10-28-2017         A Higher Standard

              A Higher Standard                      Love God/Love Others

In the past, a brother (in Christ) frequently complained to me about being held to a double standard.  He said that it always seemed that those around him, friends and brothers in Christ, could do whatever they felt like but always reprimanded him should he step even just a little to the left of God.  Finally, the Holy Ghost had me suggest that maybe it wasn’t these other people holding him to a double standard, but just perhaps, just maybe God was reminding him to hold to His standard???  He immediately rejected that possibility believing that they were trying to make him hold to a standard that even they, themselves,  weren’t willing to keep.  Why couldn’t they treat him just they did others?

I don’t know where he is at with this today, but I do know God does NOT hold us to a ‘double’ standard, but He does hold us to a higher standard.  His standard.  It is up to us to seek and function in that standard.

What is God’s standard?  A couple of hints: God is love (1 John 4:8).  Love is God’s nature.  If we don’t love (to some degree), we don’t know Him, but if we do love, His nature flows through us.  His love us so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that we might have eternal fellowship with Him (John 3:16). 

If this sounds a little familiar, the Pharisees posed a question to Jesus and in His response, Jesus gives us ‘just a subtle little hint’ as to how we should live: “… The Lord our God is one Lord, love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, this is the first commandment and the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:29-31).”  If you will, one commandment, two directions – up to our Father and out to those around us.  God showed us His ultimate love when Jesus hung on the cross.  There is no greater love than a man give his life for his friends (John 15:13) and Jesus calls us His friends when we are obedient to Him (John 15:14).

Double standard?  No, God calls us to a higher standard.  Because He always has our best interests at heart, living according to His standard glorifies Him in our living and our thinking (1 Corinth. 6:20) and He does that which is good for us (Rom. 8:28).   

Now, understand, God gave Israel the law so they might comprehend something about His love.

The ten commandments reflect Mark twelve passage.  The first four commandments to look up as they define our relationship with the Father: 1. No Gods before Me, 2. No idols to bow down to, 3. Don’t take My name in vain (flippantly) and 4. Keep the Sabbath, it is Holy (take time for Me).  This helps us keep our focus on God so we can abide in His love.

The other six commandments define our attitude towards those around us: 5. Honor mother and father, 6. Don’t murder, 7. Don’t commit adultery, 8. Don’t steal, 9. Don’t lie against your neighbor and 10. Don’t desire what your neighbor has (wife, possessions, etc.).  As we keep this portion of the law, we don’t do things to harm our neighbor and give honor unto whom honor is due (Rom. 13:7).

Father tells us that we shouldn’t judge others because that judgement will come back on us (Matt. 7:1-5).  We need to keep our own house clean and then we may find ourselves not so judgmental.

The woman at the well had been married several times and was currently living with a man not her husband (co-habitation, sound familiar?).  Jesus di not condemn her for her lifestyle, but rather announced Himself as the Messiah to her, and then she ran and told the people in the village and many came out, saw and believed for themselves.  Jesus operated in love and drew many souls into the kingdom because of that (John 4:1-42).

Should we dare mention the woman caught in adultery?  The people brought her to Jesus trying to get His agreement in stoning her.  Jesus showed Father’s love by putting it back on the people “He who is without sin …) and stooped down and drew in the dirt.  The people were convicted and walked away leaving Jesus and the woman.  Jesus asked her if there were none left to accuse her and she replied none.  Having already forgiven her, Jesus gave her a charge “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”  The Son of man has the power to forgive sins (Mark 2:10) and we are commanded to forgive sins so Father will forgive ours (Matt. 6:14).     

Paul spends a lot of time telling us to edify the church (1 Corinth. 14:26).  So we live in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost for in so doing we find ourselves acceptable before God and man and we edify each other (Rom. 14:17-19).

As we learn to live in God’s love we may sit back and evaluate what is going on around us.  The world has gone crazy but Father told us this would happen (Matt. 24:1-51).  Jesus tells us that there will be no peace for the fighting around the world (the Mideast), false prophets will come and go (Jim Jones, David Koresh, Sun Myung Moon, etc.), nature will go bananas, sexual immorality will abound (2 Peter 3:1-10).  Sounds a bit like today, doesn’t it.  Just remember the Apostles looked for Jesus to come back soon (Acts 1:11, OK, maybe not that soon).

Remember the law gave direction on what people “did”, the actions, but going back to the ‘double standard’, Jesus holds us accountable not only for our actions but our thoughts or intents as well (Heb. 4:12).  An example would be actually killing someone and just ‘thinking about it.  Thinking about it is hating and hating someone is the same as killing them  (1 John 3:15).

So Father does not hold us to a double standard, but to a higher standard.  He expects nothing from us which He isn’t already (is).  Yes the world is judged by its actions (Rev. 20:12-15) for their action show their intents.  But Christians may hide their intents from the world and look good on the outside, but not be so good on the inside (Matt. 23:27).  God wants our heart pure (Matt. 5:8) for when the heart is pure, the outside will follow suit (Prov. 27:19).

Amen

10-14-2017         SEEK YE FIRST

                                                        Looking out over the sea of life

I was talking with several friends the other day and one mentioned all the things they were doing in the church, Sunday School, bible study, special events, youth groups.  All of these things are good, but as they spoke, Father put one thought into my little pea pickin’ brain “But how’s their time with Me?”

Father put on my heart this AM “Seek first the kingdom of God” (Matt. 6:33).

Over the years, in every church God has brought me through, it seems that there is always at least one someone who is involved in almost everything the local church does.  Nothing wrong with service in the church but that question hangs in there “How much time do they spend with the Lord?” 

It’s always good to hear a great sermon from the pulpit and/or a good discussion with the Sunday School topic.  Maybe we even go once or twice during the week for a prayer or bible study session.  It’s good we can learn something from these things, but are Sunday Mornings and maybe a couple of hours during the week all we get?  It beats absolutely nothing but just how much time do we spend reading the bible for ourselves letting the Holy Ghost open God’s Word up for us, showing us deeper revelation?  We can learn “things” and “facts” from others and feel like we have a pretty good handle on our faith, but we need more.  We need to let the Holy Ghost open up those deep things of God for us as we read His Word (1 Corinth. 2:10) - personally!

