Like a Child

"Truly I say to you, Whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter into it."

                                                                                                                                   - Mark 10:15

I want to enter into the Kingdom of God, and I want His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven, but Jesus put this simple, and yet incredibly deep truth as a prerequisite to have it.  I have spent so many years asking God to show me what it means to be a like a child, and meditating on this Scripture.  I am far from having it all figured out, but there are finally a couple of things I can say I have learned.

The first is the most obvious and most spoken about when people mention this verse.  That is the fact that Jesus is not promoting immaturity.  He isn't looking for a bunch of spoiled brats who whine and complain.  Complaining is what got the Israelites stuck in the desert for forty years.  God hates complaining.

I am so blessed to have a five year old son, and I study him all the time to see what he's good things he is doing that I can learn from.  Here is the biggest lesson I have learned from him so far, that I am determined to apply to my own life, and as I do I discover how much God likes it.

Children are unashamed to be who they are even when the whole world is watching.  As I write this post, I am watching my son sitting on the floor a few feet away playing with toy cars.  He is not embarrassed at all to make car noises, shout when he is about to make the car crash into another, or completely change the whole game.

He doesn't care that I am watching, and he doesn't care that other people hear all the goofy sounds he is making.  What he does care about is if someone tries to stop him.

Children are going to be themselves, holding nothing back.  We would be wise to do the same, because God made us who we are because he likes our personality.  Society and culture tries to mold us into a certain image, but God made us all different for a reason.

You of course know I am not referring to being offensive, saying unwise things, and so on.  I am talking about Godly behaviors.  For example.  Let's say you are walking in the store, and suddenly you are filled with joy from God.  Most of us would hold it in because we would be ashamed to react to it in front of strangers, or even family who might be watching us.

If it was a five year old, and God suddenly touched him, what would he do?  He would clap, laugh, shout, or however he wants to react individually.  My son Elias would take off running down the aisle and run laps around the store until he couldn't stand any more.

Only adults worry what other people think of them, children don't care at all.  If my son was running up and down the aisles and people laughed at him, or criticized him, all he would do is look at me to see if I was upset about it.  If I wasn't he would just keep going and laugh at the other people.

That should be the response of all of us.  We should be brazen and unashamed of our light, and if people criticize we need to go to God and ask if they are right, because sometimes God uses other people to speak to and correct us, but if we are safe Scripturally, and the Holy Spirit does not tell us we are doing something wrong, keep on running!

God wants us to be free!  Don't let anyone else hold you back.  Leap with joy and click your heels for Jesus.  Pray for the next sick person you find regardless of what people think, talk to Jesus out loud right there in the store.  God really likes to see His children walk in freedom from the fear of man.

"Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostril; for in what is he to be esteemed?"  Isaiah 2:22

Persistence

"It was among the Parthians the custom that none was to give their children any meat in the morning before they saw the sweat on their faces, and you shall find this to be God's usual course not to give His children the taste of His delights till they begin to sweat in seeking after them."  - Richard Baxter

Lazy, lax prayer is about as useful as a cup full of holes.  Persistence is where the gold medal is, not in half-hearted petitioning.  Take Elijah for example.  He went before God, knowing that it was God's will for the rain to fall, he had already seen God fulfill his words in not allowing the rain to happen!  Yet, despite that, God still made Him go and pray seven times! 

Why?

I believe it goes back to many different things.  There is of course the need for faith, and God wants to teach us patience, and hope.  

One of the main reasons I believe is this:  Have you ever felt the great joy of working on some kind of project for a long time, and finally seeing it finished?  Not many in my generation have, because we are the microwave, instant gratification generation who wants everything right now.  

If you have gone through university and finished well, then you have a sense of what it feels like.  You spend four, eight, twelve years working and studying, focused on this one task, and when graduation day arrives you can hardly stand the joy of it all.  You stuck it out!  You passed!  Now you receive your reward of better salaries, opportunities, respect, and so on.

That isn't all though.  There are two kinds of students.  There are lazy students who go through college just wanting to skim through and pass by the skin of their teeth.  They can still make it, but in the end they are nothing more than faces in the crowd.

