In the military, survival often depends on maintaining a "situational awareness" at all times. One must remain vigilant and alert - especially when engaging the enemy. The battlefield is no place for complacency,  lethargy or apathy.  It could be the difference between life and death.

As saints - our enemy is ever vigilant,  looking for any opening, any opportunity to oppress, attack and defeat us. We too must maintain  "situational awareness" at all times. Ant occult activity or items, books or movies, etc. must be avoided for they will open doors to our enemy to defeat us. A spiritual house cleaninh may be in order. A heart check up with Dr. Jesus may be necessary. We must not concede any territory to the enemy - rather, we must take ground from him. We must study him, we must be "wise as serpents", we must learn his strategies well. We must keep our armor in good working order and become adept at wielding the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Weilding the Word is never for the pastor alone but for every one. Everyone should be able to preach and teach the Word. We must also be able to recognise the enemy's voice for he tries to mimic God's voice but we know to test the spirits. Amen.

 We need servants who lead and leaders who serve, who do not require everyone around them to serve them but rather to serve Christ. We need men who are disciples of Christ who are teaching others to be his disciples also - by example. We do not need men who preach what they themselves do not practice.  We need men who lay their lives down for the flock - not require the flock to lay their lives down for them. We need godly men like Charles McCarthy, called by God to minister- not hirelings. We need men not motivated by a desire for personal wealth or glory - but who will give all glory and gain to God.

We need men who are holy and righteous inwardly, not just outwardly - who love truth and exalt truth in their own hearts, not just their mouths, whose speech is seasoned with salt, who make peace instead of sowing discord among the brethren, who will not tolerate Jezebel, or any other spirit of Satan but will cast him out of the temple - let him dwell in the swine, those who are unclean, but he will not possess those who come to Christ, seeking Christ, not just what Christ can do for them but also what they can do for him. We need men clothed with humility, who have laid down their armor of pride and let the Lord deep inside.     

Selah.

I am

 

The Bread and the Wine

The consecrated robes

to guide us through time

to our eternal abode

As we embrace 

as we seek His face

He breathes intobus again 

Our clay, softened by His tears

Our souls shaped by His hands

As we know Him

and He knows us

We are ressurected 

by His loving touch

And death is an empty threat,

an empty grave, far from torment 

For the love of our Father

has found each lost lamb

that each lost soul

may say too - "I am"

I am loved!

I am healed!

I am sanctified 

and i am sealed!

I am kept!

I am clean!

I am delivered

from Satan's schemes,

for i am redeemed!

I am my beloved's 

and He is mine!

I am His beyond

death and time!

I am His Bride,

I am justified!

I am transformed 

by the renewing of my mind!

I am His temple here on this earth.

He is my tabernacle in heaven,

my pearl of great worth!

He is my lamb,

my sacraficial king,

He is my hope in all things,

and though i may faint,

grow weary and weak,

still my heart pants

for the One that i seek.

As water is to my thirsty flesh,

so my soul drinks His words,

that i may confess

           I am as He is

            He's forever mine, I'm forever His.....

Part two of my sermon on "love"

 

We are so used to a false form of love in today's world - we see movies and TV shows depicting "love" but they're actors reading a script. If we're not careful, we too can become like actors reading a script - the script is the Bible. We can end up reciting scriptures we've memorized, and listening to them in countless weekly sermons, but we never become sermons ourselves "living epistles read of all men" - we become speakers of the Word but never doers. Jesus wants all of us, not just our tongues. In some churches we are taught and encouraged to become passive in our love. We are taught that the Pastor is the one that should do "the work of the ministry" - our role is to support him. He's the lead actor, the "star", the rest have supporting roles. If someone has a special need of any kind - we bring them to church where the pastor and staff can minister to them. We rely on them also to lead people to Christ. Can you see how wrong this is? We are all supposed to be doing the work of the ministry, up to and including leading souls to Christ. We are commanded by Jesus to "go", not sit. "GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES "...teaching them and baptizing them....have you been doing this? You've probably been taught to bring them to church so the pastor can do it. We are taught and encouraged to follow our pastor more than Christ. 

