Five-Fold Today - Give And It Will Come Back To You - Israel My Beloved - A Call for Co-Advocates - Fruit Which Will Last Forever, Or Fruit Which Will Decay - The Battle - Waves Of Fire - Harry Potter Craze

July 20, 2000

GIVE AND IT SHALL COME BACK TO YOU

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer.

One day, while trying to eke out a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. "I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life." "No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel. "Is that your son?" the nobleman asked. "Yes," the farmer replied proudly. "I'll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll grow to a man you can be proud of." And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill. Someone once said what goes around comes around.

And now you know...

Brother Alan

ISRAEL MY BELOVED!

A Word through: Chad Taylor

Israel My beloved, My first born! Have you not heard the cries of your children? The cries of restoration and reconciliation? A time of great controversy is about to grip the hearts of your countrymen. A time of controversy and rumor. A time when the mothers will weep for their children and the children for their fathers. A time when the nation will tremble and quake. A time of peril and sword. But I tell you O Israel, I have succored you! I have prayed for you! And the prayers that I prayed so many years ago are about to come to pass O Israel!

"And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one... Father, I desire that they also whom You have given Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me..." (John 17).

ISRAEL, YOU WILL LOOK TO HEAVEN AND CRY, "WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"

O Israel My beloved! In this hour you will look to Heaven and cry, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" But I say to you O Israel, My beloved! I have not forgotten you! I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands! I have written My covenant on the fleshly tablets of My heart! O Israel, in this time of your testing, when the threshing floors will be full, I will show My self strong on your behalf. And what the devil has meant for your evil, I have meant for your good! I will not forsake you O Israel, I will not leave you.

Go cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the Lord, 'I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, when you went after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holiness to the Lord...' (Jeremiah 2:1).

BUT I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU!

O My beloved Israel! In this hour men shall sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you! I have interceded for you! You will not perish forever, you will not fall forever, I will lift you up and you will shine like you have never shined before! You will run like you have never run before! I will turn your mourning into dancing says the Lord! I will turn you mourning into dancing and your tears to shears! You will lay the harvest of nations at My feet O Israel. You will restore the ruins of many generations. You will repair the breach. If you do not faint you will reap. In your distress and perplexity O daughter of Zion, do not fear, I am here says the Lord, I am here.

"When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against Him. The redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob, says the Lord..."

(Isaiah 59:19-20).

THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD

O My beloved! This is the reckoning, the consummation of all things. This is that great and terrible day. This is the acceptable year of the Lord, and they day of vengeance of your God. To console those that mourn, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning. This is the day that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters O Israel shall prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your handmaidens shall sing the song of Deborah in this day says the Lord. A day of reckoning and reconciliation. A day of famine, and a day of fire. A day I will deliver your sons and daughters. This is that hour says the Lord. This is that hour.

"Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace...And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again..." (Romans 11).

I WILL CONSUME WOOD, HAY, AND STUBBLE

Prepare yourself O Israel. A time when I will shake the heavens and the earth. A time when I will burn with an unquenchable fire. A time when I will consume the wood, hay, and stubble. A time when 'I will purge the sons of Levi as gold and silver. That they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.' This is the hour that I will walk through your streets with a winnowing fan. I will burn the chaff. I will burn it up says the Lord.

I WILL SET THOSE WHO ARE MINE ASIDE!

I will set those that are Mine aside. They will not be harmed in the flame. They will not die. Not even the smell of smoke will be upon their garments. I will preserve them in this time of famine says the Lord. I will keep them.

"For behold the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day that is coming shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts... But you who fear My name, The Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings..." (Malachi 4:1-2).

Chad Taylor
Email: destiny@televar.com
Web: www.consumingfire.com
LAMENTATIONS 2:19

A Call for Co-Advocates
Linda Royce

The LORD has shown me a strategy that the adversary has launched against intercessors which has increased in intensity lately.

The LORD has released a greater level of intercession to His people. There is an open heaven over those who will humbly intercede in this hour. The LORD spoke this to me in mid-June of this year. This is a time of breakthrough for those who will press into Him.

I was extremely excited and full of zeal to pray, and didn't notice the attack of the enemy. I share this because I believe that there are others who could be attacked in this same way. I do not typically focus on the adversary, but we are not to be ignorant of his schemes.

