ADJUSTING YOUR ATTITUDE

What is it that hinders and restricts the child of God from attaining and going forth to receive that which has been provided through the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ?

An attitude that does not reflect what the word of God reflects.

What I want to bring to you today is something that I believe will impact and transform your life if you will grasp what is being brought to you.

AN ATTITUDE MANAGED BY THE WORD.

Eph 1:18
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

What a revelation, that your attitude can be managed, ruled and controlled by the word of God.
Does it sound like it is just too good to be true and yet this is a promise concerning the word of God

Why is it that we the children of God need to have our attitudes adjusted continually, why are we leaking vessels that continually need to be plugged up and why is it that our attitudes resemble a roller coaster that is constantly going up and down.

I believe it is because we have not come to the realization of truth according to the word of God which states that every thing has already been done. everything has already been accomplished in the spirit and when your mindset is that you still feel that there are things that God still needs to do, there are still things that God still needs to give then you are not dealing in the reality of Gods word where He has promised that all things have already been provided for according to His divine power.

2 Pet 1:3
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

When you are not dealing in the reality of Gods word then your mindset and your attitude is affected and the difference in that which has been affected determines whether or not you are going to walk in victory or defeat.

I wonder if I need to say it again so that there is no misunderstanding,
When your mindset is that something still needs to be done, something still needs to be given, someone still needs to move, then your mindset is not on that which has already been done and that affects your attitude which determines whether you are going to walk in victory or defeat.

There is a huge difference between people fasting and praying to get something done and people walking in power and authority of that which has already been done.

We are not the sick trying to get healed and we are not the undelivered trying to get delivered,
We are the healed and delivered and Satan is trying to steal that healing and deliverance from us.

When most people fast and pray for healing, for deliverance, when they are fighting the battle and they are rebuking the devil the battle to most of them is about getting something done, the battle is about standing in the gap, it’s about praying and interceding.

When you walk in the power and in the authority of that which is already been done, you are still praying, you are still fasting, you are still rebuking the devil but you are not rebuking him so that healing and deliverance will come to you,
You are rebuking him because he is trying to steal something that already belongs to you

So what is the difference between the two?
You’re attitude reflected by which one you believe.

When your attitude sees yourself already blessed instead of waiting to be blessed
When your attitude sees yourself already healed, already delivered, already prosperous, and already forgiven then the difference determines whether you walk in victory or whether you walk in defeat
It is easier to keep something that you already have then it is to go get something that you never thought you had.

Here is that powerful mindset that affects multitudes of attitudes, we know that God is able, we know that God can, we know that nothing is impossible with God and so they petition, they plead, they pray and fast and their starting off place is already in a place of defeat.
They start from a place of depression, they start from a place of discouragement, from a place of restriction, from a place out of the word, they start from a place in the flesh, they start from the enemy’s camp and they embrace it and then what must take place is that some how they must work towards victory instead of starting from the place of victory.

I am not telling you that you can not get to victory starting from the enemy’s camp but what you need to understand and grasp is that there is a camp where you can start from in victory according to the word of God.

Let me show you something.
1Thes 5:23
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Listen to what the Apostle Paul says,
That the God of peace sanctify you whooly

That word whooly in the Greek is holoteles and it means to be sanctified completely to be sanctified entirely and then Paul makes this incredible statement as he is praying for those in Thessolonica

And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here is revelation knowledge,
You are a triune man and you are made up of three parts, spirit, soul and body.
And Paul says I pray that your whole spirit and soul and your body are preserved blameless until the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Most Christians have an understanding that they are made up of three parts, spirit soul and body but they’re understanding is only tied to hearing it with their ears instead of application through there hearts or revelation knowledge.
Most people relate to themselves through two avenues, their soul or their emotions and then the other is through their body.

The two avenues that the majority of Gods people relate to God through are these two avenues and they view themselves through these two avenues as well.

What the average child of God does not see Him or Herself through is the spirit and because we are well acquainted with the soul or emotions and we are well acquainted with the body it is not difficult to discern the emotions of the soul nor is it difficult to discern the feelings of the body because we all are in tune with that.

What very few of Gods people relate to is the 1/3 of us that is born again (the spirit), the 1/3 of us that is identical to Jesus, the 1/3 of us that is sanctified holy and righteous.
I do not believe that there is ten Christians in a thousand who have revelation knowledge concerning the revelation of spirit soul and body and walk in that knowledge on a daily basis.

And I find that a tragedy.

It is tragedy and yet the average child of God does not understand that the only part of them that is born again is the spirit and if the spirit does not influence and transform the soul, the emotions then the body will always do what the body has always done.

It is amazing to me how multitudes of Christians have placed a tremendous importance on getting souls saved.
There are only two scriptures in the entire new testament that speak of souls being saved and neither one of them have to do with the born again experience.

James 1:21
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

Heb 10:39
But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Neither one of these scriptures are speaking about being born again because in the born again experience your soul is not saved only your spirit.
Only your spirit becomes brand new.

2 Cor 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Old things are passed away behold all things are new and the reason is because you are a new creature

VERSE:18
2 Cor 5:18
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

This is not speaking about your physical body or your soul; it is speaking of your spirit.
When you became born again your soul did not change, your emotions did not change, and your body did not change,
The only thing that changed was your spirit.

And multitudes of Gods people are placing emphasis and importance on saving souls when you’re soul does not even get saved
It can only be renewed

Rom 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

I wonder how many people who became born again waited with anticipation for everything to become brand new.
Behold all things would become new and old things would pass away
Their lusts would be gone, their sinful desires would be gone, their circumstances and situations would change, that which was broken would be fixed and that which was crooked would be made straight, their emotions and attitudes would change and everything would be new and everything in their past would be over.

