Because David's heart smote him, Saul's wrath never did.

  For David's wrath was directed against himself  -

   while Saul's was directed against everyone else.

It is our own hearts we should critique, 

  not our brother's or our sister's iniquity. 

For if we'll keep a sharp eye out for our own sin,

  not another's, 

we'll safely remain under

  The Lord's protective cover:

The blood He shed

   for the wicked and the dead,

  Let us now remember

     what the Lord said  -

" And why do you behold the mote that is in your brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first cast out the beam that is in your own eye  - then shall you see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother's eye"

   One of the greatest dangers facing those who experience rejection often is acceptance.  After being rejected  so often for so long  -  when they finally find acceptance,  perhaps with each other, they can end up rejecting others God sends to them! They're finally the "In crowd",  and what makes the "In crowd" cool is that there's an "Out crowd". Everyone can't be a part of the "In crowd", can they? Well, in Christ, of course, they are. Everyone in Christ is in the "In crowd", Amen! There are no rejects or outcasts, no cliques,  no fleshly divisions or boundaries.  ALL ARE ONE IN CHRIST  - no exceptions  - no Jew or Greek, no male or female, no leader and follower, we are all following Christ together, though the lead climber has the most experience and wisdom. 

....and yet there is room

 

Oh precious soul,

    whose strength has failed, 

  Shunned by men, abused, jailed,

carrying about wound upon wound:

At my Lord's table, there is still room!

For the proud and haughty,

   those first bidden to the feast,

  have one by one refused to take their seat.

So don't ever feel you've been 

  rejected by Heaven's groom,

for though many will come, 

  still there is room...

Room for the broken,  the lonely,  the meek,

you are the ones my Father seeks.

Room for the outcasts  - those the world despises,

 to come and take a seat.

And while those who chose not to come will weep,

you my child, poor in this world's affections 

and love, you will forever enjoy my Father's generosity. 

Each empty seat at my Father's table

  represents a soul that was unable 

to overcome their own pride and greed  -

They chose to reject eternal fellowship with me.

Do not be            as they are

says I, the One who bears your scars.

Come to me now  -

     answer "yes" to my bidding 

that I may forever satisfy 

         your soul's deepest longing...

Come!  Come quickly!

      Says the spotless Lamb,

    to the wedding supper of the Eternal "I AM"

Don't make excuses  -

 "I'm not worthy"

 "My garments aren't fit for this feast"

For I will provide robes for the humble and the least.

Do not hesitate  -

Come now, make haste,

For it is my Father's lasting will

that every seat at my table.....be filled

Of the wine and the songs,

   there's plenty to share  -

 Every heart full and content, 

   in my Father's care...

As I look at my bride feasting with me,

I'm rejoicing to know

I'll enjoy your company,

each of you, for eternity....

 Too often upon meeting people our inclination is to invite them to church.  We take them to hear a "specialist"  - a man (or woman) they've never met and don't know at all: we're teaching them to receive their spiritual manna from someone else, instead of gathering it for themselves.  Taking them to church to be fed, to hear the Gospel, is far less preferable than sharing it with them yourself  - around a delicious meal, at a restaurant or best of all, in your home.

Why do we pawn off our responsibilities on to our pastor or elders? Why do we let them do the "work of the ministry" we are called to do? Why indeed!

Jesus himself did not hog the ministry,  the "spiritual spotlight", so to speak. He sent his disciples out two by two, commanding (commissioning) them to do the work of the ministry and preach the message of the Gospel.  He equipped and empowered them to go forth in his name  - he did not tell them to go and invite people to come and meet him  - so he could lay hands on them and heal them, and preach the Gospel to them. Not at all! His disciples were able ministers, who could do all the works he did, AND HE SENT THEM OUT  - telling them to stay in people's homes, wherever they were welcome. They did not bring them to the local synagogue  to be ministered to, no, they carried with them, in and of themselves,  all the authority and power they would need to win souls for Christ, wherever they went. Jesus did not physically go with them, but he was with them (and us) in Spirit (and in Truth).

The Religious spirit puts people down under the guise of loving them and lifting them up. It wants to put them in bondage to flesh, dependant on flesh, rather than free, sovereign beings, who are bound together by love for one another,  not by any fleshly boundaries or constraints  - not by a sense of "you must submit to me" but rather "I choose to receive the blessings Christ has put in you, for my health and well-being, and may you accept my blessings as well". No one is above or below anyone else in God's kingdom but all are one in Christ.  Apostles,  Prophets,  Teachers, Evangelists and pastors are expressions of God's heart for his people  - and are never supposed to replace him in their lives, rather they are to impart Him to them, as their servants,  not lords, as older brothers sharing the wisdom and spiritual wealth they've accumulated. 

The Holy Spirit's primary concern is and always will be  -  souls. Ours and others. He longs for, yearns for, is passionate for, souls that he can love and bless in eternity.  He wants every seat at the Wedding feast of the Lamb to be filled.

