Leaders In Faith, Leaders Of Faith

"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven" James 5:14,15.

It is the example of faith in the leaders of the church that helps in the healing faith of the sick. The oil may be medicine from the Doctor, or it may be the action of using the symbol of the Holy Spirit (the oil) that helps the sick recover.

But whatever way God choses to interact in response to the elder's prayer, it is the action of believing faith exhibited in our elders that comes to the forefront. It is all faith in the Lord that is the power.

The showing of faith is like the faith of the four men who brought the paralytic to Jesus by lowering him through the roof. It was their faith that brought God's blessed healing on the sick man. (Mark 2: 1-5)

In seeing the godly faith of others brings conviction of sins and repentance and finally forgiveness. The sick are healed physically and maybe healed spiritually also, if need be.

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The Two-Fold Purpose of God Moving Dynamic Workers

The Antioch church was growing and service was abundant, then God says, "Okay, now those who are doing the majority of the work, I want them to go where I send them, to further My work somewhere else."

"Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away." Acts 13:1-3.

Most churches would hate having their hardest workers leave. Even to disagreeing with God. "After all, God, their ministry is extremely vital! They can't leave, who will do the work!"

Kinda selfish isn't it? And also terribly restricting. It could be God wants to raise up someone else to do another work in that church, It may be these dynamic people leave no room for the new workers, or even a new work. Someone of importance might have to step down, or step away, from their ministry so another person may serve God. Hmmm?

No one would go to the mission field if dynamic workers didn't go. Even if that mission field is another church body, God can bless those who go, the church they leave, and the church they join for their obedience.

If Barnabas and Saul had stayed, would their work have continued to flourish or would it have stagnated and died over time? If they had said, "No, Lord, we are too busy here, we don't want to go," would God have continued to enjoy their service to Him in that place?

What do you think? Can God have a two-fold purpose for moving people out of a flourishing ministry?

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The Sweetness Of God Changing Us, also known as, The Chocolate Pie Mix

Instant chocolate pudding mix was

created to become something more

I beseech you therefore, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  Romans 12: 1, 2

Every person born is created by God to worship Him. But does that happen? No.

Imagine a nice golden pie crust as God. He is available and ready to receive everyone. Now pour us, the instant chocolate pudding mix into this crust. Now there's just a pile of dark brown powder in the center of the crust. It has neither adhered to itself nor to the pie crust.

Doesn't do much for the appetite does it?

Can the powdered mix make itself into something more appealing, even though it's sitting inside the crust? No.

So, as this instant chocolate pudding mix, we are incapable of changing into something else. We’re just not going to make a pie of ourselves in the state we are in. Dust, powder. Nothing. No one would want to eat pie crust filled with chocolate powder.

But, God wants us to be in Him. To do that, we have to change into people who can worship Him. People who are in Him.

Imagine cold milk as the Holy Spirit. Now this chocolate powder wants to be a pie in God, so God pours in the Holy Spirit. Instantly, there is a change! God whisks us around, changing us. The instant pudding mix has now become something new. Now when in God, the pie crust, we are made a beautiful pie, sharable, sweet, and delicious.

To get to this new creation, we needed the Holy Spirit in us and then some whisking around to make us something we weren't before. But being beaten with a whisk is painful, disgusting, and messy.

Nevertheless, it had to happen. It is the only way to get us into what God wants us to be. This takes some changes we may not like, but in the end, we are better than we were before.

Because God loves us, He saves us. Jesus saves us and God immediately changes us. It is a fact of the Christian life. Otherwise, we are not part of Him. Lack of God’s changing us is visible to everyone. Other Christians know it and the world knows it. If you don’t change under God’s love and instruction, the world knows you are not a Christian. You won’t fit in the pie. You're just loose powder that can be blown here and there without the Holy Spirit, the mixed in milk, and without any adherence to God, the pie crust.

Expiration dates on packages mean that stores have to throw food away. Think of the millions of instant chocolate pudding boxes that get thrown into the dumpsters, never made into a pie. They’re lost forever, burned in incinerators and thrown on dumps.

Those people never asked God to save them or forgive them and they expired, their time was up and they are forever lost.

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Don't Forget The Blood

Hebrews is a fascinating letter unequivocally proving Jesus' as God, as High Priest, as a man, and the Atoning Sacrifice

"For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgement, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the LORD. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God"

Hebrews 10:26-31 NJK

All three persons of God are revealed in this passage. 

• God the Father gave the Son for the new covenant. 
• Jesus, the Son, shed his own blood as the sacrifice of the new covenant. 
• The Holy Spirit in the grace of God that we were given the new covenant at all.

