REACHING THE WORLD FOR GOD

 May 18, 2009.

Pentecostal Fire.

 What is the Pentecostal experience?  Is the Pentecostal experience for me?  Why do I need that promise?

What is the Pentecostal experience?  Perhaps the biggest question of all!  Therefore, I share the scriptures with you.  Jesus gave the disciples a promise; Luke 24: 44-51, ⁴⁴And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.  ⁴⁵Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,  ⁴⁶And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: ⁴⁷And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  ⁴⁸And ye are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. ⁵⁰And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. ⁵¹And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.  

 The promised received: Acts 2: 1-4, ¹And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ²And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  ³And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.  ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

So, is the Pentecostal experience for me?  Yes.  The bible tells us in Acts 2:39, "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call."  That promise is the promise that Jesus us told us about when he disappeared out of the site of the apostles.  He told them that he must go away, but that he would send them a comforter and that they must go and tarry until they be endued with power. 

Why do I need the promise?  The bible tells us that WE are his witnesses...and we need power to witness!  Acts 1:8, ⁸But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.  Yes, there are great things that come with that promise, but the main theme is for us to have power to win the lost souls of this world!  We are all held accountable for that.  When you get to Heaven, will you have jewels in your crown for souls that you have won for God? Think about it.  How many souls have you won for God? 

April 27, 2009.

Our faith by our works.

Is your faith evident by your works?  In James 2:14, the question is ask, " What doth is profit, my brethern, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works?  can faith save him?"  What does he mean by this?  I thought faith is what saved us?  God pointed this scripture out to me last week after a time of prayer.  Later in this same chapter it is pointed out to us that faith must have works.  He uses the example of Abraham and tells us that Abraham was justified by his works.  I used to always think that the works that God was talking about in this scripture was purely the gifts of the Holy Ghost.  For example, healings, miracles, etc.  However, God showed me that yes, it is those things, but more importantly it was our obedience to his word. 

 Some scholars say that the book of James is random topics, but I disagree.  If you look at the main topic, James is trying to teach us about obedience....of course, I am of a mind that the WHOLE bible is mainly about obedience to God.  If you read the story of Isaac and Abraham, you see that God gives Abraham a command, one that would test his heart and his obedience to God.  He tells Abraham to take his son, his promised son and sacrifice him to God.  Abraham without question that we know of, packs up and takes his son with him to complete the task that God has given him.  He journeys for THREE days...three days in which he has to think about what he is about to do.  Three days that he has the opportunity to say, "God, I can not do this."  Yet, Abraham obeys God.  You know the rest of the story...God stops Abraham from taking Isaac's life on the altar and sends a replacement sacrifice.  

So, what exactly was his works?  His works were his obedience to God's command.  Not the miracle of a replacement sacrifice because Abraham did not bring that to pass....all he did was obey.  So, what are our works to be?  Our works are to obey God's commands, the bible commands that God has given to us.  To live HOLY, to walk in the spirit, to be a light in this dark world, to pray, fast, and study his words.  IF we obey and do these things, then it shows our faith.  HOW?  It shows our faith in what we have read in the word of God, that we believe that God will do what he has told us in his word...he will bring to pass the good gifts and promises from his word.  James tells to be not just hearers of the word, but doers of the word.  If we do this...our faith is complete.   

March 5th, 2009.

Are there really valleys and mountains?

Recently, my blessed mother sent me an email.  In this email was a mans account of the trial he was currently undergoing, which was the illness of his wife.  He questioned if we really go through mountains and valleys in our walk with God?  I thought about that, and I agree.  I do not think that we really go through valleys, because in my walk with God, it seems that trouble is constantly in my life and I really do not get to see mountain tops.  However, I also recognize that it is all in how you look at your walk with God.  Since trouble is on every side, I can either look at that and get myself into a self pity mode, or I can look at the blessings that also seem to coincide with the trouble.  Yes, I have troubles, but I also have MANY, many blessings in my life.  Therefore, I think we shall always fight trouble with God on our side, but it is up to us how we view our battle and walk with God.  What do you see?  Do you see the blessings and therefore thank and praise God? 

Jan. 7, 2009. 
The importance of Prayer and Bible Study.

I believe with all my heart that the day is approaching that we will soon see Jesus step out on the clouds to catch away the children of God.  I am longing for that day, but until then, we must continue to do his work and win the lost...at all cost.
That means sacrifices on our part, in the way of giving our time to God.  Prayer time is a very important part of that sacrifice.  I know, that with the busyness of our lives, sometimes it is easy to neglect time in prayer, but we just can not afford to do this!  I speak to myself and my family first and foremost!  God is my strength and my comfort, he is my God, and I need that time in prayer to know him!  So, I am challenging each of you to PRAY more!!!  Remember, Jesus is coming to catch away a church that is without spot or wrinkle, free from sin and the only way that we can live up to that is to be in prayer.
Ephesians 5:27:

   27.  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Now, it goes without saying that we must also read the word of God!  We are to study the bible and search out the riches contained therein.  The bible is our road map, our guide to Heaven.  Prayer and bible study go hand in hand, you can not live up to God's standards if you do not know what they are and that takes studying God's word. 
2 Timothy 2:15:

   15.  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Sanctification, A definate second work and a continuous work of God.  Lesson 2.

