Cross the Line!

When I was in college studying to be a pastor I minored in history. I guess I still hadn’t come to grips with my calling and was hoping that I would still be able to pursue my dream of teaching. Eventually I knew that wasn’t in God’s plan. This week as I was reading a passage of scripture in 1 Samuel 17 one of the stories that I heard in class came to mind. God used that story to show me something, and today I feel led to share what God showed me.

In the year 1836, the Republic of Texas was fighting for its life after some very costly battles with the Mexican General Santa Anna. In the opening days of this campaign to reclaim Texas for Mexico, Santa Anna had to face the Texians, as they were called then, at a lonely mission outpost known as the Alamo.

Outnumbered greatly, legend says that the commander, Col. Travis drew a line on the ground with his sword and, after making a patriotic call, asked every man willing to give his life for Texas to cross that line. The same legend says that only one man did not cross the line. His name was Louis Rose and he was the one that supposedly told the story that the legend is based upon.

Within 24 hours every man who had crossed the line was dead. They had all given their best, their lives, their fortunes and their homes attempting to bring freedom from the tyranny of the Mexican Army. Their lives were given for a cause that was great and a cause they deemed more important than life itself.

In the Old Testament book of I Samuel, chapter 17 we can read of the account of David and Goliath. It’s a story that all of us are familiar with but I want to call your attention to verse 29.

"And David said, ‘What have I now done? Is there not a cause?’" – 1 Samuel 17:29

David’s own brothers were angry with him because he was shaming them for having run from Goliath and the army of the Philistines. Some had told David that he should be at home keeping the sheep and leave the fighting to real men, but that didn’t deter David. He knew that Israel was God’s chosen nation and that his God was real and would not fail. David’s cause wasn’t so much to defeat Goliath, or to protect Israel, his cause was to serve his God and fight against all who would mock the God of Israel.

Friends, we too are fighting a battle for freedom. Our great cause is the freedom and deliverance of men, women and youth who will face eternal damnation and the prison of hell if we don’t win this battle. Jesus has drawn a line in the sand, spiritually speaking, and has asked, “Who will step across that line and give your all to win the war against sin?”

"Therefore, said he unto them, the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way." – Luke 10:2-4

Over 2000 years ago Jesus sent his disciples into the world with the words above. And today Jesus is still seeking to send those who will cross the line and commit their all to setting the captives free. Those who cross the line must realize that there is a price to pay for victory. It will mean either victory or death for there can be no surrender. To surrender in the war against sin is the same as death for the penalties are the same. The devil takes no prisoners. His job is to steal, kill and destroy and don’t ever forget it.

I want to remind you that once the men of the Alamo had crossed that line it meant either win or die and when David crossed that valley to meet Goliath head to head, he knew it was either win or die. I believe that the men of the Alamo knew death was certain, but they chose to die in the fight rather than give up and live a life of mediocrity.

David knew that God would not allow Goliath to win and had faith in the victory. I’m not so sure that David knew he would live or not, but he committed his life and his faith into God’s hands and trusted God for the victory.

When we cross the line and commit our lives to Jesus, we must understand that there is no turning back. It’s a do or die battle to the end. We must put our trust and faith in God for the outcome. Like David, we must realize that in the end, no matter what happens, victory is ours. We must also have the same heart felt commitment as the defenders of the Alamo, knowing that even if we die physically, our life is nothing compared to the greater cause of winning souls and making Heaven our home for eternity.

If we are to join this battle for souls in God’s army, we must realize a few facts from the verses in Luke 10:2-4.

First, we are vastly outnumbered. There are far more unsaved than there are saved in the world. If you were to look around you and realize that only a few of the people you know are going to Heaven and understand that most of them will spend eternity in hell, it’s a sobering thought.

There are few people, who call themselves Christian, that are concerned about lost souls. Most people in our churches are too self-centered to worry about others. Thank God for those who are concerned and who are doing all they can to reach out to those who need Jesus.

"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." – 1 John 4:4

That’s the good news that I must share with you. You may be outnumbered but you are still stronger because Jesus resides inside us. His will is that we spread the gospel to a lost world. You are always walking in the Lord’s will to witness and testify to God’s saving grace and mercy through the shed blood of Jesus.

Second, we must realize that laboring in the field of God’s harvest is not going to be easy. Not only will you be trying to reach souls who refuse to hear your message, but you will also have to face demonic power to reach them. Satan won’t go away without a fight.

How many times have we seen people who repented of their sin, were baptized in Jesus name, and prayed through to the Holy Ghost, and yet a few months later we find them right back in their old lifestyle? Satan won’t stop trying to keep those that have served him for so long. Thank God that Jesus has the last word! No soul who, really wants to serve Jesus, can be stopped by the powers of hell.

Third, not only will people refuse your ministry and the devil will try and stop you, but we must realize that the field is hot and dry – It’s just plain hard work. Ask any pastor, missionary, evangelist, or anyone who spreads the gospel and they will all tell you that it’s not easy. Some may have to endure great pain and hardships. Others may have to endure great persecution from the unbelievers. Others will be required to give up everything to answer the call to some foreign land. Each of us, whether in our nation or a foreign nation will have our own burdens to bear.

No matter how hard the battle gets or how tired we are from the work of the harvest, we must press on! The cause is too great to stop. Jesus will make a way of escape from every trial and He will give us the grace to withstand every hardship.

Finally, we must realize that we are being sent forth as sheep among wolves, in harm’s way. Jesus told His disciples that they would face persecution and even death in the course of their duties. We are not exempt from those same circumstances.

We don’t need to worry about what path is there, just walk it. We don’t need to worry about providing for the necessities of life for Jesus has promised to take care of the things we need. If he feeds the birds, clothes the flowers, causes the rain to fall on dry ground, what makes us think that he can’t handle our financial, physical, or emotional needs? I will step out as a defenseless sheep, into a world of wolves, because He is my strong and mighty tower! He is my refuge and my strength! It is not in my strength that this battle will be won, it is His strength.

Has God called you to a ministry? If He has, be a man or woman of God and cross the line! Stick to it and do your ministry with all your might! Do it with joy, with thanksgiving for an opportunity to serve Jesus and others, knowing that you in God’s will. Do it quickly and without fail knowing that souls are hanging in the balance.

God hasn’t saved us to enjoy a life of perfect ease or for a bed of roses. He saved us by His grace, washed us in the blood of Jesus, lifted us out of the miry clay, and filled us with the Holy Ghost and commissioned us, "…Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

The United States Marines have a slogan that says, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” 

I pray God that every one of you, and every Christian in God’s army would have that same motto. So, what, if things are tough, get tougher than the circumstances. If you get knocked down, discouraged, bruised in the fight, and fall do like one speaker that heard say, “If you must get knocked down, fall on your back. That way you can still reach up and punch the devil in the nose while you are getting back on your feet!”

