God Changes Hearts

So  is it intellectual assent or dynamic impact? What was the underlying reason or cause that changed people's hearts when they encountered Jesus Christ? Or was it entirely something else?

During the time of Jesus in the first century Israel, there were publicans and tax collectors who could coldly walk up to a man and tax him for what he was carrying, and much more. These tax collectors were hated and despised because they usually were fellow Jews who were working for Rome. How could a tax collectors heart be changed?

Pastor Jim shares how some hearts were changed in this very insightful message.

David Sloane

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How God Changes the Hearts of People- Matthew the Publican.....

Over the next few days, I want to take a look at different examples of how God apprehends peoples' hearts and changes them- beginning with Matthew, author of the first gospel....

His name was Levi, but he became known by the name Matthew, meaning 'gift of God'. What a wonderful name given to a man once known as a thief!

He was a tax collector (or publican), and tax collectors were not exactly thought of highly in those days, as they were notoriously crooked, mean and dishonest, demanding as much from the people as they could, and then some- but when God changes a person, He does it completely, thoroughly, from the inside out, and Matthew was no exception.

He was working when Jesus walked by. Jesus looked at him and said, "Follow me".


The Savior called him right from his front desk in Capernaum, and Matthew got up and followed Him from that moment forward. That is amazing, isn't it?

Now, a number of people have tried to tell me that Matthew (as well as Peter and the others whom Jesus called directly) already knew who Jesus was, and decided that following Him would just be the right thing to do.

 I even read in a commentary, "Matthew's immediate response and following would indicate some previous acquaintance with and confidence in Jesus."

 As I've said before, I don't believe that for one second. I believe that God in flesh looked upon man, and man responded. These men didn't sit there and think, "Gee, I've heard of this man, and he seems to know what he's talking about, so I guess I'll drop everything I'm doing and follow him."

 No- they saw something in Jesus. Something that they had never seen or heard or felt in their entire lives prior. It was the authority and power of Almighty God, and they were intensely drawn to Him, and none of them were ever the same again.

Now, that's power!

Many of today's 'intellectual' Christians still like to think that those whom Jesus directly called simply used their brains in a bright, intelligent manner and deduced that walking after this man was the best course of action at the time.

Nonsense!

Matthew was drawn immediately by the power of God, and the fervor with which he had previously stolen from people was now used to proclaim the message of the One who looked upon him and beckoned, "Follow Me." .....

God still draws people today- supernaturally, by His Spirit- and lives are still changed by His power, and His power alone.

Now, I don't want to be misunderstood here- oftentimes a person under the conviction of the Holy Spirit will ponder, count the cost of becoming a child of God, and make a decision for Christ after much time and many dealings by the Holy Spirit.

This is perfectly good and normal, and it is still the Holy Spirit working in and dealing with an individual.

Nonetheless, I believe that God' s calling of certain people- Matthew, Peter, Paul and others as recorded in scripture, were instant and very real apprehensions of those individuals' hearts by the Spirit and power of God, and for God's own purposes.

We will deal with other examples of how God changes the hearts of people in the next few days.

En Agape,
Jim Ewing

How God Changes the Hearts of People- Matthew the Publican.....

Over the next few days, I want to take a look at different examples of how God apprehends peoples' hearts and changes them- beginning with Matthew, author of the first gospel.... His name was Levi, but he became known by the name Matthew, meaning 'gift of God'. What a wonderful name given to a man once known as a thief! He was a tax collector (or publican), and tax collectors were not exactly thought of highly in those days, as they were notoriously crooked, mean and dishonest, demanding as much from the people as they could, and then some- but when God changes a person, He does it completely, thoroughly, from the inside out, and Matthew was no exception. He was working when Jesus walked by. Jesus looked at him and said, "Follow me".


The Savior called him right from his front desk in Capernaum, and Matthew got up and followed Him from that moment forward. That is amazing, isn't it? Now, a number of people have tried to tell me that Matthew (as well as Peter and the others whom Jesus called directly) already knew who Jesus was, and decided that following Him would just be the right thing to do. I even read in a commentary, "Matthew's immediate response and following would indicate some previous acquaintance with and confidence in Jesus". As I've said before, I don't believe that for one second. I believe that God in flesh looked upon man, and man responded. These men didn't sit there and think, "Gee, I've heard of this man, and he seems to know what he's talking about, so I guess I'll drop everything I'm doing and follow him". No- they saw something in Jesus. Something that they had never seen or heard or felt in their entire lives prior. It was the authority and power of Almighty God, and they were intensely drawn to Him, and none of them were ever the same again. Now, that's power!

Many of today's 'intellectual' Christians still like to think that those whom Jesus directly called simply used their brains in a bright, intelligent manner and deduced that walking after this man was the best course of action at the time. Nonsense! Matthew was drawn immediately by the power of God, and the fervor with which he had previously stolen from people was now used to proclaim the message of the One who looked upon him and beckoned, "Follow Me." .....

God still draws people today- supernaturally, by His Spirit- and lives are still changed by His power, and His power alone. Now, I don't want to be misunderstood here- oftentimes a person under the conviction of the Holy Spirit will ponder, count the cost of becoming a child of God, and make a decision for Christ after much time and many dealings by the Holy Spirit. This is perfectly good and normal, and it is still the Holy Spirit working in and dealing with an individual. Nonetheless, I believe that God' s calling of certain people- Matthew, Peter, Paul and others as recorded in scripture, were instant and very real apprehensions of those individuals' hearts by the Spirit and power of God, and for God's own purposes.

We will deal with other examples of how God changes the hearts of people in the next few days.

En Agape, Jim Ewing

How God Changes the Hearts of People- Matthew the Publican.....

I want to take a look at different examples of how God apprehends peoples' hearts and changes them- beginning with Matthew, author of the first gospel.... 

His name was Levi, but he became known by the name Matthew, meaning 'gift of God'.

What a wonderful name given to a man once known as a thief!

 He was a tax collector (or publican), and tax collectors were not exactly thought of highly in those days, as they were notoriously crooked, mean and dishonest, demanding as much from the people as they could, and then some- but when God changes a person, He does it completely, thoroughly, from the inside out, and Matthew was no exception.

He was working when Jesus walked by.

 Jesus looked at him and said, "Follow me".


The Savior called him right from his front desk in Capernaum, and Matthew got up and followed Him from that moment forward.

That is amazing, isn't it?

 Now, a number of people have tried to tell me that Matthew (as well as Peter and the others whom Jesus called directly) already knew who Jesus was, and decided that following Him would just be the right thing to do.

I even read in a commentary, "Matthew's immediate response and following would indicate some previous acquaintance with and confidence in Jesus".

As I've said before, I don't believe that for one second.

 I believe that God in flesh looked upon man, and man responded.

These men didn't sit there and think, "Gee, I've heard of this man, and he seems to know what he's talking about, so I guess I'll drop everything I'm doing and follow him".

 No- they saw something in Jesus.

