Leviathan

 In this post, I want to talk about something that’s not totally familiar to most people.  It’s something we all deal with at some point.  It’s a part of spiritual warfare.  Something we must be careful to recognize and deal with in our own lives, but you don’t always see posts like this, so I want to present this because I want to educate people about this.  Even more than that, though, I want to begin a conversation about dominion.

Dominion is the ability to overcome and defeat the devil and defeat his plans for your life. He really hates us and wants to destroy us and our effectiveness in bringing about the Kingdom of God.

How many problems in life are the result of spiritual issues?  How many are the result of a lack of dominion and spiritual authority on our parts?  This post is a step toward taking dominion in your life. 

Isaiah 27:1 NKJV

In that day the LORD with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.

Leviathan

M. Scott Peck, an American psychiatrist, and author of the book, The People of the Lie, said in his book that many of people’s problems are explainable in common psychiatric practices.  However, he also makes the statement that he has, “seen the face of evil.”

“When the demonic finally spoke…an expression appeared.  It was an incredibly contemptuous grin of utter malevolence.  I have spent any hours inf ront of a mirror trying to imitate it without the slightest success… The patient suddenly resembled a writhing spirit serpent of great strength., viciously trying to bite the team members.  More frightening than the writhing body however, was the face![i] 

This is Leviathan!  Leviathan is like a sea serpent, a twisting spirit.  It is a description of a type of spiritual power.  I believe there are only two sources of spiritual power in the universe today – God and the devil.  Look at the description of Satan in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 20:2 NKJV

He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

Leviathan isn’t a name for the devil, it’s a description of the power that he wields, a form of action.  He takes the things of God and twists them, perverts them.  That’s the spirit of Leviathan!

A lack of spiritual authority and dominion in your life is an open door to sin; to unrighteous thought and behavior.  We call that unrighteousness iniquity.

Iniquity is a twisting dynamic, something happens when one’s mind or spirit gets twisted.  It’s not just your neighbor or circumstances.  It is your mind.  It is a demonic twisting of the mind.[ii]

Iniquity is not just everyday sin; it’s unrighteousness of the heart.  In other words, iniquity is a character issue, it’s part of what makes up your moral choices.  When there is a lack of spiritual authority in your life, when you’re not standing on God’s principles your mind and character begin to twist.  That affects your thoughts, your understanding and your behavior.  You are no longer in your right mind. There is a twisting effect. 

A [church] pastor in 1990, was involved in a church rebellion.  In a meeting he literally lost his “I have it all together.”  Some described it as going “ballistic.”  This was not the event of a moment although it may have looked that way.  No, somewhere he had opened a door or given place in his mind to this twisting spirit..  The issues were twisted in his heart.  His motives twisted his view of leadership.[iii]

People who are twisted cannot think properly about correction, discipline or even advice.  That spirit (Leviathan) rages against the stable and godly mind.  They seek to make trouble, leading others into their twisted pattern of thought. Leviathan divides, Leviathan ruins relationships; Leviathan destroys:

Proverbs 12:8 NKJV

A man will be commended according to his wisdom, But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised.

This is the strategy of the Leviathan spirit, to destroy fellowship and defeat God’s promises in you by destroying your faith in the promise through causing you to suspect God’s intentions and your leader’s intentions.

1John 2:18-19 NKJV

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

Who were they that went out?  They were members of the church; they were in fellowship with the saints, but their minds were captivated by twisted strengths of arguments and imaginations against God and His people and so they left.

Do you know who they are?  They’re the “former members” that speak against the church in public with statements of twisted fact. “It’s a cult, they’ll tell you whom you have to marry.”  “They shun those who’ve left.  That’s Leviathan!

Have you ever felt like that?  That there’s nothing for you but defeat?  Do you feel like even God is against you; that the other people in the church are against you?  That’s Leviathan. 

One last statement about Leviathan.  He cannot be tamed by you.  He is untamable.  You cannot control demonic power in the flesh!

What About Your Life?

This is a spirit that gains access to your heart but demonic forces have no right to you.  They cannot just enter into a mind that is solidly focused on God’s will.  They cannot enter into a heart that is filled with the indwelling Holy Spirit.  They can only enter into a heart that is opened to them.  A heart that is not released from sin. 

