Have you ever noticed that what comes out of our mouths determines the looks we carry and get. Negative people tend to look negative, positive people look generally happy, and so on you get the idea. We tend to look at the life of David and focus on he was a man after the heart of God, but have you ever stopped to think about what that may have looked like? Psalms 119:169-176 I believe offers a glimpse and instructions on how we as believers in 2019 become that person.
First verses 169-170 tells us that David asks for understanding and deliverance ACCORDING TO GOD'S WORD. He isn't asking through a formula, or name it claim it, he simply focuses on the promises of God and asks according to them. James 4:3 says "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.(NASB)" We ask according to what we want not what God wants for our lives. Asking according to the revealed will of God according to His Word will always have us praying in line with Him and in that we can never go wrong.
Secondly, David doesn't just pray God's word he sings it. Verses 171-172, David asks to let his lips utter praise and his tongue to sing God's Word. A lot of songs we sing in church as nice and even fun, but not all of them are based on scripture. Some are so neutral they can be sung at Karaoke night and many would never realize they are Christian songs. If we use God's word as our source material for worship, I feel we will always find ourselves standing in His presence. I don't want my worship to trigger a simple visitation of God but a true MANIFESTATION of His presence and power, for that is the only thing that will truly help and change me, and bring others to Him.
In verse 175 David asks for life for his soul so he can live a life praising God! You may be like me, how do we do that, and he gives us the key in the second part of the verse, he asks God to teach him how. Jesus told us the Holy Spirit would be our teacher, and He is, our problem is we don't really want to learn. He is always talking to us, we generally don't listen because we have allowed to many distractions to enter into our lives.
So today look for ways to just live God's word, sing it, pray it and then listen. You might be surprised and what you hear. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the mighty and wonderful name of Jesus.
Shalom!
Monday, January 28, 2019
Sunday, December 16, 2018
What we have lost
This morning I was awakened by the Holy Spirit by a repeating message. He kept repeating it until I finally got up in obedience to share this message with all of you. As I look at the news, and being a student of history I see patterns that are being repeated and the church merrily bumps along, blissfully unaware of all we have lost. I am not talking about freedoms, money, or even political power, as it seems for now we have all of that in abundance. I AM talking about the power, and presence of the Living God manifesting in our services setting the captives free, healing the sick, and changing us to conform to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.
The first thing the Spirit kept ringing in my ears is the lack of reverence or respect for the presence of God. In the Psalms, repeatedly we read how all of creation trembles at His presence, yet in most churches today we treat coming before His presence with all the reverence of going to a sporting event or a concert. We come in with our minds on when will this service end, or on a myriad of other thoughts that distract us from the reason we are at a worship service. Many praise and worship teams put on wonderful concerts, that are devoid of anointing, to people with a voyeuristic view of worship, while some play on electronic devices COMPLETELY disconnected from the worship at all. Then we leave not feeling the presence of God at all because He had been welcomed or respected in that place or the lives of His people.
The second thing the Spirit said was there is not only a lack of the Presence of God, but a sore lack of the very word of God. In a time when we have access to more versions of the Bible than ever before, and when many of our preachers have been educated beyond what many of our predecessors, we have a real famine of hearing the word of God. From prosperity to self-help and other topics that make void the Word or add things to the Scriptures to fit our theology, or our desire not to offend people sitting in the pews, we have in effect told God that His word isn't good or powerful enough for the intellectual and social clientele that now make up the church. Yet when I read of the revivals of the past, it came not on the heels of intellectual preaching, but of men and women who took God at His Word, and preached His Word under His anointing, and it changed the lives of all who heard it. YET today, from the mega-church to the smallest store-front church many believers are being fed a gospel devoid of power, and devoid of love and devoid of the Holy Spirit's touch.
