The LORD says to us in God's written Word, "Come now, and let us reason together,... (Isaiah 1:18-31; also 1 John 1:6-2:2)".
Our beloved TTM Staff Pastor, Clay Davis, often puts what we see happening into perspective by saying, "First the natural and then the spiritual." What Pastor Clay is referring to is the parallel The Holy Spirit reveals to us, if we ask Him to, regarding things happening in the spiritual realm reflected by things we can "see, hear, touch, taste, or smell" happening in the natural physical realm. One primary example could be our "sources of nutrition" in America.
Throughout the last decade or more, our quality of "spiritual food" as well as "natural food" has been in a drastic decline; Parallel the diminished quality of food made available for us to eat and feed our families in the "natural" with the diminished quality of food made available to us in the "spiritual", as The Holy Spirit reveals it to us. Truly we have experienced, and are still experiencing, intentional attacks against us, by way of satan's human accomplices, working in and through our own government and church-based organizations. In both the natural and spiritual realms, not only are we, the people, at risk of losing our lives, by being poisoned, but we are simultaneously malnourished from the "food" no matter how much is being consumed.
Let's take a look at the way the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has been allowed to relax, and in many cases remove, crucial quality standards that had been set to ensure our essential food and drug supplies are the highest quality, for the well-being of our tax-paying citizenry. Our food and medications in this country have gradually, systematically, and intentionally been re-engineered for our destruction. Then, as much in decline as the government-controlled FDA's accountability has been in the natural, much of The Church today has declined to provide little nourishment to people's souls in the spirit realm. All of the attacks, first the natural and then the spiritual, are for the human accomplices of satan's expressed purpose of reducing our population, especially Christians. That is how serious things have gotten. Unfortunately, much like our natural foods and drugs have been largely depleted of nourishment, even saturated with chemical or synthetic materials that will kill our body, our humanity has been largely infiltrated by spirits, to the "exclusion" of God's Holy Spirit.
We are truly at war on every side. Where there was, at one time, foods and medicines we could trust, we now have poison fillers, dangerous substitutes, and imposter additives as the ingredients of the day. In a perfect situation, we would be able to go anywhere and be healed, raised up, grafted in-to God's holy, loving Family, and be protected from harm by following in the wonder-full ways of God alongside other Believers... "being fully persuaded that, what He (God in Christ Jesus) had promised, He was able also to perform (Romans 4:21)".
As we have watched the decline of integrity along with the growth of greed, we've seen satan's work of manipulating many individuals in communities and churches who become crippled, turning to a state of actually "just surviving" in a luke-warm existence. We heard the late prophet of God, Smith Wigglesworth, say that increasing populations in our beloved Church of today are "unbelieving Believers," those who have accepted Christ Jesus but don't believe Him enough to pursue Him personally. They may very well attend church regularly, be good at tithing, and even considered by others to be religious people. However, the time has come for each one of us to do our part to re-engineer, by the leading of The wonder-full Holy Spirit, as many as we possibly can of those who find themselves in the state of being luke-warm. By faith in Jesus Christ, and by The Holy Spirit's leading, it's our time to set out to, as The Twelve Disciples did, see the unbelievers in our lives become, as Smith Wigglesworth would say, "Believing Believers!"
Over the years we have come to recognize the discontentment and lack of fulfillment in the lives of individuals who don't really believe... "unbelieving Believers". Those individuals profess to know God but are weak and frail in their faith, and they will most-often settle for "feeding on the crumbs" that fall from the tables of a pastor's hour-long service at church once a week or of a TV or podcast host's show featuring a Christian minister on occasions. If we knew our Father's actual will for our lives, for all Believers, we would know His passionate desire for each one of us to move from "unbelief" to become wholeheartedly committed Believers. We would also never miss a day where we are making our way to "His Supper Table" to personally receive from Him "the meat" of His spoken Word for us (see Hebrews 5:14-6:3). It's a big difference to live haphazardly then turn to a passionate pursuit of living a "real Life" i-n God's plan for us... together, in One-ness with Him. It would make our heads spin to see what many Christians have missed in their lives because of their non-pursuit of God in Christ Jesus personally, not graftin themselves in-to Oneness with The Holy Trinity.
