Call of the Spirit Publications

(Originally titled “Word of Encouragement”)

January 10th, 1990

There is coming a darkness on the Church like never before. Deceivers, and those being deceived. Walk in the Light and the darkness will not overtake you as one who was unprepared. The accuser of the brethren is seeking to be called the devourer of the brethren. So encourage one another while it is still called today, ministering grace that will help in time of need one to another.

Remain steadfast in the Word of My righteousness, immovable so that the wicked one touches you not. Giving him no place in your life, private or professional. And the Son of righteousness will arise bringing you with Him to the table that is set before Me, cleansed in His blood, whole in His purpose bearing His name in your foreheads that proclaims you as My possessions — belonging solely to Me.

So resist all temptation to veer to the right or the left. Keep your eyes fixed on My ways, which will always be in line with My revelation, which is My Word. Don’t be afraid of sudden destruction that may appear close to your doorstep, the name of the Lord is a strong tower — run into it and you’ll remain safe from harm. Maintain your own relationship with Me and I’ll lead you in the paths of righteousness for My name sake.

Confusion is an enemy that will take the lives of many, but if the Lamp of My Presence is ablaze in your heart you’ll walk right through all entrapments meant for destruction, victoriously, unscarred, without even the very smell of smoke alighting your garment.

Praise will lift you above much of the enemy’s workings. Confessing My Word will give it thrust, but heartfelt worship will cause you to soar high above even the highest peaks of the devil’s mountainous endeavors.

Ah, but I seek those who will worship Me in Spirit and Truth. Unfortunately there are only a few who make the life commitment to pay that kind of price, though it be not really a price once you taste and see that I am really good!

The desires of the flesh has nothing on Me, but you’ve got to come, you’ve got to come and see!

Ha, ha, ha says the Spirit of Grace, I’ll take you there, into the Most Holy Place. Just touch Me with your faith and by Jesus’ blood We’ll go to the Throne of Grace.

Come on, I’m here to see you through. Just believe My Word and watch what We can do. I formed the Worlds at the Master’s command, surely all you could ever need is held in My hand. Call for it, desire it and it’ll be yours. Ask anything according to His will and it’ll be yours.

I’m sent to comfort you, to teach you and to show you things to come. Now rise up and take your place in God’s Son. He’s called you by His grace and anointed you with power to demonstrate His love to those who live this hour.

Time will pass and many will fall, but those who triumph will answer His call.

Be strong and of good courage, I’ll help you in every way, to be the man or woman of God you need to be in this day.

Taken form: “Prophecies and Poems Volume One”

Our God is an awesome God! Here’s an interpretation of other tongues:

“I am God Almighty and I will show Myself strong on behalf of ANYONE who’ll have the nerve enough to believe Me!” (then, He continued) “I will put on display the impossible; in front of the unbelieving gainsayers who mock My existence. Whose only explanation for what just happened is divine intervention (though they still will not believe).  Mark My words, the horrors of My Revelation are about to unfold.” (I almost don’t have the nerve to type these things…but I sense such an urgency.)

“I cannot wait any longer.  I’ll use those who are ready to speak MY Words and work MY works, without regarding the ‘judgments’ passed on them by religious leaders who are into themselves and have left ME out of their equation for understanding Spiritual matters.

“Herald: THE KING IS COMING!  THE KING IS COMING!  That’s the message of the hour!  All else MUST come FROM that perspective!

“Tell every dog, hog and frog…every nanny, granny and Sammy.  Tell every clerk, jerk and quirk.  The message of the gospel is for ALL—EVERYBODY!!!  GOT THAT?”

I know these words are stout, but it’s not up to us to judge whether someone is worthy of the Kingdom by whether we tell them of it or not! Yes we must live a life of being ‘led’ by the Holy Spirit…but let’s err on the side of just expecting that we’re to share Jesus with everybody…believe for the sensitivity to know that if it’s not the time to talk with them, then we’ll know and leave them to the Lord of the harvest (He knows what to do…the timing and words and who it needs to come through).

