PERSISTENCE In PRAYER

 
PERSISTENCE In PRAYER
by David Wilkerson

Some Bible teachers claim it is unbelief for us to ask God for the
same request over and over. No-that is wrong and it has weakened
the faith of multitudes. God commands us to ask, seek, fast-and
cry out in effectual, earnest supplication (see Matthew 7:7).

From the very beginning, true servants have turned God´s promises
into prayers:

o Jesus knew His Father had promised all things to Him before
the foundation of the world, yet Christ still spent hours praying for
God´s will to be done on earth. He even told a parable illustrating
persistence in prayer. It involved an "importunate widow" who kept
demanding justice from a judge until she got it (see Luke 18:1-8).

o God gave Ezekiel wonderful prophecies about Israel´s restoration,
promising that the nation´s ruins would become as the Garden of
Eden. Yet the Lord said His Word would not be fulfilled without
prayer: "I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to
do it for them" (Ezekiel 36:37). In other words, "I´ve made you a
promise but I want you to pray it to pass. Seek Me with all your
heart, until you see it fulfilled. I will deliver-but first you must ask."

o Daniel had read God´s promise to Jeremiah (Daniel 9:2) that after
seventy years Israel would be restored. When Daniel saw the
appointed year arrive, he could have waited in faith for God to fulfill
His promise but instead, that godly man fell on his face and prayed
for two weeks-until he saw the Lord bring everything to pass.
In the Old Testament, Israel´s priest carried on his breastplate the
names of all the tribes of Israel. This signified that the people´s
needs were continually on the priest´s heart in prayer. To Christians
today, this provides a wonderful image of Christ carrying us in His
heart and presenting our needs to the Father. Moreover, every
Christian today is a priest unto the Lord and we are always to
carry the needs of others in our hearts (see James 5:14-16).

-Source-

http://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/node/27045

© 2012 World Challenge. All rights reserved. PO Box 260, Lindale,
TX 75771-0260, (903) 963-8626.

CHANGE Me, LORD!

 
CHANGE Me, LORD!
by David Wilkerson

I am not against Christian counseling. Many people are responding
to the counseling they are getting, and it is healing their lives,
marriages and homes. Indeed, counseling has become a major
ministry in the church of Jesus Christ. Almost every large
congregation in America has at least one full-time counselor on
staff and here at Times Square Church, we use a number of counselors.

But I see more and more troubled Christians who don´t respond
at all to the counseling they receive. They may be ministered to
for weeks, even months, with no results. A pastor or counselor
can take them step by step through the Scriptures, showing them
the clear truth of God´s Word. He can tell them, "Here is what God
says about your problem. He says you´re supposed to do this and
this." He confronts them with the reality that if they don´t forsake
their sin, they will incur God´s judgment.

Yet none of this counsel registers. Why? There is a spiritual veil
over the eyes of these people. They have a terrible blindness to
their own guilt and need to change.

Since I began pastoring, I´ve been caught in the middle of many
family feuds and I can testify that few of these wars are ever
resolved outside of supernatural intervention. Why? Because
everybody wants the other person to change.

One party tells me, "Why is he so stubborn? It´s awful. He needs
to change." Then I hear something similar from the other party:
"How can she be so hard-hearted? She knows I´m doing the best
I can. Is this what I get for being kind to her?"

It´s always the other person´s fault, the other one who needs to
change. That is why I believe no amount of counseling will have
an impact until God´s people resolve something. We all have to
make this our sincere, daily prayer: "O God, change me."

We spend far too much time praying, "God, change my circum-
stances; change my coworkers; change my family situation;
change the conditions in my life." Yet we seldom pray this most
important prayer: "Change me, Lord. The real trouble isn´t my
spouse, my sibling, my friend. I´m the one who stands in need of prayer."

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
(changed) by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2)

-Source-

http://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/node/27416

© 2012 World Challenge. All rights reserved. PO Box 260, Lindale,
TX 75771-0260, (903) 963-8626

DO NOT GIVE SATAN an INCH OF GROUND

 
DO NOT GIVE SATAN an INCH OF GROUND
by David Wilkerson

Jesus told His disciples, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath
nothing in me" (John 14:30). He was saying, in essence, "When
Satan comes at Me, he can´t find any place where he can get a
foothold. I am totally under the authority of My Father."