The LORD has shown me that one of the biggest areas of spiritual warfare is in the area of relationships. I have been serving in a ministry for about three years now. The LORD will show me the things He wants me to pray for. Here's where the trap comes. I am shown what areas I am to be praying, and before long a magnifying of those areas comes. Before I realize what has happened, the negative areas are all I can see. This comes about so subtly and gradually until I reach a point of hopelessness and heaviness, which is followed by a sense of not being able to go on.

I know that this scheme, though simple, has been very effective, because I have seen people check out over the years, not realizing that this is warfare. People see this as a flesh and blood issue, which it is not. We tend to forget the basics of spiritual warfare.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (2 Cor 10:3 KJV)

Brothers and sisters, if the LORD has called you to pray for a ministry, leadership of a ministry, family members, saints of God, the lost, whoever - don't allow the adversary to pull you into this deadly trap. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). Pray and intercede from those heavenly places.

The next thing the LORD showed me was awesome.

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (1 John 2:1 KJV)

Think about what an advocate does. Jesus Christ the righteous is fighting for His saints, and He is calling us to be co-advocates. An advocate does not focus on the negative, but on the positive. An advocate will help you out of every difficult place you find yourself in, even if you got there by your own doing. An advocate will fervently defend you. This is what Jesus Christ is doing right now, as He ever lives to make intercession for us. He is calling His intercessors to join with Him. He is calling His intercessors to be co-advocates.

If He is showing you a problem, He will give the solution. What easily happens to intercessors is that they will talk about the problem, but won't seek the LORD for the solution. The solution must be sought out and prayed in. Don't magnify the problem - speak out and pray the solution. If the LORD isn't giving you the solution, then He probably isn't showing you the problem. We need discernment: is the LORD showing you what to pray for or is the adversary laying a trap before you?

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another (Gal 5:14-15 KJV).

Some of our biggest attacks will come in the area of relationships. The LORD is calling us to true relationship in this hour. When we are truly unified, nothing will stop us. Brothers and sisters, I exhort you to ask the LORD if you have fallen prey to this attack of the adversary. Jesus Christ is inviting us to be His co-advocates in this hour. We need His heart and His vision like never before. God bless you.

Submitted by the Diggers

"FRUIT WHICH WILL LAST FOREVER,
OR FRUIT WHICH WILL DECAY"

Stephen Hanson

8. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground.
9. But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark.
10. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark.
11. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. Gen. 8

1. I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
2. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.
3. "Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
4. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Isaiah 5

(The Lord showed me a dove which was flying overhead, and it had a branch with some leaves on it.)

Then He said: "A dove was sent out from the ark to search for land, and a dove is now being sent out unto the ends of the earth to search for fruit. My Holy Spirit has been searching for fruit, and I have found little of it. All I see is barrenness and emptiness. I AM sending out my dove again, and I AM asking it to return unto Me with something."

(The Lord now showed me an apple which was on a tree. At a first glance this apple appeared to be beautiful and fully ripe and good. But as I continued to look at it, I was shown what it looked like on the other side. Here it was very ugly and decaying. This side of the apple was brown and was rotting. Then I was shown an entire section of an apple tree. I noticed that the inside of each of the apples was "cored-out." Insects had eaten out the inside and had left the outer shell of the fruit. I was also shown a grape vine. Here as well, the grapes were very damaged. There were insects crawling around the grapes and the leaves, eating the fruit. I noticed several large ants crawling around them, as well as spiders and other insects. It was not a beautiful thing to look at.)

"This is the state that much of my body is in. You have been given much in the way of spiritual gifts and anointing, but much of it has been for show, and your fruit has been found wanting. "

(Again the Lord showed me some fruit, and this time it was of some very luscious grapes. They were dark purple and were fully ripe and were beautiful. There were large clusters of them, and their vines had wrapped around a fence post.)

He then said again:

"There are some of you who have produced fruit and it is very beautiful to behold. I ask you to produce fruit after your kind. I asked Adam to be fruitful and to multiply upon the earth. This applied to repopulating and to bringing people upon the earth. But even more important than that in being fruitful and multiplying, is to yield fruit in your lives and to show good character because of this."

(Lastly, the Lord showed me a banqueting table which had all kinds of fruit on it set upon various platters. There were people sitting on either side who were ready to eat.)

"At the marriage supper of the Lamb I will have fruit which will abide and will last forever."

