THE MESSAGE IN THE MESSAGE

          In our local paper on 15 April eight kids from the Jacksonville, NC area were asked what they treasured most about "Easter."  Not one of the kids mentioned Jesus Christ. They all mentioned: egg hunts, candy, the easter bunny, and such. Many mentioned  going to dinner somewhere,  but not one mentioned Jesus coming forth from the tomb.  What a shame.  Now maybe these eight kids have never heard of Jesus Christ and the glorious resurrection story, but knowing how religious Jacksonville, NC is (a church  seemingly on every corner) I just shook my head in disbelief.   What have we done?  What have the parents and "churches" in the Jacksonville area done?  I will tell you what they have done they have mixed the truth (the glorious resurrection Gospel message) with a bold face lie; the easter bunny, egg hunts, candy, baskets, and the like. Most parents have done this out of tradition, custom, or just not really knowing better, but Christian parents should know better!  And Churches the same, but they have done it for more sinister reasons they have done this to get kids to come to their community wide outreach (an old marketing ploy) because they know if they can get the kids, they can get the parents, and if they can get the parents then they can get their money. I wonder why Christian parents tell their children lies around two of the most  important days of the year; the birth of Christ and His resurrection from the tomb.  My friend either we will stand for the truth or we will succumb to the lie. Maybe why Christian parents feel it is okay to lie to their children is because the church is complicit with perpetuating the lies with Christmas trees, Santa Claus, egg hunts, bunnies, and so much more.  All of these things are pagan customs and traditions of men yet the church similes and just looks past them.  Now they will tell you we are doing it to share the Gospel message with the kids, well if that be true then why not have maybe activities and food then share a message that glorifies the LORD?  Why lie to the kids?  A lie and the truth mixed, no matter how well intended and seemingly innocent, is still a lie.  Remember what we use to win people to Christ with we have won them to that. Or they will say we are just sharing the love of God with the kids well my friend, love never covers the truth. Truth stands alone it needs no help in propping itself up or supporting it.  This year I could not believe all of the preaching that spoke on the need of evidence for an empty tomb.  I even heard one pastor say after hearing this message you will totally be convinced the tomb was empty, well I was not. He only added to the confusion in many minds. My thought was why do I need to be convinced (or any Christian for that matter) the tomb was empty after all our walk with the LORD is a walk of faith.  Paul tell us in Ephesians, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹  Not of works (even evidence), lest any man should boast."  (Ephesians 2:8-9) We are saved through faith no evidence is needed if we are going to really walk with the LORD.  My friend if you are a Christian and you need evidence Jesus was raised from the tomb then you are probably not a Christian. And if not a Christian there is no preaching or teaching, pictures, slide shows, testimonials, that will prove Christ was raised from the tomb.  This truth is only discovered by the Spirit of God as we allow Him to work in our lives.  The more we read the Scriptures and allow God to work in our lives the more revelation of the Spirit we will receive.  The very next verse in Ephesians says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10) The more we become "His workmanship" the more we will know Him. Now I know the need for evidence of Jesus coming out of the tomb is sexy and rallies the faithful (you can even beat up on the devil), but in the end when you apply the word of God and good old common sense you will find no evidence is needed for we "walk by faith not by sight."