 Something that they had never seen or heard or felt in their entire lives prior.

It was the authority and power of Almighty God, and they were intensely drawn to Him, and none of them were ever the same again.

 Now, that's power!

Many of today's 'intellectual' Christians still like to think that those whom Jesus directly called simply used their brains in a bright, intelligent manner and deduced that walking after this man was the best course of action at the time.

 Nonsense!

 Matthew was drawn immediately by the power of God, and the fervor with which he had previously stolen from people was now used to proclaim the message of the One who looked upon him and beckoned, "Follow Me." .....

God still draws people today- supernaturally, by His Spirit- and lives are still changed by His power, and His power alone.

 Now, I don't want to be misunderstood here- oftentimes a person under the conviction of the Holy Spirit will ponder, count the cost of becoming a child of God, and make a decision for Christ after much time and many dealings by the Holy Spirit.

 This is perfectly good and normal, and it is still the Holy Spirit working in and dealing with an individual.

Nonetheless, I believe that God' s calling of certain people- Matthew, Peter, Paul and others as recorded in scripture, were instant and very real apprehensions of those individuals' hearts by the Spirit and power of God, and for God's own purposes.

God is calling you.

How will you respond?

En Agape,
Jim Ewing

Changed Hearts By God

How God Changes the Hearts of People- The Apostle Peter...."

 

Who of us speaks with good intentions and yet when it comes down to it we find we have actions that do not match our expressed intentions? 

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Today Pastor Jim Ewing speaks about Peter. A man who had his laundry exposed to the world beyond his own life time upon this earth. All written down in our Bibles so anyone can know Peter's life. How humbling!

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His aggressiveness made Peter a natural spokesman for the twelve. Often, however, he spoke before he thought, and his words led to embarrassment.

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Most of us remember Peter for denying Christ three times during the night of Jesus' trial. Following his resurrection, Jesus took special care to rehabilitate Peter and assure him he was forgiven.  

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Peter the apostle is one of the most prominent characters in the Gospels, a rough and tumble man whose emotions often got him into trouble, and yet he was clearly one of the favorites of Jesus Christ, who loved him for his big heart. 

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 Jesus included Peter in his inner circle when he took Peter, James, and John into the house of Jairus, where Jesus raised Jairus' daughter from the dead (Mark 5:35-43). Later, Peter was among those same disciples Jesus chose to witness the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9). Those same three saw Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:33-42). 

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 Peter was a fiercely loyal man. Like the other 11 apostles, he left his occupation to follow Jesus for three years, learning from him about the kingdom of heaven. Once he was filled with the Holy Spirit after Pentecost, Peter was a fearless missionary for Christ.

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***
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How God Changes the Hearts of People- The Apostle Peter...."

Apostle Peter


And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And straightway they left their nets, and followed Him". 

 -Matthew 4:18-20. ....

Is there a more interesting disciple of the Savior than Peter?

 I've heard many humorous messages over the years spoken about him because of his propensity to 'put his foot into his mouth', to speak before thinking, and for his alternate bravery and cowardice in the face of danger.

 It appears that Peter was one tough dude.

 When Jesus called him, he left all- immediately- and followed Him. He was a bold talker, his loyalty to his Lord was unfeigned and strong, and I have no doubt that he'd walk up and punch a man in the face if the man had said anything less than good about Jesus.

 Some have wondered out loud why Jesus would choose such a tactless time bomb of a man to be His disciple. I think that Peter was a wonderful example of God's grace and power, as he eventually became perhaps the most important and influential disciple that Jesus had.....

Now, we all know of his bold affirmations of his love and loyalty to Jesus, of his being the first to declare Jesus' divinity ("Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God"), of his being rebuked by Jesus for suggesting that Jesus would not go to the cross, of his denial of his Lord in the face of persecution- but it's what happened after the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples that we see a dramatic change in this wild man.

 He boldly proclaims to observers just what had happened to those in the upper room as God poured out His Spirit, he proudly testifies of Christ in the face and in the very midst of imprisonment and persecution- he is bold, sure- but no longer boastful, no longer trite, NO LONGER LIVING FROM HIS FLESH.

God had changed this man from a loud fraidycat to a man who eventually wrote two epistles dealing with standing for Christ IN THE FACE OF PERSECUTION (1 Peter deals with persecution via enemies from without, 2 Peter addresses the reality of enemies from within the Body of Christ)...

Everybody is different, and God does not make 'cookie-cutter' Christians. Peter was not a GQ kind of guy. He was 'rough around the edges', to be sure. He was also somebody whom God's hand was upon mightily.

 God help me, I want to be a man like that!

En Agape,
Pastor Jim Ewing

I'll Tolerate No Delay ( Continued )

This lesson continues where the last lesson left us.

The idea of redeeming the time in these last days is the main theme.

"If you do nothing, nothing will happen."

***

We are confronted continually with the problem of redeeming the time because the days are evil.

Satan has his own time schedule; and if it succeeds, no flesh will be saved alive, according to the prophecies of Christ ( Matthew 24:22 ).

Satan is working to bring about the destruction of the entire human race.

Every science, every field of human endeavor, has been set up to contribute toward that end.

Satan has set the stage for a total annihilation of the human race.

Unless these days are shortened, no flesh will be saved alive; but for the sake of the elect these days will be shortened, as we read in the following Scripture:

The Angel and the Little Scroll

 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven.

He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. 

 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. 

He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. 

When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 

 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”

Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 

And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay!
 
Revelation 10:1-6.

Even though the message of the angel will ultimately usher in the end of the age, the burden rests upon God's elect to slow down Satan's schedule so that the release comes on time.

  Since God has begun to restore His end-time truths, you may have noticed that events have moved rapidly, but not rapidly enough.

It always appears that Satan's schedule is almost ahead of God's schedule.

You must believe God that through the intense determination of prayer and intercession, Satan can be prevented from hindering and delaying God's plan in the earth.

  Perhaps the enemy is battling you over God's promises for your life.

You may have thought that by now the struggle would have been ended and God would have worked His victory in your life.

You must face the reality, however, that God is giving directions today which the enemy is trying to hinder.

He always has.

Paul wrote to the church in Rome that he had often been hindered from coming to them ( Romans 15:22 ).

In the days of Ezra, the rebuilding of the Temple was delayed for fifteen years ( Ezra 4 ).

Finally the Israelites prevailed, and it looked as if they had really won the victory - except for one detail.

They had lost fifteen years.

God's people cannot afford to lose fifteen more years!

They must have a sense of urgency and a intense determination in their hearts!

  Have you sensed that God has made promises and given releases in your life, and yet something in the timing is wrong?

You have the witness that the time has elapsed.

It is true that God sometimes delays answers, but not in the way that believers are being hindered now.

Satan is trying to hinder just long enough to accomplish his time schedule of destruction.

He will not succeed, yet the believer must open up his heart to recognize the seriousness of the hour and the fact that he is being conditioned to accept delays; he is being conditioned to accept half - victories.

