Introduction:

I was nine-years old when God first began to deal with me about writing a book. I had heard about a book from Rev. Loran Helm called “A Voice in the Wilderness” and began to read it for myself. From the time I read the book and on for many years later, God began to press on me to write a book and then gave me the title, “I Heard God’s Voice.” In this book I recount the times I heard God speak, the times God moved in my life, and the times I rejected God to do my own will. This book is full of God’s Speaking Voice, his unctions and pressings for His Will for my life and His overwhelming Grace and Forgiveness towards someone who should have been rejected long ago. It is my prayer that when you pick up this book and read it that you will encounter God’s True Love for you and His desire to speak to you and in your life if you will only listen. I hope that through this you will begin a true self-denial relationship with Jesus Christ which is so much better than anything else this world or people can ever give you. With the Love of God and a call to please HIM,

-Daniel Myers

Contents:

Introduction……………………………………1

Chapter 1: What a God………………………...4

Chapter 2: Do we really listen?........................14

Chapter 3: Death’s Army……………………..38

Chapter 4: Your whole heart…………………57

Chapter 5: The Desert………………………...80

Chapter 6: Waiting, Anticipating & Hoping for the Presence of God…………………………101

Chapter 7: Fleeing from the Presence of the Lord…………………………………………116

Chapter 8: He’s coming soon……………….127

CHAPTER 1: What a God

What a God we serve! What a mighty God we serve! We serve an awesome God! Have you ever truly thought about that, ever truly sat back and thought what a God? Do you ever think to yourself what a God? Do you ever share that awesome knowledge with other people? Do you testify? Do you witness? Do you share with people and minister to people about God and what He has done for you? Do you have love, patience, goodness, meekness, joy and peace oozing out of you? Has God done something for you? If He has you need to share it with someone. We need to seek God and be thankful for whom He is; we need to praise Him for all that He has done for us. No matter where you are right now or what circumstances seem to face you or have you down, if you will praise God He will help you, He will come to you and He will rescue you. The Bible says to cast all our care upon the Lord for He cares for us. Whatever you’re going through right now, tell your problems to God. Many times we think to ourselves internally, “If God is really God then He knows what I am going through,” and while yes that is true, God still wants you to talk with Him; He still wants your devotion and willingness to talk to Him.

With all that God has done with me and for me in my life thus far, I still sit back in wonder, “What a God!” You see, Praise produces results! Remember in Acts the story of Paul and Silas, “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were open and everyone’s chains were loosed.” Acts 16:25-26 NKJV.

While Paul and Silas began praising God, the chains fell off and the prison doors were opened! This is not an energy sermon to get you pumped up; this is telling you that if you will just praise God despite whatever you’re going through, God will show up! Remember Joshua and the people of Israel and the walls of Jericho? “When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed.” Joshua 6:20 NKJV

When the men of Israel shouted their praises unto God, the walls collapsed! What a God! Whatever happened to praising God for who He was? Whatever happened to singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord? God said He would give us a “garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (or heaviness)” Isaiah 61:3 NKJV. Many of us today have sacrificed our praise for a spirit of complaining, we have forfeited our worship for the sake of despair, and we have canceled out our rejoicing for the spirit of heaviness. We need to rejoice again, we need to believe again!

In these next few stories I want to share with you about God’s Greatness and how He provided for me many times throughout my life:

I was about ten-years old and was struggling in school with Math; I could not grasp the subject for whatever reason. No matter how hard I tried or worked on it I was still unable to understand or even perform in the subject. My parents would work with me for hours every night but it still did not help; they got me different tutors, but still it did not help. I remember my Dad telling me, “Son, pray and ask Jesus to help you.” He didn’t say this comically, he meant it in a loving way. One night I was praying before bed and I remember specifically saying, “Lord, please help me to understand Math or at least please send someone to help me understand it, give me a new mind.” I prayed that prayer and laid my head down that night to sleep. Less than one week later my Aunt and Uncle came over to visit, we had all finished eating and my Mother said to me, “Daniel, ask your Uncle to help you on your Math homework and see if he can’t help you with some of the problems.” I went to go get my Math homework book, climbed up on my Uncle’s lap and opened the book. I showed him the problems and it didn’t take long to see that I didn’t know how to do any of them. My Uncle very lovingly and very patiently looked at the problems and showed me how to work them out. I completed my homework and enjoyed completing it before the night was over. I don’t think he showed me more than a few times how to work the problems and I immediately grasped it! For the first time in weeks, possibly months, I understood Math like I had been doing it forever. What a God! God answered my prayer! Even at the age of nine or ten-years old, God heard the prayer of a child in his bedroom asking for the ability to understand Math and sent someone to help me! Praise be to God!

On another occasion, my parents were very low on money at this particular time and I was in need of eye glasses. I had had these pair of glasses for some time and now they were being held together by scotch tape. I wore them like this for a few weeks and then one day after church a man came up to me and handed me an envelope. He said to me, “Daniel, I found this envelope on the table in the foyer and it had your name on it.” He handed me the envelope and walked away. I opened up the envelope and to my wonderful surprise and God’s Glory there was a gift certificate inside for a brand new pair of eye glasses! I don’t know who the gift was from, but God knew the need that I had and provided the means for me to get a brand new pair of eye glasses! Amen!

I remember when I was twenty-one years old and in college, I was getting ready for my last semester and preparing for graduation. When the time came to pay for my tuition and class, my family and I didn’t have the amount needed. After prayer my Dad said to me, “Daniel, I believe God has told me that if you will go He will provide the money.” I needed roughly $600.  After I registered, a few weeks later, my Dad was going through some old things and came across a savings bond that was given to me by a family member when I was born. We had totally forgotten all about it! My Dad gave me the bond to cash and I went to the bank to see how much it had accumulated; the bond after cashed was enough money to pay for my school and an additional $50! Praise God! He provided the way!

Paul says in Philippians 4:4 NKJV “Rejoice in the Lord always.” We are to ever be thankful and praising God! We are never to stop praising God and worshiping God. We are never to allow ourselves to slip into a complaining or murmuring or grumbling spirit about anything in life. There’s an old worship song that says, “Blessed be the Name of the Lord.” This should be the attitude we have towards every situation and in every day of our life. We ought to wake up shouting, “Blessed be Your Name!” We ought to go to bed proclaiming, “Blessed be Your Name!” Let this be the cry of His people that no matter what comes our way we will still choose to say, “Blessed be the name of the Lord!” What a God! Hallelujah!

CHAPTER 2: Do we really listen?

Do we really listen to God or do we just talk about Him? Do we really listen to God or do we just talk to Him? Do we really listen to God or do we just sit back and ignore Him? When God speaks we should be quick to listen and we should ALWAYS obey. When God speaks He may only tell us once, so we should listen and obey Him the very first time He speaks. I want to encourage you that you must obey God in everything, for it is always worth it all the time! I want to share with you some stories and experiences when God has spoken to me.

“Give Greg $20”

