Archive for the ‘revival’ Category
Posted by appolus on December 14, 2020
And God said let there be light and there was light. God saw the light and it was good and God separated the light from the darkness. And so it has ever been, a clear separation. Light itself is a power, a force. It heats, it lights, it travels. It can be concentrated and it burns. If I look into the light for too long I go blind because of its power. Darkness on the other hand is the mere absence of light.
There is a time that lies between the day and the night. It is dusk. It’s not dark and it’s not light. We are living in such a time. The sun is setting on this world. The seasons have come and gone since the dawn of time and now the gross darkness approaches. If there was a dawn of time then there is a dusk a dusk of time. The time of the twilight. Twilight is when the sun falls below the horizon. We still see a few rays especially when there are clouds. We are living in the dusk of time.
One definition of the word twilight is “a period or state of obscurity, ambiguity, or gradual decline.” The example given is ” he is in the twilight of his career.” I would argue that America is in the twilight zone. Not just America, the whole world, but led by America. The corruption of its institutions is a symptom of decline and I would not describe it as gradual. Organized Christianity is one of those institutions. It is neither light nor dark but lies between some ambiguous precarious position over a gaping chasm. How long can it stand astride two places? If it wants its place in the world it will have to take its stand with the world. If it wants its place in the light it will have to abandon it’s dalliance with the darkness.
Will it? Although I hope for a different outcome I say no. God Himself is removing the middle ground. People within the compromised institutions will have to choose ye this day whom they shall serve. There is no room for ambiguity in the Body of Christ. Ananias and Sapphira discovered that they could not pretend to be one thing, when they were in fact something quite different. The only thing worse than not giving your all to Jesus is pretending that you have given your all to Jesus. Be sure, if it is not true, it shall find you out. God shall find you out. You are using His name.
What fellowship can there be between light and darkness? If there is light merging with darkness then its really not light otherwise the merger could not take place. Light swallows up darkness. Darkness only reigns when the sun disappears below the horizon. If the light that is in you is actually darkness, then how great the darkness? Unless we are single-minded in our devotion to Jesus then we shall end up making a choice between the darkness and the light, the world or the Body of Christ. How about you? Shall you choose the light or shall you be swallowed in the twilight zone?
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on December 14, 2020
Ex 33:15… And he said to Him, If Your presence does not go with me, do not carry us up from here.
We would all agree that God is omnipresent. This means that He is everywhere at the same time. This is an indisputable fact. Yet, the manifest presence of God, the felt presence of God is something entirely different. Moses had no desire to go anywhere unless God was with him and he could commune with Him. How long has it been since you have communed with God in the midst of His manifest presence? Perhaps you never have? Or perhaps you are going through a dry spell? In the midst of one of these dry spells I remember, in my distress, on my knees, just reaching my open hand up to the heavens and crying out to God.
And without any warning, He was holding my hand. And all of a sudden that world was there again. The world of endless possibilities. In this world it does not matter if there are dark skies or endless blue ones when I am holding His hand. Whether it rains or whether brilliant shafts of light break through ominous clouds, it’s all the same to me when I hold His hand. If I can barely see through my tears of if I wear the most illuminated smile, it matters not when I hold His hand. In the depths of trials or when all is right with the world I am at peace when I hold His hand. If I mourn the loss of a loved one or or cannot see my way ahead, I am never lost when I hold His hand.
The sweet all-consuming joy of His presence. This heart of a lion that beats within the chest of a lamb. This all-consuming power of love that rises victoriously above all the battles of life. This is life when we are walking in His presence. What battle field do you find yourself on today? Do you battle the unseen enemy of unforgiveness? Or has someone wronged you and bitterness bangs on your door? Is depression seeking to overwhelm you? Has the power of darkness in one of its many forms come to challenge you today? Perhaps the darkness comes from the outside, or maybe there is hidden darkness from deep within?
Today, right now, close your eyes and reach out your hand into the darkness of your situation. Cry out to Jesus, tell Him how much that you miss Him and ask Him to take your hand. Your situation may not change, but the darkness will flee. You will be blessed in the midst of your circumstances and you will stand upon the Rock which is higher than you. He will carry you on eagles wings as the updrafts of His presence hold you and keep you. Where could we flee from His presence?
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Posted by appolus on December 13, 2020
Below I have a quote from A.W.Pink. He was required reading for me in the Bible school I went to, a four point Calvinist school. I am not a Calvinist and therefore much of Pink’s teachings I would not endorse. Yet he and I have come to very similar conclusions as it relates to churches. Here is the quote……………
“Be ye not unequally yoked together.” This applies first to our religious or ecclesiastical connections. How many Christians are members of so-called “churches,” where much is going on which they know is at direct variance with the Word of God either the teaching from the pulpit, the worldly attractions used to draw the ungodly, and the worldly methods employed to finance it or the constant receiving into its membership of those who give no evidence of having been born again. Believers in Christ who remain in such “churches” (?) are dishonoring their Lord. Should they answer: “Practically all the churches are the same, and were we to resign, what could we do? We must go somewhere on Sundays,” such language would show they are putting their own interests before the glory of Christ. Better stay at home and read God’s Word, than fellowship that which His Word condemns.”
