Published on September 29th, 2009 | Worship

Published on September 26th, 2009 | Articles, Guest Posts

This guest post comes to us from Wade Taylor at Wade Taylor Ministries.

Divine Delays

Wade E Taylor

“But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Most all of us have received a word, or an indication of something that is to take place, but somehow is delayed, and we wonder why?

The word “after” tells us that there is something between the promise, and a productive life experience. “After” speaks of a “divine delay,” until certain conditions are met, and the Lord is satisfied to release the needed “divine enabling” (power) for the fulfilling of the promise.

This “process” can be seen in the life of Jesus, when He was baptized by John in preparation for His ministry.

“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up immediately out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17

During the baptism of Jesus, as He came up out of the water, the heavens opened, the dove descended to rest upon Him, and the Father spoke: “This (explicitly) is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus had now received the Spirit without measure, and a confirmation of the “approbation of God” (divine favor) resting upon His life.

It would appear that Jesus was now ready to begin His ministry. Instead, He was immediately led into the wilderness, where for forty days, He suffered hardship, hunger, and temptation. It would have been easy for him to doubt, or to discount what had happened at the time of His baptism.

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days He did eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered.” Luke 4:1-2

The “wilderness” is a barren place, where there is nothing – no divine favor or blessing, no one to seek out for help, or to give a word of encouragement. Instead, when Jesus became intensely hungry, the enemy came and reminded Him that He, being God, could easily feed Himself by turning stones into bread. Jesus refused to satisfy His hunger with anything less than the provision of His Father.

“And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If You be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:3-4

It was in the place of hunger and privation, rather than in the place of blessing, that Jesus received the ultimate blessing. He had to go through a time of processing (wilderness time) in order to enter the higher purposes of God.

“And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee….” Luke 4:13-14

Notice that Jesus entered the wilderness in the “fullness of the Spirit,” but He came out in the “power of the Spirit.” Between the time of His receiving the blessing of the Father, and His receiving the enabling “power” for the outworking of His ministry, there was a delay – a time of testing during which Jesus suffered intense hunger.

In relation to us, this “wilderness time” is an “indeterminate” span of time during which a particular purpose is accomplished. Our self-dependence and self-centeredness must come to an end through an experience of “utter dependence” on the Lord. When we are tested, we will either pass the test as an “overcomer,” or we will come short of gaining a victory over our self-life, and will need a further time of preparation.

We tend to measure our spiritual attainment with the “blessings,” or the “giftings” that we have been given. However, these are only the beginning. We must go beyond these (what we do), to a change in our nature (what we have become). Therefore, by divine arrangement, the Lord will place us in situations where there is no available means of satisfaction (wilderness), that a higher purpose might be accomplished.

Because the Lord is more interested in what we have become, than in what we are doing, there are “divine delays” that we must face in the outworking of our spiritual development.

Especially at this present time, there is a call to come “higher.” If we desire to go beyond the level of our present spiritual experience, and “apprehend” the higher calling and purpose of our Lord, we will be taken through a difficult time of testing and proving in order to become a part of the “corporate” Jesus (He is the head, we are the body) that is about to be revealed in His coming “Parouisa” (the manifestation of His end-time glory).

Jesus will again do all that He did in a single body, through a corporate body.

“Verily, verily, I say to you, He that believes on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to My Father.” John 14:12

The “greater works” – all that Jesus did in His first coming in a single body, are now about to happen again, but through a many membered corporate body. For us to have a part in this, we must be prepared, as He was prepared.

“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven…. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” Revelation 4:1-2

In the message to the seven Churches, each “door” led into the next period of Church history. At this present time, there is something different, because we are living toward the end of the Laodicean Church Age, and there is nothing further. There is a door that is to be opened, but it is not a horizontal door that will lead into another aspect of the Church, rather, it is a vertical door that leads upward to the throne.

