Real Ministry

"I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession (Ezekiel 44:28b)."

What does it mean to minister to the Lord? It means...

- Not my will, but Your Will

- Not my Kingdom, but Your Kingdom

- Not my glory, but Your Glory

- Not my needs, but Your Need

It means that in times past we may have served the Lord with the expectation of a future reward, but now we serve the Lord with the realization that He is our Inheritance now. It means that it times past we may have viewed prayer as a way to achieve our own ends, but now we pray in order to ensure that the Lord's End is achieved. It means in times past we were obsessed with our needs and getting what we wanted, but now we are obsessed with God's Need, His Desire, and making sure He gets what He wants from us.

It means that in times past our greatest joy was to been seen doing something for God, serving in the outer court, busy with many things; but now, being dissatisfied with that and having discovered Him, our greatest joy is sitting before the Lord in the inner court, quiet and stilled as a child, that we may know Him. In a word, to minister to the Lord is to be content and satisfied, free of ambition, conscious of needing nothing, since He is All in All to us. We were created to love Him; we were created to be loved by Him.

O Lord, make us ministers and priests unto You first and foremost. Teach us to come into the inner court and meet You there. Teach us to seek first Your Kingdom and Your Righteousness, Your Desire, Your Heart, Your Need, Your Satisfaction, Your Glory. You are our Possession, our Inheritance, our Reward. May we never be satisfied with anything less.

LOVE

Is it really possible do give everything I own to the poor and not have love; wouldn't that be proof of my love? How about amazing faith and power - if I had that, wouldn't that be proof of my love for God? Or even if I die for the Lord, THAT must be proof...not according to 1 Corinthians 13:2-8 (Amplified Bible)

2And if I have prophetic powers ([a]the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God's love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody).

3Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or [b] in order that I may glory, but have not love (God's love in me), I gain nothing.

4Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

5It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

6It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

7Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

8Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy ([c]the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

Keep in mind when reading this, not to use this to keep score of the sins of others *tongue in cheek * but let it be like a mirror - how does your own reflection look in this light? Perhaps God is more concerned with our motives than the actions themselves..? But who can know their own motives or perceive their own hidden sins? May the Holy Spirit bring light and revelation into all the dark recesses of our hearts and expose everything to the light so that we can walk in purity in our devotion to Jesus.. for man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart...

Psalm 71

The Lord gave me this scripture this morning as I have been seeking him regarding a word that was given to me:

IN YOU, O Lord, do I put my trust and confidently take refuge; let me never be put to shame or confusion!

Deliver me in Your righteousness and cause me to escape; bow down Your ear to me and save me!

Be to me a rock of refuge in which to dwell, and a sheltering stronghold to which I may continually resort, which You have appointed to save me, for You are my Rock and my Fortress.

Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the grasp of the unrighteous and ruthless man.

For You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my trust from my youth and the source of my confidence.

Upon You have I leaned and relied from birth; You are He Who took me from my mother's womb and You have been my benefactor from that day. My praise is continually of You.

I am as a wonder and surprise to many, but You are my strong refuge.

My mouth shall be filled with Your praise and with Your honor all the day.

Cast me not off nor send me away in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent and my powers fail.

For my enemies talk against me; those who watch for my life consult together,

Saying, God has forsaken him; pursue and persecute and take him, for there is none to deliver him.

O God, be not far from me! O my God, make haste to help me!

Let them be put to shame and consumed who are adversaries to my life; let them be

covered with reproach, scorn, and dishonor who seek and require my hurt.

But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more.

My mouth shall tell of Your righteous acts and of Your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is more than I know.

I will come in the strength and with the mighty acts of the Lord God; I will mention and praise Your righteousness, even Yours alone.

O God, You have taught me from my youth, and hitherto have I declared Your wondrous works.

Yes, even when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not, [but keep me alive] until I have declared Your mighty strength to [this] generation, and Your might and power to all that are to come.

Your righteousness also, O God, is very high [reaching to the heavens], You Who have done great things; O God, who is like You, or who is Your equal?

You Who have shown us [all] troubles great and sore will quicken us again and will bring us up again from the depths of the earth.

Increase my greatness (my honor) and turn and comfort me.

I will also praise You with the harp, even Your truth and faithfulness, O my God; unto You will I sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.

My lips shall shout for joy when I sing praises to You, and my inner being, which You have redeemed.

