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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

HEALING RESULTS

After all these years of ministry I have for the first time realized the vast difference between praying for the sick and ministering to the sick with the gift of healing. They are not the same. In fact they are as far apart as the east is from the west.

When visiting the various non charismatic fellowships that at best expressed only a nominal belief in the miraculous, I was always concerned with why I went away feeling so grieved. They participated in what seemed to be just about every area of ministry and even had pictures to prove they visited the sick and prayed for them.
I often noticed that when they were praying for the sick their prayers would veer off into prayers for the sick person to be a witness in the hospital, to the nurses and for God to guide the hands of the surgeon. They were indeed praying for the sick but the anointing that comes with the gift of healing was missing.

For the most part they do not recognize the gift of healing as being upon any certain person. The individual gift in operation through any kind of uniqueness was rejected. I would have to agree that they do pray for the sick and so I would make excuses for them by making that claim, ‘yes they do pray for the sick’.

I have now learned that a ministry can think they have covered that base when in actuality they missed it completely. It is as if they are hitting home runs without scoring. You may think as I did, ‘well at least they are praying for the sick, after all we can’t make a miracle happen, all we can do is pray’. With that logic, I left off the pursuit of God for healing and just sort of fell in line.

Recently, God called me out of all that and I am determined never to conform to it again. Faith comes by hearing. The counterfeit comes by a teaching that sterilizes faith and reduces it to mere belief. That is another instance where I made excuses for non charismatic churches. They professed to believe that God could do anything. They would say, “I believe in miracles, I believe that God could move a mountain if he wanted to. God could raise the dead, He can do anything.” With that I was disarmed, after all they pray for the sick and they also believe in miracles. I found most charismatic churches to be non charismatic and several non charismatic churches to be very charismatic. It’s only names and titles.

Before church last Sunday up in Big Bear California, I was walking on a log in the parking lot and telling my friends “watch this” as I easily balanced on the log. Then I asked the question, why is it that it feels almost impossible to accidentally fall off the log when it is so close to the ground, but suspend it a hundred feet in the air or for that matter anything over about ten feet and my faith would be overcome with fear. I believed I could walk on the log with perfect balance. I saw myself do it, I believed. Faith and belief were only about ten feet apart and the higher I imagined the log the further I realized that belief and faith are not the same.

Belief may have an element of faith mixed with it, such as a passive faith. Passive faith would be more in the category of believe, whereas faith with action becomes an active faith. Faith is based on trust. Belief can be based on almost anything: ‘I believe because…’ Passive faith produces nothing in the realm of spiritual things. We must first believe that God is, and that he rewards those who diligently seek him. Our belief in God becomes faith in God only if we put our trust in him and then act upon it.

We trust in the salvation that God has provided through his son Jesus. Devils believe and tremble but we trust in God by faith. Healing becomes an extension of your faith when you first believe that God desires to heal you. Jesus expressed only the desires of his heavenly father. What he saw the Father doing, he did. He healed the sick in every case where faith was found.

In the absence of faith in his own home town he could not do many mighty works even though he wanted to. The will of the Father was to bless and heal but because of their unbelief they were unable to be healed. This is the case in many churches today. They see the Lord as Savior and they believe they are in his family ‘the body of Christ’ but as the Bible indicated even his own family rejected the supernatural.

Pastor Tilson

POWER FROM ON HIGH



Friday, March 27, 2009

Ya Gotta Love This Stuff...

"Bank CEOs voice support for Obama's economic plans." What more evidence do we need this is bad for the American taxpayer?
http://www.americablog.com/2009/03/after-8-years-of-republicans-trashing.html

No Integrity

The hand wraps confiscated from former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito shortly before his title defense against "Sugar" Shane Mosley contained two primary elements of plaster of Paris, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing documents obtained from California's top law enforcement agency.

Where Have All The Flowers Gone?......

Remember that song? Well, as I look back at the way that ministry took place thirty years ago, and then at mainstream ministry today, the words to that song come to mind- but it's not the flowers that have gone, it's the numbers of believers who actually evangelize.

Both pastors Tilson and David dealt with this subject about a week ago and it got me thinking. I mean really thinking.....

Where have all the evangelists gone? Mind you, you do not have to have the gift of evangelism or be a great evangelist in order to evangelize. It's about overtly sharing Christ with others. It's also called witnessing, and it used to be a huge part of the twentieth century Church, but you don't see much of it today, do you?

Why? Well, A while back, a man came up to my pastor after a Christmas concert at my church to ask him who Jesus was. The man wasn't kidding! He said that he'd liked the concert, but had no idea of who the Savior of the world was, and wanted to be filled in on just who the music and worship was all about. My pastor shared Christ with this man- it was the first time the Gospel had ever been presented to him!......

Most of us take for granted that people in America at least know who Jesus is, don't we? I mean, one generation tells another, and so on. This is how anything is passed on, be it a trade, a custom, history, or YOUR FAITH. But what happens when one generation fails to tell the next? It doesn't take very long for indifference and apathy- and finally, total ignorance- to replace what was once a faithfully communicated presentation of God's Holy Word.

"Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten the God that formed thee (Deuteronomy 32:18)"

This is why God told His people to remind their children of what marvelous things He had done among His people (please read Deuteronomy 6:6-25). If one generation fails to evangelize, then the next generation- and every generation thereafter, until and unless someone else comes in to bridge that gap with God's Word- is left in the dark, and great is that darkness, indeed!......

Where have all the flowers gone? Back in 1974, as I was hitchhiking home, a man in a car with many Christian bumper stickers picked me up. I was so ripe for the Gospel that I asked, "Are you religious? I noticed the stickers on your bumper." He must have felt that God had 'dropped me into his lap', so to speak- and to this day, I believe that He did. The man simply but thoroughly shared Christ with me and I really felt the convicting power of the Holy Spirit upon me. Just before I left his car, he told me, "You'll remember this day a thousand years from now."

It was a matter of months before I finally received my Savior and inherited eternal Life, but that man had such a big part in it. I hope I can meet this man again before I die, because I want to thank him and let him know just what his faithfulness to the Lord meant to me, but If I never see him again this side of Heaven, I'll never forget his words. He was faithful in sharing Christ with me, and I am a child of God because of it! Let me ask again, "Where have all the flowers gone?" .......

