AIS CD Issue 26-6

 

New Hope Quartet

 

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♫Heartbreak Ridge and New Hope Road♫

♫Old Love Song♫

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By Pam Vaughn

Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

The first time we see shame manifested in the Bible is in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned by partaking of the forbidden fruit. The first thing they did as a result of their disobedience to God’s Word is found in Genesis 3:7.

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Sin entered into the heart of mankind through disobedience and rebellion, bringing shame along with it. First of all, Adam and Eve realized the need to clothe themselves with fig leaves. Secondly, when they heard the voice of the LORD God in the garden, Adam and his wife hid from His presence.

Genesis 3:8-10 (NLT) When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees.

Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid I was afraid because I was naked ”

Satan changed God’s Word in order to deceive Eve. “He told her,” you shall not surely die. As a result of that one little altered statement, sin entered into the human race bringing death with it. Satan is still working in the world today, trying to trap people and cause them to be lost by twisting God’s Word to fit his own agenda.

The scriptures show how the blame game began. The man accused the woman of causing him to sin, and the woman accused the serpent of deceiving her. After all the accusations, God’s punishment was sure. Because of disobedience, they all shared in the penalty. Not only did (he serpent succeed in his deceptive plan to cause Adam and Eve to sin, he rejoiced when their shame led to separation from the presence of God.

Romans 5:3-5 (NLT) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.
And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

When trials and temptations come along, the enemy will try to convince a person that Jesus doesn’t love them anymore. He puts questions in a person’s mind to try and bring hopelessness and shame into that life. If Jesus loves me, then why am I struggling with this sin? Why hasn’t He delivered me, so I can live a Christian life the way I want to`? Why do I feel this way if it is wrong?

Jesus died for us to be free. He has already paid the price for that freedom, and we can come boldly before His throne and He will not cast us away. God has to allow a person to walk through their trials and struggles, so that they will be able to help others. Everyone has something that they have to overcome in this life. If we received an instant change, we wouldn’t learn how to fight the enemy and wouldn’t have a testimony to give others hope.

A shepherd often had to break the leg of a wandering lamb in order to teach that lamb how to stay close to him. People also need to learn in order to grow. If every temptation were removed instantly from a person’s life, that individual would not grow to “maturity” in Christ. They would always be weak in faith. Learning how to overcome weaknesses also teaches a person how to keep his eyes on Jesus. When a person finally begins to feel free from any type of bondage, he also will feel stronger in spirit, and receive a new understanding of what it truly means to have mercy extended to him.

Galatians 5:16-17 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Jesus gave us His Spirit so we can stand against the wiles of the devil and conquer him. God wants us to stand and light. His Word is given to us, to help us keep walking in truth and make right choices.

Deliverance from any sin is a process, not a quick fix. When I was delivered, I had to reach out as far as I could and do all I knew to do; then Jesus did the rest. When someone allows Jesus to walk him through a particular struggle, He will put the right components back in that life during the process. We must let God do it His way.

I lived in a lesbian relationship during my journey back to Jesus, but inside I was making changes that only Jesus knew about. To those around me, the change was not evident at first, but as time went by, I could tell that they knew something was different. I didn’t try to figure out what I would have to do in the future, I was just desperate for deliverance. Jesus never stops loving a person just because they are living a sinful lifestyle. I sometimes wonder how we Christians can justify our negative outlook on sinners, when Jesus may have sent them our way for help.

I wasn’t even sure in the beginning if I could change my lifestyle, but I knew I had to try. Somewhere along the way I had allowed a ray of hope to come into my mind. When I approached Jesus in that way, I gave Him the controls, and allowed myself to be positioned for recovery and restoration.

Shame had kept me from seeking help for many years. The enemy uses this tool of shame, especially on people struggling with same sex attractions. So many Christians have viewed homosexuality as the worst possible sin a person can commit, and often feel that deliverance for those people is impossible. This type of thinking is not scriptural.

The Bible names the fearful and unbelievers among those who will be lost. This is all sin. When I was in the lesbian lifestyle, I found myself believing what I had always heard about the homosexual lifestyle; therefore, I lost all hope.

With my deliverance came understanding concerning why it is hard for some people to come out of their sinful lifestyles. They gradually accept the world’s view of, “If it feels, right then it is right”. With this attitude, a person will feel no need for repentance and, without repentance there is no remission of sins. This is another reason why the enemy is trying to get people to accept sin as normal.

Some of our most gifted and talented Christians have been snatched out of our churches by the enemy due to the weight of shame they carry concerning inner struggles. It all goes back to the garden, when Adam and Eve hid themselves from God because of sin. A lot of Christians have been forced to keep silent about emotional traumas forced on them as children because shame has been holding them hostage. Jesus died to show us a better way. His Spirit has been offered to us so we can walk in newness of life, and fulfill His purpose for that life.

Shame doesn’t affect only people who live in sin. Probably in most congregations, there are people who’ have been made run of because of handicaps, lack of education or some other deficit. Jesus never singled out any group or individual so He could make fun of them. To imitate someone who may walk or talk in a manner contrary to our liking is not pleasing to God. We need to make our prayer: Lord, help me see through your eyes and speak through your lips. Let my life be a reflection of your image and actions.

Jesus took shame with him when He was nailed to the cross. He was stripped of His clothing and was spit upon. He completely scorned shame for you and me, as He endured the suffering of the cross. Remember, Jesus didn’t remain on the cross. He rose from the dead with resurrection power, and He wants us to have this same power. We must remember that Jesus has not changed. He is available to strengthen, and to heal all who will open their hearts to hope.

The above article, “Hope Maketh Not Ashamed” was written by by Pam Vaughn. The article was excerpted from chapter three in Vaughn’s book, The Value of One Lamb.

The material is copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.

By David Wilkerson

In the book of 1 Samuel, David and his men came home from battle to find their town burned to the ground. Ziklag, where David was headquartered, had been attacked by the Amalekites. To make matters worse, the enemy had taken the families of David’s army captive. All the wives, children and livestock were gone.

When David and his men saw this, they fell on their faces weeping. They were convinced their loved ones had been killed in a bloody holocaust. Scripture says they all wept until they had no more strength.

Then David’s men rose up in anger against him. They picked up stones, blaming him for the calamity. Yet, despite this, David encouraged himself in the Lord. He called on Abiathar the priest and asked him to inquire what God would have him do.

