We are naturally attracted to stories. We like narratives.  Every Newscast,  every movie or TV show - tells a story. We like hearing tgem and we like telling them. In ancient times,  skilled storytellers were highly sought after.  Yet, so few are interested in the story of God. His story is ongoing, daily being told around the world.  It did not end with the last verse of the Bible. You are a chapter in His story and so am I. Some are content to read the stories He shares with us in the Bible but care not to hear the stories He's telling us today. Some read His Word and call it truth with their mouths but in their hearts they believe it's fiction.  Jesus was a Master Storyteller - His parables are all mini-stories aren't they? 

And He's still telling them today - He's still imparting wisdom to all who will hear and obey the Father. He is still revealing the Father, as the Spirit is revealing Jesus  - will you look and see what He has to show you? Will you hear His voice today? Will you let Him make your soul so attractive to the Father that He will want to snatch you up to Heaven to be with Him forever?  And yet I show you a more excellent way.....

Part Two

 

When Jesus welcomed the Spirit fully - when He received Him completely  - His Father cried out from Heaven "THIS IS MY BELOVED SON IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED!" - This was and is a fulfillment of one of Jesus' primary reasons for coming to earth - to cause mankind to hear the Father's voice, to hear and understand His words for they are Spirit and they are Life for all mankind.  When Jesus and the Holy Spirit combine in us - we too will hear the  Father's voice - as did they who witnessed the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan river that fateful day. 

But why was the Father pleased with Jesus? It was because of his obedience to the Father's will.  John protested when Jesus came to him to be baptized  - telling him he (John), needed to be baptized by him - not the other way around,  but Jesus told John to allow it in order to "Fulfill all righteousness". The Father is always pleased when we, his children,  seek to be righteous  - And He is always pleased with obedience  - which is always better than sacrifice.  Better to obey in the first place than to disobey and have to come to Him later with a sacrifice to atone for your sin. Ask any father - obedience is very pleasing to them. Will you obey your heavenly Father  - who only loves you and desires your good? Will you be baptized today in His Holy Spirit? Holiness is attractive and pleasing to God and the only way we can become Holy is to have His Spirit abiding witjin us, in our hearts, therefore in our bodies. 

Our spirits must become holy. Our souls must become righteous,  pure. The Holy Spirit in union with our spirit makes our spirit holy. Jesus makes our souls righteous  by becoming one with our soul - for Jesus after all, represents our Father's soul - so let the Word become flesh again  - by inhabiting your flesh. 

What pleases the world is not pleasing nor attractive to our Father. Music, movies and TV shows are full of every spirit imaginable but our Father's  - human spirits or demonic  - usually both working in unity, fill our TV sets and movie theaters. Very few honor or are inspired by Jesus or the Holy Spirit. 

 You've got to make your soul attractive to God. God calls holiness beautiful.  He wants to make us attractive and beautiful which is why He anoints us with His Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is attracted to the Word. The Word is in love with the Father. The Father is in love with you. Our Father is attracted to both the Spirit and the Word - so fill your soul with both. Each day court anew both the Word and the Spirit; for the two are inseparable.  They were inseparable when the Father introduced them to each other and they are inseparable today.

When you invite Jesus - the Word made flesh, into your heart  - when you seek to become one with Him - you cannot do it physically  - you must do it spiritually.  To answer your prayer - for Jesus to come and abide in you He must do it by sending His Spirit to you, for the Spirit always honours and glorifies the Word.  The Spirit reveals the Word to us - line upon line, here a little,  there a little  - so, as John teaches us, when we meet Jesus  - He will in turn baptize us in the Holy Spirit  - who introduced us to Jesus to begin with. Though the baptism into the Holy Spirit is a seperate experience from being born again  - the two experiences are intertwined   mutually dependant on each other, just as a baby is born of the flesh, but must begin breathing air to survive outside the womb and truly begin life as it was meant to be lived - so too must spiritual babies be born of the Word of God  - but must then breathe in and breathe out the Spirit of the Living God  - in order to survive spiritually.  We need, in our earth, our flesh, the witness of all three - the Spirit and the Water and the Blood - i.e. the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost.  Meeting Jesus therefore and meeting the Holy Spirit are inseparable experiences  - if you meet one you will meet the other and by doing so you will have met the Father - for Jesus is the perfect image of the Father in the natural  realm - and the Spirit is the perfect likeness of the Father in the Spirit realm - if ypu accept Jesus you must also accept the Spirit - for they are both equally God - you cannot receive one and deny the other - this would be like accepting your wife's body but not her soul - yet, this happens in some denominations because there is a counterfeit Jesus  - a demon who calls himself  "Jesus", who will deceive and mislead - by seeking to seperate Jesus and the Holy Spirit  in the hearts and lives of people.  He tries to convince people to reject the Holy Spirit but accept "Jesus". Entire denominations exalt Jesus over the Holy Spirit  - ignoring the gentle,  precious Spirit of God - even despising Him and quenching Him - even teaching against Him - twisting the Word to support their heresies. 

