Blogspot Message #9

The Need To Be Sober

Our topic is the need for spiritual sobriety. We begin our examination of the topic with reviewing two scenarios.

In the first scenario, which is found in Daniel Chapter 5, Belshazzar is the king of Babylon. He “made a great feast to a thousand of his lords and drank wine before the thousand (v.1).” The Bible goes on to tell us that “Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives and his concubines, might drink therein. (v.2)” Belshazzar and his party took the golden and silver vessels, which had been dedicated to the service of the Lord, and used them for a profane purpose, that is, a drunken party. In their drunken stupor, they praised heathen idols (v.4). While we do not worship goblets or cups, the fact is that these vessels had been dedicated to the service of the Lord, and Belshazzar’s profane use of the temple vessels constituted an extreme disrespect for the God to whom the vessels had been dedicated.

Belshazzar undoubtedly knew of Nebuchadnezzar’s encounter with the God of the Israelites and should have taken cognizance that (see Daniel Chapter 4), this Almighty God had taken Nebuchadnezzar’s mind and his sanity from him for a period of time, until Nebuchadnezzar learned his place in the universe, i.e., Jehovah is God, Nebuchadnezzar is just a man, and therefore, infinitely inferior to and lesser than Almighty God. Belshazzar was without even the remotest of excuses for his drunken orgy and affront to the God of the Israelites. In verses 16-23 Daniel reminded Belshazzar of how the Lord had dealt with Nebuchadnezzar and that king’s sin of pride, and proceeded to indict Belshazzar for failing to heed the example of how God had dealt with Nebuchadnezzar’s pride.

At core, it was Belshazzar’s pride that led to his contempt of the Lord and consequently, Belshazzar’s drunkenness.

So many people in our society are familiar with the phrase “the handwriting on the wall,” but few grasp its dire importance and meaning. In the same hour that Belshazzar got drunk on wine poured into the temple vessels, “…came forth fingers of man’s hand and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.” (vv.5-6). This is polite 1611 Elizabethan English expression of the fact that Belshazzar was so terrified by the hand visibly writing on the wall that he urinated on himself.

Later in the chapter the handwriting is translated for Belshazzar to explain that God had numbered his kingdom, Belshazzar himself had been weighed and was found lacking in the balance, and his kingdom would be taken from him and given to the Medes and the Persians (vv.25-28). The same night, Belshazzar was slain and Darius the Median captured the Babylonian kingdom’s capitol city.

Our second scenario is early 21^st century America. We live in a nation that has been blessed like no other. When we needed chastening and correction to lead us back to God, He sent it. The 1920’s roared with homemade bathtub gin, “flappers” dancing the night away, clad in indecently short skirts, increase in sexual immorality, and the turning of our society toward the secular, toward materialism and away from the Lord. The October 1929 stock market crash and resulting economic depression lasted until December 1941, when the advent of WWII required American industry to produce the considerable needs of a nation at war.

World War Two ended in 1945 and our economy turned from satisfying the needs of the war machine to the wants and needs of the civilian populace. For the first time in almost five years, civilians could buy new cars and other consumer goods that had to be delayed to accommodate military war production. Sugar and gasoline rationing ceased. Five years of working, earning and saving ended in a spending spree that continues to this day, 62 years later.

The 1950s saw the American military and America’s civilian economy growing and flourishing like never before. America became the undisputed pre-eminent military and economic power in the entire world. Having at least one automobile in the driveway and a television set in the den or living room became the norm for middle America. Economic prosperity to a level never seen before in this country became not only a common experience, but a driving, consuming passion and goal. Americans tasted riches and like sharks tasting blood, wanted more.

All the while, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ was in steady decline. In love with the world and the things of the world, forgetting the Lord’s command to be salt and light. Forgetting the command to be in the world, but not of the world. Just like the world, seeking a bigger better family car, then two cars, better clothes, flashier clothes, bigger houses, higher paying jobs, more and better vacations, and every other comfort that the world sought. We were experiencing our own wine-tasting orgy, just like Belshazzar, only this time, we did so under the guise of “being blessed” and “enjoying the blessings of God.” We were intoxicated with materialism and prosperity. By 1960 at latest, Americans, including the church, were drunk with this world and the things of this world. All the while, we thought that we were alright because we still went to Sunday School and Church, put money in the plate, and had “Leave It To Beaver” haircuts, clothes, furniture and lifestyles.

We forgot the God who made us, instead, opting for keeping up with the Joneses.

The 1960s saw the church sound asleep, allowing: the United States Supreme Court to take prayer out of school; doing absolutely nothing about healing the wounds and scars of racism and its American past, not to mention the need for “being your brother’s keeper”; forgetting holiness and the fear of the Lord; At most quacking a little bit like a duck over the God-hating, atheistic tirades of Madelyn Murray O’Hare but not knuckling down in prayer and fasting to rise up as a standard of righteousness against the flood of evil; the Bible being cast by heretics who called themselves Christians, pastors and theologians, on an ever-increasing basis, as not literal and completely factual, but instead, allegorical and flawed--supposedly the work of men and philosophers rather than the utterance of a Holy God through His Holy Spirit, as dictated by the Spirit to men of God.

1960s youth culture recognized the hypocrisy and vapid futility of the materialistic American quest for more and greater things, and consequently, we felt the backlash: Rock and pop music, in its various forms; The Beatles (John Lennon proclaiming that he and the other three Beatles were “more popular than Jesus,” this spoken in a sacrilegious spirit, but unfortunately reflecting the fact of the decline of worship of Jesus and rise of worship of the Beatles and other secular musicians); Woodstock; Rampant drug abuse; Youthful rebellion; Riots; “Flower power.”

