NOT have anything. This must be interpreted (as difficult as it is to admit) as not being saved and not going to heaven. In other words, we can do a lot of wonderful deeds and be a decent, friendly, giving person but if we do not have the spirit, attributes, character, fruits and nature of Christ within us – we are bankrupt, empty and lost. “Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in your name? And in your name have cast out devils? And in your name have done many wonderful works? And then I (Jesus) will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.” (Mathew 7:22-23) These leaders were literally preaching God’s Word and exercising spiritual authority over demons and yet something was terribly wrong! How could these people be lost? Obviously they thought things were one way when they were another. Somehow in the midst of their religious knowledge they missed God completely. They thought they were leading the way and doing the right things but evidently were terribly deceived and not an HEIR of the redemption bloodline.

I want to look closer at verse 23 and notice something. First, it is very interesting that Jesus said “I never knew you” because we know that God “knows” everyone whether they are saved or lost. I believe the word “know” here is much deeper than Him knowing their heart, I believe the “knew” He was referring to is connected with the bond of marriage that is associated with the deepest human intimacy. It is common within the Old Testament that the Hebrew term “knew” was used when explaining that a man and wife had made love when it was referring to a woman becoming pregnant. For example, “And Adam KNEW Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.” (Genesis 4: 1) The point I am making is how crucial it is that we enter into the holy vow of blood covenant with Christ and become sealed as a genuine creation of His grace. I am afraid that many who presume they are redeemed do not have a genuine experience of God’s presence to COMPARE with what they have come to know as an emotional religious feeling. Even reading the Bible will not automatically save us because some scholars have spent their life gathering knowledge but have never asked God to save them. A few have even spent most of their life trying to dis-prove His Word. Yes, it is wonderful to read the Bible every day because God’s Word is alive and is the power unto salvation for all who will receive it into their heart, but if the motive is for anything other than to love God more deeply and to do His will – our religion is in vain. The last part of verse 23 is another sobering statement where Jesus tells these deceived individuals to leave His presence which I cannot imagine such a sense of failure and discouragement. But to even go further, we notice that He condemns and accuses them of being involved in sin. Not only is He rejecting them on the grounds of not being born-again, but He is actually declaring that they were entangled with darkness and being driven with a carnal imagination. One idea is that maybe they were working in the “name of God” to promote their own popularity or financial gain. Maybe they were caught up in the praises and glory from others and were puffed up with pride from being successful. Whatever the reasons that caused them to be insincere the question we must ask is that whether or not a person within their conscience actually knows deep down if they believe that what they are doing is true? To answer our question we can see that after death and even in the judgment these souls are still trying to argue and justify their actions. As Lucifer was deceived while working for God in heaven, we can tremble with reverential fear as we also observe the power of deception within those who live their life in the arrogant, aggressive blindness of religion. “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1: 21)

When The Son of God walked the earth, He had large crowds that followed Him. We know that He was a perfect teacher, made provisions for their needs and performed some of the greatest miracles ever seen. However, allow me to ask you a question; were all of these witnesses His disciples? I believe we can safely say the answer is no. Why? Because discipleship is much more than watching or knowing about someone! There are reasons why people are committed and likewise why they do NOT care about things and we can generally agree that most of the individuals that listened and observed Christ were curious as a “spectator” the same way we would be if an evangelist came to our church. There is no doubt they felt and witnessed the power of God but at the end of the day most of them went home and carried on with their normal routines. I say “most” because I do believe there were some that not only understood His message but actually responded to it. The ones who received Christ as their Lord were eternally changed and I am convinced they devoted their lives to His gospel but there were others that were just not willing to follow His message all the way. I must emphasize the noticeable difference between someone who believes in Christ – and someone who abides in Christ – the same is true with those who know what the Word says and those who believe it enough to obey it! Selah. In the parable of the sower we see that God’s Word is not always guaranteed to germinate. It is alive and able to grow but will not “force” itself – it depends on the condition of the heart and mind and to be more specific, the willingness of the person to “allow” it to grow. The amount of our independence that we are willing to surrender has a direct influence on how much of God’s Word we will allow to develop within our life. The “good ground” is a heart that has decided to “drop their nets” and follow Jesus. Just what does this mean? How can I stop living and start following Jesus? We have it wrong. He is not asking anyone to stop living – He is waiting for someone who desires to “start” living. Selah. Let us continue.

Many people would think the idea of there being a difference in a believer and a disciple would be silly. The masses generally think that “you’re OK, I’m OK” in God’s sight and that most everyone that lives a decent life will make it to heaven. The character of God has been correctly portrayed as someone who is filled with love and mercy and most humans have developed unmentioned security that takes for granted the concept of God being very understanding and lenient. I was trying to explain to someone the other day about how simple it is to ask Jesus into our heart but at the same time emphasizing the monumental, life-changing effect this will have on the individual. This person said they felt the “pulling” on their conscience (which I knew was the Holy Spirit convicting them) but in all honesty this person was not warming up to the idea of surrendering their will. They believed that God was going to take all of the good things in their life into consideration and that in the end they were convinced that everything would be OK. The plan was to “by-pass” the event of Calvary and just operate on the points or grading system of deeds. Of course we know that no matter how intelligent or business minded we are, there are no special deals with God. In fact, when we meet with God especially within the salvation process, we must not treat Him like He is just another man. God is so magnificent and holy that He demands respect! If we try to bargain with Him or think that we are somehow deceiving Him, He will move away quietly and not respond at all. Being saved is not what many people think it is and sadly this is why many who believe they are God’s children are not. We respond to Him in brokenness and humility AFTER He has approached us. “We love Him because He first loved us.” (I John 4:19) If He did not go after us with His gospel, we would never give Him the time of day. “No man can come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me DRAW HIM: and I will Raise him up at the last day.” (John: 6: 44) If someone is under conviction it is not just because another human relayed the message of God to them – it is because the super-natural power of the Lord pierced their heart and is knocking on the door of their soul. When someone opens the door of their life and welcomes Christ in to become their Lord and Savior, God literally comes in to live within them and become a permanent resident that controls, directs, leads, influences, disciplines, blesses, fills and empowers them as His disciple according to His Word and His perfect will. There is a huge difference between a believer and a disciple that is possessed! Selah.

The devil believes in God and knows that God is who He says He is. Satan knows God’s Word and is very familiar with all of the stories, doctrines and teachings because he was literally there with every one of them. I am saying today that memorizing Bible verses and hanging them on our wall will not save us! Going to church will not save us! Giving to the poor will not save us! Being a good spouse and a good parent will not save us! The Pharisees memorized entire books of the Bible and did not know God at all. Look at the masses of people today who rub their rosary beads or the millions that bow down toward the east and pray 7 times per day thinking that God will accept their ideas and rituals. If a religious act or ceremony could redeem our soul – then why did Jesus die on the cross? What about the differences between Christians that pray and worship God daily in Spirit and truth and others that have never studied, witnessed or prayed? Allow me to ask, in your views of Christianity, do you still feel there is a difference between the talkers and the walkers or are you persuaded that all “believers” are the same?