I was no more than eight or nine-years old when my Grandparents came into town to visit us. As usual my Grandparents, either when they came in town or before they left, would bring us Grandchildren a gift, and on this occasion they had given each of us Grandchildren $20. On Saturday evening of that week I went to the prayer meeting at my church. I remember sitting between two adults and looking around at all the people praying; some were on their knees, some on their faces, some in their chairs; but they were crying out to God, praying unto Him to seek His Will. I remember praying silently when all of a sudden I heard a voice say, “Give Greg $20.” When I heard the voice I immediately was in awe and wonder. I cannot describe to you the amazement of hearing God’s Voice. I said to myself, “Was that God speaking to me?” I said, “God, was that you?” And immediately the same Voice came again and repeated, “Give Greg $20.” When I heard the instruction the second time I almost couldn’t believe it. I felt the Presence of God like I had never felt before and I knew without a shadow of a doubt I had heard God. But I began to question and debate whether or not I had heard God; questions darted through my mind like, “Am I just trying to hear something? How do I know that was actually God? Maybe someone else will hear Him?” I had never heard God before. I was so amazed but so scared at the same time, for I was a very shy person and didn’t know how to go about saying, “I heard God tell me to do such and such.” For the rest of that prayer meeting I couldn’t focus on anything else except the instruction of that Voice to give Greg $20. When the last prayer was prayed and the meeting was over, I struggled and debated whether or not to obey the Voice of God. I got up, walked past everybody and left. As soon as my feet hit the sidewalk outside the church I immediately felt guilty, for I knew I had rejected and disobeyed the Voice of God. If there was any doubt about me hearing God earlier, there wasn’t after I felt that sense of a child disobeying his Father. I went home and that night I didn’t say anything to anybody, I just went to bed. The next morning, Sunday morning, the church had prayer before service. I was eager to get to prayer that morning and on my way there I prayed, “God I’m sorry for not obeying you last night, but if you will speak to me to do it again like you did last night, I promise I will do it.” So, I went into prayer and waited to hear that Voice like I did the night before. But after several minutes of waiting I heard nothing. The last prayer was prayed and the meeting was concluded. I was shocked that I didn’t hear the Voice of God, but I remembered how I felt when God first spoke and I remembered how I felt when I didn’t listen to Him, so I decided I was going to listen to Him anyway. I waited outside the door of the room we were having prayer in, and the last person to come out of the room was Greg. I turned to him and said, “Greg, I felt like I was supposed to give you this,” and I handed him the $20 that I had. He took the $20 bill, looked at it, looked at me and grabbed my arm and said, “Do you know what this is? You did hear from God!” He proceeded to tell me that on Friday, two days prior, that he was on his way to the grocery store to buy some food for his family when the Holy Spirit prompted him to help a family who was in need of gas for their vehicle. He gave the only money he had to help the family and the exact amount he gave was $20! He was obedient to the Voice of God telling him to help someone who needed gas and God spoke to me telling me to give $20 in obedience. Hallelujah! God is good!

At the Restaurant

My family and I were at a restaurant eating dinner one evening, and during the dinner I felt the Holy Spirit working on me about the family sitting behind us in the restaurant. I didn’t know who they were, but throughout the evening I kept turning around to look at them and knew in my heart I was supposed to do something but didn’t know what. Unlike my earlier encounter with hearing God speak so clearly, this time I only felt a “draw” or an “impression” to do something for this family but I had no idea what it was. I was still very young at the time so I didn’t have any money but I thought, “Maybe I’m supposed to give them money.” So I prayed that God would somehow send money for me to give the family before we left the restaurant. When we all finished eating we headed out and got into our van. The Father of the family who was sitting behind us in the restaurant got up as well and headed towards his car. As my Dad was starting to pull out he stopped the van and sat there. My Mother asked him what he was stopping for and he replied, “I think I’m supposed to pray for that man back there.” Before anything else was said, I immediately spoke up and said, “Who? What man? The man back there in the restaurant? The man that was sitting behind us?” My parents turned to look at me and my Dad responded, “Yes, why?” I told them that I had felt like I was supposed to do something but didn’t know what. My Dad immediately put the van in reverse, parked it and then he, my Mother and I got out of the van and headed towards the man’s car in which he was sitting. My Dad cautiously knocked on the window of the man’s car, to which he rolled down very little. My Dad said to him, “Sir I know you don’t know us but we felt very strongly that we were supposed to pray for you, may we do that?” The man agreed and opened up his car driver side door and began to weep; he explained to my Dad that he had just gotten out of a Doctor appointment with his wife and they had found out that he had Cancer. My Dad prayed for him and then I prayed for him. They exchanged phone numbers and two weeks later my Dad got a phone call that the man’s cancer was gone! Praise God! Hallelujah!

Fast

The Pastor of our church had called for the entire church to begin a fast and I felt God telling me that I was to participate in this fast with everyone else. The first day and a half of the fast wasn’t so bad, but by the middle of the second day to the early part of the third day I began to get extremely hungry. I was praying and seeking God but it just felt like I was getting nowhere. On the third day I was praying, I said, “God, if you want me to continue this fast please give me a sign of some sort by the end of this day.” When I finished praying, I got up and walked from the library where I was praying and went into McDonald’s to order me a sweet tea. When I left, I was walking back towards the Library. On my way, I noticed up ahead a man who looked homeless and carrying some bags of groceries. I said to myself, “Lord, please don’t have him ask me for money.” I walked past him when suddenly I heard, “Excuse me.” I turned around to face him and said, “Yeah?” He said, “I see you carrying a Bible with you?” “Yes sir,” I responded. “And you’re not ashamed?” he asked. “No sir, not at all” I responded. He turned his head a little for a few seconds and then turned back to me; he had tears in his eyes and he said to me, “Good, don’t ever be ashamed!” I was surprised. I said thank you and then turned to start walking. I took about 3 or 4 steps when I thought, “Wait! This could be a witness opportunity.” I turned back around and the man was gone. I had just seen an angel! I couldn’t believe it! Did that really just happen! There was my sign! Praise God!

“Tony, back”

I was at church one Sunday morning and during the worship service a man by the name of Tony went up to the altar to pray with his wife. As he was kneeling down the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said just two words: “Tony, back.” I thought it was strange but when he got up and returned to his seat directly behind me, I slipped back to the row behind me, leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Hey Tony, have you been having any problems with your back?” He looked a little surprised, looked back at me and said, “Yes a little.” I asked him if I could pray for him and when he said yes I began to pray. As I was praying, my hand began to vibrate and feel extremely hot. When I finished praying I sat back down at my seat. About twenty to thirty minutes later when we concluded worship and was taking up our offering, Tony got up and shared with the church that the night before, on Saturday, he was playing with his kids when he had turned a certain way and pulled something in his back. He said he was having pain in his back this morning but then God had spoken to me and had me pray for his back and now he was healed! Thank You Jesus! Hallelujah!

Florida Hospital

Some of my family and I were in Florida one summer and we decided to stop by a local hospital to see a lady that used to go to our church. She had been admitted into surgery that morning, and after the surgery she was in her room when we were allowed to go see her. She wasn’t eating much and could hardly move around. The doctors told her it would be days before she could leave the hospital. After talking with her for a few minutes, before we left, my Uncle turned to me and asked, “Daniel, would you pray for Lynn?” I said yes and then laid my hand on her foot and began to pray. Something happened that I have never experienced before: while I was praying, something shot out of my arm and into her foot; I didn’t know what it was. I looked up to see if anybody noticed but she didn’t say anything and neither did I. We left after that and went about our day. Later on, my Uncle called and asked to be put on speaker phone. He said he had just talked to Lynn and her family and that about an hour after we left she asked for something to eat and started walking up and down the hallway of the hospital! He said the doctors were amazed and that she was being discharged the same day! Praise God!

