Picture of a Prophet

Send us true men of God

The prophet in his day is fully accepted of God and totally rejected by men.

Years back, Dr. Gregory Mantle was right when he said, "No man can be fully accepted until he is totally rejected." The prophet of the Lord is aware of both these experiences. They are his "brand name."

The group, challenged by the prophet because they are smug and comfortably insulated from a perishing world in their warm but untested theology, is not likely to vote him "Man of the year" when he refers to them as habituates of the synagogue of Satan!

The prophet comes to set up that which is upset. His work is to call into line those who are out of line! He is unpopular because he opposes the popular in morality and spirituality. In a day of faceless politicians and voiceless preachers, there is not a more urgent national need than that we cry to God for a prophet! The function of the prophet, as Austin-Sparks once said, "has almost always been that of recovery." The prophet is God's detective seeking for a lost treasure. The degree of his effectiveness is determined by his measure of unpopularity.

Compromise is not known to him.

* He has no price tags.
* He is totally "otherworldly."
* He is unquestionably controversial and unpardonably hostile.
* He marches to another drummer!
* He breathes the rarefied air of inspiration.
* He is a "seer" who comes to lead the blind.
* He lives in the heights of God and comes into the valley with a "thus saith the Lord."
* He shares some of the foreknowledge of God and so is aware of impending judgment.
* He lives in "splendid isolation."
* He is forthright and outright, but he claims no birthright.
* His message is "repent, be reconciled to God or else...!"
* His prophecies are parried.
* His truth brings torment, but his voice is never void.
* He is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow.
* He is excommunicated while alive and exalted when dead!
* He is dishonored with epithets when breathing and honored with epitaphs when dead.
* He is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but few "make the grade" in his class.
* He is friendless while living and famous when dead.
* He is against the establishment in ministry; then he is established as a saint by posterity.
* He eats daily the bread of affliction while he ministers, but he feeds the Bread of Life to those who listen.
* He walks before men for days but has walked before God for years.
* He is a scourge to the nation before he is scourged by the nation.
* He announces, pronounces, and denounces!
* He has a heart like a volcano and his words are as fire.
* He talks to men about God.
* He carries the lamp of truth amongst heretics while he is lampooned by men.
* He faces God before he faces men, but he is self-effacing.
* He hides with God in the secret place, but he has nothing to hide in the marketplace.
* He is naturally sensitive but supernaturally spiritual.
* He has passion, purpose and pugnacity.
* He is ordained of God but disdained by men.

Our national need at this hour is not that the dollar recover its strength, or that we save face over the Watergate affair, or that we find the answer to the ecology problem. We need a God-sent prophet!

I am bombarded with talk or letters about the coming shortages in our national life:
bread, fuel, energy. I read between the lines from people not practiced in scaring folk. They feel that the "seven years of plenty" are over for us. The "seven years of famine" are ahead. But the greatest famine of all in this nation at this given moment is a FAMINE OF THE HEARING OF THE WORDS OF GOD (Amos 8:11).

Millions have been spent on evangelism in the last twenty-five years. Hundreds of gospel messages streak through the air over the nation every day. Crusades have been held; healing meetings have made a vital contribution. "Come-outers" have "come out" and settled, too, without a nation-shaking revival. Organizers we have. Skilled preachers abound. Multi-million dollar Christian organizations straddle the nation. BUT where, oh where, is the prophet? Where are the incandescent men fresh from the holy place? Where is the Moses to plead in fasting before the holiness of the Lord for our moldy morality, our political perfidy, and sour and sick spirituality?

GOD'S MEN ARE IN HIDING UNTIL THE DAY OF THEIR SHOWINGFORTH.

They will come. The prophet is violated during his ministry, but he is vindicated by history.

There is a terrible vacuum in evangelical Christianity today. The missing person in our ranks is the prophet. The man with a terrible earnestness. The man totally otherworldly. The man rejected by other men, even other good men, because they consider him too austere, too severely committed, too negative and unsociable.

Let him be as plain as John the Baptist.
Let him for a season be a voice crying in the wilderness of modern theology and stagnant "churchianity."
Let him be as selfless as Paul the apostle.
Let him, too, say and live, "This ONE thing I do."
Let him reject ecclesiastical favors.
Let him be self-abasing, nonself-seeking, nonself-projecting, nonself- righteous, nonself-glorying, nonself-promoting.
Let him say nothing that will draw men to himself but only that which will move men to God.
Let him come daily from the throne room of a holy God, the place where he has received the order of the day.
Let him, under God, unstop the ears of the millions who are deaf through the clatter of shekels milked from this hour of material mesmerism.
Let him cry with a voice this century has not heard because he has seen a vision no man in this century has seen. God send us this Moses to lead us from the wilderness of crass materialism, where the rattlesnakes of lust bite us and where enlightened men, totally blind spiritually, lead us to an ever-nearing Armageddon.

