TIME TO FLY!

[SW214] 01/01/2016 message notes by

Reverend/Evangelist Susan J. Wynn ©2016

“Time to Fly!”

Today I have a word of encouragement, release and confirmation for all who have waited for the Lord.

Isaiah 40:29  He gives strength to the weary,

And to him who lacks might He increases power.

30  Though youths grow weary and tired,

And vigorous young men stumble badly,

31  Yet those who wait for the Lord

Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become weary.

This word will be confirmation to you:

You have been waiting, wrapping yourself around the Lord.

You have been careful not to run ahead of Him.

But you have become comfortable waiting.

Now the Lord says, “Fly! Sprout wings like the eagle!”

You are no longer young in Him.

He has matured you.

He has brought you through many things,

He has uses them to teach you His ways.

He has tested you,

And you have passed the test!

It has been a long road that has wearied you at times,

But you are reaching your destination.

He is changing your strength to His strength!

He is increasing His miracle-working power in you!

You will run and not get tired,

You will walk and not become weary!

All who are still young in the Lord

Have stepped out before He said, “Go!”

They have worked in their own strength

And have become weary and tired,

And they have “utterly fallen” (KJV).

But you have waited.

Time to fly! Sprout wings like the eagle.

Do you see? He has given wings to you.

Fly now! It is time.

It is the inauguration of your new season. He will give you further confirmation. But know and believe this — you will go forth in His strength!

I received four confirmations that Jeff and I are to go forth with a healing ministry: one from a leader, at my ordination in the Church of God in Christ; one from a fellow disciple of Jesus Christ; and one from a prophet. And upon hearing that one, Jeff rejoiced. That was my fourth confirmation.

Jesus Christ miraculously healed me of the incurable disease MS in 2001, in the middle of the night. Jesus Christ miraculously healed Jeff of damage from a massive heart attack in 2011, on the third day, in the hospital.

The Lord has used us to heal many, one-on-one, even to raise a woman from a coma! He has taught us much, along the way — things we needed to know before going forth. But now it is time for us to go forth with the healing anointing the Lord has given us, into a ministry of healing in every way.

Your time has come, too! You have had confirmation; this is just one more. It’s time to fly!

Now praise Him with me!  Psalm 103:1-5

O Lord, I bless You! Jeff and I do not forget how You have treated us and rewarded us!

You pardoned all our sins, and you healed us! Now Your Spirit is upon us, to heal others.

Lord, You redeemed our lives from the pit — from captivity, from great darkness, from hell itself!

You have placed your lovingkindness and compassion on our heads like a crown. You have filled our hearts!

You have satisfied our years with the goodness of You!

We are not young in years, but You have renewed our youth like the eagle!

Now we freely give what we have freely received in this new season!

For you who are young in the Lord, who have utterly fallen because you did not wait for the Lord, but tried to minister in your own strength —

The Lord knows you are tired and weary.

Come humbly to Him.

Ask Him to forgive you.

Wrap yourselves around Him,

And He will give you His strength.

He will do it!

Return to Him,

And you will receive from His hand all that you need.

STEADFAST AND IMMOVABLE

[SW181] 04/11/2015 message notes by
Evangelist Susan J. Wynn ©2015

“Steadfast and Immovable”

Steadfast and immovable! Standing firm! Nothing and no one able to sway you or move you from your faith in Jesus Christ and God’s promises!

1Corinthians 15:58   Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

Superabounding, excelling in the work of the Lord, proclaiming Jesus Christ! His glorious, powerful, life-giving work!

Going and making disciples of all men, teaching them to obey Christ (Matthew 28:19-20)!

Healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing the lepers, casting out demons (Matthew 10:8)!

When you yourself have been filled with the Holy Spirit, laying hands on your fellow believers, so they are filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:6).

If you are steadfast and immovable, you know without a doubt that this great labor in the Lord is not in vain. You won’t come to Him empty-handed, but bearing the fruit of His works in you and through you!

What rewards there are to those who remain steadfast and immovable?

Revelation 3:8-10 — You have a little power, you have kept His word, you have not denied His name. You are a faithful representative of Him, walking in this world like Him. You have kept the word of His steadfastness. You are steadfast, immovable, always superabounding in this work!