I get so tired of those who are in ministry who have no time or energy for their ministry. If you don’t have enough vision to get in there and fight, then either get down on your knees and pray for a new vision or get out of the way and let someone else who will.

There are no acceptable excuses for not being in place for the battle. If you are a preacher, preach! If you are a singer, sing! If you are a youth leader, then lead by example, not by word! How can we ever expect to win people to Christ, if all we are ever concerned about is our own little world?

There are people all around us, thousands, millions of people who have been taken captive. They are behind enemy lines. Trapped in all kinds of bondages: Drugs, alcohol, depression, loneliness, and every kind of human depravity imagineable. They are enslaved by the devil. Some of them are aware of their need to be freed, others are so deceived they cannot see the chains that bind them, but nonetheless, they are bound.

There is a great need for God’s people to cross the line and deliver the gospel of freedom, an urgent need for those who are filled with the Holy Ghost to bring them a message of liberty. We must answer the call that has been sounded by the ‘Lord of the harvest.’

I know their need, because I have lived behind enemy lines in chains. I was bound by drugs and alcohol. I yearned to be free from that bondage, but I didn’t think I would ever be free of it. Until the Lord sent a man into my life who was filled with the Holy Ghost. He crossed the line for me, he took a risk for me, and he loved me into the Kingdom of God. Thank God, Nathan was relentless! Now it’s my turn to cross the line for the lost.

Yes, I know the battle is hot. I know the way is hard. I know the world doesn’t want to hear your message. I know it requires a lot of inconvenience. I know it requires a great commitment. But I also know that Jesus is my Lord. Jesus saved me, I am baptized in His name, filled with the Holy Ghost, and anointed me with the power of the Gospel. Now I have a job to do, so, I am crossing the line! Are you with me?

You Are My Rescue Story

Psalms 13

1 How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

6 I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

I have been suffering some serious health issues over the past year or so. It has even, at times, kept me from writing this article every week. Not because I was feeling sorry for myself, although at times I have been, but because I was just too sick to do anything. Then 3 weeks ago, on top of it all, I suffered a mild stroke which left me unable to type with both hands. I have to admit I found myself quoting a verse from Psalms 13, “How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?”

Friends, I don’t know why the Lord put this word on my heart this morning but I suspect that there are several others that are asking the same questions I have been asking. How long will I have to tolerate this? How long will God let this happen in my life? How long before I get my breakthrough?

When David wrote these words, he sat in solitude in a cave. Saul was seeking his life. This is a man after God’s own heart was going through a time of suffering in his life that seemed like it would never end. Samuel had already anointed him King, but David was feeling that God had forgotten him. He was feeling that God had abandoned him.

I do not need to be reminded, nor do I need to remind you, that we are not promised an end to trouble? Sometimes we think that we have it all figured out. We’ll grow up, get married, have children, get a house, and live healthy and happily ever after. Then, it seems to us, life shows up. Sickness comes along and takes you for a ride, finances disappear, relationships disappoint, or your children turn their back on God. You are hurt, frustrated, discouraged, you feel alone, you’re angry, and you are starting to get bitter.

You have rebuked it, claimed it, cast it out, laid hands on it, you’ve done everything you know how to do, and still there is no breakthrough in sight. You’re at the breaking point and finally you say, “How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me? Forever?”

We all have troubles in life, struggles, trials, especially those who truly serve God. It’s going to rain sometime in your life. “How Long?” David asks this question four times in this Psalm. Asking the same question four times shows the level of his frustration, and his intense desire for relief and deliverance.

David was a mighty man of God, a warrior, and a man after God’s own heart. But he was subject to the same despair that we feel when things were going awry in his life. Look how many times David lamented to the Lord for relief:

“My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long?” – Psalm 6:3

“O Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my life from their ravages, my precious life from these lions.” – Psalm 35:17

“We are given no miraculous signs; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be. 10 How long will the enemy mock you, O God? Will the foe revile your name forever? 11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!” – Psalm 74:9-11

“O LORD God Almighty, how long will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?” – Psalm 80:4

"How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Selah” – Psalm 82:2

“How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?” – Psalm 89:4

“How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked be jubilant?” – Psalm 94:3

“How long must your servant wait? When will you punish my persecutors?” – Psalm 119:84

Will You forget me forever? David had been promised a kingdom. He must have been asking, “Hey God, what happened? You brought me this far, have you now abandoned me?”

If we were looking at this for the first time we might say, "Come on David, Can God forget?" The truth is we’ve all said the same thing at some point in our life. People say this. Churches say this. Pastors say this, etc.

David asked how long God’s face would be hidden from him. This is a picture of hopelessness. He is accusing God of deliberately turning away. As if God were playing some cruel joke on him. He was accusing God of not caring about his suffering. The phrase, ‘hide your face from me’, denotes divine displeasure or even punishment.

He was doing the same thing that we do; David was wrestling with his thoughts. I can’t win. I can’t even help myself. There are questions in these times that we all ask: Does God Forget? Is He concerned? Does He know? Is God fair? Where is the justice? Why do the unsaved seem happy? 

What were some of the thoughts going through David’s head? What are the thoughts going through your heads? Why God? Your Word promises us security. How can we be secure when we are surrounded by such uncertainty?

David moves from Complaint to Intercession. His Complaints turn to prayer: Psalm 13:3, “Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;”

God wants our attention. Sometimes God strips us from our physical comfort so He can get our spiritual attention. David’s prayer was for understanding, for God’s enlightenment. This takes our eyes off ourselves to see what God sees. Only God can save. If He does not intervene, David will die. He wants to see God’s ways. God’s ways are higher. "Let me see your way."

David moves from Intercession to trust. Psalm 13:5, “But I trust in your unfailing love;”

"But" – even though; David remembers that he trusted before and found God faithful, he is going to trust again. Trust is not easy, it requires faith. We must remember, God rescued before, God never changes, He will not leave you in the pit, count your blessings, praise Him from the pit, and God will rescue again. The fruit of prayer, the natural result of praise, is confidence in God.

The Writer of Lamentations writes:

“Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance and is humbled in me. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” – Lamentations 3:21-25

The Christian life is about trusting an unseen God to do the impossible. David moves from trust to praise. "My heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me."

David is thankful for salvation, even if nothing else. Notice that his situation did not change a bit, but he remembered, God has been good to me.

