Revivals

The church needs a revival to break out in the assembly of God’s people and the nation needs an awakening desperately, I believe it is the only answer.  We cannot manage without a Holy Spirit revival that will bring with it such a righteous fear of the Lord, that not one person would dare to transgress the laws of God.  Think back to the story of Ananias and Sapphira when they lied to Peter and the Holy Spirit and fell down dead at Peter’s feet.  It says this in Acts 5:11, “So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.” 

Without a Holy Spirit awakening in our nation and a mighty move of God, we can look forward to judgment, destruction, great sorrow and loss.  We need far more than a manmade revival that does little more than stir people emotionally, but does little to change people from the inside; we need a Spirit ordained revival.  My Bible says this in Psalms 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”

The sad thing about revivals is, after God pours His Spirit out in a powerful movement, man gets in the way and the movement is hindered and comes to an early end.  If we could only get out of the way and let God move and have His way, the revival would never end.  To have a revival takes some committed, obedient believers that will spend time praying and seeking God for a revival with a burden, not only to repent themselves and be in right standing with the Lord, but to see repentance come to every believer and non-believer alike, believers who keep themselves from being polluted in this world, men filled with the Holy Spirit and faith and that have the fear of the Lord in their lives, hating sin but loving the sinner.  

It is exciting to me to read about the great movements of God when His Spirit and power were poured out and miraculous signs and wonders took place, where believers were broken over their sins along with non-believers being convicted by God’s Holy Spirit and confession and repentance took place as well as healings and deliverance.  I have read of such great power coming upon the congregation that even the preacher didn’t dare to speak for fear of saying something he shouldn’t, if I remember right, please bear with me, it has been a while ago since I read the book.  The praise and worship that took place in this revival sounded like angels were singing.  I would love to hear angels singing and playing music, praising the Lord; that would be praise and worship beyond our comprehension.  If you get excited, like I do, reading or hearing about the different revivals, how would you like to be there when all these things are taking place?  Me, I would love to be in a Spirit filled revival and never have it end.  Oh to be in the presence of God in a revival, or anywhere else, there can be nothing like it, just pure ecstasy and bliss.

If you think like I do and want to see another revival break forth, then live like it.  Seek the Lord daily and let your light so shine before men that people will see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.  Keep yourself from being polluted in this world, love the Lord and also love your neighbor as yourself, and try to live in peace with all people as long as it depends on you.  Do your part and leave the end result in God’s hands.  I hope this has been an encouragement and something you will think about.  May God bless you and yours and have a super day!!    

For The Church

Jesus had a message for the seven churches in Asia that, you might say, were criticism and rebuke, me, I think they were warnings and even encouragement to get their house in order.  Years ago when the Lord delivered me from years of depression, the Lord spoke the same words to me early one morning in my mind very loudly and distinctively, and believe me He got my attention.

It seems like none of these churches were exempt from the Lord’s loving encouragement and warnings which were to encourage all the believers to stand strong in their faith.  At the time these believers were going through heavy persecution.  Some of these believers were bailing out and I’m sure others were thinking about it.  

You might think, as Job did, when he said this in Job 13:15, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.”  But the only way we can know that for sure is to be in a severe test or some heavy persecution like Job was.  When Job made that statement he was going through two very trying tests and when they were over, Job was still faithful.  

We must be careful that we don’t say this like Peter and the other disciples did in Matthew 26:35, “Peter said to Him, ‘Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!’  And so said all the disciples.”  But when it was all said and done, Peter denied the Lord, not only once, but three times and all the other disciples scattered.  Remember talk is cheap, that is why most of us will have to endure trials and, at times, persecution so that we will either stand strong under them or give up and deny the faith.  So be careful what you say, your words may come back to bite you.

Think of this, if you are not witnessing today, in better times, how will you witness in the latter days when things will be much harder and it may cost you more than just verbal abuse.  Jesus’ warnings to the churches were to wake them up and get their attention because they were missing the mark, allowing things to take place that shouldn’t be in the church, letting them know they needed to get things in order before it was too late.  This shows the love and compassion Jesus has for His church.

