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

New Web Page Of LIFCHURCH

Here is the New Web page of Love India Family Church

Love India Organization is holistic faith organization to provide the Word Of GOD to every unreached precious Souls for the Lord Jesus Christ........

Web Blog: http://lifchurch.blogspot.com

Http://lifchurch.ourprofile.org
Http://www.lifchurch.co.nr

Senier Pastor Sunil Kumar - sunil_manjusha@rediffmail.com

Pastor Ravindra Madavi - madaviravindra@yahoo.com

Contact: Love India Family Church, C/o Kumar Medical Agencies, Medical Complex shop no. 3, Ekori Ward, Chandrapur - 442402, Maharashtra, India

WHAT IS PROPHETIC WORSHIP?

WHAT IS PROPHETIC WORSHIP?
Author: Pal Roebert & Evan Schoombie
2002/08/25

PROPHETIC WORSHIP



INTRODUCTION
Today many Christians are asleep, in a coma. We hear the Word preached, but it is as if we are under anaesthetic, unaware of what is going on around us spiritually and in the world we find ourselves in.
The Holy Spirit wants to revive us because He lives inside of us.

WHAT IS PROPHETIC WORSHIP?

Prophetic worship is is Spirit-led worship – it is simple. We think if something is not complicated it is not good enough, yet the Lord tells us to be like children, to keep things simple.
Worship is going into the Holy of Holies. From the moment the worship service begins, we are on a journey towards that place. One of the words translated worship in Greek is "Proskuneo." It literally means to "prostrate oneself in homage." It is used in Matthew 2:2 "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.'' (my emphasis). But while it means to bow it also means to "Kiss towards", to blow a kiss towards God!

Worship is like a bridge into the Spiritual realm. It takes us into God's presence and to become aware of His presence is part of worship. We need to flow under the direction of the Holy Spirit because he has new things for us in every service. God is a God of variety and ever so original. Every sunrise is new and original, no two snow-flakes are the same, in the same way no two meetings with Him will ever be similar. He has something new to say to us whenever we stop to listen. The Holy Spirit is like the wind. We can't see the wind, but the result thereof is visible:
"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'' (John 3:8)

Prophetic worship is catching the wind of the Holy Spirit for a specific service and flowing with it.
The main aim of the Holy Spirit is to focus us on Jesus. This is difficult for musicians, worship leaders and pastors alike. We all have agendas, programmes and egos to struggle with. There needs to come a time when a true death to self and all these other things come so that we may indeed be lead by the chief Worship Leader, the Holy Spirit.
"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63)

During Prophetic Worship Some Things Happen

SPIRITUAL WARFARE:

This is reflected in the songs. One might find that the music starts to flow in the direction of sounds of war. The drums might start to feature. The worship leader should be sensitive enough to step out of the way and let the anointing go at this point and make room for the Holy Spirit to flow through the percussive instruments etc. to go to battle and lead the people in spiritual warfare.

"The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard, and show the descent of His arm, with the indignation of His anger and the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, tempest, and hailstones. For through the voice of the Lord Assyria will be beaten down, who struck with a rod. And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, which the Lord lays on him, it will be with tambourines and harps; and in battles of brandishing He will fight with it." (Isaiah30:30-32)

INTERCESSION:
Fantastic times of prayer and intercession may be released during prophetic worship. One needs to be open to the prompting to the Holy Spirit and ready to drop the agenda at a minute's notice. We were in Bloemfontein doing a worship conference and the first session was about to begin. As we walked onto the stage we noticed that there was a massive atlas behind us. The musicians started playing but somehow we felt that we had to pray for the nations. To our surprise there were many people from other nations and yet more who were supporting missionaries or had children and families serving the Lord in foreign countries. We had a glorious opening session and ended singing our national anthem, black and white brothers hand in hand together, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, instead of teaching what was on the agenda for the first two hours of the conference programme.
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Romans 8:14).

PROPHECY:
A word of prophecy is released. The Rhema (spoken word) is spontaneously dropped into your spirit. One needs to ask the question though whether this is a word for oneself personally or for the body. Prophesy is like creating, declaring the word for NOW. We can't say "last week the Lord said!" That is old news. What is He saying now? This brings glory and life!
"They are created now and not from the beginning; and before this day you have not heard them, lest you should say, `Of course I knew them.' "(Isaiah 48:7)

SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY IS RELEASED
"This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: `Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts. `Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!'"(Zechariah 5:6-7)
When the Lord speaks anything to you during the worship (especially if you are leading the meeting or are in the team,) and a spiritual determination comes to your heart as there is power in those words. In II Corinthians 6:16 (b) we read: "For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.''' ---- Like with Adam.
Too often we are doing all the talking so that there is no time for the Spirit to talk. For years we have only had a monologue with God. How monotonous and boring this must be for God and frustrating it can become for you, yet we do this with God, we do all the talking. Mostly asking, never taking the time to listen and then to verbalise what we perceive He is saying.

