Despised And Disdained

For He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; He has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. (Ps 22:24)

Have you ever pretended to not notice someone in the midst of their plight ... their afflection? It may have been someone needing food or clothing or a ride or help in getting themselves straightened out or help for a loved one. They may have been lost, or fallen, or attacked or captured by addiction. It could have been someone overwhelmed by life or an urgent need. Me too.

God is not like that. He doesn't turn a blind eye or a deaf ear. He doesn't ignore or pretend to be unaware. He doesn't hid his face but listens for an invitation to help. As it is said in Exodus 3, God sees, hears, cares, and responds.

Man may desert us or ignore us, but not God. He is ever listening for the cry that welcomes Him and his activity in our lives.

Let It flow

O God You are awesome in all your ways
It is to You that my spirit does pray
All that is my life is found in You
May your Holy Fire fall on me anew

O Creator Spirit come capture my soul
Overflow my life and make me whole
Father, Son, and Spirit I want to know
Come River of God, let it flow, let it flow, let it flow

Glory And Belief

"How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? (Jn 5:44 NASB)

Let’s take a moment and ask ourselves which we desire more, to receive glory from man or the glory that is from God. Do we do what we do to be seen by men and be recognized and well thought of by them, or do we do what we do because we love God? Do we do what we do because we want to impress others or give them a certain impression of our selves, or do we do what we do because of who we are? Do we only do what we do only when people can see us doing it, or do we also do what we do when they can‘t?

The Pharisees did nothing in hiddeness. Matthew writes, "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.' (Mt 25:5-7 NIV).

Both desires have an effect on our ability to believe God and His Word. One group loves to be seen, recognized, and given honor by man resulting in the inability to believe God because they do not hold Him in honor. The other group loves to be hidden in and see God, resulting in the ability to believe God, trust in Him and His word.

Religion is about performance and being recognized for that performance resulting in rituals. Relationship on the other hand is about knowing and being known, resulting in being and doing. Being is enjoying being His and in relationship with Him and hidden in Him resulting in an overflow of His life through us enabling our doing of the good works which God prepared beforehand for us to walk in (Ep 2:10).

One brings glory to man, the other brings glory to God. One brings the inability to believe, the other increases the ability to believe. One brings death, the other brings Life.

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. (Jn 12:42-43 NIV)

Jesus’ Peace

All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (Jn 14:25-27)

I think I can safely say that most of us would like to have peace, we would like to have great peace, all the time. Jesus has said that He has given us this peace, so how do we appropriate it into our lives?

First of all , through the Holy Spirit. If we belong to God, the Holy Spirit is within us, and Romans 14:27 says the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” This is a relationship that must be developed through time spend with God, through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor:13:14).

Also as we do this the fruit of the Holy Spirit will begin to develop and mature in our lives and “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Gal 5:22-23)


Secondly, through applying ourselves to the Word of God, and applying the Word of God to ourselves. Psalm 119:165 says “Great peace have they who love Your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble.” This is not just reading the Word of God, but also letting it speak into our lives and change us and our behavior, being obedient to it, and speaking it over our lives and circumstances.

Thirdly through prayer. Philippians 4:4-7 says “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Fourthly, this is followed very quickly with what we choose to think about. Paul suggests in Philippians 4:8-9 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

And let’s not forget Isaiah 26:3 AMP “You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.

Fifthly, it takes faith. Hebrews 11:65 says “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

If we think our faith is too small, the doing of these things will bring about increased faith, and it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed to get a mountain into the sea or to do the impossible. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20 “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.] (Jn 14:27 AMP)

Our Right Now God

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Heb 13:8)

What confidence we have in the unchanging Jesus Christ. As He met us yesterday, so He is with us right now, and will meet us tomorrow and tomorrow’s eternity. He will not be different in His affections, abilities, promises, purposes, or actions. We can always count on and depend on Him.

If He were the God of only yesterday, then we would have no hope for today. If He were only the God of Eternity, then while we would have a future hope, help for today would be elusive. If He were only the God of today, then without a record of His attributes, faithfulness, and active love towards us, and no promise of tomorrow, our dependence upon Him would be hindered.

