You Talking to Me? – Part 55

Sometimes, a “You talking to me?” requires immediate action.

____________________

Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 21, 24, 26, & 28 – And God said . . .

_________________

It was February, 2001.  I was leading a ministry team of about 50 people on what would ultimately become a school of ministry in the Region sur Grande in Arequipa, Peru.  Our first trip was a very ambitious one.  We had a cardio-thoracic surgeon, additional medical personnel, construction people, youth and children’s workers, and several ministers who would be conducting evening and Sunday services around the region.  It seemed we were extremely busy with ministry almost every waking moment.  During one of our evening tent crusade meetings in which one of our team spoke, we were praying for people at the close of the service.  Outside the tent it was raining lightly.  We were not aware that the water from the rain had run down the inside aluminum tent pole and was causing electrical current from a 220-volt line to surge to the ground.  A man came in from the outside, mostly out of curiosity at that point in time.  He was not a Christian.  He had walked over beside the main tent pole, and as men are wont to do from time to time, stood there with his arm extended to prop against the pole.  But, with the electrical current flowing, he was unsuccessful.  Instead, the electrical current struck him, spun him around the pole twice, and with his weight, he was flung several feet from the pole, lying on the ground motionless.  The surgeon who traveled with us, and a number of medical personnel from the local hospital gathered around the body, and in a few moments simply backed away.  There was nothing they could do.  The next morning, when asked why he did not perform CPR, he said that when the heart is stopped by electrical current, the only way to restart it is with more controlled electrical current.

When he was electrocuted, I heard several cries that, to my American ear, sounded like someone was saying “miracle, miracle.”  I learned later that they were calling for medical assistance.  When I turned to look, I saw the doctor and his companions standing over the man, but taking no action.  That’s when Holy Spirit spoke to my heart saying, “Death cannot have him.  Go lay your hands on him and command him to live.”  For a brief moment, I looked around to see if someone else had heard that command.  I was having a “You talking to me?” moment.  But just as quickly, I realized the Lord was indeed talking to me.  I obeyed His voice, laying hands on that dead body.  About 10 seconds later, his chest suddenly rose and fell as he began to breathe.  If a few minutes he was on his feet, and within a few more minutes, he was confessing Jesus as his Lord.  You see, it doesn’t take long in hell to convince a man he needs Jesus. And when God is talking to you, it doesn’t take long to realize it.

Manna for Today – Genesis 1; Psalm 119:89; Proverbs 4:20-23; Mark 11:22-26; Romans 3:4

You Talking to Me? – Part 54

When you sincerely ask, “You talking to me?” God has a way of confirming that He is.

____________________

Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 21, 24, 26, & 28 – And God said . . .

____________________

Now, let’s see…where were we?  Oh, yes.  My friend had just rushed to me after I stood up from an altar, embraced me firmly, and lifted me from the ground.  Then suddenly, he remembered my injury, and sat me down very gently.  He was not aware that the pastor and evangelist had come and anointed me with oil.  But something was different.  At some point between my barely being able to walk into the church, and the time the evangelist called everyone to the alter for prayer, my back had stopped hurting, and I had forgotten all about any pain.  It was totally gone.  When my friend lifted me from the floor, I remembered the injury, but the pain was gone.  When my friend released me, all I could do was smile, rejoice, and even laugh.  I was completely healed!  The pain was gone.  I could bend, stretch, jump, and even lift my friend, easily.  I was completely healed! 

Suddenly, my conversation with Holy Ghost came back.  The pastor and evangelist, the elders, had done their job.  God had done His job, but at that moment, I did not realize it.  I came to an awareness that evening.  When I am faced with circumstances so powerful they provoke a “You talking to me?” moment at what God says, I am faced with a life-changing choice.  Will I believe the circumstances, or will I believe the Word of God?  That day in my home, I had made the choice to take the steps necessary to declare that I chose to believe God.  The Scriptures declares, “Faith without works is dead.”  I chose to offer my “works,” my “corresponding actions” as a testimony to the Lord and His faithfulness through His Word. 