Then there are the honor students.  These are the ones who are focused, disciplined, get high grades, and stand out among the others.  These usually aren't the most popular among the faces in the crowd, but among the people with influence they become champions, and become people of influence themselves.

 Translate that into our Christian universe and it is the same.  How many hundreds of millions of Christians are nothing more than bench warmers, blank faces in the crowd who go through life without making so much as a ripple in their circle of friends.

Then there are the few who burn bright for God, and dedicate themselves to His purposes and plans.  These people are often ridiculed by the crowd, accused of being "holier than thou", and being fake.  Don't let that effect you, keep walking with Jesus, focused on Him, and you will grow in favor with Him until He makes you a person of influence.

This does not come overnight.  That is what you must understand.  Most of the Christians I know, even those who truly love God, give up after presenting their request to God a mere couple of days.  If you do that you'll never get your answers!

Most prayers take a significant amount of persistence to see the answer birthed.  It can take hours, days, week, months, even years to get it, but when it happens it is always worth it.

Pastor David Hogan

Let's look at the examples of some men of God in our present day and the past.

David Hogan, founder of Freedom Ministries who has been used to raise more than 30 people from the dead fasted every other day, and persistently asked God daily to let him raise someone from the dead for four and a half years before it finally happened!  How many Christians today would come to God with the same petition every day for four and a half years?  How many do it for a week?

Evan Roberts, leader of the Welsh Revival prayed eight hours a day for three months before God answered.

John Wesley served God as best he knew how as a miserable failure, waking up at four in the morning and fasting twice a week, seeking God for His truth.  He waited fifteen years before God finally answered Him.  Finally, one morning he woke up, and this is a quote from his journal:

"The moment I awakened, "Jesus, Master," was in my heart and in my mouth; and I found all my strength lay in keeping my eye fixed upon Him and my soul waiting on Him continually."

That may seem too simple of a revelation, and yet when God illuminates a truth in your heart, as simple as it is, it utterly transforms you to the core of your being.  Often with veiled eyes we look at Scripture, and in an instant God whips it off and we see the spiritual diamond we have been seeing as a lump of coal for all these years.

"Pray and never faint, is the motto Christ gives us for praying.  It is the test of our faith, and the severer the trial and the longer the waiting, the more glorious the results" - E.M. Bounds

"Massive efforts are made to do church in a timely fashion so we can continue with the rest of our lives.  Apparently, many have not yet discovered that we really don't have a life outside of Christ." 

                         - Bill Johnson, from his book Hosting the Presence: Unveiling Heaven's Agenda.

Prayer, patience, persistence; those who possess these qualities are the ones who inherit the promises of God.

"And we desire that each one of you show the same eagerness to the full assurance of hope to the end, that you be not slothful, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."  

                                                                                                                                - Hebrews 6:11-12  

Never give up, you can have the promises of God in your life.

Nazirites Arise

First off, I would like to announce that I am changing the name of this blog to Kingdom Light.  The reason for that is because yesterday while I was having my morning quite time, I had this image come to my mind of a giant spotlight shining down from heaven, and the darkness scattered from it.  Later in the day this name, "Kingdom Light Ministries" came up, so I felt like I should change the name of my blog.

Next, instead of writing a story or teaching of some sort as I usually do, I want to take this post to recommend you listen to Lou Engle's free audio book called Nazirite DNA.  I listened to it yesterday and was so touched.  Lou puts together so well the message that I have been trying to get across since I started this blog, that a life of consecration is a life like no other.  It is the noblest of calls, and forges the most powerful of Christians.
Here is the link to the free download: 

http://www.thecall.com/Groups/1000080325/TheCall/Free/Free.aspx

How to Overcome All Addiction, Sin, Depression, and Any Other Problem: A One Step Program

You might be surprised by the bold title I have put on this post, and yet I assure you it is true in every way.  If you can let what I am about to share with you sink into your heart, and apply it, anything in that list and far beyond can be resolved.  You can literally be free from any addiction or sin instantly.  This is no joke, trick, or scam.  Just read on.

