Sunday, February 25, 2007

THE TENDERNESS OF GOD

"He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young." Isaiah 40:11

How soothing, in the hour of sorrow, or bereavement, or death, to have the countenance and sympathy of a tender earthly friend. Reader, these words tell you of One nearer, dearer, tenderer still; the Friend that never fails; a tender God! By how many endearing epithets does Jesus exhibit the tenderness of His relation to His people. Does a shepherd watch tenderly over his flock? "The Lord is my Shepherd." Does a father exercise fondest solicitude towards his children? "I will be a Father unto you." Does a mother's love exceed all other earthly types of affection. "As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you." Is the 'apple of the eye' (the pupil) the most sensitive part of the most delicate bodily organ? He guards His people "as the apple of His eye!" "He will not break the bruised reed."

When the Shepherd and Guardian of Souls finds the sinner, like a lost sheep, stumbling on the dark mountains, how tenderly He deals with Him! There is no look of wrath; no word of upbraiding; in silent love "He lays him on His shoulders rejoicing!" When Peter falls, He does not unnecessarily wound him. He might have repeated often and again the piercing look which brought the flood of penitential sorrow. But He gave that look only once; and if He reminds him again of his threefold denial, it is by thrice repeating the gentlest of questions, "Do you love me?" Reader, are you mourning over the weakness of your faith; the coldness of your love; your manifold spiritual declensions?

Fear not. He knows your frame! He will give 'feeble faith' tender dealing. He will "carry" in His arms those that are unable to walk, and will conduct the burdened ones through a path less rough and rugged than others. When "the lion" or "the bear" comes, you may trust the true David, the tenderest of Shepherds! Are you suffering from outward trial? Confide in the tenderness of your God's dealings with you. The strokes of His rod are gentle strokes; the needed discipline of a father yearning over his children the very moment He is chastising them. The gentlest earthly parent may speak a harsh word at times; it may be, needlessly harsh. But not so God. He may seem, like Joseph to his brethren, to speak roughly; but all the while there is love in His heart.The 'pruning knife' will not be used unnecessarily. It will never cut too deeply. The 'furnace' will not burn more fiercely than is absolutely required. A tender God is seated by it, tempering the fury of its flames.

And what, believer, is the secret of all this tenderness? "There is a Man upon the Throne!" Jesus, the God Man Mediator; combining with the might of Godhead, the tenderness of spotless humanity. Is your heart crushed with sorrow? so was His! Are your eyes dimmed with tears? so were His? "Jesus wept!" Bethany's Chief Mourner still wears the Brother's heart in glory. Others may be unable to enter into the depths of your trial; He can; He does!With such a "tender God" caring for me, providing for me, watching my path by day, and guarding my couch by night– "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

http://www.gracegems.org/books3/jm10.htm

Thursday, February 22, 2007

God's Jewels


"And they shall be Mine, says the Lord Almighty, in that day when I make up My jewels." Malachi 3:17


It almost surprises one to learn that the great and self-sufficient God has 'jewels,' but our surprise increases to astonishment when we learn that these 'jewels' are living creatures.

And astonishment gives place to overwhelming amazement when we discover that these living creatures are fallen and depraved sinners redeemed from among men!


Truly, nothing but Divine grace would ever liken such wretched worms of the dust, unto precious jewels! Yet that is the very thing which we find God doing in our text. It is not the unfallen angels, nor the holy seraphim and exalted cherubim who are spoken of as Jehovah's valued treasure--but lost and ruined sinners saved by amazing grace!

The Lord has likened His people to 'jewels' because of their inestimable value in His sight.

This is an exceedingly hard thing for the Christian to really grasp, for he feels such a wretched and worthless creature in himself. That the Lord of Glory should deem him of great worth, is difficult to conceive. Yet so it is!

From the earliest times, men have thought much of precious gems, and fabulous prices have been paid for them. With great ardor and toil, do men hunt after gold; but with even greater eagerness and labor will they seek the diamond. Hundreds of men will labor for a whole year in one of the diamond mines of Africa, and the entire result of their efforts may be held in
the palm of your hand. Princes have been known to barter their estates in order to obtain some gem of peculiar brilliance and rare excellence.

Yet more desirable still, are His saints in the esteem of the Lord Jesus. The value of a thing in the eyes of its possessor, may be gauged by the price he was willing to pay for it. So valuable was the Church unto Christ that He gave Himself for it, and shed His precious blood to purchase it for Himself. Thus, the saints are likened unto 'jewels' because of the great value which the Lord places upon them.

"You will be a glorious crown in the Lord’s hand, and a royal diadem in the palm of your God." (Isaiah 62:3)

What marvelous words are these for faith and hope to lay hold of! Our feeble intellects cannot grasp them!