"A certain man made a great supper, and invited many: And sent his servant AT SUPPER TIME  to say to them that were invited,  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 must needs 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. So that servant came and showed his Lord these things. Then the Master of the House being angry said to his servant,  GO OUT QUICKLY INTO THE STREETS AND LANES OF THE CITY, AND BRING IN HITHER THE POOR, AND THE MAIMED AND THE CRIPPLED,  AND THE BLIND. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as You have commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said to the servant,  GO OUT INTO THE HIGHWAYS AND HEDGES, AND COMPEL THEM TO COME IN, THAT MY HOUSE MAY BE FILLED."

So, always do heart check-ups to make sure it's the Holy Spirit you are honoring and following.  Here's an example from my time in Korea. I was on a water only fast when a coworker asked me to make some of my famous Wings for him (he bought, i sauce). I agreed, thinking,  i won't eat them, I'll just make them for him so i don't break my fast  - but as we were waiting for the Wings to fry, we were talking together and the Lord began to minister to him through my words.  So when the Wings were ready to eat, i felt it was important to continue our conversation,  so we ate the wings together  instead of going our separate ways.  Breaking my fast was worth the opportunity to minister to a lost soul.

So remember this lesson: food is a wonderful tool to use in evangelism.  A good meal is a God given opportunity to connect with people on a spiritual level. There's something about partaking of food together that softens people's defenses  - and makes them more open to hearing the Gospel. Maybe it has something to do with the fact you're taking care of their fleshly needs, so they're more open to having their spiritual hunger met (so make sure you buy! lol). A satisfied belly will make them more amenable to having their soul fed. Did not the Lord say to invite the poor to our feasts? Perhaps he is referring to the poor in spirit, as well as in this world's wealth. Perhaps he's looking to feed those poir in Heaven's wealth,  laid up for the righteous.  Perhaps he's inviting the poor in righteousness,  peace and joy In the Holy Spirit. 

 Nothing is beyond You,

  beyond Your reach.

Nothing is beyond You  -

   not even me.

If Heaven is Your throne 

 and the earth Your footstool (Isaiah 66:1)

There's nowhere i can go

  Where You can't find this wretched fool.

If i make my bed in hell

  behold,  You are there.

If i run from You as well, 

  still my life is laid bare

before the eyes of Him

  with whom i have to do -

For nothing,  and no one 

is beyond You. 

The city can be a wilderness 

  void of pity or kindness 

Still  - in the midst of so much death,

        You are there,

Patiently waiting for me to care

  enough about myself 

  to reach out for Your help:

For this i know to be true  -

Oh Lord, nothing is beyond You!

No sin or circumstance 

keeps You from holding back

Your invitation for me to dance

In the sweet intimacy of Your divine romance...

Oh lover of my soul,

who dearly loves me

more than I'll ever know.

May these meager words

take flight within my heart

And bear forth this truth  -

We will never part,

for no matter what i do

I'm never so far from You

That i need to be

                                    rescued

 I find it fascinating that the first recorded word (red letter word) Jesus spoke in the New Testament  is "Suffer" while the last word is "quickly". Hmmmm....suffer in this context means "allow". Put together it says "Allow quickly". 

Could he be telling us to quickly allow the words of the New Testament  to enter our hearts and minds? Could he be telling us to not hesitate when we hear his word? To allow it to quickly gain a place of prominence in our lives? 

And might the word "suffer" also be reminding us that suffering is an integral part of  the Gospel of Christ and our walk with him here on earth, but compared to eternity,  it's over quick, in the relative blink of an eye? Food for thought.

 Part two

In all things give Jesus the preeminence   - this will keep fleshly ambitions and agendas at bay. Jesus chooses to minister to us through us. I mean, he can personally minister to us with no one else present,  but for healing, we need one another. God dwells in me and will heal through me  - through my hands and mouth "but you, beloved,  building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost" - we stir up our faith by praying in tongues  but we release our faith by the laying on of hands   - we can only give away what we've received from the Lord. Miracles are not difficult,  they're very simple. It's simply a matter of knowing our identity in Christ  and believing it, then stepping out in boldness.  I call the power and favor of God down on you now. The Church has been dumbed down by the devil into thinking we're just here to hear a message,  not experience the power of God, that is to say, his presence.  Often when we pray over people,  we blow on them. This is Biblical  - Jesus breathed on his disciples.  "I declare your will be done in this earth   - this person,  as it is done in heaven, perfectly."  We don't deserve it  - we need it!   I want to be drunk in the Spirit because when I'm drunk i don't care if i look funny or silly. We birth the impossible by seeing things by faith.  I'm possible! I want to pray the prayer of decreement! We first imagine the impossible   - then we believe what we're seeing,  then we speak it and decree it. Our imagination is a gift from God. We see it in our imagination by faith, not with natural eyes  - we see it in the Spirit,  with spiritual eyes. These are the eyes Jesus said to anoint with eye salve. He also referred to spiritual "ears to hear" what the Spirit is saying.  

