As I stood there during Sunday’s seconded service these words became mine; “This is my son in whom I am well pleased….” I was overwhelmed with gratitude as I watched and listened to Stephan express his passion for Christ and encourage others to renew their own passion for the Lord.
He was truly giving us all a “wake-up” call. We are instructed to “seek the Lord while He can be found.” God seeks us and desires that we seek Him. Just this morning Susie Hutchinson reminded me of Psalm 24. In the Amplified, verses 3-7, reads: "Who shall go up into the mountain of the Lord? Or who shall stand in HIS holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted himself up to falsehood, or to what is false, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. THIS IS THE GENERATION [description] of those who seek HIM, who inquire of and for Him, and [of necessity] require Him, who seek Your face, O God of Jacob. Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be lifted up, you age-abiding doors; that the King of Glory may come in."
We are to be that GENERATION that seek HIM. Christ told us ; “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). And the writer of the letter to the Hebrews says, “…that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (11:6).
What we witnessed Sunday was not only Stephan’s hunger for the very Presence of God, but many other young (and not so young) people. While the world offers all kinds of experiences and a multitude of stuff it is only the Presence of the Risen Christ who can fill and fulfill the human experience. In the midst of difficult times it is His “real Presence” that can not only save, but sustain us. We must he hear His voice as He is calling us to “seek Him.”
Some of you might be wondering how do I do that? Or what does a seeker look like? I thought of this verse first, “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul,” (Deut. 4:29).
With ALL of our heart and soul, in other words we must make a commitment, a decision to FOCUS on Him. We all are so torn by all the demands of living that we many times only think to seek or search for Him when we have a need that we know we can’t fill alone. We come running to Him to “fix” the stuff of life and forget that He really is “LIFE.”
Rather than treating God as a mechanic who we visit to fix life, I believe that we are to daily read the word, to daily pray and to daily give thanks for His Presence in our lives all the time. It is too easy to forget about who it is that is sharing His life with us every moment of every day.
What happen last Sunday was awesome in the sense that you and I witnessed the “raw hunger” of a young man who wants not to be seen by you or anyone else, but who wants to be accepted and embraced by the “ONE” who is and always shall be the source of Life and Love.
On May the 11th, (Pentecost Sunday) the Lord gave me this perception: “My perception is that spiritual authority is going to increase in the next 6-12 weeks. The thing that I am seeing is that you are going to be given the power and authority to break and destroy the limitations and strongholds that you have been dealing with in your lives for years. You are going to go free from those limitations in areas of your life that you have been merely coping with because you couldn’t get rid of it. There is going be such an experience of freedom in the lives of individuals and families that strongholds will be broken off of people’s lives. Listen to me, it is happening to you. You need to exercise it. The authority is coming up into your life, but you need to be the one who exercises it and says, “I am going free of that.”
Stephan (and it think others as well) went free. He merely exercised it. He took a step and got out of the boat and walked where he had not walked before. Strongholds were broken and freedom was experienced.
You and I are also called to “step out” of our own boat and walk with Christ. To walk in ways we have never walked before. To walk in freedom that we have never had before, to walk in authority that we have never experienced and to find ourselves with Christ in ways we have never know before, that is our calling.
This is your moment…. Now is your time! Wake up and Walk with Jesus!
Bishop Quintin
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The Way into The Place
John 14:1-6
1 The Way, the Truth, and the Life
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.4 And where I go you know, and the way you know."
5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
NKJV
Jesus shed his blood and died that we might have our own place with the Father. There are those who think that they will have to wait until they get to heaven to have that place. But I believe that no only do we have a place in heaven, but that we also have a place with the Father right now. In fact the Psalmist referred to it as a “secret place.” The secret place is a place where we are protected and shadowed by the very Presence of the Lord.
Far to many times we have a hope in the future of being with God and yet are hopeless in our present reality. This is so sad. Not only did God promise us a future but he also promised us a “present.” God is with us right now. He is as much our Father now as He will be in the future. I absolutely love what David said; “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.” (Ps 27:13 NKJV).
There are way to many brothers and sister of the Lord who are losing heart. And the reality is that they have lost hope of ever seeing the “goodness of the Lord,” in their own lifetime. I am writing this to break that “hopeless” spirit off of our lives.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.” (Ps 23:6 NKJV) David believed that the very “goodness” of God was pursuing him. Jeremiah said,
I believe that every Christian needs a revelation of the goodness of God. Hope springs into our lives when we realize that God is going to do good to us while we are still in this world. In fact God through Christ has prepared a “place” for us in the goodness of God. We are called to live in His goodness. We are to have faith in His goodness towards us.