Pink’s first point for me is a vital one. He says of “Be ye not unequally yoked together,” that it applies first to our religious or ecclesiastical connections. I would agree with that. When you mention that Scripture people automatically assume one is speaking of marriage. And while it is true that one should not be unequally yoked, meaning a believer should not marry a believer, this is not what the context of that particular Scripture is alluding to. Read 2 Cor 6:14-16 and see that it has nothing to do with marriage. And then read the conclusion of what Paul has just written for the confirmation. “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
(2Co 6:17-18)
Come out from among them. That is the wherefore. The word wherefore is an old one. It means in essence “For that reason.” So Paul is saying that because of what he has just stated about being unequally yoked, for that reason come out from among them. This is where I am and have been for a number of years. I have come out from among them lest I be unequally yoked. I have very carefully chosen with whom to fellowship with over the last ten years or so and it has transformed my walk into something much deeper. There is a cost of course, a price to be paid for following the literal teachings of the New Testament. Yet to me, this is who the remnant are. A people willing to pay the price, whatever it is, to follow Jesus and His Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, revival, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on December 13, 2020
There will come a time when you have no desire whatsoever to see the next step. As the path gets narrower, our vision gets narrower. And the paradox is that as our vision is restricted and we have no desire to know what is around the next bend, our trust in God increases and we begin to “see,” what truly matters. The next step.
Living day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. And then, finally, we are living that well worn cliche, in the moment. Walking in the Spirit is to trust God so much that the only thing that matters is where we stand and our next step.
This narrowness fundamentally confines the ability of anxiety and fear to have any effect upon us. ” A peace that surpasses all understanding.” Its the high watermark. Its why we shoot for the stars.
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Posted by appolus on December 13, 2020
You have to fly into the wind
If you want to reach the sky
You have to know something of His cross
For the flesh to suffer and die
There are many lovers of His crown
But few who would suffer loss
Many seek the treasures of heaven
But how many are seeking the cross?
Some only seek the dawns early light
Avoiding the darkness of the night before
No one can ascend to the mountain top
Unless they can negotiate the valley floor
We so often want the fruit of the harvest
Having never put our hand to the plow
We want all the benefits of our Lord
And we want it in the here and the now
The dawn comes to those who suffer the night
And glory to the lifter of His cross
There’s a crown that awaits the suffering saint
And those who gladly suffer the loss
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Posted by appolus on December 11, 2020
One week before my son Daniel was born, I came home from church on a Sunday afternoon. The Lord whispered in my ear to sit down with a pen and write whatever He put on my heart. I was to mail it to my Mom and Dad, I had no idea what I was going to write. I also had no idea that just a week later Daniel would be born with Down Syndrome and be so sick he would almost die. I also had no idea what depths of despair and darkness would overwhelm me because of his birth.
Dear mum and dad
There is not a hair on your head that the Lord does not know. The Lord Himself, in the garden of Gethsemane was tried to His very core, even His closest friends had fallen asleep on Him. And in His agony, in His despair, He cried out to His Father, “Father, take this cup from me”, at that very second we see the Lords humanity, He is so able to understand our situations.
Sometimes we would question ,”why Lord”, but there is always a reason.The lord cried from the cross “my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me.” At that very point He touched man’s lowest ebb, despair, hell itself. I do not know, but I imagine that this was the hardest moment for our Father as He watched His Son hang from that cross and withdraw His presence.
The Father in His infinite wisdom and mercy and love for us, sacrificed His Son. Oh the agony the Father felt, but now the perfect wisdom of our Father is shown. There is nothing now His Son does not know, His dying and rising, formed in perfection, is now the hope of mankind. Our Jesus is alive and He knows us inside out. He will never abandon us.
And when our time arrives to come into the very presence of the living God, when we kneel before the precious lamb of God, when we become one with our Lord, then we will know all that the Lord has done for us. It is an honor and a privilege to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. I tremble at the very thought of coming into the presence of Almighty God. We simply can’t imagine, our minds are totally inadequate to realize the Glory of our Lord. May the Lord strengthen you and fill you with His glory. The victory is already won, let us wait upon the Lord.
This letter arrived back at my house two weeks after Daniel was born. My mother informed me that the Lord had told her that letter was not for her, but was for me. I sat down and read the letter and wept when I realized that the Almighty God of the universe had not only sent me a letter, but that He was sharing some of His pain as a Father with me.
Not only was He healing me at this point, but my mind snapped back to the time when my older son had been very badly burned,third degree burns over 60% of his body. For the first several days as part of his treatment to avoid infection and death, the hospital would force him down into salt baths. They asked for my assistance. It was so hellish that there are no words to describe it.
