Empty Me, Of Me

2 Kings 4:1-7

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

It has been my experience that nothing attracts the attention of the Lord like emptiness. In school, I learned that a law of nature states nothing remains empty; it must be filled, and it will be filled. This fact makes clear to me this morning three critical points regarding emptiness:

1. Emptiness is a choice
2. We will all eventually be filled with something
3. What we are filled with is up to us.

Since nothing can remain empty by nature, we must realize that the condition of emptiness is intentional. By a deliberate act of our wills, we must choose to be emptied.

In our story, we are not told what substances the borrowed vessels contained before emptying, but we know they had to be emptied to be filled with the oil. We are likewise not told what condition the containers were found in when they were borrowed. The Jars may have been dirty, cast aside, and forgotten; they may have been imperfect, cracked, or broken. Regardless of the condition the jars were found in, irrespective of what purpose the jars had served before, for them to be used as a blessing, they needed to be emptied of all unnecessary material and made available before the jars could be filled with the oil.

Like the borrowed vessels, we may have things that need to be emptied from our lives. We may be imperfect, broken even, but we must be emptied of all the unnecessary junk in our hearts and made available for God's use before the anointing can be poured into our hearts. We must be emptied of everything that is of no use to God, anything that will hinder the anointing from manifesting in our bodies so that we can be a blessing to others. Let me put it this way: We have to die; we must crucify the "old man" so that the life of Jesus can be manifest in our bodies.

2 Corinthians 4:7-10

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

The attitude and disposition of the heart place our lives before God as hopeless, helpless, and powerless. It is a life wholly given up to God. It is a life that God sustains. The only life that God can sustain is a life that is surrendered to Him. The branch draws its life from the vine when it ceases to live for itself and lives to bring glory and honor to the vine.

Against Israel's enemy, God chose what seemed like a very foolish weapon: A Clay Pot and a Candle.

Judges 7:16

And he –Gideon divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.

No swords, spears, knives, or even shields. Just a trumpet, a clay pot, and a candle.

Judges 7:20

And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

What was it that made the pitcher valuable to God's purpose? Not their beauty, not their particular shape or design, not what they had done in the past, not whose house they had come from, or because they were made of silver, brass, or Gold, but what made them useful for God's purpose is the same thing that makes us valuable to him today:

1. They were Available
2. They were Fillable (Empty)
3. They were Breakable.

We are too often only available for what we want, too full of what we like, and too proud to be broken.

Galatians 2:20

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.

Phillippians 3:10

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

The cross is the key to receiving the anointing. The power of the Holy Ghost can only come to those who have wholly entered into a surrendered life at the foot of the cross. Before we can have the power of the resurrection, we must first crucify our flesh – the "old man" must die. We can only know the power of Christ's resurrection by sharing in the "fellowship of His suffering."

The cross is not just for sin but also for self. Yes, Jesus' death and substitutionary sacrifice were to deliver us from the power of sin. Still, the cross was not a substitutional act - "one died for all, so all must die.' We must all experience in ourselves the weight of the cross. The cross is God's death sentence not only toward sin but upon the "self-life." The "self-life" keeps us from experiencing the Power of God. The power that comes through the baptism of the Holy Ghost comes only to those willing to bear in their body the death of the Lord Jesus so that the life of Jesus can be manifested in the place of the "self-life."

Jesus said that he was the vine, and we are the branches. Only as the branch gives up its own life can it be sustained and empowered by the life of the vine to produce the fruits of righteousness that glorify God and lead to life. The fruits of the "self-life" can only produce self-righteousness, which seeks to exalt "self" and eventually leads to death.

When we quit trying, start trusting, quit wrestling, and start nestling, we will experience the power and anointing of the Holy Ghost. Jacob did not prevail over the angel in his strength but in his weakness. Just as Jacob was broken, the cross empties us of "self" so that even though we may be imperfect, broken vessels, God can fill us and use us for His glory.

Effectual Prayer

Exodus 17:8-13

8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

12 But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

When I was a young man I would sit and watch the TV show “Hee Haw” with my grandfather, he loved that show. I remember they always had this one skit where a bunch of old drunks would sit around and commiserate their bad luck in life. They had a theme song they would sing before and after they told you had bad their life had gotten. It went like this:

Gloom, despair, and agony on me

Deep dark depression, excessive misery

If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all

Gloom despair and agony on me

Have you ever been in a situation where it seems like life has thrown everything your way except the kitchen sink, and then bam, here comes the kitchen sink? And it begins to feel like the theme song from that old “Hee Haw” skit, is the theme song for your life? Have you ever felt as if there was a target painted on your back, or that you had one of those signs that says, “Hey! Kick me.”

