Did we vow to give God all of our heart?

November 19, 2014Leave a comment

THE SECRET PLACE
Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty
PART 42
DID WE VOW TO GIVE GOD ALL OF OUR HEART?

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10) What does it mean to renew a “right” spirit in us? It means to STAY in an attitude of repentance because is so easy to become side-tracked. A right spirit is one that sees and hears clearly and has not allowed the filth of this world to distort or distract their love for God. Everyone needs to realize and accept that God will only come in and do a work in us, when we open the door of our heart and surrender our will. If we do not recognize that we have a problem or a need to be cleansed, we will continue in our deception which means that we cannot “see” we are going in the WRONG direction. Thus, when the Lord has mercy on us and The Holy Spirit tries to “awaken” us from our trance, hopefully we will respond to His mercy and repent. This act of sorrow that begs God to forgive us for being hard-headed is the desired path toward being purified in the fires of His holiness and being “renewed” in our spirit by allowing Him to purify our conscience.
Holiness is about being “willing” to be broken. Pride is not just something that hinders us – it has every intention to absolutely ruin our life. Thank God, it can be distinguished when the calming waters of humility are poured upon it. Pride blocks the vision of the eyes of our heart and convinces our mind to walk according to the eyes in our head. Selah. Pride invites all the attributes and fruits of carnality to rule the heart and govern with authority. Pride closes our spiritual ears until we become “possessed” with satisfying our own desires. Sadly, most people fall in love with their sin and do not want to “break-up” with the idols of their obsession. They hold their fantasies tightly and keep them protected, hidden, secret, and secure within the deepest recesses of their soul. Allow me say, if we are NOT serious about living pure – let us stop thinking and talking about what a great Christian we are! If we are dirty on the inside and yet acting like we are walking in His Spirit, we are a hypocrite and a shame to the Kingdom of God. Not having knowledge is one thing, but purposefully living a double life of religious mockery is a dangerous condition of existence. We are dancing with Satan at a masquerade party and in our deception we are the fool. God sees all of us exactly the way we are and is filled with mercy; however that does not mean He compromises His truth or His judgment against what we know. We are not “getting away” with anything!
I had a person (who is close to me), comment about my ministry the other day. They said that in all of my songwriting and article writing there seemed to be a consistent message. They said that God is saying the same thing over and over except in many different ways and the focus is about the intentions of our heart. The contents of the conscience is who we really are, and reveals everything about us. I thought about this statement and I must agree that in the last 30 years, God in His graciousness and patience has been trying to tell me how much He wants ALL of my heart. Not just my heart – but everyone’s heart. I know we wiggle and squirm because it is uncomfortable to think about laying down our secrets and the things we do that are not right but I believe if we desire to have all of God, we must give our all to Him. Selah. Remember, covenant is a vow of the soul and that includes complete honesty and trust. Of course we believe God is honest and we trust Him – but are we honest with Him and can He trust us? We confess and claim that what He has is ours, but we pick and choose what we want Him to have.
I have mentioned Godly sorrow many times in the past but I wonder how many really know what it is. As a Christian, have you ever done something or said something and after it was over, you felt convicted? Have you ever felt heaviness in your soul over a sin or just felt distance from God and you tried to shake it off but the misery just would not go away? This is a glimpse of the sorrow of sin. Godly sorrow is a blessing in disguise because it allows us to feel a little of what God feels. If we realized how much it disappoints Him and how it hurts Him when we obey our flesh, it would definitely help us to maintain an awareness of His presence. Why do we run away from dealing with Godly sorrow? You guessed it – we are a people of great needs and the one most lacking is humility. If we choose to sin, pride allows us to think we can handle it. For some reason we have bought into the idea that a little sin here and there will not affect us. This is a huge lie! Let us consider this revelation found in 1st Corinthians 5:6, “Your glorying (feelings of confidence) is not good. Know you not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” Pride hardens our conscience until we submit and decide we do not really need to commune with God. Pride presumes that all is well with our soul without ever considering the possibility of being deceived. We become convinced that our attitude toward Him is not having an impact on our standing with Him. He may love us but is NOT obligated to saturate us with His blessings or His presence. In 1st Samuel 2:30, the Lord spoke to Eli in his backslidden state and said, “for them that honor Me I will honor, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” This does not necessarily mean eternally lost but rather God chooses to back away and not intervene as He would if a person was completely dedicated and obedient to His voice. The Bible is clear that if we draw near to Him, He will respond and become as close as we desire but the same is true if we forsake Him, He will take the hint that He is not wanted and will allow us to do things the hard way. It is in humility that we stop the madness and pull away from the chaos of Babylon and sincerely search into the depths of our heart. If we are willing to discern truth and not continue to sugarcoat our “rose-colored” image, we may discover that our conscience contains things we need to examine closely. Father is doing a work in His people right now! He is preparing His children not just for a one way ticket to paradise – but so they might be transformed into His image NOW! There are spots and wrinkles in our bridal garment and He is beckoning us to His brazen alter.
Worship is an avenue of communication that God has designed to bring us and keep us into His spiritual reality. Singing songs are not always necessarily worshipping God the same as doing religious activities are not always led by God’s Spirit. The act of worshipping God is an automatic confession that He is the Master and we are the servant. It is the picture and symbolism of humility to bow before the Lord and God of all things. Our flesh hates to surrender the power of authority because it knows when we worship God we are denying the temptation and influence of the carnal nature. In order to worship in “Spirit and in truth” there needs to be the sincere attitude adjustment that realizes what is required within our heart. We must lay our will down before His feet and acknowledge that He is our Lord and King. This concept of “decreasing” is crucial to the revelation of exalting and adoring God in the beauty of holiness. When the writer penned the words, “He must increase (become more important) but I must decrease” (John 3:30), it is clear that our attitude determines whether we are just going through the motions of a religious experience or serious about living with God in the realm of reality.
I do not really want to talk about sin – but I need to pull back the covers and reveal its ugliness. We do not want to face sin that we have not dealt with. Selah. It is no deep revelation that when we have secret sin and problems that we do NOT want to settle, we hide in the shadows of their oppression. I feel led by the Lord to clean behind the refrigerator so to speak. This is the time where your flesh may remind you that you need to go feed the dog and since you do not have a problem with sin, you need to go do something more constructive. But, if you are determined to be totally committed to Christ and are willing to allow Him to purge you and remold you into His perfect will – then crawl on the operating table and let the “Doctor” do some heart surgery. (By experience, I can honestly say you will be filled with joy when He is finished). Here is a brief glance at carnality and lust.
CARNALITY – If you can envision sin as a tree, carnality is the roots and the trunk. Carnality is embedded in our old nature and works hand in hand with the un-renewed mind. This dark enemy influences our thoughts and loves to steer, guide and control the ship. Jesus came to destroy the works of carnality. When Christ was invited into your heart to be THE LORD and Master of your life, there was an understanding according to your holy VOW before Him, that we would NOT allow carnality to rule us anymore. The symbolism of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ within us – presented a picture to heaven and earth that our old nature had been declared dead and now Jesus lives IN US as the hope of glory. You see, there is NOT room for “two” kings upon the throne of our heart. Jesus came in and our carnality was put to rest – right? Well, what the churches failed to explain was that our carnality is only as “dead” as we determine him to be. Selah. Evidently the grave yard is a busy place at night because many Christians have been seen going in and digging up their old nature. I will be the first to admit that I have struggled with my carnality. Well, maybe struggle is actually not the correct word to use. If we are honest, I think it would be more like inviting our carnality over for dinner and joyfully entertaining him. How can this be? Because we have the free-will to take the exit off the interstate and enjoy the scenic route of “intentional” sin. This is not just an insignificant bruise, it is a full blown infection that has the authority from God that gives Satan jurisdiction to kill, steal and destroy our life. How many people have been ruined by this two-faced way of living? What the church needs to teach is that holiness is not something that automatically surrounds us with a force-field of Godly attributes. It is our responsibility, our desire and our determination to walk with God in the fullness of His Spirit. Our level of sanctification depends on how much we desire to abide in His presence and enjoy the liberty of being pure and holy in His sight. Carnal Christians are lukewarm hypocrites. Selah.
LUST – Lust is one of the major branches of carnality and is not limited but is mostly concentrated within our sexual desires. I believe men have a very difficult time with lust because they are stimulated by visual images and were created to be the aggressor. As an extension of carnality allow me to read some of its definitions. Animal, brute, fleshly, worldly, earthly, material, non-spiritual, sensual, sexual, erotic, lecherous, lascivious, bodily, physical, licentious, lewd, concupiscent, voluptuous, libidinous, carnal knowledge, of the body or flesh. It is clear from these words that lust is the opposite from what God has planned for His people to represent. Lust is always chasing for control that it cannot attain, thus the meaning is perfectly described in the popular rock song, “I can’t get no satisfaction”. Lust has the very powerful wants and needs to be worshipped but is not really interested in demonstrating true love. We are not to lust for other people in a sexual way and as a matter of fact we are not to lust for respect, power or anything else from the world because this attitude is birthed in selfishness. We might lust for fame and brood in our secret thoughts about being someone we are not or whatever the case may be, but something in our heart is not right. Lust lives in the world of fantasy and its visions are usually just mirages and dreams that will never be fulfilled. Even in marriage, lust is not the same as strong affection. Being attracted to your mate is absolutely normal and a very good healthy state of mind that is a foundation for a spiritually bonding relationship. However, when our love becomes lust, we must repent and not allow the beauty of holiness to become corrupted with anything perverted that God would not approve of – including wrong thoughts.
The Christian cannot afford to live in the world of lust but unfortunately, many Christians are held in bondage to its powerful temptation. Many men and women are not satisfied with the level of stimulation within their marriages and are vulnerable to the temptation to meet their needs with something or someone else. It is a place of torment and misery that has no peace with God. We cannot mix our responsibility to remain pure at the front door of our heart, while secretly inviting lust to come in through the back door and expect God to understand or tolerate it. Our sins of lust may seem to go unnoticed for a while but I assure you they are not being overlooked. God will close and lock all doors of ministry because He cannot trust us. He will move farther away from us and that includes His anointing, peace, blessings, and protection. Are you feeling frustrated, are you struggling, depressed, sad and miserable? Have you kept your vow to give Him ALL of your heart?