Meanwhile, the church is still in a drunken stupor.

The 1970s saw our situation in America go from bad to worse. Hedonism flourished. Civil and governmental authority no longer was viewed as respectable or legitimate. The 1960s youth culture infatuation with rebellion became institutionalized. The military was no longer respected but was treated like some sort of heinous monster, rather than our protector. “Free love,” i.e., sexual promiscuity, was now rampant, flagrant and open. America and Americans had become cynical, jaded, thoroughly secular and materialistic. Hedonism was a god, and it had many followers in America, as it does today—yes, even in the church. A church that proclaims wealth and prosperity and how to get it, rather than the need for repentance, the new birth, the fear of the Lord, and the need to be converted or processed into a form that is useable for ministry.

Yet, the church was still drunk.

The 1980s and 1990s saw this situation continue to progressively degenerate. The same is still true in the first decade of the 21^st century. An occasional lone, faint voice can be heard from a few isolated men and women of God, calling America to repent and turn back to the Lord. But for the most part, what we want is to fatten our 401 (k) retirement plans like Thanksgiving Day turkeys, make a greater profit on our stocks and other investments, and lose ourselves in selfish pleasures and pursuits. We want to store up acorns and chestnuts—and lots of them—for retirement, so that we can drive around America in an RV, towing the car, golfing, having cocktails at the country clubs and resorts, seeing the sights and generally catering to our flesh, while we wait for our bodies to break down and die. Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. But in the meantime, we will eat the goodies at the next buffet and tranquilize ourselves, while we wait for the inevitable last heartbeat.

Today, September 3, 2007, we—and this includes not only secular American society, but also the church—are almost too drunk with our decades of self-indulgence and wretched excess to see the handwriting on the wall. America, and indeed, the Lord’s church, have been weighed and found lacking in the balance.

II Chronicles 7:14 is still true and America is still the land that has not been healed, because the church did not do what this scripture commanded us to do: “If my people, which are called by my name [Christians], shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land [emphasis added]. The present pitiful, rebellious, sinful state of America is the result of the church neglecting this scripture FOR DECADES!

Lack of sobriety destroyed Belshazzar.

Lack of sobriety is doing the same to America, and the church.

But what is sobriety?

Sobriety is not gloom, pessimism or negativity.

Ecclesiates 3 tells us that there is a “time to every purpose under the heaven” (see v.1), and this includes times of loving, embracing, healing, building up, laughing, dancing, getting, speaking, keeping and peace, but also times of the opposite of each one of those happy conditions or experiences. Sobriety is not contrary to laughing, dancing, loving and embracing, but without sobriety, we will never experience those happy conditions to the full. Sobriety keeps these happy experiences and conditions in proper, eternal perspective.

Sobriety, according to Webster’s Dictionary, involves not being intoxicated or drunk, but instead, being habitually (i.e., as a matter of regular, steady, continuous habit) temperate (self-controlled, moderate), quiet or sedate in demeanor, marked by seriousness, gravity or solemnity, subdued in color or tone, not extravagant or excessive.

Daniel was sober-minded.

So was Elijah, when he was not giving in to his emotions.

Prophets of the Lord, like Samuel and Nathan, exhibited extremely high degrees of sobriety.

The Old Testament prophets were sober men of God. At times they gave in to their emotions, but fundamentally and essentially, they were sober-minded.

Ezekiel 3 and Ezekiel 33, both of which involve the concept of the watchman on the wall, involve extreme degrees of sobriety. We cannot discharge our ministry duties effectively and capably without exercising high degrees of sobriety.

Lack of proper sobriety clouds the picture and dulls our focus, perception and discernment. Quite to the opposite, having and exercising—notice we said “exercising,” not just having or possessing—sobriety will sharpen and enhance our focus, perception and discernment. In the natural, your senses are sharper when you are sober, but dulled by intoxication. The same holds true in the spiritual life.

I Peter 5:8 admonishes us: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Sobriety is essential to not only the success, but the survival of Christians.

II Thessalonians 5:1-8 bears quoting in its entirety: “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night: and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.” The word “sober” in v.6 is #3525, nepho, in Strong’s Dictionary, and it means circumspect, sober and vigilant. We need to be sober, but also paying close attention to our walk with the Lord, our lifestyle and its details, and also be very vigilant and watchful for the attack of the devil and all other dangers.

I Timothy 3:1-5 requires bishops (ministry overseers, pastors) to possess a number of positive attributes, among them, sobriety. V.8 of that chapter requires the deacons to be grave, which is #4586 in Strong’s Dictionary, which means grave, honest, honorable or venerable. In v. 11, wives are also instructed to be grave. Christians and Christian ministers who lack this required sobriety and gravity are lacking in basic equipment. Sobriety is not an option for Christians, but is instead a basic requirement.

Consider that operating a motor vehicle, watercraft or aircraft, while intoxicated, is illegal and results in criminal penalties. Repeat offenders can be fined, loose their operator’s license and/or go to prison. Know that there are spiritual applications and parallels to this natural legal principle.

Amos 5:18-20 describes how dangerous and perilous is “the day of the Lord.” While one may have an opinion as to where exactly we are on God’s time line in the last days, there is no doubt that we are in “the day of the Lord.” Understanding this to be a fact, we also understand that a higher degree of sobriety is needed.

