Archive for the ‘wilderness’ Category

Is God going Broke!

Posted: June 21, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, wilderness
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By Russ Welch

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matt 6:19-21)

It is interesting as I was studying Matt 6 this morning, I was led to vs 19-21. This message is something the Lord has been speaking to me for the past 18 months in regard to our hearts and minds set on heavenly things and not on worldly. As I was studying I crossed over into some of my study notes from a year ago, where I had put AW Pinks commentary on these verses:

“We are now to enter the fifth division of our Lord’s sermon, and as we do it is well to remind ourselves afresh of His first and primary design in this important address, namely to correct and refute the erroneous views of His hearers. The Jews held false beliefs concerning the person of the Messiah, the character of His mission, and the nature of the kingdom He would establish. As unregenerate men their views were carnal and mundane, self-centered and confined to things temporal.” ~AW Pink

As I read this I thought of my trip to Keystone Heights Florida yesterday to do a termite job – This town at one time was beautiful with lakes all around it. Yet today many of those lakes have shrunk to mere ponds, some even have dried up. As I drove out-of-town I started counting the Churches, and saw that there are 12 + churches for a town whose population is only a little over 1500. Three of the Churches were big enough to house 1000 plus.

The word drought and temporal kept running through my spirit last night. And this morning as I awoke and the Spirit led me back to Matthew chapter 6 I saw it all laid out. So many today who call upon the name of the Lord have yet to allow their carnal ways of thinking be put to death.

Keystone Heights has a population of less than 2000, so why do they need so many Churches and not only that what a waste of money, the Lord’s money they have splurged that they could show the world they have the biggest and best. Temporal the Lord says, for these to shall burn. All are vanity of the worst case, mere stubble and hay.

We are living in a day when the hearts of men are fixed upon the things of this world rather than the things of heaven and we are seeing these things begin to be exposed. We see record amounts of Churches being sold do to foreclosures on their buildings. In Florida alone since 2010 there have been more than 270 Churches lost to financial loss.

Is God’s treasure chest on the decline? Is our Father in Heaven running out of money?

I do not think so. I can remember the one thing that Holy Ghost ingrained in me when we started the nursing home ministry Mighty Arm Ministries in 2005 and the ministry school in 2006, walk into the Fathers blessing. It was so powerful I told our board that we would never borrow or finance and part of the ministry and then ask the Father to bless it. No, we would walk into the blessings of the Lord, that which He had ordained.

It brings to mind what Solomon wrote in proverbs not just once rather 3 times:

The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. (Prov 12:15)

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. (Prov 14:12)

There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Prov 16:25)

I said it several years ago and I say it again – We are in a season where the Spirit is pulling back the covers and revealing & exposing the naked things, the things hidden in secret which are not of the Fathers Will. Those places where the harlots have remained hidden in their whoredom, the untestable and blasphemies which are done in His House.We can see the Lord blowing a wind of holiness across the land which is blowing away the dust that has covered up and hidden His true purpose for His Bride in this and all other nations.

I could go on about what the Lord has shown me in regard to the spiritual drought, the illness that plagues His Church in this nation yet today I want to call upon our individual hearts. For these 2 verses are in regard to the Lord’s direct teaching to us firstly as individuals.

What captivates your heart today friend? Is it the treasures of heaven or the things of this world. What motivates you to work? Do you work simply to provide for your family, to pay for your house, cars and other luxuries of this world? Or are you driven to not only put food onto your table but to help put food on the tables of others as well?

I was speaking with a brother the other night in regard to the “Prosperity gospel” And I truly believe God does desire to prosper us, just not so we can attain the American dream, surrounding ourselves with the pleasures of this world. I pray that the Father would bless me with a Million dollars and the heart to go with it. For the carnal mind would confess it could never live in a one room home rather it desires pleasure and excess so give me a million dollar home. Me, I would rather have enough money to build a million homes for the homeless and the heart that is comfortable to live wherever the Lord calls me, even to a one room living space.

You will notice that the Lord end this message in verse 21 with:

“for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

So where is your heart today friend? Anchored to the things of this world or do you desire Jesus and Jesus alone?

For of you desire the things of this world, you have already received your reward which shall ultimately burn up. But O praise God for those who desire the Master and He alone, for none shall enter Heaven with out the Son and He desires that we come empty-handed with our hearts sworn to anyone or anything else save Him. For Jesus is the treasure that shall last for all eternity and if your hearts are fixed on anything else you will never be able to experience this treasure in Spiritual truth!

