Open Heart SURGERY and GILGAL

GOD GAVE A MAN A NEW HEART IN ONE DAY AND HE STILL DID NOT DO RIGHT!

Samuel said to Saul, “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait SEVEN DAYS until I come to you AND TELL YOU WHAT YOU ARE TO DO.” And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, GOD GAVE HIM ANOTHER HEART: and all those signs came to pass that day. 1 Samuel 10:8-9…

GILGAL, GILGAL, GILGAL…YES! GILGAL IS A PLACE YOU MUST GO IF YOU NEED A NEW HEART. I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I NEED A NEW HEART! ANYONE NEED OPEN HEART SURGERY?

 DAVID SAID,

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts and see if there be any WICKED way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. PSALM 139:24…

SAMUEL FURTHER INSTRUCTED HIM … thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: (BETHEL MEANS HOUSE OF GOD) THAT IS WHERE HE GOT THE BREAD! THREE MEN REPRESENT THE SAME THREE MEN THAT ABRAHAM MET UNDER A TENT that TOLD HIS WIFE THAT ABOUT THAT TIME NEXT YEAR, SHE WOULD HAVE A CHILD….ITS THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY GHOST! BREAD, AND WINE AND A SACRIFICE!

SAMUEL SAID,

 And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.

⁵ After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: DID YOU GET THAT? GOD’S HILL NEXT TO THE GATES OF HELL…

A garrison of the Philistines on the hill of God!

The hill of God, most Jewish commentators believe, was the place the Ark of the Covenant was located. Some believe that is was a location for the school of the prophets.

 SO SAUL HAD TO PASS THROUGH HELL TO GET TO THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE MUSIC AND THE MANTLE! JESUS HAD TO DIE ON A HILL CALLED CALVERY AND GO TO HELL TO GET SOME KEYS!

THEN SAMUEL SAID, “and it shall come to pass, when thou art come to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:

⁶ And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, AND SHALT BE TURNED INTO ANOTHER MAN.

⁷ And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.

⁸ And thou shalt go down before me to GILGAL; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

NOW WE JUST READ SAUL’S JOURNEY. GOD CHANGED HIS HEART AND THE VOICE OF PROPHECY CAME UPON HIM AND HE BECAME A NEW MAN!

Now if you have ever studied the story of Saul’s life, you know he did not wait and tarry for his further instructions. HE WAS TOLD TO WAIT 7 DAYS…BUT, He became leery in the battle, weary, tired and anxious to move on… HIS HEART WAS NOT CIRCUMSIZED YET! HE HAD THE ANOINTING, THE CROWN, THE POWER AND THE AUTHORITY, BUT HIS HEART WAS NOT RIGHT! HE WAS THE TALLEST, MOST HANDSOME MAN IN THE TOWN AND HIS FATHER HAD GREAT WEALTH. HIS NAME MEANT, “ASKED FOR”. THE PEOPLE ASKED FOR A KING, THEY ALWAYS DO…

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT THE HEART?

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah 17:9.

Samuel told Saul to wait for the burnt offerings. Saul waited and it was the 7^th day but the people were in a fix and the Philistines were getting all geared up for battle and so Saul thought he needed the people to win the battle. His eyes were fixed on the people as his source and as his means…NOT GOD.

NOW HE PROBABLY WASN’T EVEN AWARE OF THIS BECAUSE MOST OF THE TIME WE ARE NOT AWARE OF OUR OWN HEARTS…NOW SAUL BEGINS TO BLAME THE PROPHET FOR THE SITUATION BECAUSE AFTER ALL HE WAS LATE AND SO PRIDE AND PEOPLE PLEASING FILL HIS HEART. A LACK of TRUST in GOD! Samuel was late and not responding so shouldn’t he do what any king should do? NO!!!! IT WAS NOT HIS JOB TO OFFER THE SACRIFICES IT WAS THE PROPHETS JOB!

 

Later on Saul was given instructions to completely AND UTTERLY DESTROY THE AMALEKITES BUT SAUL LIKED THE BEST OF THE FAT OF THE LAND AND HE KEPT THE BEST SHEEP, OXENS AND FATLINGS AND WORSE HE KEPT THE KING ALIVE!

And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 1 SAMUEL 15:15.

THE NEXT WORDS OUT OF SAULS MOUTH ARE…”THE PEOPLE” BUT THE PEOPLE TOOK THE BEST OF THE LAMBS FOR A SACRIFICE…THE PEOPLE…SAMUEL LOOKS AT HIM AND SAYS, “ENOUGH!” YES ENOUGH OF THE BLAME GAME, IT’S TIME TO EXAMINE OUR HEARTS!

“Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied. Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out. ‘Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?”  1 SAMUEL 15:15-

I WANT TO SHOW YOU HOW BAD THIS KING MISSED IT! HE ACTUALLY THOUGHT HE HEARD THE VOICE OF THE LORD…LISTEN, AND READ CAREFULLY HIS RESPONSE!