I remember one time in a service when the Lord was just starting to use me in prophecy and revelation:  He said that we need to be the answer to someone else’s prayer to the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers across their loved-ones path, then we can expect Him to answer our prayers for our loved-ones.

We all work together as ONE BODY doing the work of ministry (which is portraying Jesus to this lost and dying world IN ALL WAYS [word – power – actions, etc.] not in perfected doctrine!!!).

May 4th, 2006

Today we celebrated the National Day of Prayer. It was a glorious time in the Lord and much was accomplished in the spirit. At the end of my pastor praying, this word from the Lord came to me:

“I will do all you have asked, for it is in line with My will.  But, know this, the demon forces that have been pushed back are just waiting to get right back to where they were before you prayed!  Without your continued pressure against them they’ll be able to resume their activity.  I need My people daily to pray and KEEP the realm of darkness pushed back from the areas of government, families, finances and lives in need.”  (I’m being opposed right now trying to type this out)

“My people have gotten into a pattern of forgetting the needs around them (including My need of their involvement) and once they have been stirred up to pray, they get excited for a time, but then slip right back into their day after day routine.  The realm of darkness knows this, so they wait for the pressure to subside that they may return to their destructive activity.  I’m looking for a people who will lay down their comfortable lives and take up their assigned crosses (what I’ve given them to do in My Kingdom, which will include prayer) every day and prepare the way for the return of My Son.”

As for this ministry, I’m looking every day for the return of the Lord.  Am I predicting when that will be?  Absolutely not!  No one knows the answer to that question!  But I believe we’ve been instructed by the One we call ‘our Lord’ to do the work of ministry to those around us in our everyday lives until He does come back.  Being led by His Spirit IN everything (which is the means by which we’ll prepare the way for the return of the Lord), pushing back the realm of darkness through prayer and obedience to our Commander-in-Chief.

We often quote: “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1a).  In other words, if the Lord isn’t directing a thing, He won’t be in it and His blessing won’t be on it.  So why don’t we just start out our day asking Him to direct our steps, direct our thoughts and direct our words (including our prayer life).  Then when the direction comes—DO IT!!  Simple eh?  We have His grace (ability), we have His Word and we have His Spirit.  No wonder Paul told the Philippian church: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (4:13).

Let’s go for it!  Let’s push back the forces of darkness around us and this nation!  If you’re finished with the devil running things around here, then let’s join together, cast him out and prepare the way of the Lord’s return!!

Growing up there were tell-tale signs that would give away what you had been doing. Your mother would ask, “Just where have you been?”  Maybe your pants were muddied.  Perhaps your face had chocolate on it, or the like.

Then having grown and married your spouse may have asked on occasion, “Where’ve you been?”  Perhaps you were running late for an appointment.  Yet another occasion for this query might be because you’ve come home with a certain smell about you.  Or maybe you had gotten an attitude that wasn’t typically yours; someone else had influenced you negatively and you carried it home with you.

Scripture teaches: “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.” (1Corinthians 15:33)  “He who walks with wise men shall be wise” (Proverbs 13:20a). Why? Because mankind was created to imitate. Ever notice how two close friends, or a married couple who had been together for awhile, act and talk alike? They pick up on each others mannerisms. But it doesn’t happen casually. These folk spend some quality time with each other. They know intimate details about each other that nobody else knows.

Moses was that way with Jehovah.  The Bible says: “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11a).  When he returned with the Ten Commandments written in tablets, his face glowed with the glory of God: “Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone” (Exodus 34:29b-30a).

We, too, shine with the love of Jesus when we spend time with Him.  Ephesians 5:1-2a says: “Therefore be imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]. And walk in love, [esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us” (AMP).

In the past few years I’ve been talking with the Lord a lot regarding the end-time move of God.  It’s promised that “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former” (Haggai 2:9a).  Joel even prophesied: “He will cause the rain to come down for you—the former rain, and the latter rain” (2:23b).  That’s Holy Ghost anointing, moves of God.  We could say it this way: the anointing of the Holy Ghost experienced by the first believers combined with the anointing intended for the end-time believers!  WOW!  Just think of what we can accomplish with that much Holy Ghost power!!