I can assure you that our Father in Heaven has not gone broke rather that much of the American Church has chosen the things of this world over the treasures of Heaven which have rendered many of them Spiritually bankrupt!!

I end this with one of my favorite songs which really brings home the message today:

Turn Your Eye’s Upon Jesus….

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Refrain

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conquerors we are!

Refrain

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Admitting we are unable open’s the door to God’s ability!!!

Posted: June 21, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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“Then he replied, “This is the word the Lord spoke to Zerubbabel: You won’t succeed by might or by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Armies. (Zech 4:6) There are so many messages just in this verse alone!

TO THE INDIVIDUAL:One can not over come sin nor even the temptation thereof by the sheer will of their determination. True victory only comes when we reach the place where we admit to our in ability (our weakness) and surrender to God’s total ability.

TO THE CHURCH:It’s not about your numbers, it’s not about the amount you receive in tithes and offerings, it not about the pastor being a great speaker, Nor your worship team being better than any other – It by His Spirit and His Spirit alone – for many are the houses that claim His Name yet few are they who have surrendered to His Spirit and His Will that He should come, and not just visit them, but make His abode!!

TO THE NATION: It doesn’t matter who is the head in the White House, it doesn’t matter how large ones military is. It matters not who rules the senate nor the house – a Nations strength lies within its total reliance upon the Lord and His Spirit. When a nation boast of its ability outside of the Lord, He shall pull back His hand of protection and let them see just how far “their strength” will take them!!!!

Many are they who in reference to this verse refer to it’s speaking of doing the work of God, and doing so follows a correct spiritual principle. When God does something, it is not done through physical strength. It is interesting that might literally means “arms,” and power refers to physical activity. The work of God is not going to be done through feats of arms, military victories, or anything that requires physical fighting or contention. Nor can it be accomplished by any amount of physical activity.

Yet we must come to the spiritual revelation of what this verse is saying for it matters not to the amount of work and effort that men put into it, they are not what will get God’s work done properly. They will be helpful, certainly, because God works though men, and men must exert themselves in order to do God’s will. Nevertheless, He says clearly here that all the credit goes to His Spirit. God Himself is at work! Our job is to submit, to do the things that must be done. We must do what the Spirit directs us to do, but God will receive the credit, not us. We could do none of these works by our own means.

For when we grasp all that Holy Ghost desires to teach us here, we shall see that God gives the ability. He gives the inspiration, the strength, and the endurance. He opens the doors. He supplies the manpower, the money, and the other resources to go through those doors. He supplies favor so that the doors can be opened. We merely walk through them.

One could very well say that God’s work is an act of grace. Then again one might conclude that it is a kind of oxymoron to say that work is done by grace, since we think of work and grace as two extremes, but they are not!

What comes first?

The grace comes first: God grants favor and gives gifts, then the work is done.

So where is the glory?

It appears in the grace. The effort comes afterward and accomplishes God’s will.

For by His great mercy are we saved and upon salvation Holy Ghost deposits grace into our lives, empowered with the revelation that we can overcome by our abilities but that through the empowerment of God’s abundant grace through the work of His Spirit shall we walk the narrow road victoriously.

For indeed, our God is a Mighty and Awesome God!!!

A total lack of respect in the Body!!!!

Posted: June 19, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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A total lack of respect in the Body!!!!

By Russ Welch

Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her  to make her holy, cleansing[a] her by the washing with water through the word,  and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself (Eph 5:22-33)

I agree with what Paul is saying here whole hearted – the question I have is how and when did the ways of the world get slipped in here – women’s lib and male egotism  – For I do not see where Paul says women disrespect your husbands until they become like Christ, nor husbands disrespect your wives until they learn to submit – Yet I see this being played out in marriages across the Church horizon and it really comes down to a total lack of respect on both parties. Even if your wife is the worst ever, we are still called to love them as Christ and if your husband is not any where near a saint leave alone Christ, the message of submitting has never been dismissed.

Many profess to be disciples of Christ yet their lives are lived as the disciples of the prince of Hell.

The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint,
and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.

Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,
and discerning if they hold their tongues. (Prov 17:27-28)

I listen to wives t& Husbands tare the other to shreds in public, many of the discussions which should be private are made public and we wonder why divorce is at a higher rate in the Church than in the world outside? I will tell you why, we have made a vow before God and God alone which we brake day in and day out – we cry to Him for Mercy yet His ears remain closed because we can not even show mercy unto one an other.