One covert gave a great testimony of deliverance.  She was doing really well but later confessed that she never gave up smoking marijuana with “friends.”  Soon she found herself compromised and began doing all she had been doing before salvation.[iv]

This was the beginning of her “born again” life but she’d never broken away from the habits and friends of the old life. 

Think of the things that you say.  Are they God surrendered words or are they the language of the old life?  What are you watching?  What are you listening to and thinking about? Are they the things of God or the things of the world?  These are important questions, because these things can be an open door for Leviathan.  We’ve seen people caught up in twisted words and tortured logic, because there was door that was never closed in their lives.  Think about the following scripture for a moment. 

Isaiah 49:24

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, Or the captives of the righteous be delivered?

Is your life and the pursuit of God available to be taken? Are your thoughts captive to the will of God, or are they vulnerable to hijack?  Can the things of God be taken from you?  When are the things in your home vulnerable to thieves and hijackers?  When your doors are open and unguarded.  When are the thoughts of your mind vulnerable?  When the door to your mind is open and unguarded.  We must protect our hearts and mind from Leviathan.  One way we do that is to slam the door to the old life.  Another is to guard the door and not allow the desires and lusts of the eyes and flesh to gain access to our minds.  You need a bouncer to cast out worldly things.  When we yield ourselves to the demonic, when we surrender to sin, we are not merely held captive; It’s not that we just become prisoners.  What happens is that we have given the demonic he right to access.  We aren’t just captives we are legally possessed by hell, because we have broken and/or ignored God’s law and will.  Hell owns us.

Leviathan is a spirit you must survive.  You must survive the whispering of Leviathan in your ear.  You must survive Leviathan’s strategies.  Leviathan is the king over the children of pride. 

Job 41:34 NKJV

[Leviathan] beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride."

Pride is the spirit of Lucifer – The spirit of Satan.  You will not defeat Leviathan in your pride.  Pride says, “I will never make that mistake again!” You will!  Pride says, “I know better now!” You don’t!  Pride says, “I’m in control!”  You’re not!

The Sword That Pierces Leviathan

It may seem like there’s no hope.  How can we ever overcome?  It’s in what I think.  It’s in what I feel.  It’s in the life I’ve lived to this point.  It’s in my old habits.  It’s even in the way I speak. I’m defeated; I will suffer oppression for the rest of my life.  I can never be anything than what I am now. 

Never underestimate the power of Salvation.  When a soul is saved a miracle takes place.  Hard core sinners set free of horrible addictions, in a moment; instantaneous relief.  It’s God that defeats the powers of hell and darkness.  It’s God that frees us from bondages, habits, evil thoughts and sin.  It’s the great promise of God.  It’s by God’s plan that Leviathan is defeated. 

Jesus came to destroy Satan’s power.  Jesus came to set us free from sin.  Jesus came to liberate us from the possession of hell.  God promised that in the Garden of Eden.  That promise holds true today, because God keeps His promises. 

"Jacquelle Crowe, as a teen, wrote a book for teens about the miracle of salvation. In it she tells the story of a prominent pastor. He heard a message at a youth conference that stunned him. The speaker said being a Christian wouldn’t change anything. You could keep the same friends and keep up the same activities. In effect, the things you enjoyed would remain things you could enjoy even after salvation. She titled her book, This Changes Everything. She then went on to explain salvation meant friendships and relationships were all changed. The view of God and the church were changed. Salvation changed everything. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit transformed everything about her life. In a moment of time and through a simple prayer everything changed.”[v]

Jacquelle Crowe is no longer held captive to a twisting spirit that wants to keep her captive. She was set free, liberated, in a moment of time by the miracle work of salvation – and so can you be!

 

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[i] M. Scott Peck, The People of the Lie, The Hope for Healing Human Evil © 1983, Touchstone

[ii] Joseph C. Campbell and John W. Gooding, Deliverance to Dominion © 2019

[iii] Joseph C. Campbell and John W. Gooding, Deliverance to Dominion © 2019

[iv] Joseph C. Campbell and John W. Gooding, Deliverance to Dominion © 2019

[v] Joseph C. Campbell and John W. Gooding, Deliverance to Dominion © 2019

 

The Call of the Non-Conformist

Today, I want to post something that’s usually not real popular – Sacrifice.  Sacrifice isn’t what we want serving God to be about, is it?  Fellowship, camaraderie, fun and ministry that’s what we want serving God to be about. 