And so they prayed a prayer and many really meant it and believed and instead of coming into the promise of His word they entered in to a state of confusion
Accepting and rejoicing in that which transpired but never coming to the place of truth that would bring them freedom.
Their emotions, their feelings, their attitudes never being influenced and controlled by His word
Never having an attitude adjustment that was 100% positive and accelerating.

When you come into understanding concerning the word of God then Gods word brings understanding that becomes lifestyle and lifestyle is being more than a conqueror.

Rom 8:37
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

And yet so many of Gods people do not feel like they are conquerors, they do not walk in lifestyle of being a conqueror and the reason is that they do not understand that the bible is wrote about the spirit man and not the carnal man,
The bible is wrote about the new man, the new creature in Christ, not about the flesh man who accepted Christ

IT IS ABOUT THE NEW CREATURE IN CHRIST.

IT’S NOT ENOUGH

Mark 6:34-42
And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:
Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.
He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.
And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.
And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
And they did all eat, and were filled.

Let me give you some background to the scriptures that we have just read
John the Baptist has just been beheaded by Herod, the apostles have come forth to inform Jesus concerning the things that have just taken place and Jesus tells them that they should depart unto a desert place so that they may rest.
So when Jesus and the disciples departed to that place of rest many of the people who saw them leaving began to follow them.
When they arrived in the desert the book of Mark tells us that Jesus begins to teach them many things and the book of Matthew tells us that He also healed the sick,

Matt 14:14
And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

When the day is about to end His disciples come to him and say Lord,
It is time to send the people away for if they do not leave now they will not be able to obtain food for the evening and many of them will faint along the way.

Now I need you to understand
I am not talking about going to an all night quick mart or a twenty-four hour Jewel store.
I am not relating to the conveniences that we encounter every day of our lives; there were no cars, no buses, no cabs, no atms, no 24 hours grocery stores, and no drive through at McDonalds.
The common mode of travel was walking and they were in a desert place many hours from any city or town and these people had been there all day long with nothing to eat.

Their were men, women and children that were there in that desert place and even if they were to start on their journey towards home they would not be able to obtain what they needed to eat because of the lateness of the hour.

And his disciples come to Him and tell Him that He needs to dismiss the people before it gets any later for the people have not eaten anything all day and many of them will faint along the way as they journey towards their home.

And Jesus tells the disciples feed them.
Mark 6:37
He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?

So the disciples concerned about the welfare of the people who have gathered to hear Jesus begin to relate to Jesus the condition of the people and Jesus looks at the disciples and says Give ye them to eat.

Now look at
Matt 14:15-16
And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

I am going to give you a spiritual truth, a truth that has long since departed from the thinking of the church world.

But Jesus said unto them, they need not depart; give ye them to eat.

There is a tremendous need in the lives of people today to be touched and to be ministered to physically, emotionally and spiritually and the church today for the most part is sending those who have needs some where else for those needs to be met.

If they have a physical need we send them to food pantries and mission centers
If they have emotional issues we send them to counselors, Christian psychologists and if the need is critical then we send them to doctors and centers for the mentally impaired, and if they have a spiritual issue it is then that we bring them to the church.

Jesus looked at His disciples and said they need not depart feed them
The church has become so good and so efficient at sending people to other places to get there needs met,

Government agencies, welfare agencies, the Salvation Army, social agencies, community pantries, mission centers and the tragedy is that it does not bother the church at all to send the person in need to place where their needs can not be met

Christ spoke the message so plain---Give ye them to eat And the message is so clear---Do not send people away that have needs,
Meet there needs

But here is the testimony of the church, we do not have the resources, we do not have the means, we do not have what it requires to take care of them in our budget.
We are a church and we do not have the means to supply what they need, but we do know a place where they can go and our prayers are with them.
This is the mindset of many of Gods people today.

So here the people are in a desert place with nothing but a few pieces of fish and a few loaves of bread and we have a dilemma,
The need is greater than the resources
The need is greater than what the disciples have on hand and so the mindset of the disciples is to go buy some bread.

And the Lord tells the disciples feed them.

And this is how they respond.
And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?

I wonder how many of those disciples looked at the Lord and said within them selves, He needs to get a grip; He is out of touch with reality.

I wonder how many of you have been in a situation where the need is greater than the resources that you have on hand and you look at the mountain and think to yourself how impossible is this. How impractical is this, how out of touch is this.

Hear is sobering truth,
This situation with the disciples relates exactly to us as children of God and what the Lord has commanded us to do,
Feed them
Heal them
Cast out demons
Cleanse the lepers
Raise the dead
Preach the good news
Preach deliverance to the captive and set at liberty them that are bruised.

They need not depart,
You don’t have to send them to the government agencies, you don’t have to send them to the psychiatric centers to be evaluated by psychiatrists, you do not have to send them to the food pantries and you don’t have to send them to the health clinics
Feed ye them
Meet the needs of these people.

And the church, the people of God are saying exactly the same thing that the disciples said
Should I go and buy 200 pennyworth of bread and feed them.
I do not have any bread or money to buy bread, I do not know how, I do not have those types of resources, I can’t do it,
I’ve never been in ministry, what do I do, what should I do, I do not have what it takes to meet the needs of these people.
But here is reality according to the word of God

They really did have the resources to meet the needs of that multitude,
They had 5 loaves and two fishes.

And some one in the natural is going to say that is not enough, the church is going to say it is not enough; the minister is going to say it is not enough.

But the truth is that the little that they had was more than enough to meet the needs of those that were gathered in that desert place and the little that you have is more than enough to do all that you need to do to meet the needs of those in need.

If you are born again the measure of faith that you have is enough to cleanse the lepers, heal the sick, and raise the dead,
It is enough to cast out every demon and bring liberty to every single person in bondage.

Why do you think that Jesus said to the disciples you feed them?
Because He knew that they had enough.