I always remember a story I heard early in my relationship with Father.  The man had a ‘prayer closet’, a place where it was just the Lord and him – alone.  He went into his closet every day for half an hour or so.  The man felt good when he left his closet as life was going well for him and Father enjoyed the time with him.  But as time passed, things would come up and the man couldn’t make it to his closet every day and started shortening the time he did spend.  Eventually he was able to make it only every other day, then every fourth day, once a week.  Time spent shrunk from that half an hour to fifteen minutes to …  well eventually the man was no longer coming into his closet at all.  Life was becoming so ‘busy’, he just didn’t have the time.  He even rationalized that the things he was doing in the church replaced that time in his prayer closet.  More time passed then suddenly it seemed as though the whole bottom fell out of the man’s life.   

After wallowing in his misery for a very long time, one day he just happened to pass by his prayer closet.  He noticed the door slightly ajar and he thought to himself “Hmmm.  My prayer closet.  I used to have some good times in there with the Lord.  Hmmph!  Well gotta go.  things to get done.” 

More time passed and once again he passed the door to the prayer closet.  Things had continually gotten worse and this time he thought to himself “Prayer closet.  Hmmph!  I have half a mind to go on in there and tell God what I think about His abandoning me like He has.  Oops! I’m late.  Better get moving.”  Again, more time passed and the man was becoming very desperate in his situation. 

And yet again he passed the door to his prayer closet.  But this time he thought he heard his name called so he went in.  He stood there looking around the closet and blurted out “God!  Why have you abandoned me like this?  My life is in shambles, almost completely ruined.  I thought You said you would never leave me nor forsake me?  Where have you been?”

As he stood there in defiance, shaking his fist angrily at the Lord, he thought he heard his name again but this time, more than just his name.  A soft but firm voice “Where have I been?  Can you even remember the day you stopped coming in and communing with Me?  Do you remember how busy you’ve become to spend even a few minutes with Me?  Since that last day you came in, I’ve been here waiting for you with the door ajar but you were always too busy to come in.  Yes, you looked at the door a couple of times and once you actually started toopen it, but did you come in?  Your life had become more important than Me and look what you’ve done with that life.  It wasn’t Me who pulled away, my child.  It was you who pulled away from Me.   I’ve been here all along waiting for you to come back.  

The man was convicted in his heart, repented and amazingly he discovered that he was able to find time with the Lord once again.  It wasn’t long before he started making time for his prayer closet and the few minutes he started with started growing.  Was his life repaired immediately?  It took many years for his life to crumble, it had been a process of drawing farther and farther away from the Lord.  Even though Father could make everything right ‘suddenly’, Father knew it would take time for the man to once again yield his life over to Him.  So as the man yielded himself over to the Father, through Jesus Christ, he followed the Holy Spirit’s lead and, after a while, he was once again enjoying God’s presence in his life.  Oh, and yes, Father started blessing the man for his obedience his life did eventually pull back together.

Once we determine to seek God, we find the only way to really discover Him is to yield to Him. 

So how do we yield to Him?  By repenting and renouncing our wrongdoing, improving the quality and frequency of our communication with Him and becoming more and more familiar with the bible so we become better equipped to repent, communicate and learn who Father really is.

When we originally come to the Lord, we confess our sins (1 John 1:9) and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9).  This, of course, is always the first step in seeking the kingdom of God.  However, once saved, it is too easy to eventually fall into a routine and become comfortable where we are.  Maybe we aren’t taught to do better or maybe we just don’t seem to have the drive to push forward.  Unfortunately, we may come to the decidion that coming to church whenever the doors are open is sufficient.  After all, the pastor always preaches a good sermon at every service.  Maybe we get more bible exposure during Sunday School and there we can even ask questions sometimes.  I feel good when I leave so I’m OK.  Right?  But where is that personal relationship with our heavenly Father?

All too often, moving into a “comfort zone” leads to us slacking off or not reading the bible for ourselves, so much,  so our growth is stunted or so slow a snail meandering through molasses passes us by.

So, even though we’ve been in the church for a while, we feel that something is missing.  It probably is – a real relationship with our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

So how do we get on track, or maybe back on track?  It isn’t hard, but it does take discipline.

Repent and renounce our wrong doing

We need to be honest with ourselves about where our relationship with God really is.  That means taking a serious look at discovering any unconfessed sins which may have crept back in since salvation.  If we haven’t been walking with God, we may not even realize what has snuck back in while we weren’t looking so we need to confess those sins and turn away from them (Prov. 28:13), true repentance, so God will blot them out (Acts 3:19) and put them behind His back (Isa. 38:17).

 Incidentally, this is good practice anytime we realize we have sinned so we can keep a clean slate with our Father.   The prophet Nathan brought to King David’s attention his infidelity with Bathsheba, David was convicted in his heart and repented (2 Sam. 12-13).  And don’t forget, when we mess up, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous (1 John 2:1).   

Keeping our slate clean is part of walking daily with the Lord.   Yielding is living for Him

The Holy Ghost teaches and reminds us of the things we need to know (John 14:26) and guides, or leads, us (John 16:13).  So yielding to Jesus is listening to the Holy Ghost and then doing what He says (James 2:18).

We yield to the Father because He has brought us from the destiny of the lake of fire (Rev: 20:12-15) into eternal life through Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:13).

Yielding to Him is living for Jesus and He has laid some guidelines like not putting on a big show for people but doing things because we love God (Matt. 6:1-34).  Whom we serve we yield ourselves to and to whom we yield ourselves to we serve (Matt. 6:24).

 As we acknowledge God in all our ways, He will direct our paths (Prov.; 3:6).

 And as we continue to yield to Him, we should find ourselves rejoicing in Him.  We should find ourselves always in a prayerful attitude and we should be thankful because we would be living in His will (1Thess. 5:16-18).

Increasing our quality of time and the frequency of our communication with Him

God appreciates the “quiet” time He shares with us.  Often Jesus would go off by Himself to a quiet place (Mark 1:35), at times praying all night by (Luke 6:12) and often by Himself (Matt. 14:23).  Father appreciated that “quiet” time with His Son and so He also does with His sons and daughters.

