Tag

power

Apr 29 2016
0

But In Demonstration

By | Articles

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (I Corinthians 2:1-5).

 

Many Christians want to hear practical messages from scripture that teaches how to have health and prosperity and how to live successfully in our society. The preachers who master how to preach and teach these things as if that is what the word of God is all about, are the most popular preachers. The better they can do that, the bigger their churches are and greater is the number are those who follow them. Look at Joel Osteen, the pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, the largest Protestant church in America. The sanctuary seats 16,800 people. They estimate that over 45,000 people attend Lakewood Church every week. Joel is a master at making people feel real good. He is a bestselling author and has written many books. Here are the names of some of them. “You Can, You Will, The Power of I AM, Your Best Life Now, and Become a Better You” (emphasis added). Is there anything that stands out to you in these titles? I helped you see it by emboldening some of the words so they would catch your eye. Do you understand that these titles are all about YOU? All four of these books seem to focus on man and what is best for him. How is it that Christians who read the Bible, which is all about Christ, then go and write books that are all about man? I do have to confess that I have not read any of these books, and have no interest in doing so. The titles alone tell me what is in the pages of these books. When I first heard the title, “The Power of I AM,” it made me shudder. When I saw “Become a Better You” at the book store my immediate response was, “I don’t want to be a better me, I want the ME to die.” All the problems God ever had with me is the ME. I need to get ME out of the way.

I suppose if we could ask Christians, who regularly attend church, what they expect their pastors to preach and teach, some would say they would like more expository teaching. Some would say they want messages that apply to everyday practical living. Others may say they want the pastor to search out all the Hebrew and Greek words so they can get a better understanding of the scriptures. Others may want a fiery message with the preacher raising his voice. Some like a well-outlined teaching with worksheets to fill out. None of these things are necessarily wrong, but none of these are the answer to what is missing from today’s preachers. There is an incredible high regard for the teachers who are intellectuals. Our society is enamored with smart men with degrees. I think many Christians think that of all the men who have searched out all the Bible doctrines, that if anyone knows what they are talking about it has to be our intelligent Bible teachers. I have nothing against intelligence, even though I am not intelligent. You might not want to read anymore articles after I tell you this, but I only graduated from high school. I am just a dumb construction worker turned preacher.  However, I see far too many preachers and teachers trusting in their intellect and ability to articulate than in the power of God. The greatest thing we need from our preachers today is for them to preach with a demonstration of Spirit and power.

People get tired of talkers after a while. They especially get tired of preachers who talk, but never say anything with substance. They are tired of preachers who talk and lack authority in their words. Worse than that, people get offended when preachers talk and then live a life contrary to what they preach. Our society does not need talkers, our churches don’t need a speech; they need a demonstration of Spirit and power. Did you notice in our scripture text the word “Spirit” is capitalized? This indicates to us that the demonstration is from God (and not from our own human spirit) which results in man being a spirited preacher. We need preachers who demonstrate through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our generation needs a demonstration not a hollow message. They need powerful messages, not just good ones. They need a message that is authenticated by the Spirit of God.

Those who listened to the Pharisees week after week and year after year, were greatly moved when Jesus spoke. “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29). There was another time when the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to arrest Jesus. When the officers came to Him and heard Him speaking, they returned back to them without arresting Jesus. When asked why, “The officers answered, Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46).

The devil has mastered clever speech. The devil even used scripture when he was trying to tempt Jesus. Satan has a counterfeit for a lot of things. The devil can do a lot of things, but there is one thing he cannot do and that is speak with the power and anointing of God. It is only we believers who have such a privilege. Motivational speakers can speak to and move the emotions of men, but the Holy Spirit deals directly with the spirit of man. Feelings and emotions can, and often do follow, but feelings alone do not prove a message has authority.

The Apostle Paul was a highly trained and educated man, so again you don’t have to be stupid to be used of God. God uses the “whosoever.” However, God doesn’t call, “…many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble… (I Corinthians 1:26), but that doesn’t mean He doesn’t call any. So if you are highly intelligent, give God the glory for it and use it for His glory, just like Paul did. When it came down to it, Paul said his effectiveness wasn’t in being a Hebrew of Hebrews or in his great learning at the feet of the Pharisee Gamaliel. Paul said, “In mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” (Romans 15:19). I remember coming upon this verse back in 1999 as I was preparing for a message. I read it and said, “Where has this verse been all my saved life?” Well you know it has always been in the Bible. Maybe it never stood out because few seem to believe it anymore and few dare preach it.

