You Are My Witnesses

Two of my favorite texts in the entire Bible are Acts 1:8 and Isaiah 43:10.

 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NASB (emphasis mine)

 

“’You are My witnesses,’ declares the Lord, And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.’” Isaiah 43:10 NASB (emphasis mine)

 

There is no doubt that God wants His people to be His witnesses. We see it here in the Old Covenant and in the New Covenant so it is a consistent Biblical truth. Webster’s Dictionary defines a witness as: attestation of a fact or event, one that gives evidence; specifically: one who testifies in a cause or before a judicial tribunal, one who has personal knowledge of something.

 

A good witness in a trial or court case is one that is credible, and has first-hand intimate knowledge. There are some witnesses in court cases that are referred to as false witnesses, which would be those that are not credible and have no first-hand knowledge, but can only testify to hearsay. In these two verses we see four things that will help us be credible witnesses…beside the obvious of only giving witness to what we have first-hand knowledge of. (This means you can’t be a witness of Grandma’s or Mamma’s faith…only your own)

 

Number 1, in Acts 1:8, the first thing that enables us to be a witness is the power of the Holy Spirit. Notice Jesus did not say, ‘you will go witnessing’, He said, ‘you shall be My witnesses.’ There is a difference between going witnessing and being a witness that I really don’t have time to get into here, but we are told that we would receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon us, and because of that power, we would be witnesses.

 

You really can’t be an effective witness for Him apart from receiving the power of the Holy Spirit in your life first. To try and do so in your own power or ability is ludicrous. In fact Scripture clearly states: “Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel’ saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.’” Zechariah 4:6 NASB

 

Number 2, in Isaiah 43:10, we are told that we should KNOW HIM. Until you know God…you can’t be a witness for God. Now I am not talking about getting Born Again when I speak of knowing God. Being Born Again is just getting introduced to God, all that means is that you met Him; it does not mean that you know Him. You could be introduced to the President of the United States, but that would not mean that you know him, it would merely mean that you met him.

 

The only way you get to really KNOW somebody is to spend time with them, and God is no different. We spend time with Him in His Word, in Prayer and in Praise & Worship. As we do these things we get to KNOW Him. We learn what He likes and what He dislikes. We learn how He thinks and we learn what moves His heart. I have a great relationship with my earthly Father. We have invested all 51 years of my life developing it. But because we have spent so much time together…I Know him…that is the way it needs to be with our Heavenly Father. This enables us to be a witness.

 

Number 3, in Isaiah 43:10, we are told that we should BELIEVE HIM. Let me submit to you that these things in Isaiah 43:10 are progressive. You have a hard time Believing God when you don’t Know God. But when you KNOW God, you have NO ISSUE BELIEVING GOD! Once you have the spent the time with Him so that you know what He thinks, what He likes and what He feels, it makes it very easy for you to Believe what He says.

 

Let me go back to my relationship with my earthly Father. Because I know him, if he tells me Mike next Tuesday I am going to give you $500.00 for your birthday…I might just as well take it to the bank. Why? Because I know him and I know his word is good. Well when we get to the same place with God that we know Him so well that we know His Word, we will believe Him. This enables us to be a witness.

 

Number 4, in Isaiah 43:10, we are told that we should UNDERSTAND HIM. Notice the progression…Know Him…Believe Him…Understand Him. Until you know Him you can’t believe Him, and until you believe Him you can’t understand Him But when you know Him you can believe Him, and when you believe Him you can understand Him.

I go back again to my relationship with my earthly Father. Because I know him so well, I understand why he does what he does, why he thinks the way he thinks and why he acts the way he acts. I know what makes him tick…I get it when it comes to him. So it is with our heavenly Father, because we know Him and believe Him, it makes it easy for us to understand Him. We should understand why God thinks the way He thinks…what makes Him tick. This enables us to be a witness.