So Jesus Christ puts before you a door for you which no one can shut. It is a door that opens into great and effective work for Him. And false teachers will come and bow down at your feet. Jesus will make them know that He has loved you.

You say, “Jesus loves me, this I know! And you also say, “Jesus knows me, this I love!”

And you will not have to endure what those who reject Him and deny Him will endure. He will keep you, guard you, be a fortress around you! You will be protected from that hour!

And because you remain steadfast and immovable, even if your body dies before Jesus Christ returns, it will be resurrected when that trumpet sounds (1Corinthians 15:50-57)! Death has no victory! Death has no sting!

Therefore, be steadfast, Paul exhorts! Immovable! Against what? Is there something that could move you? What is the “therefore” there for?

Many winds of false teaching swirled around the Corinthians, and swirl around us today.

Great waves are stirred up by these winds, and if we are children and not mature in our faith, we will be tossed here and there, just as some of the Corinthians and Ephesians were (see Ephesians 4:14). But Jesus Christ will change us from children to adults, when we ask Him to make a 24/7 connection between us and the Father and the Son, by the Holy Spirit!

Back in 1Corinthians 15, deceitful teachers tried to convince the Corinthians that there is no resurrection of the dead (15:12).

So, they said, you don’t have to walk as Jesus walked when he was on the earth. Live the way you want to live. Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die (15:32).

I tell you, the devil is at work. His goal is to kill you, to steal what God has given you, to destroy you, so you perish with him eternally (see John 10:10). Don’t let him get you!

BECOME steadfast, immovable! How? Ask Him to do it in you!

Christ has come that you may have superabundant life — His life, His eternal life (John 10:10)! Superabundant life that overflows, that becomes a rushing, flood-stage river of living water!

Paul said it was the risen Christ and not human reasoning that motivated him to fight with the demons that were in Ephesus.

He knew without a doubt that when men are delivered and saved, THEY will know without a doubt that Jesus Christ is Lord and that their own resurrection is sure! His labor was not in vain!

But some of the Corinthians were yet children, just as with some Christians today. They continued to live wildly, for which Corinth was world-renowned. Eat, drink and be merry!

Paul warns them and you today, to stop listening to false teachers who say you can do what you want — God’s grace covers you! Hyper-grace! Cheap grace! 

Shall we continue to sin so grace may increase? May it never be (Romans 6:1-2)!

Get drunk, do just as you did before you said “I do” to the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul tells the Ephesians, “Don’t get drunk with wine! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!”

Ah! That’s the key! When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you won’t be a child any more, and the process of becoming more like Jesus will go into hyperdrive!

In Verse 34, Paul tells the Corinthians (and you), to become sober-minded (rouse yourself out of your stupor! Wake up! If some need to become, they are not yet!
They and you need to “become!” Stop sinning!

Those false teachers have no knowledge of God, no intimacy with Him, or they would never teach that you can sin and still be fine with God! Paul spoke it to the shame of those who listened to such ones. And the same goes for you, beloved!

Ask God the Father to fill you with His Holy Spirit, and He will give you discernment so you will run from the strangers, the hirelings the false teachers who are in it for personal gain. You will hear and heed the voice of the Good Shepherd (see John 10)!

And even when you are filled, continue to grow —

2Peter 3:17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,  18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

You will ever increase in Christlikeness!

You will remain steadfast and immovable, knowing without a doubt that when you proclaim Jesus (which is your work in the Lord), your work will bear the fruit of deliverance for many!

And you will know without a doubt that you will be with the Lord forever! And ever! And ever! And ever! Amen!

THE LESSER LIGHT

[SW172] 02/07/2015 message notes by
Evangelist Susan J. Wynn ©2015
[NOTE: Much more on the video message; just click on the link to the right of this post.]

“The Lesser Light”

Christ is the great Light who was with the Father before anything was created. And  you were created to be a lesser light who reflects Him.

Text:  Genesis 1:16

Genesis 1:16 God made the two  great lights, the  greater  light  to govern the day, and the lesser  light  to govern the night; He made  the stars also.

As I began to read through the Bible again this week, the Holy Spirit used this verse to stir my spirit. Someone needs to hear this message today. It will free them, it will encourage them, it will challenge them, and God will empower them through it.