One thing that touches me more than anything, and the Lord knows this, is music. I have committed to God that I will not listen to the world’s music. I only listen to Christian music. God uses music to minister to me, sometimes in ways that nothing else can. This week while I was alone, feeling poorly and lamenting that God had not yet changed my current circumstances despite my many prayers a song came on the radio, “Rescue Story.”

There I was empty-handed

Crying out from the pit of my despair

There You were in the shadows

Holding out Your hand You met me there

And now where would I be without You?

Where would I be Jesus?

You were the voice in the desert

Calling me out in the dead of night

Fighting my battles for me

You are my rescue story

Lifted me up from the ashes

Carried my soul from death to life

Bringing me from glory to glory

You are my rescue story

You are, You are

You are my rescue story

You are, You are

You were writing the pages

Before I had a name

Before I needed grace, oh

Singing songs of redemption

'Cause every time I ran away

You were louder than my shame

And now where would I be without You?

Where would I be, Jesus?

As I listened to the words that I had heard before, but that never really captured my attention until that moment, tears began to roll down my face. I began to realize that everything God has already done for me was enough.

I am saved, baptized in the name of Jesus, and filled with the Holy Ghost. If God never moves on my behalf again, though I have faith that He will, He rescued me from the pit of Hell and saved me! And that’s enough, it’s more than enough, and more than I deserved!

Have You lost Your First Love?

This road of life often seems to have unexpected turns that throw us off course.  We begin to go this way or that, and soon discover that we are off the path that God intended us to travel.  That's when the warning of Jesus to the church at Ephesus is given:

Revelation 2:1-7

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;

2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.

7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

I believe that the Holy Ghost led me to a passage of scripture this week, and I am certain He wants to use what He has shown me to speak to some people. As I read this passage, I could not help but feel the heart of God as it ached; and I could sense the very hand of Jesus reaching out, hoping that someone would hear what he was saying; that someone would reach out, take His hand and begin to get closer to Him than ever before.

I felt as though Jesus was looking at me, and at each one of us, with both a look of approval and a look of disappointment at the same time. It’s like the look you would give one of your grandchildren, that you love so dearly, after they have spilled their grape juice on your carpet. You love them, yet in that moment you must resist the urge to paddle them because you know they don’t understand the full impact of what they’ve done. I believe that Jesus is looking at some of us that way. His love is everlasting; but there are times when His chastisement is what we need most of all, even though it’s never pleasant to experience. He loves us all too much to allow us to carry on without His guidance and course corrections in our life.

In the 2^nd chapter of the book of Revelation, the Lord Jesus Christ is walking among the golden candlesticks, which represent the church in its various spiritual conditions. Any church body, or any individual among us, can find themselves among the descriptions of the various churches. The churches are candlesticks because we are the ones to whom God has entrusted the Light of the Gospel. We are called, anointed, and commissioned to spread the light so those around us who are caught in the darkness of sin may be able to lift their eyes and see Jesus.

Jesus spoke to seven churches listed in the prophecy; but not only to those churches, the words that Jesus spoke are timeless and eternal, and they reach right down into the very heart of each of us today. They still speak the same lessons, still carry the same warnings, and they still carry the same promises if we will heed what Jesus says.

Perhaps this message isn’t for you personally; and then again, maybe it is. If this doesn’t speak to you personally, then somewhere in those first three chapters of Revelation, you will find yourself. Somewhere among those messages, you will step in front of the mirror of God’s Word and you’ll find your image being described by the Words of Jesus to the churches.

I believe that the Lord wants to talk to someone who is walking the rocky roads around the church at Ephesus. As we examine Jesus’ message to Ephesus, look within your own heart; examine yourself; listen to the voice of the Holy Ghost; shut everything else out and see if the Lord is speaking to you.

“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;” – Revelation 2:1

The first thing that we must realize here is that God speaks first to the “angel of the church”, and then that “angel” is to speak forth what Jesus has said for all the church to hear.

Those seven stars represent the ministry, those are involved in the 5-fold ministry, who are called and anointed to bring the messages of God to the church. Jesus is the power that holds it all together. In His hand, and by His hand we move, and we speak. He holds in the palm of His hand, and the Bible tells us that “no man can pluck us out of His hand.” It’s a comforting thought to know that while you are ministering in this ungodly world, that the Lord has you in His loving and protecting hand, and that He will never let you fall.

God speaks to the church through His Word, and that Word is most often given through the voice of the minister that stands before the church, led by God, to speak what the Lord would have him to say. I would hope that all ministers would take this calling seriously, but sadly, there are many today who do not. They speak not what ‘thus saith the Lord’, but whatever tickles people’s ears. The true message is lost, and the whole body of Christ under their care suffers from the lack of knowledge and understanding.

If you stay in that condition long enough, your Light will grow so dim that no one will see Jesus in you, for there is no light of God in you to shine forth. There is no Light outside of Jesus and the true Light of the Gospel. If we aren’t preaching Jesus and the gospel of repentance unto salvation, if we are not telling people they must be born again, then there’s no Light in anything we have to say.

“I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:” – Revelation 2:2

So many in the church today are caught up in doing good works. It doesn’t matter which church you look at; the congregations are just about always involved in doing good things for the people of the church and they are reaching out beyond the walls of the church in some manner, trying to help their fellowman.

Good works, laboring for the Lord in any capacity, and having patience in your good works while we wait for the coming of the Lord; even though often times those good works don’t produce the results we desire – all good works that are done for the cause of Christ are very commendable. And if they are done with the right heart, they will mean so much even in eternity where rewards will be given for faithfulness in doing good works that have been ordained by God. So, keep up the good works. God approves of your good works!

It is very commendable to speak out against the evils in our world. Though we cannot judge the heart of a man, we can certainly be fruit inspectors and we can see the fruit that they bear. Since the Bible tells us that evil trees can’t bear good fruit, and good trees cannot bear evil fruit, then the obvious conclusion is that you can judge whether someone is good or evil by the fruit they bear.

We don’t condemn the person; but we absolutely have the right to judge the evil deeds by fruit they bear, and we then pray for their evil heart that has revealed their true nature.

It is right that we should stand against evil and not accept everything like sheep without a shepherd. For as long as we have breath, we must speak out against evil, and pray for those who do evil things. The church is called to be aware of the evil around us and to call upon the Lord to lift the standard of the cross against all evil. We have a duty to call evil what it is so that men may repent of their sin.

It’s also commendable to always be on guard against heresy in the church and to be cautious about anything that is spoken from the pulpits of the churches. Not every shepherd is a true shepherd and we all know that there are hirelings and wolves in sheep’s clothing; false teachers and self-centered preachers who are only there to make a name for themselves or to fleece the sheep of God’s house. 