He is being conditioned in his thinking to fall short of those exploits, those greater works, and the manifestation of the sons of God which God has promised.

  Many of God's promises are overdue.

Prepare your heart to battle!

Do not allow any part of the passivity of this age to be resident within you.

The kingdom of God sufferer violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12.

Where is your violence?

Where is your violence! ( Intense Determination ).

Where is the violence that will stand and cry out in the name of the Lord until the futility gives way?

Are you tired of the delays?

Are you tired of the obstacles that keep you from the goal?

If it is because of Satan, are you willing to enter into the authority to loose God's will?

You must be dedicated!

  Let this truth seize your heart until you do more than simply agree with it.

You must violently cry out to God to be loosed.

You can do it, and there will be a breakthrough.

The Lord continually tries to draw people into this violence, and you will be released into as much of it as you insist upon.

If this seems strange to you, remember that the ministry of Christ was not expressed on a reasonable human level.

This is illustrated by the story of the woman with a devil - possessed daughter who nagged and nagged at Christ until the disciples tried to send her away.

She was a Canaanite woman.

( The fact that she even existed was remarkable, for in the days Joshua, God had given the Word to kill all Canaanites. )

Jesus told her, "You cannot take children's bread and give it to dogs."

She replied, "Yes, but even the dogs get the crumbs" ( Matthew 15:22-27 ).

She was determined , and so the Lord drew her forth.

In like manner, He does not care who you are; He simply looks for persistence.

  To teach us about prayer, the Lord told the parable about the man who went to his neighbor's door at midnight when everyone was asleep and knocked until he woke the whole household ( Luke 11:5-8 ).

He also told about a widow who kept her petition before the judge until the judge was pushed to the point of distraction.

Finally, he said, "I will avenge her" ( Luke 18:3-5 ).

The Lord is trying to teach us that we must battle the Laodicean lukewarmness, the state of being neither hot or cold ( Revelation 3:15-16 ).

  Your spirit must rise in a violent protest against the spirit of this age.

Rise up above the passivity!

It will try to overcome you.

It will seep into your bones like a dry rot and wreck your spirit, causing you to become one who merely floats along from day to day and year to year.

( Pot is insidious to anyone who desires spirituality. It causes passivity and apathy to take over anyone who uses it.)

Nothing will happen to you, nor will any changes occur in your life.

Instead, you will simply receive a little shot in the arm of blessing now and then.

You need more than that!

The people of God in this day must have the violence of Joshua, who commanded the sun to stand still.

They need more time and a release from restrictions and limitations in order to meet the demands of a hungry generation.

The doors are open, and the hungry are crying for God's living Word.

  Programs are not the answer; they are antiquated.

The centuries have brought them to an end.

Today the people of the Lord demand a living Word from God.

Now they need prophets to speak a Word, to break down the barriers and hindrances and to loose God's Kingdom!

How many years do we have?

How much time do we have?

The young and the old have about the same amount, and it is shrinking every day.

We must be violent to redeem the time!

We must aggressively cry out to God for release from the futility that is leading to destruction!

  The eighth and ninth chapters of Hebrews describes the pattern of things in the heavenlies.

It says that the table of showbread and the lampstand are found in the holy place, and in the Holy of Holies are the altar of incense and the ark of the covenant ( Hebrews 9:2-4 ).

It would appear that the writer of Hebrews was confused, for in the Tabernacle of the wilderness, the altar of incense was actually placed outside the veil, in the holy place, and only the ark of the covenant was contained in the Holy of Holies ( Exodus 30 ).

But Hebrews is expressing a truth that we must understand.

When we stand to worship God and to intercede, we must come through the veil.

It is the pattern and the plan of God that we stand in His presence, but there are hindrances that prevent us from walking in His presence.

His presence will not break forth upon you like a light; you must break into it!

His presence will be just as real and as close to you as you determine in your heart that it will be.

Always combine that initiative with your faith.

The Lord has given this promise: "Draw near to Me, and I will draw near to you" ( James 4:8 ).

Do you want to see His glory?

Do you want to walk with Him?

  You probably desire earnestly to be present with the Lord, but you also feel veiled from His presence.

You know what your veils are.

You know what it is that seems to cloud your ability to press in.

You can stand in the Holy place, loving God and thanking Him for letting you feast upon the showbread and for giving you the light of the Lampstand;but remember - the gold room is inside.

It is there that His holy presence is ready to minister to you.

The barriers to that have to be broken.

Determine in your heart and mind to break through.

Resist Satan.

Declare to your own heart that you will relentlessly follow after the Lord.

Determine to thirst after Him as the hart pants after the waterbrook ( Psalm 42:1 ).

Proclaim that you will seek first His Kingdom.

  Make this statement to Satan himself: " I do not accept one thing that you are doing. The Christ in me is dedicated to destroy all your works, and this objective consumes all the energies within me.

I shall serve the Lord with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength. And I shall resist you, Satan, with every resource of God within me."

  There came a time when God spoke to Moses in a burning bush because the cries of His people were coming up to Him out of Egypt.

God told Moses what to do and how to do it; yet he tried t draw back.

If we could have stood by that burning bush when God was speaking and Moses was making excuses, we probably would have wept and cried, "Moses, how many more mothers will have their babies plucked from their arms and killed before their eyes?

How many more people will die?

How many more thousands of bricks will be made?

How many more men will die from eating the rotten meat in the fleshpots of Egypt?

How many more generations will come and go before deliverance comes?

  There was something perverse in Moses, and there is something perverse in us today.

A world is waiting for the Word of the Kingdom, and God is setting a great objective before His people.

But still there are pockets of rebellion and perversity.

People hear God's Word; yet a part of them draws back from it.

How long will it be before they become completely wholehearted to do the will of the Lord?

How much time will elapse before they become violent against their own indifference, their own lack of motivation and submission to God?

Real submission to the Lord is required.

A Good - looking camouflage will not withstand the test of a true walk with God.

How many more victims of Babylon will there be before His people totally commit themselves to serve God?

  Those who have never walked in Babylon do not know the hazards.

They do not  know how denominations can break hearts of the men of God, stomping on them and breaking their spirits, crushing them and leaving them by the side of the road.

There is the constant degrading and destruction.

There are men who have bled their lives away for nothing.

How much longer will so many of God's people tolerate the ways of the world?

How long will they coexist in Sodom, wearing blinders because they refuse to see what God wants to do?

How long will they look upon the half - God, half - monster Ishmael that was created, and cry out, "O God, that this might live in Thy Sight!"

  You dare not be satisfied with the measure of contentment that is found in doing less than God's perfect will.

Put it away.

Walk perfectly in the ways of the Lord.

Determine to see His will perfectly done.

The perfect will of God is not easily attained.

Some of God's people are within striking distance of a breakthrough that could be shattering dispensationally.

It could lead to the rapid manifestation of the sons of God and the bringing forth of the Kingdom.