And the message that he gave to them is the same message that He gives to us
You have the power inside of you
You have the resources inside of you

If you are born again the same spirit that Jesus has lives inside of you
The same resurrection power that lived on the inside of Jesus lives on the inside of you and that which lives on the inside of you is more than enough to meet all of your needs and all the needs of those who are ever going to come into contact with you.
The church has undervalued what Christ has done within us and the body of Christ lives far below and underneath its advantage and privilege.

We are sons of God; we are heirs with Christ and joint heirs with Christ and partakers of His divine nature.
We are above only, we have been made to sit in heavenly places, we have been made free, and we have been given access to the throne room of God with boldness and confidence.

But very few of Gods people get it and grasp what Christ is saying,
Feed ye them
Heal ye them
Deliver ye them
All things are possible to you.

And because Gods people do not get it they live there life as a beggar, they live there life as a pauper, they live there life as a drifter, as a transient moving around the palace, staying close to the palace, talking about some day living in the palace but never taking up residence in the palace.

And the reason is because we do not have the knowledge or the confidence of His word to see what He has done in us and what He has done for us.

These disciples had more than enough to meet the needs of the multitude but it was not apparent to them and not only was it not apparent to them but they believed that there was no way that they would be able to feed the multitudes.
Jesus said feed them but they still could not believe that they would be able to feed them.

Jesus says heal them, raise them from the dead, cleanse them, cast out demons and the body of Christ still believes that it is unrealistic and out of touch to do so.

Hear the word of God
Mark 9:23
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

John 11:40
Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

Luke 17:6
And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

Mark 11:23
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

When is the body of Christ going to start to partnership with the word of God?
When is the body of Christ going to start to partnership with what the word of God has to say about them?
When is the body of Christ going to start to believe that because He lives inside of you that which is impossible with man is possible with God?
When is the body of Christ going to stop casting themselves down when He has lifted you up?
When are you going to stop allowing your past to be part of you when He has delivered you from your past?
And when are you going to stop seeing yourself as you have always seen yourself and start seeing yourself as God sees you.

And yes it is true that you are not able to heal the sick, cast out demons, bring deliverance to the oppressed, cleanse the lepers and raise the dead on your own but as a son of God you have more than enough.

These disciples that came to Jesus and told Him that He needed to send the multitudes home so they could eat, they thought that they were doing some thing wonderful, I can imagine that they thought they would be commended because they we’re being compassionate.

And instead the Lord said,
They do not need to depart you feed them
And what did the disciples do, they immediately looked to the natural
Should I go and buy 200 pennyworth of bread.

When are we as children of God going to stop looking to the natural and begin to walk in the supernatural?

Mark 6:41
And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
And they did all eat, and were filled.

EMPTY OUT SO YOU CAN BE FILLED.

With thanksgiving just two days away everyone is focusing in on things that we should be thankful for and I certainly am in agreement with that thought but this evening I would like to bring to you something from a different perspective because I believe that to truly be thankful you first have to empty out so you can be filled in order to truly give thanks.

II Ki 4:1-7
Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.
And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.
Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.
And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

If you can grasp what I am going to say to you tonight I believe it will impact your life forever.

The key to value and worth in your life is for you to know who you are in the Lord Jesus Christ.
When we understand and comprehend that, there is nothing left to do but to stand in awe and wonder as to the greatness of an Almighty God.
There is nothing left to do but to give thanks and praise unto the one that is worthy to be praised,
There is nothing left to do but to fall before Him in complete adoration to the greatness of His mercy and grace to the revelation of knowing who and what we are through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Elijah asked the woman,
What do you have in your house?
What do you have that can glorify God?

I wonder if we really understand how accurate this woman really was when she said thy handmaid hath nothing in the house.

She was so accurate and yet did not know how accurate that she really was.

Her answer has a reflection on all of us if we have revelation and that revelation is that we are all empty vessels that need to be filled.

There is none of us that has anything to offer to God, there is no value within any of us except the power of God that has taken resident within us that needs to flow out of us.
The only value that we have relates back to the God that lives within us

Let’s be honest
What do we have to offer God?
What do we really have to offer God that is significant in value?

I believe the answer will come nothing every single time if we are honest.
God is not needy and neither is He desperate

I have heard a multitude of preachers telling thousands that God needs us,
He does not need us, He loves us but he does not need us.

He can do his own work without us, He does not need us to love some one, He does not need us to lay hands on some one, He does not need us to lead some one and He does not need us to bring some one to Him,
He can do his own work in fact the book of Genesis tells the story as to how capable He is of doing his own work.

I do not say that to tear you down or to make you feel bad, I say it for you to grasp something important,
If we as children of God do not get rid of our haughtiness and our high mindedness, God is never going to be able to use us to the capacity that He desires to use us.

So some one is going to say do we have value, and the answer is yes but only the value that God has assigned to us because of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Christ we are and have everything,
In the flesh we are and have nothing,

That which is born of the flesh is flesh and it profits us nothing and that which is born of the spirit is spirit and it profits us everything.

John 3:6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Within us is a burning desire to help people, within us is a desire to reach out and touch people but that can only really take place after you have emptied yourself, it is only after you have purged yourself of yourself that you are able to lean on and totally depend on the Holy Spirit,

It is only then that you begin to realize that what you have is only because of Him, what you are is only because of Him, what you will ever be will be only because of Him, if you are to touch lives it will only be because of Him.
And when you become empty then you can go around to your neighbors, then you can go around to your friends, then you can go around to your family as a vessel that has been emptied of self and bring to them that which will bring them life.

Arriving at the place where we are empty of ourselves is never an easy task,
It is never quick and it is never easy .it involves a deep work that must be done in us and by us so that our flesh is crucified for our flesh is deeply imbedded within us.

Listen to Paul,
Gal 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

You may be at the place where you wonder if you will ever reach that place of manifesting humility instead of pride, you may wonder if you will ever reach that place of dependence instead of that place of being independent, of trusting instead of doing your own thing, of loving with pure motives instead of motives that manipulate.
Will you ever reach that place, yes if you do not give up?