Imagine what we are missing

November 19, 2014Leave a comment

THE SECRET PLACE
Salvation is all about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
PART 41
IMAGINE WHAT WE ARE MISSING

When we hold a tiny baby in our arms, do we consider how devoted they will be to God, or do we just see the physical possibilities? All of us as Christians have the opportunity to become as spiritually sensitive as we desire but only a handful will choose the life of “walking” in His spirit. The only obstacle that is keeping us from living in this level of sensitivity is – the desire to please our flesh. We find a perfect example of this level of seriousness in Luke Chapter two. This glimpse into the lives of these people reveals that we have the potential to discern things that are hidden from our natural eyes. Mary and Joseph was bringing baby Jesus (probably no older than three months) to be dedicated at the temple according to the Law of Moses. A man named Simeon was a spiritually dedicated man of prayer and fasting as he is mentioned in verse 25 as being, “righteous and devout with the Holy Spirit upon him”. God had promised him that he would not die until he had seen the face of the Messiah. On the very same day that Mary and Joseph went to the temple, Simeon was led to encounter the “divine appointment” of meeting this family. When he looked at the baby, he reached out and held him and said, “For with my eyes I have seen your (the Father’s) salvation.” He prophesied over the child and even though Mary and Joseph were already aware of how special Jesus was, they still marveled at the words of Simeon. But allow us to consider that this man would NOT have “recognized” Christ if he had not been walking in holy sensitivity! Why do we refuse to consistently live in the spiritual realm with God? Because our flesh does not want to meditate on what we have been called to do.

There was also a prophetess named Anna who worshipped God in the temple night and day with prayers and fasting. It just so happened that she was there that day and also recognized baby Jesus as The Christ The Son of God. She began to tell the crowd about how this child would be the redeemer of God’s elect. Now I realize that older people always go on and on when they see a baby and say things like, “they are really going to be special” and emotional comments like that, but this was definitely different. People might have thought, “Now isn’t that touching, a nice elderly lady (eighty four years old) and a tiny baby” and went on about their business. This is because they were NOT walking in spiritual discernment and could not “perceive” spiritual reality (in this case God was right in front of them). This is same blindness that infected the Pharisees which prevented them from being able to know the difference between Jesus THE Christ and a blasphemer.

We know deep down that we are to be living in this level of spiritual awareness but we are weak and easily distracted. I have a question; if we are to be living such a sensitive life where we really “see, hear and know”, then what will be the consequence if we refuse? By thinking, feeling, deciding, and walking in the flesh, we are literally (intentionally) rebelling against Him. We are not walking in His will and we are not accomplishing His destiny that He has planned for us. How could He possibly be pleased with us if we are not listening or obeying? Of what use are we to the Father if we are not interested in hearing His voice? Being devoted TO HIM is all about faithfulness FOR HIM. If we live the way WE choose, we become a “non-factor” for Him and His kingdom. Within the sin of omission is the sobering thought that God is hurting and disappointed from all the things that might have been IF we had taken our Christian responsibility seriously. It is true that a religious lifestyle is popular and very comfortable because it only focuses on what is easy and happy. However, front-line spiritual warfare is a lonely life of sacrifice that is dedicated to manifesting the image of Christ in all things.

Living Behind the Veil

November 19, 2014Leave a comment

THE SECRET PLACE
Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty
PART 40
LIVING BEHIND THE VEIL

“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with overeating, and drunkenness, and cares (distractions) in case that day come upon you unexpectantly. For as a snare shall it come upon all them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth. WATCH therefore, and PRAY always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass (trials, temptations), and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:34-35)
As always the flesh hates to listen to anything about discipline. Usually whenever discipline is being enforced it is in the light of training to win a competition, to receive an award or to excel as successful and victorious. The concept remains the same in the context of spiritual warfare. Being an overcomer for Jesus Christ is not an option – our salvation has a unique mission and destiny. Every child of God has been called to utilize all that Father has provided along with the responsibility to fulfill His will. The “overcoming” perception I am convinced, is as much about conquering our flesh – as it is about resisting the devil! Walking holy is not just a religious thought or phrase – it is a demand from God and a free-will determination within the heart of the disciple to follow and obey the voice of the shepherd.
God’s Word mentions about an exchange that is crucial concerning the beauty of Holy intimacy. It is the condition and commitment of the heart that measures how far and how deep we can follow Him. Selah. If we are “surface” Christians, we will only be interested in the basic blessings and eternal security that a Savior can provide. If we choose to be a disciple, we are committed to following Him into the depths of His presence as LORD no matter where they may lead. This exchange involves the tears of the servant mixed with God’s empowerment and joy. “Weeping may endure for a night – but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) Do you know what the weeping represents? It represents a “breaking” of the heart. Sin has a subtle way of slowly creating a “film” of dirt which is a result of carnal compromise. In our hurried life, we can ignore the calling of the Holy Spirit to come into the secret chambers and spend time with God. We can slowly allow our emotions and flesh to lead us and influence our thoughts with negativity and sin. This deception does not go “unnoticed” in the Spirit realm in fact it has definite consequences concerning our personal relationship with Him. Each day that we ignore our need to repent and restore our fellowship – the further away we drift into lower levels of lukewarmness. Our fire and the awareness of His presence fades away while our flesh enjoys the freedom to tempt our body and mind. Our spirit cries abba Father, but cannot overrule our free-will. Our heart chooses what we do and “whom” we will serve. This condition progresses until one day Father intervenes by opening our eyes and revealing what we have done. Thus we are pierced with conviction in the deepest part of our being and as our heart breaks with sorrow and shame, we respond by weeping from within our soul. After we have asked Him to forgive us and cleanse us, we are refreshed and renewed in the beauty of His mercy, grace and love. This of course is where our heart is flooded with joy and happiness that we have now been restored into the security and good standing of His fellowship. When is the last time you have allowed Him to break your heart and cleanse your soul? “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”(Psalm 51:17) The word contrite means completely penitent and thoroughly remorseful as a result of guilt. Pride advises and protects the heart to remain hard and calloused. Humility is meek and puts others before themselves as sensitive, loving, gentle and patient.
There are many levels of maturity in the body of Christ. The religious masses love to hear about all the blessings God has for them or how wonderful they are. The problem with “nursing the bottle” of chocolate cake and rainbows all the time is that we can become unbalanced in our spiritual perception. As I have said many times, I am not against being encouraged because we do need it, however we must see the big picture of not only the reality of the way God sees everything and everyone – but more personally how He sees US. (This is where many immature believers need to leave because their mamma is calling!) If you announced a weekly Bible study that was going to be about sanctification, I would guess that you would not need to put out very many chairs. To tell you the truth I am the same way and do not spend near enough time “deeply” examining my heart and this is because we all have the same common problem – our flesh wants to rule our life. I can do a general assessment and say a quick prayer and keep running along the path of the spiritual routines we all are a part of. However, let me say there will come “seasons” in all of God’s children, where we will come face to face with truth about ourselves that has the power to change who we are for the better! The amount that we progress and CHANGE into His image will depend directly on how convinced we are of our NEED to change. If we do not believe we need to change, as the scripture above declares we will NOT pursue the image of Christ and His glory, which will result in us staying the same ALL of our life. In the routine that we have always followed, we want to live our spiritual life exactly as we have lived our physical life. We look in the mirror and see ourselves and decide what we will do and how everything will affect us. Our old state of mind will continue to lead us unless we receive the revelation of who Christ is – in us. Selah.
The concept of being made holy in the image of God can become a deception if we do not understand sanctification. If we depend on our “title” of Christian, to take the place of His refiner’s fire – we are living in a fantasy land. Just because we call ourselves a Christian, it does not mean that we are what God desires for us to be. Many believers are an embarrassment to God and to the world because they have never allowed themselves to be transformed by the renewing of their mind. It is true that we have been called to be “set-apart” but set apart from what? We have not just been separated from the world to keep from being contaminated or infected with sin, but we have been PURIFIED to be a holy witness of light to a world that stumbles in darkness. Where the crowds begin to slip out the back door, is when someone begins to reveal how much being purified is going to COST! Our carnality must be crushed and crucified just as the body of Jesus was nailed to the cross. In order for us to live the resurrected life of victory over sin, our old nature must die an agonizing death. Many will say that there is no suffering for the Christian because Jesus paid for everything. It is true that Christ paid for our sins with His blood but to eliminate the need for us to suffer as we deny our flesh to dominate us – is bad theology. The agony from sacrificing our carnality is crucial for our spiritual development and will flow directly in context with how much we have surrendered our will. If we have NOT allowed Jesus to be our Lord, (to be in control of our life) our carnal witness will prevent us from being sanctified and we will NOT be please Him as a faithful servant.
So, what makes the difference between those who desire to walk in sanctification and those who live carnal? It is either the lack of spiritual instruction – severe heart disease – or both. It is everyone’s personal responsibility to study and pray and listen to what God is telling them, but in many cases it seems that people just choose to not think about what God thinks about. Selah. I am not trying to appear to have arrived at walking in His Spirit because to confess openly, I have really been struggling lately. I realize that most of the time we are NOT concentrating on the mission at hand and I believe this comes from allowing our mind to be distracted with carnal matters. We may have a great time of intimacy one day but we spring a leak and the next day we are empty again. The vision should be for us to STAY in His presence but that will only come with the highest determination of discipline. It is God’s intention for us to develop a “constant” sensitive awareness to sin which will lead us into being holy; however this will only happen if we can begin to comprehend an awareness of Godly sorrow.
I had a person (that is close to me) make a comment about my ministry the other day. They said that in all of my songwriting and my article writing there seemed to be a consistent message. They said that God is saying the same thing over and over in hundreds of different ways and they all are about the condition and intention of our heart. The contents of the conscience is who we are, and reveals everything about us. I thought about this statement and I must agree that in the last 30 years, God in His graciousness and patience has been trying to tell me how much He wants ALL of my heart. Not just my heart – but everyone’s heart also. I know we wiggle and squirm because it is uncomfortable to think about laying down our secrets and the things we do that are not right. I mentioned Godly sorrow at the end of the last paragraph, and I wonder if we know what it is. As a Christian, have you ever done something or said something that after it was over, you felt ashamed? Have you ever felt heaviness in your soul over a sin and you tried to shake it off but the nagging misery just would not go away? This is a glimpse of the sorrow of sin. Godly sorrow is a blessing in disguise as it allows us to feel the sadness that God feels. If we could realize how much it hurts Him when we disobey, it would definitely help us to do better. If we are willing to discern truth and stop sugarcoating our “rose-colored” image, we may discover that our conscience contains things we need to deal with. Father is doing a work in His people right now! He is preparing His children not just for a one way ticket to paradise – but so they might be able to do His work NOW! There are spots and wrinkles in our bridal garment and He is saying to come away from being like the world. We must preserve our tenderness, compassion, mercy, forgiveness and unconditional love.