Thirdly, the mixing of Christianity with political thought which has created in the words of A.W. Tozer, "Churchianity", has made the church no longer salt and light but something much more insidious, a tool of the enemy to destroy the believers from the inside out. Some believers are being torn apart based on political party affiliation, while some churches openly espouse political views that are in stark opposition to the teachings of scripture, and will quickly attack anyone including other churches who are in disagreement with their stance.
All the while the souls find themselves in hell, many of them who have gone to church, prayed a prayer, and never experienced the new birth in the Spirit. The lack of conviction, and power in the church prevents them from truly experiencing Christ and His life changing power, GOD HELP US ALL!
Is there hope for the church, YES THERE IS, we must repent and seek God and His Spirit. Allow Him to have FIRST place in our services, and in our lives. We must get a hunger for His Word and desire an intimate walk with Him for He and He alone is our only source of salvation, and power.
Grace and Peace be multiplied to you as you walk daily in His grace.
AMEN
The first thing the Spirit kept ringing in my ears is the lack of reverence or respect for the presence of God. In the Psalms, repeatedly we read how all of creation trembles at His presence, yet in most churches today we treat coming before His presence with all the reverence of going to a sporting event or a concert. We come in with our minds on when will this service end, or on a myriad of other thoughts that distract us from the reason we are at a worship service. Many praise and worship teams put on wonderful concerts, that are devoid of anointing, to people with a voyeuristic view of worship, while some play on electronic devices COMPLETELY disconnected from the worship at all. Then we leave not feeling the presence of God at all because He had been welcomed or respected in that place or the lives of His people.
The second thing the Spirit said was there is not only a lack of the Presence of God, but a sore lack of the very word of God. In a time when we have access to more versions of the Bible than ever before, and when many of our preachers have been educated beyond what many of our predecessors, we have a real famine of hearing the word of God. From prosperity to self-help and other topics that make void the Word or add things to the Scriptures to fit our theology, or our desire not to offend people sitting in the pews, we have in effect told God that His word isn't good or powerful enough for the intellectual and social clientele that now make up the church. Yet when I read of the revivals of the past, it came not on the heels of intellectual preaching, but of men and women who took God at His Word, and preached His Word under His anointing, and it changed the lives of all who heard it. YET today, from the mega-church to the smallest store-front church many believers are being fed a gospel devoid of power, and devoid of love and devoid of the Holy Spirit's touch.
Thirdly, the mixing of Christianity with political thought which has created in the words of A.W. Tozer, "Churchianity", has made the church no longer salt and light but something much more insidious, a tool of the enemy to destroy the believers from the inside out. Some believers are being torn apart based on political party affiliation, while some churches openly espouse political views that are in stark opposition to the teachings of scripture, and will quickly attack anyone including other churches who are in disagreement with their stance.
All the while the souls find themselves in hell, many of them who have gone to church, prayed a prayer, and never experienced the new birth in the Spirit. The lack of conviction, and power in the church prevents them from truly experiencing Christ and His life changing power, GOD HELP US ALL!
Is there hope for the church, YES THERE IS, we must repent and seek God and His Spirit. Allow Him to have FIRST place in our services, and in our lives. We must get a hunger for His Word and desire an intimate walk with Him for He and He alone is our only source of salvation, and power.
Grace and Peace be multiplied to you as you walk daily in His grace.
AMEN
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Imitate God
Good morning all Greetings from our new ministry office here in beautiful north Las Vegas, Nevada. As we are all moved in and have done a few of the touristiy things, I have seen no shortage of Elvis impersonators walking the streets wanting people to take pictures with them, at a small fee of course. I was struck by how many people will imitate celebrities and others yet we are told in scripture who we are to imitate.
Ephesians 5:1 says “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. (NKJV). We are to imitate the actions of our Father. Before I comment further I want to show you the same text in the Message.
“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents.”
As Chrisitans we are to act like our Father. Jesus said He only did the things He saw the Father say and do, can we then do any less? 1 Peter 1:14-16 tells us “As obedient child do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance. But as the One who called you is holy, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” (NASB) Now I know what some of you are already saying, “Here comes the holiness take on scripture” I will confess I come from a Pentecostal Holiness background, and have struggled with this concept. As a sinful person, how can I be holy like my Father?