Abiathar gave David this word from the Lord: “Go, pursue the Amalekites. You will bring back everything that was taken.\You won’t lose a single thing. All will be recovered.”

So David set out with 600 men in pursuit of the Amalekites. When they came to the River Besor, they found an Egyptian slave who had been wounded. When the slave heard their mission, he led them to the Amalekites’ encampment.

Of the 600 men in David’s army, 200 of them weren’t able to move forward into the front lines of battle.

These 200 soldiers may have been weary from battle fatigue, or perhaps some were injured or sick, but they were not cowards. They were simply held back by circumstances. As David prepared to move on, he entrusted to these men’s care all “the stuff” the army had to leave behind: equipment, utensils, weaponry, clothing and such.

As David marched forward with the other 400 soldiers, they found the Amalekites encamped on a great plain. And they were amazed at what they saw: the enemy had over 1 million livestock in its possession, for the Amalekites had also raided the Philistines and stolen their spoil. In the midst of this awesome scene, David’s army saw what they came for: their captive wives and children.

As David and his men drew closer, they saw the Amalekites sprawled out among their tents. They were drinking, carousiing and celebrating their great gathering of spoils. Combined with the sounds of 1 million animals bellowing, it must have been quite a riotous, chaotic scene.

David spread out his men for the attack, and the 400 soldiers surrounded the camp. The battle that followed was bloody, lasting a full day-and-a-half. When it was over, David had triumphed and just as Abiathar had told him, he recovered everything. Not a single person, animal or possession taken from his men had been lost.
David had a specific plan for the spoils of war.

After the battle, as the accounting of the Israelite spoils was done, David laid claim to the goods taken by the Amalekites from the Philistines. He declared, “These also are mine,” and he had a specific purpose in mind for them.

Now, as the returning victors approached the River Besor, the 200 soldiers who stayed behind saw them coming with all their wives and children. What an amazing sight it must have been as they rushed out to embrace their loved ones, weeping.

Yet it was a moment both sweet and bitter. Though circumstances had hindered these men from going into battle, they had been just as brave, just as qualified, and just as passionate to fight the enemy, even as the others went forward. Yet they didn’t feel worthy to celebrate the victory.

David knew what these men were thinking as they hugged their loved ones: “I haven’t earned the joy of this moment. I didn’t accomplish anything. I should have been among those on the front lines.”

Indeed, some of the 400 warriors who had gone to battle began grumbling. Scripture calls these soldiers “wicked men” and “men of Belial.” They said to each other, “We’re not going to divide the spoils with these laggards. They didn’t risk going out, as we did. They didn’t accept the challenge and pay the price” (see 1 Samuel 30:22). Their murmuring was about to become a mutiny.

But David had the heart of God in that moment. And “when David came near to the (200 men), he saluted them” (30:21).

At that moment, with that one great gesture, David laid down the law of spoils. He told them, “As his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike” (30:24). Simply put, all 600 men were going to share in the spoils equally.
David wasn’t about to permit any soldier in his army to feel regret over not being on the front lines of battle. So he called a meeting of his leaders and instructed them, “I will not allow this division to happen. We are going to share equally. This backup army is just as important as those who went to the battlefront.”

When David saluted those 200 men, he was telling them, “Well done! This victory is as much yours as it is of those who went out. You were useful right where you were. And, as your king, I declare that you are to share equally in the spoils of victory.”

From that time on, every king in Israel’s history kept David’s law of spoils.

It is my privilege today to salute God’s present-day backup army.

I want to speak to every Christian who can’t go to a foreign mission field but has to stay back through circumstances. I’m referring to those who are faithful in prayer, sacrificial in giving, supportive of mission works. To all such believers, here is a clear message from 1 Samuel 30: You are the supply line to the battlefront. And the spoils of war are yours, too.

On that glorious day when our battle has ended, when we are finally able to lay down our spiritual swords, many will stand before the Lord thinking they are empty-handed. These unsung, unknown saints will say to themselves, “I have nothing to present to the Lord. I didn’t do much of anything. I never led many souls to Christ.”

Yet what a glorious moment awaits them, as Jesus begins to divide the spoils. They’ll be overwhelmed with joy, as their eyes are opened to see just how important they were to the battle.

Those who thought they had no good works or deeds to present are going to share equally in the spoils! Among these will be widows, shut-ins and retired people who gave sacrificially to support missions works.

As I think of these unsung saints, I picture the American women who maintained the home front during World War II. When I was growing up, my family would visit my grandmother’s home near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Nearby was a factory that produced heavy bombshells. During those visits, I stood outside the fence of that factory and watched the dozens of women laborers come and go.

While their husbands, brothers and boyfriends did battle on the front lines; in the Pacific, Europe and Africa; these women manned huge assembly lines. They worked around the clock, toiling and sweating, with the factory’s loud noises constantly whirring in their ears.

Circumstances didn’t allow these women to be on the battlefront. So they “stood by the stuff” in support of their loved ones. And without the fruit of their labors, their faithful production on those assembly lines, the war never could have been won.

Beloved, this is the true picture in eternity of every unknown saint who thinks he has nothing to present to Jesus.

David based his law of spoils on a precedent that Moses set in Numbers 31.

During Moses’ time, an army of 12,000 Israelite soldiers defeated the Midianites and five vicious warlords. When the spoils were gathered afterward, Moses instructed:

“Take the sum of the prey [spoils] that was taken…and divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation” (Numbers 31:26-27).

Here were two co-equal groups, according to Moses: combatants and congregants, those who went to battle and those who “stood by the stuff.” The Lord himself commanded that these two groups share equally in the spoils.

When Israel accounted the Midianite spoils, here is how the division went:

– 337,500 sheep went to combatants, 337,500 to congregants.
– 36,000 cattle went to combatants, 36,000 to congregants.
– 30,500 donkeys went to combatants, 30,500 to congregants.
– 16,000 captives went to combatants, 16,000 to congregants.

You get the picture: it was entirely equal, between those who went and those who stayed.

On our day of accounting, I picture the apostle Paul being called forth. All of his soul-winning victories will be recounted, as well as all the churches he established.

Then a number of unknown men and women from Antioch will be called forward to stand next to Paul. These are the people who fasted and prayed for the apostle, who laid hands on him and sent him out as a missionary. They supported him with sacrificial gifts.

