The Church Prospers

Acts 9:31-43 (New King James Version)

The Church Prospers

31 Then the churches[a] throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

Aeneas Healed

32 Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. 33 There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately.

35 So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

Dorcas Restored to Life

36 At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. 37 But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. 39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.

40 But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.

42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. 43 So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.

Footnotes:

1.Acts 9:31 NU-Text reads church . . . was edified.

you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper

The importance of taking the Holy Communion with the right attitude and manner is clearly stated in the Bible. Yet many do not know or pay attention to this truth.

The Scripture says, “For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.”

As the watchman reads this passage, he realizes that it does matter with whom he partakes the cup and the bread. He can no longer assume that the religious institution is honoring the body and the blood of Christ when the leaders conduct the rite with an unbelief attitude! Indeed, that was the reason he escaped from his former church. Despite the watchman’s reminders, the pastor and elders refused to mention the blood and the body of Jesus Christ when they conducted the communion service. No wonder he felt the urgency to run away!

If the church does not recognize the Lord’s blood and body, what do they think they are partaking? If they refuse to honor the body and blood of the Lord Jesus, to whom are they giving honor? The answer makes one shudder. (It is no wonder that the church spiritual door is wide open for the enemy to get in to attack the members one by one!)


Lesson from the past (Part Two): 1 Corinthians 11:17-32


17 But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. 18 First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. 19 But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized! 20 When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. 21 For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. 22 What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this!

23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you.[a] Do this to remember me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. 27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against[b] the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ,[c] you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. 31 But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. 32 Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

Footnotes:

1.1 Corinthians 11:24 Greek which is for you; other manuscripts read which is broken for you.

2.1 Corinthians 11:27 Or is responsible for.

3.1 Corinthians 11:29 Greek the body; other manuscripts read the Lord’s body.

O Watchman, run! You do not want to share their sins!

and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness

The watchman woke to an urgent truth. On a previous day he just encouraged the class to take Holy Communion, in their individual quiet time before the Lord. But he was led to read the following passages today urgently. As he read, he realized the importance to understand the manner in which we take the Holy Communion and be cautious over the company with whom we partake it.

Note: the Israelites drank from the same spiritual rock that traveled with them and that Rock was Christ! Yet God was not pleased with most of them and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
___________________________________

Lessons from the past Part One: 1 Cor.10

1 I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters,[a] about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. 2 In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. 3 All of them ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

6 These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, 7 or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.”[b] 8 And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day. 9 Nor should we put Christ[c] to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. 10 And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. 11 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age. 12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 14 So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. 15 You are reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true. 16 When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? 17 And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body. 18 Think about the people of Israel. Weren’t they united by eating the sacrifices at the altar? 19 What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods? 20 No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons. 21 You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too. 22 What? Do we dare to rouse the Lord’s jealousy? Do you think we are stronger than he is?

Footnotes:

1.1 Corinthians 10:1 Greek brothers.

2.1 Corinthians 10:7 Exod 32:6.

3.1 Corinthians 10:9 Some manuscripts read the Lord.

End Times Witnessing: One More Year! Churches too!

Luke 13 A Call to Repentance


1 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. 2 “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? 3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. 4 And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? 5 No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”

Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

6 Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. 7 Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’ 8 “The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. 9 If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’”

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

10 One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, 11 he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” 13 Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God! 14 But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.” 15 But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? 16 This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?” 17 This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.

Parable of the Mustard Seed

18 Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? 19 It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”

Parable of the Yeast

20 He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? 21 It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

The Narrow Door

22 Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He replied, 24 “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. 25 When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’ 28 “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out. 29 And people will come from all over the world—from east and west, north and south—to take their places in the Kingdom of God. 30 And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then.[a]”

Jesus Grieves over Jerusalem

31 At that time some Pharisees said to him, “Get away from here if you want to live! Herod Antipas wants to kill you!” 32 Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. 33 Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way. For it wouldn’t do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem! 34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 35 And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’[b]”

Footnotes: a.Luke 13:30 Greek Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. b.Luke 13:35 Ps 118:26.

O, Watchman, cry out day and night as the time is hear and now!

End Times Church Countdown: Ten Keys to hearing the Holy Spirit

The watchman has been pondering on this subject for his class. How indeed to listen and hear the Holy Spirit?

He asked the Lord and received a number of promptings as follows over the lst two weeks:
1. “CLEAR MIND“: 2 Tim4:5 “But you should keep a clear mind in every situation” Be watchful, calm, cool, steady, uncluttered, undisturbed, undistracted. Be focussed. 3:14-16 know, obey, trust the Scripture
Filled with God’s Word Mark 4:24-25 “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given –and you will receive even more. To those who listen to My teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

2. “SHOULD YOU TALK THAT WAY?” Mic2:7 “Should you talk that way, O family of Israel? Will the Lord’s Spirit have patience with such behaviour? If you would do what is right you will find My words comforting.” After we hear the Lord, we must respond correctly. “The words you speak come from the heart-that is what defiles you”. (Matt.14:18)
3. “OUR ACTIONS MATTER” Mic3:2,4 “You are supposed to know right from wrong, but you hate good and love evil. Then you beg the Lord for help in times of trouble! Do you really expect Him to answer? After the evil you have done, He won’t even look at you!”
4. “BE OPENED!” Mark 7:31-37 (Jesus healed a deaf man).Let the finger of God (Holy Spirit) touch the inside of your ears, and your tongue, and let His command “Be Opened” be proclaimed and received by faith!
5. “BE CHILDLIKE“: Matt.11:25-26 Jesus prayed this prayer, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased You to do it this way!”
6. “RICH RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD“: Luke 12:21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
7. “MORE, TO THOSE WHO USE WELL“: Matt.25:29 “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will b taken away.”
8. “HE MUST KNOW YOU“: Matt.25:12 “Believe Me, I don’t know you.” Jesus knows you by the burning lamp in you. You need extra oil to keep this lamp burning at midnight because lamps go out at midnight. When He comes for His own, Jesus looks for the lamps that are still burning bright!
9. “OUR SPIRITS ARE RENEWED EVERYDAY“: 2 Cor.4:16 Fellowship with Jesus daily. The Lord who is the Spirit makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image. 2 Cor.3:18
10. “ONLY THOSE WHO OBEY HIM“: John 14:15-18 Keep His commandments; Acts 5:32 Those who obey Him.

