December 5, 2012

The Holy Spirit says: Be Free! And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”

 Today’s prayer from the watchman to the Lord is “O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.Be our arm every morning,our salvation in the time of trouble.” Then the Lord answered, “And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”. “But where is this wonderful place Lord?” The watchman asked further. Then he knew. How did he know? Just by following the faith people, living in the Spirit, walking by faith and not by sight.

Lately he was led to renovate his abode by throwing out the stuff that hinder his spiritual journey by faith (worldly books and stuff of no value in the kingdom of God). He just obeyed. He saw in his spirit that some disciples looking persons sitting on the floor waiting upon the Lord. He asked the Lord and received the prompting that the place would be put to use as an intensive training ground for those who want to learn to hear God and be led by the Spirit. About three years back he first heard in his spirit the term “prophet-disciple school”. He put it aside as he had no other leading. Then a few months back the Lord prompted him again. He asked the Lord from where and how such ‘disciple trainees’ would come? He was told that the Lord would bring them and they would come from unexpected sources. He needed not do anything. They would self-sustain themselves. So he obeyed and free up the place by throwing away two lorry loads of unwanted stuff.
As it is spacious and empty he loves to sit there alone and waits upon the Lord. The early morning and evening time is the best. The garden is just a glass door away, with some trees and patches of grass and stone pavement. Mature red palms, an unnamed tree, a fir tree, and a young thriving avocado tree are all doing well.
One day he received a phone call. A brethren in Christ who had not contacted him for many years suddenly called him. The man had been fasting for 28 days and had encountered the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He was filled with joy and tears. He wanted to talk to someone and no one was willing to hear him out from his circle of brethren and friends, including his own wife, pastors and elders. They come from one of the most traditional churches in this region. They do not want to know his experience of baptism of the Holy Spirit and are also against praying in tongues (in the church or anything to do with the church ministry).
The pastor has even warned sternly that he should never speak or pray in tongue when he is at the pulpit (as a worship leader //deacon), leading worship or prayer meetings, or as a cell group leader, or anywhere around the church or where the church members gather. He was stunned. He has served the Lord for years and become bone dry. He has observed that others too have the same dryness in their souls and spirits. Their bodies too suffer sicknesses which warrant constant medicine intake. After he was filled with the Holy Spirit he was overjoyed and nourished by the Lord, feeding on the word of God like never before. The brethren also testified that he decided to stop his medicine during his fasting and he was healed of a chronic pain at the back of his neck!

So the watchman was contacted when this Spirit-filled brethren suddenly recalled his name! The watchman agreed to meet with him as the brethren indicated that he wanted to know more about Holy Spirit-filled living. At first they met around 10am. Then the Lord prompted that the brethren should join the watchman waiting upon the Lord early to learn hands-on. So they decided to meet at the newly renovated space at 5am daily Monday to Friday.

After the first meeting, they were joined by a couple who lived nearby. They decided to wait upon the Lord too in the early hours before going to work. So the 5am-8am/9am morning ‘wait-upon-the-Lord’ faith in action training had birthed. No agenda. No planning. No program. No schedule. No fixed message. No fixed time frame. They just learned to listen to the Lord Holy Spirit and obeyed.
The Bible verses flowed as the Spirit of the Lord led them. The Lord Jesus had promised, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
Indeed, the watchman and the earnest seekers of God, daily encounter the reality of these verses, “Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; they will see a land that stretches afar.”
But there the Lord in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams,”
And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.”
________________________________Bible verses for today:
Isaiah 33 (ESV)
O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.
    Be our arm every morning,
    our salvation in the time of trouble.
At the tumultuous noise peoples flee;
when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered,
and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
as locusts leap, it is leapt upon.
The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
    he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness,
and he will be the stability of your times,
    abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
    the fear of the Lord is Zion’s[a] treasure.
Behold, their heroes cry in the streets;
the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
The highways lie waste;
the traveler ceases.
Covenants are broken;
cities[b] are despised;
there is no regard for man.
The land mourns and languishes;
Lebanon is confounded and withers away;
Sharon is like a desert,
and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10 “Now I will arise,” says the Lord,
    “now I will lift myself up;
    now I will be exalted.
11 You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble;
your breath is a fire that will consume you.
12 And the peoples will be as if burned to lime,
like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire.”
13 Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;
and you who are near, acknowledge my might.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling has seized the godless:
Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire?
    Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
who despises the gain of oppressions,
who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed
and shuts his eyes from looking on evil,