I didn’t experience immediate results, but I DID experience God-confirmed results.  I was healed!  Completely healed?  To God be the glory.  Hours before, I was in excruciating pain, and after thorough medical exams, my only remedy was future serious medical procedures, likely surgery.  But there in the church, standing at the altar, just hours after being anointed with oil according to the word of God, I was pain free, knowing I was totally healed.  You see, there are times when circumstances will be so strong, that even though we believe in God, we will have a “You talking to me?” moment when the Word of God comes into direct conflict what our natural feelings, especially if those feelings are causing crippling pain.  Standing there at the altar, I was reminded of my own “You talking to me?” moment, and at that same moment rejoiced in knowing that what the Lord had performed in my body was His eternally confirming, “Yes, I am!” 

Manna for Today – Genesis 1; Psalm 119:89; Proverbs 4:20-23; Mark 11:22-26; Romans 3:4

You Talking to Me? – Part 53

Sometimes “You talking to me?” moments may include pain.

__________________

Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 21, 24, 26, & 28 – And God said . . .

__________________

It was 1973.  I had been married for two years, we had no children, I was a very inexperienced bi-vocational minister (working a full-time secular job and speaking when I had the opportunity).  I also played third base for the softball team of the company that employed me.  I had injured my back rather severely while playing ball, and the doctor’s report was that I would likely need some kind of surgery.  I was out of work with pain, barely able to get from my bed to the bathroom.  Once again, the pain in movement was excruciating.  The doctors had restricted me to bed for at least a week.  But God . . .

There were meetings going on at the church we attended.  A real New Testament evangelist was speaking nightly.  My wife had called our pastor, so he came to our home with the evangelist to minister to me according to James.  Remember, I was a novice in ministry, and in many ways, still young as a believer, especially as it related to Pentecost.  The pastor and evangelist anointed me with oil and prayed the prayer of faith.  They encouraged me in the Word, and then headed for the door to leave.  The evening service would begin in about four hours. 

As I lay in the bed, Holy Spirit ministered to me.  He asked me what I was doing, laying in the bed.  I reminded Him of my pain.  He reminded me of His Word.  Had the elders been called?  Had they come?  Did they pray?  Did they anoint me with oil?  Was the Word of God true?  Of course, the answer to all those questions is “YES!”  So, why was I still in bed?  And there it was.  You know what happened.  In my mind I’m thinking, “I’m in terrible pain.  You talking to me?”  Still, I sat up, put my feet on the floor, stood up, gathered all the strength I could, and went to the door to say good-bye.  When the pastor and evangelist had gone, I asked my bride to draw me a bath.  She did, I managed to take a bath, and somehow got dressed.  I was going to church.  I struggled to my car, Bible in hand, and drove to the church house.  When I opened the car door, I had to lift my legs to get them out of the car, and literally pull myself to my feet to go inside the church where I could sit down.

The evangelist spoke and called everyone to come to the alter to pray.  I went to the alter and knelt to pray with everyone else.  When prayer time was ended, a dear friend, knowing of my energy, ran to be, threw his arms around me, locking them behind my back, and picked me up.  Tomorrow I’ll share the rest of the story.

Manna for Today – Genesis 1; Psalm 119:89; Proverbs 4:20-23; Mark 11:22-26; Romans 3:4

You Talking to Me? – Part 52

The manifest power of God in men’s lives is absolutely astounding!

__________________

Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 21, 24, 26, & 28 – And God said . . .

Connecting to yesterday’s Second Miler, as Paul Harvey used to say, “Here’s the rest of the story.”  I had shared the story of Pastor Henry Hutchins.  With no formal education, when he was born again as a teenager, he could neither read nor write.  But in earnest prayer he had begged the Lord to teach him to read the Bible, and in dream, the Lord showed him how that would happen.  But it took diligent searching of the Scriptures, word by word for days, until he found the one word the Lord had showed him.  That word was “Philippi,” and its first use was in Matthew 16:13.  When Henry saw that word, the Lord opened His understanding, and by a miracle of the Lord, he was able, from that moment forward to read the Bible.  I have both watched and listened to him read the Scriptures.  He read without hesitation.  Basic English pronunciation flowed from his lips like a steady stream, uninterrupted.  He could find chapter and verse as quickly as any person I’ve ever known.  What God did that day was supernatural indeed. 