GOD WANTS COMMUNION WITH US
He wants to speak. Write down what He says. Pray in tongues, stop, listen, what comes to mind is God speaking. He speaks in the first person. We have to give over control to the Holy Spirit and trust Him. We are so afraid to risk. What if it is my imagination, what if it the devil. Where is your faith?! The Word says :
"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"(Matthew 7:7-11)

In II Corinthians 3:17 it is written:
"Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
Where the Holy Spirit is allowed to be Lord, where He is given full right of way, liberty to do as He pleases, where His is not limited, He will bring Liberty.

The Fear of man keeps us locked up in jail. We are often more concerned with the opinions and approval of man than with doing the will of God. It is part of human behaviour and needs to be brought to the cross. It happened already while Jesus was walking the earth:
"Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God". (John 12:42-43)
Liberty is not licence, doing as one pleases! We have to make sure it is the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is important to know that with every move of the Holy Spirit there is always flesh involved, excesses abound. The Lord is not fazed by this. It passes. It is part of our learning to discern the good from the best and the precious from the vile. That is why it is important to test everything and cling onto that which is good. To utterly dismiss something because it is strange or outside of our experience field is equally excessive and dangerous. The Pharisees accused Jesus of driving out Satan by Beelzebub and He said that that the sin against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven them, for you can not call that which is from God evil.

There is a fine line to be had when we "discern." We have to make sure that we are not "judging" something prematurely. We can take a leaf from the book of Gamaliel who said the following of the apostles:
"Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while...."
"And he said to them: 'Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it lest you even be found to fight against God.''' (Acts 34,35,38,39.)
We must invite the Holy Spirit to come and then, whatever we do, do not short circuit what He wants to do. (John 2:5 (b)-"Whatever He says to you, do it.'')

Paul instructs us in Efesians 5:18-19: "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord..."

The Holy Spirit is like a Dove. We need to get to hear His voice, follow His leading and make a friend of the Holy Spirit.

WHAT DOES PROPHETIC WORSHIP INVOLVE?

1.SINGING
The voices of the people. Worship in the Spirit and in tongues. I Corinthians 14:15b " I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding."
- Singing a New Song
Unknown spontaneous songs. Start at home in your own quiet time, while you are driving showering. With "prophetic" a word to be remembered is "spontaneous." "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Colossians 3:16)

2.DANCE
There are many biblical references to dance. Miriam danced, David danced. The Psalms are full of examples. Anointed dancers respond to the Spirit inside of them and express their love and worship to God using their bodies. Simplicity is part of the language of the Spirit. When there is prophetic dance is it usually unrehearsed because the Spirit comes upon somebody and they express what the Lord is saying.

- Dance is controversial because it is highly demonstrative. It requires the use of the whole body in order to express joy, praise and worship before the Lord.
Hebrew and Greek words translated for dance mean "leaping, skipping, lifting up the feet, jumping." In other words, something spontaneous and unstructured.
"So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them walking, leaping, and praising God." (Acts 3:8)
"Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp." (Psalm 149:3)
"Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!" (Psalm 150:4)

- Examples of Dance in the Old Testament:

In celebration:
When the children of Israel were delivered from Egypt. They rejoiced because of the restoration of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
When Jeremiah prophesied concerning the coming restoration, he prophesied that people would dance.

Spiritual Dance:
It is unsophisticated, spontaneous, primitive in style and can be expressed in skipping, whirling, leaping and jumping. Sometimes accompanied by musical instruments or singing.

By individual or group:
David danced before the Lord
Miriam and all the women danced
The spiritual dance is not dancing with a member of the opposite sex.
The bible states "Miriam and all the women danced"
"Young men and old men together"
Jeremiah 31:13a:"Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old, together;"
There is no age limit

Singing and dances often go together: (I Samuel 29:5) (Isn't this the David they sang about in their dances?)

There is a right time to dance: (Ecclesiastes 3:4)".. a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance."

Dancing Before the Lord:
This expression of praise is one of obedience to God's revealed Word that we are to praise Him in the dance. As an act of our will, even if we feel awkward in doing so, we obey God and join in with other believers as they dance before the Lord.

