Fasting broke this woman's stronghold

It was an ordinary evening service but at the end of it, a woman came to the front and gave a testimony. This was the same woman who had come often for prayers to be delivered from one financial problem that became a heavy yoke on her neck.
She did not know how to pray much and one midnight prayer meeting she volunteered to pray. She took the mike and decided to sing a song. She spoke, “Abba, Father, I want to sing a song for You.” Then she sang the song of four stanzas over and over until the leader came and told her to stop. After the meeting she apologized and said she did not know how to pray and she felt she was out of line. But a prayer leader told her it was alright as the Lord had heard her ‘prayer’ (song). She came again to another midnight prayer meeting. Again she offered the same song to the Father in heaven. Again a prayer leader had to stop her as she was repeating the same stanzas a number of times. (Indeed, it was her heart-felt ‘prayer’ and God had heard her!)The testimony was powerful. She testified that she had been trying to sell her small food business but to no avail. The shop was making losses and she owed a large sum of money to the shop owner. When interested parties came to look at the shop they could only offer a price less that one-quarter of what she owed. Meanwhile she also had the problem of her own home being occupied by a group of men lodgers who refused to pay rent or move out.
She and her own family lived above her rented shop but was given the ultimatum by the shop owner to move out within that week and move all their stuff too in addition to repaying all her debt, a colossal sum she could not afford.
She fasted and prayed. On the third day, the shop landlord came and told her he would not postpone his eviction and demand of the full payment of her debt. He also knew that she had tried for a long time to sell her business but there was no taker. But she merely answered him that it was alright as her Father would help her. He said her father was dead and surely ‘he’ could no longer help her. But this woman said, “I have another Father in heaven who will definitely help me!”
The shop owner, an unbeliever, shook his head and went off to take his breakfast.
Later in the morning, he came back and told her he had decided to buy the business from her for the total sum she owed him, thus canceling all her debts!
In the same evening she went home to see if she could clear a space to put one of her rather large cupboard (from the shop) and found that her house was totally empty of lodgers. The next door neighbors told her that in the middle of the night before, they suddenly moved out, everyone of them in a hurry!
The woman was overjoyed as her Father in heaven indeed helped her mightily and all within the third day of her fasting and praying! (A modern day Esther story. Her enemies were annihilated!)

End Times Witnessing: The Altar Men of Faith

Watchman heard, “Be an altar man of faith! Build altar! And you will be amazed how much you will start receiving, because the altar is where I shall meet with you.” (be sure to continue reading!)

1.  Genesis 8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose.
   
2. Genesis 12:7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants. ” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
   
3. Genesis 12:8 After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord.
   
4. Genesis 13:4 This was the same place where Abram had built the altar, and there he worshiped the Lord again.
   
5. Genesis 13:18 So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to the Lord.
   
6. Genesis 22:9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
   
7. Genesis 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well.
   
8. Genesis 33:20 And there he built an altar and named it El-Elohe-Israel.
   
9. Genesis 35:1 [ Jacob’s Return to Bethel ] Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”
   
10. Genesis 35:3 We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”
    
11. Genesis 35:7 Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau.

Building altars runs in the family, just as blessing. Note how the three blessed men (Abraham the grandpa, Isaac the son and Jacob the grandson) carried on the family faith in building altars and call on the God who honors covenant and whose words and promises never fail. The building of the altars is a mark of their faith in the Almighty God.It is also worth pondering that all three men heard God and indeed worshiped God truthfully. They walked closely with God and spent their lifetime in the presence of God.
What else does the altar do? Many, as evidenced in the following verses from Genesis to Revelation.
What does the altar do for a Christian today? The watchman’s personal belief is that the altar (spiritual of course) has a number of very important supernatural functions:

1. A place to meet God.

2. A place to worship God: offering praises and songs in Truth and in Spirit.

3. A place to offer oneself as a living sacrifice (surrendering to the awesome God our body, soul and spirit).

4. A place to talk with God and hear God.

5. A place to pray, intercede, cry out to the Lord.

6. A place to receive cleansing, purifying, refining, being poured out, broken and molded into the image of Christ.

7. A place just to be still and know that God is God.

8. A place to receive blessings as promised and stake claims accordingly.

9. Above all it is a place to remember the Son of God, Yeshua Christ who came to the world and gave His life for us on the cross, shedding His blood and having His body broken so we are redeemed, saved and healed! Only through this High Priest we can approach the throne of grace.

What is your personal altar revealing? Be blessed when you step out in faith today and build yours! Give your children this heritage that never goes out of fashion or favor from the Almighty God!
________________________________MORE BIBLE VERSES ON ALTARS BUILDING

1. Exodus 17:15 Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”).
   
2. Exodus 20:22 [ Proper Use of Altars ] And the Lord said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: You saw for yourselves that I spoke to you from heaven.
   
3. Exodus 20:24 “Build for me an altar made of earth, and offer your sacrifices to me—your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats, and your cattle. Build my altar wherever I cause my name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you.
   
4. Exodus 20:25 If you use stones to build my altar, use only natural, uncut stones. Do not shape the stones with a tool, for that would make the altar unfit for holy use.
   
5. Exodus 20:26 And do not approach my altar by going up steps. If you do, someone might look up under your clothing and see your nakedness.
   
6. Exodus 24:4 Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
   
7. Exodus 24:6 Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar.
   
8. Joshua 8:30 [ The Lord’s Covenant Renewed ] Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal.
   
9. Joshua 22:24-28 “The truth is, we have built this altar because we fear that in the future your descendants will say to ours, ‘What right do you have to worship the Lord, the God of Israel? “So we decided to build the altar, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, “If they say this, our descendants can reply, ‘Look at this copy of the Lord’s altar that our ancestors made. It is not for burnt offerings or sacrifices; it is a reminder of the relationship both of us have with the Lord.’
10. Judges 6:24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
11. 1 Samuel 2:28
    I chose your father out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your father’s house all the offerings made with fire by the Israelites.
12. 1 Samuel 7:17 But he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also judged Israel. And he built an altar there to the LORD.
13. 2 Samuel 24:18 [ David Builds an Altar ] On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”  25 David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the LORD answered prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.
14. 1 Chronicles 21:26 David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.
15. 1 Kings 8:22. [ Solomon's Prayer of Dedication ] Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven. 54 When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.
16. 1 Kings 18:30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
17. Ezra 3:1 [ Rebuilding the Altar ] When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar“on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices.
18. Isaiah 6:5 Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
19. Isaiah 56:7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
20. Ezekiel 43:26 For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it. 27 At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Sovereign  LORD.”
21. Ezekiel 47:1-2 In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side. ² The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the south side of the east gateway.
22. Joel 1:13 [ A Call to Repentance ] Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. 2:17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’
23. “Zechariah 14:20 On that day HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the LORD’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar.
24. Luke 1:11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
25. Revelation 6:9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 8:3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. 8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. 9:13 The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God.
26. Revelation 14:18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 16:7 And I heard the altar respond: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.”

