from http://www.spiritlessons.com a great website
Little Lessons I've learned
in my walk with Christ
[for
more lessons I've learned click here]
Love the Savior, work only for His Glory.
Those who don't tithe to the Lord are disobedient and are considered thieves, they won't be ready for His return.
By the Lord's stripes we are healed, and by our wounds we are given authority to heal others in the way we were wounded.
As my experience has shown, you can be running TOWARD Christian Ministry and AWAY from the Lord's presence at the same time. (as with Jonah) My experience has also shown, (as with the Israelites), that I can take a valuable thing and mold it into a worthless idol.
Evangelicals, including myself,
have distorted the image of Jesus
FROM a Righteous, Reigning,
Awesome King of Glory, to be feared, loved and obeyed.
Down to a Friendly
Neighbor.
We often diluted the Gospel down to "Say a prayer and get your
ticket to Heaven."
Any gospel that does not include living Holy is incomplete!
If any gospel does not warn people of the coming struggles, but only focuses on having a blessed life, this gospel has been cheapened.
I repent for teaching the "Once Saved Always Saved" doctrine. Though it makes perfect sense to me, and I could defend it easily, it contradicts way too many scripture verses, and contradicts many testimonies of people who have been shown Hell.
If the armies of God are NOT fighting in a specific battle, then don't fight there yourself.
Accusing someone is a serious
thing to do, not to be handled lightly, not for the immature, and not to be
done without the prompting of the Holy Spirit. In scripture it was
handled by the Apostles, by seasoned men and women of God. But even the
disciples, as show in the Gospels, misjudged people (Mark 9:38). When
you accuse another person without the prompting of the Holy Spirit, you'll
be in danger of the trap of the enemy, who greatest weapon is using
Christian to accuse other Christians, and cause division. Many times, in the
name of "defending the truth", we are often "serving
the devil".
Take a strong warning from Philip Elston, who had a vision several years ago
in which he saw the Lord standing with His arms outstretched. Soldiers in
blue and gray uniforms were marching past Him on either side, and were
laying their bloody swords on His arms. The Lord resolutely looked into the
eyes of each one, saying, "No one who has
their brother's blood on their sword will be used to build My house."
Pride + Bible knowledge will get you as far as it did with the Pharisees. (Saying foolish, presumptuous statements like, "It is not lawful to heal on the Sabbath", "no prophet come out of Nazareth")
There is NO forgiveness, NO salvation, NO hope and NO 2nd chance for anyone who receives the mark of the beast, (666). Avoid it at all costs. (Warning)
Every time the enemy successfully attacks, our understanding of God gets a little more cloudy and we forget a something about Him.
Anything not built on the Rock will eventually fall. (Systems, Organizations, Businesses, Counties, Groups, Cultures, etc.)
Never set your eyes on any defiled thing. Your eyes are a gateway to your soul and it pours filth into your heart when you look upon them.
The higher you go, the closer you walk with the Lord, the greater the devastation will come from your disobedience to Him.
Sacrifice is still a major part of the Christian's walk, but sacrifice only what the Lord commands you to.
Whenever the Lord shows up somewhere, the enemy will come by later on to mess up any good work. Be ready.
When a person is born again, they are given a new body, a spiritual body. They then have two sets of ears, one physical and one spiritual. This helps them not only to hear what a person is saying with their mouth, but also hear what a person is saying with their heart. Thru many mistakes I have learned the hard way that it is more important to understand what a person is truly saying from their heart rather than the polished words from their lips, especially when they try quoting scripture.
When you talk about someone, only say what you would be comfortable saying in their presence. Otherwise you will be acting two faced. Remember every word we speak will be reviewed when our life is Judged. And when someone else is speaking gossip, Object, stop it, or get out of there! Hearing one bad comment or rumor about someone can pollute your relationship with them for years. Stay away from the desire to witness people's shame and nakedness, this is what promotes gossip.
When you do something, don't do anything that would embarrass you, if everyone else were watching. If you're embarrassed before people who have low standards, how much more before a God with perfect standards. Remember, every action will come to light when our life is Judged.
Human goodness and human compassion, will lead many to help others, but it won't lead them to the cross, where their real healing is. And thus it is often an affront to the cross.
If you goto 5 sermons, before you will go to one prayer meeting, then you're probably out of balance.