He was only two years old but it would take everything that I had to put him down into that bath and hold him there. He would flail and scream. My own inner scream, if heard, would have caused the stars to fall from the heavens. His eyes would burn into mine with confusion. I was the his father, I was supposed to protect him, he could not possibly understand why I was doing this to him. Over those days my hair started to fall out even although I was only 20. Big circles of missing hair such was the trauma of it all. Now all these years later I was being given a little insight into what our Heavenly Father suffered as He watched His Son be rejected and mocked then tortured and nailed to a tree. And then have all the filth of the world put upon Him.
Our minds cannot comprehend the pain our Father suffered. And at any point He could have stopped it, why didn’t He? “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, shall not perish but gain everlasting life.” (John 3:16) This is a love that is beyond comprehension. We can feel pain and emotions and horror, one can only imagine what the giver of these emotions can feel. To reject this sacrifice is what separates the saved from the unsaved. This is what we will be judged upon. Not how good we are, or how holy we are, but have we accepted Jesus as God’s Holy and only way to heaven.
I did find myself asking , “why Lord?” Of course the Lord knows the bigger picture. Can you imagine any Psychologist in the world, looking at two dysfunctional people and saying to himself, “yes, these guys need a mentally handicapped child in their lives.” Yet Daniel, with all his medical problems and challenges is a perferct gift from the treasures of heaven. God the Father reached into His treasury, pulled out Daniel and said to Himself , “Yes, this is exactly what they need.” So great has been the effect that my unsaved wife, upon seeing a couples marriage in deep trouble, whispered to me “Its a shame they don’t have a Daniel.” How great is our God, how much higher is His ways than ours?
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Posted by appolus on December 11, 2020
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.(Psa 51:6-7)
In another verse from this psalm David cries out “Cast me not away from your presence oh Lord and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” Here we are witnessing the agonizing process and the inner workings of a broken and a contrite heart. David knows his problem is an internal one. The external sin of adultery and murder was a direct result of the inner workings of his heart, his hidden parts. He realizes that he has sinned against God alone. This is where it started and this is where it must be finished. The sin is the end result of a disease that was working deep inside his heart. When we are stricken in such a way we no longer have the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Joy has fled from us as the darkness of our souls floods the inner sanctums of our heart.
God sent a prophet to speak to David. The prophet reached into the dark places and exposed the process of David’s spiritual death. He brought it into the light and the full horror of David’s actions are suddenly visited upon him. He staggers into the light from the depths of his darkness. God had called David out from the grave. David had placed himself into the tomb and a stone was rolled in front of it. In the story of Lazarus, Jesus has the stone rolled away and commands Lazarus to come forth. He staggers out of the tomb and the grave clothes are removed from him. Who do you know that has buried their hearts in the depths of darkness and rolled a stone in front of it? Perhaps the garden of your own heart, the most intimate part of who you are has been buried in death and sin? It has become a grave and you have robed yourself in the the death clothes of sin and separation from God. The Lord requires truth in the inward parts, the most intimate part of who we are. Without this it is impossible to walk in fellowship with God.
God desires that the joy of your salvation would return to you. He desires that you would walk in the newness of life in the Spirit and not the darkness of spiritual death. In the very depths of who you are He desires to create a clean heart and renew a right spirit within you. The question is, do you desire such a thing? Do you want to have ears to hear the Lord cry out ‘come forth.” Do you want to have eyes to see the light of a brand new day? Do you want to awaken the dawn with the praises of God? Listen to what the Spirit is saying to you and with a contrite and broken spirit come back into that place from where you have fallen. Today is the day.
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Posted by appolus on December 10, 2020
Are you broken are you vanquished and surrendered all the way
Have eyes to see and ears to hear just what the Spirit says
I cannot use a man who’s still standing on his feet
I can only use the man who shall sound a full retreat
Surrendered and broken, humbled and low
Vanquished forever that’s all that I know
When Jesus came in and took all of me
I who was captive, now eternally free
Eternally free, eternally free
I who was captive now eternally free
The day I met my Jesus I was lost and alone
He took me for Himself, no longer my own
I surrendered all, it was no longer me
Belonging now to Jesus broken and set free
Broken and free , broken and free
Belonging now to Jesus, broken and set free.
Now as a broken vessel, His treasure dwells within
And with a heart that’s full of love, no hiding place for sin
Troubles oft surround me yet I am not distressed
For in this full surrender I am truly blessed
I am truly blessed, I am truly blessed
For in this full surrender I am truly blessed
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christian poetry, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, poetry, revival, spiritual poetry, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on December 9, 2020
Mat 21:44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
The Word of God is immovable, it sits as the cornerstone of all that exists. The arc of our lives must bend towards the Word of God.Time and space itself bends towards the Word. The revealed truth of God establishes the foundations of all existence. In the beginning was the word and God created the heaven and the earth. The spoken word of God calls forth light and the light creates a separation between itself and the darkness. The light of God is still separate from the darkness. And in the end the Word remains and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
The word of God speaks to the sons and the daughters of light and it calls them to bend. If the arc of your life does not bend towards the word of God then the word of God does not hold sway over your lives. It may intrigue you. It may fascinate you. It may challenge you. You may argue about it and it may be philosophy to you, but if it has not bent you, if your life has not been broken by it and renewed and put back together by it then it does not sit on the throne of your heart. The truly broken shall bend, yet in the end all those who resist and reject the chief cornerstone, that stone shall fall upon them and they shall be ground to powder and be scattered like dust.