I realize that when we are discussing about people becoming “born-again” that we are referring to individuals that are being born into God’s family. I know that in the natural realm, whenever a child is conceived there is nothing that can happen which would cause that baby to NOT be the child of that mother and I am not sure if there would be anything to “reverse” this blood-line when it comes to the spiritual dimension either. I realize that many believe our salvation and “right-standing” with God depends on what we do and I can agree to some extent that our obedience is connected to our awareness. But, thank God He replaces our righteousness with His righteousness and makes us acceptable through the grace of His blood. Our righteousness is like filthy rags as we cannot redeem ourselves! Only the blood of Jesus can be sprinkled on the mercy seat and has the power and authority to forgive our sin. It is not my intent with this message to discuss “once saved always saved” but I can confirm my positive views about eternal security. I believe that IF we are abiding in His Spirit, there is nothing or no one that can “steal us” or change our spiritual identification. It seems that it is not so much as someone “losing” their salvation as much as it is they never had it! For example, we see another clear verse to help us understand the difference between someone that is radically in love with God and those who just think they are. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (I John 2:15) The key word here is “love” and is connected to worship like unto an idol. It is alright to have material things but it is wrong to fall in love with them and allow them to control us. The remnant disciples of God are learning to let go of this world and to embrace Jesus and Him alone. In conclusion, for those who say they are God’s children yet live like the heathen, I am convinced these souls are deceived and probably lost. Since their spiritual eyes have never been opened they cannot discern what they have never had. Selah. Deception is difficult enough for those who have been enlightened but for those who are still walking in dark, it is a case of just not recognizing the difference. Amen.

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR OUR LIFE
PART 38
LIVING FOR CHRIST MUST BECOME PERSONAL

The remnant that lives in a state of seriousness for God discovers through time that maturing in Christ is a process that helps us understand what life is all about. The phases and levels of learning to know God and to learn about human behavior can hardly be grasped by the young novice. The spiritual life can be seen as an interstate highway that leads us to a specific destination. There are blessings that can be found in the “rest areas” but there can also be the dangerous temptation to build our home there. As we have said before, each person is a unique individual and this includes their own measurement of wisdom and spiritual containment. As God used the expression of being filled with His Spirit, the concept can be realized that if our heart is like a container there are endless percentages of amounts stored within our mind and conscience. There seems to be no limit to how much we can absorb and this encouragement to continue being filled also allows us to notice that possibly we can likewise lose some of His presence if we discontinue the filling process. In this light we can see how crucial it is to not only press toward the mark of becoming filled with Him – but also to STAY filled. “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be FILLED with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” (Ephesians 5: 18-21) Allow us to continue with looking more carefully at this passage.

When Paul preaches to be “filled” with the Spirit, he is referring to the Holy Spirit and in accordance to God’s Word this is not an option. The Bible is not a book of suggestions but rather a daily instruction manual about how to become what Christ died for us to be. The reason why most people live in a state of lukewarm spiritual mediocrity is because they refuse to obey God’s demands and commands. These verses begin with comparing alcohol consumption and the “feelings” of intoxication with being filled with God’s presence and the overwhelming joy this brings us. He goes on to reveal the secrets of how we can encourage ourselves by confessing God’s Word out loud and worshipping Him in Spirit and truth. We notice that he is trying to explain to us that we do not need to wait on someone else to sing or preach – we must take the initiative to approach God on our own. Why? Because our relationship is not based on a public service or corporate meeting, it is grounded on the intimacy of PERSONAL love and adoration. Without this personal relationship with Him there is no being “filled” with Him and without His anointing and power He is not able to use us to accomplish His will. Paul concludes with the importance of being grateful to God which is connected with humility and meekness and this provides the attitude that allows us to be submissive not only to the Father but also to one another in the reverential fear of God. All of this (which is Christian living) can only happen when we desire to be emptied of self and filled with His Spirit.

No one can take God seriously while also being absorbed with their own life. Selah. This time it is not Paul speaking but Jesus Himself, “No man can serve two masters: either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Mathew 6: 24) There are only two masters in this life – God and our will. There are many idols that are associated with the devil but even Satan himself can only become our master if our will allows him to be. This verse is specifically referring to money and materialism but definitely not being limited as the only other “master.” Most people do not think of what they love as having anything to do with serving something or someone. This is because they fail to remember that the external temptations and idols of this life are not really what is causing us to become a servant – it is our will that is the true captain of our ship. Until we allow Christ to govern every part of our being, it is our will that is the commander and chief executive officer of our life. All of the other lust and desires that capture our attention are only entertaining our rebellious nature. The truth that most people do not consider is that until the Christian life becomes “ultimately” personal there will be very little spiritual transformation!

I want us to go deeper into this thought of Christ becoming personal and I would like for us to turn to John the nineteenth chapter. In this section we read about the exchanges between Jesus and Pilate, the crucifixion of Christ and eventually his death. In verses 25 through 27 we notice that His mother Mary did not run away but rather bravely is seen standing by the cross in the emotional trauma of agony while watching her innocent child be tortured. I want us to think for a minute about just how PERSONAL this event was for the mother of Jesus. Everything she had experienced and seen in the past 33 years was beyond human understanding as she had been so blessed to have been chosen to give birth to the Son of God. She had been completely convinced in her mind, heart and spirit that Jesus was God and there were so many miracles that proved who He was she could hardly remember them all. Her life was NEVER THE SAME after she “conceived” and began to carry Jesus as He became and remained the “center” of her being. Do you see where I am going with this? Only when we become filled with God and He becomes the focus of our existence can we “give birth” to Him! He cannot be expressed or released within us until we are overflowing with Him! He did not grow inside of Mary to remain hidden within her – He came to be a ransom for sin and to be launched into the world to do His Fathers will. Likewise, salvation is not for us to have Him live within us and remain hidden because of our fear and lack of faith but His desire is for us to be FILLED to the point of overflowing with His presence so that THROUGH US He might accomplish not OUR will but HIS will!

After Jesus died, was buried and rose again, I want us to continue thinking about His mother and His disciples. We notice in today’s world when something tragic happens to a child that sometimes the mothers will turn to the legal system or even congress to try and pass a law that will promote awareness or might prevent a crisis from happening with another child. Why is this? Because the mother has taken the event so personal that it is ALL she can think about. Those who are directly affected by tragedy do not take what happened lightly neither does the impact of the reality fade away quietly. When the mother of Jesus went back to the routine of everyday life after Jesus eventually went back to heaven, do you believe she just stopped talking about God’s plan of saving mankind? Do you think her memories were that Jesus was just a good kid that was passionate about religion? Definitely not! She was CONSUMED with God’s plan of salvation and was POSSESED with His divine truth that she knew was real and the cure to redeem all those who would believe. Yes, of course she was a fanatic and I’m sure she could hardly think of anything else but my question is; why are we not the same way? For one reason, we do not think about what happened to Jesus in the same personal way she did. He was not our child but was someone else’s the same way we do not feel the deep sorrow when we see those mothers on TV pleading their case before the world. It is because these are not our children and these problems do not directly affect us. We are not dealing with these specific difficulties so we are not as concerned or interested. However, for example if our teenager was killed by a drunk driver we would want to speak with the president of the United States to see if he could do something about how to “fix” this from happening again as an honor to the innocent one who tragically lost their life. It seems that Christianity has become a sleepy addition to our already hectic lifestyle and instead of us being fervently passionate about Jesus and the burden for souls, we are intimidated and embarrassed to be an aggressive messenger of His gospel. It would seem that if God lived inside of us, and we had the opportunity to release Him to the world, this would be the most ultimate PERSONAL experience and “mission” anyone could have! There is no doubt our will is so strong and dominating that it has threatened us to keep this “extremist” business under strict control. Another question is; will we ever become so determined to be a radical Christian that we discipline our will into submission? Do we really desire to be “led” by His Holy Spirit or is this just a religious thing to say that makes us seem spiritual?

