More on the Supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ
For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Ph. 1.19)
The time is coming very soon when we will be asked to give account for the use of the talents the Lord has given us. Will we say, most assuredly, we gave Him first priority and sought to faithfully invest in the Kingdom the talents he entrusted to us? Even now, I put myself at the Master’s feet asking how to lovingly and effectively do His will and be used of Him for His Kingdom to come.
I recall, not too many years ago, when I seemed to be one who had no supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ to the extent that the ungodly expected me to agree with them how worldly Christians were equally deserving of Hell as anyone else. How perverse! I, a Christian, backslidden to the point that there was no indication I had ever received any grace which saves and confounds the unbelieving.
I was just a beggar on the street, now forgiven and commissioned by Christ, Himself, filled with the Holy Ghost, humbled before Almighty God, simply writing about where I found food. I found an abundant supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Though, at one time, I recognized the ungodly as more righteous than I, I now see many in the Church as not too different from what I was. How can that be?
It’s simply a matter of the will. Where will I put my priority? Family? Work? Hobby? Being with Jesus Christ? In only the last of these will we experience the Supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. There is no other way. Someone wrote, “There is no shortcut around the prayer closet.”
In the prayer closet, we may behold the face of Jesus, as in a glass, being changed from glory to glory, as by the Holy Ghost. To compromise that devoted time of communion with Christ is to put ourselves in short supply of the Spirit.
In putting ourselves in the place of private, concentrated communion with Him, we become, also, the supply of the Spirit for others.
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life (Jn. 4.14).
As I started writing, I was in prayer for those who would like to be better witnesses for Christ, yet it just doesn’t seem to happen. The words don’t come forth and anything that does come forth seems only to add confusion to the truth of the Gospel. It came to me in simplicity: Drink deeply of the water of life and you will become that supply of water (the Spirit of Jesus Christ) springing up unto life eternal for others.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
The Supply of Christ
Recently, I met a young lady who had a fish symbol on her necklace. Not to single her out, I will also comment on the use of Christian symbols very skillfully painted on a motorcycle. I also recall a young man who had a large sign on the back of his car indicating, "JESUS SAVES, Jn. 3.16." He had a reputation for traveling at excessive speeds even on narrow streets.
I am convinced at least two of these people were saved. There was no indication two of the three ever broke the law or were offensive to others.
One thing for certain, they all used symbols to let others know of their faith.
The question comes to mind, "what is the conversation of these or any of those who claim to be Christian? Is it only about things of the world or is it about the things of Jesus Christ?"
When confronted with the Holy One of Israel, two of the above were unable to engage in conversation, as if such conversation is only allowed between 11:00 a.m. and 12:01 p.m. on Sunday by the pastor. I could almost sense one saying, "I keep my faith to myself" and the other seems only interested in ministry related activities and ice cream.
The Lord Jesus said, "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me . . ." To be a witness is to provide proof, by conversation and deed, concerning what Christ has done. That proof will be with power since the Holy Ghost has come upon me. There should be no question. In Acts. 4.16 we read, "they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."
If someone has been with Jesus, it has not only been written in the Book of Remembrance, but a metamorphosis has occurred, which can not be humanly manufactured nor can it be hidden. One who has not been with Him simply cannot manufacture His presence.
This is the result of the promise of Jesus, "ye shall be witnesses unto me." This is conclusive and absolute. Paul spoke of the supply of the Spirit in Ph. 1.19, "For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ."
We have the promise. We potentially have the supply, if we choose to accept it.
My prayer is for that supply to be truly existent in the Church (the fact is, many have no reason to return due to the lack) and the witness of Christ be in power of the Holy Ghost.
I am convinced at least two of these people were saved. There was no indication two of the three ever broke the law or were offensive to others.
One thing for certain, they all used symbols to let others know of their faith.
The question comes to mind, "what is the conversation of these or any of those who claim to be Christian? Is it only about things of the world or is it about the things of Jesus Christ?"