The Holy Spirit is attracted to Jesus and Jesus loves the Holy Spirit.  Both are equally attractive to the Father. By filling your soul daily with the Word, dining on it, and by bathing in the Spirit, communing with Him and welcoming Him into your life - you will find the Father attracted to you - you will find yourself pleasing to Him.

Part two soon - apostle Chris

 Do not misrepresent Me, saith The Lord.  For many purport to know Me yet know not My Word or My Ways. Some kmow My word but do not know Me. Others know My Word but not My ways, pretending to know Me.  When I walk among them they try to stone Me still. They breathe out but refuse to breathe in - they will not bend nor will they bow before Me.  I will break this stubborn and stiff-necked people until they cry out for mercy and in that day a man will be as a pony, broken and bridled, and I shall indeed restore righteousness to the hungry, thirsty soul that cries out for it - I shall not leave or forsake those who hurt because of the evil that men do - I notice every tear. I see every wound of the heart and they will not go unpunished who blaspheme and despise all that is precious in My eyes, saith The Lord. 

Do not as the unbelievers,  who choose unbelief. Though I deposit a measure of faith in every man's soul, they choose not to believe. They choose the doubt and unbelief the enemy seeks to sow in every man's soul from the time of weaning from his mother's breast - hide under My feathers  - lie still in the cocoon of the womb I've prepared for you,  till the storm of madness passes - they will rant and rave and take counsel together against Me and against you  - My anointed. They will rage and froth at the mouth. They will spit and stumble in the trap they laid for you - they will fall, never to rise again,  saith The Lord. 

Mercy begets mercy, love begets love but hate and unbelief  breed worms that are undying,  souls rotted through and through  - fit only to be burned, cleansed from the heaven and earth to come - impurities flushed from the Body - never to stain the glory of My creation again, saith The Lord. 

Those who are not for Me are against Me - they cannot hide behind their vain philosophies any longer, charading as gods who know right from wrong - their masks are being removed  - I am exposing them for who they really are  - not who they say they are. Yet a little while and you shall see the Victory I've already won, saith The Lord. 

- apostle Chris

 There's stupid, then there's willfully stupid. Hear me out. Everyone in Hell is willfully stupid. God pours out His Spirit on all flesh - He comes to every human heart,  in humility,  with love.  He says "I am". He says "You can know Me. You can be too, even as I am". He joyfully created each heart with the capacity to know Him, designed to know Him, eternally.  No heart is without a witness of Him. The sunrise speaks of Him, the wind and the trees. All creation glorifies and testifies of Him. Some hear His word, others read it. Other's hear the whisper of His Spirit -

