Show Thyself

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 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” I Kings 17: I

The letters I write are written to the Church, the body of Christ, not a particular movement or denomination. It’s important for us to hear from God and keep His message simple. The purpose of God’s Word is to transform and expand our minds to enter into the liberty of the Spirit of the Word.  Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Truth will set us free from any type of religious bondage or doubt and unbelief. 

Look around and see the darkness that has covered the earth including much of the Church. God is continually raising up those of us who recognize the spiritual state of the Church and long to do something about it. He is taking the longings of our hearts and setting us aside preparing us in His secret place. As we enter into the secret place of God He begins to train us in our everyday lives. I speak from the training the Lord has brought to my life.

I had a desire to go to a bible institute when God first called me 30 years ago. After days of prayer I understood that the Holy Spirit would lead me into all Truth and I was not to attend a bible institute.  Therefore, these letters come from the depths of my heart shaped by moments of solitude with our Heavenly Father.   During moments of solitude, Truth is able to deal with any ignorance, spiritual limitations and weaknesses in us.   A true minister should be able to declare as the Apostle Paul did in 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” Understanding the process of God is important. 

As I minister in different countries I often hear ‘man of God,’ thrown around so flippantly; I feel a strong need to address this. If we are going to use that title, let’s go to scripture and see who is a ‘man of God’ so we don’t use it carelessly. Let’s return to the Old Testament where consistent principles are at work. During Solomon’s reign the priests were keeping their religious duties and the people lived in peace. When he died, his son Rehoboam began to reign. An uprising occurred in the people and Israel became two kingdoms; Israel and Judah. In I Kings we read about the spiritual state of Israel and Elijah’s appearance on the scene. 1 Kings 16:29 reads, “In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years.”  These were desperate times as the kingdom was in a steady decline while doing evil in the site of God.  I Kings 16:30 reads, “Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.” To make matters worse Jezebel, a daughter of an uncircumcised king, marries Ahab and they are both sitting on the throne that at one time belonged to King David who reigned in power and authority.  As we read about Ahab and Jezebel’s twenty two years of evil there is no mention of Elijah.   Elijah is being kept in the secret place of God in training.   In the New Testament the Holy Spirit reveals to us Elijah’s life before he presents himself to King Ahab.  James 5:17 reads, “Elijah was a man just like us.  He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.”  Elijah was in the secret training of God in the midst of darkness.   It’s important to understand unless you’ve been trained in God’s secret place; your public ministry/service will be like a super structure whose foundation is weak; or a large tree with plush branches whose shallow roots in the midst of a storm are unable to keep it from toppling over.  God will use you if you have pleasure being in His secret place. It is in solitude that we come to know the mind of God as stated in Psalm 25:14, “The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.” Amos 3:7 reads, “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”

 

 It’s important to understand unless you’ve been trained in God’s secret place, your public ministry/service will be like a super structure whose foundation is weak; or a large tree with plush branches whose shallow roots in the midst of a storm are unable to keep it from toppling over.

Confusion is overtaking the land while we struggle with our identity, not knowing who we are in Christ Jesus.  God is not at fault; we’re the ones who walk away and find comfort in this world even though Jesus said in John 17:16, “They are not of this world, even as I am not of this world.”  However, God is calling us back to Him.   God does not take issue with your intelligence, your ignorance, your wealth or your poverty.  He has you on His heart and He will not leave any one of His children behind as stated in Ephesians 5:25, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Knowing this should bring much comfort and strength to our own hearts.  Christ is forever interceding for us as our High Priest. Exodus 28:21 – 29 gives a similitude of the twelve tribe’s names engraved on precious stone on the breastplate over the priest’s heart, meaning we are always on God’s heart.  Grace and mercy are abundant in the midst of an oppressed people. Oppression comes when God’s people turn from looking to him and depend on the resources of this world and government for their lives, not realizing that the spirit of the antichrist is in control of the world system. God will use you just like He used Elijah to bring light into the Kingdom of God.  Perhaps you are thinking you’re not an Elijah or Elisha with a mission.  But, we all have a mission as recorded in John 17:18, “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” You are getting to know the one who is sending you as He deals with you in His secret place.  He will speak to you; not in the thunder or fire, but in a still small voice where the Holy Spirit directly guides you.  Elijah stood before evil King Ahab and spoke, I Kings 17: I; “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” In some versions of the Bible it reads, “before whom I stand”. What does it mean “to stand”? It means to be ready for your Lord’s bidding. You are waiting for His will to be expressed.  It’s not merely walking before Him or running about always restless to busy yourself with His service. Standing is ready to listen to His Word, waiting for His direction. Elijah is declaring judgment on God’s covenant people who had turned to other gods and worshipped them.  The anger of the Lord burned against them and this was an earlier warning by God recorded in Deuteronomy 11:16-17, “Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.   Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you.” Remember God is love – but also just. Isaiah 55:11 reads, “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Here is a man who was set aside while God was building his character.  Character will always reveal your position with God.  He stood before God waiting and waiting; praying before the God he served.  Is it possible to serve a God that you do not know?   How can you know the mind of God if you do not spend time with him?  So many ministers rise to the top only to shine for a few moments, and then die out.  The man of God stands before Him and is being trained in the secret place.   Ministry formed in the secret place speaks the word of God and not the opinions of man; ministry formed in the secret place will last forever.  II Timothy 3:16, 17; “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” My prayer is that you see the DivineDiscipline at work in the ‘man of God.’