Have we decided?

November 19, 2014Leave a comment

THE SECRET PLACE
Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty
PART 39
HAVE WE DECIDED?

“Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, and with ALL thy soul, and with ALL thy mind. This is the first and greatest (most important) commandment.” (Mathew 22:37) Is this our highest priority?
One sure way to measure the fervency of our passion, is how we react to an article about spiritual commitment. If we yawn and roll our eyes, thinking that we are far too advanced for such elementary instruction, most likely we have a bad attitude problem. Actually, the wise and humble person is always interested in learning everything they can about God and never gets tired of growing and serving Him or His people. The “mature” disciple realizes how easily it is to be deceived with our own pride. If the Christian life seems boring, it is time to listen very closely, because somewhere deep inside of you, there is a blaring alarm that is going off. It is a warning message that is pleading with you to be renewed with blazing zeal and white-hot passion like you felt when you were first born-again. “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels”. (Proverbs 1:5) Now, allow me to ask a rather basic question that many may feel is ridiculous since they have been professing to be a Christian for several years. Is following God really in your heart? Brother, what kind of a question is that? I am saved, what more do you want me to say? Well, I have been thinking about my relationship with God and doing some “inventory” within my soul and to be honest, I am not satisfied with what I have found. Why are my eyes filled with tears right now? Because I know where I am and where I need to be, but they are NOT the same place. I believe there are many levels of commitment and living in the lower levels is NOT good enough!
This is the point in our conversation where many will say they are very busy and do not have time to finish the rest of this. They consider this type of talk for babies and have progressed far beyond this level of spirituality. For those of us who choose to remain, let us pray together, “Lord, the world is harsh and cold and sometimes we get tangled up in it. I love to retreat into your presence and I am learning it is the ONLY safe haven in the world. I do not want you to show me your glory so that I can brag about how spiritual I am – I want to know you just for who you are. I want to learn how to walk with you ALL the time. I do not want the sins of my flesh to keep me from being passionately intertwined with you. I desire to make you my highest priority. Help me, I so desperately need you, amen.”
My uncle is one of the closest people to my heart. He lives beside the Ocean and often takes walks down the beach as he talks to God. He worships and praises the Lord as the gentle winds blow, and as the Holy Spirit fills him to overflow, he becomes filled with joy like a little child as he listens to the whispers of heaven. He drinks in the beautiful sun and all of God’s wondrous nature as he pours his heart out to the Father. What freedom and peace to be saturated in the divine presence of Jesus! The holy of holies is not a geographic place on earth but the location is a humble heart that enters behind the veil of pure love, trust and obedience to God. We can experience the Lord in this manner anytime we want, and it does not matter where we make contact with Him – as long as we become determined to do it! It is this “vision” to be absorbed “into Him” that will make the difference between reading about other people’s encounters – and experiencing our own. Is being with Him the MOST important and valuable treasure in your life? Only you can search the depths of your soul and come up with an honest answer. If it is not – what is hindering your relationship and preventing your joy from overflowing?
You see, most Christians are only interested in receiving the promises and blessings that God desires to give. It is a no brainer to hold out your hands and take all of the supernatural miracles we can contain. However, this type of relationship is not necessarily a covenant VOW relationship – because only one side is doing all the giving. Well brother, I go to church and sometimes I give a little money, what do you want me to do? This is where many people have never had a revelation of what God wants. They believe we are “paying God back” with our deeds like going to church and being nice to the check-out girl. This religious idea is something we have come up with that relieves our guilty conscience from being convicted by “substituting” what we fear God really wants from us. Simply – He wants our will. Selah. He must have ALL of our heart before He can be our LORD. He is not interested in making deals, excuses or playing games. He just simply wants someone to love Him as much as He loves them – that is true covenant!
Our heart is like a thermometer with many different little indicating marks that represent the level of temperature. If we feel strongly (passionate burning desire) about something, we focus our attention and energy into it and our mercury rises into the range of highest priority. If we are “fickle” about an idea or opportunity, we become hesitant and start rubbing our forehead in contemplation and thus the temperature of our fire falls into the “cool” zone. We huff and blow and say we need to think about it, which usually means we are just not interested in it enough to “commit” our time or heart into it. And let us not forget that if we stay “room temperature” all the time, then we just float through life settling for mediocrity and a laid back, middle of the road attitude. This general lack of intensity about everything, (especially things related to God), becomes a problem in the spirit realm as it is commonly referred to as “lukewarm” and we all know that is NOT how God wants us to live. The old saying is true; we do what we really want to do!
Allow me to give an example, we have all listened to the experts tell us how healthy we would be to eat all the correct foods and exercise daily. Many of us have struggled with dieting and we may have even bought a piece of training equipment because we felt guilty about our weight or just wanted to improve our appearance. However, allow me to say that unless this idea becomes a burning passion we will NOT be successful! Why? Because we were never determined nor committed to the vision IN OUR HEART. Do not misunderstand me, it was a great thought and in our minds eye we could see it, but it was only a “whim”, it was a passing thought that we were never really serious about! We notice other people who are trim and athletic and we may feel inferior or intimidated but it still is not enough to convince us to change. We may look in the mirror and cry and moan and be depressed but this is still not enough inspiration for us to do it. In this particular area, what do you believe would be the one thing that would flip a switch in your heart that would cause you to become so focused that NOTHING could stop you from achieving your goal? Can we agree that to become the Christian that God is waiting for us to be, the process is the same? Does it not come down to a basic determination that nothing is going to stop us from making His will our highest priority? Is that the cry of our heart today? Is that what we want more than anything? Do we even believe this is what we desperately need?
Remember the rich man and Lazarus the beggar? The sick beggar cried at the rich man’s gate everyday but the rich man never helped him. They both eventually died and the beggar went to heaven but the rich man went to hell and in his misery he could see Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham. The rich man begged Abraham to allow Lazarus to go back and warn his five brothers to repent but Abraham said that even if someone came back from the dead – they would NOT listen. Change does not come from an external event but rather from a “quickening” of the spirit. God’s Word is the revelation that awakens and illuminates our DESTINY. Selah.
When the revelation switch is turned on, it will open the door to where the miracle of spiritual metamorphosis becomes a walk – instead of a talk. In our personal life we need more spiritual manifestation and less religious thinking. Being religious is easy because it is about looking good on the OUTSIDE and that always includes giving glory to the flesh. That is why religion has been so popular and will always be held in social and political prominence. Being spiritual is a completely different world that is focused on God who sits on the throne of heaven AND is supposed to be sitting on the throne of our heart. The life of a Christian is generated from the INSIDE and how dedicated we are to Christ is the result of this reality. In this light, we are our own “demonstration” of Christ and our level of commitment to Him will manifest how “filled” with the Holy Spirit we are. I am not referring to doctrines or rituals but simply revealing the agape love and holy “image” of Jesus Christ. Religious people live in the outer court because the flesh avoids sacrifice and repentance. God’s children make the CHOICE to be refined within the Holy place and the delight of their life is to be in God’s presence in the Holy of Holies. I was listening to a preacher on the radio the other day and he kept talking about a, “made-up” mind. That’s country talk for settling an issue within our heart to do something. It is making a final decision by coming to a point of no return that we are going to give everything we have in order to accomplish our vision. A made-up mind does not allow doubt and fear to convince them to quit. A made-up mind does not allow their flesh to distract them with temptation. A made-up mind refuses to listen to those who laugh, reject and criticize. A made-up mind KNOWS they have heard from God and are committed in their FAITH that God’s power never fails! Jacob had a made-up mind when he wrestled the angel as he would NOT LET GO until he received the blessing! Are we that determined to dedicate our life to Him? Do we desire to be RED HOT enough to stay on our knees until we KNOW where we are going and how we are going to get there?

Where are we headed?

November 19, 2014Leave a comment

THE SECRET PLACE
Offend me with the truth but never comfort me with a lie
PART 38
WHERE ARE WE HEADED?