Simeon, Lucius and Manaen were elders at that church in Antioch. They and other unknown saints like them never went to the far-off battlefront. They probably never crossed a sea or traveled to Macedonia. Yet they will be called forth to share in Paul’s spoils.

Why will these others be handed a portion equal to the apostle’s? It is because they played a part in every soul that Paul won, every church he built, every trip he took.

God desires that we all rest, and rejoice, in our calling.

Many Christians feel guilty that they’re not serving on a foreign mission field. But staying home with the stuff is also a high calling in Jesus Christ. If you love the Lord and walk in his Spirit, you can be sure of your calling. God’s Word assures us:

“Now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him” (1 Corinthians 12:18).

Do you see what Paul is saying here? If you’re a church elder, you have a high calling in the Lord. The same is true for those who teach Sunday school.

Yet the same is equally true for any single mother who’s striving to raise her children for Christ. She has a high calling right where she is.

Likewise, if you’re a businessperson, a lawyer, a doctor: rest in your calling. If you’re a salesperson, a mechanic, a teacher, a food service worker, you don’t have to try to work up a calling to some mission field to please God. Unless the Spirit himself is stirring you, you can be at rest where you are, in what you do.

“Ye are the body of Christ… And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
“Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way” (12:27-31).

It is important that every believer not be frustrated that he isn’t in Africa or some such mission field. The Lord never brings condemnation to any of his people over a mission calling when he himself has placed them where they are in his body.

Of course, it is important to stay open and willing to hear from the Spirit about serving elsewhere. But we are to surrender the issue completely to the Lord’s stirring and direction. God knows how to stir our nests and open doors to ministry, at home and abroad.

The apostle Paul brings a deeply convicting word on this matter of serving the Lord.

Paul was a world-traveling missionary with a heart of love for the poor. He heard the cries of the poorest in every nation he visited. And he instructed every pastor and evangelist under him, “Remember the poor.” Paul regularly took up offerings for the poor, at one point traveling to several cities to raise money for Jerusalem when a famine was imminent.

Of anyone who ever lived, Paul understood the cry of human need. Yet as much as this godly apostle sacrificed, even to the point of dying a poor martyr himself, Paul gave a convicting warning:

“Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3, my italics).

I have to wonder: are we ready to accept Paul’s convicting word here? He is saying, in effect:

“You can weep over the desperate cries of the poor. You could go to Africa to the filthy slums.
You could be ready to die a martyr. But if you have not laid hold of charity, everything you do is in vain whether at home or as an overseas missionary.”

Think about this. Even Jesus told his disciples to begin their work in Jerusalem, their home city, before going to the uttermost parts of the world.

This tells me our first mission has to be to our own hearts. In other words, the Holy Spirit has to do his work in us before he can work through us.

A few years ago, I began asking the Lord to enlarge my own vision for missions. At the time, I had begun traveling the world holding ministers conferences, and I’d seen some of the world’s worst slums. My heart burned to know how to answer the desperate cries coming from those slums. So I spent hours before the Lord in prayer, seeking his burden and asking for direction.

The first word I received from the Holy Spirit was this: “David, first of all, take the lowest seat in the house. If you want a heart to reach human need, humble yourself.”
I prayed for God’s grace to do this. I also began to preach this word in our church, so our mission-minded congregation would receive the same word I was hearing from the Lord.

Then, later in prayer, I received the following word: “Mortify the remnants of your pride. I can’t work through you in fullness unless you deal with this. Reaching human need is strong business, and all pride must be dealt with.” Again, I asked God for his grace.

Then later came this word: “Deal with your temper. You are still easily provoked at times, in your work and with family. That must be mortified by the Spirit.”

In all of this, the Spirit kept reminding me of Paul’s words: “Yes, there is faith, and there is hope. But the greatest of all is charity” (see 1 Corinthians 13:13).

Right now our ministry is putting roofs over churches in Kenya. We’re helping finance a Kenya Kids program for orphans in the capital city of Nairobi. We help dig wells in poor areas. We’re helping support a center for addicts and alcoholics. We help feed hungry children. The Lora has clearly called us to do each of these works of compassion.

Yet all these works would be without profit if they were not flowing out of true Christ-like charity.

It is amazing to hear what God is doing through dedicated missionaries throughout the world.

In Iraq, a missionary friend grieves over the murder of two of his associates. He and his church members are threatened daily, yet they refuse to stop evangelizing among the poor and homeless. These are front-line soldiers of Christ.

I think also of Kevin, a dedicated missionary serving in Swaziland, Africa. In that nation, 42 percent of the total population is infected with AIDS. Chances are nine out of ten that a fifteen-year-old child will die before reaching age thirty-five. The unemployment rate is 40 percent. There is a terrible drought and food is scarce. The average child eats only one meal every two days. Hopelessness abounds.

Yet Kevin was moved by the Holy Spirit to do something. He began refurbishing old, abandoned houses and turning them into homes for orphans. Each home, staffed by a caring mother, houses eight children. Those orphans are provided nutritional food, education and medical care.

The ministry also reaches out to the entire community, providing help to babies infected with HIV and operating a live-in care center for drug addicts. Now Kevin envisions sending teams into slum areas, to help feed families consisting of single mothers and their children, and to teach the mothers life skills. These teams would also care for the dying.

We are honored to be a major supporter of this incredible ministry. Kevin is one of God’s front-line warriors giving his all on a foreign mission field. Now let me tell you about an amazing widow who never had the opportunity to serve as a missionary in a foreign land.

Grandma Carosso, my wife Gwen’s mother, died at the ripe age of ninety-five. She was a praying woman, quiet and unassuming. In fact, this devoted woman prayed for me every day. Very few people knew her name.

When she went to be with the Lord, Gwen and I found a cardboard box in her closet, filled with checkbook stubs dating over many years. Grandma Carosso had spent little on herself, but the record showed she had supported missionaries for many years. She would send in small amounts at a time: five, six, ten dollars.

All that time, Grandma Carosso had thought she didn’t do much in the work of the kingdom. She would say she had no talent, no ministry. But she was just as important to Jesus and his kingdom as the many missionaries she supported over the years with her sacrificial gifts.

When our blessed Lord rewards all those wonderful missionaries she supported, Grandma Carosso will share in all the spoils of their front-line spiritual victories. Remember what Jesus said of the poor widow who cast two pennies into the offering: “She has cast in more than all the others.” The widow gave all she had.