I have been noticing lately how that many companies are using graphic skins on their vehicles. These computer images are pretty awesome advertisements and supposedly do not damage the finish on the paint. I have been considering having it done to my vehicle with a theme of the crucifixion and have actually mentioned it lately to a few people I know. The response so far has been surprisingly negative because they would not want everyone staring at them. I thought that it had the potential to reach out to thousands of people and possibly could be used as a powerful witness that could bring conviction and salvation to those who see it. I am surprised that I have not seen anything like this already and evidently it is because of the same reasons. We do not feel ashamed to wear a shirt with our church name on it or even our seminary where we went to school or even a cross around our neck. Many people place small bumper stickers or emblems on the back of their vehicles that contain spiritual messages however, I guess that covering your car completely with the gospel would be a little “extreme” but is that not what we have been called to be? How much courage would it take for someone to stand on the corner of the street with their Bible and begin to share the gospel? Now brother, people would think you have lost your mind! Do you not have any pride or concern about your integrity and are you not caring that people will laugh and make fun of you? Oh, I get it, we are embarrassed to be seen being a fool for God. We are afraid that people will not respect us anymore because they will think we are an out of control, unstable, weird, scary, religious extremist. I realize that we do not really need to do anything to show that we are Christians except to actually live like one, but it does make you think about just how much more we could do to tell the world about Jesus. I have mentioned this before, but what if we knew Jesus we coming this Friday, would we do anything more than we would normally do? Jesus knew what His mission was and He also knew the condition of the world. He did not have any time to waste and realized that the more He preached and performed miracles the more people would be able to know God. This is why He taught on the hillsides and from the boats that were docked on the shore. He was completely absorbed with His mission and did not care what people thought of Him. He was never intimidated and did not allow the mocking unbelievers to scare Him away or prevent Him from doing His Fathers will. This has caused me to wonder just how far we are willing to go with our witness. Are we a person who thinks that having a cross on our keychain is pushing the envelope or are we building courage to become a “sold-out” radical that lets go of everything and gives their life completely to God?

Have you ever been driving down the road and saw an individual carrying a large wooden cross? A couple of times in my life I have actually seen someone doing this and I have to admit I was awestruck. As I drove by my heart was pierced with emotion and in my shock I was immediately reminded of Christ and convicted that I did not have the courage to do something like this. So what causes someone to build a large cross, put it on their shoulder and begin to carry it through town? It’s simple; Jesus has become so personal to this person that the burden for souls has become a “life-changing” revelation. There are levels of desire and concern and when our love becomes a burning passion WE WILL do something out of the ordinary! It is NOT knowledge that causes us to become a radical disciple – it is being set on fire! We are supposed to be a “peculiar” people and I believe that includes willing to be a fool for God and not caring about our reputation but more concerned about being a representative!

When we draw from the wells of our soul, we tap into the deepest most “personal” places of our being. Within each human conscience there are rooms and closets of secret compartments which hold thoughts that many times are never revealed or exposed. It is in these chambers of our mind that we come to terms with what we believe is true and allow our trust and love to be developed. It is in these hallowed halls of intimacy that God desires to have access and to bring His penetrating light of truth. Our heavenly Father does have an agenda and that is to literally possess us. If we can ever become determined to harness our free-will and allow Him to set-up His Kingdom within us, He can freely take control and complete His will through us. This can only happen when we become tenacious to please Him and become saturated with love for Him. The definition of tenacious is; “Steady persistence in a course of action, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles or discouragement. Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” “Lord, give us passion to become tenacious for you, amen.”

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR OUR LIFE
PART 37
ARE WE RUNNING TO JESUS – OR AWAY FROM HIM?

People avoid God simply because they are afraid to be His presence. Somewhere deep down in our human psyche we realize we are spiritually naked. When the light shines into the darkness, the dark does not extinguish the light but rather runs and hides and the same is true with the spirit that has not been transformed by the love of God. This running “instinct” recognizes our submission to God’s will as a type of “raining on our parade” and is a built-in protection mechanism that is connected to our enmity toward Him. This means that our default nature hates God and anything to do with His Word, His Kingdom and His people. Our flesh is married to our free-will and together they love the freedom of doing whatever feels good. No matter how spiritually knowledgeable, the sub-conscience realizes that in order to submit to God’s standard of living, it will require the abandonment of our carnal independence. To say the least, this fleshly freedom is “precious” to the joys of our freedom and the rebellious way of living intentionally chooses to remain as the captain that makes all the decisions. To remain in control, the carnal will fights constantly to run away from God’s power that can save us from ourselves.

There are two types of people in this world; those who are running away from God and those who are running toward him (and there seems to be no in-between). Of course the lost are running away from Him because just the mention of His Name causes them to “cringe” with anxiety and guilt. Also (unfortunately), there are multitudes of the saved that have allowed their old nature to overpower their new spirit and are also living in the shame of fear and weakness. These “backsliders” have allowed their will to pull them BACK into their old habits and be enticed to become entangled in their old temptations. The Lord has a great measure of mercy toward everyone including these wayward souls and only He can know the details of how He will deal with them. Whatever the situation with individuals that tend to avoid God at all cost, we can be sure that deception always plays a huge part as it desperately attempts to “maintain” our blind arrogance which justifies the conscience with feelings of false security. Sadly, since most people have always lived exactly the way they want, we can see clearly how the un-renewed mind can become “spoiled” in its way of doing things and even Jesus cannot make them change. While speaking about living however we want, most have never quite realized that this is not an amusing game that we can take or leave but rather it is a very deep problem that may determine where we end up in eternity. I think we can be fairly sure that if we live exactly the way we want in this life that we will not be included on heavens guest list because this would be contrary to God’s idea of Jesus being our Lord. May I include, there are many that have never considered just how aggressive the human will can be when it is fighting to keep its position as chief operating officer. The throne of our heart is a very heavily guarded palace and king self is prepared to fight to the death! Selah. Many have been taught that spiritual warfare is the battle against the devil and I am not saying that He is not an opponent against God and His saints but he is not to be given the level of focus the will needs to have. Satan may roam as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, but the will already has an oval office in the west wing of our conscience! The devil is on the outside looking in but the will is already on the inside and up and running “smoothly.” We must realize that the devil is an influencer and specializes in whispering secrets to the will so that the will might accept his ideas. Some believe that we cannot control our thoughts but this a philosophical view that is used as an excuse to do whatever we want. It is NOT the devil that “makes” anyone do bad things but rather they must be accepted by the will and then the will gives orders to the body to carry out the desire. For example, can the devil “make” you be discouraged and sad? No, but he can sure pound you with negative thoughts that drains your joy and can cause you to forget the truth of how much God loves you. Can Satan “make” you a nasty person that no one wants to be around? No, but he can whisper lies into your ear about how everyone is against you, how that people are just using you and taking advantage of you and really do not care about you until you begin to believe and accept it. If these deceptions are embraced it can cause anyone to become paranoid, offensive, angry, hurt and many other negative emotions that can distort who we are and change us for the worse. On the flip-side, the intention of salvation and the indwelling presence of God within our heart were to also be a steady influence within our mind and conscience. Those who become born-again are to listen to God’s voice and respond with obedience. This is a brief glimpse of the “battle” within our conscience to either follow the plans of Jesus or obey the desires of our own will.

