MATURATION

Luke 2:40 (KJV)
“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.”
The same ingredients the Father used to raise Jesus are the same ingredients He uses to grow us; we come into strength and wisdom as His grace is upon us. His Grace is adequate for all our growing needs.

LET’S FIND JESUS

Luke 2:15 (KJV)
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
God speaks to us and gives us revelation in varied ways. How we respond says a lot about the level of understanding we received with the revelation; it also reveals our level of appreciation to the revelation. Yes, God is interested in how we walk out our faith. What has the Lord made known to us, and what are we doing about it? It is really important we find Jesus in what God is saying; every movement the Father makes points us to Christ.

JESUS IS BORN

Matthew 1:20-21 (KJV)
“20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
To say “…for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” in medical terms is very significant to our salvation; of which includes, redemption, justification, regeneration, and sanctification. The one ingredient produced physically in the incarnate conception connecting these four works of salvation in the life of the believer is the blood produced in the conception of the Christ child. Consequently, the first Christmas day born in a manger asleep in the hay, in a real world or physical sense; acts as a spiritual typology, and portrays Jesus as the lamb sacrifice for our sins.

WHAT IS BEST?

Jeremiah 29:8 (KJV)
“For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.”

We have the tendency to see things as we are; we tend to have dreams we have caused ourselves. There are ministries out there who actually ride these dreams as these ministries did with Israel. I prefer to hear what God would want me to hear. “Christianity is not us asking God into our hearts it is God asking us into His” (Little Feet Ministries, Zumwalt).

FOCUS

2 Timothy 2:22-26 (KJV)
“22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”
Sometimes we are caught off guard and other times we are not as sensitive and attentive as we should be. We do not have to give an answer to every question; especially, if it is going to bring about an argument. Truth is a person and Jesus being that person knows how to manifest Himself in every heart desiring to know Him, “…with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” We do not have to entertain anything compromising our righteousness (Christ in us), faith (practice), charity (passion), and peace (confidence). If we cannot be gentle then we need to choose not to be anything until we can. Otherwise, our instruction will not accomplish anything. Something bigger is always going on than us and those we are faced with. Young lust is immature acts no matter what our age is.

JESUS REVEALS THE SCROOGE

John 8:12 (KJV)
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
This was said to the wider audience directly after Jesus said to the woman caught in the act of adultery, “…Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
Therefore, this was said to show the power of His presence in our lives. He is not in our lives to point out our naughty; He is in our lives to show us how to come out of our naughty. He is the light (understanding) of life. He shines the light on the broken reasons; the dysfunctional ploy sin allures us with.
It is seeing the depravity, the shame, the bondage, and the blindness sin serves that we are able to make better choices. He becomes like the Christmas angel to Mr. Scrooge. He becomes the light of life in the darkness of our lives.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

COVENANT COMMUNITY IS RELATIONAL

Galatians 2:9-10 (NRSV)
“9 and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
10 They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do.”
When Paul began his ministry to the Gentiles he had approval from those over him in the Lord. Therefore, he not only answered his call, he also had covenant community agreement with his ministry. The request his covenant community gave him to remember the poor; he kept, everywhere he went he constantly sent offerings back from the mission field supporting the poor in Jerusalem.

GENERATIONS DRAWING NIGH

James 4:7-8 (KJV)
^“7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

Single mindedness will come as the hearts of the Father’s and the children become one.  The devil will flee when these two hearts and minds come together; drawing nigh to God will bring our heart and mind together. This is the revival God is calling for

A TASTE FOR GOD

Acts 16:15 (KJV)
“And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.”
Do you reckon Lydia was serious about getting the wisdom God had worked into those folks? She had a taste of God giving her a taste for God. To give space in her home was a sure sign for the price she was willing to pay to have a steady diet of increasing her understanding and passion for God.
“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him” (Psalm 34:8). I know what this would mean if somebody wanted me to test their “Nanner Pudding.” Once you get a taste of God; from then on, you will have a taste for God.

THANKFULNESS

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 (KJV)
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
The work of becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus is a work of reconciliation. Every change being made in us reconciles the twistedness life’s circumstances and episodes have twisted in us. This is a work of untwisting what has been twisted.
These changes take place as we increase our capacity to receive the Father’s love. We cannot manifest His love until we first receive His love. It cannot manifest unless His love is all up in us reconciling all that is broken and dysfunctional. His love brings forth the new creature we are becoming as we put who we have been in our rearview mirror.
And, how can we encounter this and not want others to encounter it too. It is in this grateful thanksgiving we receive the ministry of reconciliation. Our whole character and movement becomes a ministry of reconciliation to others.

JESUS IS WALKING IN OUR MIDST

Revelation 2:1 (KJV)
“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;”
Jesus is more present than we could ever imagine; He is constantly walking in our midst reading us. The lampstand in the old covenant was a figure of the true in the New Testament; it was “one beaten work of gold” (Exodus 25:31-36). Nothing tied on, screwed on, or attached; He is one with us and we are one with Him.
There are seven continents on this planet; therefore, the seven churches of Asia are a paradigmatic presence in Asia representing the presence of the church in the world today. Jesus still walks in the midst of His church as He continues to globally read our strengths and weaknesses. What would He have to say today about the church in each continent? Their strengths and their weakness in the Revelation dealt with the way they acted and reacted to their surroundings. How are we acting and reacting to our surroundings? What is or not our practices today. Practice is a manifestation of our passion and beliefs. What are our passions and what are our beliefs?

THE TIME IS AT HAND

Revelation 1:3
“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”
The most important time in our lives is “the time at hand” (the time we hold in our hands). That which we hold in our hands may not be the most important time of all times; nonetheless, the time in our hands is mostly important to us. How we handle it is mostly important because we will be held accountable for this time given to us by God.
There is nothing we can do about the past and we cannot reach into the future and expect the now to take care of itself; the only moment we have and can own is the moment we hold in our hands. Therefore, the time is at hand for us to take hold of the Revelation and live in the awareness of that Revelation. “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12).
Jesus did not stay dead and He will not stay gone. His appearing is immanent and will bring a culmination to all things (Ephesians 1:9-11). All things will be reconciled in Him (Colossians 1:20). As I see it, this is the crux of it all; although we have been allotted a certain amount of time, the end of time or “the end times” is ultimately in the hands of our heavenly Father; “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is” (Mark 13:32-33).
Once again, the moment we are responsible for is the time we hold in our hands.