My wife, Gwen, stayed at home “by the stuff” while I traveled for years on the front lines of evangelism.

Gwen is much like her departed mother: quiet, unassuming and very dedicated to her family. During the decades of ministry when I traveled the world over, I was away from home much of the time. Gwen had to stay behind to care for our four children. She was always there when they came home from school, always there when they expressed a need.

When I came home, Gwen rejoiced with me at the reports of numerous souls being won to Christ, or addicts and alcoholics being healed. Yet Gwen wasn’t able to go and do this work herself. She had to stay behind with “the stuff,” all the ordinary obligations.

Many times I heard my wife say, “I can’t preach or sing. I’m not a writer. I feel I’m doing so little, if anything, for the Lord.”

But Gwen came to believe that her calling was to be a faithful wife and mother (and eventually grandmother). Today, all four of our children are in ministry and have risen up to call her blessed many times over. It was Gwen who did the hard work that enabled our children to follow their callings.

While writing this message, I told my wife, “On that day when I stand before Jesus, if I have been used to win souls or to raise up godly works that please him if there are any rewards to be had, Gwen, you will share in them equally.”

Just as King David did, we salute all the special saints who stay “by the stuff.”
We bless our missionaries in harvest fields around the world. They take great risks and hazard their lives for the sake of the gospel. Our missionaries and their families need our prayers and support. We honor them.

We also honor all who cannot go, including the elderly, the shut-ins, the unemployed, and those who serve the Lord faithfully in their present calling, in every nation and tongue.

Dear saint, God forbid you should be agitated in spirit because you don’t believe you’re doing anything important to God’s work. Your prayers, your continuous support for missions, your charitable spirit all are honoring to God.

My prayer is that you will ask the Holy Spirit to bring you into his rest, and that he will give you peace and joy right where you are, in all you do. That is his desire. Amen!

From, “World Challenge Pulpit Series”/www.worldchallenge.org /November 26, 2007, by David Wilkerson

By Rev. Jesse Starr

“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil”

In the beginning God created our world. He placed the stars, He hung the sun, He created all things needed for human survival – air, vegetation, animals and climate. As is God’s way, He went above and beyond to create a beautiful paradise for mankind to live in. He created Adam and Eve and gave them the garden for their home. Then, in the midst of the garden, He placed two trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In the midst of it all mankind was faced with a choice between the good fruit or the evil fruit.

This event is only a microcosm of true life today. We are faced with life on this earth and all of its trappings. Our day is a challenging day. Speeding deadlines, evolving morals, compromised family values, religions with no true Biblical compass. Even in the church there are challenges. Relevancy versus righteousness, Biblical principle versus human logic and reasoning. The list could go on, but while it seems so different today much remains the same. In the midst of our garden called life there is a choice to make between good and evil. In the midst of it all we must be sure to have the right principles in place to make the right choice. Let’s remember some observations:

1. Eve demonstrated unfamiliarity with God’s word. In Genesis 2:16-17 God told man he was not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In Genesis 3:3 Eve quoted that they were not to eat of it or touch it. She added to the Word. For whatever reason Eve misquoted God’s original command; it demonstrated that she did nor really know what God had said. This created an opening for Satan to work with. The only way to make a proper choice is to know the Word of God and obey the Word of God.

2. Human reasoning always has, and always will, get us in trouble. It was a tree that was pleasant to the eyes, and it was good for food, and it was to be desired to make one wise. When Eve saw all of this it seemed logical to partake of it. Yet as Solomon once said, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death. ” (Proverbs 16:25) In the midst of our life choices let us remember that not all that glitters is gold; not all that looks good really is good.

3. In Genesis 3:4-5, there seemed to be some question as to whether or not there really would be consequences should Eve partake of the forbidden fruit. Surely God is not that harsh! The echoes of that statement are alive and well today. Yet, God did indeed mean what he said. There are important and eternal choices we must make, and whether we believe it or not our choices have eternal consequences and must be made carefully.

There is hope. It seems that God chooses to hang out with humanity. Somehow in the hurry and flurry of human events God lingers near. He too, had an experience with a tree – He hung on it for our salvation. It was the Lord who said that wherever two or three are gathered together in His name that He would be in the midst of them. (Mt. 18:20) In the symbolism of Revelation the golden candlesticks represented the churches of that day. Amazingly, even though they were flawed and blemished, the Bible carefully states that he was in the midst of them. (Rev. 1:12-17)

While the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil introduced death and destruction to mankind, the Tree of Life is yet flourishing. Thank God for that hope. Even when all this earth has passed away with all of its corruption and sin, the Tree of Life will live on. Rev. 22:2 says that “in the midst of the street of it [the River of Life], on either side of it was the tree of life…

Thank God that in the midst of it all there is still the hope of eternal life, regardless of the day or the hour. Some day we can sit down under the shade of the Tree of Life and watch the River of Life flow by. Then perhaps we can be thankful for the right choices we made when we were in the midst of it all here on earth. AA’

This article “In the Midst of It All” written by Rev. Jesse Starr is excerpted from the Apostolic Accent a October 2007 edition.

AIS CD Issue 20-7

 

Evelyn Marshburn: “Just Hold My Hand”

 

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♫In The Presence of Jehovah♫

♫Just Hold My Hand♫

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By Rev. Mickey Friend

I Kings chapter 3; I Kings chapter 3, I Kings chapter 3 a story that I am about to read beginning in the 16 verse is a story that has been preached often times and mentioned, I’m sure, several times in this congregation. I would like to bring your memory to it today bring your minds back to this awesome story from I Kings chapter 3 begin with verse 16.

“Then came there two women that were harlots unto the king and stood before him. The one women said, oh my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. And this women’s child died in the night because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside while thine handmaid slept and laid it in her bosom and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I arose in the morning to give my child suck, behold it was dead but when I considered it in the morning behold it was not my son which I did bear. And the other woman said, Nay but the living is my son and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

(verse 17:) Then said the king the one saith this is my son that live and thy son is dead and the other saith, nay but thy son is dead, and my son is the living. And the king said bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. And the king said divide the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other. Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king for her bowels yearned upon her son and said O my lord give her the living child and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. Then the king answered and said Give her the living child and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. And all Israel heard of the judgement which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom, of God was in him to do judgment.”

A baby, represents, to us naturally, joy, future, life, laughter. In the spirit when Jesus is born, and this is the season for those memories from those thoughts about the Christ child it represents to us joy, peace, the future.