For those who are ready, there is a progression that is about to take place, from the pulpit (Church) to the throne (Kingdom). This spiritual hunger, the stirring and searching that is taking place within us today, is happening because the Lord is knocking upon the door of our heart, seeking entrance within our lives, due to the urgency of the hour in which we live.

Jesus said:

“If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” John 14:23

The word “abode” in John 14:23, and the word “mansion” in John 14:2 in the original text, is the same word. Jesus is saying, “I will come and make My abode in your present life experience.” Another way to say this is, “In My Father’s house are many levels of relationship.”

We are to progress from one level of relationship to another level. During each upward step in this progression, there are dealings – things that the Lord must do in order to prepare us for the higher level. If we are not careful, we will misunderstand and misinterpret these things.

In the Song of Solomon, the Bride said:

“It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found Him whom my soul loves….” Song of Solomon 3:4

It was “but a little” that I passed from them (our dependence on hearing from the Lord through others), that I found Him. This is a “wilderness time” (time of testing), in which we are separated from the spiritual womb where we have been very comfortable, into a new place and level of relationship and attainment. Our tendency, rather than to wait and allow the Lord to bring the adjustment, is for us to go back to the place where we were comfortable.

I received a “word” directly from the throne of God in 1959, that I would have a ministry to prepare “overcomers” for the end-time purpose of the Lord. This visitation was so powerful that I thought it would begin within a few weeks. As time went on, things would happen that would cause me to think that this ministry was about to begin. The next thing I knew, it all fell apart. This happened several times.

The excitement came, and then all at once I was saying, “Lord, what happened?” I sought out and tried all that I knew and understood, but none of it worked. Finally, I said, “Lord, I give up.” Within a short time after I said this, it happened. I then realized that it could not have happened sooner, as there was a much deeper working of the Lord that first had to take place within me.

“Divine delays” stretch our patience. “…I sought Him, but I found Him not” (Song of Solomon 3:2). Why? The Lord has something better for His Bride. He is waiting (divine delay) so He can take us further, but there is a price that we must accept.

The “sermon on the mount” is the “key” to a Kingdom life.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

“Blessed” are all those who have come to the end of their abilities, into abject poverty and utter dependence – those who have come to the end of self, and trust the Lord, leaning heavily upon Him, “for theirs is the Kingdom.”

We have discovered “methods” in our spiritual life experience with which we are comfortable, as we know how these function. When we do certain things, we experience a certain response. If we are to go further, we must enter into a time in the “wilderness,” where we can be separated from these dependencies. In order to go higher, we must move into a place that is unfamiliar to us, leaving the familiar behind. We must be careful to “stay” in the wilderness for the full appointed time, as we tend to say, “I am going back, as I felt much more comfortable there, and I knew what to expect.”

The Lord is seeking to bring us out from the familiar, into the “ways” of the Spirit. Here, His voice is becoming as the “voice of the trumpet” with a present word for us.

“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up here, and I will show you things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.” Revelation 4:1-2

It is not easy for us to move from the familiar, into a place of dependence, where we become available for the Lord to speak through us, as He may desire.

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed and he went out, not knowing where he went.” Hebrews 11:8

Abraham went out not knowing where he was going, as the future was veiled. There is a purpose in our wilderness experiences, as the delays and reductions that we experience have a higher purpose. We are being brought into the place of total dependence and obedience in which we will receive – “after.”

“And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, and to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments, or no.” Deuteronomy 8:2

The delays of God reveal our true motives and intents that correction might be made, and that we might be brought up into a higher level of relationship and experience.

“Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When He had heard therefore that he was sick, He abode two days still in the same place where He was. Then after that says He to His disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.” John 11:5-7, 11

Martha (service) and Mary (devotion) were attempting to get Lazarus (adamic nature) healed.

“Then said Martha to Jesus, Lord, if You had been here, my brother had not died.” John 11:21

Jesus stayed away “two days” (divine delay). Lazarus (adamic nature) is now bound up, and has become so dead, that he smells. In the “fullness of time,” Jesus came and said, “Lazarus, come forth.” Later, Jesus is sitting at the banquet table with Lazarus (John 12:2). The delay was to bring forth the higher, because life comes out of death. Unless we go through this time of processing, we cannot receive the word to “Come up” (Revelation 4:1). Service and devotion (religious activity) will hinder, if they possibly can.

