Five-Fold Today - I Am Here! - Rising Up From The Ashes - Heart Motives - I Have Called You To the Nations! - Come Into the Inner Chamber - Overcome - Burning Bridges - Call Me Simple
I Am Here!
Michael Danforth
Are we really supposed to believe that while Jesus was on the cross,
bearing the sins of the world, that His own Father turned away because He
could not stand to look at the ugliness of sin that was upon Him. Now
let's think about this.
You send your only son to become the ultimate sacrifice for all humanity
and in His most trying hour, when he needs you the most,
you turn your back on him? Is that what you would do if He were your
child?
No matter how gross or disgusting he appeared to be, would you turn
your head, knowing that your were the very source of his existence? I
think not. And if so, maybe it's time to consider a change of heart.
Where do we get this notion that God is so holy that he can't bear the
likes of you and I outside of being bathed with the blood of His son,
Jesus? I am not negating the power of the blood of Jesus. Nor am I
negating its ability to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
But while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8) We did not
choose Him but He chose us. In our sinful condition, God initiated His
love toward us.
When Jesus cried, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" He was
crying out from beneath the sin of all humanity, "God where are you?" And
that's just what sin does, it veils us from the reality that God is right
there with you all the time. It separates you from knowing Him as father,
to seeing Him as just God.
God never left Jesus nor did He turn His back on Him, but He was with Him
every step of the way. He was with Him at His birth, in the garden, on the
cross, in the grave and in His resurrection.
How many people do you know today, that as soon as they do something
wrong, as soon as they "Fail God" they walk away with this picture of God
turning His back on them because they are "So Bad."
This is the mindset that the world lives under, even "Christians."
This perception of God comes from the very nature of sin that entices us
to view one another according to our successes and failures. Our whole
existence is based on the approval of one another.
If we do well enough then we will be accepted, if not then we will be
tolerated, at best. The relational value of each other in the world and in
most of the church community is summed up in our performance. "This person
is more anointed than that person is, and this one is more gifted than
that one..." And we wonder why our need for success is so great?
Have you ever noticed when people approach you within the church, they
seem to be more interested in what your function is rather than who you
are? And if you tell them, well I've just been kind of taking a breather
from everything and getting a new perspective on life, they look at you or
respond to you, like you just committed some cardinal sin. Then you feel
like you want to run and hide from this shameful judgment that just came
your way.
Through the disobedience of one man this kind of perception entered into
the world. When man tasted of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
immediately they went and hid themselves from God. God didn't hide from
man, man hid from God.
Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he
said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was
naked; and I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked?
Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not
eat?" (Gen 3:9-11)
So I ask you now, who told Adam that he was naked? Sin did! Sin said, look
at yourself, you're an embarrassment to God. You better run and hide
before God sees you in your shameful condition.
Who told Jesus that God had forsaken Him? Sin did. The sin of the world
said, God has turned His back on you because you are disgusting and He
can't bear to look at you. What a Lie!
You need to know that Jesus died for that accusation of disgust and shame.
He gave His life to remove that dark barrier that has stood in the way
between you and God. And he wants you and I to know, that His father, does
not abandon His children in their most needful hour, He was there then and
He is still here, with us, today!
Jesus did not know sin, but yet he became sin for us that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor 5:21) We don't resist temptation
with the hope of being holy or righteous, we resist falling into the snare
of sin because we "Are Holy", we "Are righteous."
This unmerited gift was given to us freely by Jesus Christ. And even when
we don't live up to that high standard, God doesn't turn His
head in shame, No!
He looks at us through great faith, knowing that we are destined to
continue toward the heart our resting place in Him.
I am not offering you a license to sin, I am offering you freedom to love
God and know that He loves you, regardless of sin. But as long as sin is
in your way, then you will continue to cry out, like a child afraid of the
night, "God! God! Where are you?" And His reply will always be, "I AM
HERE."