Healing is the children's bread, praise God! We don't ever have to beg or plead for healing, for ourselves or others. Lord, you cancel what is due me by your amazing grace: therefore i forgive and cancel what is due those who have sinned against me  - lay it not to their charge. Do not punish them, Lord, do not let them reap what they've sown.

Genesis 30 secret:  God gave Jacob the impossible by giving him the ability to imagine it. By setting up the stakes where the cattle came to drink and mate, he was imagining them being born with markings, genetically impossible yet God did it. When i pray for a healing, it's physically impossible,  yet God does it, for my faith trumps all natural laws. The healing may not manifest immediately (most often it will) but it's done the moment i confess it. Hebrews 11:3  - we create things in the natur out of the words we speak that come out of our spirits. God has a spiritual solution to every impossible natural circumstance.  God is my Father. My Father is the Creator, so i too am a creator. I have miraculous,  creative power in me, just like my daddy. I must be about my Father's business!

LET THERE BE! God first saw it, imagined it, thought it, then spoke it qnd it came to be, and this works for us too. We see it by faith: playgrounds for orphans in India, my children's books published and selling well, "Throne Rooms" established around the world. Things that are seen are made of things tgat are not seen. Our faith is in things not seen with our natural eyes, yet, we believe for the healing, then we see it. Believing is seeing in God's kingdom! Sometimes we pray then abort our prayers because we're looking in the natural realm with our naked eye, while we should be looking with eyes that see in the faith realm. We think it's not happening   - Genesis 30:25-43 teaches us how to see things by faith. The rods were there to encourage Jacob to see it by faith  - to look past what was impossible for man to what was possible for God. FAITH ALWAYS LOOKS AT GOD'S ABILITY,  not man's inability.  

Lord, we need Your Faith! Remember,  believe it, see it (with your imagination), speak it. Our words are full of creative power for they are spiritvand they are life. "Rise, take up thy bed of unbelief,  and walk". Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks  - either faith or unbelief.  Romans 10:9 -  we confess with our mouth what we believe in our heart, not what we intellectually give heed to. The miraculous life i desire is already mine  - i just need to step out in faith and begin doing the Word, not just hearing it.

 The Kingdom of God does not come with observation  - i.e. it does not come with seeing  - with our natural eyes. We do not learn knowledge of it from without us; it is within us and can only be observed and accessed from within us. If we only learn of it from sermons on Sundays, we will never truly know it. Our lives must become sermons written by God, read of all men. Merely listening to a sermon from without us is never enough  - we must hear God speak sermons to us from within us (my sheep hear my voice). Pastors, then, are to teach people to hear God's voice, not their own, by listening to God's voice themselves.  We will never enter into the kingdom of God till we allow the kingdom of God to enter into us. The Kingdom must enter our flesh before our flesh may one day enter the kingdom inherited from our Father. 

I can release and impart the Kingdom of God within me into someone else through the laying on of hands  - "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is AT HAND". I can impart to someone else prophecy,  healing,  words of knowledge or wisdom.  I can cast out devils in them by casting the Kingdom into them. I can baptize them in the Holy Spirit,  all from laying hands on them. God's power flows from me to them. Miracles are my manna! Romans 3:27 - we are now under the "law of faith". Through this law, we are subject to the "law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus" and we are no longer subject to the "law of sin and death" - All that comes from sin -  death, disease, communion with demons, sickness,  unbelief  - all of it is overcome by the kingdom of God within me. When God gives a word of knowledge about a sickness or injury  it means He will heal it  - right now. Often our hands will get really hot when we lay hands on people  - to impart the Kingdom's authority and power  - for our God is a consuming fire "he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire"

We, the children of the kingdom,  do not need more anointing,  more power  - we need boldness and faith to step out in the anointing and power already within us - IF WE ARE BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT,  we are already anointed! We stir up the gifts by praying in the Spirit (tongues) then believing and speaking and laying hands on them, just like we do at the Friday night school of the Holy Spirit.  Very often  - a spirit of infirmity departs before healing enters. Prayer: If there's more  faith Lord (there is), I gotta have it! I want that power!

Often, prophecy and healing go hand in hand. A word of knowledge will come (someone has severe back pain) Good idea  - have Intercessors praying in tongues before the service,  and during. If they receive words during the service,  or before,  have a runner send them in - hot off the press! Galatians 3:5  - He therefore that ministers to you the Spirit,  and works miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith?" We must speak faith in order to hear faith! Every word from God is spoken by faith and encourages and builds up our faith  - our words should do the same (like Father, like Son). Confess before ministering  "I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus " -  God will fill you with the Holy Spirit right now when i lay hands on you  -  speak faith - not "let's hope" - open your mouth and God will fill it, with His faith words, full of Spirit and life. "I will reign in this life  - I will take authority over ungodliness. When the Holy Spirit fills me, evil spirits have to leave me. They can't share me as their tabernacle.  Faith is NOW, things we hope for are for our future, but faith is for now. 

Part two soon