        Two days before I read the article in the paper Freddy, Gerald, and I headed to Craven County Detention Center a maximum detention center that houses about 450 inmates.  We go twice a month and get a wonderful opportunity to share the LORD with inmates (about 120+) who come (no pressure on our part) to our meeting. I must be honest, in these meetings there is a great hunger for the word of God and a presence of the LORD  unmatched in most churches we visit or minister in.  These men are serious they need to hear something that will hold them not something they will hold on to because they know they (like us all) will let go, but something that holds them in tough, confusing, and dangerous times.  It is about a hour drive (after I pick up everyone) depending on the traffic and along the way we have a good conversation, but we stay away from what we plan to share. The routine is usually arrive at 6:15 pm clear security, walk down to the main building and huddle. Then about 7:00 pm we are allowed in the large meeting room.  From 7:00 to 7:15 pm  their praise team sings (always a great job) and so we have 45 minutes usually divided among two speakers with a deadline of 8:00 pm when we must be hitting the door.  Well this time we arrived cleared security, walked down to the main building, huddled at 6:25 pm and they let us in.  WOW what a blessing an additional 35 minutes to share the LORD with the guys.  I had some thoughts from Job that was still working in my spirit, but I planned not to speak. Gerald started off talking on the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:21-22 (did a powerful job) and Freddy spoke on the similarities of the Old Testament priest making an atonement from Numbers 19:1-7 and Jesus' experience on the cross (he also did a powerful job). They both always slip into personal testimonies as they talk, I love it. Well Freddy finished with 35 minutes to go, so next man up.  I asked the LORD, please give me your thoughts and suddenly these words, dropped into my spirit, "the message in the message." My friend the preaching and/or teaching of the word of God must be brought down to our heart if not it will not be able to do the work God intends to do in us. Now the message of Jesus being killed by the Father (make no mistake my friend this was the case) is a mysterious, glorious message of Jesus becoming the propitiation (blood sacrifice) for our sin.  In 1 John we read, "And he (speaking of Jesus) is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."  (1 John 2:2)  This is the good news of the Gospel, Jesus Christ the Son of God came to earth and was slain for the sin of the world. This is the main message in the wondrous story of Jesus in Gethsemane, to the cross, and out of the tomb in great victory is the greatest story ever told.  Far greater than all of the miracles and other stories of Jesus.  Now do not get me wrong they too are wonderful, but not as wonderful as the crushing Jesus endured at the hands of His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, which means where oil is pressed. The crushing of Jesus:   into the submission of going to the cross, the bruising at the hands of the religious folks of the day, the lies, the falsehoods spoken against Him, the betrayal of His disciples, the scrounging and beatings at the hands of the Romans soldiers (they were the best in the world in torture), and the bloody painful slow death and open shame of His nakedness on the cross.  Can you image the Son of God hung naked on the cross for all the world to see.  All of this was the Father's perfect will for Jesus' life.  I hear Christians say the Romans killed Jesus or we people killed Jesus with our waywardness, but no the Romans did not kill Jesus, nor did you or I, it was the Father.  Jesus' gruesome death was the Father's idea and it was in His heart before the fountain of the world was laid.  In Revelations  John tells us, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb (speaking of Jesus) slain from the foundation of the world."  (Revelation 13:8) What a mystery. Jesus died before the earth was made and in time Jesus was born to live and die for our sin.  I do not understand, no one really understands it, and no evidence nowhere is presented, it all must be believed by faith.  But inside this wondrous message is a message that God gave me as I walked to the podium and what I presented to the men was the message how Jesus showed us to die in God.  Jesus showed us how to go to our own cross and die without making a big fanfare or drama.  Jesus opened not His mouth, but said, "Father forgive them."  Now this death in us is the measure of the life of God in us.  Paul tells us,  "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? ⁴ Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:3-4)  We will not be raised in "newness of life" unless there is a spiritual death in us and the more we can die to our desires, ambitions, plans, our self life the more of God's "newness" of life" we will have.  In Philippians Paul talked about knowing His (talking about Jesus) resurrection power, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;"  (Philippians 3:10) Well we will never know His resurrection power unless we enjoy the "fellowship of His sufferings" and are "made conformable unto his death."  You know one has to be dead to be resurrected from the dead.  And if the Father killed Jesus do you think He will spare us?  Is the servant greater than the master?  It is God's will and His good pleasure to put us to death so that He can live through us.  We are that corn of wheat that must fall into the ground.  John tell us, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. ²⁵ He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal."  (John 12:24-25)  "He who hateth  his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal."  Did you get that? Jesus showed us how to fall into the ground and die.  This message played well to a bunch of men doing hard time for murder and only God knows what else.  This is the message in the message a message of our personal death and having enough faith to believe if the Father raised Jesus from the dead (He did) He too will raise us.