Have you ever felt like your problems weren’t just your average every day, normal life’s problems? Well then, let me Introduce you to the spiritual realm. You have just entered the place where every battle is won or lost. The reality is that we are always in a battle, and the reality is, that it is a spiritual battle. The enemy is always at work trying to draw you away from God, trying to destroy your families, and to steal your health, your peace, and your joy. Ultimately his goal is to kill you. That’s what Jesus said in John 10:10 - Says – “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.” (NLT)

The thing is, he often gets by with it. The enemy is effective at his work, because he is a master at getting you to focus on the natural. The devil knows that if he can get you to expend all your energy on fighting and struggling and warring in the flesh, that you are already defeated. Spiritual battles can never be won by natural means.

Spiritual battles can never be won on physical grounds with physical weapons. Spiritual battles must be fought with spiritual weapons. That’s why the Apostle Paul told us in Ephesians 6:12 – “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (KJV)

Our battle is Spiritual. Your enemy is not your neighbor, he’s not that person that makes your life miserable, he’s not the IRS, the DMV, the DHS, or the DEA. Your enemy is not drugs, alcohol, nicotine, video games, the TV, pornography, the internet, fornication, or adultery. And your enemy is not sickness, disease, poverty, or hunger. Yes, all these things may be manifest against us, but they are just masks the enemy wears, but your enemy and mine, is the DEVIL!

The good news is: We Have been given Spiritual weapons to fight this battle.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 – “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; 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;” (KJV)

In Exodus 17:8-13 Joshua and the children of Israel are in a very real physical confrontation. The Amalekites are not imaginary, that are a real enemy that hated the Children of God and wanted to destroy them. This symbolizes how the enemy uses the natural (The visible, and tangible) things to war against us.

No doctor will examine a person and diagnose them with alcoholism and say to them, “It’s a demon.” No, because they can only see the natural. But we know that disease may manifest itself in the natural, but its roots are spiritual. That’s why sickness is healed spiritually through faith in the stripes that Jesus bore, and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sickness and disease came with the fall. Sin and Sickness are the double curse. But the blood and the stripes are the double cure: The blood for our sins, and the stripes for our Sicknesses.

Moses said: “I will stand on top of the hill.” The hill represents prayer. Prayer is represented by a hill for two reasons: First because real prayer is hard work, and second because the mountain represents a higher realm that is far above the natural.

The rod of God in my hand. What is the significance of the rod of God? First it represents the Word of God. Prayer receives its intensity and power through the Word of God. To pray with power, you must pray the Word. Second, the rod represents the authority we have as the children of God. When Moses hands were raised with the rod of God the children of Israel prevailed, but when his hands and the rod began to fall Amalek prevailed.

If you see that the enemy seems to be gaining ground in your life, the first thing you need to do is ask the questions: First, How’s my prayer life?  Second, How’s my Word life? I mean a serious prayer life, not a now I lay me down to sleep prayer life. And I mean serious Word life. Not just reading a few verses before bed time, I’m talking about a steady consistent flow of the Word of God pouring out of your mouth. 

Jesus defeated the devil with “It is written,” and then He vocalized what was written. If you don’t read it, you can repeat it, and you will end up defeated! It is not what is written that defeats the devil in your life, it’s what is written that lives in your heart and fills your mouth that defeats the devil. The sword of the spirit that defeats the devil is the word of God spoken with authority from a believing heart.

On praying ground everyone is equal. The greatest calling of God is not apostle, prophet, evangelist, preacher, or teacher but prayer warrior! It is prayer that creates the other five. It is through prayer that we put on and activate and hold in place every piece of the armor of God.

There is no such thing as a victorious Christian life without prayer. It is by and through prayer that we wage war. It is through prayer that we receive our provisions for the battle, and through prayer that we receive power for the battle. It is in the prayer closet that the Christian is dressed for the battle.

Before David defeated Goliath publicly he had already conquered the lion and the bear privately, this is symbolic of the prayer battle. All public victory owes its accomplishment to private prayer. Your spiritual life can be easily diagnosed by your prayer life; your prayer life is the thermometer of your spiritual life.