"My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations." But we have made it into a house of study. Our western church is founded on gathering knowledge about God. (Study does have its place, but not the main focus.) We've gathered 10 times the knowledge of the early apostles, yet have 1/10th their effectiveness.
One reason the Church walks is very little power, is because "we have not received a prophets reward." Few Christians can even name a prophet who is living today. A prophet's message is just not as popular or celebrated as a message from a Christian Celebrity, Singer or professional writer.
No weeping saints, no weeping sinners. No night long prayer, no long lines to Church.
The Church today walks in very little power, very little of what we are called to walk in.
Pretend that your car broke down
in the middle of a hot desert, being lost, you haven't eaten for 2 days, and
the sun in scorching you. Then you're bitten by a snake, fall and
smash your head on a sharp rock. Bleeding and limping you start to
hear a pack of ferocious wolfs in the distance pursuing you. Tell me,
in this situation, what should be the first thing you pray for?
(Answer: Salvation for Lost Souls) Yes, now you understand the priority of
an intercessor.
Where there is a question regarding a certain Doctrine, always check the foundation, the RED letters of Christ. His words are where many of our Christian disagreements are solved.
Losing confidence in yourself is good, if it is replaced by confidence in the Lord. Things that leads to greater dependence on the Lord are good, but things that lead to dependence on self can be dangerous.
I've been told that you can't please everyone, but I've seen that used as an excuse not to care. And I've seen that a humble man will make few enemies.
Search, and you will find that acting on un-given authority (presumption), is the most common sin shown in the gospels, and a very common sin today.
The false prophet will often try to establish his credibility early on. And establishing his reputation will be a major concern for much of his speaking. A true prophet won't put heavy focus on this.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but the Love of the Lord is the fulfillment of wisdom.
When the Church preaches against a sin, like Homosexuality, drunkenness or Abortion, then battles rage in the heavenly realms against these principalities. But when the Church is silent on an issue, in order to not cause waves or not to seem to provocative, then these heavenly battles do not happen, and these spirits run rampant, going unopposed and finding victims all over.
The Lord gives His power to those who are wise and mature enough to use it. The evil one gives his power to those who are foolish and immature enough to be used by it.
Anything you believe differently than Jesus Christ is deception, and we all have some.
Judge yourself, before the Lord has to. Judge yourself with an IRON FIST, but judge others with a velvet glove. This will keep you from hypocrisy, but don't go too far or you will fall into the pit of "Self Condemnation" or "The overlooking of sin."
When judging the actions of another, where you don't have all the information, assume the best, not the worst. Assuming the worst brings division and bitterness. I once heard a wise proverb from a Jewish friend that said "believe in a man's innocence, until the facts just won't let you."
Christian must learn to hear the voice of the Lord through other people.
When the Lord speaks through a person, what they say will be backed up by scripture. But also, when the enemy speaks, he will used misapplied scripture to defend his poison. How will you distinguish? If you're relying on your intellectual knowledge of scripture to distinguish, be careful, you're up against the one "more crafty than the rest." The truth is that you must know the voice of the Lord. If you don't, you'll believe the scripture of the enemy's agent before you believe the Lord's agent!
Don't minimize a move of God down to the phrase "an emotional experience," Which is easier to say "I am sorry" or to weep and cry. One can be done with the mouth, but the other must come from deep within.
One of the main messages of Jesus today, is to prepare for His return, even though this is a rarely preached message. Prophets that are close to me, have had visions of many Christian's left behind. Two prophets that I trust, were told that about 80% of Christians are NOT ready. One prophet has even seen entire congregations left behind, resulting in the pastor getting beat up in the very pulpit he preached in, by the people he preached to.
When someone is on fire for the Lord, the enemy tried to snuff them out. Then they can go from one extreme to the other, becoming cold as ice. When you come across someone who is on fire for the Lord, take extra caution NOT to discourage them or quench the spirits fire.
A wise man may sacrifice some of his lesser goals in order to accomplish a bigger one. And our enemy is willing to support lesser Christian goals in order to derail the more important ones.
Hiding, self-justification, wearing masks, and shifting blame, are all paths that will lead a good man, back to his sin, a dog back to his vomit.
When in darkness, we hug our enemies and beat our friends.
