Some things are true... whether you believe in them or not.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Elephant's Breaking Into The Church!
Over the years I have come across this brother's dreams and visions on occassion, and they have always born witness. This one is no exception.
Posted By: Lance Sneath
Subject: Dream: The Elephant’s Breaking Into the Church!
Date Posted: 04/16/2006 at 9:41pm
In my dream, I was approaching an old church building that sat on a hill. I was aware that I was on a mission to inspect the building. As I opened the front doors, I saw that the sanctuary was very dark and still. The windows had been bricked shut, and the lights were burned out. The air was thick and stale. I spoke out loud, “Lord, we’re going to need some light in here!”
Immediately, I heard the roar of an elephant, a loud boom, and the building shook! Bricks were flying from one of the windows on my left. The elephant continued ramming His head through the bricked-in windows and his white tusks swept back and forth throwing bricks in every direction. The elephant stuck its full head through the bricks and made eye contact with me through one of its huge eyes. There was a Spirit to spirit communication in that instant from the elephant to me: “Don’t get in my way, and you will be fine.” I went from feeling an intense fear, to an overwhelming sense of assurance and peace in that moment. The elephant continued to clear bricks out of the sanctuary windows.
As light began to dramatically increase in the sanctuary, I could see the dirt that had accumulated. The building was filthy! I then saw a door at the other end of the sanctuary that apparently led to the fellowship hall of the church. I proceeded to go and open the door as the bricks continued to fly out of these windows and the elephant was roaring and shaking the building. When I first opened the door, I couldn’t see much, it was very dark in the room. As light entered the sanctuary from these openings the elephant made, it began to drift down into the fellowship hall, and I could make out many people sleeping. I could hear people beginning to sigh and moan – they were stirring as if beginning to awaken. I could then see that they were all sleeping on army cots and were dressed in military camouflage uniforms. I suddenly became aware that part of my mission was to awaken these sleepy warriors. I began to shout, “Get up! Get up! It’s time to get ready for war! It’s time to get ready for war!”
The sleepy warriors began to get out of their army cots and were beginning to make the kind of noise of a barracks after the drill sergeant has come through at first call in the morning. I was satisfied that the soldiers were getting up, and I realized I needed to get back into the sanctuary to check out what the elephant was doing. As I stepped back into the sanctuary, I was shocked to step into cool, clear, and rising water. The elephant had cleared out the bricks in the windows and had made “elephant sized” windows for light to enter the sanctuary. Then, the elephant had found a spring in the middle of the sanctuary, tore up the floor, and opened up a gushing fountain of water in the sanctuary. The elephant was joyfully roaring and hosing down the sanctuary and all its filth with water being shot out of its trunk. It suddenly turned in my direction and gave me an incredible blast and “hosing down” of cold water. I felt so alive!!!! Talk about being revived!!! It was as though every fiber of my being was leaping full of life. I was fully awake – though still in my dream. The elephant seemed to really enjoy seeing my reaction! It continued to roar, and play in the sanctuary.
The next thing that happened was that two of the soldiers I had just woke up in the fellowship hall came in the sanctuary with sump pumps and long hoses. I asked them what they were doing. They said, “Now that there’s plenty of water in the sanctuary, we are taking it out to all the dry wells. There are a lot of dry wells that need filling. I went out to oversee their operation and watched them pumping water from the rapidly filling sanctuary into dry wells outside the church building. As I looked around the church building, the landscape was filled with dry holes as far as the eye could see. I then woke up.
As I awoke from this dream, I sensed the strong presence of the Lord, and I asked Him what this dream is about. He promptly and clearly replied, “Joel chapter three. I am going to break back into My house and there will be water and light in My house. The bricks – made of clay – represent those human elements that My people have learned to trust in rather than in Me. They have bricked shut the windows to heaven and closed up the openings to the wellsprings of My Spirit. People will know that I am dwelling in My House and My church will be My Holy Sanctuary. I will roar from Zion, and My people will know Me as their stronghold and their refuge. I will rouse My warriors from their sleep and from the darkness and send them forth with a bountiful supply of life-giving water from My sanctuary. I am taking back My house and raising up My army to go forth and conquer!
Joel 3: 9-18 Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, ‘I am strong!‘ Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, O Lord! ‘Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!‘ Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. ‘Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her. ‘In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house and will water the valley of acacias. (Bold - Emphasis added)
Praise Him Always!
Lance
A Forum response –
I have not read all replies yet so I might duplicate something some one had already said...THIS DREAM was very powerful...The whole time I was reading it the elephant reminded me of what God spoke to me...That He was bringing back the voice of OLD...The voices of those powerful ministers that have died but their message became seeds...A strong powerful voice that will shake and destroy...THE SPIRIT of the FIRE and the HAMMER...Powerful dream and I am going to go back and read all replies I know God have spoken through this thread...
Tonita Patterson; 10/5/06
This struck me, because this is exactly what the Lord has been doing in recent months with many of us.... feeding us with the writings of those long gone home. What a blessing!
Posted By: Lance Sneath
Subject: Dream: The Elephant’s Breaking Into the Church!
