How different would your life be if you were walking in divine favor? Does God give favor, bless abundantly and lavish his grace on hungry, awaiting hearts? The answer is yes — and we find this illustrated in Luke 1, the story of Christ’s birth.
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward" (Hebrews 10:35). If you are a Christian, you are in a fierce war. In fact, you're in a lifeanddeath battle for your faith. Satan is determined to shipwreck and destroy the faith of all of God's elect. And the stronger your faith, the greater will be his attack against it.
Dit is hoog tyd om te praat teen Hollywood heiligheid en die vermaaklikheidsbedryf saligheid wat nou die huis van God besmet. Hoe hartseer moet die hart van God nou wees om so baie mense te sien wat hulleself Christene noem en hulleself besoedel en besmet by die duiwel se tafel. Daar is ‘n kanker van wêreldsheid wat in die kerk groei.
Job asks, “What is man, that thou [God] shouldest magnify him? And that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?” (Job 7:17–18, my italics).
Hebrews 12:1 tells us that the world is encircled by a cloud of witnesses who are with Christ in glory. My question is, what does this great crowd bear witness to? And who is their witness meant for?
This cloud of witnesses speaks to our generation, by their lives and their words as recorded in Scripture. I believe they have three things to say to us:
Matthew tells us Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables: "All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 13:34-35).
God is not casual in the way He deals with His very own children. He does nothing by chance or happenstance. There is nothing hit-or-miss about His methods. Man may become casual and indifferent toward God, but God cannot be casual toward man.
We need more troublemakers in the church! I pray that every member of the body of Christ would become a troublemaker! We need an army of troublemakers who have become so full of the Holy Ghost they will stir up and trouble New York City and every other city around the world; trouble their wicked institutions — challenge the established dead churches — trouble the leaders, the mayors, the city councils, the community leadership! In other words, we need Holy Ghost troublemakers moving in the Spirit, proclaiming the kingship of Christ so effectively that whole cities are stirred!
They call it CRACK — and millions of young people are obsessed with it. Many have become hopelessly hooked after one dosage. The high lasts for only a few minutes, but it is so intense, some have described it as being greater than a thousand orgasms all at once.
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. "Why are you here? Just what is God's intention for you in this crisis hour? Do you know what God expects of His church in these times? What is God's one great purpose?"
One of the most tragic words in any language is SOMEDAY! It sums up the unfulfilled hopes and dreams of this entire generation.
Listen to the addicted drug user or alcoholic, "Someday I'm going to break this habit! Someday I'll get this monkey off my back! Someday I'll wake up and this nightmare will be just a bad dream. Someday - I'll be free."
