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NEW MESSAGE -
VOTERS PLEASE READ!
If
you are like me, it's been hard to get excited about the upcoming
elections here in the USA. However, the following is from a good friend,
Pst Brad Sherman. Brad presents some considerations that I thought were
worth sharing. - Francis
Voting for the Lesser of Two Evils
July 1, 2016
by Pastor Brad Sherman
(En Español)
"...the time has come that Christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground
in politics… Christians have been exceedingly guilty in this matter.
But the time has come when they must act differently…" Charles Finney
Finney says to vote
for those who are "honest." Some may argue that we don't have that
choice. Well there is probably a little larceny operating in all of us,
we just give it a nice name like "spin" or something else. But when I
look at the two choices that we have been given, honesty is one of the
clearest differences. The dishonesty in one choice, which is obvious to
all but those who refuse to see it,is operating behind a facade of
secrecy, lies and deleted files. The other is brutally honest, says it
like it is and what you see is what you get. He is so honest that it is
tough to swallow at times - or refreshing - depending upon how you look
at it. What you see is what you get.
Maybe you have heard people use the cliche': "Voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil."
Then they proceed to explain why they plan to vote for a candidate who
they know has no chance of winning - or they plan not to vote at all. I
have dear friends who take this position. But doesn't this cliche' imply
that somewhere there is a candidate who has NO evil? The truth is, the
perfect candidate does not exist. In reality, no matter who we vote for,
we are voting for some amount of evil. So the above cliche' is really
just a clever trick designed to neutralize voters who have high moral
standards.
The part of
Finney's statement that we should focus on is "...take consistent ground
in politics..." The stakes couldn't be higher in this election,
particularly when it comes to who appoints the next Supreme Court
Justices. If we get this wrong, our nation may be finished or we may be
headed for upheaval like we have never seen!
As Finney said, we
must "take consistent ground in politics." Christians have been
exceedingly guilty in failing to consistently take ground in politics
and the time has come to act differently. This implies taking ground
incrementally, which is how the Lord told Israel they would possess the
land.
"And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by
little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts
of the field increase upon thee." (Deuteronomy 7:22 KJV)
We must not allow
idealism to steal our vote. We must participate and vote for the
candidate who best represents our values and claim what ground we can
while simultaneously working to increase our numbers. God is not against
taking what ground we can now and waiting to take more later. Like it
or not, our system has given us two choices. I hope those who think that
both are too evil to vote for will reconsider.
- Pastor Brad Sherman
www.getpurpose.org/LFL/index.html
Copyright © 2016 Purpose, All rights reserved.
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It's a Package Deal
(En Español)
In 1983 I
was asked to serve as pastor of a Faith church. I had been away from the
ministry for three years, and I had no idea what a "Faith" church
was, except that faith
as a biblical concept seemed fairly sound. So I agreed.
I should
add, this was not just any Faith church; it was a
satellite-dish-in-the-front-yard Faith church. Painted across the top of the
dish in huge, bright red letters were the words, "Jesus Is Lord."
I should
also explain that my three-year hiatus between pastorates was due, in part, to
a deep sense of failure I was carrying. A member of my former church died from
a virus that within four days left her completely
paralyzed. I had been with her, fasting and praying during this time. But when
she died on the fifth day, the helplessness I felt crushed my confidence in
prayer. It was the most traumatic experience of my young ministry.
After she
died, I didn't know how to acknowledge my inner devastation, so I pretended my
faith was still functional -- but it wasn't. For months I still prayed for the
sick, outwardly continuing to mimic the behavior of one who really believed.
But inside, my secret cry was not a prayer of faith, but a whimper:
"Please, God, don't let my unbelief make their condition any worse!"
Satan truly
exploited my experience with death. In fact, I was so beat up, I took
responsibility for her dying. In my mind, I was a shepherd who failed to heal a
sheep. I had failed this woman, her family and God Himself. The only honest
thing to do was leave the ministry.
It wasn't
long after the woman died that my family and I left Michigan and moved to a
little farmhouse in Iowa. Yet, even though I wanted to return to the ministry,
the call to return would have to come from the Lord's initiative. It was three
years before I received the invitation from the pastor of the Faith church.
Here I was,
a man with a stronghold of unbelief teaching in a Faith church. It was an awkward
time. Each month the church would watch special teaching seminars via
satellite. Sooner or later, every faith teacher in America taught us their
truths; each sermon, it seemed, was structured upon either the "mountain
moving" faith of Mark 11:23 or the
"prosperity" faith of 3 John 2.