I know this is a loaded question but at the same time, I do wonder what the future holds for God’s people. Of course I know that Jesus is coming back and one day we will be with Him for all eternity, but as you all know there are many events yet to take place between now and then. There are several disagreements when it comes to prophecy but we can all agree that Jesus will defeat the armies of the world and remain in total authority over the kingdom of darkness. So, why do we want to know where we are headed? Because we are curious as to how the last days are going to affect us. As I have said before, it seems many do not really worry about the future as they live day to day and are just content to survive with food, shelter, a check coming in and the freedom to live the way they want. I am not trying to be the bearer of bad news nor do I claim to be a prophet but, allow me to ask a few questions; do you feel that maybe we are experiencing the “calm” before the storm? Can you discern in your spirit that things will not always be like they are now? If there is severe persecution on the horizon, will we be ready to endure its fury? Will we stand for God’s truth in the face of violence? Are you strong enough today to forsake everything you have and follow His voice wherever He may lead you? Having HOPE in Christ is a beautiful fruit of spiritual maturity in knowing that God never fails and whatever the future brings we will confidently hold on to His hand. However, before we go further, we should dress for battle and lace our combat boots as we prepare our conscience for a few sobering thoughts.
We have programmed our mentality to sort incoming messages into organized compartments. We like to hear positive words and we love encouraging speeches. We become instantly turned off with negative comments and views that paint pictures of suffering and adversity. I realize that many of us have read articles, books and listened to prophecy teachers and our pastors speak about the future. We also know the Bible and may have a general outline of eschatology, but to be honest, many times we find that we do not have a firm grasp of the details. If God’s Word was broken down into more detail, the Bible would not be just one book but rather a very large “series” of commentaries, but one thing is perfectly clear; the Lord had every intention to give us “keys” that would unlock layers of divine revelation. Much of God’s wisdom is hidden in the depths of His Spirit and it is within the realm of His presence where we find the treasures of His intentions. Handing someone a sword does not mean they skillfully know how to use it – it takes years of constant seeking and God’s heart in order to become a wise counselor. Reading the Bible is not necessarily studying it. We can receive much from reading but the heart of His enlightenment lies “below” the surface. Those who are hungry for His truth must also have the equal passion and desire for His righteousness. We cannot be just archeologist of information unless we are first lovers of His person. We do not glean His fields so that we can celebrate knowing more – but rather we receive according to our humility, motives and responsibility to do His will which is “intertwined” within His absolute truth. We must proceed in His way (He is Master) and with the sanctified attitude (we are the student) as His holiness discerns the desecration and blasphemy from the darkness of pride.
Let me ask another simple question; do you believe we will change the world and bring revival that will sweep the globe and restore God’s peace and love to the planet? Or, do you believe the world will continue growing darker, filled with hate and more violence against God and His people? I realize we do not want to think about this. There are people I am very close to that will openly reject this type of talk by saying why should we worry about it because there is nothing we can do to stop it. I understand this view but at the same time, how can we work fervently in God’s Kingdom with our head in the sand? I know that emotional fear desires to grip us and paralyze our mind and emotions but this is where FAITH must rise and be a stronger influence on our thoughts than our “feelings”. It is crucial to keep our eyes on God in these last hours because it is a constant reminder that we are conquerors because GOD is who He says He is! Saturating our heart with His truth will enable us to function in this world – but not become entangled in its lies.
With God’s grace I will answer the question. We will NOT turn the world around – not because God CANNOT but because He has seen the future. It is not being negative to say, “It is too late”. In His foreknowledge He has revealed that sin will increase and society will become no less than savage barbarians (again) without a conscience. This part of judgment is relatively clear and it will include Jesus coming in the clouds with a holy judgment of wrath that will destroy the wicked inhabitants of the earth. With His Omnipotent Word of TRUTH, He will slaughter all those who have risen against him in hatred and this demonstration of power will be like none has ever imagined. I am sorry and do not mean to dash your dreams that we can evangelize the masses and convert Satan’s kingdom into a glorious world for God, however we can work within His divine appointments and look forward to the New Millennium with the Holy City of Jerusalem descending from heaven where Jesus will rule and reign as King for a thousand years.
It is not my intention to bore you or depress you with pages of facts about how vile we have become as a society. If you want to study the darkness of people’s hearts, you can read all you want at the touch of your fingertips. I will mention however, that we must realize a very important aspect of our daily routine may not be exactly what we believe it is. I am speaking about communication – the media world of which we receive our news from. It is common knowledge the majority of every television network, radio, and newspaper is owned by just a handful of very powerful people. Each of these individuals has an agenda to control the minds of every human. They realize the power of words can manipulate and influence the brain into believing what it hears and in turn can plant seeds of information that can be used to lead the masses. We are not only heading into a mind control state of existence – we are already there! The heaviness and discouragement we feel in our heart is not only from drinking in the dark events but also the result of listening to lies. We may feel we are not doing anything wrong intentionally but the absorption of “twisted truth” nevertheless has a direct “impact” on our spirit and conscience. We need to consider who we listen to as we ask the Lord about pulling away from the dragon’s flood of lies. “Now brother, you are starting to sound like some fanatic weirdo that is afraid of everything.” Call it whatever you will, there is no positive reason that a true Christian can explain that would justify listening to Satan’s lies concerning his worldviews. If we have nothing better than to wallow in distorted half-truths, then we need to examine our heart and see why we feel the urge to be made a fool of. The nightly news will continue “feeding the listener” because the strategy of Satan is to keep us pacing the floor with worry and fear while we sit and do nothing to actually fulfill or accomplish our divine calling. Since the media is not filled with the Holy Spirit, pray and ask the Lord about limiting your intake of what the world’s humanistic philosophy has to say.
It is common to see large crowds gather when the subject is blessings, heaven, or bragging about how wonderful we are. It is not difficult to make lots friends and financial supporters when your message is one that exalts human goodness and how God is going to pour out His riches on those who follow Him. Though some of these promises are true when placed in their proper context, we need to be cautious when they are presented out of balance and in a form of extremism. Yes, it is true we have been MADE righteous because we are in Christ, but as far as our “goodness” I am afraid I have bad news. People do not want to hear it but the truth is that our old nature is corrupt and depraved. Our righteousness is as “filthy rags” because our old nature is filled with sin. The only good we can do is what God “helps” or empowers us to do. The only good we can say is what God speaks through us or anoints us to say. This is why secular psychology usually does not really help anyone because it emphasizes its power in the ability of “human” ability and intelligence. Churches will continue using humanism to draw the large crowds and generate the finances needed to support their programs. Compromise has “reduced” the level of God’s Spirit in the church while increasing the level of carnality. Preaching against sin is not popular because people love to sin! Selah.

Death is the “gift” that homosexual behavior has given to the world. Despite this truth, people in positions of influence and power, such as our government and legal system, now defend homosexuality as a normal and wholesome lifestyle. Soon it will be against the law to even speak about this issue in a negative light. America’s leaders are promoting homosexuality as desirable because it gives them favor as they receive political support from the masses for their policies and laws. Our culture of death believes there will be no consequences to their actions. The sin of Homosexuality is NOT harmonious with divine life. Far from being conformed to the image and likeness of God, homosexuality is a manifestation of the spirit of anti-christ. It is antagonistic to life, and a vehicle of debauchery and corruption. Satan is a liar, and so too are the men and women who support this abomination.
America became a culture of death in 1973. That year the Supreme Court declared it to be a woman’s right to murder the child in her womb. It was the same year that the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from their list of mental illnesses, declaring it to be normal, and healthy behavior. America chose death over life. Throughout the Bible Godly women are consistently portrayed as desiring to bring forth life. However the widespread use of birth-control has now become the substitute for abstinence. It is not anyone’s right to kill an unborn baby just because you do not want to be bothered with it. This is truly contrary to the nature and character of God, which is life-giving. America has not been able to “escape” the consequences of her actions as God’s judgment is “at the door”. The most prosperous nation in the world has intentionally chosen death and is now dying morally, spiritually, and physically. America’s once mighty economic and manufacturing dominance has been destroyed. The dollar is dying and when it falls it will cause a financial collapse “domino effect” throughout the entire planet. America has bloodstained hands with so many deceptions and evil deeds in the past that are hidden behind the scenes. This nation produces the abundance of pornography and “Hollywood” rebellion to all the nations of the world that are poisoning the minds of billions with evil imaginations. Where are we headed? This nation will eventually present nudity and sex on regular television and pedophiles are the next slice of society that will cry for the right to express their sexual needs just like the gay movement. Where there is no repentance for sin there is judgment.

The question that is in the back of everyone’s mind is, “what will happen to our economy”? Well, you do not have to search very far to see people preparing for an economic collapse. People laugh and call them doomsday preppers or fear mongers but one thing seems to be prevalent is that many people are becoming worried. Not to intentionally be negative again, but it is clear that the world will experience an economic collapse. The United States is (or used to be) a front-runner when it comes to the world of finances and no matter how the experts try to decorate it or present it – we are in trouble. It is only common sense that if we are blowing up a balloon, that it can hold only so much air. The result of over filling is an explosion, which is exactly where we are headed. History proves that when a nation prints an overabundance of currency, it becomes worthless. Our debt is spinning so out of control, it is agreed that we will never be able to “justify” our checkbook so to speak. This mammon melt-down will come to pass in order for Satan to establish his New World Order of control. The mark of the beast will be a part of his world government and will identify who chooses to serve him – and who will perish. “Father, we humbly bow before you. We love you. We choose to stand with you even as a martyr and in your power – the gates of hell will NOT prevail against us! We choose to seek your face in the secret place and for your glory we live, amen.”