Malachi 3:1-4 describes the second coming of Jesus Christ and asks us, “But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fuller’s soap.” Obviously this also requires sobriety of us.

II Timothy 3:1-5 describes negative attributes and perilous conditions of the last days, and v.4 tells us that many people will be more focused on pleasure seeking than on loving the Lord. We live in a society marked by over-indulgence. Again, sobriety is God’s counsel to us.

In the church and in society there are, unfortunately, an abundance of manifestations of riotous living. Remember: riotous living is how the prodigal son spent his inheritance and became impoverished—see Luke 15:11-24.

Titus 1:8 again reminds us that bishops (pastors, ministers) must be sober, but also lovers of “good men, just, holy and temperate (#1468—self-controlled).

Titus 2:2-6 instructs that the “aged men” must be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.” However, most aged men in the church and in American society as a whole are very deficient in these qualities. The aged women are to teach young women to be sober, love their husbands, love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Young men are to be exhorted to be sober minded. To exhort (3870) means to produce a particular effect, comfort, exhort, call to one’s side, beseech with a stronger force, to appeal.

I Peter 1:13 states, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Our need for sobriety is summed up in this way. I Peter 4:7 declares: “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer.”

URGENT WARNING!

The Lord has disturbed my usual routine and my spirit is at somewhere between DEFCON ONE and DEFCON TWO. For several weeks now, He has been regularly drawing me aside at a moment’s notice, telling me to drop everything else, go into my prayer closet (which for me is simply my bedroom) and PRAY!!! For several mornings now, the Lord has awakened me about two hours early, and this morning is one of those. As this is being typed, it is cold and dark outside. The urgency of the hour and what is fast approaching the United States of America requires our full and immediate attention.

For me, this season of urgency and prayer probably started about October 24, 2006. I seldom read USA Today, but had occasion to buy that day’s issue at the convenience store a couple of blocks from where the borrowed car I was driving stalled. I had borrowed my wife’s mother’s 1985 Buick because all of the cars in my household were in the shop being repaired simultaneously. Since then, the Lord has moved miraculously (this is no exaggeration!) and suddenly provided funding to replace my wife’s vehicle and my son’s vehicle (he is away at college). But the borrowed, stalled 1985 Buick (apparently the carburetor simply flooded temporarily—a little while later it started with no difficulty) was used by the Lord to steer me in the direction of getting a copy of the October 24th USA Today, which contained a one-page advertisement by James Robison, in essence telling the nation that we can humble ourselves, or alternatively, God Almighty can bring us to our knees. Our choice is voluntary humility, or imposed humiliation. You may wish to log on to www.WeHaveaChoice.org. Pastor Robison is close to the heart of the Lord, and I would strongly suggest taking what he has to say seriously.

The situation progressed from there. In the past several weeks, the Lord has on several occasions suddenly pulled me aside in the evening to go into my room, close the door and earnestly seek Him in prayer. What I get out of this is Him calling me to get closer to Him and become more dependent upon Him. He is strengthening and deepening my relationship with Him. It was in such a time of prayer earlier this week that the Lord conveyed the following to me:

1) He plainly said, “I will strike at the heart of America.” He did not say where, when or how, but my sense was that this will happen soon. Remember that “soon” is seldom definitely or expressly defined by the Lord, but I am assuming that “soon” is anywhere from almost immediately to some time within the next few months.

2) The Lord also plainly told me, “Wash your garments in the blood of Jesus.” and “Chasten and humble yourself.” No longer can we afford to think that the call to repentance is for someone else and not for us. I know for a fact that the Lord is dealing with me about attitudes of the heart that go way back in my life and even to childhood. I cannot rest on the fact that I do not do heroin, rob banks or cheat on my wife and point to this as righteousness and right standing with God. I do not know about you, but I still have evil and unkind thoughts about other people, and this is not pleasing to Him. I still think myself better than others, and this sort of evil residing in me has to go!

3) I was led to Hebrews 12:18-29, and especially verses 25 and 26, which state, “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven. Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.” A companion scripture to this is Haggai 2:6, which states, “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth and the sea, and the dry land;”

4) I was also led to Joel 2:2: “A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains…”

The point of all of this is not that I heard from God and am proclaiming some unique message that no one else heard. I am only one of many to whom the Lord is speaking about impending judgment. Remember what the Lord said to James Robison. Know also that the Lord is speaking to David Wilkerson about such things. You will want to carefully consider the messages that Pastor Wilkerson shares with us, and I strongly suggest review of www.davidwilkerson.org/sermons. His current message on the need to receive the peace of Jesus Christ elaborates on our need to draw much closer to Him, or we will not make it through what is to come.

Consider also the following, please. I know a pastor from Jacksonville, Florida, Bob Martin. He comes to the LaQuinta Inn on Williams Boulevard in Kenner, Louisiana (suburb of New Orleans) typically every Tuesday and holds a prayer and Bible teaching meeting at 7:00 p.m. If you live in the New Orleans area or within reasonable driving distance, I highly recommend that you go to the meeting sometime and meet Pastor Bob. He has a real heart for the Lord and the Lord’s people. Pastor Bob has been warning the New Orleans area for years of God’s coming judgment and our need to repent, fast and pray with all of our hearts. Yesterday evening I came out of the barber shop in Slidell about 5:00 p.m. after getting a haircut. I got in the truck, turned on the radio, felt led to tune in to Pastor Martin’s daily 5:00 p.m. radio broadcast on WVOG 600 a.m., and this is what I heard. The Lord is impressing on Pastor Martin that some event is coming to America soon that is part of the Lord’s judgment. He knows of several other Christians who recently have been given the same message by the Lord, including a lady in Hawaii who indicates that the Lord has impressed on her that such an event is coming to the mainland soon. You may want to take a look at www.challengeministries.com. Sound teaching and instruction in the word of God can be found there.