I tried to
appear polite and supportive, but inwardly I was growing more and more
troubled. I was convinced that much of what we were receiving was either false
or unbalanced teaching. By the ninth month, I found myself particularly
agitated by what seem to be a complete distortion of a "faith"
Scripture.
In our dark
sanctuary, illuminated only by the light of our projection television, I
quietly uttered an angry complaint, "Lord, these faith preachers are
constantly misusing that verse!" Hardly was the thought out of my lips
when, like a lightning bolt, the word of the Lord flashed into my mind. He
said,
"At
least they're using them!"
It was true.
I had never taught from the verses these preachers were using. Until that moment
I hadn't realized how void of real faith my heart had become. There was almost
no expectancy in my voice of prayer.
In the very
next moment the Holy Spirit spoke again to my heart. Reproving my
self-righteousness, He said, "I will always speak to you through imperfect
people. The moment you judge an imperfect person you simultaneously disqualify
yourself from receiving from them."
That night I
repented, not only of unbelief but of pride and fault finding, and as I did, my
faith was restored. During that following year, our church saw people healed of
cancers, deaf ears and arthritis! I am thankful to God for what He restored to
me through the faith movement.
Through
Imperfect People
The Lord used this situation to teach me a great secret: much of my spiritual
progress does not come directly from God. I have learned to humble my heart and
hear Him speaking through imperfect people. It has pleased Him to hide His
manifold wisdom in a variety of denominational perspectives. I know that the
more I humble myself to others, the broader my understanding has actually
become.
Some will
ask, "Aren't you afraid of being deceived by imperfect teachers?"
When a teacher is truly off the mark, I will question him privately. And if I
know for certain that a minister is a charlatan, I will follow Jesus’
instruction in Matthew 18. But God knows, there are enough critics to keep us
all on the straight and narrow -- and I am thankful also for them! But, if we
truly expect to find the kingdom of Heaven, we must remember, Jesus said it is
treasure hidden in a field. I have discovered a great find: we are the field in
which is hidden the treasure of Christ. If we want the treasure, we cannot be
offended by the dirt that surrounds it. It’s a package deal.
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Seeing Him Who Is Unseen
(En Español)
There
are times when, to lead us on into new authority and blessings, God
must liberate us from the container of our previous experiences.
Consider Elijah's encounter with the Most High on Mt Horeb. Three
natural signs occurred. But the Lord was not in the wind, the earthquake
or the fire -- all of which were familiar symbols to Elijah. The Lord
who caused these mighty manifestations was not in them.
For Elijah,
mighty manifestations had been signs of God's approval. But something
new was at hand that required a fresh submission to the living God. A
double portion of power was coming! The distinguishing characteristic of
this new anointing would not only be seen in supernatural
manifestations, but also in greater wisdom and compassion.
Earthquakes,
fires, and storms -- the signs that accompanied Elijah -- are the signs
of our times as well. But to receive the double portion, we must learn
to recognize God's nearness when there are no "earthquakes" or "storms"
to capture our attention. The Lord demands we enter a more refined
relationship with Him, one that is based on His love and the whisper of
His voice, not merely on spiritual phenomena or natural disasters.
After the last sign, there came "…a gentle blowing" (1 Kings 19:12).
The King James Version says, "a still small voice." In holy silence the
presence of God was returning; in the center of the silence was the
whisper of God's voice. Elijah "wrapped his face in his mantle" (v. 13).
Perhaps it was near this very site that Moses, five hundred years
earlier, hid when the Lord passed by. Now it was Elijah's turn.
We too must
learn to hear the voice of Him who rarely speaks audibly and observe the
actions of Him who is otherwise invisible. Elijah would gain the
courage to endure Jezebel's wrath the same way Moses faced the rage of
Pharaoh: "He endured, as seeing Him who is unseen" (Heb. 11:27). We must learn to detect, without great signs, the still small voice of God.
The Lord will
not fight for our attention; He must be sought. He will not startle us;
He must be perceived. It took no special skill to "discern" the
earthquake, the fire or the great storm. But to sense the holy quiet of
God, our other activities must cease. In our world of great pressures
and continual distractions, the attention of our hearts must rise to the
invisible world of God's Spirit. We must learn to see Him who is unseen
and hear Him who is rarely audible.
Oh
Master, how easily I fall into dead religious habits and spiritual
dullness. Lord, I long to know Your ways, to have eyes that really see
and ears that clearly hear. Teach me, Lord Jesus, the intimacies of God.
