I have not written much lately but this time I must proclaim the wondrous workings of our God and at the same time send out an admonishment within the body of Christ! Let the Holy Spirit prick your consciences, be humble before the throne of grace, weep before our Lord for mercy if He shows this applies to you. The word states in 1 Peter 4:17: For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end of them that obey not the gospel of God? I would encourage you to read the entire 4th chapter of 1 Peter here.We are but a small cluster, in the body of Christ, who meets each Sunday in one of the parks here in Phoenix. We have no building made of stone but we are lively stones lifting up our hands to the praise and worship of our Lord Jesus Christ! What an incredible privilege it is to be His hands, His arms, His mouth and His body in this world where death, physically and spiritually surround us. We have had rain the last few Sundays we have met there and sometimes it is really chilly to be outside. Some of us have to travel 20 to 30 miles to get to the park. Some with vehicles that are in need of repair, but our Lord gives us the means to be there. His grace is sufficient! We have prayed before these meetings asking Him to make the rain cease. We have seen His hand, part the clouds so it is raining nearby but not over where we meet. Then to have the rain begin back up once the meeting is finished! We are cold, we are out of our safety zone. I am not tooting anyone’s horns here, I am simply stating and proclaiming the grace of our Lord. He wants our obedience better than sacrifice. We didn’t understand why He wanted us to meet out in the open at first but now we understand and Praise His Name!Yes, we could meet in a home or another building but what would that do for the dying world around us? We have elected to meet people at their point of need, out in the open, in the park. There we are finding those who once walked with Him, those who are discouraged, who are in despair, those who need to know Christ but have been turned off by the hypocrisy they have been met with in the structured church meetings, those who are hurting, the hungry, the homeless. Yes, those who are homeless by not having a place to live for whatever the reason but also those who are homeless (without Christ) but live in homes. We as a body need to step out of our comfort zones. We need to take a look around us. There is a dying world around us and we need to be reminded of this! Christ called us all to be His body! He has given us what we need to do the work ahead of us. He has given us His Word! Yet, how many of us spend more time watching football, soap operas or other programs on the TV than we do in His word? Would Jesus be able to sit on that couch or chair next to you and watch what you are watching? How does what is being watched line up with the word of God? How many of us get caught up in the social events but forget to spend time with Him in prayer? How many cry out when they need something from His hand but forget about Him until the next time?Matthew 15:7-9 clearly states: Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you saying:This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.Mark 7:9 takes it one step further:And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.The Pharisees knew the law but Matthew 23:3 states: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and DO; but do not ye after their works: for they say and do not. We ourselves sometimes confuse head knowledge with heart knowledge. Is the word in your heart? Do you really hear what the Spirit of God is saying?Let me state here, I know that, there are others whose hearts cry out this same message. I know there are those on this site who hunger and thirst for more, but I am challenging each of us to look deeper.. LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THE LORD…LET OUR LORD TALK TO YOU TODAY, just as He spoke with Adam in the Garden of Eden before the fall… God the Father longs for our fellowship with Him, His Heart is that, None should perish. Each of us have a ministry within our own families, friends and the people He places in our paths. What are we doing sitting back and making excuses or acting like the world? The children of Israel wandered for 40 years and never made it into the promised land, why??? Do we want to repeat their mistake or learn from it?Today we saw Him working miracles right in front of our eyes. Most would not recognize them as such because there are so many other distractions in our world so many traditions of men around us. Today, we watched as the homeless came up to our small group, one with questions, some with hunger pains, some thirsty. Today, we watched as one man rode his bike right up to the group, sat down and listened to the Word. We were able to give him some food but mostly, we were able to pray for him that he receive the healing he needs. We say Jesus working right there in our mist!! We stand in awe, that when our hearts are toward God, the many works He will do when we listen to the Spirit. To see a man sitting on a park bench, sobbing so hard that his body quivered so that it was unmistakable. Walking up to him with a bottle of water, placing it on the table and a tissue in his hand. With a hug to his shoulders, having him look up with tears running down his cheeks and say, “Why are you being so nice to me?” To tell him, because Jesus loves him… that is ONLY A PART of what this park ministry is about… SPREADING THE LOVE OF OUR LORD TO A LOST AND DYING WORLD.GOD RECEIVES THE GLORY HERE, no one else! James 4:6-8 statesGod resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore unto God. Resist the devil (fleshly desires and excuses), and he will flee from you. Draw nigh unto God, and He will draw nigh to you….. Again I would encourage you to read James 4 here.I am convicted once again as I write this… Father God, we as your children come humbly before you in the precious name and blood of Jesus Christ. We submit ourselves to your will Father. We ask you to place the coal from your altar to our hearts, to our mouths, to our minds. Purge out the fleshly desires and once again remind us, we are your body to serve a lost and dying generation. Remind us that it is not about us, but there is a war going on around us for souls. Forgive us as we forgive our debtors. Forgive us for being apathetic, for being lazy, for our religiosity, for our complacency. You have already given us your power, right in your word. Help us to study to show ourselves approved, rightly dividing Your word that we may not be ashamed to stand before you Father on that day. Father, have mercy on us as your children. Bring repentance to your body and a renewed conviction of our sins. We thank you that you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins. We thank you that when we come with a right attitude and repent that you blot out our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. Father, we praise you and we submit to your hand, make us a vessel of honor mete for your use. You are the potter, we are the clay, mold us and make us into your image, Lord God. Breathe your Life into us that we may share it with this dying generation. In Jesus name, AMENPress into the power of, the promises of and the anointing of God’s Word. Let the Holy Spirit teach and show you what is on the Father’s heart, my brothers and sisters. Let us not coast any longer but lets take up the weapons of our warfare and put on the whole armor of God! Let’s be His watchmen and speak His word! Let us not fear what men can do to us, but let us fear what God can do. For God alone has the power to send our souls to hell.Let us come to Jesus from this unreal world!