How a king handed over his spiritual stronghold to the enemy

2Chronicles 28 Ahaz Rules in Judah

1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, as his ancestor David had done. 2 Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel. He cast metal images for the worship of Baal. 3 He offered sacrifices in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, even sacrificing his own sons in the fire.[a] In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree.

5 Because of all this, the Lord his God allowed the king of Aram to defeat Ahaz and to exile large numbers of his people to Damascus. The armies of the king of Israel also defeated Ahaz and inflicted many casualties on his army. 6 In a single day Pekah son of Remaliah, Israel’s king, killed 120,000 of Judah’s troops, all of them experienced warriors, because they had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 7 Then Zicri, a warrior from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, the king’s son; Azrikam, the king’s palace commander; and Elkanah, the king’s second-in-command. 8 The armies of Israel captured 200,000 women and children from Judah and seized tremendous amounts of plunder, which they took back to Samaria.

Ahaz Closes the Temple 16 At that time King Ahaz of Judah asked the king of Assyria for help. 17 The armies of Edom had again invaded Judah and taken captives. 18 And the Philistines had raided towns located in the foothills of Judah[c] and in the Negev of Judah. They had already captured and occupied Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. 19 The Lord was humbling Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah,[d] for he had encouraged his people to sin and had been utterly unfaithful to the Lord.

20 So when King Tiglath-pileser[e] of Assyria arrived, he attacked Ahaz instead of helping him. 21 Ahaz took valuable items from the Lord’s Temple, the royal palace, and from the homes of his officials and gave them to the king of Assyria as tribute. But this did not help him.

22 Even during this time of trouble, King Ahaz continued to reject the Lord. 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, for he said, “Since these gods helped the kings of Aram, they will help me, too, if I sacrifice to them.” But instead, they led to his ruin and the ruin of all Judah.

24 The king took the various articles from the Temple of God and broke them into pieces. He shut the doors of the Lord’s Temple so that no one could worship there, and he set up altars to pagan gods in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 He made pagan shrines in all the towns of Judah for offering sacrifices to other gods. In this way, he aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

26 The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign and everything he did, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 When Ahaz died, he was buried in Jerusalem but not in the royal cemetery of the kings of Judah. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king.

Footnotes:
1.2 Chronicles 28:3 Or even making his sons pass through the fire.
2.2 Chronicles 28:12 Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel.
3.2 Chronicles 28:18 Hebrew the Shephelah.
4.2 Chronicles 28:19 Hebrew of Israel; also in 28:23, 27. The author of Chronicles sees Judah as representative of the true Israel. See also some Hebrew manuscripts, Greek and Syriac versions, and Latin Vulgate.
5.2 Chronicles 28:20 Hebrew Tilgath-pilneser, a variant spelling of Tiglath-pileser.

End Times Church Countdown: A message to the king

The watchman received a further message today for that nation. This is a message for the king (the royal family). Note: the king was standing “at the end of the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.” (Are these signs of repentance? O watchman, please do not give up interceding for your king, the strongman for your nation, to repent and renounce the foreign idols!)

Isaiah 7 A Message for Ahaz

1 When Ahaz, son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria[a] and Pekah son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, set out to attack Jerusalem. However, they were unable to carry out their plan. 2 The news had come to the royal court of Judah: “Syria is allied with Israel[b] against us!” So the hearts of the king and his people trembled with fear, like trees shaking in a storm.

3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Take your son Shear-jashub[c] and go out to meet King Ahaz. You will find him at the end of the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.[d] 4 Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn’need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah. 5 Yes, the kings of Syria and Israel are plotting against him, saying, 6 ‘We will attack Judah and capture it for ourselves. Then we will install the son of Tabeel as Judah’s king.’

7 But this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “This invasion will never happen; it will never take place; 8 for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus, and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin. As for Israel, within sixty-five years it will be crushed and completely destroyed. 9 Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah.

Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.”

The Sign of Immanuel 10 Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.[e]” 12 But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.”

13 Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? 14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin[f] will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). 15 By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt[g] and honey. 16 For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted.

17 “Then the Lord will bring things on you, your nation, and your family unlike anything since Israel broke away from Judah. He will bring the king of Assyria upon you!”

18 In that day the Lord will whistle for the army of southern Egypt and for the army of Assyria. They will swarm around you like flies and bees. 19 They will come in vast hordes and settle in the fertile areas and also in the desolate valleys, caves, and thorny places.

20 In that day the Lord will hire a “razor” from beyond the Euphrates River[h]—the king of Assyria—and use it to shave off everything: your land, your crops, and your people.[i]

21 In that day a farmer will be fortunate to have a cow and two sheep or goats left. 22 Nevertheless, there will be enough milk for everyone because so few people will be left in the land. They will eat their fill of yogurt and honey.

23 In that day the lush vineyards, now worth 1,000 pieces of silver,[j] will become patches of briers and thorns. 24 The entire land will become a vast expanse of briers and thorns, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife. 25 No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briers and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there.”