Let’s take a look at the first verse Henry ever read.  “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?“  Wow!  Can you imagine, never having been able to read, and suddenly, the light of heaven turns on in your mind, and the first thing you read are these words?  When he had opportunity to share this story with me, I was awed by the presence of the glory of God on him and through his eyes.  That moment when his eyes were opened impacted and marked him indelibly for the rest of his life.  And when I say he could read the Scriptures, I mean, he could read the Scriptures.  He read with the eloquence and fluency of a college professor.  Every word seemed to be clear and well-articulated.   It was truly supernatural.  But there’ more.

While he could read the Scriptures with tremendous clarity and accuracy, he still could not read his own name printed on a piece of paper.  He could not read the words of the church songs in the hymn book.  He was a master craftsman in the building trade, in both carpentry and masonry, but he could read his own contracts.  My mother took care of his accounting books for many years.  If he needed anything other than the Scriptures read, he came to her to read it to him.  That still baffles my thinking.  But it was a God-thing.  God gave him precisely that for which he asked, and it served him well into his late 80’s.  But when he would tell the story, that moment when the Lord showed him the word “Philippi,” and told him to find it in the Bible was, for him, a clearly profound “You talking to me?” moment. 

Manna for Today – Genesis 1; Psalm 119:89; Proverbs 4:20-23; Mark 11:22-26; Romans 3:4

You Talking to Me? – Part 51

“You talking to me?” moments are not confined to Bible characters.  They still happen.

Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 21, 24, 26, & 28 – And God said . . .

_______________________

In recent days, I have written about “You talking to me?” moments in  the lives of Bible characters; Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Noah, Moses, and many more.  Today, I want to share about a “You talking to me?” moment in the life of a 20^th century man of God I knew personally.  It was the man of whom I write today who told me this story.  His name was Henry Hutchins.  He was my first pastor, and I knew him from my earliest youth, living next door to him in the earliest of those days.  Here is a “You talking to me?” moment in his life.

Imagine being a teenager prior to World War One.  He was uneducated, practically alone in life, and had just accepted Jesus as His Savior.  He was in love with Jesus, but could neither read nor write.  Today he would be called a total illiterate.  He sat on the front porch of the little wooden house in which he lived, holding a Bible in his hand, weeping and begging the Lord to teach him to read.  He was so persistent in his crying that he fell asleep from being so tired.  As he slept, the Lord gave him a dream.  In his dream, he saw a word standing before him in letters (these are his words) so big they looked like railroad boxcars standing on their end.  In his dream, the Lord spoke to him and told him that when he found that word in the Bible, He would teach him how to read His Word.  When he awoke, the search was on.

Where does a man who cannot read a single word begin to search for a word he has been shown, and that has been imprinted indelibly on his mind?  It only makes sense that he would start at the beginning.  And so, he began.  One word at a time, line after line, column after column, page after page, chapter after chapter, book after book – he searched.  All through the entire Old Testament, he searched without finding that single word.  He turned his attention to the Gospels, and finally, he saw the sought-after word.  It was in Matthew 16:13 – “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?“  The single word he had so diligently sought for days on end was before his eyes.  The word was “Philippi.”  He was the word.  He remembered how the Lord had pronounced it for him.  He spoke it out loud, and suddenly, yes suddenly, his eyes were opened, his understanding was opened, and he opened his mouth and began to read.   But that’s not the end of the story.  Tomorrow I will share with you, as Paul Harvey used to say, “the rest of the story.”