"Come My beloved,  come away with Me - I love you with love that nothing and no one can quench - let's walk this life together,  heart to heart  - as lovers walk hand in hand.  I will reveal Myself to you little by little,  here a little,  there a little  - My Word will visit you, line upon line, precept upon precept,  My Spirit will caress you and comfort you.  Every doubt and fear will melt away in the fire of My Presence within you and we will embrace each other forever,  oh precious heart that I love. Can you not sense My Presence,  even now? Do not listen to the spirit of unbelief  - do not take heed ti your enemy's seeds of doubt. You cannot find Me if you are not looking for Me. I've been looking for you - searching. My Spirit longs for you. He said to Me "here I am, send Me" and I did. I chose to send Him in search of you. In My holiness  I could not touch you in your sin, for it would destroy you - so I sent My son, Jesus, that you might have life - and that eternally- through Yeshua I can now touch you and hold you and cleanse you of all sin and unrighteousness.  You are as a jewel long buried. Once I bring you into the Light,  I remove the dirt from you, I polish you and yes, I cut you - but only to make you fit into the plan and destiny  I've prepared for you since before you were born. Ebdure My beautification process - you will be seen for who you really are, not who the world sees you are, or even your parents. When I am through  - you will be worthy of Me - My crown jewel! My crowning achievement! Unsurpassed in all I've created! Able to know Me and love Me as no one else can. The Urim and the Thummim shall adorn your heart too - as they rested upon the breasts of My priests outwardly,  so shall they find residence upon the hearts of My eternal priests - who ever stand before Me, ministering to Me and My people.  

You've heard it said "a house divided cannot stand" but I say to you, too, a heart divided cannot remain in love with Me. If you continue to pursue another lover,  your love for Me shall wane and wax cold, saith The Lord.  

Eithee pursue Me with all your heart or not at all. I am a jealous God - I WANT YOU ALL TO MYSELF! I created your heart for Me and Me alone - I will not share you with another. Turn to Me completely  - give Me your full attention,  or turn away - reject My love as many others do, only do not continue to reserve rooms in your heart for other lovers, saith The Lord."

  Christian  - how can you hold lost unbelievers to the same standard you hold yourself and other saints to? When they do not love as you do it's because they do not know Me, saith The Lord.  How can they love as you love? Their hearts are full of Satan. Don't expect what they cannot give. Continue to show them My love so that you may be called the children of My Father. Shine as a city on a hill - not hidden but publicly obeying My Father's will. You are My example of all they are not. Heart's filled with Me overcome heart's filled with sin - light conquers darkness  - remain steadfast in My live for you, saith The Lord. 

Part Three of a 3 part series

 

Luke 3:8 - They justify all manner of spiritual wickedness and in their pride they rule over others, controlling their spiritual journeys and destination,  by claiming Abraham as their father - All denominations do the same today. They claim Martin Luther as their father,  or John Wesley, or The Pope, etc. Therefore,  having taken authority from a man - they believe they have authority over God's people, to with as they please. Truth is - they do have authority over people who follow THEM, as long as those people are not following Christ  - for only Christ has authority over those who are His. Amen. In the dispensation we are currently in  - we have but one authority  - our Father which art in Heaven,  the Father of us all  - therefore we are all siblings, as such we are all equal...though older brothers and sisters take care of younger siblings for a season, not forever. 

Luke 3:9 - Fruit reveals root! Good soil = good fruit, bad soil = bad fruit. The soil is pur heart - our attitude and condition determine if the Word of God will bear fruit in us. The axe too, is the Word of God  - exposing our foundation  - our roots - built on the rock of obedience to Christ and His sayings or built upon the shifting sand of disobedience,  never doing, hearing only. 

To all this, the people ask "WHAT SHALL WE DO THEN"?

Luke 3:11 - His answer involves DOING SOMETHING  - not just sitting in a pew and HEARING something  - it takes no faith or belief to sit and hear a sermon each week - neither does it take any faith to speak a sermon, unless one speaks under the unction and anointing of the Holy Spirit  - but look at John's reply - "He that hath two coats, impart to him that has none, and he that has meat, let him do likewise" - this verse sums up the holy lifestyle of the first century saints depicted in the book of Acts - who even sold land and homes in order to care for their poorer brethren, and orphans and widows. Getting rid of excess possessions on behalf of those less fortunate is a clear indication that our hearts truly belong to Christ.  It is an outward sign of an inward reality  - that is - we no longer sit on the throne of our heart  - Christ does. It is far better to give than receive yet many today are taught to give to receive.  Moderation goes hand in hand with humility  - yet we live in such excess in America  - and other, poorer countries seek to emulate us. Excess is the hallmark of many churches, not modesty and humility  - the bigger the building the prouder we become  - nothing screams success like an audience of thousands sitting in palaces any king of old would be proud of - all of it is far from the modest, holy lifestyle Jesus modeled for us. He did not own a single building nor did he claim one as his to minister in. He even said he had nowhere to lay his head. He was completely unconcerned with material wealth,  or even clothing or food - totally trusting his Father to meet his daily needs. We claim to be his followers yet we teach people to live the opposite of the way he lived. We teach that "gain is godliness" in these modern churches of ours but godliness with contentment is great gain. We are all about our own comfort what with our air-conditioned,  padded pews and luxury cars - insuring we are well fed each and every meal, while our brethren go homeless and hungry all around us. Jesus told us to invite the poor to our feasts - yet again,  we dishonor him by doing the opposite  - inviting only each other and those that can repay us. When will we start living as he taught us to?