Chapter one hundred: Holy Spirit gives a bonus!

On the day Jack decided to complete the blog series on Journey in the Holy Spirit, he received a big gift, indeed a huge bonus! He woke around 5am and knew in his spirit that he had to go to the prayer table. So he got up and went downstairs. At the table he was still troubled by the dull ache on his left temple. On the previous night it developed into a sharp pain and he had a hard time commanding it to go away.
However he started to talk to God. He was supposed to intercede for a critical case of a man who had again lost consciousness after being resuscitated in the afternoon at a rural hospital. But he was out of words and could not proceed. he prayed awhile in the Spirit. He asked God to reveal to him word of knowledge and wisdom, together with discernment in spirits.
He also committed his own problem, i.e. the dull ache on top of his left eye. Then he opened his Bible and read. He was led to read Psalm 103. Normally he would have read verse 3 about forgiven and healing. But today he was led to read verse 5, describing the Lord God “who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Then he was led to note verses 20-21, which he had previously read without noticing anything. “Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word. Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure.”
He suddenly realized that the angels who minister to the believers (as stated in Heb.1:14), listen only to the word of God and put the word of God into action when the believers proclaim the word of God!
It was indeed a bonus! The next thing that happened further demonstrated to him how close to him and how much the Holy Spirit is willing to impart important wisdom.
As he pondered over the obstacle to the intercession for that very sick man, and bothered by his own nagging ache, he saw a book lying around. It was a classic book on divine healing, a recent gift which he had not been able to read yet. He took it up, opened and glanced through the contents just to see what are inside. He was looking for “eyes” ailment, but he was disappointed.
However, he read on and found something relevant. It was on “Stress disorders, anxiety and fear”. He turned to the section and found what he was looking for. It described how the brain affects the body (including health). The author used certain medical and physiological information and links them to emotional manifestations and spiritual causal factors.
The author then quoted one crucial verse, “1 John 4:18 is the functional Scripture for the healing of many fear, anxiety and stress disorders“. He concluded and summarized his recommendation for healing: reconciliation with God and His love; reconciliation with yourself; and reconciliation with others.
The verse was exactly the same verse Jack had given to his class last Sunday as the key to casting out fears (which he described as a major hindrance to faith and healing). “There is no fear in love; but perfect love cast out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” In that class, Jack also emphasized the need to reconcile and not harbor unforgiveness which could hinder the participants from experiencing the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
Later that morning Jack further saw the unfolding of the mystery surrounding that poor man. The big picture emerged clearly.
He decided to go to the Prayer House to pray in the Spirit. It was a purposeful morning and the Lord was with him just as He promised.
Although this blog series ends here, he will continue to walk in the Spirit and learn from the Anointed One. His life remains that of a man who travels on in the Spirit.

Chapter ninety-nine: Seeing the big picture from the miniature

It was like walking in the desert and coming across a small patch of oasis. There were only two palm trees, a well and a tiny tent enough for one traveler. When Jack first started this travel blog (in the Holy Spirit), he had no idea what he would find each step of his way. After such a long (in his own perception) walk with the Lord all these years he had reached a point where he had to have a breakthrough. He only had one road map, the Bible. He knew the answer was there somewhere.
His daily journey after stepping out in faith was increasingly focused, as he allowed the Holy Spirit to lead him. There was never one clear road map with every details but the details provided were essential and clear enough for him. He was led step by step.
A number of things emerged and confirmed to him he was walking toward the right direction in his journey of faith.
As he had recorded previously, they came in the form of visions, dreams, verses, messages, words of knowledge and words of wisdom from others, and the fresh assignments given to him.
Prior to this journey, he had been given a variety of ministerial functions, including, teaching, preaching, serving in committees, training, exhorting, encouraging, helping, shepherding small groups etc. He did not know then whether he was anointed or not for any of them.
However, during this journey in the Holy Spirit, he was clearer about his anointing for specific assignments. At first he was unsure as he found that he was assigned a variety of functions with the relevant gift/anointing for that specific occasion. The assignment (and the anointing therein) was meant for just that occasion or a few of similar ones.
What was his calling? He had often asked God. Why was he given such a variety of tasks that demanded different gifts/anointing? Why was his audience so limited (in numbers and other natural aspects)?
After taking on each assignment by faith, he gradually saw the big picture.It finally dawned on him the calling and the answer to his questions.
He was not called to stand in the office of a pastor, nor an evangelist, nor a prophet, nor a preacher, nor an Apostle. He was called to be an ‘anointed type teacher’. A teacher of anointed ‘type’ to be exact. The Holy Spirit manifested in many different gifts during the respective assignments to give demonstrations to his lessons.
His lessons were to focus on showing examples of different anointed functions. There was no requirement for him to stand in the office of any of the anointed offices.
This revelation explains why he had been exposed to so many different offices and gifts.
Knowing this calling has cleared all his doubts. He is no longer under pressure to ensure a large turn out for any class. As the Lord Jesus promised in Matt. 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
To his amazement, he was the student learning and benefiting most from the lessons where the Anointed One conducted the teaching. Indeed, the lessons carried on outside the classroom, often when he was alone worshiping or just resting in the presence of the Almighty. Even the garden has become his personal classroom.
As for why he is required to learn to teach anointed ‘type’ teaching, he is still waiting for the next instruction from his Teacher. Meanwhile, he just continues to enjoy the role of a student himself.

Management according to Jack (part two)

What are some essential requirements for effective management? Here are some tips:
1. Effective management works on the assumption that resources are scarce and limited and valuable.
2. Effective management's success does not depend on the dead know how (systems, records, files, figures, practices). Effective management's success comes from the availability of and effective use of dynamic living things: e.g. people who manage and are being managed, and other essential resources (tangible and non-tangible: opportunities, time, money, premises, equipment, technology, creativity, relationship, distribution channels etc.) that can produce, create values and contribute to desired growth.
3. Effective management means using available and limited resources in optimum combination to produce maximized results/targets as expected.
4. A primitive man with the basic essential resources can still produce something even when he has to start from zero with no figures, no files, no records, no established system etc.
5. In a modern organization, management system is created or adopted to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of management, often with the objective of maximizing and optimizing the use of limited resources for improvement and expansion of desired results (in quantity and quality).
6. Management system changes overtime like a live creature, adapting to various forces (internal and external environment) working for survival. It therefore requires to renew and often transform, to keep up if not move ahead of its competition for scarce resources.
7. Effective management system aims to be ahead of the pack, based on the assumption that desirable resources are scarce.
8. Christian management system is different from others. The main distinction is the management manual (the words of God).
9. When Christian manager follows God's management manual, he can only succeed. This is guaranteed by the ultimate Authority Himself.
10. Effective Christian management practice requires: faith in the unseen God, supernatural belief in all His promises, knowledge of and adherence to the words of God, submission to His will and being led by the Holy Spirit in all aspects of decision making and operational execution.