The teaching in the book of Hebrews reveals many important aspects of our salvation through Christ Jesus

• Remember where we came from unto salvation
• Take care how we witness to the blood of Christ
• Consider the lost souls of all not yet among the body of Christ
• The blood of Jesus is vital to everyone's salvation
• The wrath of God awaits all whom Jesus' blood never covers

And according to the law, almost all things are purified with blood, 

and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. 

Hebrews 9: 22

Jesus' blood shed for all

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Curious Beings--Angels

God created mankind of the dust of the earth. (Gen 2:7) but there is lack of explanation of what substance God used to form angels. 

How's that for making something of nothing!

I believe God made the angels long before He created earth. They serve in God's eternity not our earthly time-line though they pass between the two. Hebrews 1 says angels as spirits of fire. Now I don't know what that means, but it's certain angels live in the spiritual realm beyond us.

Photo courtesy of morgueFile

They can become the form of a man, (Gen 19:1) or appear very strange creatures described in Isaiah, with six wings as coverings. There are angels that look like metal and bright stones. They have terrible power and yet can be very comforting and humble as when Gabriel spoke to Mary. (Luke 1:30) They are all around us, doing God's will. If they are not doing God's will then they're demons and doing Satan's will. They move both in our time and God's place, and it seems there are a lot of them. They are more powerful than we are and can do extraordinary things.

God makes angels His servants, (Heb 1:7) yet He calls us His children (1 John 3:1). God made a way for us to be born again (John 3:16), --we who are made of dirt-- yet the angels have only their obedience to save them. If they are following Satan, they are condemned forever (Heb 2:16).

But we have no explanation of their substance. They are not made of the dust of the earth. They cannot die, nor is God going to destroy their form. Satan and his followers will suffer forever in the Lake of Fire. (Rev 20:10)

Even with that prophecy coming, I believe whatever God creates by His word, He can speak out of existence if He chooses.

They cannot procreate. Jesus said they neither marry or are given in marriage, (Matt 22:30) so, no angel babies in heaven. I cannot believe God would tolerate fornication in His heaven if it is such an abominable sin on earth. In my opinion, all the angels God created for His service are all that will be.

At the hour of His arrest, Jesus told His disciples that He was capable of calling 12 legions of angels to His aid. (Matt 26:53) Wow! How many angels waited expectantly on the edge of Heaven for the call that never came? If one angel could destroy 185,000 Assyrians in one night, (2 Kings 19:35) would not 12 legions of angels destroy everyone on earth at the command of God!? 

If angels feel any emotions, 

how they must have suffered to watch Christ die! 

They want to know more about us too.  (1 Peter 1:12) They are as curious about us as we are of them. They must certainly find us as interesting we them.

The study of angels is very interesting and it leaves some very interesting questions. Scriptures tell us that someday we will judge angels.(1 Cor 6:3) 

What must they think of that idea?

What are you're thoughts about angels. Leave a comment, please (click 1 comment to open box)

Revival: Noun or Verb?

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You. Psalm 51: 12, 13

Do you consider the word REVIVAL a noun or a verb? It is both in the grammatical sense but for the collective church, is the thing we look for the revival of the church body--a noun, or are we, individually, willing to be revived--a verb.

I can ask for a revival in my church And my country. In this, I am thinking it is a thing to watch, to see, in which to participate. That is a noun as in "Lord, send revival. We need a revival!"

But in speaking the word revival am I also asking for new life for myself? Am I admitting I'm dead and desiring to be alive? An example as in, "Lord, revive me. Give me new breath of life. Resurrect my spirit with Your Spirit!"

Then revival is a verb, something to be done, something changing, something moving, an exciting action.

Complacency is quicksand. Week after week we can go through the actions of church attendance and we settle in our faith. It no longer lifts us to higher heights, but fills the Sundays of our week. 

When we see this form of death, like David, we need to cry out for the joy of our first encounter with Jesus. The joy we had when we asked Jesus to save us and the immediate response when He did.

Psalm 51: 12,13, is about personal revival, newness of life. When I am returned to the wonder and awesomeness of my salvation, I can be glad and rejoice, and shout and sing as a child again. It is then when those around me without Christ Jesus will see my new life and desire it. They will want to know my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

From a human standpoint, to be revived is like resurrection, we neither can provide ourselves life in either situation. The dead cannot do anything. God is the Life Giver.

Restore to me the joy of Your Salvation so people can be saved! 

"Revive Me!"

AMEN!!!