Brokenness

“For Thou does not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise”(Psalm 51:16-17).
The word “broken” used in Psalm 51:17 translates “crushed, broken in pieces, torn, and brought to birth!” The word “contrite” means “collapsed physically or mentally”. These two words describe a soul in devastated brokenness. From an eternal perspective, these are the sacrifices of God. This is not exactly something the fittest, the toughest and the slickest want to hear, but it truly is good news. Like freshly tilled soil, a broken and surrendered heart is the perfect environment for God to bring it to birth.
It is a narrow way that leads to life (Matthew 7:14). The word “narrow” means “to suffer tribulation” and “pressure”. Like a baby coming through the narrow way of the birth canal, the pressures of our sorrows are actually meant to bring our hearts to birth, to life, by the power of God’s grace.
Paul’s writings bring light to the phenomenon of a heart brought to birth. In Galatians 4, he wrote that he was “once again in labor that Christ might be formed” in us (v. 11). This word “labor” is from the root word meaning “to lament and mourn”. Jesus used the metaphor of laboring in childbirth to describe the weeping and lamentation His disciples would endure upon His death (John 16:20-21).
The seasons of crushing brokenness we all endure are like birth pangs. They bring our hearts to birth as we surrender to God in the midst of them. Great or small, our brokenness is the incubator of God’s overshadowing grace as He forms the tangible reality of the character of Christ within us. This is one of the most important and misunderstood spiritual dynamics in the Word of God.
The Book of Psalms is the holy of holies of the Bible. Much of it is an intimate glimpse into the journal of and memorial to the tearful prayers of the broken- hearted. It stands as a testimony to God’s love and faithfulness to those who cry out to Him for help.

Cry for Help

Psalm 34:17-19 (The Message)
17 Is anyone crying for help? God is listening, ready to rescue you. 18 If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath. 19 Disciples so often get into trouble; still, God is there every time.

May God Have Mercy..

When the Holy Spirit comes, his first work is to cleanse his people. He cleans out anything that hinders the flow of the Spirit of God. And that means cleansing every individual. All flesh is chased out. Gossips and others who have bitter tongues against the godly are exposed. Those who lie and falsely accuse others are isolated and made to stand and face the truth. Soon, those who cause strife are living under a dark cloud of their own making. And those who didn’t face up to their hidden sin were exposed. In fact, one couple — Ananias and Sapphira — paid for their deception with their lives. You may get away with hidden sin in dead, dry churches, but you can’t in a church where the Holy Ghost is present.

That’s the way it all happened at Pentecost, when the Spirit came. Scripture says that when Peter began to preach with the Spirit’s anointing, the people’s hearts were pricked. They cried out, “What must we do to be saved?” Thousands came to Christ that day. They didn’t need to be convinced through gimmicks or professional entertainment. No, they recognized their sin, and they wanted freedom.

You see, the Holy Spirit is also the administrator of the peace of Christ. He portions out peace both to the pulpit and the pew. Yet there can be no peace without righteousness. Isaiah continues his prophecy: “The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places” (Isaiah 32:17-18).

Peace comes because righteousness is at work. The Holy Spirit is busy sweeping out all unrest, disturbances and condemnation. What follows is peace of mind, peace in the home, and peace in God’s house. And when God’s people have the peace of Christ, they aren’t easily moved from it: “When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass” (32:19-20).

Isaiah’s prophecy about the Holy Spirit was directed to Israel during Uzziah’s reign. Yet it also applies to God’s people today. It’s known as a dual prophecy. The fact is, every generation needs an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And I believe the church today hasn’t seen anything compared to what the Holy Ghost wants to accomplish.

Have you LOST YOUR WAY?

Luke 15:3-7 (Amplified Bible)So He told them this parable:
What man of you, if he has a hundred sheep and should lose one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness (desert) and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?
And when he has found it, he lays it on his [own] shoulders, rejoicing.
6And when he gets home, he summons together [his] friends and [his] neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep which was lost.
Thus, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one [[

a]especially] wicked person who repents ([b]changes his mind, abhorring his errors and misdeeds, and determines to enter upon a better course of life) than over ninety-nine righteous persons who have no need of repentance.

Here's Audio Adrenaline..

http://ca.wrs.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9FJqiKdN0JFgWwBoUvrFAx.;_ylu=X3oDMTB2cXVjNTM5BGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZAM-/SIG=12vamlk01/EXP=1162053917/**http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/emicmg/ffd40877/video/wma/300/leaving99.wvx

I'm lost and broken all alone on this road
The wheels keep turning but the feeling is gone
when I fear I'm on my own
But you remind me i am not alone

You say..

I'd leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you
(For you alone) I'd leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you

It's dark and lonely and the path is unclear
Can't move my feet because I'm frozen with fear
And you say, my child, my child
i am always here, i'm at your side

I'd leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind To find you
(For you alone) I'd leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you
you're never too far down
i promise you'll be found,
i'll reach into the mud,
myree clay
persue you to the end,
like a faithful friend,
nothing in this world,
will keep me away.

I'd leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you
(For you alone) I'd leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you...
to find you..

Trust...and lowering walls..

The fact is that most parents, including Christians, replay what they learned, even in those areas that were personally hurtful. To break well-defined generational habits, we need to understand not only Biblical solutions, but also how experiences from our early development impact the rest of our lives. To heal, we have to trust Him. To trust, we have to deal with the reasons we don’t trust anyone and be willing to yield control. To stop controlling, we have to become willing to let someone else dictate our destiny; someone we may believe failed us when we needed Him most. To heal means we lower our walls of selfprotection and allow Jesus to restore us in His own way. To do that, we must see Him as Someone Who is safe. Most people who were injured emotionally as children believe that no one is safe and trustworthy. Consequently, victims of childhood abuse or neglect seldom let the One they need most into their fragile hearts. Unfortunately, many of us are still worldly, looking for quick fixes and new drugs of choice to soothe our damaged souls. Or we try to get our insatiable needs fulfilled through others. Unfulfilled expectations becomes a long list, with each loss hardening the wall of self-protection and deepening our numbness. Because of God’s great kindness and tender love, we can experience a level of emotional healing that will allow us to honestly know and love Him in the depths of our hearts. We do not have to be victims or survivors; rather we can be servants and children of our glorious God. Instead of focusing inward to find strength, we will cry out to Jesus for help in our time of need and embrace our weaknesses (Heb 4: 14-16). Our relationships will improve, not only because of new boundaries we set, but also as a result of obedience to Biblical truth, an obedience that flows out of earnest love and relationship with the Lord.