Wondrous is it to think of rough stones, which first look like small pebbles, being found in the mud and mire of earth; then cut and polished until they scintillate with a brilliancy surpassing any earthly object, and being given an honored place in the diadem of a monarch. But infinitely more wonderful is it, that poor lost sinners, saved by sovereign grace, should be among the crown-jewels of the Son of God!

A.W. Pink

Monday, February 19, 2007

What Are You Focused Upon?

This is a testimony from one who saw a few of the dangers of 'wrong focus'. It was sent to me by a close friend a few years ago--I held on to it for the simple reason, its 'loaded' with truth.

I don't want to add much to the wise words of Sandy Warner except to say this;

Any of us can become 'wrongly focused' and deceived if not careful.

Satan is no fool. He is not going to present us with obviously sinful things to take our focus away from Jesus...No, No No! He is too sly to try this against those who are desiring and seeking a closer walk with Jesus, but instead he will place things in front of us which may EVEN APPEAR to be about or connected to the kingdom of God. And in some cases may actually be!
Yes, he loves to twist up our callings from the Lord too.

Even a ministry, a work for the Lord, or studying exclusively one doctrine to the point of obsession [*note- Did you know obsession is only ONE STEP above possession? believe me, it is] can be a clever trick of our enemy.

Ever come across a believer who is so obsessed with the wrongs going on within the body of Christ today, that they talk about it constantly? Completely ignoring the fact that God is still on the throne, and the Holy Spirit is still dawing men, women, and children to the cross of Calvary, to receive salvation every day!  

Or other believers who are so concerned about what's happening in the world or politics that they appear to have forgotten that we as followers of Christ, are 'only passing through' this world.

They'll 'bend your ear' for hours on end about the woes of the world or 
governments, etc..

Until later looking back on the conversation, you realize 'Hey! we spent all 
that time talking, and not once was the name of Jesus mentioned.


That's wrong focus....and not having balance in our outlook. 
 

We can in fact, find ourselves so wrongly focused that we can unknowingly become an 'enemy of the cross'. I've seen it in others, and found myself on the brink of this dangerous pinnacle concerning apostasy some years ago. I call that season now looking back, my 'year of anger' 
Why? Because its all I focused on! No wonder I was one angry Christian. 

The question asked in this title, is a part of examining ourselves daily, to be sure we're continuing to abide in the faith. We need to ask ourselves often;

WHAT ARE WE FOCUSING UPON?

Whatever it is, if its not Christ, do we find our minds and hearts 'there' more then in the presence of God, in His word; or even in our every day 'speech' are we speaking more of this 'whatever' then the Lord who saved and keeps us daily?

For if its not Christ we are focused upon folks, then we are indeed being swayed by 'someone' or some 'thing' to take our eyes, hearts, and minds off of the one who Died for us, and called us unto Himself.

Matthew



Recognizing the Stumbling Blocks of Distraction


The Lord has revealed to me a climaxing enemy plan called "distraction."

These last few months have been almost like watching a drama as one attempt after another has been coming against the body. As soon as one distraction is overcome, another fills its place.

The Lord has given me a very clear warning that these distractions are now climaxing to being a stumbling block. Their purpose is to wear out the saints so they will stop doing the will of the Lord.

Consider the following scripture with my little paraphrases added in parenthesis:

Matt 6: 22-24a NKJV- 
The lamp of the body is the eye (or our focus). If therefore your eye (focus) is good, your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eye (focus) is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.


The following are the some of the schemes I have witnessed. I share them to help fine-tune our alignments. These distractions have existed for a long time and are now climaxing. We need to understand their source and keep our focus.

WORSHIP

The Lord inhabits our praise. That means that whenever we praise Him, He dwells in our midst. Our worship is simply expressing and pouring out our love for Him through whatever means He gives us.

At church people usually worship Him through music. The enemy attempts to derail our focus through the sound equipment, by way of hot mikes and screaming amplifiers, disharmony, and broken strings When our focus is on musicians and their equipment rather than pouring our love out to the Lord, then the enemy has succeeded in stealing our ability to enter into the Lord’s Presence.

"But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." Psalm 22:3


PEOPLE

Song 2:14 NKJV -
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

Our eyes have the ability to focus on one thing at a time.

I remember hearing a sermon years ago about the dove.
Other birds have binary vision which means they can see out of the peripheral part of their eyes. But doves only see straight ahead and they (like us) must turn their heads to focus.

When we turn our heads and become focused upon the sins and compromises of people and/or leadership, it sends us on a downward spiral of becoming negative, critical, judgmental, unforgiving, angry, resentful and finally bitter.

When we keep our eyes straight ahead, towards the Lord, we see Jesus, & His loving ways.


SUPER STARS

Another stumbling block the enemy uses to derail our attention is to get us to focus on the anointing upon men, and their perceived wisdom, rather than the Lord. It is so easy to exalt the gifts He gives men and place them upon pedestals. This becomes idolatry as our focus subtly changes from the Lord to mere men.