Why aren't we taught anymore to share our Savior with others the way that Christians used to be taught? I understand that witnessing takes many forms, and that it is not always overt, but way too many of us choose to be 'closet Christians' who think that people will just somehow guess that Christ lives in us as we interact with them. It doesn't work like that. People may admire us, they might sense that there's something different about us, but they'll never guess that it's Jesus if we don't open our mouths and let them know.

We claim to be in the Word much and often, but if we truly were, we'd heed Jesus' words to "go and tell" all the world, wouldn't we? Beloved, that is not the way it used to be! Studying the Bible is great, and hanging around other believers is a real blessing, I know- but sharing our Savior with others as God's Spirit leads is what brings them to Him, and that is what evangelism is.

Does anybody else out there wonder- Where have all the flowers gone?

Pastor Jim Ewing

Saturday, March 21, 2009

DON’T LOOK AT ME

When preachers say ‘don’t look at me’ it makes me think ‘don’t flatter yourself’. It reminds me of a girl that thinks every creep is staring at her. The preachers that repeatedly say ‘don’t look at me’ are usually not much to look at in the first place. I suppose Elvis could have said it with at least some level of validity but for the most part its false humility.

There is a ‘we are the enlightened ones’ mentality in the Christian lime light today that has in recent years become nothing more than a ‘circus act’ all of its own. It parades itself as a legit, calm, unemotional approach to teaching the word of God when in reality it has become governed largely by its own unique form of emotion. They allow their own judgmental emotions to run away with themselves and call reading every word of scripture cover to cover ‘declaring the whole counsel of God’. Be careful of elevated self-proclaiming groups in the body of Christ that claim to be ‘IT’.

Only God knows the heart of a person, but I strongly suspect that those who say "the days of the one man show are over and there will never be another Billy Graham" are really thinking, "the days of the one man show are over and there will never be another Billy Graham, AFTER ME !"

When Peter healed the lame beggar at the temple gate he said "Look on us." He got the beggars attention and then he gave him something. The scripture called it ‘such as I have’ (Acts 3:4-6). Peter had something to give. When Jesus commissioned his disciples he said to them, "Heal the sick" (Matthew 10:8). As a man of God, Peter knew exactly what he was capable of doing in the Lord. He knew who he was and what he was given to give.

Satan loves to perpetrate two extremes on Christians. On the one hand he loves to have Christians thinking they are nothing special and have nothing to give, and on the other hand he loves to have the elite group of Christians who say ‘don’t look at me’ and think they are it. They change the office of apostle to apologetic and proceed to straighten everyone out. Beware of the self-proclaimed apologist that thinks they set the standard for every move of God. Their forty years have expired.

Behold I do a new thing saith the Lord.

Pastor Tilson

JESUS IS REAL

Everyone In Heaven Is A Believer

There is something that you will not be able to do in heaven. You will not be able to share your faith with a nonbeliever. Why? Because everyone in heaven is a believer. When you take your last breath here on earth, you will never again be able to share with a lost person.

"Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter."
Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"The Son of Man has come to save that which was lost."
Matthew 18:11

If it is the utmost importance for Jesus to reach the lost, shouldn't it be a major priority for you? Three million years from now your fine car, good job, nice home won't matter. What will matter is who is in heaven and who is in hell. Today, every day, some 600,000 people will die and enter eternity. You can make a difference to some of them. Therefore wouldn't you want to reach out to as many of them as you can, while you still can?

"Preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of season."
2nd Timothy 4:2-8

"I would sooner bring one sinner to Jesus Christ than unravel all the mysteries of the divine Word, for salvation is the one thing we are to live for."
Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"Oh my friends, we are loaded down with countless church activities, while the real work of the church, that of evangelizing the world and winning the lost, is almost entirely neglected!"
Oswald J. Smith

We should desire to be used by God in what really matters to His heart.

Jesus talked with the woman at the well first about natural water, then about living water. He went from a natural topic to a spiritual one. When apostle Paul was giving his sermon on Mars Hill, he mentioned an altar he saw with the inscription "to the unknown God." He took something natural around him and turned it into a supernatural conversation. Shouldn't we?

Didn't someone lead you to Jesus?

"Why does the church stay indoors?"
Samuel Chadwick

"I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes..."
apostle Paul

For "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? ...As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!"
Apostle Paul

People believe when the good news is preached and the Spirit of God touches their hearts. So preach the good news as God through Paul tells us to! We should want to see people in heaven so much that we would be willing to do anything for them to know Jesus.

What is the value of a soul?

"To be a soul winner is the happiest thing in the world. And with every soul you bring to Jesus Christ, you seem to get a new heaven here on earth."
Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Every breathing person you will ever meet needs Jesus. Use the breath that God has given you to futhur His kingdom here on earth.

There can be not getting around this scripture, no rationalizing away the sharing of your faith:

Proverbs 11:30The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

He that winneth souls is what? Then conversely he that does not win souls is what?

I know of a pastor who came to the conclusion that evangelism is only for some Christians but not all Christians. This man of God had a small church. As he reached out in evangelism his small church grew fast, and I mean fasssst! As more and more people came into his church and caught his model of evangelism and shared their faith out in the highways and byways of life, his church grew exponentially. Then one day he decided that he wasn't very good at evangelism so he gave it up and concentrated on teaching the bible instead of his former evangelistic efforts. He said,

*Quote*
"As I started reading and studying the Word of God, I could not find the Scripture that
said the primary purpose of the church is the evangelization of the world; I still can't find
that Scripture. But I did find in Ephesians 4 that God has placed gifted men, apostles,
evangelists, prophets, pastor-teachers for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the
ministry, the building up of the body of Christ. This brought into my life a tremendous
philosophical change as far as my concept of the purpose of the church was concerned.
Rather than seeing the primary purpose as being the evangelization of the world, I saw
that the purpose of the church was for the perfecting of the saints, making the believers
strong, bringing them into maturity, feeding them, loving them, strengthening them so
that they would be able to engage in the work of the ministry, for I realized that God has
called all of us and placed us into His body and He has a plan and purpose for each of us.
*Unquote*