Consider the Biblical principle that the Lord confirms His word, and that Amos 3:7 reminds us, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” The fact that judgment is soon coming to America is not hidden, but is in fact revealed and confirmed repeatedly. The Lord speaks to nobodies like me and you. The challenge and the question then becomes this: who will listen to the word of the Lord and obey? We know that He places his heavenly treasure in earthly vessels (people), …that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” II Corinthians 4:7. Will you let Him use you? Will you let Him flow through you? Will you let Him speak to you, then speak through you? Will you stand up in this hour and be counted among those who fear, love and trust in the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength? Will you let Him be the consuming fire in your life that He wants to be—consuming everything that is not like Him or His Son Jesus?

There are a number of excellent ministries that are both close to the heart of God and speaking prophetically. It is strongly recommended that you find some like Agape Harvest Ministries, whose website is www.propheticwatchman.com and receive what the Lord speaks to you through them. Their main pastor and overseer is Pastor Daniel Bohler. On the website there are specific prophecies for specific cities. You will notice that some of what was prophecied by Pastor Bohler on November 12, 1997 has already come to pass, like the killer hurricane (Katrina) and its flooding. I was at the November 12, 1997 meeting when Pastor Bohler gave the prophecies concerning New Orleans and remember the meeting clearly.

This is what we need to do:

1) Read and pray over Isaiah 58

2) Do the same with Amos 3:1-8

3) Read Psalm 51 as a prayer of confession and repentance to the Lord. Doing so while on your knees is highly recommended

4) Rededicate our lives to the Lord and His service

5) Seek the Lord diligently through prayer, fasting (as we are led by the Holy Spirit) and seeking His face (relationship), not just His hand (provision of earthly needs)

Great times in the Lord are ahead for each of His children IF we will hearken to His voice and obey his commands and instructions to us. The coming judgment will invariably produce revival and spiritual awakening. Before true revival can come, something has to die, whether it is our flesh, our pride or even “Uzziahs” (see Isaiah 6:1-8; Uzziah symbolizes anything that stands between us and seeing the Lord as He really is; Uzziah symbolizes pride, because he was “marvelously helped” until he got lifted up in pride, according to II Chronicles 26:15-21). Consider that in Acts 5, the death of Ananias and Saphira resulted in this: “And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.”

I will be praying for you, your family and friends, that you may climb all the way up the spiritual mountain that the Lord has for you and that in the days to come, He will be able to use you in mighty ways, to do exploits for Him.

Yours in Jesus Christ, the mighty King of Kings and Lord of Lords,

Pastor Ben

THE CHURCH (SAY, “THAT’S ME”) ISN’T READY

The signs of the times are evident. It is obvious to those who know and understand by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are in the “last days” spoken of in Scripture. Conditions upon planet Earth are deteriorating. We have had an increase in natural disasters—earthquakes, hurricanes, extreme weather, tsunamis, heat waves. The behaviors of mankind have become increasing wicked and extreme. That which read of in Matthew 24 and 2 Timothy 3 is certainly happening before our eyes. The situation in the Middle East is certainly volatile, which is another indication that the end of this age is rapidly approaching. However, I have found myself agitated lately as I behold what is happening on planet Earth, that the inhabitants of the land don’t seem to be learning righteousness. Here in the Greater New Orleans area, very few people seem to be “connecting the dots” and understanding what Katrina was about. Murder is on the increase and people are turning to drugs and alcohol instead of turning to the Lord. All we hear about on secular radio is how badly FEMA is performing and other complaints about the system not taking care of people’s “needs.” There is no sense that we should be turning to God Almighty for help and restoration. On the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, the casinos are being rebuilt, despite the fact that God destroyed them to show His extreme displeasure with them. Nothing seems to have changed, and I, for one, have struggled with the self-righteous emotions that Jonah had, wanting God to “whack” the area again, this time so that there would be no mistaking that He is angry with mankind. I have been impatient in wanting God to go ahead and deal with sin and unrighteousness on a massive scale.

As I was wrestling with my thoughts and feelings on these issues I felt that the Lord was telling me that the reason He cannot deal with planet Earth on the grand scale prophesied in the Scriptures is that His people are not ready. “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first being at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Pet. 4:17). The Church of Jesus Christ is to be the “salt of the earth.” But we are now in the state that the Lord Jesus prophesied of when He said, “But if the salt has lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” (Matthew 5:13). The Church has in large part become useless. There is as much sin and bondage in the Church as there is in the world. Christians lives’ are in disrepair and ruin. Men and women of God, in positions of leading the flock of God, are divorcing. Their children are often lukewarm, backslidden or downright unsaved. The Scripture in 1 Tim. 3:5 is being fulfilled in “living color” in today’s Church, “For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?” And if the leadership of the Church is confronted with this Scripture, the response is similar to this, “Well, if the pastor’s children all have to be serving God in order to be a pastor, then we wouldn’t have enough pastors to lead churches.” This is a very sad day for God’s people. The leadership cannot lead in righteousness, because it is not walking in righteousness. And we want God to judge the heathen. How can He, when His own people are not walking uprightly before Him? He must deal with us first. He must honor His own Word. He must purify His people first before He deals with those that are not His people.