Chapter Ninety-Four: More on Prophetic Acts and Faith in Action

The more Jack reads about the prophetic acts carried out without fail, birthing miraculous results in the Bible, the more he is convinced that this is an important end times survival key.
The historical events and requirements agree what he has been learning, teaching and practicing with amazing results. The combination of four main ingredients are required for every prophetic act:
1. Faith
2. The word of God
3. The Holy Spirit (presence of God)
4. Praying in the Spirit
Doing prophetic acts requires supernatural mindset. Only a person who is led by the Holy Spirit (under the anointing of the Holy Spirit) can boldly carry out the assignment which may seem unnatural to those of the flesh and not of the Spirit. A believer may worry, there may not be enough Biblical prophetic acts to go around for end times. When one encounters a tough situation and runs out of prophetic acts, what then?
So Jack has been reading the Bible with this concern in mind. Having carried out one in which he was greatly edified, he too wonders where would the next one be? However, the more he reads the more he understands how amazing and limitless the Holy Spirit works. There is indeed a rich source of miraculous supplies that cover practically every aspect of life in this world in the Bible, for example, food and drink, healing and deliverance, safety and protection, health, comfort, wealth and prosperity. There are even big battles won without human efforts. Indeed, there are so many that he just does not know what to enact next with his class!
He needs not worry about not having enough prophetic acts to act on at all. What he needs to do is to continue to seek God, through worship, prayers, reading God’s words and living by the Spirit, abiding in Christ. Of these requirements, he finds that he needs to spend more effort in memorizing God’s words as well as practicing faith in action to build faith.
Worshiping God and praying in the Spirit can be done anytime. He does them in the car, in the garden, in the room, in his office, in church, and anywhere. But reading the word of God requires a place and a dedicated time. So he makes sure he has these set up in his daily life schedule. In addition, reading Bible can be done during all fillers’ time as well. Instead of reading something else or chatting on the phone or on internet, just pick up the Bible and read. When he has acquired the habit not taking lunch he uses the time to read God’s words and pray as well. It is often a rewarding time.
Practicing faith in action remains the toughest part. When he first started he had no clue. He merely carried out God’s words by faith. Later he was able to listen to the Holy Spirit more and more and his assignment becomes easy and enjoyable. He enjoys most the company of the presence of God.
It is rewarding to be a teacher of faith in action. He gets to practice what he teaches and witnesses miracles. Deep in his heart he knows he is not the real teacher. The real teacher is the Holy Spirit Himself. Otherwise, the words are mere utterances and could not cause any ripples in the deepest part of the soul.
How does he prepare for the faith in action class?
The following is based on his own experience as led by the Holy Spirit.
After reading and re-reading the lesson, he meditates on the verses. Then he spends a number of days fasting lunches to sharpen his spiritual discernment. He prays a lot in the Spirit. He prays that the Holy Spirit intercede for him and give him dreams, visions, signs and words in the Bible to guide him. Often he receives the answers.
He prays for the class. He asks that the Holy Spirit prepares them according to their needs and His plan for them.
On the day of the class, he fasts the two main meals. He maintains his spiritual alertness. Fasting and praying in the Spirit raise his faith level and enable him to receive fresh revelations and prophecies. It is truly wonderful and beneficial. He believes in the power of God’s words and had experienced the reality of them.
So it is a wonderful life even when preparing for end times.

chapter ninety: An evening in the garden and God waved back

During a night of power failure, Jack diligently carried out his assignment. On this warm evening Jack encountered a sudden power failure. He had his daily main meal without hurry after a day of fasting (taking water only). The day was event less and he was feeling a bit disappointed. It was a windless evening. The garden was very still and stifling.


After dinner, he had a shower and changed into comfortable sports wear. Then he was led to go into the garden. He realized that there was nothing to do but to pray and intercede. He walked about and started praying in the Spirit. The sky looked still and nothing seemed to happen. He continued to pray and sing in tongues.
Then he was led to sing about the Holy Spirit wind. True enough the trees in his garden started to move their branches. He could feel the breeze moving quietly around him. He continued to praise God and give thanks for the Holy Spirit wind. He noted that only the trees in his garden moved. The ones outside remained still. He felt elated and burst into the powerful classic hymn “How Great Thou are!” (Two weeks ago he witnessed a demonized man fled as if in trance when he merely heard the chorus of this hymn!)

Interestingly the wind came to where he stood and surrounded his whole being. As he walked the wind continued to move forward toward the same direction. He decided to walk round his garden and the wind moved ahead as if to lead his steps. So he interceded following the steps of the Holy Spirit.

He did not know the object of his intercession so he decided to pray in understanding. “O Lord, pour Your Spirit over this land, this…” When he came to the name of the land, instead of saying the nation he had in mind, he suddenly cried, “Jerusalem”.
He obeyed and spent the whole time interceding for Jerusalem (partly from Isaiah 32:15-19; 58:6-12, and recalling from Nehemiah), that the Holy Spirit would pour on that land and cause a transformation in line with the heart of God, rebuilding the walls and gates for the City of God.

After that, he watered the garden as a symbolic act of the living water that would flood Jerusalem and fill those who hunger and thirst.

He knew when he had completed his task. The intercession in the Spirit stopped. But he was enjoying the garden walk with the presence of God so much that he wanted to walk another round. So he told God that he really appreciated and felt very honored. He requested that he be allowed another round in the garden just to be with God and not busily interceding. Then he walked by faith. When he finally stopped he lifted up his hands and waved. To his amazement, he saw his two red sealing wax palm trees waving (while all the other trees remained still). There was a gap of clear blue heaven between the two trees.

He believed it was God waving to him and saying goodbye after the evening walk. He waved back with a big grin and the trees stopped after that.

He went back to his house and read this line from Isaiah 2:5, “O, house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

The power immediately came on and the house was flooded with light!

Chapter Eighty-four: the Holy Spirit said, "Put new wine in new skin, watchman!"

The training by the Holy Spirit has been intensive and increasingly more. Jack was woken this morning with this instruction, "Put new wine in new skin!" He obeyed and got up. As he was preparing himself for the quiet time. a number of thoughts went through his mind (heart rather). It was all about Jesus. Interestingly, it linked what he has been learning from various sources together and gave him the big picture!

He rushed downstairs and opened his Bible and started reading the Gospel according to John Chapter One. There it is, the new wine!
He recalled the most recent lesson on Genesis 1:1-10 which confirmed what he has previously read . The teacher taught that there was an interval between Gen.1:1 and 1:2. The earth described in 1:2 appeared to have gone through destruction. The destruction tied to Revelation 12 which recorded the war in heaven wherein the dragon (the devil) was defeated and cast out together with one-third of the angels who joined in the rebellion against God. They were cast to the earth. The teacher taught that the earth was a prison for the devil and his gang.

However, God restored the earth in Gen.1:3 onward. He also created human beings based on His own image. He breathed into them the breath of life. He gave the human authority and dominion over the earth but the human gave the dominion in turn to the devil (when Adam and Eve decided to obey the lies of the devil and rebel against God). God knew this would happen so He had prepared in the beginning for His own Son, Jesus to come to earth and redeem the human.