The Beauty of Holy Intimacy

November 19, 2014Leave a comment

THE SECRET PLACE
Abiding under the shadow of the almighty
PART 37
THE BEAUTY OF HOLY INTIMACY

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power; His understanding is infinite.” (Psalm 147: 3-5)
One of the most intriguing thoughts is realizing that God knows exactly what we are thinking. There is always a motive behind every deed and even though we may go through the motions with some of the things we say and do – God knows our intentions. I am confident we will agree that life is all about love. It begins with the love from God that gives us the opportunity to live and we are nurtured with the love from our family that supports and encourages us as we grow. We receive the love of Christ in salvation and for many, love is expressed through the bond of marriage and to complete the circle of charity as Christians we abide in the awareness of releasing God’s love through our heart to the world. There are varying degrees of receiving and giving of love and likewise there are reasons why. God understands circumstances that are beyond our control pertaining to our childhood. He realizes that our past has a direct influence on how we are and in His justice and compassion He can extend as much grace as is needed to help us. We are not to use our disappointments and scars as an excuse – but rather we can give our heart to Him and allow Him to “rebuild” our mind, emotions and conscience into a brand new creation. Do not feel condemned for being wounded but trust that He can transform your stumbling blocks into stepping stones. There is an awesome beauty of intimacy associated with forgiving others. Purging us from resentment will deliver us and bring peace of mind, fullness of love and the spiritual freedom that comes from the joy of His truth. He is the one who made you, who knows you and the only one that has the power to transform your soul.
Let us talk about intimacy and allow Him to reveal the depths of where we are in our relationship with Him. Going to church has its place as a public gathering of believers, but it NOT the same thing as walking in spiritual intimacy with God. There is a huge difference between our public praise for God and our private time alone with Him. The corporate assembly is the collection of many thoughts, attitudes, agendas and opinions – all gathered under one roof to listen to a message from God. Hopefully there is an opportunity for prayer and worship but under the parameters of time, the services usually follow a program. This is one reason why the closet of prayer is mentioned in God’s Word, as we can spend as much time as we desire with God without disruption. It is the beauty of the “secret place” where we express our thoughts freely and choose not to worry about anything other than being in His presence. Allow me to say at this point something that hurts my soul deeply but needs to be said. Our actions reveal the truth about our love for His presence and exposes our lack of desire to be with Him. Selah. Brother, I cannot believe you would say that! It is offensive for you to state that Christians do not have a passion to spend time with God. As I hear from The Lord, it is Christ that relates His message to me. It is He that knows the hearts of people and it is He that experiences the hurt and rejection from being ignored and forgotten.
Do you ever think about going to heaven? What do you dream about? I have heard many messages about the streets of gold and how we will not have any worries or pain for all eternity. These are definitely encouraging thoughts but how often do you hear people talk about how they long to be in His presence so they can worship Him constantly? Do you know why this is? Because it is not really their priority now! Are we thankful to go to heaven to worship God – or to enjoy eternal life by avoiding hell? I know that is a sobering question but if we are so excited and in love with Him, why don’t we desire to spend more time with Him now? The reason why living with God is not thought about concerning heaven is because walking with Him is not our highest priority now. I have led worship in the churches for years and at times have been frustrated at the lack of enthusiasm and participation. I have often wondered if the church setting of corporate worship was the only time that members praised the Lord. The same could be said of prayers being said or Bibles being opened. If people are not interested in spending quality time with God now – why would we presume they would be excited to do the same thing in heaven? Do you believe people will complain about the style of music or the volume of the instruments in heaven? Do you believe people will become restless, bored, complaining, criticizing and disagreeing with the sermons? Do you think in heaven there will be jealousy, backbiting, politics, gossip, pride, competition, envy and all the other bad attitudes found in today’s church? Now is the time for us to honestly and thoroughly examine our heart concerning motives and intentions, our dreams, visions, thoughts and the reasons for our hope.
The act of being grateful is directly connected to our appreciation for that person. Actually, the lost who are not members of God’s household can produce the expression of being grateful. Our spiritual act of worship is a manifestation of our heart that cries to God in thankfulness. By the way, casually saying, “Thank God!” is alright but it is not necessarily spending quality time in intimacy with Him. We cannot deceive Him and should never assume that life is some sort of a cosmic game. In fact, it makes a mockery of who He is and what He is trying to do in this world. He desires to be “intertwined” with our heart and spirit and for us to be aware of Him every minute. He wants us to live under the shadow of His wings and be focused and sensitive to His voice all the time. Have I arrived at this awesome place with my relationship with Him? Sadly, I confess that I have not. This truth burns within me although I have not been able to maintain this level of spirituality for long periods of time. Can we grow and develop into this way of life? I believe there is nothing impossible with God’s power. We can have as much of Him as we desire. The question is; how much of Him do we really want?
Paul speaks of a ministry that every Christian is called to, one that does not require particular gifts or talents. It is to be undertaken by all who have been born again and in fact, this “ministry” is every believer’s first calling and all other endeavors must flow out of it. No service can be pleasing to God unless it is birthed out of this spiritual foundation. I am talking about the ministry of beholding the face of Christ. Paul says, “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord” (II Corinthians 3:18). What does it mean to behold the Lord’s glory? Paul is speaking of devoted, intimate, focused worship. It is sacrificed time that is given to God simply to behold Him. And the apostle quickly adds, “Therefore seeing we have this ministry” (4:1). Paul makes it clear that beholding the face of Christ is a ministry we ALL must devote ourselves to. The Greek word for beholding in this verse is a very strong expression. It indicates not just taking a look, but “fixing the gaze.” It means deciding, “I won’t move from this position”. Before I do anything else, before I try to accomplish a single thing, I must be in God’s presence. Many Christians misinterpret the phrase “beholding as in a glass”, by thinking of a mirror, with their image being reflected back to them. But that is NOT Paul’s meaning here. He is speaking of an intensely focused gaze, as if peering at something beyond the natural – into the supernatural. We are to “fix our eyes” this way, determined to see God’s glory in the face of Christ. We are to shut ourselves in the Holy of Holies, with but one obsession: to gaze so intently, and to commune with such devotion, that we are changed into what He has designed for us to be. Paul says the person who is shut in with Christ, beholding Him, is being transfigured and transformed from what they used to be into a more pure vessel of honor. What happens as a believer beholds the face of Christ? Paul writes, “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord”. But who will take the time to spend quiet moments with God like this? People go to church and I am not saying this is bad; however it should not satisfy our deep need for concentrated spiritual intimacy. Remember there is a hypocritical religious attitude that is an imposter to the genuine love relationship to God. It is humility and Godly sorrow that breaks our heart and keeps us sensitive to His voice – not religious activity. Holy purity comes from consistent repentance and is the only admission into His presence. Religion is filled with pride and follows the emotional leading of the carnal conscience. Religion avoids spiritual intimacy because it realizes the pain of dealing with sin and the need to change.
Are you filled with joy today? As you have been reading this, have you been excited about God and what He is doing in your life? Are you encouraged today and enthused about His Holy Spirit and what He has called you to do? Or are you sad and just feel like no one cares about you? Do you feel that everything is hopeless and that all is lost to the devil and his kingdom of darkness? Allow me to speak to you directly for just a minute. You are NOT reading this out of a random coincidence or chance. You are here this moment as a divine appointment. As we have a choice each day to put on our earthly garments – we also choose which spiritual garments we are going to wear. There is a garment of “heaviness” that is associated with depression and is void of hope, appreciation, love and faith. The other garment is PRAISE and that attitude contains our awareness and gratefulness of God’s presence and is FILLED with the beauty of holy intimacy. Decide right now which garment you will wear today – and determine who is in control your life – Jesus or your flesh! How do you do this? Repent right now for your attitude and ask Jesus to forgive you. Tell Him how much you love Him and how you want Him to wrap His arms around you. He will exchange your tears for His joy. Amen.

What is God Searching for?

November 19, 2014Leave a comment

THE SECRET PLACE
Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty
PART 36
WHAT IS GOD SEARCHING FOR?

