Blogspot Message #1

A MESSAGE FROM THE LORD: YOU WERE BORN FOR A TIME SUCH AS THIS!

I trust that this message finds you doing well in the Lord and working in His vineyard. The events of Hurricane Katrina and following have “rescheduled” and “reordered” everybody’s lives, but in a sense, not really. What do you mean, pastor? The twists and turns that we have made recently seem to us as though they were disruptions of our normal lives. However, all of that was scheduled by the Almighty in eternity past. Like Esther, you were born for a time such as this (see Esther 4:14). He knew a long time ago that you would be one of those sent out to do his will and minister to others in places like Baton Rouge, Kansas City, Dallas, and so forth. You have been stationed where you are right now to do His will and carry His anointing to a lost and hurting world. In a sense, if you are one of those displaced to another city, you are on a missionary trip. You need to see your present posting or assignment in that light.

The City of Refuge is not dead! Do not let circumstances deceive you. We walk by faith, and not by sight (see 2 Corinthians 5:7). You are a spiritual people. You do not live by the precepts and norms of the natural or carnal world. You were prepared for Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath before it ever showed up on weather radar or a WC-130 “hurricane hunter” ever flew out over the Atlantic Ocean to inspect it. You have an advantage over others in knowing that God has a purpose in the hurricane—the cleansing of New Orleans, Southeast Louisiana, the Gulf Coast, and ultimately, the U.S.A. You know that the hurricane was named “Katrina,” which means “cleansing” by the Lord himself, because that’s what He sent it to do.

Bearing this in mind, you will not be moved by $3.00 per gallon gasoline, Wal Mart only open part of the day, the National Guard patrolling our streets, pictures of corpses in the streets, politicians screaming their heads off at each other about who is to blame, etc. The Lord told us last year that when things start happening in the U.S.A. and he begins to judge and chasten it and HIS PEOPLE, we are not to get caught up in the emotional frenzy. While it is true that there are governmental leaders-- state, local and federal—who did not act as quickly or prudently as they could have in response to the hurricane, even that was “ordained” of God for His purposes. The hearts of all men will be revealed for what they are before it is all over. We will do well in this hour and the hours to come to stay in the Word, pray, fast as and when we are led to by His Holy Spirit and stay strong spiritually. Keep plenty oil in your lamp and be a wise virgin. “Virgin” means pure. Stay strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Keep a cool head. You are a king and a priest unto Him, says the Bible. You are one of the Lord’s Holy ministers. Now is the time to be a city on a hill whose light cannot be hidden. It’s time for you to shine. Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. Isaiah 60:1. Do not doubt his power to keep and preserve you now in these challenging times, and do not doubt that He has raised you up in order to minister to the lost and hurting world that is all around you. If you will seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, your physical needs will be met. Have we forgotten that he clothes birds and flowers and that we are worth more to Him that many birds or flowers? Let’s not forget the basics in this hour. Let’s live them!

Know that we are all standing in faith for the Lord to meet our needs, but know also that He is doing it. I do not have one report of anyone from the City of Refuge living out of a garbage can or sleeping in the street subsequent to Hurricane Katrina. There are no such destitute people in the City of Refuge. In fact, I am only getting good reports about what He is doing to provide for each of you. I am hearing of churches paying for your hotel rooms, jobs being acquired, donations of food, clothing, etc. David reminded us that he had never seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread. The key is to stay in that category—righteous before the Lord. Obedience to the Lord, combined with honesty and humility toward Him will keep you there. It is no time to go slack or backslide in the areas of seeking the Lord or walking in His integrity.

Lisa and I have been in touch with several of you or have heard indirectly from you. Know that you are in our prayers. I am working on getting the ministry up and running in Slidell, and will be having Sunday services soon in Slidell, probably at a motel meeting room or a similar location. We will keep you informed. Nonetheless, you are the City of Refuge Ministries wherever you are. The City of Refuge is not a building, but is a spiritual creation of the Almighty. It is people, because He does not live in physical buildings, but in His believers—you and me. During the reign of communism in the Soviet Union, there were officially tolerated state-approved churches, which were nothing but puppets of the communist government. God’s presence was not in them. They were whited sepulchers (graves) full of dead men’s bones. However, the true church went underground. What I mean by this is that true believers had to meet in secret. Often times they walked out into the forest and held church services amidst the trees. Today in Communist China the true church is also underground. It meets primarily in people’s homes and apartments. The state-registered, state-approved churches in China today are puppets of the government. They are forbidden to preach certain doctrines or portions of the Bible. For instance, the Chinese government will not let state-licensed ministries preach on the books of Daniel or Revelation. Why do you think that is? I’ll tell you. It’s because if those books are preached, the Holy Spirit will quicken the truth to someone and it will be revealed that communism is of Satan and that the Chinese Communist government is exposed and spoken of or described in portions of those prophetic books. Satan does not wish for people to know (that is, be intimate with) the truth, because it would make them free.

