(January 30, 2012)
Prayer House News!
The Spirit of God was moving again in our services as we talked about the Moral Glory of Christ. There seems to be a growing spirit of repentance in our church. God must be up to something and we want to be a part of it.
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RPM is going to be powerful again this Wednesday. I hope you can join us as we seek the face of God.
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My message will be the devotional for this week (the whole message is attached also)
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Devotional!
The Moral Glory of Christ
I’m going to start off today looking at a verse from some of our reading last week and then eventually get into this weeks reading. Next week we start in John 17 with Christ’s priestly prayer. That should be interesting. In John 12:41 there is a verse that can easily be overlooked.
John 12:41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.
Just prior to, as it says in verses 36 & 37 he had performed many signs and wonders in the presence of many people, especially the Pharisees and yet they did not believe him. So in order for Isaiah’s prophesy to be fulfilled he hid from them. But the point I want to make is what Isaiah said about the glory of God. He saw his glory.
Let’s look at the event in Isaiah’s life that Jesus is referring to.
Isaiah 6:1, In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
This must have been a very solemn, soul-subduing sight. It is always a serious matter whenever man stands before the throne of God with all the demands and standards of that throne bearing down upon his conscience. Isaiah found this to be true for him. This is why he cried out “Woe is me! I am undone.” The light of the throne revealed to him his true condition. And that light is called the Moral Glory of Christ.
So this presents us with our struggle. It’s a battle between the glory of God and the glory of man. Let’s go back to John 12:42
John 12:42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue.
When this verse starts with the word “nevertheless” it’s referring back to the fact that Jesus hid himself from men. Nevertheless, many believed in him. But then notice the conflict man has. Because they feared the Pharisees they did not confess the fact that they believed Jesus is the Christ, which describes our struggle. It’s a battle between the glory of God and the glory of man. The next verse tells us why they did not tell the Pharisees that they believed Jesus was the Messiah.
John 12:43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
This scripture could not be any clearer. They chose the glory of man over the glory of God. The approval of man meant more to them than the approval of God – even though they believed he was the Messiah. That is really amazing isn’t it? It is until you give it just a little thought. How easy is it for us to profess our love for Christ and our belief that he is the Messiah and yet still choose the profane over the holy? Our fear of sharing our faith is one example of choosing the glory of man over the glory of God. We get overly concerned about our image and reputation and begin to fear what might happen if we talked about the fact that we actually love Jesus.
Man is self-centered by nature and subsequently loves to bask in his own glory. So the challenge becomes that of exchanging the glory of man for the glory of God. What this begins to speak of is presence. Presence determines which glory we prefer, man’s or God’s. Man will choose his own presence – his own glory – whenever the presence of God is not strong in his life. Isaiah talked about seeing the moral glory of Christ and it instantly changed him.
John said that what Isaiah saw at the throne was the moral glory of Jesus. Christ is the perfect standard by which every man will be measured. Our own perception of ourselves or even how others perceive us does not matter. The question is; what do I look like in the presence of Christ? This is what the throne of God does; it reveals! The law tells us what we need to be; our conscience may tell us what we think we are; but it is only when the bright beams of Christ’s moral glory shine upon us that we are enabled to form a true estimate of who we are.
So if the presence of God is going to become stronger in our lives than our own selfish desires we must spend more time with Him. However, it’s not just a simple matter of spending time in prayer but rather – it’s that the practice of prayer brings us before the throne of God. And in the light of the throne of God Isaiah saw himself a helpless, ruined, guilty sinner, at an immeasurable distance from that throne and from the blessed One who sat on it. He heard the cry of the seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy;” and the only response which he could send back from the depths of a broken heart was, “Unclean, unclean, unclean.”
If man had a greater revelation of the filth of his own righteousness he would want to make a change. But the only thing that reveals that is the moral glory or light of Christ.
Now we can get into the chapters we read for this week. In John 13 Jesus knows he is about to go back to his father.
John 13:3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God.
He understood that his time was short on earth so he begins doing some things and telling them some things about his departure. And he starts by washing their feet. His disciples were confused about this initially. Peter proclaimed in verse 8 that Jesus would never wash his feet. But Jesus said something to him that shook him.
John 13:8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
Peter responds, “In that case wash everything.” Jesus was trying to get them to understand that without him – they were unclean; their righteousness was as filthy rags.
The thing that struck me the most about chapters 13 & 14 was that they are a type of farewell. Jesus knew he was about to leave them but they did not have the full revelation of it yet. So he starts to talk to them about the challenges they are going to face and some of those challenges are going to deal with the glory of God. Of course they don’t fully understand yet that he is referring to his own death. Then in verse 37 Peter makes a statement.
John 13:37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
Here is Peter confessing his love for Jesus and how the glory of God was more important to him than his own glory and how he would even die for him – but when push comes to shove – Peter couldn’t do it and Jesus knew it.
John 13:38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.”
I would imagine most of us would want to think that we would die for Jesus. So if that’s the truth why do we keep giving into temptation? Resisting temptation is a form of dying to our own glory so that the glory of God can shine through. Giving into temptation is proof that we aren’t much different than Peter – we do love Jesus but the flesh is still quite strong.
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Medication: A Merry Heart
Two Mexican detectives were investigating the murder of Juan Gonzalez.
'How was he killed?' asked one detective.
'With a golf gun,' the other detective replied.
'A golf gun! What is a golf gun?'
'I don't know. But it sure made a hole in Juan.'