We All Have Wounds...

The presence of emotional wounds, the imprints forcing our minds to have certain thought patterns and the isolation of a part of us (the hurting part) from the rest of ourselves, all work together to distort our interpretation skills of situations and people. It forms “filters” through which all incoming information must move prior to the interpretation thereof. When this “filter” is caused by deceptions and lies concerning who we are, we will most often interpret information to accomplish our preconceived ideas about others and ourselves!This will in turn simply strengthen our distorted viewpoints and lead us further away from the truth. When the fruit of hurt in our lives have matured, we often will spend much energy in dealing with the fruit, trying hard to rid ourselves of them. Often this effort goes unrewarded, because they are only the outward evidence of deeper pain. Do not be distracted by these fruits, rather allow God’s spotlight to show the root of the problem. Attacks will always be part of our lives as long as we are in God’s army, but our ability to handle it will mature as we allow God’s Spirit to work His in will us. It will no longer knock us down when someone criticizes, or rejects us.

Good news though! We are all aware that when wounds are healed, they become scars. These scars give evidence of some hurt that has successfully been healed. In the same way the spiritual scars give evidence of a spiritual battle that has been fought and overcome. This is seen as ranking in the spiritual realm. In other words, the enemy sees the scars and then recognizes the ranking. Therefore wounds can actually give us an opportunity to grow in God’s army! Good news indeed and motivation to pursue healing! In summary, we can see that when we go to war, we need to be prepared. We are in a spiritual war, therefore we need to be prepared spiritually. To be spiritually prepared, we need to be whole in body, soul and spirit. When we still suffer from open, unhealed wounds, the Enemy will mark us quickly as open targets, easy prey to destroy and demotivate for the calling of intercession and warfare. These potential prayer warriers will be left alongside the field more wounded than before and totally discouraged for further battles. Be warned, do not enter the battlefield unless your house (your self in totality) has been dealt with and the wounds are healed.

HELP, I NEED HEALING!
How do we gain healing and victory from and over these wounds?
Matt 11:28-29
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden
and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I
will ease and relieve and refresh your souls] .
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I
am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find
rest (relief and ease and refreshment and
recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. (Amp)

Jesus is the Balm of Gilead (Jer 46: 11). He brings healing to every wounded heart, He heals painful memories and He restores the yearning in us because of our unmet needs. Healing comes by spending time in the presence of the Great Physician, allowing Him to place His healing balm on the open wounds (Jer 8: 22 , Amp). We need to ask the Holy Spirit to shine His spotlight into those painful memories by using the petition. This will bring a process into action where the hidden or disguised information will be revealed and the Lord then guides us through our healing process. What do we do with information surfacing and calling out for urgent attention? We will be guided by God’s Spirit to deal with each piece of pain according to His wisdom, applying His truths. Let us examine various aspects of healing.

Forgiveness and triggers
This will not always be easy, but forgiving those who hurt us badly are a vital part of the healing process. Forgiveness starts by making an active choice to be obedient and then working with God’s Holy Spirit through the various steps of forgiveness. Two aspects should be taken into consideration: To forgive the one that hurt you and to ask forgiveness for any judgements in your own heart toward that person. To forgive someone in general (i.e. for everything he did to me) will not always be very effective. Keeping in mind that we release special chemicals to keep information hidden, we can understand that the information is filled with detail concerning the specific event, including sounds, smells and feelings! There are certain associations that work like triggers for the feelings to be experienced. For eg. : A certain tone of voice will always make us feel inferior, like a naughty child. In dealing with forgiveness we need to allow the Holy Spirit to bring healing, even with these associations, i.e. to remove the effect of those “triggers”. As the specific feelings connected to those events are released, healing can come. In this the “garbage” that poisoned our beings are released and God’s ointment can reach into the open wound and bring healing! An exceedingly traumatic event, may cause harm to our minds and the shock also needs to be broken. An important factor to keep in mind, is that wounding is not always caused by what happens to us, but more accurately caused by our reactions toward that which happened to us. Therefore, blaming those who hurt us will bring no release, only in taking responsibility for our own reactions opens a way for God’s Spirit to work in us. Often we would only search areas where others had hurt us and forget the important fact that we often need to also forgive ourselves and…. yes…..also God. This is not due to God hurting us, but more our distorted interpretation of God’s character and therefore causing us to nurture angry feelings toward Him. Often God will place us in relationships that will effectively challenge us to face and deal with exactly those areas we need healing from.

The relationship with God as our Daddy will bring deep healing to our need to be accepted, appreciated and adored! To experience God as El Shaddai (the nurturing Father), will bring healing in our yearning for true nurturing. God is more than enough, He has come to heal the broken hearted.

Question?

If someone treated you the way you treat God, would you believe that person really loved you?

In His Grip!

Really to believe that Christ has accepted you, knowing what you know about yourself… How difficult that is for some people! Really to believe that your faith is of no worth or consequence if you do not live faithfully before the Lord… How difficult that is for some people! The Devil has two great lies and they are so much easier to believe than the truth of God. The first lie, the lie he told to Adam and Eve in the garden is "You surely shall not die!" Your sins are not that serious, you have nothing to fear from them, there is no need to take God and his word so seriously!