End Times Church countdown: war, famine, wild animals, and disease

The message today is not pleasant. When the watchman started to pray for his siblings and their descendants, he was told in the spirit to pray for a nation first. He was led to pray for that nation. None of his family members is in there currently but their spiritual ‘roots’ are from that national church. Then he was asked to read this message below to that nation. When he read the verses he realized that many of the prophecies have already taken place in that nation! It is now the most secular nation in Europe and the once so great empire had crumbled to dust.

The worst fear of the people who riginally dwelled there had come to pass, i.e. aliens from the most terrible nations had conquered them in the spiritual realm and this conquest is being manifested in the physical realm (population growth, religious and social dominance, rising political power, cultural and community encroachment). The demographic trend is irreversible. There is nothing the current political leaders can do. The national leaders had abandoned God long ago and their unbelief had hardened their hearts far too long. How to pray for such a state?

However, God has given one solution: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent and turn away from your idols, and stop all your detestable sins.”



Ezekiel 14 (New Living Translation)

The Idolatry of Israel’s Leaders

1 Then some of the leaders of Israel visited me, and while they were sitting with me, 2 this message came to me from the Lord: 3 “Son of man, these leaders have set up idols[a] in their hearts. They have embraced things that will make them fall into sin. Why should I listen to their requests? 4 Tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The people of Israel have set up idols in their hearts and fallen into sin, and then they go to a prophet asking for a message. So I, the Lord, will give them the kind of answer their great idolatry deserves. 5 I will do this to capture the minds and hearts of all my people who have turned from me to worship their detestable idols.’

6 “Therefore, tell the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent and turn away from your idols, and stop all your detestable sins. 7 I, the Lord, will answer all those, both Israelites and foreigners, who reject me and set up idols in their hearts and so fall into sin, and who then come to a prophet asking for my advice. 8 I will turn against such people and make a terrible example of them, eliminating them from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

9 “‘And if a prophet is deceived into giving a message, it is because I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet. I will lift my fist against such prophets and cut them off from the community of Israel. 10 False prophets and those who seek their guidance will all be punished for their sins. 11 In this way, the people of Israel will learn not to stray from me, polluting themselves with sin. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!’”

The Certainty of the Lord’s Judgment

12 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 13 “Son of man, suppose the people of a country were to sin against me, and I lifted my fist to crush them, cutting off their food supply and sending a famine to destroy both people and animals. 14 Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, their righteousness would save no one but themselves, says the Sovereign Lord. 15 “Or suppose I were to send wild animals to invade the country, kill the people, and make the land too desolate and dangerous to pass through. 16 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, even if those three men were there, they wouldn’t be able to save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be made desolate.

17 “Or suppose I were to bring war against the land, and I sent enemy armies to destroy both people and animals. 18 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, even if those three men were there, they wouldn’t be able to save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved.

19 “Or suppose I were to pour out my fury by sending an epidemic into the land, and the disease killed people and animals alike. 20 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, they wouldn’t be able to save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved by their righteousness. 21 “Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How terrible it will be when all four of these dreadful punishments fall upon Jerusalem—war, famine, wild animals, and disease—destroying all her people and animals. 22 Yet there will be survivors, and they will come here to join you as exiles in Babylon. You will see with your own eyes how wicked they are, and then you will feel better about what I have done to Jerusalem. 23 When you meet them and see their behavior, you will understand that these things are not being done to Israel without cause. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

Footnotes:

1.Ezekiel 14:3 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung; also in 14:4, 5, 6, 7.

O watchman of that nation, take heed!

End times church Countdown: Christmas prophecy for country and a present for your family

The watchman wrote a blog last Christmas all about dreams and visions he had for his family. This year he wondered what he would encounter in his spirit. So he waited.

____________PROPHECY ONE: a stern warning to nation




On this eve of Christmas he rose as usual and started interceding for another matters. He asked about the prophecy of another senior intercessor and whether his country will be spared just as she has prophecied. He was shown in his spirit the name of one Book, “Nahum“. He was not sure where that Book was located, but when he opened the Bible, the Bible opened on the page, Nahum, Chapter one. so he read the whole Book. It was a judgment on Nineveh, a very successful and well developed capital city at that time.

The conclusion of this Book for his country is frightening: Nahum chapter 3 ”15 But the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down.
The enemy will consume you like locusts,
devouring everything they see.
There will be no escape,
even if you multiply like swarming locusts.

16 Your merchants have multiplied until they outnumber the stars. But like a swarm of locusts, they strip the land and fly away.

17 Your guards[d] and officials are also like swarming locusts that crowd together in the hedges on a cold day. But like locusts that fly away when the sun comes up, all of them will fly away and disappear. 18 Your shepherds are asleep, O Assyrian king; your princes lie dead in the dust.

Your people are scattered across the mountains with no one to gather them together. 19 There is no healing for your wound; your injury is fatal. All who hear of your destruction will clap their hands for joy. Where can anyone be found who has not suffered from your continual cruelty?”

War defeat, economic failure, political/governmental corruptions/strives and downfalls, religious slumbering, sufferings and oppressions etc. are exactly what happens today. Indeed, the enemy in the spiritual realm consumes like locusts. The country is rich in resources and well developed, and yet, as described in Chapter 2:8-10 ”Nineveh is like a leaking water reservoir! The people are slipping away.

“Stop, stop!” someone shouts, but no one even looks back.
9 Loot the silver! Plunder the gold! There’s no end to Nineveh’s treasures—its vast, uncounted wealth.
10 Soon the city is plundered, empty, and ruined. Hearts melt and knees shake. The people stand aghast, their faces pale and trembling.”