Dancing in the Spirit:
Dancing in the Spirit is when our whole body is completely under the control of the Holy Spirit. The believers during this time are completely "lost" in the Spirit and so totally absorbed in the move of the Holy Spirit's power upon their bodies that they are totally unaware of themselves or even others around them. If indeed from the Lord, it will always be in God's perfect timing so as to not detract from, but rather be in perfect harmony and flow with the move of God at that moment.

The Restoration of Dance was prophesied:
If we are Spiritual Israel, then this is for us today:
"Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, and shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.
Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old, together; for I will turn their mourning to joy, will comfort them, and make them rejoice rather than sorrow. " (Jeremiah 31:4,13)

Warnings:
Beware of Carnal dancing!
Dancing of carnal nature is also associated with backsliding, idolatry, immorality and worldliness. Satan has a counterfeit for everything. Counterfeits only prove their is a genuine and an original!

Not for Show:
The purpose of dancing in praise to God was never intended for a show or performance that would draw the people's attention to the dancers. Instead the dance as an expression of praise is to be a spontaneous and intensive physical expression of praise to God that involves the whole assembly of believers. It is to be participated in by both women and men, and by both the young and the old.

Believers are not to stop praising and become "observers" or to in any way become distracted from intense praise during the time of "spiritual dance" or "dancing before the Lord" neither is the dance allowed to become a production where only a select few are performing for the others. This DOES NOT MEAN that there are not those who lead the dance - just as we have worship and music leaders. It only implies that the lead dancers lead the people into participating, using their entire beings in worshipping the Lord.

Our DRESS and ACTIONS must always be those that will glorify the Lord and not call attention to ourselves.

Enter in:
For believers to refuse to enter into the dance of praise before the Lord when the Holy Spirit is moving in that way is an act of rebellion before God. To be self-conscious and fearful of loosing one's dignity can grieve or quench the flowing of the Holy Spirit.

Some of the greatest "breakthroughs" happen as the move of the Holy Spirit comes upon a body of believers when each one is dead to self and moves in obedience to the Holy Spirit, entering in as David did, "dancing before the Lord with all his might."

3.MIME
There are different things to be done. Blow a kiss, kneeling, stretching out your hands. God is creative. Be open to obey Him because you may be the key of what the Lord wants to do for that particular meeting, and if you don't you may quench the Holy Spirit.

4.PROPHETIC ACTIONS
These are spontaneous, like an instrumentalist suddenly blowing the victory sound or the declaration of the coming of the King.
The flags and banners are all used so effectively as prophetic symbols and in prophetic actions. Each colour has a different meaning. The gold speaks of the glory and holiness of God, the red speaks of the love and blood of Jesus, the silver of redemption, the green of rebirth, the blue of the water of the Holy Spirit, the white of purity, the pink of first love, tenderness and healing etc.

But by using these flags prophetically, we are speaking in the spiritual realm, making declarations: "Jesus has made me righteous by His blood." "I call on the Holy Spirit!" Do not look at what you can see, because it will pass away, but look at what you can't see."
"And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.'' (Hebrews 1:7)
We can't see them, but know they are around and are ministering to us at the Lord's command. As we pick up these banners in faith we are declaring things to the heavenlies that the Lord sees as a sacrifice of praise and worship and it has an effect.

5.A RELEASE OF GLORY SOUNDS
Romans 8:22-23 "For we know that the whole creation groans and labours with birth pangs together until now. And not only they, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body."
Often the people start to groan and make melodious sounds instead of singing during worship times. It is as if the congregation is giving birth to something as a group or an individual can be experiencing this. A note: we should be very careful to judge another person's worship it is for God's consumption and not our own.

6.CONCLUSION

The key to prophetic worship is to hear the sound of the wind. We do not know from where it comes nor where it is going. Yet we must not block it. How do we block it? By following our own agenda.

Being spontaneous is of utmost importance. Keep flowing until you feel the cloud has lifted.

The Result: A theme will be visible. It would have flown right through the prophecy, the prayer, music. Listen to what is happening once the Spirit moves. Flow in the same direction. Prophetic worship is like an escalator that takes us into the presence of God and meets us at the point of our need. People come to our meetings to touch God's presence. What a privilege –what a responsibility!

What power, the sweet fragrance of the Lord comes and His Glory is revealed.

Habakkuk 2:20 "But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.''