Recently, in our ‘talks’ the Lord has impressed on my heart the following passage: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.  And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).  God used Peter and John to work a miracle for a man who had been crippled for forty years.  The result was five thousand men came to the Lord that day!  Now that’s a move of God!!  The simple point was these men had been with Jesus—He got off on them!  Yes, His Presence and Power!  His attitude toward sickness, being crippled or lack of any kind for that matter.

We were originally intended to be carriers of the glory of God (His Presence and Person, all that He is and has), man was clothed with it before sin entered in.  The choice to be carnally controlled caused the glory to depart from man.  We became leaky vessels; “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away” (Hebrews 2:1). The King James Version says: “lest at any time we should let them slip.”  Paul explains that Moses put a veil over his face so the children of Israel couldn’t see the glory fade (see 2 Corinthians. 3:13).  Even the early Apostles needed re-fillings of the Holy Spirit to continue in the work of the Lord.

Paul admonished the church at Ephesus to “be being filled with the Spirit” (original Greek of Eph. 5:18).  That’s a state of infillings of the Holy Spirit.  We do leak, the glory does fade and we need to get tanked-up with the Presence of God that we may walk as children of Light.

Paul also talked of being a fragrance of Christ (see 2Corin. 2:15).  Having been with Him one gives off a fragrance that’s sweet smelling to the Father (and to others).  The opposite would be the stench of the world, what one ‘gives-off’ spending too much time with the world (you can fill-in the blanks).  So the question at this point would be: Where have you been?  What ‘fragrance’ are you giving off?  Go ahead—wash in the water of the Word, under the Blood and go sweeten somebody’s life!!

“Have the faith of God. (margin rendering)  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” Mark 11:22-23

The first aspect of faith I want to look at is the side we’ve all been made aware of for some time now—believing.  We all believe (or have faith in) things we’ve been told.  For instance: we believe the word of our employer that if we perform our job we’ll be paid so much at the end of the week, right?  So, day after day we labor believing the day is coming we’ll receive the reward of a pay check.  That’s faith.

Most of us will get into a car, start the engine, and put it in drive expecting the brakes to work when we press on the peddle; that’s another way to view faith, expectation: to believe in something.

To have the faith of God you have to hear His Word on a matter: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).  Another way to say it is: Faith begins where the will of God is known.  It’s impossible to have faith where someone’s will is unclear, God’s or anyone else’s.

On a side note, I believe that’s the biggest problem we have in the church today!  There’s been so much watering down of the pure Word of God, the Body of Christ isn’t sure if God is willing to do anything for them anymore or not!  Prosperity, healing, provision and protection have all been relegated to the sweet by and by.  Bunk!  If one would just soberly look into the perfect law of liberty (the pure Word of God) and read for themselves they would clearly see the Father’s heart and great desire to bless His children!  That’s a whole other subject, though.

The other side of faith is the action side.  To act on what you believe.  Notice, our foundational verse says the believing one will say something.  That’s action.  I’m not talking about confession here.  The initial role of confession is to school the heart to believe: “The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart” (Romans 10:8a).  The human heart (spirit, inner-man) is designed to believe, and it will believe first what you say, that’s why it’s so important to not be frivolous with your words.  If you’re always joking around and saying things you don’t really mean, your heart won’t know what to believe and your faith will be hindered.   “And shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”  The desired result will only come from a heart (inner-man) that truly believes.

There’s more to this action thing than just saying something though.  Let’s look at what James has to say about faith: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can faith save him?  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:14-17).

The Amplified New Testament puts verse seventeen this way: “So also faith if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power—inoperative, dead.” James goes on to say: “But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’  Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (v. 18).  What’s he saying?  Mike Leach translation: You got a lot of nice talk, but you ain’t doin’ anything (i.e.: put up or shut up)!  Someone said it this way once: I can’t hear what you’re saying, ‘cause your actions are speaking so loudly.