And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.” But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 1 SAMUEL 15:23…

NOW GILGAL IS A MATTER OF THE HEART!

We think we are ready for the KINGDOM, the promotion, the title, the ministry, the child, the degree, the business and so forth but our hearts still are not right! HE NEEDS TO CUT AWAY THE PRIDE, THE SHAME, THE SIN, THE IDOLATRY, THE REPROACH AND THE GUILT EVEN. SOME OF US NEED A SHARPER SCALPEL THAN OTHERS. IF YOU ARE AT GILGAL, LAY OPEN YOUR HEART ON THE ALTAR AND CRY OUT FOR HIM TO HEAL YOU! PRAY TO OBEY HIM…FORGET THE OFFERINGS AND THE SACRIFICES AND HOW MUCH YOU GAVE TO THE CHURCH IN TITHES LAST YEAR! FORGET THAT YOU HAVE A PLAQUE WITH YOUR NAME ENGRAVED ON IT FOR HELPING TO BUILD THE BUILDING! FORGET ABOUT ALL THE THINGS YOU DESTROYED IN THE BATTLE, ALL THE ENEMIES YOU FOUGHT AND KILLED, WHETHER IT WAS DRUGS, LUST, SEX, ALCHOHOL OR PRIDE AND REMEMBER THERE MAY BE SOMETHING YOU HELD ONTO! KILL THE KING!!! KILL THE BIGGEST DEMON AND THE OTHERS WILL FALL…THAT’S WHY JESUS ATTEMPTED TO CAST DEMONS OUT OF A MAN AND THEY DIDN’T BUDGE, SO HE SAID, “WHAT IS YOUR NAME? LEGION FOR WE ARE MANY! GET THE KING AND THE REST FALL!

SAMUEL HAD TO DO THE KINGS JOB THAT DAY BECAUSE THE KING WAS AFRAID OF THE PEOPLE…KING SAUL HAD OFFERED THE SPECIAL SACRIFICES THAT WERE MEANT FOR THE PROPHET TO DO, NOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED! SAMUEL TELLS SAUL TO GET THE WICKED KING AND THIS IS WHAT HE SAYS,

 Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so will your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel put Agag to death before the LORD at Gilgal.

LET US PUT OUR SINS TO DEATH AT GILGAL AND GET OUR HEARTS RIGHT!!!!

ALSO IF KINGS DON’T STEP UP AND DO THEIR JOBS RIGHT, GOD will begin TO TURN IT OVER TO THE PROPHETS…

THE SPIRIT OF ATHALIAH and PRIDE

 

I want to talk TO YOU about POWER. It seems many love titles in this day and age, even the title of “Pastor” can be a type of IDOL. There is a feeling one gets when honored by men.  A title can make one feel important or fill a void from childhood. Some people have a certain longing to be recognized, patted on the back and noticed.

My husband has a saying about titles, “If you go to heaven they will fall off, if you go to hell they will burn off”…

Which leads me to this blog.

 ATHALIAH, WAS THE DAUGHTER OF WICKED AHAB AND HIS WICKED WIFE JEZEBEL.

 Just when you think this potion for success couldn’t get any uglier guess who she marries? Athaliah married King Jehoram of Judah. He was the one who murdered all his brothers with a sword because they were loyal to Jehovah.  He is so wicked, look at what God does, “After all this, the LORD afflicted Jehoram with an INCURABLE disease of the bowels. And it came to pass, that in the process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels FELL OUT by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore diseases” 2^nd Chronicles 21:19. OUCH!

Now that I have your attention, we will look at this woman AND A SPIRIT as STRONG as JEZEBEL, who loved the seat of royalty, the title, and the accolades of men.

There is a big difference in being proud of your accomplishments and being prideful! PRIDE IS puffed up, YOUR WAY IS BEST or you are the only one doing it right. DO YOU LOVE TO PUT OTHERS DOWN? Pride comes in sneaky ways and it can make us think we are holier than the next person. It can creep into leadership in God’s house and cause one to think that because of something good in US A SOUL got SAVED or a baby got HEALED after WE prayed for it! Pride says we preach better, drive better, cook better, look better, are smarter than are colleagues and have more wisdom with our spending, more discernment, talent, gifting, prophetic, and the list goes on…

Jesus said go wash someone’s feet, be a servant and to not think too highly. He said, let another person compliment you and to not boast about your own accomplishments! HE SAID WHEN WE TELL EVERYBODY THE GOOD WE HAVE DONE WE HAVE OUR REWARD!

Athaliah had a sickness…many of us do and we don’t even realize it…Giving God the glory for everything is a must if you want true fellowship with Him.

ATHALIAH sat upon the throne of David and she reigned 6 years! How did she do it? Well she murdered all her grandchildren, that’s how!

¶But when ^aAthaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah.

 11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not.

 12 And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land. 2^nd Chronicles 22:10-12.

Did you notice she destroyed everyone who could take her place? I have seen jealousy in God’s house, where many destroyed with their tongues other people’s character in order to keep the eyes of the people on them. Jealousy is in God’s church and in his people when it shouldn’t be. PAUL SAW THIS NASTY JEALOUSY! “Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” 1^ST Corinthians 1:12-13.