All Content © Copyright 1999 All Good Gifts International

The Locust Horde and the Day of the Lord

The Locust Horde and the Day of the Lord
September 19, 1982
Joel
The book of Joel falls naturally into two parts. In 1:1-2:27 we read about a terrible locust plague that came over Israel as a judgment from God and how the people repented and God restored their fortunes. Then in 2:28 to the end of the book we read about how God at some future time is going to pour out his Spirit far and wide to bless his people and how he is going to gather for judgment the nations which have rejected him and his people. Or to put it another way, the first half of the book describes how God fought against his own people to make them honor him alone. And the second half of the book describes how he will fight against the nations who refuse to honor him alone.
What I would like to do this morning is guide you through the whole book in a summary way, then go back and focus on the main messages of the two halves as they apply to us today.
Let's begin with Joel 1:1. "The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel." We know almost nothing about this prophet. And that does not matter too much in the end, because his intention is to be a mouthpiece for God, not himself. In verses 2 and 3 he says that his message should be passed on from generation to generation. Then in verse 4 he describes the catastrophe of the locust plaque: "What the cutting locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten." The results of this locust plague were utterly devastating. Verse 5: all the wine is cut off from the drunkard's mouth. Verse 7: the fig trees have splintered. Verse 9: there is not even enough grain for the cereal offerings in the temple. So in verse 13 Joel calls for Israel to cry to the Lord because he sees in this catastrophe the judgment of God leading up to the great and terrible day of the Lord.
Gird on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Because cereal offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of the Lord your God; and cry to the Lord. Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near and as destruction from the Almighty comes (vv. 13,15).
Chapter two begins with another warning that the terrible day of judgment called "the day of the Lord" is coming and that this locust horde is the dawn of this day of the Lord. "Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness." Then in verses 3-11 Joel describes the locust horde again as a raging army with horses and chariots and warriors. Verse 3: "The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but after them, a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them." Verse 9, "They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls; they climb up into houses, they enter through windows like a thief." And in verse 11 they are said to be the army of the Lord. "The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his host is exceedingly great; he that executes his word is powerful." Then for a third time the locust horde is described as the advance troops of the day of the Lord: "for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it?"
So far, then, we learn that God is fighting his people for some reason. We're not told why. Which probably means that Joel intended for us to learn more about God here than about ourselves. God has sent his army of locust against Israel and threatened that the end is near. He is fighting against his people. But is only destruction in his mind? No. Verses 12-14 tell us more about this warrior God:
'Yet even now,' says the Lord, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.' Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil. Who knows whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, a cereal offering and a drink offering for the Lord our God?
Even though God has threatened destruction of his own people (since he can raise up from stones children to Abraham! Matt. 3:9) yet he holds out the opportunity of repentance and salvation at the eleventh hour. If they will repent, he will repent. If they will rend their hearts, he will cease to rend their land.
So in verses 15-17 Joel calls for fasting and the priests pray for God not to make his heritage a byword among the nations. They humbled themselves and appealed to God's jealousy for his chosen people; and he responded in verse 18: "Then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people." He turned away from judgment; the climactic day of the Lord which had been threatening withdrew into the more distant future; and verses 19-27 describe the stunning restoration which God promises to the land.
Verses 25-27 show what God was really after in fighting with his people.
I will restore to you the years which the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer and the cutter, my great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I the Lord am your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
The ultimate aim of God in sending the locust horde against his people is to secure their undivided allegiance: "You shall know that I, Yahweh, am your God and there is no one else." Evidently, the cause of the locust plague had been the people's half-hearted allegiance. Some of their affections had gone after things other than God. He was not their all-consuming love. So he fought against his own people. For few things are more dishonoring to God and dangerous for us than love to God which is only half-hearted.
That is the first half of Joel's book. He had said that the day of the Lord was near (in 1:15; 2:1,11). But then God repented and the final judgment did not fall. What becomes of it? Evidently it was "near" not in the sense that it had to happen soon, but in the sense that it was on the brink of happening; conditions were ripe for it; the massed troops were just across the border; the trumpet was on the lips, when the commander raised his hand and made peace with his rebellious people. But now what of this promised day?
In the second half of the book Joel lifts his eyes to the future and, inspired by the Spirit, predicts the events that will precede the day of the Lord. Verse 28: "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams and your young men will see visions." Sometime in the future Joel sees a time of overflowing spiritual blessing beyond the prosperity which God provided after the locust plague. But this benefit applies only to those who "call on the name of the Lord" (according to verse 32) because the day of the Lord approaches again with darkness and destruction. Verses 30-32:
And I will give portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.
So Joel sees two things coming as the day of the Lord approaches: one is a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit (2:28,29) and the other is a terrible time of divine judgment. He had fought against his own people in the past to lead them to salvation. He will fight against the nations in the future who reject his salvation and his people.