The enemy is called the twister, always distorting the true things of God. But our God can untwist anything, untangle any knot, and can turn a crippled hand into a iron fist.
Selfishness destroys.
If you live a godly life, but do not share Christ with others, you'll be as successful as Lot was in saving Sodom.
Many Christian's are functional atheists. They believe the stories of the Bible, but if anything like those stories happens today, they'll be the first one's to call it false.
The main goal of a Christian is not to raise a happy family and be successful in this world. Thou these are nice to have, our main goal is to Love, obey, and server the Lord Jesus Christ.
When people and institutions working for the Lord, do NOT receive revelation from the Lord, they often become dead skin, and a hindrance to the Lord. Thou they might be working on "Good" goals, they can interfere with the Lord's "Main" goals. We always need to listen for the Lord's direction, be ready to drop our old plans, and walk in the way He now directs.
What the Lord brings is freedom, what the devil brings is slavery. Never point to something that the devil gives you and call it freedom. That's as foolish as a doctor handing you a bottle of poison, and calling it 'medicine.'
Don't ever wave your trophies before the Lord.
People will learn more from your scars than your trophies.
A fool would read the bible one time and say "I know all about the Lord." But a wise man would read the bible ten times and say "I know very little." The closer you get to the Mountain, the smaller you appear. The closer you are to God the more humble you become, but the closer you come to the devil, the more puffed up you become.
If there is a problem that the Lord is taking you through, and you refuse to go through it. That issue will come back later and overcome you until it is dealt with. This is the "One more time around the Mountain" syndrome.
Before the Lord advances his church, the enemy will send out the fakes.
When the Lord advances His church using certain people, these people will be utterly defamed. If you research those people on the internet, most of what you'll find will be negative and written by "respectable" people with prestigious degrees behind their name. Similar to when Jesus walked the earth.
The false prophet is usually the first to accuse the true prophet.
Don't set your standards by other people's standards, but by the Lord's. When you reconcile yourself to someone you offended, it should be independent of how they react or whether or not they try to reconcile. Don't let other people's low standard stop you from doing what is right.
If you're pulling your friend's car out of a ditch, and you notice your car moving closer to the ditch faster than your friend's car is moving out, then cut the rope and find another solution. You can't help someone out of a pit, when you're not free yourself. First get free, then help others out.
The Lord can be glorified in our weaknesses, but in our strengths we gain fame.
One of the foolish things I used to do before I would go out street evangelizing was to spend 1-2 hours preparing everything, training, practicing, materials, etc. and then spend 5 minutes in prayer. This bore very little fruit. I put all my trust in my preparation, and little trust in the Lord. It would have been better to pray 1-2 hours and spend 5 minutes in preparation.
90% prayer & 10% work! Ministries not immersed in prayer will fail.
A small cut can lead to a big infection. It's not the cut that harms you, since it is just a small hole, with little loss of blood, but it's the infection that comes in afterwards. And so with sin, a little sin can be the downfall of a great man, because the devil will pour himself through that little opening.
The worst thing we can get from the enemy is a reward. The reason we don't gamble, is not because we might lose, it is because we might win. Everything the devil gives has hooks.
If you choose to believe the lies of your enemy, it makes his job of destroying you much easier.
When you please your master, he rewards you. If your master is good, you will be rewarded for good, but if he is evil, you will be rewarded for evil.
Those who serve the Lord, but do not come close to Him, will be out of sync with Him. They will be harvesting when they should be sowing, comforting when they should be warning, or rebuking when they should be showing mercy. By this they will be fruitless. Each of us must know the seasons of the Lord.
Don't use the Lord's Name like a wash cloth. One time, I found myself doing this when an accusation came against me. When confronted, I quickly tried showing my Christian credentials. Later on, I found that I did more to lower the Name of the Lord, than to lift mine. John the Baptist was right when he said, "He must become greater; I must become less".
The best time to worship the Lord, the most meaningful time to worship the Lord, is when you're under trials and struggles. And remember, He's bigger than all our problems.
I trust a person more if he walks with a limp. Meaning, he has suffered a major defeat, and learned hard lessons of who the Lord is and who his enemy is. A defeat is usually the only thing that will sober us up.
Christian's, including me, are not in the habit of casting the devil out, rebuking him. But we need to remember to do that, like Jesus did in the Gospels.