DID YAH SLEEP GOOD?

Jeremiah 31:25-26 (KJV)
“25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.
26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.”
True repentance “genuine change” is like waking up from a great night of sleep; refreshed, replenished, oh yes, a new day get it on thing....
True repentance brings about a new day, a new start, a fresh vision for life. At this point, it is no longer what we have been running from; it is now where we are running to. Jesus! is the New Covenant, the new day, new and living way, and a brand spanking new wine skin holding brand spanking new wine.
Always wondered what “brand spanking” meant. It is like “Way O Biggin,”well, true repentance with Jesus is all that and then some. He done come up in here and made a way where there was no way, we have been looking for a way out; and all the time, He is the door leading us into the best life we could have.
Hope you had a good night sleep. Think of it this way, it is not going to get any better until we can lay down and really rest, knowing we have a better life to live all up in Him.

TURNAROUNDS

Acts 9:17-22 (KJV)
What a turnaround Paul’s life had taken. Yeppers turnarounds do happen. True life encounters with God changes people from the inside out; everything changes. The way we see things change, we see people differently, even ourselves differently; as we go about living the turning takes place.
“…turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God” (Jeremiah 31:18). Yes, God knows how to turn things around. Let Him begin the turning in you.
Paul was persecuting those who had encountered God with a surety he was right in what he was doing until He encountered God Himself. Turnarounds take place in the places of surety as much as they do in places where we are unsure.

HEAVENLY PLACES

Ephesians 1:3-6 (KJV)
“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ...
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

We need to desire things God desires; this is the real essence of holiness and sanctified living. Sanctified living is a manifestation of a centered believer; a believer that is at peace with God, themselves, and others.
From someone who is accepted; it is our deepest desire to see others accepted. We are not the elder brother who has done everything right for all the wrong reasons. There is a glory (revelation) in His grace giving ability where there is no ability when it is praised and elevated.
Recognizing those operating without a net comes into play as we offer and construct a net for them. This kind of centeredness gives courage to try and try again until it works.

IN THE PEACE WE FIND PEACE

Jeremiah 29:7 (KJV)
“And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.”
Many voices speaking many things and out of all the voices; God says, “…seek the peace of the city.” The essence of God, His position, His presence is more important than reasons for tragedy, misfortune, or displacements. If we can find Him the reasons no longer matter. Just to have Him is to have peace; whether we have answers or not, He is home away from home and the resolve when there are no answers. When we cannot change where we are is when where we are changes us.

DO NOT QUIT

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (KJV)
“4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”...
Obey or disobey is our battleground. Our casualties come from disobedience. Therefore, the only way we can avoid suffering loss is to obey. This is why obedience is better than sacrifice. Our alternatives to obedience are simply disobedience.
As in any war there will be casualties. Casualties give us reality checks and cause us to develop strategies that are more realistic to the impact the enemy has on us. We cannot keep doing what we have always done and expect to get better results. Change up, build up, refocus, and reconstruct till we find what works. What is it going to take for us to obey?
In the 82nd Airborne Division they taught us to adapt and overcome. To adapt means to make suitable to requirements or conditions; adjust or modify fittingly. It means to adjust oneself to different conditions, environment, etc… Everyone’s condition and environment may vary, yet, the principal remains the same; to overcome one must simply adjust.
Casualties do not determine the war is over; giving up is when the war is over. As long as we stay in the battle we have chance of revenge concerning our casualties. To quit is no chance at all.

THE GOSPEL

 Mark 1:1 (KJV)
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”
Nothing like telling folks right up front what things are about. Mark is letting us know it is about Jesus being the Son of God. This is the subject of the Gospel, the main character, the story line, the thesis, it is all about Jesus.
It is a narrative waiting to be encountered; get inside the story as it is told. Get as close to Jesus as you can, close enough you can watch Him breathe. Watch His expressions as He speaks, see if you can see and hear what He may not be saying in His actions and reactions.
Crawl up into the Gospel until the narrative makes you apart of the story; the Gospel, the good news, the power of God unto salvation.

CHERISHING THE SEED

Romans 6:22 (KJV)
“But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”
Fruit is a manifestation or product of seed. Therefore, holiness is the result of seed. Jesus made it plain in a parable, we are the soil and the Word is the seed. Jesus is the Word made flesh; and beyond that, Jesus dwelt among us. He being made flesh and dwelling among us (Emanuel) became paradigmatic relationally. In other words, He set the standard for holiness as being relational.
Holiness is the seed of God inside us. We, the soil, are dependent on how we treat the seed. The seed has all the ingredients we need to bear fruit unto holiness. If we provide a stony heart it will die before the fruit can appear. If we are weed infested, it will choke out before it can become fruit. If we are shallow, conditions in our life will scorch it before it can become fruit. If our love is warm, inviting, cuddly, and deep; the seed can spread its roots and bring forth out of relationship mature juicy fruit.
Keep hoping, hold on to seed with dear life, if the seed remaineth in us there can be no happy sin in us. Holiness comes out of desire and relational commitment; it is never something we produce, it is result of the seed in us, it is the seed in us. Cherish it.

FREEDOM FEST

Romans 6:18 (KJV)
“Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
Serving sin is a bondage fest; being servants of righteousness is a freedom fest, a love fest. Becoming what we are intended to be requires much and is worth every bit the freedom we have in it. Transition, transformation, regeneration, justification, and sanctification come to us through much toil and brokenness; deliverance, healing, and wholeness are the results found in the labor of love and mercy. How can it not be a freedom fest, and a love fest?

ALIVE FROM THE DEAD

Romans 6:13 (KJV)
“Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
Yielding to God is appropriate; it is a sure manifestation of being spiritually alive.