In Georgia

In this final story I want to share with you how God used me and two of my friends to go to the state of Georgia, not knowing what we were to do or where we were to go. I felt God was calling us to Georgia but I didn’t know what for. After praying about when we should go, we felt God calling us to go at the end of January. We made reservations at a hotel, packed our bags and headed to Georgia at the end of January. When we arrived that Friday it was late, so we grabbed some dinner and then headed to our rooms. The next morning, on Saturday, we got up, got ready and spent some time with God just listening to Him and seeking His Will. When we got together to pray, one of my friends got a word from God, “Go! You need to go now!” That was enough for us. We picked up our stuff and headed straight for the car. The only problem was we didn’t know where to go! We got into the car and sat there; we began to pray to God, “Lord, help us know where to go.” Earlier that morning during prayer, as well as the night before, God gave a vision to one of my friends of a young lady with red hair. God also gave a vision to another one of my friends of a Ruby Tuesday, but they didn’t tell anyone of the visions. As we were sitting in the car I heard God speak to me, “Just drive.” “Just drive?” I thought. That must be a crazy thought going through my head, how in the world am I going to tell my friends that we are just supposed to drive and I don’t know where? I said to God, “God if this is you, please speak to Cassie,” who was one of the friends on the trip. I turned to Cassie and said, “Cassie do you have anything?” “Yes but it sounds kind of crazy,” she said. “What is it?” I asked. “I think we’re just supposed to drive.” Are you serious? Ok, God we’ll do it. As we started praying where to go, God spoke to me one word, “Mall.” God spoke to Cassie and said, “Drive North,” but then He spoke to my other friend and said, “Buford,” which was a city in Georgia. We felt that those words were contradictions and either two or all of us had misheard God, so we continued to pray. As we were driving, God would speak to us at different times, one time saying “turn left” and then afterwards He would tell us “turn left” again or “turn right.” We continued to obey the Voice of God and we wound up on the interstate heading north (just like God had told Cassie to do). As we were driving up the Interstate, about thirty minutes or so of driving, we could sense that we were getting close to where God wanted us to be. I heard God say, “You’re close.” I told my friends what I heard, and they agreed, saying they felt that too. Cassie spoke up and said, “Take the next exit.” As we approached the exit it was none other than Buford, the city one of us has had heard while praying! We got off the exit and at the same time Cassie and I spoke up, “turn right!” We turned right and headed down the road when we heard God say, “Turn left,” and lo and behold guess what was to our left? The Mall! We pulled into the Mall at the front entrance! God had guided us the entire way! We knew then we were hearing God and on a mission; we were filled with Joy! As we walked into the Mall, guess what we passed on our right, inside the Mall? A Ruby Tuesday! We walked around the Mall and eventually headed to the Food Court; we then sat down and just waited. As we began talking and just seeking God’s Will, I saw a lady with red hair walking out of the Mall. I made a comment to my friends about the bright red hair. When I did, the girl who had saw the vision the night before and that morning jumped up and said, “What! Where?” I pointed to the doors and she ran after the young girl with red hair. I was sitting there with Cassie, both of us a little startled and confused as to what just happened, for we didn’t know as of yet about the vision of the young girl with red hair. My friend came back into the Mall and motioned for me to come outside. When I got outside, she was standing there with the young girl who had red hair, as well as with two young men. My friend told me that when she tracked the young girl with red hair down, she approached her and said, “I know you don’t know me and I don’t know you, but God has sent me all the way from Tennessee to tell you He loves you.” She told the young girl about our trip and her vision and how God had brought us to the Mall and straight to her! When my friend got done sharing this, the young girl threw her arms up at my friend and hugged her. The young girl told us that she had just recently got saved and was trying to grow in her walk with God and witness to her ex boyfriend, but wasn’t sure how. We were able to talk with her and share with her about God, and oh what an experience! We prayed for her, as well as the two young men, and people walked around us outside and laughed and mocked us, but it was the Joy of the Lord that we couldn’t help it! We headed back into the Mall to look for Cassie, who we left inside the Mall. When we entered, we didn’t see her anywhere. Finally, my friend noticed her to the left of us; she was on the floor in the Food Court of the Mall praying with two young ladies. We were astonished! Cassie told us that while we were outside with the young girl and her two friends, that God spoke to her about the two young ladies sitting across the room from where we had been sitting. She said she went up to the young ladies and asked one of them if there was anything she could pray with her for? The young lady looked a little startled and said, “Well, everybody needs prayer.” “True,” Cassie said, “But what do YOU need prayer for?” The young girl looked at her friend and then looked back at Cassie, “Why me?” she asked. “What do you mean?” Cassie answered. “Out of all the people in the Mall, why did you come to me?” the young girl asked. Cassie explained to her that God had spoken to her and told her to come and pray for her; the girl was blown away! Immediately the girl explained to Cassie that she was from Russia and that she was now living in America with her kids and husband but that her marriage was falling apart. She had been going through so much and needed God to intervene! Cassie prayed with her and then afterward the girl said, “I feel like I could just get on my knees right now and thank God.” “Well let’s do it, I’ll do it with you right now,” Cassie said. The two young girls and Cassie got on their knees in the middle of the Mall and began thanking God for showing up and what He had done! Hallelujah!

Do you see how important it is to obey God and listen to His Voice? How we need to be obedient and ready and available to listen when He speaks to us and tells us to do something? Lives that are needing to be changed; healing that is waiting; freedom and a touch from God that is waiting, and He wants to use us if we would just be willing to listen and obey Him and respond to what He is saying! Do we really listen? Do we obey Him when He speaks? Do we really listen to what He says? We need to read that verse which says, “I’ve been crucified with CHRIST” (Galatians 2:20)! And not just read it, but live it out! We must live the crucified life within us so that we can hear God speak and be obedient to what He is telling us to do! Hallelujah! Start to listen and obey God!

CHAPTER 3: Death’s Army

It cannot be stated enough the importance of obeying Jesus. The more we obey the enemy and our own wills, the more static gets in the way to hearing God. The more we disobey God, the deeper we get into rebellion and more sin. In this chapter I want to share my personal testimony and how God delivered me and set me free.

In my younger teenage years I was picked on quite heavily and rejected as a friend by the social “in-crowd” group. I was not genuinely accepted it seemed like anywhere. As the years went on this began to affect me heavily, and anytime I was made fun of publicly, it would crush me, and after crying about it I would become bitter and angry. As this continued, I grew more and more depressed. This eventually turned into such heavy depression that I could feel depression on me, and any sign of relief or light seemed to be nothing more than a memory from an old dream. In a depressing stage like this, even when people would make jokes that had nothing to do with me I would take offense at it and immediately apply it to myself. I would be upset anytime I was not given the attention I thought I deserved, and when attention was given to me, you had better been real and not fake or I would become angry. This escalated so much to the point that it turned into uttermost hatred for anyone that was a human being, not exaggerating. My bitterness, unforgiveness, offense and hatred began to harden my heart so much that I would even wish and pray that the people I disliked would have something bad happen to them. I was so disgusted with life and even more so I was disgusted with myself. I hated myself; I literally could not stand to look at myself in the mirror. At home, my parents were going through a rough time and sat us kids down to tell us they were getting a divorce; this only added to the misery I was feeling. For even if a parent tells a kid, “you’re not the reason for our divorce,” in the kid’s mind he is. (By God’s Power and Grace my parents are still married today. All Glory to God!) On one occasion I remember walking into a room where some people were and as soon as I walked up to the group of “friends” that I had, they made it obvious to me they were going to stop having their conversation and just look at one another.

On another occasion, I was over at a friend’s house when they all began talking about a video they had watched online. I chimed in stating I wanted to watch it to, to fit in, but then one lady looked at everybody and gave the “look” as I called it, to shoot down the idea, probably because I was the “religious one.” People made fun of my “long, giraffe neck,” commented how unusually tall I was for my age, poked and touched my adam’s apple, talked of my “hairy” legs and the list goes on. I eventually became so angry that I went into the kitchen at my house, grabbed a large steak knife, held it up to my throat and was going to cut my throat. I just wanted the misery to be over with, the depression and evil thoughts speaking to me constantly to be over with.

Finally, one day I went into the kitchen at my house when no one was home, I held the knife up to my throat, pressed it against my skin, when a thought came into my head, “Don’t do it.” I seriously thought to myself, “Even if I go to hell, hell has to be better than where I am now and what I am going through now.” Oh how wrong I was! I said to God very angrily, “You don’t want me to kill myself, but you won’t help me either! If you really love me, than you better show me by the end of this day or I am going to kill myself.” It’s kind of strange, I didn’t believe in God yet I argued with Him all the time. That afternoon my Mother took my two sisters and I out for lunch; in my mind I had already planned that this was going to be my last meal. We arrived at a restaurant and were waiting to be seated when a young man got up from his table and stood in front of me with his back towards me. He would turn around and look at me and then turn back around. He did this a few times until he noticed that we caught on and I was trying to figure out what he was doing. He turned to me and stuck out his hand, shook my hand and said, “Hey man, I was just sitting over there and God told me to come over and tell you that He loves you.” You can imagine how surprised I was! I thanked him and that was it, I have never seen that man ever again. I went home after that and I sat on my bed thinking, “You would do that,” talking to God. Then I thought, “You don’t want me to kill myself because You want me to be miserable all the time.”