The real battle is Spiritual and the greatest weapon in that battle is Prayer: But it is not just any prayer that secures the hope and the help of the almighty God.

James 5:16 – “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

EFFECTUAL means: "powerful"), full of power to achieve results. FERVENT means” to be hot, to boil" speaks of "fervency" of spirit.

It may be labeled by some as “old fashioned,” but I’m not embarrassed to say that I still believe in Holiness, I still believe in purity in word, in deed, and thought, in mind, and I still believe that Holiness is as holiness does. I still believe that holy men and women of God should dress holy, act holy, and talk holy. I shouldn’t have to know your church affiliation to know you’re a Christian, I should be able to tell it by the life you lead and the company you keep.

It’s not any old prayer that secures the victory, it’s the powerful, intense prayer of the righteous.

A man of prayer once said: "As a painted fire is no fire, a dead man no man, so a cold prayer is no prayer. In a painted fire there is no heat, in a dead man there is no life; so in a cold prayer there is no power, no devotion, and no blessing. Cold prayers are as arrows without heads, as swords without edges, as birds without wings; they pierce not, they cut not, they fly not up to heaven. Cold prayers do always freeze before they get to heaven.”

E. M. Bounds said:

“God can, and does, tolerate many things in the way of infirmity and error in His children. He can, and will pardon sin when the penitent prays, but two things are intolerable to Him - insincerity and luke- warmness. Lack of heart and lack of heat are two things He hates.”

When Moses hands dropped the enemy gained the advantage. When your hands drop, Satan gains the advantage. Look at your own life, and ask yourself this question, Have I lost ground? If the answer is yes, then examine your prayer. This is where the real battle is and this is where it is won or lost. It has been said, “He stands tallest who kneels the most.”

I love this story in the bible because it shows us the power of prayer and the inner workings of prayer. Note that when Moses hands dropped, the enemy gained the advantage. That tells me that no matter how powerful or how anointed a man or woman may be, we need help. Moses Hands got Heavy: That means he grew tired under the burden, under the weight of the need, that means he felt the weight of the burden. If you have ever been under a real prayer burden, then you know exactly what that feels like.

There is such thing as a prayer burden that weighs on you, and presses upon you. Let me add, this is never a bad thing, the burden of the lord is a blessing, it’s an honor to get under the load of prayer, but it can get heavy. We were never meant to carry the load alone. Aaron and Hur became Moses helpers in Prayer. If we are going to win the battles that we are fighting we can’t do it alone: We are fellow laborers, and we are comrades, and we are partners, we are an army!

I believe today this is the message that God wanted me to bring to you. We are in a battle, the battle is not Imaginary, and the real battle is spiritual so we must fight it in the Spirit with spiritual weapons, but we cannot win alone: We need each other.

Every prayer prayed by every person is an integral part of the victory that we win. I Just feel today that there are some that have felt like you have been up on that mountain alone, and you’ve been trying to hold off the hordes of hell all alone. I just feel like somebody today needs to feel the strength of this message. And I feel like somebody needs to be reminded: You are important. I need you, the body of Christ needs your prayers. We are not complete without you. We are comrades, co-workers and fellow laborers together for the Kingdom of God, and for His Glory!

Moving Day

Revelation 4:1

“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, (Come up hither), and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”

I am a firm believer that God is calling many of His people to move to a higher place: a higher relationship with Him, a higher ministry for Him, a higher prayer life, a higher revelation of His power in our lives. God is calling us to a higher walk of faith. God is always calling us to a higher place…God is calling us to go from the prophecy to the promise.

Exodus 40:37 - But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.

Numbers 9:19 - And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not.

Numbers 9:22 - Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed.

I believe that God worked this way to teach the children of Israel how to get from the prophecy to the promise, from the unseen to the reality, or from faith to sight. It was to teach them that on the journey their provision and their guidance and their protection was all dependent upon His presence.

One of the most important lessons it taught them was never get too comfortable. Intentionally God would vary the time that they would stay in a place, to teach them that no matter how comfortable or convenient a place it was, it was not the promise. God did not tell them when He was going to move, He did not send advance notice because he wanted them to stay in a condition of readiness.

One of the greatest battles we fight is that of the familiar. No matter how dry and desolate some places we are in or periods we experience are, if we stay there too long we get used to it, familiar with it, comfortable with it and we stop looking for the Spirit of God to move. Once it becomes comfortable to us, we resist anything that threatens our comfort Zone. But we cannot allow this to happen, we must be ready for the move at all times.