I remember hearing about a prophet who was sent to a meeting but when it came his time to speak, he sat in his chair unable to say a word. The Lord sealed his lips because the people had come to see the prophet, instead of looking to the Lord as their Source. We need to forsake our focus upon men and their gifts, and look to the Lord.

Jer 9:24 NKJV -
But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD.


DISCERNING DEMONS

The gift of discernment becomes a stumbling block to those who have the gift, but do not recognize the gift or do not know what to do with what they recognize.

Often people find themselves wrestling in their hearts with the behavior and personalities of people. They lack the understanding that they are actually wrestling with demons who are manifesting as personalities.

We become weary after months and years of working with a person, giving them feedback, counsel, correction when we see no change, and the same continuous cycles.

As we begin to recognize that this is actually a battle with a demonic personality, and not the person, then we are able to respond appropriately. We can respond in prayer, taking
authority and deliverance if the Lord says it is time.

Matt 16:23 NKJV -
But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

I often wondered why the Lord told satan to get behind him. Then it occurred to me He was telling the enemy he was a distraction to Him and the Lord was turning His back on him.

Recently I became so distracted during worship that I finally found myself going to the back of the church and facing the wall to worship.

When we turn our backs upon the distractions we are not able to see them.

It is as simple as that!


WARFARE

I remember years ago reading Smith Wigglesworth testimony when he saw satan appear at the foot of his bed. Smith said, "Oh it’s only you," and he turned over and went back to sleep.

That astonished me.

I had seen and been exposed to many terrifying principalities and the concept of being in such a deep rest in the Lord was absolutely astounding to me.

After years and years of warfare, the Lord finally brought me off the front lines and into a wonderful season of rest. I learned a lot on the front lines and I have learned even more
in my rest. One of those lessons is that warfare can be a strong distraction.

If the enemy has his way, war becomes a career. We must learn when to fight and when not to. The enemy LOVES war. War is what the enemy does best which distracts us from our intimacy with the Lord.

NAVEL GAZING

When we focus upon ourselves and our feelings or troubles, this also keeps us from the Lord.

2 Cor 4:7-10 NKJV -
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed -- always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
 

Matt 6:22-24a NKJV -
The lamp of the body is the eye (or our focus). If therefore your eye (focus) is good, your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eye (focus) is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other...


Sandy Warner

Monday, February 12, 2007

All To Jesus

* Video - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1986132047849780440&hl=en

Powerful video!

A few snippets taken from the text-

The Lord Jesus Christ is first and for Him I surrender everything; to Him I give all.
To Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior-
He can command me.
He is ahead of my wife;
He is ahead of my children;
He is ahead of my ambitions;
He is first and everything else is last.
Anything else is not New Testament Christianity, brother and sister.
Anything else is a compromise and it leaves people half-saved, confused, frustrated, bewildered, and in the dark.

Jesus Christ is your exclusive Savior and all other relationships are determined and conditioned by this one overwhelming almighty relationship.

A W Tozer


Any man, anywhere, at anytime, if he be in Christ he is a new creation.
He isn’t patched up, he’s made a new creation.
He gets a new heart, a new spirit, new desires, new hopes, new longings…that cannot be satisfied by the broken systems of the world.

Christianity has not been weighed in the balances and found wanting –
Christianity has been tried found difficult and rejected!
Christianity is not only too difficult for the world; it’s too difficult for the church!
God’s problem in the world is not communism, Romanism, moonyism, or any other ism.
God’s problem in America is dead fundamentalism.
We know all the clichés.
We know all the words…

Leonard Ravenhill


And my dear friend, the only thing which can turn the course of world history and shatter the colossus of communistic power and bring every false god upon its face…the only thing that can resist the tremendous powers of evil abroad in the world today is the Holy Spirit released through Spirit-filled men.
A force of evil can only be overcome by a force of righteousness.
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.
The church today is helpless without the Holy Spirit.

Alan Redpath

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Only The Cross....

To view God's mercy in its real character, we must go to Calvary.

We must go by faith, under the secret teachings and leadings of the Holy Spirit, to see Immanuel, God with us, in Gethsemane's Garden.


We must view Him . . .

-naked upon the cross,

-groaning,

-bleeding,

-agonizing,

-dying!


We must view that wondrous spectacle of love and suffering--and feel our eyes flowing down in streams of sorrow, humility, and contrition at the sight--in order to enter a little into the depths of the tender mercy of God.


Nothing but this can really break the sinner's heart!


Law terrors, death and judgment, infinite purity, and eternal vengeance will not soften or break a sinner's heart.

But if he is led to view a suffering Immanuel, and a sweet testimony is raised up in his conscience that those sufferings were for him--this, and this alone will break his heart all to pieces!