I’m going to preach to you today “DON”T KILL MY BABY”, don’t let anything take my joy, we have sung about twice already. It’s something happening in this service today the Spirit of the Lord is trying to speak to us and bring it all together and I’m going to preach to you “DON’T KILL MY BABY”.

You may have to take your enemy right to the presence of the king and say give me my joy back. He gave me something that belongs to me and you can’t kill that you can’t take that away from me. You might be able to take the loud signing, and you may take our tempo but don’t take the joy, the life that Jesus Christ put in my spirit you can’t take that from me. You may cause confusion and we may not find rest but you can’t take that out of my spirit, you can’t take my joy, don’t kill that.

Let’s pray together.

Sister Friend and I, when we were married, when we first began to talk about how many children we would like to have, and we decided we would rather have four. I thought two was enough, and she wanted six. So we hit it happily in the middle and decided we would have four. We have three girls and since we have been in South Bend, all kind of great things have happened, we had a son. Thank God for boys!

When Tiffany, our first child, was born we went to lamas class to learn about natural childbirth, and I looked forward to being with my wife through that experience. It was a scary time for me and I didn’t know exactly what I was getting ready to do, but they prepared these
classes. So we went to the doctor’s office to these childbirth classes, and you know those small square windows in the doors at the doctor’s office, and when I got there to open the door. I looked through the window and there were all these people. Pregnant, large, ready to deliver ladies laying on the floor. They had them laid all over the floor. Their husbands were all kneeling down holding their heads. I told my wife, “I can’t go in there” I mean it looked like a bunch of beached whales and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t stop laughing. They couldn’t roll over, everybody was grunting and groaning and their faces were all red and their husbands were all holding their heads and I said what are we doing here, I don’t know what this is all about, but I can’t go in there and look at these people and keep a straight face. They all knew I was a pastor and I was suppose to be serious, but I couldn’t stand looking at everybody.

Well we were there so we went in and we went through all this class and it was great, it was wonderful. They taught us about all these things and instead of calling me the father or the husband, they called me the coach. I think that is because we have a lot of babies born without fathers and we never know who really the guy is so they called us coach. Well, I became the coach and I remember the day that my wife felt like it was time to go to the hospital and how excited I was and my mother in law there from Ohio. Don’t have your mother in law there. She stood by the door jumping up and down with the suitcase in her hand screaming at the top of her lungs for about an hour while I did everything they told us to do in class. They said you are going to be there awhile so take sandwiches, so I had to make some ham sandwiches and get my oreos together. And they said you will be there all night if you go at night. So I had to be sure and get some Mountain Dew’s so I stopped by the store and got some Mountain Dew because I didn’t want to go without Mountain Dew all night.

You know so I finally we go the hospital and we went through this great ordeal, and I’ll be honest with you it was the most, it was the most awesome few moments of my life as my wife bore our child. I never saw such a struggle in all my life and I never experience such a moment of tragic life as the moment the baby was about to be born. I’ll never forget when Tiffany was born we prayed that God would give us a girl. As a matter of fact we had decorated the room for a little girl.

We wanted a little girl. I needed a little girl first because of the situation we have in our day. I am so sick of what homosexuals are doing to
this generation, that I was afraid I wouldn’t know how to touch a boy and love my son and kiss my son and I knew that if it was a little girl I learn how to love a baby and so I had three of them to practice on before I got to my boy. Now I don’t have any problem kissing his little face. You know I just have whipped the whole generation, I don’t care what they say, I am allowed to love my boy.

So I had this girl and when Tiffany was born the moment she was born I went into a fit. I felt the Holy Ghost, I couldn’t help it. I started talking in tongues, I started dancing before the Lord, I was crying like a baby. I took a hold of the end of the bed and just danced and the doctor stepped back and the nurses all cried. Tiffany never cried when she was born. She did not cry. She came out and she just kind of cooed and I took her in my arms and I talked in tongues some more and everybody cried and I danced around the room with my baby and thanked God and I had a spell. It was the most tremendous spiritual experience for me to fill life because 30 seconds before she was born, there was nobody, and now all of a sudden there is somebody, a real somebody and I fell in love in that few seconds. It overwhelmed me with a joy that I felt when she was breathing and she was alive.

I remember taking her home from the hospital laying her in her crib and they had prepared a bassinet and my, they had made big ruffles and it came way out into the floor like a big wedding gown. You know and you couldn’t even get close to the baby you had to just throw the baby in there. You couldn’t get near the bed and I remember when I first laid her in there and walked back out down the hallway of the little apartment we were living in at the time, and I turned the corner into the kitchen, it was my first moment home with my child and she was asleep and daddy was there, boy, I was just filled with this thing you know. I told my wife I wouldn’t just fight a truckload of men I would whip a truckload of men for that baby laying in there. I just dare somebody try to come through the window. I was just all macho feeling you know, that was my baby laying in there. It was an awesome feeling, the joy that it brought to my life and what it did between my wife and I. What a great feeling it is to know that their future, you know God is not finished with our world. And it filled me with all of that great feeling, and that’s what a church is, it’s a baby.

You know that there is nothing in the world that can help this church through it’s traumatic time, like new life and a move of the spirit.
When the Holy Ghost comes and Jesus is born again inside of you. When the story comes alive and when the thought of Jesus Christ, it’s not just something somebody is preaching but inside of you. This thing is alive and it starts to stir and nothing in the world compares to the spirit of life that you feel when you realize He is alive! I know he is breathing. I’m holding him. He is real and he is really here and I really am in love and nobody can take that away.

I’m preaching to you that you all have struggled to come to Jesus Christ and you remember when that first life came to you. When the first breath of the spirit it might of been at work, it may not have been in a church service, it may have come at your home. The television may have got boring, the book you were reading may just have lost it’s joy to you. You were hungry for something and the spirit of God began to move over you. You can remember when you received the Holy Ghost. I never met anybody that received the baptism of the Holy Ghost that cannot remember the moment when they burst forth into that glorious experience and the Spirit of God put something inside of them.

I’m telling you, Satan is trying to take Jesus out of your heart. You are not just trying to confuse the church Satan, not just going to try to cause a little wave of discontent and bring differences. No, he is trying to take Jesus Christ out of your heart and you know what you have got to do; just what this woman did, recognize that is my baby. You can’t replace that with anything else, you can’t put anything in my bosom to make me think that maybe this is supposed to replace what I have received from the Lord. Because the devil will come in the night.

