To be filled with the Spirit of God is to have come through feelings, disturbance, anxiety, disappointments and emptiness. When you reach that place of despair, when you have gone to the last person and you have written the last editor, when you have followed the last evangelist around, and hunted down the last fellow to counsel with you-when no man can help you anymore and you are in a state of inward despair-this is when you will recognize that you are near the place where God can finally do what He wants to do for you. When there comes that despair with self, that emptying out of you and that inner loneliness, you are getting close.(Tozer)

This is the most difficult place for the saint on the journey home. Tozer says it well, you are getting closer. When all the world has lost its appeal to you When you find yourself wandering in the wasteland dunes of anxiety and emptiness and disappointments, know that God is near. You must know it for you will not feel it. Keep walking saint, this is the desert place known as despair. No man or woman can help you. This is simply between you and God and the refiners fire. You will be tested in this. God is looking for a people who seek to worship Him with their whole hearts.

And if you think that all of your troubles are without purpose then you are wrong saint. There is a purpose in every trial, in every trouble, in every disappointment. There is a purpose in every step you take through the desert of despair and loneliness. Yes indeed you must pass through these places in order to continue the journey home on the narrow path, it is true that there are no short-cuts, no way around these difficult places of death. The enemy will whisper in your ear when you seem to be surrounded by darkness and defeat ” what was it all about.” He will ask you to consider the possibility that your life has been for nothing and that there has been no purpose in any of your suffering. Liar! Brothers and sisters, he is a liar and I know I speak to someone who needs to hear that today.

Psa 84:6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

The Valley of Baca, the valley of weeping, the valley of tears. The road to the altar, the tabernacle, traverses many valleys. Some are narrow some are deep . There is no avoiding them. You will shed tears in these valleys. You will often times feel abandoned in these valleys. What should you do as you travel through these valleys? Dig deeper. Dig holes in these valleys brothers and sisters. These valleys are without rain and it would seem to many that they will surely die as they go through it. You will not die. So why should you stop and dig holes in this valley. Why not rush through as quickly as possible? The truth is, this valley cannot be rushed. No matter how much you run, to the left or the right, you have to go through the valley. Even if you run straight ahead, the valley will last exactly how long it is supposed to last. So, when you stop in the midst of it, when you resist the urge to panic and fear, when you embrace the fact that this valley has to be gone through, these “dark nights of the soul,” will become an oasis and a place of refreshment to those who have faith and continue to trust in the Lord.

You will not be tempted more than you are able. The Lord has not abandoned you. He will minister to you. When you dig deeper, you are emptying yourself in preparation to receive the Lords presence. He will come to you on your journey, on your pilgrimage , in your deepest valleys. And to those who dig, their holes will be filled abundantly when the flash flood of His rain comes. The steeper the valley, the bigger the flood. The holes ensure that when the flood ends, their will be pools of water left over that will not only minister to you, but will comfort and encourage those who come along behind you, for remember, there is only one path, the narrow one, and all must traverse it. Let your tears fall saints, your tears shall remain. They shall refresh another. Stand fast brothers and sisters. You keep on walking no matter how dark it has become. You are surrounded by troubles on every side and inwardly there are fears? You are not alone, this is the path and you are where you should be and it shall not overcome you.

Inside of you lies the treasures of God, inside that earthen vessel. You have been called to comfort those with the comfort you yourself have been comforted with along the way. When you pass through this place of death and you are not overcome, you will testify of it and comfort others and glorify God. Remember saints, we are always bearing about in the body, the dying of the Lord Jesus, the life of the cross, the way of sacrifice, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our lives. The greater the trial the closer our God. You say ” but this trial is such that I cannot feel Him, I cannot sense His presence.” Saints, one of the greatest trials of all is trust. Our foundation is built upon faith. The enemy will try to pull you down and destroy you by coming against the very foundation of your life, your faith. Your life in the Spirit stands upon faith in Jesus. Stand today brother, stand today sister.

Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Wait upon the Lord and He will come to you. Wait, wait, keep waiting, keep trusting, keep abiding, keep praying, keep trusting, keep praising, keep reading His word. You will not faint, you will not fall in this desert. When the rain comes and it will come, you will walk and you will run and you will mount up with wings as eagles and you will revel in the presence of God. One day, one moment in His presence is better than a thousand elsewhere. In one moment, in one word, in one breath of the Holy Spirit there is life and eternity and hope and joy. One more thing brothers and sisters, and never doubt this. Your Father loves you. He sees you. He has not forgotten you. His love for you is an everlasting love. His thoughts towards you cannot be numbered, they are greater than the sands of the seashore. Stand fast in this and know that you are known. Let you tears fill the valleys, none are lost.

“The messengers of Jesus will be hated to the end of time. They will be blamed for all the divisions which rend cities and homes. Jesus and his disciples will be condemned on all sides for undermining family life, and for leading the nation astray; they will be called crazy fanatics and disturbers of the peace. The disciples will be sorely tempted to desert their Lord. But the end is also near, and they must hold on and persevere until it comes. Only he will he blessed who remains loyal to Jesus and his word until the end. But when the end comes, the hostility towards Jesus and his disciples will be made manifest the whole world over, and only then must the messengers flee from city to city, in order that they may proclaim the Word where it can still find a hearing. If they run away then, they will not be running away from the Word, but holding fast to it.

The Christian will be hounded from place to place, subjected to physical assault, maltreatment and death of every kind. We are ap­proaching an age of widespread persecution. Therein lies the true significance of all the movements and conflicts of our age. Our adversaries seek to root out the Christian Church and the Christian faith because they cannot live side by side with us, because they see in every word we utter and every deed we do, even when they are not specifically directed against them, a condemnation of their own words and deeds. They are not far wrong. They suspect too that we are indifferent to their condemnation. Indeed they must admit that it is utterly futile to condemn us. We do not reciprocate their hatred and contention, although they would like it better if we did, and so sink to their own level.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (Rev 13:4-7)

He makes war against the saints and overcomes them. This is not to be confused with the gates of hell prevailing against the Body of Christ, this is more in line with Jesus being crucified. Satan thought he had accomplished a great victory at Calvary but in actual fact, an open shame, a humiliation was being made of him even although the exact opposite seemed to be true. We know that just a few days later ” up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o’er His foes.” Satan again will believe he has won a great victory then Christ will come in all His glory and every eye will see and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The question in all of this for the saints will be ” are you willing to be overcome in the flesh that you might triumph in the Spirit?” Are you willing to glorify a God that has called you to Martyrdom? This same question has been asked by every Martyr down through the ages. By allowing ourselves to be Martyred and not resisting in the flesh, other than fleeing from city to city as circumstances warrant it, we will make an open shame of our enemy and it will be a witness for all the world to see. They will hate us all the more for our actions will be counter to the flesh and bring conviction to their hard hearts………..and then the end shall come……bro Frank

A.W.Tozer writes “ Seven things that come to the believers in the fullness of the Spirit.”

1. Knowledge of the actual presence of God.
2. Possession of the true joy of the Holy Spirit.
3. Their words now penetrated and arrested.
4. A clear sense of the reality of all things.
5. Sharp separation between the believer and the world.
6. Their new great delight in prayer.
7. Their new love for the Scriptures of God.

I would like to add a few more of my own. A love of other saints. A love of praise and worship. And so, if we run through this list, what do we find? I would argue that we would find your very average believer in the early church and as it progressed through the centuries less and less so, apart from moments and times of “revival.” I wonder what these old writers that held a high view of the church make of the times in which we now love? Don’t you think they would be beside themselves? Men like Sparks and Ravenhill and A.B.Simpson from the turn of the last century. Lets go through the list and as we do I want you to think how this applies to you personally and to the church where you fellowship. These are my own thoughts on the seven points Tozer raises.