Date Posted: 04/16/2006 at 9:41pm
In my dream, I was approaching an old church building that sat on a hill. I was aware that I was on a mission to inspect the building. As I opened the front doors, I saw that the sanctuary was very dark and still. The windows had been bricked shut, and the lights were burned out. The air was thick and stale. I spoke out loud, “Lord, we’re going to need some light in here!”
Immediately, I heard the roar of an elephant, a loud boom, and the building shook! Bricks were flying from one of the windows on my left. The elephant continued ramming His head through the bricked-in windows and his white tusks swept back and forth throwing bricks in every direction. The elephant stuck its full head through the bricks and made eye contact with me through one of its huge eyes. There was a Spirit to spirit communication in that instant from the elephant to me: “Don’t get in my way, and you will be fine.” I went from feeling an intense fear, to an overwhelming sense of assurance and peace in that moment. The elephant continued to clear bricks out of the sanctuary windows.
As light began to dramatically increase in the sanctuary, I could see the dirt that had accumulated. The building was filthy! I then saw a door at the other end of the sanctuary that apparently led to the fellowship hall of the church. I proceeded to go and open the door as the bricks continued to fly out of these windows and the elephant was roaring and shaking the building. When I first opened the door, I couldn’t see much, it was very dark in the room. As light entered the sanctuary from these openings the elephant made, it began to drift down into the fellowship hall, and I could make out many people sleeping. I could hear people beginning to sigh and moan – they were stirring as if beginning to awaken. I could then see that they were all sleeping on army cots and were dressed in military camouflage uniforms. I suddenly became aware that part of my mission was to awaken these sleepy warriors. I began to shout, “Get up! Get up! It’s time to get ready for war! It’s time to get ready for war!”
The sleepy warriors began to get out of their army cots and were beginning to make the kind of noise of a barracks after the drill sergeant has come through at first call in the morning. I was satisfied that the soldiers were getting up, and I realized I needed to get back into the sanctuary to check out what the elephant was doing. As I stepped back into the sanctuary, I was shocked to step into cool, clear, and rising water. The elephant had cleared out the bricks in the windows and had made “elephant sized” windows for light to enter the sanctuary. Then, the elephant had found a spring in the middle of the sanctuary, tore up the floor, and opened up a gushing fountain of water in the sanctuary. The elephant was joyfully roaring and hosing down the sanctuary and all its filth with water being shot out of its trunk. It suddenly turned in my direction and gave me an incredible blast and “hosing down” of cold water. I felt so alive!!!! Talk about being revived!!! It was as though every fiber of my being was leaping full of life. I was fully awake – though still in my dream. The elephant seemed to really enjoy seeing my reaction! It continued to roar, and play in the sanctuary.
The next thing that happened was that two of the soldiers I had just woke up in the fellowship hall came in the sanctuary with sump pumps and long hoses. I asked them what they were doing. They said, “Now that there’s plenty of water in the sanctuary, we are taking it out to all the dry wells. There are a lot of dry wells that need filling. I went out to oversee their operation and watched them pumping water from the rapidly filling sanctuary into dry wells outside the church building. As I looked around the church building, the landscape was filled with dry holes as far as the eye could see. I then woke up.
As I awoke from this dream, I sensed the strong presence of the Lord, and I asked Him what this dream is about. He promptly and clearly replied, “Joel chapter three. I am going to break back into My house and there will be water and light in My house. The bricks – made of clay – represent those human elements that My people have learned to trust in rather than in Me. They have bricked shut the windows to heaven and closed up the openings to the wellsprings of My Spirit. People will know that I am dwelling in My House and My church will be My Holy Sanctuary. I will roar from Zion, and My people will know Me as their stronghold and their refuge. I will rouse My warriors from their sleep and from the darkness and send them forth with a bountiful supply of life-giving water from My sanctuary. I am taking back My house and raising up My army to go forth and conquer!
Joel 3: 9-18 Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, ‘I am strong!‘ Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, O Lord! ‘Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!‘ Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. ‘Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her. ‘In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house and will water the valley of acacias. (Bold - Emphasis added)
Praise Him Always!
Lance
A Forum response –
I have not read all replies yet so I might duplicate something some one had already said...THIS DREAM was very powerful...The whole time I was reading it the elephant reminded me of what God spoke to me...That He was bringing back the voice of OLD...The voices of those powerful ministers that have died but their message became seeds...A strong powerful voice that will shake and destroy...THE SPIRIT of the FIRE and the HAMMER...Powerful dream and I am going to go back and read all replies I know God have spoken through this thread...
Tonita Patterson; 10/5/06
This struck me, because this is exactly what the Lord has been doing in recent months with many of us.... feeding us with the writings of those long gone home. What a blessing!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Treasures Hidden In Dark Places
A timely word from a brother in New Zealand
Cast into the pit to find kindness in the murderer, compassion in the prostitute, love from the unlovely, encouragement from the broken and deformed., How can we separate ourselves from them… for they all have a cry within…” I REFUSE TO LIVE IN A WORLD WITHOUT LOVE”.
A brother of ours scratched on his prison cell wall those very words and soon after lost his mind. He was transfered to a mental institution, while there in his straight jacket an orderly told him how much God loved him, his love broke through. He left that place preaching Jesus, in the highways and byways.
