Crowded airwaves

Samuel was a boy in priest Eli's ministry. While Samuel was sleeping, he heard a voice calling out his name. This happened several times. But Samuel had no clue where the voice was coming from or who was speaking. He consulted Eli and it was suggested that the Lord was calling out his name. 

The next time his name was called out, Samuel responded - "speak, for your servant is listening".  

I wonder if the lord speaks to us today, would we be listening to him? Our airwaves and mind is so crowded with junk, both from work and otherwise, that it is almost impossible to listen to anyone, let alone to God himself. 

In todays era, we ought to compulsorily go into silent modes and exercise our antennas so that we could hear from the source of all wisdom and counsel. Let's get back to listening. 

Language

Most spoken languages. Ref: http://matadornetwork.com

Honor God

Eric Liddell was an Olympic champion. His story is depicted in the famous movie, Chariots of Fire. He was an ardent believer who sought God first and foremost. As a Scottish young man living in the post-World war I days, he spent his time training for the 100m race and also in evangelizing his local community. 

He was a man of strong faith. He literally believed in the practice of keeping the lord's day holy. He had taken a solemn oath that he would not race on a Sunday. 

And then the Paris Olympics of 1924 came. Eric was the favorite for the 100m dash. Unfortunately, he learnt that the race fell on a Sunday. There was tremendous pressure on him to race. There were people calling him names, accusing him of disloyalty towards his country and abusing him as a coward. 

But he stood his ground. He had made his vow. Eric's decision may not be appropriate for my sense of faith and spirituality. But I do appreciate the way he  stood his ground to fulfill his convictions. 

Eric was soon told that a spot in 400m opened up. He had never practiced for such a race. It's unimaginable for someone like Eric to race in a longer distance race against men who have specialized in it and have spent their athletic career practicing for it. 

But he decided to take the plunge. While he was in Paris, someone slipped a note into his pocket. It said the following verse. 

1 Samuel 2:30 - those who honor me, I will honor.

The champion of 1924 Olympics was none other than Eric Liddell. He is remembered to this day as the man who stood his ground for his faith and walked away as champion in a miraculous race. 

Pillow prophets - a sermon by Dave Wilkerson

By David Wilkerson
undated

Courtesy: http://www.tscpulpitseries.org/english/undated/tspillow.html

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Ezekiel stood alone against all the false prophets of Israel. These prophets would have nothing to do with the message of righteousness and impending judgment. Instead, they prophesied an era of peace, ease and prosperity.
Ezekiel 13 is the very word of Jehovah against preachers and prophets who accommodate people with flesh pleasing words they said were from the Lord. Their words were designed to make God's people comfortable in the face of impending judgment.
In fact, they were not satisfied to prophesy good times ahead from their great houses and ivory beds of ease -- they sought to provide a pillow for every elbow (Ezekiel 13:18). "Woe to those who apply pillows unto all elbows..." (Original Hebrew by Spurrell) "...Behold, I am against your pillows wherewith ye entice souls..." (Ezekiel 13:20).
Ezekiel was horrified at the sight of prophets who had developed an art of making God's people comfortable. The Lord had said, "My people have set up idols in their hearts; they are brazenly setting up stumbling blocks in iniquity; they are all estranged from me because of their idols" (Ezekiel 14:1-5).
The true word of the Lord was, "Jehovah says -- eat your bread with trembling, and drink thy water with grieving and fainting -- and say unto the people, her land shall be emptied of its fullness, because of the violence -- cities will be laid waste, the land made desolate -- there shall be no more vain visions or flattering prophecies" (Ezekiel 12:17-24).
While Ezekiel went about calling the people to humility and repentance, trying to prepare God's people for the soon coming judgments, these pillow prophets went about prophesying the dreams and imaginations of their own hearts. God had not spoken to them, even though they prefaced their predictions with, "Hear the Word of the Lord." God said, "I did not send them: they do not speak for Me.
They carried with them fancy pillows to place under every elbow for all who flocked to hear their false prophecies. They placed handkerchiefs on the heads of every one of their disciples, a statement to others that meant, "Nothing but good times ahead. I see nothing ahead but peace and luxury." They walked among the poor and sick, with a lace kerchief on the head, as a sign of their confidence in the message of the prophets of self indulgence and comfort.
Ezekiel thundered the Word of God at them, as the masses congregated to hear their pleasant words.
"You see for God's people a vision of prosperity, when there is no prosperity, saith the Lord Jehovah" (Ezekiel 13:16, Spurrell).
"You follow after your own imagination - when actually you have seen nothing." (Ezekiel 13:3).
The pillow prophets are still with us! They talk about the Word of God, about prophecy, and they salt their soothing messages with a lot of Scripture. But there is a falseness in what they preach. They are not preaching the Cross or holiness and separation. They make no demands on their followers. They seldom speak of sin and judgment. They abhor the very mention of suffering and pain. To them, the heroes of Hebrews were faithless cowards and penniless losers who were afraid to claim their rights.
Like the pillow prophets of Israel, their one supreme desire is to promote luxurious lifestyles and make people comfortable in their pursuit of the good life. They are not speaking for God. All they are doing is passing out pillows. One for every elbow of every follower. No wonder the crowds flock to sit under their message -- it's painless. There is not the call of Christ to deny self and take up a cross.
What is the difference between pillow prophets and Jehovah's true prophets? The preacher or parishioner who doesn't know the difference is on dangerous ground. With so many going about gathering huge followings, it is imperative to have Holy Ghost discernment. The confused prophets must be exposed by truth. Most of them and sound like sincere, Bible loving men of God. But the Lord has given His people infallible tests to prove what is true and what is false. We are to test every man and every message -- by the whole Word of God.
Let me bring to your attention three characteristics of a true prophet of God.