Saint of God, there is nothing more our preachers need then to once again preach with a demonstration of Spirit and power. There is nothing more this world needs from you as well than to preach with a demonstration of Spirit and power.

Apr 15 2016
0

Eyesalve: Get a Reaction

By | Eyesalve

“Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you… Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!… Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” Acts 24:25, 26:24,28

 

Paul testified before two governors and one king. He got a reaction out of all three. Felix got scared, Festus told Paul he was a mad man and King Agrippa was almost persuaded to be a Christian. The scriptures do not tell us if any of these men were persuaded to the point that they become a Christian, but one thing is clear, Paul preached with authority and power. We believers don’t save souls, we preach to them. We must preach to get a reaction. Not by irritating people so they finally shout back in anger, but with genuine Holy Ghost authority. You cannot do this unless you are filled with the Spirit. We don’t need evangelism techniques and outreaches, we need believers to be filled with the Spirit.

Apr 11 2016
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Eyesalve: Delivered From Sin’s Power

By | Eyesalve

“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” Col. 1:13

 

Christians can fall into having secret sin. Secret sin is something that is done very privately and has become very hard to get the victory over it. One of the reasons there may be a struggle with secret sin is because a believer’s faith can waver at times. They can forget that our Heavenly Father has delivered them from the power of darkness. They can begin to doubt that He continues to deliver them from the power of darkness. If you are one that is struggling with secret sin, rise up in faith again, repent and believe God for that power to deliver you.

Mar 22 2016
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Eyesalve: They Do The Work

By | Eyesalve

“And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:” Jn. 20:22

 

Just as God breathed into Adam’s nostrils and he became the first living soul, Jesus breathed on His disciples and they became the first to be born of the Spirit. That very day was the first day that men were BORN AGAIN. From that day on the Spirit of God would dwell in men. 49 days later believers were filled with the Spirit which would usher the born again man out into a dark world and give him the power and boldness to speak against that darkness. Some men want to be filled with the Spirit, but have never been born again; that won’t work. Some believers want salvation, but don’t want to be filled; they don’t work. And last, some believers are filled with the Spirit; they do the work.

Oct 07 2015
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Eyesalve: We Dare Not

By | Eyesalve

“Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” Zech. 4:6

Quote from Wesley L. Duewel. “There is no substitute for the power of God. There is no substitute for the Throne of Grace. We dare not be busier than we are blessed. We dare not attempt more than we can saturate with prayer. We dare not be more active than we are anointed. We dare not substitute our training or our brilliance for fire touched glory. We dare not be satisfied with growth without revival. We dare not multiply our projects unless we also multiply the power.”

Sep 18 2015
1

The Lord’s Burden

By | Articles

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30)

For anyone to be told, that if they become a Christian, they will no longer have any burdens, they would be told a great lie. There is no doubt that after we become a Christian God helps is in our troubles and cares of life, for Peter said:

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (I Peter 5:7)

