Going for the Pillars

Matthew 17:1 (KJV) And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

Now, look at the below verse on how these three were viewed in the early church. Not only Paul thought so but the church at Galatia and all churches at the time.

Galatians 2:9 (KJV) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

These three were pillars of the early church. Pillars are the support of the building, platform, or multiple stories. Their condition and strength have everything to do with whether the building stands or not. If you wanted to conserve your weaponry in a a war you would not have to hit the building per say but hit precisely the pillars and the building will collapse.

Notice what happens in the following verses and watch the strategy of Satan at work.

IActs 12:1-3 (KJV)
¹ Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
² And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
³ And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
⁴ And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

Satan orchestrates behind the scenes an attempt at collapsing the church. He does not go after just anybody but he precisely targets the pillars. He kills James and immediately goes after the next pillar. In these verses we see a

• plan (1,2)
• process to carry it out (3)
• purpose (4)

The purpose of Satan was to publically humiliate Peter and destroy him before the eyes of all the people.

In the natural, this looks inevitable. The plan so far has succeeded and the pillars are going to fall like dominoes. However, the church is not left without recourse, it has something in its arsenal that is more powerful than any plan, process, and purpose, that Satan has. Its called PRAYER!

Acts 12:5 (KJV) Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
⁶ And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
⁷ And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
⁸ And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
⁹ And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
¹⁰ When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
¹¹ And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

As Herod readied to take him out and execute him, God sent an angel to break Peter out of jail. There is NO weapon, plan, or purpose, of the devil that is able to overcome the power of God in his response to intercessory prayer!! God will disappoint the appointments Satan has designed for you.

Changing Feelings w/ the Eye

Sometimes life feels

• hopeless
• hard
• painful
• impossible

and our minds can become overwhelmed by the surrounding of adverse circumstances. Life to some can be an unforgiving experience. However, much of what we “feel” is produced by the focus of our attention.

What I look at has the power to generate feelings. A person can initially have no feelings concerning something but if they look at it long enough they will begin to have feelings about or for it. For example, have you been going through the day and not hungry or even thinking of food and you happen to look up and see an advertisement with a beautifully arranged meal? As you stare at it, feelings of hunger begin to erupt and you go and satisfy the craving.

What we look at determines how and what we feel as well as our desires.

Luke 9:16 (KJV)
¹⁶ Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.

Notice that Jesus does not look and concentrate on the limitation of five loaves and two fishes to feed and entire crowd. Instead, he looks up and sees the possibility of God. What would have happened if he stared at the bread and fish? Feelings of hopelessness and despair would have been generated.

Hebrews 12:2 (KJV)
²  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 John 4:35 (KJV)
³⁵ Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

Feelings and desires are what motivates us into action. It’s interesting that Jesus says for them “to lift up your eyes” which implies they were looking down and not at the harvest. Looking at themselves and their own situations robbed them of the feeling of compassion needed for the lost.

2 Corinthians 4:18 (KJV)
¹⁸ While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Our spiritual eye must be the dominate eye over the physical eye. Yes, we see things here in the natural, but we do not concentrate on them, but rather we focus on the spiritual. As we concentrate on the Word, faith arises in the heart and it renders the feelings of hopelessness and despair impossible to be felt. Why, by not looking at temporary things, they have no ability to generate these adverse feelings.  

If a person comes up to me and they are full of despair, hopelessness, bitterness, and unforgiveness, I will show a person who is wasting their life looking at the wrong things.

Look unto Jesus today and let him fill your heart with joy that is indescribable and filled with his presence!!
  
An old Cherokee told his grandson, “My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us and one is Evil. It is anger, jealously, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego. The other is Good . It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth.”
The boy thought about it, and asked, “Grandfather, which wolf wins?”
The old man quietly replied, “The one you feed.”

Thank you for your patience

I have had computer problems recently but it is back from repair. I hope to get back into writing short articles - stay tuned

Revival you say?