First of all, I should clarify that this is mostly written for the millions of struggling Christians around the world who have been told that by the blood of Jesus and the cross they have been set free from sin, and yet don't seem to be at all.  This is not because there is a lack of strength in the name of Jesus, but it is because of a lack of understanding.

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..."  Hosea 4:6  

If you are not a Christian and are reading this, you need Jesus.  You are obviously seeking help because of an addiction or other problem, and the only sure answer to that is trusting in Jesus.  Psychologists, ten step programs, and other solutions are not solutions at all, they are just band aids.  You need a true, deep freedom, and that can only be found in the living God.

That said, let's get on with the answer to all these problems.

It is quite simple, and it is all founded on this verse:

"Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength."   -  Nehemiah 8:10

Most seasoned Christians know this phrase, "The joy of the Lord is my strength."  I imagine someone is quoting it around the world every minute of the day, because every minute of the day someone is having problems.  

Here is my question: "If this is true, and the joy of the Lord is my strength, why can't we overcome?"  I believe God has whispered the answer in my ear today, and it might be the most powerful truth I have ever preached other than the salvation message itself, but it is also one of the most complicated I have ever tried to explain.

Scripture never ever lies, it is 100% pure, sovereign truth, so the problem is not Him, it is us.  For my entire life, and I know this to be true for most other Christians, when we read this verse it translates into this in our brains:  "There is some kind of happiness that God gives us, and that happiness makes us strong."  But what happens is this: we are happy happy happy until the problem hits us.  It could be temptation, someone cuts us off on the road, someone doesn't put down the toilet seat, etc...  That happens and whack! the blissful happiness that has been holding you up all this time gets smacked away and you "lose" your strength and fall into the problem again.

Our interpretation for all this time has been wrong.  God has not placed freedom just beyond our grasp, it is right in front of us, but we need the veil ripped away from our faces so we can see the truth.  

It isn't that some whimsical "happiness" gives us supernatural strength to overcome, it is that the "joy of the Lord," or perhaps a better way to translate it would be, "the enjoyment of the Lord is your strength."  The idea and requirement for freedom here is not based on an emotion, faith has never been based on emotions.  It is based on setting your eyes on Jesus.  That is where all the power of the universe is to be found.

If my interpretation isn't enough, here are some observations on this verse from famous commentaries, paying particular attention to Adam Clarke's note:

"Rejoicing in God in serving him with cheerfulness, and thankfulness, which is your duty always, but now especially, will give you that strength both of mind and body, which you greatly need, both to perform all the duties required of you, and to oppose all the designs of your enemies."

-  John Wesley's Notes on the Bible

"Rejoice in the Lord, and he will give you strength."

-  Geneva Translation Bible Notes

"Because the day is holy to the Lord, they are to desire it with holy joy. יהוה חֶדְוַת is a joy founded on the feeling of communion with the Lord, on the consciousness that we have in the Lord a God long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth (Exo_34:6). This joy is to be to them מָעֹוז, a strong citadel or refuge, because the Almighty is their God."

- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

"Do His will, and to do it cheerfully. Religious joy, properly tempered with continual dependence on the help of God, meekness of mind, and self-diffidence, is a powerful means of strengthening the soul. In such a state every duty is practicable, and every duty delightful. In such a frame of mind no man ever fell, and in such a state of mind the general health of the body is much improved; a cheerful heart is not only a continual feast, but also a continual medicine."

- Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

John Wesley struggled to find a peace that eluded him for some fifteen years.  Even though he was a pastor, fasting twice a week, doing everything he knew to do to please God, he was a miserable failure.  Then he had a revelation that ended up being his message and the entire basis of the revival that turned England upside down.  

"The moment I awakened, "Jesus, Master," was in my heart and in my mouth; and I found all my strength lay in keeping my eye fixed upon Him and my soul waiting on Him continually."

That is literally the answer to all of our problems.  Please listen, this all goes back to the same consecration message I've been hammering out for the past month.  Here is what usually happens:

We fall into that same old problem we've had forever and ever, then we make a declaration never to do it again, then some time passes and we do okay.  We fight off the urge to say some mean things to the guy who cut us off.  We pray harder, spend more time in the Word, and it works!  Then we start to feel confident that the change is permanent, and we start to slip slowly back into the lifestyle of before, and the next thing we know we're cursing the cut off guy again.  