But, if he is unable finally to convince a person of that, he uses his second big lie: that, while Christ might save some people, he certainly will not help you; not a person as bad, as ungrateful, as unable to surmount your sins, as unworthy of his love and favor as you. It is this second lie that got him his infamous nickname: "The Accuser of the Brethren."

Sometimes we must with great difficulty GRIP onto one hand - God's hand. "Grip" is the idea; laying hold for oneself; holding on to for dear life; refusing to let go. Let a person believe in Christ that way and he will find faith, even faith as a grain of mustard seed, lifting him up from this benighted world all the way to the heavenly country. "Do you believe the promises of God?" Isaac Watts was asked on his deathbed. "I believe them enough to venture an eternity on them." [Toplady, Works, 487]

Oh, no. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that faith is a small thing, an easy thing, a lighter thing than works. Faith is the weightiest thing in the world. I’ll let my hero, Alexander Whyte, have the last word.

"Give me a passionate man, a hot-headed man, and one that is headstrong and unmanageable; and with faith as a grain of mustard seed, I will, by degrees, make that man as quiet as a lamb. Then give me a covetous man, and avaricious man, a miserly man; and with a little faith working like leaven in his heart, I will yet make him a perfect spendthrift for the church of Christ and for the poor. Then give me one who is mortally afraid of pain; and one who all his days is in bondage through fear of death; and let the spirit of faith once enter and take its seat in his heart and in his imagination, and he shall in a short time, despise all your crosses and flames…. Then show me a man with an unclean heart and I will undertake, by his faith in Christ, to make him whiter than snow, till he will not know himself to be the same man." [Bunyan Characters, iv, 109-11]

And why is that? Because faith is the rope that ties us to Jesus Christ, the chain that binds us to him, the current through which his power and grace are transferred to our hearts and lives, the hand by which we walk hand in hand with him through this world.

Lyrics of a song - prayer for friends and family (thanks Lisa)

I will pray for you now for you have been my faithful friends
While the road we walk is difficult indeed
I couldn’t not ask for more than what you’ve already been
Only that you would say these prayers for me
May your heart break enough that compassion enters in
May your strength all be spent upon the weak
All the castles and crowns you build and place upon your head
May they all fall come crashing down around your feet
May you find every step to be harder than the last
So your character grows greater each stride
May your company be of humble insignificance
May your weakness be your only source of pride
What you do unto others may it all be done to you
May you meet the one who made us
And see him smile when life is through
May your blessings be many but not what you hoped they’d be
And when you look upon the broken
May mercy show you what you could not see
May you never be sure of any plans you desire
But you’d learn to trust the plan he has for you
May your passions be tried and tested in the holy fire
May you fight with all your life for what is true
I have prayed for you now all of my dear and faithful friends
But what I wish is more than I could ever speak
As the way wanders on I’ll long to see you once again
Until then, would you pray these prayers for me?
Oh that you would pray for me. ~Kendall Payne

I want to be a dish made of gold!

2 Timothy 2:20-35 (New Life Version)
In a big house there are not only things made of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some are of more use than others. Some are used every day. If a man lives a clean life, he will be like a dish made of gold. He will be respected and set apart for good use by the owner of the house. Turn away from the sinful things young people want to do. Go after what is right. Have a desire for faith and love and peace. Do this with those who pray to God from a clean heart. Let me say it again. Have nothing to do with foolish talk and those who want to argue. It can only lead to trouble. A servant owned by God must not make trouble. He must be kind to everyone. He must be able to teach. He must be willing to suffer when hurt for doing good. Be gentle when you try to teach those who are against what you say. God may change their hearts so they will turn to the truth. Then they will know they had been held in a trap by the devil to do what he wanted them to do. But now they are able to get out of it.

Can God trust an unbroken person?

Henri Nouwen wrote in his book, The Return of the Prodigal Son, that "it is often difficult to believe that there is much to think, speak or write about other than brokenness".

Mark Buchanan wrote in his book Your God is Too Safe, that there is one soil that usually withers pride. It is brokenness. He goes on to write that broken- ness "molds our character closer to the character of God than anything else. To experience defeat, disappointment, loss—the raw ingredients of broken- ness—moves us closer to being like God than victory and gain and fulfillment ever can."

J. C. Philpot wrote over 150 years ago that "There is much presumption, pride, hypocrisy, deceit, delusion, formality, superstition and self-righteousness to be purged out of the heart of God's child. But all these things keep him low, mar his pride, crush his self-righteousness, cut the locks of his presumption, stain his self conceit, stop his boasting, preserve him from despising others, make him take the lowest room, teach him to esteem others better than himself, drive him to earnest prayer, fit him as an object of mercy, break to pieces his free will, and lay him low at the feet of the Redeemer, as one to be saved by sovereign grace alone!"

The catalysts for brokenness don’t have to be huge, tragic or devastating, though sometimes they are. Suffering comes in all sizes and shapes every day of our lives. And when it comes, we often bury the pain of it somewhere deep inside us where it simmers and stews and gnaws away at our peace, faith and health, turning our hearts even stonier, compounding our pride and unbroken- ness layer by layer.

Lord, save us from ourselves...and break up the unplowed, hard ground of our hearts. Do whatever it takes, so we can be a vessel of honour, fit for the Master's use, in whom He does not need to be ashamed. Lord we submit ourselves to your dealings. You know what is in our hearts, and you know best what we need. We welcome your discipline and your correction for we know that this is proof that you love us and proof that we are indeed your sons and daughters.

Prayer is the falling of a tear

Being in agony, Jesus prayed” to His Father in surrender to the cross in Gethsemane (Luke 22:44). Agonizing tears of surrender in prayer are powerful. So are agonizing tears of intercession for others. The mark of God is upon the forehead of those who sigh and cry in prayer.

“And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof” (Ezekiel 9:4).

It is written in the Psalms that tears are like seed and weeping is like the sowing of that seed in prayer.
“Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5-6).