So when we pray with God, we should always maintain that prayerful attitude thanking Him for who He is and what He’s done for us (Col.4:2).

We should pray not just in our own language, but in the Spirit, that heavenly language Father gives us with the Baptism of the Holy Ghost,  being vigilant as we pray (Eph. 6:18). 

We pray in the Spirit for the Spirit intercedes for us when we can’t find the words to say (Rom. 8:26-27) for He compares Spiritual things to spiritual things (1 Corinth. 2:13).

 Father tells us not to neglect being together with other Christians for there is strength in the body (Heb. 10:25).  Where two or more are gathered, He is in the midst (Matt. 18:20).  There is strength in numbers so we should be diligent to spend time with Him not only alone but with our brothers in the Lord, as well.

Read the bible to Increase our knowledge of Him

There are two ways to get to know God better.  Our prayer life and reading the bible so we can better understand who He is and what our relationship should be.  Prayer is a two way street. We pray then God responds and vice versa.  If we are still and quiet when we first sit down, Father may speak first.  But how can we be sure who we are hearing if we don’t who He really is?  When we first meet someone, we learn about them by talking, sharing information about ourselves and receiving information about them.  This is where the bible comes in for it describes God’s nature throughout.  From Genesis to Revelation.  When God speaks in the bible, He reveals His thoughts, His hopes, His plans and His intents for us and He works with us as long as we yield to Him.  If you have a “red letter” bible, read all of Jesus’ quotes and the gospel of John for they reveal a lot concerning the relationship God desires with us.  The bible helps us grow (1 Tim. 3:16). 

When Father prompted Abraham to go to a new place (Gen. 12:1) or gave Moses the law (Exod. 20:1-17), He was revealing Himself to us.  And that’s not to forget the prophets, Psalms and Proverbs and the rest of the Old Testament.  Take a closer look at the letter that Paul and the other disciples wrote.  It all describes the relationship Father desires with us today.

So here’s a quick, partial, synopsis of who God is:

 God is love so if we say we know God, His love should reflect in our lives (1 John 4:7).

We live in His love by keeping His commandments - which are to love (John 15:10).

 Father always was, is and forever shall be, Alpha and Omega (Rev:1:8).

We believe the bible so we believe He is creator of all things (Gen. 1:1 & Col. 1:10-16).

 He is righteous in all His ways – He always does what is right (Psalms 145:17).  Who thinks God is righteous?  Pharaoh when he released Israel from Egypt (Exod. 9:27), Reheboam, king of Israel (2 Chron. 12:5-6), Jesus (John 17:25), Paul (Acts 17:22-31) and the angels of heaven (Rev. 16:5) all declare God righteous.  Even the heavens declare God’s righteousness (Psalms 97:1-6).

 Father is a just God (Isaiah 45:21).

But He desires our complete devotion (1 Corinth. 18:18-22) which can be expressed by our attitude as with Martha’s sister Mary when she sat at Jesus’ feet (Luke 10:38-42).

And when we are disobedient His wrath may come upon us (Eph. 5:6).

 However, He is longsuffering towards us that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9).

This is why we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7) and should we ‘stumble’ we have Him as an advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1).

 And all this doesn’t even scratch the surface.  For He also heals us, provides for us, guides us, comforts us and He will never leave us nor forsake us.  And yet there is more.

So, if we are just starting our relationship with the Lord, or are coming back after an “absence” we need to keep our slate clean by acknowledging, confessing, repenting of and renouncing our part in any sins that may be in our life then receive that forgiveness and forget them – just as God does.

 We need to (re)discover how Father wants us to live, in His love, what that means, then do it.

 This is enhanced through better communication with Him Pray in our own language (with understanding), in the spirit (God’s given language through the baptism of the Holy Ghost), alone and with other Christians.

 And, of course, we need to understand that we are indeed communicating with Father and we gain this knowledge by reading and letting the Holy Spirit bring us to an understanding of what the bible says.

All of this helps us to “SEEK YE FIRST” the kingdom of God and His righteousness so we can receive what He does have for us and live our lives more fully (John 10:10).

Amen

9-30-2017          Gifts of the Spirit - a New Twist?

1 Corinthians 12:1-13

Now, brothers, concerning Spiritual gifts, I don’t want you ignorant.  Once, being Gentiles, you were once led astray by dumb idols. 

Therefore, I want you to understand that no man calls Jesus accursed when speaking by the Spirit and yet no man can call Jesus Lord except by the Holy Ghost. 

Now there are different gifts, but it is by the same Spirit.  And even though they are for different services, they come by the same Lord.  They operate differently, but it is God who works through each of them.

The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit everyone else.

By the Spirit one is given the word of Wisdom, another the word of knowledge, each by the same Spirit.  Another receives faith by the same Spirit and another gifts of healing.  Another receives the working of miracles and another prophecy.  Another receives the discerning of spirits and another different tongues (not acquired naturally), while another the interpretation of tongues. 

But all these work by the same Spirit, as He divides to each man, individually, as He will.

The body is one, but has many members, but all the members of that body are still one, also as (we are) in Christ.

We are baptized into one body, whether Jew or Gentile, free or bond and we are all made (created) to drink into one Spirit. 

For years I’ve had certain concepts about the “Gifts of the Spirit” and, for the most part, those concepts were good, but incomplete.  Father has opened my heart to a deeper understanding of what the gifts actually are and how they ‘should’ operate. 

Like myself, I’ve known others who have grabbed hold of certain concepts, when we were young in the Lord, of what we thought were indeed biblical truths and dug our heels in when others came in contrary to what we ‘knew’.

Praise the Lord, for those of you who were introduced to the fuller concepts of the Holy Ghost from the time you were first saved.  I venture to say you also, most likely, had someone guiding you on (PTL).

Back in January 2017, I did a teaching in “Gifts and Anointing” and I thought I had a pretty good handle on things back them.  Well enough to do a respectable teaching.  None of my brothers and sisters challenged me back then, not that I was wrong with anything was said, it was just incomplete.