_______________PROPHECY TWO: a Christmas present for family

Enough of gloom. On the eve of Christmas after interceding for his country, he asked the Lord what the future of his own family be like. He was told to read one Book in the Bible particularly one particular chapter. This was the third time he was told that their future will be there. In fact he has forgotten all about this Book and the chapter he was asked to read the last time he asked the Lord on the same topic.

By now the watchman knows how the Holy Spirit talks to him. In fact he has been receiving messages this way. When he asked the Lord, he will receive answer instantly through the Word. Sometimes he forgot that he has asked before and he asked the same topic again and received exactly the same answer!

He does not celebrate the season and give physical gifts anymore. The harsh and sudden wintry cold he has seen in his earlier visions has indeed arrived all over the world! Even in the hottest zone the temperature dropped to below freezing point! Is there anywhere safe in this world to run to and hide? The Lord has answered that question for his family!
He will not reveal the place in this blog but he will let his family know. Are they special people? Not more special than any believing followers of the Lord Jesus Christ!

However, the watchman shares the clue as follows. He prays that all who are led by the Holy Spirit will know the answer.

CLUE TO END TIMES SURVIVAL FOR YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES:


BE LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. PRACTICE LIVING SUPERNATURALLY, JUST AS THE SAVIOR JESUS HAS DONE WHEN HE WAS ON EARTH.


How to do that? You need to read and believe every word in the Bible for a start! What other better way to herald in the New Year than to gather your whole family to exercising your faith, fast and pray and read through the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation? As you seek the Lord you will find. God is pleased with faith. (Heb.11:1-3, 6)

End Times Church Survival Kits: 3 Prayer Weapons

The watchman asked the Holy Spirit to reveal the end times prayer weapons for his class for a whole week so that by the end of the week he will have at least seven weapons to share and practice with them.


The first morning he received Phil4:4-9

“ 4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

Number One Weapon: The God of Peace be with you!

On the second morning, the watchman received Galatians 3-5, in particular 5:16-26

Living by the Spirit’s Power

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. “

Weapon Number Two: Living by the Spirit’s Power!

In addition, on the second day, the watchman received a bonus in Number 10:1-10 especially 10:9-10 “ When you arrive in your own land and go to war against your enemies who attack you, sound the alarm with the trumpets. Then the Lord your God will remember you and rescue you from your enemies. Blow the trumpets in times of gladness, too, sounding them at your annual festivals and at the beginning of each month. And blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings. The trumpets will remind the Lord your God of his covenant with you. I am the Lord your God.”

Weapon Number three: Blow the trumpets

“Ancient Israel understood that trumpets were used as a way of announcing special, very important messages. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ reveals that before His return to the earth, there will be the blowing of seven trumpets, announcing progressive stages of the downfall and overthrow of this world’s kingdoms, ending with the return of Christ to take possession of the earth. Christ’s return is announced by the seventh and final trumpet (Revelation 8:2; 11:15). This day also pictures the time when faithful Christians will be resurrected to eternal life at the time of the seventh trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16) to reign with Jesus Christ for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4-6).” (Quoted from other sources)

So Christians watchmen are to keep their focus on the Lord Jesus’ imminent return to earth and intercede accordingly, proclaiming the most urgent and important message for all men at all times, with eternity in mind and in spirit!

End Times Church Countdown: Life in the Spirit

This morning the watchman asked for revelation for him and his class. He was also pondering over the key need of today’s churches. Then he received this passage. This is indeed a key to unlock today’s churches’ lifeless mystery. The key words and phrases to be read, meditated upon and memorized are:

“Belong to Christ Jesus (have the Spirit of Christ live in you)”, “power of the life giving Spirit”, “God’s Son as a sacrifice”, “follow the Spirit”, “think about things that please the Spirit (controlled by the Spirit)”, “letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace”, “have the Spirit of God living in you (controlled by the Spirit)”, “the Spirit gives you life”, “the Spirit of God will give life to your mortal bodies”, “through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live”, “all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God”, “for God’s Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children”.
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Romans 8:1-14 (NLT) Life in the Spirit

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power[a] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you[b] from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.[c] So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life[d] because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters,[e] you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature,[f] you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children[g] of God.

15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.[h] Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”[i] 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

End Times Church countdown: Are you using the right weapon, church?

The watchman recently found an interesting Biblical example illustrating how a man led by the Holy Spirit used the right weapon to overcome a crisis supernaturally as described in 2 Kings 4:31-37.

The passage recorded how Gehazi the servant of Elisha and Elisha the prophet handled the case of a dead child. Gehazi was sent by Elisha to take Elisha’s staff and go to the child and put the staff on his face. The child’s mother refused to go home unless prophet Elisha went too. So he agreed to return with her.

But the servant Gehazi hurried ahead and duly laid Elisha’s staff on the child’s face. Nothing happened. There was neither voice nor hearing from the child. He returned to meet Elisha and told him the child was still dead. It was all done within a short span of time as Elisha was still on his way.

Elisha arrived and found the child was indeed dead, lying on the prophet’s bed (put there by his mother before she went and fetched the prophet). Elisha went in and supernaturally resurrected the child.

The steps carried out by the servant Gehazi and the prophet Elisha are as follows with comments from the watchman with perspective of a watchman-intercessor:

Gehazi the servant: He merely followed the instruction of the prophet. He faithfully brought the prophet’s staff, hurried to the dead child’s house, laid it on the child’s face as instructed. He had no further input as he had none. (We can only give to others what we have). Gehazi had nothing of his own that could give life. But he followed instruction well on this occasion and did exactly what his master told him. There are intercessors who follow the prayer list faithfully. However, as they do not have relationship with the Lord intimately they do not have the confidence to persist in their prayers. They do not have any input other than their own flesh as they do not know how to listen to the Holy Spirit.