Sheaves are the answers to our prayers, the fruit of our labor in prayer. Rachel labored in prayer with lamentation and bitter weeping. God promised her that her labor would be rewarded.

“Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work [labor] shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.” (Jeremiah 31:15-17).

Lawlessness? what is that?

Dictionary definition: ignoring or breaking the law, especially violently.
Thesaurus: insurgent, revolutionary, mutinous, riotous, outlaw, violent.

One feature of the close of the present age that Jesus warned His disciples about was an upsurge of lawlessness.

Matt 24:12
And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

Jesus indicated that many Christians would be infected by this prevailing lawlessness
and as a result their love for God and His people would grow cold. The essence of lawlessness is a rejection of authority. This has become an obvious feature of our contemporary culture. There is a widespread contempt for any rules or regulations that interfere with each person’s individual liberty. People are very forceful in asserting their “rights”, yet very reluctant to acknowledge their corresponding responsibilities. At times, the consequence is a condition bordering on anarchy. As Christians, we have to guard ourselves against this kind of attitude.

We are required to show our respect for our spiritual leaders and legitimate secular authority .
But first and foremost, we must cultivate and maintain an attitude of respect and obedience toward God our Father and toward Jesus our Saviour. This will be expressed in a corresponding attitude of respect and obedience towards God’s Word, the Scriptures.

John 14:23-24
Jesus says, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word … He who does not love Me does not keep My words.

We may claim to love God and we may even pray long and eloquent prayers or preach long and eloquent sermons. However, we do not honour and obey God by going through religious actions without having a lifestyle of holiness. In the midst of prevailing lawlessness it would be appropriate for each of us to make a fresh affirmation of our unreserved and total submission to the authority of Scripture.

2 Tim 3:16
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.

Affirmations of a Revolutionary

I am a revolutionary in the service of God Almighty. My life is not my own; I exist as a free person but have voluntarily become a slave to God. My role on earth is to live as a revolutionary, committed to love, holiness, and advancing God's Kingdom. My life is not about me and my natural desires; its is all about knowing, loving, and serving God with all my heart, mind, strength, and soul. Therefore I acknowledge the following:

• I am a sinner, broken by my disobedience but restored by Jesus Christ in order to participate in good works that please God. I am not perfect; but Jesus Christ makes me righteous in God's eyes, and the Holy Spirit leads me toward greater holiness.
• God created me for His purposes. My desire as a revolutionary is to fulfill those ends, and those ends alone. When I get out of bed each day, I do so for one purpose: to love, obey and serve God and his people.
• Every breath I take is a declaration of war against Satan and a commitment to opposing him.
• God does not need me to fight His fight, but He invites me to allow Him to fight through me. It is my privilege to serve Him in that manner. I anticipate and gladly endure various hardships as I serve God; for this is the price of participation in winning the spiritual war.
• I do not need to save the world; Jesus Christ has already done that. I cannot transform the world but I can allow God to use me to transform some part of it.
• My commitment to the revolution of faith is sealed by my complete surrender to God's ways and His will. I will gratefully do what He askes of me simply because He loves me enough to ask. I gain my security, success, and significance through my surrender to Him.
• I am not called to attend or join a church. I am called to be the Bride.
• Worship is not an event I attend or a process I observe; it is the lifestyle I lead.
• I do not give away 10% of my resources. I surrender 100%.
• God has given me natural abilities and supernatural abilities, all intended to advance His Kingdom. I will deploy those abilites for that purpose, when He leads me to do so.
• The proof of my place as a revolutionary is the love I show to God and people.
• There is strength in relationships; I am committed to other revolutionaries and will bless believers whenever I have the chance.
• To acieve victory in the spiritual war in which we are immersed, there is nothing I must accomplish; I must simply follow Christ with everything I have.
• There is no greater calling than to know and serve the Lord.
• The world and many in the churches are desperately seeking identity and destiny. I will respond to that need however the Spirit leads me.
• Absolute moral and spiritual truth does exist, is knowable, and is intended for my life; it is accesible through the Bible, illuminated by the Spirit of God.
• I want nothing more than to hear God say to me, "Well done, My good and faithful servant".

Thank you Lord for loving me, for saving me, for refining me, for blessing me, and for including me in the work of your Kingdom. My life is Yours to use as You please. I love you!

Cathy (taken from "Revolution" by George Barna)

Lord, Convict Us!

Whenever Jesus showed up, He brought division among men. He brought inner peace to a few, but outward hostility among people who were getting along fine until He showed up. Christ's Spirit is the great polarizer, wedge driver, sword. If this same Spirit lives in us, we should expect that we too will illuminate what eternal side people are on. John 16:8 (NEB) "When he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world, and show where right and wrong and judgment lie. He will convict them of wrong..."

The first work of the Holy Spirit is the conviction of sin. If we are temples of the Spirit, His presence, His name in us will convict us, and others, of sin. We will feel more affinity towards those who, like us, long for more conviction, repentance, and the power of God to live a life that will stand the test of fire. It should not surprise us that as we follow Christ, people who want to remain in sin will start to get uncomfortable around us; that we will be accused of being "judgmental" before we have said a word, and that in general we are disliked and avoided for the sake of His name. Others will be attracted to us for this same reason. This is sure proof of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If this does not happen, can anyone rightly claim to have a measure of the Holy Spirit? Holiness, by its very nature, illuminates sin in sharp relief.

The Holy Spirit never encourages our carnal nature--the flesh. The truth is, our carnal desires and nature must die. We are wicked people. Since we long to fellowship with an utterly holy God, somebody has got to change, and it will not be God. God offers eternal encouragement by the way of the Gospel: death, burial, and resurrection. The starting point is the truth. The truth convicts: we are guilty of sin. Conviction is the first step in the cycle of sanctification, and we should expect it and welcome it as it does its deadly work on the old man. ~D. Vandruff

Phil 4:8 (NIV) Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure...
John 8:32 (Phi) "...and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."