The Holy Spirit will reveal the true nature and character of the preacher in time; and then it is up to each of us to either stay and swallow the message that is given or seek out another place to hear the truth of the gospel.

Too many people are carried about like a ship in a storm, blowing wherever the wind sends them, listening to every little wind of doctrine; always quickly accepting everything that comes from someone who calls themselves a preacher and who claims to have a message for the church. Too often, these dear folks either find themselves shipwrecked and their faith destroyed, or they live in so much confusion that they don’t know truth from fiction anymore.

We are to prove everything we hear by the Word of God; and not accept everything people try to teach. I thank God that I have learned to be cautious and to examine everything I hear in the light of God’s Word. That’s the only way to keep yourself in the path of Truth.

“And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.” – Revelation 2:3

Jesus says to many that He knows how they have stayed faithful through it all. No matter what has come against you; or how rough the road has been, you’re still here; still holding on; still trusting in the Lord to bring you through. You’re continuing to work and steady as a rock in your service to God and man. These are all such commendable things; things that are expected of every Child of God and of every church.

If the Lord would have stopped there, there would be no need for this message. We could feel like we have finally arrived and that we are doing everything right for a change. That would be great, but Jesus didn’t stop there. There’s more to come and this is where it gets a bit hard to take sometimes, because we often don’t want to hear the words that show where we might be wrong.

“Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” – Revelation 2:4

Friends, we never reach perfection, do we? There’s always room for improvement. We aren’t Jesus and we aren’t in Heaven yet. We are still living in this sinful world, and sadly, we often find ourselves being drawn away by our own desires, as we are enticed and yield to temptation. We don’t want it to happen. We don’t plan to let temptation draw us aside. We even try to fight against it. But the fact is, that we all fail at times. It is at this point in our lives that Jesus comes with the words of this message: you have left your first love.

The Lord, through the conviction of the Holy Ghost, is telling us to stop! The Holy Ghost is trying to get us to take a hard look at our lives, to examine our hearts, and notice that we may have allowed the things of this world to draw us away from Him.

It’s easy to be drawn away by the cares of life. The devil knows the weakness of our human flesh, he knows the hardships of life that we face, and he will often use tools to try draw us away from Jesus that seem harmless and innocent at first.

Sometimes it’s a job. After all, we need to support the family, because not to do so would mean that we are worse than an unbeliever. But often we allow that job to become so much of a part of our lives that we no longer have time for the family we are trying to support. But more importantly, we have no time for Jesus.

Sometimes it’s the raising our family. We all want the best for our kids. We want them to have a better life than we have, so we get involved in everything in school, and in a lot of extracurricular activities so that our kids won’t feel left out. But again, we sometimes get so involved with all the sports and activities that we don’t have time for church, we don’t have time to work for the Lord, and we don’t have time to pray or spend time with Jesus.

Sometimes it’s just our desire to enjoy the good life. We all love to enjoy our life and the freedoms that are ours to just do what we love to do the most. There’s nothing wrong with that, until we start enjoying doing our own thing more than we desire the Lord. When having fun keeps you from the house of God, when you become so busy enjoying life that you don’t take time to draw close to Jesus, then you’re headed for a bend in the road that leaves your life in a ditch.

There are times when the temptation takes us even further. After all, when sin enters the picture and we begin to stray from our love for Jesus, we never know how far sin is going to take us, or how long we will be trapped by its power over us.

Jesus looks upon everything that draws us away from our love for Him as idolatry, an act of unfaithfulness, and an act of spiritual adultery. The reason is simple. Anything that takes us away from our love for Jesus and replaces Him as the most important thing in our life, becomes our God. Jesus is no longer the most important thing to us. Something else has taken his place in our hearts. We have become infatuated with sin; and now that sin has become our first love.

There will come a time when we must stop and realize that we might not be as close to Jesus as we should be. We look at the reality of the image in the mirror, with sober judgement, and realize that we’ve allowed too many things to occupy our heart. Maybe it’s not happening right now, or maybe it is, but the fact is that we’ve all been there. We have left our first love and went off chasing after some pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or started grazing in a strange pasture. We kept running after that pot of gold that seemed always just out of sight, or kept enjoying that green grass until one day, like the Prodigal Son, we looked up and realized how far we had gone from the Lord. We left our first love, not because we decided to just leave Jesus behind, but because the things of life just kept slowly pulling us away.

No matter how it happens, we left our first love. We’ve fallen in love with someone or something else, and Jesus is no longer in the center of our heart. Maybe it’s another person; a man or a woman that has taken hold of our heart and our passion for Jesus has been reverted to that person. Another person can become your idol just as much as a statue or anything else.

I thank God that He is longsuffering toward us, even when we are unfaithful, off chasing other ‘gods’, off doing our thing and ignoring Him, Jesus still loves us and is ever reaching out to bring us back. The Holy Ghost never stops wooing the wayward Christian until we come back to our first love. But we must make the choice to repent. We must decide to get back to the altar and seek a closer and stronger relationship with Jesus.

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” – Revelation 2:5

Jesus says, “stop, look at where you are, and remember where you once were! Repent of your wanderings and unfaithfulness, that’s doing your first works again. Any return to the ways of righteousness requires repentance first. Repentance is the starting point for salvation!

No matter how much you love someone, you can’t allow them to continually be unfaithful and try to pretend that life will be good. There’s a constant fight, a constant distrust, and a constant turmoil that will ultimately destroy you. Too many have tried, and none have succeeded. It will always end in disaster.

Jesus will not tolerate sin forever. If we choose to keep running, then at some point, He will just let us go. The Bible warns us that there is a line we cannot cross; a point of no return in our relationship with Jesus; a place where God will say, “That’s it. I’ve gone as far as I will! Now you are given over to your own heart’s desires and to a reprobate mind that will never desire to know God again.” That’s a very dangerous place to be.

“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” – Revelation 2:6

This is a strange thought to me. This is a picture of the mindset of a backslidden Christian, someone who is growing cold in the Lord, or who have lost their zeal and fire for God; yet they hate sin; they hate unfaithfulness; they hate the evil of this world that is so opposed to God and the Light of Truth, they hate the sins of the flesh, adultery and physical abuse, yet they find themselves among that number who are counted as unfaithful to their love for Jesus.

