Heart of the Prophet

by Chad Taylor

A PROPHET TO A GENERATION

”My eyes fail because of tears, My spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is poured out on the earth, because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, when little ones and infants faint in the streets of the city…” (Lamentations 2:11)
In a time of national calamity and moral collapse there was a heart that burned with this fire of repentance and righteousness. In the midst of riot and rampage through Israel’s streets, stood one lone prophet with the message of the hour mixed with tears. Like Ramah, he refused to be comforted. Like his Lord, he could not ignore the plight of his people. He witnessed and pleaded on the corner of every street and hedge of Jerusalem for their lives and their liberties, to truly return to the Lord. Echoing through the alleys and lanes of the city it could be heard, "Arise! Cry aloud in the night! At the beginning of the night watches; Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift up your hands to Him, for the life of your young children who faint because of hunger at the top of every street!" Lamentations 2:19)
See, Jeremiah was no stranger to his nation’s sin and pain. He did not observe from a terraced temple treasury at the passing of the publican and prostitute that paraded through the streets of Jerusalem. He did not stand as high priest and judge to the agony and cry of Zion’s children, but to the contrary, he walked with them, he pleaded with them, he wept with them! Like his Messiah, he was no stranger to their desperation; he stood with them at the threshold of their judgment and cried. “…Call upon Me and come pray to Me! And I will listen to you! And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart…” (Jer. 29:12&13.) Judgment never falls without the tears of the prophet falling first.
‘And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it…’ (Jesus over Jerusalem) (Luke 19:41)
Yet today in modern day clergy, hidden behind insulated church walls, one can easily stand afar off and preach of their plight, but never fight the good fight. Sleep unaware through the night, never shining His glorious light. It is easier to preach of their demise, than to look them in the eyes. It is less toil to walk by on the other side, than to bind up their wounds with oil and wine. God is looking for prophets that will weep with those that weep, leave the ninety-nine for even one lost sheep. That will open the prison doors and set the captives free. The Lord is imploring in this dark hour, “Who will follow Me?”


PROPHETS ARE BORN NOT MADE
From the womb the stirring was heard, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you, I have appointed you a prophet to the nations…” (Jer. 1:4). In the bowels of the earth before the foundations of the world an election and a calling was birthed. It was not by mere whim or human standard that Jeremiah was ordained a prophet to the nations. Hear his reply! “But, ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth…” In his spiritual infancy Jeremiah fled the holy calling. In his natural age he deemed himself unfit. But in God’s sovereignty he was “prophet to the nations.”

But with no small cost did Jeremiah don this mantle! No! But with life and honor and tears and blood did he bear it! In peril and in prison did it accompany him! He was called by God to stand in the streets and weep as a nation faltered. To bear their wounds and weep their tears. In his own words he confesses, “I am a man who has seen affliction…” (Lam. 3:1). Not unlike his Master and Lord, “…smitten of God and afflicted…” (Is. 53:4)

If we desire to speak as these prophets spoke, if we aspire to live as these prophets and Prophet lived, then we must then, enter into the melee of human despair and give them the river of life freely! To step into the masses and declare with Peter, “Repent and be saved!” We cannot stand afar off in some upper-room writing and wrangling, we must step out of the boat of human effort and enter into the supernatural realm of His glory. You see, His power FOLLOWED them as they went, “Confirming the Word with signs following…” (Mk. 16:20) The Lord is still looking for those that He can follow.

NO POWER WITHOUT PASSION
“To whom also he showed Himself alive after HIS PASSION by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3)
The word passion comes from the Greek word: pascho (pas'-kho); which means, to experience a sensation or impression (usually painful): KJV—to feel, passion, or to suffer, vex. Jesus did not walk in divine power without passion. Without suffering. Without paying the price of pain as He held an orphaned child, or healed a dying leper, or defended and forgave the prostitute. He suffered with them! He walked with them every day! He felt their pain! He stood in their midst. He was found with the unlovely and deemed misfit. My friends! This divine power does not come without passion! Nor will it ever without His compassion! If we are to see His miracles we must first feel His heart! We must first be broken with the weight of His love before we can be equipped with the power of His glory! O Lord give us your passion!