Why do so many in The Church settle for a luke-warm exsistance? We are convinced it is because so many have bought into the lies of the enemy working to deceive us into taking some other way, an easier way, to receive God's spoken Word, apart from our having to go before God's Throne personally. So many have fallen into the trap of thinking "it is the pastor's job" to go before The Holy Throne of God "for" the congregation; After all, we are paying him for that work, right!!?? If we are going to shift our lives and become persuaded, and persuasive, Believers in our Life's journey to "becoming One in The Holy Trinity", it's going to take us breaking our way out of old habits and mindsets. The shift in our lives will take our focusing in on asking The Holy Spirit for His leading, in order to begin our journey in-to One-ness, to become grafted in, with God through Jesus Christ by The Holy Spirit's leading.
You may be familiar with the adage, "Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day; Teach a man 'how to fish' and you will feed him for a lifetime." This adage certainly applies to the man being fed spiritually as well as being fed in his physical body... "Give a Believer a Sunday morning Scripture message and you will feed him or her for a day; Teach a Believer to pursue Christ Jesus for himself or herself, personally and every day, and you will feed them for a spiritual lifetime." For each of us to have a fervent desire to invest in a "daily personal Life with The Holy Trinity" is to realize the deepest desire of God's, Jesus Christ's, and The Holy Spirit's heart for us. Reading and meeting with The Holy Spirit in God's Holy written Word, desiring a close, loving, family bond with Christ Jesus... this is The Holy Trinity's dream for each one of us, individually.
The point is this: the Body of Christ is suffering greatly from a condition of putting too much trust in someone who speaks "a Word from God" to them from a pulpit or media podcast, and investing too little of ourselves into "a fulfilled Life in The Spirit" that our Father has in store for them, personally. Our Father has unlimited access to Him, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit in store for us to take advantage of, directly. Looking to another person, or other people, to catch, cook, and lay out "fish" before us, we voluntarily restrict our spiritual diet from the indescribable benefits from The Holy Trinity's personally "feeding our individual spirit and soul".
What The Holy Trinity actually desires for us is that we meet with The Holy Spirit in the pages of God's written Word, and listen quietly to receive God's spoken Word for ourselves. We learn how to "receive God's Word directly from Christ Jesus" by way of The Holy Spirit. He is always ready and willing to answer us when we call on Jesus Christ to bring us The Father's divine counsel, and to lead us in applying what we hear from God in His written Word.
Jesus Christ tells us in Matthew 7:20-25, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 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. Many will say to Me in that day, LORD, LORD, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonder-full works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man,... ."
We must not let a day go by when we settle for "the crumbs" that fall from the tables of others. We can, and must, do what it takes to meet with The Holy Spirit in the pages of God's written Word, ourselves. We must wholeheartedly devote ourselves to seeking and listening to hear God's Voice so He can teach us His Word, Will, and Ways for our Lives.
One evening I received a phone call from a frustrated young man who said that, no matter how much he reads his Holy Bible or listens to his favorite preacher on the radio or TV, he feels spiritually stagnate. He said, "Brother, I would give anything if I could just hear God's voice once!" After expressing his frustration and his desire to hear God's voice, he asked, "If you were to recommend one thing that would help me to hear God voice what would it be?"
I thought to myself, rejoicing, that this young brother is perfectly positioned to hear our Father for himself. Why? Because I saw clearly that "he desperately wanted God."
Following a brief pause I replied, "From now on, with no exceptions, when you approach God and His Throne in prayer, begin offering up gratitude to God for Who He IS more than for what He can do for you." I then shared with him how, from the very first time I approached God with a heart and words filled with gratitude and thanks-giving, my prayers began to change and so did my heart. By approaching God with my gratitude, voicing my thanks to Him aloud, instead of bringing Him my usual "grocery list of things I wanted from Him", every aspect of my Life began to change and improve dramatically.
The young man paused for a moment. Then he asked, "Why 'gratitude'?" I answered him first by sharing how we get "a heart of gratitude" by illuminating The Scripture that The Holy Spirit had illuminated to me, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8)."