The greater light is the sun; the lesser light is the moon. Does the moon have any light of its own? Does it produce light by itself?

No, the moon simply reflects the light of the sun shining on it. It is not a great light in and of itself. But it reflects to such a degree that it sheds light on a dark night when that moon is full.

Well, there’s a lot there! But here’s the difference between Genesis 1:16 versus Jesus Christ and  you. Jesus is the greater Light, but He was not created — He was with the Father before anything was created (John 1:1-2), and the Father assigned Him to create (Hebrews 1:2). And you, beloved, are created to be the lesser light.

When the moon is fully lit outwardly by the sun, it shines brightly. So do you, when you’re full. Your purpose is to shine in the darkness of today’s world, but unlike the moon, you were created to shine 24/7.

When the sun is no longer seen physically, the moon still reflects it. That lets everyone in the world know that the sun is still shining. Otherwise, the moon would not be lit.

The lit moon is evidence of the sun’s existence.

It’s the same with you. The world can’t see Jesus Christ, even though He lives. But He’s still here, and we who reflect Him are evidence of the fact that He is.

The moon has no ability to light itself. It must be lit by the sun.

You have no ability to light yourself up with the Son of God. But the Son lights you up so you reflect Him.

The comparison changes a bit now. Even when it is fully lit by the sun, the moon can only OUTWARDLY reflect the sun’s light. It has no light inside of it.

But when you are full of Jesus Christ, full of the Holy Spirit, you shine brightly FROM WITHIN.

The Lord showed me something that will touch someone today.

In Florida, I was called upon to give my testimony of healing at a church. I prepared, I prayed, but after I gave it, I felt like I had failed.

You see, I was not used to giving my testimony. So I was awkward about giving it.

I felt I missed what the Lord had wanted to say through my testimony. And I was very sad the next morning, as I sat on the couch in my morning prayers and meditations with Jesus.

From my couch, I could see the sun rising and the moon setting. As the moon faded in the light of the sun, I said to the Lord, “Make me disappear like the moon, so all people see is You.” I wept, I prayed, and then I went to Jeff. I told him how I felt, and he said this:

“I did not see failure last night. That is not what I saw. What I saw was the lesser light proclaiming the greater light.”

I felt a great release, and my sadness left me. I am a lesser light. Christ is the great Light. I reflect His light, from the inside of me, because I am full of His light. But I am yet a lesser light.

So I don’t have to be perfect in my presentation of the gospel, or in sharing my testimony.

The greater Light will shine from this lesser light, and by His shining from me, I am His witness. Even though the world can’t see Him, they can see Him in me.

It is so that they will not be able to deny that He is alive, though they can’t see Him.

Jesus is the great Light, the never-before-seen light that came into the world —

John 14:19 “  After a little while  the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me;  because I live, you will live also.

Isaiah 9:2  The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.

He is the Light of the world —

John 8:12   Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “ I am the Light of the world;  he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

But He says we are, too —

Matthew 5:13   “You are the salt of the earth; but  if the salt has become tasteless, how  can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

Matthew 5:14   “You are  the light of the world. A city set on a  hill cannot be hidden; 15  nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a  basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may  see your good works, and  glorify your Father who is in heaven.

But the disciples didn’t reflect Jesus Christ when He walked with them on the earth. They argued about who was the greatest, they were confused by what Jesus spoke to them.

But after Pentecost, they were full of His light. They became His witnesses. Even the Sanhedrin had to admit that it was obvious they had been with Jesus. But Jesus was no longer on the earth.

How could they be with Jesus when He was no longer physically with them? He was in them. He said:

John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the   Helper will not come to you; but if I go,  I will send Him to you.

He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit would come, if they would wait in the city until they were clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49).

Even then —

2Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face,  beholding as in a mirror the  glory of the Lord, are being  transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from  the Lord, the Spirit.

The reflection of His light in us will grow brighter and brighter!

Philippians 2:14   Do all things without  grumbling or disputing;  15 so that you will  prove yourselves to be  blameless and innocent,  children of God above reproach in the midst of a  crooked and perverse generation, among whom you   appear as  lights in the world,  16 holding  fast [forth] the word of life, so that in  the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not  run in vain nor  toil in vain.

Before Pentecost, before the disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit, the disciples grumbled and complained.

