Pastor John,

This morning, I remembered a conversation that I once had with a man that I used to work part-time for, many years ago.

He started telling me that day about a fellow that (I assume) he used to look to as a friend. A person that he said, used to make use of his business regularly, (it was a gym, for athletic training).

He told me that this fellow, “used to come in here everyday, and was a pretty decent guy, but then, next thing you know, the fellow disappears and is out handling snakes”. I said, “really?” with excitement. He said, “No. It’s just a figure of speech”.

I thought he was saying his friend had found the power of God!  I had never in my short lifetime heard someone say, that as a derogatory “figure of speech”.  I have only heard it in the sense of: they were full of the holy Ghost and were able to handle snakes under the power that Jesus talked about in Mark, chapter 16.

His answer disappointed me, I thought he knew a man who had forsook sin and found the way of holiness. I wanted to locate him 🙂

I have not considered that conversation in maybe a decade, not until this morning. And the reality of what that man was saying to me that day, when he said “It is just a figure of speech”,  hit me.  In saying what he said to me, he was showing that the Pentecostal movement used to be so prevalent in this country and that holiness had made such an impression on people then, that when people went from living their sinful life, and made a sudden and abrupt life change, folk would equate that as to what happened during the Pentecostal movement!

What an impact the outpouring of God’s Spirit must have had on this Country then! To become a “slur” in everyday speech, at least for that generation.

I imagine the Azusa street blessings contributed to that.  And the work of your father, Preacher Clark,  traveling this country with the power of the Gospel. And brother Frank, and sister Mae, and brother Oral Roberts, and others that we read about.

My how times and people change! 

But God does not.

I appreciate experiencing that this morning. It excited me to consider that the power of God had that kind of impact on the world.

Jerry

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Yes, Jerry. The term “holy roller” is the another example of Pentecostal influence on our culture.  I wish we (God’s people everywhere) were so full of the Spirit now that men would come up with some similar names for us.  God, let it be!

jdc

Pastor John,

I was thinking this morning that, God’s children ought to not have “habits”.

We have the Spirit of life, habits are of the flesh.  Everything God does has purpose; there are no habits in Heaven.

Jerry

Pastor John,

I was thinking about Billy’s dream last night.  In it, there was just no place that he belonged here on Earth.  I then thought about Jesus, and how He had no home, no place to lay His head, no place that He belonged, or a place where He was wanted.

It made me think, if we find any place here on the Earth, anywhere we fit or belong, other than with those who are strangers just like us, we are not yet like Jesus.  Jesus and those who are like Him, just don’t fit anywhere here on this planet. It is a glorious thing, if we are all-in with Jesus.  Hard and hurtful if not.

I am thankful today.

Jerry

Pastor John,

I have been thinking about life in the Spirit, this evening.  And I remembered something, something that I heard you say, at least once.  It is very good.  And it is surely true.

There was a person, several years ago, who directly, or indirectly through one of us, made a sincere comment to you, regarding the condition of their congregation.  They said to you (regarding the portion of the body of Christ that meets in your home), “I wish I could get my people to where your people are!”

And you replied, to the effect of, “It’s not someplace that you ‘get to’, it’s the place that you start. When you are born again, you are born perfect.  Staying there is the work”. Staying free of the things that want to attach themselves to us, things that God didn’t give us when we were born again, is the warfare. Otherwise, we are perfect.

If we would just remain the thing that God created when we were born of the Spirit, we would grow perfectly and effortlessly.  We would speak perfectly. We would learn and later teach others perfectly, and so on.  Everything that is not just that, perfect, is caused by something else other than what God gave us when we were born of the Spirit.  There is no sin in what God created.  And no spiritual failure ever came from what God gave us. It is the things that we pick up after God recreates us, that causes that.

Knowing that is true, takes all of the struggle and strain out of growing and out of producing fruit. Growing and yielding healthy fruit is just what Spirit does, it’s just natural, if it isn’t inhibited by something else, something that has attached itself to a perfect child of God.