In Luke 3:12&13 - more religious leadership come to John, asking what can they do? Again John rebukes their greed and excess - telling them to take what is their due - no more, no less - excess money is to be avoided - unless given by God  - who will then direct us to give it away to others in need. 

In verse 14 soldiers come, seeking orders - Do no violence,  accuse no one falsely  - be content with your wages (what?)  - prosperity teachers erase that last libe, lol - yet, everything John told them was crystallized into one command by Jesus  - "LOVE ONE ANOTHER" - if we obey this single command - we have need of no others - for love does no harm to it's neighbor,  of any kind, hallelujah! But in reality,  because of our heart's penchant to sin and do wickedly - the only way we can do right - is to be baptized into the Holy Ghost and with fire - 

verse 16 - God does not call us to do something impossible for us to do - thank God  - He empowers us and enables us to do his will - and he teaches us what that will is - shedding his love in our hearts and wisdom in our souls by the same Holy Spirit Jesus was filled with. 

This is part two of a three part message

 

 As things stand now, the World understands and relates to the churches - with their system of exalting the pastor over the people,  of flesh ruling over flesh (and spirit), for the world is structured the same way. In the World, they are always ruled by someone,  whether a king or a president,  dictator,  pastor or priest - and people love to have it so. This system comes from Babylon. God told Adam and Eve to subdue and rule over the animals - not each other. Seeking to be above (or below) anyone else comes from the heart of Satan, who wants to be above others. We should all seek to be under God with Christ as our head and no man "AND THEY SAW NO MAN ANYMORE SAVE JESUS ONLY WITH THEMSELVES" . If anything,  we should each esteem our brothers higher than ourselves  - The only one we should seek to humble and teach humility to is ourselves  - our own heart, not another's.  We do not esteem them by making them our king but rather we seek to serve them as servant-kings ourselves,  serving each other in love and humility just as Christ loves and serves us. As kings in Christ's kingdom,  we are called to abdicate the throne of our heart so we may go and live among the people in service to them, as Christ did - rather than seeking to have them serve us.

 The authority structure in churches today reflects the opposite of God's heart - Yes, people do serve one another in them, but it's always done at the behest of the pastor - under his authority and prompting - he must approve of everyone else's "ministry" ( which is never supernatural, only nature,  by the way). The pastor is fallible,  made of the same flesh and blood as we are, and was never meant by God to be in that position  - over the congregation (no man is). We are to recognize those among us who are mature and wise, full of the Holy Spirit and we are to honor and respect them - but see this difference  - we give honour and respect  - they don't take it or demand it.  The root problem is, every church and denomination is founded by a man or men - therefore people ascribe honor to and submit to that man - and rightly so - for the church is his. But in Christ  - He is the originator and founder of His church and Body in every city and town and village around the world  - therefore He alone gets glory and honour in the fellowships He founds and establishes (Throne rooms). In a typical church  - the people bring people to the pastor to be saved. Typically,  the pastor will share the Gospel and invite people to be saved towards the end of every service (sound familiar?) The pastor will lead them in a "sinner's prayer" after explaining the Gospel to them - they are now considered "his" converts - his souls to disciple - but of a truth  - every soul belongs to Christ and it's the Holy Spirit's responsibility to disciple them . Yes, He will use flesh submitted to him to disciple souls birthed into his kingdom,  but make no mistake,  we are midwives and nanny's to one another  - our only Father is God - and we are His children equally  - some are older siblings,  some younger, but no one is to be over another in our hearts - only Christ is to exalted over us - in our hearts.