Moving is one of the most interesting things because in the moving process there is something called an ordered chaos. Everything is chaotic, everything is moved out of its place, the familiar routine is replaced by what seems to be confusion and disorder. Nothing is convenient, everything you want seems to be the hardest thing to get to. When you start to move, you begin to realize all the things you have accumulated over the years, all the unnecessary junk, makes moving that much more difficult. Moving becomes a time of shifting and sifting, when you lighten your load. Moving time is when you separate the useful from the useless and the valuable from the worthless. A lot of what you accumulate at one place you don’t need at the next place.

This is a Spiritual truth we learn from moving in the natural: As we move from one level to another there are things that we will leave behind. I don’t know about you but there are some things I am ready to leave behind. I’m ready to leave behind some doubts, fears, discouragements, and disappointments. I’m ready to leave behind some enemies that I’ve been fighting. I’m ready to leave behind some traditions that have no power. I’m ready to leave behind some excess baggage that’s been slowing me down.

Many times moving is difficult because you are leaving the familiar, the comfortable, the normal and you are entering the unknown.

Hebrews 11:8 - By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

God is looking for some people that will follow him into the unknown.

Isaiah 42:16-19 - And I will bring (the blind) by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have (not known): I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.

19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?

Are you ready to move on? Are you ready to let go and let God? Are you ready to go into the unknown? Are you ready to obey even when it doesn’t make sense, to obey when it looks foolish, to obey and go when every natural instinct says stop?

It is said that the African impala can jump 10 feet into the air and cover the distance of 30 feet in a single stride, but this great animal can be imprisoned for the span of its life behind a 3-foot wall, because it will not jump if it can’t see where it’s feet are going to land. It refuses to go into the unknown.

This is what it means in Isaiah when it says to be blind, it means to trust God. To be able to jump when I can’t see where my feet are going to land. To, by faith, move into the unknown.

There are some things that are not going to happen until we make the transition into the unknown, or we could just call it the faith dimension. One of the greatest motivations that I have for moving to the next level is I am more afraid of staying where I am, and missing the moving of God’s presence, than I am of moving into the unknown.

This next level that God is calling you to is going to take a faith step into the unknown.

Know Him, And Do Exploits

Daniel 11:30-32

“30 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.

31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

I am pretty sure that most of you who read my blog entries how come to understand that if you are looking for someone to tickle your ears or pet your flesh and make excuses for living a life that is contrary to God’s Word, my blog is not the place and I am not that person. God did not rescue me from sin and disgrace and fill me with his Holy Ghost so that I could pat people on the back and wave at them on their way to hell. The truth I try to proclaim made be a medicine that’s hard to swallow at times, but if you take it in and digest it, if you can keep it down, then I believe it may just deliver you from the destruction.

My spirit is stirred within me tonight, agitated even, by all the non-sense I see being passed off as the “gospel.” It is becoming increasingly popular to be like the world when God has called us out from among the world and commanded us to be separate. Dress any way you want, watch anything you want, play any video game you want, gamble all night Saturday then drag in on Sunday morning and wonder why the service is dry, why they don't experience the presence of God!

Some are going to come to me and ask, “Why are you saying these things? This is a matter between individuals and God, and it's none of your business.”

But the Word says it's the responsibility of the preachers, the prophets, to put a difference between the clean and unclean, the holy and the profane. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I have studied the young people in my church closely as they worship God, and I can tell you: there is an entire generation whose hearts are crying out for someone to draw a line, to establish the boundaries of truth, and not move them back and forth to accommodate the social climate.

In a lot of so called “Christian” denominations today, it’s like grace gone wild. Grace was never meant to destroy the requirements of the law for living holy and separate from the world. Grace came to deliver us from the consequences of sin and to empower us to conquer sin and live holy by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Many preachers today want you to believe that Grace and the law war against each other. It's almost as though they put Moses and Jesus in the ring and say now may the best man win. The Bible says: the law came by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Why is it that there is such a war against the law in the church today? I'll tell you why: Because the law deals with absolutes and the law defines right and wrong. Romans 3:20 says that by the law came the knowledge of sin. The law establishes boundaries.

The condition of our country today: the riots, the lawlessness, the violence, the rebellion, and the contempt that many have toward the law today is just a direct reflection of a lukewarm, self-ruled, self- centered “Laodicean” church that says: we don’t need any laws, we don't have any restrictions, there are no absolutes - it's all about Grace and we do what we want to do.

