Take my Son
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had
everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would
often sit together and admire the great works of art.
When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very
courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The
father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the
door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.
He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your
son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying
me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died
instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art." The
young man held out this package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not
really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to
have this."
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted
by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured
the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to
the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young
man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never
repay what your son did for me It's a gift."
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came
to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he
showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of
his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing
the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for
their collection.
On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded
his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son.
Who will bid for this picture?"
There was silence.
Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see the
famous paintings. Skip this one."
But the auctioneer persisted. "Will somebody bid for this painting.
Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?"
Another voice angrily. "We didn't come to see this painting. We came
to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!"
But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?"
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the
longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the
painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
"We have $10, who will bid $20?"
"Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters."
"$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?"
The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.
They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!"
A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!"
The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over."
"What about the paintings?"
"I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of
a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that
stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be
auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire
estate, including the paintings.
The man who took the son gets everything!"
God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the
auctioneer, His message today is: "The son, the son, who'll take the
son?"
Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER
BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE...THAT'S LOVE
WHAT THE LORD IS SAYING TODAY
Ras Robinson August 18, 2006.
Clean hands is what I require. Some have felt that they can touch and be involved in anything they wish and still grow strong in Me. Others are wondering why My presence seems never to be with them. Sign, wonders and miracles are being sought with all diligence. But I tell you today, you must wash your hands from the things of the world. You have become contaminated with worldly spirits. I call you into account and give opportunity for repentance and cleansing. Do you prefer life or death? My Spirit leads to life. But worldly sin leads to death. Clean hands is what I require.
Job 17:9 "Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his way, and he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger."
Worth
A well-known speaker started off his seminar
by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked,
"Who would like this $20 bill?"
Hands started going up.
He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you
but first, let me do this.
He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill.
He then asked, "Who still wants it?"
Still the hands were up in the air.
Well, he replied, "What if I do this?"
And he dropped it on the ground
and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.
He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty.
"Now, who still wants it?"
Still the hands went into the air.
My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson.
No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it
because it did not decrease in value.
It was still worth $20.
Many times in our lives,
we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt
by the decisions we make and
the circumstances that come our way.
We feel as though we are worthless.
But no matter what has happened or
what will happen, you will never lose your value.
Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased,
you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you.
The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we
know,
but by WHO WE ARE.
You are special- Don't EVER forget it."
Count your blessings, not your problems.
And remember: amateurs built the ark
professionals built the Titanic.
待業
心暖心輔導中心因待業和以往工作的緊張使你焦慮不安，甚至懷疑自己?
我們鼓勵你重拾對自己的信心，多肯定自己，既然工作帶來如此多的無奈，就趁不用工作的時候多些做自己喜歡的事，同時也不要忘記積極找工作，何妨用現在的時間
重拾與神的關係，讓神帶領你，願你不要輕言放棄。
若有需要，請致電我們熱線8101 2929,我們樂意和你傾談,解開你的心鎖。
WHAT THE LORD IS SAYING TODAY
Ras Robinson August 24, 2006.
Don't back down and don't give up. You have set your
course. Now you must follow that direction without swerving to the
right or the left. Keep you face set like flint, as Jesus did towards
Jerusalem, towards the upward goal of this special calling I have put
in your heard and mind. Any deviation from that focus will waste
valuable time and energy. Even one degree of deviation will have
catastrophic consequences in the end. Reach inside and inquire of
Jesus step by step. Do precisely what He way and with pinpoint
obedience and you will see what no one else has ever seen. Don't back
down and don't give up.
James 1:5-8 "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who
gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to
him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who
doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For
that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the
Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
The Difference Between Rich/Poor People?
One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"
"It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yeah," said the son.
"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered:
"I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go
beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them." The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."
Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen
if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about
what we don't have.
Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!
"Life is too short and friends are too few."