This teaching once again is getting ready to turn more intense. It is not condemnation to our spirit but it is spiritually convicting to our will and flesh. Allow me to say, we do NOT have time to talk about religious patty-cake issues that cause us to continue in our apathy and sleepiness. Radical faith is all that we have time for in this last hour because it is where the rubber meets the road within our Christian life. Radical faith is the way Jesus walked and the message He taught! The cost of “cross bearing” has a direct impact on everything we say and do and for anyone to have anything negative to say about this lifestyle it reveals exactly how they feel about Christ Himself. We, (as ministers of HIS gospel) are not “creating” a philosophy of Christian living – we are MESSENGERS trying to relay God’s Word. No one’s flesh wants to submit their will to God, but unless we do our Christian life cannot be what God intended for it to be. If He was totally satisfied with a normal religious life, why did He so harshly condemn the Pharisees? They were absorbed with a legalistic knowledge of God instead of a personal relationship with Him which did not include submitting their will to Him. We can try to analyze how we think things should be but it has no bearing on how things really are. Selah. We will not be given partial or extra credit for coming up with our own ideas about the Lord or being an innovative thinker that pioneers our own religious path. God has a certain way that He has established and it is our obedience to His way that makes all the difference. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then I (Jesus) will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Mathew 7:22-23) What in the world does this mean? “That day” is referring to the judgment where everyone will stand before God and it is clear that many who spent much time doing religious works will be shocked to discover that they were tragically deceived. If we continue reading in the context of this passage, the Lord goes on to describe how crucially important it is to KNOW God. Sadly, many are convinced they are saved and become involved with many deeds and works (like the Pharisees) yet have never experienced Christ personally. If this example of deception does not cause us to tremble and be sober about our salvation then what will? People who float through life and think that we can just do the best we can and everything will be alright – do NOT understand reverential fear. The TRUE Christian life is radical faith but a meaningless, emotional, religious life accepts just enough of God’s knowledge to ease the conscience! The masses are confused; if Jesus is NOT sitting on the throne of our heart – He is NOT our Lord. If He is NOT our Lord – then what is He to us? Selah.

Radical faith separates the genuine from the pretenders! So, what exactly are we talking about? Radical faith is a result of finally surrendering our heart to God and laying our will at His feet. This abandoning of our life and embracing HIS new life, is why Jesus died and rose again. Oh I am sure that all of us would rather hear messages about all of the good things God has for us but it is only within the context of the surrendered life. Humans love the idea of getting something without having to pay for it and when they hear that Jesus was crucified so they could go to heaven they are all in. It is true, salvation is free and this is a general outline of His desire but it is not cheap, it is not only conditional to our covenant relationship with Him – it will cost us EVERYTHING! If we abide in Him and He abides in us, then our love for Him will lead us into His perfect will and transform us into His image. If our intention is to only “hitch a ride” on the shuttle to paradise without bearing our own cross, we will be disappointed. I am not trying to be negative but there are only a few that will make the determination to be a “cross bearer.” “Enter in at the straight gate: for WIDE is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and MANY there be which go there. Because straight is the gate, and NARROW is the way which leads unto life and FEW there be that finds it. (Mathew 7: 13-14) Of course we do not want to hear this continually! Who wants to surrender everything they have and all that they are? Dying to the idol of SELF is an incredibly difficult mission but the reason why we need to meditate on this is because it is the foundation of our salvation. Jesus uses a very strong paradox of what He expects (demands) for us to demonstrate in our love and devotion for Him – IF we actually want to be His disciples. If we do not desire to go all the way with Him in this journey, we will continue living in the outer court deception. Let us turn to Luke chapter fourteen.

(Verse 26) “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” Many have said this is confusing because of the strong word “hate” that is being used but in the context of the meaning, we can know that is to be interpreted “loved less.” The emphasis here is that our love for Christ is to be “supreme” over every other love in our life. On the list of priorities in the Christian life we should have God at the very top, but to be honest, this level of loyalty and devotion is usually as difficult to find as water in the desert. To say the least, this is radical faith and one of the most blunt and aggressive commands that explains cross-bearing. There is much involved within these words as God is conveying the difficult message that His children are not to allow the entanglements of this world even when it involves family to interfere with God’s directions. The true disciple is to live the abundant life in the Holy Spirit with all of the fruits and attributes of God and is NOT to compromise from the stress and pull of anyone else. Many times Christians are heavily influenced by their family (along with the devil) and choose to dis-obey God in order to please everyone else. I cannot emphasize enough how important this is because God cannot truly be the LORD of anyone that does not have Him as their first love. Selah.

(Verse 27) “And whoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” This passage continues the uncomfortable series of statements that are usually avoided by the religious world. Those who are self-sufficient and use religion as a social status “false security” will have no place in their heart for a commitment like this. Again, we see there is not any compromising or “deal making” with anyone that tries to avoid surrendering their will by using excuses. This is cut and dried and difficult to face, but it also perfectly explains what God is expecting. I believe Christ needed to present this message in this way or man’s philosophic reason would dissect and analyze these words until they had no meaning at all. It all comes down to just how much we actually believe God’s Word and of course how determined we are to obey Him. The huge question still remains as to just what bearing our cross really means and the details could be quite lengthy. To condense the spectrum into a compact thought, we could say that basically it is laying our will down at His feet and loving Him with ALL of our heart, mind and strength. This may seem simple but I can assure you it is a TALL order. Allow me to ask you today; have you decided that this is how you are going to live the rest of your days?

(Verse 28) “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see whether he has enough resources to finish it? “Sacrifice” is one of the most commonly used words in the terminology of Christianity. The remaining verses of chapter 14, is devoted to “driving home” the need of serious consideration along with an honest personal examination of the “big picture” of our life. Our free-will is center stage and along with the privilege to choose our own path, also is attached the responsibility and of course the ultimate consequences. It is evident that we cannot live a double life even though we have been taught this way. The Christian life must become our only life and everything we do and have is to be directly connected to our mission. When Jesus said in verse 33, “So likewise, whosoever that does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple”, He was not making a suggestion but rather trying to convey the demand of being “possessed” by Him. Only those who love Him above ALL things in life will RUN TO HIM and gladly lay down their life for Him. Amen.