There are no absolutes therefore there are no consequences for wrong actions because grace has destroyed the law so there is nothing to tell us what is wrong or hold us accountable.

In Daniel 11:30-32 the prophet is talking about an adversary not only to the children of God, but also to God himself. This adversary hates the people of God and hates God's sanctuary. The enemy is set to defile the sanctuary of God. To bring in the abominable: The Bible even calls it “The Abomination of desolation.” Daniel prophesied that they will bring in sin and set it up in the place where God is supposed to be honored and truth is supposed to flow.

This adversary, this demonic spirit, will carry away many weak, carnal, fleshly, and material minded Christians. This Spirit will capture them not with great overwhelming irresistible strength and power but with flattery. Satan will appeal to their flesh and their fleshly appetites and desires.

And those who at one time were lovers of truth and strong preachers of holiness, and sanctification, and separation from sin, are going to do wickedly against the very law, the very truth, and the covenant that they once defended. And they shall join forces to pollute and defile and profane the house of God. Bringing all kinds of wickedness and uncleanness and perversion into the sanctuary. And they shall take away the daily sacrifice. In other words, they shall despise the crucified life, the very life that Jesus lived and commands His disciples to live.

Some may say that I am painting a pretty bleak picture, let me tell you something: the picture is bleak, these are dark times and it's going to get worse before it’s over. John 9:4 Jesus said: “work while it is day because the night cometh when no man can work.”

Isaiah 60:2 – “For behold the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people.”

That's happening right now, the Bible tells it full strength, it will be dark, and gross darkness will come upon the people. Everyone is looking for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, but what if the temple that the beast invades and the throne that he sits upon is the very heart of people who once called themselves Christians.  Paul says, “know ye no that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit?”

And what if the daily sacrifice is that ceases isn’t that of bulls and goats, but the sacrificing of our flesh daily to follow him. What if the things being allowed in the church today, homosexual preachers, half-naked men and women, and many more violations of God’s holiness, are the abomination of desolation?

But I love the word of God. Our God is awesome! After all the evil that is proclaimed, it’s like God stands to the side and says, “Take your best-shot devil, but the last shot’s mine.”

The announcer gives you blow-by-blow coverage of all the damage that the devil does, then Jesus leans back and with one-shot and knocks the devil out cold and shows you that he is still the champ!

Now if the Holy Ghost will help me, I want to bring you to the heart of this message. This is really what the Holy Spirit burned in my heart, everything else was just to bring us to this point. “But!” That one little word changes the whole picture. Now that you've heard everything else, understand that what is coming next will eclipse the rest. It is a word that tells me, what is coming next is greater, more powerful, and more significant than everything that preceded it. So here after all the bad report is that one little game changer, the word “but.”

Regardless of the darkness, regardless of the evil the wickedness, the violence, the lawlessness, the corruption. God still has a people! The devil is trying to manipulate us and intimidate and back the Church into a comer. He's trying to emasculate the church and strip us of our spiritual power, to make spiritual wimps, and make us spiritually impotent and powerless.”

“But!”

But there is a people! There is a people who do know their God! There is a people that aren't selling out! There is a people who aren’t compromising and snuggling up to the spirit of worldliness, who are not sleeping with this harlot spirit, and they are not laying their head in the lap of Delilah! There is a people that do know their God and the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits!

I Believe I'm writing to some of those people right now, I believe I’m talking to some people who know God. We know how to get a hold of God. We have a relationship with him He knows our voice and we know His.

This world is a dark place and getting worse all the time: The only safe place there is, is in Jesus! He is our deliverer, and He is our captain.

Do you know him? I mean know him, do you walk together, talk together, fellowship, commune with each other. My advice to you today is: Get to know Him, because if you know him, you won't be deceived, if you know him you won't get carried away with flatteries, and fleshly desires.

And if you know him: instead of backing up, hiding out, and quieting down you'll be standing up and shouting out, and you'll be walking in the power and the anointing of the Holy Ghost and you will be strong and do exploits. 

A Beautiful Church

Acts 3:1-7

3 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.  2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.  4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.”  5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.  6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”  7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

It is one thing to have had your strength and the use of your limbs, to at one time to have had the needful and desirable substance and then lose it, because at least you would have a point of reference to look upon, and remember how good it was.