Have you been broken? The poor in Spirit are the ones who cry out from the depths of who they are to the One who is high and lifted up. The broken are the ones who cannot even lift their heads in the presence of God. Yet He gently places His hand under their chins and raises up their heads to look at Him. He pierces the souls of the broken and the contrite hearts as they look unto Him, the Author and the Finsher of their faith.
I am broken, I am vanquished, I surrender. Is this your cry? To be broken is to see your flesh for what it is, in the horror of that you will be broken. To be vanquished is to be subdued by a superior force. And in your brokenness you are subdued and you surrender into the hand of God. Do not resist the work of the Holy Spirit in your life and in your circumstances, they are the hammer and the chisel of God. He will shape you.
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Posted by appolus on December 7, 2020
Ecc 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
The more we know, the more our sorrow increases. Grief follows wisdom and sorrow follows knowledge. True wisdom from God is surely mingled with grief because our spirit resides within flesh. When a wise man hears the foolish speak then he is grieved in his soul. It is said that you cannot put an old head on young shoulders and it is true, yet neither can wisdom prosper in the hearts of the unwise. Only those who truly seek after the Lord can benefit from the wisdom of God.
To know the deep things of God, to have been touched at the very center of your soul with something of the knowledge of God brings with it sorrow. No man can stand in the presence of God and grasp something of His majesty and be filled with his eternal beauty and not suffer upon his return from that place. The world grows dim and dark and exists in shades of grey to the one who has stood in this impenetrable light. The closer we move into the depths of His heart, the harder it is to live in a fallen world.
It is a very good thing to know God more and to move in His wisdom. Yet let us be clear, all attachments of this world will begin to lose their grip upon your soul. And one might say then where lies the problem? To the man or woman who walks only in the Kingdom reality it is no problem, yet for the rest who still has something of this world in them, which is most of us, then sorrow and grief are like two intimate companions.
No one knew sorrow and grief like our Lord knew them. Everything stood before Him, He knew it all. He could see the destruction of Jerusalem and He wept. He could see His own rejection and crucifixion and yet He loved. The greater the knowledge of Him, the greater the cost. The greater the wisdom of God in us the more we share in His grief. And yet all of this is offset by the glory and the joy. In this world knowledge and sorrow are life long companions. Wisdom walks hand in hand with grief. And yet for the joy that is set before us let us endure all things looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith and let us ever come before the throne.
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Posted by appolus on December 6, 2020
Supernatural joy does not come about because of favorable circumstances but rather it comes in the midst of suffering, and not just suffering, but suffering for His sake. All human beings will suffer in their lives. Suffering in and of itself can produce no joy. Yet, to suffer for the sake of Jesus is to bring down or rather raise up the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are raised up to higher ground ahead of the incoming flood. To praise Jesus in the midst of our sufferings is to enter into the fact that He overcame the world. To praise Jesus in the midst of sufferings is to open up the door that leads to glory.
Jesus told us that in this world we would have trouble, but what did He say “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Be of good cheer, meaning to take comfort and be courageous. The scriptures tell us that He spoke these things so that we may have peace in the midst of tribulation. Peace, comfort, courage and joy. This is the state of those who are walking in the Spirit along the narrow path and through the floods and through the fires. Be courageous today my brothers and sisters in Christ, this suffering of yours is not for your destruction but rather for His glory.
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Posted by appolus on December 4, 2020
Who could know that the child who would walk on water
Was also the Lamb being prepared for the slaughter
Who could know that the man who would heal the blind
Would be reviled, rejected, hated and maligned
Who could know that the man who would walk in peace
Was God Himself,the Christ, a living Masterpiece
Who cold know that the man who would heal the lame
Would baptize, not with water, but with a burning flame
Who could know that the One who would turn water into wine
Was also the Branch, the giver of life, Himself the Grapevine
Who could know that the one who would raise men from the dead
Would die Himself with a crown of thorns upon His Holy head
We know that Christ was made in the likeness of man
He humbled Himself that He might fulfill His Father’s plan
He was obedient unto death and would die upon a tree
He would break the chains of hell and death and set the captives free
Who could know that the child lying there in the manger
Would face the wrath of hell itself and overcome all danger
The heavenly choirs of angels knew and sang with all their might
And the shepherds knew down in their hearts on that glorious starry night.
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Posted by appolus on December 4, 2020
1 Cor 6:19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
How many of us know that the Temples of old were magnificently adorned? A rich man’s status lies in his home, his car, his belongings. The richer a man is the more elaborate is his dwelling place. He fills his house with symbols of his wealth . The man of God also decorates his temple, the temple of the Holy Spirit, with riches. His dwelling place will be no less elaborate than the richest men of the earth. He will decorate his temple with the finest gold of unconditional love. His walls are encrusted with the jewels of forgiveness and mercy. His windows are draped with opulent coverings of meekness and humility. Trophies of grace hang on every wall. They are framed with the finest materials of patience and kindness.
