Three months after Israel left Egypt, they arrived at the base of Mount Sinai and set up camp. Moses climbed that rugged mountain to commune with the Lord. God called to him and said:
"I am going to come to you in the form of a dark cloud so that the people themselves can hear me when I talk to you, and then they will always believe you. Go down and get the people ready for my visit…Sanctify them…
The following is a prophetic warning from Azusa Street 75 years ago, concerning the dangers of a Christless Pentecost!
Frank Bartleman was an eyewitness to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in 1907 at Azusa Street, Los Angeles. He has been characterized as the Reporter of the Azusa Street Revival. Nearly 75 years ago, during the outpouring, he wrote a tract warning of a Christless Pentecost.
I thought that the way to get power over sin would be to study the origin of sin. In other words, where did sin come from? How did I get infected with it? But what a long, involved study that is. It's a rather complicated story of a star war that took place before I was born, when the chief angel, Lucifer, led an army of a third of God's angels in an insurrection.
A sad young minister and his wife came to me for counseling recently. After four troubled years of marriage and two children, they were contemplating divorce. She was the saddest looking wife I have seen in years. Her husband, the young youth minister, stood nearby, shuffling his weight from foot to foot, while his teary-eyed wife sobbed out her confession to me.
The most difficult thing in all the world for Christians to do is forgive. For all the talk in the church about forgiveness, restitution, and healing, there is very little of it truly demonstrated. We all like to think of ourselves as peacemakers, lifters up of those fallen, always forgiving and forgetting. But even the most deeply spiritual today are guilty of wounding brothers and sisters by not showing a spirit of forgiveness.
We all know what it’s like to be confused. And for those who follow Jesus, confusion can be very bewildering. We’re taught that our lives are to be guided by the Lord’s clear voice, through his Word and the indwelling presence of his Holy Spirit. So when confusion sets in we begin to wonder about God’s guidance in our lives.
Do you sense God is about to unleash something tremendous in your life? Has he spoken to your heart, “I have prepared something special for you. You’re about to enter a walk with me you’ve never known before”? Maybe your life has already been greatly blessed by God. Now the Holy Spirit is saying his longstanding promise is about to come into full fruition—and that it will amaze you.
If this describes your life right now, I can tell you with the authority of Scripture: Get ready to examine your heart.
One way God speaks to his children is by asking them questions. We see him doing this throughout both Testaments of the Bible. And the way he poses his questions exposes the thoughts of the heart. For example:
We Christians struggle so hard to find the will of God for our lives. Once we believe we’ve found his will for us, we labor hard to see it fulfilled in our lives.
I am convinced this struggle to find God’s will — to live in it, walk in it and see its fulfillment — can become our greatest battle. And the battle intensifies whenever we find ourselves in dire circumstances.
Luke 15 has been called “The Gospel of the Outcasts.” For centuries this chapter has been seen as God’s Word to those who have fallen. It is a message for all who have wandered from Christ, who once were found but now are lost, who may be bound by a besetting sin.
What exactly is an outcast? In Luke 15, the outcasts are those who have been rejected as failures by society and by the church. They include those who feel rejected by God because of a moral failure.