Even after God showed me that He loved me, I knew it was real but I was so bitter and angry that my heart would not surrender to Him. After that incident, my Mother and two sisters and I went to a Christian play at a local High School. When we went into the play it was sunny and beautiful, when we got out of the play, four hours later, it was pouring down snow. We got into our vehicle and started slowly driving back home. We got about ten minutes or so down the road when all of a sudden my Mother hit a patch of ice and I remember us swerving and my Mother yelling, “Help us Jesus!” We hit another patch of ice and our vehicle rolled over two or three times and then we hit a concrete culvert flipping us up about six to eight feet in the air and we landed on the hood of the vehicle upside down. You cannot know what a wreck feels like until you have been in one. When this happened and the movement stopped, I remember a holy fear coming over me. It was not one of demonic fear or ungodly fear, but I honestly believed that we were dying or about to die and I began screaming at the top of my lungs, “Pray! Pray! Repent! Ask Jesus to forgive us! We’re about to die! I’m sorry Jesus! Please pray! We’re about to die!” I said this over and over and I could hear us praying in the vehicle. After the wreck, a few days later, I asked my Mother, “Mom, did I start praying in the vehicle for Jesus to forgive us?” I remembered praying that prayer but wasn’t sure if it was just in my mind, for we were all in shock after the wreck. My Mother told me that I had said that prayer. I tell you this story because I want you to know that the devil is real and Death’s Army is real. The devil wants nothing more than for you to miss the Will of God for your life and disobey Him by living in rebellion and sin. But I also tell you this because for the first time I realized that my spirit began taking over and crying out to the God he knew he was about to face. “Pray! Repent! Jesus I’m sorry! Forgive me of my sins!” This was my heart cry and I didn’t even know it. You see, whether you believe in God right now or not, no matter what, at the moment of life and death when my survival instincts kicked in, my spirit began crying out to God! I write this to tell you don’t wait too late to start crying out to God! He is ready to hear you now! For Today is the day of Salvation!

Months later, the youth group at my church was going on a retreat in Georgia for a youth conference. I didn’t want to go and when the deadline passed to be registered to go and I hadn’t registered, I thought that was it, I wasn’t going. During worship one Sunday morning the Pastor of my church came up to me and told me that he felt like I was supposed to go to this conference and that if I wanted to go he would pay the expenses and that all I had to do was agree to go. I didn’t want to but after I thought about it, I decided to go to “make everyone miserable on the trip.” I packed my bags and arrived to go on the retreat. On the first night of the conference, during the worship and preaching, I felt God tugging at my heart and drawing me to the altar to repent and surrender. I argued with God that if I went up to the altar all I would hear is “see, he’s the one in the wrong” from all the people I didn’t like. And when that argument got done I argued with God that I shouldn’t have to repent until all the people that wronged me asked me for forgiveness first. The first night of the service was over but the arguments were not. On the second night of the service God was dealing with me more powerfully than ever. I wanted to surrender to God, I wanted to let go of all my hurt and anger and depression and suicidal thoughts etc but I didn’t want to humble myself and appear vulnerable to the people I disliked. During the sermon, God was working on me big time, and after the sermon they had an altar call. I felt the Holy Spirit drawing me like never before to the altar but I was fighting it with everything within me. I remember saying, “I’m not going up there” and a few minutes later the Pastor preaching that night said, “There are some of you who still need to come down here.” I said to myself, “Well that could be anybody” and the Pastor spoke again, “Fine, if you won’t come to us, we’ll come to you.” He instructed all the youth ministers in the arena to gather around their youth who weren’t at the altar and begin praying for them. Those of us who weren’t up at the altar turned around and locked hands with the person next to us, and our youth ministers began walking around praying for each of us one by one. One of the young ladies who were standing next to me and up one row in the arena was being prayed for by our youth Pastor’s wife and another lady. As she was being prayed for, she lifted up her hands and started praying, which surprised me. The youth Pastor and another youth leader finally got to me and laid their hands on me and started praying for me. I closed my eyes and knew in my heart I wanted out of this lifestyle but didn’t know what to say. I remembered at that moment something that my Aunt used to say, she would say, “When you can’t find the words to say and you don’t know what else to pray, just say the name of Jesus.” As they were praying, I just began to say “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,” over and over again. The next thing I knew I opened my eyes and I was down face first on the ground with people surrounding me praying for me. I closed my eyes and began to pray again but this time when I was praying I saw a vision: In the vision I was in a solid white room and I saw gray-like people walking around this room. I remember being stuck to the floor and unable to move. Then the vision ended, I opened my eyes, stood up to my feet and my knees were extremely weak. When I stood up I heard a voice behind me say, “Double Anointing” and something like a bolt of lightning hit the top of my head and slowly went down my body like honey. I was confessing my sins and crying out to God. Immediately I saw the vision again of the people in this solid white room, but this time I could move around and go to them. I saw them depressed and hurting. Some people had their hands over their faces and just crying, some were down on their knees, some were running around. I remember walking up to them and when I would they would change from a gray-like color to full blown color. I looked behind me to see what was going on and I saw a massive crowd of people standing behind me praising God and shouting, “Don’t Stop! Don’t turn around! Keep going!” So I turned back around and continued to go up to these people. I also noticed one person on my right and one person on my left helping me go to these people. When the vision ended, I heard God say, “This is your calling!” And I instantly knew that God was calling me to witness and preach to those who were depressed, frustrated, in despair and felt like giving up just like me.

When I got up from the vision, all my hatred, all my bitterness, all my unforgiveness, all my depression, all my thoughts of suicide were gone and I knew I had been set free from my bondage and chains! Praise God for His Mercy endures forever and His Love is never ending! I am here to testify that God saved me and delivered me from a life of hating myself, depression, suicidal thinking, bitterness and so much more! It does not matter what you’re going through, what you have experienced, what your home life is like, what people at church, school, work or anywhere have said or done to you. God sees it and He cares about you! He has not forgotten you and He wants to take your sorrow and pain away and give you His Holy Spirit with Joy, Peace, Love and Forgiveness! The freedom you’re looking for is found in Jesus!

Before I end this chapter I want to point out that I was not always in the right. I lived in rebellion and sin and pride as well. I was in such rebellion and arrogance that I got some people together in my youth group and began to gossip and talk about my youth Pastors and other leaders in the church. I tried to stage a walk-out and cause hurt to my youth Pastors and leaders. I got out of church for months, and when people would try to talk to me I wouldn’t respond or give them the time of day. When people would walk by and attempt to have a conversation with me I would ignore them or walk the other way. During this time of my life I hated everyone and everything. I was angry all the time and short-tempered. I felt like I was living in a “dream” and that nothing was real; nothing felt real or seemed real. I begged for something that reminded me of “reality” but couldn’t find it. I was lost and began doubting God. I questioned His existence and when that didn’t work I began to question different parts of the Bible (notice that if the enemy can’t get you to doubt the existence of God, he’ll get you to doubt about different aspects of God). I did what I wanted, and even though inside I was dying and wanted to be set free, I pushed that aside and buried it down under my regret, bitterness and hatred and it never brought me any life! I am here to tell you that if you will surrender to Jesus and trust in Him, cry out to Him with your whole heart, He will hear you and you no longer have to be under the dominion of Death’s Army. Trust in Jesus and He will lift you up, make you a new creation and give you a calling for your life for eternity purposes!

CHAPTER 4: Your whole heart

What God is looking for and desiring is for His people to give unto Him their whole hearts. When we read the book of Malachi we see God’s desire for a people who will surrender to Him their full hearts. I want to take this chapter to look at what God says in Malachi so that we may understand what His heart is for us.

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’ You offer defiled food on My altar, but you say ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’” Malachi 1:6-7 NKJV (emphasis mine)

God says starting in verse six that a son honors his father and a servant his master but yet the children of Israel have despised God and He is both their Father and their Master! What I love about this conversation that God is having with Malachi is that when the children of Israel ask God a question, He responds back to them. He wants them to know exactly what they have been doing and how they have been missing the mark. God tells the children of Israel that they have despised God by saying “The table of the Lord is contemptible” and they offer polluted offerings. The word “contemptible” comes from “contempt” meaning: “The feeling with which a person regards anything considered mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn. The state of being despised; dishonor; disgrace; Wilfull disobedience to or open disrespect for the rules or orders of a court or legislative body; An act showing such disrespect.” (Definition from Dictionary.com) In other words the Israelites were saying, “The table of the Lord is worthless; Worship is not important, we don’t have to give our best or our all, we just have to give what we can.” They had open disrespect towards God and His Law and began living as though it was a no big thing or even worthless to worship and offer sacrifices to God. They began to live their life as though serving God and giving Him everything was no big deal. “I don’t have to go to church all the time; I don’t have to praise God with everything; I don’t have to obey what He tells me; it’s all worthless!” Do we say that to God whether with our mouths or with our actions and thoughts?