Now I want you to know that this is an awesome story. This is an awesome story. Don’t you know that when that woman woke up and found that cold lifeless baby next to her she must have mourned and then the plan was devised in her brain to take and trade babies? That is a crime; that is a great crime that she is about to commit when she picks up her dead baby and sneaks down the hallway to her roommate’s room and there she sees the slow breathing mother and hears the soft breathing of the baby. She moves over and lays her baby on the floor and pulls the warm live baby out from her mother and lays it down, takes this baby and lays the dead child in the bed then sneaks back down the hallway in the middle of the night sometime around midnight and I don’t think she slept the rest of the night. I can’t imagine her laying down and being able to calm her nerves to such a point to where she could rest. But I think she laid awake waiting for the moment that the woman woke up and in the morning when she woke up and she found that dead, lifeless baby next to her you could hear the cry. The scream as she cried out in the morning but then she takes it over to the window. She is crying and she looks down and realizes this is not my baby and she goes out into the hallway and the mother of this living child holding the dead child of the other mother says “What happened to your baby?” and the other one starts to fool with her, starts to mess with her mind. What you talking about your baby? I have my baby and it dawns on the mother of the living child what is happening. You have got my baby, you have got my baby. No, this is my baby. What is a matter honey, what is a matter? Something wrong with your baby? This is your baby, your baby is dead; give me my son.

And when she realized the way that was gonna go on over that baby, like this church needs to recognize the war that is going to go on over the spirit of life that rests here, she grabbed that woman up. I don’t think she said get your housecoat on, I think she grabbed her just like she was “Come on,” she marched her down the steps, out the door, walked right past the police station, went right past the sheriffs department, went right past on downtown, past city hall, right on to the palace and stormed right up the steps dragging this woman, holding on to this baby and everybody is looking. All the shopkeepers opening up shop, all the people standing around looking; here comes this woman screaming and a hollering, just yelling, grabbing this woman; trying to get away and she is just walking her.

And I’ll tell you something else, I don’t think, I don’t think the guards at Solomons palace were in any mood to fool with this woman. I think when she came storming up the steps dragging this woman they just opened up the door. Yes, ma’am, go right on; yes ma’am, she had a look in her eye. I have got to see Solomon, I have got to see the king. When she got to the inner chambers where he was, it is early in the morning; he may not have had breakfast. I have no idea. All I know is somebody started hollering “Hey king Solomon you had better get down here” and here comes this woman storming. I don’t know if he was in his bedroom or where but she wasn’t stopping. She went right to the king and she said “Hey this woman has got my baby!” and said “No this is my baby.” and he said “what?” “What is going
on is that woman’s baby died in the night and she has got my baby.” “She is holding my baby and she won’t give it to me.” “Sir, it is my baby she is holding the other one said no, this is my son her son is dead.” The king said “Whoa, just a minute you ‘re saying that is your baby and you’re saying that is your baby and her baby is dead and you’re saying her baby is dead. Give me a sword. Sounds like the quickest thing to do, kind of a gross thought, cut the baby in two. I mean it is like a hamburger or a piece of pizza or something; the last piece you know. I mean this is gross; he says “cut the baby in half, give half to one and half to the other” and the mother whose the living child was said “Don’t slay the baby, it nearly killed me to bear that child; it was painful, it was terrible, give her the baby but don’t kill my son, don’t kill my baby” and the other one said “go ahead, cut it in half.” He said, “you give that woman the baby, she is the one that fought for it.”

I am about to say something pastor, there are some of you who need to hit that prayer room like you have never hit it before because you are the ones who sweated this thing out. Some of you that work around here, some of you that have been around here for years, some of you that invested your years and your sweat, your tears into this church; you know what you need to say. Hey, you come with me. Satan we are going right to the king. We are going to find out who belongs and who doesn’t belong. We are gonna find out who paid the price and bore this thing in revival, you hear me?

It never gets easier to have a baby, they have not found anything to make it easier. God hasn’t changed the woman. It is gonna cost the church if there is going to be life. If there is going to be revival in Calvary Tabernacle, somebody has got to get to the king. Satan comes in the middle of the night, the bible says he comes to kill to steal and to destroy. You have got to grab him up and say “we are going to the king.” We have got to go where the king is and let Jesus give the baby back to the church. Let Jesus give joy back to the church. Bro. Smith, take away this fear, take away this loss, take away this loneliness, take away this emptiness; bring the baby back into the prayer room. Bring the baby back into the choir, bring the baby back into this church. Hey God, wake up! We have got a problem here and do you know what Solomon did? He gave the baby back, to the mother.

And I came last night and we stayed in the Ramada, they had a big party dancing and laughing. I want to tell you something, there is a lot of business going on outside. There is a lot of people dancing, doing their thing, having their time, that joy, that feeling of ecstasy, that feeling of high does not belong to our world. It does not belong to our world and I have seen an evil under the sun. I have seen Pentecostal people that don’t have joy. I have seen people that have lost their witness because the world has got joy. I have seen young people that struggle, they don’t understand the purpose of this thing. You have never learned that you are supposed to fall in love with Him, hold Him close to you and feel the joy of the Lord. And I am here to tell you Satan is trying to take it out of this church and he is using some real big things right now. But listen to me church, it was born in here you have been born of the water and of the spirit, the baby belongs to you. Don’t look out there and say it is in the world. No, it isn’t, it is still in the church. The spirit of God is still in the church, there is life still in the church but you have got to fight for it. The devil came in the night to take it away from you, and it is dark around here, and now some of you are really gonna have to get a hold of God because it is not always easy. Somebody say Praise the Lord.

And you have to get in your spirit that I don’t depend on this man or this man or this man or this guy or those people, I depend on the Lord he is my joy, my strength and my redeemer. He is my song, my song doesn’t come out of the choir. He is my song I have heard people sing, come on church you have been there, we sang the songs and you didn’t feel it but when you felt it didn’t matter what anybody was singing, it was right. We could sing Amazing Grace and it was alive. We could sing This is My Story and it was alive. But then again, you could sing some song and everybody is jigging and you can stand and watch say it is not there, because the spirit, the thing that was born in you, we have all got have that inside of us. I am going to tell you what I am trying to do today. I am trying to turn your eyes toward Jesus. I am trying encourage and tell you that he is not going to change and he is not going to fail you. He won’t let you down. Get your
eyes on Jesus. Get filled with the spirit and through all the madness that you face, you will say there is joy in the house of God. We still have life. There is revival. There is hope. There is a future. The baby is here. Praise God.