Once we catch hold of gratitude that comes from our heart praising The LORD, God "smells" it. Next, as The Holy Spirit illuminated to me in God's written Word, "His gates" are unlocked and opened to those who approach Him with a grateful heart. And, once we have gained entrance through God's gates, He then presents us with the opportunity to enter in-to His sacred courts. "Enter into (God's) gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His Name (Psalm 100:4)." The Holy Spirit illuminated to me such infinite value "the Psalm 100:4 map" offers us and our Life in Jesus Christ.
Psalm 100:4 is so priceless as our "spiritual treasure map" that it can't be stressed to us enough. In order for us to reap the benefits of God's promises, we mustn't only read God's written Word, " But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22)". When we follow the leading of The Holy Spirit and commit to carry out each step of God's written Word, we become like the diligent prospector given access to the most sacred and treasured "secret place" of all -- "One-ness" i-n God, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit.
In order to help my friend better understand, I shared my experience when The Holy Spirit revealed a "key" to me by using the same approach as that of a police officer instructing a lost motorist with directions to their desired destination -- using a road map. In this instance, of course, our desired destination is where we can gain access into what we might refer to as "the secret place of meeting with God", where we get to hear Him and be heard by Him. The Psalm 100:4 map" is, truly, the most priceless treasure map in all of Creation. If we will follow it, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His Name", we are permitted entrance in-to our Father's most sacred presence... where we can reason together (Isaiah 1:18-31).
God desires to be with us so much so that everything He is doing, has done, and will do is for the expressed purpose of being in unity with, and reasoning with, His Children. I once heard it said that the entire Holy Bible is God's devising means by which He can facilitate His getting each and every one of His Children into His arms, sitting on His Holy lap, so to speak. God did, after all, go so far as to send His only begotten Son, His most Prized Possession, so He could provide for us The Way for us to get back to Him, and be at Home with our Father.
As a fun side-note, in any form of "treasure hunting" there is the act of prospecting and the act of mining. "Prospecting" is the act of searching, pursuing, digging, and such. "Mining", on the other hand, occurs once a prospector's search uncovers "a treasure" to be collected. So, the "prospecting" treasure hunter remains a prospector until such time as they actually locate a "treasure" and the "mining" can begin to harvest the treasure they were searching for.
Our friend then asked, "Once we have passed through God's gates by way of thanking Him for Who He IS, how do we go about doing what The Scriptures saynext, and enter into (or press forward toward) His courts with praise? Are we to then start singing praise and worship songs to Him like we sing the songs in church?" I responded by saying, "Singing praise songs like we do in church is a form of praise; Yes. However, the 'praise' mentioned in the Psalm 100:4 Scripture is referring to the most sincere form of praise to God; It is the sweet fragrance that rises from a heart that is overflowing with celebratory gratitude to Him for Who He IS. After all, He is The Almighty Creator and our all-Loving and Wise God."
When we are truly grateful to God for Who He IS, first of all and foremost, our heart will naturally emit pure praise. However, this "pure praise" can not be generated by our natural will because, in our flesh, we fall short of "purity". The purest of all praise is like a sweet-smelling fragrance that goes up before God's throne, a sort-of invisible smoke that comes from a heart that is "full-to-overflowing with gratitude", thank-full to Him for being Who He IS, more than for doing what He can do for us. I repeat myself here for an important reason, and you will continue to see me repeating this because it is so very important.
In continuing to further explain the genuine heart-felt gratitude, love, and adoration for God that grants us access to Him, and that grafts us in-to One-ness in Him, I assured our friend that God can most certainly discern the stench of a luke-warm heart from the sweet-smelling fragrance of a heart that is filled with pure praise and thank-fullness. God wrote it this way, "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art luke-warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth (Revelation 3:15-16)."
Just as we can discern whether someone is pursuing us because they want what we have to offer them or because they truly desire to be with us for who we are, God, too, can discern a person's motives for approaching Him. It's like what I once heard in passing that, you'll hear a person's phone ringing like never before just after they've won a sizable lottery.