My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; for they are put to shame, for they are confounded, who seek and demand my hurt.

Axial Age?

The world is standing at the threshold of an unprecedented shift. In light of this reality, we must embrace fresh paradigms of change and uncover the passageway that leads from the "old" to the "new." To help navigate this critical transition, The Coming Shift reveals our need for change and transformation and presents a clear vision for the next step of our journey.

"The Coming Shift expresses the hope and vision that many share of the church's glorious maturity in our time. It will encourage and inspire those who are called to help bring this hope of the ages to a victorious conclusion." – Rick Joyner


I haven't read this book yet, but I intend to soon. We are about to enter a new dimension never before experienced. In a sense, I think we are leaving one age, and entering another..call it dispensation. I also just read this on the Watchmen site called Door of Hope:

What Time Is It?
One of the most important things we need to realize right now is that we have entered into a very significant season of transition in the body of Christ. There is a shift taking place from the church age to the kingdom age. Everything we have known about “doing church” is about to be turned upside down. Religious structures and mindsets that have not been founded on the pure word of God are being uprooted and pulled down, so God can download new revelation, strategies and blueprints from heaven to see the establishment of His kingdom on earth. This shift is critical to the end-time preparation of a glorious Bride and our enemy, knowing that he cannot stop God’s eternal purposes, is doing all that he can to “change the set times and the laws” of God (Daniel 7:5). This strong spiritual dullness is meant to make us insensitive and unaware of the urgency of the hour. It is vital that at this time, we remain “self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:8-9


There could also be a physical shift: as scientifically defined -

There are two basic types of poleshifts:
axial shift: a change in the inclination of the earth's axis caused by the entire planet altering its axial orientation in space (the position of the geographic poles and equator is unaffected);
polar wander: a change in the location of the geographic poles and equator caused by the entire earth, or its outer shell, moving relative to the spin axis, whose inclination remains unchanged.

Isaiah 24:20a (NIV)
The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind;

I've only been given a glimpse of the spiritual shift but it will completely blow out all pre-conceived ideas, all man made solutions, all programs and self efforts..I was given a prophetic word February 9, 2006, speaking of this very thing...and I quote a portion of it:

......But I tell you this - I have heard the prayers of a small remnant of my people. I am sending a warm wind to blow. This wind will not be like any other wind of the past, for I am a creative God, and I love to do new things. Therefore, do not dwell on any former thing or on any other move of my Spirit, for I am indeed doing a new thing. It will spring up quickly; it will be very different. It will challenge mindsets and institutions. The wind I speak of is the wind of my Spirit blowing. It will be a wind of true repentance and sorrow, even as they look on the one they have pierced and there will be a heavy spirit of grace and supplication on those who hear my call.

Zechariah 12:10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

To some, who have already been walking in brokenness, humility and true repentance from their own dead works, this wind will come as a rushing wind of power, anointing and love to envelop them and enable them. Most of these servants of mine are well hidden in my body at the present time. They have not looked for positions of ministry or power for themselves, but are presently a nameless, faceless band of people who have learned the way of the cross, to empty themselves so that I can live my life through them. They shun the attention of man, for they know that what is highly esteemed among men, is detestable to me. They also have learned to judge not what their eyes see or their ears hear, but to discern my ways and my voice. They have learned that their own ways cannot be trusted and that my ways are vastly different. They have learned to set aside their own wisdom in exchange for mine. For the wisdom of man is foolish in my sight.

The Choices of Moses..

“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter:
“Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
“Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.”—Hebrews xi. 24-26.


Stay a little, if this be the thought of your heart, and by God’s help I will show you that all may learn here, and all may be instructed. He that would live a Christian life, and be a really holy man, let him mark the history of Moses and get wisdom.

(1) For one thing, if you would ever be saved, you must make the choice that Moses made—you must choose God before the world. But I say, if a man would be saved, whatever be his rank in life, he must be prepared for tribulation. He must make up his mind to choose much which seems evil, and to give up and refuse much which seems good. I dare say this sounds strange language to some who read these pages. I know well you may have a certain form of religion, and find no trouble in your way. There is a common, worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have enough—a cheap Christianity which offends nobody, and is worth nothing. I am not speaking of religion of this kind. But if you really are in earnest about your soul—if your religion is something more than a mere fashionable Sunday cloak—if you are determined to live by the Bible—if you are resolved to be a New Testament Christian, then, I repeat, you will soon find you must carry a cross.—You must endure hard things, you must suffer on behalf of your soul, as Moses did, or you cannot be saved. The world in the nineteenth century is what it always was. The hearts of men are still the same. The offence of the cross is not ceased. God’s true people are still a despised little flock. True Evangelical religion still brings with it reproach and scorn. A real servant of God will still be thought by many a weak enthusiast and a fool.