This woman Athaliah wanted all eyes upon her and she wanted the glory so badly she was willing to murder her own flesh and blood. Is your brother or sister of another title your own flesh and blood?

One of her grandchildren is hid by the priest and he is raised in the house of God and trained at a very early age to obey the Lord’s commandments. Eventually he is placed on the throne and she is murdered for her wickedness. But what type of person would go to such links to get a title? A position? She wanted the title more than her own seed!

• Athaliah heard the noise and ran from her palace to see what was happening. When she got to the temple and saw her grandson she rent her clothes and cried “treason, treason” ( 2 Kg 11:13-16; 2 Chr. 23:12-15);
• She was forced out the temple, because Jehoiada didn’t want her to defile the temple by being killed in it (2 Kg 11:13-16,
• She was pursued by soldiers and “she went by the
  way by the which the horses came into the king’s house: and there was she slain”( 2 Kg 11:13-16, 2 Chr. 23:12-15);
• The people rejoiced after she was killed (2 Chr. 23:21);
• After her death they tore down all worship of Baal throughout the country (2 Chr. 23:17-20).
• NOW I TOLD YOU ALL THAT TO TELL YOU THIS, “THE SPIRIT OF JEZEBEL IS STRONG BUT SO IS THE SPIRIT OF ATHALIAH! THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THIS SPIRIT WAS FOR THE PRIEST TO JOIN TOGETHER AND PRAY AND TEACH THE YOUNGER IN FEAR. WHEN THERE IS CORRUPTION IN THE HEADSHIP OF A CHURCH OR A GOVERNMENT SEAT, IT HAS A TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT. I HAVE WATCHED THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN. CORRUPTION IN THE HEADSHIP MEANS CORRUPTION IN THE BODY AND IN THE PEOPLE. ATHALIAH KILLS THE ROYAL SEED. THIS IS THE LINAGE OF CHRIST, KINGDOM INHERITORS AND THE SEED THAT WAS MEANT TO RULE. THAT IS WHAT THIS SPIRIT DOES AND IT IS WORKING IN THIS LAST DAY. IT LOVES TO SLAY THE MIGHTY LEADERS, THE PROPHET AND THE PRAYER WARRIORS AND IT COMES WITH FALSE MOTIVES.
• THE IDOL WORSHIP AND JEALOUSY IN THE CHURCH IS A STENCH IN THE FATHERS NOSTRILS. MEN HAVE MADE IT ABOUT THEM AND THEY HAVE MADE IT A SHOW. IF YOU ARE TAKING CREDIT FOR ANYTHING GOD SAYS IN THIS HOUR YOU WILL BE LIKE HEROD WHO WAS EATEN UP WITH WORMS! IF YOU ARE NOT LETTING PROMOTION COME BECAUSE YOU FEAR THE PEOPLE WILL NOT LOOK TO YOU, REPENT. IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING AND CAN’T BE TAUGHT ANY REVELATION FOR THIS HOUR, REPENT. IN THIS HOUR, GOD IS HIDING AWAY THE ONES LIKE JOASH, THE ONES HE IS TEACHING BY HOLY SPIRIT AND WHEN HE BRINGS THEM OUT THE FALSE PROPHETS AND THE LEADERS WHO ARE PLACING PEOPLES EYES ON THEM INSTEAD OF ON GOD WILL BE REMOVED!  AND ALL THE PEOPLE WILL REJOICE BECAUSE THE TRUTH WILL COME FORTH. THIS IS NOT A WORD I WOULD NORMALLY GIVE AND I AM IN NO WAY TAKING THIS LIGHTLY. IF YOU HAVE TAKEN CREDIT FOR ANYTHING, GOD IS SAYING PLACE ALL EYES ON HIM…
• On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. ACTS 12:21-23

 

 

 

 

PINK ELEPHANTS and RUGS

THIS BLOG WILL TEACH YOU A FEW THINGS.

1. Confront issues OR SUFFER
2. Discipline IS LOVE
3. HOW TO be angry and TURN OVER TABLES
4. Love the LORD with all your might
5. Deal with elephants in the room
6. Pick up the rugs and clean the house, hidden things cant be healed
7. If you act like there is no elephant in the room, more will show up!

    Most of the time when someone mentions King David I don’t think about his son Absalom…no, when I think of David I think of a humble shepherd boy who slays giants, a man after God’s own heart…and yet, a man who ends up sleeping with Bathsheba and having her husband killed.

 Yes, I think of a man who wrote a book called Psalms that if it were the only book in the bible, you’d have the whole story. He talks in Psalms about creation, he gives graphic details of a cross and a man who counts all his bones, whose beard has been plucked out, whose clothes have been gambled for, who had been beaten so badly one could not make out if he were human. He even gives the ending of time in chapter 110!