We slap ourselves across the face, and hate ourselves for doing the same old thing again, let the enemy tell us how useless we are for a day or two, and then make the declaration again.  The cycle continues.

The Horrible Cycle

The error is thinking that you can overcome an addiction by continuing the same lifestyle as before.  You need more of Jesus!  All of your strength comes from enjoying God, from pursuing Him.  If you are skeptical, I challenge you to test this and see if I'm wrong.

Consecrate yourself and you will see it to be true.  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself."  The Apostles had two focuses in their lives: 

"We will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word."  Acts 6:4  

You will find that Jesus had this same lifestyle.

Do not neglect your family, your job, or any other responsibilities.  Instead, follow this:

"Our sanctification does not depend on changing our works, but in doing that for God's sake which we commonly do for our own.  The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer.  Prayer is nothing else but a sense of the presence of God." 

                                                                                                                            - Brother Lawrence

If you will abandon everything, and dedicate yourself entirely to Jesus in every minute of the day, if you will "rejoice evermore", and "pray without ceasing."(1 Thessalonians 5:16-17), if you will repent of all dead works (Hebrews 6:1), and lean upon the Lord with all of your being, you will experience a freedom and the power of God like you never thought imaginable.

So here is the whole program:

Step 1:  Set your eyes on Jesus.

I hate to have to constantly be explaining this, because with the doctrine of absolute freedom and ultra grace sweeping through the church like a forest fire right now, any time someone like me starts talking about having some discipline and structure in our lives, people immediately start thinking this is some kind of religious spirit talking.

So let me say this one more time.  You can be as disciplined and strict as you like, just like John Wesley tried, but without a true relationship with Jesus none of this stuff will work.  Dead religion is useless.  You have to move in love.

That being said, I challenge you to look at any man or woman of God in the Bible and prove to me they weren't disciplined, faithful, even methodical people.

This whole sloppy, undisciplined way the church is going right now isn't right or Biblical.  Daniel prayed faithfully three times a day, the Apostles were out preaching daily, Jesus was known to pray all night on multiple occasions, and He rose early often, if not daily to pray.  King David said he would daily perform his vows to the Lord.  The list goes on and on all throughout the Bible.

Let us not forget God Himself, the one we are supposed to be imitating.  He is very disciplined., you might even say He is strict.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Again.  Discipline without love makes a Pharisee, but discipline with love makes a disciple.  

                        

"Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all."

                                                                                                            -  George Washington

Early Drunks

Today I had an encounter that got me frustrated.  Let me tell you the story:

I was walking down the road to speak with a pastor after church.  As I was walking, two church going women came up to me and handed me a tract.  That is wonderful, I'm not frustrated about that, everyone should give out tracts and preach the Gospel however they can.

After they gave me the tract we talked for a bit about missions and church and so on, and then I continued on my way, but now I had this tract in my hand.  I didn't feel right about taking it home and throwing it in my pile of tracts I use for evangelism, and since I was already outside it seemed like God might be telling me to go talk to someone about Jesus.

The pastor wasn't home, so I decided to walk out to the grocery store, because behind it, as I've said in other posts, are a string of bars that are always occupied with drunks.  The first person I ran into I said, "This is for you," gave him the tract, he said "thanks", and kept on walking.  I didn't even get a chance to talk to him!

I thought, "As long as I'm here I may as well get some shampoo at the store."  I got to the back door of the store, and noticed about a dozen guys just sitting around outside one of the bars.  The bar wasn't even open!  They were literally so addicted that they were actually sitting outside waiting for the place to open so they could look like this:

  

What frustrated me about this whole thing was not the men waiting to get drunk, because if you don't know Jesus you look for whatever way you can to fill the void.  The Presence of God feels absolutely awesome, and we were designed for that, but people who haven't experienced it use drinks, or drugs, or movies, tv shows, relationships, whatever they can to feel good.
(Note: I'm not saying movies, tv shows, or relationships are evil, but people can get addicted to them and turn them into idols just as much as the other things.)

