A little over two years ago I heard Howard Storm’s for the first time. It changed the course of my life forever and healed my heart. I remember telling Catherine his story and weeping. Why my reaction? Because his story is fairly similar to my own. Please take the time to listen. You won’t be sorry that you did.
So Howard died and was escorted by familiar spirits into darkness. Howard had failed at life and was flushed down the toilet bowl of the universe. He went to hell.
I was so moved when Howard speaks of how the glimmer of hope entered his heart, and describes the pin prick of light that appeared and grew more and more glorious when he called out to Jesus to save him.
This described my own experience so very well.
I remember well the glorious moment in 2006 when the spark of hope lit in my heart. The glorious Light of Jesus has been growing ever since!
Jesus saved me from a very dark and utterly hopeless place. The stark terror, the despair and deep depression I had experienced I would not wish upon anyone.
There was even times along this journey that I thought exactly what Howard thought, that Jesus made a mistake and that I don’t belong.
Jesus has personally assured me, “You’re going to be with me forever!”
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12 NKJV
Last night my girl woke up very upset and I wondered if there wasn’t something going on in the spirit realm. So I prayed quite simply, “Go in Jesus Name”, to any evil spirits. I said it softly and I didn’t repeat it. I simply said, “You heard me. You must submit to his Name no matter how softly it is spoken”. My girl calmed down soon after that.
That night I had a “dream” that I was wrestling with a demon. It was so confident and experienced. It had both my wrists in a pressure point hold and had me kneeling before it. I truly realized I am just a ‘babie’ in the face of such experienced and crafty enemies such as these. This was a “samurai warrior” of a demon.
I said, “I submit myself to the Lord Jesus Christ” and felt the power of God come into me while I simultaneously woke up. Upon waking I knew it was still there and then this debate started to rage in my mind. All these arguments about why God was done with me or how I must be a false prophet or reasons why I really am separated from God barraged my mind. These arguments had previously overthrown me in years past. I can tell you from experience that when you let one of these lies take root in your mind – when you believe the enemy – such terror and despair can so flood your mind and leave you in a depressed sad state for years… such is my history.
But, I countered with the promises of God that had previously set me free, namely these:
“However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:37-40 NLT
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 NKJV
And:
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:1-3 NIV
I was reading those verses in John 17 tonight about how the Lord has authority over all mankind to give eternal life to as many as the Father has given him. Couple that idea with the above Scripture and think through the implications. Staggering isn’t it?
When you come to Jesus you cannot be rejected. He guarantees to give you eternal life… defined as a relationship with Life itself. When you believe in Jesus “there is no judgement that remains for anyone who believes in him” (Jn 3:18). Your “in” and he desperately wants for you to know it and have proof (based on the fact that God cannot lie). I know this will mean the world to someone who is reading this.
I guess I’m just amazed that God gives his babies like me authority even over the devil himself. That the devil has to flee from little ol me as I submit myself to the LORD Jesus Christ.
Becoming familiar with Scripture and the promises of God will be vital to our continued success in our wrestling match against all the kingdom of hell that surrounds us.
Saturate your mind in the Word (the Bible) and get to know the Word (Jesus).
I almost left out the best part. The next morning I talked with my girls about how there is power in the Name of Jesus and I taught them the song. It was delightful to hear my 2 year old sing it throughout the day:
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:5 ESV)
My wife had shared the above verse with me and it struck a chord with me. That idea, that he is making all things new is quite intriguing, isn’t it? It gives me hope.
I knew I wanted to write a song about it, so I did. Here it is:
One of the parts of the song goes like this:
Just like the wildflowers, springing from the desert
When the latter rains fall to the earth
You’re sons and your daughters, will rise with love’s power
When your Presence drenches your church…
With your love!
I had a vague recollection of the latter rain being from a Scripture passage somewhere so I looked it up and found this:
“Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.” (Joel 2:23 ESV)
This chapter in Joel 2 describes an army led by the LORD that most certainly bring ruin and destruction to any who maintain their rebellion against him. Listen to this:
“The LORD is at the head of the column.
He leads them with a shout.
This is his mighty army,
and they follow his orders.
The day of the LORD is an awesome, terrible thing.
Who can possibly survive?
12That is why the LORD says,
“Turn to me now, while there is time.
Give me your hearts.
Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
13Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,
but tear your hearts instead.”
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He is eager to relent and not punish.
14Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve,
sending you a blessing instead of this curse.
Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine
to the LORD your God as before.” (Joel 2 NLT)
So an interesting thing happened after I wrote the song. I had a dream in which someone was about to say something derogatory against the Latter Rain and Fresh Fire movement of God. I interrupted them by saying, “Isn’t it wonderful? I just want to receive everything that our loving heavenly Papa wants to pour out on his kids!” As I said this, I looked up and was filled with God’s Spirit.
I got curious about what this was all about. What is this Latter Rain and Fresh Fire? I looked it up and learned that there is an anointed man of God named Todd Bentley who is part of the Fresh Fire movement and draws heavily upon the inspiration of the Latter Rain Movement of God from the 1950’s. After a brief investigation I found this video.