There is a joy in knowing that there will be a breakthrough.

  There may be casualties among those who are not willing to seek God with all of their hearts.

That perversity can get into a person's spirit.

Do you have it?

You do if you find your heart setting itself and rebelling against this word.

Even though you want to move in it, some conditioning in your spirit may hold you back.

Maybe there is not a total commitment to the will of God.

What idol do you hold on to?

What treasure from Egypt do you plan to keep?

What is worth keeping?

Do not settle for anything less than God.

Earnestly pray for this word to take deep root in your spirit.

Let there be a violence within you.

No longer tolerate a half - victory; yearn to prevail.

Let the spirit of Joshua be upon you, that spiritual quality which is determined to possess your inheritance totally.

Embrace every one of the promise of God.

Do not be content with a token fulfillment.

Do not coexist with the Canaanites in the promised land.

It is your inheritance.

Possess it now.

Rise up in your spirit and call on the name of the Lord!

Rebuke Satan!

Rebuke the walls that have hindered you and the circumstances that have restricted you!

Reach into the promises with all your heart!

What Changes Our Hearts?

God's Love Changes Hearts

This is something that actually happened to me about eleven years ago as I was sitting in a bible study at my church on a Wednesday evening. The class was pretty much freestyle, with people commenting on whatever the facilitator brought up at the time, and there was a lot of give and take.

 It was pretty enjoyable and informative, but on this one evening the Spirit of God did a real number on me- something I'll never forget, something permanent- but then, that's how God works His wonderful will in our lives, isn't it?.....

There was a woman in the class that I didn't particularly care for, and that's putting it mildly. I would usually 'endure' her comments, and wait for someone else to make their remarks before engaging in the discussion, but on this particular evening as this woman spoke, I began to pay attention to what she was saying.

Just why, I didn't know- at the time...but looking back, I can see that God wanted to change my attitude towards people that I didn't like, especially other brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Well, she spoke of her young son and how he had to deal with certain issues in his life, and in the midst of her speaking, I suddenly felt a deep compassion for her. It got more intense as she continued to share her story. I could see how much she loved her son, and the Lord just poured upon me a supernatural love and empathy for her that I simply could not understand, but I went with it (I may be stubborn, but I'm not stupid, for goodness sakes!).

I started to breathe deeply to avoid crying, but that only worked for a few minutes, as at the end of the class, I felt impressed of the Lord to pray for her and her son.

As I began to pray, the tears began flowing, and I could barely get through that most sincere prayer without completely breaking down. God had broken through this stony heart of mine and I felt nothing but compassion, love, and empathy for this woman, and only God could have done it, believe me!

 After the class, she came up to me and thanked me for having prayed for her, and yes- we became fast friends.

Now, I'll tell you the truth- all these years later, there are still other Christians whom I honestly don't care if I ever see again this side of Heaven, and God hasn't 'broken my heart' for them, and I don't expect Him to.

 I believe that he allowed me to experience His wonderful love for that particular woman just to show me how deeply He loves us all, and that He expects me to- by faith- voluntarily extend His unconditional love to others- even those that I don't particularly care for.

God reminds me that He loved me while I was still His enemy (Romans 5:8- But God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us), and He wants me to allow that precious love of His to pour out to others, just as He poured out His love upon me, and allowed it to flow from me to the sweet sister in the Lord whom I spoke about...

Even when I don't feel it or understand why, I now know by faith that He wants me to always extend His love to others, because He ALWAYS loves every one of us us that deeply- always!

Beloved, let us love one another...

En Agape,
JimEwing

Pastor Jim Ewing's Saturday Morning Corner

How God Changes the Hearts of People- The Apostle Peter...."

 

Who of us speaks with good intentions and yet when it comes down to it we find we have actions that do not match our expressed intentions? 

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Today Pastor Jim Ewing speaks about Peter. A man who had his laundry exposed to the world beyond his own life time upon this earth. All written down in our Bibles so anyone can know Peter's life. How humbling!

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His aggressiveness made Peter a natural spokesman for the twelve. Often, however, he spoke before he thought, and his words led to embarrassment.

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Most of us remember Peter for denying Christ three times during the night of Jesus' trial. Following his resurrection, Jesus took special care to rehabilitate Peter and assure him he was forgiven.  

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Peter the apostle is one of the most prominent characters in the Gospels, a rough and tumble man whose emotions often got him into trouble, and yet he was clearly one of the favorites of Jesus Christ, who loved him for his big heart. 

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 Jesus included Peter in his inner circle when he took Peter, James, and John into the house of Jairus, where Jesus raised Jairus' daughter from the dead (Mark 5:35-43). Later, Peter was among those same disciples Jesus chose to witness the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9). Those same three saw Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:33-42). 

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 Peter was a fiercely loyal man. Like the other 11 apostles, he left his occupation to follow Jesus for three years, learning from him about the kingdom of heaven. Once he was filled with the Holy Spirit after Pentecost, Peter was a fearless missionary for Christ.

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***
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How God Changes the Hearts of People- The Apostle Peter...."

Apostle Peter


And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And straightway they left their nets, and followed Him". 

 -Matthew 4:18-20. ....

Is there a more interesting disciple of the Savior than Peter?

 I've heard many humorous messages over the years spoken about him because of his propensity to 'put his foot into his mouth', to speak before thinking, and for his alternate bravery and cowardice in the face of danger.

 It appears that Peter was one tough dude.

 When Jesus called him, he left all- immediately- and followed Him. He was a bold talker, his loyalty to his Lord was unfeigned and strong, and I have no doubt that he'd walk up and punch a man in the face if the man had said anything less than good about Jesus.

 Some have wondered out loud why Jesus would choose such a tactless time bomb of a man to be His disciple. I think that Peter was a wonderful example of God's grace and power, as he eventually became perhaps the most important and influential disciple that Jesus had.....

Now, we all know of his bold affirmations of his love and loyalty to Jesus, of his being the first to declare Jesus' divinity ("Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God"), of his being rebuked by Jesus for suggesting that Jesus would not go to the cross, of his denial of his Lord in the face of persecution- but it's what happened after the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples that we see a dramatic change in this wild man.

 He boldly proclaims to observers just what had happened to those in the upper room as God poured out His Spirit, he proudly testifies of Christ in the face and in the very midst of imprisonment and persecution- he is bold, sure- but no longer boastful, no longer trite, NO LONGER LIVING FROM HIS FLESH.

God had changed this man from a loud fraidycat to a man who eventually wrote two epistles dealing with standing for Christ IN THE FACE OF PERSECUTION (1 Peter deals with persecution via enemies from without, 2 Peter addresses the reality of enemies from within the Body of Christ)...

Everybody is different, and God does not make 'cookie-cutter' Christians. Peter was not a GQ kind of guy. He was 'rough around the edges', to be sure. He was also somebody whom God's hand was upon mightily.

 God help me, I want to be a man like that!