How do you know if you are being seduced?

The Seducing (Deceiving) Spirit Mark 9:17-29

FRUITS:
Hypocritical Lies, (1 Timothy 4:1; Prov. 12:22)
Seared Conscience, (1 Timothy 4:1; James 1:14)
Attractions-Fascination (Mark 13:22) by False Prophets, Signs, & Wonders
Deception, (Rom. 7:11; 2 Tim. 3:13; 2 Thes. 2:10; 1 John 2:18-26)
Wander from Truth (Deut.. 13:6-8; 2 Tim. 3:13)
Fascination to Evil Ways, Objects, or Persons (Proverbs 12:26)
Seducers-Enticers (1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:13; Prov. 1:10)

1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to Seducing (Deceptive) spirits and doctrines of demons. note: (deceptive appears in NKJV & NIV, KJV uses seducing)

The Holy Spirit speaks openly and prophetically that in latter times, between the first and second coming of Christ, that some will depart from the faith, that is, deny the essential doctrines of Christianity. Seducing (deceiving) spirits, which are the false "christians" that encourage beliefs inspired by Satan; they may even lead astray careless leaders. This strong man is especially active in the last days of our age as evil becomes nearly irresistible. The prime target will be people who have accepted Christ as their Savior, by enticing Christians with the usual sins, as he uses false beliefs and manipulation to entangle them. These blood-washed believers will depart from the faith and embrace beliefs invented by devils, giving themselves over to their own lusts. Today we are seeing an invasion of these kinds of perversions of truth. How does Satan seduce a Christian?

James 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Christians are lured much in the same way that Eve was lured in Genesis 3:6, but it was only when she allowed her lust or fleshly desire to respond to the lure, that she committed the sin, for it is only when temptation is moved into the action state that it became a sin. Satan knows your weaknesses, and so he continually tempts you until you are weakened and fall. When you repent of your sins, God forgives you, but if you continually rebuke the lures, you don't give in.

When sins go unrepented, a Christian begins to wallow in them, thus opening a door for evil spirits to enter into his mind and body. As other related evil spirits join the originals, thus binding that Christian so tightly that he finds himself struggling to respond to God as he once did. Even though his spirit desires to be free, any effort to seek God brings him back around to the sin that is dominating his life. Although he may not actually be POSSESSED by a demon, he will be at least neutralized by sickness, economic problems, unsaved relatives, fear, heaviness, restlessness, pride and rebellion as the evil spirits will start dominating his life. They become easiily angered, living according to their own mind and understanding, and at this point, many, especially if they are challenged, will depart from the faith. If Christians will stay in the word, they can fight seducing spirits, but in this fast pace world, we neglect reading or hearing of the word, making us prime candidates for seducing spirits. Deception will continue to increase in time.

2 Timothy 3:2-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

2 Timothy 3:13-15 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

In order to keep ourselves from falling in seduction, we must discipline our minds to think according to the way of God. We must keep the doors of our minds and will closed and locked from Satan's temptation. Whenever Satan tries to interject his thoughts or temptations, we must forcibly reject those thoughts and begin to think of the things of God. That is why we were given the weapons to rebuke and to bind, so that we can fight Satan, but to really be effective, we must attack him before he attacks us.

If you feel that they might be under attack by a seducing spirit today, then pray this prayer:
Heavenly Father, forgive me for allowing the world to creep into my heart and life. I can see how deceptive the enemy is and I know only Your Word can guide me though the spiritual mine fields that lie ahead. I want to read Your Word each day and seek Your guidance for my life.
Satan, in the Name of Jesus Christ, I bind you and your seducing spirits according to Matthew 18:18 that says, '...Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:' I realize you are trying to cause me to depart from the faith so I command you to leave me, and I hereby send you to the feet of Jesus, for Him to dispose of you, and I forbid you, or any of your cohorts to ever return again, In the Name of Jesus of Nazareth. Thank you Jesus for freeing me now from the evil spirits that were trying to deceive me. I loose Your Holy Spirit in my life, which is the spirit of Truth (John 16:13), according to Matthew 18:18 that tells me, '...whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. I thank you for giving me the victory over every power of the enemy and I appropriate the mind of Christ to be mine according to Your promises. AMEN

Psalm 10 GOD'S JUSTICE

God, are you avoiding me? Where are you when I need you?
Full of hot air, the wicked
are hot on the trail of the poor.
Trip them up, tangle them up
in their fine-tuned plots.
The wicked are windbags,
the swindlers have foul breath.
The wicked snub God,
their noses stuck high in the air.
Their graffiti are scrawled on the walls:
"Catch us if you can!" "God is dead."
They care nothing for what you think;
if you get in their way, they blow you off.
They live (they think) a charmed life:
"We can't go wrong. This is our lucky year!"
They carry a mouthful of hexes,
their tongues spit venom like adders.
They hide behind ordinary people,
then pounce on their victims.
They mark the luckless,
then wait like a hunter in a blind;
When the poor wretch wanders too close,
they stab him in the back.
The hapless fool is kicked to the ground,
the unlucky victim is brutally axed.
He thinks God has dumped him,
he's sure that God is indifferent to his plight.
Time to get up, God—get moving.
The luckless think they're Godforsaken.
They wonder why the wicked scorn God
and get away with it,
Why the wicked are so cocksure
they'll never come up for audit.
But you know all about it—
the contempt, the abuse.
I dare to believe that the luckless
will get lucky someday in you.
You won't let them down:
orphans won't be orphans forever.
Break the wicked right arms,
break all the evil left arms.
Search and destroy
every sign of crime.
God's grace and order wins;
godlessness loses.
The victim's faint pulse picks up;
the hearts of the hopeless pump red blood
as you put your ear to their lips.
Orphans get parents,
the homeless get homes.
The reign of terror is over,
the rule of the gang lords is ended.