MATRIX

Exodus 34:19 (KJV)
“All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.”
All things are created by Him and for Him. Matrix “is something that constitutes the place or point from which something else originates, takes form, or develops” (dictionary.com). In the Hebrew this word is the “womb.” Isaiah indicated his matrix began in the womb, “And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant…”(Isaiah 49:5).
In other words, his service to God and to Israel was developed into his DNA and took place in the womb before his birth. Our matrix of Father God is of a spiritual origin since He is Spirit; the matrix of our spiritual origin is in us all waiting to be discovered, explored, and fulfilled.
It is only right for God to expect our first fruits from the woman; first fruit represent the heart of the matrix He holds in His hands.

WORSHIP

Exodus 34:14 (KJV)

“For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”

Worship is homage; it is an attitude and activity designed to recognize and describe worth. Therefore, Christian worship should be designed to recognize and describe the worth of our God. We should be motivated by desire to worship God. What can we do in the way of action to recognize and describe the worth of God?  

 

HOW MANY TIMES DOES HE NEED TO TELL US?

Matthew 24:25; 22-27(KJV)
“Behold, I have told you before.”
Not everything out there saying something has anything to say of eternal value. If it takes us away from the moment and our responsibility to the moment then it is simply distraction. The last book of the Bible plainly states “…for the time is at hand.”
If it cannot fit in our hands then do not try and hold it; if we cannot use it to bring glory and honor to God it is not worth holding on to. False Christ, false teachers, have their secret chambers; their tendency is to carry the notion of having the missing piece of the puzzle.
Listen, God is not lost, His purpose and mission is not lost waiting to be found by some nut case out there. The picture is plain and simple “no man knows the hour.” Here it is - Jesus was, is, and is to come; Jesus is all up in here. Just because He is coming again, or, appearing again, does not mean He has gone anywhere – He was, is, and is to come. He was present then (past,) He is present now, and He will be present then (future).
Get busy loving somebody and quit wasting time lodged up in some secret chamber somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. Revelation is designed to shine into our hearts, it is designed to bring us into His love for us and His love for others – it is not His will that any should perish - His will is that we all come to repentance; come to know change and the good in His heart towards us it will bring.

THE CROSS

Regeneration, Justification, Sanctification, Forgiveness, Deliverance, and Healing comes to us by the way of the cross. The Church was purchased on the cross. Our victory was won on the cross. The middle wall between us was taken down by the cross. Our old is made new by the cross. The wisdom of God is found in the cross. The cross is the surgical tool cutting away the cancerous feelings we have toward others. The cross is the level bringing balance to our self-will. The cross is the supper table serving us the bread and the wine. The cross is the largest plus sign known to man. The cross is the bridge between us and heaven. The cross is a symbol of our faith. We are no longer lost in the cross. By the cross we are saved. We are made nigh by the cross. At the cross we are all the same. It crosses culture, language, and is a permanent paradigm fixed in Theology forever. It all started on a tree and it ends on a tree. Without the cross, we are miserable, lost, and wretched. I pledge my allegiance to the cross, it is there my savior died for me and it is there I am crucified with Him. The cross itself is just a piece of wood; therefore, it is what it represents, the one who died on it for us has made it what it is. THE CROSS

CALLED BY THY NAME

Jeremiah 15:16
“Thy words were found and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O lord God of hosts.”
To be called by someones name is to be owned by that person. This is the implication made by Jeremiah as he says “…I am called by thy name, O lord of hosts.” He makes this statement in reference to the experience of assimilating Gods Word, as he says, “Thy words were found and I did eat them.”
We must understand, it is not only in us knowing the Word of God that we are owned by God, for the mere knowledge of His Word only constitutes the logical strength of man which makes it man’s possession alone.
1Corinthians 8:1-3 declares, “Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of him.” Knowledge is the logical strength of man while relational understanding in the spirit is an impartation of God. Spiritual understanding can only be acquired out of a love relationship between us and God. Knowing God is God knowing us. Intimacy is the means of experiencing the gifts of love. We must be intimate with God to offer true worship and honor to His majesty.
For His secrets to become our secrets, our hearts must drip with the fragrance of His presence. Our knowledge alone can become a god within itself. If our embracing is only committed to our knowledge then our love is full of imagination. To hold the secrets of God is to be held captive with adoration for Him and Him alone.

FAILURE IN SUCCESS

Judges 8:22-35

At the moment of Israel's triumph, Gideon stumbled. He told the people, "I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder." The Israelites took the gold from the bodies of the dead enemies and Gideon melted it and fashioned it into an idol. The Bible calls this idol an ephod, a word that refers to a ceremonial breastplate. Gideon probably depicted the Lord God as a warrior with an ephod of gold, of which could have easily been mistaken for himself.

Either way, God does not allow Himself to be represented by an idol. This idol was an offense against God and a trap for the people. After Gideon's death, the Israelites again worshiped the pagan god Baal. They forgot the Lord God who rescued them from their enemies.

The story of Gideon has a great beginning, but a tragic ending. This is an instructive lesson for us all. As the apostle Paul tells us, "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Cor. 10:12).

If we fail the Success Test we must go back to God. We can ask Him to help us learn the lessons of our failure in success and to strengthen us for another effort. The God of second chances is able to accomplish His purpose through us even if we have failed Him many times before.

THE DEAD SEED

John 12:24-26 (KJV)
“24 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.
26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.”...
Love being where Jesus is, He has always gone where the pain hurts the most; He is a savior, a healer, anointed to set the captive free, and setting at liberty those who are bruised. He goes to the inside of things, where the issues press the reason and the cause.
It takes a special kind of person to take the journey He has taken; it cost our lives, what could have been becomes the exchange of another. This is the death Father God honors and it is the seed that duplicates and multiplies His culture.

FINDING OUR LIFE

2 Corinthians 4:11-12 (KJV)
“11  For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
12  So then death worketh in us, but life in you.”
We do not lose our lives for our sake and not even for the sake of others; we lose our lives for Jesus’ sake.  “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:25). Consequently, other’s benefit from it and so do we; it is in this we find our lives.