These churches had various problems ranging from leaving their first love to holding to the doctrine of Balaam, some holding to the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes which things the Lord hated, others the teachings of Jezebel which led the Lord’s people into sexual immorality and yet others the Lord didn’t find their works perfected.  Some were imposters saying they were Jews but were not, and some thought they were rich, in need of nothing, not realizing how impoverished they really were and some were just plain lukewarm.  The Lord warned them about these things, plus others I’m sure, but He also encouraged them because there were also good things the Lord found taking place in these churches.

I wonder what He would warn and encourage the churches about today, what do you think?   I am not going to guess or speculate, but one thing I do know, just like the church needed to repent in those days we need to repent in our day.  Where do you find your church today and where do you find yourself in this picture?  Jesus gives us the same opportunity He gave them as He said in Revelation, “He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.”  

Jesus also talked about repentance.  At the end of the letter to the Laodiceans, Jesus said in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”  Jesus does not give up on the church or the sinner, the invitation is always there for us.   

You may be burdened down with sin or weary in your search of God, or maybe you are weighed down with oppression and persecution, whatever the case is, Jesus said this in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  There is an invitation for us to come to Him and get to know Him better.   

There is one other verse I want to put in here and it is about repentance, which we all need to do at times.  This is very important, it is in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

The proud He resists but He draws close to the humble.  So, if you need to, humble yourself before the Lord and repent of your sins and seek Him.  Something to think about, have a super day and may God bless you and yours!!           

      
        

He Must Increase

This is talking about Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord.  John the Baptist said this in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”   This is something all believers, including pastors, evangelists and teachers, need to acknowledge.  Sometimes we can think we are more important than we are, and that is when we are found guilty of pride which is one of the sins that God hates.

John the Baptist was the fore-runner of Christ, he announced and identified Jesus, that was part of his calling and he was faithful.  John was not the person people would expect to see in that position, he didn’t fit the description of most of the men in that day.  Think about what was said concerning John in Matthew 3:1-4;

“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

Make His paths straight.’

Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.”

That seems a little odd but it just proves that God is not a respecter of men; He will use whoever He chooses to do His bidding.  Even though you might say that John was different, or unique, he was faithful and obedient.  John lived in the wilderness and he baptized many people, symbolizing that they had repented of their sins.  Many came out to see and hear this odd looking preacher who was baptizing in the wilderness.  Because many people flocked to see him, his popularity could have gone to his head but he stayed humble and exalted Jesus to His rightful position saying this in John 1:29-34, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.’

And John bore witness, saying, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.’”

John was very careful not to take any of Jesus’ glory for himself.  John was careful to point the people to Jesus which all believers should be doing.  I know a pastor that had a church in Vestal, NY years ago, but he left the church because he felt that many of the people in the church had their eyes on him instead of on the Lord.  This pastor loved the Lord, and the people, but like John the Baptist, he knew that Jesus must increase and he must decrease so he thought the best thing to do was move on.  This pastor didn’t just talk about love but he demonstrated it by his actions and his congregation knew it.

What about you?  Are you bowing to the God of popularity or are you decreasing so that the Lord can increase in your ministry and in your every day life?  Something to think about!  May you, and your day, be blessed!!

Elephant Thinking

Yesterday I was reminded of how people train elephants and how sometimes people seem to have elephant thinking.  What I mean by this is, most people and animals are trained by repetition doing the same things over and over which is also the way people are brainwashed.  If you take a child or many young animals and teach them the same thing over and over they will eventually learn it and conform to it.  Think about how you learned your name, you heard it over and over from everyone that talked to you until you learned it.  In some cases, if you are consistent, you can train young kids and young animals to do most anything.  Most people or animals will conform to the situation they are in if they are there long enough.

This reminds me of what Jesus talked about in Matthew 18:5-6, “Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”  There are many people now, and all down through the ages, which have committed this sin and whether they know it or not judgment is coming.  If this is you, repent and confess and ask the Lord to forgive you.  Many today are teaching that evil is good and good is evil, to their shame but God is not mocked and they will reap what they sow if they don’t repent.

Now let’s get back to the elephant, the way many of them are taught to stay where the trainer wants them, is to chain them up by one leg to something they cannot break free of when they are very young, then when they get much older and stronger they are so used to being chained by one leg that they don’t even try to get away even though they could without much problem.  That is like being brainwashed, believing something so strongly that you don’t try to change even if you could.  That is what happens in false religions, or what we call cults.