They do not know whether the Lord has heard and answered their prayers. They do not know how to use the spiritual authority and power given to them to fight out the warfare against the spiritual enemy. They cannot do so as they cannot see into the spiritual realm where the actual real war is being fought. Their prayers are like jabbing at empty air with feeble forefingers.

Elisha the prophet: He encountered the same problem, i.e. the child was dead. But he adopted an entirely different set of strategy.

1.He went into the room alone, shut the door and prayed to the Lord. He started by going to the presence of the Lord -the original source of life. He interceded for the dead child.

2.Then he took a prophetic act of faith, what his own teacher-master, Elijah had done before (raising a boy from dead too), lay down on the child’s body, by placing his mouth on his mouth, eyes on his eyes, hands on his hands. He was standing in the gap for the child covering the child against the spirit of death, pouring out his own life prophetically for the child.

3.As the child’s body began to grow warm Elisha got up, walked back and forth across the room once, another prophetic act like Jericho March, building a fiery hedge of spiritual protection surrounding the child against the spiritual enemy. Why did he do that? It was possible that he saw or sensed the obstruction in the spiritual realm. So he took further spiritual action to block off the obstruction from the spiritual enemy.

4.Then he repeated his earlier act of faith, stretching out himself again on the child. This time indeed the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes! The boy was resurrected by Elisha’s anointed faith in action in the spiritual realm.

What did Elisha do differently? Why was his way effective? Medically and scientifically what the two ‘healers’ did would make no difference in the physical realm.

But Elisha was a spiritual man. He could see into the spiritual realm. He knew how to use his prophetic act of faith which has the anointed authority and power of the Almighty God. For example, in another incident, he knew exactly when and where the enemy king was going to attack Israel and Elisha would always warn the Israelite king beforehand to be on alert. He remained calm when surrounded by the enemy’s great army because he could see into the spiritual realm and saw the Lord’s larger and greater army (the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire to protect him). But his servant could not see until Elisha asked the Lord to open his spiritual eyes.

He also talked to the Lord intimately and confidently like between close and trusted friends. For example, when the Aramean army advanced toward him, he prayed, “O Lord, please make them blind.” So the Lord struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked. (2 Kings 6:18) Then Elisha went out and led them to the city of Samaria. As soon as they had entered Samaria, Elisha prayed, “O Lord, now open their eyes and let them see.” So the Lord opened their eyes. (2 Kings 6:20)

In the eyes of the natural world, the prophetic faith in action of Elisha would seem irrational, stupid, and even ridiculous. Yet, it had the power to bring life back to the long dead child.

Because Elisha knows God. And God is Spirit. Elisha knows the spiritual reality of life. Thus, he was empowered to accomplish his assignment using spiritual weapon successfully as led by the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, the natural man Gehazi failed miserably because he was using a wrong weapon.

Church, are you using the right weapon? If so, why are so many members being depressed, oppressed, suppressed, crushed, defeated and even dying like flies?

End Times Church Countdown: Salmon revelation to apostles and seers

The watchman had a wonderful surprise 2 days ago when he persisted to ask the Lord what the sequence of reading Acts chapters: 20, 13, 16-17 in that order meant. It was a breakthrough in hearing the Holy Spirit accurately.

On the night before, he asked another intercessor to uphold the senior intercessor in prayer and he also mentioned how he was led to read Acts 20 when he interceded for the senior intercessor. Hr did not tell her he was led to read further chapters in an unusual order.

The answer came back shortly that the Lord said the senior intercessor had completed her assignment here and would move on to higher ground – uncharted waters and would not be seen here anymore. The intercessor also mentioned a name of the uncharted waters.

The next morning the watchman asked the Lord again why he was led to read the above chapters of the Book of Acts in that non-sequential order. Then the answer dawned on him!

The non-sequential order and its meaning is summarised as follows:

Acts 20: This is the end and closing of the existing assignment.

Acts 13: This is the beginning of a new assignment.

Acts 16-17: This is the exciting and miraculous events that will happen in the new assignment!!

WOW! This exactly confirmed what the other intercessor has received from the Lord. So the watchman happily prayed for and blessed the senior intercessor further favour from the Lord and favour from kings as well as the kings’ hearts are in the hand of the Lord. Indeed, the answer to Jabez’s prayer is coming to pass for a lot of apostolic prophet-intercessors at the national level.

O watchman, open your eyes and see further and wider and be prepared to intercede over uncharted waters up the ancient waterfalls!

Watchman’s adventure: The Holy Spirit confirmed thrice!

The watchman was told a prophecy of his next assignment. He asked for confirmation. When he first heard it he thought it would require a miracle to accomplish it. But he was looking at the physical world and his natural resources then.

However he said he would be willing to go when his is fully equipped to do so. Then to his surprise things started moving very fast, with more visions, dreams and confirmations showing the intensified moving of the Holy Spirit. He discovered that his gifts were being sharpened and multiplied supernaturally.

Yesterday he received a final confirmation which indeed meant the Lord is serious about keeping His Word.

It started with a vision someone saw several years ago at his late mother’s funeral. The vision showed his mother very young with five small kids all facing one direction looking at an unfamiliar scenery. Two kids were wearing helmets on their heads.

Next was a discovery that the scenery actually exists in a region and there is a name to it.

After that there was a prophecy that he and four others will go there one day.

After that there was another geographical vision showing the place where one of the others will be going to stay within that region. But there was no name to that place.