There is a purpose in the Lord seemingly discouraging us. This short time of discouragement will only make our roots go deeper, and cause us to push all the harder.

“…The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” Matthew 11:12

Mark 7:25-29 is the story of a certain woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, will you heal my daughter?” He answered, “This is for the children, the chosen, not for the dogs.”

In other words, Jesus said, “you are a dog, you cannot have this.” She replied, “The dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.” Jesus said, “For that saying, your daughter is healed.”

This Greek woman knew what she wanted, and she refused to be insulted. Blessed are the bankrupt, the “poor” who will give up the right to their own lives and become a part of the expression of His life.

“Let us not be weary in well doing (our present level of believing in hope of receiving): for in due season (there is an appointed time) we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9 (comments added)

The Lord may allow a “divine delay,” as we wait for our “appointed time.” If we will patiently endure our “time in the wilderness,” and move past our expecting a quick response, we will receive the reward, as the present word of the Lord is, “come up.”

If we do not weary in our waiting in hope, then in “that day,” at the appointed hour, the body that is veiled (that which all creation is groaning for – Lazarus being called out of the tomb by Jesus), will be called to come forth to be unveiled and empowered, for the outworking of the end-time purposes of the Lord.

“Come, and let us return to the Lord: for He has torn, and He will heal us; He has smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days will He revive us; in the third day, He will raise us up and we shall live in His sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord; His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come to us as the rain, as the latter and former rain to the earth.” Hosea 6:1-3

“Come… He has torn, and He will heal us.” As we submit to and are patient in the times of processing, then the Lord, in His time, “will raise us up and we will live in His sight.”

Published on September 22nd, 2009 | Articles, Guest Posts, Worship

This guest post comes to us from Francis Frangipane at Francis Frangipane Ministries.

Love Me Where You’re At

Francis Frangipane

I have discovered that, as we seek the Lord, our most difficult periods can be transformed into wonderful breakthroughs into God’s love. For me, one such season occurred during the years 1979 to1981. The association of churches with which I was aligned had fallen under spiritual deception. Not only were its core doctrines increasingly seeded with New Age influences, but immorality crept in, and key leaders began leaving their wives for other women. I could no longer remain silent. As a result, in 1979 I left my congregation in Detroit, Michigan, where I had served as pastor, and traveled to the organization’s regional headquarters in Iowa. I came to plead for repentance. However, after meeting with the senior leaders, I was asked to leave the group.

So here we were – we had left our church, we had no money, and we had four little children and couldn’t afford even basic housing. Desperate for anything, we finally found an old farmhouse in rural Washington, Iowa. The home was over a hundred years old, but it actually looked much older. After negotiating with the landlord, we were given a year of free rent provided I did basic repairs to the house, such as cleaning and painting.

Even so, the house needed more than I could provide. The furnace did not work well, so we installed a wood burner stove in the kitchen. That first winter, it turned out, was one of the coldest in Iowa’s history. Frost formed on the inside walls, spreading a foot or two around each window; wind chills dropped to 60 below, and even colder, on several occasions.

To keep warm each night, the whole family cuddled tightly on one large mattress on the dining room floor, about 18 feet from the wood burner in the kitchen. A fan behind the stove nudged warm air in our direction. My nightly project, of course, was to build enough heat in the stove to keep us warm until morning.

While I worked the fire, I also would pray and seek God. The wood burner became a kind of altar to me, for each night as I prayed, I offered to God my unfulfilled dreams and the pain of my spiritual isolation. Yes, I knew the Lord was aware of our situation. Though we had virtually nothing, He showed Himself to us in dozens of little ways. I just didn’t know what He wanted of me.