God have mercy! Send us PROPHETS!

— by Leonard Ravenhill

John Wesley quotes

“The Church recruited people who had been starched and ironed before they were washed.”


“I
look on all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that, in whatever
part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty, to
declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of
salvation”


“When I was young I was sure of everything; in a few
years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of
most things as I was before; at present, I am hardly sure of anything
but what God has revealed to me”


“God buries his workmen, but carries on his work”

Be Ye Holy

But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

I PETER 1:15-16

Be Ye
Holy

Rise and Shine, There's Work to be Done

God did not save you so that you could just warm a pew bench on Sundays. Oh no, dear friend. He saved you to have intimacy with Him and to work with Him in the beauty of His holiness. When He said, "Be ye holy" it was not a request, it was a command. And God doesn't command us to do anything that He won't empower us to do.

Is your life counting for Jesus Christ? Is anybody impacted by your life? Have you led someone to Christ, or offered an encouraging word in the name of Jesus? Are you exercising your spiritual gifts? Is your lifestyle above reproach? How much time are you spending in front of the t.v. versus reading your Bible?

Read the Bible Everyday

This is the most important piece of advice I can give. When a person tells me that their walk is not going good, I know for a fact that they are not reading God's word. It is our spiritual bread. Without it, our Christian lives are barren. It is also the seed which we sow in other people as we tell them about Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 55:10-11, For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

The Bible can be a challenge to read because the devil and his minions will do their best to keep you from it. Why is the devil so concerned about the Bible? It is the only offensive weapon listed in the armour of God (see Ephesians 6:10-20) . The Word of God is powerful and it will change your life inside out. Read it everyday no matter what. It must be a part of your life. Forget about self-help books and pity-party meetings, tune into Jesus through the Bible and do what He says.

Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

You've Got to Be Serious About Jesus

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 7:21

And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Matthew 10:38

Jesus was serious about you and His true disciples are serious about Him. He left His glory in heaven and was born as an infant in this cruel and wicked world. Herod tried to kill Him in His childhood, but it was not yet His time. After He had shared the good news of the kingdom and healed all manner of sickness and disease, He gave His life a ransom for many. Think about all the evil of this world--He suffered and died for all of it! Oh yes beloved, He was very serious about us and He expects us to be serious about Him.

Do you really believe that our God died for your sins and rose from the dead? If you do, then you CANNOT be satisfied living just any ol' kind of way. Dear friend, it's an impossibility because God lives inside of you. If you feel comfortable sinning and you name the name of Christ you need to--

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (2 Corinthians 13:5)

What Kind of Fruit Do You Bear?

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Matthew 7:20

Jesus talked about two different types of fruit in Matthew 7:16-27--good fruit and bad fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit any more than an apple tree can bring forth pears. If you are a true believer in Jesus Christ, your life should show forth good fruit. GOOD FRUIT, I.E. GOOD WORKS, DO NOT SAVE YOU, BELIEF IN JESUS CHRIST DOES. But good works are the external result of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Below, there are two types of lifestyles--Spirit-filled and flesh-filled. When you examine your everyday lifestyle, which category do you operate in?

THE SPIRIT-FILLED

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

THE FLESH-FILLED

5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

If you call yourself a Christian, I sincerely hope that you are in the first category. If you are in the second category and you claim to be a Christian, here's some counsel from the Bible:

Galatians 6:7, Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

If you are NOT a Christian and you feel that you are in the first category, you are still on your way to hell because you don't have forgiveness for your sins. No amount of good works will get you into heaven. God will only accept those who accept His Son and He will reject all who reject Jesus.

John 3:36, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Look at what God says about the good works of the natural man who tries to earn his way into heaven.

Isaiah 64:6, But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Call to Holiness

Dear friend, where are you at today? Is your life a sweet-smelling savour in the nostrils of God or is it a pungent odor? If you are a Christian, your life should mirror the characteristics of God Himself. II Peter 1:4 says that you are to be partaker of the divine nature. That's incredible!

I oftentimes hear preachers and lay-people say, "I'm only a sinner saved by grace." After you are saved, God no longer calls you sinner. Look it up in the Bible--He calls you righteous. I hear people say, "If you're normal, you sin everyday." What a thing to say! When you read I John, the apostle admonishes us to sin not. If we do, we have an advocate with the Father, Christ Jesus.

Instead of being woe-begone about sin, we need to be avoiding and resisting it with all that we have. We need to seek out holiness. There ain't nothin' wrong with being holy. The world uses the phrase, "holier-than-thou" with contempt. I say, "Praise the Lord somebody is trying to live like Jesus!"