Oh I can talk about David! But David lost three sons. Two wanted the kingdom and would do anything to get it! Scripture tells us concerning Adonijah, “David had not rebuked him at any time” 1 Kings 1:5-6. Yes, we often forget that God said those he loves he disciplines. There is one son of King David’s that truly breaks my heart.

His name is ABSALOM!

A BATTLE RAGES, AS ABSALOM HAS WON THE WHOLE kingdom of Israel…

Our children can pluck our heart strings at times more than anyone. We love them unconditionally. Even if they let us down, even if they were to raise up a whole army to slay us and take our crown, our kingdom, our wealth…we still love!

BUT WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM DAVID?

“And the king gave this command to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake, DEAL GENTLY with young Absalom.” And all the troops heard the king give this order to his commanders and the Israelite troops were beaten back by David’s men. There was a GREAT SLAUGHTER that day, and 20,000 men LAID DOWN their lives.” 2^nd Samuel 18:5-7.

ABSALOM IS DAVIDS FAVORITE SON. ABSALOM KILLED DAVIDS OTHER SON AMON, OVER THE RAPE OF HIS SISTER. 2 YEARS WENT BY AND DAVID DID NOTHING. HE DID NOT CONFRONT OR PUNISH AMON. THE BIBLE SAYS HE WAS ANGRY BUT DID NOTHING. JESUS WAS ANGRY AND HE ACTED. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD TO WAIT, CALM DOWN AND THEN CONFRONT, BUT JESUS DIDN’T WAIT TOO LONG, HE TURNED OVER TABLES! SOMETIMES WE WAIT SO LONG, WE HURT OURSELVES AND OTHERS…SIN HAPPENED IN DAVIDS HOUSEHOLD AND HE DID NOTHING…DAVID DID NOT PUNISH AMON FOR RAPE AND ABSALOM TAKES THE MATTER IN HIS OWN HANDS.  HE KILLS HIS HALF BROTHER. For two years he had been harboring bitterness and waiting for his father to do what he should have done…So now we have rape and murder…

ABSALOM FLEES AND 3 YEARS GO BY. HE LONGS TO SEE HIS FATHER AND COMES HOME BUT DAVID REFUSES TO SPEAK TO HIM. REMEMBER, LACK OF CONFRONTING ISSUES CAUSES GREATER ISSUES!

Now I want you to picture Absalom, he is handsome, men and women notice his beauty. His hair is so long and thick he cuts it once a year and sells it because it weighs over 5 pounds. He has charm and he wins the heart of the people with his charisma and many words. His father has been king for 37 years, anointed and called. He knows by the prophetic word of the prophets that the kingdom is Solomon’s, but he is ready to take the kingdom and have his father murdered…CAN YOU HEAR DAVID, “DEAL GENTLY WITH THE YOUNG ABSALOM?” OH OUR HEAVENLY FATHER TREATS US THE SAME WAY!!!! A FATHER’S LOVE IS WHAT HE HAS, BUT ITS UNBALANCED. IT REMINDS ME OF THE CHURCH, ONLY THE SWEET FRUIT AND PROSPERITY, NEVER REPENTANCE…

POOR ABSALOM, HE LOOKS AT ALL HIS FATHERS MISTAKES AND THINKS HE CAN DO BETTER AT BEING KING. HE DOESN’T THINK ABOUT ALL HIS FATHERS VICTORIES, HE ONLY SEES HIS PASSIVENESS. SO OFF HE RIDES TO BATTLE TO TAKE OVER HIS FATHERS KINGDOM.

During the battle, Absalom happened to come upon some of David’s men. He tried to escape on his mule, but as he rode beneath the thick branches of a great tree, his hair got caught in the tree. His mule kept going and left him dangling in the air. 2^nd Samuel 18:9.

One of David’s men sees him there but he won’t kill him. Joab is upset that he did not end his life. “

“I would not kill the king’s son for even a thousand pieces of silver,” the man replied to Joab. “We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, please spare young Absalom.’ 18:12.

 ”Enough of this nonsense,” Joab said. Then he took three daggers and plunged them into Absalom’s heart as he dangled, still alive, in the great tree. 18:14.

Joab had, had enough! Over 20,000 men dead and the wicked Absalom trying to take over the kingdom, Him and his armor bearers slew him that day and brought the victory. BUT WHAT DID DAVID DO?

David is sitting at the gate when the men come with the news to tell him they have gotten victory and that the kingdom is still his!

WHAT ABOUT YOUNG ABSALOM, IS HE SAFE, DAVID ASKED?

NO, THEY TELL HIM.

“The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! IF ONLY I HAD DIED INSTEAD OF YOU! O Absalom, my son, my son.” POOR DAVID, HE COULD HAVE SKIPPED ALL THIS IF HE WOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF THE ISSUES.