En Agape,
Pastor Jim Ewing

How God Changes the Hearts of People- The Apostle Peter...."

 

Who of us speaks with good intentions and yet when it comes down to it we find we have actions that do not match our expressed intentions? 

.

Today Pastor Jim Ewing speaks about Peter. A man who had his laundry exposed to the world beyond his own life time upon this earth. All written down in our Bibles so anyone can know Peter's life. How humbling!

.

His aggressiveness made Peter a natural spokesman for the twelve. Often, however, he spoke before he thought, and his words led to embarrassment.

.

Most of us remember Peter for denying Christ three times during the night of Jesus' trial. Following his resurrection, Jesus took special care to rehabilitate Peter and assure him he was forgiven.  

.

Peter the apostle is one of the most prominent characters in the Gospels, a rough and tumble man whose emotions often got him into trouble, and yet he was clearly one of the favorites of Jesus Christ, who loved him for his big heart. 

.

 Jesus included Peter in his inner circle when he took Peter, James, and John into the house of Jairus, where Jesus raised Jairus' daughter from the dead (Mark 5:35-43). Later, Peter was among those same disciples Jesus chose to witness the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9). Those same three saw Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:33-42). 

.

 Peter was a fiercely loyal man. Like the other 11 apostles, he left his occupation to follow Jesus for three years, learning from him about the kingdom of heaven. Once he was filled with the Holy Spirit after Pentecost, Peter was a fearless missionary for Christ.

.

***
.

How God Changes the Hearts of People- The Apostle Peter...."

Apostle Peter


And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And straightway they left their nets, and followed Him". 

 -Matthew 4:18-20. ....

Is there a more interesting disciple of the Savior than Peter?

 I've heard many humorous messages over the years spoken about him because of his propensity to 'put his foot into his mouth', to speak before thinking, and for his alternate bravery and cowardice in the face of danger.

 It appears that Peter was one tough dude.

 When Jesus called him, he left all- immediately- and followed Him. He was a bold talker, his loyalty to his Lord was unfeigned and strong, and I have no doubt that he'd walk up and punch a man in the face if the man had said anything less than good about Jesus.

 Some have wondered out loud why Jesus would choose such a tactless time bomb of a man to be His disciple. I think that Peter was a wonderful example of God's grace and power, as he eventually became perhaps the most important and influential disciple that Jesus had.....

Now, we all know of his bold affirmations of his love and loyalty to Jesus, of his being the first to declare Jesus' divinity ("Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God"), of his being rebuked by Jesus for suggesting that Jesus would not go to the cross, of his denial of his Lord in the face of persecution- but it's what happened after the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples that we see a dramatic change in this wild man.

 He boldly proclaims to observers just what had happened to those in the upper room as God poured out His Spirit, he proudly testifies of Christ in the face and in the very midst of imprisonment and persecution- he is bold, sure- but no longer boastful, no longer trite, NO LONGER LIVING FROM HIS FLESH.

God had changed this man from a loud fraidycat to a man who eventually wrote two epistles dealing with standing for Christ IN THE FACE OF PERSECUTION (1 Peter deals with persecution via enemies from without, 2 Peter addresses the reality of enemies from within the Body of Christ)...

Everybody is different, and God does not make 'cookie-cutter' Christians. Peter was not a GQ kind of guy. He was 'rough around the edges', to be sure. He was also somebody whom God's hand was upon mightily.

 God help me, I want to be a man like that!

En Agape,
Pastor Jim Ewing

Proclaim Him Lord

What was it that first caused you to become a Christian?

Think about it.

What turned your life around?

What was it that so motivated you that you were energized and enlightened when you first believed?

What sustained you?

Where are you today?

What motivates and sustains you today?

Are you still motivated?

As Pastor Jim Ewing has taught us, "God changes hearts."

How does He do it?

A revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ changes hearts.

Today's lesson addresses this and so much more...

  ***

As you walk with the Lord, you must be concerned about anything that affects your dedication to do the will of God.

One area that you must consider is the self-deception that will occur if you join the mixed multitude.

The mixed multitude went along with the children of Israel when they left Egypt.

They were the ones who grumbled along the way, the ones who failed.

Perhaps they thought it would be nice to have an excursion through the wilderness.

Maybe they had heard that Canaan was a land of milk and honey, and they felt they might like it; however, they were not really dedicated to the true covenants of Israel.


  The same lack of dedication can bring deception to God's people today.

You may feel that many different factors cause your problems, but the truth is that most of your problems occur because of a lack of personal dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Much depends on the way you start out.

Anyone is capable of dedication, because a believer receives from Christ what he believes to receive.

You must come to Christ as the disciples did.

In Luke 5 we read that Jesus said, "Follow Me"; it was final.

The disciples left all and followed Him.


  You cannot stop and analyze everything and require a number of reasons why you should continue walking with God.

If you always have to be convinced of the reality of what God is doing in the earth, you might as well look for a lesser level of some humanitarian enterprise which you can believe in and be dedicated to.

But if you are going to be in the end-time army of the Lord, you must be prepared in your heart that no matter what happens, you have set your course to serve God.


  You cannot serve God for personal reasons.

Why should others pray for you and minister to you just to get you through your hard times?

Why should you want your problems to be worked out?

Is that the ultimate objective?

Doing the will of God always involves a total work of the cross in your life, and nothing less.

If you live on the level of the flesh and on the soulish level of emotions, being encouraged and discouraged by every wind that blows, this indicates that something is wrong.


  Deception can come where there is no revelation.

Remember that.

If God has not revealed His purpose for this end time to you so totally that your dedication is in it, you can be deceived and distracted or diverted from it.

Many people have been blessed by the truths that God is restoring today, but they still do not have a deep revelation.

If you do not know how He is moving in the earth and what He is saying, you absolutely cannot relate to Him.

Then you yourself- your own ambition, your own place, your own concerns- will be the focus of your interest.

You must have a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can relate to Him, so that you can overcome deception by knowing where the truth is.

If you have not had that deep revelation, you will focus on other things.

Invariably, you will walk either in dedication through revelation or in distraction through self-centeredness.

Dedication comes through revelation.

If you know Him, if He is revealed to you, then you can be dedicated to do His will.

If you do not have that revelation, then you will be focused on something else, and you will be in trouble.


  An illustration of how dedication comes through revelation is found in the Gospel of Luke.

Simon Peter, James and John had been fishing all night and had caught nothing.

The next morning Jesus told them to return to deep water and let down their nets.

And when they had done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their nets were breaking; and they beckoned unto their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them.

And they came, and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for i am a sinful man, O Lord.

For he was amazed, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken; and so were also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.

And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

And when they had brought their boats to land, they left all, and followed Him.

Luke 5:6-11.

The dedication was there, and also the revelation of how wonderful the Lord was.

At that particular point there was no question in Peter's mind as to what he should do.

He was ready to do whatever he was told.

He requested that the Lord leave him because he sensed his own unworthiness.