Remove the mystery surrounding Yourself that I might truly know You.
Forgive me for looking for signs instead of listening for Your voice. Oh
God, how I long to abide in Your glory. Restore to Your church the
double portion You have promised, and guide us into the fullness of Your
love. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, The Shelter of the Most High, available at www.arrowbookstore.com.
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The Holy Spirit and Fire
(En Español)
As Christians, we are fascinated by the Holy Spirit. He teaches, guides, gives gifts, brings forth fruit and, among other things, comforts us on our journey. However, one aspect that is rarely discussed is the baptism of fire. John said that Christ would "baptize . . . with the Holy Spirit and fire"
(Matt. 3:11).
Peter tells us we should not be "surprised at the fiery ordeal . . . which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you" (1 Pet. 4:12). Indeed, Jesus said, "Everyone will be
salted with fire" (Mark 9:49).
The church in America for too long has followed Casper, the friendly ghost, instead of seeking the fire of the Holy Ghost. We have turned limp at the thought of our own cross; we faint when we think of suffering or sacrifice. Beloved, it is time to embrace the fire of God's presence.
It is the fire that purifies our sacrifice. Ahead of us are days both great and terrible. Understandably, many Christians are looking to the rapture of the church. Yet to escape God's judgment is not to escape His fire. Consider: Paul wrote that the day of the Lord "is to be revealed with fire." He said that "the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work" (1 Cor. 3:13). Yet let us stay encouraged, for our God is a consuming fire. He is coming to baptize His church again in fire, but in the fire is the place of intimacy, of power and of deliverance.
Even as the prophet Isaiah wrote:
"When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of
judgment and the spirit of burning, then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory
will be a canopy. There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain" (Isa. 4:4-6). Yes, our God is a consuming fire, and our walk with Him is a firewalk.
Lord, I repent for wanting Your blessings without desiring Your fire. I ask for the fire that purifies, that burns away my old nature. I ask You to fill me with the fire of Your holiness. Make me one with You in the fire of
Your passions. Amen.
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LoveMotivated Warfare
(En Español)
Jesus knew
this world was a realm under satanic siege. Planet Earth was not a place of
peace but a realm at war. From the casting out of Lucifer and his angels from
Heaven, to the temptation in the Garden of Eden, to Babylon and the
multiplication of nations under satanic influence, planet Earth has been an
embattled world. The idea that somehow our era is less threatened by evil is
the height of deception. We must fight if we will follow Christ into victory.
No matter
how beautiful or even innocent the world around us seems at times, remember
there was a serpent in Paradise itself. If Adam and Eve had possessed a war
mode mentality, they never would have casually accepted the lies of Lucifer.
Likewise today, we need to be wise and walk carefully, for "the days are
evil" (Eph. 5:16).
You see,
Jesus was always aware that He lived in a war zone. No matter what He was doing
-- whether He was laughing with sinners or driving out demons, whether He was
healing the sick or training followers -- beneath the surface of His outer
activities, the "war mode switch" in Jesus’ mind was always on.
I know many
women are true fighters, and I salute you and praise God for your faithfulness
to pray for me, my wife and family, and those serving in our ministry. Yet, for
those refined ladies who consider spiritual warfare to be primarily a masculine
activity, I have heard a few of you excuse yourselves from the spiritual
battlefield, saying, "I'm just a housewife, a mom. I don't have a war
mode."
If your
child was seriously sick, wouldn't you fight that illness with every spiritual
weapon at your disposal? You would fast and pray, and you would do so from your
war mode. If your marriage was under spiritual attack, wouldn't you get before
God and war with fervency? The fact is, you know how to fight. Ask your husband
if he thinks you have a war mode. You just need something to wake it up,
because once you begin to shift into the war gear, in the Holy Spirit you are
dangerous!
Let me
address the men as well: study the Bible; most of the heroes we read about in
the Scriptures are men who stood in the gap, who prayed like Abraham and the
other prophets did.
You see, the
war mode is in us all. It may be attached to our instinct for survival, but it
is more directly connected with our love. I love my nation, so I am warring in
prayer on its behalf. Because of love for my family, I war in prayer on their
behalf. I love my church, my city and, yes, even my own soul, so I war to
protect what I love. If there is a natural fight instinct, there is a spiritual
fight mode as well. It just needs to be awakened, submitted to Christ, and then
unleashed against the enemy.
Beloved, if
you have a love mode, you also have a war mode. God has created the war mode so
we can protect the people we love.