HOW LOW WILL YOU GO.
I have a brother who lost his mind some years ago.. He rang me recently concerned, and said for days all he’d heard in his head was ‘Only God shall know when the last light will go out’. He said he had heard a Jewish rabbi cry these words out from a street corner some years ago & asked me what it meant. Just that morning I was reading a book of a brother who went to heaven… he was standing before Jesus & Jesus was saying ‘You’ll be sent back… tell them I’m coming back so soon’. While he was standing before Jesus he saw a great glory behind him… thousands of little lights were shooting out like falling stars. Jesus knew what was on his mind & said ‘You’re wondering about the lights’. Jesus then said ‘Every time a child is born in the earth, the moment it is conceived in the womb a piece of my Father goes out and enters that womb’. My brother said with a shout ‘Now I know that only God knows when the last light will go out’! All must go back to the Father… now how shall they know unless they hear?God has been good to me & provided in unusual ways. I have normally found things that other people have discarded, dumped or walked over to meet my family’s needs. Once while walking through a farmer’s property I came across a terrible stink & found his offle hole where he dumped all the dead animals. In amongst it all were long lengths of old timber which were old cattle yards that he had dismantled & thrown in amongst the dead animals to help burn everything when ready. The timber on closer inspection was cut from a beautiful native tree called Rimu. When I asked the farmer if I could buy it he said, ‘If you’re brave enough to go in & get it… you can have it’. I planed it & dressed it; it had been in the elements for more than a hundred years… it was beautiful. Once I got all the filth, moss & grime off it I made furniture & sold it to some of the best outlets in our country & put food on the table. If the people buying the furniture had only known. I could tell of many other stories where I have gleaned from rubbish dumps, the bush & other rubbish heaps & made a living but I might leave that till later.
Once while traveling through the land my wife & I had nowhere to sleep & asked two Christians if we could stay with them. When I got to their house something happened between the man & his wife & they would not have us. A local woman heard of our dilema & offered up her bedroom. She was a prostitute with three children. Her house was a mess. The youngest had gone to the toilet all through the house. There was no food in the cupboards. When I saw this woman cleaning her room & trying to make everything just right for us I wept. Her two eldest children were also so kind. Their rooms also stunk so badly. After looking I found they had wet their beds so often that their mattresses were rotten & the wire-woven beds had rusted & had big holes in them. I remembered the two christians that could not have us had two beds stacked in their garage. Beautiful beds. I went back to see them & after an hour of pleading they gave me the beds. I set them up in the children’s rooms… the children were so happy that they brought all their friends & some of their family to see their new possessions. While we were in that house some visitors came to see my wife. One evening while praying the visitors got very excited and began to say ‘The angels, can you see the angels!?’ I felt a beautiful presence but could not see them. What were they doing in such a place. The children’s mother’s name was Rebbeca. She experienced the sweetness of Jesus as did her children… she remained very proud & would not yield at the time. I was shocked & thought how can someone in such a terrible place, so broken, so miserable & so kind experience the presence of Jesus and not surrender. I saw at that moment that pride is no respecter of persons. Her daughter loved it all but loved Him most of all. I went to the local church & asked if they would help the family but they did not. We left that house. We went back to see them about 5 years later… I found the daughter down at the local church running a children’s church that was not a part of that church until she came.. I wept again & said ‘Father, they do not deserve her’. I am a selfish man; that’s why I have such thoughts.
I once was told by the Lord to go on a trip. I had no money. He said ‘Go’, so I went. When I came to the first town I met three friends of mine… Rachel, John & Jimmy. Rachel had been kicked out of a church because the youth pastor had slept with her & got her pregnant… He remained in the church & she was deemed unclean. John was an ex gang member. He had been hit in the throat with a baseball bat. When he spoke he made strange noises. He had been rejected in the church that he went to because they thought he had demons. Jimmy was a mental patient & they would not have him full stop. These three were beautiful souls. A lovely sister & two beautiful brothers that I’ve had special moments with. It was so humbling… they asked me what I was doing, they dug into their pockets & gave me all the money they had. I found it very hard to receive from them but what a blessing.
I must tell you… when I ended up in Rebecca’s house with those three children I also cried that first night in her house & thought what has become of me to end up in such a place… so full of myself, pride. HUMILITY GOES BEFORE HONOUR. We have been pouring over the blue print of what Christ has done for 2000 years. The angels in heaven are moving like never before for the sitrring in our mighty God toward the halt, the lame, the blind, the sick, the angry, the destitute, the lonely, the perverse, the base is great. For great is the love of the Lord. I have been full of excuses. My son Samuel is now 15 years old. When he was 6 years old he put his hand on top of his head & asked ‘If a man is filled right up to here with the Holy Spirit, then he is a man who has made no excuses?’. I have been that man so shallow, so lonely. Oh the terrible loneliness, for unless a corn of wheat falleth to the ground and die it abideth alone. I have cried all the way, ‘I do not want to die’.