  Without revelation there is no understanding of our unworthiness.

It is easy to spot the man who does not have the revelation of the Lord.

He is always looking for his place and for his ministry to be established.

He is always concerned with his own self-interests.

A dedicated believer says, "Lord, I am a sinful man.

I am not worthy to be around Your work."

When the Lord says to such a man, "Follow Me," he will leave everything and follow Him.


  There cannot be any consideration of the price of following the Lord.

If you have been counting the cost, then a walk with God is too expensive for you.

You cannot afford it.

Those who walk with God in this end time will not count the cost.

Like the early disciples, they will not stop to think of such things as the nets and the businesses they must leave behind.

When Peter, James, and John brought their nets to land, they did not throw them away; someone else took them and carried on a good fishing business.

The disciples forsook the entire business and followed the Lord without and further question.

Something within you must respond like that.


  When Elijah threw his mantle upon Elisha and called him a prophet, Elisha slew the oxen he was plowing with, built a fire with the plows which were made of hardened wood, and cooked the oxen.

Then he called in his family and his neighbors, gave the meat to them, and followed Elijah ( I Kings 19:19-21 ).

His leaving was irrevocable.

He was through plowing.

It was not that he was not a good farmer, but he had to be committed irrevocably to the commission of God.


  There is a dedication that must come even when you cannot foresee the price.

If you are starting to count the cost, somewhere down the line the cost will be too much.

You must determine in your heart not to count any cost.


  In Luke 5 we also read, And after these things he (Jesus) went forth, and beheld a publican, named Levi, sitting at the place of toll, and said unto him, Follow me.

And he forsook all, and rose up and followed him.

Luke 5:27-28.

The Scriptures classified the publicans ( tax collectors ) with the sinners.

( Matthew 9:10; 11:19 ).

Matthew was one of the tax collectors who had to make decisions that affected people's lives.

The tax collectors had a sense of power and feeling of infallibility, but no humility.

The Lord put it to Matthew very plainly when He said, "Follow Me."

Matthew responded, "Yes," and he forsook all.

He gave a big feast, a going away party ( Luke 5:29), and that was the end of all his political intrigue.

To be commissioned by the Roman government to collect taxes from people resulted in a very lucrative business, but he left it.


  Jesus spoke to those at the feast in reference to what Matthew had done.

And he spake also a parable unto them:

No man rendeth a piece from a new garment and putteth it upon an old garment; else he will rend the new, and also the piece from the new will not agree with the old.

And no man putteth new wine into old wineskins; else the new wine will burst the skins, and itself will be spilled, and the skins will perish.

But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.

And no man having drunk old wine desireth new; for he saith, the old is good.

Luke 5:36-39.


  Matthew had one attitude; he was ready to change every sense of value and every attitude completely, totally, and irrevocably.

Every response was going to be changed and be absolutely different.

He was going to become a servant.

He was going to serve the Lord.

He broke irrevocably with the old ways of thinking.

In him we see a true picture of dedication.


  You may already have a great amount of dedication, but you will be called upon to reevaluate your dedication in the days ahead.

Many things will come against you, and if you have already determined the price you are willing to pay, God will see to it that the cost is always just a little more.

Your dedication must be expanded to the place where you will leave all to follow Him.


  If you come into a walk with God with reservations in your heart, you will face one situation after another that will constantly challenge the limit of your dedication.

Instead of having to count the cost in your mind and be constantly challenged by the will of God, you might as well come to an absolute surrender.

You must decide whether there is a limit to how far you will serve the Lord in the place He has put you.


  Remember that revelation sets aside the process of reasoning.

Your greatest dedication must be the abandonment of the supreme court of your own carnal mind where you sit in judgment on everything.

just because something pleases you and you agree with it, do you accept it as a Word from the Lord?

In the New Testament churches of today, God has established such a divine order that when two or three prophets speak, it becomes binding on the entire church ( I Corinthians 14:29 ).

This would be true even if all the other members were apostles.

The Church is not a rank-and-file order of people, but a divine order by which God can bypass the supremacy of your own thinking and your own reasoning and can depend upon the dedication of your spirit to do the will of God.


  You can reason everything out, you can react to your circumstances, and you can have certain responses and conditioning's in you; but one fact supersedes all of that; if you have a revelation of a Word from God, you must follow that Word.

God reveals Himself to be the Lord, and He sets you in the Body as it pleases Him ( I Corinthians 12:18 ).

When He sets you in the Body, He does not tell you to stay as long as it seems reasonable, as long as the people measure up to your standards, or as long as they accept you.

He simply says, "Stay here."

It is up to you to have the dedication and the love to determine to stay, no matter what happens.

You must be set to serve the Lord and bless the Body without bitterness.

You must have the dedication to do the will of God where He has placed you, regardless of how you feel.

If you have a revelation that you are where God wants you, do not sit around feeling unappreciated, waiting for a Word from the Lord to set you in; God has already set you in the Body.


  Events are taking place that are moving the world, and it does not matter whether you have five loaves and two fishes or five thousand loaves and two thousand fishes.

God can feed a multitude with your little effort, but it must first be surrendered into His hands.

It must be blessed.

It must be bRoKeN.

He will do a tremendous work in your spirit to bring you to the total dedication which discipleship in this end time involves.


  This is a day of softness, of self-seeking, of self-indulgence.

Because of the blindness that is on most people, they do not care what is happening to the overall economy and financial structures.

Instead, they are more interested in obtaining as many creature comforts as they can.

In the midst of this blindness, God is demanding a total dedication of his people.

Whatever venture He sets before them, they will support it, no matter how impossible or foolish it may appear.

No matter what is set before them to test their obedience, they will obey the Lord.

Obedience to God is what really counts.


  Are you waiting for the glory and recognition to come to you and to those who serve God with you?

You may never see that day, though you will see the religious world continuing to battle for it.

You may find, however, that you will be dealing your bread to the poor sooner than you think.

God will push you into it.

In the meantime, when God tells you to do something, be ready to do it without any exaltation of the flesh.

Remember that there cannot be dedication without revelation of the Lordship of Christ over your life.

You must come into the total dedication that God demands of your life.

Do not hold anything back from God.

If you have and reservations in your dedication, pray for revelation, and watch how God brEaks your heart.

He will reveal Himself to you and becomes very real and deep and wonderful to you.


  Pray for the kind of revelation that will take the restraints and the limitations off your entire way of thinking.

Pray that god will give you a revelation of the complete picture the way God wants you to see it, so that you will not stumble along from problem to problem.

People with that kind of revelation will be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord ( I Corinthians 15:58 ).

If a person does not bother to find help and to seek a deeper revelation of the lordship of Christ, he can be shaken out of a walk with God.


  We read in the book of Acts that Paul was sustained , down through the years, by the revelation of the Lord.

Finally he gave this testimony, "I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision" ( Acts 26:19 ).

Once he had seen the Lord, once Christ's Lordship had been made real to him, his responses changed.