Many pastors talk about "submission". They demand that we submit. Well, there are two meanings to the word "submit". The second is "to present a proposal to a person or group"....i say we should all "submit"....submit our giftings and callings to the local Body and if they aren't accepted,  find a place where they are. If we're more earnestly seeking to hear what our pastor has to say each week than what God has to say to us personally, than something's wrong.  People may meet Jesus in some churches but if they do, they meet him as their savior, and that typically becomes the end, or full extent of their relationship with him.  They do not become mature in their relationship with him,  they do not go on to know him as their Father, or Husband, or even Shepherd because they believe the only way Jesus will shepherd them is through their pastor, not personally.  

They never go on to become personally shepherded by the Lord (The Lord is my Sheperd becomes "pastor so and so is my shepherd") The Holy Spirit should be our teacher and guide. Jesus does instruct his leadership to "feed my sheep" but he does not relinquish his role as our chief shepherd, who actually wants us all to feed and shepherd one another. We, the more mature,  should take turns feeding the lambs among us, remembering that we are still sheep ourselves,  in need of a shepherd.  We haven't arrived because we've become a pastor or prophet or apostle, we are still the "sheep of his pasture", essentially sharing the manna he provides for us, till they can gather their own manna. 

We are not "over" them, we are "older"them, older siblings helping to feed younger siblings at the supper table of the Lamb, until they're old enough to feed themselves. We should teach them how to seek him, by the Holy Spirit,  for their own spiritual sustenance. When we gather each week to feast at his table, overflowing with bountiful gifts, we should all bring something to that table, to be consumed by all - like the church suppers the south is famous for, where everyone brings something, be it a main dish, side dish, desert or drink, bring something! The pastor may bring one kind of meat(y revelation) to the service, but everyone else, with enough maturity, should bring something too. And pastor,  if their dish tastes better than yours, don't be jealous, rather rejoice! Be thankful God is using them so well. 

Babes and little children should not be burdened with feeding others, but should concentrate on feeding themselves, yet, God can use them too "out of the mouths of babes and sucklings". God can speak through anyone he pleases to, even the youngest of saints, if they've been baptized in the Spirit, even new borns! He can and will use any tongue available to Him. Aren't a child's first words a joyful thing? I remember the great joy and satisfaction of the Holy Spirit when a baby believer gave this word at a service, their first - " God says to us tonight, I love you". I had a word to share that night but didn't get to and it didn't matter - the Holy Spirit was more thrilled to speak through that baby for the first time than through me, whom He's spoken through hundreds of times. 

God has blessed me through my own children many times with things they've said. At times deep and profound revelations have come through them. And they don't know the blessing they're being at the time. I actually kept a journal throughout their childhood of all God said through them. I love the times i didn't find out till later that God had used me to bless someone. The ungodly policy of most churches is "(spiritual) children should be "seen but not heard". No! They should be heard as well! 

If Jesus is the "firstborn among many brethren", than we are the "many brethren" he is the big brother of. Our pastor or any other leader is also our older brother. Younger siblings are no less important simply because they're younger. Paul told Timothy to "let no man despise your youth". Our Father and his Spirit are our true parents, so please, keep your pastor in the proper perspective, and put yourself in your proper place! 

If you're a pastor, do not remain the only one to "feed the sheep", let them feed one another - this is one way they can "love one another". (Eph:4 & John 14). Believer, seek out fellowship with other believers who seek to serve you and who will allow you to serve them. Each of us should esteem the others more highly than ourselves, no one should be "lording over" anyone else but all should be submitting to Christ as Lord. In this way we'll fulfill the will of the Lord that we'll all be one as he and the Father are one.

    When we love the way God intends us to (but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God....by love unfeigned) we become living proof that He is real and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. We show that we are indeed witnesses of Him (and ye are witnesses of these things - Father, I WILL that they also, whom Thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold My glory) because we freely and willingly share with others the love He freely and willingly shares with us. We love the way He loves - this is our greatest witness of Him for it is unique in all the earth - a Divine,  supernatural love that transcends the flesh. The fruit of this kind of love is souls.   