Let us ask ourselves this question, do we pursue the riches and the glories of heaven with the same vigor and single-mindedness that men here on earth pursue the treasures of the world? And the treasures that we have attained in Christ, do we protect them with all the resources that we have? Do we value the treasures of our heart in the same way men value their wealth? There is a direct correlation between how much we value something to the lengths we will go to protect it. Guard your hearts brothers and sisters in Christ, for we have an enemy who seeks to steal and destroy what we have.
Share your treasure this day. The more we give our treasures to those who have none, the more our treasures shall increase. The word says “He gives power to the weak and to those who have no might, He strengthens them.” We have been called to empower the weak, to bind the hearts of the brokenhearted, those who are weakened, we come along side and strengthen. We have been called to wipe the tears of those who mourn, to grieve with them. Let us move in Christ brothers and sisters, and know that He that goes before you is He that lies within you.
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Posted by appolus on December 2, 2020
In Psalm 84 we see this verse…..
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. This word day in the Hebrew is Yom, it quite literally means to be hot, as in the hot hour of the day. Sunrise, sunset, when the sun is high above us in the sky. The golden hours? Moments that pass quickly but while in them and surrounded by them they are warm and golden and unforgettable. Such are our moments in the manifest presence of God. They may be few and far between, they may be fleeting, but the warmth of their memories strengthen us in our inner souls.
A moment. Caught up in the vast expanse yet tenderly held in a warm embrace. Vast and intimate all at the same time. And these moments linger in the depths of our spirits. We remember every word we hear and how they flowed, like each word was a musical note and the song that is played becomes the melody of our heart, our song in the night. Our word from Him spoken into the deep.
So, one day, one moment in His presence is better than a thousand sunrises and more beautiful and inspiriting than a thousand sunsets. In these golden hours on earth where everything is brilliantly illuminated by the rising or the setting sun, we bask in their beauty and warmth. Now imagine a world and your life illuminated by something so vast that it could hold the sun in the psalm of His hand. The sun becomes a mere spark in the presence of our God. This is the source of all that we are. This illumination is life itself.
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Posted by appolus on December 2, 2020
So the Cross is as much a part of the consummation as it is of the initiation, and by its operation in the life as a principle and power the Lord will come for “a people prepared.” This preparation relates to heart condition and not to mental apprehension of prophetic truth. (T.A.Sparks)
A great truth revealed hear by brother Sparks. If all we have is initiation then all we would have is a loveless marriage that was never consummated. In the natural a marriage that is never consummated is grounds for annulment.
There are people who come to the cross because they desire to be saved. They are looking for all the benefits that come from salvation. They want to enjoy the blessings and the grace and the mercy of God. Yet they want no part of the suffering of God. They are quite happy that Jesus picked up His cross but they themselves find the notion of picking up their own cross an offensive one.
There are whole theologies devoted to the notion that since Christ suffered then we do not have to. And it attracts millions of adherents. Cross-less denominations and movements. There can be no consummation with Christ outside of the cross, our cross, willingly taken up. It is as much a part of the genuine saint as is the abiding.
As we abide in Him and willingly take up our crosses daily, then we get to “know,” the truth. Joseph did not “know,” Mary until after Jesus was born. Know, in this context, is the Biblical word for intimacy between a man and a wife, where they become one flesh. One must “know,’ the Lord spiritually. No one ever wants to hear the words “depart from me you workers of iniquity for I never “knew,” you.
An annulled marriage is erased from a legal perspective, and it declares that the marriage never technically existed and was never valid. Think about that, a marriage that was never consummated and then annulled means that in never actually existed and what did exist was never valid.
Jesus is coming back for a consummated people, a people made ready by “knowing,” and abiding in Jesus. It is indeed a heart condition and has nothing to do with any mental apprehension of a prophetic truth. A mental assent to an abstract prophetic truth in no ways prepares anyone for the fulfillment of that prophecy.
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Posted by appolus on December 2, 2020
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
All the sins of the world would be laid upon Him. And in the darkest moment of history, one that cannot be imagined, the Father turned His head and looked away. The full horror of hell, now visited upon the one who was one with the Father. And He would suffer our punishment in our place. And in the most agonizing cry ever uttered, Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me.” Only when one comes before God for judgment, and then is cast away from His presence, will that one even begin to imagine the horror Jesus suffered for each and every one of us.
The Character of Jesus is higher than the highest heavens. His love and compassion and mercy and obedience are beyond what our feeble minds can comprehend. And since we can only compare with what we know, we can say with full assurance, and still fall pitifully short, that our Saviors love would render the deepest ocean to but a single tear from the Masters eye. The sun that blazes brilliantly in the sky, but a spark compared to our Lords burning passion. The universe and all others combined, smaller than the smallest chamber of His heart. This is the God we serve; this is the Jesus of the Gospels; this is Jesus, God among us. Bow down to Him and enter into the glory.