After Pentecost, they proved themselves to be just as Paul said — children of God above reproach, lights in the world, holding forth the word of life to a world in desperate need of His light, the light that will reconcile them to God, remove God’s wrath, and give them eternal life with God.

Before, and after. What a change!

Altar call:

If you are lit up with Christ, don’t expect to do everything perfectly. It is necessary for the greater Light to be reflected in a lesser light, so that we are the evidence that He IS, living here and now in you.

I boldly rejoice in my weaknesses —

2Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for  power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather  boast  about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  10 Therefore  I am well content with weaknesses, with  insults, with  distresses, with  persecutions, with  difficulties,  for Christ’s sake; for  when I am weak, then I am strong.

Are you a lesser light so the greater Light can be seen? Examine yourself. Ask God if you are.

And if you don’t get a response, ask Him what He needs to do to make you His lesser light. He’ll not only show you, but reveal to you that He is ready and waiting to change you. All you have to do is agree with Him.

Do you believe that you are something? Do you boast in your ministry, in what you have done?

Galatians 6:3 For  if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

Become nothing. Decrease YOUR ministry, and He will increase HIS (John 3:30). And you will see a marked change. You will see His light shine from you, and from the ministry that HE, the greater Light, does through you, the lesser light.

We must get right, to be that lesser light.

We must get right, to be filled with His great Light.

Amen.

JESUS’ PROMISES TO OVERCOMERS

Those who overcome this world by way of Jesus Christ, who overcame the world, have great promises from Him!

[SW134] 03/28/2014 message notes by Rev. Susan J. Wynn ©2014
“Jesus’ Promises to Overcomers”

First, the definition of “overcome” —

3528. nikao, nik-ah´-o; from 3529; to subdue, conquer, overcome, prevail, get the victory.

3529. nike, nee´-kay; conquest, i.e. (figuratively) the means of success, victory.

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Overcomers —

— Repent from leaving their first love

— Stand steadfast in Christ amidst persecution even to death, thus gaining the crown of life

— Repent from eating things sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality

— Repent from tolerating/compromising false teachers in the church who teach the above (i.e., it’s OK to sin) and from following such teaching

— Repent from their deadness and wake up, remembering and keeping what they have heard

— Remain steadfast in their faith in Christ, so as not to lose their crown

— Repent from their pride and from trusting in their riches, and seek
the purification of heart that only the Lord, our Refiner can give

To Ephesus:

Revelation 2:7 ‘ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’

This is a promise to those who repent from leaving their first love, Jesus Christ . . .
and is also a promise to all overcomers.

The tree of life in the Paradise of God

Genesis 2:9 Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

This is the tree of life from which God prohibited Adam to eat, after he sinned against the Lord (see Genesis 3:22). And this is a word of restoration . . . He who overcomes eats of it, in heaven. 

For those who overcome, eternal life starts here and now, in that His eternal life is in us, but we will also eat its fruit with God in heaven! Hallelujah!

To Smyrna:

Revelation 2:11 ‘ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’

This is a promise to those who remain steadfast in Christ, despite persecution even to death . . . and is also a promise to all overcomers.

No harm from the second death,

Defined at the end of the sequence of events in Revelation 20:4-11:
The first resurrection — His saints come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years.

[NOTE: remember Paul’s words — absent from the body, our spirits go to the Lord (see 2 Corinthians 5:6-8). When we die, our spirits go to the Lord, but there is a later resurrection of our bodies.]

Then Satan is released for a period of time.

Then there is great battle on the broad plain, with enemy armies surrounding Jerusalem — instantly defeated by the Lord who rains down fire on them.

Then the devil joins the beast and the false prophet (see Revelation 19:20) in the lake of fire where they are tormented day and night forever and ever.

And then the second death is defined:

Revelation 20:11  Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

So that we may understand:

Revelation 20:15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Remember —Revelation 3:5 “‘ He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”

It is possible for a name to be erased from the book of life.