First realize you can’t do anything in your own power, it takes His. However, every tool we need is found in scripture to help us live a holy, set apart life for God. Verse 2 tells us to walk in love as Christ loved us. Walking in love means how we interact with others in the church and outside the church. If we are walking in love, we don’t lie on people or to people, we don’t judge people, but love them with the love that Christ loved us. In a world divided by politics, religion, and other issues we as Christians need to focus on walking in the Love of Christ on a daily basis.
I encourage you to read verses 3-5 to see love is to change our interaction and how we even talk. The message renders part of it that “Thanksgiving is our dialect” Let me leave you with three quick thoughts to help you today.
1. We walk in love (Agape) toward our God and Father, Jesus, His Son, and our elder brother!
2. We walk in love (Agape) toward each other.
3. Speak a language of thanksgiving daily, so you can speak life to not only yourself, but others.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Pastor Eric
Ephesians 5:1 says “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. (NKJV). We are to imitate the actions of our Father. Before I comment further I want to show you the same text in the Message.
“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents.”
As Chrisitans we are to act like our Father. Jesus said He only did the things He saw the Father say and do, can we then do any less? 1 Peter 1:14-16 tells us “As obedient child do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance. But as the One who called you is holy, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” (NASB) Now I know what some of you are already saying, “Here comes the holiness take on scripture” I will confess I come from a Pentecostal Holiness background, and have struggled with this concept. As a sinful person, how can I be holy like my Father?
First realize you can’t do anything in your own power, it takes His. However, every tool we need is found in scripture to help us live a holy, set apart life for God. Verse 2 tells us to walk in love as Christ loved us. Walking in love means how we interact with others in the church and outside the church. If we are walking in love, we don’t lie on people or to people, we don’t judge people, but love them with the love that Christ loved us. In a world divided by politics, religion, and other issues we as Christians need to focus on walking in the Love of Christ on a daily basis.
I encourage you to read verses 3-5 to see love is to change our interaction and how we even talk. The message renders part of it that “Thanksgiving is our dialect” Let me leave you with three quick thoughts to help you today.
1. We walk in love (Agape) toward our God and Father, Jesus, His Son, and our elder brother!
2. We walk in love (Agape) toward each other.
3. Speak a language of thanksgiving daily, so you can speak life to not only yourself, but others.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Pastor Eric
Sunday, May 6, 2018
Becoming Mature
All across America, students have taken some form of end of the year testing, to gauge what they have learned over the course of the year. Here in Tennessee, we titled our test TNready, it was supposedly designed to follow the curriculum that teachers in the state taught. While I am sure everyone has opinions about high stakes testing, that is not what I am here to discuss.
The book of James, was writtten to Jewish believers who were undergoing almost double persecution. First they were being perseucuted along with all the other Christians, whom Rome had convinced itself they were political dissentents and out to overthrow Rome. Secondly, when they left Judaism they were thrown out of the Synagogues, lost property, and were treated as dead by their own families. They were in the midst of testing, I guess it could be termed RUready testing!
Let’s look at James Chaper 1
1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Do you see the words, the encouragement, the admission that we are going to be tested???
Let’s take this message apart.
First he tells the belivers to see testing as joy! I know growing up in school and later in college, I never, NEVER looked forward to testing, and I can say as an adult, I don’t like tests and trials. Yet James tells me to consider it all joy when I encounter various trials. The Aramaic Bible renders it “Regard it as all joy” So what is the lesson here? First when we are in the midst of testing, our attitude during the test is VERY important. Remember Paul said in Philippians 5:18 “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Honestly do we give thanks, and worship in the midst of our testing? Secondly he reminds us that our emotions are more of a choice than we like to admit. We can choose to be happy, or choose to be angry, we get to choose, but mostly we allow the enemy to choose for us.