Father has used Kenneth Hagin to open my eyes to a lot of “spiritual things’ recently, so I thank Father for opening my eyes. 

As we see in 1 Corinthians 12:1-13, there are nine spiritual gifts listed.  Now, understand, there are talents (eg. singing, speaking, writing, leadership and other skills) which are also gifts from God, but those gifts are given without repentance.  We don’t have to be saved to have a good singing voice and so forth, but God gives them to us as He wills. The gifts we’re talking about here, though, are Holy Spirit given and driven.  Ergo, the “gifts of the Spirit”.  Now understand that any gift God gives, is given to magnify and glorify His name whether we use it that way nor not actually becomes our choice.

Mr. Hagin breaks the nine gifts into three categories: revelation, power gifts (action) and utterance (speaking).  Revelation includes the word of knowledge, word of wisdom and discerning of spirits.  The power gifts are faith, working of miracles and gifts of healing.  And lastly, the gifts of utterance are prophecy, different tongues and interpretation of tongues.

Paul tells us to covet the best gifts (1 Corinth. 12:31), that it desire them, for there is a ‘key’ gift in each group.  With the group of revelation both the word of knowledge and discerning of spirits are most dependent upon the word of wisdom.  Wisdom reveals how to use God given knowledge and enables us to distinguish the spirits.

Faith is primary with the power gifts because working miracles and gifts of healing are dependent upon our believing God can and will do what we ask.

Prophecy is prime in utterance because it edifies or builds up individuals or the church.   We can prophesy to ourselves or someone else and is usually spoken in the language we know so those who hear it are edified.  But when prophecy or anything is spoken in our heavenly, spiritual language, no one is edified unless there is someone to interpret the word.

Let’s take a look at each of the nine gifts and see how God has intended for them to work for us.  Remember, as we go through the list, the Holy Ghost gives each gift to us individually as He sees fit.  Some gifts may work together, but not necessarily.  But the gifts are given so each of us can help those around us to strengthen and grow in Christ Jesus.

The word of knowledge is basically divine revelation of information or facts, whether past or present, about someone or something but it does not predict future events.  Divine revelation means we don’t have access to the knowledge before the Holy Ghost reveals it to us.  Jesus uses this with the woman at the well (John 4:5-25).  Another example is God sending Ananias to Damascus so Paul can regain his sight (Acts 9:10-12).  Word of knowledge comes in the Old Testament as we see with Samuel telling Saul where his donkeys were (1 Sam. 9:3-20).  The word of knowledge is regularly used for is to purify, comfort, elate (bring joy), recover, reveal or glorify Jesus.

The word of wisdom reveals what God intends to do in a given situation and this would be for a present or future event, whether near or far.  The Holy Ghost reveals the deep things of God (1 Corinth. 2:10).  God reveals to Noah the world’s impending doom (Gen. 6:1-22) and the angel telling Paul that the ship would be lost but all lives would be spared (Acts 27:20-24) are examples as though they give facts, they speak to events which hadn’t yet occurred whereas the word of knowledge speaks to something that has already occurred or is happening ‘now’.

The discerning of spirits is one where Father showed me I had more to understand.  For openers, I always considered this to be the “gift of discernment”.  Discernment is being able to make a right decision about something, which road to take, which shirt to wear, which don’t require heavenly intervention, but wouldn’t preclude it.  But Father said to me “Listen up!”  The gift is “discerning of spirits”, not just discernment.  The discerning of spirits is just that, being able to see what spirit is involved in a situation.  Either of three spirits can be involved:  The Holy Spirit, a demonic spirit or our own human spirit may be getting in the way of what we are experiencing.  This gift shows us, by revelation through the Holy Ghost, which type of spirit is involved and even what specific spirit may be involved, which just might come in handy when casting out demons.  Or whether we should just shut up, sit down and let the Holy Ghost go to work so we don’t mess things up. 

Faith comes by the hearing of the word (Romans 10:17) and with this faith we believe God can and will do things, even ‘save’ us.  We trust Him to be true to His word.  But the “gift of faith” carries us beyond just belief so we can put that faith into action.  What does James tell us?  “Show me your faith without works and I’ll show you my faith through my works (James 2:18).  Doing is more than just believing.  Father endows us with the power (via the Holy Ghost) to put that faith into action.  We don’t ‘just believe’.  We put the pedal to the metal and get moving.

If we don’t have faith, don’t even consider working miracles.  Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6)) so we surely need a supernatural dose of the Holy Ghost to perform any miracle.  So what is a miracle?  Something that cannot be accomplished through natural sources, whether non-existent or not available.  Have you ever prayed that a raging storm would stop – and shortly after, it did?  Some may argue that you just had good timing, but it is also true that God performed a miracle by honoring your prayer.  The Holy Ghost moved upon the face of the waters during creation (Gen. 1:2) so what makes us think He’s still not doing it?

The gift of healing, again, is something God does outside the ‘natural’ realm.  Where doctors and hospitals are not available or perhaps a cure is yet non-existent in our world.  So the Holy Ghost needs to step in and perform a work beyond medical science or availability.  This is not ‘just’ the prayer of faith where we ask God to heal, but where we take action on God’s behalf by laying on of hands as well as speaking to the situation.  We know God’s Spirit inhabits our praises (Psalms 22:3) so we can be confident He also inhabits our prayerfully, faithful actions.  The gift of healing is the Holy Ghost working through our obedience to accomplish Father’s will.

I like how Kenneth Hagin explains the gift of prophecy.  He says it is not a “foretelling” of future events but a “forth-telling”.  In other words, it just doesn’t attempt to predict a future event but speaks, under guidance of the Holy Ghost, what God intendeds to happen.  I say intended because what would have happened had Paul ignored Agabus’ prophecy that the owner of the girdle would be bound (Acts 21:10-11)?  Who knows?  For Paul was determined to go to Jerusalem and was bound and eventually shipped off to Rome, and remember, Jesus said Paul had to be a witness in Rome (Acts 23:11).  The gift of prophecy is “not” fortune telling but a speaking by the revelation of the Holy Ghost of things that are designed to happen.  As I suggested, Paul could have taken another direction after the prophecy to avoid arrest, but who knows, something might have occurred and he still would have ended up arrested, in Jerusalem, and eventually off to Rome.  OR, the last few chapters in the book of Acts may have had to be rewritten.