Two weeks ago the watchman and the intercessor who saw the vision decided to search the internet maps to identify the exact location. When they came across a map, the intercessor recognized the exact spot and asked the watchman the name as she could not read the language. So the watchman took note of that name. After that they stopped looking as he was told by the Lord that He will provide the place and all resources when he sends them.

Yesterday he heard from another one of the other four that he had received an opening to go to a place and live there, and he casually mentioned a place name (unaware of the above mentioned map findings and earlier vision of the location). To the watchman’s amazement, the place name is exactly the name of the location he and the other intercessor identified on the map which matched her vision.

To his further amazement when he looked up the description of that location he found that it was exactly as required for weather, food, and ease of adjustment to living!

The Lord is an awesome God!

(The watchman admits he will have no excuse not to obey when the times comes.)

End Times Church Count Down: Apostles & Seers, Read Acts 20!

Today’s message is for high level prophets, seers and Apostles. The watchman started to intercede for the senior intercessors (seer-prophets/apostles level) and to his surprise he was led to read some very disturbing passages in the Bible: Job 4:3-6, 12-19; 1 Cor.15; Acts 20.

His reading was right after he finished praying for them. during the prayers he was led to using words like “consolidate”, “circuit”, “strengthen”, “share visions and missions afresh”, “give end times preparation directions (practical stratgies). In his spirit he saw Samuel going round the major cities (bases) minstering to his people, Paul and John going to churches planted or helped built up by them, encouraging, exhorting, sharing visions and goals, entrusting to the elders to carry on what they had initiated.

After he finished praying he asked the Lord to give confirmation to what he had just prayed. He was led to read Jobs, then 1 Cor.15, and finally Acts 20. When he read Jobs he was disturbed because he hardly knew the national leaders and he hardly knew what to pray for them. But it was clear that they did not visit them except for yearly rally (which had been stopped) and some ‘daughter’ churches had gone through tumultuous situations in recent years.

Job 4:3-6 3 “In the past you have encouraged many people; you have strengthened those who were weak.
4 Your words have supported those who were falling; you encouraged those with shaky knees.
5 But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart. You are terrified when it touches you.
6 Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?

Acts 20 confirmed the urgent and even dire needs of ‘daughter’ churches further by the example of Paul visiting his churches before he left finally for Jerusalem to face an arrest and imprisonment in Rome later.

There is a spiritual authority issue here. The daughter churches are covered by a mother church and the most senior intercessor leader (the spiritual leader of the mother church, representing the spiritual strongman of the house). The churches were built upon the vision of the initial ’leader’. Although some blievers in the daughter churches see visions, dream dreams and hear from the Lord (Holy Spirit), they see in parts. The overall big picture is revealed to the ‘leader’. The ‘leader’ has the responsibility of standing in the gap and provides coverings for all her ‘daughters’.

When the watchman sees this spiritual implication, he understands why Paul and Samuel spent all their working life going round their ‘churches’ in addition to interceding for them. After Paul was martyred John continued to stay in Ephesian church and mentor the younger disciples until he too left this world.

There was a touching parting scene in Acts 20 describing the Ephesian elders meeting with Paul at a place called Miletus. Paul shared with them his visions ahead, affrmed and entrusted them to God and their corporate reponsibility. Paul’s brief statement contained the following important facts:

1. His vision & mission: “I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. Jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus.”

2. His prophecy on their future together: “I know none of you will ever see me again.”

3. His exhortation: “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock -His church, purchased with His own blood.”

4. His affirmation of their spiritual authority: “Over which (the church) the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders.”

5. His warning about the future: “I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. 30 Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.”

6. His instruction to follow his personal example: “Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.”

7. His encouragement: “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.”

Why read 1 Cor.15? It is all about resurrection and transformation of the mortal bodies into immortal bodies. It also brings out the uncompromising fact: all human die one day. This ties with Jobs 4:17-19 as follows:

17 ‘Can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’ 18 “If God does not trust his own angels and has charged his messengers with foolishness, 19 how much less will he trust people made of clay! They are made of dust, crushed as easily as a moth.

All apostolic leaders must accept the fact like Paul did that one day they have to depart from this world or they could lose their physical freedom by imprisonment. The message today is to strenghten your ‘daughters’ (some of whom are mere spiritual babies!). Remember how Paul kept reinforcing his churches spiritually and using his spiritual authority to cover (protect) them.

Paul’s churches were Spirit-filled and led by the Spirit in many ways. But he remained watchful, prayerful and in constant communication with them as intercessor and as the spiritual strongman prviding overall cover against the evil spiritual power until he considered his assignment completed and left this world.

The watchman only sees in parts and thus speaks in parts. He prays that the spiritual strongmen for most houses of God see a bigger picture and know more accurately what the Lord has required them to do at the time. He also prays that those who still do not see or know now wake from their slumber (or cast off the distraction spirit) and ask the Lord for the direction of the time and obey.

Watchman’s adventure: diagnosis and prescription Old Way

For the recent massive tragic sudden death everywhere, there is a remedy in the Holy Spirit’s Way. To break off and cast out the deadly soul ties in the spiritual realm with the dead, put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (despair).

Isaiah 61:1-3

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,

because the LORD has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]

2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of joy


instead of mourning,


and a garment of praise


instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the LORD

for the display of his splendor.