Wherever you go, leave the place a little better than you found it, and in this way you're are serving others. (My Dad helped teach me this lesson. If he needed to use a restroom in a gas station, and he found it very clean, he would often tip the attendant on duty.)
The pursuit of God is not an intellectual pursuit but a spiritual one. For many times in my walk with Christ, I would only gather information about Him, and not seek Him spiritually. Don't miss what's most important, to know Him intimately and love Him. Better to listen to a humble, loving, obedient servant of Christ, than a polished and eloquent professional, who has a mediocre walk. But to our dismay, we are always drawn to the professionals. A moment of being filled by His Spirit, His Love, His Presence, will transform you faster than any activity. DON'T KNOW HIM FROM A DISTANCE, GET INTO HIS PRESENCE AND BE TRANSFORMED!
There is a unity coming over the body of Christ that I've seen, to where a 30 second encounter with another member can develop bonds that are stronger than family ones. For blood is thicker than water, but spirit is thicker than blood.
A healthy relationship with God will involve many tears. And if you've never cried while worshiping or seeking the Lord, then something is missing.
I've noticed a strange thing, it is hard to explain, but be patient and understand. I've noticed that when I am tempted with an evil/impure thought, if I breath out my nose quickly, the temptation seems to blow away. And during worship times, if I fully exhale out of my mouth, the Worship gets more intense.
The Judgments of God are to be eagerly desired in your life. Better a slap on the wrist now, a correction early on, than unquenchable regret later. Metal is made stronger by pounding it.
You will need to go through many easy doors, to get the same spiritual growth as going through one hard door.
Truth without grace is what the devil brings, when he comes as the "angel of light."
The Cross was like a knife set before us, very sharp and painful. It cut our hearts, and cut away our flesh. Though we screamed from the pain, we noticed that afterwards we were more alive than before.
The harder you make the foundation, the higher you can build your house.
When you jump into a river it will carry you to where it is going. If the river is going to a good destination, you do not need a paddle. But when not, you must paddle hard. When the Lord speak thru you, put down your paddle.
If you lack wisdom, you'll find Him at the crossroads. Those who go without wisdom, will be captured, robbed & beaten. Then they will cry out and be rescued again. Christians learn most of their lessons after taking a beating.
It's good to wake up early in the morning and pray over the things of that day. I believe the Lord sends us ministering angels. And that we should send them out to do His will. So if you find yourself waking up very early, it may not be an accident, you may have a host of angels waiting to be sent out.
The Banquet is ready, the Bride is Not!
Israel belongs to the Jews.
If you've been given a certain spiritual gift, i.e. a spiritual language (tongues), you should spend time in that language each day. I've noticed that a lot more things get done (spiritually) when I do this. And when people say that tongues no longer exists, or you should never pray without an interpreter, they are mixing human wisdom with spiritual gifts, as it was said to Jesus "Don't heal on the Sabbath."
Will we ever reconcile Science
and Religion? Science is the study of our physical world. Religion is the
study of the spiritual world. Science has an unwritten rule that there is NO
spiritual realm, and no God. Therefore anything that points to a spiritual
world, not matter how logical or obvious the evidence, it must be wrong.
Science does not recognize the spiritual world, but tries to explain
everything physically, which is impossible.
It's like trying to study colors, while using a black and white camera.
Science explains consciousness as a chemical process, the creation of life
as an accident, the universe-the results of big random explosion, dreams as
biological processes, the soul as a myth, Good and Evil as non-existent,
Miracles as a freak of nature explainable by complex physics, Mankind as a
superior form of monkey, and God as fairytale believed in by ignorant people
who don't understand science.
Scripture verses can be misapplied, when they are not prompted by the Holy Spirit.
Your FAITH is not only your belief in who God IS, but who you are NOT. Without God, I'm foolish, weak and easily captured. Our Faith is in God alone, NEVER in man, NEVER in his institutions, and Never in the bride. I love my church, but many times we have failed and dropped the ball. And when people tie their anchor to a person or institution, they are bound for disappointment.
Invest into people, not into processes. Too many times Christian's get involved with ministries, and neglect the personal investment into people, which is the whole reason for ministry.