But the matter comes to this. Do you wish your soul to be saved? Then remember, you must choose whom you will serve. You cannot serve God and mammon. You cannot be on two sides at once. You cannot be a friend of Christ and a friend of the world at the same time. You must come out from the children of this world, and be separate; you must put up with much ridicule, trouble, and opposition, or you will be lost for ever. You must be willing to think and do things which the world considers foolish, and to hold opinions which are only held by a few. It will cost you something. The stream is strong, and you have to stem it. The way is narrow and steep, and it is no use saying it is not. But depend on it, there can be no saving religion without sacrifices and self-denial.

Now are you making any sacrifices? Does your religion cost you anything? I put it to your conscience in all affection and tenderness.—Are you, like Moses, preferring God to the world, or not? I beseech you not to take shelter under that dangerous word “we”: “we ought,” and “we hope,” and “we mean,” and the like. I ask you plainly, What are you doing yourself? Are you willing to give up anything which keeps you back from God? or are you clinging to the Egypt of the world, and saying to yourself, “I must have it, I must have it: I cannot tear myself away”? Is there any cross in your Christianity? Are there any sharp corners in your religion, anything that ever jars and comes in collision with the earthly-mindedness around you? or is all smooth and rounded-off, and comfortably fitted into custom and fashion? Do you know anything of the afflictions of the Gospel? Is your faith and practice ever a subject of scorn and reproach? Are you thought a fool by anyone because of your soul? Have you left Pharaoh’s daughter, and heartily joined the people of God? Are you venturing all on Christ? Search and see.

These are hard inquiries and rough questions. I cannot help it. I believe they are founded on Scripture truths. I remember it is written, “There went great multitudes with Jesus, and He turned, and said unto them, 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 doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be my disciple.” (Luke xiv. 25-27.) Many, I fear, would like glory, who have no wish for grace. They would fain have the wages, but not the work; the harvest, but not the labour; the reaping, but not the sowing; the reward, but not the battle. But it may not be. As Bunyan says, “the bitter must go before the sweet.” If there is no cross, there will be no crown.

"But all their works they do for to be seen of men" (Matthew 23:5a)

Unless we have invested a great deal of time in our secret ministry to the Lord then the shallowness of our public ministry will be very evident. Today it is abundantly clear that not enough time is spent ministering to the Lord, and way too much time is spent ministering to people; hence, most of what is done in the name of ministry is performed in a fleshly, human way which never bears any lasting fruit.

The Five Sins of Eve

1. Allowed Deception - Eve listened to Satan tell her that God had not told her the truth. She considered his lie. She did not verify this new information with God or with Adam. What she could have done to learn the truth, she did not do. Every sin usually has a sin of omission included with it. There is something Eve could have done and should have done: but she neglected to do the right thing. Perhaps she did not want to have her decision questioned or challenged. A person who is deceived is not guiltless in their deception. They may have acted against conscience many times in order to arrive at their current state of mind. The fact that Eve was deceived when she ate of the fruit does not excuse her. The serpent was blowing smoke and she deliberately inhaled his manipulative magic. She walked into his cloud of lies. Satan's smoky lies are always toxic.

2. Pride - Eve thought that she would be wise if she ate the fruit. She wanted to look good, feel good. It is curious to think why Eve thought anything could be better than what they already had in the Garden of Eden, but she was convinced by the serpent that the grass would be greener on the other side of the fence. She wanted more glory than she already had. Satan's magic smoke was affecting her mind.

3. Encourage Desire - Eve thought the fruit looked good... in fact it looked better and better the more she looked at it. She wanted it. She wanted it very much! Lucifer's hallucinogenic smokescreen was inflaming her desire. "I want it!"

4. Taking Control - God said that she must not even touch the tree, but she activated her self will to do what she wanted to do. Eve could have turned and walked away from the temptation but by now she was intoxicated with it. "I will have it." Eve had sinned even before she ate of the fruit: Eve wanted her own way so she took hold of it. The moment that she touched the fruit, she was a sinner.