There is another reason why God must deal with His people before He deals with the world, and it has to do with His love and mercy. Years ago Prophetess Linda Morton shared with us at the City of Refuge that the Lord had told her that when He judged the world in the last days that those of His people who were not walking in obedience would be judged right along with the heathen. The message was clear, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Rev. 18:4) Now the Lord does not enjoy having to chastise and scourge His people. The Scripture says that He does not “afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men” (Lamentations 3:33) God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 33:11) He is longsuffering, His mercy endures forever and His mercy rejoices over judgment (James 2:13). He dealt with Jonah when Jonah wanted Ninevah destroyed and let him know that He had compassion on the people of Ninevah and wanted them to repent. Romans 2:4 asks, “Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” In our desire to see sin and iniquity dealt with we cannot forget the higher desire of God to reconcile men unto Himself. So He is patient and longsuffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should be saved. And He wants His people to “get it right” with Him, because He does not desire to have to judge them along with the wicked. That is why He calls out to His children to “come out” of the world system and be separate (holy) so that He can receive us (2 Cor. 6:17).

Recently, I opened my Bible to the book of Zephaniah. In Chapter 1, verse 14, the Lord says, “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.” He goes on to let us know that this is a day of wrath, trouble, distress, desolation, darkness, and that the “whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy: for He shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” God is saying that the day when He judges this planet and all of the wickedness in it is very near and it will be a day of great distress and extreme suffering. He was speaking to my heart personally, “Don’t worry, I am going to deal with this planet.”

However, there is another point that He wanted to make to me, that being the subject of this message. That point is, “Lisa you are not ready for me to come and mete out this judgment. There are things in your life that must be made right so that you won’t be a part of this judgment.”

You see the Lord was showing me that I recognize the evil of the world and I can readily spot the wickedness in the Church, but do I really see, understand and abhor the evil in my own life? The answer is no, and not yet, but I need to get there. The Word of God says that “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts. (Proverbs 21:2). There are things in my life that I know are not holy and pure before God, but I have not come to the place that Job did where I truly abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:6)

God wants His people to get real with Him and seek His face and ask Him to show us the evil in our own hearts in such a way that we can come to true, Godly sorrow and repentance. We need to have God appear to us out of the whirlwind and speak the Word of rebuke to us to chasten and correct us in His divine love. “The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.” (Proverbs 20:30). Just as the blood rushing to the site of a wound cleanses away the germs and bacteria that would get in the wound, so the chastening wounds of God to His people cleanse us of all filthiness of soul and spirit. We need God’s chastening hand in our lives, so that we can be made into those righteous vessels that will be the salt of the world and the light of the world. God must have a righteous voice in the earth in these last days to proclaim His Word to this planet, but it must come forth out of those in whom the enemy can find nothing with which to accuse or condemn. We must allow God to continue to take us through the cleansing and purifying fires of adversity, where His Holy Spirit is allowed to have access to those hidden sins of the heart. He will not be satisfied until He sees His reflection in us. We must not be satisfied until we “awake with His likeness.” (Psalm 17:5).

Let us “glorify the Lord in the fires,” (Isaiah 24:15). Let us say to Him, “Lord, don’t stop purging me and processing me until I am a completed work.” Let us not be complacent and be satisfied with being “half-baked,” but instead let us allow the zeal for our Father’s House (which is you and me as temples of the Holy Ghost) to consume us, until there is nothing left but Jesus Christ in us, the “Hope of Glory.”

Finally, let us be faithful to pray for one another and “exhort one another daily” (Heb. 3:13) and travail with one another until Christ be formed in us (Gal. 4:19). And, please let us not be self-righteously angry with others who are not walking uprightly, but let us cast the beam out of our own eyes. Then, and only then will we be able to see clearly with the eyes of the Spirit, in order to cast out the speck that is in our brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:3-5).

Blogspot Message #7

Blow The Trumpet In Zion (Sound The Alarm)

“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand: A day of darkness, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong: there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.” Joel 2: 1-3

In the Holy Bible, “Zion” is often synonymous with the church. When I say “the church,” I mean that body of believers in Jesus Christ of Nazareth who have actually become born again according to Jesus instructions found in John 3, whether they happen to be Presbyterian, Baptist, Charismatic, Anglican, Episcopal, Methodist, Pentecostal, non-denominational, etc. I am not speaking of those who simply belong to a church, attend a church or have some sort of church or denominational identification or connection. Jesus told Nicodemus, “…Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3.

In the above-quoted passage from Joel, the Lord is addressing His church, the born again ones. The word for His church today, in all parts of the globe, is one of urgent alarm, and it is this: Judgment is coming, it is even here, and let each person examine his or her own heart. Where do you stand with Me, says the Lord? What condition are your heart, mind and soul in? Will you be accounted worthy by the grace of God to escape those terrible things that are coming upon earth, and which are already here on an ever-increasing frequency and quantity? Do you know what time it is in the history of Planet Earth? Can you wisely and correctly discern the signs of the times? Are you serving faithfully as a watchman on the wall (see Ezekiel 33) or are you sound asleep, slumbering like the five foolish virgins? Are you preparing yourself for my coming? Are you dying to yourself so that my Son can be born in your heart in a greater measure, or are you in love with the world and the things of the world?