If you were brought up in the church and you had experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit and at least in some measure you had felt the peace of God and experienced some measure of Joy, you are a blessed person, because somewhere in you there is a God consciousness.  Like the person who had their sight and then lost it, or had their hearing and then lost it because at least you have the memory of how good it used to be.  You can remember how beautiful a sunrise can be and you know the soothing sound of the rain falling on a roof.

But that is not the case when someone has been born lame.  Their life has been on long nightmare of rejection, abuse, deception, and confusion.  Like an orphan for example, many have grown up with no father in the home and no real mother to nurture them.  They seek substances or relationships to fill the gap in their life that has been left empty, a gap that was intended to filled by God’s Holy Spirit.  They often jump from one abusive relationship to another.  When they do have a good one they run from it because it is unfamiliar to them.  Their life becomes a series of continual disappointments.  They usually have no reference to discern true love so they continue to live in hopelessness and often become dependent on the physical pleasure of sin to try and find true happiness.

They were not taken to church and taught about the love of God and many of them have come to believe that church is for weak people and Jesus is just a crutch.  They have no point of reference and they cannot look backwards or forwards and see that there is hope because they have no idea what hope is.  And they are all around us, just outside the church, “lame at the gate.”

A gate is just a door, it is a movable barrier in a fence or wall, a portal to something, an entrance a hinged barrier used to close an opening in a wall or fence.  An open gate signifies admission and acceptance, but a closed gate signifies refusal and rejection.  Too many times churches are guilty of putting a wall where God intends for us to put a door.

The text says this gate was called beautiful.  The most beautiful thing in this world is the church fulfilling its destiny. A church that is filling the need of the hour, being whatever is needed to whoever needs it.  Bringing food to the hungry, praying for the sick, visiting those in nursing homes and prisons, or simply inviting someone to church.  We are what we have been called to be, when we are an open door for those in need. I attend a church that is beautiful, I can say that because i was "lame at the gate," and someone spoke the name of Jesus into my circumstances, reached down and took me by the hand and invited me into the house of God. And now I am leaping and praising God with them as often as possible.

But too often many churches are guilty of keeping the gate closed and turning their churches into social clubs when God called us to be lighthouses. They have become what Paul warned Timothy many would become: “having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.”  The Church is called beautiful, but are we living up to our name?

To one of the seven churches in the book of Revelation Jesus said, “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead.”

The first thing we must ask ourselves as God’s people, and it’s a difficult question to ask, but we have got to ask it, are we truly beautiful?  Are we fulfilling our calling?  Are we driving towards our destiny?  Are we striving to reach the goal for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus?  Are we meeting the great physical and spiritual needs of the hour, or are we just called beautiful?

The second question the church needs to ask is, who calls us beautiful?  Is it an adjective that we have conferred upon ourselves?  Did we decide that we are beautiful because we have a nice big church, great music, gifted musicians, great programs and an anointed pastor?  Is it because we have great youth ministries?  Is it the size of our offerings?  Is it because we speak in tongues, and feel the Holy Spirit?

If we really want know whether we as individuals, or corporately as the body of believers are beautiful or not, we have to determine if our gate is open or closed.  Are we like Jesus, beckoning the lost to “come?”  The Church members were first called Christians at Antioch and they were called Christians because they were acting like Christ, and that’s beautiful!

The Church should be functioning in the character, in the authority, and in power of Jesus Christ, or we are in danger of claiming to be alive when we are really dead.  We should be functioning in the power of the Holy Ghost and accomplishing the impossible in the name of Jesus Christ.

Peter took the lame man by the hand and lifted him up, he told him, I'm paraphrasing, "Look man, I'm broke. I am not financially capable of helping you with a donation. I have nothing of my own to offer you, but I do have something that can change your life forever. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!" 

And then Peter reached down and helped the man to his feet, and the man stood up and walked, and then went leaping and praising as he entered into the house of God with Peter and John. Praise God!

We might not have the biggest church building in our area, our finances might not be overflowing with alms for the poor, we might drive beat up old cars instead of BMW’s and Cadillac’s, but we have at our disposal the ability to speak the name of Jesus and to see the sick healed and the broken made whole.  But not if we close the gate.

This is the Church in action, lifting people up, raising people’s spirits, giving them value, hope and a purpose, bringing people out of the brokenness and destruction of sin, and the emptiness of life without Jesus.