EXODUS 19:10-25

 ¹⁰And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,

   ¹¹And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.

   ¹²And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:

   ¹³There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

   ¹⁴And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.

   ¹⁵And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.

   ¹⁶And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

   ¹⁷And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

   ¹⁸And 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.

   ¹⁹And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.

   ²⁰And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

   ²¹And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.

   ²²And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.

   ²³And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.

   ²⁴And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them.

   ²⁵So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.

 them to wash their clothes and prepare themeselves for God's presence was going to show up.  Paul says that these are "ensamples" for us to apply to our lives.  This cleansing of the clothes is a example of how we are to sanctify ourselves.  So, when God tells you to take something out of your life, he means it for your good.  Additionally, he may want you to ADD to your life.  More prayer, more bible and study time, etc.  He wants you pure and only God knows what needs to be We must be sanctifed or set apart from this world.  God has called us to be sanctified.  We are to bring ourselves, after God saves us, to the place where God can sanctify us.  In other words, when God saves us, he takes us out of the world.  Through sanctification, God takes the world out of us and prepares us for the Holy Ghost.  The bible says that we are the temple of the Holy Ghost and we know that where God is, there can not be sin in our lives.  Yes, I know that we fall, we make mistakes, and God is just to forgive us, but when we do over and over the things that we have been taught by God that are wrong, then you are living in sin.  Remember, the difference between a child of God and a sinner, is that a sinner continues to commit sin.  Jesus told many that he had healed, "GO and sin NO MORE."  God has not changed, therefore, he expects the same from us.

There is a second definate work of God called sanctification.  You must be sanctified for the Holy Ghost to come into your life.  He will not dwell in an unclean temple, he can not dwell there!   I believe the first type of sanctification (the second definate work) is a work of sanctification that God does for us.  When there are "things" in this world that we can not remove from our lives, he will do it for us....like smoking.  I know from my own life, that I could not quit smoking...I tried and tried.  Finally, God spoke to me and said, "I will take care of it."  I had to leave it in his hands, but when he took the desire out of me....I threw them out and never desired to smoke again!!!!  I had no cravings, nothing!!!  Then I was clean and God filled me with the Holy Ghost. 

 Sanctification, an ever growing work.  This type of sanctification is ever present in our lives and keeps us ever moving forward for God's power to be used in us.  Just as in this scripture, God told them to sanctify themeselves, so that he could come down.  He told taken out of your life or added to your life.  For us to grow, we must be ever willing to do whatever God wants us to do.  People forget the scripture that tells us that if we know to do right and do it not, it is a SIN.  Let's ask God, what do you need us to do Lord?

Holiness as God's Standard of Living. Lesson 1.

Hebrews 12:14

14.  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:    We are to live holy.  In Leviticus 20:7, Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God, God tells us to be holy.  Holiness is not just for the inner man, or what we would call our mind or heart, but it also applies to the outward man/appearance.  So many used to have the convictions of living holy, not only inner but outward, yet they have slid back to a lower standard of living.  1st Corinthians 3:17 tells us that we are the temple of God, which is HOLY (If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are).    Everything that we do, whether it is spiritual, or physical affects our spiritual growth in God.  We must, must, must live HOLY both on the inside and the outside.  If you study God's word, you will find more and more what God requires of you. 

The Power of Prayer, an example.

John Hyde 1865-1912 John Hyde, better known as "The Praying Hyde," was born in Carrollton, Illinois. His father was a Presbyterian minister who faithfully proclaimed the Gospel message and called for the Lord to thrust out laborers into His harvest. He prayed this prayer not only in the pulpit but also in the home, around the family altar. This made an indelible impression on the life of young John, as he grew up in that atmosphere. John was graduated from Cathage College with such high honors that he was elected to a position on the faculty. However, he had heard the divine call to the regions beyond, and was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. So he resigned his posi- tion and entered the Presbyterian seminary. In Chicago, he was graduated in the spring of 1892 and sailed for India the following October.         His ministry of prayer in India during the next 20 years was such that the natives referred to him as "the man who never sleeps." Some termed him "the apostle of prayer." But more familiarly he was known as "the praying Hyde." He was all these and more, for deep in India's Punjab, he envi- sioned his Master, and face to face with the eternal, he learned lessons of prayer which were amazing.         Often he spent 30 days and nights in prayer, and many times was on his knees in deep intercession for 36 hours at a time.         His work among the villages was very successful, in that for many years he won four to ten people a day to the Lord Jesus Christ. Hyde was instrumental in establishing the annual Sialkote Conferences, from which thousands of mission- aries and native workers returned to the stations, empowered anew and afresh for the work of reaching India with the Gospel.         Hyde's life of sacrifice, humility, love for souls and deep spirituality, as well as his example in the ministry of intercession, inspired many others to effect these graces in their own lives and ministries. He died February 17, 1912. His last words were, "Shout the victory of Jesus Christ!"



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