I Kings 17:2 says, “Then the word came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.” God is very clear with His instructions, never letting us second guess them. Elijah is very obedient to the Word of the Lord. He never questions or argues, but follows the directions of the God he serves. He leaves his public ministry and enters into dependence on all mighty God; living only from the brook, and the bread and meat the ravens brought him.  He’s spiritually living off the Word that came to him.  A servant listens and obeys without questioning. We must count the cost even as our Lord did and submit to God’s direction.  Separate yourself, get away from the public;   trust and believe what He says and allow His word to manifest itself.  Paul said we die daily; every day we’re like sheep led to the slaughter. Death works in us but life in you.  Understand this process.

Ministers today speak with shallow words and bring confusion into the Body of Christ.   Much of the church can’t discern the spirit behind their words.   God is bringing forth his true ministers who are not interested in titles, positions or exposure and will not bring confusion. God knows the time to bring you forth.

The Holy Spirit has stopped me here, but there is much more that He will reveal to us as we listen and obey. Amen!

Divine Discipline

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My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Proverbs 3:11,12

Has the question ever risen in your heart: Am I going to sit on the throne to rule and reign with Christ?  Maybe the better question to ask is: Am I meeting the conditions set by God to sit on the throne to rule and reign with Christ? God has left us examples in His word to help answer this question.

In I Kings, King David was on the verge of death and Israel was asking who will be heir.  We need to recognize how the natural man moved during this critical time in Israel’s history, and how the natural man is moving at this particular time as well.  The Holy Spirit helps us to recognize human nature and how God deals with it.  Throughout His Word, God exposes the natural man’s sinful state to help us. I Kings 1:1-37 records the story of David’s last days upon the earth. Verse 5 reads, “Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be king.”  So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him.”  Note the first two words, “I will”.  In Isaiah 14:13-14, Lucifer rose up and crassly spoke similar words before he was cast out of heaven, “….. I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 

Nathan the prophet told King David what was taking place. I Kings 1:6 reads, “His father had never interfered with him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?...” This verse tells us Adonijah never experienced the discipline of his father. Understand this; we must receive our Father’s discipline in order to come into our given positions in the Body of Christ instead of moving forward and taking titles and ministries that have not been given to us. Only through this process of discipline will we sit on the throne to rule and reign with Jesus Christ.  Jesus said in Luke 16:10-12, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.  So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?  And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”

In 1 Kings 1:33 David declares his son Solomon as heir to his throne. Solomon’s procession didn’t consist of chariots or guards. He was put on the king’s mule, escorted by the priest and the prophet, then sat on the throne and was declared King. 

Solomon’s heart is revealed in I Kings 3:7-9, “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.  Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.  So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”   There was no arrogance, pride, or self confidence in Solomon. The prophet and priest came and got him.  Today it is the Holy Spirit that draws a person as we read in Matthew 2:14, “Many are called but few are chosen.”  You will know it and you will submit to God’s disciplinary process.  How important it is to listen, to agree and come into the reality of God’s divine discipline. 

Today, there is a greater one than Solomon (Matthew 12:42). According to Galatians 4:6, “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” This is being ‘United in the Spirit’. Since we have received the faith of the Son, we have received the authority and power of the Son.  However before we can exert the authority we must understand the discipline our Father puts us through.  We must willfully accept or reject the process of discipline; this is not the time to complain. God is speaking to his people through the unfolding events around us.  The Body of Christ is preparing to manifest the authority, the power and the glory of Jesus Christ; all that He is and all that He has. 