What did frustrate me was that I frequently see people show up extremely late for church, or ministry events without a second thought.  I know of one church I have been to many times, where the pastor's family often arrives just minutes before the service is over!  Yet here are these ten faithful drunks waiting outside their church of booze long before the place is even due to open, because they are so thirsty.

When was the last time you went to a church service and the Presence of God was so powerful in the place you didn't want to leave, and you spent the rest of the week just waiting for Sunday to roll around so you could experience it again?  When was the last time you got so lost in His Presence, drinking His wine (Luke 5:37), that people had to come find you?  Has that ever happened to you?

So often we think we are waiting on God.  Waiting for Him to move.  But that is simply not the truth.  He is waiting for us.  He is waiting for someone who is finally willing to step into His promises.

How many churches do you know, how many preachers can you think of who carry the Presence of God so heavily that people line up at the church doors to hear the Word?  When Kathryn Kuhlman was still alive, she would go to a place to preach and people would camp outside the church all night just to make sure they got a seat!

"My Creed leads me to think that prayer is efficacious, and surely a day's asking God to overrule all events for good is not lost.  Still there is a feeling that when a man is praying he's doing nothing, and this feeling makes us give undue importance to the work, sometimes even hurrying over or even to the neglect of prayer.  Do not we rest in our day too much on the arm of flesh?  Cannot the same wonders be done now as of old? Do not the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth still to show Himself strong on behalf of those who put their trust in Him?  Oh that God would give me more practical faith in Him!  Where is now the Lord God of Elijah?  He is waiting for Elijah to call on Him."

                                                                                                                       - James Gilmour of Mongolia

I would be making a mistake if I didn't let you know that I didn't just see that, walk by, and let it go.  I did in fact march straight up to all those men and tell them that the alcohol they were about to drink was going to wear off in a few hours, but that drinking from Jesus never wears off.  I told them about the miracles I have seen Him do, and how awesome and wonderful and precious He is.  So much more than any drink.

Even though none of them accepted Jesus in that moment, you can be sure they will be thinking about my words for a while to come, because the Holy Spirit wants them all saved, recovered, and in His Kingdom.

All that because two obedient women of God gave me a tract.  They will never know the fruit of that until they get to heaven.

Word Power

Isaiah 6:1-4  "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.  And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke." 


I came across this passage today and was really struck by it.  The angels are in the throne room of God, and they worship Him by declaring "Holy, Holy Holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory."  Immediately after they declare this, BAM, the glory of God fills the place.

If you don't think there is smoke in the glory of God, take a gander at these verses:


Exodus 19:18  "And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly."

Psalm 104:32  "He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke."

Psalm 144:5  "Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke."

Isaiah 4:5  "And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence."

And this goes on and on.  When God comes there is smoke because there is fire, but that is another study.  The important thing here is not the smoke actually, it is:

Old Timey Things?

Nope, it's what you declare.  See, most people I know are constantly declaring negative things.  I like to study people, and it is interesting how really negative people seem to attract misfortune.  You know those people, the ones who always have a "but" when you offer some kind of solution.

Skeptical people, or "realists" as they like to call themselves, often find their doubts proven true.  It is really amazing.  What you seek, you will find, whether good or bad.  These "realists" doubt God will come through for them, so He doesn't, because, "According to your faith, so be it unto you," and then they nod their heads and sniff, saying, "I knew it!  God doesn't answer our prayers!"  Yet you will eat the fruit of your faith, whether it is ripe or rotten.

Let me tell you, God is an eternal optimist.  You may not think so because you look at the Old Testament and see lots of wrath and destruction, and yet, if you look at those times, pretty much always He says how He is going to do some damage, and then goes on to say that it is so the people will return to Him and He can bless them.  Since Genesis God's plan has always been to find whatever way He can to bless people.  People just choose not to be blessed.

For example, there are people who say, "God is so good, He would never send a soul to hell."  Now that is absolutely true, He is so good that He never would send a soul to hell, but you can certainly send yourself there.  I am convinced that even if God were to allow an unborn again person into heaven, heaven itself would cast him/her out on God's behalf out of love for Him.