 

If we want to be His effective Witnesses…we must realize these simple truths. God wants us to be His witnesses. He has provided the Power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to be His witnesses. He has made it available to us that through spending time with him through His Word, Prayer and Praise & Worship we could Know Him, Believe Him and Understand Him, enabling us to be His witness.

The Way Up Is Down

I remember when I was student at Rhema Bible Training Center back in the 80’s; I took a course called “Submission & Authority”. I learned some principles in that class that have become a part of my spiritual DNA and I have never forgotten them. They have served me in good stead all these years since. How I wish folks in the Body of Christ would grasp some of these things today.

 

It seems most folks want to exercise authority or be the one in charge. However, in the Kingdom the rules are different than in the world. I was struck by a statement that my instructor made back at Rhema: “The way up is down.” I know that sounds a little strange to us because it goes against our natural human inclinations, but it is the way of the Kingdom.

 

In the world we do whatever we have to do to get ahead. We will step over whoever we have to get what we want. As long as we get what we want…all is fair and okay is how the worldly sentiment goes. I will exalt myself is worldly devilish thinking. I seem to recall someone who thought that same way:

 

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.” Isaiah 14: 12-15 NKJV

 

It would serve us well to remember that Lucifer got expelled from Heaven for thinking the way he did, so we really shouldn’t think we will get very far in the Kingdom with that kind of thinking. In the New Testament in the Epistles we are given some instructions about our attitudes and our conduct that is a total contrast to the way that Lucifer acted and thought.

 

“Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” James 4:10 NASB

 

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.” 1 Peter 5:6 NASB

 

Both of these Scriptures are diametrically opposed to the attitude portrayed by Lucifer. In the Kingdom we voluntarily humble ourselves that God may exalt us. This is what my Instructor meant by: “The way up is down.” If you want to be exalted in the Kingdom, you must first humble yourself. The even scary verse from James’ Epistle is this:

 

“But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” James 4:6 NASB

 

It clearly states that God gives grace to the humble, but is opposed to the proud. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to find myself in a position where God is opposed to me…do you?

 

There is nothing wrong with wanting to get ahead and being exalted in the Kingdom. We just need to learn Kingdom Laws and Protocols…and they are not like worldly laws and protocols. In the Kingdom…”The Way Up Is Down!”

 

What Is Revival

If I were to ask most folks in the church what Revival was I am sure I would get several answers, but the most common I would suspect would be when a lot of folks get saved. Is that really what a Revival is? In order to answer the question we really need a good definition of the word Revival.

 

I heard a definition this past Sunday morning by my good friend Pastor Barry Habib that I really liked. One of the definitions he found was: a new production of an old play. Well we have heard Revival used in that context before haven’t we? Every so often we see or hear ads here in the NY metropolitan area where I live of a Revival of a Broadway Show. What does that mean? In means they are bringing back a show that is an old show but that they are bringing it back in a new way.

 

We can further understand Revival if we look at the meaning of the root word of Revival which is Revive. I have found a couple of definitions of the word Revive that I really like. 1. To come or bring back to life or consciousness, to resuscitate. 2. To come or bring back to a healthy, vigorous or flourishing condition after a decline.

 

Now in light of these definitions…does the premise that a Revival is folks getting saved hold water? If we are honest we have to say NO! To bring back to life or to resuscitate indicates that those involved must have had life already. The teaching of the Bible is clear that before a Christian comes to Christ that they are dead in their trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1) So someone getting saved is not coming back to life but rather getting life. Folks getting saved is actually a byproduct or result of a genuine Revival.

 

Let’s take a look at a couple of Scriptures.

 

“Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?” Psalms 85:6 NKJV (emphasis mine)

 

“O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3:2 NKJV (emphasis mine)

 

Notice the highlighted portions of the above verses of Scripture. In Psalms 85:6 it says: “revive us again” and “your people”; while in Habakkuk 3:2 it says: “revive your work”. All of these phrases that I have drawn your attention to refer to the people of God. Those who are not saved yet certainly don’t qualify as “your people” or “your work” do they? It is only after we come into a relationship with God through the completed work of Christ that we become alive to Him.