HGM FOR 25 APR 17

WILDERNESS TRUTHS FOR MODERN TIMES-42

TEXT: "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." (Daniel 3:17-18)

 

I. REST IN HIM

A. The three Hebrew children were thrown into the fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar. Before going into the furnace they seemed to care little whether God would deliver them or not. Their trust was in God not in what He would do. Regardless of how things went God would continue to be their focal point of worship and relationship. He did not have to prove anything to them. What God would or would not do seemed insignificant to them.

B. If a situation is significant to God in a certain way then it can be significant to the believer in the same way. But if it is not significant to God in a particular way and the believer is trying to make it so they will be out of the divine path. That which touches our flesh is usually significant to us in a negative way. But it may be significant to God in a positive way.

C. We become more content and comfortable as we walk more and more in God's way. One of our greatest problem is wanting our own way. To avoid this problem we must learn to know God and His ways. Our great hindrance to this learning is our great fascination in learning the works of God.

D. Once we learn the works of God our next fascination is that of the naturally and physically inclined people. In John: "Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:28-29) They wanted to know what they had to do in order to work the works of God. Behind that search was a natural satisfaction which the works of God could fulfill.

E. They experienced it when Jesus fed them bread and fish. They sought Jesus for a continuation of this natural feeding. "Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread." (John 6:34) When Jesus refused they sought the means of doing it themselves. So actually they wanted the ability to make the works of God work when they wanted them to work and upon what they wanted them to work. They had no stomach for the things of God only for God to fill their stomachs. Their original motive was not God, but to see signs, wonders, and have their flesh satisfied to their filling. "Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled." (John 6:26)

F. This is true today. Very often the believer desires the miraculous in their hand so that they can do what they want for themselves. But two very important elements are missed. If anyone or anything is to be a work of God it must be in His time and His will. Remember, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)

G. In learning God well enough to know His time and will one must spend time before Him and draw near. If one desires to know the timing of the Lord they must spend time with the Lord. What you want you must give that away. We must give away our fleshly or temporal time (time spent on things not of the Lord, [you name them]) and invest that time in drawing near Him and knowing His timing.

 

II. PARTING THOUGHTS

 

A. One must become what the OT calls a "seer." Simply stated it is one who sees. As the prophets and others such as Paul and John, saw the Lord so we must desire to see Him. The more we can see Him the clearer the knowledge of His ways and will become to us. The more we see Him in all of His beauty the less attractive the world becomes to us. The more we desire Him the less we desire of the world. The reverse is true. If we do not see Him as beautiful we will see and desire the seemly beautiful things of the world.

B. Seeing the Lord may mean different things to different people. All I wish to mean here is an insight into His being, regardless of what many may not be seen with your physical eyes.