We must leap from the safe shores of church, into the deep waters of the world, and take in a great catch! He is calling to us from the storm, “Don’t be afraid, it is I!” He is calling us from the hi-ways and hedges, “Compel them to come in!” He is calling us from the nations and poverty stricken places, “The heathen is for your inheritance!” The Lord of the Harvest is crying to the church and those that stand idle, “Will you work in My fields?” Jeremiah knew their pain first hand. He sat with them everyday. He pleaded and begged for their repentance. He comprehended that there was no power without passion. He knew the secret of His Father’s heart, “The Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease. His compassions never fail…” (Lam. 3:22)

Jesus was moved with compassion when He saw the multitudes. And from it He “healed every kind of disease and every kind of sickness” (Mtt.9: 35&36) It is His compassion that will release miracles, signs, and wonders. And it is apathy and indifference that will obstruct and hinder the river of His love through earthen vessels. We expect power without passion! Miracles without compassion! God forbid we live our lives without the infallible proofs of His resurrection bearing witness upon our ministry. Having the power to effect and impact a world all around us desperate and lost in darkness. God forbid we are silent as the world is screaming for His love captured in human hearts refusing to be released…

THE HEART OF THE PROPHET
“My soul, My soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart! My heart is pounding in me; I can not be silent, because you have heard O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.” (Jeremiah 4:19)

Certainly from this generation is springing up an army of prophets and prophetesses. A vanguard of youth that hear the beat of His heart and march to Its rhythm. That has heard in the closets of prayer the sound of the trumpet rousing the warriors, and the alarm of war. A troop of youth that have counted the cost of discipleship and have plunged into the deep and cast their nets on the other side of religion, LIBERTY! Certainly a chosen generation is taking center stage as the curtain of destiny is parting. A royal priesthood, that wears the garments of praise and humility. A peculiar people indeed that march into the land! For such will carry His glory into the nations. And such will declare His heart to the masses.

Like Job they will exclaim, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ears, BUT NOW MY EYE SEES YOU…” (Job 42:5). This is a generation that not only has heard of Him and His power and majesty, but one that will experience His power and majesty. They will see with their eyes the demonstration if His love and glory poured out on a dry and thirsty land. The Lord would say, ‘MAKE WAY! MAKE WAY FOR MY YOUNG ONES! THEY WILL LEAD YOU INTO THE PROMISE LAND! THEY WILL LEAD YOU INTO THE FRUITFUL STAND! FOR THIS IS A GENERATION THAT FINALLY UNDERSTANDS, THE DIVINE STRATEGY OF MY UNFOLDING PLAN! TO POSSESS THE LAND! TO POSSESS THE LAND!

This will be a people that touch not just talk. Like their predecessors Jeremiah and Ezekiel, they will stand in the city gates and prophesy, “Return, backsliding Israel, says the Lord; I will not cause My anger to fall upon you, for I am merciful, says the Lord. Only acknowledge your iniquity that you have transgressed against the Lord…” (Jer.3: 12&13). They will not be a foreigner but a friend to their nation, their city, and their land. They will ‘stand in the gap,’ that God would not destroy it.

God give us prophets that are not afraid to walk in the streets with a ‘Thus say the Lord.’ Those that are not afraid to touch and hold and heal the wounds of a generation. Make them like their Master who sat and ate with the publican and the tax collector despite the ridicule of His peers. Give them a courage that transcends religious tradition that creates a chasm between the world instead of a bridge. Distance instead of desire for a lost and degenerate world. God give us Heaven breathed, passion born, and love inspired prophets that invade every modern day Samaria with Your power and eternal weight of glory! Illuminating the poverty of sin with the power of Christ’s Liberty! Breaking the chains of humanity with the promise of salvation’s immortality!

GOD GIVE US PROPHETS!

Chad Taylor

Consuming Fire Ministries

E-mail: info@consumingfire.com
This is also a Chapter in "Why Revival Still Tarries" by Chad Taylor

Picture of a Prophet

by Leonard Ravenhill

The prophet in his day is fully accepted of God and totally rejected by men.

Years back, Dr. Gregory Mantle was right when he said, "No man can be fully accepted until he is totally rejected." The prophet of the Lord is aware of both these experiences. They are his "brand name."

The group, challenged by the prophet because they are smug and comfortably insulated from a perishing world in their warm but untested theology, is not likely to vote him "Man of the year" when he refers to them as habituates of the synagogue of Satan!

The prophet comes to set up that which is upset. His work is to call into line those who are out of line! He is unpopular because he opposes the popular in morality and spirituality. In a day of faceless politicians and voiceless preachers, there is not a more urgent national need than that we cry to God for a prophet! The function of the prophet, as Austin-Sparks once said, "has almost always been that of recovery."

The prophet is God's detective seeking for a lost treasure. The degree of his effectiveness is determined by his measure of unpopularity. Compromise is not known to him.
He has no price tags. He is totally "otherworldly."
He is unquestionably controversial and unpardonably hostile.
He marches to another drummer!