你讓我生命改變
你恩典豐富極深厚，每天保守，
每一刻供應是足夠，夜深和白晝。
頌讚你，讓我生命改變，每刻在引牽，
頌讚你，萬世千載不變，身心皆奉獻。
你施恩普世像天雨，傾福於世間，
細心的把我在看顧，關心無間。
憐憫我，讓我生命改變，愛心日陪添，
願靠你，面對新的挑戰，身心皆奉獻
http://midiverse.netfirms.com/7/707.html
CONTENDING FOR THE PROMISES OF GOD IN YOUR LIFE
Every time I return to Brooklyn Park Lutheran, I still get razzed about how I answered a certain altar call. I was sitting in the middle of the row at the 2002 Holy Spirit Conference listening to Francis Frangipane. He had been speaking on the necessity of Christ-likeness and the specific topic was God’s heart for the nations. When the invitation was given, I ran over about 15 people, stepping on toes to get to the front ASAP. Ever since then, my friends encourage me to sit on an aisle seat.
What I remember most about that conference was the promises God gave to me. God gave me a number of other important prophetic promises and launched me on a journey that ended with me serving at the International House of Prayer, Kansas City (IHOP-KC). God has fulfilled some of the prophetic promises in a small part, but I am still contending for everything that God has on His heart for me.
Many of you have received promises from God in your quiet time. Perhaps you are waiting for God to save a lost loved one or family member. Perhaps you need a financial miracle. Perhaps you are standing on the promises of God concerning healing. However, it seems like God keeps delaying. There is the emotional pain of watching things apparently go the opposite way. Doubt creeps into our hearts. Did God really promise this to me? Is God really faithful? Hope deferred is making your heart sick.
Sadly, most people give up on God’s promises. What do we do with an unfulfilled promise of God? This article isn’t an attempt to answer all of your questions. Whole books have been written on the subject of personal prophecy and praying God’s promises. From my limited experience, I want to look at two approaches that don’t work and some principles in standing for the promises of God in your life.
Pitfall #1: God is Sovereign and will do what He will do.
This is a liaise-faire approach to God’s personal promises. The reasoning goes, “Since God said it, I don’t need to do anything because He will automatically do it without my help.” Then when it doesn’t come to pass, people blame God for being unfaithful. The problem with this is we don’t understand the difference between personal prophecy and scriptural prophecy.
First, scriptural prophecy is unconditional but all personal prophecy is conditional. When God gives a personal prophecy (either through someone else, or by a personal encounter with God), God is announcing some of His intentions towards us. Personal prophetic promises are always meant to draw us into knowing God deeper. Even if there no conditions are stated in the prophetic word, there are always general conditions such as faithful obedience to Jesus.
Pitfall #2: Trying to “play God” and make the promises happen in my own strength.
The opposite error of the above problem is trying to make everything happen in my own strength. (This is the one I usually fall into). One sad case in my recollection: In August 1995, God gave me a personal promise that he would use me to send revival to Bethel College. In November 1995, I was given word that I was selected to preach in Chapel in January of 1996 because of a speech I had written on reconciliation. Guess what I assumed?
Overjoyed, I told everyone on my dorm house floor and provoked lots of bitter envy. I figured, all I needed to do now was to fast for a few days (my first experience ever with prayer and fasting) and revival would surely come. There was only one problem: God didn’t send a revival at that time and he warned me that He wasn’t going to during the fast. However, it was too late to turn back now.
The result was really bad: Everyone on my floor was mad at me, calling me a false prophet, and I was questioning God after the whole situation. I had fallen into the trap of trying to use my own strength to do what only God could do. In the Bible, Abraham did the same thing and created “Ishmael”. Even as I write this, we are dealing with the consequences of presumption concerning the current conflict in the Middle East between the descendents of Isaac and Ishmael.
Since a liaise-fare approach won’t work and we can’t do God’s part for ourselves, what are we left with? In between the two ditches is a journey in God called “contending”. This involves a “wrestling” or a “struggling” with God (with prayer and fasting) even in difficult situations. Jacob wrestled with God before meeting his brother Esau. Paul charged Timothy to fight the fight of faith according to the prophecies spoken over him. Throughout history, we hear of intercessors “praying through” until God granted the request. Here are some principles I have found helpful:
1.) The Isaac Principle: Is my prophetic promise an idol? God spoke from Mt. Sinai saying, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Idols are not just little statues that people bow down to. Idolatry begins when we begin to esteem anything or anyone above God himself. In Genesis 22, God tested Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice the promised child, Isaac. Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac proved his first loyalty to God as a friend and his enormous faith.