That truth allows me to understand that when we read in the Bible where Jesus, or Paul, or John, or others commanded the spirit-filled body of Christ to “be perfect”, or to “sin not” or to “be sinless”, all they were confessing is their own experience, that they loved God, and that love of God kept them spiritually stirring, alive, constantly burning off the dross and not letting anything else attach itself to them that wasn’t perfect.

They stayed free of everything (by loving God) that wasn’t what God gave them in the beginning. And as a glorious result, what God gave them grew, effortlessly … mature and wise, bearing mighty fruit, pleasing God!  All the way back to Glory – and took those faithful Saints with it.

What a story of Love!

Jerry

Hi Pastor John!

A new lesson from Jesus that I want to share.

Thursday evening I had been talking to Jesus about knowing his voice. Jesus has been so patient with me, teaching me how to listen to the spirit and just how to know his voice. Well I was thinking Thursday evening about something I heard you say when I was seeking the holy ghost. What you said was, “That any good thought comes from God and that we can not even have a good thought without God.” 

This led to me asking Jesus “How do I know when my thought is from you?” Most of the time, I can feel when Jesus is talking to me. I just know it is my Jesus. The Lord has taught me to hear and know the still small voice and he has spoken so loudly to me that it shook me on the inside.   Then sometimes there is just a thought that comes out of no where. So that is what I was talking to Jesus about that evening.

Here was how he answered me.

Friday I stopped at the gas station. Now I usually use one of two gas stations in town because I fill up so often. This is a gas station I use often. I got out of the car, started the pump and got back in the car while the gas pumped. I do this every time I get gas. As I sit in the car I had a thought. The thought was, “What if that pump doesn’t stop and runs over?” The thought struck me. I even argued against the thought because the pump always stops. I have never had it run over.

But God.

I wait maybe another minute or so, and get out to put the pump up, which has not stopped and I am now over $20.  When I get out the gas is running over down the side of my car.  It is a lot of gas too. I just stood there with my mouth open. I couldn’t believe it ran over. Then a very large burly man looks right at me, just as calm as can be and says, “That is an expensive lesson huh?” I couldn’t even speak. I was finally able to put my head down and humbly say, “Yes sir it is.” 

You know that feeling when you can just feel Jesus looking at you and you can’t really say anything?  I do. I experienced it Friday.  

I was talking to Lou on Friday night and she said “Isn’t God good? You would not have had that thought, no reason to because it had never happened before.”  I feel like Jesus is fine tuning my hearing!

Beth

Pastor John, 

I liked the Aesop’s Fable you read in the meeting recently about the sheep and the wolves.  May God always let us recognize His voice and not get caught up in the devices of the wolves around us.  God gives us dreams and warnings all along the way.  Let us do our part in all He give us!  And Darren’s song was a knock out!  Wow!  Feelings that run so deep and true.  I love what you said about not wondering about every other way, but just love this and enjoy life!!  There are so many words and things in this world that amount to nothing and get you no where, but if you put all you time and effort in loving God, you WILL get somewhere.  This world is insane.  I love life in the Spirit.  It’s so simple.  

Stuart

Pastor John,

The other day I was driving along a narrow highway in the northern and more rural part of the County. After a short time, this fellow came up swiftly behind me and as I was going slower, due to the speed limit, he began tailgating me.

As I and my unwelcome shadow continued down the road, I began to considered the danger that he was putting me in.  When he first appeared, I was just uneasy about the situation, but as we pushed on down the road and the minutes mounted, and he remained all but welded to my rear bumper, my concern turned into a real indignation, and I said aloud, (and to no one in particular), “What right do you have to endanger my life?”  Then, my feelings of frustration overflowed the boundaries of self-preservation and I said, “It’s not about me, but every human being!  How dare you endanger another human being’s life?  Any human being?  What right do you have to do that?” I demanded, again to no one.