 

So going back to our definitions…if Revival is to bring back to life…then bring back to life must mean that the person already had life…right? So can a person who does not have life…be Revived? No they need to get life. Only a person who has had life can be Revived. Notice again in the Scriptures that we looked at Revival is for the People of God…not for those apart from God. “Will You not revive us again?”

 

So since a Revival is not folks getting saved, but rather a coming back to life of the church or people of God…what should a Revival look like? There are several components to a real Revival. They can be outlined for us in the story of Jesus driving the money changers out of the temple in Matthew 21.

 

“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, ‘It is written, [My house shall be called a house of prayer,] but you have made it a [den of thieves]’ Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ they were indignant.” Matthew 21:12-15 NKJV

 

In this story we see four components of Revival:

 

·        Purity – Jesus drove out the corruption. He got the sin out. We need to too. Repentance is always a starting point to a Revival.

·        Prayer – Jesus said My house shall be called a house of prayer. A prayer foundation was established, and is still a foundation of a Revival today.

·        Power – Jesus began to demonstrate the power of God as He healed the sick. Revival brings demonstrations of Power.

·        Praise – They began to cry out Hosanna to the Son of David. There will always be a great release of Praise and Worship in a Revival.

 

I trust these few brief thoughts have been a blessing to you. This is by no means an exhaustive study on Revival…but some thoughts to steer you in the right direction and spurn you on to further study on this subject.

 

 

A Paradigm Shift Is Underway

Over the weekend I was privileged to be part of an Apostolic & Prophetic Gathering in Trenton, NJ where I was one of the speakers as well as a participant in the Question & Answer open panel forum. I was one of five members on the panel and for a little over an hour; we answered people’s questions about the Apostolic & Prophetic.

 

During my Father’s (Dr. Leo Fram) teaching time, he made an interesting statement: “The Church was never meant to be run by vote or committee.” Now to some that may seem like a very strange statement. Allow me to stretch your thinking please. Let me introduce you to a New Paradigm.

 

What exactly is a Paradigm anyway? Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines paradigm as: “a philosophical or theoretical framework of any kind.” It is the way we think about something or you could call it a mindset. There have been some mindsets or ways of thinking about things that have been prevalent in the Church for years…but in the current days of the Apostolic Reformation some of these old Paradigms are being challenged.

 

One such old Paradigm is that we must vote on every decision in the local church or appoint a committee to investigate all the options so that a wise decision can be made. Is this type of Paradigm really what the New Testament teaches? I submit to you absolutely not. Let us consider Acts chapter 15 for a case study.

 

You can read verses 1-29 to get the complete context, but we will just quote: “And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, ‘Men and brethren, listen to me: Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: [After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the Lord who does all these things.] Known to God from eternity are all His works. Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.’” Acts 15:13-21 NKJV

 

This passage is what is commonly known as the Jerusalem Council. There was great conflict between Jewish believers and Gentile believers over the issue of circumcision. Some of the Jewish believers were saying that Gentile believers had to not only accept Christ and His sacrifice to be saved, but also to be circumcised according to the Law of Moses. So a great discourse was entered into by the early Church leaders of the day including: Peter, Paul, Barnabas, Silas and James, the Lord’s half Brother and apparently the convener of the Council.

 

I want you to pay attention the bold type underlined phrases above: “Men and Brethren, Listen to Me” and “Therefore I Judge”. After all the discussion was done, the Apostle James got up and made a judgment…this was something that the Apostle James decreed…not something that the group voted on. The amazing thing is that after James made this decree…the discussion ended…there was no more debate. In fact in verse 28 we find these words: “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” Notice in the letter that they sent out…even though James made the “Apostolic Decree” everybody else came into agreement with it saying: “It Seemed Good To The Holy Spirit And To Us!”

