Pastor John,

Bess’s dream reminded me of a couple experiences that I would like to share.

In early 2007, after my divorce, I was alone for the first time in my life. I had never lived on my own and I was learning how to do things I had never done. I was very new in the Lord and in my mind, I thought I had to have a husband over me who knew me better than anyone else to help me and correct me when needed. One day talking with the Lord about it, I asked, “How will I know if something isn’t right with me and needs to be corrected?”

At the time I owned a Kia Sorento, and Jesus set it up so that it would periodically have minor problems that would require me to get it fixed. One of the problems was with the headlights. The bulbs would go out, and I would have to get them replaced. It happened so that whenever I pulled up to a building with a big window or door I would check my lights in the reflection to make sure they were still working. That was easy enough to do, and I was able to keep check on the front lights, but I had no easy way check the taillights.

One day I was slowly driving through the Walmart parking lot in Burlington. My window was open, and I was able to hear someone calling to me. I looked over, and there was a man waving me down. I stopped and cracked my window a little more so I could hear him better. He told me my taillight was out. I thanked him, and as I pulled away, I felt as if Jesus had sent the answer to my question, ‘How will I know if something isn’t right with me and needs to be corrected?’ The answer was simple and very sweet: He will send someone and they will let me know.

I learned as I went through some difficult spiritual battles surrounding my divorce that having fellowship with you, Pastor John, and Barbara, and my brothers and sisters would save me. You had not known me long, but you all could feel if I was doing ok or needed some correction and guidance. That didn’t come from knowing me as a person; that came from knowing the Spirit of God. I could “check my reflection” in Jesus through my fellowship with everyone else, and make the changes I needed, but I also had to keep my window open and listen to the ones that Jesus would send for the things I could not see on my own. When I would follow a wrong spirit and let it control me, you helped me see it so I could learn to fix it!

That was the first experience. The second experience that was brought to mind from Bess’s dream was something that happened a couple of years ago. I was in my kitchen cooking dinner. When I reached into a cabinet to pull out a bowl, I suddenly felt a familiar feeling that I was once very acquainted with and at one time was controlled by it. The feeling was not from within me, but was on the outside of me. If it was something real; I think I could have seen it. Thankfully, I immediately knew it was not me. I said, “Go away!” And just as quickly as it came, it left. I know that if I would have welcomed that old spirit back, it would have once again robbed me of my peace and joy from Jesus.

I am very thankful for you and for the help I have had. I pray that I will always have the “window” to my heart open enough that I can hear you or whoever Jesus sends, if and when I need them.

Love,

Amy F

Pastor John,

I was reading the exchange between some folk on WhatsApp today regarding a shed, and it reminded me of an experience that I had with Jesus – He taught me a very valuable lesson.

Many years ago I went through a period where I would do my best to help anybody that I could, every time that I could, with any project they were working on. I wanted to do those things for people.

It was during one of those projects that the Lord spoke to my heart very clearly and changed my understanding about what I was doing. The Lord told me:
“You haven’t done one thing ‘unto Me’ until you have taken care of all of your responsibilities at home, first.”

With that startling but gentle instruction came this immediate understanding:
If I was tending to other’s needs before taking care of my wife, I was stealing what belonged to her and giving it to someone else. And only what I was doing above and beyond all of my normal responsibilities counted with God. I received no credit from the Lord for substituting something I was supposed to be doing with another task.

It gave me a new way of looking at the choices I had been making, and convicted my heart that I had been giving away what belonged to my wife. I wonder now if she had been praying, because God showed up to help.

The Lord was very kind to me in His instruction; I had been trying very hard to do good, but I found out it wasn’t holy.

Jerry

John,

Your reminder below about apologies vs repentance and just having an appearance of good but unclean inside goes along with a conversation I had with my neighbor Mr. Patterson. He told me about his peach tree that he grew in his yard. He nurtured it, gave it special attention, applied special fertilizer and after several years it began to bear fruit. And for the following two years he got beautiful delicious peaches. But the tree became infested with insects on the inside. Outwardly the tree looked normal but inwardly it was being eaten up by the insects. That year the tree still bore what looked like the same beautiful peaches as before. But when the beautiful looking peaches were cut open, they were rotten on the inside. He could not restore the tree after the infestation and eventually had to cut it down.