Have you caught a glimpse of His glory? John writes “We have seen His glory.” Jesus says in John 17 when He is praying for those who would believe in Him “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them.” So the Apostles saw His glory and those who would follow them would be given His glory. Do you have it? Have you stepped into it? Have you slipped behind the veil and been transformed by it? He gave it and promised it for three reasons. Firstly “that they may be one, even as we are one.” He gave us His glory that we may be one as He and His Father are one.
Secondly. “That the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” Unless we walk in the glory and the oneness we cannot be a witness to a dying world that God so loved them that He sent His Son to die for them. Thirdly. That they may “be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory.” The glory leads to the glory. The glory of our Lord Jesus Christ leads to the glory of our heavenly Father where we behold, as Isaiah beheld, the glory of our God who sits upon His throne. And in that we are changed from glory to glory for His glory.
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Posted by appolus on December 1, 2020
I have met two broad categories of professing Christians in my life. One category is very much taken with this world. Their families, their countries, their jobs, their pastors, their church and so on. Listen to them speak. None of it in and of itself is bad, but rather, revealing. For as we know, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The second category consists of people I would say had an “obsession,” with Jesus. He alone is preeminent in their conversation and in their lives. If there is victory in their life they praise Him, if they suffer great loss they commend Him still as the comforter of their soul.
Their love for Jesus is entirely the reason for their existence and circumstances only prove this, whether good or bad. The first category of people are looking for someone to “sort out,” the world. To the second category Jesus has already overcome the world. To the former, Jesus is a means to an end. Much like another group who cried out “we have no king but Caesar,” as they chose the man Barabbas over the King, Jesus. Can you say that given the same choice that you would cry out instead “I have no king but Jesus?” Listen to what a dear brother of mine wrote when responding to that question………
I was overshadowed by the Presence of the Spirit of God.In that moment I felt His deep love rest upon me… an indescribable release and rapture in my spirit, accompanied by a peace and a joy unspeakable that only comes from the Holy Spirit…it felt as if my innocence was completely returned to me in that moment before God, and indeed it was, as the Blood of the Lamb was sprinkled over my sins. It was in that moment, while the Spirit of God was upon me, that I humbly looked up into heaven and I worshiped Him who made the Heavens and the Earth. It was in that moment that I decided that I would love the God of heaven forever…I decided this, and I told Him so.
In that moment I understood the beauty of the Lord, His magnificence and His majesty; I felt my soul knit to the Lord. My soul loves Him above all else in this life, for He is my lot and my portion forever. In that moment I understood Him in the depths of my spirit; I cried out to the one who formed me from the dust of the Earth and I said to Him…I will love you in my heart forever! I made my abode with Him, and He came into my heart and He made His abode with me.
My mind is continually upon Him…His anointing remains with me. I feel His Spirit continually drawing me…and my heart is tender and loves Him above anything else in this world. It is hard to put such things into words because these things are Spirit. I love Him in my very soul; in the very center of my being…I cannot explain it. I extol Him above all things as standing before Him. I yield to your Spirit Lord Jesus, that I should love you in this way. I desire you above the love of women; my soul yearns and thirsts for you; I am born of you.
I choose to love you in my heart, for you are beautiful to me, I love everything about you…your gentleness, your kindness, your long suffering, forgiveness and patience for me, the list goes on and on…Oh to worship you in your beautiful glory, in the beauty of holiness. Oh to behold you…how my soul is transformed into your image as I worship you…Oh to be as you are my Lord and my King. To be like you, to be called your son is the greatest gift and reward of love…to have your beautiful Holy Spirit in my soul changing me into your image. I have no King but Jesus!
My heart is tender and contrite…melted within me by the holy fire of God’s love, as wax before the Flame. Oh how I love and extol the living God of heaven!! Oh how truly pleased I am with Him!! With deepest humility I want to state how grateful I am that the Lord has saved me, and washed me from my sins, and that my name is written down in heaven! With humility of spirit, meekness, un-pretentiousness and modesty, I gladly accept your calling on my life oh love of my soul…with the joy and communion of the Holy Spirit. Your word, your pure and holy word burns within me with indescribable and unquenchable fire and zeal; I love, worship and extol you oh living God of heaven…beyond all else in this life. I have no King but Jesus!”
Brothers and sister, that was a wonderful testimony. It bears the image and the mark of saints I have sought out over my many years walking down the narrow path. I can say amen to everything my brother shared. Indeed I could have written that myself, maybe not as eloquently but with words that would describe every sentiment he expressed. Its the same love for the same Jesus overshadowed by the same Spirit. This is why his beautiful words are so familiar to me. Are they familiar to you? When compared with all the things of this world, where does Jesus stand in your life? Can you say, without a shadow of a doubt “I have no king but Jesus?” If the seat of our affections in the depths of our heart lies anywhere other than Jesus then surely, when the pivotal time comes, we shall be heard to cry “we have no king but Caesar.”