NOW HERE WE HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM…As all the people heard of the king’s deep grief for his son, the joy of that day’s victory was turned into deep sadness. They crept back into the town that day as though they were ASHAMED and had deserted in battle. The king covered his face with his hands and kept on crying, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”  2^ND SAMUEL 19:2-4

AND JOAB CAME INTO THE HOUSE OF KING DAVID AND SAID, THOU HAST PUT TO SHAME THIS DAY THE FACES OF ALL THY SERVANTS WHO HAVE THIS DAY SAVED THY LIFE AND THE LIVES OF THY SONS AND OF THY DAUGHTERS, AND THE LIVES OF THY WIVES AND THE LIVES OF THY CONCUBINES…listen up readers to this next verse!!!

JOAB SAID, KING YOU SEEM TO LOVE THOSE WHO HATE YOU AND HATE THOSE WHO LOVE YOU. YOU HAVE MADE IT CLEAR TODAY THAT YOUR COMMANDERS AND TROOPS MEAN NOTHING TO YOU. IT SEEMS THAT IF ABSALOM HAD LIVED AND ALL OF US HAD DIED, YOU WOULD BE PLEASED!” 19:6.

Oh what a hard place to be in! When you know that someone is right but you are so grieved by love, YOUR OWN FLESH rising AGAINST YOU. It doesn’t matter if it’s a son, it can be any close person that we love. If they rise up against us it hurts more than words can express and sometimes like David, we need a Joab to come and slap us a few times so we can get our head back on straight!

JOAB THEN TELLS THE KING, “Now therefore arise, go out and speak kindly to your servants, for I swear by the LORD, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.” DID YOU HEAR THAT? WORSE THAN ALL THE EVIL…

DAVID DOES WHAT DAVID IS KNOWN BEST FOR, HE GOES OUT TO THE GATE AND GREETS THE PEOPLE AND HE CROSSES THE JORDAN AND TAKES HIS KINGDOM BACK…JUST AS HE HAD FASTED 7 DAYS FOR HIS SON BY BATHSEBA THAT DIED, WHEN HE FOUND OUT HE WAS DEAD HE WASHED HIS FACE AND ATE. NOW HE IS DOING THE SAME THING. HE IS LETTING GO OF WHAT IS BEHIND AND PRESSING FORWARD TO WHAT IS AHEAD. THE BIBLE DOESN’T SUGAR COAT ITS MIGHTY MEN AND WOMEN, IT GIVES US THEIR DEEPEST FAULTS SO WE CAN LOOK AT OURSELVES AND TRY AND DO BETTER. WHAT ARE YOU NOT CONFRONTING TODAY?

 

 

Calves Lips and Stubborness

So I’m going to talk about cows, calves, heifers and calves lips… Yes, I said calves lips! Are there any cowboys out there? So I’m reading this scripture in Hosea and it hits me that I know very little about cattle and ranching; but I do know God is trying to show me something.

“For Israel slides back as a backsliding heifer: Hosea 4:16

How does a heifer back slide? Have you ever been hiking up a hill and the ground was wet or snow covered and you slid backwards? Yes, I think we all have done that but this is not a very good example of this animal’s behavior. Heifers are erratic in manners and they don’t trust anyone. Even if you are trying to feed this young animal it becomes flighty. So what was God comparing Israel to in reality? A heifer would rather run and crash into an electric fence or a barb-wire fence than let a cattle hand help it. Stubborness!

So we need to go back to the verse and read the whole portion of it. For Israel slides back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place. Hosea 4:16

Now, we have a heifer and a lamb…What’s the difference here? Lambs are usually timid creatures but they are attracted to the person who feeds them. A lamb can be in a large place and feed. Jesus said my sheep know my voice and they do…

The heifer is so different. In training, it is tied with a very short rope and it is left that way for long periods of time, then it is walked to water and food that is just several paces away…Day after day this routine goes on until its stubbornness learns you just want to feed the poor creature! God help us trust you with our whole being!

 “Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for your sins have brought you down. Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. Hosea 14:1-2

Did you catch that? Calves of our lips…God tells Israel to repent and then he explains how they can. Now hear me out because I think some people have this concept wrong. They get caught up with tithes, fasting, works and time. Not that these aren’t good, but they don’t bring repentance! They are signs of obedience but He wants both…God says return to me and take with you WORDS! Words are my very favorite thing! Always will be!!!! Why, you may ask?  Well, anyone who knows me and really knows me, they know that clothing and shopping and diamonds and gold and shiny things don’t really excite me; they are nice and may make me feel better about my appearance, but they don’t make my mouth water…

But words, they excite me. With words my Father created everything you see, He spoke it! With words the word became flesh and dwelt among us and with words I can make someone smile or frown or cry or laugh or turn around and go in a different direction…Words have the ability to change this world…not my words, but my Fathers! So God wants them to bring words not offerings of calves and sheep and bulls. He wants their heart to repent. Oh Father the pride of it all…They thought they could just bring an offering. So many today think they can just bring a tithe, an offering and show up at a pew once a week…they give to get. They pray and fast to get answers…raising my hand! I am guilty as charged…What about words; how does one return with words? I personally think that they cannot be repetitious. If you have a routine and you pray every day for your country, Israel, then your church and your family and…I’m telling you to get it out of your head for one day and bring him words from your heart, not calves lips….Ever hear someone say, if only I would have known that was the last time I would see my dad, my mom, brother, sister or that friend that died in a sudden car crash…if it was the last time you could speak to your earthly father what would you say to him? How would you look at him? If right now was the last time you could speak to your heavenly Father what would you say?