Phil 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

If you will remain sincere, if you will remain honest, if you will press through, you will eventually become like the woman who became empty so that she could be used by God to fill other empty people,
Grasp this, to experience and to know what God can do, we have to understand and acknowledge what we are not able to do. We have to get our eyes off of our selves and our limited ability and get our eyes on Him and His unlimited and infinite power.

2 Chr 20:1
It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

Verse 4
And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

Verse 10
And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;

Verse 12
O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.

Three important statements and principles made in these verses that apply to us today as much as it did to the people of that day.

#1 We have no might to stand against this great company that is coming against us.

#2 We do not know what to do

#3 But our eyes are on you

When we reach the place of being able to make these three statements to the Lord in total honesty and complete dependence upon Him, then He will be able to move in total freedom for us as He did for the people in that story.

Why is God not moving in our lives as He moved in the lives of those who did not have what we have in Him?
Could it be that maybe it is because we are so full of ourselves?

Why is God not taking control of our situations?
Could it be that maybe it is because we will not let go.
That is part of what it means when the word of God tells us that the battle is not ours but the Lords.

2 Chr 20:15
And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.

So as we ponder this Thanksgiving how many ways that we are thankful, maybe the greatest expression of thankfulness that we will be able to exhibit to God and to those around us will be to empty out so that we can be filled.

IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW YOU FEEL

I Jn 5:14-15
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Notice our opening scripture and what the word of God is saying to you and me as children of God

And this is the confidence that we have in him,

What a statement that is being made for the purpose of understanding and comprehending the voice of the Lord and for the purpose of revelation and disclosure concerning the things of God

And this is the confidence that we have in him,

What does confidence mean?

It means assurance, it means without a doubt, it means openness and boldness, it means free from fear and it also means cheerful courage, it means total and unwavering allegiance and loyalty to the word that has been spoken.

And this is the confidence that we have in him,

Now what is it that gives us this confidence, assurance and boldness?

It is the confidence that your life is well pleasing to the Lord

Col 1:10
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

I Jn 3:22
And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

Turn to
Dan 1:9
Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.

When you are well pleasing to God, when you have been brought into a place of favor, you can sleep the night in the lions den, you can sleep in the Macedonian prison like Paul or you can sleep in a cave running for your life as David did.

When you have favor with God, when you have confidence with God, you have a right relationship with God.

Don’t miss this,
The rightness has been imparted to you by the righteousness of Jesus Christ if you are born again and you should know where you stand as a child of God concerning that rightness.

When you know you have favor, that confidence, that assurance it makes no difference where you stand, where you sleep because you know that wherever you are He is right there beside you because He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Hear this truth,
There is no way that you can ask with confidence and assurance until there is a perfect union between you and Almighty God.

I Jn 3:21
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

When our heart is not condemned, when our hearts are free from the condemnation of sin and its consequences, it is then that we have confidence in God.

Listen to Christ in
John 10:30, He says
I and my Father are one.

What Jesus is saying is that He and His Father have a prefect union and in this perfect union He and His Father are one, and because this relationship is perfect and there is no condemnation, He has confidence in God His Father.

Now notice what He says in,
John 17:11
And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

And now scripture shows us that the same relationship that Christ shared and walked in with His Father is now the same relationship that he desires for you and I to share and walk in with Him and His Father so that we may be one as He and His Father are one so that we might have confidence of God.

John 17:21
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

And not only does He desire that we be as one with Him and His Father but now He desires that we be one with each other so that we might have confidence in Him

The foundation has to be confidence and fidelity in Him, the foundation has to be the substance spoken about in
Heb 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Now faith
Don’t miss what I am saying
Now faith, the substance of things hoped for,

In order to receive the things hoped for there has to be confidence and assurance to obtain them.

Heb 11:2
For by it the elders obtained a good report.

Turn to,
John 11:32-36
Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
Jesus wept.
Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

There are many people who believe that the reason that Christ wept is because of his love for Lazarus
The reason that Christ wept was because of the unbelief of the people, they did not believe, they had not come to the realization that anything that He would ask the Father, the Father would grant it to him because of there relationship.
Even Mary and Martha had not come to that revelation and there unbelief brought brokenness, sadness and emptiness into the heart of Jesus.

And He wept because of there unbelief

John 11:38-44
Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.The moment Jesus prayed the heavens opened and the moment He was done praying the heaven’s remained open

I tell you that if we have to wait for heaven to open something is terribly wrong, what is it that makes us lose the confidence of God; it is disobedience unto that same God.

Let me say it once again,
It is disobedience unto the Lord and all that He commands.

Listen to the Lord in
John 11:41-42
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
How many stones will have to be removed before the dead of this world will be able to walk free?
How many times must the Savior Weep?
How many times must the Savior be grieved before the children of God begin to understand the context of the scriptures?
How many times is it going to take before we understand that it is not by power, nor by might but by the Spirit of the Lord.

It does not matter how we feel, our feelings have nothing to do with the word of God, nor the operation of the word of God.
It does not matter what has happened nor what any body else has done,
The word of God is true and it still opens the Red Sea’s and tears down the Jericho walls of this life.
The word of God is not dependant on anything other than what God has proclaimed and on you believing what God has proclaimed.

Josh 6:4-5
And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

Notice the commands that God has given to Joshua concerning obedience to His word
#1 seven priests shall carry trumpets of rams horns before the ark
#2 on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times with the priests blowing the trumpets
#3 when you hear a long blast of the trumpets all of the people will give a loud shout
#4 then the walls will collapse

Theses are specific instructions that God has given to Joshua.

Now notice something else that Joshua said,
Josh 6:10
And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.

Allow me to make an observation,
When you are walking by faith you need to understand faith.

Walking around those walls was nothing more than an act of faith.