(January 27, 2012)
Prayer House News!
Tonight is the kick-off for OUTCRY! There are dozens of college aged young people signed up for this event. It’s going to be great with worship and a message from Chris Marvin, lead singer for the “Spark.”
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My message from Sunday is the devotional for this week.
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Devotional!
Come Forth!

John 11:43-44 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” (44) The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Just think of Lazarus in the tomb. He’d been in there for four days – just dead. Just lying there when suddenly life comes back to him and he hears Jesus say, “Lazarus, come forth!” He came out still wrapped in his grave cloths. He didn’t fix himself up first – it seems he didn’t take any time to catch his breath – he came out just as he was. How would you respond to that? How would you respond to God performing a miracle for you?
Here is my point – some people might not really want to receive the miracle they are asking for because by now they are known for their request. They are known as the person with that disease, or the person with that mate, or the person with that troubled home – and that becomes their identity. They get to walk around with a – woe is me – persona and if God really answered their prayer it would change everything about them. Some people desperately need a miracle but have come to affectionately embrace their situation and their lot in life.
Since my first book came out, Prayer Can Change Your Marriage, I can’t tell you how many women I have counseled about their ungodly husbands – only to find out once their husband got saved – they didn’t know how to handle it. Some of them actually struggled with it. They used to be the spiritual leader – how are they going to give that up. They use to be the only one who would take the kids to church. They used to be the martyr in the home – now they’ve lost that identity too. Now they have to listen to their husband give the family devotions each day – and what does he know.
At some point Jesus said to these women – Come Forth, and he brought life to their situation – he raised up a dead husband and he came to life in disarray, still having his grave cloths on – ready to move on with life in Christ. But the wife is not ready to come forth – because her hair is a mess, she feels scruffy; she needs a little time to figure out how this is going to work before she can just come forth. She begins to give all sorts of excuses as to why she can’t really receive this miracle. Jesus says, “Just die to your reputation, and get out here, come forth. Do you want to be healed? Do you really want this thing you are asking for?”
Jesus said to Mary and Martha – if you believe you will see the glory of God. Just believe – stop making excuses – stop trying to figure it out – just believe. The only way we can receive the very thing we need is to set aside the excuses and believe. Your circumstances do not matter to God. He has never been hindered by anything other than unbelief. And in those cases he chose not do to any miracles because God would not have been glorified through them.
So he says to us believers – if you believe you will see the glory of God. This is all about God’s glory. It’s not about the miracle; it’s about the glory of God.
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Medication: A Merry Heart

Mr. Clark, I have reviewed this case very carefully,' the divorce Court Judge said, 'And I've decided to give your wife $775 a week,'

'That's very fair, your honor,' the husband said. 'And every now and then I'll try to send her a few bucks myself.'