Stephen Hanson

http://www.angelfire.com/in/HisTruth

The Battle

John R. Bullard

During my meditation time today, the Lord impressed upon me that the battle is raging all around us and that the battle will be won:

I came late to the meeting and the Master had already begun, And He was telling a story of the battle that had to be won. As I looked around the room and slowly closed the door, I began to recognized those I had fought alongside of before.

Some were baby Christians that hardly knew how to fight, Some were seasoned warriors who had fought during the night. They listened intently as the Master explained the battle maps, As He showed us where the enemy had carefully laid his traps.

He told us to stay united, not to desert our post or break ranks, Even if the enemy tries to deceive us with lies as big as tanks. He said, "The enemy comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, And sometimes he disguises his attack in the form of a toy."

He said, "You are in the world, but you not to be of the world, And you are to cast out fear and hate by using my Holy Word." Everyone nodded their heads and together they said, 'Amen!' They knew their victory was secure, it was just a matter of when.

He told us there would be times when He would be out of sight, And we were to continue press the battle and do what was right. As we were about to leave, He said, "Daily, put your armor on! Fight the good fight of faith for the battle continues to rage on."

In His Service,
Brother John Bullard

WAVES OF FIRE
By David Howe

I AM going release a fresh waves of Fire on to my church - First The Fire of cleansing - Then the Fire of empowering - For I AM the Fire.

For that which is built upon the ways of man - Built upon your ideas - That which is built of idolatry - All the wood - hay and stubble will be burned up - For those houses that have been built upon the sands of man and not upon the rock of son - Not Built upon rock of My Word will fall - For this is the day when each man's work will tested by Fire.

For by the Fire - My true servants will be revealed for all to see - For all my diamonds and precious stones will be revealed in this hour says the Lord - The season of the revealing of my sons and daughters is about to start - For They will Show forth the Glory of my Son unto this world says the Lord.

Come - I counsel you to repent - To be ready - To cast off the ways of man - To be Holy For I want all to come through the Fire as Gold - For I want none to be lost but all to be saved - Because I love you, says the Lord.

Welcome the Fire, people of the Lord - For it is my seal upon you.

Dave Howe
davehowe@fdn.co.uk
Wellspring ministries.

Harry Potter Craze

doug morrell

The hottest selling craze of the summer is a book. And, unless you're one of the participants on the TV series "Survival", it's the latest Harry Potter novel by J. K. Rowling.

And it's much more than a marketing phenomenon (I know because I've been involved in marketing for nearly 20 years). It's more than just a faddish "pet-rock" craze.

I believe the excitement surrounding the Potter books is evidence of people hungering for something beyond the normal day-in-day-out routine of life.

The book has smashed sales records, sending the publishers back to the presses for an additional 2 million copies (that's in addition to the 3.8 million copies already distributed in the U.S.). Plus, Gallup Research indicates that nearly one-third of all parents with children under the age of 18 have read or are reading a Potter novel. Plans are being made for a Steven Spielberg film adaptation.

So, what's all the concern? We should be asking ourselves why, in a time when people are starving to death for things spiritual, are we as Christians not able to point them toward God's bountiful table. Are we romancing the stone or do we actually love the stone? (Mth. 21:42)

As C.S. Lewis indicated, people long for the mysterious, the wonderful, the other-worldly that our daily experiences cannot satisfy. In our hearts there is a desire for something we will never find in the world.

The attraction of other-worldly stories like Harry Potter and the increase of network televised "spiritual" programs are that they tap into our hunger for God. Video games, television, the pursuit of wealth, and other diversions can never satisfy this longing. The Potter phenomenon reflects the longing in our souls for God.

But Harry Potter and all the shows about angels can never fill the void within. Only Jesus can do that.

The same dichotomy exists in the Church today. We are providing a virtual reality which produces no real, lasting fulfillment nor lasting fruit. Hence, we mobilize whole armies of Christians who are responding out of a sense of duty rather than out of a passion for God.

There is an essential need to have people who first have a zeal and passion for God before attempting to turn them toward "saving the world."

That's why I am not an ambassador pressed to teach personal witnessing and the need for missionaries to go forth (don't read what I'm not writing...these are valuable, but the motivational factors need be examined as well as the foundational teaching processes involved). I'm not seeing the fruit of lives filled with the passion for God. Everyday I hear from people around the world who are struggling to feel good about themselves, and to feel spiritual; the focus is upon self rather than upon love for God.