John One
In John 1:1-18, this truth was clearly proclaimed. Jesus was in the beginning of creation. He was the Word (God) and all things were made through Him. "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." (Heb.11:3) The world on earth was made through Him. The human were His own as they were created in His image. But they did not know Him or receive Him.

The devil (thief) came to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus came to give life and life more abundantly. (John 10:10) The followings are very important truths to set human free from the bondages of the devil (evil, darkness, sin, disease and death).

John 1:12, "Yet to all who received Him (Jesus), to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God" (NIV) John 1:13, The children of God, "who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (NKJV) John 1:17-18, "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only (the only begotten Son), who is at the Father's side, has made Him known." (NIV)

The Name of God
From Jesus, something transformed in all those who received Him (as the Son of God), and believed in His name. What does it mean by believing in His name? Jack pondered. Recently the Holy Spirit reminded him the power and majesty of Jesus' name. At the name of Jesus Christ, all knees shall bow and all tongues shall confess, that Jesus is Lord!

Do not take God's name in vain. Jesus is God. Do not take Jesus' name in vain. In Acts 3:6, Peter demonstrated the mighty power of the name of Jesus Christ, that instantly and completely healed a grown man lame from his mother's womb. Jesus promised the disciples that they could ask anything in His name and it shall be done for them. (John 14:13)

Believing in His name means believing He is God and He is all powerful and all His word are true.

Not born of human seed
Another truth is that the children of God were not born of human blood or human seed. When we received Christ Jesus into our lives and believed in His name, something happened in our lives. We have received His Spirit (the Holy Spirit 1 Cor.2:12). We have received the Spirit of son-ship. The Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. (Romans 8:15-16) We became a new creation (2 Cor.5:17).

God is all powerful and all knowing. He knows how weak humans are (all physical and totally helpless to fight in the spiritual realm). His redemption plan through His Son Jesus has to be perfect. Therefore, the giving of the new life through the Holy Spirit birth must be among the most important requirements for humans to be saved, delivered from the bondages of evil and live a victorious life (kingdom of God life) after that. Indeed, Jesus Himself warned that unless one is born again of the Spirit one cannot see or enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:3, 5) The Holy Spirit also declared through Apostle Paul that only those led by the Spirit are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14).

The Light, The Truth and free Unmerited Favor
Another powerful fact is that Jesus is light. Darkness cannot overcome light. Where the light of Jesus is, darkness flees!When God gave Jesus to us, He gave us light that overcomes darkness. (John 1:5)
Grace (God's free favor for us not based on our merits) and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17) When Jesus described the devil, He called him the father of lies. On the other hand, Jesus is the Truth Himself. When God gave us Jesus, He gave us grace and truth. Both must be powerful weapons to overcome the devil in the enemy's camp.

Looking at the armor of God, we find that indeed Jesus forms the center part of the armor: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of Salvation, the Gospel of peace. The Holy Spirit makes up for the rest: the sword of the Spirit (the word of God) and praying in the Spirit. The only input from the believer is faith (which serves a shield to quench all fiery darts from the devil). Even faith is given by God and the faith race requires us to keep our focus on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith! (Heb.12:2)

How not to live a victorious life? (We really have no excuse) "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him (Jesus) who loved us." (Romans 8:37)

Chapter Seventy-Three: The Holy Spirit cries out, “What I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

After much soul searching and praying about finances and whether to invest further in a particular stock, Jack heard clearly the verse from Acts 3:6. The Apostle Peter told a beggar, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” He immediately read the chapter about this revelation. It was indeed amazing how the beggar, a grown man, who had been lame from his mother’s womb received strength in his feet and ankle bones immediately, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with the Apostles, walking, leaping and praising God!
The man had never walked or worked all his life. He depended on others to lay daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple. Suddenly he could stand up, walk and leap! How he must have rehearsed these movements in his heart as he watched others since he was a toddler with helplessness and despair, knowing that he would never be able to experience the freedom others had!
After reading aloud and pondering on this verse, Jack was led to hear a message from Malachi 4:2, wherein the Lord proclaimed, “But to you who fear/revere My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healings in His wings; and you will go out and leap like the claves released from the stall.”
A stall is an enclosed small area set off by walls for special use. We all have stalls in our mind, called mind-set. One mind-set is unbelief.
Even Christians have such mind-set. But the Lord promises that those who revere His name (the name of Jesus Christ of Nazereth) will be set free from such bondages and oppressions. They will see the Sun of Righteousness arising with healings on His wings. They will go out and leap like calves released from the stall!
Jack knows his own mind-set. He repents and faith arises in his heart. He sees the greatness in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazereth. He believes the power of that name. The Bible clearly says that there are no other names but that name by which anyone can be saved (healed, delivered, blessed and prospered in all aspects: spirit, soul and body). How dull and foolish his heart had been in thinking that that one name was only powerful in one area and not in all others. He repents deeply.
What happened to that investment? Jack made a decision based on his fresh mind-set. He has made a commitment not to use the Lord’s name in vain. He has determined in his heart to use the Lord’s name with belief. It was wonderful and liberating.
Life suddenly brightens up and his heart leaps like calves released from the stall, under the bright light of the Sun of Righteousness!
Acts 3:16 “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.”
Thank you, Holy Spirit!

Chapter Seventy: Prosper through The Seed (Word of God) and Water from Heaven (the Holy Spirit)

One day Jack was strongly urged in the spirit to do a search on all the verses about the rich provision of God. What was revealed has transformed his whole perspective about the blessings of God. He discovered that indeed God has supplied seeds and ensure material security and provision growth for all God’s children.
He is overjoyed to see how God provides the seeds for the sowers and food for them as well. The Lord supplies the resources he needs, ensures the right circumstances and environments and produces the abundant end results / fruits and profits of his labor/investment.
However, there is one crucial key: the whole operation process requires the pouring of the Holy Spirit! It is all about the Holy Spirit bringing forth the blessings (as covenanted with Abraham and re-validated by Jesus) and making them materialized. The word of God is the seed and the Holy Spirit is the water.
Isaiah 32:15 “Until the Holy Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest.”
Isaiah 32:20 How blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream. (The word of God and the Holy Spirit go hand in hand!)
Deut 32:2 Let my teaching fall like rain and  my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plant.
Those who believe will be richly and abundantly blessed by these verses!
Isaiah 30:23-26 God will provide rain for the seeds you sow. The grain that grows will be abundant. Your cattle will range far and wide. Oblivious to war and earthquake, the oxen and donkeys you use for hauling and plowing will be fed well near running brooks that flow freely from mountains and hills. Better yet, on the Day God heals his people of the wounds and bruises from the time of punishment, moonlight will flare into sunlight, and sunlight, like a whole week of sunshine at once, will flood the land.
Isaiah 55:10-11
10 “ For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,”
11 “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
Psalm 65:9-13
9 You visit the earth and cause it to overflow;
You greatly enrich it;
The stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You settle its ridges,
You soften it with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year with Your bounty,
And Your paths drip with fatness.
12 The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the hills gird themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are clothed with flocks
And the valleys are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, yes, they sing.
Psalm 104:13-14
13 He waters the hills from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.
14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the service of man,
That he may bring forth food from the earth.
Psalm 72:6 He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.
Psalm 72:16 Let grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon; let it thrive like the grass of the field.
Psalm 144:13 Your barns will be filled with every kind of provision.
Psalm 147:14 He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.