My wife Cheryl and I do not enjoy very many things on television but we do occasionally watch reality shows like “Mountain Men” and “Life below Zero”. As I was watching a recent episode, I was thinking about the specific path each one of these individuals has taken and all of the vision and hard work to make their dream happen. I am just using these few people as an example, but my question is this; whose vision are they living? When any of us comes up with an idea that we “want” to do – are we being inspired by God or did we just make an emotional decision simply based on seeing ourselves living that way? And on a broader scale, allow me to ask each of us – are we now living and following the path that God has called us to, or are we asking Him to bless our imagination? Mmmmm…
There are many things to consider when trying to understand what we are doing and where we are going. Allow me to ask a few more questions. Would you agree that most of us are confident and even proud to admit that we can hear from God in most of our decisions? Would you also concur that you are filled with God’s Holy Spirit and are sensitive to His voice? If this is true, then it can be noted that we are obedient to His commands, we have keen discernment and are walking in His “perfect” will. Right? What’s wrong? I thought we had established a firm foundation about our personal relationship with Christ. Oh, I see…walking in His Spirit is something you “desire” to do, but have not really mastered yet.
I think that most of us can relate (by experience) that being led by God and walking with Him is much more difficult than it seems. In the eyes of a child, the simplicity of believing and trusting is crucial to the development of love. All of the love that we soak into our heart from others is what builds and creates the image of how we think and react. The amount we learn about love is a direct influence on how we process all of the fruits and gifts related to love and ultimately how we give love to others. The highest priority in life is to allow our entire being to become saturated in God’s love so that we might become a vessel of honor for Him to pour His love through us. We cannot be led by God if we do not have the light of His love to illuminate our path.
There is a danger to becoming filled with knowledge of God’s Word without His wisdom to understand it. It would be better to know small amounts with His revelation – than to memorize large portions of scripture without comprehending what it means. Our Christian life is a process of development the same as anything else. The novice must grow into their relationship with Christ before they can lead the same as a six year old child is not ready to drive a car just because we hand them the keys. There must be experience to go along with knowledge because it is in the miracle of divine revelation we LEARN truth that empowers our faith. Knowing God personally is the only way anyone can live for Him or die for Him. There is a secret truth to meditating on God’s Word because He has designed our love relationship to be intimate and saturated with concentration. Prayer and worship are perfect examples of how we are given the opportunity to focus on God and the privilege to allow Him to “invade” our thoughts with His voice. When our will humbly submits to His authority it becomes possible to be intertwined and know the mind of God pertaining to a specific situation. However, anyone that has experienced this spiritual phenomenon can testify that it is not as easy as it sounds.
Have you ever believed in something very passionately only to find later that it did not happen? I am sure you were left with many questions and you searched your soul and God Himself for the answers. Of course there are several possible reasons that we fail to receive; sometimes it is our fault and other times God says no. On some occasions we do find answers after the fact that reveal how the Lord was actually working on our behalf by “saving” us from disaster. What we were so focused on many times (after all is said and done) is sometimes NOT what we thought it was. A good lesson to learn in life is that it’s possible to convince our mind and our emotions into believing a deception. Just because we “feel” a certain way (even very strongly) does not mean we are being led by God. Selah.
I was reminded by a good friend recently how that our life is similar to the mouse in the maze. God is looking down and from His divine perspective, He can observe the past, the present and the future all at the same time and in this “big picture” view, all of our twists and turns make perfect sense. However when we are only seeing the path we are on, it is more understandable how sometimes we can become confused. You see, each one of His children has a destiny (blueprint) that has been drawn by God. Sometimes we forget but when we were redeemed through the blood of Christ, we were “bought” with a price. Now, we no longer make our own decisions or lay out our own plans. He is the creator of the mouse (us) AND the maze (our destiny). In this light, He has a very specific path for our life and is constantly intervening to help keep us on HIS course. Every Christian has a mission to accomplish and one day will give an account of their life including all they did and should not have done and all they were going to do but never did.
When we are obedient to His voice by submitting our will to His voice, there is a very strong certainty that we will fulfill our calling. On the other hand, our freewill can interrupt and cause havoc within God’s “perfect” plan. Unlike the maze that the mouse follows, our path has no walls but rather an invisible line. We “choose” to follow God’s path – He does not force us to stay on His path. If we feel we have heard His voice and run off to Africa to do His work – He may allow it, but that does not necessarily mean He endorses it or will bless it. The reason why many fail is because they may have listened to their emotions instead of God – or they may have heard from God but did not wait for His perfect TIME. The story is told of a young man that wanted to be a missionary. He was a brand new Christian and was praying one day and He heard God say, “Go”. He immediately jumped up and headed to some third world country. He stayed for a couple of years and had such a terrible time that he came back home discouraged and defeated. In his prayer time he asked the Lord what happened and he finally listened long enough to hear God’s reply, “You did not wait to hear the rest of my instructions. I SAID, go sit down and learn of me – and in “due season” I will use you for my glory.”
How many times have we tried to make something happen? How many times have we completely missed God in our decisions? I believe in the Christians life there are two categories that we have the choice to abide in. One I call God’s “perfect” will and the other I call His “tolerant” will. Of course we want to stay in the perfect will column all the time but that would take “walking” in the Holy Spirit constantly. Hopefully in our spiritual development we will eventually come into that place. God’s tolerant will is where we find ourselves when we make crucial mistakes as a result of our disobedience. You see, when we sin by not listening to His voice, He is disappointed but is always ready to forgive us when we realize we have blown it. HOWEVER, listen carefully, this does not mean we do not endure the CONSEQUENCES of our trespass. For example, a Christian has the free-will to rob a bank and after it’s over they can sincerely ask forgiveness – but if they are captured they will still go to prison to pay the penalty of their crime.
It may be a surprise to know but Christians not only randomly make bad decisions but can actually be a habitual sinner. Of course God does intervene with discipline and chastisement to the extent that only He knows, but He is patient and filled with merciful love. Have you ever had an attraction that you knew was wrong but allowed your flesh to dictate your actions? God loves us more than anything but He hates sin – and because of His great love He “tolerates” our deeds. Sin in the believer’s life breaks the heart of God because it causes separation between Him and the one He adores. We rarely ever think about the way God feels toward us because our mind is so filled with the affairs of this world. We casually think He is working in heaven or busy trying to solve the problems of the universe. It may change our life if we really knew how strongly He wanted to rescue us from eternal disappointment. He gave His only precious Son to be tortured to death for those who would “abandon” their life for Him and we will never forsake our carnal will until we embrace the revelation of His righteousness and holiness. Selah.
Let’s think about His love a little more. Do you believe He is listening to every word you say? Do you really believe He knows every thought that crosses your mind? Is there any other reason He would pay that much attention to you than because He cares about you and is very interested in everything about you? Why do you think He is concerned enough to know how many hairs that are on your head? What would cause Him to mention in His Word how much He longs to spend time with you and shelter you under the shadow of His wings? It is simply because He loves you more than anything else! He creates all things and can have anything – but He longs for us to love Him. A covenant is a mutual exchange of trust and a love unto death. Everything God has is ours but everything we have must be given to him. What could He possibly want from us? Our hope, trust, energy, passion, zeal, our possessions, plans, visions, our dreams, gifts, talents, thoughts and deeds, but most of all He just wants someone to trust what He says. He is waiting for His children to grow stronger in faith that they might obey Him. Our will is the desire of our heart and that is what He is searching for. How have you done so far in your walk with Him? After all these years of learning how to live, are you finally ready to surrender your will and give Him all of your heart?

Character of the Messenger

November 19, 2014Leave a comment

THE SECRET PLACE
Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty
PART 35
CHARACTER OF THE MESSENGER