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Adapted from
Francis Frangipane's book, This
Day We Fight, available at www.arrowbookstore.com.
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Love Just One
(En Español)
We've stated
that true spiritual discernment comes from knowing the mind of Christ.
Let me make this quest as practical as possible: if we would know the
thoughts of Christ, we should seek to know His motives, for thoughts
exist to fulfill motives. Jesus Christ came into the world, "not . . .
to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him"
(John 3:17 NAB). Thus, if we truly understand the love that motivated
Jesus, we will increasingly hear and understand His thoughts.
Or consider
Paul's words, "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and
more in real knowledge and all discernment" (Phil. 1:9). The route to
true knowledge and all discernment is to possess abounding love. Let us
learn to rest our heads upon Christ's breast and listen to His heart.
For in hearing His heart, we can discern His love for those around us.
Yet I
acknowledge that, for some, to love others as Christ has loved us
remains an ideal too far to reach. Therefore let's start small and bring
this task closer to home. Rather than attempting to love everyone
everywhere, let us reduce the challenge and make our aim to love just
one person. Now I do not mean we should stop loving others whom we
already love. I mean add just one person to your heart, and release your
love to that individual in a more Christlike way.
This person may
be a lost neighbor or a backslidden friend; he or she might be a sick
acquaintance or an elderly person from church. The individual may be a
child in physical or emotional pain. (I am not suggesting you focus on
an individual of the opposite sex.) The Lord will lead you. He will put
one person on your heart and give you grace to grow in love.
Come to this
experiment without seeking to correct him or her, unless they themselves
ask for advice. Pray daily for the person. And as you listen to the
voice of God's love, something inside you will flower and open naturally
toward other realms of discernment. Inspired by God, impulses and ideas
born of love will increase and expand to your other relationships as
well. In truth, the knowledge and insights you gain from loving just one
will become a natural catalyst in loving many.
Discernment will grow and mature even as you love just one.
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Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book Spiritual Discernment and the Mind of Christ, on sale this weekend only for $7.50 at www.arrowbookstore.com.
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Satan's Domain:
The Realm of Darkness
Many Christians debate whether the devil is on the earth or in hell; can he dwell in Christians or only in the world? The fact is, the devil is in darkness. Wherever there is spiritual darkness, there the devil will be.
Preparing for Spiritual Warfare
For most, the term spiritual warfare introduces a new but not necessarily welcomed dimension in their Christian experience. The thought of facing evil spirits in battle is an unsettling concept, especially since we came to Jesus as lost sheep, not warriors. Ultimately, some of us may never actually initiate spiritual warfare, but all of us must face the fact that the devil has initiated warfare against us. Therefore, it is essential
to our basic well-being that we discern the areas of our nature which are unguarded and open to satanic assault.
Jude tells us, "And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day" (Jude 1:6).
When Satan rebelled against God, he was placed under eternal judgment in what the Bible calls "pits" (2 Pet. 2:4) or "bonds" of darkness. The devil and the fallen angels with him have been relegated to live in darkness. This darkness does not simply refer to areas void of visible light. The eternal darkness to which this Scripture refers is essentially a moral darkness, which ultimately degrades into literal darkness.
However, its cause is not simply the absence of light; it is the absence of God, who is light.
It is vital to recognize that this darkness to which Satan has been banished is not limited to areas outside of humanity. Unlike those who do not know Jesus, however, we have been delivered out of the domain or"authority" of darkness (see Colossians 1:13). We are not trapped in darkness if we have been born of light. But if we tolerate darkness through tolerance of sin, we leave ourselves vulnerable to satanic assault.
For wherever there is willful disobedience to the Word of God, there is spiritual darkness and the potential for demonic activity. Thus Jesus warned, "Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness" (Luke 11:35 KJV). There is a light in you. "The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord" (Prov. 20:27). Your spirit, illuminated by the Spirit of Christ, becomes the "lamp of the Lord"
through which He searches your heart. There is indeed a holy radiance surrounding a true Spirit-filled Christian. But when you harbor sin, the "light which is in thee" is "darkness." Satan has a legal access, given to him by God, to dwell in the domain of darkness. Thus, we must grasp this point: The devil can traffic in any area of darkness, even the darkness that still exists in a Christian's heart.
For a Continuation of this message see Francis Frangipane's website.
http://www.frangipane.org/home.html
Message above was taken from an email sent out to those who subscribe to this ministry. The text was adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, The Three Battlegrounds, available at www.arrowbookstore.com.
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