When you pray, don't be afraid to ask for the Lord's judgment against anything that hinders His kingdom. Remember how Jesus cursed the fig tree, in Mark ll:21. Not every prayer has to be "Bless this and Bless that". But never pray for the Lord's wrath on any person, because one soul is worth more that all the riches of this world.
The farther away from God you get, the more rules and regulations you have to come up with to maintain what you once had. And what was once living will soon become mechanical and artificial. (Take the machinery out of the church.)
If a gust of wind shakes a house, what will happen to it when the flood comes? Can it stand?
It is Hard to enter the Kingdom of God. As we are finding out from some of the Lord's Messengers who have visited Heaven, a lot less made it than we thought.
Watch out for the false doctrines, that leads people astray. By changing one word it can reverse the meaning of the Gospel, from "Jesus Christ came to save us from sin", to "Jesus Christ came to save us to sin." By changing one word it can distort the image of God from "We serve a God of Love, Mercy but also wrath" to "We serve a God of Love, Mercy but not wrath."
When my enemy's children came to my door, they appeared innocent and holy, they even quoted verses from scripture. Without examining them very carefully, we let them in and sat them at my table. They didn't show any bad fruit, they didn't even resist me when doing ministry and offered their help. But when my house came under attack, they all rebelled at once, and their true nature came out. My whole house was in chaos. I remember one of these spirits originally told me, "I will not compromise the will of God for anything, I just won't compromise." And I was impressed by this spirit. But when he rebelled, his nametag said, "My will be done, and if I can justify my actions with a few bible quote, I will force my will on others." I was like a man in a dentist chair, each cavity had to be painfully removed, one by one.
Check your file cabinet, if there's a folder named "Accusation against my friend, bring out when convenient", get rid of this folder. Our enemy already has that folder and he won't loose it. No need to duplicate his work.
You'll get more heat from the red coals than the dark ones. And those who are passionate about the Lord will also warm you.
Watch out for the Vanity Fair. What seemed like a fun and exciting parade was actually a marching army. Capturing many people in its path and rendering them unfit for service. What we thought were robes, were chains, our beautiful bracelets were handcuffs, and what we thought were crowns were yokes.
When your house is broken into and you are over-powered, you will not wake up again until AFTER your house is looted.
If you do not guard your front door, anyone can walk in. But if you lock your door when the Lord comes, you will not eat.
Family are those who you do not need to wear your armor when around.
When a leaf falls off a tree, it can stay green for many days. But eventually all of them will die, only what stays on the tree will last. Only the House build on a Rock will be able to handle the storm, all others will fall.
Though your body is locked in this physical world, your spirit can be soaring in the heavenlies or down in the depths.
I once drank a poison called “Don’t Convict Me,” it was sweet, but it lead to my death. It kept me in the dark for many years.
You CAN'T preach the gospel using only gentle words.
You can fall at any level in your walk with Christ. Never think that you're invincible, because pride comes before a fall. When mountain climbing, you can quickly tell when you are falling, but it is not so spiritually. Most don't know when they are falling.
Always expect a counter attack right after a great victory, be prepared. At the victory party, when you are celebrating the defeat of your enemy, his brother will show up and wait until everyone's drunk.
Even for the "mature" there are still many veils and stumbling blocks to overcome. Those who listen, will have their veils removed the fastest.
The spirit of Faith is at work opening peoples eyes, find these people and share the gospel with them. Those who have not been visited by faith, won't listen to you. And if you're not listening, you won't know who to go to, making your work fruitless.
God is unchanging. But He is NOT static! The Lord is fluid, an idol is static. That which is fluid is greater than that which is static. Many times we have missed a move of God, because it was not what we were expecting.
Many people who we think are our enemy, are actually our friends. And many people we think are our friends, are not. And many people we give the most respect, are still not mature.
All famous and influential role models, with either lead people toward Jesus or away. They will either gather or scatter.
Few things are as they seem, and the 5 biggest liars are our own senses. In my walk with the Lord, I once heard a dog barking, but it wasn't a dog, but a warning sentinel. I've felt a strong gust of wind, but it wasn't the air, but a chariot. I've felt sensations on my body, but it was not physical, but an angel bringing strength. I realized that I knew less than Balem's Donkey did. I've heard a single word from baby Christian speak volumes, but an entire professional sermon leave me dry. For the Lord's Kingdom was all around us, but we didn't notice. For what I thought was many, was one, and what I thought was one, was many.