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR OUR LIFE
PART 36
BECOMING OUR OWN WORST ENEMY

“For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile (deceit) let him eschew (avoid) evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue (follow) it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” (I Peter 3: 10-12)

I was listening to a radio program the other day and they were airing a short interview with a young gay man. He told the story of how he was raised in a religious home and how his family had such high hopes of him going to college, getting married, having a family and living a wonderful “normal” life. He said that he tried to put on the false smiles and the mask of being happy but he finally broke down and revealed that he could not exist in such a miserable lie. He said that he realized that the God of the Bible did not accept him as he was (neither did most of the church) but he confirmed through his public statement that this “rejection” would not prevent him from living his life exactly as he pleased. He was somewhat arrogant and defiant (as a result of being hurt) as he went on to say that he and God did not talk much anymore and had a rather cold and distant relationship. He seemed to blame all of this on the Lord for not compromising His stand toward those who prefer the same sex. It was as if he was right and God was wrong and that somehow this was going to comfort him while he continues to brag, “I did it my way.” Allow me to say that whatever our excuse for rebellion, no one can justify sin! Our hostility and sneaky plans of revenge remind me of when babies discover that if they scream loud enough and long enough they can selfishly get what they want. This does NOT work with God when it comes to Him “bending” His own standards. To walk in the attitude of this level of pride results in us becoming our own worst enemy as we are destroyed from our refusal to let go of what we “think” is right. “Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” (I Timothy 4: 1-2)

Please listen to me as I have been given a very important message to pass to you. Through the years we have spoken extensively about the power of the tongue and confessing God’s Word. We have also talked about our intimate personal relationship with God where we pour out our heart to Him in the secret place and enjoy the pleasures of being in His presence. However, I was meditating the other day about all of this and I sensed the Spirit whisper to me that we should be careful not only about the negative words we release that can be created but also about revealing our fears and weaknesses where the devil and his demons can HEAR them! God instructs us to go into our “closet” and talk to God in “secret.” Why? Because the devil will not follow us into the holy of holies and he cannot hear our personal secrets that we are crying to the Lord. When we open our mouth and tell all of our fears and weaknesses out loud, the enemy can freely begin to launch attacks against us that he knows will pierce us and bring us to our knees. If we have any particular problems we are facing and have serious concerns about a situation – that is exactly where he will pinpoint his attention and intentionally target our weakness in order to defeat us. Become aware of what you are saying because you could easily be causing many of your problems and becoming your own worst enemy! The secret place was given this name not just because it is a private place to meet with God but because what is said between us and God is a “secret” and not for the natural world or the spiritual world to hear – especially Satan.

Another very important reminder for our spiritual development is having a VISION for our faith! Seeing our self the way God sees us may be the key to our victory. When we ask God to help us change and make us a better person in His image, we really need to take this one step further and try to spiritually “see” this individual. “A POSSIBLE YOU” is all about finding this person and identifying what we are believing for. The idea of “CHANGING” from who we are into what God wants us to be is the “DYNAMIC” of genuine salvation and the purpose of our Christian progression. We will never reach a sinless plateau in this life but we can become more wise and stronger as we continue to mature in our journey. It is like when high school students take college prep classes in order to become more familiar with the next “level” of learning we likewise should always be eager to advance in our understanding as we progress toward the next step of our spiritual evolution. The same is true with having a vision of what and who we are interceding for! Let us not pray one thing and then speak negatively about it because the power of our words can hinder the possibilities of our faith. Selah. Whether we are seeing visions with our natural eyes or having dreams and visions in our spirit, these images are being displayed within our mind and accepted into our heart. May we be careful to NOT allow tele”vision” to replace the real “vision” that God is calling for us to be focused on! Are we so naïve to ignore the reality that being distracted could be preventing us from having miracles come to pass? Yes, life and death are in the power of the tongue but it also makes sense that our “insight” could be the missing link of our total faith process. Envisioning the final result will energize our words and become the “substance” of things hoped for and the EVIDENCE of things NOT seen.

It is amazing how self-sufficient and independent the human brain can become. Those who are strong willed and have a high degree of determination to succeed have always been more difficult to surrender their will than the average person that does not have an energetic vision to accomplish lofty goals. Many would think that I am referring to a lost person but actually there are a few Christians that have qualities of high intelligence, practical common sense and have a pit-bull mentality that cannot be easily side-tracked or discouraged. Within the personality and psyche of many of these over-achievers there is an analytical personality that is “direct” and examines everything with a microscope all within the seemingly effortless flow of control. These types are “hard wired” to be cautious and skeptical and are often judged as being aggressive, always on guard and down to business. Actually these are solid traits that can be used for good and in God’s eyes; they are considered unique, gifted and filled with His unlimited potential to do great and mighty things. The problem is the declared war that battles against their soul. Not only does the enemy target these visionaries with attacks of fear and intimidation, but their own strong will becomes a force to reckon with and is a regular “deal breaker” when it comes to trusting anyone (especially a God they cannot see). We have heard many times that it is much easier to accept the Lord into our heart at an early age. Why? Because if we have Christ as our Lord when we are young, we can be molded to fit His pattern and learn gradually how to adapt our mind and views to His Word. We can “grow” not only physically but also spiritually and mentally when we are still flexible and pliable in the tenderness of our years.

When we have already built the foundations of our world-views and political/social ideas and philosophies, it is much more difficult to persuade us to tear all of that down and start over. You see, when we receive Jesus as a young person, we are like a lump of fresh clay on the potter’s wheel where we do not have a lot to tear down and we can begin to celebrate and rejoice as we begin the molding process on our brand new life. When we are older we dry out and become hard and “set” like concrete after a few days. When anyone chooses to live an independent existence that relies completely on their own instincts and logic they become a vessel of their own design. The potter (which is God the creator) cannot put us on His wheel and salvage the temple that we have become. The only thing He can do is break us and crush us back to powder and mix us with water so that we can become clay again. This “born-again’ opportunity can present us as a little child and by child-like faith we can become transformed and renewed as a disciple of His Kingdom. So we can clearly see that it is God’s specific perfect will that we raise our children in the guidance of spiritual truth so when they are still very young hopefully they will flow into their profession of faith as they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Would you agree that the longer a person waits to “deal” with their spiritual condition the more challenging it will be? When I say this, it sounds like I am implying that we can turn to God whenever we choose and use Him like we do the water faucet on our bathroom sink. Allow me to say that I have no intention of teaching this concept of salvation. I say with all humility and with the sobering reverential fear of His person, that if anyone is ever convicted, moved, had their conscience pricked or spiritually awakened, it was God reaching out in His LOVE, grace and compassion! If we ever come to love Him – it is because He first loved us! Selah. What many people have become deceived is that He does not promise that He will always hold the door open or continue knocking with us repeatedly ignoring His call. Many have wandered through this life thinking in the back of their mind that they have plenty of time to respond to God or that He will always be ready to welcome them in their last breath. This may sound like a sneaky plan to dive in at the last minute – but is this worth the chance of being wrong?