Blessings,
Michael Danforth
Rising Up From The Ashes
Ching Co
THE IMPRESSION
In the coming days, there will rise up in various nations, in different
cities and communities, strong groups of Christians with different
spiritual and vocational giftings, and God will sovereignly network them
to work together not just in uplifting the spiritual condition of the land
but even to help share their different skills and expertise and used
them as tools in building up the community.
In the past, the enemy has been using the Babel type of community
building where it was mostly individualized and often identified to
specific group and even person. But the building of the Lord in these last
days will be totally different and unique. It will be in the type of
Nehemiah where everybody whom the Lord called and touched will response
and will become part of the rebuilding.
For the first time, the world will see Christian men and women whose lives
God will use as a showcase. In the past, the unbelieving world has look
down upon us because even thought we have not been lacking in preaching
God's word, we have been short in living it out.
But the Lord has been quickening my heart for many months and I see the
body of Christ rising up to the challenges of the time. God will cause His
defeated body to rise up from the ashes, and like the vision of Ezekiel
and the valley of dead bones, when the Spirit of God blows upon us and
resurrect us, we will stand and glow with the glory of the Resurrected
Christ Himself.
Different centers will rise up in various cities and nations. These
centers will be taken care of by men and women of God who has no motive
but to serve and willing to remain nameless and faceless and willing to
come and go at the shortest notice. They will not hold on to anything or
be dependent on anybody but the Lord will be their provider.
People of God, rejoice and geared yourself for this wonderful time of
sending out. God is at the head of this party and His angels are busy
preparing everything even at this point of time. Many of His pioneering
servants are all packed and ready to go to this exciting trip ahead of
them.
A little longer and all things will become more and more clearer. The next
three years will see a greater unfolding of all these and by that time,
many centers in various land would have risen up and made known to the
nations. None of these centers would need to advertise themselves. God
Himself will trumpet their presence and people from all over the nations
including head of state, king and queen will flock to see what all these
are about.
RHEMA PROMISES
Isaiah 2:2-3
In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as
chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all
nations will stream to it.
Many people will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that
we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the
Lord from Jerusalem.
Isaiah 60:1-4,5b,7b,10a-12,16,17b-18,22
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises
upon you. See darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the
peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your
sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.
The wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the
nations will come. They will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I
will adorn my glorious temple.
Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Your
gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so
that men will bring you the wealth of the nations - their kings led in
triumphal procession. For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you
will perish; it will be utterly ruined.
You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then
you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty
One of Jacob.
I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler. No longer
will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your
borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I
AM THE LORD; IN ITS TIME I WILL DO THIS SWIFTLY.
GOD WORDS TO US
" My faithful children, do not fear for I have not forgotten you. I have
seen your sowing, I have taken note of your sacrifices for me, just a
little longer and things will began to change before you.
Like Jacob at Bethel, you will see my angels coming up and down from
heaven to bring My provision to you and to prepare the way for you.
Like Joseph, you will be brought before Pharaoh and my glory will shine
forth from you. Do not worry about what you are to say for when the time
comes, I will put the word in your mouth.
Like Nehemiah, you will find favors before your leaders. I will moved the
heart of earthly leaders and will cause them to issue decrees that will
worked in your favor so that My kingdom's work will be hastened.
What has taken years before will now be accomplished in weeks and months.
The cloud of my glory is descending, it is heavy and about to be pour down
upon you. You don't have to run around to seek these clouds, it will come
to you where you are, to those whose heart has been harkened unto me, the
clouds will come to you and will rest upon your homes.
There will be no more running around chasing for My glory for My glory
will be resting upon my people and many will be drawn to you because of
the glory resting upon you.
Even your young children will reflect my glory, what I've spoken in Joel
will become more and more real soon.
Enter into your inheritance; I have assigned you your portion and your
cup, your lot is secure in me. Your boundary line has fallen in pleasant
places. (Psalm 16:5-6) No one will be able to steal them from you. You
will not need to labor to enter into your inheritance for I will bring
your inheritance to you."
May these words encourages us to hold on to all the promises given to us
individually and corporately by our Faithful God.