“And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of Hosts. Malachi 1:8 NKJV

God says “Offer it to your Governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” What God was saying was that if we offered the same kind of love and devotion to our spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend like we do to God, we wouldn’t last. If we worked at our job the way many of us work for God, we would be fired! When we compare our worship to God with everything else in our lives, which one would come out better? Who gets more of our worship and devotion? Who gets our time? What gets our time? Where do we spend most of our time, talents, finances and dreams? God should be our top priority! God is saying, if people wouldn’t accept this kind of polluted love and work, why do you think He will?

“’But now entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us. While this is being done by your hands, will He accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts. “Who is there even among you who would shut the doors, so that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you,” Says the Lord of hosts, “Nor will I accept an offering from your hands.” Malachi 1:9-10 NKJV

Did you see that? Look at what God says: “While this is being done by your hands, will I accept you favorably?” Then God asks, “Who is there even among you who would shut the doors so that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you, nor will I accept an offering from your hands.” God is asking, “Am I going to accept your half-hearted, weak, polluted worship?” God does not want 10% of you, He does not want half of you, He does not even want 99.9% of you; He wants ALL of you. God is telling us, “I would rather you shut the doors than give me polluted, half-hearted devotion and worship!” God is saying, “Shut the doors of the church! Cancel the services!” If all we’re going to do is give God half our worship, half our devotion, do what we want, and then offer to Him our leftovers, or what we want or what we can, then He says, “Shut the doors! Don’t even try!” God has no pleasure in show-off or half-hearted worship! God wants us to know it is either our whole heart or nothing! God tells us that He wants us to offer Him a pure offering, our whole hearts, nothing less!

“But you profane it, in that you say, ‘the table of the Lord is defiled; and its fruit, its food, is contemptible.’ You also say, ‘oh, what a weariness!’ And you sneer at it,” Says the Lord of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?” Says the Lord. “But cursed be the deceiver who has in his flock a male, and takes a vow, but sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished-For I am a great King,” Says the Lord of hosts, “And my name is to be feared among the nations.” Malachi 1:12-14 NKJV

God says through Malachi that we profane His name by saying “The table of the Lord is defiled; and its fruit, its food, is contemptible.” We also say, “Oh what a weariness,” and we sneer at it! In other words when we say, “God requires too much; it’s too difficult; it’s easier if I just sin and do what I want,” and we begin to sneer at offering our whole hearts to God. God says, “Cursed be the deceiver who has in his flock a male, and takes a vow, but sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished.” In other words when we can offer God more (our all) and yet we only give Him a part, or a portion of our lives, He says that this is an attempt to deceive Him, wanting Him to think we’re giving our all when we’re really not. We think we can deceive God by giving Him a quick prayer before a meal or crying out to Him when we need Him, but He says I don’t want your lame and polluted sacrifices, I want your whole heart!

How many of us when we pray to God for healing expect Him to heal fully? When we pray, “God take away this disease,” we don’t expect Him to heal us partially but fully! We want God to give us His full heart; we want Him to heal us fully! We want Him to answer prayers 100% but yet we ourselves will only give Him 5% of our lives and time!

“For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge; and people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But you have departed from the way; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base before all the people, because you have not kept My ways but have shown partiality in the law.” Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another by profaning the covenant of the fathers? Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, for Judah has profaned the Lord’s holy institution which He loved; He has married the daughter of a foreign god. Malachi 2:7-11 NKJV

God says we have shown partiality in His law; we have left the way. Then God asks, “Am I not the Father of all, have I not created everyone?” But yet we have turned and began to worship false gods, false idols. We have allowed ourselves to be married to entertainment, to media, to greed, to our own pleasures and desires, seeking popularity rather than His Presence, approval rather than His Anointing! Showing partiality in His law: “well His Word doesn’t mean that; well it doesn’t apply here; well this circumstance is different.” Preaching the Word and yet stating that it applies to some and not to all!

“And this second thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and crying; so He does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant.” Malachi 2:13-14 NKJV

God has been addressing how we aren’t giving Him our full hearts; how we say “it’s worthless to worship God;” how we offer Him only what we want when we want, when we should be giving Him everything, and how we show partiality in His Law. But then He starts in this verse and says this second thing you do: “you cover the altar of the Lord with tears.” God is saying, “On top of you not giving Me your whole heart; on top of you offering Me polluted offerings; on top of you saying it’s worthless to worship Me; then you come to Me and start crying on My altar!” This is what many of us have done: we worship when we feel like it, we come to church when we want to, we pray when we have time, we see God as a part of our life and not the reason for our whole life and then when He doesn’t come through for us we come to God and cry and start asking for His help and question why we can’t hear Him. God is saying, “But I will not regard.” Why? Because of how we treat our wives! But then I noticed the next verse and it surprised me what was there!

“But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.” Malachi 2:15 NKJV

God said that the man and wife are One; and why one? For “He seeks godly offspring;” Do you see that? The purpose in a Godly marriage is to have Godly children. If you’re single, “take heed,” for the Bible tells us that it is important who we marry. The reason we’re not to be unequally yoked is because just like God doesn’t want half-hearted worship, He doesn’t want half-hearted children! He doesn’t want our children to be hit-and-miss for Him like you are hit-and-miss for going to church. You see, if the husband is on fire for God but the wife is lukewarm, there is a good chance that the children may not stay in church when they’re grown; and vise versa if the wife is on fire for God and the husband isn’t. But if both parents are seeking God and striving to live for Him, the children will seek God as well! Your spouse is not something to mess around with; your future is not something to play hit-and-miss with. God has the right spouse for you, and He says to those who are single right now, “take heed,” wait for God and He will bring you the right person for you!

To those who are married God is saying “don’t treat your spouse or deal with them treacherously.” In other words, you better be respecting your spouse and treating and dealing with them in a way that honors, respects and glorifies God. When you mistreat your spouse you are causing tension and static to get in the way between your relationship and God! So when we come to God we better come with clean hands and a pure heart. In all things seek God and He will hear our cry!

“You have wearied the Lord with your words; yet you say, ‘in what way have we wearied Him?’ In that you say, ‘everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them,’ or ‘where is the God of justice?’” Malachi 2:17 NKJV

God actually says in this verse that we can weary Him. Have you ever thought about that? We can weary God with the words that we say. How do we weary God? Malachi says that we weary Him by saying, “everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord.” In other words when we teach things that are contrary to the Word of God, when we teach that some sin is ok but others are not, when we tell people who are living in sin that God is pleased with them, even going as far as saying He “delights in them,” even when they are living in direct opposition and disobedience to the Word of God. When we ourselves are continuing to push out the Holy Spirit and convicting power, refusing to repent because we want to do what we want. When we tell people that God will not punish evil, or that He is even pleased with them! These types of statements weary God!

“Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’ Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.” Malachi 3:7-9 NKJV

God says in chapter three verse seven, “Return to Me and I will return to you.” This is a promise from God, if we will return to Him, draw near to Him, rend our hearts and not our garments, He will return to us. Not He might, not that it’s a big possibility, but that He will return to you. If we return to God He will return to us! But how do we return to Him? How do we get back to Him?

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 3:10-11 NKJV

Anytime we have heard this scripture quoted it has always been during the tithes and offering time of our church services. Now God definitely wants us to tithe, but God just spent over two chapters telling us to give unto Him our whole hearts, and now He stops talking about that to talk about money? This verse is so powerful because it tells us that if we will bring our whole offering into the House He will open the windows of Heaven and pour out a blessing that we cannot have room enough to receive. What does this mean for us? If we will return to Him, bring our whole heart to Him, surrender to Him fully, not just make Him apart of our lives but serve and worship Him with our whole heart and our whole life, He promises to open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing we cannot have room to receive it! What a promise! If you will give unto God your full heart, He will shower on you His great blessings, His presence, and His divine providence on your life!