It says in this passage that Peter took him by the “right” hand.  Reference to the right hand in scripture always speaks of acceptance, it speaks of authority, and it is the place of honor. (Jesus sits at the right hand of the father)

This means that Peter accepted him and raised him from a place of dishonor to a place of honor, from a place of weakness to a place of strength.  The true beauty of the gate beautiful was not it’s appearance but that it was a place where the suffering and less fortunate could go and expect to receive some measure of benevolence from those who entered.

I am worried that our focus has shifted, and we are more enamored today with the beauty of a thing than the reason for which it exists.  Our focus shouldn’t be on how awesome our building is, or how good we can sing or preach. The most important question we can ask ourselves in evaluation whether our church is beautiful or not is, "are we a reflection of Jesus and do our lives touch people with the transforming power of the Holy Ghost?"

Are we occupying enemy territory and making a difference in this world or just occupying space?

I am concerned today that there is a world that is lame at the gate and we are too busy enjoying ourselves and the “things” around us to notice.

My Chains Are Gone!

Isaiah 61:1 (NLT)

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.

In this world that we live in I have come to understand that there are many types of captivity that keep people bound. For far too many people, prison is not four walls with bars, it is a place where they are trapped, chained by their circumstances to hopelessness.

There are spiritual chains, emotional chains, mental chains, chains of the flesh, chains of addictions, and chains of the past. There are chains of sickness, chains of fear, chains of rejection, chains of bitterness, chains of resentment, and chains of un-forgiveness. All of these chains become a prison for those who are trapped in situations where they feel that there is no hope.

According to the Word of God, Jesus came to set the captives free!

Luke 4:18

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised…

Acts 10:38

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

According to Acts 1:8, all those who receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost are anointed and filled with that same power. I am filled with the Holy Ghost and the Lord woke me up this morning and gave me clear instruction: “Get up and set them free!”

This morning as I write these things I can tell you without hesitation, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, the Holy Ghost is upon me, and I have been anointed to speak to you the anointed Word of God that has the power to set you free in every area of your life! There are no chains, no captivity, and there is no bondage that can’t be broken in the name of Jesus!

I don’t know about you this morning, but I’m tire of a politically correct gospel with no power! I am sick of preachers who preach a wishy washy gospel that preach about a Jesus that can save your soul from hell, but can’t deliver you from the chains of addiction! I don’t want to hear about blood that can wash your sin, but can’t heal a wounded heart or free you from bitterness and resentment!

The Jesus I know not only saves, but He also heals and delivers! I don’t know what your captivity is, but I know the God who delivers!

Oh I think it’s time for a good old fashioned testimony service this morning. Is there anyone here this morning who can testify of a God that delivers?

How about you Brother Daniel, can you tell us anything about the delivering power of God?

“Yes,” says Brother Daniel, “I can tell you about a God that delivered me from the mouths of hungry lions!”

Is there anyone else?

“Yes!” shout Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in unison, “Yes! We know a God who appeared in the midst of a fiery furnace and saved us from the fire!”

How about you Apostle Paul?

“Yes,” Answers the Apostle, “I know a God who can forgive a murderer, deliver you from prison, save you from the wreckage, heal you from the damage inflicted on you by the mistreatment of others, fill you with the Holy Ghost.”

I think we have time for one more - Yes Brother Peter, I see that Hand:

The Apostle Peter speaks up with tears in his eye, “Yes I want to testify about a God, Jesus is His name, who can take a man who has denied His very name and forgive that man. A Jesus who can fill a man with the Holy Ghost, and whose love and power can transform that man so that he goes from being a coward to dying for what he knows is truth. That’s what the Holy Ghost did for me.”

And I want to testify now. I know that God can take a man, who after being in ministry for 22 years became addicted to prescription pain medication, walked away from his calling, turned his back completely on God and his family, became a drunk and an addict to the point that he wanted to die, and that God had mercy and grace when I called on Him for help and He set me free. This God I know broke the power of sin and addiction, saved me and filled me with the Holy Ghost, gave me back my family, and restored me. Yes! Yes! Yes! I know a God who can deliver you, His name is Jesus, and He breaks every Chain!

The same God that saves is the same God that delivers and heals. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. If he could deliver the demoniac and set him free from a legion of demons, he can deliver you. If he could open the eyes of one born blind, he can heal and deliver you. If he could raise Lazarus from the tomb after being dead four days, he can bring resurrection power to those areas of death in your life through the transforming power of the Holy Ghost!