Manna for Today – Genesis 1; Psalm 119:89; Proverbs 4:20-23; Mark 11:22-26; Romans 3:4

You Talking to Me? – Part 49

Imagine doing something greater than Jesus ever did in His earthly ministry.  “You talking to me?”

___________________

Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 21, 24, 26, & 28 – And God said . . .

___________________

John 14:12 says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”  As difficult as it may seem to believe, and regardless of how resistant your mind may be to the thought, it is still true, the words coming from the lips of our Messiah Himself.  Words can be no more accurate and truthful than when they flow from the lips of Jesus, our Lord.  We ARE COMMANDED to do the works that Jesus did in the earth.  If Jesus did it, you are commanded to do it.  I fully realize that some of those things come under that heading of “gifts of the Spirit,” and that such gifts ONLY are manifest “as the Spirit wills.”  However, the point must be made, that if Jesus commanded it, and if we will put ourselves in the position to be used by Holy Ghost, and prepare ourselves to be used by Him, those “gifts of the Spirit” will, in truth, become manifest through our lives because Holy Ghost wills it.

But hold on.  If being commanded to do the works of Jesus prompted a “You talking to me?” moment for you, there is another one ready for its big scene with you before you get off the stage.  Jesus said we SHALL do the works He did, but then He added, “and greater works than these shall he do, because I go to the Father.”  Greater works!?  “You talking to me?”  Yes, I’m talking to you, but far more importantly, Jesus is talking to you.  Jesus said you SHALL do greater works than He did in His earthly ministry.  Oh, my!  How can that be?  What works could possibly be greater than the works Jesus did in His earthly ministry?  I’m glad you asked, because I’m about to talk to you some more.

Before any person could be born again, and therefore, before any person could be filled with Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with tongues as Holy Ghost gave utterance, the two greatest supernatural events in history had to occur.  First, Jesus had to be crucified, and then raised from the dead.  You see, in order to be born again, you must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead.  And secondly, Jesus had to ascend to the right hand of the Father, be seated, and pray the Father to send Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost so man could be born again and filled with Holy Ghost with the initial physical evidence of speaking with other tongues as Holy Ghost gave utterance.  That COULD NOT HAPPEN during Jesus’s earthly ministry.  Go ahead.  Breathe.  I’m talking to you.

Manna for Today – Genesis 1; Psalm 119:89; Proverbs 4:20-23; Mark 11:22-26; Romans 3:4

You Talking to Me? – Part 47

I  am awed by the power of God, and how that power was manifest through Jesus in the earth.

_______________________

Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 21, 24, 26, & 28 – And God said . . .

______________________

John 14:12 says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”  I thought I’d just come right to the point today.  Almost anyone who has been a Christian for a few months can tell you about, at the very least, SOME of the great works Jesus did.  They may not be able to cite chapter and verse, or even share all the details or insights of revelation that arise from it, but they can tell you that it happened.  I am sure, too, that most Christians, at some point, have marveled at the works Jesus did during His earthly ministry.  Think about some of those works.  He healed all manner of sickness and disease.  He cleansed leprosy, unstopped deaf ears, loosed mute tongues, opened blind eyes, made the lame to walk.  He multiplied loaves and fish to feed the multitudes, sent Peter fishing for tax money, and turned water to wine. He calmed storms, walked on water, cast out devils with His Word, and raised the dead.  Awesome indeed!

But it doesn’t end there.  Take a moment to read John 14:12 again.  In fact, read it several times.  It would be great to memorize it, and to give serious meditative thought to what it says to you.  There are two levels of the manifestation of God’s power revealed in this one verse, and both of them, even to this day, can post a “You talking to me?” thought in my mind.  When it does, I am required to apply mind-of-Christ-thinking to bring myself back into alignment with God’s Word.  I’ve heard this passage read often in Church, and even heard some ministers try to explain it away.  The problem they face is a simple one, and yet impossible to overcome.  These are the Words of Jesus, settled forever in heaven, words the Lord hastens to perform, and because they are the Words of God, they shall never pass away.