THE EDUCATION OF GOD

There is a saying (even in the "church" today) that says, a reader is a leader, well that my friend is flat out false.  God's education for leadership comes not by books, videos, courses, lectures, or tests, but by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and revelation as we submit to His work. In John we read,  "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."  (John 16:13)  Now when "the Spirit of truth is come" talks about the coming of the Holy Spirit a promise to send the comforter and also when He comes into our lives we will begin to know truth and understanding the things and ways of God.  Later on in John 16 we read, "All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take (talking of the Holy Spirit) of mine, and shall shew it unto you."  (John 16:15) That is the Holy Spirit will take the knowledge and understanding of Jesus and show them to us, how simple. This is how we can have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5).  Notice Jesus did not say we had to go to Bible School  (also include seminaries) for two, three, or four years then do two more years for a Masters and another year or two for a doctorate to learn the things God has for us. Why Brother Paul (Saul then) was in Bible School and God kicked him out.  in Matthew Jesus was talking to Peter and He said, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. ¹⁸  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."  (Matthew 16:17-18) What was revealed to Peter that "flesh and blood" (man's teaching and ways) could not reveal to him?  "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.'  (Matthew 161:16) The revelation of who Jesus Christ is. Oh my friend I am here to tell you unless the Holy Spirit reveals the things of the Spirit to us we will never get them. I shared this truth to pastor of an Original Free Will Baptist Church  in our area and now Karen and I were told we were not welcome.  Now I will be honest I never spent one day in a Bible School as a student yet I have taught all over the world in Bible Schools.  I am not saying Bible Schools are not of God (I have seen some really good ones), but will say most Bible Schools are a big waste of time and money.  They use man's education  and not God education. I mean if God has called you to minister the word of God, why go to man to learn how?  Oh I know it is easier to learn from man who you can see than from God who you cannot see. Anyhow God's tests hurt we must die to our ambitions and desires, but not so in man's Bible School.  In my training days (which are still ongoing) I was in the US Navy and Charles Haun would come and stay weeks (while he would travel to churches and places in our area) with us and Charles and the Holy Spirit would take me to school or I would travel to FL where Charles lived and school was in session.  For years this happened and for years God would open (by His Holy Spirit) my heart and mind and fill it with deep revelations, truths, and understandings that are not found in a Bible School where head knowledge and worldly ways are taught.  An education in God like this is priceless, but this is the way the disciples and others that followed them were educated. There were no Bible Schools in those days just the Holy Spirit and men as teachers who paid the price to receive understanding and revelation from God through experiences and His dealings and judgments. With less men of God who really know Him and His ways around gave great rise to resident Bible Schools (students on campus) to fill the void.  In recent years (say the last 100) numbers have really sky rocketed. And of course with all of the Bible Schools comes the denominational doctrine and specific unique teachings from those who sponsor the Bible Schools. What follows can only be false truth or at best half truths, with both are deception.  Do all of the Bible Schools teach the same thing?  Do they all have the same Spirit? No and No.  Thus the graduates of these Bible Schools will only add to the confusion and deception within the Body of Christ.  Oh I know your favorite denomination says they teach the truth, but if so I guess everyone else is teaching lies/non-truths. What is the standard of truth taught in a Bible School?  Please do not say the word of God for many Bible Schools do not use the Scriptures. Maybe the number of Bible Schools have much to do with the  deception that fills the pews and hearts today. After all most teachers (not me) want to be called "Dr., " but no one wants to be called a servant.  