WE CANNOT BUT SPEAK THE THINGS WHICH WE HAVE SEEN AND HEARD. AC4.20

 YOU HAVE A MINISTRY. BUT WHAT DO YOU MINISTER?

YOU KNOW YOU ALWAYS HAVE A MESSAGE. THE WORD OF GOD. THE BIBLE.
BUT WHAT IS THE MESSAGE FOR THE HOUR? THE "PRESENT TRUTH"?

ACTS 4.20 SAYS "WE CANNOT BUT SPEAK THE THINGS WHICH WE HAVE SEEN AND HEARD".

THIS IS THE HIGHEST MESSAGE. BECAUSE IT IS WHAT GOD HAS PERSONALLY MINISTERED TO YOU. AND MANY TIMES, IT'S FOR MORE THAN JUST YOU. IT HAS POWER. POWER TO MOVE OTHERS.

THINK OF THE THINGS GOD HAS SHOWN YOU, THE THINGS GOD HAS MINISTERED TO YOU. THE THINGS GOD HAS DONE IN YOUR LIFE, SPOKEN TO YOU, HIS WORD, INTO YOUR SITUATIONS, RELATIONSHIPS, STRUGGLES, YOUR CARNALITY. 

THE THINGS HE HAS ENCOURAGED YOU WITH, BUILT YOU WITH. THESE ARE THE THINGS YOU HAVE SEEN AND HEARD. 

THIS IS YOUR TESTIMONY, YOUR WITNESS.

HOW DO I EVANGELIZE? YOU SIMPLY GIVE PEOPLE THIS. YOUR PERSONAL EYE WITNESS OF THE LIVING RESURRECTED WORD OF GOD TO YOU, THROUGH YOU, TO THEM. 

THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH, DEAD LETTER AND LIFE. AN ANOINTING, AND GOING THROUGH MOTIONS, LIMITED INFORMATION AND UNLIMITED ENDLESS LIVING RHEMA. A COMPELLING EYE WITNESS REPORT, OR SOMETHING WHICH DOES NOT MINISTER TO YOU, WHICH USUALLY WON'T MINISTER THROUGH YOU TO THEM. WE CANNOT BUT SPEAK THE THINGS WHICH WE HAVE SEEN AND HEARD. AC4.20

"These Words" - Deut6.6 -mmm

"These Words" - Deut6.6 -mmm

Take of your shod shoes

Imagine Joshua, bowed to the earth, humbling himself, sincerely, the best he knows how. He has abdicated to the One whom he has encountered, an Authority Higher than himself in this battle, as he meets the True Captain of the Lord's hosts. But he has a question. We have so many questions. Peter had many questions, in God's presence. Today we have many questions. Job had many questions. What saith my Lord unto His servant? It's a good question. Imagine it, a king, bowed down to the earth. Like Saul asking his Lord, What do you want me to do for you? We Christians have almost an arsenal, a volley of things to say before God. We have been told to have our feet shod with the gospel, with the message, and we are used to opening our mouth, boldly before man. Our mistake comes in when we bring this before God. Don't get me wrong, there is a time to speak before God. And contrary to popular fables, He does accept our grocery lists of requests. But this loquacious spirit of keeping our shod shoes on, ready to say something before the world.. that all changes in God's presence. Yes you're bowed down to the earth, but take off your shod shoes. Be still. Let Me speak. How. When. And What I will. You no longer have a message in your mouth, ready to carry it with your feet. Be quiet. Joshua 5:13-15 

Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear!

Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear!

What is this verse? Who is this guy? Gazing at Goliath, he asks:
Who is this ... uncircumcised Philistine that dares to defy the armies of the living God?!!
Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear (Ps27.3)
What kind of viewpoint is this? This is Divine viewpoint, under pressure.
This is David. And this is a normal Christian.
Not extraordinary. Normal.
Not hyperspiritual.
Spiritual.
Ordinarily he's afraid, and no better than others.
But the Spirit of the 2nd Adam, is in him.
And he's not backing up, putting up or shutting up.

I don't care if it's the Communist party or Darius or Nero or the Ayatollah or a host encamping against us.
Who is this that dares to defy the hosts of the living God.

The resurrective Spirit of Christ keeps quickening us.
You can lock us up, we'll write an epistle.
You can ban us, we'll go underground.
You can threaten us and having done all to stand, we stand.
You can knock us down but not knock us out.
We're not backing up, putting up nor shutting up.

We are not careful to answer in this matter..
if it be so, our God is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand O king. But if not, be it known unto thee [I like that part - be it known unto thee].. O king, that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image.
You just ain't going to get Mordecai to bow.
We are not even careful to answer in this matter!
It's a no brainer. No administrative deliberating of pros and cons and risks and cost.
This is dead simple. Not even careful to answer; whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more that unto God, judge ye. [Ac4.19]
This is super simple. Nothing complicated about it. No rationalizing, contemporizing, reasonableizing, not capitulating.
My Bible still says, Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some if [I like that part because there were some Hebrews that were forsaking],.. but MORE SO as you see the day approaching. Maybe if there weren't so many "some's", maybe if we did it "more so", instead of cowering like petrified little Saulish conscripts, the enemy would think thrice before daring to defy the armies of the living God.