Another time I had been driven out of an area & went to a new home with no furniture or possessions so I went to the local dump where they did recycling to get what we needed. One day while at the dump we found beautiful baby clothes, still with their labels. Someone must have lost their child. We took all the clothes home. A few weeks later I had a visit… I was asked to visit a man & his wife, I went. They were a poor couple but belonged to a big church. When we got to the house we found the wife up at hospital, she was crying… holding her new born baby in her arms & told me how they had no clothes for her. I was able to give her all the clothes that we had got from the dump… she was so happy. I was shocked that they belonged to such a big church & Jesus had to do his shopping at the local dump. I was once told of a brother who was thrown into a prison & they left him in his cell for nearly six weeks without food. He said ‘You would not believe it… rats carried little bits of food to my cell day & night’. I thought.. ‘God, why didn’t you just make a turkey appear’… He said ‘No, I use my people to bless my people’. Then I understood how selfish I was. Always waiting for someone else to do it when many times I could do the blessing myself.
Be ready, be open, be loving, be kind. I remember another day… my heart was broken when I met a brother who’s body was so broken down that he was in a wheel chair & could only use his mouth to write with & pick things up. He had to be looked after 24/7. His mother had nursed him all his life. At the age of 80 she had to let him go… with tears in her eyes she put him in a home. He had belonged to a church for 20 years. When I first met him I would find him in his room with a pencil in his mouth writing letters of encouragement to the people in the church that he had come from. It took him ages to write one letter. He did it gladly and with joy in his heart. I asked him if anyone in that church had visited him, he said ‘no’. I wept. What has become of us. Be ready, be ready dear friend of mine. When he says “go” do not decline.We find him in the deepest, darkest places… he’s a treasure hunter.
We only need his love to go empty handed.. that’s how my Father wanted me. The bible says that you’re the only answer… though I go with nothing Lord I choose to follow. At the garden lone & weary, hearken to my voice he said. let my friends depart in safety but imprison me instead, here is love untold, unrivaled, wondrous love beyond compare… tis’ the love of our sweet Jesus & his coming is so near.
Love, Greg.
In 2000, the Lord gave us a very specific word concerning this very thing... His Treasures.
The verse He gave us was Isaiah 45:3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
A brief excerpt from that word is as follows:
"For that which is coming soon – to get back the spoil that my enemies have taken into their households. For as Babylon raised up the cups – the golden cups – for themselves – and poured in their own wine. A spoil that belonged to My House.
So it is today. The prison houses of Babylon. The vessels, the golden cups – they are my people – they are my treasures. And I will bring them back again, from the bondage, from where my enemies have taken them."
Cast into the pit to find kindness in the murderer, compassion in the prostitute, love from the unlovely, encouragement from the broken and deformed., How can we separate ourselves from them… for they all have a cry within…” I REFUSE TO LIVE IN A WORLD WITHOUT LOVE”.
A brother of ours scratched on his prison cell wall those very words and soon after lost his mind. He was transfered to a mental institution, while there in his straight jacket an orderly told him how much God loved him, his love broke through. He left that place preaching Jesus, in the highways and byways.
HOW LOW WILL YOU GO.
I have a brother who lost his mind some years ago.. He rang me recently concerned, and said for days all he’d heard in his head was ‘Only God shall know when the last light will go out’. He said he had heard a Jewish rabbi cry these words out from a street corner some years ago & asked me what it meant. Just that morning I was reading a book of a brother who went to heaven… he was standing before Jesus & Jesus was saying ‘You’ll be sent back… tell them I’m coming back so soon’. While he was standing before Jesus he saw a great glory behind him… thousands of little lights were shooting out like falling stars. Jesus knew what was on his mind & said ‘You’re wondering about the lights’. Jesus then said ‘Every time a child is born in the earth, the moment it is conceived in the womb a piece of my Father goes out and enters that womb’. My brother said with a shout ‘Now I know that only God knows when the last light will go out’! All must go back to the Father… now how shall they know unless they hear?God has been good to me & provided in unusual ways. I have normally found things that other people have discarded, dumped or walked over to meet my family’s needs. Once while walking through a farmer’s property I came across a terrible stink & found his offle hole where he dumped all the dead animals. In amongst it all were long lengths of old timber which were old cattle yards that he had dismantled & thrown in amongst the dead animals to help burn everything when ready. The timber on closer inspection was cut from a beautiful native tree called Rimu. When I asked the farmer if I could buy it he said, ‘If you’re brave enough to go in & get it… you can have it’. I planed it & dressed it; it had been in the elements for more than a hundred years… it was beautiful. Once I got all the filth, moss & grime off it I made furniture & sold it to some of the best outlets in our country & put food on the table. If the people buying the furniture had only known. I could tell of many other stories where I have gleaned from rubbish dumps, the bush & other rubbish heaps & made a living but I might leave that till later.