16 he will dwell on the heights;
    his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;
    his bread will be given him; his water will be sure.
17 Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty;
    they will see a land that stretches afar.
18 Your heart will muse on the terror:
“Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed the tribute?
Where is he who counted the towers?”
19 You will see no more the insolent people,
the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a tongue that you cannot understand.
20 Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts!
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
an untroubled habitation, an immovable tent,
whose stakes will never be plucked up,
nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
a place of broad rivers and streams,
where no galley with oars can go,
nor majestic ship can pass.
22 For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver;
    the Lord is our king; he will save us.
23 Your cords hang loose;
they cannot hold the mast firm in its place
or keep the sail spread out.
Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided;
even the lame will take the prey.
24 And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”;
    the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.
Footnotes:
  1. Isaiah 33:6 Hebrew his
  2. Isaiah 33:8 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll witnesses

December 2, 2012

today's message: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 1

English Standard Version (ESV) Greeting
Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Thanksgiving
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Divisions in the Church
10 I appeal to you, brothers,[a] by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
    and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach[b] to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,[c] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being[d] might boast in the presence of God.  
30 And because of him[e] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Footnotes:
  1. 1 Corinthians 1:10 Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God's family, the church; also verses 11, 26
  2. 1 Corinthians 1:21 Or the folly of preaching
  3. 1 Corinthians 1:26 Greek according to the flesh
  4. 1 Corinthians 1:29 Greek no flesh
  5. 1 Corinthians 1:30 Greek And from him

November 25, 2012

A List of Items for watchman-intercessor

How to be an effective watchman and intercessor? Often this question is raised by the enthusiastic watchman to be (who must be born again by the Spirit of Christ). There is a harvest field for watchmen/intercessors who are spiritual harvest laborers as well. So here are some words for those who really desire to soar into the spiritual realm watching and praying just as the Lord Jesus had commanded. The list is not exhaustive and is not arranged in any sequence of importance. Some of the items are inter-related or are expansions from previous items. (Note: Some may find some items on the list challenging or even ‘offensive’. Do not be offended. After all, it is between you and God who calls you.)
Always be led by the Spirit of the Lord, Jesus Christ Himself!
  1. You need to be called.
  2. You need to be spiritual, able to see, hear and discern in your spirit.
  3. You need to be a disciple of Jesus.
  4. You need to know the words of God.
  5. You need to have faith.
  6. You need to spend time, a lot of time, (for some, all the time) with God.
  7. You need to know how to pray.
  8. You need to love praying.
  9. You need to live before God.
  10. You need to live a solitary life, often misunderstood by close ones.
  11. You need to be up when others are sleeping.
  12. You need to travel far, often in the spirit.
  13. You need to know and obey God’s will.
  14. You need a variety of spiritual gifts, including the gifts of discerning spirits, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, tongues and interpretation of tongues when needed to pass on a message. For some who double up as prophets or teachers, they need the gift of prophesy or teaching.
  15. You need to be after the heart of the Father (God), as David did.
  16. You need to live a godly and holy life.
  17. You need to fear God.
  18. You need to know the will of God.
  19. You need to know you have no option but to obey the Lord when called. You need to obey His will and His word.
  20. You need to confess and repent of your sins as convicted by the Holy Spirit and the word of God.
  21. You need to constantly examine your own thoughts and intents (motives) so they would not fool you into thinking you have heard from the Lord.
  22. You need to know how to do spiritual warfare.
  23. You need grace and truth.
  24. You need the blood of Jesus.
  25. You need Psalm 91 protection.
  26. You need to put on the full armor of God.
  27. You need to know to pray the right things at the right time for the right people.
  28. You need to know how to use the sword of the Spirit.
  29. You need to know how to pray and sing in the Spirit.
  30. You need to live divine. (This means you can pray, bind and cast out your own demons, heal your own sickness, and deliver and cleanse yourself).