After all with the title "Dr." comes prestige, honor, and if getting paid for preaching or pastoring the title "Dr." commands more money.  And now you can go on-line and get a doctorate degree in six months or worse go to one of these fly by night Bible Schools that are so called "accredited" not by a professional organization, but by a church or organization that wants to make money for the staff.  Maybe they are well meaning, but the spirit of these schools (will not call then Bible Schools) are all wrong.  I for one am tired of seeing these charlatans rob people, but worse spread more confusion and deception within the Body of Christ.  Now I know it is the person's money and let the buyer beware, but most Christians (especially young) have little to no common sense when it come to things of the Spirit.  After all a good snake oil sale men can even sell ice to Eskimos.  In the end they have turned the LORD's house into a den of thieves.  They have  stolen money, defrauded people under false pretense, and worse caused more confusion and deception within the Body of Christ. Jesus told the Bible teachers in His days  "And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves."  (Mark 11:17)  Not just "a house of  prayer" as Luke and Matthew says, but much more it is to be "of all nations the house of prayer." In the Greek, the words: "all" (Greek #3957) everything, everyone, and wholly and "nation" (Greek #1484) gentiles or heathens. In other words the house of God is to be all and all to everyone and a wholly place.  It is to be the place where truth is taught, the place where we can become whole again before God), the a place where we find reconciliation with God and man, but in Mark we read the religious folks (like many today) and even the Bible teachers of the day have marketed the house of God to a point Jesus had to refer to His house as a "den" (a place of vipers, snakes, and not a place where God's Spirit dwells) and called the people who run the temple "thieves."  The Gospel is not for sale my friend.  Yet "Christian education" is bought and sold every day.  A diploma in "Christianity" is sold to the lowest bidder, but in reality the integrity and wholesomeness of the Gospel has been cheapened and in some cases I know totally lost for money and influence. My friend the Gospel is not for sale.  Jesus paid a dear and eternal price (His life) for the Gospel and we must not sell it by marketing and merchandising the Gospel in fly by night on-line and pseudo resident (classes two or three days a week) Bible Schools.  If the course material is from books and videos of people (who you have never meet) you are not getting anything of the Holy Spirit at best you are going to get that person's revelation and for me that will never do. It is the Holy Spirit who will lead and guide  us to all truth not a video, self-help book, or a special curriculum.  My friend most Bible School's provide head knowledge, but revelation comes by way of the Holy Spirit.  God's education is received not by reading text books, watching video, writing papers, or taking tests.  It is not won by promotion, but by many prayers and tears. It is attained by confession of sin and much heart searching and humbling before God; by self surrender, a courageous and uncomplaining embracing of the cross, and by an eternal, unfaltering looking unto Jesus crucified. It is not gained by seeking great things for ourselves, but rather, like Paul, by counting those things that are gain to us as loss for Christ. That is a great price. but it must it must be unflinchingly paid by one who would be not merely a nominal but a real spiritual person  of men, a leader whose power is recognized and felt in heaven, on earth and in hell. God's highest level of education is reserved for those who have qualified in secret. It is that element of sovereignty that begets awe and a great humility in those to whom dedication and commitment is entrusted. The Church is painfully in need of education by the Holy Spirit not from books and videos. I wait to hear a voice and no voice comes.  I love the back seat in conferences. I would always rather listen than speak, but there seems to be  no clarion voice to listen to.  God's education come by way of loss to one's self and ambition.  I wonder how much that cost?   