PRINCE OF PEACE

John 20:20-23 (KJV)
“20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 
23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”
It takes great peace to hold people accountable to their sins until they are dealt with and no longer have control. Peace in the process possesses confidence and understanding. “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). The lack of understanding increases the strength sin has over us. Proper care is informed and has the vision to transform; this is why nurses must be trained. So, Jesus breathes on them, He imparts to them by the Holy Ghost the ability to prophetically see into people; see when their sins must be retained, this is holding them accountable until the healing process is completed. Remitting is only in order if the sin has been dealt with and overcome. We never release a patient until they are ready. Delivered, healed, and made whole. Do we really have the peace Jesus had with people? When we become more in control of our actions and reactions we become carriers of His peace; we carry hope to the hopeless. When we are there, somehow they know things can get better. We carry an anointing (His understanding and presence) that breaks the yoke.

WORSHIP STUDIO

Revelation 15:2-4 (KJV)
^“2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
³  And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
⁴  Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”

Korg, Yamaha, Taylor, Gibson, Alvarez, etc… do not have anything on these harps of God. These lyrics say something needing to be said. Music, song, grounded in the Word and Spirit; sea of Glass (The Word) mingled with Fire (The Spirit) brings about an eternal harmony that cannot be matched, duplicated, or designed by hearts of flesh.

FEED A MIRACLE

Mark 5:21-43
A miracle is “an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause” (Dictionary.com). The supernatural invades the natural and increases faith and validates the believing. Maintaining hope is to accommodate miracles by moving forward with gratefulness as we spend what it has given. We are not to become myopic to the supernatural power of God when it is released; we are to persist towards the benefits miracles give. Feed it, care for it, strengthen it, we must revel in the life it brings.

THE FOREST OF LIFE

Genesis 5:24 (KJV)
“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”
Are we in the woods with Him, or, are we just in the woods? The woods were here before we got here and God was here before the woods. If a person is not careful they could easily get lost in the woods. But then again, it would not matter if we are walking with God whether we are walking in these woods are not. Enoch did not have the Torah; all he had was history, present culture, and God.

OBLIGATE

Matthew 4:18-19 (KJV)
“18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
I have been hearing the word “obligate” in my thoughts for a long time now. Here is what it means: As a verb obligate means to compel, constrain, or oblige morally or legally; as an adjective it is to be compelled, bound, or restricted.
Simple as this, Jesus obligated them boys. His call for them to follow Him obligated them and Himself. They were obligated to follow and Jesus was obligated to teach them to catch men. The end result, they did catch men.

WHAT ARE WE AFTER?

1Cortinthians 1:22-25
“22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.”
Signs and wonders is what the Jews were after; great wisdom and intellect is what the Greeks were after. These two things are what most people are after today. Nonetheless, the scripture tells us that Jesus is both the power and the wisdom of God: “But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24).
It is not a revival of signs and wonders we need, nor is it a revival that will tickle the intellect. We need a revival that will elevate Jesus in all that He is, who He is, why He is, and where He is.
The simple truth that we are lost and undone without His love and what He did for us on the cross of Calvary is the kind of revival we need.
Consequently, we need to ask ourselves; what are we after? We must be after Jesus, and this “after” must get a hold of us so deeply that everything else we are interested in takes second place to Jesus; especially, when His power and wisdom is released by His manifest presence.

EMANUEL

Deuteronomy 31:8 (KJV) “And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.”

When the presence of God’s glory filled the tent Moses left Joshua in there to stay and soak as he stepped out to address the people (Exodus 33:10-11). Joshua ministered to Moses on the mountain as he received instructions concerning the tabernacle and the Ten Commandments from God (Exodus 24:13). Joshua had been exposed to the glory of God’s presence directly and indirectly. He had been in the heat of the battle with sword in hand as they held Moses’s arms high; he knew what it meant for the LORD God to be with him both in struggle and in stillness from harms way.

Yet, Moses tells him this as he transfers his leadership. No matter how much we have encountered in God’s presence; still yet, we need to be reminded God is with us.  

REGENERATION

Titus 3:4-7 (KJV)
“4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Regeneration: New birth – New life – this is an act of the Holy Ghost in our lives. He gives us the gift of faith that we may encounter the new birth or new life in Jesus Christ. This working of the Holy Ghost is the kindness and love of God to our hearts from His.
When we allow this work to take place or we come into agreement with it, we are justified by grace and become recipients of the eternal life of God. Regenerated, given back to us through Christ what has been taken from us through sin; the curse is reversed in regeneration.

Psalm 147:11 (KJV)
“The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.”

It is in the fear of the LORD we acknowledge His mercy and value its worth.

DISPOSITION

1 Peter 3:8-9 (KJV)
“8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.”
One of the greatest ways to receive a blessing is to be one. This begins by being agreeable or to come into one mind with others. Pitiful in this scripture means to be sympathetic or tender hearted. We are to be courteous; when we do so, love is at work.
This simply boils down to having a mind to be a blessing having no intentions of evil but good. This is the disposition of our heavenly Father. Jeremiah 29:11 testifies to this, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
No matter how much opposition we may run into, this should be our disposition and position towards others as believers.

GOOD NEWS IS GLAD TIDINGS

Luke 8:1 (KJV)
“And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him”
The center of the gospel being the life of Christ; would mean in this text, the good news in the gospel is being lived out. Therefore, what would be this good news of the Kingdom of God? It is the transformation of exchanging human culture for the culture of heaven. “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you” (Matthew 12:28).
The gospel being lived out presents God’s Kingdom as another way to live, another way to think, and another way of being; consequently, the exchange of fallen culture to the Kingdom of God is a direct manifestation of the gospel being lived out.
When the message we preach lines up with the message we live it breaks the power of sin and shame off the people we present our message to. Devils lose their domination and control as the Kingdom of God comes in the power of the Father’s Love.
Therefore, the good news of the gospel becomes the goods of the Kingdom of God.

DEAD OR ALIVE

Romans 14:7-9 (KJV)
"7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living."
Jesus is our LORD on this side of life and He will be LORD on the other side of death. He died, and rose, and revived, that He might be Lord of those who live in Him and those who die in Him. We are not alone in this life and we will not be alone when we die.

Romans 13:14 (KJV)
“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

Even ugly people look good wearing Jesus. It becomes a beautiful situation.