There was peace throughout the land during Solomon’s reign but it came to an end as all types and shadows do.   Today Jesus Christ has arrived in all His glory and He is increasing in us. Isaiah 9:7 (NKJV) reads, “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end...” As the Spirit of Glory is increasing, the spirit of the antichrist is also increasing.  Discipline comes along with spiritual increase because the spirit of Christ is being poured out.  The church will arise in the glory and splendor of Jesus Christ.  Solomon was declared King and proclaimed heir of the kingdom because he was loved by his father.  Kingship is not a matter of merit, skill, talent or any natural accomplishments; it’s a matter of love. Love is the key to discipline that is working in us and for us.  Solomon’s words were referenced in Hebrews 12:5 when the Hebrews were going through troubling times of pressure and testing, “ . . .My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”  You and I are discovering our position; we are coming to know what it will take to rule and reign with Christ Jesus. 

Our Lord endured discipline.  Hebrews 5:7 reads, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered…..”  Are you a son?  It is very important to understand our father’s ways!  Consider the Lord accepting Judas Iscariot’s purpose and never pushing him away.  He knew Judas’ walk with Him was appointed of His father.  Jesus knew his disciples were flesh and blood with weaknesses, ambitions and self interests.  As they walked with him he accepted and loved them to the end. 

Kingship is not a matter of merit, skill, talent or any natural accomplishments; it’s a matter of love.

We must understand and accept the process of discipline because God loves us despite the poverty, pain or whatever else has been ordained for us.  We belong to God.  If our Lord had to endure these hardships to inherit, shouldn’t we as sons and daughters accept hardships in order to receive our inheritance?  We are being loved in these times of hardships and crisis.  There is a hereafter; there is a throne to be received and a kingdom to rule.  He will entrust the Kingdom of His Son to children who have accepted the discipline and understood its purpose.  The reality of “Here am I” will set in and a joy will abound despite the circumstances.  You’ll know you’re in your Father’s hands.  God says to the church in Revelation 3:19-22 (NKJV), “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.  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.  TO HIM WHO OVERCOMES I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” We are destined to rule and reign, but there is a process of discipline that will bring discomfort, pain, and irritation.  God knows what he is doing to you. Sometimes He will use those closest to you, a family member, friend or co-worker. This is not a time to give up!!! This is a time to submit and depend on God.   Regardless of where you are pray that you will take hold of this revelation and submit to the Holy Spirit who will bring illumination to your understanding.  The process of being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ will become a reality and this world which is coming to an end will see that there is a people who know their God and who walk upon the face of this earth demonstrating, expressing and fulfilling God’s purpose.  The message of the cross is Jesus Christ glorified and exalted.    The Holy Spirit solely knows what the Body of Christ needs.  Rejoice in the Lord in EVERYTHING, rejoice!!!!

*Unless noted, all scripture references are from the NIV.

Revelation

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Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.  Ezekiel 1:26

We must have a REVELATION OF CHRIST JESUS, OUR LORD if we are ever going to be transformed from spiritual immaturity to spiritually mature. It is the apostle Paul who helps us to understand that it takes more than intellectual knowledge to live in Christ and grow spiritually.

Paul originally considered Jesus to be an imposter and he was set on destroying the revelation that had come to Christ’s followers. Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus brought his whole way of thinking, all that he had learned intellectually through the scriptures to a blinding halt!   Notice in Acts 22:10 when Christ revealed Himself Paul didn’t ask, “What would you have me do Jesus of Nazareth?” but rather “What would you have me do LORD?” It’s important to see that in that encounter Paul recognized the authority and the power of the resurrected Christ and the position he had been given by the will of the Father.

Thereafter Paul’s life was guided by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit began to unveil the revelation of Christ to him. This had to occur before he could bring this revelation to the church. Paul’s experience helps us understand the depth of his letters to the church.  Paul fervently prays in Ephesians 1:17, 18 “. . . that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious FATHER, MAY GIVE you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.”  We too must have a fresh and ever increasing revelation of Christ Jesus to be transformed from spiritual immaturity which results in divisions and schisms in the Body of Christ. Galatians 1:15 reads, “But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the gentiles . . .” Note, pleased to reveal His Son in me; Paul’s not talking about his encounter on the road to Damascus, but the revelation coming from the Father who was pleased to give it to Paul.  We read about the church claiming all spiritual gifts but divisive in 1 Corinthians 3:4, “For when one says, “I follow Paul, and another, I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?”   Paul asked in 1 Corinthians 1:13, “Is Christ divided?”  These corrections coming to the Body of Christ didn’t come from a book; they came from “it pleased God to reveal His Son in me.”   A revelation of Christ began to bring transformation to Paul’s religious beliefs. 