Are we the Bride that Christ is coming after?

If we treat our spouses with such disrespect we are in all reality treating God with the same disrespect.

It’s time we start living Bible rather than merely speaking Bible and this is in every area of our lives – not just in the public view but in the secret places as well – If not, we better get use to the rocks crying out the praises  of the Lord for the praise of the defiled will never reach heaven!

I myself believe that a family should worship together, pray together and battle the war of hell against the family together – when you separate one from the other you weaken the line and allow the enemy entrance. I do not see this as merely a personal opinion, I see it as scriptural sound and a mandate from the King Himself.

We need a radical transformation in our lives – a radical holy fire that will burn & put to death ever worldly thought that our minds may be transformed into Kingdom thoughts.

My take: Why my church rebelled against the American Dream

Posted: June 15, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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Editor’s Note: David Platt, Ph.D., is the author of the New York Times bestseller Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream and is senior pastor of the 4,000-member Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama.

By David Platt, Special to CNN

We American Christians have a way of taking the Jesus of the Bible and twisting him into a version of Jesus that we are more comfortable with.

A nice middle-class American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts.

A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who for that matter wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings comfort and prosperity to us as we live out our Christian spin on the American Dream.

But lately I’ve begun to have hope that the situation is changing.

The 20th-century historian who coined the term “American Dream,” James Truslow Adams, defined it as “a dream… in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are.”

But many of us are realizing that Jesus has different priorities. Instead of congratulating us on our self-fulfillment, he confronts us with our inability to accomplish anything of value apart from God. Instead of wanting us to be recognized by others, he beckons us to die to ourselves and seek above all the glory of God.

In my own faith family, the Church at Brook Hills, we have tried to get out from under the American Dream mindset and start living and serving differently.

Like many other large American churches, we had a multimillion-dollar campus and plans to make it even larger to house programs that would cater to our own desires. But then we started looking at the world we live in.

It’s a world where 26,000 children die every day of starvation or a preventable disease. A world where billions live in situations of such grinding poverty that an American middle-class neighborhood looks like Beverly Hills by comparison. A world where more than a billion people have never even heard the name Jesus. So we asked ourselves, “What are we spending our time and money on that is less important than meeting these needs?” And that’s when things started to change.

First we gave away our entire surplus fund – $500,000 – through partnerships with churches in India, where 41 percent of the world’s poor live. Then we trimmed another $1.5 million from our budget and used the savings to build wells, improve education, provide medical care and share the gospel in impoverished places around the world. Literally hundreds of church members have gone overseas temporarily or permanently to serve in such places.

And it’s not just distant needs we’re trying to meet. It’s also needs near at hand.

One day I called up the Department of Human Resources in Shelby County, Alabama, where our church is located, and asked, “How many families would you need in order to take care of all the foster and adoption needs that we have in our county?”

The woman I was talking to laughed.

I said, “No, really, if a miracle were to take place, how many families would be sufficient to cover all the different needs you have?”

She replied, “It would be a miracle if we had 150 more families.”

When I shared this conversation with our church, over 160 families signed up to help with foster care and adoption. We don’t want even one child in our county to be without a loving home. It’s not the way of the American Dream. It doesn’t add to our comfort, prosperity, or ease. But we are discovering the indescribable joy of sacrificial love for others, and along the way we are learning more about the inexpressible wonder of God’s sacrificial love for us.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my country and I couldn’t be more grateful for its hard-won freedoms. The challenge before we American Christians, as I see it, is to use the freedoms, resources, and opportunities at our disposal while making sure not to embrace values and assumptions that contradict what God has said in the Bible.

I believe God has a dream for people today. It’s just not the same as the American Dream.

I believe God is saying to us that real success is found in radical sacrifice. That ultimate satisfaction is found not in making much of ourselves but in making much of him. That the purpose of our lives transcends the country and culture in which we live. That meaning is found in community, not individualism. That joy is found in generosity, not materialism. And that Jesus is a reward worth risking everything for.

Indeed, the gospel compels us to live for the glory of God in a world of urgent spiritual and physical need, and this is a dream worth giving our lives to pursue.

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/23/my-take-why-my-church-rebelled-against-the-american-dream/

“I believe that David Platt is another Radical disciple of Jesus in our day, yet Christ calls each of us to be as radical as the disciples of the Bible” ` Radicaldisciples blog founder & Author Russ Welch

I’m Finally Obeying, and I Love It!