Verse 3 tells us that our tests build up our endurance and patience. I have learned asking for patience is always answered by something that requires patience. In the same way as we go through trials and tests, it is supposed to build up our ability to endure and fight the good fight of faith. We live in the "I want it now" mentality. With no exercise diets, get rich quick, and a plethora of other shortcuts to the things we want now. So when God brings a trial in our lives, many can't make it through because they haven't got the patience or endurance to run to the end. This has caused a Christianity that is incapable of fighting or standing.
So far James has told us to regard our trials as joy and allow them to build up endurance and patience. There is a third reason that trials are necessary in our spiritual experience is that they mature us and equip us. Today's world needs believers that are mature and able to represent the Kingdom of God with all of its power, yet we have too many believers fighting, giving up, or living a gospel that is focused only on the stuff of this world. Maturity brings a different point of view especially in the realm of wants versus needs. Children or childish people want everything they see, regardless if it really meets the needs in their life. Mature people don't live for the stuff, but just what they need to live life. Its amazing how our ideas change as we get older. Now a good book, a quiet place to read and time alone with God, means more to me than a trip to any amusement park.
As we end this brief rendering of these verses, take some time today and ask God what is He saying to you. Read these verses for yourself, and allow God to open them up to you in a powerful way.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Eric
pastorstansberry@gmail.com
So far James has told us to regard our trials as joy and allow them to build up endurance and patience. There is a third reason that trials are necessary in our spiritual experience is that they mature us and equip us. Today's world needs believers that are mature and able to represent the Kingdom of God with all of its power, yet we have too many believers fighting, giving up, or living a gospel that is focused only on the stuff of this world. Maturity brings a different point of view especially in the realm of wants versus needs. Children or childish people want everything they see, regardless if it really meets the needs in their life. Mature people don't live for the stuff, but just what they need to live life. Its amazing how our ideas change as we get older. Now a good book, a quiet place to read and time alone with God, means more to me than a trip to any amusement park.
As we end this brief rendering of these verses, take some time today and ask God what is He saying to you. Read these verses for yourself, and allow God to open them up to you in a powerful way.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Eric
pastorstansberry@gmail.com
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Where are you during worship?
Jeremiah 17:19-27
God requires Israel to start keeping the Sabbath as a time of worship to Him and not concentrating on their business affairs. This morning the Lord spoke to my heart to share this with my readers, so in the interest of obedience here it is.
"God's emphasis on the Sabbath draws attention to an attitude of the heart. The people of Israel are more interested in making money than worship, they focus on self, not on God. Their entire society chose physical wealth over spiritual security.
In America today, the people of God focus more on wealth than worship. They, like Israel, want stuff and not God's Kingdom. They seek silver and gold yet do not seek God's face or His ways. The change that we see in America today has been largely by the choice of the ones who claim to be believers, God's Word and Ways have not changed! If we put our focus on God, seek Him, Turn our whole being toward Him, He will bless and restore. If we, as Israel, turn a deaf ear and fail to heed His many warnings, then we will face His judgement, and it always starts at the door of His house.
We are 2 kingdoms in conflict, God's Kingdom, or the world, we must be faithful ambassadors, for Him so that He can Heal our land and bring peace again!
Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Eric Stansberry
God requires Israel to start keeping the Sabbath as a time of worship to Him and not concentrating on their business affairs. This morning the Lord spoke to my heart to share this with my readers, so in the interest of obedience here it is.
"God's emphasis on the Sabbath draws attention to an attitude of the heart. The people of Israel are more interested in making money than worship, they focus on self, not on God. Their entire society chose physical wealth over spiritual security.
In America today, the people of God focus more on wealth than worship. They, like Israel, want stuff and not God's Kingdom. They seek silver and gold yet do not seek God's face or His ways. The change that we see in America today has been largely by the choice of the ones who claim to be believers, God's Word and Ways have not changed! If we put our focus on God, seek Him, Turn our whole being toward Him, He will bless and restore. If we, as Israel, turn a deaf ear and fail to heed His many warnings, then we will face His judgement, and it always starts at the door of His house.
