All Posts By

Terry Fischer

Eyesalve: Warn Them

By | Eyesalve

And what cause soever shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against the LORD, and so wrath come upon you, and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not trespass.” II Chronicles 19:10

 

One of the reasons the church in America is in the predicament she is in is because her ministers have become more concerned about making the people comfortable than they are willing to “warn them.”

Eyesalve: Don’t Dabble

By | Eyesalve

And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.” II Chronicles 18:33

 

If you don’t want to be hit in the joint of your armor, then don’t dabble with sin.

Eyesalve: It Is Expected

By | Eyesalve

And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD?” II Chronicles 18:15

 

Even the wicked expect the righteous to tell the truth.

Eyesalve: When Hope Is Lost

By | Eyesalve

And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.” Jeremiah 18:12

 

When ministers grow weary and frustrated because souls aren’t being won like they want and their church isn’t growing numerically like they desire, then they lose hope. Once hope is lost then they start to walk after their own devices and live out their imaginations. This is where we are at today. We need the Spirit to once again lead our churches.

Prayer, The Greatest of Disciplines (Continued)

By | Articles

In my last article I talked about the need for every believer to develop a disciplined prayer life, and that if you persist in that discipline, it will turn into delight. I also emphasized that prayer is an opportunity to really get to know our God. We need to come into His presence with honor and respect before we start to bombard Him with all our requests. I want to continue with some more important aspects of prayer with hope that every reader will be encouraged and even excited to develop a true prayer life with almighty God.

I told a story in the last article about how I made a New Year’s resolution that I was going to start off every morning with at least five minutes of prayer. I shared how that five minutes of prayer grew to fifteen and even twenty minutes. That was the beginning of my prayer life with my Father. There was another time in my life, back in the mid-nineties when I was sensing the call of God on my life and I was feeling a conviction about my prayer life. I owned a construction business and it was quite consuming. If I wanted any type of extended prayer time in the morning hours it meant I had to rise earlier than normal so I would not be interrupted by phone calls and employees coming over to the house. I worked hard so my sleep was very important. One morning I was down in my basement pacing while I was praying. I was feeling the conviction of God to give Him more of my time in the morning to pray. In my mind I thought an hour of prayer seemed reasonable since Jesus said to Peter, “…couldest not thou watch one hour” (Mark 14:37)? As I was praying that morning I started to reason with God that I would soon be going into the ministry. So I told God that when He puts me in that place of ministry then I will be able to set that time aside to pray. He immediately responded to my comment by saying, “No, you learn to pray first and then you will be ready for the ministry.” Though it was not in audible words that I heard Him, it was loud and clear to my heart. From that day on I understood that I can never serve God and His sheep unless I really know Him and I can’t really know Him unless I talk with Him. From that day I also started an extended prayer life that continues to this day. I am so grateful to God that He helped me with my prayer life because it was only a few years after that in which I became a minister while continuing to run my business all the way to 2011. Through all those years, my mornings were devoted to seek my God and still are to this day. I have told you these testimonies not to boast on my prayer life, but to encourage you. If you are determined to have an exciting, yes exciting prayer life, it is within your grasp.

We have a shortage of praying saints today, yet prayer is one of the most important things we must do. We need saints who will be like the persistent widow.

 

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:1-8)?

 

Jesus told this parable to let us believers know that He desires to answer our prayers, and that we must not give up praying. In real life, if a widow would determine that the judge was never going to avenger her, she would quit pestering him. She would be a fool to get up in the morning and plan a visit to the judge, if she knew that he would reject her plea. To get up and go see that judge everyday would take confidence on her part that the judge would avenge her. Though we can never wear God out, he invites us to go to Him in prayer, like we would to a human being who would eventually give in because of our persistence. Let me interject right here that it isn’t self- centered prayers that God answers, but prayers that are according to His will. If you do pray according to God’s will then He is giving you assurance that He will answer.

There are a many reasons Christians struggle with prayer. Let me give you two reasons.

The first reason is that some Christians haven’t fully committed themselves to the Lord. They are living a carnal life by practicing sin and loving things of this world. It is only reasonable to understand that if a Christian is not in a right relationship with God he is not going to be too anxious to spend time with God. Just as a child who is disobeying mom and she says to him, “Wait until your father gets home,” that child is not excited about Dad coming home. If you are not living a life that pleases God you will tend to hide out from Him instead of longing for His presence. Adam and Eve use to meet with God in the cool of the day until they disobeyed Him, then they began hiding from Him.

The second reason saints don’t pray as they should is because they lack faith to petition God. When I was a kid, almost every time I asked my Dad for a dollar or two, he would give it to me. Since I knew he was willing to give me the money I had no problem approaching him to ask him. I never asked my Dad to give me a hundred dollars because I didn’t believe he would give it to me. The same thing holds true when we pray to God. When we pray to God, according to His will and believing He will hear our prayer, He is more than delighted to answer that prayer. After all, doesn’t He want the will of the Father done? Jesus said, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:12). I need to clarify again that we must pray according to His will. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Thy will be done.”

My prayer and hope is that every Christian understands the need to pray, especially in this dark hour we live, and make a determination to have a thriving prayer life with almighty God. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6).