 

This is a far cry from the way things are done in many churches and church circles today. People come up in arms saying that I Have To Have My Say. Once James made his decision…there was no more say. Can you see how some of our practices do not line up with New Testament practices? The Church is going through some major Paradigm shifts right now from Pastoral and Congregational mindsets into what God is restoring to the church, “An Apostolic Mindset”.

 

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” Acts 3:19-21 NKJV We are living in the days of the “Restoration Of All Things” and one of the things being restored is a new Paradigm…An Apostolic Mindset!

Balance In The Prophetic

There is a growing trend in “Prophetic Circles” that has me quite concerned. It seems folks think that they must always get a “Word” to know what God wants them to do in life. It is almost as if we don’t know how to operate anymore if we don’t get a “Word”. Folks are running around chasing down every Prophet or prophetically gifted person and asking: “Do you have a ‘Word’ for me?”

 

I remember Kenneth E. Hagin telling us when I was a student in Rhema about a woman who used to always call him asking him for a “Word”. One time she called him in the middle of the night asking him for a “Word” and he told her he had one for her: “Go to sleep!”

 

Now this is somewhat humorous but not far off from what we see today in many of our circles. Folks don’t get me wrong, I love the prophetic movement of God, I flow in the Gift of Prophecy, in fact God changed my 5-fold office from Evangelist to Prophet around 13 years ago…but this has gotten way out of hand.

 

Do you mean to tell me we can’t function as Born Again, Spirit indwelt, Spirit filled Believers without getting a “Word”? That just ought not to be! How did we get so out of balance? In our desire to embrace the prophetic, we have gone overboard and made it into something God has never intended.

 

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Romans 8:14 NKJV

 

I want to remind you that nowhere in the New Testament are we told ‘as many as are led by the prophetic word, these are the sons of God.’ No the Scripture plainly says that as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. As a son or daughter of God you should expect to be led by the Spirit of God…not the Prophetic Word!

 

An interesting side thought of this verse which we do not have time to go into for this Blog is that in the above verse where it says sons of God, in the original Greek that the New Testament was written in, that word ‘sons’ carries the meaning ‘mature sons’…just food for thought for you.

 

One of the greatest life lessons I have ever learned, I learned from Kenneth E. Hagin: “You will find that being led by an inward witness is the number one, or the primary way, that God leads all of His children.” From his book ‘How You Can Be Led By The Spirit Of God’ I learned this lesson as a teenager even before I got married and enrolled in Rhema. It became part of my spiritual DNA (a term my good friend Pastor Barry Habib uses).

 

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Romans 8:16 NKJV

 

There is the witness of the Holy Spirit inside of our human spirit that will let us know what to do. We need to learn to follow it! I always tell folks: “Follow after Peace.” I mean when you have peace in your spirit go that way. If it feels like fingernails down a black board in your spirit…DON’T DO IT!

 

Thank God for the “Prophetic Word”! It should confirm what leading we already have in our spirit, or expand upon what is in our spirit, or bring clarity to what is in our spirit. Even if it is new revelation to you when it comes…it will still bear witness with our spirit.

 

Just because we have embraced the “Prophetic” let us not be so out of balance that we feel like we cannot function unless we get a “Word”. No thank God for when He speaks! Expect Him to speak. Desire Him to speak. But we have in the process of wanting to hear a “Word” absolved ourselves of any responsibility to be led by His Spirit. God never intended that! We must remain in balance. Live your life following the inward witness and then receive the “Prophetic Word” when it comes…but if it doesn’t come…you are fine because you have the inward witness in your spirit.

Hosting & Honoring The Presence Of God

In our last Blog we spoke about “Times of Refreshing” coming from the Manifest Presence of God. We stated in passing during the conclusion that we must Host & Honor His Manifest Presence.