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1. A true man of God is consumed with
a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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He has been so overwhelmed, so mastered by that glorious vision, he can speak of nothing else. He preaches the whole counsel of God -- as it relates to Christ.
God said of the false prophets, "Woe unto the deceiving prophets who follow after their own imaginations... they have seen nothing" (Ezekiel 13:3).
Yet of Moses, it was said "By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible" (Hebrew 11:27).
Jesus said of Abraham, "Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" (John 8:5-6).
Stephen had a glorious vision of Him. "And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:5-6).
Ananias said to Paul, "The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth" (Acts 22:14).
To His own disciples, Jesus said, "In a little while the world will see me no more, but you will see Me" (John 14:17).
The one thing every one of these men of God had in common was their life-controlling vision of Christ the Lord. Christ was the great and only cause in their life. They saw Him through the eye of faith.
Moses willingly forsook the ease and prosperity of Egypt to suffer privation in a wilderness because he had been mastered by a vision of Christ. Nothing else mattered now, not even his dream of becoming a great deliverer He saw beyond all human ambition. He was weaned from all that was earthly because he had seen Christ. He could endure anything, for nothing on earth could compare with what his spiritual eyes beheld.
Abraham became totally detached from this world and willingly became a foreigner on earth, for his eyes were fixed on a city whose builder and maker was God. But best of all, he had seen a vision of Christ on His throne in that holy city. Never again would he settle for things temporal or earthly. His faith was built upon his continual vision of Christ. He rejoiced and was glad, for he had eyes for the invisible, the eternal, Christ!
The moment Paul saw Him everything else on earth became dung to him. The very moment Christ was revealed in him, he determined to know nothing else among men but his Lord. He gladly endured hardships, shipwreck, stoning, beatings, privations, imprisonment; none of these things moved him because he gloried in his vision of the Lord.
Any man of God who is tied to this earth or the things of earth has seen nothing. If he had a vision of Christ, if he was in constant union with Christ, he could preach of nothing else. He would stand before the crowds, proclaiming, "I count it all loss -- it's all dung! It is Christ and Him alone. He is all; He fills all things. He is my very life."
Like Isaiah, the true man of God who sees the Lord, high and lifted up, will fall on his face and weep over his sins and the sins of God's people. Then he will be purged and go forth in the power of his awesome vision to preach Christ.
God warned Israel, "The prophets are like foxes..." In other words, some have no single eye focused on Christ alone, but they have eyes filled with covetousness. They spoil the vine, taking the best for themselves. They go their own way, feeding their own egos!
These self-seeking prophets claimed to have heard from God. Theirs, they claimed, was a prophetic word directly from heaven. "They say, Jehovah saith, when Jehovah hath not sent them, and they caused others to hope that their word would be verified" (Ezekiel 13:6).
The multitudes of God's people who run about to hear only soothing messages need to take a second honest look at what they are hearing and believing.
"Have ye not seen a deceiving vision and spoken a lying divination when you said Jehovah saith whereas I have not spoken" (Ezekiel 13:7)
"They have seduced my people, saying, Peace, when there was not peace" (Ezekiel 13:10).
Their message was, "God told me all is well. No trouble ahead. Good times! No trial or tribulation. God's desire is that all be happy, prosperous and at ease.... " Jehovah calls that deception! I don't think ministers are taking seriously enough the tragedy of preaching the wrong message. How dare we preach peace and endless good times to a nation and a people on the brink of judgment!
Israel's sin was about to explode in unbelievable fires of divine wrath. Ezekiel did not want to preach such a disturbing message, especially to a people who had heaped to themselves pillow prophets who went about telling God's people that all was well.
Listen to what God was trying to say to His people. "Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: like as the wood of the vine amongst the trees of the forest, which I have given unto the fire to devour, so have I given the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will set my face against them: from one fire shall they escape that another fire may devour them.... I have set my face against them.... I will make this land desolate, because they have trespassed a trespass, saith the Lord Jehovah" (Ezekiel 15: 6-8, Spurrell).
The people rejected the true Word of God. The masses ran off after their favorite teachers to hear the deceptive message -- "God is not that kind of God. He desires only the best for us all. Great peace and good times lay ahead. Don't listen to the old prophets of doom. God told me, right from His throne room that the best is yet to come."
I ask you, what will those pillow prophets do when God begins to judge the sins of this nation and cut off its bread and its fullness? Think of the unprepared multitudes of sincere Christians who should be repenting of lukewarmness; who should be weeping because of compromise and covetousness; who should be forsaking all rather than accumulating.
Thank God the Holy Spirit is raising up a holy people who are sick of all the self-centered ministries, and their cry is, "We would see Jesus" The man-centered gospel cannot last much longer. A time of purging is ahead. We are heading into refining fires. While the covetous lounge on their beds of ease and comfort themselves with luxuries, a remnant will break away and go out seeking the Bridegroom. Christ is going to reveal Himself to the humble, the poor in spirit, and the true Word of the Lord will flow forth with unction and power. Union with Christ will become the pearl of great price.