God got me up this morning to tell somebody - I don’t care what you are going through, or what your chains are, but I know without a doubt, Jesus can set you free!

The Master Has Need of You

Mark 11:1-10

And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, 2 And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. 3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. 4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. 5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? 6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. 8 And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: 10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest!

The Lord did not wake me up this morning at 3 A.M. just to write this article, He woke me up to speak a word into somebody’s life. I want to prophesy to some folks today that are bound, tied up if you will, chained up! Today is your day of liberty! Some bondage's are about to be broken, captives are going to be loosed, and prisoners are going to set free! Satan’s power is breaking off your life for good!

Jesus told his disciples: “Go into town and when you see the colt tied up, loose him and bring him to me.”

I am one of his disciples, and God gave me this word this morning to “loose” you!

It is not my intention to tickle your ears with high sounding words today, it is my purpose to destroy the works of the devil! Satan is a trespasser he has no rights or authority over your life, everything that he holds of yours, he holds illegally. He stole it from you! And it’s time to take it back!

Jesus said, “Loose him and bring him to me.”

Jesus told the disciples to expect opposition, expect resistance, and expect confrontation. He basically told them to expect a fight. I can tell you from experience that the devil never surrenders without a fight. But when the master commands you to be loosed, nothing can hold you and no devil is big enough to keep you bound!

I want to tell you today, you are valuable to God, He paid the price for your freedom with the blood of His son Jesus, and He wants to “loose” you because He has a purpose for your life. You are precious, you are important, and you are special. You are vital! Vital: urgently needed, indispensable, essential, absolutely necessary, crucial, critical. You are indispensable to God.

I have heard it said many times: God doesn’t need me, but I sure need him. I know that sounds very humble and spiritual, but the truth is, it’s not biblical. What this mind set does is separate us from God. It puts God, His power, and His anointing outside of us. It puts God way up in heaven with all His power and glory sitting on a big throne surrounded by ministering angels, and us way down here on earth. Weak and lowly, barely getting by, one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel, just hoping to get a touch every now and then, so we can make it over the next mountain.

It may sound spiritual and it may sound humble, but it’s not biblical! My bible tells me that my body is the temple of the Holy Ghost! My bible tells me that God dwells in me! He doesn’t just call me up, or text me, or “PM” me. He doesn’t just drop by to visit every now and then, He is a permanent resident!

You may think it sounds arrogant, but I know that my Jesus walks through my feet! He touches through my hands! He speaks through my lips! When I show up, Jesus shows up with me! The Kingdom of God is not a place somewhere over the rainbow that I’ll go when I die. The Kingdom of God is a present tense reality, and it’s here right now, in me! And it can be in you too, if you’ll receive the king into your life right now.

It doesn't matter where you are, where you been, or what you've done: God can set you free if you just call on the name of Jesus right now. The Master has need of you.

Luke 17:20-21 - The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

1 Corinthians 3:9 - For we are laborers together with God.

Notice it says “with” God, not for God. We are working together “with” God, we are partners in the work. God has chosen to partner with us to bring in the harvest and establish the Kingdom of God. God is Spirit and we are flesh. God has placed His Holy Spirit in these vessels of flesh. He uses our hands to touch, our feet to walk, and our lips to speak. His Spirit in us, anointing us, and empowering us to be his witnesses.

This is critical for us all to understand: If your feet don’t go, the message doesn’t go! If your hands don’t reach out, His Word cannot touch and heal! If you don’t open your mouth, the Way, the Truth, and the Life cannot be transferred to the ears of the lost!

Romans 10:14-15 - How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent?

Just as Jesus brought God to us, we bring God to others. One of the devil’s most effective weapons against us, is to make us feel unnecessary, invaluable, and inadequate. But I want to tell you today: the Master has need of you! You are an important part of God’s purpose for His Kingdom.

Approximately 2000 years ago God came to earth and robed Himself in the flesh of a Jew named Jesus, today he lives in the body of a person named Clayton, Shane, Josh, Justin, Jo Ann, or Nathan. You can fill your name in the blank. Through your body God will manifest himself and reveal himself to the world.

Jesus said: Ye are the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

You may feel inadequate but the bible says: He hath made us able ministers of the New Testament.

You are able! You have the blood of Jesus! You have the Name of Jesus! You have the Word of God! And you have the Power of the Holy Ghost! God wants you on His team. The Master has need of you!

Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!