We send our children to school to increase in knowledge. Knowledge delivers them from ignorance and they’re able to function in society.  In this same way we who are born again of the Kingdom of God, accept the process of maturing and growing so we can reach the position where God is pleased to release more revelation of Christ Jesus.  Psalm 25:14 reads, “The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.” Revelation doesn’t come automatically.  Paul speaks of revelation as being a mystery in Colossians 1:26, “. . .  the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.” Then he calls himself a steward of the mysteries in 1 Corinthians 4:1, “So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted (stewards) with the secret things of God.”  We have failed to teach this to the Body of Christ and she is suffering from immaturity which results in divisions and schisms. 

Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:17 “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the glorious Father may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know Him better.” The revelation of Christ Jesus is for the whole Body of Christ, not just the apostles and prophets.  The Word of God always challenges our spiritual lives. Jesus Christ spoke in John 6:63, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit, the flesh counts for nothing; it destroys the flesh and brings increase to the new man, the new creation.”  You will not get this revelation based on how often you attend your fellowship or sit in the pew and listen to one man.  Revelation will come by the will of God.  It is the pleasure of God to give it to you.  Prov. 3:32 reads, “. . . for the Lord detests a perverse man, but He takes the upright into His confidence.”  He’s referring to friendship between two persons.  Growth and fruitfulness in a relationship will come about by trusting and knowing one another which brings you into the intimate thoughts in confidence with one another.  God is telling us He can’t bring us into His secret chambers without us realizing His thoughts are pearls. Our Lord Christ Jesus mentions an important word in Matthew 11:27, “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father . . .” God’s not talking about knowing Him physically, but the greatness, the riches, and the mysteries in Christ Jesus.    Those who are driven by this passion to know Christ will say like Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1 (KJV), “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” Paul tells us how he continually searches for Christ in Philippians 3:13-14, “. . .  but one thing I do – forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, PRESS toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The daily hunger and passion for Christ lead us to the fullness of Christ. Remember, “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”   God’s good pleasure reveals the Son in us; it is not in how much we read or listen to teachings.

When we receive a revelation of Christ we come into the knowledge of the destiny of man in Christ. As you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you through the scriptures you begin to know the purpose of the church, the purpose of every member of the Body of Christ and the true nature of the Body of Christ.  We can’t exhaust the knowledge of the depths of Christ written in the scriptures; only by the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation do we see the spiritual reality underlying them. Understanding this, we walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit and come to know what true ministry is.

Ministry is not doing a lot of things even though they may look good.  Ministry is a Person; Christ!

Ministry is not doing a lot of things even though they may look good. Ministry is a Person; Christ!  God is not impressed by what you do; the question is what is the motivation behind your actions, what’s governing your motives and your interests?   Is Christ working through you to bring increase to the Body of Christ?  Jesus said, “I will build my church.” The purpose of the five-fold ministry is to perfect the saints as written in Ephesians 4:11, 12. These are gifts given by the Head of the church and they work only by the power of the Holy Spirit.  There is so much confusion as to who’s an apostle, prophet, pastor, evangelist or teacher.  It is sad to witness the condition of the church. Many pastors have been taught “If you’re not under the covering of an apostle, you’re not a church.” This must be corrected! God is raising up servants to release LIFE to God’s people; not carnal interpretations of the scriptures which keep God’s people from coming into the fullness of Christ.  The further away we get from our Life source, the more we depend on plans, programs and organizations of the flesh to keep God’s people together. 

Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”  Our covering is the love and grace of God in our surroundings.  These are the true riches found in Christ Jesus.  If you are in Christ Jesus and have gone through the death and resurrection with Him, the heavens are open.  John the Baptist took the Son of God and submerged Him in the river Jordan and the Word of God says when He rose up from the water the heavens were opened and the spirit descended (Luke 3:21-22).  The heavens are open for God’s children; we have every right to come into the presence of our Father.  Paul considered this the mysteries of Christ.  God is not some force in the air or some power out there; HE IS OUR HEAVENLY FATHER. When you read the scriptures the Holy Spirit will help you know His thoughts because you have received the Spirit of God to know the most intimate things of God (I Corinthians 2:9-10). God’s desire is revealed when He says in Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Our Heavenly Father’s will is to have children that are an expression of His thoughts and walk according to His good pleasure. Jesus said in John 8:36, “You will know ME, and you will be set FREE.” 