All Christians have a message, which automatically makes EVERY Christian a messenger. At some point in the believer’s life, they will end up being involved with some type of ministry involving the spreading of the gospel. There are some, (and I know them personally) that have never participated in any type of ministry directly except maybe bringing a dish to a potluck dinner, but nonetheless it was a worthy contribution. Have you ever witnessed about Jesus to another person? Have you ever thought about the personal responsibility to be a messenger of the gospel? Whatever the case, my point is that each person of God has within them the testimony of salvation whether they ever speak it or not. I believe that everyone who is a member of God’s household should have the burden and zeal to at least be aware of their witness and have a constant sensitivity for lost souls. I believe that evangelism is the heart of the great commission and God’s people are referred to as vessels of honor, instruments and messengers, with the idea of a being used as a mouthpiece to communicate the message of God’s will. When Jesus gave His life to ransom the world, he left a will. His last “will” and testament was to be read by each of His disciples and then broadcast to as many people that would listen. The reading of a will is all about disclosing what each heir will receive from the inheritance that was decided by the one who wrote it before they died. Jesus has included all of His children in His will and now it us up to us to tell the world about the wonderful story of His gift of salvation and all that it contains.
Within the realm of service and obedience to God is a hidden secret. I call it hidden because it seems that many, who are in the arena of laboring for Him, do not realize that personal character is just as important as what we say or for that matter even our gifts and talents. In this light, we can make the humble observation that it is not so much “what” the message is – but maybe more importantly, from what “type” of heart is it being poured from? Do not misunderstand my direction, I believe that many good things come from people that are not living a sanctified life, because God can touch talent with His anointing and many can receive the spiritual connection for whatever edification they need. However, we must not neglect the fact that the way we live is one of most powerful testimonies that reveals what who we are and what we really believe thus having a direct impact on those who are observing. I do not believe it is strange to question a message from a messenger who is NOT living what they are saying. Selah.
I personally believe that many churches have failed to teach the reverential fear of God. This is a foundational view of God and is crucial if we are to understand what it means to be His child. When God’s presence is not respected, it is easy to not respect anything associated with the ministry. If God’s Word is not revered and His ministers have a worldly attitude, the congregation will become too casual and relaxed and slowly fall away from the fear of His holiness. I am not referring to empty religious legalism, but rather the divine reality of a spiritual awareness about who God is and what He demands. I personally do not appreciate the atmosphere of the modern church as many have opened their doors to the world with the idea that a comfortable atmosphere will cause the average lost person to be more relaxed. Why in the world would anyone want that except Satan? There are accounts in the Bible of people encountering angels and they fell on their face in fear. If this is the human response to angels, imagine what we would really do if Jesus Christ Himself stood before us! I am sure we would not slap him on the back and invite him to watch television with us. Why? Because His presence is so holy the mountains would melt and the sky would roll away and millions of angels would cry holy is the Lamb to receive all glory, honor and praise forever. I thought that being filled with the Holy Spirit was being saturated in God’s presence. And I thought that walking in His Spirit was the highest priority of every Christian. (?)
Christians must be set apart from mundane matters, lifted above worldly aims and ambitions, and devoted singularly to God’s service. In first Timothy 6:11-14, Paul lists four very important characteristics of God’s people. They are marked by what they flee from – follow after – fight for – and faithful to. Let us observe some divine realities into the desirable character of God’s messenger.
Flees from: FLEE means to “run away from” like from a wild animal, a poisonous snake, a plague or a similar danger. Our English word fugitive is derived from the Greek word “flee” and in a spiritual sense the person of God is a lifelong fugitive fleeing those things that desires to destroy him or her and their ministry. In other places Paul listed some threats such as immorality, idolatry, false teaching, and youthful lusts. At the top of the list, the representative of God must flee the evils associated with the love of the world and especially the love of money: associated with temptations, snares and harmful desires which lead to destruction, apostasy, and sorrow. Greed is the enemy. It can destroy the Christian, so they must run from it. The Christian is not a spiritual con artist. Those who have a specific calling must proclaim God’s pure message, not what they think will sell. Ministers of the gospel are in the business of doing God’s will which is piercing men’s hearts with God’s truth, not tickling their ears. Personal gain is not the priority! If anyone is in the ministry for the money, they are not a servant of God as they are prostituting their call for personal gain. Anyone who puts a price on their ministry devalues it and is a shame to God’s Kingdom. “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 have coveted after (become greedy), they have turned away from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (I Timothy 6:9-10)
Follows after: Just as important as fleeing from sin – the person of God is also known by what they run toward. The Christian’s life and ministry is one of flight from what is wrong and the pursuit of what is right. There are six virtues listed by Paul in I Timothy six, righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Since the practice of holiness is a mark of God’s people, obviously it must be modeled by the person of God who gives an impression to all who observe them. How tragic it is when a Christian’s life does not live up to their message. If a person is going to say they are a Christian, yet act like a heathen at work, it would be better to NOT claim to be a Christian at all. It is no secret or divine revelation to know the representative of God’s Kingdom must practice what they preach or no one will listen or respect anything they say or do. “For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no Case enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” (Mathew 5:20)
Fighting for: The man or woman of God is a fighter and a soldier. They must have the revelation that God’s ministry is war and they are fighting on the side of truth against error – to perceive the ministry as anything else is to fail. Christians are in a battle with the Devil and his worldly system. Christians battle sin, carnality, lust, heresy, apathy and lethargy in their own flesh. Those who have never been on the front lines of warfare do not understand what it means to be sober and sensitive to the spirits that surround us. Disciples that have dealt with violent persecution and the demon-possessed have realized what being a soldier of war is all about. Paul told Timothy to, “Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs (distractions) of everyday life, so that he can please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” (II Timothy 2:3-4) The modern church has reduced the reality of spiritual warfare to a cut and dried lifestyle of fluff and cotton candy. Martyrs do not compromise! Most Christians have never realized that to accept Christ means to follow Him into battle. Most would even admit they did not sign up for getting dirty or confronting the dark kingdom. Many churches would be terrified if a demon manifested itself or if it became a “crime” to be a Christian. How easy it is to go listen to a sermon in a beautiful building. How many “fluffy” Christians realize that God is waiting for them to put on their combat boots? How many know it – but refuse to do it? “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are also called, and have professed a good profession before many witnesses.” (I Timothy 6:12)
Faithful to: Being nourished in God’s Word, the messenger of God is first and foremost a guardian of the treasure of the truth he is to proclaim. He must preserve it from any error or misinterpretation. He carries the responsibility to handle it accurately. The lack of the older Christians being faithful to God’s commands has contributed to this anemic generation of young people that have become entangled with philosophy while drifting away from truth. Many churches and the masses of religious people have allowed the lies of psychiatry and scientific theories to teach them and lead them into deception. Departing from literal interpretation has caused the sharpness of right and wrong to become dull and vague and as it continues it will be completely eliminated from society. Our great shepherd realizes that sheep are generally dumb which is why He relays His commands into a simple message that even a child can understand. He has written His Word and sent His Holy Spirit to lead us in the way we should go. When we obey we are blessed and when we disobey we are punished. There – now wasn’t that easy? Well…not exactly. It would be easy if it were not for this small problem; we want to do whatever we want! Being faithful takes awareness and concentration. It seems we cannot stay focused on the mission at hand. Jesus courageously remained faithful to His Word and told Pilate the truth – even though it cost him his life. We must do no less.

Tolerance is Justification to Sin

November 19, 2014Leave a comment

THE SECRET PLACE
Offend me with the truth but please never comfort me with a lie
PART 34
TOLERANCE IS JUSTIFICATION TO SIN

“And He (Jesus) said unto them, Go ye into ALL the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved (eternal life) but he that believes not shall be damned (condemned to eternal punishment and separation from God’s presence).” (Mark 16:15)
We are still talking about the dark movement to mock and abolish evangelism while promoting the idea of a “modified” (imposter) love that will unify the world. As more Christians join this religious heresy, the world is becoming more aggressive and outspoken against the Bible. Christians are feeling the pressure to stop preaching doctrine and in trying to figure out how to escape persecution, are now joining a deception that is in direct contrast to the Lord’s great commission. Many churches are converting into “seeker friendly” assemblies because the leaders have become soft and afraid to teach the truth. This fear and weakness is NOT convicting the lost to be saved but rather is making them “comfortable” in their sins. God’s Word IS the convicting power that opens the eyes of the blind – that they might see their need for a Savior. It is God’s sharp sword of truth that breaks the heart and pierces the conscience of the hearer – that they may know they are lost and gives them the faith to reach out and embrace Jesus as their Lord! If a lost individual can enter into an assembly and not feel the convicting sense of guilt and the need to repent of their sins, the FIRE has been replaced with a social club!
Please do not misunderstand me, there is a genuine unity of the faith among the remnant – but it is holy bond that is united in the Fathers perfect truth. The false doctrine of unity is saying that all people from all religions are the same and that ALL belief systems are true in the eyes of God. However, this deception has nothing to do with God’s perfect plan that explains how there is but ONE genuine unity. “Endeavoring to keep the UNITY of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is ONE body (saints), and ONE Spirit (God’s presence), even as you are called in ONE hope of your calling; ONE Lord (master), ONE faith (doctrines of truth), ONE baptism (symbol of the born again salvation experience). ONE God and Father of all (heirs of salvation), who is above all, and through all, and in you all (those who have accepted Christ as Savior).” (Ephesians 4:3-6) It cannot be any clearer than this passage. The world is simply discarding God’s Word about there being only one way to heaven because it is very offensive and insulting to those who worship other ideas. Christians love to sing praise songs and hear messages about Jesus within the walls of the church, but find it is a dark and aggressive environment outside the security of their comfort zone. They soon realize that very few rejoice and agree with what they believe. The masses do not handle rejection very well and the gospel of the cross is a direct insult to every other religion that does not have the God of the Bible as their Lord. It is an offense because it stands for the death of the individuals “will” and the new resurrected life of following God’s will. Along with all the responsibilities of living the Christian life, there is the commitment to pray for the lost, to intercede for those who need Jesus, to pray for divine appointments and the sensitivity to recognize God’s instructions – all for the purpose of seeing the lost be “converted to Christ.” It is easy to go on a missionary trip to a third world country and attend church services that have been arranged in advance so that we can meet other Christians – but what about standing for truth against those who oppose God and who believe their religion deserves our respect? Being a witness to the world is making the decision to NOT compromise in the face of the spirit of anti-christ. There is coming a time when we who call ourselves a Christian will be faced with the choice of standing or wilting. Selah.
The new teachings proclaim that God loves everyone – even if they do not convert. Many are saying that it is a form of hatred to not tolerate and accept everyone the way they are. Allow me to say, judgment is not hating. Judgment is discerning right from wrong and every Christian has been called to do this. To accept everyone and every belief actually requires no belief at all! It is true that God loves everyone, but His plan includes the process of transformation. The foundation of salvation is the act of grace and mercy that OFFERS the blood of Jesus Christ as the power to forgive and redeem the soul. Next, it is the absorption of His Word that renews our mind and transforms our thinking our emotions and the state of our conscience to become a brand new creation. God realizes who is truly born-again and cannot accept anything but the genuine conversion! When anyone is truly saved in Christ Jesus, they will speak His truth and refuse to embrace the false teachings of other religions. It is true that Jesus mingled with sinners but when He taught them and intervened into their life, He would tell them to “go and sin NO more”. This meant that if you continue in your disobedience you are as a blind Pharisee. It is very clear – Jesus came to destroy the carnal works of the Pharisees and their hypocrisy – NOT to create a partnership with them!

This new movement sees the man on the cross as nothing more than an archetypal image. They say that He is not God but rather He is every man and every woman and that salvation comes from doing what WE believe is right. This is a twist of the truth that comes from the passage that reminds us when we reach out to others we are reaching out to Jesus. The contextual truth is that Jesus was a real person and the story of His incarnation is literal. He is the Son of God and is God. He came to earth from heaven and was born of a virgin. He lived as a perfect man and a perfect God at the same time. He was offered on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of whosoever would receive Him into their heart. Salvation is not based on how good we are or our good intentions but rather on the blood covenant promise of the Lamb of God. It is the blood of Jesus that purchases us, redeems us, saves us and gives us eternal life. Nothing or no one else in heaven, the earth or the universe can save a soul or give everlasting life. This explains why Christianity is intolerant of all other religions – it proves that every other religious idea is a LIE! Christians are the messengers of God’s strict and definite plan of salvation – and there is NO compromise. But brother, what about all the billions of people that give their life to other teachings and doctrines involving other deities and religious ideas? “Jesus said unto him, I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE: no person comes to the Father but by ME.” (John 14:6) All other salvations are counterfeit.

Listen carefully – when the world rejects Christianity they are actually exposing their own intolerance and being hypocritical to their own belief system. In this light, the issue is not really about tolerance – but about defining morality and righteous behavior, mmmm. Did you hear that? (This is getting good). Society is becoming very intolerant to biblical morality but their argument has a huge hole in it. Judging means to “approve” of something the same as it means to “disapprove” of something. This means that it is a clear form of judgment to decide and proclaim that homosexuality and abortion for example are perfectly acceptable. The very criticism of the world against Christians using God’s Word as a standard to judge against what is right and wrong is no different than the world’s opinion of an acceptable personal lifestyle. The earthly system is crying that it is wrong for Christians to oppose the idea of freedom to do whatever you want – while they oppose the idea of God’s Word being the absolute truth to live by. So the world is really not saying – “don’t judge me” – they are saying do not judge “differently” than me or in other words – DO NOT OPPOSE US! (Tolerance is revealed!)