Once while traveling through the land my wife & I had nowhere to sleep & asked two Christians if we could stay with them. When I got to their house something happened between the man & his wife & they would not have us. A local woman heard of our dilema & offered up her bedroom. She was a prostitute with three children. Her house was a mess. The youngest had gone to the toilet all through the house. There was no food in the cupboards. When I saw this woman cleaning her room & trying to make everything just right for us I wept. Her two eldest children were also so kind. Their rooms also stunk so badly. After looking I found they had wet their beds so often that their mattresses were rotten & the wire-woven beds had rusted & had big holes in them. I remembered the two christians that could not have us had two beds stacked in their garage. Beautiful beds. I went back to see them & after an hour of pleading they gave me the beds. I set them up in the children’s rooms… the children were so happy that they brought all their friends & some of their family to see their new possessions. While we were in that house some visitors came to see my wife. One evening while praying the visitors got very excited and began to say ‘The angels, can you see the angels!?’ I felt a beautiful presence but could not see them. What were they doing in such a place. The children’s mother’s name was Rebbeca. She experienced the sweetness of Jesus as did her children… she remained very proud & would not yield at the time. I was shocked & thought how can someone in such a terrible place, so broken, so miserable & so kind experience the presence of Jesus and not surrender. I saw at that moment that pride is no respecter of persons. Her daughter loved it all but loved Him most of all. I went to the local church & asked if they would help the family but they did not. We left that house. We went back to see them about 5 years later… I found the daughter down at the local church running a children’s church that was not a part of that church until she came.. I wept again & said ‘Father, they do not deserve her’. I am a selfish man; that’s why I have such thoughts.
I once was told by the Lord to go on a trip. I had no money. He said ‘Go’, so I went. When I came to the first town I met three friends of mine… Rachel, John & Jimmy. Rachel had been kicked out of a church because the youth pastor had slept with her & got her pregnant… He remained in the church & she was deemed unclean. John was an ex gang member. He had been hit in the throat with a baseball bat. When he spoke he made strange noises. He had been rejected in the church that he went to because they thought he had demons. Jimmy was a mental patient & they would not have him full stop. These three were beautiful souls. A lovely sister & two beautiful brothers that I’ve had special moments with. It was so humbling… they asked me what I was doing, they dug into their pockets & gave me all the money they had. I found it very hard to receive from them but what a blessing.
I must tell you… when I ended up in Rebecca’s house with those three children I also cried that first night in her house & thought what has become of me to end up in such a place… so full of myself, pride. HUMILITY GOES BEFORE HONOUR. We have been pouring over the blue print of what Christ has done for 2000 years. The angels in heaven are moving like never before for the sitrring in our mighty God toward the halt, the lame, the blind, the sick, the angry, the destitute, the lonely, the perverse, the base is great. For great is the love of the Lord. I have been full of excuses. My son Samuel is now 15 years old. When he was 6 years old he put his hand on top of his head & asked ‘If a man is filled right up to here with the Holy Spirit, then he is a man who has made no excuses?’. I have been that man so shallow, so lonely. Oh the terrible loneliness, for unless a corn of wheat falleth to the ground and die it abideth alone. I have cried all the way, ‘I do not want to die’.
Another time I had been driven out of an area & went to a new home with no furniture or possessions so I went to the local dump where they did recycling to get what we needed. One day while at the dump we found beautiful baby clothes, still with their labels. Someone must have lost their child. We took all the clothes home. A few weeks later I had a visit… I was asked to visit a man & his wife, I went. They were a poor couple but belonged to a big church. When we got to the house we found the wife up at hospital, she was crying… holding her new born baby in her arms & told me how they had no clothes for her. I was able to give her all the clothes that we had got from the dump… she was so happy. I was shocked that they belonged to such a big church & Jesus had to do his shopping at the local dump. I was once told of a brother who was thrown into a prison & they left him in his cell for nearly six weeks without food. He said ‘You would not believe it… rats carried little bits of food to my cell day & night’. I thought.. ‘God, why didn’t you just make a turkey appear’… He said ‘No, I use my people to bless my people’. Then I understood how selfish I was. Always waiting for someone else to do it when many times I could do the blessing myself.
Be ready, be open, be loving, be kind. I remember another day… my heart was broken when I met a brother who’s body was so broken down that he was in a wheel chair & could only use his mouth to write with & pick things up. He had to be looked after 24/7. His mother had nursed him all his life. At the age of 80 she had to let him go… with tears in her eyes she put him in a home. He had belonged to a church for 20 years. When I first met him I would find him in his room with a pencil in his mouth writing letters of encouragement to the people in the church that he had come from. It took him ages to write one letter. He did it gladly and with joy in his heart. I asked him if anyone in that church had visited him, he said ‘no’. I wept. What has become of us. Be ready, be ready dear friend of mine. When he says “go” do not decline.We find him in the deepest, darkest places… he’s a treasure hunter.
We only need his love to go empty handed.. that’s how my Father wanted me. The bible says that you’re the only answer… though I go with nothing Lord I choose to follow. At the garden lone & weary, hearken to my voice he said. let my friends depart in safety but imprison me instead, here is love untold, unrivaled, wondrous love beyond compare… tis’ the love of our sweet Jesus & his coming is so near.
Love, Greg.
In 2000, the Lord gave us a very specific word concerning this very thing... His Treasures.
The verse He gave us was Isaiah 45:3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
A brief excerpt from that word is as follows:
"For that which is coming soon – to get back the spoil that my enemies have taken into their households. For as Babylon raised up the cups – the golden cups – for themselves – and poured in their own wine. A spoil that belonged to My House.