 My heart overflows with worship!! The Lord is great. Our God is a loving God, a merciful God and every morning as the sun rises His grace and His mercies are renewed.  He has planned our day!  Listen to the Holy Spirit and he will guide, direct and discipline you in love.  My prayer for you is to submit to your Heavenly Father and grow in Christ.

Every dealing of God in our lives

and in the life of the whole church

begins with a personal revelation -

a deep, inner discernment of God’s will -

a disclosure of spiritual existence

we were blind to before.

(Manfred Haller)

How infinitely blind we are

to the fullness and glory of Christ

if we do not know Christ in His power

and ourselves in our weaknesses,

as revealed to us personally by the Holy Spirit. 

(Charles G. Finney)

DIVINE TIMING

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THE LORD IS MY PORTION; THEREFORE I WILL WAIT FOR HIM.  THE LORD IS GOOD TO THOSE WHOSE HOPE IS IN HIM, TO THE ONE WHO SEEKS HIM; IT IS GOOD TO WAIT QUIETLY FOR THE SALVATION OF THE LORD.  LAMENTATIONS 3:24 -26 

I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to give a warning to the children of God during these rapidly changing times. There is a danger in losing sight of God’s great design by the overwhelming situations and experiences of the present moment.  We must remember that there is a purpose in everything that is taking place.   I learned at a Morris Cerullo School of Ministry that “The God we serve is a God of plan, purpose, design and objectivity.” 

Those of us here in the United States are well aware that changes are taking place in our great nation and many are praying that God would save it. However keep in mind God is not concerned with just one nation but all nations.  The bigger picture is found in Genesis 12:2, 3 which reads, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” God’s intention is salvation to all people of all nations through the Body of Christ. 

As we enter into unexpected changes, we take hold of God’s promises and pray; but our prayers don’t seem to get answered.    Why hasn’t God answered my prayers?  There are a number of possible reasons why the answers to our prayers are divinely delayed.  We must understand God is causing us to wait so we can come to know Him and His divine character.  It’s obvious the longer we wait the longer the door of communication between God and us is open.  If we are not knowledgeable in our well intentioned prayers, God will have to respond according to Mark 10:38, “You don’t know what you are asking.” The motive of our prayers must pass through the filter of God’s love and wisdom or He may respond according to James 4:3, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

The apparent delays, based upon our measurement of time, move us to take matters into our own hands.  This is a great mistake.  Faith is being tested; the faith that we received from Christ is being tested and we are becoming established.  Do not be discouraged; God’s great love is guarding us.  Know that every experience, every situation and every circumstance has a beginning and an ending.  We don’t need to ask why.  God will see the results He desires. Daniel 4:34, 35 reads, “. . . Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.  His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.  All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing.  He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth.  No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” The enemy wants us to forget that God is in control of the changes in this world, not man! It is up to His children, His sons and daughters, to express this confidence, this trust, and this faith to the world.

We know there are different stages of maturity in the Body of Christ.  There is much to be said of the faith of a child who doesn’t understand God’s ways but continues to believe.  There is more to be said of a mature man who knows God does not move according to our time frame despite our situations.     His measurement of time is in II Peter 3:8, “With the Lord a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” He knows the beginning and the end.  There is a risk of taking matters into our own hands as we assume God is delaying the answer.   A good example is recorded in Genesis 15 where God promised Abraham descendents.  Abraham was without a son and thought his servant Eleazar was going to be his successor.  But God made a covenant.  So much was involved in the promise of God to give Abraham a son that Genesis 16 tells us the delay began to affect Abraham and Sarah, like it does us.  Abraham took hold of wrong counsel from his wife and takes the servant Hagar to himself and she conceives a child.  The consequence of that decision is still seen today. Fearing the delay and listening to the flesh will lead us to make wrong decisions.  Only God can bring a supernatural promise to pass as written in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.   Does he speak and then not act?  Does he promise and not fulfill?”

Exodus 2:11 records another example of poor timing in expressing God’s purpose,  “One day after Moses had grown up he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor.  He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. He looked this way and that way and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” No doubt there was an instinct of deliverer in Moses as he saw the oppression of his people, but his time was not yet.  Moses took matters into his own hands so God dealt with him in the desert for 40 years. We should be moved but not outside of God’s timing.