I disagree! No major battle has ever been won without a plan, without a strategy, the battle we are talking about(winning a soul to the kingdom) far surpasses any other of the battles in life that we might encounter. The above is called "lifestyle evangelism" and lifestyle evangelism is one of the great cop outs of our fellow Christians. When you realize your Position in the vine, aware of your unconditional eternal security being you will begin to work toward others coming in to the kingdom. You will in fact get the message out instead of being "Keepers of the aquarium rather than fishers of men." Jesus told his disciples to "GO and make disciples of people of all nations...teaching them.." It is clear that they went from town to town and house to house in proclaiming the good news or gospel about Christ and His kingdom. Jesus' words: "A workman is worthy of his wages." Luke 10:7

Paul at Acts 20:20 "I did not hold back from...teaching you publicly and from house to house." Paul's NEXT words show that he was ministering to nonbelievers. He says: But I thoroughly bore witness both to Jews and to Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus."Explain how the Jews and Greeks that Paul was bearing witness to about repentance, (by going from house to house among other things), was simply an encouraging visit amongst fellow believers.

Randolph O. Yeager wrote that Paul taught "both in public assemblies [de'mo'si'a] and from house to house [ka'ta'] Paul had spent three years in Ephesus. He visited EVERY HOUSE or preached to all of the people. Here is SCRIPTURAL WARRANT for house to house evangelism as well as that carried on in public meetings. A similar use of ka'ta' appears at Luke 8:1, which speaks of Jesus preaching "from city to city and from village to village."

Remember that at Acts 5:42- in addition to going "from house to house," (In the same sentence and verse), they were also preaching and teaching at the Jewish temple.Were they just having "fellowship with believers" at the Jewish temple too?They were preaching to unbelievers in both cases. Just two of the many ways they followed Christ's example of a bold preacher of the gospel.
You'd have to ask as well if these disciples were just visiting with fellow Christian why Jesus would say:"When you are entering into the house, greet the household...if (He) is not deserving, let the peace from you return upon you. Wherever anyone does not take you in or LISTEN TO YOUR WORDS, on going out of that house or that city shake the dust off your feet." matt 10:7, 11-13

Those were some unfriendly "fellow believers". Paul said "I did not flinch from...teaching you publicly and from house to house."- ACTS 20:20, Byington.

Then in the next verse, (21), he says that he was "Testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God." It seems clear that those "Houses" didn't contain fellow believers, at least not initially.

"House to house dissemination of the gospel characterized the first-century Christians from the beginning (cf. Acts 2:46, 5:42). ... [Paul] had thoroughly discharged his responsibility both to Jews and Gentiles at Ephesus, and they were left without excuse if they perished in their sins."- The Wesleyan Bible Commentary, Volume 4, pages 642-3.

"He (Paul) was not content with teaching and discoursing in the synagogue and the market. He was ever diligently teaching from house to house. It was a house-to-house, hand-to-hand, face-to-face contest with evil, and to win men to Christ, that he waged in Ephesus." Biblical scholar, Edwin W. Rice.

One thing I recall about the early days at this pastors church was the sense of all of us young people participating in the birth of new Christians. We would bring others to church with us and pray for them as the "altar call" was being given, 'every eye closed and every head bowed', we would be in deep prayer that the Holy Spirit would move upon those present who did not know the Lord yet. Then the invitation would be extended for everyone that had raised their hand to come forward and bear witness to their acceptance of Christ before everyone. O, I can't tell you of the joy and the excitement of seeing others receive Christ. All of us young people were so turned on to going out and sharing our faith with others at the beach and everywhere else we would go. We would see so many other Christians out on the streets sharing their faith. Then we would bring them to church to hear the gospel message where they would then get an opportunity to respond to the call of God through our pastor while we prayed fervently.

Then you can imagine our frustration when suddenly the altar calls were no longer and the excitement of everyone participating in evangelism as a Christian family sort of fizzled out. Evangelism was relegated to once in a while crusades while the main emphasis became bible study. It was if a spiritual 'birth control' pill had been taken by the Church!

Today you hardly ever see Christians street witnessing. In fact, when was the last time you even saw anyone out in public with a bible, except at church? Is it any wonder that the Church is losing the battle for souls in America? Is it any wonder that church attendance is waning across the land.

That Church reproductive model that I first witnessed as a 17 year old worked! The church grew and grew. There was such an alive environment every night at that church. Today, if I go there, to that same church, there is a "worship team" that everyone kind of just sits there and listens to. Everyone claps after each song as if they are watching entertainment instead of worshiping together like we used to do. People go in and go out. No after glow like there used to be. Sure some people linger and stick around talking but it is nothing like it used to be.

The angels of heaven rejoice greatly when anyone passes from judgment into salvation (Luke 15:10). Shouldn't we as Christians rejoice too? Shouldn't we weep over the lost? Shouldn't we ask the Lord of the field to send laborers into His harvest (Luke 10:2)? Certainly! The salvation of others is the goal of your efforts.

 http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0055/0055_01.asp

 http://chick.com/reading/tracts/1075/1075_01.asp

 This Was Your Life

Chick tracts are everywhere One constant throughout my life is those pesky little Chick tracts that I seemed to find no matter where in the world I went! Even when I was stationed in Japan, there they were. By His grace I am found at last. Thank you for being there all of my life. An E-Mail

Over twenty years ago my brother and his wife gave me several of your tracts. After reading THIS WAS YOUR LIFE! the Holy Spirit convicted me so strongly that I knelt down at the foot of the bed and repented of my sins and confessed Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
Alabama E-mail

I'm a pastor. I was saved in jail in 1984 after reading a Chick tract!
E-Mail

PARTIAL BIRTH,LIMITED ATONEMENT AND THE UNPARDONABLE SIN

There is no such thing as being a little bit pregnant. You are either ‘Born again’ or you’re not. If a New Testament prophet makes a mistake, is he suddenly unborn again and under the Old Testament law to be stoned as a false prophet, or is their forgiveness, grace and restoration found in the New Testament for such a prophet? 1 Corinthians 13:9 says "For we know in part, and we prophecy in part." No one is perfect.