I sought the Lord for scripture to share with you. His answer was this:

Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction; for thy word hath quickened me. The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from thy law. I remembered thy judgments of old, O lord; and have comforted myself. Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law. Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. I have remembered thy name, O lord, in the night, and have kept thy law. This I had, because I kept thy precepts. Psalm 119:49-56.

Let’s look this passage over a bit:

(v.49) It is time to come in humility and faith to remind the Lord of what He has promised you in the past. Your dreams, visions and prophecies are not dead, but you are sometimes traversing a rocky road on the way to their fulfillment. It was so for Joseph (see Psalm 105:16-24). Don’t forget that there was a space of several years between the prophet Samuel anointing David to become the next king of Israel and the actual ascension of David to the throne. Besides the waiting period, David was hunted like a dog by Saul and his forces before David ascended to the throne. However, all of a sudden one day, Saul was dead and David rode into Jerusalem to be installed in the position that the Lord had spoken of years before.

(v.50) It is time to remember what God has told you and promised you in the past and to receive comfort and strength from it. Recall that His word is forever settled in heaven.

(v.51) Don’t worry about the scoffers and mockers. You are privy to some information that they are not—the Truth, and His name is Jesus.

(v.52) It is also time to remember that our God is a just God, everything that He ever did was just, everything that He is doing now is just, and everything that He does in the future is just.

(v.53) Yes, we have witnessed terrible atrocities in the wake of the hurricane, but none of them harmed you or me. Let’s not get emotional about it. Stay in the Spirit. Soar above the circumstances of life, like an eagle. Yes, the government could have moved quicker. Yes, folks should not have burned, looted or raped. But as born-again believers, we need to be careful not to be “taking sides” and we need to see the situation with spiritual discernment. A tremendous amount of exposure of the hearts of men has taken place recently. Let us not forget to be prayerful about what we see, not critical. We are called to be intercessors, prophets, apostles, pastors, teachers and evangelists, not TV pundits or critics. You can watch TV news, read it in newspapers, hear it on the radio, etc., but learn how to pray about it. Like so much of life, we have to learn to eat the fish and spit out the bones. What you are hearing in the news media is a mixture of truth, lies, fact, fiction, opinion, hype, etc. If you seek the Lord, His Holy Spirit will show you what is true and what is false, what is right and what is wrong.

(v.54) We have definitely been on a pilgrimage. My family and I spent a little over two weeks in Tennessee after the storm. We had a number of divine appointments. For instance, led one young man in a salvation prayer. Prayed for Lisa’s cousin’s $5,000 repair bill from the automobile dealer to be reduced, and it was, to $3,800. Her cousin later said, “prayer really works!” We ministered with the Mortons in a church in Nashville after the Lord connected its prophet/pastor with Prophet Charles. It is time to remember what the Lord has taught you and poured into you and to tap into it, both for your benefit and that of other people.

(v.55) We must remember His faithfulness and His many names, each of which describes his various qualities and excellencies. Provider. Healer. Peace giver. Etc. He is what you need Him to be for you.

(v.56) If you will remain faithful to Him, He will see you through to the other side. Just don’t quit. If you keep going, you will get there eventually. In 1980, while I was working at the Boy Scout summer camp in Southern Mississippi, I was the aquatics director. I had the charge over a 120 acre spring-fed lake that had been excavated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. One afternoon I decided to swim solo across the lake. Young people sometimes over-estimate their abilities. While swimming back from the other side, I grew very tired and did not think that I could make it. The problem was that I was still in deep water, over my head. I was still over 12 years from receiving the new birth, but the Lord caused me to understand that if I would slow down, not panic, but keep going, even at a slower rate, I would make it. Get the idea?

I would encourage each of you to read Isaiah 61 to see what you are supposed to be doing now. It’s ministry time. Be a faithful steward who does not bury his gift in the ground—work it!

Finally, be sure to remember the Mortons. We spent some time with Pastor Charles and Pastor Linda up in Nashville, TN before we came back home. Keep them in your prayers for rest, strength, refreshing, financial provision and anything else that the Lord has put on your heart for them.

I anticipate that the Lord will have me to do additional messages and put them on this blogspot from time to time. Let’s stay in touch. Be sure to stay in touch with each other. Encourage each other. Pray with and for each other. You can call me at (985) 863-3065 (w), (985) 863-8727 (h) or (985) 640-0755 (cell). If I am not in, leave a message on the home or work number and we will call back as soon as possible. Our e-mail address is benclayt@bellsouth.net.

Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might!

Your brother in Christ,

PASTOR BEN