“Your words have been harsh against Me,” Says the Lord, “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God; what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of hosts? So now we call the proud blessed, for those who do wickedness are raised up; they even tempt God and go free.’” Malachi 3:13-15 NKJV

We saw earlier that we can weary God with the words that we say but now we see that we can say harsh words against God. And what are those harsh words? “It is useless to serve God; what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance?” God is saying that we can actually break His heart by saying, “It is useless to serve You God!” When we begin to say and believe as though serving God is boring or pointless, when we no longer have humility and passion burning within us to serve Him, God says it is harsh words against Him. You see, before when we weary Him, we say “evil is good,” but now we have backslidden even further and have become harsh by saying, “the proud are blessed.” In other words it’s bad enough to not preach against sin, but now you are even participating with them in their sin and are even saying that they are more blessed than others! “Where is God? He doesn’t deliver the righteous! He doesn’t help us, so I’ll just live like the world because they’re always blessed.” How horrible to say this and even worse to believe it! Malachi was written hundreds of years before Jesus came to the earth, and the last recorded thing God said to His people before sending His Son was, “Give unto Me thine whole heart.” Will you heed the Voice of God today and give unto Him your whole heart? This is still the cry of God today for His people to give unto Him their whole heart!

CHAPTER 5: The Desert

Have you ever felt like you’re in a desert spiritually? Have you ever felt like giving up? Maybe you are in a desert right now. Thirsty and Hungry but nothing seems to be helping! Whether you are in a desert or a drought this story will help you know how to get out of it!

“In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a wooden imagine. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before Him.” 1 Kings 16:29-33 NKJV

When we read this passage of scripture we see that Ahab has been named King over Israel but that he began to do wickedly before God. The first thing he did was married Jezebel. Now when we begin to yoke ourselves with unbelievers and people we shouldn’t, we sometimes begin to adopt their ideas and lifestyles, and this is exactly what Ahab did. Ahab began to worship Baal, Jezebel’s god. It says that it became a “trivial thing” for Ahab to walk in sin. It no longer convicted him, he no longer mourned over it. When it becomes a light or trivial thing for us to walk in our own ways and in sin, we need to repent and get back to God!

“And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.’” 1 Kings 17:1 NKJV

When Elijah comes on the scene, he proclaims a drought in the land because of Ahab’s sin.

“Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, ‘Is that you, O troubler of Israel?’ And he answered, ‘I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.’” 1 Kings 18:17-19 NKJV

When Ahab sees Elijah he says, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” How many times do we do that? We blame God or men of God for our problems instead of realizing we’re the ones who have been disobeying.

“And Elijah came to all the people, and said, ‘How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’ But the people answered him not a word.” 1 Kings 18:21 NKJV

Have you done that? Have you been faltering between two opinions? Playing with the world and trying to serve God? Trying to figure out which one you want to serve? “But the people answered him not a word.” Many times we just sit passively, we don’t answer this question; we don’t want to or feel like we don’t need to. But Elijah is pointing out to the people that you cannot be passive or mediocre in your walk with God. “If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”

“Then Elijah said to the people, ‘I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.’ So all the people answered and said, ‘It is well spoken.’ Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, ‘Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.’ So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even til noon, saying, ‘O Baal, hear us!’ But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.’ So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.” 1 Kings 18:22-29 NKJV

Elijah calls all the false prophets of Baal together to Mount Carmel and tells them to sacrifice a bull to their false god, and if he answers by fire then he is the real god, but if Elijah’s God answers by fire than He is God, and all the people agreed to this. This happens in life as well, God allows us sometimes to cry out to our false gods; we cry out to our addictions and sins but still no reply. We cry out to anything, “Hear us!” But nothing in return; we cry out even louder and even do more motion and activity hoping it will be different this time, but nothing answers back! We keep sowing and sowing to our flesh and pride but we never get the feeling of deep fulfillment, we’re left still empty. No voice responds, no one pays attention.

“Then Elijah said to all the people, ‘Come near to me.’ So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, ‘Israel shall be your name.’ Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, ‘Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.’ Then he said, ‘Do it a second time,’ and they did it a second time; and he said, ‘Do it a third time,’ and they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.” 1 Kings 18:30-35 NKJV

Now it was Elijah’s turn. He repaired the altar and got the sacrifice ready but then he said, “Fill four waterpots with water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice.” How many times do we feel like we’re drowning in our circumstances, situations or problems?

“And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, ‘Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.’ Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, ‘The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!’” 1 Kings 18:36-39 NKJV

In verse 38 we read that the fire of God fell! The fire of God consumed the water and showed that He was God to the people. How many of us have seen and felt the fire of God come and rescue us from our problems? We got saved and felt a heavy burden leave us and believed in our heart “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” But for many people they stop at the altar. They believe this is all that they are required to do; they thank God for such a fire experience, they get saved and think nothing else will happen, that’s it, it’s done now, I’m set! But if we want to get out of our desert and drought, we must not stop at this experience but press on.

“And Elijah said to them, ‘Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!’ So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.” 1 Kings 18:40 NKJV

The second thing we must do is we need to seize the things that are not of God in our lives. The things that have been tripping us up, lying to us, and kept us from God! Can you imagine what would have happened if Elijah prayed for the fire of God and after it fell he just walked away and said, “Well, see, God is real! Good luck!” But that’s not what he did; Elijah knew that if the people didn’t seize the false prophets, after he left they would deceive the people again. You see after we get saved we need to start living a life separated from worldly things! The music we listen to, the movies and television shows we watch, the things we read, the comments we make, the places we go etc all need to be brought before God and given up if we want to follow Him! You may be saved right now but still feeling dry and in a drought or desert; that is because you have not seized the things in your life that go against the Will of God! What are some things you need to be surrendering to God? But notice in this verse that it says, “And [Elijah] executed them there.” Elijah did the killing! You see, we have to bring the false things in our life to God, but there are some addictions and sins that we can’t get rid of on our own. There are some strongholds that it takes God to break; you have tried all you can but it hasn’t worked. We need to come to God or go to the man of God who has the anointing of the Holy Spirit and of fire and say, “I need you to pray for me to God, and ask Him to break this stronghold in my life!”

“Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.’ So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’ So he went up and looked, and said, ‘There is nothing.’ And seven times he said, ‘Go again.’ Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, ‘There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!’ So he said, ‘Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’’” 1 Kings 18:41-44 NKJV

What do you do after you have seized the things in your life and given them up to God? Why is there still a desert, or a drought? Elijah says after they did all this that he sent his servant to go and look for he heard “the sound of abundance of rain.” The servant went one time and no sign of rain; two times, no sign of rain; three times, no sign; four times, still no sign; five times, no sign; six times and there was still no sign of rain coming on the land! Can you imagine? The servant has seen the awesome fire and power of God! He has got rid of all that God has asked him to and still he feels dry, still he doesn’t see the rain God promised! But on the seventh time he went and saw “a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” Elijah replied, “Go up, prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you!”

We need to stop wavering between two opinions; we need to serve God! Let the fire of God come down upon you and then seize the things in your life that are not pleasing to Him. And then you need to keep pressing on, no matter how crazy it may sound, no matter what other people say or do, no matter what life’s circumstances are, we keep going to church, we keep praising God! We keep praying unto Him, we keep seeking Him, we go to Bible study, we keep going to Prayer meeting, we keep witnessing, we keep testifying, we keep the faith, we keep the good witness, we keep living for Him and at His timing He will send the rain! And here’s the thing, when He sends it, when you see the rain coming you better hurry quick, prepare yourself and respond, for the blessings of God and the outpouring of God will overtake you!

So, where are you today? Are you faltering between two opinions? Trying to decide who you want to serve? Have you experienced the fire of God but have not seized the things that you should? Or maybe you have done all this but are still waiting. Then I ask you, don’t give up, keep going, keep pressing, for He is about to show up! Hallelujah!

CHAPTER 6:

Waiting, Anticipating & Hoping for the Presence of God

I want to share with you a story that happened to me awhile back. I was by the lake one day walking when a speedboat raced by on the waters with a rope tied to the back of it, and at the end of the rope was a tube and someone sitting on it. I watched as the speedboat raced by and then I continued walking. About ten to fifteen seconds later, I heard something coming across the water and then pounding against the rocks on the shore. When I turned to look, it was the ripples from the speedboat. The speedboat was moving so fast that the ripples took awhile to show up (almost like a plane flying faster than its sound). I was to resume walking when God began to speak to me about this. He showed me that the speedboat had already passed but that it took time for the after effects, or the ripples, to come. Likewise, when we pray, sometimes we have to wait for the answer to come, or the Presence of God to come. Then I noticed something else: the ripples started out slow but then became faster and more frequent and if I wanted to stay with the ripples I had to run and move fast to keep up with them.