It’s time we as the Church stop talking about how powerful and loving God is and start showing it!  The world doesn’t need any more preaching on how filthy they are, but God loves them!  We need to show them His love by taking care of their needs; healing their sick, freeing them of demonic oppression, binding up their broken hearts!  Freely we’ve received—freely we must give!

Jesus made an interesting statement in Luke’s account of the Gospel: “…when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8b).  I don’t think He was talking about the faith that comes by hearing God’s Word here, I believe He’s looking for people who’ll be acting on it!  “But, be doers of the Word, and not hearers only!”  (James 1:22).

“..the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” (John 4:23)

Before I talk about worship, I want to bring out that the Father — Almighty God — is seeking (looking) for something! His eyes “run to and fro throughout the whole earth!” Why? Looking “to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

You see, God is a good God and He wants to bless people. He wants to show Himself strong on their behalf. If ever mankind needed for God to show-up in their lives and manifest His strength, it’s right now! When fear is on every front; knocking on every door; trying to steal, kill and destroy; God will be a refuge and fortress, a strong-tower, a present help in time of trouble! The qualifier is: He does it for those whose heart’s are loyal toward Him.

So, what is true worship?

Worship comes from the English words “worth ship.”  It speaks of value and honor for a magistrate or deity.  True worship is of the heart (rather, comes from the heart, one that’s loyal toward God; He knows if someone is faking or not).  The heart, in most cases, speaks of the spirit-man; the inner man or “the hidden man of the heart” (1 Peter 3:4); the real you.  Jesus said: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth” (John 4:24 KJV).

Man is created in the image and likeness of God; meaning, God is a Spirit being and man is a spirit being. The only acceptable worship for God must come from a loyal heart full of truth!

What is truth?

In praying to the Father, Jesus defines truth; He said: “Your Word is truth” (John 17:17).  So one could say a true worshiper will be born of truth (a product or child of truth): “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).  The conclusion would be that unless someone is born again (has called on the name of the Lord to be saved [Romans 10:13]) they don’t even qualify to worship God!  But we need to further instruct: TRUE WORSHIP not only comes from the loyal heart of a born-again child of God, but it will fall within the instructions outlined in the Word of God:  “Come before His presence with singing.  Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and    not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:2b-4).

Singing / Thanksgiving / Praise

TRUE WORSHIP will include any one or all of these.  This is not a formula.  God is not a robot that has buttons you can push to get the desired result!  Look at these as guidelines to understand the protocol for the worship God the Father is seeking.  “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).  This verse indicates that when we’re filled with the Word of God and we teach and admonish one another by the grace in our hearts it is being done to the Lord!

Now let’s couple that thought with Romans twelve verse one from the Amplified Bible: “make a decisive dedication of your bodies—presenting all your members and faculties—as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.”

In-a-nutshell; what we do day in and day out; how we treat others; the quality of work we provide our employers will greatly affect our worship! We cannot drink from the cup of darkness (act like the world) then minister before the Lord!

It’s time to wash our hands of the filth of this world and become true worshipers that Almighty God can look to bless with His Presence…for in His Presence is the fullness of joy!  In His Presence there comes times of refreshing!    Hallelujah!!

Beloved: Just this morning I came across possibly the most anointed three words one could ever use in prayer. You’ve probably heard them, even said them yourself. I’m sure I’ve heard teaching on them…even taught of them myself; but something happened inside me when I said them this morning to the Father.

No, it wasn’t: “I believe I receive” (that’s four words anyway). As powerful as they are. The words I’m talking about aren’t for the purpose of getting something…or removing a mountain. They’re actually so simple one would easily overlook them. After all isn’t the Holy God of Heaven and earth looking to hear something flowery or pious filled with Elizabethan English? He doesn’t have time for simplicity, right? Well, I’d like to set you free in this area of your relationship with YOUR Heavenly Father (yes, He’s your Father if Jesus has been made your Lord). Furthermore, He desires us to come to Him — anytime for any reason!