You may be reading this today with your love for Jesus growing cold. You may be allowing the things of life to draw you away from really serving God and committing your whole heart to Him. But you still hate sin! You hate the power of sin that destroys people! You hate the fact that so many are unfaithful to both God and to their own families! You hate idolatry in any form! You hate that there is jealousy that drives people apart. You hate that there is so much temptation to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a little while. Mostly though, you hate that you have allowed anything to come between you and Jesus, but it’s there and there’s no denying it. You hate to admit it, but you need to repent.

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” – Revelation 2:7

This is Jesus’ words to us today, if you are hearing the voice of the Lord. Use your spiritual hearing while you still can. Listen to Jesus while you can still hear Him. Listen to voice of the Spirit as He calls, while you are close enough to hear Him, or there’ll come a day when you can no longer hear.

“Then Peter said unto 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

Life in The Sifter

Luke 22:31-36

31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.

34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.

36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

SIFT - To put (flour, for example) through a sieve or other straining device in order to separate the fine from the coarse particles. To apply by scattering with or as if with a sieve. To examine and sort carefully.

I remember when I was a young boy, I would watch my grandmother preparing to bake bread (the best bread I’ve ever eaten) she would use an old hand operated flour sifter. It was a simple little contraption that consisted of a tin can with a handle on the outside, a screen in the bottom on the inside, and a crank that turned a wire against that screen. Flour wasn’t as fine as it is now back then, and it always needed sifting to get rid of the lumps. The fine particles that made it through were used in the baking process but there were always some rock-hard pieces left over that were useless and were thrown away.

Likewise, our lives are placed through a sifter. Every day of our lives, as believers, the crank is turned, and the coarse parts of our sinful, fleshly nature are revealed so that these character flaws can be discarded.

Satan’s desire is to destroy those that love Jesus! He is ever standing before the Father in heaven pointing his fingers of accusation against the Child of God, trying to prove that he has legal right to their immortal soul.

Friends, we need to be alert, because the devil knows how to sift us. He knows what strings to pull to fire up our anger. He knows what financial pressure will do to our blood pressure. He knows how to trigger our impatience. He knows how to “get under our skin” and get us frustrated.

"…for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." – Revelation 12:10

Jesus’ warning to Peter is the same to you and me today. Satan is trying to sift you, to destroy all that you are and to break your spirit, your heart, your family, and your faith in God.

Every time there is a problem with your kids, Satan is sifting. Every time you can’t pay a bill even though you work hard and are financially responsible and trying do your best to keep up – Satan is sifting. Every time you get angry for any reason – Satan is sifting. Every time you have a temptation to do wrong – Satan is sifting. The sifting process never stops, and it is very uncomfortable.

It’s never pleasant to realize that there is still some impatience within us, to see that there are lumps of anger that still exist, or that we have a lumpy, weak faith in God. But we have an Advocate with our Father!

"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:" – 1 John 2:1

"But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." – Luke 22:32

Jesus is not just a defense lawyer who stands in our defense, He holds the title deed to our soul and our life. If we belong to Him and Satan can’t touch us without the permission of my owner.

What has Jesus done for me in order that He can stand in my defense? He is our Propitiation (our Sin-offering) - I John 2:2, “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

He is our Redemption - 1 Corinthians 1:30, “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”

He is our Righteous Judge - 2 Tim 4:8, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

He is our Righteous Servant - Isaiah 53:11, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”

He is our Righteousness & Sanctification -1 Corinthians 1:30, “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:”

He is our Witness - Rev 1:5, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”

Friends, I don’t know about you, but I’m so glad that Jesus is on my side in the battle for my soul. Though Satan tries to sift us and to destroy us, he can never accomplish his mission because of Jesus Christ. The same command that Jesus gave to Peter is for us also.

Summarizing: Peter, when you make it through the sifter and Satan has done his worst, you are going to come out on top. Your faith will be tested, tried and even found weak but you are going to make it through victoriously. Not because of your own power or ability, but because Jesus is making intercession for you and Satan cannot go further than I will allow him to. Then, Peter, go and strengthen your fellow disciples because many of them aren’t as strong as you. Their faith will be weak also, they are going to run in fear, denying their knowledge of me and they are going to emerge from the events of my death on the cross with disillusioned hearts, doubts over the reality of my power, and doubts over their own actions. Peter, your name may mean “rock”, but your name doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are founded upon a rock.

Psalms 40:2, "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."

Zechariah 4:6, " Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts."

Friends, you can’t overcome Satan on your own, but by the power of the Holy Ghost and through the Blood of the Lamb you can, and you will overcome. Your victory over the sifting process will become a great part of your testimony. You will be much stronger for having faced the process. Then you will be able to help your fellowman as they face that same sifting process to build their faith and let them know that they will make it too because of Jesus Christ.

Peter made a mistake. Don’t you make it too! "And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." – Luke 22:33-34

Peter was already being sifted while Jesus was cautioning and encouraging him. Satan had already begun to work on Peter’s heart, mind and attitude. Peter’s pride in his own spirituality and in his physical strength was his downfall. The devil had already stoked the fire of pride in Peter’s mind and it had already caused a stubborn, and self-reliant attitude within him.

Brothers and sisters, please realize that you have no power to fight the devil on your own. You are never going to be such a spiritual giant that you can overcome satanic attacks on your own. It’s still by the Spirit of the Lord that you will overcome and win any battle or come through the sifting process in victory.

All of us are being sifted, each of us has our weak points, and you can be certain that the devil knows what they are. He is trying to break you right now even while you read this message. Don’t let him win. Keep your faith in Jesus.

Jesus already knows that you are going to fail in some of the tests that come your way. He already knows that you are not strong enough to resist the sifting process, otherwise He would not have to pray and intercede for us. Jesus knew Peter was going to deny Him, He knew Peter would fail, and He knows you and I just as well.

But Jesus also knows that the Father in Heaven will hear Jesus’ prayer and He will never fail us.

"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one." – John 10:28-20

Jesus will never fail you. He will bring you out victoriously. Jesus didn’t die on the Cross to purchase your salvation just to turn around and allow the devil to steal your eternal life. Stay close to Jesus, make your heart a heart after God even as David did and God will see you through.

When the sifting process is pressing down hard, and the grating away at your character is painful and it seems that you just can’t stand it any longer, just look up to Jesus and remember His promises to you.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." – Romans 8:28

"Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." – 2 Peter 1:10-11

What a great promise! You shall win. You can’t lose! Heaven is waiting, your mansion is built, and God has established your way and designed an eternal life for you. One day the sifting process will end. Satan will have done his worst but my Advocate, the Lord Jesus Christ, my God will win this battle for me. I have nothing to fear.

When it seems that you can’t go another mile, that your efforts for the work of Christ are in vain, and that you are going down for the last time, LOOK UP! Your redemption draws near and Jesus is coming to take us away!

