Dont stop

1 Sam 20:38And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.

This was a decoded message to David that was hiding behind a rock. The message was clear. Run, and don’t stop. DON’T STOP. It was the same message that was given to Lot and his family. Run to the mountains, and don’t stop. In the first story, David is running from a backslidden religious leader. In the second story, Lot and his family are running from Sodom, a picture of the world. Whatever brought you to the truth, whether from a fallen church or directly from the world, the message is the same; don’t stop! 

The Devil only has one agenda. To him, it’s not over when you became born again. To him it’s not over when you gave your life to Christ. He knows he still have a chance, if he can stop you before you cross the finish line. So, today, remind yourself that to quit is not an option. DON’T STOP!

When they climb Mount Everest, and they got close to the top, there is one important rule. Stick together and keep moving, and don’t stop. Because of the height, because of the temperature, and because of the altitude, the danger of stopping is higher than any before. This is also true in a spiritual sense. The higher we get, and the closer we get to the coming of the Lord, the more dangerous it is to stop. We have to encourage one another to keep moving. If you see someone stopping up, give them a gentle push and remind them; hey, we are almost there. DON’T STOP now.

WAKE UP

Matt 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.2  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.3  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:4  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.5  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

They ALL slumbered and slept. It seems like the closer we come to the coming of the Lord, its harder and harder to stay awake. God has given us signs that will remind us of his close coming. Some of the signs have been like a huge alarm clock for the church. When Israel got their land in 1948, it was like an alarm that woke up churches and Christians all over the world. But after some time, the church went back to sleep. Then the end of the cold war, and the fall of Soviet Union, and the fall of the Berlin wall served as another wakeup call. Again the church went back to sleep. After this the 9/11 attacks and the following war against Iraq. Saddam Husseins attempt to drag Israel into the war, by sending Scud Missiles against Israel woke many churches up. Again as things normalized, churches fell asleep. I remember also how the big Tsunami, Christmas of 2004 reminded us on the prophesy in Luke 21.25.
How is it that the church always goes back to sleep? What we need is the biggest and best sign of them all. In the last days sayeth the Lord; I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh. We need a Holy Ghost outpouring revival, which literally means awakening. Let us pray for a worldwide wakeup call, that will keep us awake till Jesus comes.

My new identity in Christ

Gal 3:27For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

In the Kingdom of God, we don’t differ between Jews and Greeks. We don’t differ between race and culture. In the Kingdom of God we don’t differ between Bond and Free. That means we don’t differ over financial status. In the Kingdom of God we don’t differ between male and female. There is only on division in the Kingdom of God. Saved, or unsaved. Outside of Christ or inside of Christ. Baptized or not baptized. Ready or not ready. 

There is a reason why God brought all races, languages and cultures together, when he gave birth to the church on the day of Pentecost. I will build MY church, Jesus said. And MY church shall be ONE church for everyone. In my church everyone will be united in me. There is no such a thing as a black church. There is no such a thing as a Norwegian church. There is no such a thing as a Filipino church. If you are born again, and if you have put on Christ, you are my brother. Then you are my sister. The moment you put on Christ, you take off your own identity. We have all received a new identity, and a new name.

There are two lessons here. Lesson one is; lets not divide what God has united. Lesson two is; lets not unite what God has divided. The division is not between male or female. The division is not between black and white. The division is between baptized or not baptized. 

Have you put on Christ? Have you made yourself one with him? Have you changed your identity? 

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

The Compensation

Joel 2:25And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

These are different names of locusts and insects that had come and destroyed the crop of Israel. What one left, the other took over, until absolutely everything was destroyed. We have a saying in Norwegian; “an accident seldom comes alone.” Have you experienced that in your life? One bad news has taken over after another? Sometimes we feel the enemy has stolen so much from us, and that we have lost so many things. We are wounded, and hurt. But God promised that he will restore whatever the enemy has taken from us. The word used in the Norwegian Bible for restore, is compensate. When I worked as a carpenter, we had all kind of different compensations. F.ex, if we had to work on a holyday, we had holyday compensation. If we had to work on a special dirty job, we had dirt compensation. If we had to use our own car, we received driving compensation. If we had to use our own tools we had tool compensation.

It would be an addition to our regular pay that should compensate the inconvenience.

Here we see God promise that he would compensate whatever inconveniences the enemy has brought on us. What is this compensation? He reveals that in verses 28-29:

28And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

29And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

Have you received your compensation? Have you received the Holy Ghost?

The greatest gift of all

Luk 2:10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidingsof great joy, which shall be to all people.

11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

“Unto you…” 

Isaiah says, a child is born, a son is GIVEN… It is said to be the greatest gift of all. This child is born “unto you”! IT is your gift. But actually, even though this baby Jesus is presented as the gift, it is not entirely true. The gift was inside of him. The gift was wrapped in human flesh. And the gift came with a note. Do not open until after my death and resurrection. The gift was alive and grew. John says it like this: 1 John 1:1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

Its like we do with the gifts under the tree. We touch it, shake it, feel after some clues. John says we looked upon this gift, and our hands handled it. We tried to understand what this gift was all about. Then Jesus said, go to Jersusalem and wait. There you will see and receive whats inside. Actually, it was unwrapped on Calvary, and they received it on Pentecost. This gift has been given to ALL MEN, and you included. The gift still says, do not open before Calvary. You must go Calvary, and repent. Thats how you unwrap it. That opens the gift to you. Peter says, REPENT, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the GIFT of the Holy Ghost. The Giver is the Father. The wrapped gift is the Son. The unwrapped gift is the Holy Ghost. And when you unwrap it you realise you have received both The giver and the gift inside of you. The greatest gift of all is waiting to be unwrapped by you. 

Javelin or Harp

1 Sam 18:10And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.

These two Kings sitting in the same room, represents two types of Christians. One represented by the Javelin, and the other represented by the harp. The harp represents Love, Joy, Peace, humility and the fear of God. The Javelin represents hatred, bitterness, jealousy, and fear of people. It was Saul’s fear of people that placed him with a Javelin in his hand. The text says that he prophesied with a javelin in his hand. It is always dangerous when leaders go to the pulpit with a javelin in their hand. When Christians open their mouth having a javelin. People WILL get hurt. Why did he have the javelin when he was in his own house surrounded by his own soldiers? It was because he didn’t trust anyone. He feared the people around him. Fear of people produces the fruit of the flesh. Do you fear people? Do you have a trust issue? Then maybe you have a javelin in your hand. You will end up hurting someone.

David on the other hand, had a harp. He loved the ones around him. He feared only God. Fear of God produces fruit of the Spirit. Let us fear God and love people. If you are together with people that are hateful, bitter or jealous, then just play the harp. The dark and heavy spirit will leave. 

Come and see

John 1:46And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

IT was a reason why Nathanael was hiding under a tree. He was disappointed and hurt, and he was afraid to get hurt one more time. He was afraid to be disappointed. Maybe Nazareth had disappointed him. That’s why he said; can anything good come out of Nazareth. Some times, no matter how many times you have been disappointed or hurt, you just have to try again. Peter had toiled all night, and tried to explain it to Jesus. However he tried again. And, boy was he glad he did. Dare to take the step of faith, even though you have tried before.
If Nathanael had not tried, he would have been stuck in his disappointment. He would have stayed in his hurt. Instead he became an Apostle, and experienced the greatest miracles no man has ever seen.
Receive his invitation today. Come and see. Try him. And you will find that a great ministry is waiting for you. Great miracles waiting to be unfold.