Now, there are two realms of prophecy, simple and operating under the gift prophecy.  Simple prophecy is a word that edifies, exhorts or comforts.  No ‘earth shattering event’, just simple encouragement for the church.  “God’s got plans for you” or “Blessing are coming your way”, etc.

The gift of prophecy will usually work along with one or more of the revelation gifts, making it compounded with at least one other gift.  It will also get into more specifics than simple “go get ‘em tiger” prophecy.  Go back and read the account of Paul and Agabus.  That was specific and was only information that only the Holy Ghost could have revealed.

The speaking in tongues is perhaps one of the more familiar gifts of the spirit.  It is surrounded with mystery, controversy it is the gift most needed for self-edification, building ourselves up in the Holy Ghost (Jude 20). 

Speaking in tongues is speaking in a God-given language which helps us to communicate with Father more effectively.  It is a New Testament anomaly.  There is no evidence of speaking with tongues before the disciples in the upper room in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-3) and, as with the disciples, is the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost gives us utterance when we speak in tongues though we initiate the action.  He speaks the mysteries of God (1 Corinth. 2:10) to our spirit and helps our infirmities and helps us to pray when we don’t know how (Romans 8:26-27).  When we use our prayer language regularly, it helps us walk closer with the Lord (1 Corinth. 2:11-12) as He helps us to magnify and glorify our Lord.  

 On the personal level, the praying in tongues edifies the individual.  It is intended to build ‘me’ up and even though it can be used publicly, Paul give us some guidelines in 2 Corinthians chapter 14.  The big thing to remember in public use is that God is not the author of confusion, so things should be done in order because edification of the body is the bottom line.  And the Holy Ghost is till the author whether in private or public.

The interpretation of tongues is just what it says, an interpretation, not a translation.  This is why a prophetic tongue may be given and the interpretation may be shorter or longer when presented.  This is true whether in private or in group, your prayer closet or at church.  The interpretation is given so hearers may receive an understanding for edification of what the tongues were conveying.  Why be bothered with the interpretation?  The Apostle Paul tells us that when we pray, we should pray with understanding (1 Corinth. 14:15-17) especially in church so all would be edified.  However, when it is just the Lord and me, I still ask for understanding so I will have an idea what for what I’ve just prayed.  And even so, the Holy Ghost is the one who reveals that interpretation.

So, the Gifts of the Spirit are given by the Holy Ghost, as He sees fit, for edification of the church.  There are many gifts so there are many ways in which the church, or the individual, can be edified.  We have to yield to the Holy Ghost (try speaking in tongues without opening your mouth) and follow His direction.  The gifts may be manifested at a personal level or in a whole congregation for our benefit or a group’s, but God will always get the glory.

Amen

9-16-2017    WHAT IS OUR MAGNITUDE?

                                                         The whole world in His hands

Magnitude:  Magnitude, the greatness of character or position, size or loudness, importance or brightness. 

Magnitude is how something gets in size, quality, volume or whatever.  And magnitude is relative to that which around it.  If I went to Africa and hung around a tribe of pygmies, I might be a big ‘man on campus’, but if I stand in the middle of a group of basketball players, my 5’6” isn’t very impressive among those who range from six to seven feet tall. Now, if 7’6” Jorge Gonzalez (former WWE pro wrestler) joins the crowd, their magnitude diminishes before him.  And to keep things in perspective, if Robert Wadlow (American, 1918 – 1940) were able to join the crowd, his 8’11” frame would severely diminish even Jorge which would make my 5’6” pretty unnoticeable.

This is not to say that the bigger the more important but magnitude us usually measured by largeness or greatness and to that which it is being compared.  Not physical qualities but character importance.  

You may not agree with how they did what they did, but some not so tall gentlemen rose to great success on the world stage:  Julius Caesar (5’7”), Napoleon (5’7” or Joseph Stalin (5’6”), to name a few.  David, Israel’s second king was at least a head and shoulder shorter than Saul (1 Sam. 9:1-2), Israel’s first king.  The size of our body does not matter but the size of our dreams do.  How we implement those dreams and impact those dreams have on those around us make the difference.  These men all became great leaders.  In their field, their magnitude was much more than average whether we agree with their tactics or not.

So magnitude is not necessarily measured by physical size (did I mention Goliath of Gath, 9’6”?  and David vanquished him) but by size of our accomplishments.  As examples look at British evangelist Smith Wigglesworth (1859 – 1947) or a Billy Graham (1918 – present).  The impact these men have had on Christianity is immeasurable.  But look at the legacy they left behind?  Yet, the impact of what we do doesn’t have to be of world caliber like these men for we can have “magnitude” in our own neighborhood, church.  And surely in our own home we should have a degree of magnitude for whether parent or child, we should have some sort of impact on the rest of the family.  Husbands and dads, we should have our own house in order if we expect to touch lives beyond it (1 Tim. 3:5).  I need to be walking with the Lord to the best of my ability in order to have a positive impact on my wife and children.  I am their example so I should lead by example.  And that trains me to be a leader beyond my family.  As I am faithful with the ‘little” things, God will trust me with more (Luke 16:10).

God knows each one of us before we are conceived and before we are born has designated us for a specific task (Jeremiah 1:5). Father has predestined each of us for salvation and the task which He has set aside for us (Romans 8:28-30).  Before we are born, He has plans for each of us and even though He may call many to a similar task, only we can do it the way Father has designed for us to perform it.  That’s great for understanding that the world needs similar talents in many different places.  But what I am not saying is that no matter what I do, I’m going to be saved or not saved, be a preacher or a lawyer or whatever.  Not saying that.  Why?  Because God gives us free choice.  Joshua tells Israel that if it seems evil to serve the Lord, then they need to “choose” exactly whom they will serve, but for he (Joshua) says that he and his family will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).  So, even though God gives us a talent and/or a calling, we retain the right of refusal.  We don’t have to “buy into it”.  We don’t have to accept it.  God does not force Himself upon us but gives us that choice.  Even with salvation we see that straight is the gate and narrow is the way which lead to life for there are few who find it (Matt. 7:14).  It’s there but we don’t have to accept it.  Even though He doesn’t desire for any to perish (2 Peter 3:9) He gives us our own choice, too choose the wide road.  So God does not automatically ‘predestine’ us to be saved or anything else, even though He give us the potential.  We are not bound to be this or that, to do this or that no matter what we do.  To say that God decides that “A”, “B” and “C” are going to be saved no matter what and “D”, “E” and “F” are doomed to hell no matter how hard they try to come to the Lord totally conflicts with2 Peter 3:9.  How could He desire that none would perish if He has already decided who is going to be with Him in heaven and who’s not?  A day with the Lord is like a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8) and He is longsuffering.  He gives us every opportunity to come into His kingdom.  How long can one resist? 