And there is a part two to the digging up roots lesson. Yesterday (Monday) we had the heavy rains. So today I went back to dig up another root. This root was bigger than the previous one and had more tentacle branches. But because the soil was damp and pliable after the rain, the bigger root came up much easier than the previous one when the soil was hard and dry. If our soil is well watered and we are pliable, it’s much easier for roots to be taken out of us. Or if we are hard, closed off, not willing to receive admonishment or be corrected, then it’s much harder to dig out what needs to be gotten out.

Richard French

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Thank you, Richard. This is a great lesson. I counseled the parents, some years back, not to train their children to think that an apology was repentance. Making an apology is like cutting off the sprigs that are above ground. It is a matter of the heart. We don’t want to become “whitewashed sepulchres”, as Jesus said, having a good appearance, but unclean inside.

Pastor John

Digging Up Roots, by Richard French

April 12, 2020

In our backyard there was a row of Red Tip trees planted about twenty years ago as a hedge between our property and the neighbor’s property. Every spring the trees displayed beautiful red leaves with white flowers. Over the last few years the Red Tips contracted a blight and slowly began to die. Eventually all the trees died leaving only scraggly dead limbs. So we had them cut down and removed. The tree service which removed the trees had a stump grinder and ground up the stumps and roots. However, they missed a few. And over the last few days as I planted new trees and shrubs in that same area where the Red Tips had been, I encountered those missed stumps and roots.

What could be seen on the surface were just stumps; the remains of what were once beautiful trees. In various spots along the ground around the stumps were little green shoots of new growth springing up. I decided to dig up the stumps and roots to clear them away for the new shrubs and trees which I planted. With shovel and pick axe I dug, chopped, and pulled at the stumps and roots. It was hard work digging up the stumps and roots; repeatedly swinging the pick axe over and over, then digging around the roots and stumps with the shovel, then back to swinging the pick axe. Sweat dripped in my eyes and off my brow. More than once I thought “This is too much work. Why not just leave them alone?” But I would take a break, catch my breath, get a drink of water, enjoy a cool breeze which Jesus would send and then go back to digging.

After much hard work on one particularly tough stump, the roots were finally out of the ground! That small stump had some very large roots; larger than would be expected for the size of the stump. The main two roots from the stump were twisted and turned in 90degree bends. They spanned at least six feet out from the stump. All the new sprouts that were visible above ground came from the buried roots.

Jesus used that experience to show me that we have to dig out the roots in ourselves. It is not enough to just remove the visible outward sign (the dead trees) but we must get to the root of the issue. Otherwise something will spring up again stemming from the root and try to flourish and reclaim life. It may be in another visible form or a different location from the original tree, but when the root is left intact it will re-grow again. We must first recognize and acknowledge there is a root that needs digging up. And it can be uncomfortable work digging out a deep-seated root that may have been there for a long time. We might have to rub elbows and sharpen iron with one another in the process. And Jesus will help us with cool Jesus used that experience to show me that we have to dig out the roots in ourselves. It is not enough to just remove the visible outward sign (the dead trees) but we must get the root refreshing breezes and encouragement along the way for as long as we continue to work on the root. But when the root is removed it’s gone, and no new sprouts will ever come from that root again.

This experience brought back memories as a youth working on my grandfather’s farm. I chopped and hoed many weeds in his fields. My grandfather would say that it’s not just enough to cut off the top of the weeds with the hoe as the roots will re-grow a new plant. And even pulling up the roots leaving them partially in the soil or even touching the soil would not do. You had to pull up the weeds with the roots and flip them over so the roots were exposed to the SUN in order to dry up and completely kill the roots. That feels like what the LORD is wanting us to do. Dig up the long-buried roots in ourselves and fully expose them to the SON so he can completely heal us!

Good morning again!

While working in the yard the other day I had a thought about God being a businessman and expecting a good return. I thought about how Jesus made sure we knew this by the parable of talents. So I have been reading that parable. It would be so easy to say, “I need to do more; I need to give and do works.” My flesh wants some physical work to make Jesus happy.