We are 2 kingdoms in conflict, God's Kingdom, or the world, we must be faithful ambassadors, for Him so that He can Heal our land and bring peace again!
Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Eric Stansberry
Friday, March 2, 2018
Knocking!!!
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7 NASB
When Jesus was teaching about prayer, he tells the believer to Ask and keep asking, knock and keep knocking, and seek and keep seeking, yet in our instant gratification society, we can't stay focused on this particular teaching. We like our instant oatmeal, microwave popcorn, instant messenger, and all the things that meet our needs in a blink of an eye. However, this instant answer doesn't always apply to prayer. In Daniel, he prayed 21 days, BEFORE his answer arrived, even though the answer was sent that very day. Sometimes, God waits before He sends the answer, sometimes the enemy slows the arrival of the answer, (notice I said slows down, he can't stop what God is doing) and sometimes the answer is no!!! So this has lead many Christians to become discouraged, and even lukewarm in their relationship to Christ, thinking that prayer doesn't work, and they are just living to make it to the sweet by and by not the nasty here and now.
This explains why there is a change in who is seeking. In Revelation chapter 3 Jesus says these words to the church at Laodicea. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. " He is standing outside the church knocking on our door. Imagine, rather than believers seeking Him and knocking on His door, He is standing outside our door waiting on us to let Him in!!
What does this mean for us? It evidence that we in the church have allowed the pace of the world and what it wants to infect our walk and relationship with God through Christ. I'll be the first to admit, that God's timing isn't mine, and sometimes I wished He moved faster, BUT when I wait on His answer and timing the miracle that comes is more than I could have imagined or hoped for. I like everyone else must learn to wait on God and allow Him to meet my need not only according to His riches but also according to His timing. I would rather be knocking on His door, over Him knocking on mine to get my attention!
So in your life who is doing the knocking, you or Jesus? If we are going to be the church that does the greater things, and shows the lost and dying world the power of Christ, then we should be at His door, and He should have the key to ours on a regular basis.
Grace and peace to you!!
Eric
When Jesus was teaching about prayer, he tells the believer to Ask and keep asking, knock and keep knocking, and seek and keep seeking, yet in our instant gratification society, we can't stay focused on this particular teaching. We like our instant oatmeal, microwave popcorn, instant messenger, and all the things that meet our needs in a blink of an eye. However, this instant answer doesn't always apply to prayer. In Daniel, he prayed 21 days, BEFORE his answer arrived, even though the answer was sent that very day. Sometimes, God waits before He sends the answer, sometimes the enemy slows the arrival of the answer, (notice I said slows down, he can't stop what God is doing) and sometimes the answer is no!!! So this has lead many Christians to become discouraged, and even lukewarm in their relationship to Christ, thinking that prayer doesn't work, and they are just living to make it to the sweet by and by not the nasty here and now.
This explains why there is a change in who is seeking. In Revelation chapter 3 Jesus says these words to the church at Laodicea. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. " He is standing outside the church knocking on our door. Imagine, rather than believers seeking Him and knocking on His door, He is standing outside our door waiting on us to let Him in!!
What does this mean for us? It evidence that we in the church have allowed the pace of the world and what it wants to infect our walk and relationship with God through Christ. I'll be the first to admit, that God's timing isn't mine, and sometimes I wished He moved faster, BUT when I wait on His answer and timing the miracle that comes is more than I could have imagined or hoped for. I like everyone else must learn to wait on God and allow Him to meet my need not only according to His riches but also according to His timing. I would rather be knocking on His door, over Him knocking on mine to get my attention!
So in your life who is doing the knocking, you or Jesus? If we are going to be the church that does the greater things, and shows the lost and dying world the power of Christ, then we should be at His door, and He should have the key to ours on a regular basis.