When our natural circumstances seem to be going amuck we have a tendency to doubt God’s goodness. But the truth is that God has promised to “never leave nor forsake us.” The difficulties that we all face are being used by God to bring us into our own “place.” Don’t ever allow the trials or tribulations of this present world to ever cause you to doubt God’s Goodness.
In fact Paul said, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28). Every thing that we are going through will ultimately work for our good. Think of Joseph, his brothers sold him into slavery, his masters wife lied about him and had him thrown into prison and it was there that he was forgotten. And yet overnight he was elevated into a “place” of destiny. God was using all of the trials and difficulties of his life to bring him into a “place prepared for him”.
Joseph’s story reveals to us God pattern of bringing us into our “place.” It is a way that often times takes us through some difficulties and yet the end result is our being established in that “place.” It is from that “place” that we are able to bless others with God’s goodness.
I truly believe that I am speaking prophetically when I tell you that God is taking you through some stuff to get you into your “place.” Don’t give up now. Jesus endured the cross because He could see the “joy” that ly ahead. By understanding the “way” you can make it into the “place.”
“And where I go you know, and the way you know." Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Jesus is the “way.” Stay in close relationship with Jesus. Walk with, talk with, rely on Christ and He will take you into your “place.” In fact every trial that you are experiencing is to try and break your relationship with Christ, your faith in Jesus. It takes a daily choice to remain in fellowship with Jesus. Remember He is the “way.”
[ if you want to hear more about “finding your way into the place” visit the website for this teaching]
1 The Way, the Truth, and the Life
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.4 And where I go you know, and the way you know."
5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
NKJV
Jesus shed his blood and died that we might have our own place with the Father. There are those who think that they will have to wait until they get to heaven to have that place. But I believe that no only do we have a place in heaven, but that we also have a place with the Father right now. In fact the Psalmist referred to it as a “secret place.” The secret place is a place where we are protected and shadowed by the very Presence of the Lord.
Far to many times we have a hope in the future of being with God and yet are hopeless in our present reality. This is so sad. Not only did God promise us a future but he also promised us a “present.” God is with us right now. He is as much our Father now as He will be in the future. I absolutely love what David said; “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.” (Ps 27:13 NKJV).
There are way to many brothers and sister of the Lord who are losing heart. And the reality is that they have lost hope of ever seeing the “goodness of the Lord,” in their own lifetime. I am writing this to break that “hopeless” spirit off of our lives.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.” (Ps 23:6 NKJV) David believed that the very “goodness” of God was pursuing him. Jeremiah said,
I believe that every Christian needs a revelation of the goodness of God. Hope springs into our lives when we realize that God is going to do good to us while we are still in this world. In fact God through Christ has prepared a “place” for us in the goodness of God. We are called to live in His goodness. We are to have faith in His goodness towards us.
When our natural circumstances seem to be going amuck we have a tendency to doubt God’s goodness. But the truth is that God has promised to “never leave nor forsake us.” The difficulties that we all face are being used by God to bring us into our own “place.” Don’t ever allow the trials or tribulations of this present world to ever cause you to doubt God’s Goodness.
In fact Paul said, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28). Every thing that we are going through will ultimately work for our good. Think of Joseph, his brothers sold him into slavery, his masters wife lied about him and had him thrown into prison and it was there that he was forgotten. And yet overnight he was elevated into a “place” of destiny. God was using all of the trials and difficulties of his life to bring him into a “place prepared for him”.
Joseph’s story reveals to us God pattern of bringing us into our “place.” It is a way that often times takes us through some difficulties and yet the end result is our being established in that “place.” It is from that “place” that we are able to bless others with God’s goodness.
I truly believe that I am speaking prophetically when I tell you that God is taking you through some stuff to get you into your “place.” Don’t give up now. Jesus endured the cross because He could see the “joy” that ly ahead. By understanding the “way” you can make it into the “place.”
“And where I go you know, and the way you know." Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Jesus is the “way.” Stay in close relationship with Jesus. Walk with, talk with, rely on Christ and He will take you into your “place.” In fact every trial that you are experiencing is to try and break your relationship with Christ, your faith in Jesus. It takes a daily choice to remain in fellowship with Jesus. Remember He is the “way.”
[ if you want to hear more about “finding your way into the place” visit the website for this teaching]
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