God will continue giving us the choice until our hearts become devoid of receiving Him. 

That doesn’t mean He doesn’t try.  He blesses us when we don’t acknowledge Him, He does nudge us in the right direction even when we don’t listen.  All to get us on the right track.  But our salvation and our talents are not carved in stone for we can always give God the raspberry (stick our tongue out at Him) and turn away.  Missing out on the blessing He had planned for us.

So, our Job is first to receive Jesus into our hearts, entering into His beloved and eternal kingdom.  Then we need to discover what God’s calling is for us.  What is our lot in life?  What task has He set before us?  Why am I here?  When we truly seek, Father will show us (Matt. 7:7-8).  We then need to diligently seek and discover not only what doors Father is opening for us but then what action(s) we need to take and when so as to reach God’s calling for us. We do this by listening to and being obedient to the leading of the Holy Ghost.  He is our teacher (John 14:26), revealing things to us (1 Corinth. 2:9-10) and will guide us into all truth (John 16:13).  Did I say something about obedience?  Obedience involves seeking God’s will for our lives (Matt. 26:39), putting His direction above our own desires.  Hint:  The closer we walk with Father, the more our desires line up with His will so seeking His will IS fulfilling our desires.

Gifts, we’ll call them talents here, are given without repentance (Romans 11:29).  We don’t have to be ‘saved’ to have a God-given talent.  A writer can become a great writer without knowing Jesus.  A singer or an actor can achieve super stardom without acknowledging God.  A speaker can become a great orator without acknowledging the Father.  A lawyer can win many cases or even become a great politician without once asking the Holy Spirit for direction.  All of these can be successful - in the world’s eyes.

So if we want to become famous why bother with God?  Two reasons.  Eternal salvation, fellowshipping with the Father and the Son forever.  And under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, our gifts will be enhanced beyond where they might have gone otherwise.  Why?  Because we would be doing it to glorify our heavenly Father and as we glorify the Father, God will lift us up (Psalms 30:1, James 4:10).  Also as we lift up Father, He will lift us up (James 4:10) giving us favor with Himself and with man (Proverbs 3:1-4).  Our gifts become fine-tuned to the ultimate like a Stradivarius (one of the best violins ever made) or Phil Driscoll’s trumpet (his trumpet didn’t just ‘toot’, it sang when he played).

So why all this?  Our ‘magnitude’ or legacy is based on our accomplishments and how well people who know about us have perceived us. 

Whatever we do, we should always remember that we are doing it for God (Col. 3:23), no matter who else we might be serving and no matter what anyone else may think.

Remember Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob (Israel) was sold into slavery.  In Egypt he served Potiphar so well, as a slave, that he was given charge of Potiphar’s whole house.  However when Potiphar’s wife lied about Joseph trying to seduce her, he was put into prison.  But Joseph was such a model prisoner, he was quickly put in charge over all the other prisoners.  And when Pharaoh had a dream which only Joseph was able to interpret (under God’s revelation), he was put in charge of all the affairs of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh, himself.  No matter what position Joseph held, he served God first in that position, which of course benefited those under his charge (Gen. chapters 38-41).  Read the book of Daniel for he also experienced similar favor and grace with Kings Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus.

But to be able to serve God in that which He has called us, we must first be serving Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength (Mark 12:29-31), living for Him.  Then seek and learn what His calling is – no matter how small or how great.  Then be obedient and pursue it with all our energies always giving Him the glory and thanksgiving for “our” accomplishments (Col. 3:17)!  For as Jesus tells us that we can do nothing without Him (John 15:5) yet through Him we can do all things (Phil. 4:13).

Want magnitude?  Simply remember that our “boss” is the Creator of all things (Col.1:12-17) and all things are subject to Him (Heb. 2:7-8).  Seek Him (Matt. 7:7-8), abide in Him (John 15:7-8), being obedient in all things (2 Corinth. 2:9) and giving Him the thanksgiving and praise for all things (Psalms 100:1-5).   And above all else, serve our Lord and Savior.  Jesus said because you have done it to the least in the kingdom you have done it to Me (Matt. 5:19, 25:37-40).  So serving Jesus IS serving those around us.  Remember, we don’t work to receive rewards or benefits, but those benefits which God has already given us (Psalms 1:1-3) is evident through our works (James 2:18).

Our magnitude is gauged by our accomplishments and our accomplishments are gauged by our service to God and to others.

Amen

9-2-2017          5 Things to get the Spiritual ball rolling

I look back upon my life and my relationship with Father though Jesus Christ and He points me forward to where the He is taking me.  The Holy Spirit helps me to realize one reality – though I have grown much since my salvation, I still have a long way to go in my relationship with the Creator of all things.

I don’t remember where “5 Things to get the Spiritual ball rolling” came from.  Normally I copy the URL from which I obtain information so I do know, but no URL.  Yet I feel that Father gave this to me from some other source.  My apologies to whomever.

In church, the topic of our Sunday AM bible study for the next several Sundays is “Promises of God”.  Where does one start? (LOL) 

When Father showed me this subject, I chuckled to myself because He’s showing me how so many things in this life dovetail together.  ‘Promises of God’, ‘Ge the Spiritual Ball Rolling’ and how the interface and intertwine with each other.  We can’t get the spiritual ball rolling unless we are standing on the promises of God.