FATHER I COME TO YOU WITH WORDS. AND MY WORDS SEEM SO SMALL AND WHAT CAN I EVEN SAY TO THE KING OF THE UNIVERSE, WHO WITH HIS VERY BREATH BLEW LIFE INTO DUST, DUST THAT HE HAD SPOKEN INTO EXISTANCE. THE OCEAN AND ITS WAVES SEEM TOO GRAND FOR ME TO DESCRIBE AND HOW CAN I SPEAK ABOUT YOU OH GREAT AND LOFTY ONE. I REPENT. HELP ME TO BE HUMBLE AND KNOW THAT SOON ALL MY SKIN WILL HANG AND MY BONES WILL CREAK, MY HAIR WILL BE AS WHITE AS THE CLOUDS AND THEN BACK TO THE DUST I WILL RETURN. FORGIVE ME FOR EVER TAKING ANY CREDIT THAT I DID ANYTHING ON MY OWN. THAT ANY GIFT I HAVE IS BECAUSE OF SOMETHING GOOD IN ME. THANK YOU FOR TAKING ME ON A JOURNEY, FOR LOVING ME ENOUGH TO SHOW ME YOUR GREATNESS, FOR LOVING ME ENOUGH TO HANDS ME YOUR SON…BLOODY CROSS AND ME REAPING ETERNAL LIFE AND FATHER YOU GAVE THE GREATEST LOVE GIFT. NO CALVES
LIPS, NO, YOUR SON MADE FLESH. I LOVE YOU FATHER, I DON’T HAVE THE WORDS, YOUR WORDS, and THE ONES YOU HAVE LOANED TO ME…BREATHE ON US, IN JESUS NAME, AMEN

 

 

 

LOVE AND the BLIND EYES

HOW DO WE GET THE WOOL PULLED OVER OUR EYES?

Definition of “GULLIBLE”: EASILY TAKEN, EASILY PERSUADED, EASILY DECEIVED…

 Today I want to talk about Samson. His name means “Little sun”. Most everyone is familiar with the deadly duo, Samson and Delilah!

We hear so many people talk about how this man fell into lust, but that really isn’t what the word of God says…Chapter 14 of Judges says that Samson tells his parents about a particular woman from the daughters of the Philistines that he wants to have for a wife. They are not happy and insist he marry a Hebrew, but he goes on and says, “Get her for me, for she pleases me well” Judges 14:3.

 Now here is what you have to catch, the next verse, “But his father and his mother KNEW NOT THAT IT WAS OF THE LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel “ 14:4.  The Lord put that desire in Samson’s heart.   BUT After marriage to this woman, SHE is given to one of Samson’s close companions. He takes a calf to her father and asked for his wife to be united with him again but her father says, ‘I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? Take her, I pray thee”. Judges 15:2.

Now Samson does something very powerful after losing his wife, he goes and catches 300 foxes. I couldn’t catch one fox if I tried. We don’t know how he succeeded at such a fate. I mean once you catch two or three foxes, where do you put them while you catch 297? But beyond that, he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails and let them go, blazing with fire to destroy the crops, vineyards and olives of the Philistines.

What does all this have to do with gullibility or being naive?

Samson gets very upset at the circumstances, I mean the woman that pleased him has been given to his friend. So out of his frustration he does go and get a harlot in Gaza. He has a one night stand with a harlot and we Christians have crucified him over it and yet, David slept with Bathsheba and Judah slept with a harlot that was actually his daughter-n-law.

I told you all that to get to this, “AND IT CAME TO PASS AFTERWARD THAT HE LOVED A WOMAN IN THE VALLEY OF SOREK, WHOSE NAME WAS DELILAH” Judges 16:4. Delilah means delicate. When you LOVE someone you can put up with a lot from them. HE LOVED HER. The other woman (pleased him well) but Delilah, HE LOVED!

This woman is promised 11 hundred pieces of silver to gain the secret of his strength and uncover it to the Philistines. She lays with him, makes love to him and weaves her web, all for money. Samson who had the anointing, the Nazarene anointing of strength and wisdom and honor…the man who could slay 1000 men with a donkey jaw bone is going to be defeated by a woman; the man who caught 300 foxes. Why? Because he loves her.

Now here is the wisdom of a matter and the understanding…Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23.  

YOU CAN LOVE PEOPLE WHO REALLY DON’T LOVE YOU. You can love people who don’t respect you or your gifts. You can give pieces of yourself away to people like Delilah, WHO YOU LOVE that could care less about you. Notice Samson told her the deepest secrets of God, his divine anointing and how God gave him his strength. She sold his gift for silver.