He no longer had to search through the writings of the prophets to see if Jesus was the Messiah.

The next Sabbath day he was in the synagogue disputing, "Jesus is the Messiah."

The people were amazed.

The Christians said, "He who persecuted us is now glorifying God in our midst" ( Galatians 1:23 ).

Some probably did not trust him because their relatives had been put in prison or killed during his persecutions.

It must have been very difficult for Paul.

Through the times of suspicion, through the plots to assassinate him, and through all the persecutions, the one thing that sustained him was the fact that he had seen the Lord.

People could argue with him about almost everything else, but he said, "Am I not an apostle? Am I not free?

Have I not seen the Lord Jesus?" ( I Corinthians 9:1 ).

He had seen Him.

He knew Him.

He was sustained by that revelation.


  You do not need to worry about your problems so much as you need a sustaining revelation of the lord in your heart to help you with those problems.

Wherever there is discouragement or depression, there is a low level of revelation of the Lord.

This is the whole problem.

Let us not face the negative side of it only; let us face the positive side also.

We could dwell on all the problems forever, but they are not the issue.

The issue is that we must have a Word from the Lord to prophesy changes.

We must have a positive focus in order to change situations.

By the Word of the Lord we can bring changes.


  Do not become discouraged about anything.

Just go before the lord and say, "Lord, reveal Yourself to me afresh."

Expose yourself constantly to the Lord.

Do not only be aware of the problems and circumstances; instead, become aware of the Lord.

Your awareness of Him is the first step to revelation.

Then you will receive the strength that comes from the Lord.

As you focus with all your heart on His presence, the eyes of your heart will be enlightened, and you will be transformed from glory to glory.

Because you set the lord always before you, you will not be moved.

He Is The Lord!

Proclaim Him Lord

What was it that first caused you to become a Christian?

Think about it.

What turned your life around?

What was it that so motivated you that you were energized and enlightened when you first believed?

What sustained you?

Where are you today?

What motivates and sustains you today?

Are you still motivated?

As Pastor Jim Ewing has taught us, "God changes hearts."

How does He do it?

A revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ changes hearts.

Today's lesson addresses this and so much more...

  ***

As you walk with the Lord, you must be concerned about anything that affects your dedication to do the will of God.

One area that you must consider is the self-deception that will occur if you join the mixed multitude.

The mixed multitude went along with the children of Israel when they left Egypt.

They were the ones who grumbled along the way, the ones who failed.

Perhaps they thought it would be nice to have an excursion through the wilderness.

Maybe they had heard that Canaan was a land of milk and honey, and they felt they might like it; however, they were not really dedicated to the true covenants of Israel.


  The same lack of dedication can bring deception to God's people today.

You may feel that many different factors cause your problems, but the truth is that most of your problems occur because of a lack of personal dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Much depends on the way you start out.

Anyone is capable of dedication, because a believer receives from Christ what he believes to receive.

You must come to Christ as the disciples did.

In Luke 5 we read that Jesus said, "Follow Me"; it was final.

The disciples left all and followed Him.


  You cannot stop and analyze everything and require a number of reasons why you should continue walking with God.

If you always have to be convinced of the reality of what God is doing in the earth, you might as well look for a lesser level of some humanitarian enterprise which you can believe in and be dedicated to.

But if you are going to be in the end-time army of the Lord, you must be prepared in your heart that no matter what happens, you have set your course to serve God.


  You cannot serve God for personal reasons.

Why should others pray for you and minister to you just to get you through your hard times?

Why should you want your problems to be worked out?

Is that the ultimate objective?

Doing the will of God always involves a total work of the cross in your life, and nothing less.

If you live on the level of the flesh and on the soulish level of emotions, being encouraged and discouraged by every wind that blows, this indicates that something is wrong.


  Deception can come where there is no revelation.

Remember that.

If God has not revealed His purpose for this end time to you so totally that your dedication is in it, you can be deceived and distracted or diverted from it.

Many people have been blessed by the truths that God is restoring today, but they still do not have a deep revelation.

If you do not know how He is moving in the earth and what He is saying, you absolutely cannot relate to Him.

Then you yourself- your own ambition, your own place, your own concerns- will be the focus of your interest.

You must have a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can relate to Him, so that you can overcome deception by knowing where the truth is.

If you have not had that deep revelation, you will focus on other things.

Invariably, you will walk either in dedication through revelation or in distraction through self-centeredness.

Dedication comes through revelation.

If you know Him, if He is revealed to you, then you can be dedicated to do His will.

If you do not have that revelation, then you will be focused on something else, and you will be in trouble.


  An illustration of how dedication comes through revelation is found in the Gospel of Luke.

Simon Peter, James and John had been fishing all night and had caught nothing.

The next morning Jesus told them to return to deep water and let down their nets.

And when they had done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their nets were breaking; and they beckoned unto their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them.

And they came, and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for i am a sinful man, O Lord.

For he was amazed, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken; and so were also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.

And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

And when they had brought their boats to land, they left all, and followed Him.

Luke 5:6-11.

The dedication was there, and also the revelation of how wonderful the Lord was.

At that particular point there was no question in Peter's mind as to what he should do.

He was ready to do whatever he was told.

He requested that the Lord leave him because he sensed his own unworthiness.


  Without revelation there is no understanding of our unworthiness.

It is easy to spot the man who does not have the revelation of the Lord.

He is always looking for his place and for his ministry to be established.

He is always concerned with his own self-interests.

A dedicated believer says, "Lord, I am a sinful man.

I am not worthy to be around Your work."

When the Lord says to such a man, "Follow Me," he will leave everything and follow Him.


  There cannot be any consideration of the price of following the Lord.

If you have been counting the cost, then a walk with God is too expensive for you.

You cannot afford it.

Those who walk with God in this end time will not count the cost.

Like the early disciples, they will not stop to think of such things as the nets and the businesses they must leave behind.

When Peter, James, and John brought their nets to land, they did not throw them away; someone else took them and carried on a good fishing business.

The disciples forsook the entire business and followed the Lord without and further question.

Something within you must respond like that.


  When Elijah threw his mantle upon Elisha and called him a prophet, Elisha slew the oxen he was plowing with, built a fire with the plows which were made of hardened wood, and cooked the oxen.

Then he called in his family and his neighbors, gave the meat to them, and followed Elijah ( I Kings 19:19-21 ).

His leaving was irrevocable.

He was through plowing.

It was not that he was not a good farmer, but he had to be committed irrevocably to the commission of God.


  There is a dedication that must come even when you cannot foresee the price.

If you are starting to count the cost, somewhere down the line the cost will be too much.

You must determine in your heart not to count any cost.


  In Luke 5 we also read, And after these things he (Jesus) went forth, and beheld a publican, named Levi, sitting at the place of toll, and said unto him, Follow me.

And he forsook all, and rose up and followed him.

Luke 5:27-28.

The Scriptures classified the publicans ( tax collectors ) with the sinners.