To Pergamum:

Revelation 2:17 ‘ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’

This is the promise to those who repent from eating things sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality, who repent from the things of this world, and is also a promise to all overcomers.
Hidden manna

Reflects a Jewish tradition that the pot of manna that was placed in the ark for a memorial to future generations (Exodus 16:32–34; cf. Hebrews 9:4) was taken by Jeremiah at the time of the destruction of Solomon’s temple (sixth century B.C.) in the Babylonian overthrow of Jerusalem, and hidden underground in Mt. Nebo (2 Maccabees 2:4–7). There it was to remain until the coming of the Messiah when Jeremiah would reappear and return the ark and its contents to the new messianic temple in Jerusalem. [Source: New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT)]

White stone

Again from the NICNT, I believe the white stone refers to a tessera (small block of stone like a mosaic tile) that served as a token for admission to a banquet. They were distributed to the poor in Rome by the emperors to insure a regular supply of corn, and to victors at games.

But I believe these two uses of the tessera fit best:

— A token for admission to a banquet. We are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, when we will be bride to our Bridegroom, united in a way not possible here on the earth! Read Isaiah 25:6 to hear what will be served!

— Given to gladiators who had won the admiration of the public and had been allowed to retire from further combat. We will have fought the fight and been victorious, and in a sense, we will retire! Read 1Timothy 1:18 and 6:12, and 2Timothy 4:7!

As for the stone’s color, white indicates purity.

Our new name

The new name written on the stone, I think, is as the Lord did with Simon Peter, saying:

Matthew 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter (4074 petros, a piece of rock), and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

To Thyatira:

Revelation 2:26 ‘ He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; 27 AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star.”

This is the promise to those who repent from compromise and tolerance of false prophets and prophetesses who say it’s OK to sin, because our spirits are saved anyway, a version of Gnostic teaching. It is also a promise to all overcomers.
Psalms 2:7   “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”

Authority over the Enemy, and authority to rule with Christ, having become co-heirs with Him (see Luke 10:19, for we have authority now, but more so when we stand before Him at the end of things:

Romans 8:17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

If we will suffer persecution, and spiritually, death to our sin nature and become filled with His nature, by His Holy Spirit, we are indeed heirs.

Morning star

Morning star (5459 phosphoros) light-bearing, morning star, daystar.

2Peter 1:19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

Revelation 22:16   “ I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

I believe this is in reference to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. Right now, the Holy Spirit is an earnest, a pledge:

Ephesians 1:13b-14 . . . the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

I believe the morning star is a greater portion of the Holy Spirit than we can contain in physical bodies.

To Sardis:

Revelation 3:5 ‘ He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

This promise is for those who wake up and repent from their deadness, and remember and keep what they have heard, and is also a promise to all overcomers.

Mark 9:2    Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; 3 and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

White garments — exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Heavenly clothing!
The book of life

Psalms 69:28 May they [the wicked] be blotted out of the book of life
And may they not be recorded with the righteous.

Luke 10:19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20 “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

Philippians 4:3b . . . and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him (the beast), everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

Again, so that we are sure:

Revelation 20:15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Confessing them before God

Matthew 10:32  “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.”

To Philadelphia:

Revelation 3:12 ‘ He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.

This is a promise to all who remain steadfast, and thus do not lose their crowns, and and is also a promise to all overcomers.

Pillars

I believe He speaks of the two bronze pillars made by Hiram for Solomon’s Temple —

1Kings 7:21 Thus he set up the pillars at the porch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz.

Jaquin (3199) He will establish AND Boaz (1162) quickness (life, strength). He will establish us, in His strength! Thus, we are pillars in the temple of God that is in heaven.

And the overcomers will not go out from it anymore!

What will He write on us?

— the name of My God, YHWH

— the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem

Revelation 21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

— My new name, the one He did not have until He was sent by the Father, crucified, dead, buried, risen, ascended, and glorified, Yeshua haMashiach.

To Laodicea:

Revelation 3:21 ‘ He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

Hebrews 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high . . .

Hebrews 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Again, these are the promises, to all who:

— Repent from leaving their first love

— Stand steadfast in Christ amidst persecution even to death, thus gaining the crown of life

— Repent from eating things sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality

— Repent from tolerating/compromising false teachers in the church who teach the above (i.e., it’s OK to sin) and following such teaching

— Repent from their deadness and wake up

— Remain steadfast in their faith in Christ, so as not to lose their crown

— Repent from their pride and from trusting in their riches, and seek
the purification of heart that only the Lord, our Refiner can give

Beloved, it is not too late to turn. If the Holy Spirit has shown you that you are like Ephesus, or Pergamum, or Thyatira, or Sardis, or Laodicea, it is because of His love that He rebukes you. Turn now, for His grace is here to change your heart!