A Fresh Outpouring

Matthew 3:11-12

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

John the Baptist proclaimed that the Baptizer in the Holy Ghost was coming. Not only would He baptize with the Holy Ghost but with Fire. Why should we seek after and be baptized with the Holy Ghost and Fire?

First, we need the Holy Ghost for Boldness, to speak what God wants us to speak, and do what God wants us to do.

In Acts Chapter 4, Peter and John were entering the temple to pray when they passed by the crippled beggar. It was the power of the Holy Ghost which they had received on the day of Pentecost that had moved them from fear to boldness. They were baptized in the Holy Ghost and fire and they had the boldness to speak to the beggar these words, “in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.”

It was the power of the Holy Ghost that moved upon the disciples and it was the power of the Holy Ghost that moved upon the beggar to heal him and give him strength to begin walking and leaping and praising God.

It was that same power that gave them the boldness to answer the Jews who questioned how this miracle had taken place. These disciples answered by calling them murderers, witnesses to murder and ignorant because they had crucified the Lord Jesus Christ. Only the power of the Holy Ghost can give your words the power to strike at the heart of sinful man. The disciples went into their time of prayer and this verse describes what happened, "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." – Acts 4:31

We must have the Holy Ghost if we want to have the power and boldness to witness, to preach and to minister to the lost.

Secondly, we need to be filled with the Holy Ghost to have a closer walk with Jesus. We must allow Jesus to breathe the Holy Ghost into us to give us spiritual life.

"Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:" – John 20:21-22

I need the Holy Ghost within me, giving me the breath of eternal life, and I want all that God has to offer for me to be an over-comer. I want the Holy Ghost to breathe in me so that these old dead bones of flesh can have life again through the power of God. I want that breath of God that gives me eternal life and will raise me in the Resurrection.

I want that Holy Ghost power, with the evidence of Speaking in other Tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance. I want God’s power and I want God’s fire!

What does the Fire of God that comes with the Holy Ghost do for us?

The Fire of the Holy Ghost melts our heart of stone and turns it into a heart after God’s heart. Like the heat of a volcano on molten lava, our heart begins to flow with the guiding Hand of God to follow the paths that He has made for us.

The Fire of the Holy Ghost brings to light the darkness of our soul and causes us to repent of the sin in our lives. Little by little, the Fire of the Holy Ghost burns away those things that beset us, those “little foxes that spoil the vines” in a constant refining process that brings us closer to a holy and sanctified Christ-centered life.

The Fire of the Holy Ghost will light your fire after God’s own heart and kindle a love for Jesus Christ that you never knew could be possible. Just as the fires of passion in a marriage relationship should never grow common or be taken for granted, the Fire of the Holy Ghost will keep your love and passion for Jesus fresh and new and growing.

The Fire of the Holy Ghost marks the very presence of God in our life, "For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God." – Deuteronomy 4:24

The all-consuming Fire of the Holy Ghost will consume your life and immerse you in service for the Kingdom. God is a jealous God, not like men are jealous, but His greatest desire is to see each of us enter our reward in the Kingdom of God and He will not tolerate anything in our lives that will keep us from that goal.

The Fire of the Holy Spirit will get you moving. You can’t be full of the Holy Ghost and be a bench warmer, any more than you can stand barefoot on hot coals and not jump around and try to get away from them. The Prophet Jeremiah said, "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." – Jeremiah 20:9

I believe that anyone who is full of the Holy Ghost and Fire will have to be on the move, ministering to someone, doing something to further the Kingdom, proclaiming the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. You can’t help but do so because it is in you and what is in you will come out!

I long for the day to return when the manifestations of the Holy Spirit within the church will become a normal occurrence, instead of a rare commodity.

I believe that the scripture is still true, "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

Why don’t we have those things happening as much as they used to? Because we don’t put ourselves in a place for these kinds of things to happen! Because so many don’t have the passion for working of the Lord and for lost souls that we should. Because they don’t have a passion for His presence!

We talk about it, preach about it, think about it – but we don’t really have it! If we did, we would see more signs, wonders and miracles because Jesus said that’s the signs that would follow those who believe. We may speak in tongues occasionally, even shout occasionally, but there isn’t much FIRE anymore because we have become too accustomed to the presence of God and we take Him for granted.

It’s time for the church to wake up to our condition! It’s time to cry out to Jesus and asked to be filled with the Holy Ghost and fire again! Just like the disciples that were filled in Acts 2, and then again in Acts 4, we need a fresh outpouring. We must do like Elijah and call down the fire from Heaven to consume us as living sacrifices, cleanse our hearts, and allow the Lord Jesus Christ to fill us again.

Arise! And Walk in Power!

I believe with all my heart, that it is the desire of God’s heart to send revival to His church. The Lord wants a spiritual awakening, a book of Acts outpouring of the Holy Ghost. It's time for a ‘Book of Acts’ Church to rise up, in resurrection power, through the baptism of the Holy Ghost. We must appropriate the authority that we have been given in the name of Jesus, over the forces of the devil and destroy his strongholds.

Everything that we experience in life provides us with the opportunity to learn. Whether we learn from these experiences or not will depend on where our focus is. We can focus in the circumstances, such as tragedy, danger, inconveniences, trouble, and all the outward signs and appearances of what lies before us; or we can focus on the solution, the answer, and the awesome power of the Holy Ghost to help us overcome life’s troubles and live in victory and power.

The result of where keep our focus and what we do, what we say, and what we truly believe will become evident. Either we will learn to be overcomers by faith, or we will continually live in defeat, with lives full of worry and fear about everything that comes our way. ‘Book of Acts’ Christians should live above worry and fear because we should have faith in our God to overcome every obstacle, in His way, and in His time.

Friends, I feel led to bring your attention to a very familiar story in the book of Luke. It’s the story about the daughter of Jarius. I know you’ve heard the story many times, yet I think there’s something that the Holy Spirit would have us to see that perhaps we haven’t seen before, and if you have, then let this message be a reminder of what we should be focusing on.

Luke 8:40 – “And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.”

Everywhere that Jesus went there were throngs of people that followed him. Some were likely there just to hear his teaching, but most were there to see if he was more than that. They were looking for a Messiah, and they wanted to see if Jesus would be the One. Of course, he was the Messiah, but he did not attempt to overthrow Roman rule and he never focused on making Israel and the Jews a free people who would enjoy peace and safety. Jesus came to establish a spiritual kingdom, not an earthly one. And that was not what the Jews wanted much less understood.

Luke 8:37 – “Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.”

