Saturday, May 20, 2017

Equilibrium

Isaiah 33:6

“And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.”

Those of you who know my story, know that I was a backslidden preacher who traded his pulpit for a season of sin. It is only by God’s grace and mercy, that I came to my senses before it was too late. I do not consider myself a pastor, a preacher, or a prophet. I write this blog because, even though I tell myself, and the enemy constantly tells me, ‘no one cares what you have to say anymore,’ - “But your message burns in my heart and bones, and I cannot keep silent (Jeremiah 20:9, Contemporary English Version).”

These last several days I have had a lot of time to listen to the voice of the Lord, and I have been hearing something in my spirit, and it has been getting louder and louder. Trying to make sense of some sensless acts of violence in our community, and as I look around, it seems as though the majority of our society has lost their mind.

When the prodigal son in the scriptures came to himself in the pigpen after wasting his substance, and wasting his life on riotous living, he remembered where he had come from. He remembered his father’s house. He remembered what was good and what was evil, he remembered what faithfulness and honesty and integrity and dignity looked like. He remembered what it felt like to be loved.

But this society has gone crazy, it’s as if our nation has been sucked up into a tornado of depravity, and we are spinning out of control, destroying everything that was good about this country as the storm of depravity cuts a path across our nation. Elijah the prophet went up to heaven in a whirlwind of holy fire, but this nation, and this generation, is going to hell in a whirlwind of hell’s fire.

There has always been evil and good in our world, but this is no longer a society that sins and does wrong, it has become a society that pursues, with passion, the most wicked and perverse things that they can do. They pervert truth, rebel against God, spit in his face, and to make a mockery of the cross and the blood of Jesus.

But it’s not just our nation, it’s happening all over the world, nations are being driven by evil, like puppets on a string. They are murderous acting without any concern for human life, their thirst for power and World dominance has made them mad. They’re off their rockers, they’ve lost it, they’ve gone off the deep end, and it seems as if there is not a shred of decency or human compassion left to stabilize their actions.

God has designed something within the human ear, that gives us stability, equilibrium, it’s what gives us the ability to walk around without falling, because we live on a globe that is in constant motion. But if that mechanism in our inner ear is diseased, and our equilibrium, or point of balance is lost it is nearly impossible to bring it back into a state of perpetual stability.

That is what is happening in America the initial equilibrium that we had in this country that was established in our trust and faith in God, and obedience to his righteous commandments, has been lost and we are a nation with no equilibrium. Our nation has become morally unstable. And it appears, from my perspective, that there are no restraints, no efforts being made to pull back on the yoke, and bring us back to course. All stabilizing factors, all common sense, all goodness and decency are being rejected on every hand.

Thank God for what our newly elected president and leaders are trying to do, but it’s not the president’s calling, to fix the soul of this nation. It’s not a race issue, it’s not a political party issue, and it’s not a money issue – it’s a soul issue. Satan is bidding for the soul of this nation, and as far as I can tell, he don’t have much competition!

Too many preachers won’t tell the truth, they want to keep their people medicated and sedated, and in a catatonic state, oblivious to the world around them. They keep them drugged up on feel good messages that never deal with sin, or the consequences, and don’t tell them how to have power over sin and the devil. They reject the only power that helps us conquer sin – Salvation in the only name that can save us, Jesus, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost!

America is in a downward spiral toward destruction, and the majority of the church world is just sitting around singing ‘Kum bay yah.’

Sin is in the church: Homosexuality, alcoholism, gambling, fornication, adultery, pornography, sexual perversion, lust, pride, hypocrisy, false doctrine – telling people that it doesn’t matter what they do or how they live. It’s grace gone wild! It’s already covered, your already justified, there’s no judgement with God. That’s contrary to His Word, “Without holiness, no one will see God (Hebrews 12:14).”

Hell was not the invention of law preaching condemning religious zealots, it is a real place!

Matthew 25:41
“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”

And the bible says because of the pride and rebellion of man Hell has enlarged herself to receive them.

Isaiah 5:14
“Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.”

Friends, I try my best to be a positive preacher, to encourage and strengthen those who suffer, but you can’t heal a cancer with a band aid. You need to burn it out, or cut it out.

Our country including much of the church world today has been thrown off balance and they have lost their equilibrium, they have lost their stabilizing force. I want to speak to you, friends, and tell you today that there is still hope for our nation, there is a way to return equilibrium to a lukewarm church, there is hope for you no matter how far out of control you have become: His name is Jesus!
Jesus is the stabilizing factor, and friends, if we’ve ever needed anything in this world today and in the church: It’s a stabilizing factor, the wisdom and knowledge, of the name that can break every chain, and the power of the Holy Ghost residing in God’s people!

On the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter, after being baptized in the Holy Ghost, preached the first sermon of the Christian Church. He was standing among a crowd of men and women who just 40 or so days before had rejected Jesus and shouted for his execution, and he reminded them of their part in Jesus’ death, “This Jesus, whom you crucified.”

After hearing Peter’s words, it says that they were pricked in their heart and asked Peter, “What must we do to be saved?”

Peter answered them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38, KJV).”


The answer to the question for our world today: What must we do to be saved? Is the same.


Friday, May 12, 2017

Nevertheless, Go Again!

Luke 5:1-9
And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.  4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

“Help! I've got a too much, It's too much for me! I've got a boat sinking, net breaking blessing!
If you had been on the shore that morning, that is close to what you might have heard Peter shouting to his friends on the shore. That is what the Apostle Paul described, “Pressed down shaken together and running over Shall men give unto your bosom.”