1. A knowledge of the actual presence of God. In other places it is described as the manifest presence of God. It used to be written about a lot but I dont find that anymore. Christendom has been so inundated by soulish activities and music that at least a couple of generations have grown up in Christendom knowing nothing of the manifest presence of God either personally or corporately. They have never felt that holy heaviness come down from heaven and rest like dew upon their heads, quieting them, lowering their heads, raising their hands in surrender and worship, not in response to the words of a ” worship leader,” but in response to the very presence of God that stills their very souls and elevates them to the throne of grace where they can only whisper ” Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty,” lest they take any attention away from a Holy God who has come down to visit. Awe and majesty and reverence accompanied by rivers of tears and a deep, deep inner sense of wholeness and all things being possible.

2. Possession of the true joy of the Holy Spirit. Now this joy is not the joy of the world or as the world knows it. It is very much related to that part of the spirit that is ever connected to the presence of God. The world’s definition of joy is ” a feeling of great pleasure or happiness.” Yet this is not the joy of the saint. The saint’s joy is not rooted in the soulish realm of feelings at all, it is an activity of the spirit which produces joy from our very relationship to the Lord. It is sensed in its greatest depths when, at least as far as the world can see, there is absolutely no reason for pleasure or happiness at all. The essence of the joy of the saint is to know that he is loved and that the Lord is with him in whatever his circumstances are, this produces an inner happiness and contentment when there should be none and it is one of the great strengths of the saints.

3. Their words now penetrated and arrested. In Acts 2 when Peter spoke to the crowd, scripture tells us that the crowd were ” stabbed in their hearts.” The Greek word for this phrase is Katanusso. A similar word is used when Jesus is stabbed with the spear, that word is nusso. Now Katanusso is a much more violent word than nusso. It means agitate, to thoroughly penetrate, to violently pierce. And so the Holy Spirit is showing us that there is greater violence taking place in Acts chapter two than even when the Lord was run through with a spear. The violence was to men’s souls. Their hard hearts were being violently penetrated by the very words spoken under the influence of the Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter two those affected cried out ” what must we do,” yet just a few chapters later when Stephen is speaking with the same power, men were stabbed in the heart but gnashed their teeth and fell upon Stephen and stoned him. In either case, men were not left unmoved by the power of the Spirit speaking though the saints.

4. A clear sense of the reality of all things. To have vision, to have an eternal vision is to have a clear sense of the reality of all things. There is a reality of this world and it is powerful, it presses in on the senses and for those outside of the Spirit of God it is all-consuming. Yet there is a greater reality that lies within the saints. It is the reality of the Kingdom of God and they walk in it. Now these two realities undoubtedly compete and we as saints must be on our guard that we do not let the realities of this world overwhelm us and rob us of the realities of the Kingdom in which we truly walk. This is the battle between spirit and flesh. The clear sense of reality therefore is truly knowing that our time here is short, and knowing that we are on a narrow path that leads us to eternity and actually knowing that this eternity has already begun and we are simply in the corruptible stage and there comes the tie soon where these bodies will be raised in incorruption. When we walk in this reality, the reality of the world loses its power and we begin to see more clearly in the spiritual than we can see in the natural and the spiritual begins to dominate everything that we do.

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Jesus is the coming problem. Even now and for a long time, mention the name of Jesus anywhere and people get uncomfortable. You can talk about God and Allah and Yahweh or Jehovah and people are fine, mention Jesus and they start to squirm. Soon religious leaders, seeking a political solution to intractable religious problems will tell us that the three major monotheistic religions share the same founding father, Abraham. They will tell us that these are the roads to heaven, not one, but at least three if not more. People will be able to talk about God but not about Jesus. Anyone who will suggest that Jesus is the only way to heaven, the fundamental tenet of the Christian faith, will be despised. Watch as the major religions of the world come together under the brotherhood of man banner. Even now Babel is being re-built.