A MEDITATION ON EASTER

Around Christmas time last year I shared some thoughts on Christ not being a baby and now as we draw closer to what many call the Easter season I would like to share some thoughts on this topic. First, the word we use to express the great victory of Christ, “Easter” is found once in the KJV of the Bible and has nothing to do with the Gospel; the death, the burial, and (our blessed hope of glory) the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The word “Easter” is found in Acts and is talking about Peter not Jesus, “And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.” (Acts 12:4) and is translated from the Greek as Passover, again it has nothing to do with the Gospel message. I am not going to go into all of the pagan rituals and religious traditional practices that surround the historical myth of Easter my intent is to lift up the name of Jesus. But, my friend we have “truly” (taking something from the physical realm and projecting it into the spiritual realm) drifted so far from the true meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and the great price He paid for my and your sin. We have insulted God’s supreme act of giving His only begotten Son and the truth for an emotional swell during the holiday season, to increase church attendance, and to spread ones denominational message under the guise of sharing the Gospel. We do so much in church that displeases God and cover it up by saying we are sharing the Gospel. God please forgive us. God does not need special services that effect our emotions and feelings to share the Gospel message. God needs dedicated and consistent children to follow Him and His basic plan. A few years ago I heard a statement from a pastor (of a church we once attended) that just shook me to my knees. He said after Jesus was arrested and crucified the light of the world went out. How my spirit quivered within me. How my stomach churned and ached for this pastor's words were not true, but was in keeping with the emotional Easter tradition. At no point in time has Jesus not been the light of the world. My friend even when Jesus obediently and willfully laid His life down, He was still in control; of all Heaven, earth, hell, and will always be the light of the world. His light will never go out. Death could not hold Him, the grave could not hold Him, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57) Because this is true about Jesus we too can say, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” Let us not be led by our emotions and plans to practice an Easter season (Easter egg hunts, sweeping musicals, and dinners), but be led by the Holy Spirit to know and understand the true message of the Gospel. This my friend is the message that will change our life forever. At the Passover Supper (before He went out into the garden) Jesus knew the garden experience was there and He knew that the cross, death, the grave, and hell was waiting Him. Yet Jesus went out with a song in His heart, “And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.” (Matthew 26:29) How could He do that? He could sing because He had the victory already in His heart. The victory and trust He had in His Father to carry Him through the garden, onto the cross, and into and out of the grave. He knew His Father would never leave Him nor forsake Him. The victory was first won as the Father pressed out the life and will of Jesus at Gethsemane (which means where oil is pressed), “Then saith he unto them, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:38-39) Knowing what was before Him Jesus could still break bread with His disciples, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.” (Matthew 26:26) Knowing what was ahead for Him Jesus could still give thanks, “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:27-28) He could only do this because it was the most sublime manifestation of faith ever expressed. We think He had faith when He restored sight to the blind, strengthened limbs, and raised the dead. Yes that was wonderful, but we must see the spiritual side of things. We must see the necessity of faith in the realm of the Spirit, not in the flesh (like the Easter myth), but the realm of the Spirit where we have the faith to dare to believe like Jesus. It is Jesus’ victorious life which leads up to His victorious death and that is what presents Him as the Lamb without spot and blemish. When Jesus told Peter, James, and John to a "high mountain" (Mount of Transfiguration not a Biblical place) , He seen as a Lamb without spot or blemish, but it is a Lamb that has been slain! We are not saved by His birth we are saved by His death. His life is exemplary it is beautiful, but He did not come to display great character and to do miracles, He came to die for us. The way of life is through a region of death and unless we partake of His death we shall never reign with Him. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:” (Romans 6:3-5) The truth of the season is a bitter sweet message of death so that we may live. It is not about new clothing, many church activities, special foods, and musical programs to get people to come to church, but it is about us loving God enough to be willing (like Jesus) to fall into the ground and die, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12:24) And, to love God’s word enough in simplicity to share it without fanfare and emotional ceremony knowing the Holy Spirit will do His work in lives. Then too we will be able to say we have before the throne (our heart) of God today a victorious risen Lord. Let us keep the love feast of Jesus’ sacrifice. Let us honor Him and His work in us and for those who we are to lead to the cross for His glory. Let not this season be a myth or holiday, but an invitation to life, the life of God.

