Hi John,

Thinking about last week’s meeting. Jim said something about the thief that steals our feelings. It occurred to me that Christianity is that. My previous pastor drew me to him with his adherence to the bible. But he told us to use the knowledge we gained to guide us. His slogan was go with what you know and not with what you feel. The feelings are everything! I am so grateful that God pulled me out of that!

Jesus said to me, “Savor this.” Of course it is the sweet feelings, and I do savor them.

Thinking of you, and hoping all is well.

Patty

Good morning John,

I just wanted to let you know that Amy and I read through some of the Acts book with the new Acts 15 conversation last night.  We each took turns reading the different parts, and the best I can describe it is exhilarating!  I would recommend anyone to sit down and read through it like that together with someone.  It has such a good feeling to it, especially feeling the authority, patience, and love that Paul had for his fellow Jews, and how desperately he wanted them to understand what Jesus had taught him.  There are so many good things to be said about it, but I mainly wanted to just let you know how much I enjoyed it.  I hope it blesses someone down the road.

It was getting late, so we didn’t quite finish.  When we do, we’ll let you know how it fits in the Acts book, and corrections, etc.  At this point it seems to lead up very well to the counsel conversation.  I’m hoping we’ll be able to finish reading through the rest of the book this weekend as well.

Vince

Good Morning Pastor John!

I am sitting here in the hotel in Shelby, NC. I feel like Jesus has been preaching to my heart with a soft gentle whisper for two days now.  When I first began seeking my Jesus (I love that. I love remembering when I would ask God to show me who He is, what He likes and dislikes).  I heard you say, “God loves a sincere heart.”  I asked Jesus to please create my new heart to be a sincere heart. I thought that I understood that. I think I am seeing that means so much more than I thought it did.  Maybe it is just going in a little deeper.

I was watching a TV show about Robin Williams.  Mr. Williams’ life was really heartbreaking.  As I watched the show,  I could see the sadness and emptiness in his eyes. He spent his whole life masking how broken he was. He covered this up with drugs, alcohol, and comedy. He also gave a lot to charity. I kept thinking, “O Jesus, if only he would have broken down and cried out to you! If only he would have been sincere about his hurt.” During this show, Jesus was whispering, “The whole world is masking their emptiness. There is no sincerity in their hearts. It is normal in the world to hide your heart.”

Oh, Pastor John, I am so thankful for the freedom to feel. What a precious gift from Jesus!  Sometimes I tell Jesus, “Please let me get through this testimony without tears.”  I am not asking Jesus for that anymore. I am going to thank Jesus for my tears. I pray Jesus gives me a sincere heart, a heart after His.

I am so thankful for being pulled out of that hard world.

Beth

Hi Pastor John,

I’m starting to listen to the CDs of the Pentecost Experience* (especially after singing that song this past weekend).  I started with Uncle Earl & Aunt Bebe, because there are still among us. Though their bodies have aged, they are young in the Spirit and just as lively. Those DVDs are still as refreshing with God’s Truth as ever; I love hearing their experiences of their journeys . . . they never get old to me.

I loved one part with Brother Earl, when he was telling one reason we need to receive the Spirit and have it operating in our lives is because “we don’t know what to pray for, but the Spirit does.”  No telling how many times we needed answers, and the answer came once we yielded our bodies to prayer, so that God can “go to war” for us and give us the feelings (His feelings) of the holy Ghost.

Sometimes, the Spirit moves on us to pray, and sometimes we pray and the Spirit of prayer just overwhelms us. It’s all God because He wants to share His love and feelings for us through His Son, by His Spirit.

Watching that movie, Our Town, really touched me this weekend, and seeing our family perform the play touched me even more.  I laughed and cried–sometimes at the same time.  It’s wonderful to really feel the Spirit inside of you.  Inside the Spirit are all the answers on what to say and when to say it, when to move and not move, when to sit or stand, etc . . .

I love my life, and am very grateful to the ones God has allowed me, through His mercy and love, to live this life with.  The meetings, the parade, the singing on the porch, reading your translations, cheese toast on Sunday mornings, and Judy reading to Maddie (now) :), are so precious and full of peace and joy.
I believe this is one, if not the best 4th of July that I ever have had.

Billy

*A complete set of The Pentecostal Experience DVDs may be found at the following link: http://www.pastorjohnshouse.com/store/

Hey Pastor John! 

I love this!  If I remember right, I’ve heard you say that when you feel the Spirit, it’s doing something for you. Whew!  This is what you are saying, in another way, and it is so good!  It’s like he is saying, “I kill you so that you can live.”  Makes me want to keep the Holy Ghost stirred up even more.  Go Jesus Go! 

Donna C.

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Every time a person resists the feelings of the Spirit, every time they fail to yield when the Power moves, they are choosing death over life, damnation over glorification. I’ve never understood it so clearly. That is a terrifying thought.

Jerry

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Brother  John, I love this message “God Is at War with Death”. That is wonderful to think on, to take in, and to understand that when the Spirit is moving within me (us) God is really conquering the death that is in the flesh. It even helps me understand “joy unspeakable” better. I knew that the feelings of the Spirit made me feel such great joy but I don’t think I ever connected it with God overcoming death in the flesh, at least not like this message explains it. 