Blessings,
Sis. Ching Co
Cebu City Philippines
ching@gsilink.com
Heart Motives
Gloria Shepherd
What are the motives of your heart when you come to me my
little ones? Are you seeking my heart and laying your
hearts on the altar of sacrifice to bring forth my
perfect will in this hour? Or are you still holding on
to all manners of self as you try to do the work of my
kingdom out of the fleshly desires of your hearts? I
desire a children, whose hearts are set on following the
words of the Holy Spirit in all they do, whose motives are
pure and who have no other desire than to please me. I
desire a children who want to surrender fully unto my
spirit, because they love me more than their own bodies
and selves. I desire those who willingly give their whole
selves to walk in unselfish love, and according to the
leadings of my spirit. I desire pure hearts in service to
me, purified by my fire. I do not desire my children to
walk in self - and in impure heart motives that serve only
their own agendas and programs. Ask me to show you what is
in your hearts children that you can walk in the fullness
of my spirit in this hour. The only thing I desire for my
children is that they walk with me in the fullness of what
I have for them in this hour.
Search your hearts children, examine your motives, and see
that your motives are pure in service to me. Some of
you have allowed pride of self promotion to contaminate
your hearts in service to me. You have come to me with
pre-conceived ideas of what you want done in the kingdom,
and what you want accomplished now in the kingdom. Self
agenda and promotion have propelled many of you into self
exaltation that has tainted my work through you. These
works are birthed out of self, and they are deadly works
of the flesh.
So repent, my child, come to me this night, ask me to show
you whatever is not of me in your hearts, so you can
repent of it. Repent of all that is not of me that is
trying to rise up in you now. Repent, and I will cleanse
you with the consuming fires. I desire that you will walk
in.
Gloria Shepherd
I Have Called You To the Nations!
Ras Robinson
Do you remember my call to you, that time I spoke clearly and you were
amazed that I had put this in your heart? My call to you has
not changed. You are my choice and I have promised to be with
you, near you to deliver you in every circumstance. It is
because of My sovereign will that I chose you. You have a heart
of compassion like Jesus. Deep inside, you genuinely care about
people. The thought of people going to Hell without salvation
is nightmarishly disturbing to your heart. I have been there
when you have wept in the night, tossed and turned because you
care. You saw the faces of those perishing. But you have also
seen the joyful and gloriously happy faces of those already in
Heaven. You saw in your spirit the masses slipping over the
abyss into eternal damnation. And you responded in your heart.
Now the time is right for you to come forward and let me bestow
a battlefield commission upon you. I am promoting you this day
to be a commander, a top leader because of the authority that is
attached to this call. Come forward now and I will decorate you
with the badge of "servant of all" so all who know you will know
that My hand is clearly upon you. You will have the grace
needed to perform beyond your fleshly desires. I have called
you to the nations!
Fullness in Christ Church, Pastor
Come Into the Inner Chamber
Shelly Mathis
In preparing yourselves for Pentecost, I find you fussing
over yourselves like Martha fussed over preparing her
dinner for Me. This will not do. I am calling you into the
inner chamber to commune with Me, even as Mary did, that
I, Myself, might prepare you for the infilling of My Holy
Spirit this Pentecost. This infilling will come like a
mighty wind, and if you are not rooted and grounded in
intimate relationship with Me, the power will topple you
over. It is time to get rooted! Come.