We see in the book of 1 Samuel how wicked Eli’s sons were. They used the priesthood for money and took the peoples offering that were meant for the Lord and used them for themselves. They slept with women and were only concerned with pleasing themselves. They loved the rule of the people and Eli did nothing about it? WHY? BECAUSE HE LOVED THEM. Oh how love can get us in trouble and even cloud our eyes to things. Now back to Samson…

“And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison”. Judges 16:21.

Samson had to become blind so that he could see. It was in that prison that the bible says, “Before long, his hair began to grow back”. 16:22.

In the end of his life Samson got the victory. And here is what I want you to pay close attention to. “The Philistine rulers held a great festival, offering sacrifices and praising their god, Dagon. They said, “Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!” When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy to us! The one who killed so many of us is now in our power!” When they were drunk, they said, “Bring Samson here to entertain us.” So they brought Samson from prison, and he entertained them.’ Judges 16:23-26.

 Just when you have given up and feel like the enemy has made sport of you, God will send his HOLY GHOST upon you and give you the victory! Just when it looks like everyone is pointing the finger at you and calling you out, when your anointing has been clean shaven from your head and your coat of many colors has been stripped from you and dipped in blood, when the hungry lions in the den are circling you, when the person you loved and trusted takes your anointing and sells it for silver or turns you in for 30 pieces of silver and seals it with a kiss…YES, all hell says, YOU ARE FINISHED! GOD WILL RISE UP AND GIVE YOU VICTORY! YOU WILL RISE AGAIN!

SAMSON SAID, “O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.” And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.” Judges 16:27-30.

“Jesus, My Friend ???

 

This is the blog the Lord led me to tonight to speak to His people. I did not write it but a woman whose hearts beats with His heart did.

Charlene, known to her friends as simply “Charlie” has been a mentor and a dear friend to me. I thank God for her daily. I pray this short blog ministers to you as much as it did to me. Keep tissues handy and knees bendable!

 

AUTHOR CHARLENE MANNING

Weekly Sabbath Survey

Jesus, My Friend? –  9-3-11

 

 

Have you ever noticed how some Christians seem to have a kind of irreverence for the Lord?  It’s a familiarity that seems improper somehow.  I’ve heard people talk about Jesus like He is their buddy ol’ pal.  Jesus, the Son of God who died for my sins and has been elevated above every other human that ever lived, as my BUDDY???  I simply cannot equate Him with friends at my golf club or quilting class.

 

It reminds me of a story Jamie Buckingham told about a native pastor in some foreign country who was very crippled with arthritis in his knees and feet.  Many years he walked from village to village in the mountains where he lived, making disciples, encouraging them and teaching them.  When villages were too far apart for a day’s walk, he slept alone under the stars, in all kinds of weather.  The constant exposure and natural aging process took a toll on him.  When he was finally unable to walk, the people came to him where he was, sitting in front of his hut on a little woven grass mat.  There he continued to minister to them and teach them, sending them back to their villages full of the Holy Spirit and the love of God. 

 

With a small group of American preachers Jamie went to meet this man, and to encourage him and his flock.  They spoke with him through an interpreter.  They were treated like visiting royalty.  The people seemed to think that Americans were the greatest Christians in the world, worthy of the highest honor. 

 

During a time of conversation, one of the Americans asked the pastor if he was bothered by the fact that he had served the Lord so faithfully all those years, and yet had become so handicapped that he could not go on.  The man said, “When you see Jesus, will you ask Him ‘why’?”  The little pastor smiled, showing what was left of his rotting teeth, shook his head and said, “No.  When I see Jesus, I will bow myself very low at His feet and say, ‘My Jesus, I love you’.”

 

Jamie said he turned his face away to let tears come.  He felt ashamed for all of their group because they had talked and laughed about the awful discomfort they were suffering there in the village with terrible unidentifiable food and a couple of nights of sleeping on a dirt floor on mats, and how glad they would be to get back to the city and their nice hotel rooms.  

 

Americans, all of us, are FAR from being the best Christians in the world.  VERY FAR.

 

Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.  Job 13:15   

AHAB Spirits in MEN, That Cause JEZEBEL Spirits In Women…

I love stories that are just randomly placed in the Bible. Ones that just seem to be thrown into the mix and if you don’t watch it, you can overlook all the hidden manna! I want to tell you about a spirit that many men have that women hate. When men carry this spirit it can cause their wives to take on a spirit called Jezebel, because the two work together!

So this man named Naboth appears in 1^st kings chapter 21 out of nowhere. We don’t know anything about him really, he owns a vineyard and everyday King Ahab looks out his bedroom window and wants it, covets it and must have it! WHY? HE WANTS TO PLANT A HERB GARDEN.

“And Ahab spoke unto Naboth saying, give me thy vineyard that I may have it for a garden of herbs, for it is near to my house and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it, or if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money” 1 Kings 21:3…It doesn’t sound half bad at first glance, but here comes the problem!

(Lev. 25:23); “so shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers” (Num. 36:7).