Let us stop for a moment and seriously meditate about how we become a Christian and what does it mean to receive and accept His invitation. When we are lost, we have no interest in the things of God and it is a waste of time to pester someone about getting saved. In fact, if we are not led by God, we can actually hinder and damage God’s plan to intervene in someone’s life. This is why we pray and ask God to give us a burden for lost souls, cause us to be a good witness for others, for us to be sensitive and obedient to His voice and to open divine appointments for us to share the gospel with someone that is ready for the seed. When someone is lost (however they hear the gospel), it is this POWER within God’s Word along with His Holy Spirit that comes upon them and DRAWS them while revealing their need to be redeemed. It is this conviction that exposes who we really are (our hopeless condition) and temporarily opens our spiritual eyes long enough for us to see ourselves the way God sees us. This wonderful example of mercy beckons for us to let go of this world and embrace Him as the author and finisher of our faith. However, we have been given the free-will to make the decision whether or not we are going to accept this invitation. In this light, it is clear that our rebellious human nature and the hard-hearted, stubborn passion for “control” can definitely become our own worst enemy.

There is nothing anyone can say that can save a person – it is completely between God and the individual. We can witness and testify and instruct but salvation has nothing to do with this earth – it has everything to do with what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Likewise there is nothing we can do or give that can save our own soul. If there is anything we can do to EARN our salvation, then the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus was not needed. I think some believe that everyone’s deeds are weighed and if the good is more than the bad they go to heaven and if not they go to hell, but as we have mentioned earlier – deeds have nothing to do with destination. It is whether or not we are saved that determines where we will spend eternity. The question that we all must deal with, “How much is my soul worth?” comes from closely examining our heart as we pursue our most important answer. Some people believe that if we live and die without God in this journey called life, that we are to do everything we want and drain every drop of pleasure we can because we only have one chance to enjoy it. When people are young and healthy they do not consider the great price they are paying because they are convinced that living their own will is not costing them anything. Yet, how many times do we hear of these types of people regretting all those years of selfish independence as they reflect and now face eternity in their last dying moments. You see, the lost (that have knowingly rejected Christ) actually “sell” their soul as an exchange for a generic freedom. They barter and agree within their conscience that they are willing to be saturated with a lifetime of pleasure consisting of doing as they please – as a trade for an eternity of suffering. The sad reason why many stay stoned or intoxicated throughout this short season of life is because they do not want to be reminded of this horrible deal. It is amazing that seemingly brilliant individuals that would work tirelessly around the clock in order to close the big transactions in the world of business would be so easily deceived into such an obvious rip-off. How many people have labored all their life accumulating materialistic treasures and building empires of wealth and affluence, yet will leave this earthly realm empty handed and spiritually bankrupt? Can you think of anything that would be worth trading for eternity? Houses, cars, jewelry, sexual pleasures, power, fame, respect, pride, recognition? As we have said many times before; having a relationship with God is THE meaning of life and nothing in this world is worth more than abiding in His loving presence.

Let us observe one more area that pertains to the human natures struggle to let go of the will and the world. Have you ever considered that it may be more difficult for a wealthy person to surrender their will than an average individual? Now brother. I do not believe that has anything to do with it! We all have the same temptations and the same level of resistance. I understand what you are saying and do agree to some extent but the Word of God seems to speak directly about this subject. I am not saying that God excuses the prosperous but I believe He also takes in consideration that the pull of wealth and the love for materialism is very strong. God is not ignorant or insensitive to the powers of temptation but still cannot compromise His standards. Everyone must follow Him the same way and that is to lay down their idols and trust Him completely. Allow me to clarify what I am trying to say; when I speak of “surrender” or abandoning our will, I am not necessarily implying that the wealthy would be asked by God to sell everything they own and live on the street. The point of becoming His child and trusting Him as our Lord and Savior is developing a genuine LOVE for Him and being completely obedient to Him IF He asked us to do it. Let us look at Mark 10:25, “It is easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.” In our first glance of this passage, the first thing that comes to our mind is that God is saying it is impossible for a wealthy person to be saved. However, I believe this “mental image” is being strongly emphasized because of the seriousness of the issue. This is not a joke or something to be taken lightly. Our human nature is very fierce and filled with egotistical attitudes that will fight at the drop of a hat to defend what we have earned. It is no secret that the prosperous are very proud of their accomplishments and the same perseverance and discipline that helped them achieve success is the same internal fortitude that is ready to go to war in order to keep it. Selah.

It is not wrong to be rich. Having wealth is a blessing and can be used to do many wonderful things. The Kingdom of God operates within the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit but it is also helped along the way with finances. In fact, I personally believe that God would love to prosper all of His people but He also knows that riches without living a dedicated, holy life of discipline would spell disaster and is a clear warning that we could become our own worst enemy IF our ability to gather wealth became our idol. When the rich young ruler was told by Jesus to sell all that he had and to come and join with His ministry, He already knew the man’s heart and realized this young, successful businessman loved the authority that wealth provided MORE than anything else. Jesus was trying to expose to him the very thing that stood between him and God. The Lord wants ALL of our heart not just what is comfortable. Let us look at another passage. “For we brought nothing into this world – and it is certain we can carry nothing out and with having food and clothes let us be content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the LOVE of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after (were greedy about), they have erred (turned away) from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (I Timothy 6: 7-10) All the Lord has ever wanted is our heart and that includes our thoughts, deeds and most importantly our love. He is waiting for us to “get up” and allow Him to sit on the throne of our heart as our King and Lord. Amen.

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR OUR LIFE
PART 35
WHAT TYPE OF MESSAGE ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

I was recently told that people do not like to hear the same things over and over. This was a comment that was given during a discussion about spiritual teachings and the different styles and focus that ministers have. I believe that most teachers are drawn to certain subjects and are passionate about specific areas of life and this can be seen in all types of education for example; history, math, science or in any type of skill or trade. People do not become bored with what they teach because of their deep love of the subject matter. Of course the delivery and approach to expressing and communicating truth can make a difference in how students enjoy and receive knowledge. After considering the original statement, I began to wonder if it is really rejection of “all” repetition or is it subject matter? The evening news is an example of the masses that hear the same thing each night and yet are mesmerized by the continuous flood of bad news. They are faithful to the news and want to know what is going on even though it is relatively the same thing over and over. Another example is talk radio where the subject content is always the same but the listeners are glued to every word. These individuals who follow the topics of what they are interested in have no problem with listening to the same thing constantly because that is what they LOVE. People who grow tired of hearing God’s Word are backslidden and have grown cold to His voice. These are same ones that stir strife within a church by whispering that the pastor is boring, the worship is outdated, and the programs are dull and lifeless. Sadly, many marriages also dissolve for this reason; many jobs are abandoned and so on and so forth all because things are not exciting or stimulating enough. Most of the time the problem is within the person who has grown restless and discontent and this is usually a result of not having the peace and joy that is only found in the intimate relationship with Christ.