chapter sixty-eight: Do not assume, just follow the Holy Spirit

One thing Jack has learned lately is to be really focused on the Holy Spirit leading and not to simply assume anything. He has been blessed with the fellowship and guidance of a number of brethren in Christ who are led by the Spirit.
It is not easy to be focused, as he tends to be distracted by a lot of things in his daily life. However, when he has to make a big decision like buying a piece of land he decides to ask for godly and spiritual advice. He acted on the advice.
Today he received an information about a piece of land which is being auctioned with a reserved price about three times below the market value of property in the same area.
He thought it was a good deal. It also excited him as it appeared to confirm his  recent reading of the Bible verses. However he called his brethren for advice. The brother advised him to go and see the land, step on it and claimed it and waited for the Holy Spirit to say whether to buy and if so, how much. He was also advised to go with someone (another brethren in Christ) in that vicinity at that time.He had Holy Communion with his family members before he went.
He went with three brethren in Christ (of whom two are his family members too). They prayed over the land and went home. The brethren in that vicinity prayed for covering of Jesus blood.
At night he and his family decided to intercede for their extended family and the forthcoming journey for two family members. After that they prayed for the land again.
At the end of the prayer, they were clear that the Holy Spirit said “NO”! The answer was unanimously received. It was given to three of them in three different revelations. To one the question was financial and she realized that the deal would have contradicted her desire. To a member who happened to visit Jack and his family that day, the answer was clear and in great spiritual and practical details.
To Jack, it was given in a vision which gave him no peace.
So he told them his vision and decision.It was confirmed by a visiting family member who has seen a number of visions on the land and has already received a number of big “NO”s and detailed reasons from the Holy Spirit.
Then Jack realized that the Holy Spirit has in fact earlier told him the answer. He was told he was not one assigned to do spiritual warfare and the land requires such gifts. He was told the land was in a cluster of stronghold and the location was not strategic. He was reminded that his purpose was to have a school for training and not for the intentions he thought he could use this land for.
It was amazing how the Holy Spirit has given him another important lesson on how to listen to the Holy Spirit and not to simply assume. The Holy Spirit has been a wonderful teacher indeed!
He is grateful that the Holy Spirit has arranged for these brethren to be around at the right time at the right place. If the information about the land was available on another date, he would not have had such clear direction within such a short but crucial time as the auction date gave him little time to research.
Praise God for His grace (unmerited favor) and mercy!

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE: WHAT ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A WATCHMAN (ON THE WALLS)?

Recent events had prompted Jack to review his role as a watchman. He does not want to fool himself into thinking that he is especially righteous or holy so he qualifies as one. He knows he is not yet the spiritual man he has strived to become. When he first started this journey of living in the Holy Spirit, he only wanted to know God more and follow Jesus by faith (in the Spirit). However, something happened on the way and he encountered events which he has never had a clue previously in his natural man. The spiritual realm has been revealed to him gradually as if he was watching a never ending movie that has no fixed plot.

After a dry eventless season, he recently encountered intensive working of the Holy Spirit in him. One night he was sleepless for four hours during which he saw nine visions! He knew they were visions as he was not dreaming. Another day he even saw two visions in broad daylight! Most recently he was led to wake up after only one and half hours of sleep. He was not allowed to continue his sleep although he was reluctant to get up from his comfortable bed. Then he saw a vision. The vision conveyed a sense of urgency and he had no choice but to jump out of his bed at 1.30am.

When he sat down at the kitchen table he opened his Bible to see if he could have a confirmation of the vision. What he read was exactly what he saw! He realized that he had seen part of the army scene described in the book of Joel chapter two! When he came to verse 17 he knew he was asked to intercede. So he interceded in accordance with the verse which commands: “Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, ‘Spare your people, o Lord, do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘where is their God?’”

He was tired and sleepy but he persisted (knowing that he was asked to stand in the gap for the priests as well as they were sleeping), “Spare your people, o Lord!” After he had prayed these words sometime he was led to pray for his own nephew, a lost sheep somewhere. So he interceded for the poor young man. Unlike what he thought at first, although he had completed his “watchman assignment’ for that occasion, he did not feel in a hurry to return to bed. Instead, he continued to worship and sing hymns. He was also led to intercede for a number of other matters (mostly for people) and read the Bible at intervals. By the time he knew the time with God was over that morning, it was already 3.30am. He had only four hours of sleep after that but he felt well and refreshed that day!

What are the qualifications of a watchman? He concluded that all a watchman needs is to be ready when called for an assignment. So far, all he did was to seek God, be thirsty for God’s presence and His words, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and heeded His calls. There was no other requirement on him. There is nothing special about him. He believes that a lot of others like him are quietly responding to the calls of the Holy Spirit and intercede as required. Is it an exciting life? Yes! He feels happy and honored, as the almighty God cares to be present and listen to a man’s prayers.

Notwithstanding the odd hours he has to get up at times, he would not trade these with any other events. No words can describe the joy one feels in the presence of the holy, majestic, all powerful yet caring God!

2010-01-22

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX: SPIRITUAL NOVICE COUNTING BLESSINGS!

One thing Jack learns to tell himself is not to give the false impression that he is so spiritual that he can hear God loud and clear, knows God and practices perfectly all things pertaining to godliness. That is false. He must admit that he is still a novice in all spiritual matters and all things pertaining to God. He has a long long way to go to live in the Spirit and by the Spirit.


He is still concerned with two things: Is he living in the Spirit correctly as instructed in the Bible? Is he known by Jesus?

The worst thing that can happen to any Christian is to be addressed by Jesus as worker of iniquity and to be told to depart from the living God forever and ever when that day of the Lord comes.

Things continue to happen to him and his family and friends. As they seek God they discover the positive intervention of the Holy Spirit to make their paths easier. The Holy Spirit indeed provided guidance and arranged for people and events to work together for them.

Recently Jack found that some major prayers were answered in ways that he never thought could be possible. God is a worker of the impossible!

He also learned not to give up hoping and seeking God.

In review, he found that he has again received a big bonus from the Holy Spirit. Two years ago the market crashed and all that he had invested previously in the fund market lost significant monetary value. He was led by the Spirit to read Jeremiah and trusted in the Lord’s faithfulness. He was asked to read “Enter by the narrow gate”.

After reading Jeremiah, he trusted God and hanged on to the original funds. During this year he listened and bought more of certain funds (which value he had earlier lost) at lower cost.