5. Serving Self - The other tools of Satan manipulated her to the place where he wanted her. Now, Eve became the first person on earth who was Self Serving. She thought of herself first, before the concerns of Adam or of God and his commands. She did not consider her relationship with them or her obligations to them. She thought only of what she wanted for her Self. Eve ate of the tree of the knowlege of good and evil. She did it. Satan had accomplished the worst: he managed to kill Eve, and by her own self-serving, rebellious hand.

Renewing the Deadly Cycle
Eve did not want the truth of God to blow away her fantasy of glory. This is the path of deception. It is Satan's favorite method: manipulation through lies. He fabricates a false glory, in order to hide his deadly weapons in the murky smoke.

There is a standard of righteousness. Eve did know God's word regarding the tree, and in Genesis 3:2 she quoted it perfectly to Satan. Eve knew the rules. However, God's word has always stood between man and the sins that mankind wants to commit. Then, Eve in turn offered the fruit to Adam, and he ate. It was not enough that she had sinned. Now she was drawing Adam in with her. There was no indication of repentance. She did not feel regret at what she had just done. She did not contemplate whether the taste of the forbidden fruit had been worth the price. There was no remorse in Eve at all. Instead, she sinned further by tempting Adam.

We think that if we can draw enough people into our sin, then that will make it all right. We can justify ourselves by making sin the norm. Majority rules!! And, Adam and Eve together were a majority -- but nothing is a majority against the rightousness of Holy God. And, righteousness is not determined by popular vote. In trying to do this, we are making magic smoke as well. We are joining Lucifer in his rebellion and we are deceiving ourselves.

If we look around us, we can cite many examples of people who are campaigning to make their sins normal and declare themselves righteous. Such people try to influence popular opinion and they even use the courts to make their sins officially "legal." But there is a higher moral law which cannot be influenced.

It was bad enough that Eve sinned, but it was utter disaster when Adam gave in to her temptation. In doing so, Eve multiplied her disobedience beyond anything imaginable because sin entered into the entire human race.

http://www.gloryandthearmor.com/vol1_2.htm

DEALING WITH DIFFICULTY

"Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again;but Satan hindered us" (I Thessalonians 2:18).

If we will wait patiently before the Lord then He will make us to know His will. Almost any mistake can be rectified except presumption and rashness. The flesh is always in a hurry, so we should begin to equate "getting in a hurry" with "getting in the flesh". Out of one thousand presumptuous acts, nine hundred and ninety-nine of them are flesh. We want instant relief, instant answers, and instant results, but God wants us to slow down, remain calm, be still, and know that He is God. He wants us to apprehend His Mind, wait for His Spirit, and become acquainted with His ways.

Quote of the Day

Real revival does not begin with joyous singing. Evangelistic meetings may and should so begin, for we are declaring good news, but revival begins with conviction and repentance on the part of Christians. Bunyan says that when God tunes an instrument He begins with the base. We try to make God's house a delightful place when first it may need to be a dreadful place. Repentance must precede rejoicing. Jacob said, "How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God".

New Album for The Contact

Vain Worship - Rick Joyner

New buildings, family life centres, projects and programs have drawn many into the churches. They may have also helped to keep some in churches, but they have never drawn a man or woman to Christ. We may even think that the dynamic spirituality of our fellowhisp will bring men to Him, but it never will. The church can actually be a distration and hindrance to true conversion if it allows membership in the church without rebirth in Jesus and then a continuation to follow Him. Mere church attendance and activism can work to appease the conviction the Holy Spirit is seeking to bring into our lives and may enable us to feel safe in a spiritual condition in which we actually remain lost.

The true Church is the most dynamic social entity the world has even known. We must be careful that people are not drawn to our assemblies or a man instead of to the Lord. It is common for people to say the right things, change their outward behaviour and even sincerely believe the doctrine of Christ in their hearts. It is possible to be quite "spiritual" and not know Him, as the Lord Himself testified.

Many will say to Me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?" And then I will declare to them, " I never knew you; depart from Me you who practice lawlessness" Matthew 7:22-23

"The branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me" John 15:4

To be joined to the Church through Christ is life and power. Seeking union with Christ through the Church is vain. One cannot be joined to Christ without being joined to His body. We have often made it easy for one to be attached to the body without being joined to the Head. Paul presented Christ crucified to the unsaved. He understood that if people were drawn by anything but Jesus, the conversion would be false. Paul used no psychology or methodology. He used something much more powerful - THE GOSPEL.