They were fifty feet tall, two chariots drawn by 6 horses could run around on top of those walls side by side and the instructions that God gave was not to build ladders, it was not to build catapults, the instructions were not to scale the walls, the instructions were to march around the walls.

Here is revelation, nothing that the child of God was going to do was going to cause those walls to collapse.

And Joshua tells them,
Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.

I am convinced that if you want to see your walls come down you will have to keep your mouth shut concerning the walls that you are marching around; you will have to keep your mouth shut concerning your unbelief, concerning the time element involved and concerning your opinion of the walls.
Your only concern can be the confidence that you have in the word of God that states these walls are coming down.

So on the seventh day they marched around the city seven times, the priests blew the trumpets and the people shouted.

Josh 6:20
So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

So what was the shout, the walls were still standing before they shouted so what was the shout.
It was the victory before the victory
It was the evidence of things not seen, it was the confidence that we have in Him

I Jn 5:14-15
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

INTIMACY PT 3

For the past two postings of Heart-Thoughts the Lord has continued to speak to my heart concerning INTIMACY and here in scripture we find a tragedy that is prevalent in the church today.

Exod 20:18
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

VERSE 20
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

The scriptures are plain, the people distanced themselves from the presence of God and Moses drew near unto that presence, in other words one ran in and the others ran away.

What is God doing here?
He is calling the Israelites to intimacy, fellowship and communion and the children of Israel stand afar off.

Listen to them as they speak unto Moses,
Exod 20:19
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

You see church even though they did not want to enter in because of fear and unbelief they still understood something very important and that is that only the things that can match up to the character of God are able to stand in the presence of God.

That was the essence of why the Ten Commandments were given to the children of Israel, so that the children of God could see the character of God and in the seeing they could come to the realization of His holiness and be able to stand in His presence by adhering to and obeying his commandments

Listen to what God tells them in
Lev 19:2
Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

Lev 20:7
Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.

Why did they run away?
The Lord has issued a call for his people to draw near and to come to Him.
Why are they running away?

Because they do not want to have to live up to God’s standards, He wants them to rise too a new level, He wants them to aspire to come up and be holy as he is holy,
He is calling them, to bring them to a new place, to draw them unto Him.

James 4:8
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Ps 145:18-19
The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

All that God wanted the Israelites to do when He gave them the Ten commandments was to clean up there act so that they could do more than look at Him from a distance

What God wanted to do was once again walk with them in the cool of the evening as he once did in the Garden of Eden.
He wanted to share his heart with them, to share intimacy and communion with them,

And my friends nothing has changed, in all the years that have passed, in all the things that have taken place in this world, what the Lord still wants is to have intimacy with his children.

And the response that should have come from the Israelites as they were gathered around that mountain was to enter into that intimacy, and the response that should come from the church, from the body of Christ today is, speak with us Lord even if we have to die.

But here is the sad reality of our present age,
Most people who call themselves Christians today do not have a real sense of the abiding presence of God, and the reason that they do not have that abiding presence is the same reason that the Israelites did not have that abiding presence, they refused to clean up the clutter in there lives and if they did desire to have that abiding presence most of them became tangled in legalism.

Exod 20:19
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
Now listen to Moses in Verse 20
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

Moses is saying,
People you do not have to fear God; you do not have to be afraid.
The Lord is only trying to prove you, He is only testing you, the thunder and the lightning is just to remind you of his awesome power and to keep you from sinning.
He just wants you to draw near unto him.

Now let’s read the scripture again,
EXODUS 20:21
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

Let us get this scenario,
Moses is running toward God and the Israelites are running away from God.

Exod 19:18
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

VERSE 20
And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

Moses has already obeyed the call of intimacy with the Lord,
He has removed his shoes at the burning bush and has spoken with God, he has obeyed the call of God to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt and to free them from the bonds of there task masters and now we see Moses being summoned to the top of Mount Sinai to be ushered into the presence of the Lord.

In the Lords presence Moses learned something that needed to be brought to the people and that was that there was nothing to fear in the darkness because once you have entered in you are in the presence of God

2 Sam 22:7-14
In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.

2 Chr 6:1
Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

What did God want to accomplish when he brought the Israelites out of Egypt,
He was making a bride for his Son and he was making a people of God who were not a people of God

1 Pet 2:10
Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

God always leads the way by example

Phil 3:17
Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
Who was the example going to be for the Israelites at that mountain?
It was Moses!

Here is a very important truth,
What God can not get through to leadership He will have a very difficult time getting through to those who follow that leadership

Moses was the example, they saw, they witnessed, they watched as Moses went up in the presence of God, they witnessed the smoke, they witnessed the thunderings and lightnings, they literally saw Moses ascend up into the thick darkness of God and return again to the foot of the mountain.

I believe with all of my heart that when God called Moses to the top of the mountain it was for an example to the people to see there leader enter in so that when the time came they would be able to enter in also without fear.

What is Exodus 20:20 all about?
It is about God wanting to draw his people unto himself, it was about God who used there leader to show them that there is nothing to fear in the presence of God; it was about God desiring to have his people near to him and a people desiring to want to be near there God.
But scripture tells us that they ran away and stood afar off.

I will tell you that the downfall of the Jewish nation began at Mount Sinai in the Old Testament, and the downfall of the Jewish nation in the New Testament began at Jerusalem.
And the downfall to both was when God said come near and be intimate and they said we will not.

Exod 32:1
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Please notice,
Even after all the miracles, after all the drawing and trying to bring this people unto Himself,
Moses disappears into the thick darkness where God is and the Israelites believe that because he entered into the place of intimacy, because he entered into the intimate presence of God it destroyed him.
This was the problem of the Israelites back at Mount Sinai and it still a major problem of the church today

Now turn back to
Exod 20:18
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
VERSE 21
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

Now what was it that would draw one man towards God and to the rest that were looking on it would drive them to look from a distance,
What is it that would make a group of people afraid of entering into a commitment with God that would bring about real intimacy, communion and fellowship?
What is it that would make us balk at entering into the awesome presence of Almighty God especially when he is calling us to enter in to such a relationship?