A person who possesses a heart filled with gratitude to God, Jesus Christ, and The wonder-full Holy Spirit because of Who "They" are, through a loving persistence to make their way in-to "One-ness i-n The Holy Trinity", gets to enjoy all of the infinite, wonder-full qualities of The Holy Trinity, Their gifts to us, as well. For Bren and I, The Trinity's gift of contentment is the one we personally treasure above any other wonder-full gift that God makes available to all who love Him. "But godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6)."
Speaking of contentment, Paul expresses his extraordinary perspective in Philippians 4:11-13, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased (pressed down), and I know how to abound (in abundance): every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
I also took the opportunity to point out, to our emotionally, physically and spiritually drained brother, this most timely benefit of wholeheartedly pursuing and dwelling with God in Psalms 91:1-2 where it says, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of The LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust."
In Philippians, the Apostle Paul affirms the crucial importance of being grateful to God in all things. "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7)." Jesus is, after all, The Prince of Peace."
Now, as we had mentioned earlier concerning "letting our requests be made known unto God", you might be thinking, "Keith, with all of the emphasis you have placed on being most grateful to God for Who He IS, are you saying we should not make requests of our Father in our times in prayer?" I am not saying that at all. In fact, on the contrary, God wants to hear our requests... in proper order. God has an order of things in everything He does and it is crucial that we ask Him to reveal His order to us.
Whenever we first open the pages of The Bible it's very important that we call on The Holy Spirit and ask Him, "In Jesus Christ's Name, please meet with me here and reveal to me God's order of things, especially concerning each verse, chapter, or book You lead me to read and research." Not understanding that God has an order of things, in "all" that He does, is one problem that many precious Believers have and don't even know it. Our lack of knowledge and understanding in Christ results in our living confused, bound, fruitless lives instead of living FREE and full-filled in Jesus Christ.
Why do so many saints make the mistake of "putting the cart before the horse" where approaching God and His written Word is concerned? For instance, due to the struggles with "the cares of this life" and the immaturity in knowing God's order of things, many Christians tend to approach God in prayer to present Him with a laundry-list of things they desire from Him. What we wanted our young friend to take away from our discussion is the understanding that, when we approach our Father's Holy Throne, we first and foremost present Him with our gratitude... thanking Him for Who He IS first! That is the first priority in "God's order of things" when we are coming to present ourselves to Him.
Now, after we have approached God, and presented Him with our offering of heartfelt gratitude and love and adoration, then we "bless His Name"! Let's read it again. This time let's focus our attention on the wonder-full "gift" of instruction, and the glorious order, God provides for us in the passage. "Enter into His (God's) gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His Name (Psalm 100:4)."
I heard one pastor say, "God's Word only works if we work it." We can say, with all confidence, that God's passion for getting His kids to listen for and want Him more than anything has got to be infinite! Surely, a primary point of frustration God feels today comes with seeing His kids so distracted that the distractions keep us from pursuing and pressing in to God and His presence.
The fact is, God is the consummate family man! He longs to be with, and talk with, each one of His beloved children. There is nothing He desire more than to be in unity with His kids, continuously!
Paul encourages us to, "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)." To pray without ceasing simply means that we remain conscious of God, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit with us throughout every minute of every day. God desires to be with us, so much that everything He is doing, has done, and will do is all for the expressed purpose of being with His sons and daughters and reasoning with each of us.
In the wonder-full Kingdom Protocol of Psalm 100:4, when it comes to "waiting on The LORD", so many of our Father's sons and daughters will fall short of making it in-to "His courts". Many of us put forth the effort to "enter into His gates with thanks-giving" and then proceed on toward His inner courts as the result of the subsequent praise, but we stop short of the waiting time necessary to be able to hear God speak.
Therein lies the root of The Church's infertility today, as individual Believers allow their focus on Jesus Christ to be broken. Their anticipation of hearing His wonder-filled Voice is snatched away with thoughts that too often win the battle for their focus. I could not stress enough to our young friend how crucial it is that we become able to listen patiently, waiting to hear the wonder-full voice of The Holy Spirit. I could not stress enough how we must become "disciplined" in our ability to meditate on God's Word, His written and spoken Word, and to then be diligent in walking it out... with Him.
We are admonished, "But be ye doers of The Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22)." "And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth My sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great (Luke 6:46-49)."