So it is today. The prison houses of Babylon. The vessels, the golden cups – they are my people – they are my treasures. And I will bring them back again, from the bondage, from where my enemies have taken them."
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The Role of Suffering in Sanctification
The Role of Suffering in Sanctification
Desiring God 2010 Conference for Pastors
By Eric Mason February 2, 2010
The following is notes taken during the session, not the manuscript.
Let's turn to 2 Thessalonians 1. By way of introduction, I grew up in inner city Washington D.C. I started in the projects of southwest D.C. Then we moved to uptown D.C. I grew up during the crack era in the late 70's and early 80's. In growing up in an inner city context, you always hope things are going to be better. You're living in an environment where you're wondering if things are ever going to be different.
I went to church growing up, but it was a very non-Christian, social church. I heard the gospel for the first time in college and was blown away by the Ruler of lights. But the thing that blew me away as I began to be discipled was that I was hearing the same man-centered message I had heard growing up, where people told me that I deserved God's blessing. Then I went to seminary where we had to translate the book of Romans twice and then write a sanctification paper. I was thinking about what subject I would write on, and then I thought about the role of suffering in sanctification. So I began going through Scripture, from Matthew to Revelation, walking through this idea of sanctification and suffering's role in it. I was blown away.
Sanctification is the process whereby God makes the believer progressively holy. We are redeemed by Jesus but we are still raggedy. So God uses things to sanctify us. As I started getting more and more into the text, I realized that suffering is one of the primal ways God sanctifies the Christian. I began to see this concurring idea throughout the New Testament that married suffering to sanctification. Suffering helps us and works with us. If we could personify suffering, he is our usher, if you will.
As I got through the Pauline corpus, one of the passages that blew my mind during this study was Thessalonians. We're only going to spend time in two verses, really. I'll read the whole first chapter:
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.
This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:1-12)
Here in this passage we see the second letter to the Thessalonians. The Thessalonians were those who some view as the model church. So it's unclear who the actual offenders in this context are. It's clear that the Thessalonians were being afflicted and were suffering. Paul gets worried about Christians when they experience their first sufferings. He gets very afraid because he wonders if they understand that this is part of the Christian life. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Acts 14:22: "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." Fundamental Bible doctrine for Christians from Paul is that sometimes God is going to rock you by giving you things you don't like. Life is going to get feisty on you.
So Paul is wondering if Christians are going to see suffering as a normal part of the Christian life. There is no Affirmative Action when it comes to suffering. It's an equal-opportunity employer. There is no disinfectant you can utilize to anoint yourself out of suffering.
In 2 Thessalonians 1:11 Paul says "To this end." To what end? We see the answer in verse 4. Other believers are getting blown away by the fact that the Thessalonians are going through a hellacious struggle and are remaining steadfast. Christians learned about this and were excited about it. It encouraged them.
Then in 2 Thessalonians 1:5 he says that their faithfulness to the gospel heralds the reality of the faithfulness of God. In verses 6-10 it says that God is going to repay with affliction those who are afflicting the Thessalonians. God will repay to the opponents what they have done to the Thessalonians.
Then Paul says, "To this end we always pray for you..." (2 Thessalonians 1:11). Paul's prayers are legendary. They're convicting. They have great depth. They're extremely Godward and they're very distinct.
Paul prays, "…that our God may make you worthy of his calling…" (2 Thessalonians 1:11). What does it look like for God to make someone worthy of his calling? The worthiness that happens during suffering is an act of God and not an act of man. The act of worthiness in this passage is that God makes the Christian worthy through the gospel. The desire in Paul's prayers is that God would meet them in their trials so that the glory of their calling would match what they're suffering. Paul is saying, "Show people that God doesn't save for nothing." He's saved us with particular purposes in mind. God is going to get his glory no matter what. This is God's soteriological goal. [soteriological: theology of salvation; the doctrine of salvation, especially the Christian doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ].
It blows me away that Paul didn't pray for the Thessalonians to be removed from the trial they were enduring. He prayed that God would make them worthy of their calling and that he would keep them in this trial.
Some of you are in situations right now where you're struggling with perspective. No matter how many times suffering happens, during the first 25% of it we typically forget its purpose. When my wife and I first got pregnant, we were really excited. There was one doctor's appointment where I didn't go with her. I was in class at seminary and she paged me and I called her and she told me that the child didn't have a heartbeat.
As I drove to the hospital I was really wrestling with God. When I got to the hospital I laid my hand on my wife's belly and prayed for God to raise the child from the dead. I called the doctor back in to do another ultrasound and we saw that the baby's lungs were collapsed. To make matters even worse, my wife still had to give birth to our stillborn child. Once she did, I prayed for the child and asked for God to raise it from the dead. He didn't.
On top of this, my wife had a liver transplant and had to be cared for for more than two and a half years. During that time, God was taking the paper about suffering I had written in seminary and was working it into my heart.
We're not masochists here, but we allow God to providentially allow times of suffering for his glory.
Moving back to 2 Thessalonians, we see that Paul explains in his prayer two or three ways the worthiness of God's calling is seen.
