Man's Hour of Darness is God's hour of power

"MAN's HOUR of DARNESS IS GOD's HOUR OF POWER"

On Oct 11th, David Wilkerson preached an awesome word entitled
"Man's Hour of Darkness is God's Hour of Power!" A must-listen.
Here is the link below-


God bless you all

"GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN"

"GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN"

Caleb was an old man now. Forty five years earlier he and Joshua were two of the twelve spies sent into Canaan to spy out the land. Both Joshua and Caleb had given a good report and recommended that Israel go up and take the land at once. But the other ten spies gave an evil report that struck fear into the hearts of God's people and as a result they did not have the faith to enter the land God had given them. For forty years Israel wandered
about in the desert under the until that entire generation below the age of 20 died . . . all except Joshua and Caleb.

After Moses left the scene and Joshua had led Israel into Canaan, where for five years they won victory after victory, one day Caleb approached Joshua and said, "You know what the Lord said to Moses concerning me at Kedesh-Barnea after we had spied out the land. And now God has kept me alive these forty-five years, and Moses gave me a word at that time that God would surely give me the land upon which my feet had trod. Therefore give me this mountain. For the Lord will surely strengthen me to drive out the inhabitants thereof." (Joshua 14)

There are seven things about this story that stood out to me and impacted my life:

First, here was a man of God who at the age of 85 was holding on to a word he had received 45 years earlier. Has God spoken a word to you that will require the same tenacity and courage to bring it to pass, even though the years have passed over you and the word you received seems to have died out there on the desert somewhere?

Second, the mountain Caleb had in his heart to possess was something his feet had already walked upon, the word of the Lord had only confirmed what was already in his heart concerning that mountain when Moses said, "Surely the land whereon your feet have trodden shall be your inheritance and your children's forever because you have wholly followed the Lord my God." The faith to possess that mountain came to Caleb by seeing and touching the land and by hearing the word of the Lord concerning what he
had seen and touched. True faith is not arbitrarily choosing a goal and then trying to speak it into being. It is only as we see it in the spirit and know that it is the will of God that we will have the faith to receive it, or to declare it, or to achieve it, or to just wait for it in quietness and in confidence.

Third, this mountain was given to Caleb because of one single act of obedience. He had fully obeyed God in one particular instance and it secured to him a reward that would not be denied to him though it did not come to him for forty-five long years. Many of the blessings that we now enjoy are the rewards of certain acts of obedience that we fulfilled in the past. A very big door will swing on very small hinges. The seemingly insignificant
little acts of obedience we do from day to day may be the hinges that govern the outcome of important and weighty matters in the future. This was the case when Abraham offered Isaac on the altar. Once that was done it never had to be done again. Abraham passed the test and the blessing was pronounced that would never be nullified. You may be right on the verge of entering into blessings that are rewards for some act of obedience
completed years ago, or you may be in a test today that will yield benefits later if you will obey now.

Fourth, Caleb realized that he would have a part in bringing the promise to fulfillment. He had to go out and take the land that had been promised him. He went, he warred and he won! It is a rare thing for God to bring to us a ready-made victory that does not require of us some act of faith. Most of the time we find ourselves in the boat with a word from the Lord like Peter heard that stormy night . . . "Come." Jesus bid him step out of the boat and walk on the water with Him. Peter had to get down out of the boat and walk on the water by his own faith. It was not Jesus' faith, otherwise Peter would not have sunk into the sea.

Has the Lord called on you to leave the comfort zone of your boat and do something that will require miracles to accomplish? If he says, "Come!" it is safe to get out of the boat. Even if you do sink, he is there to rescue you and get you back to safety. The only way you will ever walk on water is to take the risk of getting wet. Peter did get wet, but he also walked on water.

Fifth, Caleb did not allow his age to become a negative factor. "Lo, I am this day 85 years old, but I am as strong this day as I was the day Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now . . . " Many spiritual giants in the Body of Christ down through the years did not get started in their life's calling until they were well past their youth. Smith Wigglesworth started his worldwide miracle healing ministry at age 55. Overholtser was past 50 when he started Child Evangelism Fellowship. Moses was 80 when he received the call to go to Egypt. Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 when Isaac the son of promise, was born.