The same grace and restoration for the act of committing adultery is the same grace and restoration extended to the prophet for making a prophetic mistake unless of course you believe in limited atonement for the forgiveness of sins.

Mormon theology excludes the sin of murder from the atonement but the true church of Jesus Christ preaches that in Christ we have complete forgiveness of all sin. If we as Christians believe the gospel we preach, we must include forgiveness for any and every sin. All of our sins are washed away.

In Ephesians 4:11 God has given five ministry callings. All five are under the same atoning blood of Christ. I cannot think of even one evangelist, pastor or teacher that does not make an occasional mistake. Does that disqualify them from the office that God has called them to? Of course not; they humbly repent and continue. The same is true for the apostle or prophet.

When it comes to the office of apostle or prophet the majority of teaching in Christian circles places them during what they call the ‘apostolic age’ and for prophets, during the ‘period of the prophets’. Jesus called John the Baptist the greatest of the prophets and yet his ministry did not occur until many years after the period of the prophets.

Concerning apostles - the office began with the original twelve apostles of the lamb and no one can add to them or take away from them. Judas lost his place of apostleship and God replaced him, but there will always only be twelve original apostles of the lamb.

The problem with limiting the office of apostle to only the twelve during the apostolic age is that the Bible mentions other apostles that were not among the number of the original twelve. When you have additional apostles in the New Testament that are outside the original number of the twelve apostles, what do you do with them? You can’t very well call them apostles of the apostolic age because they were not identified in scripture until after the ascension of Christ and the birth of his church. It wasn’t until Jesus ascended into heaven that Ephesians 4:8 says he gave gifts unto men. Ephesians 4:11 "And he (Jesus) gave some, apostles, and prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers." This was quite some time after the life and ministry of Christ and his apostles. What was Jesus doing from heaven in giving men the office of apostle if there were only the twelve he had already made apostles?

Pastor Tilson

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

In addition to calling Jesus Christ an Apostle, and the twelve apostles of the Lamb, the New Testament calls several others apostles:

Barnabas and Paul Acts 14:14

James the Lord's brother Gal 1:19

Andronicus and Junia Rom 16:7

Silvanus and Timotheus 1Thess 1:1; 2:6

Apollos 1 Cor 4:4-9

Two unnamed brethren 2 Cor 8:23

Epaphroditus Phil 2:25

The word translated "Messenger" in these verses is the same Greek word translated "apostle" elsewhere.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

1 John 3:2-3 (King James Version)
2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

A plain old ordinary drab grey rock when put under a black light could glow with vibrant colors of blues and reds and greens and many other wonderful colors. I love to ride on the children's rides at Disneyland because of the black lights. Mr Toads Wild Ride is my all time favorite ride there. As a child I knew nothing about black lights, the ride was magical for me!


We are like that while down here on earth. God sees all of us in His magnificent light!


Don't be discouraged at what YOU see because God sees our true potential in Christ. Be patient and continue to trust in, cling to and rely upon Jesus Christ.


Leviticus 26:4Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.


Deuteronomy 11:14That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.
Side bar note:
All of you who are part of the Chem trail sky spraying will have to face God one day. You are deliberately tampering with the above Deuteronomy system of things. And you are messing with the health of God's beloved humans. The spraying of metallic Desiccants to spread out the clouds so that they do not drop rain is wicked. The man made world wide drought that you are creating will not go unnoticed by Almighty God. You will pay dearly!http://www.rense.com/general21/dr.htm


Psalm 145:15The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.


Galatians 6:9And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

David Sloane

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Only Because You Were Wondering

Red-light cameras reduce T-bone crashes but increase rear end crashes. However, they're big profit centers for corporations and local police forces.

Most People Have Never Heard Of This


The Divine Call

God hath set some in the Church. There is a divine call.

1 Corinthians 12:27,2827
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

Ephesians 4:11 says "Jesus gave." This passage says "God set."
God sets ministrygifts in the Church- not man.
There is a vast diffrence between God's setting some in the Church- and man's setting some in the Church.
God does the setting. God does the calling.
You do not enter the ministry-any phase of it- just because "you" feel it is a holy calling and you would like to respond. It is dangerous to do something just because "you" want to do it. You do not enter the ministry because "someone else" tells you that you are suited for it.

So how can you tell a divine call?

You will have the conviction in your own spirit. You will have the witness in your own heart. God deal's with man's spirit. Listen to your spirit. Listen down on the inside of you and you will know many things you don't otherwise know. There will be a divine compulsion on the inside of you.

"No man taketh this honor upon himself, but he that is called of God..."
Hebrews 5:4

Are you convinced that God has called you into the ministry? The ministry to the called is not an option, it's a necessity. As Paul expressed it, "Woe unto me, if I preach not the Gospel!"
1 Cor 9:16.

The call of God is very relevant today as it was in Paul's day.
".A call generally starts in the form of a consciousness within one's
own spirit, an awareness of a kind of pressure being brought to bear
upon one's spirit, some disturbance in the realm of the spirit, then
that your mind is being directed to the whole question of preaching.
You have not thought of it deliberately, you have not sat down in cold
blood to consider the possibilities, and then having looked at several
have decided to take this up. It is not that. This is something that
happens to you; it is God dealing with you, and God acting upon you
by His Spirit; it is something you become aware of rather than what
you do. It is thrust upon you, it is presented to you and almost forced
upon you constantly in this way." (Martin Loyd Jones)

So the call of God is absolutely necessary, for it is this single event that
initiates and ultimately sustains all genuine pastors!

As the apostle Paul so properly observed, .WHO IS SUFFICIENT FOR
THESE THINGS?. And everyone who is called, and everyone who
responds favorably, and everyone who actually enters the work, will know
to the depth of their beings the full impact of these words upon their own
lives and ministries!

Is there urgency, or personal constraint? You know that you must
do this great task. You have the feeling that you can do nothing else.
Spurgeon always told his students, .If you can do anything else do it.
If you can stay out of the ministry, stay out of the ministry.. I agree
whole-heartedly! The man who is really called will not be able to do
anything else with his life.