Do you want to know the hang up?

Real intimacy requires purity
<strong>1 Tim 4:12
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

1Thes 2:10
Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:

Titus 2:7-12
In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;
Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

When you enter into the place of intimacy the days of fun and games are over in the church,
What do I mean by fun and games?
I mean low commitment and lots of entertainment and thrills.
Low commitment and entertainment and thrills are better known as dating God

It’s called wanting to be his girlfriend, it’s called wanting all the chills and goose bumps without putting on the ring of
Commitment.
Church I will tell you that God is not interested in girlfriends.
Girlfriends who are looking for all the thrills and chills and excitement of being around Him, girlfriends who like the feelings of being blessed and being in the midst of the anointing, girlfriends who like receiving the gifts, the flowers, the candy and all the blessings.
I am here to tell you that God is not looking for a girlfriend,

He is looking for a bride who will stick with Him who is committed to him, who desires to spend the rest of their lives intimate with Him.
I am afraid that there are too many people in the church who simply follow God to get what they can from Him without giving anything in return.
There is commitment in marriage, there is intimacy in marriage, there is closeness in marriage and there is oneness in marriage and God desires a wife.

Gen 2:24
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Let me tell you the message of the hour and the message that God wants to get to his church,
Intimacy

And out of intimacy will come revival and out of the intimacy will come babies,
The babies of revival are always sowed out of the granite rock commitment that is given to the bridegroom and babies are always birthed out of intimacy.

You do not have to worry about babies being born when there is no intimacy.

It’s time to draw nigh, it’s time to drew near and it’s time to be intimate

Heb 7:19
For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.

James 4:8
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

The church always says that it wants revival but very seldom do we hear the church say that it wants intimacy and so the outcome is that we seek revival without seeking the Reviver.

Do you know what that is like?
It like some one wanting children and not caring who the father is
It’s like wanting children without the commitment that goes along with marriage
Leaders in the church have wrote countless books on how we are to grow churches,
They will tell you this method, they will tell you that method, they will have there bring a friend days, I have even been asked since I feed and clothe the poor if that helped grow my church.

Because that is the question that is being asked by every one,
What can we do to grow the church?

The bottom line is they want to know how to grow a church without intimate relationship with the Lord.

They have tried to find short cuts they have tried to bypass the intimate relationship process.

Why?
Because they want a bunch of kids sitting in their pews so we can compare with every body else’s church family to see if we are succeeding

Hear me
Children in themselves do not make a household; children are the natural by product of a loving and intimate marriage relationship.
Most of our churches today are nothing more than dysfunctional single parent households with the father missing
What the church really needs is a real relationship with the Father,

When you place a man and a woman together in intimate marriage you do not have to worry about whether or not children are going to born into this family, children are a natural by product of the intimacy

Why is it that the largest revivals that are taking place in the world are not taking place on American soil?
Why is it that over sea’s there is a hunger and a thirst for the things of God and in that hunger and in that thirst God is pouring out His spirit
The reason that the greatest revivals are taking place on foreign soil is because we turned away from the mount of God. we cast aside our morals and our commitment, we no longer hold true to values in marriage and in family values, we no longer hold dear the sanctity of marriage or marriage vows and with that casting aside we lost the true values of intimacy and commitment to God.

God is looking for a bride and most of the church all they want to do is date.
When you turn away from the face of God, when you turn away from the mount of God
When you turn away from commitment to God then every other commitment in your life begins to deteriorate and fall apart as well.

We are faced with a serious problem in the church and the problem is the lack of God’s people who truly are committed to Him as the bride.

Mark 4:3-17
Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

One out of four committed to good ground, one out of four
Committed to bringing forth fruit, one out of four
Committed to being a wife.

Do you now see the problem?

We have in the church a multitude of people, who have not much depth,
Who have no root system?
Who hear the word but thorns choke it out?
The sun burns it up.
As long as they can remain in a protected environment and can sit in there air conditioned buildings and in there padded pews, as long as they do not have to endure the wind, the sun or harsh elements, as long as there is no tribulation or persecution, as long as it does not cost them anything.
They can flourish as long as the temperature is correct and everything is just right
(greenhouse effect)

You see people who are really really in love do not gauge there relationship by there job, by their bank accounts, there homes or how they are doing and people who are in love with God do not gauge there relationship with salary, parsonage, church activities or how much fun they are having,
They join with Paul
Acts 20:24
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
This is the confession of people in love and in intimate relationship with there Maker,
God is calling
You are at Mount Sinai and God is calling you into intimate relationship with Him today.
If you answer his call he is going to redefine every thing you have ever done, ever known and the decision that you make will determine whether you go forward or backward in your walk with Christ.
Intimacy with God requires brokenness and brokenness births purity and purity brings greater intimacy.
God is calling

1 Cor 15:31
I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Do you want what Paul wants and that is to enter into the presence of God every day or are you going to stand afar off

Exod 20:21
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

INTIMACY PT 2

Isa 26:2
Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

I begin this second message of Intimacy as I began the first speaking about revival,
Ffor many years I have searched for and sought after that elusive revival that I have heard so much about, the revival that many say is coming, that revival that many say has already been here, the revival that is supposed to turn the world upside down.

And in my search for revival this is what I have found
Revival is nothing more than the glory of God breaking forth out the four walls of the church and flowing into the streets of the city.

Revival is nothing more than the decreasing of our own selves and the increasing of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives.

Revival is nothing more than coming to a place of intimacy with him instead of complacency within ourselves,

Revival is nothing more than the fires of God burning hot within our soul instead of being swallowed up within luke warmness.