STINKING THINKING

Ephesians 4:27 (KJV)
“Neither give place to the devil.”
Stinking thinking is assuming things that are not so and creating scenarios that do not exist, and is allowing the devil to play house in our minds. “…He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).
Jesus said the devil has come to steal, kill, and destroy. First, he stills it; once he has it he kills it, because his goal is to ultimately destroy it. He is a murderer; his goal is to assassinate the church and as many individuals as he can.
Jesus has come that we might have life and to have it more abundantly. Jesus is for real about this, He wants us to live and He wants us to live abundant lives.
Giving place to the devil is allowing him to convince us of things not so. Giving place for Jesus is to believe things can be better and does not have to end. Jesus is a savior, deliverer, healer, Holy Ghost baptizer; He is the Bread of life, living water, light in the darkness, the way, truth and life. It is best to focus on what we know is true.
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

2 Corinthians 5:10-11 (KJV)
"10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences."
The fear of the LORD is essential and necessary - we cannot know God as we should without it and we sure cannot translate the terror of the LORD to others without it.

TRANSLATE AND PERMEATE

1 Peter 1:13-16 (KJV)
“13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
The grace teaching and enabling us is at the point of revelation; the revelation of Jesus Christ. A life time of relational encounters brings this to us. These encounters become cause and effect on our conduct of being and living. This is how His presence translates and permeates us.

TAKING SHAPE

Genesis 1:4 (KJV)
“And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”
How did the light get all mixed up into that darkness? In the beginning the earth was without form, it was void, and darkness was all up in it. Catch this, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters and in collaboration God said, “Let there be light.” In other words, as the Spirit was moving God spoke into it.
Wow, what a correlation with us. Our lives too are full of darkness; we are empty with no shape or definition. It is not until the Spirit moves upon us and in that moving the Father’s heart speaks to us, this is when light gets all mixed up into our darkness.
It is then the Father draws out the light. God begins to call forth the light out of the darkness; He separates the light from the darkness. This brings definition to our lives and things begin to take shape from that point on.
His light must first appear and get all mixed up into our darkness so He can make sense of why the darkness was there in the first place. It is understanding why our darkness exist that we are able to heal and be delivered from it. Salvation takes shape in the revelation of Christ Jesus.

WAR OF THE PARADIGMS

Matthew 11:12 (KJV)
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.”
The violence here is the art of inward struggle; it is war. This is where we learn to side against ourselves for the sake of truth. The Kingdom of God takes rule over the kingdom of self. It is so easy to see things as we are opposed to how things really are. God’s kingdom is not of this world. Nonetheless, we cannot go anywhere. Jesus prayed the Father would not take us out of here; but rather also, He prayed the Father would keep us from the evil of this world as His Kingdom takes our heart. His will is for His Kingdom to become our culture of reason and understanding.

REVIVAL

Here is how revival looks: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place” (2 Chronicles 7:14-15).
Revival looks like deliverance and healing as evidenced in Habakkuk 3:1-3 (KJV) “A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy. God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.”  
As a child I always wondered where God came from and as a child I read this scripture; at that moment I thought Teman was some distant planet in the universe. As I grew into adulthood and studied the Scripture in more depth, I came to find where Teman was. Teman was the mountain pass God brought the children of Israel through to Mount Sinai (the mountain of His presence).
Revival is a mountain pass bringing us to the mountain of God’s presence. It is the presence of God that transforms people’s hearts and minds. It is not some message that belittles people’s inabilities to see their state as a sinner.  God did not call us to beat up on people; He has called us to lead them to the mountain of His presence.
We may ask, “Where does God come from? Where is God coming from? He comes from the place of healing us and our land. God wants to heal what is broken and dysfunctional.
Revival takes place when we move from praying for revival to being revival; turning from our wicked ways depriving us of His presence.  Open our eyes and ears that we may act out the prayer that is made in this place.

PERFECT LOVE

1 John 4:16-18 (KJV)
^“16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
¹⁷  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
¹⁸  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

Father God is all up in here. I fear Him, and because I do, I have boldness with no fear. Ultimate respect for God produces fear free atmosphere and culture; it produces a boldness that is fearless to the bone.

His presence is so full of acceptance disapproval is never interpreted to be rejection; He is all up in here. This strengthens my respect for Him – He is Daddy. I grow discipline when I accept His discipline. He can hurt me and I receive it as medicine; my heart can dance with Him because I know He will never let me go. This is perfect love.

I was homeless at sixteen. I would place the Bible on my chest and drift into sleep crying Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, etc…In this I became convinced He loved me – fearless – I knew He was with me no matter what.

I fear Daddy too much to be afraid. He has convinced me if my fear for Him supersedes the fear of man and the fear of judgment; then, the fear of being over taken that I cannot take hold of Him cannot work in my mind or heart. He is all up in here – He is Daddy. This is perfect love.

CHOICES

Jude 1:6-7 (KJV)
“6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
Leaving our first principle and rule becomes damaging for us and for those around us. Consequence for this choice is fatal. Cut this out and throw it away would be cutting out our chance. Where is the positive in this? We do have a choice. Jesus is present. Opportunity awaits us in Christ.

DO NOT FORGET

2 Peter 1:8-11 (KJV)
"8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

- Our greatest ability to help others is to never forget we have been helped -

HERE IS THERE AND THERE IS HERE

Psalm 148
You may have heard it said “We must think globally as we act locally.” Well, Psalm 148 implies this: We must think heavenly as we act earthly. The Psalmist calls upon all that is above and below to give praise to God.
As we exalt God we must put ourselves within the mindset of the universe and participate with all that is created above and below. We need to think beyond what is familiar to us here and include the unfamiliar there.
If we expect to have heavenly results as we act upon the earth then we must be willing to join with heaven in our efforts as we praise Father God in our being and doing; when we do, here becomes there and there becomes here one in the same.

INEXHAUSTABLE

Ephesians 3:14-19 (KJV)
“14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; ...
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
I have learned this and continue to learn this, through Christ I am a member of a family much larger than this earth. We have family members in heaven beyond the members we have had on earth who have passed from this life and are dead; members we have not known.
There is only one Father God by which we are named; one Father we all come from. Regardless our race culture is a choice. Our family in heaven has much culture to impart that cannot be embedded or learned by earthly influence. “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” God’s desire is we connect with our family in heaven and reflect the culture they have to this earth.
Just one family member from heaven has made all the difference in the world and we all have connected to this member whether we have acknowledged it or not; His name is Jesus. The love He has brought to us is beyond any knowledge we can receive from earthly families. In fact, I have found it to be inexhaustible.