Do you believe in Jesus?  Do you believe the Word of God?  Do you believe that if God said it, that settles it?  For me, the answer to all three questions is a resounding “YES!”  And I’m sure it is for you, too.  That being settled, I now thrust into your awareness a strong “You talking to me?” moment.  Read John 14:12 once again.  Jesus said, if you believe on Him, that you shall do the same works He did in His earthly ministry.  There it is.  You’ve read it.  The words that came from the lips of Messiah Himself.  YOU SHALL DO THE WORK THAT HE DID.  The question arises, are we seeing that?  If not, there is a gap that needs to be filled in our walk with Him in love, faith, obedience, and honor.  And, yes, I’m talking to you.

Manna for Today – Genesis 1; Psalm 119:89; Proverbs 4:20-23; Mark 11:22-26; Romans 3:4

You Talking to Me? – Part 48

Some commands Jesus gave are hard for the natural mind to grasp; “You talking to me?” moments.

________________

Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 21, 24, 26, & 28 – And God said . . .

_______________________

John 14:12 says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”   Today we continue to look into one of the strongest “You talking to me?” provoking passages in God’s Word.  But the question arises, “Why does it provoke such thinking so powerfully in the minds of believers?  The answer is really quite simple, and at the same time, quite profound.  It all has to do with thinking.  That is one of the reasons I pen the words so often to “think” about a particular thing.  We have been given the mind of Christ.  We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We have been told what things we are to hold in our minds as anchors to our thoughts.  We are commanded to bring “every thought into the obedience” of Christ.  Yet, with all these commands in Scripture, far too many Christians are still bound by their old form of natural thinking that will inevitably bring the believer into conflict with himself as the Word of God enlightens one path, but the soul (mind, will, intellect, and emotions) prefer to walk a more familiar, or so it seems, path of darkness. 

Look again at the sheer dynamic of the commands of John 14:12.  Jesus did NOT say that those who believe on Him SHOULD do the works that He did.  Jesus said, HE SHALL DO.  Note once again, this is not a verse speaking to possibility.  If that’s all it did, it would still be profoundly powerful and worthy of pursuit.  This verse speaks a command.  Jesus said the believer SHALL DO what He did.  “SHALL” is a command word.  Jesus fully expects you and I to rise up and fulfill that command.  So, when you read John 14:12, you must accept it as a command. 

Dear friend, the moment you accept this verse as a command, one of the first thoughts that will fly at your mind is “You talking to me?”  To the traditionally thinking, or religiously thinking mind, this command is staggering.  After all, Jesus was the Son of God.  He was born of the incorruptible seed of God’s Word through a virgin.  Why, we shouldn’t even begin to think we could do what Jesus did.  But I’ve a question for you.  Have you been born again?  Then you, too, are a son of God, an heir of God, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ.  God made you to be that person.  And having been born to it, I would suggest that you grow up, discover the truth of God’s Word about who you are, and accept your responsibility.  “You talking to me?” will be no excuse for failing to perform just because it sounds to great to your carnal mind.

Manna for Today – Genesis 1; Psalm 119:89; Proverbs 4:20-23; Mark 11:22-26; Romans 3:4

You Talking to Me? – Part 46

While we’re still in the gates, let’s finish the job.

Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 21, 24, 26, & 28 – And God said . . .

_________________

Our focus today is still Jesus’s imagery of “the gates of hell” of which He spoke in Matthew 16:13-20.  I’ve done what I can with limited space and time to give you a clear understanding of the imagery Jesus used concerning “the gates of hell.”  But in order to bring this portion of the “You talking to me?” series to a definable conclusion, I want to take you back to Mark 16:15-20, and what we call the Great Commission.  I only want to talk about six of the words Jesus spoke as He authorized that commission.  Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world.”  I remind you again that the word used for “world” in the Greek language is “kosmos.”  It means the world system.  Remember, Satan is the God of this world.  Man’s system, as it exists in the world, still falls under the thumb of Satan.  But the Church has been given its orders.

