DaWordMan Blog

Tried By Fire

2009-01-25T20:09:00.003-05:00

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. 1 Pet. 4:12

In every chapter of Peter’s epistle to these saints there was an exhortation to endure suffering. It shows that the greatest danger they were in, arose from the persecutions embracing Christianity exposed them to. The heat doesn't truly increase in your life until you embrace Christ.

The key word is that the trial has come to TRY you, not to DESTROY you, it has come to TRY you, not to TRICK you. The word try in the greek is peirasmos; it means testing or temptation. The definition depends on who is administering the try. God administers tests; satan administers temptation. When it is God it is sent for the purpose of proving someone and never for the purpose of causing them to fall.

In Isaiah 48:10 the word of the LORD says that He has chosen us out of the furnace of affliction. The fiery trials we face are not because we are sinful or wicked, but because we are chosen. The fire serves to purify whatever it does not consume. Oftentimes the fiery trial is the answer to our prayers because we cry out for the LORD to purge us and purify us, and the process He often uses is a fiery trial.

The LORD does not choose His people from the third heavens or from the company of angels; He chooses them from the furnace of affliction. The furnace of affliction sounds a lot like hell. That's because all the hell you've been through has not disqualified you from service, it has validated your service. Jesus received the keys of hell and death when he paid a visit to hell. If He had not gone through hell, He would not have had the opportunity to take the keys of hell and death.

When the heat of the fire is turned up, we must understand that is not the devil, it is the LORD. The Bible says He will baptize us with the Holy Ghost and fire and the fan is in His hand. That fan is used to fan the flame and turn the heat up.

In Isaiah 54:16 the word of the LORD says that He has created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for His work. The smith or black smith was the guy who would place different things in the fire and when he would blow in the coals it would make the fire hotter. The higher temperatures were required to shape and mold things and turn the things into instruments. Bring forth an instrument—it just started as some thing and the heat and pressure caused it to become an instrument.

The extra heat... pressure you’ve been feeling has not been the devil, it’s been the LORD. He said He created the smith. He gave the smith instructions to turn the heat up on you because He’s taking you from a thing to an instrument of righteousness. The reason the LORD makes you an instrument is because He wants to hear you play Him a song. Everytime you praise Him you play Him a song.

Your praise is the evidence that you are not just some thing, but that you have submitted to the process of being refined by the fiery trial and you have emerged as an instrument. Whatever you find yourself going through, God is still going to get the glory!!!

The Coming Persecution

2008-01-10T10:17:00.000-05:00

I will warn you in this introductory paragraph, that if you only matriculate to words which seem to be inspired by the positive thinking movement, you might want to stop reading now. Yet if you are one who simply loves truth I admonish you to continue reading.

This is a prophetic word concerning the persecution which is headed to the church in America. History reveals that the church is strongest when she is under the imminent threat of persecution. It was actually the dispersion of saints as a result of persecution, which spearheaded the first major evangelistic thrust of the church (Acts 8:1;4).

The persecuted church is the most compelling; the political church is the most compromised. I predict and prophesy that you will hear more political preaching in this election year (2008) than you have heard in the three previous years combined. Someone who needs to hear the gospel will be deprived of that opportunity, because of preachers who are looking to gain influence in realms and arenas that we should be spiritually warring against. If you’re a preacher that’s running for office then wonderful, we need more light to shine in darkness. Yet if you are one who is looking to use God’s platform to gain political influence it is a direct affront to God.

The persecuted church is powerful; the popular church is polluted. We see more and more churches on the rise today whose chief aim is to gain positions of popularity with the culture. The church is commissioned to infiltrate the culture, and change the culture, not conform to it. History reveals that when the church gains popularity within the culture, without bringing change to the culture, it loses its influence.

There are a few by-products of persecution that the church could produce on her own, but since she has not shown any initiative in bringing this about, I believe she leaves God no other choice but to allow persecution to produce them.

One of these by-products is integrity in the leadership. The church has grown more under persecution than any other time in history and very practically the church grows because of good leadership. The reason the leadership is top notch during persecution is because every leader is there out of a sincere love for the LORD. No one is stepping up to be a leader during times of persecution for prestige, power, position, pomp, or pay.

Also there are no hypocrites in the church during times of extreme persecution. No one is willing to die to be a fake and a phony. The fires of persecution burn away any wood, hay, and stubble and all that’s left is gold, silver, and precious stones. Wood, hay, and stubble are all characterized by being used on the outside of the house or externals. You keep gold, silver, and precious stones inside the house. This denotes that anyone who is merely built upon externals will remove themselves from the church for fear of being persecuted with the real saints.

When this persecution comes, and it’s coming, we will see the largest exodus from the church we have ever seen in America and then we will see the largest revival we have ever seen. Sometimes what’s been holding others up from coming must be removed to create the space for the new.