To get our Spiritual ball rolling, we have to rely on, or should I say ‘learn’ to rely on God’s promises.  These five areas ae not titled, but refer to 1) our need and our acceptance of salvation, 2) setting fear of the unknown behind us, 3) learning how to hear and listen to God, 4) learning not to limit God and 5) coming to know and understand our benefits in our relationship with our Lord and Savior.

1.                  Focus on the positive

When I gave my life to the Lord, I had to trust Him.  I had to trust Him that His promise of salvation was indeed true and free and for me. Here, God’s first promise to us is that He loves us unconditionally.   

Jesus went to the cross for us so we might have eternal life, even before we acknowledged Him, while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8).  So we have confidence knowing that when we vocalize (speak out) our belief in Jesus and believe in our heart that God indeed raised Him from the dead, we shall be saved (Romans 10:9).  We take further comfort knowing that he is preparing a place for us and He will come back for us so we can be with Him throughout eternity (John 14:1-4).  These promises are not just for our salvation, but to confirm it.

God does not desire evil for us so His thoughts for us are geared for our peace so He can work His work in us (Jeremiah 29:11).

He expands that to no matter what happens to us, as long as we are called according to His purpose (and abide in Him) all things work together for our good (Romans 8:28).  As we seek Jesus Christ, nothing is by chance but by heavenly design.

God has known us from before birth and has a plan designed for each one of us (Jeremiah 1:5).  All we have to do is ask, seek and knock.  God will answer us.  He will reveal Himself (and His will) to us, and He will surely open the door for us so as to continue our growth in Him (Matt. 7:7-8).

Our walk with Him is not always pleasant, though.  Just as we chastise (reprimand) our children, God reprimands us to keep us on track or get us back on track (Heb. 12:11).  So we see again, all things work to our good.  Wide is the path to destruction but straight and narrow is the path to life (Matt. 7:13-14).

So God approaches us from a positive standpoint.  Salvation is for our own good for when He first calls us, we surely aren’t deserving.  Then He guides us in His ways so we can be assured fellowship with Him throughout all time.  All so that we can be with Him, when that time comes (natural death or rapture). 

2.                  Overcome fear

Fear is our greatest enemy and God promises us that His love conquers all fear.  If we fear things, we do not trust Him completely.  We are not yet totally yielded to Christ because perfect love casts out fear, so those who are afraid are not yet in God’s perfect love (1 John 4:18)

I’ve operated in fear, in some form or fashion, for much too long.  I know that Father is the same yesterday, today and forever, but translating that into reality into my own life has always been difficult.  Too often I’ve not done good things, fearing the outcome may not be what I expect.  I’ve held my peace because I thought what I had to say would probably not be received or perhaps not even worth sharing or am I overstepping my bounds.  That’s me and that’s being afraid of how people may react to what I say.  And even though today, I say I don’t care what people think of me, I do care what they think of what I say.  I look at it from an ‘authority level.  Other people have more education, better position in life and/or credentials than I.  So I yield to the ‘higher’ authorities letting them take precedence.  Now this may sound good on the surface, honoring authority and position, but God has shown me (more than once) that when He has shared something with me that He wants shared with a group, I should speak it out and I haven’t.  Though He may not have told anybody else, whom I consider to be in higher honor or authority than myself (Pastor, bishop, etc.).

I have taken the yoke of Jesus upon myself (Mat. 11:29-30) and am still learning how to truly yield my life over to Him.  And that’s what ‘taking His yoke means – yielding to Him – all of me.

I have been slowly coming into the reality of boldly speaking in the Lord for He is my helper and when He is with me, why should I be afraid of what man can do to me (or think of me)? (Heb. 13:6)

When I was young, I looked at the ‘outlaw’ bikers and all the ‘tough’ guys and was concerned that they might kick my butt (I wasn’t a fighter back then, but neither was I a ‘lover’) I was afraid of what they might do to me.  Father has mad me realize that are people, just like me, no matter what the exterior image is.  And the same goes for famous people.  Father has been bringing to a true realization that even if someone can physically kill me, my soul belongs to Him and that’s where I’ll be (Matt.10:28).  So what is my problem?  Truly yielding my spirit over to the Lord, for I am persuaded that no matter what befalls me, unless I tempt the Lord, He has allowed it.  it was for my good, or learning.

Another truth I know in concept but have trouble truly realizing I if God is for me, who can stand against me?  Who can stand against the Creator of all things? (Rom. 8:31).  So when God carries my burden and picks up for me why do I fear what man can do to me? 

Trusting God is yielding to God (all of me) and yielding to God is learning to live in His love (John 15:7-11) and living in His love is casting out all fear (1 John 4:17-18) enabling me to do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)

Overcoming our fears is putting into action that which is contrary to our fears.  Should we be afraid to speak to people, be bold and take a chance and start the conversation.  Should the boss give us a new responsibility saying “I think you can do it”, especially if you’re feel inadequate, be bold and set to the task – you will most likely be pleasantly surprised and find yourself more than capable.

The only way to defeat our fears is to take them head on and don’t back down, but for heaven’s sake, be sensible.  Don’t try to fly without an airplane, a parachute, a glider  or wings (angel’s preferably).  We ought not to tempt God (Matt. 4:7), but trust Him in all situations (Prov. 3:5).  We speak with God’s authority and we serve with His strength, all for the glory of Jesus.  We shouldn’t think it strange when things come upon us, rather we should rejoice and consider it an honor to ‘suffer’ with Christ (1 Peter 4”11-13).  So I have to ask myself ‘why am I afraid?’

       

3.                  Learn to discern God’s voice

When we love God, we have to learn how to hear God’s voice and we usually hear God’s voice through the Holy Ghost who dwells within us (1 Corinth. 3:16).  God’s voice is that inner voice that guides us.  Yet it is NOT our voice. 

Samuel had to go to Eli, whom he thought had called him by name.  And yet, it took Eli three times to realize that God was calling his charge.  Samuel responded to God on the 4^th call “Speak, for your servant hears.” (1 Samuel 3:8-10).  Samuel had learned to hear God’s voice.