This final world-end judgment is described in chapter three. First, verses 1 and 2, "Behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat and I will enter into judgment with them there." The word Jehoshaphat means "Jehovah judges." Joel sees a great day coming when God will vindicate his name by judging all who have spurned him. Verse 12 describes the scene as a great judgment: "Let the nations bestir themselves and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the nations round about." Verse 14 describes multitudes in the valley: "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." This does not mean people come there to make a decision, they come to experience God's decision. God is the Decider in the valley of decision. The valley of decision is the same as the valley of Jehoshaphat and "decision" (or verdict) is virtually the same as "judgment."
So Joel sees a future with two sides: salvation and blessing for those who call on the name of the Lord, but judgment and destruction for the people who go their own way. The contrast is laid out finally in verses 16-21: "The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel." At the end of the age, when the day of the Lord comes, God will meet us either as a roaring lion to devour or as a quiet refuge of delight.
And now, just as the first half of the book ended in 2:27 with the purpose of God: "You shall know that … I am the Lord your God and there is none else," so the second half of the book draws near its close in 3:17 with the same purpose expressed: "So you shall know (in view of all that's happened) that I am the Lord your God." The purpose of God in the historical locust horde and the purpose of God in the final day of the Lord are the same: to make known that he alone is God and is to be loved and worshipped and served above all things.
That's an overview of Joel's message from the Lord. Now what is God's word to us in these two halves of Joel's prophecy? There are four things I think we should take to heart. First, let us never lose sight of God's purpose in history—from grasshopper swarms to world-wide judgment to the dissolving of sun and moon—his purpose is to be God in the eyes of all the world. "You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I the Lord am your God and there is none else!"(2:27, 3:17). If we are God's people everything we do must have this as its aim. The American church is weary with having man and his relationships and feelings and self-concepts at the center of our attention for so long. We are bored with the very unamazing results of standing in front of the mirrors of psychology and anthropology and sociology. And it is time that, at least in the church, we hold our eye to the telescope of theology. Untold numbers of puny personal problems would be swallowed up if we could learn to stand atop the Mt. Palomar of divine revelation and gaze at the God whose purpose is to be God alone, and before whose unutterable majesty, every knee will bow whether in heaven or on the earth or under the earth. My prayer as we study the prophets this fall is that we might see God the way they see God, and that the word will spread, "They have a big God at Bethlehem." The first lesson of the prophet Joel for our man-centered 20th century is this: From devouring grasshoppers to vanishing galaxies God has a purpose and he will achieve it—to be God alone in the eyes of all the world.
Second, if our hearts wander from this God, he will fight against us to bring us to repentance. I have seen it in my own life: if I begin to become proud and self-confident and prayer starts to feel unnecessary, God clogs my way. He brings me down. Things will go sour at home. Tensions arise at work. Sleep is not sweet. Depression builds. Everywhere I turn there is no joy. He boxes me in and clogs my way. He fights against me in my pride. For he is a jealous God and will have our heart's trust 100%. When he says in 2:12, "Return to me with all your heart" it is clear, isn't it, what he is fighting for: all our heart, not a piece on Sunday and a piece at mealtime and a piece at bedtime. If you are his he will fight you until you give him all your heart all the time.
Hosea describes the people of Israel going after other gods like a bride leaving her husband. And God says in Hosea 2:6,7:
Therefore, I will hedge up her way with thorns; and I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths. She shall pursue her lovers, but not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them. Then she shall say, 'I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better with me then than now.'
God will fight against us and clog the joy of our lives until we return with our whole heart to him. For his purpose is to be God alone in the midst of his people.
Third, therefore, as Joel pleads, rend your hearts and not your garments, awake (1:5), lament (1:8), be ashamed and wail (1:11), declare a fast and cry to the Lord (1:14) for mercy. Turn from the sin you cherish and for which you feel guilty every day. Return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (2:13). Don't be bitter at God because he clogs your way and frustrates your day. Every divine stroke is the discipline of a loving Father and a blow against our pride, our self-reliance, and our love for the world. Turn and kiss the rod of God and the Lord will become to you a gentle shepherd.
Fourth, and finally, let us pray and seek God earnestly for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit promised in 2:28,29. It is true that at Pentecost Peter said that the coming of the Holy Spirit on Jesus' disciples was a fulfillment of Joel 2:28,29: "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16). But that was just the beginning of the blessing. We have only tasted the power of the age to come, we have only received the downpayment of the Spirit. The prophecy is far from complete. How many of our old men dream dreams of God? How many of our young men see visions of God? Where are the sons and daughters who hear the word of God and bring us prophecies for our guidance? Has the hope of Moses in Numbers 11:29 really been fulfilled: "Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit upon all." We know it has not yet been fulfilled, not only because the church is so far from ideal but also because the people of Israel persist in unbelief. They have been broken off because of their unbelief, and we gentiles have been grafted in to the rich root of the covenant and made seed of Abraham and heirs of the promise (Gal. 3:14, 29, Rom. 11:17ff). But Scripture promises that one day Israel will be converted, accept Jesus as the Messiah; and then the prophecy of the Spirit will have its final fulfillment. So let us pray earnestly and call upon God to pour out his Spirit for a great awakening at Bethlehem and for the conversion of Israel that we may be united in one holy people of God. Then when the day of the Lord comes and all the nations are gathered for judgment in verdict valley the Lord will be our refuge and we will confess with unspeakable joy that he alone is God in our midst and there is none else.