Something that helped me greatly in my efforts to discipline myself to be a doer of God's Word and not a hearer only occurred back in 1987. I heard a brother in Jesus Christ who specializes in the teaching of "ancient kingdom protocols" say that, during the times when kings and kingdoms were more prevalent on the earth, there were very strict protocols that a person would be required to adhere to before being permitted into a sitting king's presence. He shared how someone who desired to "have audience with a king" first had to be thoroughly washed clean. Then the individual was put in front of a series of instructors whose job it was to brief him or her how to "pay proper honor" as a visitor to the king. The visitor was instructed on how to properly approach a king or queen, and the proper steps to take once summoned by the king to enter, including how to kneel before him. A king's staff were often instructed to make certain the visitors do not look directly at the king, and so on. Perhaps the protocol that grabbed my attention most was the charge to never leave a king's presence until he excuses you to depart. To turn away from a king's presence before he motions for you to depart from your position could be very costly on several fronts. Such a show of ignorance and disrespect "could cost you your head", as they often have been heard to say.
This last point is one we cannot stress enough. When it comes to our leaving after a time in the presence of God, we must always wait until we have a release excusing us from Him, and only from Him. Though the cost may not be "a beheading" for prematurely leaving from God's presence, as was the custom long ago, to leave without allowing Him the opportunity to speak what He has to say to us is actually far worse than even losing one's head. The spoken Word of God is, in and of itself, filled with "Life in abundance and filled with His Own Glory", and without receiving it from Him we cannot truly Live. We MUST stay in God's Holy Presence until we hear Him and everything He wants to speak to us... no exception!
The gentlemen who teaches Kingdom protocols also said something else that has been stamped into the wall of my heart. He said that most kings enjoyed considerably out-giving the individuals that came before his throne. He went on to say that, often, those who would come before a king, honoring the king with gratitude and humility, would leave the king's presence much richer than when they entered. Can you see the parallel in that The Scriptures tell us, "But without faith [it is] impossible to please [Him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and [that] He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6)."
Christ Jesus makes a defining point in Matthew 4:4, "But He (Jesus Christ) answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4)." Jesus is not referring to God's Holy written Word as much as He is referring to God's spoken Word - His Words spoken to those who will pull down every stronghold or hindrance that exalts itself above God. Those who will enter through His gates with thanksgiving and enter into His courts with praise, and who will wait on Him no matter how long it takes, get to hear His wonder-filled Words spoken into their spirits. Those who wait in God's presence, no matter how long it takes, will receive His matchless Word for them, personally, "Life" Himself and in abundance. "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon The LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:29-31)."
I had once heard it said that anything of great value is worth fighting for! That especially applies to our waging war against any resistance, lies, intimidation, fear, or anything else we must contend with, in order for us to make it in-to God's Holy Presence. The Holy Spirit once equipped me with another priceless piece of wisdom, information that Brenda and I would also like to pass along to you. He said that the arch enemy of our attaining and walking in the kind of faith that pleases God comes by wicked spirits of "anxiousness"... "gird yourself against them!" In our preparation to pursue God and His presence, we must be equipped to, like clearing a pathway through a jungle of hindrances... in the precious Name of Jesus Christ "cut them down"!
In closing, we are sharing this message, not to discourage you but, to equip you with information that can be helpful when you are setting out to spend quality time at the feet of our Father. Perhaps the most violent skirmishes that we can ever find ourselves in happen when we are getting alone with The Holy Trinity, working to relax and be still, listening for what God has to say to us in His Holy written Word. The devil likes to deploy anxious spirits, his most effective militant force, for redirecting our attention and affections away from focusing solely on pursuing audience with God.
Be encouraged, we have the maps, we have God's Kingdom Protocols (God's Holy written Word), and we have The wonder-full Holy Trinity! And remember what this means for us... we win! "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark FOR THE PRIZE of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14)."
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Words cannot express how eternally grateful we are for our family, and for our joint prayers and passion for fulfilling all that God has for us to accomplish, together. We pray that this letter brings fulfillment and joy-fullness in Christ Jesus, knowing you are taking part in our work by connecting with us here, and through our effectual fervent and joint prayers on behalf of the many men, women, and families we reach.