These are the days that the prophet Joel spoke of. The fire of adversity is here to burn out everything in the church that is not like Jesus. You can forget silly, foolish and even wicked buzz words and phrases like, “money cometh,” “the purpose driven life” and “if you can dream it, you can achieve it.” Jesus is coming into His temple (you and me—His church) with a whip or scourge to clean up. No more money changers, hucksters and snake oil salesmen. His clean up process will not be pretty and will surely inflict pain on those being cleansed. You can continue to let lying “prophets” tell you that “money cometh” and that you are about to become the next president of General Motors or whatever outlandish lie they are telling these days. Surely the Lord can bless with finances, healing, job promotion and many other earthly blessings. But are you heavenly minded or earthly minded? You will not take your new car or job promotion into heaven or the New Jerusalem.

This is a prophetic message in the sense that God has purposed for it to be spoken to those who read it and to geographic regions. The City of Refuge is going to resume post-Hurricane Katrina public meetings tomorrow evening and this message is a prophecy to the region where it is given (Slidell, Louisiana USA and its vicinity). It is being loosed now in your life as you read it, and if you can hear and obey what the Lord is saying through it, your life will be prospered and bettered, not necessarily according to your definition of “prospered and bettered,” but according to the definition of the Lord. His definition is that He gives us what we need, not necessarily what we want. So, if it is deliverance from a bondage that you are needing, it is yours IN HIM. Don’t go claiming a new Lexus right now. The Lord wants to deal with your spirit and the condition of your life. We can talk some other time about your car, your wardrobe and your pocket book. Surely He can improve those things too, but the focus at this particular moment in time is on your spirit, soul and body. Your being. God wants to deliver you from bondage, worse than you want to be delivered from it, but will you cooperate with the process?

In Malachi 2:17 the Lord says to us, HIS CHURCH, “Ye have wearied the Lord with your words, Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or Where is the God of Judgment (justice, judicial decree) ?” He hears our complaints and griping, even if it is only on the inside, not necessarily finding external expression through our speech. He hears us saying things like, “why did so-and-so get that pay raise and job promotion and I did not?” He hears our unfounded inner complaint that He is, in our estimation, unfair. Like Job, we need to get ready to give an account of our complaints and charges against Him. Oh yes, He will send you an Elihu like he sent to Job, to tell you:

“Elihu spake moreover, and said, Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidest, My righteousness is more than God’s? For thou saidist, What advantage will it be unto thee? and What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?” Job 35:1-2

This is our core problem: we think that we KNOW better than God and that we ARE better them Him. We are self-righteous to the core. We need deliverance if we think that we are going into His heaven. We cannot bring self-righteousness there. He will have to purge it out of us, through the fire of affliction.

You may not be accustomed to hearing such stout words from a preacher. Most of them will coddle you, pacify you and tell you a lot about God’s love and mercy, but little or nothing of His “tough love.” They will teach you in the ways of some man-made doctrine about the “purpose driven life” without ever telling you that you must repent and be converted. Although kindness, generosity and mercy are truly attributes of His, I am not concerned with tickling your ears, picking your pocket (churches call it “tithes and offerings” or “sow your good seed in our good ground for a bountiful harvest”) or currying favor with you. I am not running a popularity contest. If I am pleasing the Lord, that is good enough.

You need to eat off of the entire spiritual menu, not just from what you think tastes good. Consider this also about the Lord:

· “For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” Deuteronomy 4:24

· If we afflict the widow or orphan and they cry out to the Lord, He will KILL those who have afflicted the widows and orphans. See Exodus 22:22-24

· Ananias and Saphira lied to God and He KILLED them. See Acts 5:11. The result of this Divine judgment was an tremendous increase in the fear of and respect for the Lord (see verse 11). Something has to die before there can be revival. In this case it was the death of deception, insincerity and lying. Notice that this happened in New Testament times. Some say that we live in the age of grace and that God does not operate as He did in the Old Testament times, in other words, that we are no longer under the law and we now experience abundant grace. Well then, how do you explain God KILLING Ananias and Saphira during New Testament times? We often say that we want a “New Testament church.” O.K. No problem. Does that mean that we want the Ananias and Saphira experience? Or the many afflictions of the Apostle Paul, like being beaten up and left for dead, shipwrecked, imprisoned and so forth (look in the Book of Acts—it is all there). So much for the modern portrayal of God a some sort of Celestial or Cosmic Santa Claus or Tooth Fairy.

· In Isaiah 6:1-13 it was King Uzziah that died. He symbolized pride and everything that stands between us and seeing the Lord as He is. When our false concepts of who God is and what He is like die, we get delivered, changed, sanctified and converted into a usable condition, fit for doing the work of the ministry, according to the plans and specifications of the Master. 2 Chronicles 26:15-16 says, And he [ King Uzziah] made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong. But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up [with pride] to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense.” Uzziah’s job assignment was that of king, not priest. When he got out of place and insisted on doing someone else’s job, Uzziah stepped into a position that he was not equipped for and which belonged to someone else, hence the Lord had to judge him for his pride. This was especially so because Uzziah was invading the office or position of the priest—a position for which he was neither qualified nor appointed.

· In Deuteronomy 32:39, the Lord says, “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.”