Posted: June 15, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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By Francis Chan

This is really sad…  Many years ago I was deeply convicted while preaching through the book of Luke.  When I got to Luke 14:12-14, I knew what I was supposed to do.  I planned on doing it.  I just never got around it.  Sound familiar?

In this passage, Jesus is speaking to the man who was hosting Him for a banquet…

He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

It seems like Jesus is saying we should literally have banquets for those who could never repay us.  It seems like it is good to have feasts for those who are rejected by others.  Yet I have spent my life taking friends out to dinner who often pay me back, inviting them to my house for dinner and letting them return the favor. Sure, I gave money to rescue missions to feed the poor for me.  But I had no idea the blessing that would come from doing it myself!

On Sunday night, some friends and I are throwing an elaborate banquet for people we have met in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco.  The banquet hasn’t even happened yet, and I’m already overwhelmed by the blessings I have received.

  1. 1.  The excitement I see in the faces of people when I tell them I want them to come to a banquet.  The shock when I tell them I’m bringing in chefs who will cook WHATEVER they would like to eat.  Steak?  Fish?  Lobster?  Anything.
  2. 2.  The women blushing and teary-eyed when I tell them my wife will take them shopping (Lisa’s spiritual gift) before the banquet.  “I haven’t gone shopping in years!” is a typical response.
  3. 3.  The fun of going the extra mile in making this memorable- getting photographers, decorations, live entertainment, expensive gifts…  We do this for donors, why not the least of these?
  4. 4.  The opportunity to tell them that this is a tiny glimpse of the riches He has in store for us in Heaven.
  5. 5.  The joy of resembling God as I offer grace to people who may reject it.  I have worried way too much about giving to people who may not appreciate my gifts or may squander them like a prodigal.  There’s certainly a time for prudence, but don’t miss out on opportunities to pour out undeserved favor.

The biggest thrill came yesterday as I was explaining the upcoming event.  I was giddy as I spoke about how these people have no idea what they are walking into.  I want to have so many surprises waiting for them when they arrive.  Then it hit me:  Is this how God feels about the banquet He is preparing for me?  Is He thinking, “Francis has no idea what I have in store for Him!”  I have always struggled with understanding and deeply believing His grace towards me.  God is using this event to put me in His shoes for a moment.  I can taste a bit of the thrill of being a grace giver.

Who knows?  Maybe those invited will get busy and decide not to come.  Then we’ll have to pull others off the street, clean them up, and bring them in.  That might end up being a blessing as well (Luke 14:15-24).

 

“This message was writing by Francis Chan, whom I consider to be a radical disciple of Jesus Christ” ~ Radicaldisciples blog Founder & Author Russ Welch

In order to be a true disciple the old man must die!!!

Posted: June 13, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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In the disciples life there must come a day, when like Matthew we leave the table from which the world has defined us. Like Peter we must drop the nets from which our source has come from and turn completely in the direction which points us to follow Christ, having left everything else behind.

Many are not able to make this turn, for they are fearful to leave behind what was, lacking the faith to fully trust that the Lord can completely take care of them. Like the passenger going on a long journey and told they can but bring one carry on bag they bring several and when they are refused entrance at the gate they turn and walk away.

We must be willing to lay down every aspect of our lives – our family, friends, work, heart and soul in order to be a true disciples of Christ for if we do not we can not take one step on the journey of discipleship. Jesus never once asked those He called to follow, to take the time to finish what they were doing or to wait till their house was in order. No His call to follow demanded an immediate & radical decision.

Many today wonder what is going wrong in their walk with the Lord yet in all honesty it has yet to begin, because they refuse to renounce the things of the past and come to Jesus just as they are with nothing else in hand. Some may have been called to follow Jesus having been a musician and they can not picture themselves as anything else so they attempt to start their journey as a musician and never get one foot on the road as a disciple because Jesus has called them to be His disciple and nothing else. The same can be said of a teacher, construction worker, doctor and the list goes on.

Now I am not saying one must quit their profession to follow the Lord but they must forget their identity as such for their identity now belongs to the Lord. He may well call us to stop doing what we are doing, to quit our profession but if we are unable to trust Him we can never begin the journey as a true disciples of the Lord.