November 24, 2012

How Jesus spoke – (word gems from Mark)

After the watchman had completed reading Romans 1-8 in the small hours of the morning, he was led to read the book of Mark 1-5. He heard, “Jesus was a man of few words. Imitate Him.”
Jesus had set an example for His disciples. He did not waste words. He knew the power of God’s words when spoken with faith, as led by the Holy Spirit.
_______________________Here are the gems the watchman found:
1:5 The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.
1:7 Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.
1:25 Be silent and come out of him!
1:38 Let Me go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.
1:41 I will; be clean.
1:44 See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.
2:5 Son, your sins are forgiven.
2:11 I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.
3:3 Come here.
3:5 Stretch out your hand.
4:39 Peace! Be still!
5:8 Come out of the man, you unclean spirit.
5:34 Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.
5:41 Little girl, I say to you, arise.
__________________He continued the next morning and uncovered these gems as follows:
6:4 A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.
6:10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.
6:31 Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.
6:37 You give them something to eat.
6:38 How many loaves do you have? Go and see.
6:50 Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.
7:29 For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.
7:34 Ephphatha (Be open).
8:5 How many loaves do you have?
8:12 Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.
8:15 Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.
8:21 Do you not yet understand?
9:16 What are you arguing about with them?
9:21 How long has this been happening to him?
9:23 If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.
9:25 You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.
9:29 This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.
9:31 The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And when He is killed, after three days He will rise.
9:33 What were you discussing on the way?
9:35 If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.
10:15 Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
10:27 With man it is impossible but not with God. With God all things are possible.
10:31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
10:36 What do you want Me to do for you?
10:45 But even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
10:49 Call him.
10:51 What do you want Me to do for you?
10:52 Go your way, your faith has made you well.
_____________________________
11:17 Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayers for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.
11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it shall be yours.
11:25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
11:29 I will ask you one question; answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
12:24 Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?
12:27 He is not God of the dead, but God of the living. You are quite wrong.
12:31b There is no other commandment greater than these.
13:11 …for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
13:13 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
13:14 But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
13:23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.
13:26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
13:31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
13:35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows,[c] or in the morning—
13:36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
13:37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.
14:And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.
22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the[c] covenant, which is poured out for many.
38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
41 And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.
61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
15:And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”
16:15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

November 20, 2012

THE MESSAGE TODAY: How to be curse free?

Galatians 3

English Standard Version (ESV)

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by[a] the flesh? Did you suffer[b] so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify[c] the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them. 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”[d] 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit[e] through faith.

The Law and the Promise

15 To give a human example, brothers:[f] even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave[g] nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
Footnotes:
  1. Galatians 3:3 Or now ending with
  2. Galatians 3:4 Or experience
  3. Galatians 3:8 Or count righteous; also verses 11, 24
  4. Galatians 3:11 Or The one who by faith is righteous will live
  5. Galatians 3:14 Greek receive the promise of the Spirit
  6. Galatians 3:15 Or brothers and sisters
  7. Galatians 3:28 Greek bondservant

November 18, 2012

TODAY’S MESSAGE TO CHURCHES THAT SPEAK ENGLISH: THE WAY OF LOVE

The watchman asked the Lord and received this as Today’s Message to Churches that speak English:”THE WAY OF LOVE”

1 Corinthians 13 (ESV) The Way of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Footnotes:
  1. 1 Corinthians 13:3 Some manuscripts deliver up my body [to death] that I may boast
  2. 1 Corinthians 13:5 Greek irritable and does not count up wrongdoing
The watchman has no other words. His only prompting is that we read the word from the end. There are seven love letters from the resurrected Lord Jesus Himself. Go and read them, church!

November 10, 2012

Verses for the downhearted in the flesh -the word is ‘CONTRITE’

For encouragement, here are the verses for the ‘downhearted’ in the flesh.
  1. Psalm 34:18
    The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
    Psalm 34:17-19 (in Context) Psalm 34 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  2. Psalm 51:17
    The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.
    Psalm 51:16-18 (in Context) Psalm 51 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  3. Isaiah 57:15
    For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
    Isaiah 57:14-16 (in Context) Isaiah 57 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  4. Isaiah 66:2
    For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the LORD. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.
    Isaiah 66:1-3 (in Context) Isaiah 66 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

2025-12-25 给Joyce 的诗 ——永远记得你!

2025-12-25 Joyce,我们仍然记得!两年前今日是与您最后一次一起度过的圣诞节,次日凌晨就天上人间分隔了。今天我只想写一首诗,告诉我们有“永远”这事实,我们今世没法用肉眼看见,但是可以用心灵领会,圣经所形容的天上一切都是真实的! 给你的诗歌 ——永远记得你! 如此罕见真...