2.) The pure heart principle: Do I want God’s promise primarily for my own honor, pleasure or comfort? James 4 tells us that we do not have because we do not ask. James goes on to tell his readers that when they do ask, they do not receive because they ask with wrong motives so that they can gratify their selfish desires.
3.) The Kingdom of God principle: the fulfillment of God’s promise will primarily bless others and advance the overall Kingdom of God forward in some dimension. We need to make sure that our dream is connected with God’s dream’s overall as described in the scriptures.
4.) The free-will principle: God so esteems us that He will not violate our free-choices. Even the end-time drama is about God bringing the most people possible into the highest level of love for His Son…without violating anyone’s free will. Therefore personal and prophetic promises involving other people (i.e…the salvation of a loved one) also involve their human choice as well as our personal decisions.
5.) The maturity principle: Can I walk in the promise of God without the fulfillment destroying my walk with God? I am very thankful that God has not allowed me to consistently walk in some of my prophetic promises involving widespread signs and wonders yet. In the 1940’s and in other cases, God anointed vessels with real intense miraculous gifts. However, very few people had the wholeness and character to stay steady in the grace of God. As the result, most of them fell into grievous sin, ruined their lives, and left wounds in the Body of Christ that have hindered many.
It’s sort of like training for medical school. We don’t hand the scalpel to a would-be surgeon who is in high school. We also don’t hand the keys to the car to a 10-year old who wants to be a race-car driver someday. There is always the journey of faith and training involved. The more intense the prophetic promise, the more intense (and lengthier) the preparation process will be.
6.) The brokenness principle: Prophetic promises come out of weakness and brokenness redeemed for the glory of God. God used a stuttering servant named Moses to lead Israel out of the wilderness. God used a fearful Gideon to rescue Israel from Midian. God used Abraham who had problems with deception as a pioneer on what it means to walk in faith. Closer to our day, God has used Bob Sorge speaking from his vocal injury to encourage thousands (perhaps millions) of believers to not give up when facing adversity.
7.) The Drama principle: God often fulfills his promises in the most dramatic way possible. There is a divine timing and poetic flow involved. For example, in May of 1999, my senior year in college, I found myself in the middle of a move of God on campus. God did fulfill that promise in 1995 and brought revival to Bethel College
8.) The Kindness of God Principle: It is out of God’s kindness and delight in us that the promises of God fulfilled. Ultimately, God himself is our great reward…forever!
Beware of the spirit of entitlement…
Run-ins the Spirit of entitlement…
During the corporate 40 day fast in March and April, we had been praying for several men in our midst who needed a miracle. Many were doing the fast on water only. Hopes were high for an outbreak of major healing miracles and a season of major revival. There was no major revival at IHOP-KC, but instead, there was a feeling of oppression. Immediately after the fast (from April through about June) the level of enthusiasm for sustained intercession by much of the IHOP-KC community greatly waned for several weeks with prayer meeting attendance significantly below average. What caused this dynamic?
Over the last few months, I’ve had some very negative run-ins with this problem on a personal level. However, through the trouble God in his grace has been exposing a major obstacle to the release of true apostolic ministry.
One of the key problems that I have discovered that afflicts people is what I will term “the entitlement spirit”. Before I go into how pervasive this problem is, I think that defining it would be helpful: An “Entitlement spirit” is simply selfish pride manifesting in anger or bitterness when we do not get what we think we deserve (real or perceived). What is really, really scary about this diabolical ploy is that we cannot perceive it…until we find ourselves blind-sided with anger and offense arising in our hearts due to injustice done against us (real or perceived)!
The spirit of entitlement in our culture…
The spirit of entitlement is deeply imbedded into our fallen nature and society. We are bombarded with its messages every day: “Have it your way”. “What you want is what you get.” “Get weather information at your fingertips.” “What’s your sleep number?” There are custom-made golf clubs. We have custom made teddy bears. A New York hotel has (for a very heavy price) custom beds and pillows. Sonic, a fast food restaurant has 168,000+ drink combinations and is running a contest. Even Nike now has consoles where you can custom-design your own tennis shoes.