WANTED – REAL PREACHERS!
by A.W. Tozer

It is true that much church activity is thrown back upon a shaky
foundation of psychology and natural talents. It is sad but true that
many a mother-in-law is actually praying that her handsome son-
in-law may be called to preach because “he would have such a
marvelous pulpit presence.”

We live in a day when charm is supposed to cover almost the
entire multitude of sins. Charm has taken a great place in religious
expression. I am convinced that our Lord expects us to be tough
enough and cynical enough to recognize all of this that pleases
the unthinking in our churches: the charm stuff, the stage
presence in the pulpit, the golden qualities of voice….

I feel sorry for the church that decides to call a pastor because
“his personality simply sparkles!” I have watched quite a few of
those sparklers through the years. In reality, as every kid knows
at Fourth of July time, sparklers can be an excitement in the
neighborhood–but only for about one minute! Then you are left
holding a hot stick that quickly cools off in your hand.

Prophetic Preaching

If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation, it must be by other
means than any now being used. If the Church in the second
half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered
in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The
proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the
priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay
and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type
who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to
everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting.

Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must
be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God
and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I
pray God there will be not one but many), he will stand in flat
contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds
dear. He will contradict, denounce and protest in the name of God
and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of
Christendom. Such a man is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spoken
and a little bit angry with the world. He will love Christ and the
souls of men to the point of willingness to die for the glory of the
One and the salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that
breathes with mortal breath.

“Let me point out that the victorious Christian life is not a life absent of any problems or difficulties or failures. Actually, the opposite is true. The victorious Christian life is a day by day or even moment by moment victory over enemies and situations that we confront in the way. That is why the man of God said ” For a just man falleth seven times.” We are some-times given the idea that a ” just man,” never falls at all. Because of that, we face the danger of arrogance.” (A.W.Tozer)

Isn’t that true? To live the victorious Christian life is to live your life day by day and sometimes moment by moment. And in the moment you may not see the victory, and when you’re lying on the ground it may be hard to see the victory. Yet it is grace that picks a man up of the ground and where would any of us be without that grace?

Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; (1Co 1:2-5)

Before Paul goes on in his letter to the Corinthians, a church with many deep-rooted problems, he reminds them of Gods grace and he extends peace unto them. He reminds them of the beauty of Christ and how the Lord has enriched them in an intimate knowledge of Himself. Brothers and sisters, no matter what problems you are facing today, you have been enriched by the Lord, isn’t that true? He has taken you from the gutters of life and has raised you up. Our very lives are in Him and we stand because He stands. We live because He lives. We breathe because He breathed life into us. That is who you are, that is your identity. Nothing can take that away from you.

Are you down today? Have you fallen? Have you blown it? I want you to rejoice in the fact that even although the ” just man falleth seven times,” that the Lord reminded His disciples to forgive ” seventy times seven.” Now if the Lord expected and enabled His disciples to forgive ” seventy times seven,” then how many times shall He forgive you? And so dear saint, mighty man or woman of God, rejoice today in your victorious life. For your life is not measured by the amount of times you did not fall but by the times you were enabled to get up and go on. This is part of the nature of the one who endures and overcomes. There is an enemy who screams in your ears when you fall, and he is screaming ” stay down, your out, your finished, you can never be used again.” And isn’t it true that this voice rarely comes through the people of the world?

The saint’s enemy in these matters is typically someone close who calls upon the name of the Lord. The enemy has many different avenues to try to keep you down saint but the Lord says ” Get up, look up, lift up holy hands.” He says ” lift your eyes up and cast them towards heaven and see where your help comes from. He beckons you to come up. He reaches down His hand to pull you up as opposed to those who would pull you down. So stand up today brothers and sisters if you are down. He raises you up in grace and forgiveness. And those of you who have been down many times will be strengthened by the humility that you learned there. It is better to stand up in the strength of the Lord and walk humbly before men than to present to men an image of one who has never fallen. For one who does that inevitably walks in arrogance.