While we are still on milk (spiritually young) it’s difficult to recognize God’s voice, but as we mature and the ‘meat of the word’ fills our heart, we learn to know God’s voice.  We know what is good, we know what is evil.  We have learned to discern what is the devil and what is God (Heb. 5:14)

The only way we really get to know God’s voice is to know the truths of the bible so we can learn God’s nature.  Jesus recognized a half truth when He heard it when He was being tempted in the wilderness and replied with the full truth (Matt. 4:1-10).  God’s voice will always be in agreement with His word.

Of course, we have to have personal prayer time with the Lord.  We have to commune with Him (Eph. 6:18 & Jude 20).  I speak, then I zip my lip and listen.  The Holy Ghost dwells within our hearts and that’s from where the Lord usually will speak to us.  The word of God is our gauge as to am I hearing God, or me, or something else?  Peter rebuked Jesus when He spoke of His pending death and Jesus fired right back, not rebuking Peter but Satan (Matt. 16:22-23).  In what you ask, who gets the glory in what you hear.  I didn’t say who might benefit.  I said who gets the glory.  If God does not get the glory, you are listening to someone else – yourself or a devil.  Peter may have thought he was doing thr right thing, but Jesus knew whom He was dealing with.  God does not glorify us, though we may benefit and receive favor from what He does.

We need to stop talking ‘to’ God or ‘at’ God start talking ‘with’ God to come to truly know His voice.  It is a two way street, sharing and listening.

4.                  Don’t limit God

I believe God can and will do all things.  I believe He IS the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8), BUT I still have problems accepting that He will do it for me.  I’m better than I used to be, but here is where I have a ways to go.  I know God’s calling upon my life and I know He will accomplish it, but if I trusted the Holy Ghost emphatically, I would do as He bids, first time, every time, no fear, no doubt, no hesitation and not wonder about how I’m going to get there.  Father has shown me my ‘comfort zone’, that area in which I am more than willing to work but He has also put a prayer into my daily life “increase me and grow me that my comfort zone will know no fear, no doubt, no hesitations.”  I am yet a work in progress. 

Through my doubt (of myself) I quench the Holy Ghost so He can’t operate as He is intended so He is grieved because He can’t do those things in my life He wants to - yet.  Jesus could only heal a few sick folk when He returned to Nazareth because of unbelief (Matt. 13:53-58).  And in quenching the Holy Ghost, I limit Him.

Understanding who God is and what He can do is one thing.  Believing it for the personal level is where He wants all His children to be so we can do all that the early apostles and disciples did and follow the great commission which is to go and teach all nations everything, everything, that He taught His disciples and passed down to us (Matt. 28:19-20).  The commission also includes us being able to cast out devils in His name (Jesus), speak with new tongues (our heavenly language) handle deadly serpents or drink deadly things with no harm and to lay hands on the sick and heal them (Mark 16:17-18).

God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Forever means that there is no end to who He is and no change in how He operates, even today.

After all, God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1) so all things are subject to Him (Eph. 1:20-23).  As all things are subject to Jesus (Phil. 2:10) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13) and because with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26) why should I limit Him?  I can only limit Him through my unbelief, my doubt.  Forgive me Father, for limiting your work in my life.

5.                  Plan of action

So my plan of action is to continue growing, learning what Father wants me to know and applying it into my life for I know that He is with me – all the way.  Father has already implemented a plan – in part.  Perhaps I should say He has started a plan for I am indeed still a work in progress.  But guess what!  I will be a work in progress until the day He calls me home, no matter what level of life I may reach at that time.

I grab hold of God’s vision for my life and make it my own for man will perish where there is no vision (Prov. 29:18)

I count the cost for my vision to come to pass (Luke 14:28), for I have to have a plan to reach my goal and I need the Holy Spirit to reveal that plan for He will lead me into all truth (John 16:13) giving me the understanding that I need (2 Tim. 2:7)

I need to ask God to show me, then open the doors (Matt. 7:7).

I write the plan down, in a logical progression of achievement.  I say here as the Lord shows me for He may not reveal the whole plan at one time, but take us from level to level as we are ready.  God is not slack in dealing with us (2 Peter 3:9) but does not put more on us than we are able to bear (1 Corinth. 10:13).  Everything is done in His timing (Isaiah 60:22). He knows our hearts (Jer. 17:10), what our very thoughts are and all that we do (Psalms 139:1-24).

I need to write down what I need to do in order to accomplish each task He sets before me as I grow.  My tasks could include education and practice (what He has given me) what I learn. He has already given me a number of books to read – and to learn.  They contain information He has said is necessary for me to know.  I’ve watched movies He has told me to watch to learn attitudes. And He has exposed me to different people for the same reason.

I need to start exercising what I learn as I go.  After all Rome wasn’t built in a day and even then not until after the first brick was laid.  Jesus didn’t turn His disciples out on their own the day He first called them.  But for three and a half years, He made sure they understood what they needed t know.

Practical experience breeds confidence.  We do it, we see that we can do it and that encourages us on.

As Confucius says a journey starts with the first step.  So once we get understanding of what God wants us to do and how He expects us to go about it, what are we sitting around for?

Get the ball rolling!

In case you might be wondering, this is not this week's post.  That will come in two more days.
I keep a journal and Father prompted me to make this entry today & to pass it on

8/31/2017

 Read Doug Addison’s weekly addition where he talks about a tornado dream he had several years ago is now indicating a change in “leadership”.  Leaders have to let go of the past and be bold to reach out for the future and get on the gospel train.  Father is in the process of reviving the original church.  a church that will think, speak and act as the apostles and early disciples did.  It will occur because we are coming into a deeper relationship with the Father through Jesus, because we are realizing that He is truly our God and He IS raising us up out of our stagnant, doldrum graves into a newness of life.  Life that is not “just” salvation but vibrant and alive because we are learning to walk with Him, in Him. 

Jesus is our vine and our life is in Him and we are coming to know this, not just intellectually, but in our hearts, so we live for Him in reality. 

Leadership will be shaken to its corps and the scribes and the Pharisees, who are stuck in the past, will fall off the gospel train and a new vibrant leadership will rise up bringing His church to where the bride will always be ready for their Groom.  PTL