In the same way we may be known as a drunk, an unfaithful husband, a thief or an un-trust worthy individual. Again we must lay down what was, in order to truly follow Christ. I am reminded of my favorite part in the movie “The passion of Christ” where Jesus has fallen and the cross comes crashing down on His head. His mother runs to His aid and He looks at her with and says with a mouth full of blood “Mother, look I make all things New”. He can not do this in our lives if we hold onto what our lives have been, unwilling to surrender that identity.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (1 Cor 5:17)

Many today still find their identity in who they were – an angry person, an unforgiving person etc. and this identity sticks to them like mud on a pig because they are unwilling to accept the Word of God as truth. But O glory to the Lord to those who can, for the blood of the Lamb washes the mud a way and indeed they become a new creation.

Our biggest enemy in this battle is not the Devil, it is our minds and heart which are unwilling to step in faith and instead reside in the valley of doubt. This is something I see so often and when I questioned Holy Ghost about it He said it is because they have yet to meet the real Jesus. They have been bombarded with a false gospel which portray as god with a magic wand, who simple zaps people and wham they are completely obedient and holy.

Yet this is not the Gospel of the Bible, for the Gospel of the Bible speaks of us making the step towards Christ having had our heats pricked by Holy Spirit to a place of surrender, of faith and a desire to turn from the old things and follow Christ that He may indeed make all things new. It is about surrendering our will to be subject to His will and His will alone. It is a process in which we must be willing to allow Holy Ghost to put to death the old man that we having been baptized in Christ death, be rising a new creation. (Rom 6:3-6)

To sum it all up We must count the cost of following Jesus in order to become an authentic or true disciple of Jesus Christ. The cost of being an authentic disciple is forsaking everything to follow Jesus Christ in whole-hearted obedience. This is made very clear in the passage Luke 14:25-33, with Jesus ending with the words in verse 33 “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”

In order to be genuine disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ we must be willing to die to our self, with our sinful fleshly nature, in order to follow and obey Him. Our lives can no longer be lived according to our fleshly desires, selfishness, and self centered ways. As authentic disciples we must learn to surrender all and yield everything in our lives to Him as the Lord of our lives. We must remember He is Lord of our hearts and rules over everything in our lives; otherwise He is not truly Lord of our lives.

The journey of discipleship following Christ will cost us everything yet at the same time it is a journey which ends not simply with a crown, it ends with an eternity of being with Jesus. Just being with Jesus is a reward that no price can be put on. Once you see the true Jesus, such love for Him will make everything else pale in comparison.

If you have yet to enjoy to fruit of being a true disciple of Christ, if you have not experienced such a close relationship with Him I challenge you to get on your face before the Lord and cry out to be truly saved and do not get up until He answers you. And trust me you will now because that peace that passes all worldly understanding will wash over you like the ocean.

Lest we think we are above judgement!!!

Posted: June 12, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, wilderness
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An Old Testament message to Israel, is speaking to in Church of America & Europe in our day and of what has & what will continue to happen if she repents not (The House of God):

“Rebuke your mother, rebuke her,
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous look from her face
and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
Otherwise I will strip her naked
and make her as bare as on the day she was born;
I will make her like a desert,
turn her into a parched land,
and slay her with thirst.
I will not show my love to her children,
because they are the children of adultery.
Their mother has been unfaithful
and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
who give me my food and my water,
my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’
Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will look for them but not find them.
Then she will say,
‘I will go back to my husband as at first,
for then I was better off than now.’
She has not acknowledged that I was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,
who lavished on her the silver and gold —
which they used for Baal.

“Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens,
and my new wine when it is ready.
I will take back my wool and my linen,
intended to cover her naked body.
So now I will expose her lewdness
before the eyes of her lovers;
no one will take her out of my hands.
I will stop all her celebrations:
her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.
I will ruin her vines and her fig trees,
which she said were her pay from her lovers;
I will make them a thicket,
and wild animals will devour them.
I will punish her for the days
she burned incense to the Baals;
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers,
but me she forgot, ”
declares the Lord. (Hosea 2:1-13)

The Lord was speaking of Israels adultery here in regard to her desiring and submitting to with a deep lust and hunger for the ways of the world, and so does He speak to His Church in our day!!!!!

A cleansing Fire is coming!!!