At the lowest time he was led to buy a particular stock at the time that everybody was selling. He sold the stock earlier this year when he made a good profit. The benefits of this one deal were as follows:

1. He used part of the sale proceeds to buy a similar stock at the same earlier buying cost of the sold stock. However, the new stock is worth twice the value of the sold stock.

2. A month later he made a second profit from the new stock which gave right issue at a cost way below the market value.

3. Within two months the stock gave dividends at an earning rate way above other stocks.

4. Within half a year, the stock gave further dividends, totally the best earning in the market.

5. He banked in the remaining unused profit after giving one-tenth of the total to support his church evangelical and healing ministry.

During the last month of this year the original funds which had lost value two years ago had regained their values and gained considerable further value. He just sold some to reap the promised harvest. All in all, just as promised in Jeremiah, God’s steadfast loving kindness and faithfulness are new every morning!

Lean year or fat year, a Christian’s hope and security rest in the Lord.

No wonder God asked His people to come out of Egypt and enter the Promised Land prepared for them. All they had to do was to follow Him, obeyed His command and sought His presence all the time.

Translate the above to today’s scenario, all we need to do is to deny ourselves (be separate from the world and the worldly values), follow Jesus (including His cross), obey His words (carry our crosses), and seek His presence daily, i.e. living by the Spirit.

Another year is over soon, have you come out yet?

P/s: Jack is not a stock market pundit and never has much interest in stock market. The one stock he invested was in plantation as he was led to read the particular passage in Jeremiah, meditated on it and trusted the Holy Spirit to lead him to the right counter at the right time. The same applies to the funds.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE: CONTINUE TO ENTER THE NARROW GATE TO HEAVEN

Due to the constant flow of traffic of readers to read my blog on “chapter nineteen: narrow gate and difficult way to heaven? Journal Day 22-24 Enter by the narrow gate”, I am led by the Holy Spirit to write further on this subject just to remind myself and my loved ones the urgency and importance to know how to enter into heaven at this end time.

I list below the Bible verses on this life and death matter. I also append my observations in the brackets following each set of verses.

1. The narrow Gate: Jesus spoke these famous sayings in Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

(Contrary to the general and popular teaching of other religions and most modern churches, a lot of people are being excluded from entering heaven, simply because they have chosen the broad and easy way).

2. The seeker of God: “You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come”. (John 7:34)

(Although many seek God/Jesus, read up on the subject, study religious materials and Bible, and take part in evangelical rallies and other forms of spiritual pilgrimages, not every one who seeks God/Jesus could find Him or go to heaven where He has gone).

3. The doer of “religious good deeds”: “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” “And then I will declare to them, I never know you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:21, 23)

(Although many practice some forms of religions including Christianity religion, follow the required religious rituals, practice religious living, believing that they are serving God, not all who call God/Jesus as Lord and think that they have served Him could enter heaven).

4. The knower of religious knowledge: There are people who claim that they know God/Jesus because they read up the Bible, take part in church or other religious services, religious activities, religious ceremonial meetings, and so on. (Luke 13:26) but Jesus said, “I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity,” (Luke 13:27)

(Not all who think they know God/Jesus in their physical senses and their minds are known by God/Jesus. To God they are workers of iniquity!)

Who are those who are being disqualified by God/Jesus?

1. They are lawless and workers of iniquity: Proverbs described the characteristics of these people. They hated knowledge (of God), did not choose to honor and fear God reverently, would have none of the Lord’s counsel, and despised God’s every rebuke. (Prov. 1:29-30) Jesus warned: “Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek Me diligently, but they will not find Me.” (1:28)

(Take note that these people also seek God diligently but could not find God. Why? They go to church physically without really going with their hearts. They do not believe or want to follow God’s words. They continue to live by the world’s standards and values, and not the values and standards of the kingdom of God).

2. The prophet Hosea also stated that the people (with their flocks and herds) shall go and seek the Lord, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. Why? God said they had dealt treacherously with Him. They had begotten pagan children, indulging in pagan worship and idolatry. (Hosea 5:6-7)

(These religious people try to look for God bringing their whole family too. They go to church like any other Christians do. But God said they have married the world and begotten pagan children! They have lived the lifestyle of the world, be in close intimate relationship with the world, and produced pagan offspring instead of citizens for the kingdom of God!)



3. Jesus warned about the false prophets (pastors and preaches of today’s churches) of His days. Matthew 7:15-20 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” Jesus also said, “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (eternal damnation). (Matthew 7:19)

(Only where Jesus and His salvation are being preached, then people can be saved. If a preacher/pastor preaches anything but Jesus and His salvation, there will be no production of Christian (good fruit in God’s eyes) for the kingdom of God, thus resulting in eternal damnation of his followers/members of the so called “church”).

How to enter the narrow gate to heaven?

Jesus said, “I am the gate/door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9)

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own”. (John 10:14)

Jesus said, “The sheep hears His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name, and leads them out. And when He brings out His own sheep, He goes before them; and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.” (John 10:3-5)

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” (John 10:14)

(There are no other way, but to learn to know Jesus, follow His voice, and be led by Him into the narrow gate, into the kingdom of God living.)

Jack’s application: Practice living daily the sheep life (kingdom of God living) by faith. Follow Jesus daily. Make sure He knows me. Watch and pray as Jesus has commanded His followers.

2009-12-02

CHAPTER FIFTY: CONTINUE TO LISTEN TO THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH PATIENCE AND DETERMINATION

Learning to listen to the Holy Spirit is not that simple. Jack continued to persevere. As he tried to intercede for the previous day’s issue he found that he had nothing in his mind or spirit. He read that we can ask the Holy Spirit for verses. So he asked for a verse to guide him on the right path when interceding for this specific case.

He prayed in tongue and waited for quite sometime and interceded for other matters as well. Finally he received (as he thought) a verse. But it was in the form of numbers for chapter or verse. He received the number 11 (5?) and nothing else. He decided to search the Bible for the relevant chapter and/or verse. He went through the New Testament and could not find his answer. Then he decided to go to the first book of the Bible. Again he received no prompting.

Suddenly he realized that the case involved asking God to set the captives free, so it had to be in Exodus! He read chapter eleven and the answer was there! Exodus 11 described how the Lord told Moses He would bring one more plague on Pharaoh and Egypt, the plague wherein all first born of Egypt would die. The children of Israel who applied the blood of the lamb on their door posts would live and be set free.

By then Jack knew he had to pray for the blood of Jesus to cover the captives and waited for the Lord to strike and rescue them. So he obeyed and prayed.

Indeed, only the blood of Jesus could set the captives free (bearing in mind the war is spiritual, Ephesians 6:12). He should have thought of that earlier. But the Holy Spirit had been a patient teacher, even though Jack needed to go one full circle to get to the answer and finally intercede for the particular case.

Amazing grace!