 

What do we mean by hosting His presence? One of Webster’s definitions that best suits our purpose here is: one that receives or entertains guests socially, commercially, or officially. Have you ever to a party in someone’s home and that they were a great host? Conversely, have you ever been to a party and  the host of the party was horrible?

 

What made the difference? In one case you were most likely made to feel very welcome and comfortable and in the other case you were made to feel like they really didn’t care if you were there or not.

 

That is the way it us when we come to church. How welcome do we make God feel in our midst? Do we do the things that He likes that make Him feel comfortable where He desires to actually hang out with us, other than just in His omnipresence? A good host makes the guest feel welcome, how welcome do we make Him feel?

 

What do we mean by honoring His presence? The American Heritage Dictionary defines honoring as: high respect, recognition or esteem. Honor is bestowed on things that we value and hold in high regard. Is this the way we treat His Manifest presence? Everybody likes to be honored for what they do, but God really deserves to be honored. How much do we esteem Him? How much respect do we show Him?

 

I have seen many in the church in my 45+ years in the church treat God very flippantly with really no honor at all. God has been reduced in many cases to being nothing more than our “sugar daddy” in the sky. As the old expression goes: “gimme, gimme, gimme…my name is Jimmy”.

 

What are the things that we can do that would make God so comfortable that He would actually desire to grace us with His Manifest Presence? We could start by doing the things He likes and has told us to do. Praise Him! Worship Him! Love Him! Adore Him! And of course give gifts to Him. You really can’t show honor without a gift.

 

Our goal should be that every time we come together as the Body of Christ we create an atmosphere that is so pleasing to Him that He desires to not only come to visit us with His Manifest Presence, but because of how we host and honor His presence He actually wants to come and rest and abide with us with His Manifest Presence. Let us move from the Visitation of His Manifest Presence to the Habitation of His Manifest Presence because we have learned to Host & Honor His Presence!

Times Of Refreshing

One of my favorite verses is Acts 3:19: "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord..."


Quite often I hear folks speak of this verse just quoting that times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord. They totally omit the first half of the verse, which deals with repenting and returning to the Lord.

So many of the promises in the Word of God are written just like this...they are conditional. You may ask what I mean by that. For example Isaiah 1:19 says: "If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land." The promise is that you will eat the good of the land. The conditions are that you be willing and obedient.

What happens if you are not willing and obedient? Then you won't eat the good of the land. So this verse in Acts 3 is no different. The two conditions that must be met in order for times of refreshing to come from the presence of the Lord are to Repent & Return.

Repent is composed of two actions: 1. Sorrow for sin. 2. Stop going the way you are going and go in the opposite direction.

Return means to go again to a place you have already been. In this context it is talking about returning to the Lord, indicating that it might be folks that at one time were closer to God than they are right now. Face it folks, if you were ever more on fire for God than you are right now, you are backslid.

If we don't stop going in the wrong direction, and return back to Him, we really can't expect the "Times of Refreshing".

Once we get these two conditions met we are ready to walk in the promise...or are we?

Notice it says that times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord. So if there is no presence of the Lord, there will be no times of refreshing.

No I know folks say well you know God is everywhere, He is Omnipresent. Yes indeed He is, but is that the type of presence that the Scripture is referring to here?

If it was omnipresence people would automatically be being refreshed from that presence. Now you and I both know that is not the case. So I submit to you that this text is not speaking about God's omnipresence, But His Manifest Presence!

In the Hebrew it is the word "Kabod", which means the weighty presence of God. Have you ever heard folks say: "Boy the presence of God was so thick you could have cut it with a knife"? You know as well as I do that in some of our meetings the presence of God is stronger than in others.

So our goal is the have as strong of a manifest presence of the Lord so that the times of refreshing will come. We obtain that by learning to repent quick and often. By returning to Him with all our heart. And finally hosting and honoring His presence. (the subject of our next Blog)

When we do these things...then...Times of Refreshing will come from the Manifest Presence of the Lord!