As the seasons came and went, another child was born, and then we fostered a young girl from Viet Nam, giving us six children. Still, as the family grew, the little area around the wood burner became a hallowed place to me. Even in the summer, I would sit on the chair next to the stove and pray and worship.

I would like to say I found the joy of the Lord during this time, but in truth, though I gradually adjusted to my situation, I felt an abiding misery in my soul. Our deep poverty was an issue (I barely made $6,000 a year), but more than that, I felt like I had missed the Lord. My continual prayer was “Lord, what do You want of me?”

Three years of seeking God passed, and I still carried an emptiness inside. What was God’s will for me? I had started a couple Bible studies and spoke a few times in churches, but I so identified with being a pastor that, until I was engaged again in full-time ministry, I feared I had lost touch with God’s call on my life.

In spite of this inner emptiness concerning ministry, I actually was growing spiritually, especially in areas that were previously untilled. I went through the Gospels hungry to study and obey the words of Christ. Previously, I had unconsciously defined a successful ministry as something born of my performance. During this time, however, the Lord reduced me to simply being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Indeed, a number of things I thought were biblical I discovered were really just religious traditions. The Lord desired that I take inventory of my heart and examine those few truths for which I would be willing to die. He said the truths for which I would die, for these I should live.

Frankly, things like the timing of the rapture or nuances about worship style or spiritual gifts dropped in their priority, though I still considered them important. Rising to the top of my focus was a passion to be a true follower of Jesus Christ – to obey His teachings and approach life not merely as a critic, but more as an encourager. I also found myself increasingly free to enjoy and learn from Christians from other streams and perspectives.

Yet, these changes, though deep and lasting, occurred slowly, almost imperceptibly. They were happening quietly in my heart, and only in hindsight did I see what the Lord had done. Throughout this time, I was preoccupied with feelings of detachment from God’s will. My prayer to know the Lord’s plan for me continued daily.

The Breakthrough

One day, as I stood in the kitchen pantry, I repeated again my abiding prayer: “Lord, what do You want of me?” In a sudden flash of illumination, the Lord answered. Speaking directly to my heart, He said, “Love Me where you’re at.”

In this time and season, remember, I was not a pastor or minister. I was a television repairman doing odd jobs on the side to provide for my family. I hated what I was doing. In my previous church I taught against TV and now I was “laying hands” on television sets and raising them from the dead! The Lord’s answer cut straight to my heart. I was awed at its simplicity! I asked, “Love You where I am at? Lord, is that all You want of me?” To this He responded, “This is all I will ever require of you.”

In that eternal moment peace flooded my soul, and I was released from the false expectation of ministry-driven service. God was not looking at what I did for Him, but who I became to Him in love. The issue in His heart was not whether I pastored, but whether I loved Him. To love the Lord in whatever station I found myself – even as a television repairman – this I could do!

A deep and remarkable transformation occurred in me. My identity was no longer in being a pastor, but rather on becoming a true lover of God. Having settled my priorities, amazingly, just a couple days later I was invited to pastor a church in Marion, Iowa. In spite of all my previous anxiety about returning to ministry, I did not jump at the opportunity. For I had found what the Lord truly desired of me. Though I eventually accepted this call, my focus was not merely on leading a church, but loving God.

What God Seeks

More than one’s ministry, God seeks our love. His great commandment is that we love Him, ultimately, with all our mind, all our heart, and all our soul and strength. If we love Him, we will fulfill all He requires of us (see John 14:15). And it is as we love Him that He orchestrates all things to work together for our good (see Rom. 8:28).

Beloved, loving God is not hard. We can fulfill any assignment – auto mechanic or housewife, doctor or college student – and still give great pleasure to our heavenly Father. We do not need ministry titles to love the Lord. Indeed, God measures the value of our lives by the depth of our love. This is what He requires of every true God seeker: to love Him where we are at.

Lord Jesus, the revelation of Your love has swept me off my feet. Lord, You have drawn me and I run after You. Master, even in the mundane things of life, I shall express my love for You. Consume me in Your love.