SLOW DOWN SPEEDY

2 Timothy 2:23-26 (KJV)
“23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”
We may win the argument in strife filled conversations; however, we lose the war in winning the heart of the person we argue with. Relationship is more important than proving we are right and they are wrong. We serve the prince of peace, of which, we should reflect His peace.
Being wise as serpents and harmless as a dove comes into focus (Matthew 10:16). This takes tremendous conscious effort; conscious of where those opposing themselves are, and the understanding they need to be heard.
So, “Speedy” slow down and think about the pain sounding off in the self-destructive person needing grace from us as much as they need it from God.

MISSION

1 Corinthians 16:1-3 ESV “Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.”
As Paul carried the message of Christ relationally through proclamation (preaching), communication (teaching), activation (spiritual gifts), and impartation (relational exchange) throughout his missionary journey’s; he carried in his heart a burden to give to the needy among his own people in Jerusalem.
In other words, as he gave relationally to the mission field he extracted gifts from them to send back to those in need among his own people; imagine that, supporting the needy among his own from the mission field. “Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings” (Acts 24:17).
“For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you. But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem” (Romans 15:22-26).
When it comes to missions it is about mission. The mission is The Commission, of which, is simply creating disciples as we teach them Jesus. We weaken the mission field if we do not teach them the responsibility of mission.

FEEL AFTER HIM

Acts 17:23-27 (KJV)
“23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things...;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:”
Verse 21 reveals the paradigm the Athenians were thinking from: “Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.” Paul’s audience was a people always looking for the newest mystery to discuss. There are those who actually measure their intellectual strength on their ability to perceive or find what others have not been able to grasp.
In their discussions they are lost not knowing God they have no name for. Operating without a net to believe primitive reasoning for plagues and sickness as being a manifestation of an angry god, then, when the plague or sickness ceases this god (idol) is no longer angry. This is how they came to inscribe on this altar “To the unknown god.”
The power of reason will never touch God; reason alone can never make Him tangible or understood rightly. It will take our hearts groping after Him; we must feel our way towards Him to find Him. Virgin birth, from another world, resurrected from the dead and alive forever more; yes, beyond reason.
With a longing grope our consciousness takes on spiritual vision and we simply catch a glimpse. There He is, desiring to live in our hearts.

ABLE MINISTERS

2 Corinthians 3:6 (KJV)
“Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”
Paul kept the content of the covenant distinct from the concept of "written laws" (Romans 7:12-16). The letter in our text follows the concept of written laws; therefore, it is not as much the letter or the spirit, it is the minister and their ability. We are only able ministers if we choose to minister in the spirit of the New Covenant opposed to the letter of the Law.
The Word was sent to heal and to deliver (Psalm 107:20). It becomes “letter” when we use it as a document to condemn void of solution whether it is the Old Testament or the New Testament. The Word in and of itself and in its nature is given to heal and to deliver.
Furthermore, Jesus said I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly; He also said His words were spirit and they are life (John 6:63). Spirit in this scripture implies relationship as in our text.
As ministers of the New Testament we are to give life relationally. After all, we are living epistles read and known by those who are in our lives. We might possibly be the only Bible some will read. It is the Spirit that quickens and gives life; He takes the Word and makes it alive in us and in our living.

GIVE IT UP

Luke 21:19 (KJV)
“In your patience possess ye your souls.”
Patience in the original language means to endure or constancy. Simply means circumstance and events will not move us from our position. Before times, during times, or end times, our position must remain the same. Our intimacy with God must be pursued regardless of the times and one time from another should not measure our submission to God; our submission should always be available.
If we are intimate with God before the end times arrive, we will not struggle with being intimate with him when they do. Jesus also said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:24).
Life is perplexing all in itself regardless of the times. The only moment we can control is the time at hand or the moment we hold in our hands. Therefore, give it up for Jesus; we will never lose our lives if we do. No matter what comes or what goes we must begin our passion for God and maintain our passion for God, this is patience, this is endurance, and this is constancy.

BELIEVING MAKES IT POSSIBLE

Romans 11:23 (NASB77)
“And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again.”
Believing changes everything. God does not work from rocket science where it takes a genius to acquire His demands; He works from heart science where even a child can get it and understand. Believing impacts God greatly. He will even shift our theology at the expense of believing. Not that He will neglect truth, but rather, shift our faulty paradigms to fit His when we believe.
Think not God cannot do what Paul is telling the church in Rome He can do, and believing on a consistent level can and will shift everything.

ALL THE DIFFERENCE

Romans 10:11 (NASB77)
“For the Scripture says, ‘WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.’"
The most apparent difference between Law and Grace is JESUS. When we look into the Law we see God telling people what to do; in Grace we see Jesus showing us what to do. This does not mean Jesus was not telling us things; He gets all up in here with us (Emanuel) as He tells us.
The difference between our doing then and now, Jesus is with us. He has made all the difference; He is the difference. We do not have to sacrifice anymore, He became our sacrifice. Grace did not come so we do not have to do anything; grace has come to do it with us. Grace has come to be in us, to get inside our being, grace is Jesus working in us and through us.
What was right before grace is right after grace; grace moves us from doing right to being right. There is just something right about Jesus working in us the Father’s will; this is when our doing right comes out of being right.
Without Jesus we are disappointed; with Jesus, we are never disappointed. Without Jesus no matter how much right we do, we can never be right. It is only in Him we become the righteousness of God.

TOGETHER WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL

“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
‘I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them’” (John 17:18-26 ESV).
This great Love between the Father and the Son needs to be between us. It would bring us together as it did them. All that comes out of them would begin to come out of us. The world has struggled because we cannot come together; because we have kept ourselves from coming together they struggle with believing we have anything between us of any value to offer.
Where the two sticks crossed our saviors head bowed. Where the two sticks crossed the humble King showed us how. Where the two sticks become one is where we too become one.
The greatest common ground we have in Christianity is the Cross where Jesus bled and died. Our enmities began on a tree in the garden and they have ended on the tree at Calvary. Reconciled to God and reconciled to each other we stand at the Cross and proclaim His name among the nations. It is here our voice become as one. It is here the Father and the Son made their love clear, and it is only here where the two sticks cross our love become clear.