When confronted with the Holy One of Israel, two of the above were unable to engage in conversation, as if such conversation is only allowed between 11:00 a.m. and 12:01 p.m. on Sunday by the pastor. I could almost sense one saying, "I keep my faith to myself" and the other seems only interested in ministry related activities and ice cream.
The Lord Jesus said, "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me . . ." To be a witness is to provide proof, by conversation and deed, concerning what Christ has done. That proof will be with power since the Holy Ghost has come upon me. There should be no question. In Acts. 4.16 we read, "they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."
If someone has been with Jesus, it has not only been written in the Book of Remembrance, but a metamorphosis has occurred, which can not be humanly manufactured nor can it be hidden. One who has not been with Him simply cannot manufacture His presence.
This is the result of the promise of Jesus, "ye shall be witnesses unto me." This is conclusive and absolute. Paul spoke of the supply of the Spirit in Ph. 1.19, "For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ."
We have the promise. We potentially have the supply, if we choose to accept it.
My prayer is for that supply to be truly existent in the Church (the fact is, many have no reason to return due to the lack) and the witness of Christ be in power of the Holy Ghost.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches
I believe the Church will have to endure some suffering. We read
Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand (Da. 12.10).
This purification can happen now, voluntarily, or later, to our shame.
We read abundantly about the Church departing from the truth. This happened on an individual basis. I returned to where God wanted me to be shortly before Bible Rock Church broke up. In 2000, I had a rough time of hard pursuit after the world when God used Linda to shock me into repentance and back into the Kingdom. On February 19th, 2005, I made up my mind to return to the Lord with fasting and prayer. I fasted on the 21st & 22nd and prayed for my family, church, President, nation, military and local govt.
Later I set out to find a church which believed in and practiced prayer. Having found none, a year later, I ended up in Manhattan on 51st & Broadway in the quest for a praying church.
The fact is, if we don't return to the Lord with all of our hearts now, while we can see the nation being destroyed, it'll be very difficult for us by the end of the year. We have got to hear from the Lord. Our pastors are content to take our tithes and offerings, provide some entertainment and intellectual stimulation but are not giving any insight on what is at hand. Times Square Church pastors, however, are faithfully sounding the alarm.
Beloved, the Lord has promised, "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets (Am. 3.7)." We must frequent the prayer closet and He will keep us ahead of the world system. We also have to warn the Church.
I had a picture of the Church on a showboat above Niagara falls. The water was perfectly calm. In the water were people, who were not part of the Church and unaware the boat was there. The people on the boat were oblivious to the people in the water headed toward the fall. Someone had released a dinghy from the boat and was going about rescuing souls. His partner with binoculars had noticed the peril ahead and was shouting at the boat to warn of danger. The band played on and the captain and crew continued dancing. Some were on the railing telling the two in the dinghy not to be so extreme, "This boat is a sturdy, powerful vessel with a dynamic pastor and great band," someone said.
The wet towel treatment is the religious response of those who have been studying scripture many years. They seem to be the "pit bulls" of the Church preventing oil from entering the lamp that the flame be not re ignited.
Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually (Lv. 24.2).
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 (Rv. 2.5).
Isn't it amazing how those "pit bulls" want to keep the Holy Spirit from returning to the Church?
Nonetheless, our job is to seek the face of God, warn the church and win souls. Some will listen. Maybe there will be an influential person in some church, somewhere, who will listen, seek God's face and lead the church into repentance.
We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from your precepts and from your judgments: 6 Neither have we listened to your servants the prophets, which spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 O LORD, righteousness belongs to you, but to us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries where you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you. 8 O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets (Da. 9).
I don't know about you but I am sickened by the notion that many churches are perceived by the members as so great, "Isn't this a great church, how'd you like the service?". The Church needs to repent like Daniel (one of the three most righteous men in the Old Testament).
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever (Da. 12.10).
This verse is for this time, the time of the end. It is about those who will be obedient to Christ in this present darkness. We will be those righteous who pray effectually and fervently. We will be those who preach the Word, being instant, in season, out of season. We will be the wise for the winners of souls are wise. We, also will be those who sound the alarm, keeping clean hands.