Likewise, Satan cannot enter the body or spirit of any believer
whose life is totally submitted to God´s Word. He has to be given
a place in order to gain a foothold. And that happens only when
a person holds back "part of the price." Let me explain.

In Acts 5 a couple named Ananias and Sapphira sold a portion of
their land and gave the proceeds to the new church in Jerusalem.
Yet, when they laid the amount at Peter's feet, the apostle was
perplexed. He asked, "Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to
the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?"
(Acts 5:3). As soon as Peter spoke these words, Ananias fell
down dead on the spot and just a little later, so did his wife.

What is the lesson God wanted to teach the Church through this?
I don´t believe it had anything to do with the physical piece of land
Ananias and Sapphira owned. Rather, it had to do with the inner
territory of their hearts.

This couple believed they could be 95 percent obedient to God but
remain safely disobedient in one small area. They had heard God´s
pure Word preached but they rebelled against what they knew to
be true. They convinced themselves, "We can serve the Lord yet
hold on to this one thing." That was a lie to the Holy Ghost.

So, the part of the price they held back had nothing to do with
money, but a small bit of ground of covetousness in their hearts.
It was a patch just big enough to give Satan a stronghold, and
with their one stubborn disobedience, they allowed the enemy to
fill their hearts.

This is why Paul warns, "Neither give place to the devil" (Ephesians
4:27). The example of Ananias and Sapphira is clear: The price of
an overcoming life is no small matter. It means subjecting our lives
wholly to God´s Word, with no more dark places, hidden lusts or
rebellion. Do not give Satan one inch of ground. That´s all he needs
to gain entrance and establish a power base

-Source-

http://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/node/27568

© 2012 World Challenge. All rights reserved. PO Box 260, Lindale,
TX 75771-0260, (903) 963-8626

WOULD the EARLY CHURCH RECOGNIZE the AMERICAN CHURCH?

WOULD the EARLY CHURCH RECOGNIZE the AMERICAN CHURCH?
by Marcus Yoars

Would the modern American church even be recognizable to early
followers of Jesus?

By today´s standards in the American church, Jesus wasn´t cut
out to be a pastor, nor would His ministry be highlighted as a
model for church planters. Consider these facts:

Jesus had the greatest preaching, teaching and healing ministry
in history. Thousands came to hear Him, followed His every move
and lined the streets to get a glimpse of Him or simply touch Him.
Yet amid His rock-star popularity, He intentionally offended
religious leaders, challenged potential mega-donors and weeded
out casual followers with tough teachings. Not exactly the
textbook strategy you´d find today to grow your church, much
less your Facebook likes and Twitter followers.

After Jesus spent three and a half years ministering to thousands,
His church consisted of only 120 disciples gathered in the upper
room. And even that was a low turnout, considering He had
appeared to more than 500 people after His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:6).

But we know the rest of the story: how the 120 quickly became
3,120 and grew daily to where even unbelievers credited Jesus´
followers as those "who have turned the world upside down"
(Acts 17:6). The truth is, we know that Jesus´ divine church-
growth tactics surpass all others-with the proof being a global
church that, 2,000 years later, refuses to die while it works to
fulfill His Great Commission.

Why, then, do we in the 21st-century American church focus
on all the elements that Jesus didn´t? He focused on training and
equipping 12 disciples; we focus on growing our crowds and
spheres of influence, regardless of whether those people follow
Jesus. He preached an uncompromising message of truth; we
sugarcoat the gospel until we´re saccharine-high on deception.
He walked among His enemies in love; we ostracize our
enemies by blasting them for all their sins.

Indeed, most of the U.S. church is enamored with size over
substance and microwave growth over true reproduction. Research
shows that while 235 million people call themselves Christians,
only 40 percent of those meet regularly with fellow believers and
only a fourth (at most) read the Bible on a regular basis. It´s time
we discovered the marks of the real church, measured by Jesus´
standards rather than our own trendy metrics. So what are those
elements? Here are just a few.

