Are people really hungry for God? If people really wanted revival  -  if they really wanted an outpouring of God's presence- to abide with them and not come and go -  wouldn't they have it? Did he not say "Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you, for everyone that asks, receives, and he that seeks, finds, and to him that knocks, it shall be opened"

So again I ask -  are people in general really hungry for God? Are they really seeking Him? Or are they hungry for the "ministry of man"? Have they been conditioned by endless religious ceremonies to have encounters with man (with flesh) but not with God (Spirit)? Do they really want HIM? Or do they want a religious ceremony that lacks the one thing that makes any gathering of "believers" worthwhile? Him! His very presence in their midst! Oh how so many love to meet with each other, even to hear His Word repeated,  even to hear what someone else heard from Him when they met with Him, but they do not want to hear from Him themselves  - no, they are more than happy to turn their spirituality over to another,  to man, to flesh  - though flesh should never rule over spirit! Yes, submitting to a pastor means submitting to flesh....these things ought not to be, brethren. Wevare all to be submitted to the Christ in one another. 

Too many churches are "baby pools" where we can barely get our toes wet in the river of His Presence  - We need Olympic sized swimming pools where we can jump in the deep end and be completely submerged in His glorious presence! 

 Some people are addicted to avoiding The Lord's presence. It's a habit they can't seem to break. Entire denominations have sprung up that are happy to cater to these people.  They like to make a public spectacle of their love and devotion to God  -  but inwardly their hearts are far from Him. They take soulish comfort in their religion but they despise His actual presence in their midst. They do all they can to avoid Him. No matter what He does to arrange a date, they find an excuse  -

"Say to them that are bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. AND THEY ALL WITH ONE CONSENT BEGAN TO MAKE EXCUSE.  The first said to him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I need to go and see it, I pray you have me excused. And another said - I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them, I pray you have me excused.  And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come"

The three excuses given are significant.  The "ground" the man boought represents our flesh, and the price many pay for following their fleshly lusts and desires is their very souls. The oxen represent self, i.e. things bought with money to appease ourselves and the wife represents ministry...many avoid the Lord using ministry as an excuse...i can't come to You Lord but i have a good excuse: I'm ministering to the wife You gave me. I'm fulfilling the ministry call YOU placed on my life! They forget, He must have the preeminence in all our relationships.  What's your excuse? Does your home or land (possessions) keep you from following Him? Does something you've bought need your care and attention to the point it's causing you to ignore the Holy Spirit? Does your spouse prevent you from following Christ? From being intimate with Him? How about children? Parents?

"If any man come to Me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife, and children,  and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple"

Do you love HIM above all others and all else? Including yourself? All affections, all desires,  all loves you have must bow before Him and be cast down at His feet. Our love for Him must reign supreme in our hearts - your time and your tongue will reveal who you're in love with.

"Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. My beloved is mine and I am his. I WILL SEEK HIM WHOM MY SOUL LOVES and I won't rest till I find him. I will bind his love to my heart. I will make haste, for my beloved is mine and his desire is toward me".

 Everyone on earth belongs to one of two bodies  - The Body of Christ or the body of Satan  - no exceptions. Now, Satan's body of unbelievers is much larger than Christ's body of believers,  however,  please remember David and Gideon. Both faced a foe much larger than themselves- both won. Hallelujah!  It's not the size of your foe, it's the size of your faith.  With only a few disciples,  God can conquer the World! The question is   - Will He find faith on the earth when He returns? Can He find faith on the earth now? I'd like to think so. I'd like to think I have faith  - to do and see the impossible.  I've seen it sporadically before,  now i want to see it daily. I expect no less from my God and He expects no less from me.

 I saw the breeze

moving gently through the trees

and it reminded me 

of Your presence  -  moving gently 

but a gentle breeze 

can also blow so hard

nothing of man can remain 

And so, my sweet, gentle Holy Spirit, 

I ask you in Jesus name -

blow upon me, blow in me so hard,

that in this wayward bard

nothing of man remains,

and all that I've chosen

that's put me in chains

will be blown away

far away

by the love of my Father's Spirit 

sharing His will and His ways -

come to my heart to stay.....

For Sheryl

 

When I first took your hand

I said "Baby, we'll go far"

Now that you've been there and back again 

have you enjoyed soaring among the stars?