 

THE PROBLEM, Naboth could please the king or he could please God…He could make a deal and get favor with the earthly king and a better vineyard and more money…BUT HE SAID, “THE LORD FORBID IT ME”…THE LORD JEHOVAH FORBIDS ME!

What an insult to Naboth! Vineyards take years to cultivate. It can take over three years to see the first grape, but after you wait and prune back, you have a vineyard that last from generation, to generation. Not so with a vegetable garden of herbs, this comes and goes. He wanted to till up his anointing and remove it from his sight and plant his seeds…

 

So what happens after this king is turned down? Ahab comes to the palace and lies in bed and he sulks and pouts and wont eat. AHABS ARE PASSIVE MEN…THEY DON’T CONFRONT THE ISSUES, THEY WAIT FOR THEIR WIVES TO…This man who had it all and even better, THE KINGDOM,  was coveting a humble man named Naboth’s vineyard…He wants it and now he cannot  have it…James chapter 4 talks about this, it says, “FROM WHERE DO WARS AND FIGHTS COME FROM AMONG YOU? COME THEY NOT FROM YOUR LUST, THAT WAR IN YOUR MEMBERS? YOU LUST, AND HAVE NOT: YOU KILL, AND DESIRE TO HAVE, AND CANNOT OBTAIN, YOU FIGHT AND WAR, YET YOU HAVE NOT, BECAUSE YOU ASK NOT…AND HERE IT IS..LISTEN UP, You ask and receive not because you ask amiss that you may consume it upon YOUR LUSTS!!!! 4:1-4…

Ahab, if alive today would have called himself a Christian. He worshipped Jehovah and also Baal and Asherah. AHAB SPIRIT DISCERNEMENT #1. HE WAS NOT A MAN OF CONVICTION. HE ALLOWED OTHER GODS IN HIS LIFE AND HE DID NOT ACT LIKE A MAN BUT A CHILD.

In a prior chapter, Elijah confronts him and the people and says, “Just who is God?” How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him.” 1 Kings 18:20.  The people were not convicted. They did not see their sin of idolatry and repent, they said, “WE WILL WAIT AND SEE”…There is a scripture that says, “THE WHOLE HEAD IS SICK, FROM THE TOP OF THE HEAD TO THE SOULS  OF THE FEET”.  This spirit trickles down in families where the father has this spirit and in churches…It causes luke warmness and a sickness of the heart.  AHAB HAD NO CONVICTION, THEREFOR THE PEOPLE HAD NONE… If you confront an Ahab spirit, he will more than likely brush off the warnings…

For 3 years it did not rain because of the people’s idolatry! WIVES NEED HUSBANDS WHO KNOW WHO THEY ARE IN CHRIST AND ARE RIGHTEOUS. JEZEBEL WATCHED EVERYTHING IN THE LAND DRY UP AND DIE, DUE TO HER HUSBAND. SO SHE BECAME A FIXER…She thought if she cut off the Lord’s prophets it would rain again…She thought if she gave her husband the vineyard, he would quit lying in bed pouting and become the man over the kingdom she needed…

Ahab spiritual discernment #2…Ahab was not a man of action. He just laid around for three years and did nothing…He didn’t repent or fast or seek God. HUSBANDS, MEN OF GOD, HEAR ME, JEZEBEL CAN ONLY BECOME ACTIVE WHEN MEN DON’T STAND AND TAKE THE POSTION AS LEADER OF THEIR HOUSEHOLDS, AND GODLY LEADERS WHO KEEP THEIR WIVES, CHILDREN, FINANCES, AND JOBS IN A RIGHTEOUS ORDER.

  Back to Naboth and the vineyard AND # 3 “AHAB SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT… HE LIES IN A WAY THAT IS ONLY PARTIAL TRUTH…VERY SNEEKY.

 

So now Jezebel comes and says, “why are you sad and why wont you eat? Ahab LIES!!! He says, “I spake to Naboth and said to him give me your vineyard and I’ll give you such and such and he said, I WILL NOT GIVE THEE MY VINEYARD!!!

But that is not what he said…! NABOTH SAID, “THE LORD FORBIDS ME TO GIVE YOU MY VINEYARD! There is a big difference in saying, “I don’t want to do something and God forbids me to. He had to obey God…

 

His wife Jezebel had Naboth stoned to death, HIS SONS AS WELL, SO THAT THEY COULD NOT TAKE THEIR INHERITANCE. She calls for a fast, a religious festival and she has two men lie and accuse innocent Naboth of cursing God and the King…Two false witnesses are raised  up against him. The people stoned him to death, all in the name of God and honor to the king…They know not what they do”.

The enemy wants to take your anointing, your voice, your vineyard and even the inheritance for your seed! He wants to strip you bare and ruin your reputation. He will go to great links to destroy your life…I BEG YOU IF YOU ARE A MAN, A LEADER, TO SEARCH YOURSELF AND IF YOU SEE THIS SPIRIT AT WORK, REPENT…