He prays, "…and may [our God] fulfill every resolve for good…" (2 Thessalonians 1:11). Now this is interesting, because here is the anatomy of how God keeps us joyous. This idea of "fulfill" here means to complete or finish something that has already been started. God has passions and desires. Most of us want God to be aligned with our desires, but true joy does not come from that. That will only lead to depression. We must pray for God to align our desires with his.
Jesus said, "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (John 15:7). When God allows you to go through these struggles for your joy, he's fulfilling every good resolve that's based on his understanding of affliction. Suffering must come in order that the passions of God might be worked in us.
Paul ends his prayer with a purpose clause: "so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you…" (2 Thessalonians 1:12). Paul is telling the Thessalonians that the purpose of this trial is that the Lord Jesus may be glorified in them. God rigs our souls as mirrors and he uses trials to rub the dirt off the mirrors so that we might shine his glory toward other people.
Paul then prays "that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him…" (2 Thessalonians 1:12) "The stress is not on the glorification of the saved, but on the glorification of the Savior in the saved," John Stott said.
God is concerned about one thing and one thing only: that we would look like Jesus. He is spit-shining us to make us practically into the image of his Son. He doesn't send trials to take away our joy but to increase our joy. When I sense that a trial is coming, I pray that God would receive maximum glory out of it.
I pray that God would strengthen us so that we would live for an audience of One, the Triune audience, who has been hanging out from eternity and enjoying themselves and waiting for us to come in and spend time enjoying them.
© Desiring God
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Desiring God.
Desiring God 2010 Conference for Pastors
By Eric Mason February 2, 2010
The following is notes taken during the session, not the manuscript.
Let's turn to 2 Thessalonians 1. By way of introduction, I grew up in inner city Washington D.C. I started in the projects of southwest D.C. Then we moved to uptown D.C. I grew up during the crack era in the late 70's and early 80's. In growing up in an inner city context, you always hope things are going to be better. You're living in an environment where you're wondering if things are ever going to be different.
I went to church growing up, but it was a very non-Christian, social church. I heard the gospel for the first time in college and was blown away by the Ruler of lights. But the thing that blew me away as I began to be discipled was that I was hearing the same man-centered message I had heard growing up, where people told me that I deserved God's blessing. Then I went to seminary where we had to translate the book of Romans twice and then write a sanctification paper. I was thinking about what subject I would write on, and then I thought about the role of suffering in sanctification. So I began going through Scripture, from Matthew to Revelation, walking through this idea of sanctification and suffering's role in it. I was blown away.
Sanctification is the process whereby God makes the believer progressively holy. We are redeemed by Jesus but we are still raggedy. So God uses things to sanctify us. As I started getting more and more into the text, I realized that suffering is one of the primal ways God sanctifies the Christian. I began to see this concurring idea throughout the New Testament that married suffering to sanctification. Suffering helps us and works with us. If we could personify suffering, he is our usher, if you will.
As I got through the Pauline corpus, one of the passages that blew my mind during this study was Thessalonians. We're only going to spend time in two verses, really. I'll read the whole first chapter:
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.
This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:1-12)
Here in this passage we see the second letter to the Thessalonians. The Thessalonians were those who some view as the model church. So it's unclear who the actual offenders in this context are. It's clear that the Thessalonians were being afflicted and were suffering. Paul gets worried about Christians when they experience their first sufferings. He gets very afraid because he wonders if they understand that this is part of the Christian life. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Acts 14:22: "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." Fundamental Bible doctrine for Christians from Paul is that sometimes God is going to rock you by giving you things you don't like. Life is going to get feisty on you.
So Paul is wondering if Christians are going to see suffering as a normal part of the Christian life. There is no Affirmative Action when it comes to suffering. It's an equal-opportunity employer. There is no disinfectant you can utilize to anoint yourself out of suffering.
In 2 Thessalonians 1:11 Paul says "To this end." To what end? We see the answer in verse 4. Other believers are getting blown away by the fact that the Thessalonians are going through a hellacious struggle and are remaining steadfast. Christians learned about this and were excited about it. It encouraged them.
Then in 2 Thessalonians 1:5 he says that their faithfulness to the gospel heralds the reality of the faithfulness of God. In verses 6-10 it says that God is going to repay with affliction those who are afflicting the Thessalonians. God will repay to the opponents what they have done to the Thessalonians.
Then Paul says, "To this end we always pray for you..." (2 Thessalonians 1:11). Paul's prayers are legendary. They're convicting. They have great depth. They're extremely Godward and they're very distinct.
Paul prays, "…that our God may make you worthy of his calling…" (2 Thessalonians 1:11). What does it look like for God to make someone worthy of his calling? The worthiness that happens during suffering is an act of God and not an act of man. The act of worthiness in this passage is that God makes the Christian worthy through the gospel. The desire in Paul's prayers is that God would meet them in their trials so that the glory of their calling would match what they're suffering. Paul is saying, "Show people that God doesn't save for nothing." He's saved us with particular purposes in mind. God is going to get his glory no matter what. This is God's soteriological goal. [soteriological: theology of salvation; the doctrine of salvation, especially the Christian doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ].