I was blown away by what God had shown me! Psalm 130 NKJV says, “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning-Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” The Psalmist says here, “I will wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in His word I do hope.” The psalmist was saying, “More than I anticipate the sun will rise tomorrow; I am expecting and anticipating that the Lord will hear my cry and answer my prayer!”

Psalm 62:1-2 NKJV, “Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.”

Psalm 62:5-12 NKJV, “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah Surely men of low degree are a vapor, men of high degree are a lie; if they are weighed on the scales, they are altogether lighter than vapor. Do not trust in oppression, nor vainly hope in robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them. God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God. Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; for you render to each one according to his work.” The psalmist is encouraging himself but then he goes into reminding the people to do the same, “Trust in Him at all times you people.” And he tells us, “Power belongs to God.” Your answer belongs to God! Do not trust in the world or the things of the world, but trust and rely on God, knowing that He hears you and has your answer!

Psalm 63 NKJV, “O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You; in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name; My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. But those who seek my life, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by him shall glory; but the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.” Here he says, “I will go into the sanctuary to see Your power and Your glory.” He wasn’t giving up seeking God; He knew that He needed to continue to be in Church to remind himself that God was powerful and that He hears his prayers! He said “My lips shall praise You,” “I will lift up my hands in Your name.”

In the scriptures we are encouraged to wait on the Lord. Just like the speedboat passing by, it may seem like your missing it, it may seem like it has passed or that it’s not coming, but if you will just wait on the Lord, He will show up! Some people see all their friends getting jobs or getting married or having children, and they look out and see all these boats passing by, but don’t worry, don’t panic, your ripples are coming, the answer to your prayer and heart desire is coming!

Listen to what Jeremiah says in Lamentations 3:1-19 NKJV, “I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. He has led me and made me walk in darkness and not in light. Surely He has turned His hand against me time and time again throughout the day. He has aged my flesh and my skin, and broken my bones. He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and woe. He has set me in dark places like the dead of long ago. He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy. Even when I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayer. He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked. He has been to me a bear lying in wait, like a lion in ambush. He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces; He has made me desolate. He has bent His bow and set me up as a target for the arrow. He has caused the arrows of His quiver to pierce my loins. I have become the ridicule of all my people-their taunting song all the day. He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drink wormwood. He has also broken my teeth with gravel, and covered me with ashes. You have moved my soul far from peace; I have forgotten prosperity. And I said, ‘My strength and my hope  have perished from the Lord.’ Remember my affliction and my roaming, the wormwood and the gall.” Jeremiah is crying out because he says he feels like God is out to get him, it seems like God is not answering his prayers. He says all these things are happening to him and they keep getting worse. But then in Lamentations 3:20-33 NKJV he says:

“My soul still remembers and sinks within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!’ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and keep silent, because God has laid it on him; let him put his mouth in the dust-there may yet be hope. Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, and be full of reproach. For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.” Look at what he says: “My soul still remembers; this I recall to mind.” He says even though it doesn’t look good right now, I still remember that the Lord is good, His mercies are new every morning, great is His faithfulness. Therefore I will hope in Him, for the Lord is good to those who wait for Him and to the soul that seeks Him. Then he says, “The Lord will not cast off forever.” Jeremiah knew that the chastisement of God and trials of life will not last forever; he knew that sooner or later God will respond! We should have that same hope within us!

Remember that when the ripples first started they came slow but then became faster? Likewise when God comes and begins to show up, you’ll have to move to keep up with Him. All that time sitting and waiting and now you’re running!

There are some other things God spoke to me about this speedboat and the ripples: If you move before the boat comes, you’ll miss the ripples. In other words if you become impatient, try to accomplish it on your own, settle for less than what God has, you will miss the joy of His answered prayer! If you move before you’re supposed to, you may hear the ripples from a distance but never see them! But He also showed me this: If we stand there and don’t keep moving with the ripples when they come, we’ll mess up as well. If you don’t keep moving with the ripples you’ll start to slack. Let me give you an example of this: Imagine someone praying for the right mate; they finally get the one God has for them but then they start to slack, they don’t keep running along the lake, they don’t work on their marriage anymore, they’re thankful for the answered prayer but then it ends, they don’t keep walking! Let me tell you, if you want to keep the ripples exciting fresh and alive, you got to keep moving! I could have stayed there and watched and listened to the sound of the ripples hitting against the shore, but eventually they will move on. If I wanted to stay with the ripples I had to keep moving; sometimes I could just walk and sometimes I had to run. It was work!

God also told me to tell this to the people who have experienced the ripples, but didn’t keep moving, to the ones that gave up and before they knew it the boat was long gone and they could no longer hear or see the ripples. God told me to say: “You may have to work twice as hard to catch up with the boat but it is not impossible!”

Most people don’t want to work hard at it because they think it’s impossible or a lost cause. For example, you may have let your kid do whatever they wanted for 15 or 16 years, and you look and see that the boat is miles down the road and think you can’t play catch up, so you just give up and let it continue. But if you will wait on the Lord again and move with the ripples, He will come! Keep waiting, keep anticipating and keep hoping, for the Presence of God will show up in your life!

CHAPTER 7: Fleeing from the Presence of the Lord

What happens when we flee from God? What happens when we flee from the Presence of the Lord? What happens when we flee from His call, His draw? What happens when we fight against the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our lives? When we quench the Spirit and choose to do our own thing instead? Jonah 1:1-6 NKJV says, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.’ But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. So the captain came to him, and said to him, ‘What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.’”

In verse one we see it says, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah.” This is his purpose, his calling. God had a purpose and a calling for Jonah and speaks to him about it. The same is true for you and I. God has a purpose for us, a calling for us, a destiny for us and a plan for our lives! In verse one we see that God has a purpose for Jonah, and in verse two we see exactly what that purpose is: God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach to the people there. But now in verse three it says that Jonah arose and fled from the Presence of the Lord. Now when the Word of God says something it is important to listen to it and the Bible says this twice in just one verse alone: that Jonah rose to “flee from the presence of the Lord.”

You see, some of us are fleeing from the Presence of the Lord, some of us are running away from our calling, running away from what God has called us to do. We’re running away from conviction, we’re pushing the Holy Spirit out. And verse four says that a storm arose, a mighty tempest on the sea. But notice that it doesn’t say a storm happened to appear, or was an accident but that “the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea.” You see, sometimes when we run from the Presence of the Lord, God will send things our way to get our attention, to get us to run TO Him and not from Him, to show us that we are on the wrong path. Therefore, we see in verse four that when we run from the Presence of the Lord dangerous things happen. Now, that doesn’t mean when we’re in the Will of God that we won’t have troubles, but rather it means that when we’re in the Will of God, He will protect us and guard us, but when we’re out of the Presence of the Lord, we are in dangerous situations. It is a dangerous thing to run from the Presence of the Lord!

The storm arose and we see in verse five that the mariners begin to cry out to their own gods. This happens in life all the time. When things begin to happen in our lives, when storms come, whether you’re a Christian or not, everyone cries out to something or someone! Some people cry out to alcohol, some cry out to pornography and lust, some cry out to greed and money, some cry out to drugs and many other things. When trouble comes, we cry out to the thing we find comfort in, the thing we worship most. The storms of life show us and others what we truly worship. What do you run to when things begin to happen in your life? I want to focus on three things that are shown in the Scriptures here of what happens when someone begins to run from the Presence of the Lord.

Number One: Notice first of all that the people Jonah was with were not believers and worshipers of Jehovah God. We know this because when trouble came they cried out to their own gods. This is a characteristic of what people do when they begin to run from the Presence of the Lord in their lives. When we flee and run from the Presence of God we begin to hang around with people that we shouldn’t. We begin to drop out of church and begin to lose desire for spiritual things. The trap many people fall into is beginning to make excuses for sin. And when we begin to overlook sin there is nothing preventing us from eventually partaking in it.