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2. The true man of God preaches
and practices self denial.

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Compare this with what the pillow prophets focus on! God said of them, "They pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley, and for morsels of bread... they lie to my people" (Ezekiel 13:19). A modern translation is, "These pillow prophets have money on their minds. It has made liars of them." Here is the full picture of a pillow prophet. He lets his imagination run wild. He operates on the idea that prosperity will last forever. He builds on dreams and schemes. To do it, he needs money -- lots of it. His need for money becomes the focus of ministry. He ends up telling lies to God's people to get it. Then he pollutes it all by saying, "God told me"
The message of Jesus Christ is painfully blunt -- deny yourself and take up your cross.
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24).
Self denial -- what a foreign sounding concept in this day of self-pampering and ease. The pillow prophets have rejected it flat out. Self denial is the giving up and forsaking of all and everything that hinders the constant presence of Christ.
There is no merit in self denial. We are saved and secured by grace alone. It is not to be entered into to earn benefits from God. But self denial removes hindrances to constant communion with Christ. Paul said, "I bring my body under... and bring it under subjection: lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Corinthians 9:27).
We are not bringing our bodies under control; our passions and appetites are not under subjection. Sensuous television programs now whet the appetites among Christians for pornography. Lust is nearly out of control, even in the ministry. Almost daily I hear of ministers that are spending hours viewing X-rated movies and cassettes.
Multitudes of God's people, including preachers of the gospel, waste precious hours lounging before the TV idol. Like Lot, our minds are getting vexed by the things we see and hear.
Food is becoming the narcotic of believers. We don't need cocaine or alcohol -- we have a legalized sedative -- food. Never in all my ministry have I seen so many Christians with appetites out of control.
The deepest truth about self denial goes beyond giving up material things. You can sell your TV, shun all erotic sights and sounds, and bring all appetites under control, and still not have denied self.
What Christ is calling for is a kind of devotion to Himself that expels everything in the heart that hinders. It is a commitment to becoming absolutely nothing before God and man. It is being able to say with Paul, "I no longer live-- it is Christ living in me.
The world must lose its charm to us. We must die to all self ambition -- to all attachments to earthly things, until we can honestly say, "I am dead to this world and all it represents. I no longer live."
Physically alive, yes! But I must die to all that hinders my vision and love for Christ. Whatever it is -- it must go. Lust? Self-made plans? Bitterness, grudges? Recognition, self esteem? I must die to it all. I must bring it all to the cross and execute self judgment.
Why is it that Christians who are about to die become so detached from the world and material and physical things? Because eternity is in view. It all pales in comparison to the joy ahead. Why can't we live like that all the time? Why not keep our minds fixed on Christ at all times?