I was a big-time sinner when Jesus cleaned me up and made me brand new. When I look back, I know I lived the way I did, but I still have trouble understanding how I was so blind. The reading of God's word, the Bible, has continually washed my mind and given me a deadly weapon that Satan hates. I've been commanded to "cast down all imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God". And by God's grace and goodness, I will strive to do it until He calls me home to glory.

I see myself as a living miracle. I didn't grow up in a Christian home and my lifestyle was reprehensible, but God cleaned me up from the inside out. I have taken a 180 degree turn. Lord Jesus, Thou art good and worthy of all praise, honor and glory. He took the life of a world world-class sinner like me and made me a vessel fit for the Master's use. Thank you, Jesus!

I'm not unique, but the God that I serve is. He didn't save you to "chill out" and do what you want. "Ye are bought with a price" the Bible says. That price was the blood of Jesus Christ. He saved you to do good works in the furtherance of His kingdom.

Though you wouldn't know it based on the level of crime and lawlessness in America, most people in the U.S. claim to be Christians. I believe that many of these people have a false hope. Most people want to go to heaven, but they are unwilling to do it God's way. They won't make it in. Remember what Jesus said,

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven...

God in You, the Hope of Glory

When a person gets saved, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost come to live inside of them. As a result, a Christian will bear Christ-like fruits. That's what Christ meant when He said that by their fruits shall ye know them. When you plant an apple seed, you get a tree that bears apples. When you plant Jesus Christ you get Christ-like fruits.

Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

1 John 1:6-7, If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Conversely, when a person is not saved, they bear Satan's fruit e.g., addiction, pride, idol-worship (of money, academic credentials, television, nature etc.), lust of the flesh, humanism, bad language, etc.

Through Christ, we have been reconciled to God.

II Corinthians 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.

If then, we have been reconciled unto God, we should be bringing forth God-like fruits:

II Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

The Bible says to "give diligence to make your calling and election sure" (II Peter 1:10) and to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Phillipians 2:12) You say that you believe? That's good, but according to James 2:19 "the devils also believe and tremble." The question is, "Have you been born again?"

What Must I Do to Work the Works of God?

1. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

John 6:28-29, Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him [Jesus] whom he hath sent.

2. Read God's word, the Bible.

Joshua 1:8, This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

3. Do what God commands you to do.

James 1:22-25, But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

As a church worker and servant for Jesus Christ, a number of people have asked me for advice on problems, fears and other things like how to live. I try to answer based on the Word of God and many (perhaps most) are turned off by what the Bible says about purity and holiness. There's no shortcut to having a thriving relationship with God.

You've got to seek holiness to be near Him, for He will not fellowship with sin. I Timothy 4:7 says to exercise thyself unto godliness. The only way to do this is to:

- think about the Lord each moment of the day

-pray

-read His Word and do what it says

-testify of His goodness

-serve others in meekness and humbleness

One more thing you must do, learn what your spiritual gift is. The Bible says that every single believer has one because the Holy Ghost gives it to us. I'm not talking about natural ability, but a supernatural ability used for the edification of the body of Christ.

Examples of gifts include teaching, preaching, exhortation, and ministry (helping people). There are other gifts too--ask your preacher about them, or better yet, research the gifts for yourself in the Bible. Lord willing, I'll create a page about spiritual gifts and the characteristics of people who have certain gifts. [Postscript: page on spiritual gifts has been completed.]

The Conclusion of the Matter

...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Philippians 2:12-13

Consecration and Worship

Puritan Prayers

The Valley of Vision

My God, I feel it is heaven to please Thee, and to be what Thou wouldst have me be. O that I were holy as Thou art holy, pure as Christ is pure, perfect as Thy Spirit is perfect! These, I feel, are the best commands in Thy Book, and shall I break them? must I break them? am I under such a necessity as long as I live here?

Woe, woe is me that I am a sinner, that I grieve this blessed God, who is infinite in goodness and grace! O if He would punish me for my sins, it would not would my heart so deep to offend Him; But though I sin continually, He continually repeats His kindness to me.

At times I feel I could bear any suffering, but how can I dishonour this glorious God? What shall I do to glorify and worship this best of beings? O that I could consecrate my soul and body to His service, without restraint, for ever! O that I could give myself up to Him, so as never more to attempt to be my own! or have any will or affections that are not perfectly conformed to His will and His love! But, alas, I cannot live and not sin.

O may angels glorify Him incessantly, and, if possible, prostrate themselves lower before the blessed King of heaven! I long to bear a part with them in ceaseless praise; but when I have done all I can to eternity I shall not be able to offer more than a small fraction of the homage that the glorious God deserves. Give me a heart full of divine, heavenly love.