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Posted by appolus on November 30, 2020
Isa 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
The real test for us as Christians is how we walk along the path set before us. We can walk with the Lord by our side, and by that I mean we can walk with His empowering manifest presence. Not unlike the disciples that walked with Jesus after His resurrection and their hearts burned as He taught them. His very nearness and His Spirit caused their hearts to burn and glow. Or, we can walk alone, and by that I mean we can walk in our own strengths minus the awareness of His presence.
Now we know saints, as good Bible scholars, that God is omnipresent, meaning He is everywhere at the same time. And as saints we know that He also dwells in our hearts. This is not what we are here referring to. We are talking about what it means to walk in the nearness of the Spirit of God as opposed to walking in the flesh. And as saints we can do both. If we would walk in the Spirit of God, walk in His awareness and therefore walk in His power, then we must, as the Lord told us to, seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Every day.
We must be aware of the Kingdom and the Kingdom walk. Our eyes must be engaged in Kingdom sight. We must see things through the lense of the Lord and His word. Our mouths must be engaged in the Kingdom language, we must speak as ambassadors of the King. We must draw near to Him and not quench the Spirit of God. To quench the Spirit of God is to pour cold water upon our burning hearts. Will you throw another log on the fire and cause it to burn brighter, or will you douse it with the cold waters of the world?
A man and a wife can stay in the same house but never be intimate, perhaps even stay in two different bedrooms. Are they close? Yes, in proximity. Are they married? Yes, still married. Yet, because they are not intimate they are really no better than room-mates. One may call it a love-less marriage. Who would want to be part of a love-less marriage? It is considered by most as a tragedy. How greater a tragedy than to be room-mates with the Lord? Yes He is in your heart, yes you are saved, but you are never spiritually intimate.
The real tragedy in a marriage is if one longed for intimacy but the other never responded or had no such need or desire. Jesus longs to be spiritually intimate with His disciples. Only as a result of this intimacy can we expect to be aware of His presence. We grow together in intimacy. We become alike in intimacy. Two become one in intimacy. The man or the woman who does not understand, seek or desire to be intimate with the Lord shall never grow and his or her walk will be a very lonely shallow one.
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Posted by appolus on November 28, 2020
We have fallen from Grace
In the west there is a very low view of God. Some kindly grandfather? A benevolent Santa clause? A buddy?. Of course He is none of these things. Familiarity has bred contempt and the traditions of men have caused us to fall from grace. It has caused us to forget who God really is. He is high and lifted up and the train of His robe fills the temple. He is majestic in holiness. He is awe-full, meaning full of awe. Those around His throne can only cry out “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty.’
It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God. (2 Chron 5:11-14)
As the people stood as one, no hierarchy observed, and the Ark found its rightful place in the temple, the glory of God came down, God Himself took possession of the Temple and it was filled with a cloud of glory. His true unadulterated presence would have obliterated these mere mortals. Impenetrable light hidden in the cloud and still the people were overwhelmed. In Job chapter 26 the righteous man of God cries out as he explains the unsearchable glories of God and says “He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.” The cloud, the glory, the manifest presence, all of this and more when the children of God become as one.
Unless the people have an encounter with such a God, they will continue to have a low view of Him and worship some weak anemic cultural god of their own making. The church in the west is starving to death, they are dying of thirst and the tragedy is that for the most part, the majority that are called after His name do not even know that they are in the midst of a famine and drought.I thank God for His remnant people who do know. Who agonize over the state of the church. Who cry out to God and who want nothing less for the multitude of people to experience the majesty and the glory and and anguish and the joy of falling down before the throne, to be ruined for life and to walk with the grand obsession that is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
For the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God. Now brothers and sisters, we know that we are the house of God. We are His temple. Each one of us is a living stone. Each one of us are priests in a Royal priesthood. Has God so taken us, so fully possessed us that we could barely stand? Have you experienced God is such a way? When His presence falls upon you and there is a weight of glory where you can barely lift your head? You barely dare breathe as He fills every part of you. Tears flow freely, trembling hands find their way into the air in surrender, surrender to the glory. It is not a passing moment, rather it is a passage from the temporal world into the glory. And once you have slipped behind this veil then nothing can ever be the same again.
This is what the people are starved of, this is why they are dying of thirst. There is a famine of the Word of God in the land, not the Word preached, but the Word preached with the power and the presence of God. The crisis of the age is a lack of God’s empowering presence in our assemblies.Can we do anything outside of His presence? Unless the Lord builds the house then we labor in vain. It is very clear that the Lord has an issue with us. Every church , every gathering throughout the land should shut down their activities until they have the presence of the Lord walking in their midst, until the people know that……
“the heavens shall be shut up, and there is no rain because they have sinned against You; if they pray toward this place, and confess Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them, then hear from Heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and of Your people Israel, when You have taught them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.”