However, we have a yesterday of His dealings with His chosen, a record of His actions, faithfulness, active love, attributes, and promises. We have a today in which to reflect upon Him, call upon Him, depend upon Him, and experience Him, knowing that He has not changed nor will He ever change. We also have a tomorrow in which He will be the same as He was yesterday, today, and for every tomorrow there will ever be.

We need a God today who is active today, available today, caring today, faithful today, dependable today and who was all that yesterday. We need a God who is unchanging in His attributes, His love, His purposes, His promises, and His character and who will be the same way tomorrow. We need a God who will shepherd us until we depart this life and who will then usher us into the timelessness of eternity, where we will live in His presence forever. He was with us yesterday, He is with us right now, He will be with us tomorrow, and forever. He is our right now God.

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts …" (Heb 3:15)

Prophetic Bulletin from John Paul Jackson

Prophetic Bulletin from John Paul Jackson Posted on September 19, 2008

I originally wrote this Prophetic Bulletin for the Streams Ministries Partners at the beginning of August. At the urging of my Board, I am now making it a public Prophetic Bulletin. When I first wrote it, little did I know the events that were soon to happen concerning Todd Bentley, the Gulf Hurricanes, Russia’s invasion of Georgia, the trains that would collide near Los Angeles, Sarah Palin’s nomination and the stir that would cause, or September 15’s Stock Market plunge. All of these are early elements of what the Lord called “The Coming Perfect Storm.

THE COMING PERFECT STORM
by John Paul Jackson

For those of you who have followed this ministry, you have heard me say more than once during the past eight years that from 2009 or 2010, things will become very difficult. I have been praying and hoping that what I am about to write may be averted. However, I am now concerned that without prophetic people speaking up, we will not play our redemptive part in bringing change for the good.

FIVE ELEMENTS OF THE BREWING PERFECT STORM

As in the movie The Perfect Storm, the storm I see coming to the United States is a combination of more than one element, and when the elements unite, the storm becomes exponentially more dangerous. However, unlike the movie, this storm is not just a storm of merging weather patterns. This storm is worse; it involves five different elements: religion, politics, economics, war and geo-physical events. At times these five elements will be so intertwined that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish which events are driving a particular manifestation of the storm. Massive problems in these five areas will come often, or in combination, and sometimes repeatedly. Each element has potentially several events that will have national and international ripple effects. Some ripples will be worse than others, depending on where you live and how you make your living. Different areas of the United States will experience different severities. Some will experience more economic elements, others more geo-physical elements; some will experience all elements. Remember, it is the combination and the rapidity that will make the storm problematic.Also, this does not mean all five elements will hit at the most devastating levels. For example, on a scale of 1–10 with 10 being the worst, one element may strike at a six while another strikes at an eight. It is the particular combinations of elements — the proximity of each element as well as the intensity of each element — that will make this storm so difficult and seem to last so long. This storm will not be short-lived; it will come in waves, one after another.

WHY IS THE STORM COMING?

This storm is coming because the Church (the Body of Christ) is no longer the backbone of this nation. From our inception, the Christian faith has been the plumb line of decisions made at all levels of life. The Christian founding of this nation is what makes it different from every other nation, other than perhaps Israel. Other nations may have become Christian in their focus, but none were initially formed with Christianity as the core of its DNA.The Church is to make known God’s manifold wisdom to the world and the powers of the air (Ephesians 2:2). This demonstration to the heavens is not accomplished by speaking to those powers but through righteous living. How we live opens or closes doors for Satan to legally afflict us and even rule over us via leaders who do not know the ways of God. From Adam and Eve through today, the actions of humankind have given room for the enemy to strike and attack us. The only legal way the enemy has access to us is when the hand of God lifts from us, resulting in a space between Him and us. This space increases as we distance ourselves from Him and His ways.Anytime there is an increased distance between God and humanity, it leaves room for attack to come and for principalities and powers of the air (rulers of darkness) to take up residence. The longer dark powers reside over an area, the more the people begin to call right wrong and wrong right. Here in the United States, leaders arise from the people; in other words, as the people believe and think, so do the leaders who rise from their ranks. Eventually, the lines between right and wrong, as well as the holy and profane, become blurred. The way to God through Jesus and the Cross is no longer seen as an absolute. In fact, absolutes become touted as “intolerance” first in the world and then even within the Church. Yes, there are exceptions to this thinking within the Church, but through compromise, the absolutes of Heaven and eternity are clearly evaporating.