Then, feeling like I had just expressed a spirit that was not God’s, with fear, I released it, and without a thought I meekly spoke aloud, “Jesus, he could hurt me.”  The Spirit of the Lord spoke back to my heart and said, “That is my business.”

At that moment, all of the tension disappeared. All of my concern for myself, and for mankind, who I was just previously ready to defend against this man, was gone. And I was at perfect peace.

And I had also just been corrected by the Lord, because I am loved 🙂

As I continued down the road, with my friend still in tow, I had the opportunity to open up the gift that I had just been given.

“That is my business”, is what the Lord said. And what that meant for me was that it was the Creator’s business, not mine, if I was hurt by another. Not just physically, but hurt in any manner. I am not my own, I am His possession.  Mine is to do the will of God, while navigating the snares and potholes in this world that will entangle me or slow me down. Mine is to keep my mind on Jesus, doing His will with joy, in all things. It is the Lord’s business to preserve His creation, (me)…..or not. I belong to Him, and my welfare is His to consider.

My job is not to defend myself, nor to defend others, not with weapons of this world. My job is not to seek retribution, vengeance or justice. My job is to do the will of Him who bought me.  The place to which the Lord invited me exists.  My elders in Jesus are there. But it takes staying under the anointing to achieve it, because without the power of God to not be moved, the best that I can do is exhibit self-control of feelings that I can’t control.

So, now I know what to do with the world’s insanity.  Miss it altogether while my heart is fixed on God.

Jerry

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Suzi here. 

Often these days I am reminded of Darren’s song that tells us  “Hide in his mercy, hide in his grace, we will hide in our prayers, and  as we give him praise, we will hide in testimonies, and the songs that we sing, we will hide from this world in the shadow of his wing.”  I pray that Jesus helps me (us) do this. This attitude (spirit) that provokes strong reactions can be seen often on FB, or anywhere where comments can be posted or spoken (e.g., the news). It’s a total absence of common sense with no possibility of encouraging solid thinking. It’s best to stay far away from their “road rage”, else any of us get side-swiped.  So, yes, it’s best to for us to do what Darren’s song says.

Suzi

Pastor John,

When reading tonight’s excerpt from the Father and Son book (below), specifically this sentence: “When the Beast of John’s Revelation does away with the Great Whore, Christianity (Rev 17:16)”,   it allowed me to consider a couple of things. One, a spiritual warfare is already underway against the Great Whore, Christianity.  Christianity is eroding on all sides; it is attacked by those from without, who think to dishonor God with the enforcement of secularism, while collapsing within from moral and spiritual failure.  When the “Beast” makes the lethal blow, it will just be the final cut, that finishes it off….to God’s glory!

But, while Christianity is collapsing, the Gospel remains hidden and untouched by that warfare. It flourishes to, and for, all of those who give themselves wholly to it. It reminds me of the story of Jehoshaphat, who was dressed as the king and consequently drew all of the enemies attention on the battlefield. Christianity’s claim of being the Bride of Christ has drawn all of the enemy’s arrows, while the real Bride, the Spirit filled body of Christ, is at rest.  Thank God for the diversion.

The second thing that struck me is this, all of the folk within that religious system (Christianity), reading about this future figure in the book of Revelation, called the Beast, have no idea that they are sitting within the Great Whore that he is coming to slaughter.  What a mystery, without revelation from God!  Who can know it.  God is using the evil figure of the Beast, to destroy the wicked institution of Christianity. And no one can know the part that anyone or anything plays, without God revealing it!

Even when, (or perhaps if) a time comes in the future when men will understand that the Beast is destroying Christianity, who on the Earth will know that it is God’s will?  Who will know then that it is God’s victory and not God’s defeat?  Who will know that God despised that powerless institution, other than the elect of Christ?

The righteous will rejoice in that day, while others morn her loss.  My, what a hidden thing we have been allowed to see!

Jerry D.