Makes me want more, more, more feelings in the Spirit and then I can say, die, flesh die!! Because I know God is winning in me!!

Love this and thank you so much. Something about this has started my day off super great. 

Sheila

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This is so good!  Just reading it, I feel the spirit running through my body! Yes, I want to praise God and cheer him on, and let Jesus win every battle that I face in my life.  I do talk to Jesus and tell him I have fear of death.  I don’t want to be afraid because I know it is coming one day, but I also know that I do belong to him.  Hope to see you soon love you.

Kathy

God Is at War with Death

From a sermon by Pastor John

June 30, 2016

God is at perpetual war with death.  Death is an enemy, Paul said.  “The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1Cor. 15:26).  And do you know how God fights death?  It’s not by railing against it, or shooting guns.  Every time the Spirit moves on you, God is fighting with death.  The life of the Spirit is the victory over death!  Every time you feel the Spirit, God is conquering the death that is in your flesh.

God doesn’t fight like people fight.  Peace is His weapon; joy is His weapon; truth is His weapon.  Every time God heals somebody, He is overcoming death; He’s fighting, and He’s winning.  It is no wonder Jesus said, “He that believes in me shall never die.”  Even if you “fall asleep in Jesus”, you will rise again.  “He that is alive and believes in me shall never die.”  People may say you’re dead, but you will not be dead.  

We feel it when God is fighting.  We are blessed when the battle is raging.  It’s “joy unspeakable” for us when God is overcoming death.  Every time God speaks to you, He’s fighting against death, and He’s winning in you.  That’s where God’s warfare is, in the Spirit, and when you feel His joy and peace, the Spirit is winning.  If you stay in the Spirit, you win with it.  Solomon said, “In the pathway of righteousness there is no death” – none.  Stay on that pathway!  There is no death in the holy Ghost; “the Spirit is life, because of righteousness.”

Let’s praise God and cheer Him on!  Win, God, Win!  Let Him win in you!

 

Good morning!

I’m still feasting on the wonderful feelings from Jesus when we were all singing together on the Embry’s porch Sunday night.  I loved it – singing in one accord to our Lord!  When I closed my eyes, it felt as if we were right beside heaven. It still feels wonderful just thinking of it!  What precious, precious feelings from Jesus!

Donna

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I agree. That was a special time.  The open-air, heartfelt singing by everybody there had a heavenly sound.  We should do that more often!

Pastor John

Good Morning:

It hit me how much Jesus loved the people in John 11:41-42 (below). Somehow, I had missed the love he had for the people in these words before!!!!

(Right before raising Lazarus):

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.  And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me” (Jn. 41-42).

B Wendell

Dear Bro. John:

I loved the feelings in the meeting tonight – – when you are just sitting there, listening with your heart, and all of a sudden you realize how precious it is to be bought by the blood of Jesus and taught by the Creator of everything!  And have his LIFE living in you!  That’s when that intoxicating feeling of the holy Ghost takes over and there is nothing left to consider but just to be happy in Jesus and soak it up!  Just letting the holy Ghost flow through brings such a refreshing, as John 7:38says: “. . . . out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”.  I can still feel the desire in my heart for more of Jesus.  Well, if we never feel like we get enough, it isn’t his fault.  He is always ready to quench our thirst and feed our hunger!  Truly, his is a never-ending love.

I suppose I will close my eyes for tonight.  Who knows, he may meet me in my dreams . . . .

See you in the morning! 

Sandy  🙂

 

Pastor John,

The other morning I was driving into work, and as I was heading up a busy two lane hwy past the center of town, a very small but legal motorcycle pulled out some distance in front of me. My first thought was, “That smaller bike is not going to be able to keep up with traffic.”  I was still ten car lengths back, and the Spirit spoke to me very clearly and said to me: “Does that man feel safe? ….. He should! No one should ever feel safer than they do when God’s children are behind them.”

It let me know that God cares very much how we make people feel. All people.

I considered every time that I have had someone riding close to my rear bumper while driving, and the anxiety and uneasiness that it caused me.

I then wondered if I also have ridden too close to someone, when I was feeling in a hurry to get somewhere?  I thought about what I would have made them feel…anxiety, fear, anger? At last, I thought of what I heard from the Spirit many years ago: “If you are not bringing the best out of God’s people, what are you bringing out of them?” 

And I thought, what am I bringing out of people in the world?  I repented at that moment, brother John, of ever doing that to another person.  It is ungodly to make others feel anything but safety and comfort, out on these roads.

I thank God for changing us Pastor John.

Jerry

Pastor John,

I was in the kitchen this morning thinking about not having that quick “come-back” in conversations with people.  Jesus has previously shown me that it walks hand-in-hand with being sarcastic.  I was talking to Jesus about it, and I was in the kitchen cooking, with Songs of Rest playing in the background.

After a few happy songs, I was feeling better and kind of forgot about it.  I was listening to Donna Nelson sing, and I said “Lord, if I could sing like Donna, I would never shut up!” As quick as I said that, Jesus said, “Yes, I know.  That is why you can’t!”

I had to laugh because it was such a quick response. 

Beth