Dangerous Times..

(The Message)2 Timothy 3
Difficult Times Ahead
1-5Don't be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They'll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they're animals. Stay clear of these people.
6-9These are the kind of people who smooth-talk themselves into the homes of unstable and needy women and take advantage of them; women who, depressed by their sinfulness, take up with every new religious fad that calls itself "truth." They get exploited every time and never really learn. These men are like those old Egyptian frauds Jannes and Jambres, who challenged Moses. They were rejects from the faith, twisted in their thinking, defying truth itself. But nothing will come of these latest impostors. Everyone will see through them, just as people saw through that Egyptian hoax.

Prayer of Brokenness & Healing...

Lord, thank you for the trials that bring me to brokenness and press me in to You. Please give me eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to understand your ways that I might turn and be healed. Unless you do, I cannot repent in brokenness. Thank you for the gift of holy moments and healing tears that brings me to your feet in brokenness—that makes room for your grace to forgive, comfort, heal, deliver and transform me—that makes room for more of you in my life. Continue to pour out your Holy Spirit upon me that I might be free to worship and serve you in greater purity of spirit and truth. In your Name, Jesus. Amen.

There is a great site to check out on http://www.annemurchison.com/brokenness.htm
God is amazing!

Ephesians 4:18-20 (The Message)

The Old Way Has to Go
And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They've refused for so long to deal with God that they've lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can't think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion.
But that's no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

Quote

God will never plant the seed of his life upon the soil of a hard, unbroken spirit. He will only plant that seed where
the conviction of His Spirit
has brought brokenness,
where the soil has been watered
with the tears of repentance
as well as the tears of joy.
Alan Redpath
(1907-1989)

"Brokenness and freedom go together, in that order;
first suffering, then comfort;
first trouble, then joy;
first felt unworthiness, then felt love;
first death to the self, then resurrection of the soul."
Larry Crabb
The Pressure's Off

Are We Walking in the Light?

Job 12:22 (NIV) He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light.

Job 28:11 (NIV) [God] ... brings hidden things to light.

Dan 2:22 (NIV) He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.

1 Cor 4:5b (Phi) He will bring into the light of day all that at present is hidden in darkness, and he will expose the secret motives of men's hearts.


Stumbling In The Dark?

Imagine you are in a darkened room. In the room are grotesquely shaped sculptures, sharp objects hanging from the ceiling, piles of dung on the floor, and old furniture to stumble into. In the dark, it is possible to imagine that the room is really "O.K." But light would reveal an ugly scene indeed; and then there could be no more pretending! Wouldn't the truth to our "eye" be a better kind of pain than that of stumbling, groping around in such a room? With the light on, everything would be exposed; the room could be navigated without harm; it could be cleaned up; and there might also be things of value and beauty in the room that could be seen and used. If the light comes on, do we welcome the truth or rush to "turn it off"; do we receive it, even though it may hurt?
Isa 59:9b-10a (NIV) We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes.

Job 12:25 (NIV) They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.

John 12:46 (NIV) "I [Jesus] have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness."

John 11:9-10 (Jer) Jesus replied, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? A man can walk in the daytime without stumbling because he has the light of this world to see by; but if he walks at night, he stumbles, because there is no light to guide him."

Risk = Reward

I read this on a blog just now and it really spoke to me:

We all have things we want to leave behind. I wrote a blog entry a long time ago about Freedom and how it feels to experience live without fear. I wish that could be a way of life for me, but it still creeps in. I must remember how those days felt and refuse to go back there.

I want to encourage you, whoever you are, to take heart and to keep faith in Christ. It is easy to become discouraged and cynical in a world where these perspectives are encouraged. It is easy to give in to the despair. It is easy to sink into passivity, refusing to be vulnerable, refusing to be the man or woman you were created to be. It is easy to settle for second-best and to live life with horrible secrets and pain. It takes courage to take risks, share your heart with others, stay positive, step out of the shadows, pursue healing. But these things lead to fulfillment. Take risks! Risk = Reward. This is more true than not, and a lesson I am continuing to learn, despite my incredibly thick skull and bad memory. Its about your God-given identity and destiny...but it can only come through repentance which means "an about-face or a turning around 180 degrees." We must recognize the lies that we are believing, for the enemy of our soul is very cunning and crafty. He knows how to set traps for us to keep us from the very destiny and freedom that God has in store. Don't give up. Don't give in. Greater is the Spirit of God in you, than the evil one. Submit to God, resist the devil and he will run from you. Then humble yourself under God's hand and He will lift you up. Ask Him and He will do this. Its worth the risk.

THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS MEANS THE LOSS OF ALL THINGS

What about Paul's commission to preach the Gospel? He did not seek credentials, ordination, or affiliation with a human organization. He did not wait for anyone to confirm the call on his life. He did not seek for hands to be laid on him. But "when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus (Galatians 1:15-17)." Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ was renegade enough, but to preach the gospel to the Gentiles was a departure from the norm for even the Church at that time. It would later prove to be quite controversial and divisive. Prudence would dictate that it would be better to check with the other apostles and get their opinion and feedback before striking out in a new direction. Yet, Paul says once he obtained revelation he had no need to confer with flesh and blood. Why, because he was a maverick, an independent spirit, a rebel? No, it is only because the Revelation of Jesus is sufficient guidance. Flesh and blood cannot add to or take away from the Revelation.

Paul's testimony before Agrippa expounds upon this initial conversation with the Lord. He says the Lord told him, "I have shown Myself to you for a reason - you are chosen to be my servant and a witness of those revelations of Me that you have already had, and of those in which I shall yet appear to you (Acts 26:16,17, 20th Century NT)." This was Paul's commission - to testify as to what he has seen, not what he has theorized about, and not what he has heard someone else say. He was to bring the Revelation of Jesus to the world. And so he did. How rich was his understanding! How profound his writings! And oh how great his sufferings!