Lastly, the only one who has anything to fear are those who dare to defy the hosts of the living God.
Look what happened to David's enemies. Look what happened to Goliath. Look what happened to the leaders of Communist Russia, Romania, Rome, Darius and Nebucadnezzar :) And look what happened to Uzziah when he dared to do what appertainethed not unto him by presuming to tamper in the things of the temple. He got Corona Virus in his forehead.. sorry leprosy. And he died of it.  

God has a way of dealing with those that dare to presumptuously exceed the bounds their authority and presume to dictate to the church how, when and if the church can meet, whatever reasonable non-biblical good excuse they give.

Though a host encamp against me I will not fear.
This is not fluff, nor empty words, nor fake, nor inauthentic flesh, nor anything else, this is a real, simple, childlike, spirit-filled, normal, genuine, faith-filled, confession of dynamic spiritual optimism that offends Satan, and sends a message that we actually do believe that it's better to obey God than man -- no matter how reasonable and rational and costly and inconvenient it is.

Honoring authority, not rebelling nor reviling authority, is a matter of the heart attitude, which we maintain at all times;
Obeying God rather than man is a matter of the feet. We believe in both principles, and this might be just one of those rare instances where we practice both.
Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear

2 kinds of Biblical Birthdays...

Recently I celebrated by 40th birthday. 

We celebrated the years of God's faithfulness to us.

For Moses, 40 was the 1st of three 40-yr chapters.

Jesus was crucified before he reached 40.

They said to him, "you're not even 40 years old".

In the Bible we find 3 notable birthday celebrations.. of 3 kings.. 

"Pharaoh, Herod & Ahasuerus"

On their birthdays, much was lost:

• Pharaoh lost his butler, 
• Herod lost his preacher, 
• & Ahasuerus lost his wife. 

We also find 3 devourers:

• Pharaoh's butler was eaten by birds, 
• Herod was overcome by a young dancer and her mother, 
• & Ahasuerus lost his wife due to drunkenness.

Ultimately these 3 kings made rash, bad decisions. 

The 1st Adam's birthday celebration:

With all of his glory, with his king-like authority of free-will, the 1st Adam cannot escape the futility he has been subjected to. He appears so strong, yet he is weak. In seeking to celebrate self, and glorify his 1st birth, he is reminded that since that day, he is losing. He has lost God, and ultimately will lose everything he possesses. 

There is also another, quite different birthday celebration in the bible.. 

The 2nd Adam's birthday celebration:

This birth is one of a simple, impoverished child: 

Of royal decent, this king is laid in a cattle trough.

He is, the "2nd Adam".

The purpose of His birth: is our 2nd birth.

At His birthday celebration, are despised impoverished shepherds... 

and 3 kings. 

And at His celebration, nothing is lost. 

Rather He is added to. "Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh". 

Humbly, He has condescended so low, and already "laid aside" the use of everything.. 

all the external glories of Divinity (Php2).

Now, having "added" humanity to His Divinity, He brings with Him, not futility, but Glory...

"Glory to God in the highest", this is not man-glorifying, but God's greatest glory; 

And man receives the benefit of Divine "peace and good will".

And now, this "last Adam" will be increased, and the "increase of His government" shall know no end. 

For, the "devourer" is "rebuked", and we are still celebrating His birth, today :)

"Mortify" - what does it mean?

Mortify = don’t allow the Flesh to live, to express its life (/death). Aka experience the finished work!!!!
It’s not counterfeiting/ adding to the FW by attempting to kill/ or accomplish/ to add to the finished work.. it’s applying what’s finished by (effortless) faith!

Closure & True Liberty. (Philemon)

"It is Finished" (Jn. 19:30) speaks of Closure, finality, a debt paid, once for all, in full. God wants us to fully experience that, in life. Onesimus, a runaway thief, had now become a Christian, but he had a checkered past. It is possible to be saved, yet experientially have things which are not closed, in our thinking. Onesimus met Paul. And through Paul's ministry, he met Christ, Love, Forgiveness, a New Identity, and a New Position. All this is true. Yet Onesimus has something that is unresolved, something he feels guilty about; a relationship that is broken; and a past that he is still running from. He is forgiven but still feels condemned. He is loved, but he still is afraid, the past is gone, but there is no experiential closure. Paul desires that he be not just saved, as wonderful as that is, but liberated and experientially restored, with total closure from that chapter in his life. Interestingly, this postcard is one of the shortest Epistles in the New Testament. Eternal forgiveness can become practical / "effectual" in a moment. By faith, Onesimus will take the note back to his former employer, whom he wronged. Grace, mercy, and forgiveness, when applied to the practical situations of life experientially, brings Closure, and True Liberty. Church history tells us that this was real closure. Onesimus would be restored, and go on to become a pastor and great leader in the early church.