Much of the teaching of the Kingdom of God is the unlearning of what the world taught us.
When events happen in the spiritual realm there is usually a reaction in the physical realm. Those who have eyes to see, will see and understand, but those without will casually ignore these things. The spiritual world is much more integrated into the physical world than we think. The physical world is a vague mapping of the spiritual realm.
I believe that the "Abomination That Causes Desolation standing in the Holy Place", as spoken by the Prophet Daniel, is when Homosexuality is lifted up and honored in the pulpit.
In the midst of battle, when I was most agitated from fighting, the Lord was peacefully standing there, He seemed unaffected from all the chaos, and there was a table prepared for me. Strangely the enemy seemed oblivious to Him standing right there, as though they could not even see Him. You will often hear wisdom after a battle, so pay attention.
If you don't tell the guy behind you how you fell, he's going to stumble over the same rock.
They enemy comes over the lowest part of the wall. Remember, it only takes one opening, and the enemy can sack the whole city. The enemy often comes at night.
Every time the enemy attacks, he reveals his position, which is why you will get the greatest opposition before the greatest break through. It was once said, "If you want to see who the Messiah is, find Judas, and see who he betrays." So after an attack I ask myself, "Why did he attack that? Why today?"
It is easy to get off the path, but hard to get back on. A fisherman's hook is made to go in easy, but difficult to get out.
What the Lord has buried, let no man dig up. What the Lord has lade open, let no man burry.
The Lord has set a Mountain before us, do not perch yourself on the first ledge and say "I've made it". No, Climb. If you fall, get back up and climb. Don't wait for the flood, you might get swept away, or won't be able to out climb it then. Run the race as to win now. Not everyone at the Wedding Banquet will be a bride.
From here to your destination are a thousand prisons, learn how to get out, remember how you got in, and never say, "There are no more".
If you see a radical change for the worse, in someone's personality, suspect that a spiritual agent is involved.
Most attacks of the enemy, do not work on a person who has a crucified flesh. And humility is an armor that is hard to penetrate.
You cannot march in the Army of God wearing flesh.
The biggest threat to the Lord's anointed, is often the Lord's last anointed. For King David it was Saul, for Jesus it was the religious elite, for Luther it was the Church. Whenever there is any progress in the church, most opposition comes from the establishment.
When first starting to read the bible, it is best to start with the RED LETTERS, the Words of Jesus from the Gospels. First master these, they are the Foundation. When building a house, no one builds the walls before the floor is finished.
The tears of the Lord walk around, they say "who will host me? Is there no one who will cry for him? Is there no one who will weep for her"? Open your door to them, let them into your house, and sit at your table, do not leave them outside. One tear weighs more than a pound of sweat.
We desperately need a balance between study and service. I.E. Think about the last 4 bible studies you've attended. If in the time you've attended those 4 bible studies, you've never once went out to serve the Lord, help the needy, feed the hungry, encourage the weak, then you're probably out of balance. "The last thing some Christian's need is another bible study." (Purpose Driven Life)
There are 2 pits on the side of the path. One pit says, "You must serve the Lord in drudgery and misery, never enjoying a moment." Occasionally I see victims there, the other pit is more common, it says "serve the Lord in comfort, remove all toil, suffering and anything unpleasant. Maximize pleasure as you do the Lord's work." A person's spiritual maturity is determined by how much they are willing to sacrifice for the Lord. The less they sacrifice, the slower they will mature.
That which is puffed up tries to float to the top of the water, though it looks big, it does not weigh much. But that which is heavy and full will settle for the bottom.
From the pit He pulled me out, from lust He rescued me. He has set me on a ledge above my captors, so that I can warn those who pass by, not to fall here. Though I can hear their heckles from below, I have been set free from them and given power over them, and can now raid the enemy's camp, and set its prisoners free. I was once a house with many open doors, but now I've shut them. Open the door to your friends, but shut them on your enemy.
Check your beliefs and make sure
these 2 false doctrines are not part of them.
"God has stopped speaking"
"And if the Lord speaks today, it is not as
valid as when He spoke in the past."
When correcting someone, first do it privately, don't do it in front of others to embarrass them. I did this when I was immature. I used other people to embarrass someone into submission, with fear. Rather than having that person look and agree with the correction.