It blows me away that Paul didn't pray for the Thessalonians to be removed from the trial they were enduring. He prayed that God would make them worthy of their calling and that he would keep them in this trial.
Some of you are in situations right now where you're struggling with perspective. No matter how many times suffering happens, during the first 25% of it we typically forget its purpose. When my wife and I first got pregnant, we were really excited. There was one doctor's appointment where I didn't go with her. I was in class at seminary and she paged me and I called her and she told me that the child didn't have a heartbeat.
As I drove to the hospital I was really wrestling with God. When I got to the hospital I laid my hand on my wife's belly and prayed for God to raise the child from the dead. I called the doctor back in to do another ultrasound and we saw that the baby's lungs were collapsed. To make matters even worse, my wife still had to give birth to our stillborn child. Once she did, I prayed for the child and asked for God to raise it from the dead. He didn't.
On top of this, my wife had a liver transplant and had to be cared for for more than two and a half years. During that time, God was taking the paper about suffering I had written in seminary and was working it into my heart.
We're not masochists here, but we allow God to providentially allow times of suffering for his glory.
Moving back to 2 Thessalonians, we see that Paul explains in his prayer two or three ways the worthiness of God's calling is seen.
He prays, "…and may [our God] fulfill every resolve for good…" (2 Thessalonians 1:11). Now this is interesting, because here is the anatomy of how God keeps us joyous. This idea of "fulfill" here means to complete or finish something that has already been started. God has passions and desires. Most of us want God to be aligned with our desires, but true joy does not come from that. That will only lead to depression. We must pray for God to align our desires with his.
Jesus said, "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (John 15:7). When God allows you to go through these struggles for your joy, he's fulfilling every good resolve that's based on his understanding of affliction. Suffering must come in order that the passions of God might be worked in us.
Paul ends his prayer with a purpose clause: "so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you…" (2 Thessalonians 1:12). Paul is telling the Thessalonians that the purpose of this trial is that the Lord Jesus may be glorified in them. God rigs our souls as mirrors and he uses trials to rub the dirt off the mirrors so that we might shine his glory toward other people.
Paul then prays "that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him…" (2 Thessalonians 1:12) "The stress is not on the glorification of the saved, but on the glorification of the Savior in the saved," John Stott said.
God is concerned about one thing and one thing only: that we would look like Jesus. He is spit-shining us to make us practically into the image of his Son. He doesn't send trials to take away our joy but to increase our joy. When I sense that a trial is coming, I pray that God would receive maximum glory out of it.
I pray that God would strengthen us so that we would live for an audience of One, the Triune audience, who has been hanging out from eternity and enjoying themselves and waiting for us to come in and spend time enjoying them.
© Desiring God
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Desiring God.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Pharisees & Sadducees
Taken from False Doctrine
by J. C. Ryle
(1816-1900)
Let us be on our guard against the "insidiousness" of false doctrine. Like the fruit of
which Eve and Adam ate, at first sight it looks pleasant and good, and a thing to be
desired. Poison is not written upon it, and so people are not afraid. Like counterfeit coin,
it is not stamped "bad:" it passes for the real thing because of the very likeness it bears to
the truth.
Let us be on our guard against the "very small beginnings" of false doctrine. Every
heresy began at one time with some little departure from the truth. There is only a little
seed of error needed to create a great tree. It is the little stones that make up the mighty
building. It was the little timbers that made the great ark that carried Noah and his family
over a deluged world. It is the little leaven that leavens the whole lump. It is the little
flaw in one link of the chain cable that wrecks the gallant ship, and drowns the crew. It is
the omission or addition of one little item in the doctor's prescription that spoils the whole
medicine, and turns it into poison. We do not tolerate quietly a little dishonesty, or a little
cheating, or a little lying: just so, let us never allow a little false doctrine to ruin us, by
thinking it is but a "little one," and can do no harm. The Galatians seemed to be doing
nothing very dangerous when they "were observing special days and months and seasons
and years;" yet Paul says, "I fear for you" (Galatians 4:10, 11).
thinking it is but a "little one," and can do no harm. The Galatians seemed to be doing
nothing very dangerous when they "were observing special days and months and seasons
and years;" yet Paul says, "I fear for you" (Galatians 4:10, 11).
Finally, let us be on our guard against supposing that "we at any rate are not in danger."
"Our views are sound: our feet stand firm: others may fall away, but we are safe!"
Hundreds have thought the same, and have come to a bad end. In their self-confidence
they tampered with little temptations and little forms of false doctrine; in their selfconceit
they went near the brink of danger; and now they seem lost forever. They appear
given over to a strong delusion, so as to believe a lie. Some of them are praying to the
Virgin Mary, and bowing down to images. Others of them are casting overboard one
doctrine after another, and are stripping themselves of every sort of religion but a few
scraps of Deism. Very striking is the vision in Pilgrim's Progress, which describes the
hill Error as "very steep on the farthest side;" and "when Christian and Hopeful looked
down they saw at the bottom several men dashed all to pieces by a fall they had from the
top." Never, never let us forget the caution to beware of "yeast;" and if we think we
stand, let us "be careful that we don't fall!"
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