He breathes the rarefied air of inspiration. He is a "seer" who comes to lead the blind. He lives in the heights of God and comes into the valley with a "thus saith the Lord."

He shares some of the foreknowledge of God and so is aware of
impending judgment. He lives in "splendid isolation."

He is forthright and outright, but he claims no birthright.
His message is "repent, be reconciled to God or else...!"
His prophecies are parried.

His truth brings torment, but his voice is never void.
He is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow.
He is excommunicated while alive and exalted when dead!
He is dishonored with epithets when breathing and honored with
epitaphs when dead.

He is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but few "make the grade" in his class. He is friendless while living and famous when dead.
He is against the establishment in ministry; then he is established as a saint by posterity.

He eats daily the bread of affliction while he ministers, but he feeds the Bread of Life to those who listen.

He walks before men for days but has walked before God for years.
He is a scourge to the nation before he is scourged by the nation.
He announces, pronounces, and denounces!

He has a heart like a volcano and his words are as fire.
He talks to men about God.

He carries the lamp of truth amongst heretics while he is lampooned by men. He faces God before he faces men, but he is self-effacing.

He hides with God in the secret place, but he has nothing to hide in
the marketplace.

He is naturally sensitive but supernaturally spiritual.
He has passion, purpose and pugnacity.
He is ordained of God but disdained by men.

Our national need at this hour is not that the dollar recover its strength, or that we save face over the Watergate affair, or that we find the answer to the ecology problem. We need a God-sent prophet!

I am bombarded with talk or letters about the coming shortages in our national life: bread, fuel, energy. I read between the lines from people not practiced in scaring folk. They feel that the "seven years of plenty" are over for us. The "seven years of famine" are ahead. But the greatest famine of all in this nation at this given moment is a FAMINE OF THE HEARING OF THE WORDS OF GOD (Amos 8:11).

Millions have been spent on evangelism in the last twenty-five years. Hundreds of gospel messages streak through the air over the nation every day. Crusades have been held; healing meetings have made a vital contribution. "Come-outers" have "come out" and settled, too, without a nation-shaking revival. Organizers we have. Skilled preachers abound. Multi-million dollar Christian organizations straddle the nation. BUT where, oh where, is the prophet? Where are the incandescent men fresh from the holy place? Where is the Moses to plead in fasting before the holiness of the Lord for our moldy morality, our political perfidy, and sour and sick spirituality?

GOD'S MEN ARE IN HIDING UNTIL THE DAY OF THEIR SHOWING FORTH. They will come. The prophet is violated during his ministry, but he is vindicated by history.

There is a terrible vacuum in evangelical Christianity today. The missing person in our ranks is the prophet. The man with a terrible earnestness. The man totally otherworldly. The man rejected by other men, even other good men, because they consider him too austere, too severely committed, too negative and unsociable.

Let him be as plain as John the Baptist.

Let him for a season be a voice crying in the wilderness of modern theology and stagnant "churchianity."

Let him be as selfless as Paul the apostle.
Let him, too, say and live, "This ONE thing I do."

Let him reject ecclesiastical favors.
Let him be self-abasing, nonself-seeking, nonself-projecting, nonself- righteous, nonself-glorying, nonself-promoting.

Let him say nothing that will draw men to himself but only that which will move men to God.
Let him come daily from the throne room of a holy God, the place where he has received the order of the day. Let him, under God, unstop the ears of the millions who are deaf through the clatter of shekels milked from this hour of material mesmerism.

Let him cry with a voice this century has not heard because he has seen a vision no man in this century has seen. God send us this Moses to lead us from the wilderness of crass materialism, where the rattlesnakes of lust bite us and where enlightened men, totally blind spiritually, lead us to an ever-nearing Armageddon.

God have mercy! Send us PROPHETS!

Leonard Ravenhill

DOWNLOADS:
SPIRIT OF A TRUE PROPHET Pt 1 (mp3 audio)

SPIRIT OF A TRUE PROPHET Pt. 2 (mp3 audio)

Bill Hamon on Practicing Prophetic Principles

Is impatience and improper perspectives or impulsiveness negating your personal prophecies? Discover how to cooperate with God's prophetic word.

One of the main reasons some people have been turned off from the prophetic is that they or others have mishandled words from the Lord. Having shared, counseled and ministered to thousands of individuals over the years, I have discovered some very important principles for you to practice in order to fulfill the personal prophecies spoken over you.

First, we must keep personal prophecy in proper perspective. Personal prophecy is not designed to replace God’s written Word in our lives, but it should support and confirm His Word. All personal prophecy is subordinate to the Word of God, meaning that God is not going to speak something to you that is against the Scriptural principles of His written Word.Personal prophecy is just one of the ways we receive from the Lord, but not the only way God speaks to us.

