Annointing

From a message by Leonard Ravenhill:


I told a story once let me tell you it again. I was going in Dr. Tozer's study one day and there he had a bit of paper he was stroking and he said, "Len I would rather have that bit of paper than a letter from the president of the United States." And I said, "Why"? He said it's from a little black man in Africa his names is Dumas. D-u-m-a-s. He went into a Baptist church one night and the Lord came upon him and he got wonderfully saved. And when he got to the door the preacher said, "Well nice to see you. Hope you come again." He said, "Yes." "Anything I can do for you?" And he, 'said yes, yes, yes sir there is." He said "What?" He said "Give me a church. "What did you say?" He said, "give me a church. I've been looking all my life for the thing I found there at that altar." And he said "Listen, I'm a new man. My burden's gone! I felt the fetters break! I felt the burden go from off my back! I felt something surging and making me pure and wonderful! I want to tell everybody! Give me a church to preach."

"Oh well... have you had much formal education?" 'No.' "Have you been to bible school?" 'No.' Well that was an advantage if he'd only known. And he hadn't been to bible school, and so finally the preacher said "You just keep coming." "But man," he said "this is wonderful. I'd heard it preached about being a new creation, but it happened in my life and I'm a new creature; old things have passed away. You know, I don't have a desire; I don't have a appetite. Everything's new! I want God I want God I want God!! But the preacher was at least honest, he said "You know I used to be like that... I used to be."

You know you're very sure your God's chosen people and before long your very sure you're God's frozen people.

The little black man went out. He came back a month later. The preacher was preaching and thinking "Now who's that fellow there? Yes I know, I know, yea, yea, yea I know who he is, I think I know who he is. And going out he said "Hi brother how are you?" he said "Fine." He said "I'd like to ask you a question." and he said "Go ahead" the preacher said. He said "Would you give me a church?" "Yes I thought you were the fellow, only been in church twice and you ask for a church each time you come. Do you think I have a pocket full of them or something, and here's one for you and one for...? He said "Sir your right I haven't been here for a month. When you told me at the door you'd see me again," He said "Sir I walked up that road outside of the city, I found a forest, I went in the forest I found a path, I found a stream, I found a hole in the wall, and I put a mark on the wall and I stayed there 21 days and 21 night with my Bible." And he said "Lord you and I just the two of us, we're going to have it out. Did I go out of that door with an assurance 'I called you to minister?' or did I go out and say 'you will never get me to preach?' It's one of the two." He said "I ate no bread, I talked with nobody, I washed my face in the stream, and right in the middle of that 21 days the Holy Ghost came upon me. And the Spirit said, 'I've called you to preach. And when you lay hands on the sick, the sick will recover.

Go ahead.' Are you going to give me a church?"

"Well, we do have an elder's meeting on Wednesday night." If you could come back on Sunday." And the elders discussed it and said, "You know, he's a bit of a freak, you're not going to get rid of him. Now we do have a little tin church out on the other side of town, you know a shack, Why not give it to him? it's only got 5 members. And you know, he's ignorant and rude, and his grammar isn't good, and he couldn't deal with a text very well, he couldn't... truth is, all he'd do is ill treat it. And they wouldn't want to go hear him after a few days, a few weeks, and they will close it down and say, 'You see, you weren't called.'"

Why was Tozer reading this little dog-eared paper—and Tozer, he's about as emotional as a toothpick— and he kisses the paper and says "I'd rather have this piece of paper than a letter from the President of the United States." He said, "At last, the man I've heard so much about. I've got a letter from him. Dumas, the man they sent outside of town; the man they thought they would break his heart with five colored people. Now he has one of the stateliest churches in the city of Durban! I believe after about 1200 people every Lord's day to hear him minister. The little church that sat in judgment on him is still a little shrunken church. But listen friend, is the secret that he went a cave for 21 days and said "Lord, in the light of eternity you talk into this heart of mine and your going to tell me one of two things: either I'm anointed to preach or I'm not? (Did you ever do that preacher? It's tough.) That's not the secret.

As I remember the story it's this: that he went into that cave on the 17th of November, and every year more than 15 years in succession, when he came to the 17th of November he kissed his wife and children goodbye. I don't think he kissed the deacons, but he said goodbye to the deacons, and he went back into that cave and stayed 21 days and 21 nights. Only a few preachers can say amen to that, you'd better not because you dare not some of you. days to renew his anointing! Every year he's had new councils from God, new revelations from God, new anointings from God! There is no such thing as one filling with the Holy Ghost that's going to last you from here to eternity, I don't believe that. Do you believe that brother Murrel? No sir. There are repeated anointings; there are times when God will withdraw himself and make you feel as though your dropping into the nether most hell. He'll leave you alone to see if your going to struggle after His anointing or your gonna go on in your own eloquence and ability. The Lord thy God is a jealous God!