However, in this life we will have much tribulation. God will comfort us in it, but mark it down, you will have it. Trials, tribulations and temptations come to every true born again believer. Then add to that, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (II Timothy 3:12), you can see the Christian is under a lot of pressure. However, as hard as it may all seem to be to walk after the Lord at times, Jesus did say, “My burden is light.”
When we think of burdens we tend to think of the pressures that come from the devil, this world and just life in general; But according to our opening text, there is a yoke and burden that comes from God Himself. He has a burden for each of us to carry. His burden is different than the burdens we face. His burden doesn’t come from the pressure of being overwhelmed with something, His burden comes from the love He has for his fallen creation. He has such a great desire to see them restored to Himself that he sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die and purchase men’s souls. This desire that God has for restoration is what I call the Lord’s burden. For example, when God calls someone to go to the mission field in another country, the person who is called will feel and share the burden the Lord has for the lost souls in that country. They will share in the burden to such a point that they will give up their life back home to go and labor amongst the people. They will labor with the hope of seeing them come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
As I mentioned before, God has a burden for each of us to bear. Some burdens may be heavier than others, but we all share in the Lord’s burden in some way. I want to share a burden the Lord has put on my heart. This burden is real and I especially feel it the most when I am in my morning prayer time, though that is not the only time. Most days when I get into serious prayer, I feel that burden. As the months go by, I feel the burden grow even stronger. What is that burden? It is a burden that God has for His church here in Wisconsin. God doesn’t just have a burden for the lost, but He also has a great burden for His church. I tell my church often that there are two main works of God toward mankind. The first is to see fallen man restored to Him. The second is for his born again children be conformed to the image of Christ. Much of what God does is working toward these ends. When souls are lost, the Lord has a burden toward them for repentance. When souls get saved, the Lord has a burden toward them for conformity to Christ.
The burden that is so ever pressing on me from the Lord has to do with His church. So many Christians are willing to settle for a church lacking life and having a low impact on society. Many Christians would just as soon get in and get out of a church meeting as quickly as possible, so they can get on with other things they feel are more important. You can hardly blame some of them that attend a dead church, for if the Lord is not present when the church meets then it will be a very boring religious meeting.
The burden the Lord has put on my heart is for his church to once again have the life that she had back when she was first established. It is important that you understand that the Lord holds us accountable for the condition of His church. The ministers that He has called are the ones that are the most responsible for the condition of the church. If the pastor of a church is not spiritual, for the most part the church won’t be either. Yet no believer can stand before the Lord and blame their spiritual shortcomings on the pastor. Here in Wisconsin, I am sure every believer has a Bible and they can have access to the Holy Spirit who will teach them all truth.
Every one of you believers have the ability to rise above the prevailing attitude of the church today. This is what the Lord desires to see. He wants to see his church be totally devoted to Him, to repent of unbelief and rise up and be the church that God has intended for His church to be.
Do you believe the church can be like the church we read about in the book of Acts? I do. We can never be that if we don’t believe this is God’s will for us. God ordained His church to go forth with unity and power. So many believers have given up on unity. They figure there are so many denominations as well as many independent churches, all having their special doctrinal beliefs, that they don’t see how the church could possibly be like-minded again. Well I want to tell you, I am sincere as can be when I say this, I am convinced that the Lord is going to bring many of us believers together that will be like-minded. It will because we have allowed the Holy Spirit to correct or strengthen everything we believe. If we believe wrong then the Holy Spirit will correct what’s wrong, and the humble saint will receive that and make that correction in his heart. The proud stubborn believers will go on to believe what they want to believe.
For the church to be like the church in the book of Acts, we need to have the power and authority of God like they had. The early church had brought fear on their society.

“And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things” (Acts 5:11).

However, we are such a self-sufficient and creative people that we have come up with our own soul winning techniques. We rarely see miracles today because so much of the church doesn’t even believe in them anymore.
Today the church at best is a nuisance to our society, and often times a laughing stock as the lost of this world see ministers fall into immorality or be nothing but money grubbers. I ask you to share this burden for the church here in Wisconsin with me, and diligently and fervently pray that we would all yield to the Holy Spirit and give Him complete control of Christ’s church again? I ask you to believe with me that we really can have true spiritual unity. Believe with me for a return of power and authority that the church can do more than preach, THAT WE CAN DEMONSTRATE WITH SPIRIT AND POWER THAT OUR GOD LIVES AND REIGNS.

Terry Fischer

Aug 04 2015
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Eyesalve: As His Custom Was

By | Eyesalve

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” Luke 4:16

Jesus returned to Nazareth after He was filled with the Spirit. He did not come to the synagogue trying to eliminate tradition and custom. He went there as was “His custom.” The difference is He brought authority and power with Him. So many Christians hate tradition. When tradition overrules the ministry of the Holy Spirit than I can see why. That is when tradition is definitely wrong. However, getting rid of traditions and customs in the church is not the answer. We need the power of the Spirit to take away the deadness of tradition. We need the Spirit to bring life to our assemblies so our traditions aren’t even noticed.

Aug 03 2015
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Eyesalve: Return

By | Eyesalve

“And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.” Lk. 4:14

Jesus left Galilee a perfect man and returned to Galilee a perfect Spirit filled man. How we need the church to return “in the power of the Spirit.” How we need the church to return to her roots of Holy Spirit power and authority. Saints, please pray and believe for this.

Jun 16 2015
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Eyesalve: Satan Can’t Imitate

By | Eyesalve

“Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,” II Thes. 2:9

Satan can imitate signs and wonders and gifts of the Spirit. He can masquerade as an angel of light, but there is one thing he can never imitate and that is God’s love.

Jun 09 2015
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Eyesalve: Lord, Give Us Confidence

By | Eyesalve

“And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.” II Ki. 5:3

What confidence this little maid had of the God of Israel. She was convinced that if Naaman could get to the prophet in Israel, he would be made clean. Lord, let it be that we too can have such confidence that we can tell those that need a touch, need a miracle and needing a cleansing that there is a prophet in Israel. Lord give us confidence that we can say there is a church, a people in the community, where God’s presence and power abides.