How many have prayed for loved ones to be saved and have become perplexed and perhaps discouraged when we don’t see an immediate answer to our prayers.  Take heart with the word of Jeremiah in Lamentations 3: 24-26, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”  We should heed his counsel.  Jeremiah saw beyond the present circumstances; he saw the goodness of the Lord.  We must not lose sight of the fact that the wisdom of God and the love of God created the circumstances.  In these circumstances the Father is unfolding His design through his people; the principalities and powers of the air have never seen this before.  Paul writes in Ephesians 3:10, “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  He sees the outcome; the unfolding of His great design is taking place.  God is in control and He knows the exact minute you enter a change of circumstance and He knows the exact minute when you will exit.  

GOD IS IN CONTROL AND HE KNOWS THE EXACT MINUTE YOU ENTER A CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCE AND HE KNOWS THE EXACT MINUTE WHEN YOU WILL EXIT.

All the understanding of divine delay is in Christ Jesus!  “All things were created by Him and for Him.  Nothing was created without him;” Corinthians 1:16.  Every minute of every situation and circumstance was created by Him and for Him.    God is bringing us into the fullness of Christ.  It is encouraging to see the hunger in God’s children to know the purpose and ways of God; to know Him.  For many years all we’ve heard from the pulpit is what God is doing for us and what we can get from Him.  Now there is a hunger to know what He desires.  The coming of the Lord is closer now as this world is changing. However, the real sign of the Lord’s coming is not the Lord breaking through the heavens, but breaking through his people.   An increase of the glory of the Lord is occurring. God will not take his people out of this world without impacting the world;

Know the times we are living in; the glory of the Lord, all that He is and all that He has, is revealed through his people. Isaiah 60:1, 2 “Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you—rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! For behold darkness shall cover the earth, and dense darkness [all] the peoples, but the Lord shall arise upon you [O Jerusalem], and His glory shall be seen on you.” Amplified bible

Do not lose heart my friend.  I want to encourage you by Paul’s example.  There was a messenger of satan sent to buffet him.  He prayed three times for the Lord to take this thorn away and received a powerful revelation, “My power is perfected in your weakness.”  Paul said in II Corinthians 12:9, 10 “. . . I will glory in my weakness so that the power of Christ Jesus will rest upon me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Don’t be discouraged if you are going through persecution, hard times, or moments of disappointment.  Remember, the Peace that passes all understanding rests upon you.

 

WE CANNOT LIVE IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD

AND LET EVIL STALK UNCHALLENGED,

BY NEGLECTING THE WIDE-OPEN DOORS OF THE WORLD

WHICH CALL TO OUR FAITH AND OUR LOYALTY. 

 (J .S. HOLDEN)

SELFLESS

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 Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.  And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.  Genesis 14:19 

We must be servants of God with courage and vision in order to help God’s people see their highest and most precious reward which is Christ. Romans 8:28 reads, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” We rarely see things in their proper setting, what God is doing behind the scene; therefore we don’t see the importance of “all things” that God works for our good.  We fail to understand the process God has brought us into. It’s important to understand His desire in us as His children.  We must understand the spiritual state of the church as it is now and how it should be, before we can proceed as instruments in the purpose of God. 

In the Old Testament Nehemiah, Ezra and the other prophets had hearts focused on God. Because of this God was able to move them to pray for the spiritual condition of His people, Israel. They would help them in whatever way God led them. This is why as the Lord leads us through the life of Abraham we can see how God uses situations to adjust Abraham’s life and understanding.  He is doing the same with us today.   Remember how the conflict between Abraham and Lot’s servants brought them to the point of separation? Lot is a natural man who, unlike Abraham, has not heard God’s voice. Before our spiritual birth we walked according to the natural man; the five senses influenced by our surroundings and environment. The discernment to know the difference between walking in the spirit and the natural man is so needed in the Body of Christ.  When Abraham and Lot made the decision to separate and Abraham gave Lot first choice, we see that the spiritual man   Abraham left it up to God to choose for him.  Many of us make the mistake of choosing for ourselves instead of waiting for God, we move without seeking the direction of the Lord. If Christ is truly Lord of our lives He owns us, He has redeemed us.   The grace of God is so wonderful because even when we make wrong choices and reap difficulties and troubles, God will deliver us if we cry out to Him!   Psalm 78:34-39; “Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again. They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.” He is the same yesterday, today and forever. 

Genesis 13: 14-15 “The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.” John 10:10 reads, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” It is wonderful when we are living in the center of God’s will as an instrument of God. Ephesians 1:11-12, “In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory.” We will walk in the joy of the Lord as we allow God to lead us.