The Government calls social security and our welfare system an entitlement program. The key buzz word around the globe these days is “rights”- animal rights, gay rights, women’s rights, prisoner rights, religious rights, logging rights, oil rights; rights, rights, rights! I recently heard a report that under the banner of “diversity” in Holland, that there is a political party called “pedophilia”. This political party desires to make underage sex (12-18 years old) legal-all in the name of freedom from “parental oppression”. All of this is being done in the name of correcting the “injustice” of not getting what I feel I deserve.
Please understand that I am for boundaries and standards that promote biblical human honor and dignity. God made human beings in His image and has put immeasurable value on each and every person. Anything we can do to improve the quality of life for the poor and disadvantaged (according to biblical moral standards) in the name of Jesus is honorable and glorious. What I am against is the spirit of entitlement- a manifestation of selfish pride, operating in the earth.
The spirit of entitlement in the Church…
In my short season at the International House of Prayer, I have witnessed many people who have fasted, prayed, or served in an extraordinary manner for a few months. Yet a year or so later, these people want nothing to do with prayer and fasting. People are left scratching their heads, asking “what happened?” I suspect the spirit of entitlement is a key malevolent factor.
The spirit of entitlement is pervasive within us as believers. So many of us as believers play little games with God in our hearts such as, “If I pray enough…If I serve enough, then I will break through and surely God will give me____ because I will deserve it”. On top of this, I have heard many sermons on television through the years re-enforcing this fallacy. I’ve heard many a Televangelist proclaim, “give a certain amount of money and you will receive the 100-fold blessing and a multiplication of finances”. The problem with the spirit of entitlement is that we don’t think we have problems with it until:
We feel “led by the LORD” to take drastic action in prayer, fasting, giving or service. We list our good motives for doing so, not knowing that a key underlying motive is that I want money, honor, comfort, and power for myself from God as the result of doing this thing. Expecting God to move decisively on our behalf, sometimes the exact opposite of what we wanted happens.
Our faith in God’s goodness towards us is now being shaken to the core and we are angry and bitter at God. Sadly, most people draw back from “radical Christianity” at this point and settle for “a form of godliness, but denying its power”. Worse yet, these offended believers now warn others not to be radical for God or else they will suffer the same fate. I believe that it is this spirit of entitlement (in reality, selfish pride manifesting in anger/offense over the perceived injustice of not getting from God what I think I deserve) that will cause a great falling away.
Overcoming the entitlement spirit and Correcting the greatest injustice of all
The Spirit of entitlement is perhaps the largest barrier to the release of true Apostolic ministry. In Church history, James, John, Peter, Paul and other apostles spoke the word of God with the virtue of heaven accompanied by signs and wonders. Surely for their time waiting on God and agonizing in intercession for that others would live eternally with God in joy, they deserve highest honor and comfort by all present in their day.
In response to their acts of mercy, they were all robbed, beaten, imprisoned, and abused. In response to this mistreatment, they reacted in kindness and mercy- the truest sign of genuine apostolic ministry. Paul said of the apostles, “When we are cursed, we bless, when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly… (1 Corinthians 4:12-13 NIV)”. Only someone truly free of the mindset of entitlement could ever react like this.
So what can we do about this monster within? In coming to the prayer room at IHOP-KC, I often listen to the following chorus based on Ephesians 2:5-10 by Justin Rizzo, one of the main worship leaders:
You owe me nothing, I deserve hell
You owe me nothing, but you’ve given me mercy
Our God has given us a gift of salvation that we will for all of eternity discover its implications. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). However in the midst of the greatest sacrifice of all time, we need to recognize the greatest injustice of all-time.
In Revelation 4-5; we find all of heaven engaged in a giant intercessory worship meeting. Scripture describes the throne, the four living creatures, multitudes of angels and 24 elders all participating in intercessory worship. The question needs to be asked of human beings, with all their longings fulfilled in God, why are they still praying and interceding? This is a dangerous question to ask!
At a contemplative prayer meeting hosted by Dave and Cheryl Doria, the Holy Spirit spoke of this continuing great injustice: “The greatest injustice is that My Son is not loved.” One Moravian missionary got hold of this reality and said, “I must win for the Lamb the reward of His suffering” as he sold himself into slavery to preach to other slaves before grieving loved ones. In the last days, God will finally have a people free of the spirit of entitlement who live out the dream of the Father’s heart in fullness.