I have seen individuals who put more emphasis on personal prophecy than on anything else; they seemingly need a prophetic word for everything they do.While some become imbalanced with personal prophecy, still others think that personal prophecy is strictly for confirmation of what God has shown us personally and not designed to reveal anything new about God’s will in our lives or that God doesn’t speak through personal prophecy today. Remember, God’s Word says that we are to “covet to prophesy” and “despise not prophesying” (1 Corinthians 12:39; 14:1,39; 1 Thessalonians 5:20).

I personally feel each of us should have a desire to hear God’s voice clearly for ourselves, and one of the primary purposes of personal prophecy is to confirm what the Lord has already spoken to us personally. However, because many have difficultly hearing God clearly, He will speak and reveal His will to us through personal prophecy.

There are several Scriptural examples in both the Old Testament and New Testament that show that God does reveal new things to us about His plans for our lives through personal prophecy. Apostle Paul is an example: God revealed a calling and plan for Paul’s life that was not already previously confirmed to Paul.We also must realize that personal prophecy is conditional, whether or not conditions are spoken in the prophecy. Personal prophecy requires a proper response from us. Moses received several prophecies from the Lord revealing and confirming His will for Moses’ life. Not one of these spoke of any sin in Moses’ life. But after Moses had received a prophecy about being the deliverer of Israel, God sought to kill him because he failed to circumcise his children. Moses also failed to fulfill all of God’s will through his disobedience of striking the rock instead of speaking to it, and did not enter into the Promised Land. I believe when God prophesies something to us, He intends for us to have the fulfillment of His prophetic promise, but it is our responsibility to fulfill God’s will.Not only is personal prophecy conditional, but it is also partial. Remember, each personal prophecy is designed to reveal a part of God’s will for our lives. When we understand that prophecy is partial, then we are not offended when God doesn’t speak to us the things that we want to hear. We can also understand that just because the Lord doesn’t reveal something to us through personal prophecy doesn’t mean that He doesn’t care about that area of our lives. Nor does it mean He is giving His approval and blessing to every area of our lives. (Remember Moses).

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We must also understand that personal prophecy is progressive, meaning that it unfolds over a period of time and does not necessarily come to pass in the timing that we think it should. Sometimes we can become frustrated, discouraged and impatient as we wait upon the fulfillment of God’s prophetic word. In my own personal experiences, it seemed that many times my personal prophecies took years to come to pass, while others’ prophecies came to pass almost immediately. (I still have prophecies I received years ago that have not been fully fulfilled as of today.) I have said numerous times that God doesn’t seem to be in a hurry, but He is never late.Think of the progressive nature of prophecy this way: our lives are like a book, with different chapters and pages within each chapter, and prophecy reveals what is on the different pages. One prophecy is not designed to reveal the entire book of our lives, or even an entire chapter. You may be walking on page 27 and you receive a prophecy about something on page 61. Don’t become confused, but simply walk with God. As we walk in intimacy with Him daily, when we get to page 61, we will begin to understand what He was prophesying to us earlier. There is freedom in realizing that prophecies are progressive, that they will build on one another and will unfold throughout our lives with God.Keeping personal prophecy in proper perspective and understanding these three principles of prophecy being conditional, partial and progressive is the basis for receiving the fullness that God has for each of us through personal prophecy. Now we are ready to respond to the Word of the Lord.In order to properly respond to personal prophecy we must have a proper attitude. A truly inspired personal prophecy is God’s specific word for an individual and should be treated with the same biblical principles as His written Word. Just as we must have faith in order to receive a promise from God’s written Word, we must also have faith to receive the fulfillment of our prophecies.Hebrews 11:6 states that without faith it is impossible to please God. In Hebrews Chapter 4 we read that the Word of God did not benefit the children of Israel because they did not mix it with faith. Prophecy will sometimes speak to impossible situations in our lives and we must receive the Word by faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, meaning that we must believe our prophecies are coming to pass before we see the natural manifestation of the prophecy coming to pass.