This is plain: “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, [again, you and me, for He dwells in temples not made of stone] even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.” Malachi 3:1-4

Church (read, “you and I”), we need the fire of affliction to cleanse sin out of us. And that is exactly what He is sending to us, His church. In America we think that we are immune to the woes that beset so much of the rest of the world, but take a look at Revelation 18 for a prophetic word about America. We are the evil nation that has defiled and corrupted the entire Earth with our carnality and decadence. You may want to get on the internet and see what the men of God like Dumitru Duduman, Daniel Bohler and Henry Gruver have been shown about God’s punishment that is coming to America:

· Drought

· Famine

· Earthquakes

· Volcanic eruptions

· Civil unrest and violence

· Financial collapse

· Invasion by a coalition of several nations, including, but not limited to China, Russia, Cuba, Mexico and Nicaragua. The initial attack will be NUCLEAR! You may think this to be far fetched, but if you are current on world news and events, you will notice that China is on an ever-increasing basis augmenting its presence in the western hemisphere, including business ventures in South America (there are many ethnic Chinese in Peru) and Hutchison Wampoa Ltd. (Chinese Hong Kong corporation fronting for the People’s Liberation Army) managing the Panama Canal Zone. Consider that China has ICBMs that can reach at least the West Coast of the USA and it is in the midst of considerable build up in military power. China now has submarines and aircraft carriers. Those are naval vessels that are most typically employed in the projection of power, rather than purely defensively. The Western Hemisphere is steadily becoming socialist (read “communist” or “leftist”), with Venezuela led by Mr. Chavez, a Fidel Castro “wannabe” and Bolivia now led by Mr. Morales, another Castro “wannabe.” Today Mexico is electing a new president and the projected outcome is too close to call. Mexico’s new president will either be quite conservative or quite socialist (leftist). Do you now see what is forming up?

The inescapable conclusion is that the Day of the Lord is here. It is not approaching, it is here right now.

So then, what are you to do as one of God’s servants? I am glad that you asked. Here is just some of what we need to do:

· Consider Isaiah 26:9, which states, With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” Pray for an increase in your devotion to and heart for the Lord. Seek Him first thing every day, in prayer and Bible reading. Know that He is sending judgment to the earth to bring repentance and revival, and to punish sin.

· Pray for an increase in the fear (holy respect, awe and reverence) of the Lord. See 2 Corinthians 7:1) Pray for an increase in the fear of the Lord, so that wisdom can be birthed in you (see Proverbs 1:7).

· Pray many passages from the Psalms, such as Psalm 51, especially, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me (verse 10).

· Confess the Word of God (Bible scriptures), not so that you can get a new Buick or Lexus, but so that you will get delivered, changed, transformed and sanctified. There are Bible verses for every occasion, purpose and need and if you get into the Word and dig deeply, you will find those scriptures to pray and confess so that needed change will come into your life.

Consider Gideon and his army (see Judges 6-8). Many were called, but few were chosen. The total force started out with 32,000, but on the day of battle, 31,700 had been weeded out. Only 300 remained! The fighting elite force of God on that day was a little bit less than one percent (1%) of the total force! In these last days it is a very, very small number of Christians who will be in the modern day equivalent of the “Gideon’s 300.” The various military special forces, commandos and elite troops of the world are a splendid natural representation of the spiritual Gideon’s 300, whether we speak of the British Ghurkas and SAS, Russian Spetsnaz, French Foreign Legion, United States Navy SEALs, United States Army Rangers, United States Marines Force Recon, etc.

The point is indeed, many are called, but few are chosen. Where do each of us fall in the order of battle? Am I just a rank and file basic infantryman, or am I an elite commando? How ready for spiritual war am I?

How much oil do we have in our lamps?

PASTOR BEN

Blogspot Message #6

The Necessity of Reconciliation

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosever shall say to his brother, Raca [thou worthless], shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Matthew 5:21-24

There are negative consequences for not reconciling with those whom we have offended or who have offended us. Much of the church today needs to take a time out from its busyness and its supposed pursuit of God’s business. I use the word “supposed” deliberately. Much of what is being done supposedly in the name of the Lord and to build His kingdom was not commissioned by him. The scripture quoted above from Matthew advises us that unresolved conflict and offense with other people renders your sacrifice or gift to the Lord ineffective and unacceptable. If our relationships with others are out of order, it may be that our alleged service to God is also out of order.

There is a mistaken notion prevalent in the church today that we must be busy doing the Father’s work. While it is true that we must serve Him, this service must be in Spirit and in truth (i.e., prompted or led by the Holy Spirit and it must be based on true scriptural principles). However, we as the church of the Lord Jesus Christ still have too much of Martha in us (see Luke 10:38-42—Martha “encumbered about much serving,” whereas she needed instead to sit at Jesus’ feet and learn from Him, like Mary was doing).

We have gotten away from the principle of the saints of God being trained and equipped for doing the work of the Lord. So much of what passes for ministry is actually self-promotion, entertainment (not worshipping in Spirit and in truth—see John 4:23) and busy work. The attitude of “just do something” is far too prevalent. It has been all but forgotten that before Moses could effectively lead Israel out of Egypt (i.e., bondage), he first had to spend 40 years on the back side of the desert being prepared. Jesus spent approximately 30 of His 33 years in preparation before entering into a public ministry of approximately 3 years. Think about it: Jesus Himself spent ten times as much time in preparation for ministry as He did in ministering. When Paul was born again on the road to Damascus, he thereafter went to Arabia for a period of time to learn directly from the Lord before launching out into ministry (please see Galatians 1:15-17).