( Matthew 9:10; 11:19 ).

Matthew was one of the tax collectors who had to make decisions that affected people's lives.

The tax collectors had a sense of power and feeling of infallibility, but no humility.

The Lord put it to Matthew very plainly when He said, "Follow Me."

Matthew responded, "Yes," and he forsook all.

He gave a big feast, a going away party ( Luke 5:29), and that was the end of all his political intrigue.

To be commissioned by the Roman government to collect taxes from people resulted in a very lucrative business, but he left it.


  Jesus spoke to those at the feast in reference to what Matthew had done.

And he spake also a parable unto them:

No man rendeth a piece from a new garment and putteth it upon an old garment; else he will rend the new, and also the piece from the new will not agree with the old.

And no man putteth new wine into old wineskins; else the new wine will burst the skins, and itself will be spilled, and the skins will perish.

But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.

And no man having drunk old wine desireth new; for he saith, the old is good.

Luke 5:36-39.


  Matthew had one attitude; he was ready to change every sense of value and every attitude completely, totally, and irrevocably.

Every response was going to be changed and be absolutely different.

He was going to become a servant.

He was going to serve the Lord.

He broke irrevocably with the old ways of thinking.

In him we see a true picture of dedication.


  You may already have a great amount of dedication, but you will be called upon to reevaluate your dedication in the days ahead.

Many things will come against you, and if you have already determined the price you are willing to pay, God will see to it that the cost is always just a little more.

Your dedication must be expanded to the place where you will leave all to follow Him.


  If you come into a walk with God with reservations in your heart, you will face one situation after another that will constantly challenge the limit of your dedication.

Instead of having to count the cost in your mind and be constantly challenged by the will of God, you might as well come to an absolute surrender.

You must decide whether there is a limit to how far you will serve the Lord in the place He has put you.


  Remember that revelation sets aside the process of reasoning.

Your greatest dedication must be the abandonment of the supreme court of your own carnal mind where you sit in judgment on everything.

just because something pleases you and you agree with it, do you accept it as a Word from the Lord?

In the New Testament churches of today, God has established such a divine order that when two or three prophets speak, it becomes binding on the entire church ( I Corinthians 14:29 ).

This would be true even if all the other members were apostles.

The Church is not a rank-and-file order of people, but a divine order by which God can bypass the supremacy of your own thinking and your own reasoning and can depend upon the dedication of your spirit to do the will of God.


  You can reason everything out, you can react to your circumstances, and you can have certain responses and conditioning's in you; but one fact supersedes all of that; if you have a revelation of a Word from God, you must follow that Word.

God reveals Himself to be the Lord, and He sets you in the Body as it pleases Him ( I Corinthians 12:18 ).

When He sets you in the Body, He does not tell you to stay as long as it seems reasonable, as long as the people measure up to your standards, or as long as they accept you.

He simply says, "Stay here."

It is up to you to have the dedication and the love to determine to stay, no matter what happens.

You must be set to serve the Lord and bless the Body without bitterness.

You must have the dedication to do the will of God where He has placed you, regardless of how you feel.

If you have a revelation that you are where God wants you, do not sit around feeling unappreciated, waiting for a Word from the Lord to set you in; God has already set you in the Body.


  Events are taking place that are moving the world, and it does not matter whether you have five loaves and two fishes or five thousand loaves and two thousand fishes.

God can feed a multitude with your little effort, but it must first be surrendered into His hands.

It must be blessed.

It must be bRoKeN.

He will do a tremendous work in your spirit to bring you to the total dedication which discipleship in this end time involves.


  This is a day of softness, of self-seeking, of self-indulgence.

Because of the blindness that is on most people, they do not care what is happening to the overall economy and financial structures.

Instead, they are more interested in obtaining as many creature comforts as they can.

In the midst of this blindness, God is demanding a total dedication of his people.

Whatever venture He sets before them, they will support it, no matter how impossible or foolish it may appear.

No matter what is set before them to test their obedience, they will obey the Lord.

Obedience to God is what really counts.


  Are you waiting for the glory and recognition to come to you and to those who serve God with you?

You may never see that day, though you will see the religious world continuing to battle for it.

You may find, however, that you will be dealing your bread to the poor sooner than you think.

God will push you into it.

In the meantime, when God tells you to do something, be ready to do it without any exaltation of the flesh.

Remember that there cannot be dedication without revelation of the Lordship of Christ over your life.

You must come into the total dedication that God demands of your life.

Do not hold anything back from God.

If you have and reservations in your dedication, pray for revelation, and watch how God brEaks your heart.

He will reveal Himself to you and becomes very real and deep and wonderful to you.


  Pray for the kind of revelation that will take the restraints and the limitations off your entire way of thinking.

Pray that god will give you a revelation of the complete picture the way God wants you to see it, so that you will not stumble along from problem to problem.

People with that kind of revelation will be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord ( I Corinthians 15:58 ).

If a person does not bother to find help and to seek a deeper revelation of the lordship of Christ, he can be shaken out of a walk with God.


  We read in the book of Acts that Paul was sustained , down through the years, by the revelation of the Lord.

Finally he gave this testimony, "I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision" ( Acts 26:19 ).

Once he had seen the Lord, once Christ's Lordship had been made real to him, his responses changed.

He no longer had to search through the writings of the prophets to see if Jesus was the Messiah.

The next Sabbath day he was in the synagogue disputing, "Jesus is the Messiah."

The people were amazed.

The Christians said, "He who persecuted us is now glorifying God in our midst" ( Galatians 1:23 ).

Some probably did not trust him because their relatives had been put in prison or killed during his persecutions.

It must have been very difficult for Paul.

Through the times of suspicion, through the plots to assassinate him, and through all the persecutions, the one thing that sustained him was the fact that he had seen the Lord.

People could argue with him about almost everything else, but he said, "Am I not an apostle? Am I not free?

Have I not seen the Lord Jesus?" ( I Corinthians 9:1 ).

He had seen Him.

He knew Him.

He was sustained by that revelation.


  You do not need to worry about your problems so much as you need a sustaining revelation of the lord in your heart to help you with those problems.

Wherever there is discouragement or depression, there is a low level of revelation of the Lord.

This is the whole problem.

Let us not face the negative side of it only; let us face the positive side also.

We could dwell on all the problems forever, but they are not the issue.

The issue is that we must have a Word from the Lord to prophesy changes.

We must have a positive focus in order to change situations.

By the Word of the Lord we can bring changes.


  Do not become discouraged about anything.

Just go before the lord and say, "Lord, reveal Yourself to me afresh."

Expose yourself constantly to the Lord.

Do not only be aware of the problems and circumstances; instead, become aware of the Lord.

Your awareness of Him is the first step to revelation.

Then you will receive the strength that comes from the Lord.

As you focus with all your heart on His presence, the eyes of your heart will be enlightened, and you will be transformed from glory to glory.

Because you set the lord always before you, you will not be moved.