And what of all that Paul learned as a devout student of Gamaliel? What about his former rank and influence among the religious elite of his day? "What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ (Philippians 3:7,8)." When a person has the Revelation of Christ they will gladly and with great joy suffer the loss of all things. A person who has the Revelation will willingly lay down their life for what they have seen (Revelation 6:9;12:11).

The Revelation of Jesus Christ will be the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense to Organized Religion (I Peter 2:8). When Stephen was called to give an account to the religious leaders his testimony convicted them so that they ground their teeth in anger. With face shining as an angel, being full of the Holy Ghost, he lifted up his eyes and saw Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:54-56). What a blessed, holy moment; what a vision! - but just look and see what the revelation cost Stephen. They dragged him outside and stoned him to death.

To be sure, when you really and truly meet Jesus of Nazareth, when you "see" Him for the first time, when He reveals Himself to you, it will immediately put you at enmity with those who claim to see but do not see: mostly, the religious and "spiritual" ones, the denominations and Towers of Babel which dot the landscape of Christendom, the scribes and Pharisees of Organized Religion.

How blessed are they which do see and hear the Lord! Many are seeking power, anointing, spiritual gifts, title, office, position, and audience. But revelation is sufficient. If we have the Revelation of Jesus Christ we don't need anything else. And if we don't have the Revelation, nothing else will make any difference.

He Understands...

Hebrews 4:14-16 (The Message)

The High Priest Who Cried Out in Pain
Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

Hebrews 5:1-14 Every high priest selected to represent men and women before God and offer sacrifices for their sins should be able to deal gently with their failings, since he knows what it's like from his own experience. But that also means that he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as the peoples'. No one elects himself to this honored position. He's called to it by God, as Aaron was. Neither did Christ presume to set himself up as high priest, but was set apart by the One who said to him, "You're my Son; today I celebrate you!" In another place God declares, "You're a priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek."

While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God's Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him.

Re-Crucifying Jesus
I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you've picked up this bad habit of not listening. By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one—baby's milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God's ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong.

What is the Christian Life?

It is leaving our ground altogether and coming onto the ground of Christ. It is deeper than a changed life - it is an exchanged life. Over time we can accomplish a change, but we can do nothing to exchange our life for His Life. This, from start to finish, is God's work, and it is a work of grace. What, after all, is Righteousness? What is true Holiness? Christ is not righteous because He does righteous things; He does righteous things because He is Righteousness. Christ is not holy because He does holy things; He does holy things because He is Holiness. His "doing" flows out of His "being" - and OUR "doing" flows out of His "being" as well.

How so? The old man (self) is put off, and the New Man (Christ) is put on - this is Christianity. Christ then becomes my Righteousness and my Holiness. But too many of us take a natural, intellectual approach to Christianity. We think if only we can instruct people concerning the tenets of our faith, or persuade them with a logical argument, or woo them with some emotional plea, then we will have disciples. This is a falsehood. That is not Spirit and Life. Christianity is not memorizing certain doctrines or disseminating a systematic theology or having people repeat a so-called "Sinner's Prayer". Christianity is becoming one with a God-Man! You can have all the other in its proper place, but for too long that "other" has been offered as Christianity. And so people touch our beliefs, our doctrines, our religion, our theology, our zeal, but they do not touch a Living Christ. ~C.Brogden

An interesting pic my son took..kinda fits with the irony of this post?

Good read

I know this is a long post, but its a very good read if you want to tackle it:

An email excerpt from Dean and Laura VanDruff comparing the modern ideas of marketing for church growth with what God actually did in the first century to launch the body of Christ into its initial explosive growth period.

Acts 5:14 (NKJ) And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women. Ah, the banner verse of the church-growth movement.
Taking an Acts 17:11 approach, let us look to the context and series of events to see what God actually did to precipitate the explosive church growth mentioned above.
Everyone should know the story of Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5. While this grim episode is oft glossed over, it underscores the seriousness of the New Covenant teaching of giving:
2 Cor 9:7 (NIV) Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. But, as you can read in Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira lied. They sold their property and gave most of it to the church, but held back some in secret. If this magnanimous gesture were done in most modern churches we would name a building after the benefactor and swoon in admiration and appreciation. God killed them both on the spot, in front of everyone.
How is that for a "church growth program" initiation?
Imagine the foolishness of God. He initiates the birth of the church by supernaturally striking dead two generous, if dishonest, contributors right in front of everyone. We tend to stylize and flannelgraph this situation in our minds. But imagine you had really been there and this had happened to someone you knew in the fellowship. Imagine the practical problems of having a couple of corpses on your hands, the general mood, the thought of how you were going to explain this to the authorities, the appreciation of how serious and intense it is to really be in God's presence, and the deep sense of the fear of God that would naturally be the result.
Word spread: "That is not the place to go if you are playing around. God is there." Among the Christians, duplicitous people were struck dead, after all. Not a place to trifle with religion, that is for sure.
Let us jump into the text now, after this rather "negative" miracle and see what God did by and through it.
Acts 5:11,13-14 (NIV) Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events... No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.
There is our "church growth" verse, in context.
The pattern of fear before wisdom, revelation, and salvation is an oft repeated theme of God's. Just 3 chapters earlier in Acts we see the same order and familiar pattern.
Acts 2:43,47 (KJV) And fear came upon every soul... And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.To be sure, the fear of the Lord is all through the Old Testament as a harbinger of the manifest presence of God. And so it is... not only at the beginning of the New Covenant, but also through the history of the early church as well.
Acts 9:31 (NIV) ...The churches... were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
Acts 19:17 (NIV) ...Fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
Do we want to build churches on human flesh and technique? Or are we serious about inviting God to our services? If we do, and He really shows up, then it might well be said of us that "no one dared join them" yet at the same time "the Lord added to their number". "Multitudes", even. And it would be a church built by God, not by fleshly marketing techniques aimed at pleasing men.
There you have it: God's "church growth program" for the first century church. It was certainly not man's idea--then or now--but it worked.
Rom 15:4 (KJV) For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning.Now let us take a little imaginary sidetrack here; suppose God had asked (He didn't) for committee approval for such an episode to launch His "church growth program" from an august body of church marketing consultants beforehand. Do you think they would have approved?
Of course, this is just a quaint, old-fashioned Bible story, and has little to do with us now. The current fashion is that God has changed His patterns and wisdom to match our modern sensibilities, especially since we have learned the lesson of Ananias and Sapphira so well. Haven't we?
We've come a long way, baby...
Perhaps it is time to get back to spiritual reality.
Prov 1:7a (NIV) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
1 Cor 3:18-19 (NIV) Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness".
1 Cor 1:25 (NIV) For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
Rom 11:22a (Jer) Do not forget that God can be severe as well as kind.