The Sin Americans Are Unaware Of

By | Articles

When it comes to America having to answer to God for the sins she commits, abortion and acceptance of homosexuality have to be what we would consider some very grievous sins in the sight of God. Yet it only takes one little sin, one that we call a white lie, to damn a man for eternity. So sin is sin. God is a gracious God and He will, if asked with a repentive heart, forgive the vilest of sinners. There is a hymn which says, “Come ye sinners, lost and hopeless. Jesus’ blood can make you free. For he saved the worst among you, when He saved a wretch like me. And I know, yes I know, Jesus blood can make the vilest sinner clean.” Just as no sin is too little to separate us from God, no sin is too grievous that God will not forgive those who come to Him in repentance. As long as a man still has breath, he can call on God to save him from his sins and be made a brand new creature. Let me take a moment to shout, HALLELUJAH!

Let me get back to America, she is turning to sin and adding “sin to sin.” There is another sin which America is openly promoting that is very grievous before God and that seemingly goes unnoticed by most Americans. The reason for that is because many Americans are made to feel guilty if they would argue against it. This sin is so grievous to God that He even put it in a different category than other sins. Again I want to remind you that all sin offends God, but some sins result in harsher judgment and severe consequences. Consider Sodom and Gomorrah, God rained fire and brimstone on them for their obsession with homosexual sin. Remember what happened to Egypt when Pharaoh refused to humble himself before Almighty God. So this sin which America is committing will bring severe judgment and consequences upon our nation.

Before I expose this sin, I want to say one more thing about it. This sin is encouraged under the banner of good will toward man. It has become a lecture to all Americans by the politicians of our day. So what am I referring to? Let the scriptures reveal it.

 

“But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” ( I Timothy 5:8).

 

The word “infidel” means unbeliever. So what the scripture is saying is that the person who has responsibility for their household and does not provide for them, he is worse than an unbeliever. That poses a question. If an unbeliever is already going to hell, what can be worse than that? That is a good question. I will let you ponder on that. Certainly though, you can see that this sin of not taking personal responsibility to provide for your own is a grievous sin in the eyes of God.

So how is this sin committed in America? For several decades our politicians have been making it more and more convenient for Americans to depend upon their government. For example, during the Obama administration we have seen an increase, by over 50%, of those receiving food stamps. To some this is considered a good and compassionate thing to do. I agree that it is the duty of every American, especially Christians, to have compassion on their neighbor. It is the right thing to help those who are going through a time of need. But the underlying problem is that there is an encouragement coming from the top down to let the government and others take responsibility for your well-being. There is an effort to get all Americans to depend on the government. Those who want to go ahead and let the government take care of their lives don’t understand that they are also surrendering their freedom and giving control of their lives to some other people who really do not care about them. The talk of compassion by most of the politicians is all just a façade.

There is an attack on those who work hard and succeed in life. Much of the media makes it sound like every rich person is evil and every CEO of every company is out to put the common man under his thumb. There is this attitude being preached to our nation that if you are a business owner you are greedy and evil. I ran a small home remodeling business for 28 years before I retired to focus more on the church that I shepherd. I met all kinds of owners of construction businesses through the years. These men, for the most part, were decent, honest and hard working men. Of course, there are crooks in the remodeling business who give a bad name to the industry.

It is the entrepreneur spirit, the willingness to work hard to provide a good life for our families and the good will of many Americans that has made America a place of great prosperity and comfort. Of course, the number one reason America is blessed is because she has honored God and allowed the Bible to be the law we live by. America is also blessed because she has been a support and blessing to God’s chosen people, Israel. Today there has been a major shift. America is turning from God. America is breeding a new generation of Americans who are growing up being told that they are owed something. They are being told it is unfair that others have more than they do. They are being told that they are entitled to have things that they have not worked for. This is conditioning a generation of young people to be sluggards by excusing them of any responsibility for their own lives. Today we have quite a few babies being born with their mother and/or father expecting the state to provide for their child.

It is becoming more common for couples to live together instead of getting married. This again is another way people avoid personal responsibility. For some couples, if they would marry, it would mean an end to government handouts, so they just live together wanting the perks of marriage, but without the commitment. By the way, living in fornication is another grievous sin that is committed in our nation. You may be surprised how many people call themselves Christians and yet they live in fornication. I trust you are not one of them.

In conclusion, it is your duty before God, “…that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing” (I Thessalonians 4:11-12). When God created man, He created him right from the beginning to be workers with responsibility.

 

“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15).

 

Eyesalve: Power in the Leftovers

By | Eyesalve

“But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Matthew 15:26-27

 

This foreign, Syrophenician woman believed there was more power in Jesus’ left overs than much of the church believes in the gourmet.

Eyesalve: Flickering Flame

By | Eyesalve

Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.” Luke 3:17

 

I have often wondered why the Lord would not pour out the wind of His Spirit to fan the flame of churches who no longer have the fire, but have just become a flickering flame. In my estimation it would bring a revival to those churches.  However, he has showed me that the same wind that fans the flame and makes it even hotter can also blow out a small flickering flame.

Eyesalve: Such Preaching

By | Eyesalve

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Acts 2:37

 

We need such preaching again that cuts the heart of people so they ask “what shall we do,” instead of “what can I still do and be a Christian?”

Eyesalve: Testimony of Three

By | Eyesalve

And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 16And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:15-17

 

In this setting we read that Jesus spoke, the Spirit landed on Jesus and the Father spoke. This is the greatest testimony of three this world has ever known.