Back to the question of the century, "When will the Church wake up?" Maybe later in the year, when the economy is in complete collapse. Many will be dumbfounded as we were at 10:00 am e.s.t. on 9/11/2001. But the wise shall shine as stars in the firmament.
Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand (Da. 12.10).
This purification can happen now, voluntarily, or later, to our shame.
We read abundantly about the Church departing from the truth. This happened on an individual basis. I returned to where God wanted me to be shortly before Bible Rock Church broke up. In 2000, I had a rough time of hard pursuit after the world when God used Linda to shock me into repentance and back into the Kingdom. On February 19th, 2005, I made up my mind to return to the Lord with fasting and prayer. I fasted on the 21st & 22nd and prayed for my family, church, President, nation, military and local govt.
Later I set out to find a church which believed in and practiced prayer. Having found none, a year later, I ended up in Manhattan on 51st & Broadway in the quest for a praying church.
The fact is, if we don't return to the Lord with all of our hearts now, while we can see the nation being destroyed, it'll be very difficult for us by the end of the year. We have got to hear from the Lord. Our pastors are content to take our tithes and offerings, provide some entertainment and intellectual stimulation but are not giving any insight on what is at hand. Times Square Church pastors, however, are faithfully sounding the alarm.
Beloved, the Lord has promised, "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets (Am. 3.7)." We must frequent the prayer closet and He will keep us ahead of the world system. We also have to warn the Church.
I had a picture of the Church on a showboat above Niagara falls. The water was perfectly calm. In the water were people, who were not part of the Church and unaware the boat was there. The people on the boat were oblivious to the people in the water headed toward the fall. Someone had released a dinghy from the boat and was going about rescuing souls. His partner with binoculars had noticed the peril ahead and was shouting at the boat to warn of danger. The band played on and the captain and crew continued dancing. Some were on the railing telling the two in the dinghy not to be so extreme, "This boat is a sturdy, powerful vessel with a dynamic pastor and great band," someone said.
The wet towel treatment is the religious response of those who have been studying scripture many years. They seem to be the "pit bulls" of the Church preventing oil from entering the lamp that the flame be not re ignited.
Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually (Lv. 24.2).
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 (Rv. 2.5).
Isn't it amazing how those "pit bulls" want to keep the Holy Spirit from returning to the Church?
Nonetheless, our job is to seek the face of God, warn the church and win souls. Some will listen. Maybe there will be an influential person in some church, somewhere, who will listen, seek God's face and lead the church into repentance.
We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from your precepts and from your judgments: 6 Neither have we listened to your servants the prophets, which spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 O LORD, righteousness belongs to you, but to us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries where you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you. 8 O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets (Da. 9).
I don't know about you but I am sickened by the notion that many churches are perceived by the members as so great, "Isn't this a great church, how'd you like the service?". The Church needs to repent like Daniel (one of the three most righteous men in the Old Testament).
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever (Da. 12.10).
This verse is for this time, the time of the end. It is about those who will be obedient to Christ in this present darkness. We will be those righteous who pray effectually and fervently. We will be those who preach the Word, being instant, in season, out of season. We will be the wise for the winners of souls are wise. We, also will be those who sound the alarm, keeping clean hands.
Back to the question of the century, "When will the Church wake up?" Maybe later in the year, when the economy is in complete collapse. Many will be dumbfounded as we were at 10:00 am e.s.t. on 9/11/2001. But the wise shall shine as stars in the firmament.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
His Presence in Us Undeniable
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days [it shall come to pass], that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard [that] God [is] with you (Zec. 8.23).
We, who hold the banner of Christ, have a tremendous responsibility therein. The existence of Christ in us must be recognized by the lost as an undeniable reality. There must be no question we have been with Christ.
"and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus (Ac. 4.13)."
There is an entire generation of youth who know nothing of Jesus (save the few who reluctantly go to church at parental insistence). They are entirely secular, yet, Jesus died for them. I, simply, am not willing to let them slip off into eternity to suffer Hell and the Lake of Fire. The youth are not the only folks facing eternal damnation, where the flame goeth not out nor doth the worm cease. East Hampton and Marlborough have a combined population exceeding 20,000 souls. They all must see the Christians as those who have been with Christ. Christians must present the gospel believably.