Also the church during persecution has no time to argue over trivial matters. This coming persecution is going to produce the unity within the church that the LORD has always desired. During times of persecution you don’t care who’s Baptist, who’s Methodist, who’s Lutheran, who’s Catholic, you’re just looking for someone to agree with to accomplish the purpose of God in the earth.

It is not my intent to be a prophet of doom and gloom. My sole intent is to share what I believe the LORD has revealed to me through history and through prophecy. A very pragmatic definition for history is prophecy fulfilled. And where prophecy and history meet is what we consider the present. Since God is eternal, the only time in God is now. Wake Up!!!

The Replacements

2008-01-09T10:20:00.000-05:00

When satan and his cohorts were evicted from heaven, which actually evicted the praise and worship team, God already had a plan for replacements. His plan was to raise up a generation of worshippers who would worship Him in spirit and in truth. He would never have to evict the worshippers from heaven again, because these would be there because they chose to be there.

With this truth available to us in the church, it seems that we wouldn’t argue or make a big deal about the one thing that means the most to God—worship!!! He loves worship. It is the one thing that attracts Him to our gathering s more than anything else. I heard a preacher say once that when God wanted to hear a song early in the first century, He invaded a Philippian jail to hear two beaten preachers croak it out. He got so excited He patted His foot and triggered a massive earthquake!

With that being said, if God wants to hear a song today, He comes to church. We can’t allow the dissension and disorder that removed worship from heaven to remove worship from our churches. So whenever division and disorder become the order of the church, we know it is satanically driven. The enemy will do anything he can to distract us from our true purpose which is to worship, and worship together.

Much of the division between denominations and churches today exists solely because of worship practices. We must rise to the place where we see this as a ploy of the enemy to keep us separated, because he knows that his kingdom is under greater attack when we are together. Think of the progress we are making for the advance of the kingdom of God today, and we are divided. Imagine how much more powerful we would be if we were united.

We have a mandate from God as replacements not to make the same mistakes that caused the ones we replaced to be removed from their place of worship. In Revelation 2:5 Jesus warned the church of Ephesus to remember from where they had fallen (which sounds like a reference to the fall of satan and his cohorts) and repent or else He would remove their candlestick. By removing the candlestick, you are removing the light, and without light there is no illumination, and with no illumination there is no revelation, and with no revelation, there is no relevancy.

Also it was the oil in the lamp that kept the candlestick lit. The oil is symbolic of the anointing. According to Psalm 133 the power of unity is compared with the anointing. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments. In other words, there is no true anointing where there is no unity. Unity is accomplished when all parties remove any carnal agendas or flesh motives. Notice the oil flowed from his beard to his garments. The priestly garments came up to the neck, meaning that the oil never touched his flesh. The anointing is present where flesh is absent. We are The Replacements

The Overcomers

2008-01-08T10:18:00.000-05:00

In the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the LORD addresses the seven churches located in Asia Minor. Each church is addressed according to the issues that abound within. They all receive words of commendation, and all except Philadelphia and Smyrna receive words of rebuke. Elder Deon Jones has so accurately shared with me that Philadelphia means love and there is no rebuke for a church with love. Smyrna was the persecuted church and the LORD is not going to issue a rebuke to a church that is willing to die for Him.

What really grabbed my attention was that each letter ended with a promise “to he who overcomes”. This allowed us to see two things. 1) In order to be an Overcomer you must first be a part of the church. 2) Overcomers are found in all types of churches.

There is a new wind blowing amongst people today where church is optional for the believer. I believe someone must address this demonic doctrine at once. A healthy and vibrant church life should be a major part of everyone’s life. The LORD has invested too much in the church, (His own blood) for church to be optional.

Also as a member of the body of Christ, the rest of the members need you. We cannot fulfill our purpose separated from one another. It is within the confines of the structure of the church that we receive instruction and training which enables us to fulfill our purpose. I hold my position that any influence that leads you away from the local church completely is demonically inspired.

Also in the Revelation of Jesus Christ we are told that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, and by not loving our lives unto the death (Rev.12:11). Overcoming is a collaborative effort between God and us. The Bible tells us in 2 Cor. 6:1 that we are workers together with Him or co-laborers. He does His part which is providing the blood needed to overcome, and then we must do our part which is to share the word of our testimony and not love our lives unto the death.

A witness is called forth to give a testimony of what they’ve seen, not what they’ve heard. If all they can share is what they’ve heard, that becomes inadmissible as hearsay. A testimony is the evidence of what you’ve seen the LORD do for you. Where He healed you, delivered you, saved you, etc. He put clothes on my back and food on the table is really not a testimony, not a biblical one anyway.

Not loving our lives to the death alludes to the fact that you cannot change your testimony even if death is an imminent threat. The people referred to in the text were so in love with God that they only lived to do His will. Let this be your hearts cry. Fall so deeply in love with the LORD that you only want to do His will. Then you will surely be an OVERCOMER!!!