It made me think about what I really have been taught. I am very thankful to have that knowledge from you and from Jesus, especially now. I have been reading all the instructions you have been giving. I found myself asking Jesus after I read the parable of the talents, “Is this all you want Lord? Can I just ask you to show me anything that is wrong and you want to be fixed? Can I ask you to help me have fellowship and to love your children, like you want them loved? Can I be still and listen? “

Something in me can’t believe it is that simple.

Then I thought about when I worked at Ford. I knew nothing in the beginning. I did not know how to walk in the plant safely, how to find my way when asked to move to another area, how to use any of the tools I was given. I had been a waitress; I had never seen assembly lines or manufacturing processes. Plus, I am not coordinated at all.

But I learned if I listened to what my supervisor wanted, and I really followed my trainer for the three days I had them, I could do the job. I may not have been good at it right away, but I could do what they wanted me to do. Eventually, I flowed with the workings of that plant. I could easily be placed wherever they needed me to work. I was pliable; I took instruction, and I became a useful employee.

I thought about you telling Samuel not to go too deep, to stay simple and follow his mama’s example (what a beautiful example she is to follow). I love the instruction. It is safe, and it brings me such relief, every time you give it. I know how to follow instructions.

I loved Caleb’s email, hearing his heart, and your response and instruction. I love that it is going to Jesus and saying, “Whatever you want Lord.” I pray to take the instruction and be pliable. I just want to be limp!

I do not want to be the selfish child in a household that has been given so much that it expects it, so spoiled it will cause interruptions and chaos. As a parent myself, I can see only one way to fix that. I don’t want Jesus to do that to me.

I am very thankful for the instruction and the examples I have. I am thankful for my foundation you are giving me in the truth.

I look at that last sentence and wish it could have better words to really tell you how I feel. It can’t be found in words.

Beth

Hi Pastor John,

After we got off the phone today, I was talking to Jesus about some of the things I hope he will restore.

Being able to have you lay hands on us and pray. I thought a lot about how it would be if we were not able to have that again. Seeing that picture of Sister Kathy standing in that glass door and knowing that she probably really wanted to hug you and see you, made that hit home even more. Hugging each other again, being in the same room. I remembered today the first time Sue hugged me and how it felt. I prayed today that Jesus would let me hug Sue again. I thought about many things. Hearing our singers sing songs with truth, the feeling that comes when the music starts and the spirit moves, seeing Brother Earl’s feet move when the spirit touches him, or Lee Ann’s shoulders bounce, or watching Carrie dance. Hands raising when we feel the spirit move!

I got very sad thinking about Jesus maybe not restoring us back to our normal. I know things will change. Jesus told me once, everything here is to get us ready to be with him. Everything was always meant to change, but some things are so precious. I don’t want them to change. Today really left me praying for a heart to value whatever we are given, when we are given it.

I felt a little heavy until I heard Sister Willie thanking Jesus. If Sister Wilie is happy and soaking up touches and testifying, that’s where I want to be too. I looked on Facebook and saw all your normal posts, and it felt really good. Helps keep the right perspective and helps me walk down the middle of the track. I am so thankful for the elders and the footsteps to follow. It is comforting. It would be very easy to get lost in this without a shirt tail, or 80 of them, to hold on to.

Thankful you were able to be out driving today. That’s a sweet testimony in itself!

Beth D.

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Amen, Beth!

It was sweet hearing your voice, too, and then Jerry’s, and then Sister Willie’s this afternoon on WhatsApp! Things are changing, but it will be for the better. Jesus does everything perfectly in order to perfect us.

Pastor John

Pastor John,

Over the past few weeks, we have been reading the story of David with the girls. We followed David’s life from a shepherd boy to defeating Goliath, to fleeing from Saul and how he hid in caves, forests, and mountains from Saul’s pursuits. Though David did nothing wrong to Saul, Saul turned against David and continually tried to kill him. David, however, still respected and acknowledged Saul as the anointed man whom God had set over him and all of Israel. When opportunities arose where David could have struck down Saul and killed him, ending his exile and hardships, he feared God’s anointing more than his own safety and comfort, and he would not lash out against Saul.

Even though the anointed man of God wrongfully turned on David and attempted to kill him, David never spoke evil against Saul. Now, David pleaded with Saul to give up his unjust pursuit, but the Bible never records David saying anything negative or slanderous regarding Saul, as David acknowledged God’s anointing on Saul and that God made Saul king. And as long as Saul was alive and king, he was still God’s anointed man, and opposing God’s anointed man was the same as opposing God, even if God’s anointed man was opposing him!