I have been told that I am a hard-nosed, (hell fire and brimstone) writer that seems to concentrate on how sinful we are and how desperately we need to change. I am not denying or ashamed that this has been the “mantle” that has been given to me as I am not smart enough to have mapped out my calling or planned this as an agenda on purpose. I started writing music one day back in 1982, and the first song I wrote was called, “All of Him – less of me” and I have been writing about this ever since. If I tried to write with any other direction or reason, I would lose my passion and feel like a “cookie cutter” religious “sell-out.” I am always convicted with what the Lord gives me to write and it has been spoken over me several times through prophetic words that I would write a difficult message. Why should I or anyone else be surprised that the Christian life is a hard road to follow especially since Jesus Himself told us it would be like this? Becoming a disciple of Jesus is NOT a popular subject and will never lead the parade in the category of “feel good” theology. Of course this is why I stress how important it is to remember that the flesh HATES anything to do with the sacrifice and surrender of our will. I realize that we all would love to hear about how great we are and how everyone will be saved someday but this “la, la land” mentality “secretly” injects the human emotions with attitudes of laziness and rebellion and hinders our mission. Children say they hate discipline but deep down they need and appreciate someone who cares enough to spank them. The same is true with not respecting those who “sugar coat” truth until it has no meaning at all. Many pastors and churches have taken this path of trying to be all things to all people for the sake of social and political reasons – NOT because they were being led by the Holy Spirit.

The remnant who sincerely seeks truth will not become bored with hearing it! In fact, heaven will be filled with praising and worship and shouting as we glorify and magnify His Holy Name – continually! I cannot comprehend how Lucifer could have become irritated and annoyed with His position, or how he could have schemed against the perfection of God but somehow the attitudes of jealous strife consumed him. I would say this would be impossible to happen in the future and I certainly hope this is true however I am concerned that if God’s Word cannot hold our attention now – that it will not be able to hold us then and maybe these people who are bored with Him today, might need to start all over again so they can be on the same page as He is! I realize we all need tons of encouragement because life is very difficult. Encouragement is like water to a person that is crawling through the desert and that is why people flock to hear something that makes them feel good about themselves. Nevertheless, we also must understand there are many religious leaders that capitalize on this market and are trying to gather as large of a crowd as they can for their own personal gain. This is where God’s anointing stops and human psychology starts and sadly the spectators are happy and willing to participate as long as they can justify their conscience. This exposes the difference between religion and spirituality as religion enjoys the knowledge but the spirit understands knowledge as revelation, manifestation and demonstration.

I was talking to a person the other day and we were joking around about doing good deeds and how most people believe that the Lord keeps “score” on a system of points and credits. This individual has not accepted Jesus into their heart but is considering it. He is under conviction and has been reading his Bible and I honestly believe that God is seriously knocking on the door of his conscience but as we all know the hesitation of NOT wanting to surrender to God is nothing new. Some feel that it is “negative” to be constantly reminded of the war between the flesh and the Spirit but are they forgetting how important it is when it comes to receiving Christ or rejecting Him? It is not a secret that humans hate to submit to God because they love the lifestyle of pillows and chocolates. No wonder people are seeking a soft message. Our internal structure of thoughts has designed the external vessel of who we are and of course this is what being born-again begins to tear down first. As the blackboard of our heart is erased and a new KING is seated on the throne of our conscience, we can begin to truly LIVE life as it was intended. We were never created to exist without God’s guidance but rather were fashioned to be a temple where God could live and move freely. Each of us has the decision to lay down our life at His feet and take up our cross and follow – if we choose. The truth is that to most people this does not sound encouraging because it includes the huge responsibility and accountability to live according to God’s voice. Contained within His moment by moment intimate relationship is the covenant agreement to do whatever He is asking. In turn, He promises to work “with us” and provide the super-natural power and authority to walk according to His Word. Those who accept this opportunity can and will say – “may it be done unto me according to Thy Word!” This means that everything He has promised in His Word can be attained by those who have deliberately placed themselves in position to receive all that he has. In turn, they have agreed and vowed to give Him all that they are. If this revelation ever becomes boring then somewhere down the line we have sprung a leak and our tank of living water has run dry. The closer one draws near to God, the more serious they realize our world’s condition. Yes, of course we need encouragement but a soft, watered down gospel is not the answer. Most of our personal edification is found in the study of God’s Word and the secret place of prayer. His love, grace, and compassion will be sufficient for those who desire a genuine experience with Him and only those who truly love Him will love His truth. Selah.

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR OUR LIFE
PART 34
SENDING GOD’S CALLS TO VOICEMAIL

“Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect (mature): yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nothing. But we speak the wisdom (truth) of God in a mystery, even the HIDDEN WISDOM, which God ordained before the world unto our glory (benefit).” (I Corinthians 2: 6-7)

We will not enjoy all that He is until we give Him all that we are. Selah. There are as many interpretations about God being willing to perform the impossible as there are people but whatever anyone believes, there is an absolute truth – God is still in the miracle business! The Lord is attracted to faith like a magnet is to steel, but we have to admit that genuine faith is few and far between. Remember the symbolism of the tiny mustard seed and how the Lord used that to compare the power of faith. He said that if anyone could produce just a “speck” of true faith that it could move mountains, so this allows us to see how elusive faith really is. I personally believe it is difficult to separate and distinguish between faith and our emotions because our feelings is what we have been leaning on since we were old enough to remember. Our feelings just come natural to us because they are a part of our old “default” nature. We have learned to rely and trust how we feel and it will take a complete overhaul of our mind to become renewed in our thinking. I believe this transformation must at least be in progress BEFORE we can truly begin to build true faith because the carnal mind will NOT allow us to develop our spirituality. Selah. I had not seen this before but this revelation reveals the sobering reality why many of God’s people do not know what faith is or have their prayers answered because He only moves within our prayers through the LAWS of faith! The LAWS of the emotional realm are NOT recognized by God because they are based on the carnal flesh. “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity (hostility, animosity, hatred) against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh CANNOT please God.” (Romans 8:5-8) I realize that He has a special plan for each individual and that we are all unique in purpose and calling but there are also spiritual laws and definite standards when it comes to Godly character. When the lost attempt to do good deeds, it is appreciated by the people but does not automatically generate a spiritual reward from the Lord or “extra credit” when it comes to eternal salvation. The principals of God can be set in motion and the manifestation of truth can be received but this is only pertaining to this life. In other words, an unsaved person can give generously and in turn be blessed because of the unfailing laws of God’s Word but no matter how much they do it will not have anything to do with saving their soul. The same is true with a saved person that gives with the wrong intentions. They may enjoy the blessings of reaping and sowing but their works will be burned up because they have already received the glory. The Lord is not mocked when it comes to knowing the motives of the conscience and is the holy judge for all people and doing anything in the name of carnality will not be honored in eternity.