There is great danger in "not discerning the body rightly" and allowing those to join us who have not come through the Door. We must also begin to know one another after the Spirit and not after the flesh. Only the Spirit can judge accurately. Appearances are almost always deceiving. King Saul appeared humble; it was said that he was "small in his own eyes". David appeared arrogant and insolent, rebuking the armies of Isreal for their timidity and saying that the King's own armour was not good enough for him. We must rise above the tendance to follow the first one who appears to be head and shoulders above the rest.

"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

Unbrokenness vs Brokenness
Resistance/Stubbornness vs Repentance
Enslavement/Addiction/Idolatory vs Freedom
Rebellion vs Submission
Legalism vs Grace
Hypocrisy vs Transparency
Pride/Arrogance vs Humility
Hopelessness/Despair vs Joy
Rudeness vs Patience
Anger/Rage vs Reconciliation
Anxiety/Restlessness vs Quietness and Restfulness
Fear/Terror vs Rest
Lying/Dishonesty vs Honesty/Truthfulness
Disappointment vs Hope
Lovelessness vs Loving/Accepting
Confusion/Turmoil vs Peace
Greed/Covetousness vs Contentment
Bitterness/Resentfulness vs Forgiveness
Selfishness/Egotism vs Holiness
Self-Serving vs God and Other-Serving
Cynicism vs Trust
Sarcasm vs Gentleness/A Soft Answer
Hate vs Love
Defilement vs Cleanness
Misery vs Comfort
Isolation/Loneliness vs Kindness/Understanding
Impatience vs Self-Control
Wantonness/Recklessness/Unrestrained vs Purity
Unbelief vs Faith/Faithfulness
Destructive vs Edifying
Fear of Man vs Fear of God
Unkindness vs Graciousness
Poutiness/Sulkiness/Sullenness vs Gratefulness
Depravity vs Godly Character
Unrighteousness/Self-Righteousness vs The Righteousness of Christ
Harmfulness/Hurtfulness vs Healing
Laziness/Slothfulness/Carelessness vs Diligence

RESTORING CHRIST TO CHRISTIANITY

We are trying to get to the heart of things and down to the very root the matter. The bottom line is there are many things that are ABOUT Jesus, but are NOT Jesus. Then there is Jesus Himself. When the things about Christ become more important than Christ Himself then we need to revisit who we are and what we are doing.

We live in the Laodicean age that is characterized by insipid lukewarmness and blindness to the truth of our own spiritual condition (cf. Revelation 3:1-19). The picture presented to us is one of Christ standing on the outside of things, knocking at the door, and waiting for someone to open the door to Him (cf. Revelation 3:20). Since this is written to the saints it cannot be construed as an invitation to sinners to "invite Jesus into their heart"; instead, it is the Lord calling upon the church to make Him the center again. The issue was, and still is fellowship, communion, and abiding - maintaining its relationship to the Head.

God's solution for a lukewarm, tasteless, colorless, odorless church is a fresh revelation of Jesus Christ. He will bring us back to our foundation. He will align us with His Purpose. He will adjust us back to Himself. God will purge, refine, chasten, and conform us to the image of His Son. But we must respond to His invitation and open the door.

O Christian, come back to Christ! Simplify your life, eliminate the "many things", count them as dung, and cling to the One Thing! Be reduced to Christ!

The Lord says, "To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne" (Revelation 3:21).

Amen! Even so, come Lord Jesus.

ASHAMED TO BLUSH

O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.
Ezra 9:6

Jeremiah lamented in a verse found twice in his book (6:15; 8:12) that his generation knew no shame and could not blush. He declared that God�s blessing had been withheld because they refused to be ashamed (3:3). Ezra is ashamed and blushes for the sins of his people.

People used to blush when they were ashamed. Now they are ashamed if they blush. Modesty has disappeared and a brazen generation with no fear of God before its eyes mocks at sin. There is no revival, because even God�s people will not humble themselves in sorrow for sin. Nothing is more needed than a sense of shame.

God give us Ezras and Jeremiahs who are ashamed and blush for their day and generation instead of defending it, lightly regarding the hurt of the land, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace. We are so fond of being called tolerant and broad-minded that we wink at sin when we ought to weep.