REGENERATION

Titus 3:3-7 (NASB77)
“3 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.
4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,
5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Regeneration is the work of the Holy Ghost transforming us from the deception of serving our lusts and pleasures to being overtaken by the Father’s kindness and love. This transformation gives us the hope of eternal life. Otherwise, we are lost in a cesspool of deception blinding us from the freedom eternal life offers.
The Holy Ghost takes us from being dead in our trespasses and sin to being alive in the kindness and love of God. The Holy Ghost simply changes our lifestyle. This spiritual transformation, this new and fresh birth is Regeneration.

EVERYTHING

1 John 2:27 (NASB77)
“And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”
Everything we receive from God is dynamic. This means it is alive, pulsating, and moving; it is never static, dead, or unmoving. The initial reception is an encounter within itself but never an end. To make sense of it all we get all systematic about it.
With each encounter it takes desire, submission, and total abandonment; nothing systematic about that. The longing in our hearts for God is the basis for each encounter; and when it is all said and done, His presence, Him in Himself above the encounter is our stay.
Justification, regeneration, salvation, sanctification, Holy Ghost Baptism etc… are like liquid flowing into each other, into us, and they are all a work of His mercy and grace. It is all a salvific move of God in our hearts; once again, God is who we are longing for.
There are two things stationary in our encounters, God and our longing. The simplicity in all this is God desires us and we desire Him.  More God, more; cannot get enough of You.

SECRET SOLVED IN THE HOLY GHOST

1 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
It is not a secret because it is withheld, it is a secret because it is beyond us; it is beyond all rational conclusions. Simply, our minds just cannot wrap completely around it. This design of godliness and holiness obtainable in Christ can only be justified in the Spirit (Holy Ghost). He is the only one who can make sense of this great Gospel in our hearts.
He not only reconciles us to the Father, He reconciles the unexplainable and what seems to be unattainable. Christ in us the hope of glory is justified in us by the Holy Ghost. The mystery is solved in Him.

LIVING IN THE SPIRIT

Galatians 3:3 (KJV)
“Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”
Being will never be a manifestation of doing; doing is a manifestation of being. If it is not in us to do, we simply cannot. Our spirit is made alive in Christ by the Holy Spirit; therefore, the righteousness of God is when our doing is a result of who we become in Christ Jesus.
Consequently, being responsible to the Spirit is greater responsibility than that of the flesh. The flesh is sinful in nature; the Spirit (“S” Holy Spirit) is supernatural and is righteous in nature. The Spirit in our text is not the spiritual realm of things or us being spiritual; it is a person, the Holy Ghost. We begin in Him, move, breathe, and have our being in Him. Outside of Him it is all us.
“But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (1 John 2:20). Being in the Spirit can never be a work of the flesh. Flesh motivating our doing and the Spirit working it in us are two different things. The person behind the doing makes all the difference. When the Holy Ghost comes upon us we receive power to be. When His person is involved all we need to know is available.
Paul being filled with the Holy Ghost set his eyes on Barjesus (Acts 13). When the Holy Ghost is involved our spirit is able to do the supernatural.
Yeppers, the person behind the action makes all the difference. The sons of Sceva was stripped naked by demons simply because the person behind their action was them and not the Holy Ghost (Acts 19). If the Holy Ghost is not the person behind our righteousness it is simply flesh hogging out on itself.
We have got to be graveyard dead to ourselves to be alive in Christ Jesus. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain” (Galatians 2:20-2).
Living in the Spirit is living in a person – the Holy Ghost – this is the spirit of Christ in us. “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Romans 8:9 ESV).

REPLENISH

Ephesians 5:30-32 (KJV)
“30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
We become one flesh with Christ. His interest becomes our interest, His need becomes our responsibility. His purpose in this world now becomes our purpose. We no longer live to ourselves; and in this love, this deep passionate intimacy, our whole being will receive, multiply, and reproduce all He gives us.

DISQUALIFY OR QUALIFY?

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (KJV)
“21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”
There were some folks trying to discredit Paul’s intentions concerning his itinerary upon his schedule to visit them. It is common to have those who are looking for ways to disqualify us rather than qualify.
However, as believers we should always look for reasons to qualify each other. Therefore, Paul’s defense was not a reaction of defending himself; he took it as an opportunity to defend the consistency and faithfulness of the Spirit living inside us.
It is the Holy Spirit who establishes us in Christ; He brings us to Him, connects us to Him, and He teaches us Him. “Who also sealed us…” what does this mean? It means He marks us as they did in those days with a stamp of wax over a package to be given with the protection that what is inside has not been taken or messed with.
Once we have allowed Jesus inside our living, the Holy Ghost stamps us as a packaged deal. He assures what is inside stays there so when it is delivered it remains. When our accuser seeks to destroy us the seal reminds him of who is inside.
He becomes our earnest for all God has planned for us. Earnest here is of a Hebrew origin and means a pledge, part of the purchase-money or property given in advance as security for the rest that is to come. (Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary)
This simply means the Holy Spirit is teaching us Jesus and working His character into us. He is our down payment to legally work this work in us, and the stamp is there saying this work on the inside cannot and will not be messed with until it gets to where it is going.
This work is the qualifying we need to exalt in each other and this is what Paul was teaching them. We must not seek to disqualify but rather exalt the qualifying of the work the Holy Ghost is working in us.

STANDING FAST

1 Thessalonians 3:8 (KJV)
“For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.”
To stand fast is to be stationary or to persevere. We cannot allow ourselves to wonder off if we really want to live; get all up in here and stay here.
Something to be said about being stationary, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you” (1 Peter 5:10). ...
It takes some suffering to persevere; we are not really living up in here until we have worked through some things and come out on the other end still up in here.