Those who are like Smyrna and Philadelphia, ask Him to continue to establish you in His strength, that you may remain steadfast and faithful, pillars in His temple! Hallelujah!

 

LOSING HEART

2Corinthians 4:1   Therefore, since we have this  ministry, as we  received mercy, we do not lose heart,  2 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

Losing heart. It means to fail in heart, to become faint, in the original Greek. And it is a common affliction of those who have been sent by God to call the church back to Him. Back to Him? Yes. We have adopted man’s ways to try to attract people to Jesus, and we have advertised God as a Blesser without the required obedience. He does bless — His eyes move to and fro around the earth to strongly support . . . who? Those whose hearts are completely His, beloved. There’s where the rubber meets the road.

Why do the hearts of His messengers fail? Opposition! The calls of these men were not, “go and teach the power of positive thinking” or “preach only the attractive words Christ spoke” or “talk about the positive promises of God while forgetting to mention His warnings.” I tell you the truth — even today, human hearts that have not yet been purified and filled with God’s actual love will react to the words of God just as in Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s and Ezekiel’s day.

These fearless men of God were to go and speak the truth to rebellious people whose hearts were not entirely God’s. At His servants’ preaching, a very small number heard and turned back to God. But the Lord warned His servants the prophets that the words He gave them to speak would make most hearts insensitive, fat. He said their ears would become dull, heavy. He warned them that His people’s eyes would become even more dim, besmeared. He commanded them to keep speaking, lest the people see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return to God and be healed. He told Isaiah to speak to His people the very words I’ve just written. Look it up in Isaiah 6.

It doesn’t sound like a very positive assignment from God. It doesn’t sound like what is being preached from most of our country’s largest and most successful churches. Church historians say that Isaiah was sawed in half for His obedience to the Lord’s command to speak. Thus the hearts of God’s people were revealed. They could not see or hear or sense in their hearts that Isaiah spoke the very words of God. So they killed him.

Even so, today the church reveals her heart when she actively opposes and/or coldly listens to the message of repentance toward God and single-minded seeking to be filled with His Spirit, in a moment of time, after salvation and water baptism. And so the church continues with internal conflicts between members, favoritism, churches splitting apart over the color of carpeting, and worse — sins of pornography and adultery and even pedophilia. As a pastor, I have seen these things, even among lay leaders and preachers, dear ones.

Woe! Alas! It is the cry of the ones the Lord sends to speak to His people. We aren’t glad to say what we must say. But we say it because God commands us, and we know there will be a few who are convicted by the Holy Spirit and turn back to the Lord. God’s heart is for them to turn — His purpose is to redeem His people, not judge and destroy them. But they will self-destruct if they do not turn. God shows us what will happen. We see it and weep.

Woe! Alas! It is an expression of grief, pity, concern. And in our grief, it is easy to lose heart. Our hearts become so broken for God’s people and so tired of rejection that we really want to give up and simply let them go their own way. But we cannot — we are compelled to speak, by the very love of God that has been poured out in our hearts. We want them to be reconciled to God, for He has given us His heart. We feel what He feels.

You may say I’m crazy, foolish, lacking common sense and human reason, as the Corinthians accused Paul:

2Corinthians 12:11   I have become  foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, for  in no respect was I inferior to the  most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody.

They said Paul was crazy because he was compelled by the love of God to speak the truth — to call the church at Corinth to be reconciled to God (2Corinthians 5:20), to warn them not to receive the grace of God in vain (2Corinthians 6:1), so that they ultimately appear before Him empty-handed (that’s the original Greek meaning of  “in vain”). Woe! Alas!

It is that way with Jeff and me — and we surely are nobodies by the world’s and the church’s measurements. I am not sure what forum the Lord will use, in continuing to have us speak. Jeff and I have suspended the video ministry because we believe this is a flesh-and-blood gospel. We need to be physically in contact with those to whom we speak, so that by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, some might catch a glimpse of Jesus Christ and recognize that we are sent by God to turn them back to Him. I will continue to pour out the words God gives me in my blog. And we will continue to pray for the church to return to God.