Posted: June 8, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, wilderness
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How is that some Christians can get so caught up in the politics of the land – yet are passionless as to taking the principals of the Kingdom outside the 4 walls (You know, like Jesus and His disciples did) – They will call everyone’s attention to appose a politician or policy yet never once rally God’s people to take to the streets and feed the homeless, care for the orphans or visit the widows (You know like Jesus commanded us to do) –

Sad to see leaders who proclaim to have the passion of the Lord yet their actions show but the passions of worldly kingdoms. God is not worried about the politicians and politics of America – He is more angered by the harlots who have taking over His house and brought the wisdom of the world into the pulpit in direct opposition to what He has commanded –

They shout Jesus didn’t say to build His Church – yet they attempt to build and market theirs like the businesses of the world – They cry revival fire is going to start in our House – but I hear the Spirit of the Living God saying He shall breath new life into, a baptism of Holy Ghost Fire upon those who are looked down upon and He will raise up an Army of dry bones, from the very streets that these hireling harlots have forsaken, and His Army of Holy Ghost filled disciples shall enter His Houses of worship, being consumed by His Fire and clear out the dross and corruption and make way for His Glory to flood and transform this land!!!

All are not called to evangelize, Right?

Posted: April 8, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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All are not called to evangelize, Right?

by Russ Welch

The Lord really poured it on me this morning as I was preparing for the nursing home – Of course I was looking to speak about the Resurrection – yet over the past several months the theme of Evangelism has been in our conversations heavily (The Lord & I) I shared what He gave me this morning with both barrels blazing and Praise God they not only received, I got a double portion of it as the Lord dug it deeper into my spirit.

 

The message was about coming out of the grave “ourselves” and having been baptized with Christ in death, we come out the other side resurrected  in the NEW Life of Spiritual rebirth in Jesus Christ – and in such the old nature has passed away as have the desires of this world –

 

Now we read the Word and see this truth for John got it, Peter, James, Philip, Paul , and the other disciples got it- Along with many others throughout the generations – That soul shaken powerful revelation of the resurrection power – Such a revelation moves ones heart to share the gospel with everyone before the hour comes (The Bible speaks of such an hour) when the Heavens shall be closed and they shall no longer will hear His voice. We can not continue to remain asleep, we must be awakened to the True Spiritual Truth.When one has truly grasped the Resurrection and what it entails for us the believer we walk in a new spiritual dimension of authority and power – it is then we see the power of the resurrection flowing thru our hands and the sick are healed, blind eyes are opened, deaf ears hear,  all praise and glory to God, it is then the dead are raised.

 

You see when one gets the clear picture of what God did in raising His Son from the dead, we realize that God left nothing unfinished – and He shall leave nothing unfinished in the lives of those who are as surrendered to Him, as was His Son, knowing that the cross was not the end of the finished work. No the truth is that the finished work was finished upon the rising of Christ Jesus from the Grave – For it was then that the power of death (sins penalty) was crushed, Glory to God for then the final verdict that sins penalty of death could not hold the Messiah and all Praise to His Name it cannot hold His disciples either!!!

 

………That trail is too deep to write down right now so I will get back to the evangelism part.

 

You see,  it is when one has been put to death – that is in regard to ones desires, their selfish ambitions. For there we find ourselves, on the other-side of the baptism, not the going under but the coming up, new an refreshed for we have now come thru that resurrection power. It is at that moment that something is transferred into our spirit, the very power of Christ’s character especially in regard to the hunger for the lost. Oh man how I can remember this, when I gave my life to the Lord at 15, having heard a message from David Wilkerson at one of his crusades in Bangor, Maine. I was on fire to share the gospel message, I even preached to my dog, yet slowly with out fellowship, without soaking in the Word, without fellow believers help these flames burnt out. (Oh Lord revive the doctrines of true discipleship according to Your teachings)

 

Now as the Lord was sharing this with me I really had to set back and take this in, having come out from years of teachings in regard to “Gifts” and the offices of such. Yet Holy Ghost showed me that much of that which I any many others have been taught has been false doctrines and we have been deceived to feed the laziness and prideful ego’s of those that have taught us. For theirs is about building and promoting programs and names for themselves so they dismiss the lack of evangelism as they are operating in a different gift.