God will use you without regard to your age. He is calling men and women of all ages to step out of their comfort zone and walk on water with Him to help disciple the nations. Do you hear the call?

Sixth, Caleb's obedience brought blessing upon his children unto many generations. None of us know how many of the good things we now enjoy are the direct result of some act of obedience on the part of our fathers or forefathers. Conversely, many of the hang ups and bondages we struggle with may be because of some act of disobedience on their part?

Seventh, Caleb served with his brothers to secure the land of Canaan for the entire nation before he made mention of his own individual portion. His example speaks for itself. God wants us to concentrate on how we can be a blessing to others and not always to be thinking about our own things. As we do this, God will secure to us our mountain and fulfill our dreams, and in the process will bless our children and their children unto a thousand generations.

THE SEEDS of APOSTASY

THE SEEDS of APOSTASY
-by Paul Holdren.

John Wesley recounted that within every revival were the seeds
of apostasy. By this he meant that with revival came righteousness,
with righteousness came favor, with favor came prosperity, and with
prosperity came the temptation to self-reliance. The temptation of
self-reliance is the first step away from God. It is sad that people
are willing to serve the illusion of prosperity by means of self-reliance.

As Americans we can definitely see how this insight fits our country.
Our land was birthed with the ideal that a nation should have the
freedom to worship the true and living God according to one’s
conscience. The Almighty had blessed our nation with righteousness.
With righteousness came national favor, with favor came prosperity,
and now we, as a nation, bear the burdens of decline resulting from
our own self-reliance. As American Christians we can see how the
Spirit of the Lord could speak of a church that sees itself as
“increased of goods and have need of nothing” (Rev. 3:17).

When idolatry’s seed of self-reliance yields its crop of perversion,
poverty, and struggle—many who claim to be worshippers of
Almighty God will turn to other gods. These gods are the gods
which originate in the satanically manipulated carnal heart. These
gods are conceived in the human imagination and constructed by
human hands. These gods of imagery are bombarding Americans
now, seducing us in a downward spiral of the media’s ongoing
promotion of abomination against God.

Our present “it’s the economy” or “it’s health care” politicians have
replaced Jeremiah’s prosperity prophets, giving us a false sense of
security by proclaiming blessing and peace upon the land. Our
“soft-sell” preachers are proclaiming health and wealth, while the
glory is preparing to depart from our places of worship. “Change
that makes a difference” will not come by the hands of men.
“Change that will make a difference” will only come when we cast
our idols down at the foot of the cross.

Where are the believers like Ezekiel today? Where are the watchmen
on the wall of a nation’s destiny—crying out that the enemy is
coming, that the glory is lifting, and that God is turning His back?
Political correctness tells us not to speak in such a manner.
Religious convenience tells us not to prophecy such, for the people
have ears that need to be tickled (II Tim 4:3). As passionate believers,
we cannot help but speak a word of warning. As passionate oracles
of the truth, we must speak the promise of restoration grace in
order that many may be given the opportunity to cast down their
idols and return to the God of our fathers.