So, take my hand, dear, once again  -

for there are still stars yet to see  -

if you'll stay with this flawed man,

together we'll explore distant galaxies. 

For it is our co-destiny 

to see the fulness of God's glory.

So come with me, beloved,  come far away

to a distant sea, beloved, and come what may  -

we'll experience the highs and lows 

of living among the Angels of God's bidding 

And no matter where we go,

we'll have no regrets 

for we'll be well and truly living. 

 You know when you're really cold and someone wraps a warm blanket around you? That's sort of what God's love is like. Our hearts can get awfully cold and lonely  in the dark  - but God sends His fire  - not to destroy us or harm us, but to provide light and warmth. His fire only burns that which would harm us- our fleshly lusts and desires  - His holy fire or the fire of Hell forever...... the choice is ours. 

You know when you're extremely hungry and someone gives you something to eat for free? That's sort of like what fellowship with God is like.  He satisfies our soul's deepest hunger.  And our thirst.  "I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE: HE THAT COMETH TO ME SHALL NEVER HUNGER; AND HE THAT BELIEVES ON ME SHALL NEVER THIRST ".

Have you ever been lonely and a friend calls you up to hang out with you? Yup. That's just like God  - he wants to fill us with His friendship,  love and support.  He cares for us!

One of my favorite words in all the Bible is "BELOVED".

How awesome that God chooses to call us his "Beloved"! How awesome that his commandment to us is to love and "be loved"!

 The most low are best known by the Most High. 

-  those who actually like the taste of humble pie.

Those who lower themselves joyfully 

are the ones who sit on their Daddy's knee.

For if you desire position or power

the taste of your company will quickly sour.

But if you have the same mindset that Jesus had

you'll quickly find you've got a happy dad!

If pride goes before a fall

then humility brings us high  -

for there's a truth common to us all,

 - A humble heart The Lord will not despise. 

One way or another 

we will all bow low...

Voluntarily  or

well,  you know...

 I particularly enjoy identifying Satan's strategies and pitfalls.  Here's another one   -

Sermons must never become the central aspect of any ministry.  Neither the giving of them nor the receiving of them. Both the giving of sermons and the hearing of sermons must be balanced with works  - with actions. Anyone who believes sermons are the focal point of their ministry need only to look at Jesus himself.  Yes he gave sermons but he went aroused doing good works at least as much if not more. If you believe sermons are the meat of your ministry,  you must also do the works of God  - and i mean miracles  - prophecy,  healings,  signs and wonders as well as feeding and washing the feet of the poor,  welcoming strangers,  caring for widows and the fatherless.  Jesus delivered more people than sermons. His life was a sermon. When questioned by the Pharisees,  Jesus did not point to the sermons he spoke - he pointed to the works he did, the works of the Father.  

Satan delights in having us sit and listen to sermons about Jesus,  week after week, but never becoming Christ to the lost world around us and to each other. So, to summarize   - pastor's and all who stand behind a pulpit each week, must never make that the hallmark of their ministry  - neither should those who sit and listen to them each week make them the hallmark of their faith  "FOR IF ANY BE A HEARER OF THE WORD AND NOT A DOER, HE IS LIKE A MAN BEHOLDING HIS NATURAL FACE IN A GLASS: FOR HE BEHOLDS HIMSELF,  AND STRAIGHTWAY FORGETS WHAT MANNER OF MAN HE WAS. BUT WHOSO LOOKS INTO THE PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY, AND CONTINUES THEREIN, BEING NOT A FORGETFUL HEARER, BUT A DOER OF THE WORK  - THIS MAN SHALL BE BLESSED IN HIS DEED".

And pastors, deliverers of sermons   - "MY LITTLE CHILDREN,  LET US NOT LOVE IN WORD, NEITHER IN TONGUE, BUT IN DEED AND IN TRUTH". 

I would go so far as to say deeds first, sermons (words) second. I would even say, if i had to choose between the two  - I would choose works, for sermons without works is far worse, by far, than works without sermons.  

Sermons can be appealing to people giving and receiving them because they can originate in the mind  - they can be completely soulish, bypassing the heart, or spirit. Works however,  (miracles), can only originate in God's Spirit  - and from our human spirit totally yielded to Him - till you can't tell us apart. So, instead of the supernatural,  people settle for far less - all the while believing they are pleasing God. Don't be a Greek  - be a Jew, lol.  Apostle Christopher Michael Tripp