Number Two: The Word says that Jonah was down low in the boat fast asleep. That’s what the devil wants to do to us: he wants to rock us in the boat, fast asleep. When you’re asleep, you’re clueless to the things around you. People who are asleep can walk into church and walk out of church unaffected. People who are asleep don’t get bothered by the music they listen to. People who are asleep can go to the movies and watch things that we shouldn’t. It’s like the illustration of the frog in hot water: If you throw a frog in boiling hot water he’ll hop right out; but if you throw him in room temperature water and then slowly turn the heat up, he’ll die, because he never noticed the increase in temperature. The devil wants to do the same with us: he won’t throw us into a bunch of tempting sin situations right off, because he knows we’ll recognize it. Instead, he’ll slowly turn up the dial. People who are having the temperature dial turned up in their lives say things like: “It’s just one smoke;” “It’s not cheating, we’re just going to lunch;” “It’s not lusting, we’re human, it’s natural, and we have thoughts;” “It’s not gossip, I’m requesting prayer.” The devil will have us play those games while slowly turning up the dial.

Number Three: The third thing to notice is found in verse six: Then the captain came to him and said, “Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” The mariners didn’t even know who Jonah’s God was. When we flee from the Presence of God we don’t witness like we should. There are a lot of people who talk about Christians in Church keeping their sin life secret and this is true. But there are a lot of people who, when they get out into the world, keep their Christian life secret. They say things like: “Well that’s just my personal belief;” “That’s between me and God;” “I don’t want to force my beliefs on someone else.”

God is not done with you! He is saying to you right now, “Arise,” Awake! You who sleep and slumber, you who are dead, stop running from the Presence of God and run to it! In Mark 4:35-41 NKJV we see a story about a storm that has arose with Jesus and His disciples in the boat. Notice the contrasts of this storm however: “On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow, and they awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’ And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, ‘Who can this be, that even the wind and sea obey Him!’” We see here in this story that a storm arose even though it was Jesus and His disciples in the boat! No matter what, storms do come to us. Notice the contrast however: Jonah was fleeing from the Presence of God; Jesus was the Presence of God. Notice also the company the two were with: Jonah was with people who did not worship God; Jesus was with His disciples. Let me tell you, it is so much better to go through the storms of life with fellow believers than to go through the storms with people who are not holy and passionately worshiping God.

CHAPTER 8: He’s coming soon

I want to end this book with a message God has given me. I was sitting at my desk one afternoon when the Holy Spirit spoke within me and said, “The Bridegroom is coming!” This is so exciting to hear, but it also bears with it a warning. The warning is that we as God’s people better get ready for Jesus is coming soon! In Hebrews 12:12-17 NKJV the writer says, “Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.” We are encouraged here to “strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees.” Why is this? Because when someone has weak knees or weak hands, they don’t want to walk or use them. The writer is letting us know that if we don’t strengthen what we have, what is lame is in danger of being dislocated. Your marriage, your friendships, your job etc may be weak and lame right now, but if you don’t want to see it dislocated you better work and strengthen it! When we allow what is weak in our life to remain weak, we eventually lose it. But when we strengthen what is weak and obey God then there is restoration and freedom! There is healing in holiness!

The writer of Hebrews tells us to pursue holiness without which no one will see the Lord. But he doesn’t stop there. He says “pursue holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God.” He is telling us that we can fall short of the true grace of God when we don’t strive to live in holiness. In other words, the full cup of God’s Grace is in you being holy! We fall short of and cut the grace of God too soon when we settle for less than holiness! When we are not holy, roots of bitterness and wickedness spring up in us.

The writer says that Esau sold his birthright for a morsel of food and then afterward when he wanted to inherit the blessing he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance. Esau was hungry, and so to satisfy the desire and craving of his flesh he sold his birthright for a temporary temptation. He sold and gave up his inheritance and blessing from his father so that he could have a temporary bowl of soup to satisfy the desire and wanting of his flesh. Likewise, many of us are selling our blessing and birthright for temporary temptations and sin. Afterward, when Esau wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, though he sought it diligently with tears. What a warning for us! Many people on Judgment Day will seek diligently with tears to inherit the blessing and access to the Kingdom, but will be rejected, for there will be no place for repentance!

1 Corinthians 13:6 NKJV says Love “does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.” Our love for God, our passion for God, our fire for God should be getting stronger and burning brighter every day that we desire to obey Him in all things. Real love rejoices in the truth. Paul says that Christ wants to present to Himself “a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27 NKJV).

Peter says “giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love” (2 Peter 1:5-7 NKJV). In verse three he says, “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” It is the power of God that helps us and draws us to holiness, but we must also with “all diligence, add to your faith virtue.” As we add to our faith virtue, which is holiness, we ought to add to our holiness knowledge, and to knowledge self-control, and to self-control perseverance. Know that you cannot persevere if you do not have self-control. Before we can persevere in the long run, we must learn to have self-control in the temporary or short-run. In other words, if you cannot practice self-control in the small things, it will be hard to persevere in difficult situations. Perseverance comes after long battles with self-control. Most people switch this whole message around. Instead of “add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brother kindness love.” They say “just love people, and love by showing brotherly kindness, and by showing brotherly kindness you are in fact being godly, and because you are godly you will persevere, and when you persevere you will have self-control, and when you have self-control you will have knowledge, and with that knowledge comes virtue and holiness, and all this is done by faith.” See how different the outcomes and messages are?

As the people of God, we need to pursue righteous living and obedience to Him. When I was desperate for God, I wouldn’t spend so much time going out or participating in entertainment etc. I would pray and fast and seek God until I would hear from Him or until I received my breakthrough or felt His Presence. God convicted me one time and showed me that when I was desperate for Him, I would spend all day seeking Him and talking to Him, but when I got the blessing and got my answer I would begin to back off. Many of us do the same thing; we seek God for days and spend all our time seeking and crying out to Him, but when life gets going good, when the blessing comes, when we receive our answer or victory, we begin to spend less time with Jesus. Many of us would fight every darkness and evil spirit that tried to take away even five minutes of our time with God when we really want Him. But now that we have Him, now that we got our answer, we find excuses and it no longer bothers us when we lose even five minutes of our time with Him. The people of God need to pursue holiness and realize that without holiness “no one will see the Lord.” There are no favorites with God. Jesus says that “unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20 NKJV).

We need to confess God at all times and in every situation. Jesus says, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven” (Mathew 10:32-33 NKJV). When Jesus says to confess Him, He doesn’t mean to simply say we know who He is, or that we are a Christian. True, we need to confess those too, and do so proudly. But to confess Jesus means that we confess Him in every situation and circumstance. In other words, when you’re in a situation and have to make a difficult decision, will you confess Christ and do what He says, or will you deny Him and do what you want to do? When a group of friends want you to do something that you know you shouldn’t do and that goes against the Word of God, and the pressure is on, will you confess Jesus or will you deny Him? If we confess Him, He will confess us.

Jesus says in Matthew 10:34-39 NKJV “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” Jesus is saying that He did not come to bring peace but a sword. In other words, there is a decision that has to be made, a line that He is drawing in the sand. And this decision, this division that He is talking about is such an important one and such a distinct decision, that it will divide family and friends.

Will we seek holiness? I encourage you to obey Jesus in all things. It is time for us to get serious and obey God. No one knows the day or hour, so live prepared and ready as if it were right now. God is calling His people to righteous living and obedience, to trust Him with everything. No matter where you come from, or what your background is, if you will entrust your life into His hands, He will use you, heal you, forgive you, and restore you. God has called you and brought you into this earth because He has a purpose for you. You need to obey His Word, listen to His Voice, wait for Him to speak, and do whatever He tells you to do and what you already know you need to do. Get into the Word. Many of the questions we have will come to light with the answer when we seek God’s Word (the Bible). Avoid every kind of evil and cling to what is good. Keep yourselves from idols. Love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. I hope that this book has encouraged you and that you desire to seek God, know Him more, and do His Will because of it. I pray that you will find God’s Will and fulfill His Will for your life. Know that He is coming soon, stop playing games and get ready! He loves you, He loves you, He loves you. I pray that God will fill you with His Holy Spirit. I end with this scripture, “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep my word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23 NKJV).

Table of Contents

Contents:Introduction……………………………………1

CHAPTER 1: What a God

CHAPTER 2: Do we really

CHAPTER 3: Death’s Army

CHAPTER 4:

CHAPTER 5: The Desert

CHAPTER 6:

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8