(January 25, 2012)
Prayer House News!
Tonight is RPM! If you want to be blessed – come and seek God with us. Each meeting has been a powerful time of worship, prayer, teaching, more prayer, and then we end with praise!
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Awana’s start at 6:15pm
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My message from Sunday is the devotional for this week.
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Devotional!
Come Forth!

Mark 6:5 And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them.

There is both the word “miracle” and the word “heal” in this verse. Jesus did not do a miracle in their midst but he did heal some. You have heard me say many times that there is a difference between these two items. The word “healed” in this verse is the Greek word, therapeuo (ther-ap-yoo'-o). It’s where we get the word therapy from. But there are deeper meanings to the word. It means to wait upon someone to relieve them of disease.

The picture it paints would be like a nurse or a mom – one who waits on someone to relieve them of disease. However, that is quite different than what the word miracles means.

MIRACLE is the word dunamis (doo'-nam-is) which means force. It’s where we get the word dynamite or power from. A miracle rarely relates to what the word healing means. Many of the times when we read of Jesus praying for someone and healing them – it doesn’t really relate to something that happens in an instant. It relates to a healing that comes through the natural process of time – therapy. Jesus calls those things that are not as though they were – so when Jesus prayed for them he called them healed even if it took some time for it to take place.

A miracle is something much different than a healing. A miracle is instant – it violates the natural order of things whereas therapy follows the natural order of things. Miracles are powerful. Many times we are asking God for a healing when we really need a miracle. If I break my finger and ask God to heal it – then it will gradually get better – because all healing comes from God. But it I take my broken finger and present it to the Lord and it is instantly healed – that’s a miracle.

Jesus didn’t do any miracles because of their unbelief but out of his mercy he did a few healings. Healings are not so controversial because people don’t have to believe they come from God. You can go to your doctor and proclaim that Jesus healed you and he’ll condescendingly agree with you until you leave the room. However, miracles force them to consider the fact that Jesus is Lord.

So it’s one thing to not believe as a non-believer. But when believers struggle with believing – that complicates the matter. In the case of the non-believer they are dealing with believing for their salvation. With the believer our struggles come with believing for miracles not our salvation, we have already believed for that.

I’m going to sight two instances in the chapters we have read so far. The first one has to do with our text for today.

John 11:21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

John 11:32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Now we are going to go back to some verses from last week. In John 5 there is the account of the lame man who had waiting by the pool for 38 years in order to get healed.

John 5:5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. (6) When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
What an interesting question. Do you want to be healed?

John 5:7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.

He just gives excuses as to why he can’t be healed. There is no one to put me into the pool – others always get there before me, etc. etc. When he comes to Mary and Martha they both said, “If only you had been here.” They too had their reasons of why their brother died. They had faith for the past. If only you had been here, if only that accident hadn’t happened, if only my dad had raised me differently, if only me schoolmates had treated me differently – things would be different today. Faith for the past is easy.

They also had faith for the future. We know that one day in the resurrection everything will be good again. One day I’ll be over this problem, one day I’ll be able to get my mate to do this or that and life will be better. One day my neighbor will stop kicking my dog and life will be good again. Faith for the future is easy.

Faith for today is what Jesus is dealing with in both of these cases. But instead of faith we give excuses as to why it won’t work. Another word for unbelief could be the word excuse. We continually make excuses as to why we can’t be healed or receive the miracle we need. We believe in Jesus as our savior but we are struggling with believing for the miracle we now need.
We are double minded.
James 1:6-8 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. (7) For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; (8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

James says the double minded man will not receive anything from the Lord. Double-mindedness relates to having two minds at the same time. When Jesus said to the lame man, “Do you want to be healed” don’t you think in his mind he was saying, “Yes, that is why I’ve been lying here for 38 years hoping to get into the pool when it is stirred.” He is of two minds, he wants to be healed but at the same time he is telling Jesus why he can’t be.