What you need to realize is that the words you speak do have an effect in the spirit realm.  God inhabits the praises of His people.  You may not see it, feel it, taste it, touch it, or anything else, but when you, like the seraphim in this passage declare praises to God, the Kingdom does in fact come.

The angels declared He was holy, and His glory manifested.  When you declare His praises in this world, His glory explodes into the atmosphere and His kingdom is extended.  Every knee must bow to the name of Jesus.


Philippians 2:9-11  "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

When you declare His name both the angels and the demons that are warring all around us all the time fall to their knees.

This is why praise is so important.

This is faith: That regardless of what you see, feel, taste, touch, think, or otherwise, you continue walking in the promises of Scripture and obedience to Him.  You may feel absolutely nothing when you sing to Jesus, but there is an explosive reaction in the atmosphere all around you.

From now on, let's make a decision to praise God declare the name of Jesus into our situations and lives, and you will see results.  It is impossible to praise His name and not have a positive effect on things around you.

Consecration Works

I have been talking about consecration, separation from everything for the cause of the Kingdom of God since the beginning of this year, and every time I think God is going to start taking me into a new direction, He pours out some new truth that knocks me back and makes my jaw drop.

As this whole theme gets more and more complicated, I am finding it more difficult to explain what I am learning here.  The only thing I know to say is this, "Consecration works."  

I am not talking about a Pharisaical lifestyle of outward works and a dead heart.  Not at all.  I am talking about a holy, Spirit filled lifestyle with a burning heart of truth and passion for Jesus and His kingdom.  I am talking about repentance.  Look at 2 Timothy 2:20-21.

"But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor. Therefore if anyone purges himself from these, he shall be a vessel to honor, sanctified and useful to the Master, prepared for every good work."  

We need to purge ourselves of anything that is questionable in our lives.  We need to repent of dead works (Hebrews 6:1, 9:14).  

Consecration to God completely transforms who you are, allows the blessings of heaven to pour out on your life, and allows to power of God to flow through you freely.  Let me show you why:

Galatians 6:7-8  "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he also will reap. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."

To boil it all down, you are what you eat, spiritually speaking.

Just like the verse in Galatians says, if you sow to your flesh, you will reap flesh, if you sow Spirit, you reap Spirit.  If you spend all of your time watching movies, listening to secular music, speaking flippant words (Matthew 12:36), etc. you are sowing to your flesh.  Guess what you are going to reap?  Here is a hint:  It won't be the presence of God, the power of God, the fruits of the Spirit (which must be grown, unlike the gifts which are free), or anything else that has to do with the Kingdom of God.

However, if instead you spend your time diligently seeking Him through prayer, fasting, worship, praise, and doing His business, you are going to reap the glory of God in your life.  I am not talking just about the physical manifested glory, although that is certainly part of it.  John 14:21 says, 

"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."

I believe that, and expect it.  

But what I mean by the glory of God, is all His goodness.  Do you remember when Moses asked God to see His glory?  What was God's response?

Exodus 33:19  "And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."  

God's glory is His goodness.  How do you get it?  By feeding on Him.


John 6:54-55  "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day.  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." 

This is the saying God has resounding in my heart as I am writing this:

Flesh gives birth to flesh.  Spirit gives birth to Spirit.
Live for your flesh and you will manifest flesh.
Live for the Spirit, and the Spirit will manifest the Kingdom.

Sennacherib's Defeat

Have you ever read the story of Sennacherib?  It is one of the most amazing stories in the Bible.  One of my favorites anyway.  As always I look for the spiritual symbolism in the Old Testament, because it is absolutely jam packed full of it, and the Holy Spirit is just waiting to reveal them to us.

Here is an excerpt from the story:

2 Chronicles 32:1-4: 

 "After these things done in faithfulness, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, came and entered into Judah, and camped against the fortified cities, and commanded to break them open to himself. And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that he had set his face to fight against Jerusalem, he took counsel with his rulers and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains outside the city. And they helped him. And there were gathered many people, who stopped all the fountains, and the torrent which ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the king of Assyria come and find much water?" 