-Paul Holdren,
www.sermonaudio.com/theezekielproject

JOURNEY TO THE FATHER

Journey to the Father

By Bob Mumford www.lifechangers.org


I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Jesus’ job description is to lead us into an intimate love relationship with God. At the same time, God, the Father, is reaching for us through His Son–Jesus Christ. Ponder for a moment an inconceivable thought–God, Himself, passionately desires an intimate relationship with each of us! The path that leads to an open connection with God is called the Agape Road. It is a path of Love He laid out to bring us to Himself, one that Jesus pioneered during His earthly life. He invites us to journey this path to knowing and loving God as Father, but the choice is ours. It is important to understand that heaven is not the goal.
If you are a Christian and you die, you have to go to heaven, there is no place else to go! The goal is knowing the Father Himself!
When we choose to follow Jesus and we give our hearts to Him, we do experience some intimacy with God. However, it is often sporadic and inconsistent. Let me illustrate this from my own life. I was sitting on my back porch when I heard God clearly say to me, I want you to love Me with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and I want you to love others. This will require spontaneity and risk.
The more I thought about God asking me to love others, the more I felt resentment, discomfort, and anger. I felt it was unfair for God to ask me to do what I could not do and, really, did not even want to do! I believed I might be able to love God—but not His kids! I was simply too immature to know how to receive or give love on God’s terms.
Without realizing it, I was initially attracted to God as Father because I wanted to use Him for my own comfort and success. Essentially, I wanted Him to do what I wanted, not have a free hand to do what He wanted with me. When you think about this, it summarizes most people’s initial experience with God. As I began to realize how much of my prayer life was centered on getting things from God, I was devastated. I found that I did not even know how to pray without attempting to control God. When my prayer life crashed, I took a pendulum swing to the other extreme and became afraid that if I really loved God and opened to Him, He would send me to some forgotten backwater to rot. In an effort to please Him, I basically lied to Him—I vowed, committed, and promised what I knew I could not give Him—my whole heart. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, I ran, hid, and shifted blame—the essence of sin. Eventually, discouragement made me feel like Peter who said to the Lord, “Depart from me for I am a sinful man.” But, Jesus was faithful to take me up the Agape Road where I found the grace to say, “Abide with me for I am sinful man.”
When God tells us to love, the ability to give and receive love begins to grow. As we discover our real motives and attitudes and come to terms with the “real” us, Jesus will begin to walk us up the Agape Road toward genuine Love.
QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS
• In what ways has your intimacy with God been sporadic or interrupted?
• How do you feel about developing an intimate relationship with God?
• In what ways are your prayers aimed at getting God to do what you want?

THE PURPOSE OF THE WILDERNESS

THE PURPOSE of THE WILDERNESS
by Glen Riddick.

Whether you believe it or not, there is a purpose of the Wilderness.
In the Old Testament, many of us have heard preachers and teachers
of the Word of God mention that this 40 year ordeal of wandering in
the wilderness could have been just a few week journey, but they
never go into detail of the specific purpose of the Wilderness.

If we look at the scriptures in Deuteronomy 8:2, "And thou shalt
remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these
forty years in the wilderness, to "humble thee", and to "prove thee", to "know what was in thine heart", whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not."

3 major things were mentioned:

a.. to humble thee
b.. to prove thee
c.. to know what was in thine heart
So as we examine the scriptures, the specific purpose of the wilder-
ness was a mere 'proving ground'. In the wilderness, one is supposed
to die to the flesh (your ideas, your ways) and hearken to the Word of GOD.

Because the Children of Israel did not do these specific "3" things
(they murmured and complained and never changed ) they died in
the wilderness. They were SAVED from the hands of Pharoah and
the Egyptians, but they still died without obtaining the promised
land that was given to them by God. Only Caleb and Joshua along
with the next generation were ever able to crossover and possess
the land .....are you getting this? You can be SAVED, but not have
what is promised!!

God is saying: you will die in the wilderness if you do not allow God to humble you, prove you and reveal to you the issues that are in your heart. The Lord is saying that you think that you are ready for the masses and packed out stadiums and churches, but really you are not.

This 'proving ground' is where we must stay until we get right with
God and then He allows us to truly possess the Promised Land.

If we fast forward and look at the life of Jesus, we see that after He was baptized in the river Jordan, the Spirit of God came upon Him.
Immediately the Spirit of God drove him in the wilderness to be
tempted, tested and tried ( i.e. the proving ground ).

Saints of God, do you see the pattern??? Jesus was in the wilder-
ness just like the children of Israel, but instead of 40 years, it was only 40 days! Glory to God!

When Jesus was in the wilderness, He passed every test!

a.. He did not exalt himself because He was the Son of God.
b.. He did not misuse the Power of God that was within Him and
remained humble.
c.. He was not going to worship another God and sell out for
worldly possessions!