The one who is called to preach, and answers that call, must give up
his entire life for the service to His Lord. There can be no misunderstanding at this point. Going into the ministry will not cost
you something; it will not cost you dearly; it will cost you your life
and everything in it! Are you willing to abandon your life to God.s
service, expecting nothing in return for your efforts?

The methods by which men are called are unimportant. But obedience to the call is important.
Ministry gifts ARE NOT SET in the Church by prophecy. There may come a confirmation.

Acts 13:1,2
1Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

Barnabas and Saul were not called by prophecy. They were not set in by prophecy or by man. God just confirmed something that already was. If so called prophecy does not confirm what you have in your own spirit, forget it.

Seeing a need is not a call to the ministry. An anointing evidences a divine call. Knowing that YOU know you are divinely called settles the matter once and for all. There should be no confusion on the subject.

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe. Learn to look to your spirit. Your spirit will tell you. Your spirit knows things your head doesn't know.

Pastor Samuel Eli Silverstein

Friday, March 13, 2009

ALABASTER BOX Refined

Paul and the early church disciples had a lot to share about supernatural events that commonly took place within their ministries. Spiritual gifts were at work within them by the power of the risen Christ and his anointing. God confirmed his word with signs following. They healed the sick, and the poor had the gospel preached to them.

When Jesus taught his disciples to freely give away what they had freely received, what kind of giving do you think that he was talking about? Did they receive a lot of money from Jesus to give to the poor? Was it some valuable self help technique, a miracle drug, or the key to financial freedom?

What exactly happened to the disciples that suddenly enabled them to give, and what was it that they had to give?

When Jesus was being anointed with ointment from an alabaster box the question was asked, "Could not this ointment have been sold for a lot of money and given to the poor? Jesus responded, "The poor you have with you always." Isn’t it interesting that today we still make that same mistake? We skip the anointing to form other programs. We sometimes give what is within our own power and resourcefulness, rather than yielding to God’s anointing for what only He can give. Abraham did this with Hagar when he attempted to bypass the supernatural and have a son with Hagar instead of Sarah. The outcome of that mistake produced only a work of the flesh and not of the Spirit. It is by faith that we obtain the promises of God and it is by the anointing that we manifest those promises.

As followers of Christ, we should always remember the poor but never as a replacement for the anointing. We provide food, shelter, and medicine, while ignoring the anointing of God’s Holy Spirit to bring salvation, healing and deliverance.

The book of James speaks of a faith made perfect by the giving of our substance, such as a blanket or a meal. Faith without works is dead. The supply of faith for supernatural aid should be in balance with a supply of faith for natural aid and vice versa. Natural assistance should not outweigh faith for supernatural assistance. To exclude ‘either or’ would cause an imbalance in our faith causing it to become incomplete.

A faith made perfect is one that not only offers financial assistance, but also by faith offers supernatural assistance through the anointing. When there is no anointing, it brings about the exclusion of miracles and reduces the supernatural to the natural, causing what we see today.

It was the anointing that brought about victory for the children of Israel when Moses lifted his hands toward them in battle. It had nothing to do with natural ability or how he looked, acted or spoke. It was the anointing.

Paul said he did not come with the enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Jesus said you would receive power after the Holy Ghost had come upon you. He also said seek and ye shall find. In James we read, we receive not because we ask not.

As saints of the most high God we should press into the supernatural things of God and lay hold of them. They are attainable. Just because we can’t make a miracle happen is no reason to stop believing in them.

Seek the anointing because without it, not much happens.

Pastor Tilson

What Do We Believe?

We Believe: worship of God should be Spiritual. Therefore: We remain flexible and yielded to the Holy Spirit to direct our worship.
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We Believe: worship of God should be Inspirational. Therefore: We give a great place to music in our worship.
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We Believe: worship of God should be Intelligent. Therefore: Our services are designed with great emphasis upon teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct us how He should be worshipped.
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We Believe: worship of God is Fruitful. Therefore: We look for His Love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have truly been worshipping Him.
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WE BELIEVE
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GOD IS
We believe that there is one and only one true and living God. God is Love. He is an infinite, all-knowing spirit, perfect in all His attributes, one in essence, eternally existing in three Persons--the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--each equally deserving of man's worship and obedience.
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THE BIBLE IS GOD'S WORD
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PEOPLE ARE GOD'S TREASURE
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We believe that people are God's special treasure, fashioned by Him in His own image as the crowning work of His creation. Everyone has willfully disobeyed God-an act also known as sin-thus inheriting both physical and spiritual death and need of salvation. All human beings are born with a sin-nature and into an environment inclined toward sin. As soon as individuals are capable of moral action, they become responsible for their sinful condition. Only by the grace of God through Jesus Christ can they experience salvation.

JESUS IS GOD AND SAVIOR
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We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, and in His sinless life. As God's Son on earth, He was both fully God and fully human. We also believe in His miracles and His substitutionary and atoning death on the cross. Christ rose from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father and will return in power and glory.
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THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD, THE PRESENCE AND POWER
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We believe the Holy Spirit is supernatural and sovereign, baptizing all believers into the Body of Christ. He lives within every Christian beginning at the moment of salvation and then empowers them for effective service as they yield to Him. The Holy Spirit convicts individuals of sin, uses God's Word to mature believers into Christ-likeness, and secures them until Christ returns.
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SALVATION IS BY FAITH ALONE
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We believe that people were created in the image of God and willfully disobeyed Him, bringing physical and spiritual death. This disobedience is known as sin. All human beings are born with a sin nature, separated from God, and in need of a Savior. That salvation comes only through a faith relationship with Jesus Christ, the Savior, as a person repents of sin and receives Christ's forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. Salvation is instantaneous and accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. This salvation is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works. All the redeemed are secure in Christ forever.

THE CHURCH IS GOD'S PLAN
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We believe that all people who put their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual body, the Church, of which Christ is the head. The primary physical expression of the Church on earth is in autonomous local congregations of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. The purpose of the Church is to glorify God by taking the gospel to the entire world and by building its members up in Christ-likeness through the instruction of God's Word, fellowship, service, worship, and prayer.