OUR SUBTLE EMOTIONS

The longer I go in God the more I see just how subtle and destructive my emotions are to the work of God in my life. I hear Christians beg God for a deeper walk with Him, to be taken deeper in knowledge and revelation, well a deeper life in God is nothing more than obedience to God and us putting to death (God wants us to do it) our wild yet very subtle emotions and feelings. Now I could talk about how our wild emotions can cause physical manifestations (that would be more in line with social or personality analysis what most Christian counselors do and call it something spiritual) such as: sadness, anger, wrath (there is a big different between the two) selfishness (host of others), and of course the biggest fear which causes insecurities, anxiety, panic attacks, but I would like to address the subtle not so discussed emotions in the church because they are accepted as something that is from the LORD or just ignored to satisfy our inward fleshly desires. I will be honest the subtle manifestations are more dangerous to our spiritual growth and development than the physical. Anything that affects us spiritually always has far reaching consequences in our lives more than the physical. Please understand I am not justifying the physical manifestations one bit, but when something affects our spirit it has struck deep in our soul and the longer it lodges in our spirit the harder it is to remove. We must be very careful with what we allow to affect our spirit. All too easily we open the door of our spirit, our heart and whatsoever we allow behind the door we shall become that. In Proverbs we read, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee." (Proverb 23:7) In the Greek the words, "For as he thinketh in his heart" is translated as a man opens his gate. The gate all though out the Bible has been seen as a place of decision. So whatsoever we open our heart (or gate) to we will become that or "so is he." It is our choice what we open our gate (heart) to or not to. Remember when we open our self up to something there is something we are not opening our self up to. That boils down into two camps either light or darkness. Things that support the work of God in our lives or those things that do not support the work of God in our lives. And if we allow our emotions both physical and spiritual to rule our lives they will run us into a huge ditch and get us so far off track it becomes almost impossible to get back. This is why Christians fill the mental health institutions or why Christian run like lost sheep to so called Christian psychiatrist (an oxymoron). I will be honest I know what I am talking about. I have allowed my emotions to run wild (in the past) at times as I traveled overseas in ministry to the point I became sick coming home early and sadly the work God wanted to do in me and in the lives of others was not accomplished. Again it is our choice do we open up to feelings, pains, lumps, and bumps or ignore them driving on, "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." You know they say you are not really ready to live until you are ready to die. And die we must because no one gets out of this life alive. It is better we die to our selfishness, self-seeking allowing God to work in our lives than to live in fear (and all of the emotional things that comes with it) a life filled with hell on earth which is not God's intention. God's intention is to bring us into a place of rest not struggle. I heard a TV preacher say, "if you are not butting heads with Satan maybe you both are going in the same direction." Well, there is another option, maybe we are at rest in the LORD and need not to struggle? After all struggling in areas in our lives is our choice dependant on what we allow behind our heart. Now there are two subtle spiritual areas that do great harm to the spiritual growth and development of many Christians and they do not even know it is happening. The first is the subtle deceptive difference between something of the spirit of God and our emotions. In a service as the music cranks up the music leader says, "stand to your feet, wave your hands to the LORD, and sing out!" Well, if your feet and hands move before your heart it is not the Spirit of God it is your emotions (dangerous) that are moving you. Today in the Christian world "churches" are filled with people who only know an emotional ascent to God their spirit is so pumped up and ignited there is no way for the Spirit to calm them down and allow the word of God to take root in their lives. Services are nothing more than an orgy of lights, sound, smoke, hard music (entertainment) feeding the flesh and the people love it. Again they love the music and not God. The biggest church (a non denominational) in Jacksonville that has three services every Sunday has announced they will add a fog machine and more lights to their worship experience. The Body of Christ is filled with seeker friendly churches (we know we are the church and not some denomination or building) that teach their people to worship our feelings and emotions and not God. Many ask what happened to the hymns; music that has carried the Believers for 100s of years? Well they have been replaced by songs that affect our emotions and not our spirit. Hymns affect our spirit. They are songs that are sung to God, songs like: Sweet Hour of Prayer, Blessed Assurance, and Turn Your Eyes Unto Jesus, but songs like: God is as Awesome God, Standing on Holy Ground (written by a homosexual) affect our emotions. They are songs about God. They get our hands and feet moving before the Spirit can get our heart in a low place before Him. Now people would say what is the danger in this emotional approach to God, well when our emotions engage it takes over many areas of our thinking to the point we miss what God is doing in our lives. One of the greatest areas in our life to see if we have allowed God to control our emotions is do we have an ability (in God) to shut our mouth and keep our opinionated nature to our self. Do we have to tell everyone what we know? Is our opinion so important we must let people know what we feel? If yes, these are just indicators that we have not allowed God to deal and judge in our lives to the degree we can control our thoughts and feelings in God. I remember when my friend Jake Luffy told me I talked too much. We were driving to Opole, Poland from Stuttgart, Germany (about seven or eight hours) and after about two or three hours on the road Jake spared not my feelings and just told me to shut up, I talk too much. I do not have to let him know just how smart and knowledgeable I am. I do not have to have an opinion