God continues to adjust Abraham’s life when Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom and ends up living in Sodom.   Genesis 14:11-12 “The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.” Abraham fought the kings and rescued Lot. Remember that the spiritual man is delivering the natural man from slavery to the things of this world. We see this emphasized in types and shadows in the Old Testament, but it is clearly written in 1 Peter 1:8- 9 “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”  Genesis 14:16 “He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.”  The King of Sodom came out to meet him and then Abram meets Melchizedek. There is a process taking place and we must understand it.  God speaks to Abraham through Melchizedek in Genesis 14:19, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.”  Melchizedek is making sure Abraham knows that there is someone in control of his situation.  God was with him in the Old Testament and he overcame, but in the New Testament God is in us and we have overcome.  I John 4:4; “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” When Abraham begins to hand over the things that he has recovered to the King of Sodom, the King says in Genesis 14:21 “ . . . Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” 22-23 “But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.”  Genesis 15:1 “After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I AM your shield, your very great reward.”  Remember it is Christ in us, He is our treasure, He is our prosperity, He is our reward, and He is all in all.  We cannot forget that. 

We are children of God.  We must not depend on the government or the world to save or keep us alive. Read what our Lord said in Matthew 6:25- 26, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” I disagree with the mentality of some Christians who quote Proverbs 13:22, “. . . The wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just.” The prosperity message has many of God’s children frustrated, discouraged and even angry with God because they don’t understand His process or final outcome. This was not the mind of Abraham nor is it the mind of Christ; 1 Corinthians 2:16 says, “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”  Christ was offered the kingdoms of this world and rejected them.  He knew that there was coming a time when all kingdoms would belong to Him and He was not going to take any backward step that would keep him from going to the cross and accomplishing his purpose.   We must also accept the work of the cross in order to come into our full reward. Once Abraham released the natural possessions he sees God as his reward.  We have turned this around and become obsessed with world possessions and ignorant of the truth that God is our reward.   Before any spiritual development unto full stature is achieved, there must be a radical deliverance from the wrong development of the soul’s powers. Reflect on your life and allow the word of God to reveal the intents of your heart before you make important decisions.  We cannot be true witnesses if we are not allowing the life of Christ to be expressed through us, His children.  There’s lack of confidence when we don’t understand God’s process or see that He is working behind the scene.

Before any spiritual development unto full stature is achieved, there must be a radical deliverance from the wrong development of the soul’s powers.

We have had the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation for thousands of years; however when doubt enters in causing weakness, spiritual progress and growth slowdown.  Ephesians 4:13 reads, “. . . until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” This is not an independent process; Unity in the Spirit is a powerful revelation for the members of the Body of Christ.    You are a part of the Body of Christ and your spiritual progress depends on other members of the Body of Christ.  God is raising men and women to teach the Body of Christ the importance of each member.   We are all loved the same.   It is Christ in all of us, the hope of glory.  We must allow the Holy Spirit to bring adjustment to our lives as this truth is revealed.  Paul also discovers that weakness and mistakes are part of this adjustment. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “. . . Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  God knew Abraham’s weakness and limitations, yet he continued working in him because he knew why he called him.  Not until Abraham was separated from Isaac was he able to see himself more than an earthly father.  In Genesis 22:17, 18; “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” He discovers God’s divine thought of not only natural descendants (sand on the seashore) but spiritual descendants (stars in the sky). By this continued adjustment, Abraham moved into a greater understanding of God’s purpose for his life. You and I are very special to our heavenly Father.  Each one of us must also go through this process so that we can come into the fullness of our inheritance.  I conclude with Colossians 3:1,4, “Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

God's Handiwork

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We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.  Ephesians 2:10

Thank God He inspired men to record the lives of people in the Old Testament whom He used. Abraham, like us, experienced disappointments, discouragements and perplexities. But God did not hide his difficult times from us because they help us understand the process of God as He works with each of His children. Note that every time Abraham gave up his rights, God spoke to him.  Through his life, we are seeing the process of absolute abandonment to God’s will. 

We can learn an important principle in Abraham’s journey from Jeremiah 18:6, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.”  The principle is God’s sovereignty; it is continually governing. Even though Jeremiah 18:6 was declared to a nation, it also speaks to us individually.  The sovereignty of God is always at work regardless of what is happening around us or the situations that we are going through.  God is in control, not nations, not the government, not Satan, nor the evil we see around us. This is something we must know so we can come into the power of that truth.