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3. A true man of God has
a holy boldness against sin
-- he never whitewashes evil.

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The pillow prophets have no foundation of holiness upon which to build. Ezekiel said, "Their foundation thereof shall be discovered." (13:14).
The pillow prophets were building walls with untempered mortar and painting the flaws over with whitewash. Worst of all, their message and manner "grieved the hearts of the righteous because of their falsehoods" (Ezekiel 13:22).
And they "strengthened the hands of the wicked." God accused them of damning souls by ignoring sin. It grieved God that compromising children of God were being encouraged rather than exposed. Lightness about sin only confirmed them in their compromising.
God will not let any minister of the gospel grieve or trouble His chosen and devoted ones without His express permission. But neither will He permit prophets of ease to call evil good and pamper backslidden Christians who need to repent.
Certainly we are called to proclaim the gospel of grace, mercy and pardon. But the man of God is also commanded to "Lift up his voice, cry aloud, and spare not -- showing my people their sins."
Could it be we can't lift up a holy standard because of corruption in our own hearts? Have our own sins robbed us of holy boldness? Do we wink at the sins of others because of besetting sins in our hearts?
Do you know of a man of God who boldly thunders against sin? Does his message ring, not of legalism, but of deep personal purity? Then run to his feet -- sit under his message, for he has the truth that will set you free. He is the true prophet of God, and he makes all other prophets tremble and fear. The pillow prophets despise him because he walks with truth in the inward parts.
Seek out a man of God who makes Christ real! One who makes you sit up and take notice that he has been with Jesus. One who convicts you for wasting time and for becoming earthly minded. One who will point a finger in your face, discern sin, and cry out, "Thou art the man " He is the one who truly loves you and looks out for your soul.
The pillow prophets are building their huge walls. They look very successful and blessed. But Jehovah says, "Your walls shall fall. I will bring it all down with my stormy wind. I will demolish your wall and level it to the ground" (Ezekiel 13:11-14).
God has told us that in these last days our young men shall see visions. Not of success, of prosperity or of great achievements. There will be but one vision for all -- CHRIST!

Masterpiece

Jeremiah 18

“Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Romans 9:20-21

But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

When the potter prepares the clay and creates something out of it, he tends to leave some of his DNA in it. The sweat, the skin, the hairs and more. His DNA is in his creation. Thy kingdom come is quickly followed by Thy will be done. If you wish for his kingdom in your life, you must in the same breath, wish for his will to be done in our life. 

Here's a snap of God's masterpiece created for common use. 

Repentance

Recapture the Wonder

Recapture the Wonder

RAVI ZACHARIAS

Somewhere in the 1980s, I picked up this quote. I do not know who gave it to me or who the author is. But whoever penned it had profound insight:

In the 1950s kids lost their innocence. They were liberated from their parents by well-paying jobs, cars, and lyrics in music that gave rise to a new term–the generation gap.

In the 1960s, kids lost their authority. It was a decade of protest–church, state, and parents were all called into question and found wanting. Their authority was rejected, yet nothing ever replaced it.

In the 1970s, kids lost their love. It was the decade of me-ism dominated by hyphenated words beginning with self. Self-image, Self-esteem, Self-assertion... It made for a lonely world. Kids learned everything there was to know about sex and forgot everything there was to know about love, and no one had the nerve to tell them there was a difference.

In the 1980s, kids lost their hope. Stripped of innocence, authority, and love and plagued by the horror of a nuclear nightmare, large and growing numbers of this generation stopped believing in the future.

To bring it up to date, I have added two more paragraphs:

In the 1990s kids lost their power to reason. Less and less were they taught the very basics of language, truth, and logic and they grew up with the irrationality of a postmodern world.

In the new millennium, kids woke up and found out that somewhere in the midst of all this change, they had lost their imagination. Violence and perversion entertained them till none could talk of killing innocents since none was innocent anymore.

Now go back and look at the list and see the progression. If the word innocence can be replaced by the word wonder, then you see how the slide into despair began. Wonder has a direct bearing on hopelessness and evil. The loss of wonder sets the stage for evil, until truth itself dies at the altar of a desecrated imagination.

Excerpt from Recapture the Wonder by Ravi Zacharias.

What does the Bible say about False Prophets?

Ezekiel 14

What does the Bible say about False Prophets?

Bible is very clear about the fact of their existence and we have been repeatedly warned about them. In Ezekiel 13, God specifically condemns the false prophets, in fact, he asks Ezekiel to prophesy against the false prophets. 