The presence of Christ cannot be manufactured in a person’s life. It doesn’t come from academia nor from the insistent demand that it is there. His presence is there only as we spend time shut in with Him in the secret closet of prayer. The defense of hasty time in prayer has been made several times in my listening, “I spend quality time, not quantity time.” Beloved, we’re human. It takes time to quiet the soul, meditate on His word and be still before the throne of God Almighty.
"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him (Ps. 37.7a)"
"Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth (Ps 46.10)."
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? (Mt. 26.40)
If there is any question as to how much time we should spend before the Lord in prayer, we may use Jesus’ examples and His sayings. How could we go wrong with a minimum of one hour in prayer? That, by the way, will make prayer walks (in which our prayer time is divided with our inability to be still before the Lord of Hosts) much more meaningful. Starting with less time is helpful as prayer requires endurance. We, simply, must diligently seek the Lord in prayer in these days for our own sakes and to effectively be witnesses of Jesus Christ to a world going to hell.
On May 17, 1792, the New York Stock exchange came into being. Since then, our experience has seen the ever increasing strength of the U. S. economy. Our tendency is to believe in the economy more than the Bible. It is now becoming apparent the economy is nothing to put trust in. Presently, a perfect storm is developing in which the economy is being undone. The storm consists of dismantling of the constitution, the destruction of our currency through massive printing of paper money and the pressure toward interfaith tolerance, i.e.: many ways to heaven. If we but watch, as we are called to, we will recognize the forces of evil and rejoice in the appearing of our Lord Jesus. In the meantime, we have the task of being intimately involved in taking part of the coming of His kingdom.
We, who hold the banner of Christ, have a tremendous responsibility therein. The existence of Christ in us must be recognized by the lost as an undeniable reality. There must be no question we have been with Christ.
"and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus (Ac. 4.13)."
There is an entire generation of youth who know nothing of Jesus (save the few who reluctantly go to church at parental insistence). They are entirely secular, yet, Jesus died for them. I, simply, am not willing to let them slip off into eternity to suffer Hell and the Lake of Fire. The youth are not the only folks facing eternal damnation, where the flame goeth not out nor doth the worm cease. East Hampton and Marlborough have a combined population exceeding 20,000 souls. They all must see the Christians as those who have been with Christ. Christians must present the gospel believably.
The presence of Christ cannot be manufactured in a person’s life. It doesn’t come from academia nor from the insistent demand that it is there. His presence is there only as we spend time shut in with Him in the secret closet of prayer. The defense of hasty time in prayer has been made several times in my listening, “I spend quality time, not quantity time.” Beloved, we’re human. It takes time to quiet the soul, meditate on His word and be still before the throne of God Almighty.
"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him (Ps. 37.7a)"
"Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth (Ps 46.10)."
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? (Mt. 26.40)
If there is any question as to how much time we should spend before the Lord in prayer, we may use Jesus’ examples and His sayings. How could we go wrong with a minimum of one hour in prayer? That, by the way, will make prayer walks (in which our prayer time is divided with our inability to be still before the Lord of Hosts) much more meaningful. Starting with less time is helpful as prayer requires endurance. We, simply, must diligently seek the Lord in prayer in these days for our own sakes and to effectively be witnesses of Jesus Christ to a world going to hell.
On May 17, 1792, the New York Stock exchange came into being. Since then, our experience has seen the ever increasing strength of the U. S. economy. Our tendency is to believe in the economy more than the Bible. It is now becoming apparent the economy is nothing to put trust in. Presently, a perfect storm is developing in which the economy is being undone. The storm consists of dismantling of the constitution, the destruction of our currency through massive printing of paper money and the pressure toward interfaith tolerance, i.e.: many ways to heaven. If we but watch, as we are called to, we will recognize the forces of evil and rejoice in the appearing of our Lord Jesus. In the meantime, we have the task of being intimately involved in taking part of the coming of His kingdom.
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