The people must realize how far they have wandered from the Living God. When they are desperate enough to cry out and acknowledge how far they have fallen, fallen from grace, then and only then shall they have the ear of God. Falling from grace is the result of trying to complete the Christian journey in the flesh, when it can only be completed by the Spirit. The Galatians problem was the Law, they were trying to live by the law. Christianity today tries to live by its traditions. It is as much ruled by its traditions as the Galatians were ruled by the law and the result for both groups is the same, a falling from grace.
Falling from grace is a cutting yourself of from the vital connection from Christ that gives you life. Build your life upon the law or upon the traditions of men and you have cut yourself of from the very real relationship of Jesus Christ. The traditions of men, no matter how good, are but a mere shadow of the reality. The object itself casts a shadow, and while the shadow has something of the image of the object, it has no substance. It cannot edify, it cannot sanctify, it cannot instill abundant life, and so those who rely upon the shadow begin to die. Where the shadow abounds, death abounds. Where the substance of Christ is and along with that and His actual presence, there is life and liberty, and grace to be found.
We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. When the people who dwell in great darkness see the children of the living God set on fire among the cloud of glory, when they see that the glory of God has fallen upon the temple, when the glory of God fills the temple, then those who dwell in the darkness of this world will be drawn to the light of Christ that burns at the center of our hearts and souls. Will we serve the Lord our God with all of our hearts? Are we ready to throw off the things of this world and enter into the Holy of Holy’s? The Kingdom of God dwells within us.
Shall we take our place before the throne? Is the Lord inviting us to the marriage feast and tragically we are too busy? Do we make excuses as to why we do not come fully before Him? In Luke chapter 14 the call goes out to come to the great banquet and any number of excuses were made as to why they would not come, in short they were too busy living in the material world and living material lives. He is knocking at the door of your heart, will you open up your heart and let Him reign upon its throne today? Will you give Him your all today? He will have all of us or He will have none of us. To look back at the things of the world disqualifies us from serving Him.
Come brothers and sisters with our whole hearts. Come to Him and cry out with a desperate cry “Lord I die of hunger today, I desperately need your word with your power and your presence. Lord today I am dying of thirst, I have an unquenchable thirst for the Living waters of life and I desire to be fully immersed in this river and want to be taken to wherever it will take me. Lord I would rather be in the center of your will and die today, than to live 30 more years of compromise in a dry and thirsty land.”
What hinders you today brothers and sisters from entering into the fullness of God? It’s not the Lord. His desire is to possess all of you and be the Lord of your whole life. So what hinders you today? Your life, your traditions your place in the world? Lay it down and come and walk in the fullness of Him. Let His glory fill the temple. Let His glory take full possession of you. The day is coming to and end and the great persecution will soon be upon us. Unless you are filled with His glory, unless He has full possession of you, you will hear yourself making any number of excuses as to why you cannot serve Him with your whole heart and join the oneness that is also soon to come.
Persecution will burn away the kindling and the broken branches and the branches that no longer are fed by the sap of the vine. When the smoke clears there shall be the oneness left. The oneness that Jesus spoke of in John 17 where He said that we would be one just as He and His Father are one and we shall be where the glory is, the glory that He has given to us. This glory will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea and every nation will see it. The glory of God come down upon those who walk as one, just as they were called to. Cry out now with A desperation and repent if you have fallen from His grace. He waits, He waits to lifts us from the valley of dry bones, but He shall not strive forever with us.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the gospel, the persectuted church, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 9 Comments »
Posted by appolus on November 27, 2020
I believe our whole lives as saints is toiling in the foundations. I was a bricklayer for over 25 years, our worse job was always laying the foundations. We were underground in cramped narrow footings. Oftentimes the footings were deep and full of water and mud and the steep sides always held the possibility of collapse. Getting material down into the footings was difficult. Every step was difficult, plowing our way through the mud, we were typically wet and filthy. Yet, in order to rise up out of the ground, to break the surface and back-fill the foundations so that the structure could continue upwards, this vital backbreaking work had to be done. This is our spiritual work here on earth, laying the foundations for a heavenly mansion.
We could never do it in our own strength for unless the Lord builds this house then we labor in vain. If you find yourself in deep and difficult footings, if the circumstances of your life seem to be so more difficult than others, know this saint, it is because the structure that awaits you is large. Small houses require small and shallow foundations. Large structures require deep and difficult foundations. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad when you find yourself in the deep, for great is your reward in heaven.
Keep moving upwards. We shall break the surface of this world we dwell in and find ourselves in the glorious Kingdom of God. We will have thrown of our mortal coils. We shall be like a seed planted deep under the ground. Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it produces much fruit. Our lives, brothers and sisters, is exactly like that grain of wheat. This life is the dying. In this life we find ourselves covered my the mortality of the soil that is around us. It is our place of death and life. The work of dying and the work of living is our sanctification. Breaking through the soil is to cast off the darkness of this world. Seek to live and you shall die, die and you shall be reborn and through you shall come much fruit.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, testimony, the crucified life, the deeper life, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
A Call To The Remnant 