Having cast the devils out of the man among the tombs of Gadara, Jesus was not welcomed and was asked to leave. Jesus complied with the requests of the people around that area who were probably Jews engaged in raising pigs. They had asked Jesus to leave before their work was revealed and before they lost their means of income. It was not legal for Jews to raise pigs which were an unclean animal according to the Law of Moses.

If he could deliver one demoniac and cost them a whole herd of pigs, what would happen if Jesus went around delivering more people from the devil? Their earthly wealth was far more valuable to those who raised the pigs for a living, than learning and knowing the awesome power of God and having a revival in the land where men could be set free from the bondage of sin, the chains of the devil that kept them bound.

Let us not judges the pig farmers in Gadara too harshly though, after all, we have that same spirit in America, and even in many churches. I wonder how often we choose the things of the world over Jesus? There are many things that take the Lord’s place as the most important thing in so many lives. Friends I ask us to examine today, what is most important in our lives?

The people of Gadara didn’t want Jesus around. They asked him to leave so he did. There is no record that Jesus ever went back to that land. There is an important truth to be learned from this, God will not go where he is not wanted. 

Gadara had its opportunity for a visitation of the Son of God in their midst, but they didn’t value his presence and lost their chance for a great revival and deliverance. It is true that the former demoniac of the Gadarenes preached Christ, but there is no record of how effective his witness was. Nowhere is there a record in the Bible of a church being established in Gadara.

But when Jesus came back to Galilee, the Galileans were there by the hundreds waiting on him to step ashore. They were excited for His coming, and they were focused on what might take place.

It is my prayer today friends, that the people of this country, and every country in the world, would develop that same attitude toward Jesus. America, has in large, become a country like the Gadarenes. Most love their lives and their fortunes more than Jesus and have thrown him out of their lives! We need to be like the Galileans who ran to meet him, invited him into their homes and their lives, and wouldn’t leave, not even to get a sandwich, because they were so hungry for anything from God? Sure, they may have come for the wrong reason, but at least they came, they heard, and they were expectant!

Friends, do we run to hear the word of the Lord? If we are honest, much of the time we don’t run, we don’t even walk. We drag ourselves into church out of duty expecting little or nothing when we come!

Do we leave our place of comfort and go out to seek him wherever he may be found? For some people, Jesus would have to walk up, get nose to nose with them and call them by name, for them to even know they are in his presence, because they are too busy to even hear him.

Do we take the time to make our own secret altar of prayer where we can hear from him? For some, that altar of prayer is the last 30 seconds before they fall asleep, or only when they hear a song on the radio that really touches their hearts but distracts them from the heart of God.

I pray that there will come a day when I can’t even get into the parking lot an hour before church because people are so hungry to be in the presence of the Lord and so hungry for the Word of God that they are standing in lines waiting for the doors to open! I’ve seen in videos from places like Uganda, and other places in the world. And I hope that someday I can experience it for myself. Why is it not like that everywhere?

Have we grown too accustomed to a status quo where nothing new ever happens? Have we lost the zeal and the excitement of being in the presence of the Lord? We talk about being in the presence of the Holy Ghost, but when was the last time that awesome presence of God came into your heart and set you on fire, renewing that passion for Jesus, and stirred you so much that you couldn’t sit still? Oh, that we will have that passion once again! Lord, send the fire! Pour out your Spirit and light the fire in us now!

Jesus stepped out of the boat and the people thronged around him; a sea of needy people, each one looking for something from the Lord. Jesus didn’t cast them aside. They kept following him even though He was on a mission and he didn’t care who followed.

The Lord looked into the heart of each one of them. Their very thoughts and intents were revealed to the Lord. He knew what they wanted, why they wanted it, and what they would do if they were to receive it. And those who were reaching out in spirit and in truth, seeking by faith in the power of God, to received what they needed without selfish motives, He touched.

While Jesus was being thronged there came a man in desperate need of an answer.

Luke 8:41-42 – “And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.”

What’s it worth to you to fight the crowd to satisfy your greatest need? What obstacle will stand in your way when it’s a matter of life and death? What job, what house, what car, what game of sports, what visitor, what will keep you from doing whatever you must to get what you need?

Here was a ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum of Galilee, a religious man, yet a strong leader among the Jews. He maintained control in the worship services in the synagogue and was an elder among the people. He was a man of substance and of great influence, yet he still had to overcome the crowds to get to Jesus. He didn’t care what people might think. Jarius’ 12-year-old daughter was dying, and nothing was going to stand in the way! He fought and clawed his way to Jesus, fighting the crowd! He was a desperate father, trying to reach out to the only one who could help.

Before Jarius could even present his request, the worst news of his life came! You can imagine the disappointment, the despair and the sorrow that engulfed him at that moment.

Luke 8:49 – “While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.”

Death had come! The little girl was beyond help now! She was dead and it was over! What could any Teacher do now? While there was life, there was hope, but now there was neither! What good is it to call for prayer for healing and deliverance after death has come?

Luke 8:50 – “But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.”

How far will your faith take you? Will it take you to death’s door and leave you there? Will it take you only as far as the doctor can help and then it’s over? Will it take you only as far as your eyes can see? That’s what happened with Jarius! Why go now – it’s just too late. Yet there must have been a glimmer of faith and hope that was awakened in Jarius because he had come so far to get to Jesus. What else could he do but continue the course with the Lord? His faith was small, his hope was lost, yet he walked on obedience to the Word of Jesus!

Luke 8:51 – “And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.”

No doubt the house was surrounded by family, friends, servants, and now with many who followed Jesus along with his disciples. Jesus only allowed his closest disciples and the father and mother of the girl to go in.

Why did he do that? I think there are a couple of reasons. First, every word of God should be established by two or three witnesses, so he brought in Peter, James and John to be witnesses to the great miracle. Jesus brought in the parents of the girl, after all they had more to gain or lose than anyone in the house. It was only right that they should see what was happening with their own daughter.

Second, and more important, the house was surrounded by mourning and crying! No one believed that Jesus could do anything, not even the disciples and the parents of the child. They were too busy crying and wailing to really see what Jesus could do.

Luke 8:52 – “And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.”

Get the picture here! A 12-year-old girl has been pronounced dead. I don’t know how much time has passed, but it was very likely a few hours or more since she had died. Mourners were all around. Tragedy and sadness filled the room. All hope for recovery was forever gone. More than likely, plans were already underway for her burial. Everybody was crying, wailing, weeping and mourning the loss of this precious little girl. And then Jesus walks in and says, “Shut up all this racket! Stop crying and mourning! Put a smile on your face! She’s not dead, just sleeping!”