There was a man named Herod quite a story. Bro. Brannon, get Matthew chapter 2 and help me, would you? Get ready to read for me. There was a man named Herod and he got some real disturbing news one day some wise men came by and said “Where is the king?” He said, “I am the king.” They said, “No, the king.” It made him mad. What are these people doing looking for the king? I am the king. No where is the one born king, somebody made you king. This was born the king if nothing else, that is a one God apostolic scripture, he was born king. He was born almighty God, he didn’t become almighty God. The fullness of the God Head didn’t dwell in him bodily at some certain time. It did at his inception at the beginning. He was Almighty God.

He was Emmanuel. Somebody say, Emmanuel. I need to help you understand something in the next six to eight weeks, ten weeks, in the next few days of your life. You need to wake up in the morning saying “Emmanuel”, right in the face of the Devil. Emmanuel, God is with us. We know your here turkey but we also know God is with us. Emmanuel.

And the wisemen said, ‘Where is he?” They said “What does it look like? Where is he supposed to be? In Jerusalem?” They met Herod but they said in Bethlehem he is born. So he said, “Go find the baby and when you find him, you come tell me and I will worship him too.” Right. Read Matthew the second chapter, if you would, begin with verse 16. “Then Herod when saw that he was mocked of the wisemen was exceedingly wrath.”

How many have ever had your mom or dad get exceedingly wrath? My mom use to give me spankings, you know I could tell when I was going to get one real good, she would always bite down and talk through her teeth, you know the muscles in her face right here in her jaw, got real tight. You know when your mom or dad are real mad they don’t open their mouth, and they call you by your full name.

Look here just a minute. Let me just tell you something. This just may blow your mind. Do you know that the church of the living God is alive and well and Satan is furious because prayer is being brought back to the UPC? Because the Spirit of God, do you hear me, the devil is exceeding wrath and I am going to tell you that Herod is just like the devil. Principality of the air, one in control of the air the one that is prince right now. Okay?

That is Herod. What does it say he saw? He was exceeding wrought and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in the coast thereof from two years old and under according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. When it was fulfilled which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet saying at Ramaha there was a voice heard, lamentation and weeping a great mourning. Rachel weeping for her children and were not to be comforted because they were not.

Josephus, the historian tells us that Herod was so angry that he slew the children two years old an under from the time he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Josephus the historian tells us Herod called all the mothers and their newborn babies to the palace as if to celebrate the birth of their children had the guards take the babies from the mothers and ushered the mothers into the banquet hall had the guards take the babies on the roof of the palace and throw them forty feet to the rocks below then open the doors and let the mothers find their babies.

The scripture from Jeremiah said there was a voice heard in Ramaiah, lamentation, and weeping. Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted for they are not. Josephus tells us that when these mothers opened the doors and found their babies broke into pieces on the rocks that they moaned and they groaned and they screamed in such anguish that it could be heard throughout the hills of Judah. That these woman, more than forty of them, screamed in anguish as they found their children and picked up the pieces of their babies and could not be comforted. Do you know why? Because once a mother has had a baby, I don’t understand mothers now days
that give children away their babies. That is beyond my mind, that is beyond the purpose of God, but when a mother has a baby and is in love with that baby there is nothing in the world that can come between a mother and baby.

As a matter of fact God makes such an analogy that when Israel left Him, He said can a nursing mother forget her sucking child? It is impossible how can you leave Me? He said his whole concept was the fact that a mother and a baby are so close and when these mothers saw their babies broken on the rocks, it tore them up. It broke their hearts. The church needs to mourn when the baby, when life is gone. We might have a great program. We have good singing, but if the spirit of God ever moves out of this church, if ever we let it die, if ever we let it be stolen from us, don’t you ever forget it. This building means nothing to this city. This beautiful carpet, this choir means nothing to people that are lost, if the spirit of God ever dies if you ever let it go and there ought to be some of you today who grit your teeth, who make a fist, who say don’t kill my baby, You can’t take my baby. No matter what happens, the church of the living God is going to filled with life and spirit and future and hope and there is going to be faith in the house of God. We can’t let the baby be taking from us and
these women wept and they mourned and they would not be comforted.

Herod tried so hard to kill Jesus Christ that he killed all of these babies trying to get to Him. And Satan is trying to kill the young people in this church so hard that he is killing millions. Trying to get to the church he is wiping out a whole generation of people. Trying to get to the church. Trying to stop the church. Trying to move against the only thing that is alive in the earth today. Satan is trying to kill. Herod was trying so hard to kill Jesus that he, what a wicked man, what a wicked man, rather just trying to find him he just killed everybody, just kill all of these babies. And there are churches today that are dying. Hear me for one moment, take a look outside of this congregation and look at all the denominational churches and see how dead they are. We need to pray to God that he would move his Spirit through this city, not just in this church. Pray God will put his spirit back in all the churches. That will help you understand the purpose of God. That will help you understand that, hey we are fighting a battle against death. We are fighting a battle that is eternal. I want you to read the next verse with me. He killed all these people these women were morning, but when Herod was dead.

That is enough the next verse says ‘But when Herod was dead,’ everybody say that. Jesus didn’t die, you need to look back there in the book of Revelations where it says, “and I say that dragon Satan as it were cast into the lake of fire and brimstone that burns forever and ever. Then you need to turn to the very next verse and it says. “And I saw a throne and one setting upon the throne”. I am going to tell you something, the same spirit that is against you, the same enemy of your soul, the one that is trying to destroy this church who is killing all kinds of people and all those on the outside. The newest babies we need to protect our babies, church we have got to protect our babies. That one that is trying to destroy will one day be destroyed. When Herod was dead they looked and found Jesus in Egypt and said come on back it is time to bring the king back. You hear what I am telling you this will pass, this spirit of darkness, this struggle that you are in it will pass. If you fight the devil, if you will fight the enemy, if you will take him to Jesus and say keep the joy keep the baby alive.