Next, we must be obedient, willing to do whatever the Lord desires to see His Word come to pass in our lives. We must be “doers of the Word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22). We are only willing to do what we believe. As we believe and do, then God will reveal more of His will for our lives. For example, if someone receives a prophecy about God’s call on their life, but is not willing to properly prepare to fulfill that call, then how can it come to pass? Noah demonstrated obedience by not waiting until it began raining to build the ark. Obedience demonstrates cooperation with God to see His will accomplished in our lives.We must also have patience to see God’s will come to pass in our lives. Hebrews 6:12-15 shows us the importance of patience: by faith and patience we receive the promises of God. Impatience produces Ishmael whereas patience produces Isaac. We must realize that God’s timing is much different than ours, and if we keep a proper attitude of faith and patience we will inherit the promise of our prophecies.Humility, meekness and kindness are also important attitudes for us to have regarding the Word of the Lord. Sometimes we fail to receive a personal prophecy because it’s not what we want to hear. When this happens we are actually demonstrating immaturity. Prophecies can sometimes be “adjusting” or correcting, and if we fail to receive the Word with humility, meekness and kindness, we can negate the prophecy. Keeping these principles in mind will greatly aid our understanding and application of personal prophecy to our lives.

________________________________________________

Dr. Bill Hamon founded Christian International Ministries (CI). A prophet for 50 years, he has prophesied to more than 50,000 people and provided training for over 250,000 in prophetic ministry. He has authored six major books, specializing in the restoration of the Church and what to expect next on God’s agenda. He serves as bishop over 600 ministers and churches and CI’s headquarters on five continents. Bill and Evelyn, his wife of 49 years, have three married children who co-labor in the ministry with him, eleven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Hungry for more? Get The Voice magazine. CLICK HERE to subscribe or call 954 456-6032.

Garbage In, Garbage Out

By Les D. Crause

Psalm 119:9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

How easily sin seems to trip us up when we are trying so hard to serve the Lord faithfully and do what is right. It reminds me of how things always seemed to be with me when I was much younger. I did not need to try very hard to get into trouble. It always seemed to be looking for me. In fact, the more I tried to escape it, the more it seemed to increase its pace. Eventually I just gave up trying to run from it. Don't get me wrong. I was never one to look for trouble or act rebellious, or be aggressive. I hated strife like the plague. I wanted to glorify the Lord in my life and tell others about Him. But yet I always either did or said something that upset someone. I was always messing up even though I tried hard not to. And then if that was not enough, I found myself being tempted by the world and all the uncleanness that it had to offer. I could try to control my actions; but it was the thoughts that were always the problem. And so it is for most young men. The World System is set up to lead them astray. They are bombarded on all sides with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, as John mentions in his epistle. But then I found a way to overcome it all. I found a way to purge my mind from hanging on to the evil that was all around. All I needed to do was to fill my mind with things that were upbuilding and edifying. Why do you suppose those who do not know the Lord are always led into sin? It is because they pay attention to the things that are being fed into their minds. All we need to do as believers is feed our minds with the things that will lead us into doing right. For the Scripture says, "As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he." Why does a dog bark? Because he thinks like a dog! Why does the sinner sin? Because he thinks as a sinner? Why does the Christian have faith? Because he thinks as a believer. What are you spending time thinking about? It will soon show in your actions. Try taking heed to the Word and meditating on it. Pretty soon you'll be thinking like God. And who knows how that will affect your actions! You might start turning the world upside down like the Son of God did when He walked the earth.

ETERNAL PROSPERITY

Most Christians live their lives for the acquiring of material possessions. Their purpose in life is very little different from the Ungodly, for as Jesus said, "After all these things do the Gentiles seek!" (Matt. 6:32) However, the people of God, instead of pursuing temporal prosperity are to be willing to give up houses and lands, honors and comforts, life and limb –if need be, in order to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of being, a thing of
Shame, Dedication is rather a Blessing, and like a spiritual thermometer, indicates our love for Christ and His Kingdom. It is Materialism that when allowed to fester within a man will cause him to despise devotion.
Yet how rare is it to find saints who know what to do with material things other than to make gods of them, or: to consume them upon their lusts! Like all God’s gifts to us, possessions are committed to us to use for His Honor and Glory. We are but stewards who will one
day be called upon to give account as to how we have Used or Abused His gifts. On that we will all wish to be found SEVERELY dedicated.
While a Selfish man declares, "A man’s first responsibility is to himself!" and the Materially-minded man claims "A man’s first responsibility is to his family!" yet, Jesus was most emphatic when He said, "If any man come to Me and hate not his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple!" and, "Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not ALL that he hath he cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26,33) He who is not willing to deny himself comforts to be a disciple of the Lord --who is not willing to hazard his life to be one, is not worthy to be one. And he who is more in love with his family or his possessions cannot be one.
The man who regards the excellency of a thing by its temporal benefits is a Worldly man--he is Wise in Time but a Fool in Eternity. To measure the value of Dedication to Christ by monetary value is the height of Carnality, and he who does so is no better than Lot’s wife, or he who puts his hand to the plough and looks back --he is not fit for the Kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62)
The disciple of the Lord may be called upon --
" ...to labor Unrewarded;
To serve Unpaid, Unloved, Unsought, Unknown"
But such is not to his shame but to theirs among whom he has labored. A life of Dedication and Devotion to Christ lived in a place like Uganda or Cambodia may be regarded with great admiration, but lived in the midst of affluence, it becomes a constant irritation to materially- minded people.