GOD CAN FASHION A DISASTER

We are living in the days of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, who prophesied that God can bring disaster on a nation if that nation continually chooses to walk according to its own plans. God spoke this to Jeremiah: “The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it. “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.”’” And they said, “… We will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.” — Jeremiah 18:7–12

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE COMING?

What are some of the things/consequences that will come? In time, water will be more expensive than oil, and cities will evacuate thousands because there is not enough water to meet their needs. (As Amos 4:7 says, “I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city.”) Earthquakes will strike not only coastal areas but devastate the Midwest as well. Israel will bomb Iran, and anti-Semitism will escalate as fuel costs soar. A dirty bomb will explode in a coastal city. There will be thunderstorms with huge hail, 24 inches of rain in 24 hours, three feet of snow in six hours, record-setting tornadoes with winds of more than 350 miles per hour and tornadoes in unusual places. There will be an unexpected blight that will hit various hybrid seed crops and weaken the yield. In addition, drought and devastation from storms will dramatically cut into various harvests and the national food storage will deplete.“Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.”’” — Jeremiah 18:11—

FOUR THINGS THE CHURCH MUST DO

First, the Church must return to knowing God and His ways rather than just knowing about God. We have replaced power with programs, revelation with administration and the Father’s heart with organizational skills.

Second, the Church must learn how to contend for the faith again. We are weak, and we fall away so easily when crisis is not at hand. We have not been tested, and we have lost our resolve. We understand little of the adversary’s plans. We do not know how to debate our faith without becoming angry, and thus we have so few strong, clear, godly voices in political arenas. We have lost our witness — the witness that convicts others and strongly testifies that God is still God and is very, very real. We have lost the witness that demonstrates that God is a personal God in a very impersonal world, the witness that says, “What I do proves God exists.”

Third, the Church must return to the love of God’s Word and the belief that it is infallible and inerrant. This would include the conviction, understanding and knowledge that God is absolute, and there is only one way to know Him: through Jesus the Messiah. We need a new revelation that God’s power is unlimited, His knowledge is unending, His presence is with us always and He never changes. We have made God far too small, and our lives prove it.

Fourth, we will need to declare sacred and solemn assemblies of repentance and corporate fasting in many parts of this nation — a time set aside for rending our hearts before God.“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him — A grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD.”— Joel 2:12–17

CRISIS IS THE FRUIT OF FOLLOWING THE WRONG GOD

God allows calamities to happen in order to draw us to Himself. What does that mean? It means that God allows us to reap the fruit of that which we serve. Walking in God’s ways brings blessings and fullness of life, while walking in the ways of the “god of this world” will bring the fruit of the god of this world: decay, destruction, deterioration and death. We make our choice, then the choice makes us. Sadly, we are developing a history of wrong choices.

Throughout Scripture, when crises hit the people of God, they turned their hearts to Him, and He heard and took action. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.— Jeremiah 29:12–13

May the people of the United States seek the Lord … and find Him. Remember, we still have the promise that if we turn from our wicked ways, God will heal our land.

Serving God and His Kingdom,
John Paul Jackson
August 2008

THE CRUCIFIXION OF SELF

(From a letter by Jeanne Guyon)

All the graces that are produced in a Christian grow out of the death of self. Bear patiently the trials and sufferings which retard this overflowing life. When you suffer with much confusion and uncertainty, the suffering is even harder to bear.

Unlimited patience is necessary to bear not only with yourself, but with others whose personalities and moods are not compatible with your own. Offenses will happen while we live in the flesh. Bear these offenses in silence and submit them to the Spirit of Grace. Because you are human, you are still affected by your environment.

As you seek to honor the true cross (the affliction that God allows for us), remember that all the disagreeable situations that fall in your daily path are part of that true acceptance of the cross. Do not insult the work of the cross in your life by complaining about your problems. Welcome trials, for they teach you what you are and leave you to renounce yourself and yourself is, of all possessions, the most dangerous.