By John Piper. ©Desiring God. Website: http://www.desiringgod.org/. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 888.346.4700.

What is a “Rhema”?

Scripture for personal application

The Word of God

There are two primary Greek words that describe Scripture which are
translated word in the New Testament. The first, logos,
refers principally to the total inspired Word of God and to Jesus, Who
is the living Logos.

Biblical Examples of Logos

The following passages of Scripture give examples of the logos of God:

• “In the beginning was the Word [logos], and the
  Word [logos] was with God, and the Word [logos] was
  God” (John 1:1).


• “The seed is the word [logos] of God”
  (Luke 8:11).


• “Holding forth the word [logos] of life”
  (Philippians 2:16).


• “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth
  not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word [logos] of truth”
  (II Timothy 2:15).


• “For the word [logos] of God is quick, and
  powerful” (Hebrews 4:12).


• “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,
  by the word [logos] of God, which liveth and abideth
  forever” (I Peter 1:23).

Rhema—The Spoken Word

The second primary Greek word that describes Scripture is rhema, which
refers to a word that is spoken and
means “an utterance.” A rhema is a verse or portion of Scripture
that the Holy Spirit brings to our attention with application to a current
situation or need for direction.

Every word of God is inspired, and “all scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness” (II Timothy 3:16). It is the Holy Spirit
Who illuminates particular Scriptures for application in a daily walk with the Lord.

The words of Jesus are significant on this point. “Man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every word [rhema] that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Jesus also stated, “The words
[rhema] that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life”
(John 6:63).

When God gives a rhema for us to act upon, He often confirms it
by a second rhema, that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses
shall every word [rhema] be established” (II Corinthians 13:1).

Biblical Insights Into Rhemas

The following passages of Scripture provide insight into the rhemas of God:

• “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word
  [rhema] of God” (Romans 10:17).


• “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
  Spirit, which is the word [rhema] of God” (Ephesians 6:17).


• “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the
  church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it
  with the washing of water by the word [rhema]”
  (Ephesians 5:25–26).


• “If ye abide in me, and my words [rhema] abide in you, ye
  shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7).

Biblical Examples of Rhemas

The following passages of Scripture give examples of the rhemas of God:

• When Jesus told Peter to cast the fishing nets on the other side of the boat,
  Peter answered, “Master, we have toiled all the night, and have
  taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word [rhema] I will let
  down the net” (Luke 5:5).


• When the angel told Mary that she would have a child, “Mary said,
  Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word
  [rhema]” (Luke 1:38).


• Simeon recalled the promise that he would see Christ before he died:
  “Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy
  word [rhema]” (Luke 2:29).


• God gave John the message he was to preach as a forerunner to Christ:
  “The word [rhema] of God came unto John”
  (Luke 3:2).


• God reminded Peter of His Word: “Then remembered I the word [rhema]
  of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye
  shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 11:16).


• Jesus told Peter he would deny Him. “Peter remembered the word
  [rhema] of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow,
  thou shalt deny me thrice” (Matthew 26:75).

How do I “get” a rhema?

In the regular course of our daily reading of God’s Word (logos),
we need to ask God to speak to us through His Word and give us insight
into it. The Holy Spirit can cause certain passages to stand out with
significant meaning or application for our lives. These are the rhemas of
Scripture and should become a part of our daily thoughts and actions.