GOD HOLDS THE FUTURE
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We believe that God will bring the world to its appropriate end in His own time and in His own way. At that time, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth. Both the saved and unsaved will be resurrected physically to be judged by Christ in righteousness. Those who have received Christ will, in their resurrected and glorified bodies, receive their reward and dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord. Those who have refused Christ will spend eternity in Hell, the place of everlasting punishment

Sunday, March 08, 2009

ALABASTER BOX

Paul and the early church disciples had a lot to share about supernatural events that commonly took place within their ministries. Spiritual gifts were at work within them by the power of the risen Christ and his anointing. God confirmed his word with signs following. They healed the sick; they raised the dead.

When Jesus taught his disciples to freely give away what they had freely received, what kind of giving do you think that he was talking about? Did they receive a lot of money from Jesus to give to the poor? Was it some valuable self help technique, a miracle drug, or the key to financial freedom?

What exactly happened to the disciples that suddenly enabled them to give, and what was it that they had to give?

When Jesus was being anointed with oil the question was asked, "Could not this ointment have been sold for a lot of money and given to the poor? Jesus responded, "The poor you have with you always." Isn’t it interesting that today we still make that same mistake? We skip the anointing to form other programs. We sometimes give what is within our own power and resourcefulness, rather than yielding to God’s anointing for what only He can give. Abraham did this with Hagar.

As followers of Christ, we should always remember the poor but never as a replacement for the anointing. We provide food, shelter, and medicine, while ignoring the anointing of God’s Holy Spirit to bring salvation, healing and deliverance.

The book of James speaks of a faith made perfect by the giving of our substance, such as a blanket or a meal. Faith without works is dead. The supply of faith for supernatural aid should be in balance with a supply of faith for natural aid and vice versa. Natural assistance should not outweigh faith for supernatural assistance. To exclude ‘either or’ would cause an imbalance in our faith causing it to become incomplete.

A faith made perfect is one that not only offers financial assistance, but also by faith offers supernatural assistance through the anointing. When there is no anointing, it brings about the exclusion of miracles and reduces the supernatural to the natural, causing what we see today.

It was the anointing that brought about victory for the children of Israel when Moses lifted his hands toward them in battle. It had nothing to do with natural ability or how he looked, acted or spoke. It was the anointing.

Paul said he did not come with the enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Jesus said you would receive power after the Holy Ghost had come upon you. He also said seek and ye shall find.

As saints of the most high God we should press into the supernatural things of God and lay hold of them. They are attainable. Just because we can’t make a miracle happen is no reason to stop believing in them.

Seek the anointing because without it, not much happens.

Pastor Tilson

1 Thessalonians 5:19Quench not the Spirit.

Quench not-the Spirit being a holy fire: "where the Spirit is, He burns" [Bengel]
To quench is to extinguish or put out a fire. God implies the holy spirit in us is as a fire and should not be dampened.
Matthew 3:11:I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Hebrews 12:29:For our God is a consuming fire.

It is interesting to note that on the day of Pentecost the apostles saw a vision of "tongues as of fire." They then manifested forth the new spirit within by speaking in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4).

We have been given so much ability to exercise the power of God. Our freedom of will determines how much of that power we will bring forth.

We have the powerful Word of God at our disposal as well as the spirit of God within us. People hear a lot of words spoken but rarely do they see the genuine power of God unless a believer is manifesting it. God wants us to use it not quench it.
I Corinthians 2:4 and 5:And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

The connection in which the exhortation, "Quench not the Spirit" occurs, shows to what it refers. The next sentence is, "Despise not prophesyings." It has to do with the gifts of the Spirit and their exercise in the holy liberty and power of the Spirit.