_______________________________________

http://truereligionworks.net/Dec_81.htm

Repentance, renewal and restoration

By Jennifer Stutzman, custodial supervisor

Scripture: Malachi 3:1-4 (NRSV)

See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

Devotional:

The second advent of Christ will be one of judgment and purification. When I read this scripture I hear myself giving testimony of how Christ is at work in my heart and mind refining me. When I share with others what he has and is doing in my life, I believe it gently calls them to Christ, similar to the first advent of John the Baptist who was a voice crying out in the wilderness, sharing his message of repentance and baptizing with water.

Return is the key term in Hebrew prophets for repentance, renewal and restoration. Amazing how much that word explains my journey. Countless times I turned and walked away from Christ. As a result I endured some painful consequences. This became a way of life, a miserable one, for many years until finally I truly repented and returned to Christ, giving him everything, asking for his forgiveness and receiving mercy, grace and love. Miracle is the only word to describe the renewal and restoration process taking place in my life.

Many years ago I met my spiritual mentor. She was my teacher at beauty college. She had shared that she had just given her life to Jesus and what was happening as a result of that decision. She told me about her life before and how God was changing her heart and how addictions were removed. Changes were happening in her husband who was a guitar player in a rock band that played in clubs for years. He came to Christ shortly after she did and for as long as I can remember he had a Christian band in their church. As the years went by our relationship grew. She invited me to her church, prayed with me, encouraged my faith and followed me through the years. I saw the fruit of her life develop. I thank God for my friend and am inspired to be a mentor to those placed in my path.

The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin

1John 1:7

“Cleanseth,” says the text-not “shall cleanse.” There are multitudes who think that as a dying hope they may look forward to pardon. Oh! how infinitely better to have cleansing now than to depend on the bare possibility of forgiveness when I come to die. Some imagine that a sense of pardon is an attainment only obtainable after many years of Christian experience. But forgiveness of sin is a present thing-a privilege for this day, a joy for this very hour. The moment a sinner trusts Jesus he is fully forgiven. The text, being written in the present tense, also indicates continuance; it was “cleanseth” yesterday, it is “cleanseth” to-day, it will be “cleanseth” tomorrow: it will be always so with you, Christian, until you cross the river; every hour you may come to this fountain, for it cleanseth still. Notice, likewise, the completeness of the cleansing, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin”-not only from sin, but “from all sin.” Reader, I cannot tell you the exceeding sweetness of this word, but I pray God the Holy Ghost to give you a taste of it. Manifold are our sins against God. Whether the bill be little or great, the same receipt can discharge one as the other. The blood of Jesus Christ is as blessed and divine a payment for the transgressions of blaspheming Peter as for the shortcomings of loving John; our iniquity is gone, all gone at once, and all gone for ever. Blessed completeness! What a sweet theme to dwell upon as one gives himself to sleep.“Sins against a holy God;Sins against his righteous laws;Sins against his love, his blood;Sins against his name and cause;Sins immense as is the sea-From them all he cleanseth me.”

C. H. Spurgeon

Sow In Tears, Reap In Joy

Oh My Precious Children, faint not, rather wait upon Me. Let your hope ever be in Me. Do not allow the disturbances of this life to weigh you down, nor sway you away from My Promises. For all My Promises in Me are Yes and Amen! Suffer it to be so.

Yea, I seek a people who will serve Me wholeheartedly, a people who lay down their lives down daily, seeking Me and desiring to fulfill My Will in their lives. Will ye surrender unto Me and be this people? For surely I will have for Myself a people who will serve Me wholeheartedly, and pleasing Me in all their ways.

The wayward are not so for their goal is to please their own flesh. Their desires are not a conduit for the further building of My Kingdom. Therefore I cannot use such a people who are bent on only pleasing their own flesh. How can they proper and be in good health if their own souls do not prosper in the ways of The Lord?

Therefore My People gather yourselves together unto Me. Seek to please Me in all your ways. Daily sacrifice thy lives unto Me, even as I sacrificed My Son for thee. My life for yours. Your life for Mine. Sow in tears, reap in joy, and ye shall come unto Me with rejoicing bringing thy sheaves with thee, for surely I shall reward thy faithfulness," saith The Lord your God.