Mary and Martha do you want to see your brother again? “Yes, Lord we do, that is why we are saying if only you had been there.” In both cases Jesus was trying to get them to believe. If you believe you will see him rise from the dead. To the lame man, “If you believe you can just take up your bed and walk.” But you must believe without excuse.”

Jesus comes to us and says, “Do you believe I can take care of you financially?” We say, “Yes, Lord,” while in the back of our minds we are thinking of our rich uncle we can go to for help, or that small loan we can take out. That is being double-minded. It’s faith for the future but not necessarily for the moment.
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Medication: A Merry Heart

Cute Baby

When we brought our new-born son to the pediatrician for his
first checkup, the doctor said, "You have a cute baby."

Smiling, I said, "I'll bet you say that to all the new
parents."

"No," he replied, "just to those whose babies are really
good-looking."

"So what do you say to the others?" I asked.

"He looks just like you."

(January 23, 2012)
Prayer House News!
We had a powerful service yesterday! The spirit of God was doing some amazing things in our hearts. Our altars were filled. At one point I looked out to only see a handful of people NOT at the altars. We also took in new members and listened to Osmar Agiluar challenge us about missions. It was a good day!
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My message will be the devotional for this week.
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Devotional!
Come Forth!
We are going to look at a number of verses today so you will want to keep you bible handy. I’ve titled this message “Come Forth” – can you guess why. Those were the very words Jesus spoke as he raised Lazarus from the dead.
John 11:1-3 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (2) It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. (3) So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”
I just think this is so revealing of human nature. Here are the sisters of Lazarus saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” Isn’t it typical to think that God likes us best – or at least our children or family? “Lord, please touch my grandchild – you know who I’m talking about – she’s the smartest, cutest, godly grandchild ever – and I’m not just saying it because she’s my grandchild. You know her; she’s the one you love more than the other little children in church.” I find that Jesus’ response to this request almost funny.
John 11:6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
If you didn’t realize that God has purpose in all that He does and nothing is done just to be funny – you’d almost think that’s what he did here. However, he explains himself in verse 14.
John 11:14-15 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, (15) and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Now we start to get to the crux of the matter. Jesus wanted to make sure Lazarus was good and dead before he got there so that there would be no way to mistake what was about to take place. When he asked them to roll away the grave stone they said to Him – “by now he was been dead so long that he stinks, (v.39).” Jesus was doing all he could to get people to believe he was the Messiah.
The whole idea of faith is based on believing. It’s the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Our salvation is faith based. Our sustenance is faith based. When we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread,” that is an expression of faith acknowledging that God is ultimately our source even of the food we eat. It’s seems that everything Jesus focused on in these first few chapters dealt with believing.
At RPM last Wednesday night I spent a little time dealing with John 6:29 during our prayer time, Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” What is there within, what we call the work of God that does not relate to believing? Everything we do is to help people believe. If all men everywhere would believe on the name of Jesus Christ to be saved – there would be no work to do – outside of some discipleship.
Not only does it take a simple belief in the Son of God to be saved – there is a continuing need for us to believe for every other aspect of his kingdom. Healing requires believing, peace of mind requires believing, we believe God for our finances, we believe God for our marriages, we believe God to take care of our children. Everything comes down to believing. Jesus spent his entire ministry on earth trying to get people to believe that he was the Son of God. What is more critical than a man believing Jesus for his salvation?
There are two facets of believing I want to deal with. One has to do with non-Christians and the other has to do with Christians.
We are not forgetting this account in John 11 concerning Lazarus but I want you to see something else regarding believing first.
Mark 6:5-6 And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them (6) And he marveled because of their unbelief.
As I was studying John chapter 11 I got looking at some other instances where Jesus healed people – I found these verses quite interesting. At first glance it would appear that the people’s unbelief was blocking his ability to do miracles. It says he could do no miracles there. However I believe the answer is found in the Lazarus account. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead some believed and some didn’t.
John 11:45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, (46) but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
I think it is so incredible that some of those who just witnessed one of the greatest miracles of all time – a man being raised from the dead – not just a newly dead man but a man dead long enough to stink – has his life returned to him. Some believed – some ran and told the authorities on him. His life was now threatened because of the miracle. Can’t you just see the type of person that cannot shake himself away from the law – even in the midst of a miracle that proves who the Son of God is? “Nope, nope, nope, I cannot accept that – it goes against the law – I’m telling on you.” They are so hung up on how it is supposed to be that they simply cannot see grace or mercy. Mercy is what made Jesus so controversial. His acts of mercy seemed to be contrary to the law which subsequently was used against him in order to justify crucifying Him.
So here is what I concluded: When it says he could do no miracle in Mark 6 it’s not referring so much as to his ability to perform a miracle as it relates to how useless it is to do these great acts in the presence of those who do not believe. I don’t believe it would be proper to suppose that his POWER was limited by their unbelief; but that they were so "prejudiced," and so set against him, that nothing would convince them. They would have charged it to derangement, or sorcery, or the devil.
When Jesus told them in John chapter 10 that he was the only way into the kingdom of God they accused him of having a demon.