Here is a very “old” yet Spirit inspired song to sing and ponder upon.
Lyrics

Chorus 1

Put on the garment of praise

For the spirit of heaviness

Lift up your voice to God

Praise with the Spirit

And with understanding

Oh magnify the Lord

Verse 1

All you that mourn in Zion

I have authority

To appoint unto you in Zion

Oil of joy that will set you free

Verse 2

Lift up the hands that hang down

Lift up the voice now still

Give unto God continuous praise

Sing forth from Zion’s hill

Verse 3

Sing to Yahweh alleluia

Worship and praise our God

Praise and adore Him

Bow down before Him

Oh magnify the Lord

© 1976 David Ingles Music

watchman’s Adventure: meaning of the roof top dream revealed

The watchman knew that his roof top dream still needs to be interpreted as he could not find peace when he sought the Lord today. So he asked the Lord what it means. Then he was told to read Isaiah 22 carefully. So he obeyed. Indeed he was given this passage yesterday but he did not read it. He merely glanced at the verse which described people went up the roof.

When he read the passage carefully and completely he understood what the Lord was saying to him. The description of the people on the roof, continuing to feast on meat and drink wine, dance and play, not showing any remorse, not weeping and mourning in sorrow for their sins, depending on their own military strength instead of returning to enquire of the Lord and seek the Lord’s help etc. were exactly what was displayed in the dream!

It was so real and frightening. So he repented for his own omission to be alert immediately after that dream and asked the Lord what it meant and started interceding instantly and faithfully. He knew now he was supposed to do the intercessor job and yet he was so busily engrossed over something else.

The lesson he learns is that for a watchman intercessor the first thing the Lord wants is that he pays attention to the Lord’s message and intercedes for others’ needs without delay. He is not to assume that the dream is related to himself and put it aside. Today after his session he relaxed and looked out of his window and admired the beautiful leaves. But he was told to close his eyes and when he obeyed he saw a colorless bleak scene. The message was, “Watchman, be alert as this is how the real world looks, in the unseen!”

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PRAYER FOR ISRAEL

The nation of Israel is under prolonged drought. The following is an excerpt from a source: ” Fresh water supply has reduced in size by 25 percent in the last five years. Israel has created innovative solutions to combat the consequences of the drought. For example, Feinerman attests that 50 percent of the water that Israel uses for agricultural purposes, which above another other use demands the most water, is recycled water. This percentage is far above that of any other country in the world. Other techniques Israel uses to compensate for the lack of fresh water include desalination and conservation. “

Here is ANOTHER EXCERPT from another source on praying for the water crisis in Israel:

Quote “ November 18th was declared by the Chief Rabbi to be a day of prayer and fasting for rain which is desperately needed in Israel. The prayers brought together the Ashkenazai and Sepphardic leaders as they agreed to repent for the sins of the people in not following the Lord.

But the land which you go to possess� drinks water of the rain of heaven: a land which LORD your God desires. The eyes of LORD your God are always upon it� and it shall come to pass, if you hearken diligently unto My commandments which I command you this day, to love LORD your God, to serve Him with all your heart and� soul, that I will give you the rain of your land in his due season� Deuteronomy 11:11-14a

Lord, although according to the above verses, You could withhold the water from this nation, yet we stand in the gap asking for mercy. We plead with You to send Your rain in abundance this winter season. You promised to even create new water sources. We ask that You do just that so that You will receive the glory.

When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none�, I LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, the dry land springs of water� That they may see, and know, consider, and understand together, that the hand of LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it. Isaiah 41:17-20

Reveal to us if there is something specific You would have us pray concerning this issue. We trust in You alone to provide for Your people whom You have brought home.” (unquote)

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Isaiah 22


A Message about Jerusalem

1 This message came to me concerning Jerusalem—the Valley of Vision[a]: What is happening?

Why is everyone running to the rooftops?

2 The whole city is in a terrible uproar.

What do I see in this reveling city?

Bodies are lying everywhere,


killed not in battle but by famine and disease.

3 All your leaders have fled.

They surrendered without resistance.

The people tried to slip away,

but they were captured, too.

4 That’s why I said, “Leave me alone to weep;

do not try to comfort me.

Let me cry for my people

as I watch them being destroyed.”

5 Oh, what a day of crushing defeat!

What a day of confusion and terror

brought by the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,

upon the Valley of Vision!

The walls of Jerusalem have been broken,

and cries of death echo from the mountainsides.

6 Elamites are the archers,

with their chariots and charioteers.

The men of Kir hold up the shields.

7 Chariots fill your beautiful valleys,

and charioteers storm your gates.

8 Judah’s defenses have been stripped away.

You run to the armory[b] for your weapons.

9 You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem.[c]

You store up water in the lower pool.

10 You survey the houses and tear some down

for stone to strengthen the walls.

11 Between the city walls, you build a reservoir

for water from the old pool.

But you never ask for help from the One who did all this.


You never considered the One who planned this long ago.

12 At that time the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,

called you to weep and mourn.


He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins


and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse.


13 But instead, you dance and play;


you slaughter cattle and kill sheep.

You feast on meat and drink wine.

You say, “Let’s feast and drink,

for tomorrow we die!”

14 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has revealed this to me: “Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin.” That is the judgment of the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

End Times Church Countdown: a dream of loveless lawyers

The watchman had a dream full of lawyers. It was a story of an upper middle class family of lawyers (parents in law on both sides, husband, wife and friends). The hero was in a dilemma as he knew he did not enter his marriage out of love. But he had been married for sometime and had a little daughter of around six years old. When the dream started the hero was consulting this matter with an elderly family friend. Later a previous suitor of his wife came into the scene. The man (also a lawyer) was hopeful that the estranged couple would divorce so he could marry the woman. On the surface all parties were cordial with each other and maintained fairly civil relationship. They had weekends together, held dinner parties, dealt with legal business together, all well dressed and well bred.

Then the hero discovered that the wife had volunteered to go through a dangerous (adventurous) test of a high tech equipment like going through some outer space machine or similar gadget. He got worried. So did his parents and in laws. They all waited for the outcome anxiously. The only person not affected by the event was the little daughter. During the waiting period the hero decided to repent to his wife if she came back alive and well.