I’m amazed that the next verse only says that they laughed at Jesus. It would have been more than some could take to hear him act like that! Doesn’t he have respect for the dead and for her hurting family! If that would have been today, they would have thrown him out the door! Crazy old preacher! If he can’t mourn with us, and at least act concerned, then who needs him?

There you see where the mind of man always focuses. He only sees and believes what he thinks he knows! If it doesn’t make sense, then I can’t accept it. If it means stepping out by faith and accepting the word of God as truth, despite everything that’s screaming in my ears that it can’t be true, then I won’t believe! If it isn’t right; it isn’t right, I don’t care what the Bible says, or what the preacher says, or what the Word of God says to the contrary! That’s the attitude of those who walk by sight and not by faith!

These Jews were accustomed to death! They knew what death was! They knew what death looked like! They weren’t stupid, ignorant, and unlearned people! I don’t doubt that they had all experienced the process of dying in their families many times before. What would make this time any different?

Have you ever been in the presence of one who is dying, or who has died? I’m sure some of you have. It’s not a pretty sight to see! I’ve been there many times, too many for me, and it never gets any better. It’s something I don’t think that you could ever really get used to seeing.

The look of death comes slowly at first. The body begins to shut down, and skin tone and color begins to change. Breathing becomes shallow and breaths come longer in between. The heart slows its beating and finally stops altogether. In an instant of time the skin turns pale grey and the spirit that gives this body life departs. The body begins to revert immediately into the clay from which it is formed out of the ground just as the scripture says. When this daughter of Jarius died, that’s what they saw!

If we take our eyes off Jesus and begin to focus on this world, that’s what we’ll will see too. We won’t see the possibility of lost loved ones coming to Jesus so that they may live again. All we will see is a hopeless cause and the impossibility of reaching them with the gospel. We won’t see the possibility of a miracle of healing. All we’ll see is the hopeless diagnosis of a doctor who can only do so much but has no power over life and death. We won’t see the provision that God has already put in store for the rest of our life. All we’ll see are the grey tones of the skies above and the final breaths of our future dying as we are forced to walk away from our only source of income to pay the bills.

If you take your eyes off Jesus and focus on your circumstances, you won’t see the power of forgiveness, or the way that God can make before you to solve marriage issues and heal family relationships. All you’ll see are the battle scars of defeat after defeat; and the hurts and wounds of the past, and the inability of any hope of reconciliation and true forgiveness. All you’ll see is the death of the marriage and a future of trouble that will never end.

Brothers and sisters, the mind of man cannot see past present circumstances! All we can see is the tragedy, the hopelessness and the immediate moments ahead! We have a hard time seeing past tomorrow, and even tomorrow is hazy. Jesus knew that this was all those who mourned could see, so he only allowed a few inside, even though they too were mourning.

Luke 8:54 – “And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.”

Now the feeling of the crowd began to change drastically because the Word of Life was spoken, and Resurrection Power went forth. The voice of the Giver of Life spoke into the darkness of death and called forth the spirit of Jarius’ daughter! The power of the resurrection life brought her spirit forth and her spirit entered her dead body, giving it new life! She arose from death through the power of God! She spoke, and she saw, and she heard, and she loved because of the new life that hers!

Luke 8:55 – “And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.”

When her spirit returned, not only was she given a new life, but that sickly, diseased and dead body was made whole again by the miracle working power of Jesus. She had no aftereffects; no brain damage from lack of oxygen; no heart problems; no memory issues. She had a new and perfect life in Christ and the opportunity now to grow up as a witness to the power of the resurrection!

She began to eat and drink and enjoy life as she did before. She still needed sustenance for the body and she still needed to face life and grow up! But what a miracle that was! Jesus was late arriving at Jarius’ house, but he was right on time for the resurrection power to move! Let that be a lesson to all of us! No matter how bad it seems; or hopeless the situation; or how much it just doesn’t add up or make sense; or how much you can’t seem to reason it out – Jesus is always there right on time – his time – with the answer you need!

Don’t lose faith! Focus on Jesus! Stop looking at the world around you and focus on the power of God to bring his will to pass in your life!

Friends, the thing I want you to see is that when Jesus spoke resurrection life into Jarius’ daughter and she arose again, her parents were astonished! Astonished means they were filled with a sudden and overpowering surprise or wonder, and they were totally amazed at what Jesus did! They didn’t expect it. They didn’t have the faith to believe it before it happened. But it happened anyway because it was in the will of God to do it!

That’s what we need to focus on! I believe God is getting ready to astonish some people! I believe the time has come> I feel the Holy Ghost speaking to me and telling me to tell others that it has been long enough. You’ve stood around mourning, wondering, hoping beyond hope, crying in doubt and fear, and looking at circumstances instead of looking at Jesus!

The Lord is walking into your dead circumstances, into your dead tragedies, into those dead hopes and dreams and into your long dead belief that your children and grandchildren will be saved. He is walking into dead relationships to create new life in many that have been filed away and sealed shut. Jesus is walking into dead churches, giving new life into dead pulpits, and speaking to those in the church that will hear to arise again!

Start feeding once again on the Bread of Life! Start drinking of the water of the Word of God! Start flowing in the Gifts of the Spirit! Arise, Church! Arise to new Life in Christ for the power of the Resurrection Life has come and the Word of Life has been given, and the Spirit of Life has come again!

So, Arise and be healed! Arise and be set free! Arise and receive new life! Arise and walk by faith once again! Arise and receive new vision and a new ability to hear the Lord once again! Arise and come out of your slumber and awake from your sleep!

At this point of the message, as I am writing, I feel a strong presence of the Holy Ghost. So, I say by the unction of the Holy Ghost, that these are words from the very heart of God:

“My people, and my church, shall Arise again, saith the Lord! And I am bringing forth newness of Life; a new hunger for my word! And I am bringing forth a new hope for a greater future than you could ever imagine! I have spoken it, and it shall come to pass!

Prepare to be astonished for you will arise into a new life of power, victory and praise that will bring glory to my name! Thus I have spoken saith the Lord!

Arise my people! Arise and Live in my Resurrection power! I say, Come forth from your graves of doubt and fear! Come forth from your dead reasoning! Come forth from your mourning! Come forth into New Life in my name, saith the Lord your God!

Arise and be healed! Arise and walk in power! Arise and Live! Arise for I have called you forth for such as hour as this! Arise!”

Let God arise in His people as we praise him! Let God arise in us as he calls us forth to arise in him! The Spirit of the Lord desires to bring resurrection life to everyone who will arise in obedience to his call!