So King Hezekiah was one of the few good kings of Judah during the times of the books of Kings and Chronicles.  He had done everything right as far as he knew how, and God was pleased with him.  But wouldn't you know it, just like it happens to any Christian today, the devil was threatened by what he was doing, and sent out an army to destroy him.  

Sennacherib was a demonic king who came against God's people with his massive army.  There is a whole complicated message that goes with this passage, but I just want to focus on one single aspect.

"Why should the king of Assyria come and find much water?" 

In your life there are all kinds of streams flowing into you.  These streams come from lots of different sources, some of them are godly, some of them are probably not.  What happens though, is when Sennacherib comes along to confront most Christians these days, he finds plenty of water to supply his armies and keep himself strong.  As a result he is able to grow in power, and a siege against the Christian becomes a rather simple task to maintain.  The result most of the time is defeat for the Christian.

I am here to council you to make the same move Hezekiah and his rulers and mighty men made.  Cut off those streams.  The only water source you need is the River of God that flows through you.  That includes are things of the Kingdom, like the Bible, prayer, and so on.  Any other stream is nothing more than a source of strength to the enemy of your soul.  

If he comes and finds no streams, I assure you the battle with be much more in your favor.  And if you stay faithful like Hezekiah did, God will send His own army to your aid and save you.   

Consider this verse:

Leviticus 19:19

"'Keep my decrees. " ... "'Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. "'Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material."

I would ask you a question similar to what Paul asked the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 9:9-10


"For it is written in the Law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox threshing grain." Does God take care for oxen? Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? It was written for us, so that he who plows should plow in hope, and so that he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope." 

Does God really care if a field is planted with two kinds of seed, or if clothing is woven of two kinds of material?  Of course not!  This passage was written for us, as an example of the same message that He has preached throughout the entire Bible.  Do not unite yourself to the world.  Do not be equally yoked. 

That does not mean we are not part of the world, and we do not reach out to the world, but we do not participate in their lifestyle, and we certainly don't make ourselves look like them.  They already have each other, and it isn't good enough.  They need something different, they need the true Gospel from consecrated people, and that does not look like everyone else.

The Most Annoying Message in the Kingdom

What I am about to share with you is one of the most annoying messages in the Kingdom of God.  It absolutely drives me crazy, as it does with anybody who always likes to advance.  I wouldn't even talk about it if God had not kept reminding me of Matthew 10:27 - 

"What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs."

I feel like the guy behind the kid when I hear what I'm about to share.

So here it is, the message God keeps poking me with every time I start to get out of line (not in a sinful way...you'll see), including today.

Here it is:

Luke 16:10:  “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones." 

I am a faithful person, including in the little things.  I always do my best to pay attention to detail and I believe in high quality.  My problem is the whole maintaining that diligence for long periods of time.  I like to work hard for a while and then move on to bigger and better things.  Unfortunately, most of the time God forces me to continue waiting in order to prevent some kind of Ishmael birth.

For example, my wife can testify to the fact that I have talked incessantly, to the point of her mostly probably tuning me out now, about going out and starting a YWAM base somewhere.  That has been my heart and vision for so many years now I can't really remember when it originated.  But if you were to ask I could tell you a whole big plan of how it would go down, what the web site would be like, when the training schools would start, the kinds of ministries we would do, even what the staff manual would be like!  I have thought through every one of these little details over and over and over again.

Since the vision was first birthed in my heart, I wanted to drop everything I was doing and go NOW to start the base.  It didn't matter where or how, I just had to go do it.  But without fail, every single time I started making steps toward it, some annoying man or woman of God would say, "You need to be faithful in the little things first, and then God will let you have the big things."  I can't tell you how that makes my blood boil.  Every time I hear it, I think, "I HAVE been faithful in little things, for years!"  And yet my mental arguing doesn't seem to change God's mind one bit.

My mind's face when people tell me this.

I am a visionary by nature.  I am constantly having to be reined in by my leaders, wife, and/or God because I can't stand repetition of any kind.  I always want the new thing, and I always think the grass must surely be greener on the other side.  

You would think I would learn by now, but it's not that I am trying to keep falling into this same thing, it's just that I honestly believe the new idea I just had will be way better for everyone on the planet that what we are currently doing.  