"Quench not the Spirit" would go further, and warns us against any attempt to shut out, or impose limits on the free action of the Holy Spirit in the gifts He has entrusted to the saints. The word quench means to suppress or stifle. "Quench not"--as if it were a candle flame,--a fire, which might be extinguished.
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Don’t throw cold water on someone else who is operating under the power and fire of God!
Do not throw water on yourself from doing the same thing by resisting the move of the Spirit and smothering it out.
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The Pharisees restrict the flow of spiritual experiences until religion becomes a purely intellectual and theological exercise, and the Spirit is quenched. Pharisaism was heretical in spite of its theological correctness.The Pharisee's real problem was that they drastically overvalued the role of theology in spiritual life and made theological correctness the chief religious virtue. They had a man~given confidence in their theology. Their faith became intellectualized. Their center of faith moved from the heart to the head. A sign of this was the way that they bombarded Jesus with theological questions.
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The Pharisee's self~evaluation was that they were on the forefront of what God was doing for Israel. Jesus judgement of them was different:
Matthew 23:29-33 (King James Version)
29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
30And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
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Although they believed themselves to be the protectors of orthodoxy, the Pharisees were really the opponents of the Holy Spirit. All Pharisaism contains tragic elements of missed opportunities.They stood in the way of the person of the Holy Spirit at work.
They are "witch hunters" who like to point out errors and win their case.
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On the other hand, well meaning workers in ministry want to help individuals from being presumptuous. When Christians begin to appropriate specific promises in Scripture as being applicable to themselves and nothing happens they can become very confused and disillusioned. Yes the Holy Spirit can and does speak to individuals, and it is often through Scripture. But one must use discernment, is it really the voice of God or is it presumption?
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We want to encourage and to inspire others to move out in the power of the Holy Spirit while helping them to avoid presumption. A very fine line, if we are not careful we could 'throw the baby out with the bath water.'
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Many people were upset with Jesus because He claimed to know the mind and heart of God, to speak directly for God, to reveal God's mind and heart towards an individual or group of individuals. Therefore they threw Him out with the bathwater! They missed Jesus Christ, Almighty God the Master Creator because of their resistance to what He was and what He was saying. They clung tightly to their orthodoxy and their drastically overvalued theology and therefore they missed Jesus for who He truly is.
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Are we upset at those who attempt to have an active faith idealism?
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Ephesians 3:20 (New King James Version)
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.
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I like that, "ask or think." What are the implications of this scripture? Can we have faith with a vision? Can we think while using our minds eye to see our thoughts realized. Can we see ourselves ministering to others before it happens? Lonnie Frisbee did and look what he accomplished in his short life time.
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=668a381a25f0c5744f51
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Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
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God does call us to serve Him. He does give us a hope for a future. If you know that you know, that He has called you to a task. And you hold that vision dear, what will be the result?
There will be opposition from those who hold to rigid legalistic rules with tight boundaries. "You can't do that! Your a dreamer!"
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Genesis 37:5And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
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And yet Joseph was the deliverance for all of his brothers and their kin.
Do you have a vision a dream? Are you willing to suffer the contempt of others as you pursue your dream, your vision? Will you hold true to your vision and your dream through the years knowing that our God cannot lie?
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Titus 1:2In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
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You know that you know, that God has planted a vision and a dream within you. A passion! Circumstances matter nothing whatsoever in the light of what God has placed within you. You know your God. You know what He has done and what He is capable of doing.
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Sight is a function of the eyes; vision is a function of the heart. You don't see anything happening at all and yet you know that you know that God will perform that which He has promised. You see what will be.
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You know what will be!
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"Where there is no vision, the people perish."
King Solomon Proverbs 29:18
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Do you have a vision? Jesus had a vision and He knew it.
"For this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth."
John 18:37
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It is important for you to know your vision. To know what you are meant to do. What has God prepared you for?
Don't bury your dreams. Don't give up on your God given vision. You have a reason and a purpose for your life and you know it.
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"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might."
Ecclesiastes 9:10
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Your purpose is your passion. It gives you hope and keeps you going because you know that what God has given to you to accomplish cannot be stopped by anyone! You are immortal here on earth until God's will in your life has been accomplished.
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But you have to fight for it, you have to believe in it, you have to put your whole might behind it. You have to stay in the race and see it to completion.
You have to believe in the gift or gifts that God has placed within you. "A man's gift...brings him before great men." Proverbs 18:16.
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"For this reason I remind you to fan to a flame the gift of God, which is in you." 2 Timothy 1:6
You have a human responsibility to fan to a flame your gift. Stir up the gift of God. No one can activate your gift but you. You have to do it yourself.
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You do this by reason of usage, just as a bodybuilder does with weight resistance to accomplish growth. Stir up your own gift and don't seek other people's gifting. You are created uniquely to be what you are to better to do God's will. You are an original, not an imitator.
Be who you are and God's.
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i believe that the Lord would say to you:
"Today there are few, among the millions our Father has sent to the earth~world, who give themselves and their lives with total dedication to Me. There are many dedicated ones who say, "Take my whole life", and then proceed to live it according to their own idea of My will. Thank you, My workers, for wanting above all other things to work with Me for My will.
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Do nothing that is not My will. This is the secret of not hurrying. Do what is My will in My time, leaving the weight of responsibility to be carried by Me."
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David Sloane

Friday, March 06, 2009

Chalvary Chapel Of Costa Mesa Sept 17th 1972- Click On Images For Better Look



This awesome book can still be found on the net. Try Googling. Some are in used condition and some are brand new! A must read for anyone who was there and wants to recall those incredible times and needs a reminder of what the Jesus People Movement did in their youth...
David Sloane

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Ultra Serious

Reproduce in Facsimile....

I need to be very honest here, and I'm praying for wisdom as I post this. I will be as loving as possible, but there are some things that simply must be pointed out, and it cannot always be done with flowery speech....

I believe that the Body of Christ worldwide is in desperate need of spiritual discernment in this hour, at this potentially wonderful moment in the Church's history....

As I look back at some of pastor David Sloane's postings dealing with some strange conduct by some of those in the ministry, I reach a point of frustration and anger at what I see. Now, I've gone on record as declaring myself a Pentecostal, so any criticism I aim at people of my persuasion is meant to be restorative, as any rebuking of a believer (or believers) ought to be. To whom much is given, much is also required (Luke 12:48), and we in the charismatic camp have been given much indeed. So often though, instead of waiting upon the Lord for a genuine move of His Spirit, we try to 'manufacture' His wonderful presence, and in doing so, we get into the flesh. Now, this is common among younger believers, but I've seen some ridiculous displays of emotional fanaticism even among seasoned saints, and this is disturbing, to say the least. A number of full-time ministers, who are entrusted by the Lord with carrying the precious Gospel of Christ to those around them, are instead playing some pitiful 'smoke and mirrors' games, fooling people and even (maybe) themselves into believing that God's Spirit is moving mightily among them with these silly displays....

I consider myself most fortunate to have witnessed the ministries of both Kathryn Kuhlman and Brant Baker in person, and God indeed moved mightily and incredibly through both of them. Neither would ever allow any fanaticism in their meetings. If it ever began to crop up, they would publicly and instantly put an end to it with a most scriptural rebuke. They knew that the Holy Spirit was present to minister, but they never 'pumped up' the crowd with any forced excitement, yet God was clearly present. Some would vocally praise the Lord, others would weep, some would just stare into the presence of God (if you were ever at one of either of their services, you'll know just what I mean), while others would sit quietly in prayer, but people didn't just jump up and act weird, and I'll tell you- no one was ever fooled about the Presence of the Holy Spirit. He was there, and we all knew it. He was welcomed there, invited there, implored to be present, and He was WAITED UPON! If you have even once been to a service like that, I guarantee you that no clever, yelling, salesman-type preacher (I call 'em lynch mob preachers) could ever trick you again. You'd instantly know the real from the silly...

Spirit or flesh? It's up to you. Remember though- flesh will only satisfy your flesh. It can never 'creep' into your spirit and reach you where only God dwells, and it is quite temporary and empty. On the other hand, when God ministers to YOUR SPIRIT, you are changed forever. It is quite worth the wait in allowing God to touch you- you must reject every other 'touch', you must allow no substitute, no 'exciting' counterfeits- we as Christians must all learn to wait upon the Lord. Some may have no idea what I'm talking about here- you may have never really known a move of God in your life, but it is REAL, it is GENTLE, it is PURE, it is POWERFUL beyond words.....