It is a simple truth -- without a zeal flowing from a consuming passion and love for God, all the "churchy" activity we are about will be motivated because we want to feel like somebody special in the church or group, or an effort to feel more spiritual. It will simply bring forth more people trying to do something for God, rather than doing God's will because they love Him and love what He loves.

Until we have a passion for God in our work, our recreational time, our relationships, our family life, our stewardship of the materials which He has provided, we will never be able to express the Gospel of Jesus Christ, either at home or elsewhere for that matter.

We, as American Christians, live in the most prosperous economy and society mankind has ever known. Yet, we are the poorest stewards of the riches God has entrusted to us. We have used our wealth for our own enjoyment justifying ourselves that we have, for one reason or other, "earned it." It is true, how we use our money demonstrates what we really love.

There is a critical difference between an emotional response which comes from a heart that loves God, and an emotional response which comes from a heart that desires only to "feel good." Much of what I see today is a hungering for the real thing, but only a shadow is being presented. It is like smelling fresh-baked bread, yet never being able to taste and see first-hand how wonderfully satisfying it really is.

Those who pursue righteousness love God. Those who love self do things for God so long as He makes them feel good. Those who make contributions to God out of their own strength, creativity and opinions are promoting their own goodness instead of seeking to love God and seek first His Kingdom and righteousness.

Our Heavenly Father does not want our contributions (sacrifice); He wants all of us and our obedience to Him. Jesus gave His life in order to make this possible. We cannot do it ourselves.

As I recently wrote, it is easy to condemn and sit in judgement against abortionists, homosexuals, prostitutes, drunkards, witchcraft, and New Agers. But, what about our failure to love God and to seek first His righteousness? How can we tell others how to live when we will not manifest the character of the One we claim is our Lord?

Admittedly, if I were an alien from another world, and my exposure to Christianity was primarily through the messages flowing from televangelists, pulpits, and Christian best-sellers, I would conclude that the primary purpose of Christianity is to make me feel good about things that I should not be feeling good about at all.

The primary qualification for being a disciple of Lord Jesus Christ is that God's love so permeates our motives that all I do will be for His glory (1 Cor. 10:31). We should continually ask ourselves as a guiding principle, "Is this action glorifying God?" or "How can I honor God through this action?" We might not then believe we deserve that exotic vacation, more square footage, or the newest and greatest vehicle.

Secondly there must be a lifestyle that manifests total surrender to the Holy Spirit. One who purposes to be a disciple must be like the master Himself; a servant and a steward, a witness and a son. Sonship is understood and practiced only through servanthood, stewardship and witnessing as demonstrated through lifestyle -- not through position, power, fame, title nor riches. Sonship acknowledges that all that is put into our hands by God must be used for God.

Those preparing to enter the mission field (in our home, we have a sign hanging on the inside or our door which reads, "You are now entering the mission field") should be prepared to serve, to make disciples, to equip those new disciples to do the works of service and making disciples, to teach the essentials of the Scriptures; then, they should be released to repeat the very process once more (Mth. 28:19; 2 Tim. 2:2).

Those preparing to be disciples should be mature in their relationships and strong in the Lord in resisting their "feelings" which can only be accomplished by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit (receiving and obeying the Holy Spirit is one of the first and most critical steps in being a disciple and is largely not taught).

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Mth. 7:21-23)

Understand that Jesus motivates His disciples to live righteously by emphasizing that such living comes from the heart with love and in trust, more than through observance of an external code of ethics. As a result, the New Testament reveals the differences between a correct behavior, based only on the Law, and righteous actions that proceed from the heart of a new life reborn in Christ.

As Disciples Of Lord Jesus Christ, we should:

  • Suspect things that are popular or favored by the world-minded majority.
  • Understand that evil begins in the heart.
  • Realize that the results of an individual's life and work are better indications of personal motives than are appearances or claims.
  • Be warned that what you practice demonstrates your relationship with Jesus. Never undervalue obedience. Know that many who expect divine approval will receive censure or even judgment instead.
  • Beware of judging yourself and your success by human standards. Remember that popularity and human approval do not necessarily indicate God's approval.
  • Understand that God's Kingdom authority and the world's system of authority or many times exactly opposite.

Are you in love with Jesus or do you love Jesus?

doug morrell
--
Live Christ Deliberately!
Christian Outfitters, Inc.
outfitters@christianoutfitters.com
http://www.christianoutfitters.com

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