Ps 126, Gal 6:9, Is 40:31, Ps 42:5&11, 2 Tim 2:12-13, 1 Cor 1:20,
2 Chron 16:9, 7:14, 1 Sam 15:23, Matt 16:23, 3 John 2, Heb 10:24-25,
1 Cor 15:31b, John 3:16, 15:7, Ps 139:16, Rev 20:12.
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Prophesy delivered by Pastor Drinkwine on Apr 13, 2008
http://www.victoryforyou.org/prophetic_archive-2006.htm

The Man After God’s Own Heart

Lead me in thy truth and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
Psalm 25:5

David refused to murder Saul for his own benefit because he understood that God’s dealing with Saul was not his personal responsibility. “The Lord shall smite him, or he’ll die in battle, or his day shall come to die.” With these expressions David allowed God to guide his life and fulfill God’s plan. Rather than following human reasoning, he simply accepted God’s will for his life. Yet in all this, we see a burden for Saul’s soul. In our Bible reading, David opened his own life for examination. “Why are you seeking me? If I have sinned tell me, so I can confess it and offer an offering to the Lord, so that my relationship may be restored. Why do you seek to destroy me? If I have done evil, allow me to repent before I die.” By carefully maintaining his life, he was able to ask Saul these questions; and Saul could not find fault with him. This exposed Saul’s ignorance and foolishness.

What does this mean to us? David is a good example for us. Consider the time he was living in. He was living under the Old Testament Law, with a few other teachings that his parents taught him. One thing we know is that he sought the Lord’s will rather than exalting himself.

May we make it our goal to seek to help our brothers. Like David, rather than condemning them, let us seek to strengthen our brothers. If there is a need, let us do as David did and seek our brother’s spiritual good. David was a man after God’s own heart; are you?

Joe Sommers, Flemingsburg, KY

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
—Romans 12:21
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E-Mail: [cs@vision-publishers.com]

What God Seeks

2 Kings 19-21, John 4:1-30
Key Verse: John 4:23
There are few things that the Bible says God actively seeks. So if God seeks something, it must be important to Him and ought to be important to us. Luke 15 portrays God as seeking the lost. Lost people matter to God and should matter to us. God also seeks glory for Jesus, according to John 8:50, and in John 4 Jesus said that God is seeking worshipers.

The Samaritan woman raised a question about worship. Perhaps the conversation was uncomfortable, so she switched subjects. It could be that she realized Jesus could sort out the controversy between her people and the Jews. Either way, what He said about worship is instruction we also need to hear.

In this context Jesus spoke of "'the kind of worshipers the Father seeks,'" those who worship in "'spirit and truth'" (v. 23). God is spirit. He cannot be worshiped as an image, nor is worship confined to a place. Truth is also a non-negotiable. The worshiper God seeks must worship in truth as it is revealed in the Word of God.

God is actively looking for people who will worship Him. Our challenge is to be the kind of disciple God wants. In seeking to please Him, we must be worshipers who worship Him in spirit and truth.

"God, are You pleased with my worship? Help me do more than just attend church. Help me give You, in spirit and in truth, the worship You desire."
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Back to the Bible Copyright © 1996-2008 The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Secret Place with God

Read Jonah 1:1 through 4:11
Talk about a secret place! Jonah, the runaway prophet, spent three days and three nights in a place of presence both unusual and surprising. Jonah’s secret place was like none other. It was a strange and wonderful place especially prepared for him in the belly of a great fish, where he experienced God in new ways.
Jonah’s secret place had none of the natural charm of a garden of prayer. It was more like a watery grave into which he had been hurled; a place of exile where "engulfing waters" wrapped seaweed around his head (Jonah 2:5). It was, nonetheless, a place where the brightest and faintest details about a gracious and long-suffering God were remembered.
Thankfully, not everybody’s experience with places of presence is as radical as Jonah’s. This is not to say that your secret place may not at times be a place of testing. But more often than not, it may be a place of natural beauty marked by solitude. It may not even be a place, but rather a quiet meditative state of mind wherein God is directly thought of. One thing for sure, the treasure available in the secret place is the presence of God himself.
Challenge for Today: Spend time with God today in your favorite secret place.
Quicklook:Jonah 2:1–10
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Devotional brought to you by God's Word For Today.
God's Word For Today is available from Gospel Publishing House.