John 10:20 Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?"
It would have been of no use in proving TO THEM that he was from God, or to have worked miracles – subsequently he simply healed some of them.
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Medication: A Merry Heart
Places I've Been and Haven't Been
I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots.
Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots
with someone.

I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes
you there.

I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport;
you have to be driven there. I have made several trips
there, thanks to my friends, family, and work.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and
I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I
try not to visit there too often.

I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important
to stand firm.

Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm
getting older.

One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really
gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my
age I need all the stimuli I can get!

I may have been in Continent, but I don't remember what
country I was in. It's an age thing.

(January 16, 2012)

Prayer House News!

Greetings from beautiful Estero, Florida! Dean and I started a Jesus-Sensitive Conference here yesterday. Once again we had a powerful beginning with several people receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I’ll be back on Wednesday for RPM. I’m excited about our new prayer thrust and trust you will be able to be there.

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Devotional!

Psalms 119:162. I rejoice in your promise

like one who finds great spoil.

David was both a ruler and a warrior. He knew the thrill of collecting the spoil after the battle. Few things could compare to walking through the camp of the defeated to gather up for themselves anything they wanted. However, David knew the true treasures of life were not in the spoil of the enemy but in the promises of God.

Often we are so earthly-minded that we are no heavenly good. I once had an opportunity to be in the same town that was hosting an international triathlon event. The contestants swim for 2 1/2 miles, then they bicycle for 110 miles, and finally they run for 26 miles. They do all this in one day. I learned how one contestant has a regular routine of exercising eight hours every day for this. It is possible in these situations for their body to become their god.

In 1 Timothy 4:8 we read, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” There is nothing wrong with physical fitness. However, it only benefits this life. Godliness on the other hand, benefits not only this life, but also eternity. Physical fitness allows us to gain some of the treasures of this life, but that is all.

The promises of God effect eternity, while the spoils from battle only effect this life. The only time eternal truths truly cause us to rejoice is when we see more than just this life. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1). What kind of relationship with God would we need to be able to say that God’s promises mean as much to us as attaining those things that benefit this life only? We would need a relationship like David’s.

Taken from “The Heart of the King”

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Medication: A Merry Heart

Piano Tuner

The doorbell rang and the lady of the house discovered a

workman, complete with tool chest, on the front porch.

"Madam," he announced, "I'm the piano tuner."

The lady exclaimed, "Why, I didn't send for a piano tuner."

The man replied, "I know you didn't, but your neighbors

did."