 I have been slowly falling right back into that over the past couple of weeks.  I had this awesome idea, I really did.  If I were to tell you what it was, you would say, "That sounds awesome!"  At least I think you would.  Anyway, about two days ago I started formulating my new plan for this new awesome thing.  And this morning I was just about to launch into it full steam, until I had to go to the store for some chicken for dinner.

Yes.  It is Pete.

I walked innocently to the store, my master plan coming together in all its glory.  I buy the chicken, and am happily whistling my way home, when I see a very annoying evangelist that I know standing on the side of the road.  

He isn't the easiest guy in the world to talk to because he never let's me talk.  Wow do I not like that!  I try, and he constantly cuts me off.  It was no different this time.  

"Hello Alan!"

"Hello T-"

"So how are things going?"

"Goo-"

"Yeah, me too.  We're both keeping pretty busy aren't we?"

"Ye-"

"You know, you just gotta stay faithful in the little things.  That's what the Bible says.  Stay faithful in the little things and He'll give you the big things."

There is was.  Boy did that deflate my bubble.  It put me right back into my place, into the present, and my master plan instantly fell apart as it has over and over again.

My Mind Face

God has taught me over the past decade of well thought out plans that quickly fall apart that in the end, that following Him is far better than what I have in mind.  There are some of my master plans that He has allowed to happen, and they work out quite well.  Unfortunately this plan was not one of them.  There will be a hundred more to come of course, but that is why people like me have to constantly be seeking God.  If we don't, we birth all kinds of Ishmael's.

You remember that?  Abram and Sarai were all in a hurry to fulfill God's promises.  They got impatient like I do all the time, so instead of being patient and waiting for Him to fulfill the promise, they got Hagar involved, had the wrong baby, and caused all kinds of problems in their lives and the lives of their kids.  

So, as annoying as it is.  Let's wait on God, dump the plans He doesn't put His stamp of approval on, and keep going.  Eventually we'll get one right!    

I should note, that sometimes, like the idea of starting a base, God isn't rejecting the idea, He just wants us to wait for the right time. 

Remove the Dross

Proverbs 25:4  "Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the refiner." 

Throughout the Bible God refers to human beings in many different ways.  One of the ways is as vessels of silver.  We are all precious in the sight of the Lord, but He is seeking pure vessels, not vessels mixed with the dross.  

Now dross can be anything that doesn't glorify God, not necessarily sin alone.  There are plenty of things we do in life that aren't "technically" sin, but they are a waste of our precious time, or just foolishness.  God wants to purify us of all those things.

The process of purifying silver and gold is interesting, and significant.  As you can see in the image above, the material is placed into the hottest part of the fire, and is melted.  Once melted, all the impurities begin to rise to the surface, and the silversmith carefully removes them.  

This is a delicate process, because certain things can go wrong.  Look at Malachi 3:3: 

“He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

Navajo Silversmith

A silversmith must be constantly vigilant of the silver he is refining.  He can't just leave it, go get a cup of coffee, have a snack, or whatever.  He can't take his eyes off of the silver for a single minute.  This is because if the silver heats up too much, it can overheat and be destroyed, making all the work in vain.  

You can probably see the spiritual imagery by now.  God is the silversmith, and He watches over us constantly, never leaving us (Hebrews 13:5).  However, in order to purify us, He still must allow us to sit in the fire.  Sometimes until we feel like we can't take it anymore.  Yet He will never let us stay too long, He always pulls us out at the right moment, although sometimes it is the very last moment (1 Cor. 10:13).  

When we are in the fire is when our real being comes out.  You can act like an angel when everything is going your way, it is quite easy to fool people.  But once trouble hits is when people tend to abandon God, friends, and all right and good decisions.  

It is a known statistic that in an crisis 99% of humanity will run from it, while 1% run toward it.  Just as when the whole army of Israel cowered in front of Goliath, while the Bible says that David ran to the battle line to face him (1 Sam. 17:48).

When God allows you to go through the fire, don't complain, blame God for injustice, decide He must not exist, and all the other things most Christians do today.  Instead, thank Him, and realize that He is trying to purify you so you can come out a lot more shiny and valuable on the other end.