Grace and peace to you!!
Eric
Monday, January 22, 2018
Watch the light
I share this story not as a brag, or sensationalize my life in anyway. I only with to share this to warn believers of the reality of spiritual warfare that is occurring everyday. Let me start by saying Satan and God are not equal, Satan’s cannot in anyway defeat the Lord and has NO power of any equal level of God. The war if you will is for our souls and who we will serve for eternity. That being said I want to share an experience that has forever changed my life and made my walk with Christ more real and life changing that it has ever been.
I lost my teaching job in May of 2017, and throughout the summer I applied for other teaching jobs, but to no avail. As August approached, I became desperate, now at this time I was not walking in the light of Christ, but was serving my flesh and not pleasing my Father in heaven.
One night when I was crying out to anyone that would listen, I was visited by a figure wrapped in light. I knew it wasn’t Christ, but at the time didn’t know who it was. The figure spoke and named itself as wisdom, and wanted me to give myself over to it and he would get me a job back in teaching. At first this seemed like a good idea, but something prevented me from making the deal. I began researching the entity, and to my shock (at the time) this entity was identified not as wisdom, but at Lucifer, or the light bringer. It was at that moment, I realized how far from God I was walking, and like the prodigal son, I ran back home and my Father took me back. Since that time struggles I have had my entire life with pornography, and other sins of the flesh, lost their hold on me and for the first time I am completely free from them. Once I realized how easy it was to fall into a place where you can’t get back from, from surrenderering my soul to the enemy and turning back on my God, because the enemy came in like a friend not an enemy.
Since that night I have learned more about my spiritual authoirity and where I am supposed to be living in the spirit, I am living more victoriously than I ever had in all my adult life. Beloved, the enemy desires not only your soul, but the souls of your family, and he will come in not dressed in red tights, carrying a pitchfork, instead he comes as a friend, with a solution to your problem, the only problem is the price is too high.
If you are going through a trial and the enemy shows up trying to cut a deal, remind him, that you have been given authority is your don’t believe it read Luke 10:19 take your authority and put him on the run. I know who true wisdom is, and the true light is, and I want to share this with all of you.
Praise God, I am free and you can be free to in Jesus’s Name!!!
Eric
I lost my teaching job in May of 2017, and throughout the summer I applied for other teaching jobs, but to no avail. As August approached, I became desperate, now at this time I was not walking in the light of Christ, but was serving my flesh and not pleasing my Father in heaven.
One night when I was crying out to anyone that would listen, I was visited by a figure wrapped in light. I knew it wasn’t Christ, but at the time didn’t know who it was. The figure spoke and named itself as wisdom, and wanted me to give myself over to it and he would get me a job back in teaching. At first this seemed like a good idea, but something prevented me from making the deal. I began researching the entity, and to my shock (at the time) this entity was identified not as wisdom, but at Lucifer, or the light bringer. It was at that moment, I realized how far from God I was walking, and like the prodigal son, I ran back home and my Father took me back. Since that time struggles I have had my entire life with pornography, and other sins of the flesh, lost their hold on me and for the first time I am completely free from them. Once I realized how easy it was to fall into a place where you can’t get back from, from surrenderering my soul to the enemy and turning back on my God, because the enemy came in like a friend not an enemy.
Since that night I have learned more about my spiritual authoirity and where I am supposed to be living in the spirit, I am living more victoriously than I ever had in all my adult life. Beloved, the enemy desires not only your soul, but the souls of your family, and he will come in not dressed in red tights, carrying a pitchfork, instead he comes as a friend, with a solution to your problem, the only problem is the price is too high.
If you are going through a trial and the enemy shows up trying to cut a deal, remind him, that you have been given authority is your don’t believe it read Luke 10:19 take your authority and put him on the run. I know who true wisdom is, and the true light is, and I want to share this with all of you.
Praise God, I am free and you can be free to in Jesus’s Name!!!
Eric
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