Satan has figured out a convincing way to persuade the masses that it is wrong to criticize the way people live so the world can do whatever feels good without being haunted by God’s truth. My Christian brothers and sisters DO NOT be intimidated by these twisted lies and vain philosophies. God’s divine reality is the only truth that can bring genuine spiritual freedom and peace. Everything the world declares as tolerance is actually a “judgment” that allows them to do it. These false world views have nothing to base their ideas on except the carnal imagination that is filled with pride, rebellion and destruction. “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight. Therefore as the fire devours the stubble, and flame consumes the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have CAST AWAY the law of the Lord of hosts, and DESPISED the Word of the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 5:20,21,24)

How important do we believe this subject to be? We feel safe right now, snuggled in our little houses, secure in knowing that we have friends and enjoy the thoughts that everything is going to be ok. We are not excited to confront the world’s system and hope to avoid taking a stand for truth because we fear persecution. Have we ever made time to read Foxes book of martyrs? Do we ever wonder how many have suffered gruesome torture for simply speaking God’s will? I know we would rather think about happy things like going on vacation, but this is a very serious subject. I am searching my heart and asking myself the question – Am I prepared to face the enemy? “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the FIERY TRIAL which is to try you, as though some strange thing has come upon you. But rejoice that you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when His glory is revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let them NOT be ashamed; but let them glorify God on this behalf.” (I Peter 4: 11a, 12,13,16).

God’s Love Tells the Truth

November 19, 2014Leave a comment

THE SECRET PLACE
Offend me with the truth but please never comfort me with a lie
PART 33
GOD’S LOVE TELLS THE TRUTH

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe NOT, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (II Corinthians 4:3-4)
I would like to continue with what we were talking about last week. This is a very important subject and one that I hope we can all learn from. I am certain that many of us will face this issue at some time or another in the future, and for some of us it may be from our own immediate family. A growing number of Christians are finding that it is increasingly difficult to live peacefully in a darkening world while holding firm the light of truth. Desiring to be accepted by the socially and politically correct leaders of the world’s agenda, Christians are sadly exchanging light for darkness. Of course there are many sins that are tempting the Christian and we know our weaknesses and the pleasures of our flesh that we battle daily, however, in this article I am referring to the particular sin of compromising our boldness to speak God’s truth without fear! Let me say that when ANYONE that ceases to guard against the dangers of this SIN – they are allowing the gates of hell to enter into their midst! This is exactly what is happening in the church today. Christians have let their guard down and become lukewarm in their personal relationship with God and this in turn has opened the floodgates of compromise in the Christian community until now you cannot tell the church people from any other secular organization. You can write it down – when sin is NOT resisted – it always increases! Sin presents itself as completely harmless but is never satisfied. Sin stays hungry and always pushes a little farther until the door is opened completely. Sin has a hidden agenda and operates like an infection! What begins as a tiny concession that looks as adorable as a baby kitten, has every intention of growing into a ferocious beast and devouring you and everything you have including your family! Yet we are seeing a growing number of people who claim to have heard from God proclaim that love is more important than doctrine. The new religious strategy say’s that what people do is none of our business and that we must tolerate them and accept them with God’s love. It is true that we must love everyone – but we cannot have God’s love without God’s truth. Selah.
It is no secret that God’s truth has been attacked through the centuries from a long line of “new thinkers.” Philosophy is one of the oldest passions among humans that can be traced all the way to Adam and Eve. Satan was an experienced philosopher in the garden by denying God’s perfect truth and our first parents fell right behind him when they also compromised what the Lord had told them by creating their own ideas. As the ability to communicate advances, this new generation of philosophers can spread their imaginations and opinions much faster and to more people than ever in history. There was a time when someone would stare up at the sky and have a new idea, then spend the rest of their life writing their thoughts by hand and giving it out one page at a time. The speed at which these pages would need to be re-copied and distributed usually took an entire lifetime, where now mental concepts can go worldwide (viral) within hours. These young pioneers are a part of a new world that is focused on a society of order and correctness. They are proud and empowered by the thought of tearing down biblical truth and re-structuring a new “revelation” that is focused on a personal identity. To these intelligent seekers of peace and harmony, they have become militant as they prepare to dominate our culture with their “interpretation” of the way everything needs to be. Will you choose to stand against it or concede?
Who is to blame for this sad direction? The Christians can take some of the blame for a couple of reasons. The first is not really their fault, because they have been simply outnumbered and in politics the majority rules. What they really can be blamed for is the lackadaisical attitude that has been the “norm” for especially the last 75 years. We have never been a Christian nation from a government standpoint but Christians have “tried’ to be the conscience of society. Of course we realize that many who called themselves Christians were just religiously zealous but in many cases the true Christians did the best they could under the circumstances and tried to raise their children with the fear and reverence of God. However, as the modern age of industry allowed for a more prosperous society, the passion for holiness became more relaxed. The flesh loves pleasure and Satan is always willing to “bless” people in order to distract them from their disciplined spiritual lives. Through the years instead of God’s people praying and fasting, they indulged themselves with the rewards of abundance. Materialism created an infection that caused lukewarmness and it spread like wildfire throughout the Nation. As each generation has become spiritually weaker – in turn they have grown more open to other ways of thinking. The concept of absolute truth was questioned and the older ones have been too lazy and unconcerned to explain its validity. These open minded thinkers grew up and had children that were even more liberal and as you can see the deterioration of solid doctrine has become washed away from a river of doubt. Now we are dealing with a new world of grown-ups that have very little or no memories of God’s presence. Most have not experienced the fiery preaching, the miracle power of God or a personal relationship with Christ. Those who have tried Christianity are now saying that what they were taught was wrong. They are saying that Christianity has failed them and they have been twisted up with their perception of God. But, instead of getting right with God in their heart – they are determined to remove and exchange their outward identification of what they believe a Christian should be. Those that have a religious background have faced the attack from this new social way of thinking and have been challenged in the worldviews they were taught. They have felt the heat of the world disagreeing with them and do not like the persecution. So, instead of siding with God and walking through the fire of rejection, they are abandoning the truth so they can be accepted. Instead of standing strong with God they are selling out and compromising to save their own popularity. Satan has given them a way out – he has influenced an entire generation that was spiritually weak with a fleshly plan to escape the pain of spiritual persecution. They have modified, re-painted and restored the oldest command in the world and now proclaim they have found the meaning of love.
In some ways I do sympathize with these young thinkers, because the religious circus over the years would drive anyone into discouragement. The normal Christian family did not hold strong in their commitment to being serious about God’s Word. They did not become active in politics or their community. They did not pray like they should have and did not LIVE a strong witness in front of their children like they should have. Taking their children to Sunday school was NOT enough biblical training to develop strong Christian leaders! I cannot imagine how disappointed God is with the church world because they went to sleep at the most crucial time, just like the disciples did in the garden when Jesus really needed them to stay awake. Yes, at least the young ones see a problem that needs to be fixed but I believe they are looking in the wrong places. I sense a real danger with a generation that is taking control of the steering wheel when they do not know what they are doing or where they are going. Walking in the flesh is the opposite of walking with God and if you are creating your own concept of God because you hate to offend the world – your dream is going to turn into a nightmare. Hello – the gospel is supposed to be an OFFENSE! This is what causes CONVICTION within the conscience of the hearer who needs the transforming power of Jesus Christ to save them from their sin! When we water down God’s truth, we have diluted His way of awakening the lost by turning His gospel into a philosophic apology.
Love is the strongest emotion in the universe, but to create a “generic” form of it is like turning off the highway onto a dirt road without a GPS. God is THE Master of divine order and His love is a perfect – undefiled love. We do not have the power or authority to reproduce our own version of love or modify His love into something it is not. His love must be used in its original form. You see, He is the one who makes all the rules and we are His servants that are to obey what He says. The New World Order wants to throw God’s Word in the trash can and create their own image of spiritual reality. This may sound good to the masses – but it is a lie from hell! The idea that love agrees with all ideas, while ignoring God’s command to always speak His truth to everyone – even if it offends, is committing the sin of disobedience! Evangelism is the “vehicle” of the gospel and standing for God’s truth is embedded in the heart for the burden for souls. Being afraid to tell the truth is placing our feelings of embarrassment over the CALLING to rescue others from eternal judgment. It would be like being afraid to give an antidote to those who have a deadly virus because they might think we are trying to tell them what to do. If we are too afraid to speak God’s truth, then maybe we should get to know Him better and discover what His Word really teaches. If we change God’s truth into a comfortable lifestyle for the sake of protecting ourselves from harassment and affliction, we are living a lie and making a mockery out of righteousness and the witness we are supposed to be. “Let no man deceive you with vain (empty) words: for because of these things comes the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. BE YE NOT partakers with them! Proving (demonstrating) what is acceptable (pleasing) unto the Lord. And have NO fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather REPROVE THEM.” (Ephesians 5: 6,7,10,11)

BILLY HOLLAND MINISTRIES

CONVICTIONS and CONSIDERATIONS

Category: The Secret Place

Did we vow to give God all of our heart?

Imagine what we are missing

Living Behind the Veil

Have we decided?

Where are we headed?

The Beauty of Holy Intimacy

What is God Searching for?

Character of the Messenger

Tolerance is Justification to Sin

God’s Love Tells the Truth

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