 

Now, Holy Ghost took me on a journey thru the history of the Church right back to the upper-room. If we study the Word we see that all the followers of Christ after Pentecost were evangelistic even as was the Lord. Some did indeed operate in certain gifting s yet they we all related to reaching the lost and nurturing the new babes. So in reality the enemy has attempted (and done a good job is some instances) of stripping the Church from it’s true call and turned its focus back to individualism i.e. all about me and what I can get from God. This was not the teaching of Jesus nor that of the apostles – The Apostles walked in the authority of the commission Jesus gave upon His returning to Heaven:

 

And Yeshua spoke with them and he said to them, “All authority has been given to me in Heaven and in the earth; in the manner in which my Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  “Therefore go disciple all the nations and baptize them in the name of The Father and The Son and The Spirit of Holiness.”  “And instruct them to keep everything whatever I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you every day, even unto the end of time. Amen” (Matt 28:18-20)

 

Today we have Churches filled with people who believe they have been excused from service because they do not have the “gift” of evangelism. We have men and women in the pulpits who call themselves shepherds with not one once of desire for true evangelism – thus we have nation which houses of God are filled with false Shepherds for I find no verifiable evidence in the Bible that one can lead a Church and have no hunger for the Lost. Oh they will call themselves prophets and apostles and such but they are as Paul and Peter would warned, wolves in sheep’s clothing. For when you look at the  true prophets of the Lord in the Bible they were those calling people back to God, not unto themselves with false words of prosperity that keep the people chained to their every word. Or the true apostles for that matter, they operated in all the gifts till the Lord matured those in the groups to rise up – yet each gift was focused on ministering too, edifying and instructing the saints along with evangelizing the people around them.

 

It really hit me hard as the Lord shared this with me for not only was I taught wrong (not by all those teachers in my past), I had also taught others wrong encouraging their disobedience by excusing their lack of desire to reach the lost with “Well maybe that’s not your gifting”. I praise God that over the past 2-3 years Holy Ghost has been cutting away at these false teachings and has been replacing with with the pure doctrines of Christ our Lord.

 

The honest to goodness scriptural truth is friends, when it come to the lost around us we are all called to reach out to them – if we do not have the hunger and drive to do so we need to firstly repent for being disobedient and secondly ask the Father to allow us to experience the true power of the resurrection – For then our hearts will be filled with the same compassionate Fire for the lost that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ HAS…..

 

So the good news is up to this point you may not have known the truth – The bad news is Now you have heard it so you must either obey the Lord or walk away even as those who heard the message on the flesh & the Blood = For from this day forth you are definitely without excuse!!!!!!

 

But hey, that His (Holy Ghost’s) Story and I am sticking to it.

 

All I know is that we do serve an Awesome God!!!!!

Has the Church been sold back to slavery?

Posted: March 7, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
Tags: , , , , , , ,
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Has the Church been sold back to slavery?

by Russ Welch

We live in a day when slavery has surpassed any other generation along with that we are faced with imprisoning vices on all sides. Has the Church grown powerless or has it in a large part sold out to the customs of this world?

We must, as radical Christians realize that “Though worldly cultures and customs are apt to change with each generation the culture and customs of the Kingdom of God are eternal!

There appears to be a war within the very House of God, the lines have been drawn and the gulf is getting larger and larger. The liberal Christians [Those accustomed to feeding the flesh] have drawn a line called legalism and regretfully many good intentioned Christians have taking a stance that any social justice is outside of their calling.

For a number of generations the Church has remained silent on subjects that it should have released the roar of Heaven over. Today we see human trafficking happening right here in the USA and the Church to a large part remains silent

Why? Has the Church become ruled by a King other than our Christ? Has in it in its attempts to avoid taxes sold out its sovereignty to the Government of this land?  And in doing so has it sold its authority and power to that of the rule of mere men?

Immorality indorsed by national leaders!

When we see young ladies seated before the government of this world proclaiming a life of sexual immorality many are more outraged that people would question her life style rather than the fact that she is living a immoral life and expects others to pay for it.

We have the leader of this nation saying she should be proud. The very same leader who stated if his daughters had a “mistake”, he would not expect them to live with that mistake, rather that they should have an abortion! Since when is a creation of God labeled a “mistake?

This nation voted in the last presidential election with their first gripped about their wallets, while seated upon their morals and hide the Bible and any sense of Christian values in the closet. Saul this nation wanted, and Saul the Lord has giving this nation. And many Church leaders in this nation not only endorsed this mane, they proclaimed him as the hope of this nations future!!!

What has happened to America and especially the American Church (Maybe that is the problem ,it is the American Church and not Christ’s Church).

Idols of the American Church setting the stage for immorality.

Today sexual immorality has become a large scale erosion of the character of men and women within the Church it self along with greed and selfish ambition.