1) Love.  Jesus defined a premier characteristic of His church in
John 13:35: "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you
have love for one another." If we can´t even love fellow believers-if
we skewer each other over theological differences and cultural
preferences-how can we expect the world to want what we have?
Transforming the world with God´s love starts right where we are,
on the home front, as we learn to love each other as Christ loved us.

2) Prayer.  Jesus was constantly communicating with the Father,
listening for His thoughts and seeing where He was already moving.
Luke´s Gospel shows that little happened in Christ´s life without
Him first praying. Why, then, do most church gatherings today focus
so little on prayer? In trying to be culturally relevant and seeker-
sensitive, we´ve conveyed that this essentiality of our faith-both
individually and corporately-is secondary. That can´t be if we want
to mimic Jesus.

3) Persecution. We in the West equate religious freedom and the
lack of persecution with blessing. Yet when you look for the most
powerful churches in the world, where the Spirit moves freely and
in fullness, you´ll always find persecution. It´s time we wake up
and realize that persecution galvanizes and unifies the body of Christ
like few other pressures. Remember, Jesus promised persecution to
those who truly follow Him (Matt. 5:11-12; John 15:20). When was
the last time you saw this promise fulfilled in your own life or church?

4) Power. Jesus also promised that His followers would do greater
works than He did (John 14:12)-a promise sealed by the gift of the
Holy Spirit to empower us. Wherever the early apostles and church
went, the miraculous followed. Though there have been seasons of
Holy Spirit revival in our nation, even charismatic churches today are
de-emphasizing such things as praying for the sick, demonic
deliverance or the prophetic. Making room for the Spirit´s
supernatural movement isn´t an option; it´s the mark of those
who truly follow Christ.

-Source-

http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/church-ministry/20299

OUR Most CRITICAL NEED

 
OUR Most CRITICAL NEED
by A.W. Tozer

Surely we need a baptism of clear seeing if we are to escape the
fate of Israel (and of every other religious body in history that forsook
God). If not the greatest need, then surely one of the greatest is for
the appearance of Christian leaders with prophetic vision. We
desperately need seers who can see through the mist. Unless they
come soon, it will be too late for this generation. And if they do
come, we will no doubt crucify a few of them in the name of our
worldly orthodoxy. But the cross is always the harbinger of the
resurrection.

Mere evangelism is not our present need. Evangelism does no
more than extend religion, of whatever kind it may be. It gains
acceptance for religion among larger numbers of people without
giving much thought to the quality of that religion. The tragedy is
that present-day evangelism accepts the degenerate form of
Christianity now current as the very religion of the apostles and
busies itself with making converts to it with no questions asked.
And all the time we are moving farther and farther from the New
Testament pattern.

We must have a new reformation. There must come a violent break
with that irresponsible, amusement-mad, paganized pseudo-religion
which passes today for the faith of Christ and which is being spread
all over the world by unspiritual men employing unscriptural methods
to achieve their ends.

When the Roman church apostatized, God brought about the
Reformation. When the Reformation declined, God raised up the
Moravians and the Wesleys. When these movements began to
die, God raised up fundamentalism and the "deeper life" groups.

Now that these have almost without exception sold out to the world-
what next?


-Source- "We travel an appointed way" - A.W. Tozer, chapter 8

GREAT QUOTES on REVIVAL

 
GREAT QUOTES on REVIVAL

"I'd rather be in the heart of Africa in the will of God than on the
throne of England out of the will of God."
-David Livingstone

"A revival is no more a miracle than a crop of wheat. In any
community,  revival can be secured from heaven when heroic
souls enter the conflict determined to win or die -- or if need be--
to win and die!"
-Charles Finney + John Wesley

"The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and
through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated
to Him." (D.L. Moody, upon hearing this challenge said, "I will
try my utmost to be that man.")