Ezekiel 13:3 - Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 

God refers to them as jackals among ruins - animals who feasts on the ruins. God called prophets to build the ruins and repair broken walls, so that the city (people) may be able to stand the battle. In today's world, prophets are called to correct and strengthen Christians to fight daily spiritual battles. Instead, God rebukes the false prophets for seeing false visions and lying divination's and even saying ‘declares the Lord” when he has not spoken to them. 

Ezekiel 13:8-9 -  Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord God. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord God. 

God says that he is against the prophets because they have misled His people, saying “peace" when there is "no peace”. God speaks against women prophets too. 

Ezekiel 13:17–18 - “Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies”. 

Some translations use the word ‘sought to make a pillow for every elbow”. This seem to refer to the prophets giving speeches to make the people comfortable. These prophets  praise people when they need to be rebuked.  God is also against those prophets who grieve His people, prophets who curse God's people when they don’t deserve it . He also rebukes prophets who profane God's name among His people especially for financial gains.

Ezekiel 13:22 - Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life, therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the Lord.” 

To think that God has to deliver from his people from prophets who speak in His name is an irony and yet a reality.

How does a Christian become gullible in following false prophets?

It was amazing to see how the word has explained the cause and effect very much like science. In this chapter, God clearly explains that the main reason for Christians being prone to false prophecies is the idols in their heart. Ezekiel 14 condemns idolatry.  

Ezekiel 14:1-5 “And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.”

These verses mention that when a believer who does not have God and His will as His first priority, but have bitterness, greed, pride and aims to amass wealth for his own benefit, (which becomes idols in his life and a stumbling block in his Christian journey), when such a person asks a prophet for counsel, the Lord will answer Him and He will set his face against that man. How dreadful it will be to have God Almighty’s hand against you. The following verses explain further the consequences for the false prophet. When an idolater or in our situation, a Christian with the wrong motive comes to a false prophet, the prophet will be enticed by the Lord to speak false prophecy. The end result will be the same for the false prophet and the idolater – eternal damnation and separation from God and His chosen people.

So as Christians, it is so important that we evaluate our motives on a daily basis. If our hearts are directly in tune with the Word of God, we would be able to discern the ultimate will of God in our lives. 

King David says in Psalm 139:23, 24  - Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts. And see if there be any grievous way in me,   and lead me in the way everlasting. 

Psalm 4:4 Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord.

This is a guest post by my wife.

How did Jesus pray?

Matthew 26:39 onward -  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?” 

Luke 22:39 onward - Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.  When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 

Romans 12 - I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

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I have always struggled with one question - What do I pray for? Do I demand for healing or do I ask for strength to bear the illness. Do I claim His power to change the situation or do I ask for trust to face the situation. When I pray that His will be done in my life even in sickness/illness/suffering, am I suggesting that I lack in faith? 

These questions have always plagued my mind. Everyone has an opinion in this regard. One person may say that you should rebuke every sickness, small or big, and name and claim stuff because our loving God desires that in our life. Another person may claim that doing so would suggest a lack of faith, and is in fact contrary to what the Bible teaches. They may cite numerous passages written by Apostle Paul supporting their point of view. Certainly, the scripture and the Christian faith offers so much leeway in matters of faith that both answers could be right. It could be a personal choice - the way of life, prayer, and faith. 

But I really wanted to know what God, Jesus Christ want in our lives. 

And then he led me to a passage that I have read numerous times in the past. Not one, but several interconnected passages - like pearls strung into a beautiful necklace. Suddenly, the answer became obvious. I do not claim it is doable for a mere mortal like me. But if Christ wants us to be Christ-like, that necklace is what we must hope for. 

Let me explain. 

In the passage from Matthew and Luke, we see descriptions of Jesus's last moments as a free man. Here he is crying, in fact, wailing aloud, asking God the father to take away the cup of suffering from him. But then he adds on a phrase to that prayer - not my will, but yours be done. A prayer of the highest order of faith. The passage in Matthew shows the options Jesus had - he was fully man and fully God, in equal measure. 

Jesus tells his disciples - paraphrased as "don't you think I can pray to God my father? He can easily provide me twelve legions of angels and this whole things will be over". Yes, Jesus could have avoided the pain of Crucifixion. He had several easy ways out. But he knew that doing so would not fulfill God the father's plans about his son Jesus Christ. Doing so would have left us having to pay the wages of our sin - death. Jesus knew how to exercise his options - he could have prayed and avoided suffering. But he knew to submit to God's will, and withhold the prayer for relief from the impending suffering, because he knew that it was God's will for him to go through the experience of Golgotha. 