OK, are you ready for them? Are you sure you can handle the profoundness of these three simple words? They’re: I TRUST YOU. Yea, I trust you. Try it. Check your innermost being when you say them. Do you feel the calm? Do you feel the joy? Do you feel empowered? It’s OK to “feel” spiritual things…your spirit-man can “feel” spiritual things just like your physical man can feel natural things. It’s staggering, isn’t it? I got the ball rolling…I’ll let the Holy Ghost finish from here. Have a great life — trusting God!

I want to share with you an encouraging word that was given to me Sunday morning when the music team gathered to pray before the service: “We need to approach this service (day) like it was the ‘last leg’ of our breakthrough. Just a little more pressure and endurance pressing forward toward our goal.”

I realize it’s a psychological exercise that gives you extra ‘wind’ when you think all you have to do is just press a little more…after all, we all can muster a little more ‘steam’ to go forward. Regardless of the pressure, somehow we can endure just a little longer.

Scripture says that the Lord will never allow us to be tested (tempted) beyond what we are able, but will with the trial strengthen us to endure until the end, providing the way of escape (Mike Leach paraphrase of 1 Corinth. 10:13)!

Just after I spoke those words I had an image go off inside me of a runner. He was on a narrow, somewhat rocky, path going up a hillside with a bright Light at the end of his journey. The Light was his goal and he remained extremely focused on reaching that Light. As he was running, though, there were enemies alongside the path that were throwing things out in front of him.

I couldn’t see exactly what these things were, but I knew their purpose; they were meant to trip him up, even make him fall (for some were very large and some were small).

[Do you have your shouting clothes on? Pay close attention to this next portion.]

AS HE REMAINED FOCUSED ON THE PRIZE BEFORE HIM (his goal, destination) EVERY OBJECT THROWN IN HIS PATH MEANT TO DELAY, TRIP HIM UP — EVEN MAKE HIM FALL — COMPLETELY DISSOLVED EITHER BEFORE HE GOT TO IT OR RIGHT WHEN HE REACHED IT. RUNNING RIGHT THROUGH WITHOUT MISSING A BEAT!!!!!!

Maybe you need to read that part again. You see, there is nothing the devil can mean for evil that the Lord God Almighty cannot turn around for your good!!!

If your eyes are on Jesus, and your purpose is fixed on Him — death itself — yes, I said death! — cannot even cause you to lose one beat!!

Let’s turn the tables on darkness and allow the glory of God to spread like a cancer! Overcome the evil in your life by doing good to those who the enemy has sent to trip you up!

Say these words – OUT LOUD! – “Greater is He Who is in me! I am more than a conqueror through Him! Thanks be unto God, Who always leads me in triumph! I can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens me and loves me and is always interceding for me! I shall not be moved! The Lord is my Light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?  He is my refuge and fortress, my God – in Him shall I trust!  Though I walk through the waters, they shall not overtake me; though I walk through the fire, I SHALL NOT BE BURNED!”

Now shout: HALLELUJAH! Give God praise for His wonderful promises to you!  Believe them! Speak them every day.  His word is alive and it shall come to pass in your life!

I want to talk about the day of visitation. I’ve looked up every reference found in the Word of God about the subject and prayed for God to reveal to me what He’s wanting to say today. The subject has been rolling around in my spirit for weeks now.

When I asked Him what the day of visitation meant, He said: “It’s the time I’ve allotted to visit My people; bringing blessing, revelation, understanding and recompense (judgment) into their lives.  I have always wanted to make a difference in My people; showing them to be favored and apart from what others around them experience in life.”

Unfortunately, in the Old Testament, each reference to their time of visitation resulted in destruction and ruin because they were always caught pursuing their fleshly lust instead of Jehovah, Who has always desired for men (mankind) to be saved and come into the knowledge of the truth (covenant relationship with Him).

Jesus Himself wept over Jerusalem because they did not know (recognize or acknowledge) the time of their visitation!  “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.”  (Luke 19:42).