Many of the things we buy today have packaging that is deceptive, when you see the picture, or look at the container, it appears that you’re going to get far more than you can handle. I recently had that experience when my wife and I were on a ride in Alabama. We stopped for lunch, I hadn’t been feeling well, so I wasn’t very hungry. I saw a picture of a burger and thought to myself, ‘That should be more than enough.’

When I got the burger, and I saw it, I said (aloud), ‘I just paid $4 for this? What a rip-off!’

You see I was expecting more than what I had received, and even though I wasn’t feeling well, I was disappointed, because what I got would never meet the need that I had. But I want you to know today, God has a blessing for you, and it will satisfy your need, and in fact, you’ll have more than you can handle.

 Many people have a hard time believing for a just enough blessing: Just enough to pay the rent, just enough to put gas in the car, just enough to buy a few groceries, or just enough to keep the lights on. My friends, that's a ‘wilderness mentality.’ They’re living in the ‘Wilderness of Just Enough.’

When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He took them through the ‘Wilderness of Just Enough,’ but it was only intended to be a pathway to the Land of abundant life, a land that flowed with milk and honey, and a land that was, “Pressed down shaken together and running over Shall men give unto your bosom.”

I want to tell you this morning friends: Just enough is better than never enough, but it's not the Promised Land. God wants to take you to the Promised Land. The Lord told me to tell somebody that he has a blessing with your name on it! It's been dispatched from heaven and it's waiting for you to claim it.

I am not a, ‘name it and claim it,’ preacher. In fact, for the most part I believe the prosperity doctrine to be a lie from hell, but I do believe that God intends to bless those who obey Him.

Getting up this morning and writing this was difficult, because I have been sick for over a month, and although I have prayed, and many others have too, I am still sick. I have been disappointed, but God is not a liar, His word is always true, He is still my Healer, the Rock on which I stand, and His intention is to bless me: “I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering. (Jeremiah 29:11, Contemporary English Version)

You've prayed you've confessed the word, you've worked your faith, and you've stood on the word. But if you’re honest with yourself, you are in the same place Peter was that day! You've been disappointed. Your faith has been disappointed. You've thrown your net out over and over, and it seems like it has been a waste of time.

When you buy an item online, they give you a date that you can expect to receive it by, that is your appointment to receive what you have ordered.

The Lord has given us a divine appointment through the promises in His Word!

You say, “I’ve been to the mail box 6 times already, and there's no sign of my package, no evidence of the promise anywhere!”

Nevertheless, “Go again!” Elijah said. (I kings 18)

The Holy Spirit is telling you, ‘Go again!”

Persistent faith never loses. Keep praying for your healing, keep praying for that prodigal child, keep praying for your marriage to heal, keep praying for revival in your church and in our land! Never, ever, ever, give up! Keep going back! Until you hear the sound of a mighty rain!

I don’t care how many times you’ve cast your net, nevertheless, cast it on the other side. Don’t let the enemy discourage you, don’t let him rob you of what God has said is yours! Pray, pray, pray, pray, until your throat is sore and your voice is gone, then pray some more!  God hears you, God sees you, God loves you, and your net is about to be filled.




Saturday, May 6, 2017

I'm Going to Go Get Me Some

As the descendants of Abraham began to take possession of their inheritance, there were seven tribes that for some reason, had failed to receive their inheritance. It is important to understand that when it says they had not “received” their inheritance, it actually means is that they had failed to drive out the enemy.  The land that had been promised to them by God, was inhabited by people who opposed their right to the land.  In order for them to receive their inheritance, they had to dispossess the enemy.  The land belonged to the children of Israel by right of inheritance, by promise, but it was occupied and dominated by their enemies. 

Listen to Joshua’s words as he addressed the People of Israel:
Joshua 18:3 

"And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you? (KJV)"

“How long are you going to sit around on your hands, putting off taking possession of the land that God, the God of your ancestors, has given you? (MSG)"

The point is:
  • The land had been given to them by God - it belonged to them!
  • But  they had to take possession of it.
Joshua was asking them how long they were going to hang back, and put off, possessing their inheritance.  How long were they going to be lazy, afraid, and unwilling to engage the enemy and take possession of their birth rite?

We find this same culture in many churches now.  The word of God is full of His promises toward His children.  We are also by faith the seed of Abraham, and we are heirs to the blessing of Abraham, Gal 3:29, “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

As it was then, it is still true today, the enemy is in our way an he does not want us to take possession of our inheritance. He wants us to stay where we are, suffering, weak, and helpless. He wants us to keep griping and complaining about our meager existence, and he wants us to die in the desert due to a lack of faith. The cold hard truth is, that unless we enjoy living as spiritual nomads, we must be willing to fight for what is ours. 

Matthew 11:12

“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”

One reason many of Gods people are cheated out of their inheritance is: because they do not know what belongs to them, they are unfamiliar with the will: 

Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”

God has given us everything we need. He gave us Jesus, He gave us His promise, He gave us His blood, He gave us the right to be called the children of God, and He gave us power and authority over our enemy through the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

He gave us everything we need to live for Him!

I Peter 1:3

"According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:"

Another reason is, we are just plain slack, lazy, unwilling to fight for it.  Many Christians would rather live the mediocre self-preserving life of a spiritual pauper, than have to engage the enemy in spiritual warfare.  It’s time to recognize and start admitting that we “have not” because we won’t stand up and fight for it.

"So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him" - Isaiah 59:19

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;" - II Corinthians 10:4

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." - Isaiah 54:14


"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." - I John 4:4

Our inheritance is not in heaven waiting for us to die so we can go and get it!  Our inheritance is in Christ, it has been paid for by His blood, now all we have to do is drive out every enemy in the name of Jesus and take back what the enemy has stolen from us!