I hope you find this video intriguing enough to do your own research and make some amazing discoveries!
“Seek the LORD while you can find him.
Call on him now while he is near.
Let the wicked change their ways
and banish the very thought of doing wrong.
Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them.
Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.” (Isaiah 55:6-7)
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” Isaiah 1:18 ESV
We had a fellowship meeting at our house on my birthday. It was amazing how the Lord set up the night. We ate, we talked, we hung out, and then gathered in the living room to worship through song and sharing of Scripture and ended by praying for each other.
One of my favorite songs I had chosen was a Vineyard song, Be the the Center. I had misspelled it “Bee the Center” on the sheet of paper hung for all to see. Why did I do that? I wondered. I even drew and colored a few bees on the paper.
(Listen and worship to this song as you read the rest of this):
Later someone asked me about the bees. I told them that I had actually been thinking about the difference between bees and wasps/hornets. Though they look very similar, they are as different as night and day.
Bees are a vital and beloved part of our ecosystem. It cannot be stressed about how invaluable they are. Not only do they promulgate all sorts of flora (most of our vegetables!), they also provide honey to boot.
Wasps and Hornets, however, invade the bees territory and killing and displacing bee populations. Though they may bear some resemblance to bees they are their enemies.
What am I getting at? Well, Jesus told a story about the kingdom of God having the wheat and the tares. The tares are like hornets. They resemble the wheat yet are enemies to the wheat. They encroach and displace and weaken the wheat.
The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
Notice that the angels know who is who. They want to remove the tares and ask God for permission to. They are told not to. Let them grow together lest you uproot a single wheat. God is not willing to lose a single one.
Now here’s the beauty part: The miracle of salvation is that Jesus is in the business of changing tares into wheat! The hornets can jump ship and become a valuable part of the ecosystem of the kingdom of God and start to make some sweet honey out of their lives! ISIS soldiers can become gentle warriors of Love and be the first to offer their lives to protect the rest of the hive of the body of Christ.
The Saul’s who hounded Christians to the death can become the Paul’s who risk their life daily to add to the growing number of those finding salvation and joining God’s family! The Ishmael’s (the self-righteous religious strivers) among us who have always persecuted the Isaac’s (the children of promise) of the kingdom of God can become the Isaac’s!
As Jesus said,
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.” (Matthew 12:33 ESV)
What I see hear is that this is what Jesus does and came to do. Transform the forest of humanity which was dry and brittle and a haunt of demons into good trees once again that flourish with good fruit.
I am reminded of this Scripture from Isaiah. Listen to this:
“In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
2In that day,
“A pleasant vineyard,a sing of it!
3 I, the LORD, am its keeper;
every moment I water it.
Lest anyone punish it,
I keep it night and day;
4 I have no wrath.
Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!
I would march against them,
I would burn them up together.
5Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me.” (Isaiah 27:1-5 ESV)
Ezekiel says this:
“Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.” Ezekiel 18:23 NLT
So, how will we respond? As the Scriptures say,
“Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin.” Romans 2:4
“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.” Isaiah 1:18 NLT
Christ is the end all be all of true spirituality. True spirituality never moves beyond him. He is the way the truth and the life and if someone comes with any message that diminishes Christ from the role as God, the Creator, the Savior of all mankind, Lord of all of both heaven and earth, than that is the deception from the enemy. Let’s keep Christ as the Head and the center of all our spiritual pursuits!
The following is a thought provoking talk by John Crowder. I can imagine what some people think about me by the fact that I’m sharing his talk. Some people avoid him because he is supposedly controversial. (Although I have no idea why people would think this! =) I am sharing this for the actual content of the talk. Give it a listen and let me know what you think:
What do I think? Well, I think he seems to lack compassion for the person he brings up and has deemed as schizophrenic and into sorcery. But, has said person moved away from a Christ centered message? It certainly seems that way on the surface. However, the truth is always stranger than fiction. I don’t judge someone based on hearsay… in fact, I try not to judge anyone ever!!
I don’t have all the facts. I don’t know all there is to know about everything to be in a place of judgement of another. I have always extended this courtesy toward John Crowder even when I don’t understand some of the ways he experiences God. I don’t judge him, yet here he seems to be passing judgement on another brother. (Judge with righteous judgement Jesus says). Is it warranted? Could be… and probably. Didn’t Elijah mock those in opposition to God? Yes. Paul also mocked the Judaizers and said that he wishes they would wack off their weiners (and keep from procreating and spreading their lies).
So, our message must stay centered on Christ. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! That’s the message. Just like John Crowder and others have said all along. The enemy wants to move us past our simple pure devotion to Jesus.
“But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.” 1 Corinthians 11:3 NLT
Wasps and Hornets, however, invade the bees territory and killing and displacing bee populations. Though they may bear some resemblance to bees they are their enemies.
Daniel Lovett 