We have high profile pastors such as Paula White and Eddie Long who can divorce their husbands and wives and still be promoted as good, ethical, moral, holy and righteous Church leaders by the Main Stream Christian circles.  We have pastors committing horrendous sexual acts and paying off their accusers and the stories swept under the carper. We have high profile pastors being brought up on corruption and tax evasion charges, yet told this is part of the persecution of the saints!

What this is a corrupted generation of leadership at its best and they are trying to hide under the guise of holiness and proclamations of self induced persecution because they have not only broken the laws of the land, they have broken the very laws of a Holy God!!

We can see that 1Timothy 6 states a clear picture of our day;

A godly life brings huge profits to people who are content with what they have. We didn’t bring anything into the world, and we can’t take anything out of it. As long as we have food and clothes, we should be satisfied.

 But people who want to get rich keep falling into temptation. They are trapped by many stupid and harmful desires which drown them in destruction and ruin. Certainly, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people who have set their hearts on getting rich have wandered away from the Christian faith and have caused themselves a lot of grief. (1 Tim 6:6-10)

Now Paul instructs Timothy how to battle such a plaque in verses 11-21;

But you, man of God, must avoid these things. Pursue what God approves of: a godly life, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the Christian faith. Take hold of everlasting life to which you were called and about which you made a good testimony in front of many witnesses.

 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and in the sight of Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony in front of Pontius Pilate, I insist that, until our Lord Jesus Christ appears, you obey this command completely. Then you cannot be blamed for doing anything wrong. At the right time God will make this known. God is the blessed and only ruler. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the only one who cannot die. He lives in light that no one can come near. No one has seen him, nor can they see him. Honor and power belong to him forever! Amen.

 Tell those who have the riches of this world not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, they should place their confidence in God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. Tell them to do good, to do a lot of good things, to be generous, and to share. By doing this they store up a treasure for themselves which is a good foundation for the future. In this way they take hold of what life really is.

 Timothy, guard the Good News which has been entrusted to you. Turn away from pointless discussions and the claims of false knowledge that people use to oppose the Christian faith. Although some claim to have knowledge, they have abandoned the faith. (1 Tim 6:11-21 GWT)

If we opened up the Bible to Romans Chapter 1, we would see that we are living in the very days described therein.

Has the Church taking a step backwards?

Sadly many in the Church today have taking on the Garden Mentality” in that they believe they question every aspect of God’s Word if it intrudes in their own life style and agenda not realizing that they are surrendering the very liberty that the Word brings to their lives.

Those of the grace, grace, grace movement who cry out “legalism” the loudest have birthed a generation of rebellious, anti –obedience people who have set them selves in the very seats of those whose name they label all who would disagree with them “Pharisees”. They claim to live a life filled with grace, yet they attitude towards those who are not holding to their doctrines is nothing short of that which John the Baptist called the Pharisees of his day “Brood of vipers” for they would eat their own if they disagreed with.

We must take a radical stand in our day and open the prison doors!!!

Unless the Church radically falls upon it’s face and repents and returns the sovereign rule of the House of God back to Jesus and out of the hands of men, this generation will not see the Glory of the Lord falling upon the earth.

We must wake up for the harvest fields are white before us, we must be willing to go on radical fasts, spend radical amounts of time engulfed in the Word of God & in prayer. We must radically raise our voices in the face of such rebellious acts against the Lord and His Word.

We must be a people who are radical in grace and mercy, who radically change our life styles of comfort in to that of servants. We must go into the highways and byways. We must not cower before the calls of social justice rather we must radically grab hold of these causes and impart the compassion, grace and mercy of our God into these situations.

We must radically change how we tithe and give of gifts. We must radically change our self-willed lives into that of Spirit lived lives.

Yet in all these things we must realize that we, in and of ourselves can not do it.

No, my friends, we must take that radical step towards the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Radically surrendering our wills and picking up our own crosses that have been dipped in His blood, baptized in His death and walk the life of obedient disciples, laying our lives down daily for the sake of the Kingdom of God, for the sake of the Gospel Message, for the sake of a lost and dying world, for the sake of seeing our lives break forth in such a way that His Glory is released throughout the world via broken and surrendered vessels such as we are called to be!!!

Let us step out of the prison of self indulgence today and into that of Radical Disciples of Jesus Christ for indeed we do serve an Awesome and Mighty God!!!!

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