on everything. When we are over in our self (by not being able to keep our mouth) we disqualify ourselves for service. I am amazed how God picks the folks I am to take on my trips overseas. On my trip to Turkey it was no doubt that the young fellow and pastor who went God wanted him to go, not just to preach the word (and he did well), but more important to allow God to work on his character flaws as God does on every trip I go on. We think we are doing God a favor preaching the word, but not so fast pilgrim God is baiting us, even luring us with the opportunity of preaching to the heathens while His intention is to work on our character. There is a great you tube video I would recommend for anyone who feels they have a call to go preach to the heathen. The you tube is by Paris Reidhead and is called "Ten Shekels and a Shirt." I do not want to spill the beans, but it is about Brother Reidhead going to the Sudan in the 1940's and him thinking he was going to save the heathen, but God got him alone in his room and he had enough of God in him for God to be able to show him he was the heathen who needed saved. It is a wonderful thing in our walk with the LORD when we find out we are the heathen. Well the young pastor who went to Turkey with me never shut up, always preaching to me, and had to get his thoughts and opinion in so finally on our way home at the airport in Istanbul I had enough as Jake did (thank you Jake) and I told him to shut up! Well you know how that went over. Religious people built on themselves always get offended. He dodged me when we got to the States and when he got home he wrote in long hand, a cryptic letter (in red) which a very poorly written, self-justifying himself. He rejected every attempt I made to talk with me. It is a scary thing to come face to face with our imperfections and flaws. Only if we have enough of God in us to show us the truth about ourselves and agree with Him will we ever get over our character issues and truly be used of God. His actions just showed my words were true and he lacks the ability in God to handle truth. Funny how people do not like hanging around or talking with someone who can see right through them. I guess they do not realize God sees through us all the time. My friend there is a holy place in God when we can shut our mouth long enough to hear His voice and learn of Him. Yes, there is a place of silence in God that brings us to nothingness. A place where we have nothing to say. The first is perfect. The second is even more perfect and the third is the most perfect. There is a place of silence in God that brings us to nothingness. A place where we have nothing to say. There are three types of silence: a silence of words, a silence of desires, and a silence of thoughts. The first is perfect. The second is even more perfect and the third is the most perfect. In the first, the silence of words, there is virtue (strength) that is acquired. In the second, the silence of desires, quietness is obtained; and in the third, the silence of thoughts . . . this is our goal: the internal recollection of all of our senses. To lay hold of the silence of thought is to arrive and abide at the center of our being where Christ dwells. Not by speaking, desiring, nor reasoning we reach the central place of our inward walk, that place where God speaks to our innermost man. It is there that God communicates Himself to our spirit; and there in the inmost depths of our being. He teaches us Himself. He guides us to this place where He alone speaks His most secret and hidden treasures of His heart to us. The second area of our subtle emotions is when we blame everything on the Satan. I cannot believe the number of Christians who have no spiritual understanding and still call themselves Christians, yet worse some spend more time praying to Satan telling him what they are doing to do to him, "I am going to bind you" or "I going to take back what you stole from me." If we are a Christians and walking with the LORD how can Satan steal from us? What foolishness, but the worst part is these Christians really believe Satan has power in their lives. Now Satan is real the Bible (I believe he is real) tells us so, but he is defeated if we allow him. I choose to NOT give him power in my life, but choose to be powered by God. In the Book of Colossians Paul tell us, "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:15) Satan and his powers are defeated! When will some Christians believe this verse? When they stop allowing their emotions to run wild. After all we have to blame someone for our failures and short comings when we do not control our emotions, hungers, and desires. It must be Satan causing us to be bad. Now the real danger in blaming Satan is we let off the real culprit, our self. James tells us, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:14-15) It is not Satan that causes us to sin it is our lust. We get enticed and snared by our own lust that we have not allowed God to deal and judge within our lives. And the longer we go in this lust the harder and stronger this lust becomes till we become overwhelmed and we sin. The origin was not the enticement or even the sin (Jesus died for this), but our emotions running unchecked and wild. My friend the only power Satan has is the power we give him by speaking his name, trying to define and understand his tactics and ways. So why in the world would we need to learn about how Satan functions and operates? What a pile of religious crap! I think it more important to learn about how God functions and operates. But no the religious and hyper-spiritual crowd want to go after the devil and bind him when he has no power, except for the power we give him in our lives. My mother (God rest her soul) never used his name in any way her thought was why recognize him? Let us recognize Christ and what He has done in our lives instead of what the Satan (supposedly) is trying to do in our lives. How can we be at rest in our heart and spirit if we keep Satan in our thoughts? Foolishness utter foolishness, but most of the Christians today blame Satan for all of the bad things in their lives. What is God's part in all of this? The truth is it is not Satan that causes us to do bad things even sin, but our flesh. Paul knew, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me." (Romans 7:18-20) Paul knew it was his emotions (his flesh). Paul knew it was his emotions that caused him to drift away from God's promises for his life. If our emotions rule and reign in our heart we are only destined for one thing and it is not for the purposes and plan God has for our lives, but lust and then sin. So mind your emotions!