Mike Yaconelli:

"I would like to suggest that the Church become a place of terror again; a place where God continually has to tell us, 'Fear not'; a place where our relationship with God is not a simple belief or a doctrine or theology, it is God's burning presence in our lives. I am suggesting that the tame God of relevance be replaced by the God whose very presence shatters our egos into dust, burns our sin into ashes, and strips us naked to reveal the real person within. The Church needs to become a gloriously dangerous place where nothing is safe in God's presence except us. Nothing--including our plans, our agendas, our priorities, our politics, our money, our security, our comfort, our possessions, our needs."
(Thanks Jack for this one)

Email from my pastor...

A.W. Tozer put it this way: "If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference."
With all the talk of late about being "seeker sensitive", here's a daring thought: how about being "God sensitive"? Instead of catering to what people want, perhaps we should consider what God wants? Rather than conducting human-centered surveys to discern direction and mission, shouldn't we be asking the Holy Spirit to lead us? Instead of inclining our ears to church marketing consultants, might it not be better to consider the way of the Lord? Rather than brazenly, openly, and without shame trying to please men, why not aim to please the Lord?
If we turn our focus from men to the Lord, perhaps He will really show up in our meetings. If He does, a few people might get uncomfortable, but those who are truly seeking Him will run with delight to be in His presence.
Or, if we think it a better approach, we could just continue in the sleazy, man-made, humanistic, God-absent tricks and techniques of the "church growth movement" that would work just as well for the Mormons (or any other cult).

1 Thes 2:3-6 (NIV) For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed--God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.
Gal 1:10 (Jer) So now, whom am I trying to please--man or God? Would you say it is men's approval I am looking for? If I still wanted that, I should not be what I am--a servant of Christ.
2 Cor 4:2 (NRS) We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.
Eph 4:14-15 (NIV) Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

John Wesley

There is a deep conviction that we are not yet whole; that our hearts are not fully purified; that there is yet in us a "carnal mind," which is still in its nature "enmity against God;" that a whole body of sin remains in our heart, weakened indeed, but not destroyed; shows, beyond all possibility of doubt, the absolute necessity of a farther change. We allow, that at the very moment of justification, we are born again: In that instant we experience that inward change from "darkness into marvellous light;" from the image of the brute and the devil, into the image of God; from the earthly, sensual, devilish mind, to the mind which was in Christ Jesus. But are we then entirely changed? Are we wholly transformed into the image of him that created us? Far from it: we still retain a depth of sin; and it is the consciousness of this which constrains us to groan, for a full deliverance, to him that is mighty to save. Hence it is, that those believers who are not convinced of the deep corruption of their hearts, or but slightly, and, as it were, notionally convinced, have little concern about entire sanctification. They may possibly hold the opinion, that such a thing is to be, either at death, or some time they know not when, before it. But they have no great uneasiness for the want of it, and no great hunger or thirst after it. They cannot, until they know themselves better, until they repent in the sense above described, until God unveils the inbred monster's face, and shows them the real state of their souls. Then only, when they feel the burden, will they groan for deliverance from it. Then, and not till then, will they cry out, in the agony of their soul,
Break off the yoke of inbred sin, And fully set my spirit free! I cannot rest till pure within, Till I am wholly lost in Thee.
We may learn from hence, secondly, that a deep conviction of our demerit, after we are accepted (which in one sense may be termed guilt,) is absolutely necessary, in order to our seeing the true value of the atoning blood; in order to our feeling that we need this as much, after we are justified as ever we did before. Without this conviction, we cannot but account the blood of the covenant as a common thing, something of which we have not now any great need, seeing all our past sins are blotted out. Yea, but if both our hearts and lives are thus unclean, there is a kind of guilt which we are contracting every moment, and which, of consequence, would every moment expose us to fresh condemnation, but that
He ever lives above, For us to intercede, -- His all-atoning love, His precious blood, to plead. It is this repentance, and the faith intimately connected with it, which are expressed in those strong lines, -- I sin in every breath I draw, Nor do Thy will, nor keep Thy law On earth, as angels do above: But still the fountain open stands, Washes my feet, my heart, my hands, Till I am perfected in love.
We may also observe, a deep conviction of our utter helplessness, of our total inability to retain anything we have received, much more to deliver ourselves from the world of iniquity remaining both in our hearts and lives, teaches us truly to live upon Christ by faith, not only as our Priest, but as our King. Hereby we are brought to "magnify him," indeed; to "give Him all the glory of his grace;" to "make him a whole Christ, an entire Savior; and truly to set the crown upon his head." These excellent words, as they have frequently been used, have little or no meaning; but they are fulfilled in a strong and deep sense, when we thus, as it were, go out of ourselves, in order to be swallowed up in him; when we sink into nothing, that he may be all in all. Then, his almighty grace having abolished "every high thing which exalted itself against him," every temper, and thought, and word, and work "is brought to the obedience of Christ." LONDONDERRY, April 24, 1767

For full sermon called Repentance of the Believer go to:
http://www.godrules.net/library/wsermons/wsermons14.htm