When she came out of the ‘adventure’, she was greeted with warmth by her parents, parents in law, and her little girl and she showed her warmth for them too. Then the hero went to kneel down before her and repented and asked for her forgiveness. But he was very careful in using his words. He said something like this to her,

“Please forgive me for not having fulfilled the terms of our marriage covenant. I am sorry. Please forgive me.” (He was careful not to say, “Please forgive me for not loving you.”) The wife did not say anything. She just nodded at him coldly. The dream ended.

When the watchman woke up he knew this was another reminder to him. Quite sometime ago he had been given chapter 13 in 1 Corinthians to read. The message was, “Read all about the love of God!” A week ago he again received a verse from Ezekiel 33:11 wherein the Lord said He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. So this dream is the third message about the need to love before he or any of his class can become intercessor.

O watchman, spend time knowing the love of God before you intercede!

1 Corinthians 13

The Greatest Gift

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, it profits me nothing.

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.


8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

More verses on the Love of God

1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 3:10 [ The Imperative of Love ] In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 3:17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

4:7 [ Knowing God Through Love ] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

4:9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

4:12 [ Seeing God Through Love ] No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 4:20 [ Obedience by Faith ] If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

End Times Church Countdown: More revelation, vision, dreams

After the watchman returned from a spiritual journey, he encountered increasingly frequent events and revelations (in signs, visions, dreams and words) that signified the urgency of the end times message to the churches. For example, consecutive visions and dreams were being reported by different persons on brides not having wedding gown even on the eve of weddings, on freezing winter (wherein tropical streets covered by sheets of ice), on angels falling from sky (in modern bikers version) shooting at all, water rising to flood the Holy Land, on black birds swarming in, on foundations built on sand being shaken and swept off, on white horses coming to shore, on toilets bowls being cleansed by red color dyes and red perfume spray, on two brides trying to marry one groom, on bride marrying a groom whom she did not love or even know, on bride already married to One (Christ) but was in the process of marrying another groom because he (the antichrist) was very rich…All these happened within the short span of one month or so.

The latest the watchman himself encountered was two dreams within the span of few hours. In one dream he tried to escape from a gigantic hospital with his wife. The management had replaced an electronic instrument with a newest model. When his wife tried to use her previous version key to operate the system the gadget failed. The doors were all locked. But the wife knew of a way to get out. They went through the labyrinth and got through a series of toilets. The urine were being led through open drains leading to a final collection point. Eventually they reached the last one which directed the collected urine to a large fountain, that opened to an open place like a football stadium! (In the dream the watchman thought this was indeed the most amazing way to conserve water and recycle waste!)

In his second dream, he examined a shop with a few partners. They were discussing the roof when he looked up by chance. To his amazement the roof was full of people. The building was a row of three-storey shops with residents working or living on the two upper floors. the roofs were all slanted and not exactly comfortable for sitting leisurely. But the roofs were full of people in office clothes and outdoor clothes. they were mostly sitting there, jam packed into the tiny space. There was an Indian family with dishes of food in front of them like they were having a picnic. When they saw him looking at them they looked surprised. The others were ordinary people doing their usual activities. Some were standing at the back discussing business.

The watchman has not yet interpreted these last two dreams. He knew in his spirit this is part of the end times message he has been receiving.

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Matthew 24:21 “For then there will be great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now-no, and never will be again.”

Matthew 24:34 “Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away till all these things taken together take place.”

Matthew 24:17 “Let him who is on the housetop not come down and go into the house to take anything.”

Matthew 24:20 “Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.”

Revelation 12:9And the huge dragon was cast down and out–that age-old serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, he who is the seducer (deceiver) of all humanity the world over; he was forced out and down to the earth, and his angels were flung out along with him.

Revelation 12:12Therefore be glad (exult), O heavens and you that dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in fierce anger (fury), because he knows that he has [only] a short time [left]!

Revelation 12:15Then out of his mouth the serpent spouted forth water like a flood after the woman (Israel), that she might be carried off with the torrent.

Revelation 12:17So then the dragon was furious (enraged) at the woman, and he went away to wage war on the remainder of her descendants (Christians)–[on those] who obey God’s commandments and who have the testimony of Jesus Christ [and adhere to it and bear witness to Him].

Matthew 22:11But when the king came in to view the guests, he looked intently at a man there who had on no wedding garment. 12And he said, Friend, how did you come in here without putting on the [appropriate] wedding garment? And he was speechless (muzzled, gagged). 13Then the king said to the attendants, Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

Revelation 19:14-15 And the troops of heaven, clothed in fine linen, dazzling and clean, followed Him on white horses. From His mouth goes forth a sharp sword with which He can smite (afflict, strike) the nations; and He will shepherd and control them with a staff (scepter, rod) of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath and indignation of God the All-Ruler (the Almighty, the Omnipotent).

Revelation 19:17 Then I saw a single angel stationed in the sun’s light, and with a mighty voice he shouted to all the birds that fly across the sky, Come, gather yourselves together for the great supper of God 21 And the rest were killed with the sword that issues from the mouth of Him Who is mounted on the horse, and all the birds fed ravenously and glutted themselves with their flesh.


Verses on “Cleansing”

John 15:2 Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent

2 Timothy 2:21 So whoever cleanses himself [from what is ignoble and unclean, who separates himself from contact with contaminating and corrupting influences] will [then himself] be a vessel set apart and useful for honorable and noble purposes, consecrated and profitable to the Master, fit and ready for any good work.

1 John 1:7 But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].

1 John 3:3 And everyone who has this hope [resting] on Him cleanses (purifies) himself just as He is pure (chaste, undefiled, guiltless).