When the Amalekite messenger reported Saul’s death to David, and tried to win favor with David, falsely claiming that he was one who had slain Saul:

2 Samuel 1
14. And David said to him, “How were you not afraid to stretch forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”
15. Then David called to one of the young men and said, “Go near, and light upon him.” So he smote him that he died.
16. And David said to him, “Your blood be upon your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have slaughtered the anointed of the Lord.’”
¶17.Then David mourned with this lamentation over Saul, and over Jonathan his son.

As you have mentioned many times, slander is a form of murder, as it kills a person’s influence. May God have mercy on anyone that stretches forth their hand against God’s anointed to oppose or attempt to kill their influence. And even if an anointed teacher/healer/pastor/evangelist/preacher of God has gotten off track and is currently out of the will of God, that person is still God’s anointed, and we would do well to follow David’s example of respecting, acknowledging, and fearing any anointing that God establishes.

Wanted to share some of the thoughts and feelings evoked while reading about David’s humility and respect.

Richard French

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Thanks, Richard.

David was certainly a wise man to think like that, and God richly rewarded him for it.

By example, my father taught us who knew him never to speak evil of a man anointed by God. He showed great respect to Oral Roberts, Kathryn Kuhlman, and others who had an anointing from God. He even told me one Sunday morning that God spoke to him as we watched some religious programming that morning, and said, “Don’t speak evil of anyone who is speaking well of my Son.” The safest way, I suppose, is just to heed Paul’s counsel and “speak evil of no man” (Tit. 3:2).

Thanks for letting us know what you and your sweet family have been up to.

Pastor John

Good morning,

Last night I started “Government in the Assembly of God”.* Reading about God’s order and the humility of authority felt so good, so clean. I felt like my house was being clean and set in order.

What struck me most was reading Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

You said in your notes that the word “vision” means “revelation”. After reading that, I kept hearing, “Revelation comes by the power of God; without His power people will perish. This kept ringing in my heart, and I had to stop. That created such a fervent prayer in my heart for more of the power of God. I just had to get on my knees.

Just writing this I can feel the spirit all over me. We need his power, I just want to be still, be ready, and be willing to let him fill me.

Michelle

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Thank you for letting me hear this testimony, Michelle. So good!

Pastor John

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It’s been a difficult time not seeing everyone and not knowing what this virus will do but the stillness with Jesus has been wonderful.

Michelle

* Follow the link below to read this blog by Pastor John, and more:

https://pastorjohnshouse.blogspot.com/2020/03/government-in-assembly-of-god-part-1.html

Good Morning Bro John!

Jesus is spoiling me! I had the best encouraging dream this morning! In the dream, I saw the inside of a forearm with a deep open wound and it was being closed up (healed) by an invisible power! Immediately, the Spirit spoke and said, “Healing is coming!” Oh my! The doctors can say it, the scientists can say it, but when Jesus says it, it is going to be! Sweet, sweet Jesus. He makes my day! Here’s a hug from Jesus!

Sandy

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Amen, Sandy! I believe it.

jdc

Good Morning!

Really enjoyed this!

You wrote in a blog*, “But what is it that God sees in their hearts that He would refuse to give them His Spirit? Only God knows, and He is always right.”

I always find such peace in this. God knows and knowing that helps me not hurt for the ones I love that He has not chosen as of now. It also lets me just live and not push past God. I love the peace it brings. “He is always right.” That is like a healing balm to me.

All those people out there right now separated from false teachers, alone with God, makes me pray for tender experiences to be had with Jesus during this virus. I pray they cry out to Jesus and never go back. How many hurting hearts will cry his name during this time?

The email between you and Jerry the other day and this blog struck me. I pray to stay close to Jesus and be free from wrong thoughts and feelings. It has been hard to be away from the anointing and the body so long. I need the anointing, and I need the body. I ask Jesus to give me his feelings and his thoughts every day. I really, really miss us just praising God together.

Beth D.

* https://www.goingtojesus.com/gtj_thoughts.html?tname=rdt04-02

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A sobering truth.

Pastor John