Notice three things here: 1) they should have known the season they were in; “especially in this your day.” Paul wrote: “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.  For you yourselves know…” [or, you have the witness in yourself] (1 Thess. 5:1-2a), 2) known what? “this your day, the things that make for peace” [nothing missing, nothing broken, complete and total deliverance and preservation]. That’s what Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost to bring into the lives of those around Him!, 3) because of their rejection: “now they are hidden from your eyes.”  Yes, any portion of the human race (sinner and saint alike) can have the things of God and what He wants to do in and through them “hidden from their eyes” by simply rejecting the Word of the Lord (what He shows someone personally in His Word or what they’ve heard by an anointed preacher or read by an anointed writer).

“And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they may all be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thess. 2:11-12).  I realize this is directed toward unbelievers, but let me ask you: is there anything worse than an unbelieving believer?  Just because one may fall in the category of “believer” or “saint” or “saved” [which are all titles we use to describe the true church (body of Christ)], could one miss the day of visitation we’re in right now by their unbelief?

May not one of us who are hearing what the Spirit is saying be in that category! Jesus has already born the negative side of judgment for the entire human race — but we still have to believe it!; we still have to receive it! The blessings of God and all He wants to do in this hour are not going to fall on any one of us! We have to align ourselves with it and for it!  “Lord, open the eyes of our understanding that we may know the hope to which we’ve been called!”

I think back to the old western’s we used to watch, when the good guys finally got the bad guys surrounded in some old shack or something like that. There was no way out for them and they ended up surrendering, giving up their running. They had come to a place where they could no longer get away from their pursuers and they had to give up trying — they surrendered!

God is on the pursuit! He’s looking for those who will give up trying to live life apart from His help and direction. In His sovereignty He created man with a free will; meaning we have the right to choose how we live and who we live for.

Death, man’s new nature

At the fall of man the fruit of death became lodged within the spirit of man. You could say it became our default ‘life’, and everything that comes with it: sickness, pain, fighting between ourselves and every other misery we face in this life. So we’re faced with one of two choices: continue living in darkness and experiencing the result it brings or we can choose the life only God can provide.  The first is automatic (default); do nothing and you’ll be carried where it can only lead, death!

We have a choice

Choose the life that God offers and the Heavenly possibilities are endless!: Peace, joy, hope, love is just the beginning of the quality of life God has in store for those who come to Him.

First you have to surrender to Him.  The choice has to be made to come to Him.  Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).  This coming to the Father is called being born again or being made a new creature in Christ (see John 3:3-7 and 2 Corinthians 5:17).

That’s just the beginning though.  Because death is man’s default fruit there is a lot of reprogramming we must undergo to function in the Kingdom of God.  Our thinking, the way we talk, how we treat others must all be saturated with the life of God.

God’s quality of Life

The fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians Five (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) is now our new nature; the new ‘life’ within our spirit-man.

The problem is: these attributes do not automatically take over and become our standard of behavior.  They have to be put on, or worked out from within.  Paul put it this way: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you / put on the new man / present your bodies to God” (see Philippians 2:12-13, Ephesians 4:24 and Romans 12:1).

There must be a change

Again, because we have a free will to choose, God is not going to make you do this.  You have to surrender to His dealings (things in your life He’s putting His finger on to change) and give up trying to live like you’ve never met Him!

The great part about this all is He’ll give you the desire and strength (or ability) to make the changes!  But you have to come to the end of your self and give in to Him—surrender!

The time is coming when “Every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God” that “Jesus Christ is Lord” (see Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:11). For Jesus to be Lord He must be on the throne of your life; it takes surrendering your own ways and taking up His.

Brokenness

All mature believers have come to the place of brokenness.  The place where they no longer are on the throne of their lives, but they’ve surrendered to the dealings of God. Scripture says: “‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.’  If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?  But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then your are illegitimate and not sons” (Hebrews 12:5-8).  “Beloved, now are we the sons of God” (1John 3:2a).  The earlier passage came right after talking about resisting sin in our lives.  Our primary job is to be Christ-like, this will require one to surrender to God by throwing up their hands and saying: “Not my will be done, but Yours, O God!”

Let’s “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us” (Hebrews 12:1) and surrender to God!