Christianity is much different than this because people are transformed.  When you are brainwashed, the only thing that changes is the way a person thinks about things, but when you are transformed the whole person is changed from the inside out, not from the outside in like brainwashing does.  If your heart is hardened and unresponsive then you haven’t been changed at all, you have just been brainwashed and you are in a worse condition at that time than you were before you were brainwashed.  

Think about the elephant, if he wasn’t brainwashed he would tear himself lose and escape back into the jungle and be free, but he doesn’t believe he can, so he doesn’t even try.  Christianity is not being bound but it is being set free.  Jesus came to set the captive free, praise His holy name!  So why do so many believers act like they are still bound?  Hello people we have been set free, start acting like it.  

Remember Lazarus when Jesus called him to come forth out of the grave and he did, then Jesus said to lose him because he was still bound with his grave cloths.  Jesus didn’t raise him from death to keep him bound, no; Jesus brought him forth so that he would be set free.  Jesus has done the same thing for every believer; He has set us free from sin and brought us from darkness into His marvelous light.  His purpose is that we would be transformed by the renewing of our minds, not just brainwashed, but transformed into new creations in the image of Him.  He doesn’t want us to be conformed to the world anymore and He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us so we have no excuse.  

So what will it be, obedience or rebelliousness?  The choice is yours.  Something to think about, may the Lord bless you and yours and I hope you have a super day.

Storms

What do you do with the storms in your life, when the enemy seems to come in like a flood?  Do you run or do you stand your ground?  Do you compromise and just go with the flow or do you bail out and pretend that everything is ok?  The Lord never promised an easy road or that our journey would be victorious without any battles.  But He did promise that He would go with us.  He said that He would never leave us or forsake us.

Let me relate a story that I just came across about the legend of a Cherokee Indian youth rite passage.  This is my version of the story, I did not write it, so it is not word for word.  In order for a Cherokee boy to be consider a man, His dad must take him out in the woods and sit him on a stump, blindfolded.  He must sit there all night without hollering for help or removing the blindfold.  He can never tell any of the other boys about his experience because they all have to go through the same experience to be considered a man.  While he is sitting there he hears all kinds of sounds, and if you have ever been in the woods at night by yourself you know that your imagination can seem to play tricks on you, and you can imagine things that are not even there and become very frightened thinking about all the different animals that may be in the woods, especially if you are a young boy.  Even the sound of the wind can send chills up your spine.  This boy may have been terrified waiting for the first signs of the morning when the sun came up and he could remove his blindfold.  When this finally took place, the boy was totally relieved when he removed his blindfold and saw his dad sitting there beside him, watching over him keeping him safe.

Now think about the Lord, when we go through the storms in our lives we don’t have to allow ourselves to be stressed and frightened, the Lord is right there with us, not allowing anything to take place that He and we can’t handle.  Just like the Indian boy in the story that went through a test and was victorious, so can we be victorious through tests that seem like floods that we face, don’t forget we have our heavenly Father watching over us.

Think about Job, he went through two enormous tests which came with such a shock that he couldn’t understand or comprehend what was happening to him.  Job was never forewarned that these things were going to take place in the blessed life that he was living at the time; he may have felt like he was in a storm bombarded with one wave after another.  

Just like Job, storms may seem to be unleashed in our lives when we least expect them, and sometimes we may feel so overwhelmed, feeling that we are drowning, but remember we are not given any more than we can handle with the Lord’s help.  First Corinthians 10:13 says this, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

If you find yourself in the middle of what you might call unexpected storms you may be tempted to curse God, run away and hide or bail out of the faith all together.  I hope you won’t resort to any of these things.  I hope you will hang on to the promises of God and react like Job and so many other saints have over the years and fight on knowing these things shall pass, and with God’s help you will be victorious, praise the Lord! 

Remember this, the difference between a loser and a winner is this, the loser goes down and stays down but if the winner goes down he gets back up and fights on, so don’t let the enemy knock you down permanently, get back up and fight on.  Something to think about!  May God bless you and yours and have a super day!!  PS don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord, because He is worthy.