Let us praise the Lord together today. Satan tries to kill, Satan has come to destroy, everybody say amen. We are not ignorant of his devices. He is trying to work against us. He is trying to get Bro. Brannon there. Hey, listen to me you are not the only one struggling. We have got a great man of God here trying to find the mind of God and do what is right. Satan tried to take the joy. I don’t want Pastor Larson to be a different kind of man. I don’t want him to lose his fire and his vigor and his joy. I don’t want Satan to take it out of him. I am 32 years old. I have been in church all of my life but I am just finding out, I don’t have to do this. I want to do this. I got joy in my spirit, there is joy in my heart. I love the Lord. I love what God is and I have fought too long. Come on church, you have struggled too long to get here, it took to much pain, it was too many tears to let the devil steal your baby. You have got to get to Jesus and say give it back to me. I am the one that bore it. I am the one that sweat for it. It belongs to the church. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I feel the Holy Ghost here. I feel like God is trying bury in our lives the spirit of the Lord. Let us praise him. Let us praise the Lord. Let the Spirit of the Lord flow over your spirit today.

Bro. Smith, I appreciate you being here and I appreciate you working with these kids. What a great guy. But you know something brother, we have had to fight in this generation, all of us. We have had to fight some weird things to really get Jesus in our lives. You know that, we have had some funny battles to face. It hasn’t always just been sin, sometimes the battle inside the church, we have had to fight sometimes, we were watching other preachers, and we kind of got all that business in our head you know of what we were supposed to be, and we would leave out what the word of God said. We have got a lot of things to fight, listen to me it took me a long time to get where I am. I have fought a lot of devils and I have fallen so many times that I can’t even remember how many times I have fallen into sin
and struggled. I have struggled trying to find God, trying to find a ministry, trying to be a good preacher, trying to live right, trying to be
saved. That when I find that spirit of God is on me, when I find the spirit of God, hey I don’t want to lose it. It took me a long time, man, there have been times when I had to lay on my face in South Bend on the nasty, dirty floor of our basement and weep. I didn’t want to pick my nose off of the ground. I wanted to stick my face in the ground and try to push myself into the ground. Trying to find God feeling so low because I am trying to find life and trying to compare it to the world. Trying not to love the world but love God and all that business, and when I felt a flood of joy in the spirit. I got up and I was wrinkled and nasty and feeling like, feeling like I’d spit my guts out. I would get up and feel the spirit of God in church the Spirit of God would fill someone with the Holy Ghost, or there would be rejoicing in the church.

God, I am going to tell you something. It would take a lot of devils to come through this house to stop what I am feeling right now, because
I worked to hard to get this. It took Calvary Tabernacle a long time to get here and you can’t forget how you got here. You can’t forget what it took you to get here and you can’t let the devil just come waltzing in and blow it all apart after your hours of sweat.

My wife’s blood vessels burst around her temples. Her veins were sticking out. She groaned and she sweat, I never saw her perspire like that, her face was dripping with sweat and she was pushing and struggling with that baby and when that baby was born the struggle was over. Because when your done and you have done all the praying you can do and the spirit of God moves in his sovereign way you just say God, your the one that brought victory. Your what we were waiting for. The struggle is not the point, the victory is the point. It is not the hours you spend in prayer, it is not the work you have done around here, that is not the point. We are still improvable servant’s. The point is he is alive.

An old man got up off his easy chair, and I am trying to finish now. And he went to the temple, the Bible said he was lead by the spirit into the temple, praise God for you that come to church, don’t stop coming to church, don’t stop coming to church! You let the spirit say get up and go on. Oh God, you know all what Satan will not try to move against the whole congregation. He is coming to your house, he is coming into your car to take your baby. He is not going to come and take it out of the service.

There is going to be a great worship here in just a little while after I am done, the spirit of God is going to visit us and we are going to thank God for it. But you know where he is going to meet you, he is going to meet you in the school hallway or on the bus or in the car in your house or in your bed. He is going to try and come against you there when you are alone. Old Simian said I got to go to the temple, something in the spirit drew me to the temple and he got in there and his eyes were dim and when he got inside the darkness of the temple, he had to wait a moment to adjust his eyes he looked around there was a lot of movement. A lot of people and a lot of things going on, of the daily ministration and the daily worship, and there he saw two people come through the door and something stirred inside his
spirit. Excuse me, Mary, what did you name your baby? Jesus, Jesus why did you name him Jesus? Because he is going to save his people from their sins.

Something in his spirit led him to the temple, something caused him to talk to Joseph and Mary. Something made him find the baby. And when he found out it was Jesus, it wasn’t just some spirit, wasn’t some just enthusiasm. We are not trying to ride on mass hysteria, crowd mania, or some kind of enthusiasm to get us through to some other point. In the history of this church that is not the point. What you name your baby, who is this visiting us today, what is this we are feeling inside of us? Anything less I will go back and lean against the wall and wait for somebody else to come in, anything less, anybody else, I will just wait until the other couple comes. Somebody is coming in here today that I am waiting to see. But then she said Jesus and he wondered why and she told him about the angles and how he was going to save his people from their sins, the Bible says the old man Simian said let me hold that baby, give me that baby. She gave Jesus to the old man Simian and he took him up in his arms the scripture says and he said now Lord you can let me die. You can let me depart in peace for my eyes have seen your salvation. I don’t have to be here what we need has always been here, all we need is this baby we need Jesus. This church, you hear me, this church doesn’t need some charismatic great preacher some special pastor. It can find the man of God but this church needs Jesus in it. It doesn’t matter if we have a Tony French or Terry Smith or Mickey Friend preaching when Jesus is here that is all that matters. I declare to you today, He is all I have come to see.

You hear me, your concern is great, and I understand that, and our church, every time we come together pray until we touch God for this church. As a matter of fact a couple nights back we started to pray and it felt a little to light to me and I stopped everybody and said, “Wait, wait that church needs us to pray and there are people in our church today, fasting and praying for the will of God for you. It has nothing to do with me, hasn’t anything to do with them, but you know what we want, we want the spirit of God to bring direction. We want Jesus to come through the door, we want some of you to take Jesus in your arms today and say I got the baby, it doesn’t even matter if I die. You can let me depart in peace. I am going to tell you something. That is the way the church is going to feel in the end time, we are going to say hey, we have found this baby get us out of here, get us out of here. Everything we have ever wanted everything we have ever dreamed about, all we ever preached about, was having this baby in the spirit. Having this thing come alive in us now you can let us come home in
peace because we have seen the salvation of the Lord.