We spend a lot of time discussing God’s will because everything that happens seems to hinge on whether to give Him credit for doing something positive or blame Him when something goes wrong. However, as we have been speaking lately, when Christ died and resurrected His blood covenant joined man and God together that brought His saints into participation WITH Him to build His Kingdom on earth. Jesus caused quite a stir in His brief ministry but more than just demonstrating His power to the early church – He was also teaching US (2000 years later) the responsibility of carrying on His lifestyle which includes His works. Now, I understand very well, (actually I know many people) that many Christians do not agree with this doctrine because they base everything that happens on the sovereignty of God which means He does whatever He wants. I am not going to say this is completely false because He is God but (not to burst your bubble) like I have said before, His sovereignty does not super-cede His Word. God has a general will which is His Word and a specific will which is the literal manifestation of His desires BUT He does NOT say one thing and do another. In this light, (not to be sacrilegious) we can hold Him to His Word and have complete trust and confidence that He will not “double-deal” on any issue or with any person. Or in other words, His specific will is not contrary to His written will. He does not tell us something in our prayer closet that is the opposite of His Word. Alright, let us just pause right here for a minute and allow you the reader to think about this. Before we go on, I just want you to consider if this is God’s truth and not some weird religious philosophy. (?) This is why I keep saying that understanding His general will for all of us can be learned and received as a revelation because His Word is His will.

OK, let us move forward. I am convinced that even the ones that believe all miracle power and demonstration of God’s glory passed away at the death of the disciples, are still on board so far. Since most Christians accept His Word as being true and for us today, it seems the actual controversy now is with the “specific” will of God. This is where we find situations that cannot be explained and volumes of stories where it seemed that faith and prayer did not work. The majority of Christians follow the path of “why” did this happen or why did this not happen and in the end always come up with the only thing they can think of – “it was God’s will.” I must admit, it is puzzling to see one person in a hospital bed surrounded by church members and many friends and family asking God to heal them and they do not recover, while at the same time across town there is another person that is being prayer for and there CT scan comes back negative! A modern day miracle – Praise His Holy Name! What was the difference? You guessed it – in both cases everyone said it was the Lord’s will. I know there are actually several reasons that could be factors in both circumstances and I know that in most cases we will not comprehend what happened until we ask Jesus in heaven one day, but if He left instructions (and He did) and we follow these instructions to the letter, and extend our mountain moving faith according as His Word has promised, either we are out in left field with our faith or His Word does NOT apply in all cases. If His Word is filled with exceptions and respecter of persons, then our faith really has very little to do with anything and we would do just as well to live life without praying and without building our confidence in His Word. We could just relax through our journey and live every moment without listening to His voice, obeying His commands or stepping forward in faith because we are telling the world that whatever happens is God’s responsibility. Now to me, this is very confusing and I can clearly see that if there are people out there that feel this way, then no wonder they do not invest all of their time reading, studying, learning and growing spiritually stronger because what would it matter? If there are any Christians out there who believe this lazy and lifeless ritual called religion I hope they will fall on their knees and repent of their doubt. This type of a negative attitude life is an unbelieving misery of bondage that just floats through day after day and never really believes for miracles or is on fire for anything. Not only is this an infection of error within the individuals conscience but it also has a direct effect on everyone in their network. We have been called to be spiritual catalyst, front-line warriors, leaders with boldness and victorious overcomers that demonstrate His power with courage and confidence. Sitting in a pew and living the default life of apathy, unbelief and fear is not what God had in mind when He gave His WORD to us.

I do not believe it would take a Bible scholar to know that many people become perplexed when it comes to trying to figure out God’s specific will. It seems that many conservative thinkers and teachers have chosen to accept the views that there is no way to know His specific will and there are no demonstrations of spiritual power in this age which has left His general will to be bogged down with endless interpretations. Actually these two facets of “normal” Christianity have opened the door for the evil spirit of religion to take the place of the Holy Spirit and alarmingly very few can tell the difference. Instead of repenting and admitting the reason why we cannot find God’s will is because we are not close to Him, it becomes much easier and less convicting to just announce that it is just not meant to be. It is with these arrogant declarations of laziness and ignorance that puts people at ease and rocks them back to sleep. The same is true with divine healing or any other situation that requires fervent prayer and fasting or a sacrificial determination of obedience. “For the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.” (I Corinthians 4:20) In other words, we can listen to philosophic lectures all day long but they are only opinions unless God breathes His anointing and power into demonstrating His Word. He did not stop using His people as instruments for His glory – His people stopped becoming vessels of honor for Him to use! Selah Humans want the best of both worlds without having to pay for anything. They love the idea of freedom and free blessings but when they face the message of “bearing” the cross and abandoning their will, they change channels. Whoever started preaching about free salvation maybe should have used the word “opportunity” but I presume that would not have drawn such large crowds or brought in as much money. People are always thinking that spiritual authority has something to do with humans acting like super-heroes that have lightning bolts coming from their fingers or that can walk around with all types of super-natural powers. The truth about the power that God has given to His church is that our spiritual authority does NOT work independently from God’s Word or His specific will rather it works WITH IT! When Jesus Christ comes into someone’s heart to become their Lord, how could we have the potential to be any closer to Him? If we choose to become one with Him and bask in the intimate relationship that He wants to have with us – will we not be able to hear His still small voice? This capability and God designed “blessing” is for the reason to communicate – right? This communication allows us to pour our heart out to Him and for Him to respond and REVEAL His specific will for all of our situations. My question is; if this personal spiritual connection to Christ is real, (and it can be) how in the world could any Christian confess that we cannot know what God is thinking? Because most people are operating in the natural realm of their emotions instead of the spiritual realm where they have a direct connection with Him. “But the natural man receives not (does not accept) the things of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (judged). But he that is spiritual judges ALL THINGS, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? BUT WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST.” (I Corinthians 2: 14-16). No matter how we slice it or dice it, having the mind of Christ is knowing the will of God! “Jesus said unto them, my meat is to do the WILL of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34) This is a perfect example of Jesus knowing the will of His Father and likewise a clear proof that we also are to know what he wants from us because we also have been sent to do His work. It is ridiculous to think that we have a highly detailed and outlined mission to accomplish yet we cannot know how to do it. The will of God is waiting to be found by those who seek and knock on the doors of heaven. He has promised to open and give unto all who seek first His Kingdom! Those who are walking in His will must KNOW what they are doing and where they are going like Jesus. “He that says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk even as He walked.” (I John 2:6) We are confused and have become our own worst enemy if we accept the lie that we cannot know what He is saying.

It is sad to see the modern churches of today and how far they drifting away from knowing and demonstrating God’s will. I am not grouping all churches together or implying they are all the same but only speaking in general terms. I am perplexed as to what pastors are thinking in these last days but my heart does go out to them because I believe they are being distracted from God’s voice. I understand there are MANY reasons why the power of God is not manifested in the churches and I realize that most pastors comprehend that the level of power is directly associated with the discipline of the peoples relationship with the Lord. This is no doubt most of the problem as the pastors probably feel like their hands are tied because of the overload of carnality and fleshly attitudes from the congregation. If the people are lukewarm and have decided that God is a low priority, it would not matter how “on fire” the pastor was or how many revivals he scheduled. I am also very concerned about those who are accepting Christ today and in their new excitement they venture into a stagnant religious environment that leads them in the wrong direction and eventually hurts them. It is awkward and difficult to warn a new Christian of the dangers within the religious system because we do not want to discourage their enthusiasm. May the Lord continue to give us His holy wisdom and keen discernment in these last hours. Amen.