After GOD examined his heart and he passed the tests, the
scriptures tell us that Jesus came out of the wilderness (i.e. the
proving ground ) in the POWER of the SPIRIT and began to possess
the Land. Wherever he went there were signs, wonders and miracles
and there was victory!!

I must be blunt and to the point today Child of God, please stop
acting like the children of Israel in the wilderness, it will only cause death! You will die in the wilderness. Although God will take care of you to some degree, it is second best! I am tired of second best, aren't you??

I really do want to reach the masses! I really do want to flow in the Holy Ghost! I want to be just like Jesus and come out of the wilderness in the Power of the Spirit and then be able to say WATCH
OUT DEVIL, I am COMING IN THE NAME of THE LORD!!

Here is the reason you are in the wilderness:

a.. Some of you are so lifted up in pride, that is the exact reason why you are in the wilderness.
b.. Some of you are failing every single trial and test, so that is why you are in the wilderness, you cannot get past the proving process.
c.. Some of you when you open your mouth, you can clearly see
why you are in the wilderness because, "out of the abundance of
your heart, the mouth speaketh".

Don’t ever think that the people that are being used mightily of God
in our day and time have not paid a dear price for it!!

People that are reaching out and making a difference (I am not
talking about people that are in emotionalism or people that have
learned to work a crowd) that are getting BIBLE RESULTS.... they
have paid a great price to go all the way with God. Are you willing
to pay that price? Are you willing to give it all up like the disciples?
If not, you cannot be Jesus' disciple. Search the scriptures....this
type of believer does not need advertisement.... GOD is their advertisement!

In conclusion, God wants you to come out of the wilderness. God
wants you to eat the good of the land. God wants us to be just like
Jesus! If we are just like Jesus, churches will not be empty, if we
are just like Jesus, people would have faith in God. If we are just
like Jesus, we will be able to do the greater works that he talked
about and will not waste time talking of what God used to do, but
we will begin to talk about what he is doing right now! Glory to God!!

Please do not die in the wilderness.... you have been there too long.

Blessings,

Glen Riddick.

HOW MUCH LIKE JESUS ARE WE ANYHOW?

HOW MUCH LIKE JESUS ARE WE ANYHOW?
As Spirit filled followers of Jesus we are more like Him than we think we are!
And Jesus was more like us than we think He was!


Consider the following:
Jesus was born of the Spirit at His conception for Mary was impregnated supernaturally by the Holy Spirit.
So when He was born naturally He was already born of the Spirit.
We are born naturally as He was and when we receive Him as our Savior, we too are born of the Spirit.
Jesus received the baptism in the Holy Spirit at the age of thirty when he was baptised by John in the Jordan.
When we receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit it is the same baptism and the same anointing Jesus had.
Jesus was a man filled with the Holy Spirit and did all those miracles through Holy Spirit anointing, just like we do.
Jesus was a man in every sense and not Almighty God in His earth walk. We are the same as He was.
He got hungry, tired and sleepy just like us. He even had to go to the bathroom and do number one and number two!
Paul says in Romans that He was the firstborn of many others like Him. He was talking about you and me!
So if we are like Jesus except in His being the Lamb of God and the King of Kings, what does that mean?
It means we can live like He lived, think like He thought and do the things He did for the glory of God and the good of man!
Peter says we have been made partakers of the divine nature. Can you say "Amen" to that amazing truth?
You are more like Jesus than you may think you are and He was more like you than you may think He was!