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: “I AM LOOKING FOR A CHURCH”

Matthew 24:6-8 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

Reading headline like “the day of death” was no comfort. In the same weekend more than one disaster hit the nations of the world, earthquakes, tsunami, typhoon, and flood with colossal human and financial losses, were certainly bad news for the earth inhabitants. The Christians woke up and asked whether these were signs of the end time. The more sensible ones asked themselves, whether they were ready to meet the Lord, who is coming soon.

Indeed, when shocked out of our hitherto comfort zone, no matter how secure we once thought we were, we had no choice but to re-examine our lives, calculate the possible risk factors and the worst case scenario and decide our best immediate defense actions.

To prepare for the end time, Jack thus is looking for a church. He had escaped from his previous church as it no longer mentioned (and/or believe in the power of) the cross, Jesus’ blood and His redemption anymore. The church had gone the popular humanistic way and thus returned to Egypt, busily prospering in numbers, building colossal multi-million dollars buildings, engrossed in a great variety of programs, works and activities. The music was popular. The attendance rate was high. The number of membership and its growth probably topped the list of its peers in this city.

But it preached anything but Christ. Jack patiently waited for three years. Then, as signs of end time kept popping up, Jack figured that it would be impossible to be part of that corporate body and yet go to heaven. So he abandoned ship when he was certain that the Holy Spirit had called him to progress in his faith (not without feeling sorrowful to leave the familiar).

Now he is looking for a church that preaches Jesus Christ day in and day out. There is no other more worthy topic. But where is that church? At times he wonders if he should advertise. How shall he word it? “A man in the Holy Spirit is looking for a church that preaches nothing but Jesus on the cross, shedding His precious blood to save the world, so that all who believe will not perish but finds eternal life. If any church fits into this category please let Jack know the good news. Those who take the Holy Communion in vain, that is, not mentioning (and/or believing) the redemptive blood of Jesus and healing body of Jesus, need not bother to apply.” Many churches will feel offended. Many will ignore this advertisement. One mere number of memberships is not worth the bother to churches which had gone the Egypt (worldly) pathway. One is nothing to the churches when they already have a hundred or even a thousand. Or worse, many would think this is a cry of an outdated man who has not kept up with the modern religious world.

But Jack is sincere in his cry. Meanwhile he has asked God to make Jesus’ footsteps his pathway. So daily he seeks the presence of God through Jesus, bringing to daily remembrance of His cross through the Holy Communion (remembering the redemptive power of the blood of Jesus and the body of Jesus that was broken for us-our total healing), reads His words and prays in the name of Jesus, living in the Spirit and all by faith. He believes the church is out there, all over the world, with individuals like him, forming the corporate body of Christ, spiritually, not limited by physical distance and time.

1 Cor. 11:24, 25 The Lord Jesus said, “Take, eat, this is My body, which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

1 Cor. 10:16-17 The Apostle Paul wrote (authored by the Holy Spirit): “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” “For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.”

2009-10-02

chapter forty two: finding purpose in life through fasting and prayer

Another goal for fasting and prayer is to find purpose in life. An average person would not be satisfied with living from day to day knowing that one day all men must die and leave this earth without knowing why he had come to this life in the first place. One can find out about others’ life purpose by reading, studying and watching others. We can watch others growing up, being gainfully occupied with career, family, friends and may be hobbies, social work and religions etc. We tend to follow too and do about the same thing. However, is that all? What is our real purpose for living? This is a tough question for Jack.


One way to find out is to fast and pray. By giving up our physical comfort and deliberately focus on a higher level of existence one becomes aware of higher goal and the real reason of one’s existence. Not everyone has the same goals even though there are seemingly limited numbers of the usual goals. To sum up, most people want health, happiness and comfort in life. Security and relationship rank high in the happiness category. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid, once a human being get hold of the lower basic needs (physiological, security, love and belonging), he/she aims for meeting the higher level needs like esteem needs, experience purpose and meaning, and self-actualization.

Whilst the concept is the same, individuals vary in the contents that make up the ideals. Of course, people tend to follow each other (keeping up with the neighbours). But they will soon find the void in their hearts unfilled. For example, we tend to think of others’ kids being so lovely and fun to be with. When we have our own we know life is not all lovely and fun. At times we think the opposite had happened and prevailed. We also tend to admire others’ garden and wish we too have one. When we have our own garden we lament at the compulsory hours of regular hard labours required. The same imperfect reality happens to owning cars, houses, high earning jobs, prestigious positions and interesting hobbies.

One pertinent question remains, “For what higher purposes are we created?” Fasting and prayer helps a Christian to find out.


The focus of Christian fasting and prayer is God. The more one focuses on the presence of God, the more one is able to receive clear messages about God and His purpose for our life. The content and focus of our prayers change. The mind changes its priority. The spirit (which has been slumbering previously) wakes up and switches to the God channel with clearer reception. This opens a door into a wider sphere of existence, way beyond our tiny little world.



But does God not care about our usual life in our little world? Oh, He does care. The difference is that He will open our eyes to see further sights and dream greater dreams.

There is a greater purpose for your existence and a higher goal for your life. No one can afford to linger on below that purpose. Start and find out now!

Yes, fasting and praying helps you to find the map.


2009-09-30

CHAPTER FORTY ONE: FASTING, PRAYER, WARFARE AND BREAKTHROUGHS

Trying to fast seriously has brought spiritual breakthrough. Setting the right goals for fasting is essential. When confronted with a life threatening crisis, people are more willing and sincere in fasting and prayer. On the other hand, when one’s goal is to get close to God and obeying His command (as in the Bible), to be more spiritually discerning (so as to obey His command/will), to breakthrough in applying Biblical living, the fasting is just as effective. These are some of Jack’s recent findings through readings and personal experience.


After fasting partially he felt his body lighter and not as cumbersome. He found that he could concentrate more on spiritual matters (matters pertaining God). He was more focused in worship and prayer. He renewed his enthusiasm for intercession for others, and even the big issues like the salvation of the world. When interceding for smaller things, like for families, he was more discerning and was able to be led by the Holy Spirit.


Unlike what he had feared previously, there was not much bodily discomfort other than the usual mild hunger pang at certain intervals (possibly more induced by psychology and habits). Even the slowing down of life did not bother him much. He felt more relaxed as he no longer needed to worry about what he should eat for the next meal.


He had more quality time on hand and could do more work and more Bible reading (in addition to prayer). He had less strife when dealing with people and situations. Somehow, his world seemed changed for the better. Reading the Bible is another big gain. He had never been able to read so much in the same time frame before. This time he had no agenda and read at ease, as led by the Holy Spirit. Indeed, as he read, he received the messages that God was speaking to him. So he prayed in response as he read.


Prayer-wise there were breakthroughs too. He interceded as led by the Holy Spirit. For example, one morning he thought he had finished praying as he woke early and had almost two hours with the Lord. However, when he returned from an assignment, he was led to intercede further and spent another two hours! He was not even aware of the time.