Shelly Mathis
Overcome
Martin Sayers
Hebrews 12 : 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto
blood, striving against sin. It will only be by the blood
of the Lamb of God that you will overcome. Consecrate
your will unto the Lord and receive the sprinkling of the
blood of the sacrifice that paid the price for sin. The
blood of Christ must be applied to you before you can be
renewed and sanctified. You must allow this it will not
be forced upon you. But before the oil of the most Holy
Spirit is poured out upon you, you will by your own choice
reach up and ask for this most precious blood of the Son
of God to be sprinkled upon you by the High Priest, of the
Most High God. For this reason must you be touched by the
blood of Christ; the forgiveness of sin, the restoration
of all things and the reconciliation of all creation back
unto the Father of all. Even as Moses sprinkled the blood
of the sacrifice on My children so also must you be
sanctified by the blood that was sacrificed for you. This
most holy sacrifice was done once for all but the blood
remains eternally in the tabernacle that Moses saw and
must continue to be sprinkled upon My children, that they
may continue to be sanctified and consecrated. Then you
will continue to enter into My rest which is the Sabbath
Day, Seventh Day and the Third Day of Christ. There you
will be established and My covenant will be established in
your heart and your mind. This is the time that I the
Lord have chosen, before the foundation of the world I
established it. This generation shall come into the
fullness of all prophecy. A royal generation and a holy
priest hood of kings that will reign and rule with Me.
Abide in Me and even as the Father and I are one so also
will you and I be one.
Martin Sayers
Burning Bridges
Kari Macus
I saw a picture of a woman who had a lot of cuts and bruses on her, and
she was crossing one of those hanging suspension bridges. I could see
that she was very wounded and every step was an effort for her. She
became angry as she crossed the bridge because the going was so difficult.
But the difficulty was not the bridge's fault, it was the severity of the
many wounds she had. When she got to the other side, she pulled out a
book of matches and she set fire to the bridge. She watched in satisfaction
as it burned.
And then I heard God say that the enemy is launching a strategy against the
church right now. The strategy is to cause people to "burn their bridges" --
in other words to bring separation in the body of Christ, to increase
offenses and misunderstandings and to cause fissures in important and God
ordained relationships. The enemy is shooting firey darts at people and
they are getting wounded. And as they are wounded, it makes the going more
difficult. Then the enemy is confusing people by making them think that
the source of their problems and the source of their difficulties is
another person -- so that relationships can be messed up. The enemy is
doing this because he knows that if the church gets into unity, that the
power of God will advance through it.
The Lord's message to each of us is so simple: Don't burn your bridges.
Don't damage your God-appointed relationships. Direct your righteous
anger towards the enemy.. not towards each other. Be patient and kind.
Ignore one another's faults and build each other up. Bind up each other's
wounds and assist one another. Let mercy and grace and love flow.
And then you will see God's power and God's victory come into your
situation. And then God Himself will bid up your wounds and give you His
victory.
KariMacus@aol.com
Call Me Simple
A few minor, irritating, spiritual "knocks", from the past week--had me
personally whining..."Why can't things just be simple?"
Can your relate?
Is anyone else hungry for something "simple"?
The "complications" of life, at times, leave me bogged down and
drained--mentally and physically.
I found myself putting it into question today as I asked God:
"Why can't things just be..."simple"?
And then I got my answer.
God has already given us "SIMPLE"...I've just chosen other "complications".
Let me explain...
The dictionary defines the word "simple" as---being FREE from "secondary"
complications...
This leaves me asking what "secondary" thing has a hold of my life
recently, and is by definition, "stealing" my freedom from complications?
The answer is...(simple)...
Anything that has a hold of me -- that doesn't keep Christ as THE MAIN
THING...is a "secondary" complication.
Hmmm...
So if I'm interested in "simple" truth...
It's that life became more complicated when I took my eyes off of Christ.
Jesus is our "primary" focus...
And...let's keep it "simple!"
Mary Freeman
Mari0605@aol.com
April 27, 2001
Mountaintop Ministries
http://www.mticenter.com
info@mticenter.com
In The Garden of His Presence
nitehawkdw@earthlink.net
http://www.angelfire.com/ga/GardenofJesus/And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying,
"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go
therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20
http://www.fullnessonline.org
E-mail: fullness@airmail.net
samathis@qwest.net
Marty@spiritofprophecy.com
(a "call"--for all believers...)
by Mary Freeman
Simple truth...simple answers...simple direction...simple
relationships...simple circumstances...
(I think you get my "simple" drift!)
Circumstances became more complicated when I gazed at the "secondary"
things of this world.
Encourage one another~But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your
minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to
Christ" (II Cor. 11:3)
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