Revival is nothing more than seizing every opportunity to minister to some one else’s life instead of wanting to be ministered to.

Revival is nothing more than the fresh outpouring of God manifesting himself within the realms of human flesh rather than the flesh of man manifesting itself with in the church through committee’s and programs.

I want you to see something church and that is that we all have one thing in common today with the Israelites, as they were brought forth from there bondage in Egypt, as they were delivered from the hands of there taskmasters and brought forth out of Egypt, so we to have been brought out of our bondages and have been delivered from the evil hand of Satan, our taskmaster and as they were delivered from oppression and depression and the bondages of slavery so we to have been delivered from the bondages of our slavery, alcoholism, drugs, chronic and domestic abuse problems, destitution and despair.

As they were led out of Egypt and brought to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, so we have been led out of our Egypt and have been brought to the mountain of God.

Now for what reason were they led out of Egypt and brought to the Mount of God,
They were brought forth to enter in to intimacy with God, they were brought forth to enter into His rest.

And the church is faced with the same problem that faced the children of Israel
We stand at the foot of the mountain as they stood at the foot of the mountain,
We all know that according to scripture the multitude that gathered around the foot of the mountain that day did not enter into his rest and neither did they enter into the Promised Land which is a type and shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They did not enter in.

Heb 3:18
And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?

Heb 4:11
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

And so the challenge is set before us, the same decision that they faced faces the church today,
Do we go in or do we stand afar off.

Exod 20:18-21
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

This is the place that I believe the church is in today, in the cross roads of standing far off or entering into His rest.
When the people stood at the foot of Mount Sinai they were only a couple of days march from the Promised land, they were only a short distance from receiving there inheritance.

They were so close
The only thing that was delaying them from going forth into the promises of God was there reluctance to press into the intimacy of God.
And that is the problem of most churches today, there reluctance to reach for the intimacy of God which has birthed within them a reluctance to possess the things of God

And we for the most part as the church do not possess the things of God
He desires to draw nigh to us but we still stand afar off

Our church services are evident of the distance that is between us him,
Our lives demonstrate the distance between the Holy Ghost and us.

All you have to do is to read the story of the man at the gate beautiful to see the distance between us and the Holy Spirit

Acts 3:2-10
And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful , to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
And all the people saw him walking and praising God:

Here is a man who denied Christ, a man who rejected Christ, a man who cursed Christ sitting at the fire of the heathen and in 50 days we see the manifestation of Christ in his life.
The evidence that is portrayed on the outside of his body is the overwhelming portrayal of the intimacy that is taking place on the inside of his body.
And the church stands at a crossroads, a fork in the road and one fork leads to intimacy and the pressing toward the mark of the high calling and other fork leads to complacency and satisfaction,

One fork leads to a resting place and the other fork leads to programs and church meetings and religious things.

Which ever fork that you choose will have its own set of consequences,
If you choose the fork that says we are tired and we need to take a rest,
If you choose the fork where you want to lie down and quit that fork will have its consequences

If you choose the fork of intimacy then through thick and thin, through hard times and the good times your journey will progress to where you will grow into relationship with Him no matter what the cost and no matter what happens.


I want you to listen to Moses in,
Exod 33:18
And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

After the Red Sea, after the drowning of Pharaoh’s army, after the manna from heaven, after water from the rock, after the quail surrounding the camp,
Moses cry’s out
Show me thy Glory

In other words
Lord thank you for your many blessings, thank you for your miracles that you have performed in my life, thank you for meeting all of my needs,
But my desire is to see your glory, my desire to be intimate with you
Show me your glory

Exod 33:13
Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.

Paul cried out
That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, that I may know Him and the fellowship of His sufferings, that I may know Him being made conformable in His death.

Satan’s most successful trick is to get us to stop just short of the place called intimacy,
Satan’s most successful trick is to get us to the place of burning bushes, manna falling from heaven, water flowing out of the rock and then convince us that we have arrived at that place where we need to be.
The apostle Paul knew the trap; He knew the dangers of falling short of the goal.

Listen to Him in,
Phil 3:13-14
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
You see I am convinced that the church has not learned from the Mount Sinai experience, they do not comprehend the events that took place on that day and they certainly do not think that these same events have any significance in the church and in there lives today.

It was at Mount Sinai that the Israelites built the tabernacle according to the instructions God gave to Moses, it was at Mount Sinai that God gave to Moses Hs servant the great revelation of His law in the Ten Commandments.
It was at Mount Sinai that God wanted to begin to deal directly and personably with his people

Three wonderful and great events that took place at Mount Sinai.

But something else took place at that mountain as well,
Mount Sinai is the place where the Israelites refused to enter into the presence and into the rest of almighty God,
Mount Sinai is also the place where the Israelites built the golden calf of idolatry and this is exactly the very thing that takes place in the child of God when they do not enter in to the intimacy of God.

When there is no intimacy, there is impatience, fruitlessness, there is no change and there is always an idol that is built or will be built.

Why do we become addicted to preachers when we can have Him?
Why do we follow after preachers when we can have Him?
Why do aspire to think that there are great men of God when there is just a great God who uses men.
Why are we so willing to make idols out of men when we can have Him?

Why do we chase after revival instead of the Reviver?

Revival never happens simply because people want revival, revival happens when people want Him.
I hear people say we are going to hold a revival and I am here to tell you if you can hold it, it is not revival,
If you can contain it, it is not revival and if you can control it, it is not revival.

What you have is a series of church meetings; you can even call them good church meetings, whipped cream preaching with cherries on top accompanied by all the trappings of man.
We may love it,
We may thrive on it but it is not revival.