This morning he wanted to pray for a relative urgently so he woke early and spent time before the Lord. However, when he thought he needed to intercede more, the Holy Spirit led him to pray for one particular big nation/one big religious group) on an urgent matter. So he obeyed. At the end of that prayer, he was shown a vision about the relative whom he had wanted to pray for. The vision was positive and answered his earlier concern.


He learned from this experience that we cannot limit God. When we put ourselves in the flow of the Holy Spirit, life becomes effortless and the spiritual reality becomes clearer and discernable. This is part of Kingdom of God living and living in the Spirit as instructed in the Bible.


It is like heaven come down and life has such a clarity as he has never seen before. It is indeed wonderful!

chapter twenty-five Jerusalem Fish Gate Mystery Revealed (new)

Jack read with concern that almost every Biblical mention of the Jerusalem Fish Gate involved either corruption of the people; or its consequences. 2 Chronicles 33:14 recorded how King Manasseh repented (from idolatry), cleansed the city from false religion, and built a wall outside the City of David as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate. In Nehemiah 3:3 the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. In Zephaniah 1:10 God pronounced His judgment on Jerusalem in the future and would start from the Fish Gate: “And there shall be on that day,” says the LORD, “The sound of a mournful cry from the Fish Gate…” The public market place often reflected the spiritual state of the hearts.

Then Jack read John 21:1-11 “Breakfast by the Sea” and saw a different picture. In this passage, the resurrected Jesus showed Himself the third time to the disciples. The disciples led by Peter went fishing at the Sea of Tiberius whole night and caught nothing. Jesus came and asked them to cast the net on the right side of the boat, and they did, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. This was on happy occasion. When Jesus dealt with fishy business He transformed them into miracles of His provision and undeserved favor! During Jesus’ ministry on earth He multiplied seven loaves and a few fishes into ample food to feed four thousand men plus women and children!

Jesus not only shepherded His sheep, He brought them to green pastures with clear water. He is a provider and sustainer of life on this earth and for eternity. When He asked the disciples to feed the thousands of crowd, He was not giving them an impossible task. He was pointing them to be Jesus-focus, the source of all good things. Thus, miracles happened. Food provided. Hearts changed. The sick healed. The weak strengthened. Even the smelly Fish Gate marketplace could become a pleasant one and bless those who walk through!

The following is a record from Jack’s earlier journal on his Biblical living quest. The Spirit led him to see the power of Jesus-focus. As he was struggling with the issue of weight, he realized that fearing having inadequate food was un-Biblical and baseless. The real issue lied in his heart not in his belly.


Journal day 51: Three days with nothing to eat
Today’s passage intrigues me. At least four thousand plus men besides women and children had nothing to eat for three days and they were still walking!

Matthew 15: 32 “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” Jesus told the disciples.

What were these people doing during the three days? Surly there is a clue as to how they had managed to survive during that period without food. In the same chapter, the Bible described the background activities. After Jesus rebuked the Jewish religious leaders for their hypocrisy, he went to Tyre and Sidon, where He healed the severely demon-possessed daughter of a Canaan woman, praising the mother for her great faith in Jesus. Canaanites were idol worshippers and enemies of the Jews. Yet the Canaan woman found great courage to come to Jesus as she was desperate and knew that all the idols she and her tribesmen worshipped all their lives could not save her daughter.

After that, Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat there. Then great multitudes came to Him. They brought the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others. They laid them at Jesus’ feet and He healed them all. The multitudes saw, marveled at the miracles, glorified and worshipped God.

So the great multitudes (four thousand men besides women and children) had spent their three days carrying their sick relatives and friends, following Jesus, walking long distance, climbing the mountain, listening to Jesus teaching about the kingdom of heaven, seeing Jesus (displaying His mighty supernatural power and healing them all), and worshipping God. In the presence of Jesus, the people saw God. They were awed. They were fed with spiritual food and filled. Jesus’ words were food. The people received life through His words (Spirit and life).

It is obvious that during the three days Jesus and His disciples had not eaten any food. Otherwise Jesus would have fed the multitudes miraculously just as He did previously when another group of people (five thousand men plus women and children) followed Him. So it was a big fasting gathering of thousands of people on the mountain!

Were they human? Yes. Jesus told His disciples that these people would be hungry and could faint on the way when they went home. As long as they were with Him, listening to His words, seeing Him displaying His power as the Son of God, and worshipping God, they would not be hungry. But they were human and would be hungry when they were away from Jesus. So Jesus fed them before they left, miraculously with seven loaves and a few little fish, multiplying these into abundant food.

My application:

After reading a book on fasting and prayers as the ultimate weapon to beat the devil, and real life testimonies of ex-patients who had been healed from terminal and other chronic diseases, broken relationship, and other failures, I have started learning to fast last week. I take a light lunch, skip dinner and drink water instead. Sometimes I take one glass of fruit and vegetable juice with milk in lieu of one meal. Whilst fasting I read the Bible and meditate on God and His words. It is refreshing to the soul. At first it was difficult and I kept thinking that I had gastritis pains. I resisted the temptation to take medicine.

Yesterday I woke up and found my old enemy, the back pain, emerged. I rebuked it and went on with my daily living Biblically. I resisted the temptation to take pain-killers after claiming the healing from Jesus. I refused to speak negative words giving the indication of any doubt/unbelief. In the afternoon when I felt the pain emerging, I read Romans chapter 8 again aloud in the bedroom. After that it subsided. In the evening I decided to spend time reading the Bible aloud. So I took the Romans chapter 8 and read again. Then I was led to read Isaiah chapters 58-66. After reading these, I received a phone call from a mother to urgently pray and intercede for her son (a young man) who is alone in a strange city. So I prayed and read the deliverance prayers for him.

Soon it was time for bed and I did not feel any hunger pang at all. I woke up refreshed and healthy today. I did not feel hungry even though I had fasted both lunch and dinner yesterday!

There is Biblical foundation for fasting. Many men and women of God did mighty works through fasting and prayers. When we fast, we are saying to the physical aspect of life that we are not to be dictated by it anymore. We are saying “no” to the body/flesh (five senses). We are saying “yes” to the Spirit. We learn to live by the Spirit. To be led by the Spirit and live according to the Spirit is the goal of victorious living of all Christians.

I find that my body becomes lighter and my mind becomes sharper when I fast. I feel more peaceful, happier and even more sensitive to the spiritual realm.

My advice to all who want to try is that you need to learn to reduce food intake bit by bit. Prior to this project I had reduced my meals by eating very light lunch and dinner. I cut down on snacks. I learn to drink water. It takes a lot of preparation physically.

The more important preparation is that you need to be convinced that the words of God are true. As you fast you need to spend time in the presence of God, reading His words, meditating on them, worship and sing praises to God. You also spend time praying and interceding for others. Sometimes I just listen quietly, close my eyes for a long time and see if pictures or words come into my mind.

My goal in this is not to seek sensational experiences. My only desire is to live Biblically and live out the kingdom life that Jesus has given to every believer. Why live as a beggar if you can live like a prince?

AAA Jack