 The reward for seeking Him is Him!

If He is love (i speak as a fool) then the Holy Spirit is love. Therefore, when we are baptized into the Holy Spirit (as we all should be) we are baptized into love! When we are filled with the Holy Spirit,  we are filled with love! When we walk in the Spirit,  we are walking in love, in obedience to love, not in the flesh. 

 

  The flesh practices a pseudo love - a self-centered, carnal love. Even when those in the flesh do good works it is still selfish because they do it to feel good about themselves or make themselves look good. They do it to be seen of men, to receive the glory of man. Many rich seek to justify themselves  by making sure everyone knows about their charitable acts. Their love remains self-centered, ultimately all about them, never truly sacrificial,  a "what can i get out of this" kind of love. 

So to summarize so far - all the sermons in the world, all the talk, talk, talk which Christians love to engage in each Sunday, means nothing if we do not love the way God loves (see 1 Corinthians 13). Actions first, words second. Actions without words are ok, words without actions are never ok. God looks at the heart, not the outward appearance.  Man looks at the outward appearance,  not the heart. It's easy to fool our fellow man by going to church every week and singing songs and quoting scriptures but God isn't fooled by any of it. It's what we do in secret that pleases Him most. It's what we do when we know He's the only one who sees us. Our actions determine our reward- not our words. Our words are empty and meaningless if they are without actions.  "But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. What does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he has faith, and have no works? Can faith (alone) save him? Now let's substitute the word "love" for "faith", for this famous passage of scripture is talking about love in action- "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food; and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, not withstanding you give them not those things which are needful to the body, what does it profit? Even so love, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone". 

It's alone because it's kept to itself- in words only. Words mean nothing without actions! If everyone in America who claims to be a Christian loved the way God loves, there would be no homeless left anywhere. For that matter, there'd be no more hungry either. The poor of our nation would never again miss a meal or lack for shoes. "Let us not love in word, neither in tongue but in deed and in truth". Show me your love by your deeds. Show me your faith in the God of love by loving people. "I love you" only means something when it comes from our hearrs and we give our lives in sacrafice to the ones we claim to love (remind you of someone)? "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends". I always thought he meant literally die for others but he also means to die to self for others, to lay our lives diwn in service to one another."i command you that you should love one another, that you lay down your lives for one another, that you love each other as i love you. I lay my life down for the sheep, therefore doth my Father love me, because i lay down my life in service to him. No man takes it from me but i lay it down of myself ".

   All our lives we are taught in churches to pay attention to what we wear, to what we eat, to how much we give, when all along He wants us to give it all away, our very lives, in sacrafice to Him and when we give our lives to Him - He in turn takes us and gives us to one another "take, eat, this is My body, broken for you".... we are his body, broken for one another, if we submit to him. He pours his love into our hearts then shares it with others, teaching us how to be just like Him. He cares for the poor, and those poor in love, orphans, fatherless and widows and strangers. This life laid down is the clearest proof of the Godhead the world will ever see. "If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. (If i do not add actions to the love i profess, do not believe i am of Christ), but if I do, though you believe not me, believe the works that you may know, and believe, that the Father is in me and i in Him". 

This is how we distinguish the false from the real. Cult leaders and wolves in sheep's clothing take and take from people, giving little in return except pompous sermons and a sense of belonging. They do not lay down their lives for the sheep, they require the sheep to lay down their lives for them. 

Part two in 5 days

   

 I saw Him approaching 

and I instantly knew.....

He was vastly different 

from me and you.

His eyes stood out

more than anything else, 

and He had a crowd following -

too many to tell.

What's this?

Can it really be?

He's......he's......

He's approaching me?

I'm a nobody,  a cripple,

no one's ever interested in me.

So why is this man stopping 

and gazing at me so intensely?

What did He just say?

Will I be made whole today?

Impossible! Why bother?

I have no man to carry me

down to the water.

Don't disturb me with anymore of your silly talk -

What? Rise, take up my bed and walk?

What's this I'm feeling? 

Oh my God! My body's healing! 

I can walk! I can run!

Oh my God - thank You for what You've done!