Don't Get Infected With Last Days Fever

Don't Get Infected With Last Days Fever

By Lee Grady www.themordecaiproject.com


Don't let the sensationalism of eschatology distract you from the priority of evangelism.
You might remember Edgar Whisenant. He wrote a best-selling book called 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988—and a much less popular sequel, The Final Shout: Rapture Report 1989. The second book said Jesus didn't come back in 1988 because the author, who was a former NASA engineer (!), missed his mathematical calculations by a year.
The mood of the 1980s was uneasy. After Ronald Reagan was elected president, some Christians began to surmise that Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was the Antichrist. When he died they gave the title to the next Soviet leader, Yury Andropov, and then to his successor, Konstantin Chernenko. When Chernenko died unexpectedly, people were certain that Mikhail Gorbachev was the Antichrist because he had that awful red birthmark on his forehead.
"If you study the great Christian revivals of the past you will find that none were triggered by date-setting, rapture fever or Bible prophecy seminars.""
But Jesus didn't return during Gorbachev's tenure. In fact the Soviet system crumbled and Christian missionary activity began to blossom all over the cold Russian landscape. The people who expected the sky to fall any minute found someone else to fill the Antichrist's shoes. First it was Bill Gates, then Osama bin Laden. Today it's a toss-up between Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan despot Hugo Chávez.
Through the years there have been gloomy rumors about computer chips and global conspiracy. I remember one story warning us that JCPenney credit cards carried the mark of the beast. Today if you believe everything you read on the Internet, that same evil mark is on President Barack Obama's birth certificate.
All this date-setting and foolish prognostication bothers me because Jesus said it is strictly off-limits. He told His disciples before His ascension, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority" (Acts 1:7, NASB). That means we don't have the right to predict the date of His return or to make guesses about the timeline of final judgment.
The apostle Paul also warned the early church to stay away from date-setting. He told Timothy: "But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels" (2 Tim. 2:23). Paul wanted his followers to keep their focus on the main thing—the spreading of the gospel—so they wouldn't get sidetracked.
Christians hold different views of the last days. Pre-millennialists focus on the imminent rapture of the church—an event that is described in the New Testament. Post-millennialists focus on the triumph of Christ through history—something that is also reinforced in the book of Revelation. Preterists emphasize the ever-increasing government of God—which Isaiah and other prophets spoke of.
I am not writing here to push a particular view of the end times. When people ask me about my eschatological position I tell them I am a "pan-millennialist"—as in: "It will all pan out in the end." I know Jesus will return in triumph. But we can't figure out these things beforehand. Anyone who claims to be an "expert" in the mysteries of Christ's return has forgotten that Jesus Himself said, "Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (Matt. 24:36).
What concerns me most about an unhealthy focus on eschatology is that it distracts us from the ultimate priority of evangelism.
People who get carried away by rapture fever can become escapists. I've met Christians who want Jesus to come back tomorrow even though they know there are entire tribes and people groups in Asia and Africa that have never heard the gospel. On the other hand, I've known smug post-millennialists who were so happy that God's kingdom is advancing that they felt no personal responsibility to reach the lost. I also know people who are so focused on what God is doing in Israel that they forget He has a plan for Nigeria, Bolivia or Indonesia.
In all these cases a wrong emphasis on eschatology caused Christians to lose sight of the Great Commission.
If you study the great Christian revivals of the past you find that none were triggered by date-setting, rapture fever or Bible prophecy seminars. We must preach the cross. Of course we tell the world that Christ is returning. But we do not have permission to muddle our message with nonsense about dates and global conspiracies.
John Wesley and George Whitefield preached repentance, the atonement of Christ and the reality of hell. William and Catherine Booth wept for souls and preached the message of salvation throughout England. Evan Roberts begged God to close the gates of hell in Wales for a year so that he could preach the simple gospel of a perfect redeemer. In all these cases genuine revival was the result. How I wish we could adopt this passionate focus on what really matters.
British revivalist Charles Spurgeon rebuked the preachers of his day for their eschatological speculations. He wrote in Lectures to My Students:
"O that Christ crucified were the universal burden of men of God. Your guess at the number of the beast ... your conjectures concerning a personal Antichrist—forgive me, I count them but mere bones for dogs; while men are dying, and hell is filling, it seems to me the veriest drivel to be muttering about an Armageddon ... and peeping between the folded leaves of destiny to discover the fate of Germany. I would sooner pluck one single brand from the burning than explain all mysteries."
If only the American church would leave this drivel behind. I pray we will reconsider our priorities and embrace a fresh anointing for evangelism.
J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma. You can find him on Twitter at leegrady.