Repentance: The Key To Everything

A Publication of Peter Tan Evangelism © 2005 by Peter Tan Volume 2.4

When we speak of the subject of repentance, the first thing that most people conjure up in their minds is repentance on personal sin. Even this subject has been twisted by many self righteous people whose understanding of repentance is more a self need to assign punishment than to seek restoration with God. Firstly, repentance is before God and not before men: for all man have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The sins of self righteousness need repentance as much as the sins of breaking the Ten Commandments. It is interesting to note that it is the publican who is forgiven by God and not the self righteous Pharisee (Luke 18:14).

Many also confused between forgiveness and repentance. Repentance is strictly between God and man and never between man and man. Forgiveness, on the other hand, is between both God and man and between man and man. God’s forgiveness is given when it is sought but man’s forgiveness is sometimes never given because of unforgiveness and self righteousness. Those who can’t forgive others might as well not pray because the Lord’s Prayer says that if we do not forgive others for their trespasses, our own sins will not be forgiven (Matt 6:12).
Repentance on the other hand reaches beyond personal repentance. There is a need in these last days to repent for the sins of others. True revival cannot come until we take our places as priests in Christ Jesus and stand in intercession for the sins of others.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14, a door was given to the Israelites whenever trouble is in their land. They were to humble themselves and pray and seek God’s face. This is an act of repentance for the sins of their land. Whether or not they were personally responsible was not the issue, the most important fact is that they repent for all the sins in the land. Daniel’s prayer for his people indicates how much he understood the principle of taking personal responsibility for the sins of others (Daniel 9). He confessed that "we have sinned and committed iniquity" even though he has not personally done it (Dan. 9:5).

The highest Christ-likeness we can reach is not just in showing forth the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22, 23). The highest Christ-likeness we can show is in being willing to take the punishment for the sins of others upon ourselves. God must have smiled when Moses offered his own life for eternal damnation on behalf of the rebellious Israelites (Exodus 32:32). It is after that that Scripture make reference to the depth of friendship between God and Moses (Exodus 33:11). Moses was now no longer just a prophet or a leader anointed by God, he was a friend of God. He understood the key of repentance for others.

Those who reach great heights in their relationship with God understand this principle. Paul was willing to offer himself up for eternal damnation if it could save his nation Israel (Rom 9:3). However, in the New Testament, there is no longer any other need of any other sacrifice for Jesus has paid it all on the cross. This then is the great key. For us to personally avail ourselves of the sacrifice of Jesus, we all needed to repent and accept Him into our lives. Although everyone needs to make their own personal decision of personal repentance to accept Christ, we can smooth the way for God to work in the lives of our nations and cities by repenting on behalf of them.

This is the equivalent of "standing in the gap" for others; pleading the blood of Jesus over the lives of our loved ones, cities and nations; becoming a "city of refuge" for others; extending the grace of God on our lives to others, etc. etc. All these principles flow from the same theological understanding of repentance for the sins of others.

In the times that we live in, where prophets are pronouncing judgments on sin and teachers are uncovering the error of our ways, it is so easy to accept and join the many finger pointers in condemning and judging cities, nations and others for their sin. Why are there no men or women of God rising up to pray and repent for the sins in our society, cities and nations? Even Abraham interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah.

Instead of just calling for repentance, those in the specific nations experiencing the turmoils and shakings should be repenting for their respective societies and nations. Let the righteous arise and repent for the sinners in their midst.
The next area that most people would ask is "How do I repent for the sins of others?" The following are not formulas but general guidelines:

Accept responsibility for the sins of those around us. The sins of commission by people are due to the sins of omission of those whom God has given the authority to pray for others. The church is the city or nation of their locality and call are responsible for their lack in being the salt of the earth in their domain.

1. Samuel recognised that it was a sin not to have prayed and interceded for his people (1 Sam 12:23).

2. Take your place as a priest and king in Christ Jesus (Rev 1:6). Pray, repent and ask on behalf of your community like Daniel did.

3. Sanctify your selves through the blood of Jesus. Jesus said that he sanctified himself that those who belong to Him might be sanctified (John 17:18). There is a measure of sacrifice and suffering that may be demanded of you (Col 1:24).

4. Pray the Lord’s Prayer for your family, city and nation (Matt 6:9-13). Of course, you need to daily repent for your own sins before you can repent for the sins of others.

All of the evil and imperfections of this life has resulted from sins – sins of our forefathers and the sins of our society. We were born into a world plague by sin and we added to that with our own personal sin. If all the causes and root of sin were removed, all the fullness of God would flow. Jesus has paid the price for all of sin. We need to appropriate it for our personal lives and for the society we live in – through repentance before God.

weblink: http://www.eaglevision.com.my/Manna2%5B1%5D.4.htm