A time of preparation is necessary before we can be truly useful and effective in service of the Lord. Consider that the military does not take raw recruits and send them immediately into battle. The haircut, outfitting with military clothing, basic training complete with its indoctrination in military attitudes, procedures and mindsets is pumped into the new recruit, training on basic small arms like rifles and pistols, physical conditioning, and much more, is necessary to turn a new recruit into a warrior. The kingdom of God is no different.

CONSIDER THAT PART OF YOUR PREPARATION TO SERVE THE LORD IS IN RECONCILIATION WITH OTHERS WHOM YOU HAVE OFFENDED OR WHO HAVE OFFENDED YOU:

“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:18

The primary mission of Jesus Christ was and is to reconcile us to the Father. Without his work of atonement for our sins, we would never have been reconciled to the Father and would have been lost for eternity. If you are a born-again Christian, you are called to the ministry of reconciliation. This involves you doing the following:

1) Being reconciled first to The Father, through His son Jesus Christ. This involves not only receiving the new birth, but is an ongoing process of continuously coming before Him in humility and repentance, to insure that you are cleaned spiritually and in right standing with Him. Repentance and salvation are not a one time thing. Self-examination to find sin to be repented of is a continuous process on our part and we should view it in that light;

2) Once we have reconciled with God the Father, we are then to set out to reconcile with others whom we have offended or who have offended us. As we will see in a few moments, lack of reconciliation is a dangerous thing, with potentially fatal and eternal consequences;

3) When we have our own house in order, the Lord can then use us to minister reconciliation of persons to each other and persons to the Lord.

Take a look at I Timothy 1:1-5. Focus on the requirements for being a proper “bishop” (that is, overseer, watcher or what we commonly call a “pastor”). Those in the ministry must first have their own family (“house”) in order, and this includes one’s own children “in subjection with all gravity (seriousness, sobriety).” I say this with all humility, If you are in the ministry and your own house is not in order, if your children are not in subjection to the Lord and serving him, GET OUT OF THE MINISTRY UNTIL THIS AREA OF YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN CORRECTED AND HEALED! You may think that what I am saying is pompous, impractical and unfounded, but consider the consequences of not having your own house in order first:

1) In I Samuel 2:12, we see are told “Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial [ the devil, worthless]; they knew not the Lord.” The scripture goes on to inform that these two evil sons of Eli, who was the priest at the tabernacle (a special tent used as the temple at that time), stole the meat offerings from the boiling pot at the tabernacle and thereby caused the people to abhor the offering to the Lord. PASTORS, IF YOUR CHILDREN ARE UNRULY, REBELLIOUS OR OTHERWISE NOT IN SUBJECTION TO THE WILL OF GOD, THEY ARE AN OFFENSE TO THE CONGREGATION AND THE WORLD AND THEY ARE PUSHING PEOPLE AWAY FROM THE LORD, NOT DRAWING THE PEOPLE TO THE LORD! Do not assume that your grown children who are not serving the Lord are not your ministry responsibility. You could take the attitude that “well, they’re grown up now and there’s nothing I can do about it.” WRONG! You need to get on your face, repent of not raising them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and seek Him for His strategy for reconciling your adult children to the Lord. In the meantime, stop pastoring and make it secure in your family first, whether your children are 3, 33 or 53. To do otherwise is nothing but selfishness and irresponsibility.

We see later in the chapter that Eli’s sons were seducing and fornicating with women at the front door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Eli made a feeble attempt at correcting Phineas and Hophni, not surprisingly, to no avail. We see in Chapter 4 that eventually both sons died in battle in one day, and when Eli got the news, he fell backward and broke his neck and died. Verse 18 says that Eli was “an old man, and heavy.” His corpulent body is symbolic of being very carnal and fleshly. He was fat with sin and carnality, so, he was not especially concerned with rescuing his sons from sin.

Are you too preoccupied with yourself and your concerns to see that your children, whether they are 3, 33 or 53 need your prayer, admonition and intercession? Come out of yourself, before it is too late. Isn’t your family’s temporal and eternal welfare more important to you than anything other than the will of God? However, know that the will of God is for you to minister to your family first. If your family’s spiritual condition is lacking, ministry to the rest of the world can wait.

2) You will need to review and consider the situation with David and his son Absalom. In 2 Samuel 13, Amnon plays sick, gets his sister Tamar to bring him a meal, and he rapes her. Absalom learns of his sister’s rape and gets “pay back” on Amnon, eventually having some folks execute a contract (a hit, an execution) on Amnon. This was the result of David’s inattention to the matter. Had David adequately addressed the issue of the rape of Tamar, he would have defused the explosive situation with Absalom. Eventually, Absalom went into full-scale rebellion, which had to be crushed militarily. The end result of this situation was Absalom’s death in 2 Samuel 18:14 and David’s tragic, heart-rending statement:

“ And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! 2 Samuel 18:33

Please, I beg you; do not let this happen in your family. If things are not right between you and any of your children, start taking substantial steps today to correct that condition. Fall on your face, repent to the Lord for how you have wronged your children and not been what they needed, then seek the Lord for his wisdom on how to make things right. If things need healing between you and your spouse, your parents, your siblings, your friends, other Christians or anyone, take similar steps. Reconciliation is necessary so that curses will not come:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Malachi 4:5-6.

I am praying for each who reads this. It is well (in the Lord)

Pastor Ben