We are to “go ye into all the world,” and to accomplish that, we must go through “the gates of hell.”  And it is in that arena that we are to occupy until Jesus comes.  We are still fighting the good fight of faith every day.  We still battle against the enemy of our spirit every day.  We still have battles to fight, and victories to win.  We can go into every battle we face with full confidence and assurance that we will win, that no weapon formed against us will prosper, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against us.  YES, I’m talking to you! 

Where does God want you?  The term “the gates of hell” is plural.  Through which gates does Father desire you to go?  Is it business?  Government?  Education?  Health care?  Industry?  Performing arts?  Graphic arts?  Sports?  Politics?  All of these worldly elements have points of entry.  In today’s world, they are the gates of hell.  Every arena I have named if rife with demonic influence of potential power, riches, fame, and pleasure.  These are the very gates of hell.  God has called us to charge into those gates, not blindly, but led by His Spirit, trained and instructed in His Word, and made fully competent by Holy Ghost for every function we are called to fulfill.  It’s time we became more familiar with the landscape inside the gates of hell by stepping outside the comfort and beauty of our air-conditioned sanctuaries.  It’s time we became more serious about the callouses on our knees  than the comfort of our backsides on the pews.  And it may actually do us some good to add to our litany of choruses some songs of battle that “we are able to go up and take the country” so we can enter the sanctuary singing “I went to the enemy’s camp, and I took back what was stole from me.”  It’s war, my friend.  Attack!  And YES, I’m still talking to you!

Manna for Today – Genesis 1; Psalm 119:89; Proverbs 4:20-23; Mark 11:22-26; Romans 3:4

You Talking to Me? – Part 45

While we’re in the “gates,” we may as well talk about it.  Our victory is waiting.

________________

Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 21, 24, 26, & 28 – And God said . . .

_______________

Again today we step into “the gates of hell” that Jesus declared would NOT prevail against His Church.  I know I have written some strong words in recent days, but nothing has changed.  I’m still writing of the words of Jesus that painted us a picture of His expectations for His Church.  I’m still convinced that much of today’s Church, if it saw this clear imagery of which I write would find itself slammed into a “You talking to me?” moment.  Let’s consider “the gates of hell” yet more.

In traveling to Israel in 2020, and while walking through some of the archaeological digs of some ancient cities of Israel, I gained a much deeper understanding of the imagery Jesus was using in Matthew 16.  It was not coincidental that Jesus chose Caesarea Philippi as His point for making His open declaration of war for His Church.  In cities of those days, when one entered into the city gates, he did not go directly up into the city.  A defended city would have walls all about the city.  But at the gates, that which would usually be one of the weaker points of entry, the defenses were made especially strong.  The defensive wall of the city would continue into the city on the right side of the gate as you entered.  Then very quickly, there would be a left turn, then a right turn, followed by another right turn, and finally a left turn into the city proper.  On both sides of all these turns, defensive walls loomed above those entering.  If you were an attacking force, you would have not room to mount a defense, you front, flanks, and back would be totally exposed to arrows, lances, and hurled stones from the defensive walls.  In effect, an attacking force would find itself in a shooting gallery in which they were the targets, like sitting ducks, or as one old adage says, “fish in a barrel.”

This is where the “You talking to me?” moment is found.  Can you see the place into which the Lord expects His Church to charge in our spiritual warfare?  Why, we’re talking about suicide!  “You talking to me?”  Indeed, I am, and so was Jesus.  He has already declared that hell’s gates would NOT prevail against you.  He has clothed you in His armor, armed you with His weaponry and shield, and assigned Holy Ghost as your “rereward,” or “rear guard.”  No weapon formed against you shall prosper.  You are more than a conqueror; you are an overcomer.  Your enemy comes before you to be smitten before you face.  He comes one way and flees seven ways.  What have you to fear?  You overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of your testimony.  I only have one more word for your today.  ATTACK!

Manna for Today – Genesis 1; Psalm 119:89; Proverbs 4:20-23; Mark 11:22-26; Romans 3:4