APOSTLE

 1Thessalonians 2:4-8 (KJV)
"4 But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.
5 For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:
6 Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.
7 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:
8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us."
For us to come into the unity of the faith, until every joint is supplying itself in Love, and until we become the one man Christ Jesus, we will need working among us the ministry of the apostle. It is not in the heart of a true apostle to be a burden. They are gentle as a nurse, willing to be drawn from.
We do not offer apostle license in our organization, nonetheless, we need them; we need their nurturing as individuals and nurturing corporately. This ministry was given to the church as a gift. We can let them set on the shelf because we do not understand their place or purpose, or maybe we might be afraid we would lose control to their place of authority.
In heaven we cast our crowns at His feet and we lift ourselves from our seats to do so. What we do in the heavens will manifest in the earth. After all, He has given us the keys to the kingdom of heaven. A true apostle is not out to condemn or to challenge polity just simply supply the Gospel. If we are not giving Jesus we are not giving what we should be giving whether we be apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, or saint.
We are gifts by grace; otherwise, we are about ourselves.

MR. RELATIONSHIP

John 7:37-39 (KJV)
"37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"
The Holy Ghost is pure Love. God is Love and the Holy Ghost is God. He is the activator, comforter, teacher, and motivator; the one telling us, He speaks of the Father and the Son, yet not one word of Himself (carrier of the Word). He brings them both to us in spirit. Sounds like Love to me. He is the river flowing out of the throne. In one scripture (Daniel) the river is fire, and in another scripture (Revelation) the river is crystal clear water.
Jesus knows this River and is telling them of this River out of this knowing. This River is constantly flowing out of the Father and the Son (belly). This River is everything going on between them (relationship). Actually, a tangible description of Him, this river, would be relationship or pure Love.
The greatest act of Love had to take place before He would be sent to us by the Father, sent to us uncorked as the River (relationship); after all, He is Mr. Relationship Himself. He is the cultivator cuddling us into the arms of the Father and the Son. This (Love) brings us into the family and the union between them – we become family.
This River “Mr. Relationship” flows out of our belly as a call for others to become family and to enter into this union between us.

ME, MYSELF, AND I

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 (KJV)
“10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The righteousness of God is simply God at work in us reconciling us to Himself, the opposite of that is the absence of God as we work on our own.
We have been taught self-reliance from every angle we turn; Secularism, Individualism, and humanism, has given us rights to refuse boundaries set by any outside source other than ourselves. Anything disagreeing with us is viewed as rejection and militant. Anything disagreeing with us cannot be imagined as right. God working in us transforming us can only be viewed as God against us. After all, God transforming us would be a violation of our “rights of self-preservation.”
For this cause God sends strong delusion helping us to believe what we choose to believe. Delusion is a fixed false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual fact. In such cases God gives us the ability to live with faulty paradigms as we block every opposing idea that cannot fit our choices.
I could expound more on this, however, I will let the Word say what it is saying and let it be at that. We must have a love for truth to hear truth. In other words, we must choose to believe we are not God.

TARRY

Luke 24:45-49 (KJV)
“45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ...
48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
Having been raised Pentecostal tarrying in the altar and praying until your encounter came as others encouraged and coached you became culture inspired by Scriptures like this. We had three specific systematic encounters calling us to tarry, the new spiritual birth, sanctification, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
The coaching taught one encounter preceded another until you had encountered each one in its full expectation. Those who had bought the “T” shirt and wore it were the local members inducting you into the culture as they told their own experience in these encounters. This caused an excitement and desire for the encounters.
When we went to the altar we went there to stay until the encounter had come in full power, until the transformation manifested and was evident. This cultural induction has its benefits and in another way has had a stifling effect.
The benefit is evident in these three encounters; on the other hand, we have had no coaching beyond them taking us to fresh and new encounters. As a result, many have grown cold and have stopped coaching others. The excitement has become molded historical events.
The only way to cure this stifling is to return to the altar and once again “tarry” until there is a fresh and new encounter with God. God and His manifest presence must be cultivated and sought after; we can never exhaust the manifest presence of God. With each manifestation comes greater power and strength for the journey from earth to glory.

FOUNTAIN OF LIFE

John 8:1-12 (KJV)
¹   Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
²  And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
³  And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
⁴  They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
⁵  Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
⁶   This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
⁷  So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
⁸  And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
⁹  And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
¹⁰  When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
¹¹   She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
¹²  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

 

                The Psalmist declare “The LORD id my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid” (Psalm 27:1)?

                Salvation does not take place in the dark it thrives in the light, therefore, light is synonymous with salvation; actually, light brings about salvation. In contrast, Darkness and sin are synonymous; sin thrives in darkness. Light and darkness are also synonymous with acknowledgement and denial or blindness.

                This is also why honesty is compared to light and is why dishonesty represents the idea of hiding or darkness. 2 Corinthian 4:2-4 declare “But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

                The nature of light and darkness is apparent, yet, in real life we do not accept in our minds at times their presence. In other words, if we are walking in darkness we most likely have no clue we are. The deceit, dishonesty, and denial are a part of the darkness. It has been said, it is impossible to be deceived and know you are. If we knew we were deceived, the honesty and the truth of the matter relinquish the deception.

                It is not until we acknowledge our need for God that we can pursue Him. It is not until His light begins to expose our darkness that we can become honest about our sinful state.

                By nature we possess the tendency to be blind concerning our deceit. We somehow convince ourselves we are okay and have no need to change, and if anyone tries to bring our attention to such behavior, that person immediately becomes the enemy or a threat.

                Psalm 36 gives us a little insight into this.  Psalm 36:1-9 (NLT)
¹ Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all.
²  In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.
³  Everything they say is crooked and deceitful. They refuse to act wisely or do good.
⁴  They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots. Their actions are never good. They make no attempt to turn from evil.
⁵  Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
⁶  Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD.
⁷  How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.
⁸  You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights.
⁹  For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.

            The fountain of life is in the ability to see ourselves when no one is watching. It is the ability to break free from the darkness. This is what Jesus means when He declares “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

John 1:1-14 (KJV)
¹  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
²  The same was in the beginning with God.
³  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
⁴  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
⁵  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
⁶  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
⁷  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
⁸  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
⁹  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
¹⁰  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
¹¹  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
¹²  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
¹³  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
¹⁴  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.