Here, the critical phrase is 'he knew God's will'. That's important. I realized that God was not showing me that I should suffer through every sickness, and every failures in life. He was not showing me that I should not pray in faith, for relief from my failures. Instead, he sent me to Romans 12 which instructed me on how to know God's will. 

First, present your body as a living sacrifice to God. Sacrifice involves pain. It involves forfeiting things that we would normally seek and love and enjoy. Such a sacrifice should not be legalistic way of worship. You should not deny yourself things or opportunities for the sake of fulfilling the law. But, such an act of sacrifice should be a form of spiritual worship. We sacrifice things when we love someone dearly. The sacrifice that God is demanding from us is out of love, and is a form of worship. 

Second, do not be conformed to the world. This is huge. Spend a moment here. Realize the magnitude of this phrase - do not be conformed to the world. 

Be transformed, and renew your mind. How do you do that? Study the word of God. Pray. Exercise spiritual discipline. 

Finally, test and discern the will of God. I have a video instruction that will tell you how to discern the will of God. Click here for the brief three minute video. 

There you go. How did Jesus pray? He knew God's will and submitted to it completely. God's answer to our life's biggest issues may not lie in the solution that some preachers may give you. Sure thing, it may help you tide over your crisis. God will provide for you if you pray in faith. The scripture tells us so. But the key question is this - are you praying for God's will to be fulfilled? There is a big difference between praying in faith and receiving the answer in the form of a miracle, and praying in faith after testing and discerning God's will and then waiting for his response, fully knowing that his response could be "son, my grace is sufficient for thee". 

Both are acceptable. But the latter is Christ-like. 

This is a guest post based on meditations shared by my dear wife. 

Interesting quotes

Know what counts, do what counts, and ignore the rest - Rick Warren 

Suffering always precedes glory. The glory of Jesus' resurrection followed his way on the cross. 

Sin always takes you farther than you intend to go and costs you more than you intend to pay. 

The answer

Job and his friends ask plenty of questions to God. But God's reply, his answer, is rather interesting. Read Job 38. God answers by citing his creativity, his power. The answer to our questions are in our understanding of the character of God and his power. Understand his character through the old and New Testament. The New Testament shows his love in great magnitude. The Old Testament reveals more of his character, including his anger. That's why it is important for us to read and understand both. To understand the character of God. 

Divine Monopoly - Pastor Rock Dillaman on Holy Spirit - Sermon # 2

Divine Monopoly

1 Peter 1:16 - "since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

If you are a follower of Jesus, you need to know that God did not save you out of pity. He saved you to be holy. Because you were created to be holy. When the HS enters our life, his first priority is to make us holy. His holy agenda encounters two very stiff challenges: 1, it is challenged by our distorted idea of what holiness means (our spiritual sight), and 2, it is challenged by our stubbornness (our spiritual desires). We want to have the control of the steering wheel. And, both of these issues constitute a challenge for us to understand the power of the HS. We can’t hit a target we don’t see and we won’t pursue a goal we don’t desire!

What do we mean by 'becoming holy'. To be holy is to be whole or complete – lacking nothing. (1 Peter 1:15-16). Everything he made is pronounced good. He does not produce anything bad. However, we do not remain good. We end up damaged by the ripple effect of a spiritual rebellion. That's why we all begin life infected with sin and we live in the tragic effects of sin. That's why human hearts are perpetually filled with unrest. We have this sense that something is missing. We feel incomplete. We do not feel whole. The spiritual blindness that is a symptom of our sin virus causes us to seek for wholeness, but we are unable to see it. We seek wholeness in stuff, status or sex. These are three bins in which every idolatry can be put in. These just act like narcotics on our soul. It just dampens our sensitivity to God. We just end up less and less and less whole while we are seeking wholeness.

But the good news of scripture is that God wants to rescue us. Wholeness isn’t found in an addiction to over-hyped substitutes for God. It’s found in the adoration of God Himself. And adoration begins with surrender (Proverbs 14:12; Matthew 22:37).

When we hear the word surrender, we tend to attach negative thoughts and response to it. We  associate surrender with failure and weakness. But when we attach God's holy spirit with surrender, we realize that surrender is the key to recovery. We are bonded to a dehumanizing sickness called sin. Until we realize what the HS can do in our lives. God’s calls to surrender are more offers than demands (Matthew 16:24-27).