Yes, I get angry at the perpetrators of the false teaching, the manipulation, the lies- and it is almost always Pentecostals, those who have been given so much, who push the counterfeit garbage (c'mon- that's exactly what it is!) and who make money and a 'name' for themselves off of it, but the saddest thing is that it is born-again people (again, mostly Pentecostals) who buy into it! What is going on here? Can't we wait and beseech the Lord for Himself, for His own Presence, for the genuine? How can we sit back and continue to entertain error? Why would we?...

I earnestly urge the Body of Christ worldwide to seek the very face of Jesus Christ, the One Who died for us, Who rose from the dead for our eternal life, Who loves us so deeply- more deeply than we can imagine. He will plainly make Himself known to you. He delights in being among you as you gather in His name. Cleave to Him in reality. Reject any attempts at cheap imitation....

He awaits sweet fellowship with you. Adore Him and Him only.

En Agape,
Jim Ewing

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Originally Posted 3-3-08

Shekinah Fellowship: The good times are over?

CHARISMATIC COLLISION

Pentecostals misuse the gifts of the Spirit more than any other group of people on earth; possibly even more than all other denominations combined. I say this not to their shame, but rather to their honor.

The more cars you have on a freeway the more likely you are to have accidents; the more vehicles, the more traffic violations. I commend the Pentecostal churches for their deep conviction concerning the validity of God’s gifts for today and for the risk they take in allowing them to operate within their denomination.

When it comes to most other denominations the freeway is not very well traveled and for the most part, closed altogether. When man in his religious endeavor blocks every on- ramp to the manifested presence of God, it creates some serious side effects. Young people, who are soon to become the next generation, become programmed by unbelief to think less and less of anything spiritual. They follow the detour signs set by their peers that reroute the traffic around any type of spiritual encounter with God.

No one learns to walk without first falling. The safest way to avoid falling would be to stay crawling. Imagine a grown man scooting around on his belly all his life and never walking. The monkey bars at a grade school are not completely safe for kids to play on but the experience they gain makes it worthwhile. The element of risk involved teaches the kids ‘cause and effect’ and how to deal with safety and danger.

When the church removes the monkey bars from the little children and blocks the freeway on-ramps from the youth spiritually, two things happen. They never climb very high and they never travel very far.

If you are a parent whose children attend church regularly, ask them what they know about something simple like speaking in tongues. If they know nothing, find a new church.

Any Bible believing church should declare the full counsel of God; that is why they call them ‘Full Gospel’. In Africa they have Baptist, full gospel churches. Young people come up to you and ask, “Pray me to receive language from heaven.”

Pastor Tilson Shumate

SMOTHERING BOUNDARIES

Unreasonable boundaries that stem from distrust and unforgiveness disrupt the unity of the spirit and hold people away from one another. Jesus set no boundary on how close the people he ministered to could come to him or how far away they should stay.

A Christian young lady received an email from a new found friend saying, “We need to set some boundaries.” The young lady was shocked by what this new found friend had to say about the closeness of their friendship. The email detailed how they as sisters in the Lord needed breathing room.

The friendship originally developed through the personal ministry of this new friend giving the young lady prophetic words from God. The word of the Lord she gave was how close they would become and how in a dream she saw them working together. Then in her email, she completely contradicted her own prophetic words and said, “Stop looking at me, don’t sit next to me in church, don’t walk up to my car at church because it startles me, call before you come over, and stop bringing me gifts.”

When I heard about all this, it started me thinking about wounded relationships and broken people. The strict boundary mentality is almost always a direct result of something awful such as divorce, alcoholism, drug addiction or sexual abuse. The boundaries never seem to come from fruits of the Spirit, like godly love and edification.

Christians who minister prophetically had better be prepared to deny themselves and take up their cross because unconditional love will most certainly be required of them. Following Jesus allows people to come to you freely, no strings attached. We give up everything; our right to a normal private life, boundaries, breathing room and space. It almost sounds unrealistic but it goes with the territory. God requires total abandonment of self. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). The singer Carmen put it like this, “Just when I thought I had given him my all, I heard him ask for more.”

Jesus put no restrictions on the people he ministered to concerning his availability to them or in any way hindered their coming to him; he never turned a soul away. He said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Jesus in his earthly ministry was poured out to the people like a drink offering, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink” (John 7:37).

Mark 5:24 says, many people followed him and thronged him. The woman with the issue of blood made her way through the crowd and touched the hem of his garment. His mother and brothers sent word to him in a crowd letting him know they were there to see him. A house was so crowded they tore up the roof to see Jesus. Blind Bartimaeus cried out for his healing as Jesus passed by with a great number of people. Jesus was almost always surrounded with crowds of people. He ministered freely to the multitudes without ever once discouraging them from coming to him.

Even when it came to little children Jesus set no boundaries but said, “Suffer (allow) little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). Instead of pushing people away, Jesus himself would be the one to go away. He said to his disciples, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31). He would go out and pray by himself, or in a crowd, convey himself away. After feeding the five thousand, Jesus sent the multitude away so they could go into the villages to buy food and so he could go into a mountain alone to pray, but even then he first blessed them. He had a blessing for all who came to him.

Being in the ministry is not always easy but we should never take out our frustration on the people we minister to. It is according to wisdom that we pace ourselves with rest and relaxation, but never at the expense of deliberately hurting others.

When you retreat to your privacy or enter your prayer closet, keep it private. Don’t make a big deal out of boundaries, just do it. There is no need to sound a trumpet. When you need a break, let it be as the giving of alms in Matthew 6:3 “Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.”

Pastor Tilson
http://shekinahfellowship.blogspot.com/2008/04/blog-post_2163.html
http://shekinahfellowship.blogspot.com/search/label/Give%20me%20my%20tin%20foil%20hat%20please

A MUST READ POST


http://www.theecologist.org/pages/archive_detail.asp?content_id=1215&j=y

Ronald Jenkees

This dude is talented on the keyboard. He plays by ear and writes his own stuff. Here is his youtube channel. Check out his stuff...