"It is not the greatness of our troubles as the littleness of our
spirit, which makes us complain." -Hudson Taylor

"We have heard of many people who trusted God too little, but
have you ever heard of anyone who trusted Him too much?"
-Hudson Taylor

WHY MAKE a MOVIE??

 
WHY MAKE a MOVIE??
by A. Strom

I tend to get a lot of criticism when I talk about the feature film we
are making. Some think it is not a very "preacher-ish" thing to do.
Shouldn't I be off "spreading the word" instead of participating in
such a thing?

But it is precisely the call to 'spread the message' that compels
me to make this film - and to make it as widely accessible as
possible. Millions of people today - including many Christians -
no longer read books or articles. They are not interested in
'preaching'. They do not even watch documentaries. But they
might just watch a feature film. Are we not called to reach these
ones too? -Especially with an urgent warning about the very
times we are living in? (And believe me, 'warning' is at the very
heart of this film).

The difficult thing is to incorporate such a hard-hitting message
without making the whole thing "cheesy" or religiously overbearing.

So what is this movie about? Well, the basic theme is that our
civilization really is coming to an end - and the causes are
SPIRITUAL. It is a film that tries to express God's point of view
as to why our culture is in such a death-spiral - but with a storyline
that will hopefully keep people watching right to the end. The
"message" in this movie is not subtle or 'hidden'. I am not interested
in making a film like that. It is very clear. But at the same time it
tries to avoid religious cliches. There are a lot of special effects
and things in the film - and I am not at all ashamed of employing
them. Hopefully we will get more people watching that way -
which is the whole idea.

We live today in a very "visual" culture. We have the choice of
either abandoning these people to their dreamworld - or trying to
engage them in a language that they truly understand. Too often
we Christians are such "purists" that we will not even try to reach
such ones. But if we're called to issue a "warning", shouldn't we
do it in a way that they will actually hear?

I have had it on my heart for years to one day make a feature film.
I know I will receive criticism for this "un-preacherly" project, but
I cannot apologize for it. I hope you can understand my heart in
this, my friends. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

-PLEASE COMMENT on this article at the following website-

http://www.revivalschool.com/

WALKING PLEASINGLY Before THE LORD

 
WALKING PLEASINGLY Before THE LORD
by David Wilkerson

"Enoch walked with God" (Genesis 5:24). The original Hebrew
meaning for walked implies that Enoch walked arm in arm
with God, continually conversing with Him and growing closer
to Him. Enoch lived 365 years-or, a "year" of years. In him
we see a new kind of believer. The Lord was his very life-so
much so that at the end of his life, he did not see death
(see Hebrews 11:5).

Enoch learned to walk pleasingly before God in the midst of a
wicked society. He was an ordinary man with all the same
problems and burdens we carry, not a hermit hidden away in a
wilderness cave, "hiding to be holy." He was involved in life with
a wife, children, obligations and responsibilities.

"Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him"
(Genesis 5:24). We know from Hebrews that this verse speaks
of Enoch´s translation, the fact that he did not taste death. But
it also means something deeper. The phrase "he was not" as
used in Genesis 5 also means "he was not of this world." In his
spirit and in his senses, Enoch was not a part of this wicked
world. Each day as he walked with the Lord he became less
attached to the things of the world. Like Paul, he died daily to
this earth life and he was taken up in his spirit to a heavenly
realm.

Yet, while he walked on Earth, Enoch undertook all his
responsibilities but none of the demands of this life could keep
him from his walk with God.

Hebrews 11:5 says clearly: "Before [Enoch´s] translation he had
this testimony, that he pleased God." What was it about Enoch
that pleased God so much? It was that his walk with God
produced in him the kind of faith God loves.

These two verses cannot be separated: "Before [Enoch´s] translation
he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is
impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:5-6). We hear this latter verse
often, but rarely in connection with the former. Yet, throughout the
Bible and all of history those who walked closely with God became
men and women of deep faith. If the Church is walking with God
daily, communing with Him continually, the result will be a people
full of faith-true faith that pleases God.

-Source-

http://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/node/27853

© 2012 World Challenge. All rights reserved. PO Box 260, Lindale,
TX 75771-0260, (903) 963-8626