We hear about its promised coming over and over throughout the pulpits of America. It is promoted as the answer and solution to all of society’s ills as a nation. Now, this antidote, seems to be the last hope for a society that is slipping more and more into self-indulgence. What am I talking about – revival.

How would you define “revival?” Our perception of revival will conclude what evidences it needs to prove to oneself that what I’m looking at, is or is not a revival.

But what does revival look like

·      People running to an altar to be saved

·      Lots of physical commotion during a church service

·      A feeling that you get

·      The decibel level of the preacher’s voice

·      Huge numbers in attendance

Or is it none of or all of the above mentioned things? The bible has documented revivals throughout history and gives insight concerning evidences of their existence.

2^nd Kings 18 and 2^nd Chronicles 29 walks us through a revival from beginning to end. King Hezekiah assumes the reigns of leadership at 25 years old over the people of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel.

2^nd Chron. 29:4-6

4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,
5 And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.
6 For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs.

First, the king gathers the spiritual leaders and lays the responsibility for spiritual change upon their shoulders. He demands that they take the lead in repenting and reassuming their God ordained calling of representing God and his message accurately.

29:11 My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.

This is a necessary component of revival! Spiritual leadership is required by God to not be like Aaron of old and give to a fleshly people what they want, but rather give to God what he wants. Remember the story of the golden calf? Aaron had the power to lead them into a deeper appreciation of what God was doing on the mount but instead chose to compromise and give the people what they wanted. Instead of revival they fell into sin and idolatry. Ultimately, who was responsible - Aaron!

When King Hezekiah got the Levitical leadership consecrated and committed then revival was going to be forthcoming. How can I be so sure? Because leadership is the power of influence and becomes the pattern for those entrusted to their care. In the New Testament there is a verse that says “the blind leading the blind and they both fall into the ditch.” What if the one leading was not blind? It speaks for itself.

Hezekiah did something else that need never to be a forgotten component of revival. He restored the Passover.  The King refocused the people’s attention to the lamb. If we have any hope for revival in America today, the spiritual leadership of the land must bring the church back to focusing on the Lamb that took away our sins. The importance of this is beyond words. When a person focuses on Jesus

·      His mind will be at rest

·      Sin loses all appeal

·      Self loses its importance

·      Maintains the reflection of and the example of Christ

·      Becomes and influence to all around him

I would ask you to read 2^nd Chronicles 29-31 which chronicles this revival that is one of the greatest in history. I couldn’t get into all aspects of here due to the word count but let me list some of my observations and see if you come up with the same or more after reading it.

1.   Leadership recommitted themselves

2.   Worship restored to focusing on God

3.   The Lamb becomes the center of the message

4.   Sin and idolatry removed with a vengeance

5.   Ministers are supported financially

6.   A love and hunger for the Word became resident in all the people

Physical commotion, shouting, loud preaching, numbers… is not true evidences of revival. Unless people are changing from their allegiance to the world back to God in complete consecration, then all of the afore mentioned is nothing but a cheap temporal thrill. Don’t settle for brass when you can have gold!  

GotQuestions.org has provided one of the best definitions I have found concerning revival.

Revival refers to a spiritual reawakening from a state of dormancy or stagnation in the life of a believer. It encompasses the resurfacing of a love for God, an appreciation of God's holiness, a passion for His Word and His church, a convicting awareness of personal and corporate sin, a spirit of humility, and a desire for repentance and growth in righteousness. Revival invigorates and sometimes deepens a believer's faith, opening his or her eyes to the truth in a fresh, new way. It generally involves the connotation of a fresh start with a clean slate, marking a new beginning of a life lived in obedience to God. Revival breaks the charm and power of the world, which blinds the eyes of men, and generates both the will and power to live in the world but not of the world.[i]

As we say here in south central Pennsylvania “that’s hitting the nail on the head!”

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[i] Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-revival.html#ixzz33aajt72I