We have become addicted to all the things that accompany church, the music, the choirs, the testimonies and even the preaching.
But the truth is what we call church is not what God calls church and what we call revival is not what God calls revival
God’s revival is seeking the Reviver

Exod 20:21
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

God is tired of having long distance relationships with His people

James 4:8
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

INTIMACY

Isa 26:2
Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

For many years I have searched for and looked after the elusive revival that I have heard so much about, the revival that so many say is coming, the revival that many say is already here, the revival that is supposed to turn the world upside down.
And in my search for this revival I have come to the ever revealing truth concerning revival and that is that revival is nothing more than the glory of God breaking forth out the four walls of the church and flowing into the streets of the city.
Revival is nothing more than the decreasing of our own selves and the increasing of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives,
Revival is nothing more than coming to a place of intimacy instead of that place called complacency,
Revival is nothing more than the fires of God burning hot within in our soul instead of being lukewarm and revival is nothing more than seizing every opportunity to minister to some ones life instead of wanting to be ministered to.
When Jesus Christ becomes the focal point, when He becomes the motive, the intent, when Jesus Christ becomes the reason for intimacy then we will have the very ingredient that a hungry world is searching for, revival that flows from out of the bread of life.

John 6:35
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

You see I am convinced that the church has stocked its shelves with the wrong product and I believe the reason that we have not stocked our shelves with the right product is because the cost of the right product is to high.

There is a high price for the right product and you might say what is the right product, the right product is the Lord Jesus Christ in all of His glory, not a watered down version of him, not a glossed over picture of Him, but a revelation of who He is and what he desires to do within you.

Isa 6:1-5
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

The right product is the Lord Jesus Christ and the high cost is intimacy with Him and intimacy does not come cheap.
You see I believe that the church has only reached the halfway point in its journey across the wilderness

Exod 19:3-6
And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

It is here that I believe the church has come to a fork in the road and it is trying to decide what they are going to do.

Are they going to enter into intimacy or are they going to continue to be contented with burning bushes, with water gushing out of a rock, with manna falling from heaven or with quail surrounding them three foot deep in a 20 mile radius, are they going to be content to be lead by a cloud by day and a fire by night or are they going to enter into covenant (INTIMACY)

Exod 19:5
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation

Deut 14:2
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
Ps 135:4
For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.

What was the wilderness journey all about?
What was the journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai about?
What was the journey from Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea all about?
What was the journey to the Jordon River and Canaan land all about?

IT WAS THE MAKING OF A PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT A PEOPLE

1 Pet 2:10
Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

God took slaves who had no self esteem, who had no education and He began a journey coming out of Egypt headed for Canaan land,
Slaves bound with all of the bondages, trapping and dependencies of Egypt, God took them out of Egypt and began a journey where he placed His name on them and began to place his character in them to make them a people.

Why

He was looking to build Himself a bride.

So he brought the descendants of Abraham to Mount Sinai to bring them to Himself.

Mount Sinai means the mount of God, the Glory of Yahweh and it was here at Mount Sinai that He desired to bring the people to Himself
So when the people needed food, God wanted the people to seek him for there bread.

Deut 8:3
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

But instead of seeking the face of the Lord for there bread who was there bread, they complained and berated Moses and talked about how good they had it back in Egypt.

When the people needed water God wanted his people to seek and search His face so that He would provide for them that life giving water but instead of believing and seeking the face of God they once again complained and murmured about how good they had it back in Egypt.

Num 20:4-5
And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.

You see the sad and unfortunate truth concerning the Israelites that came out of Egypt is that the people that God brought out of Egypt are not the same people who crossed over into the Promised land.

The people who crossed over the River Jordon are a different group of people than the group who came out of Egypt and the reason that they are a different group is because of what happened at Mount Sinai.

Exod 19:10-13
And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:
There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

Notice the scripture,
Moses sanctify the people, wash there clothes in other words get the people clean, make ready for I am calling you to a place of blessing, a place of change and intimacy.

Don’t fall into the trap of believing that the place that he was calling them too was a place called Mount Sinai, a place of real estate in the wilderness.
No---He was calling them to a promised place of rest in Him.

Ps 95:11
Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Heb 3:11
So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

Heb 3:18
And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?

Heb 4:3
For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Heb 4:11
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

What is this place of unbelief that the scriptures are speaking about?
What is this that kept the Israelites from partaking in the covenant (Intimacy) of the Lord?
Why could they not be persuaded to enter into a place of intimacy and communion?
Why could they not be persuaded to enter in to the place of closeness and confidence to believe and to trust solely and completely in and on the Lord?

Hear me,
The same generation that is gathered around Mount Sinai is the same generation gathered around the spies at Kadesh Barnea and I believe because they refused to go in at Mount Sinai they will refuse to go in to the Promise land across the Jordan River.
If the promise is refused at Mount Sinai, the promise will also be refused at the River Jordon.

Exod 20:18-21
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.


They saw the lightning and thunderings and they shrank back in fear, they ran from His presence instead of running to and pursuing Him, they shrank back instead of pushing in, they preferred distant respect instead of intimate relationship.

I tell you it was not God’s original plan that the first generation of Israelites die in the wilderness.
He wanted to take the same group of people that he had brought out of Egypt into the Promised Land.
He wanted to give his new nation of slaves there own land and there own inheritance but they would not have it because of fear and unbelief.
There doom was sealed when they looked over the Jordan River and shrank back from going in but there problem really began when they shrank back from the presence of God in the cloud at Mount Sinai.

And the church has been suffering from the same problem for many years,
We often prefer a man to stand in between God and us.
We often want to hear what God has to say as long as He says it through the man

We have a hell inspired fleshly fear of holy intimacy and the roots of that fear go all the way back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve hid in shameful fear while all the time God was longing for intimate fellowship.

I am going to close this lesson with this,
Exod 20:18-21
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

Notice the scripture,
and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

One group of people shrank back and stood afar off and said tell us what the Lord has to say,
And then there was one who drew near unto the thick darkness where God was

Ps 42:1-8
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

What are you going to do child of God?
Stand afar off content with church and all its programs or enter into intimacy.