When we usually hear demands made on us, we tend to push back. We always like offers. In fact, God's call to surrender are more about offers than demands from us. When we usually hear a commandment from God, we tend to push back because we hear demands. But in actuality, these are offers from God. Offers to restore you. To make you whole. God is not calling you to the same amount of moral perfection as His. In fact, that's not possible. It simply is God's way of saying, as your creator, I am complete. As your creator, I want my creation to be complete (1 Peter 1:16). I desire you to be complete. The call to be holy is the most incredible offer you’ll ever receive!  (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

You can learn about surrender by reading about Moses. His first 40 years of his life, he was taught that he was someone special. The second 40 years were spent out in the wilderness. Going nowhere and accomplishing nothing. God taught him that he was nothing special. The final 40 years, when he liberated the people of Israel, he realized that God was special. When that happened, special things happened in his life.

To surrender is to: 1, reject all substitutes for God, 2, acknowledge our need of total dependence upon God, and 3, invite His restoring work  (Acts 5:32;Galatians 5:16).

Surrendering is like a marriage covenant. There is an initial never repeated covenant. But it is followed by almost daily re-confirmation and re-commitment.  Day by day I commit all I know of myself to all I know about God. I keep learning more and more about myself as the HS opens up new things about myself, and offer myself to God more and more every day. That's what it means to live a surrendered life. It does not mean instant perfection. It means reinforced growth.

Committing all you know about yourself to all you know of God - that's what it actually means by the phrase, 'filled with the HS'. It's a very common phrase that's misunderstood. HS is not an 'it'. Not a commodity. He is a person. And therefore, you either have him in you or not. He's not like petrol where you can have half tank or full tank. You either have him or not. If you do not have the HS, you do not even belong to Christ. If someone tells you, you are a Christian, but do you have the HS? That's a ridiculous question. It's un-biblical. The moment you step out as a Christ follower, you have the HS. It is the HS who makes you take that step in faith. It is the HS that carries out the new birth in our life. Filled with the HS does not imply that you get more of the spirit. It means that you give greater control of your life to him. You are under a divine monopoly. Areas of your life that you controlled and closed off for the HS's authority, you are increasingly giving it to the HS's control.

"Filled with the Spirit” doesn’t imply you get more of the Spirit; it indicates the Spirit gets greater control of you!  (Galatians 5:16) 

Spirit-fed believers will demonstrate the fact that they are spirit filled by their increasing progress towards holiness. The HS gives us power for ministry. So a spirit filled believer can cast out demons from another person. But the first thing that a spirit filled believer would do is to cast out demons from your own life. getting the junk out of your own soul. I'm always suspicious of people who want a fresh wind of the HS to 'do' things to show-off. Do people do that? Yes, it happens all the time. The church is a great place to be a celebrity. People do a lot of wrong things in church including pursuing the HS for the wrong reasons. The primary reason to pursue the HS is so that he can make us whole, as is intended for us. 

Holiness should precede mission. We can’t make holiness attractive to others if we aren’t modeling it ourselves (Matthew 5:15-16). You can't lead people to surrender to God, if you are not surrendered yourself. You cannot lead people to a place where you have not been. If we aren’t governed by God’s supernatural Spirit, we can’t possibly do God’s supernatural work (John 6:63). God wants to get you to do supernatural work - something not possible with your own ability. In order to do mission, you have to have an awareness of the HS's leading in your life. You have to have the power to engage in a intense spiritual conflict.

Once we submit our lives to Christ, the HS enables us to do two things for ministry. 
1. To discern God's plans and timing.
2. To do his work effectively.

That in short is what ministry means - discerning and doing. Ministry = Discerning and Doing.
It's not forming your own strategies and plans and holding it up to God and saying, God please bless it. Make it work. Ministry is about listening until the HS reveals God's strategies. Once that is revealed, you align your activities with the strategy that God has revealed. That's spirit-led spirit-filled ministry.

Now, God won't address every tiny matter in our life. He created us with brain. He wanted us to use them. Every large matter of strategy will come from the HS. And some small matters will also come from him because the HS knows that such a small decision could have a major impact on the ministry. How can I tell the difference? Train the senses. If you listen for the Spirit you’ll hear  Him, and if you obey you’ll see Him (Hebrews 5:14).