"Gave Himself"

Galatians 1:3-4 

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Paul had a heart that rejoiced in every circumstance he was in, and in every circumstance he would face. This letter to the Galatians was a letter that Paul wrote to the church of Galatia questioning why they got caught up in the lies of Judaism after he spent so much time with them; explaining the scriptures, explaining the gospel which Christ revealed to him. His heart was broke and he was confused as to why they would go back to a system that didn’t work. Why they would go back to a system that doesn’t bring Christ glory.

We are no different, all too often we go back to something that doesn’t work, and we go back to something that doesn’t produce peace. We justify in our minds that we are all good and God understands. We cannot afford to believe the lies of the enemy; we must look to God if we are His. The Holy Spirit says to us today in this verse which is the most beautiful part of this letter here in verse four of chapter 1 which shows the heart of our Savior.

“Who gave Himself for our sins”…..

Think about that, “gave Himself” the Lord of all creation became the sacrifice that would set us free from the bondage of sin. As a church we need to be careful not to get caught up in the schemes of the enemy but run to Christ and look at what He says in His Word, that’s what gives us life, that’s what gives us hope.

Christ gave Himself to you to deliver you from this evil age.

Great Things

Jeremiah 45

The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the instruction of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3 ‘You said, “Woe is me now! For the Lord has added grief to my sorrow. I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.”’

4 “Thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, what I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is, this whole land. 5 And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the Lord. “But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.”’

I believe in the midst of all that we go through there are times when we strive to no end; we strive to accomplish something that benefits only us. That maybe we will add something to our repertoire, a feather in our cap a collection on our wall, but at the end of the day we have to ask ourselves, does it glorify God?

It’s our human nature to strive to attain and if we are honest with our self we will say to make our self look good. But the life of a Christian is really all about humility it’s about seeking ways for God to get the glory. As we see in this chapter Baruch was having a pity party, he was feeling at the end of himself, never once thinking that God is allowing what he was going on for a purpose. Because that’s what God does, He’s sovereign. In this chapter God declares He will do what He please, and He still is God, but the provoking thought that is present in which God asks Baruch is…

“Do you seek great things for yourself;” It’s as if He is asking Baruch are you seeking great things for you or for Me? Are you concerned with how you feel or are you praying My will be done? He asks us that today beloved, and at the same time He says if we are doing that, He says do not.

God is sovereign, He is in control, His ways are way better than what we may conjure up. Before we start to ask why all this may be happening; let us rather ask “Lord help me see that you are doing something that is for your glory”.

That song “God of this city” is always worth listening to and I love the chorus which helps us to put in perspective that He is who He says He is.

For greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done in this City

There is no one like our God

-Amen

Glory Revealed

Psalm 19 The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament shows His handiwork.

2 Day unto day utters speech,

And night unto night reveals knowledge.

3 There is no speech nor language

Where their voice is not heard.

4 Their line has gone out through all the earth,

And their words to the end of the world.

Better than any master builder, greater than any construct that has been formed or planned. The bible records the greatness of God, His skillset is incomprehensible, the work of His hands is unmatched. How He created everything out of nothing is unfathomable, by us just going outside and looking all around and taking the time to look at the creation, there’s no doubt that something is behind the beauty of what we see. There’s no doubt that the Creator took the time to design all that was formed.

Romans 1 tell us in vs. 20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen.”  His invisible attributes in what He has created can be seen in nature, in the way everything works, in the setting of the sun and the moon, in the timing of fruits and vegetables in their harvest and to add to the thought of what He has done; think about how He had created you, how the bible tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. That thought right there should make us take a few steps back and be in awe of who He is.

Isa 45:18 For thus says the Lord,

Who created the heavens,

Who is God,

Who formed the earth and made it,

Who has established it,

Who did not create it in vain,

Who formed it to be inhabited:

“I am the Lord, and there is no other.

If the heavens declare the glory of God, if all that surrounds us declare the glory of God, if Jesus who is God became a man and died on the cross for the sins of the whole world declare the glory of God. How much more should our life give Him all that He is worthy for, all the praise, all the honor is rightfully His. May He continue to work in each one of revealing His Son our King Jesus Christ even more until He returns. To God be the Glory.