When a friend of mine (a man of God) fell into temptation, he said he heard 2 messages from the enemy. Both of these were very crafty and destructive. The first message was "As long as you're down here in sin, you might as well enjoy the fruit." When he took this message to heart, he engaged in all kinds of sin that were never even his weaknesses. The second message was, "You can turn back to God tomorrow." When he took that message to heart, tomorrow never came until a year later in jail.
You can often find some good, in the most evil of people, and some bad in the best of men.
Many of the Lord's army are currently in the prisons of the enemy, and in their front lines.
Which is worse, to teach people a false doctrine, or to accuse to true messenger of God to teaching false doctrine. Both lead people astray.
(The Power of God) + (Man's wisdom) = Ineffectiveness
In order to build a better house, you'll occasionally need to tear down the old one.
Only when you're free can you help others. How can you free someone from jail, when you're behind bars?
If you pray against a certain spiritual principality, be ready for a counter attack on that very issue. (A lesson I found out the hard way.)
There were ditches on both sides of the path or life. In running away from ditches on one side, we fell into another.
The devil, like a good wrestler will push and pull his opponents when needed. In other words, he'll resist anyone from entering their assigned ministry, but if that doesn't work, then he'll pull them in that direction, and cause them to have burnout.
Watch out, one of the most dangerous places for Christians is the spotlight. Because it can get our attention on ourselves. Many of us can be just as effective serving the Lord from behind the scenes, humble in a prayer closet, as those who are up front in the spotlight.
If you saw 10 men carrying a heavy log, and 9 men were one end of it and 1 was at the other side, where would you help? In making Disciples, we should do the same.
Those who don't appreciate what they have, will be given less.
I heard a doctrine that said, "Once a person is saved, then it is impossible for them to fall away from the Lord, turn their back on God, return back into sin, or believe a false statement about God. Because if they do these things then they must have not been really saved" I don't think this statement is backup up by scripture at all. I do believe that WHILE you're surrendered to the Lord these things are less likely to happen, but who concluded that a saved person will always be surrendered and obedient to the Lord. There are too many warnings in the bible for me to believe that there is a group of people that don't need to keep watch and be diligent. The bible warned us about people who will fall away in the end. 1 Timothy 4:1 "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons" How can some one fall away if they were never there to begin with? I would suggest to everyone, Keep watch and be diligent, stay close to the Lord and don't put anything past yourself.
How crafty is the devil? Crafty enough to get God's people to do his work.
The Bride knows less that she thinks she does. And many times, when things are said in the name of the Groom, it's really the Bride speaking. When the Groom does speak, few people realize it, especially the person it was spoken through.
Beware of the yoke of men. Man's yoke looks good, but it will only slow you down in the climb, and will make you less fruitful. The Lord's yoke is light, it lifts you up, but man's will weigh you down.
According to 2 prophets that I respect, only about 20% of Christian's are ready for the Lord's return!
Salvation is a free gift from God, but certain anointings can come at a cost.
It can be very difficult to realize when you have lost the Lord's anointing, as with Sampson, when he lost the Lord's strength, (Judges 16:20) "He awoke from his sleep and thought, 'I'll go out as before and shake myself free.' But he did not know that the LORD had left him."
Some of my little issues: (A) Don't copyright what the Lord tells you. Unless there is a pressing need for a copyright, give it away. Putting a copyright on God's revelations is like a person who has the gift of healing, but he charges everyone who wants to be healed. The Lords gifts are for His Church, not for profit! (B) Don't name your ministry after yourself, the goal is to give Jesus glory, not us. I can't imagine having the Robert Brownell Ministry. (C) For preachers, be very careful when your audience continuously applauds you during your sermon, because it puffs us up, and soon we start thinking they are applauding us.
Pastors beware of the "Just in Case" philosophy when doing sermons. It's human wisdom at its best and I see it creeping into churches. This philosophy says, "Prepare every detail of the service in advance, prepare the worship music exactly the way you want it. Prepare and rehearse the introduction of the sermon, so you don't stumble over your words. Know ahead of time how the closing prayer is going to be said. Then, Just in Case the Lord doesn't show up, you can still put on a great show."
The Lord's power can be very corrupting to a person who is not crucified, not humble, and does not walk in love.