Commentary on Col 3

I have noticed a disturbing trend among my students,
many of whom come from devout families and growing
churches: they are biblically illiterate and therefore
spiritually fragile. In many congregations worship has
become a spectator sport, geared to a generation
fashioned by the slick tricks of the media. The "feel
good" experience has replaced the hard discipline of
knowing God in spirit and truth. The church's vocation
in the world is to be of and for God, and this is a
difficult and often costly calling. Christians today
must have minds as tough as nails, able to cut through
the vapid secularism and materialism of our world with
the "word of truth."

Every believer today is under siege; the church's
witness--even its faith in God--is threatened by the
norms and values of a pervasively anti-God world. To
support and direct God's people for their daily
battles, preaching must be informed by a rigorous
study of biblical texts. The church's teaching
ministry must help its members understand all of life
through a scriptural filter. If we are to know the
truth and the demands of God's reign and to better
understand the deceits of our anti-God world, so that
we are prepared to worship and bear witness to the
Lord, our congregations need to gather closely around
the Scriptures.

Winds of Judgment

God wants His people to be assured that a Spirit-filled, Spirit-taught, Spirit-anointed, Spirit-led people is the only answer that God has for human need; and that He is in the process of creating such a people. Apart from national repentance and a turning toward God, the Bible gives no hope whatever for the renewal of our society--nor are we to try to change it by any other means. When men desire to continue in their rebellion, God literally withdraws His restraining grace, and gives the society over to greater and greater wickedness, and finally to a "reprobate mind," which means, "a mind void of moral discernment"... it is no longer capable of knowing right and wrong, but it calls GOOD evil, and EVIL good... and actually believes the lie. (See Romans 1:24-28).

And so as God releases His hand of restraining grace, the forces of evil are being given free course in this last hour, this day of Harvest. Just as the mystery of Christ comes to fulness in His people; so the Mystery of Iniquity comes to fulness in the seed of the Evil One. There is to be an acceleration of evil in the last days... as well as an acceleration of righteousness. "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still... he that is righteous, let him be righteous still" (Revelation 22:11). Let him carry on in it... let him increase in it... LET HIM COME TO FULNESS!

Winds of judgment are about to be released in the earth; and when the tables are turned, and God' s judgments engulf the earth, God would have us to know the reason for it all. It will be...

BECAUSE the hearts of men have become utterly depraved and corrupt, as it was in the days of Noah and of Lot... and a holy and righteous God can no longer stay His hand in judgment.

BECAUSE our educators and intellectuals have succeeded in brainwashing the nation and persuading our youth that they are but animals in the process of evolution... just a spontaneous outgrowth from the slime of some primeval ocean bed... and now after many eons, just a hairless ape... but gradually rising higher and higher, by his own knowledge and wisdom... that there is really no definite standard of righteousness or morality... and whatever a society deems to be right is right... or if they deem it to be wrong it is wrong... that there is no such thing as a man created in God's image who sinned against his God... that God (if there is a God) is not a holy and perfect Being with whom we have to deal, but merely some kind of impersonal force whose name we still have to use on occasion because of our inability to define certain aspects of the universe that seem as yet to be beyond the understanding of science... and little by little as science is able to understand these mysteries and explain them, then the whole idea of God as a Supernatural Being can be dispensed with altogether...

BECAUSE the hearts of men have become so hardened towards sin and immorality that there is no longer a true sense of moral values. and the basest of sins are considered to be proper and honorable... sins so vile that one would almost hesitate to mention them by name in polite conversation, or even to put it in writing... and in and through it all they are upheld and honored even by men who hold high positions in the land as a people to be desired and lauded. As the apostle Paul puts it: they "not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them" (Romans 1:32).

BECAUSE those who profess to be Christian, and to honor the Bible... have in fact become the lukewarm Church of prophecy, concerning which Jesus said, if they would not repent, "I will spew thee out of my mouth..." Jesus said, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt hath lost his savour... it is thenceforth GOOD FOR NOTHING, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men" (Matthew 5:13).

But in the midst of all the chaos and turmoil that shall arise in the land, let the "little flock" not despair, who cry unto Him day and night, because of all the abominations that are committed in the earth and in the Church... and may they take courage in the promise of our Lord, who said, "Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily" (Luke 18:7, 8).