When Abraham reaches a point of dissatisfaction with his state of being, he begins to search for answers to the questions, why am I here, what’s my purpose in living, where did I come from? He wasn’t satisfied with worshipping the idols of his father and began to raise questions (Joshua 24:2). God used this opportune time to appear to Abraham (Acts 7:2) and answer the haunting question, is there anything more to life than this?  We must come to the point of recognizing our need of salvation.  If we don’t, we won’t look for deliverance from our state of being. Salvation encompasses much of our lives. 

God presents this principle to us as ‘clay in the potter’s hands.’   Picture the clay on the wheel as it is being molded according to the thought of God. The clay must accept this process of being fashioned by the thought, the will and activity of the potter. Like the clay, we cannot suggest our desire for design. We must always be in subjection to the will of the potter.

I will bring out three perspectives of everyone’s life to further emphasize the principle of being ‘clay in the potter’s hands’. There is the person you think you are, there is the person other people think you are and there is the person that God knows you are.    God does not mold you according to the way you think you are, nor according to who people think you are, but according to whom He knows you to be.   That is exactly what God was doing in Abraham.   Jeremiah 1:5 reads, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”  Psalms 139:13-16 also confirms God’s design for you.  He is working in you according to the purpose He created you for.  He is bringing forth His design that was created by love.

 Sometimes we enter circumstances we don’t understand, but by design God allows it.  Consider Job 1: 9-12, nothing of Job’s was touched without permission from God.  Peter wasn’t sifted until after Satan had asked permission (Luke 22:31).  These are truths you and I must walk in no matter what is happening around us. God is the engineer of our circumstances; He is working according to the person He knows we are. We are His children.   Paul writes in I Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.   But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”   Our heavenly Father allows us to go through tough situations, sorrow and pain, but we have no right to tell the potter how to bring forth the design intended.   Remember we did not choose God, He chose us according to our Lord Jesus Christ in John 15:16.   We can rest in the fact that He knows us and creates the circumstances to bring us into full expression.  Ephesians 2:10 beautifully reads, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.” Paul is saying we are being designed by God; we are His work. We are sons and we are being conformed and designed according to the image of His Son. It’s hard to accept circumstances that bring pain, sorrow, discouragement or disappointment to us, but never forget God’s creative hands are at work to bring us forth as Sons of the Living God.   After we recognize our weakness and submit to the potter, Wisdom is then seen at work in us. Submitting to the potter is our relation to this great principle, God’s sovereignty.  We have a will and an intellect from where resistance comes from. This is what makes us different from the clay. We must surrender it all to God.

 GOD IS THE ENGINEER OF OUR CIRCUMSTANCES.

  The next time you find yourself in a perplexing situation and you know in your heart that you are yielding to the Holy Spirit, remember the words “God is Love.”  Grasp the depth of this statement, ‘we are in the hands of eternal love with eternal purpose in mind.’ He is not a tyrant looking down ready to beat us for our mistakes.  Love created everything before we were formed in the womb of our mother. We come forth from Him.   Jesus said in John 8:14, “I know where I came from and I know where I’m going.”  We come from the heart of a loving Father who cares for us and is always looking out for our good.    As a father I want the best for my children.  God has given us commandments of love to direct and protect us; always encouraging us to obey them.   Jesus delighted to do the will of His Father.   The demands were created out of love.   As long as He continued in obedience to those commandments He was protected by the love of His Father no matter what He confronted.   John 6:38 says, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me.” He is the supreme example given to us.  

I repeat, the clay doesn’t tell the potter how to design it or how much pressure to put on it while on the wheel.   It is wrong thinking to tell God how to do things; the clay has no rights. As members of the Body of Christ, we can never dictate to the head.   Christ Jesus, the Head of the Body, is the one who governs the body (Ephesians 1:22).  Theologies are blown away by this, but scriptures will teach us who we are and what we are here for.

As we return to the types and shadows in the Old Testament, we now understand the great work declared by I Peter 1:8-9 which reads, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”  We must see and know what God is doing in us as individuals and also in the corporate Body if we are to enter into the delight and joy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

 Abraham, symbolic of the spiritual man, is led to liberate Lot. Notice Lot chose for himself and set up his tent near Sodom (Genesis 13:12).  In time he is taken captive while living in Sodom (Genesis 14:12).  Abraham moves closer to the purpose of God and Lot, the natural man, moves further into the deception of the natural world.  See this principle at work throughout scripture in Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joseph, and David; God is sovereign!   God is in control, not the nations of the world, not Satan.

  My prayer is that as you read this letter it will help you understand what God is doing; We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus; His design in love, because God is love.