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Published on September 5th, 2009 | Articles, Guest Posts

This guest post comes to us from Francis Frangipane at Francis Frangipane Ministries.

The Silent Harvest

Francis Frangipane

A few years ago, I had a dream in which I found myself inside the mind of a dying man. The man had been in a coma for some time; his family had been praying, but they did not know whether or not he had accepted Christ. All they were sure of is that, throughout his life, he had resisted their efforts to lead him to Christ.

In the dream, I became so acutely aware of the man’s state of mind that his thoughts, feelings and struggles almost seemed my own. Although his eyes were nearly closed and his vision clouded, he could see his loved ones at his bedside. I watched as he tried to reach toward his family, but outwardly his arm never lifted. Perceiving his thoughts, I heard him speak their names, but no sound whispered through his lips. A loved one holding his hand asked, “If you hear me, squeeze.” He heard and pressed his fingers against hers, but no movement was seen; his hand clearly remained limp. He was conscious, he could hear their prayers, he felt the warmth of their kisses on his face, but was perfectly incapable of responding.

The pride and isolation that had, throughout his life, stood guard over his heart were gone. A physical catastrophe had overtaken him. Death approached, and he knew he was unprepared for eternity. Submerged beneath his motionless exterior, a war had raged for his soul, which the Lord won. Subdued by the relentless force of God’s love, he was finally at peace. It was during his time in the hospital that he had silently prayed and accepted Christ as his Savior. I was watching his last effort to tell them as life ebbed out of his body.

Suddenly, monitoring alarms ripped through the muffled silence of the room. His heart beat one last time and I found myself looking down at the body of a man who had just died. The room was buzzing with nurses, while his family huddled in a corner, grieving. The idea of their loved one dying without receiving Christ was more devastating than the reality of death itself. I stirred and then woke. Yet, just as I left the dream, the Lord spoke to my heart: “Tell them he’s with Me.”

God is Good

Although some time has passed since I first had this dream, I am increasingly aware that many of God’s people carry a deep abiding heartache concerning the death of an unsaved loved one. Obviously, this dream does not apply to all, but there are some for whom this experience is divinely directed. Thus, I submit this to you in a general sense, because the Holy Spirit has assured me He will bear witness to your heart that this word is for you.

I have also felt an urgency to pass this dream on to you. The Lord has an important work for you. However, the enemy has used this unresolved loss to sow doubt into your soul. Not only are you troubled about your deceased loved one, but you are carrying doubts about God’s love, and you doubt also the power of prayer. Your confidence in God has been compromised. Yet, it is precisely at this time that you need to stand without doubt for other members of your family.

Beloved, though there are many questions about the mysteries of life, we must not let the unknown obscure the face of the known: God is good. We know God loves us because He sent His Son to die for our sins. Indeed, Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). When we look at Christ, we see God, and we know that God cares.

Additionally, some of us have lost loved ones in sudden tragedies, where they seemingly had no time to repent or turn to God. Let me remind you of those who have faced near-death experiences. They tell of seeing their “life flash before [their] eyes.” Indeed, they say that time itself seem to stop or move into slow motion. I believe that, even in what seemed like a “sudden” death, time slowed to a crawl. According to their testimonies, evidently, there often is enough time in this altered state to see and ponder one’s entire life – and to make a decision or even call upon the name of the Lord.

In spite of what we do not know about life’s many mysteries, one thing remains eternally true: God is our loving Father. He does not desire that any man perish, and He will fight to save us, even to the moment of our death. Let us, therefore, cast our burdens upon the Lord, for He genuinely cares for us. And let us again run with endurance the race set before us, for He has promised that even for those “sitting in the . . . shadow of death, upon them a light dawned” (Matt. 4:16).

Lord Jesus, thank You for dying for my sins. Lord, there are many issues I do not know, but I do know that You are good. Those things I do not understand, I give to You. I trust You with my life, and I put in Your hands the care of those I love.