Train your senses through practice (see portion above). Practice listening to the HS's leading. Practice obeying the HS's leading. Then I see the HS working. That does not work in all believers. In some cases, we do not listen to the HS. God has revealed everything to us in the form of scripture. He has revealed his heart and his purpose to us. In terms of working out the principles of scripture in the moment by moment experience of life, you need the HS to reveal the truth from the word of God. To take the principles of scripture and show how it applies to your situation for that day. You need the spirit to lead you to applying the principles of the scripture. Or else, you have a lot of principles but no applications. Even for the assurance of salvation, you need the HS to reveal it to you from the word of God.

The spirit is speaking. But we are not listening. Sometimes we listen, but we do not obey. Therefore, we do not see the miracles in life.

Scripture talks about the burden of the Lord. (Pastor gives an example of how he heard from God in a specific way and counseled a couple). You will feel in your soul, the strong burden of the Lord when the HS is speaking. Your gift may be different form mine. I have prophetic and word of knowledge gift. I may not have something you are gifted. We have to discover and listen and obey to use the HS's power in your life.

Let me tell you a story about D. L. Moody, the mightiest evangelist of the 19th century.

D. L. Moody was being considered for an evangelistic campaign in England, and one of the organisers asked somewhat sarcastically: 'Does D. L. Moody have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit that we're just thinking about him and nobody else?'. The answer came back very quickly: 'No, D. L. Moody does not have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly of D. L. Moody'. 

God wants to have a monopoly on you. Jesus cannot be a value added commodity. Normal christian life is a life surrendered to God. He has a monopoly on you. Ask yourselves - "Does the HS have a monopoly over my life?"

Going with the Power (Pastor Rock Dillaman) - sermon # 1 on Holy Spirit

Going with the Power

First of all, Holy Spirit (HS) is not a thing. He is a person. He is one personal entity within the Trinity. He is the invisible God within us.

Now let us look into two passages:
Zechariah 4:6 -
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith.
Acts 1:8 -
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 

To follow Jesus as God intended us to do, we must understand how the HS works in our lives and we must live in his power. If we do not understand the HS, we will lead superficial lives and not supernatural lives that he intends for us.

God spoke to Zerubbabel and gave him an impossible task. God reassured him by reminding him of the HS. God's word was both a promise and a precaution. An encouragement and a warning.

The Israelites frequently ignored both. There sure were moments when they flourished in faith. More often than not, they floundered. They relied upon their own strength. History suggests that we have not learnt lessons from the Israelite's as well. God's people often affirms the presence of the HS without experiencing the power of the HS. If you go to any church in Kerala, they will say they do believe in the HS. But the key question is whether you have experienced the power of the HS.

We teach the doctrine of the HS without acknowledging the dynamic of the HS. We sing about the fire of the HS, but the church is cold, the hearts are dry, languishing in weakness.

If God were to take the HS away from church today, much of what is going on in church will continue and nobody will know the difference - A. W. Tozer

The church was intended as a group of people who are doing what is impossible apart from God, and doing things in dependence of God.

God's people lead average lives. But average is not the normal. We can be accustomed to the subnormal christian living that when we see the normal living, we view it as extra-ordinary. Average is living powerless lives. Remember, people leave the church when they see the preaching about HS's power but don't see the evidence of it.

What is a normal christian life? There is a untiring hope grounded in Christ. A life pursuing God's Holy kingdom and not the American dream. It is Spirit-led and not cause-motivated. It is utterly impossible without the power of the HS.

Understanding normal Christian life requires a model for us. More is caught than taught. The best model is of course Jesus Christ.

How did Jesus know what to say, or what to do? How did he speak with authority? How did he know the best timing? How did he heal? Well, you could be tempted to say that it was possible because he is God. But the answer lies in Isaiah 11.
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord - and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. 

Jesus started his public ministry after the HS came on him. Then immediately, he was led to the wilderness. He started to walk according to the leading of the HS. He said what he told to say (John 5:19 and 12:49). If Jesus' life and ministry was so much dependent on the HS, how much more should ours be?

We need to know where the power is going, and we need to go with it.

The HS's power never corrupts our soul. However, the sin in our souls could corrupt our approach to the HS's power in us. Remember Simon the Sorcerer? He wanted the power of the HS to do tricks and miracles. the same power empowered the disciples to do great things, and not to do tricks.

God's power is meant to accomplish God's purposes through two things:
- He wants us to get the World out of us (HOLINESS) - to set us free from our addictions to sin. We often want God's blessings, but are unwilling to take the trash out. He wants us to be Holy.
- He wants to get us into the World (MISSION)

The latter is impossible without the former. The first thing the HS wants us to do in our lives, is to make us Holy. When HS comes, he will expect us to be obedient to God's word.