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Friday, 05 June 2009 09:20 |
As I peruse the book of Acts, I can’t help but notice a glaring discrepancy between the Church of Acts and the Church of today. It is a sad commentary, but the Church we presently see in the earth bears little resemblance to the vibrant and miraculous body of believers chronicled in scripture.
In many arenas, the Church has become a smoothly running, exquisitely precise machine, but it is absolutely useless against the onslaught of the enemy. All too often, the Church is a sophisticated organization, but a dying organism---a far cry from what God intended.
Of course, this regrettable state of affairs was not God’s idea. God never intended for Pentecostal power to dissipate or wane over the centuries. It was always His intention to see the Church move from faith to faith and glory to glory until she reached “the measure of the stature of the fullness Christ.” (Eph 4:13)
In fact, it was Paul’s understanding that the people of God were to press toward the mark of the high calling of God (Phil 3:14) until they reached it and entered into the full measure of the Spirit’s power. What began in a measure was designed to end up in fullness.
The Book of Acts wasn’t only to be a divinely inspired document recording the historic happenings of bygone days. It was actually meant to model the apostolic blueprint for the contemporary Church of the 21st century. Believers in the know regard the Book of Acts as a working manual and divine pattern for the present day Church.
God spoke clearly to me regarding the Church and said, “As I was with the apostolic Church of the book of Acts, so will I be with the Church of today!” Then He said in emphatic terms, “I will do it again, but not just repeat Myself; I will exceed Myself!”
While nothing is too hard for the Lord, it will take a massive outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church to accomplish such an explo ...
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Sunday, 10 May 2009 09:44 |
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I would like to present to you a prophecy given by Dr. David Minor in 1987 that addressed significant national and global issues when it was first uttered, but which, I believe, has now become absolutely vital and of the utmost importance. In it he declared that a major purging and revival will come to the body of Christ. As the prophecy reveals, we who name the name of Jesus Christ must be very careful to discern this last-day working of His Spirit, lest, like Israel, we fail to recognize it and lose the place God has prepared for us.
By way of introduction, Dr. David Minor is one of God’s premier prophets for the hour in which we live. Dr. Minor operated and flowed in the gift of prophecy before such gifts were acknowledged or accepted by most of the body of Christ. He has traveled extensively across the nation and around the world, and his prophetic voice has played a vital role in this end time outpouring now sweeping over the nations of the world. Dr. Minor has labored faithfully and fruitfully for Christ his entire life. He has led literally thousands to Christ, and many others to the baptism of the Holy Ghost. His faith-inspiring messages and prayers have brought healing to untold thousands. He is also a man whom I have the deepest respect for and have regarded as my Pastor and covering in Jesus Christ for nearly 35 years.
Over 50 years ago, Dr. Minor pioneered a powerful local church, Gospel Tabernacle, in Coudersport, PA which is still a thriving center of Christianity today. Prophet Minor’s ministry is characterized by a strong and supernatural compassion for the sick and afflicted. His deep prophetic voice has directed misguided lives and prevented many a tragedy: God has mightily used him as a rescuer of lost souls. He is a man who cares about people and who reaches out to them with a prophetic mantle that transforms their lives. His prophetic ministry has literally been a catal ...
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Monday, 27 April 2009 12:32 |
At the precipice of attraction, a piece of iron begins to shake and jitter at the presence of a nearby magnet. Give that same piece of iron a nudge, and it will forget its once static and lonely position only to discover the birthing of a desire it must follow: to be joined with the origin of that force of attraction.
As small children, we were all fascinated by the action of magnets on small metal objects. There was nothing else like it. A mysterious force seemed to reach out through thin air and draw them together! It could be felt--but not seen. The very fact that we couldn't explain it was what made it so mystifying. It almost seemed other-worldly.
Jesus Christ embodies and far surpasses this magnetic quality. While a magnet produces a magnetic field of finite magnitude, the pull and charm of Christ is irresistible and without limit. The most attractive personality that ever lived, without rival, is Jesus Christ. The Lord whom we worship is captivating, compelling and alluring, having such a great influence over humanity, He is almost impossible to resist.
Biblically, after the Holy Spirit descended and rested upon Jesus, His public ministry began. As a new creation man in his Father's carpentry shop, He was obscure and unnoticed, but when the Spirit fell, suddenly multitudes were attracted to Him. Throughout the sacred pages of the four Gospels, we see the power of Christ's magnetic call exerting supernatural force upon the hearts and minds of those called to follow Him:
"And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him" (Matt 4:19-20).
Those called immediately abandon the tools of their trade—their nets, which enable them to literally scoop up their livelihood— and without reluctance, hesitance, or even making a list of pros and cons, leave the security of ...
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Wednesday, 08 April 2009 12:59 |
I want you to imagine that behind the counter of a Health Food store is a salesman who is an emaciated, sickly individual with sunken eyes and ashen complexion. He coughs, brings up some phlegm, gasps for breath, and attempts to sell you his latest line of vitamins. In spite of his excellent sales pitch, you are completely persuaded to buy absolutely nothing from his shelves. Now imagine yourself turning around and quickly exiting the store. Why? You're no fool! His personal condition betrays the validity of his product. I realize this is a morbidly humorous picture, but it illustrates an important point concerning the Church and her relationship to the world. How can a Church that resembles the wheezing salesman in our story make bold claims of joy, peace and fulfillment and expect the secular community to take it seriously? Can we really provoke them to embrace Christ while our attitudes resemble the book of Lamentations and our worship services are no more exciting than a television rerun? If all they see when they walk through the doors of our churches are spiritually emaciated Christians gasping for breath, then our spiritual condition betrays the validity of the Gospel. A Church that claims the supernatural but experiences the superficial can never be effective in persuading a world seeking for deliverance that Christ is the answer. You see, it isn't enough to merely speak about a Christianity meant to be lived. A declaration of Christianity is no substitute for a demonstration of it. Herein lies the essence of hypocrisy and pretense. We talk it. but we rarely walk it. We speak heavy cream, but we're living skim milk. What a reproach we are to the One who said, "Why call ye me Lord, Lord and do not the things that I say?" ( ...
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