I want to say something about the word serve, as in "I serve God".  It’s not just about stopping things the bad things you’re doing.  It’s not about praying.  If you’re going to serve God you’re going to have to do something.  A servant does something.  Today, I want to post on that from this portion of scripture:

Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)
^12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

A Living Sacrifice

Let’s first define the word sacrifice.  Sacrifice is defined by Mirriam-Webster Dictionaries as the destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else.  Giving up our sin is a form of sacrifice.  Giving of our resources is a form of sacrifice.  Giving up our "down time" is a form of sacrifice.

But this says “present your bodies as a living sacrifice.”  In the Old Testament sacrifices always consisted of giving an animal to be killed and burnt on the altar.  The word altar comes from a word that means immolate or burn up.  If you were a sacrifice you had to die.  There was no living sacrifice.  Of course, animals, not people were sacrificed.

In the New Testament God has done away with animal sacrifice. 

Hebrews 10:10-12 (NKJV)
^10:10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. ¹¹ And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,

Because of what Jesus did, the slaughter can stop.  Jesus was the last sacrifice ever at the temple, but our text tells us there’s a new type of sacrifice; a living sacrifice.  You might call it a change of lifestyle.  A living sacrifice is sacrificing the sin that you’ve been living.

This is one of the things that keep people out of the church, though.  There are pastors and leaders who don’t dare preach on sin because it will cause certain people to leave.  People want to be comfortable that they can enter Heaven with the sin that’s in their lives.  Unfortunately, that’s not true.  A pastor that never preaches on sin, your specific sin, isn’t doing you any favors, because there’s no opportunity available for conviction or repentance. 

The reason for their reluctance is that people don’t want to give up their sin.  They like it!  We always think we can control the affects of sin.  No one thinks that they’re going to become an alcoholic when they have their first drink.  They just think that they’re having fun.  No one plans on Lung Cancer when they first start smoking.  No one ever sees the consequences of their sin happening in their lives.

We sin because there’s some reward in it for us.  Maybe it’s fun, or maybe it looks appealing.  That’s why beer commercials make it look like everyone’s having a good time.  The guys are getting the chicks because they’re drinking the right beer.  Everyone is laughing, and happy.  You’re not going to sell a lot of beer by showing some guy dying, or becoming a paraplegic because he was driving drunk.  It’s designed to make it look appealing, so people will buy that beer.

If you’ve ever smoked, do you remember your first cigarette?  Did you feel cool, or just nauseous?  You have to work at sin until you begin to enjoy it.

The problem is that we become attached or addicted to sin.  Sometimes, we just don’t want to stop.  Fornication is like that; it feels good.  Drunkenness feels good.  It’s a sacrifice to quit that – A living sacrifice.  Our text tells us that’s our reasonable service.  That word reasonable means not excessive.  It’s reasonable; within reason. 

Let me tell you what an unreasonable or excessive sacrifice is.  Having your beard ripped out, and your back laid open, then carrying a heavy wooden cross to the place of your execution.  Then being thrown onto that cross, having nails driven through the mass of nerves in your wrist and ankles, and being lifted up to slowly suffocate.  All of that happens and you’re innocent…that’s an unreasonable sacrifice.

All we are called to do is repent; change our minds, give up the carnal, sensual things – reasonable service – and be holy; set aside for God’s use:  Reverent; in awe of God.  This is where the service comes in.

When we talk about service, we often say things like, “I gave up drugs and drinking, I’m serving God.”  The problem is that when you use the word service it implies that you’re doing something.  A servant serves – they’re doing something.  You’re really only a servant of God if you’re doing something that serves God’s purpose or needs.  What are God’s purposes in the world?  To save sinners.  What are you doing to serve God in that area? 

A servant doesn’t look at church like it’s a social club.  A servant doesn’t see church as a place you visit when you want or need something.  A servant prepares him/herself to meet the needs of God.  That Bible calls that our reasonable service. 

It’s not enough just to stop sinning.  The Bible tells us we need to look for what we can do to serve God.  It’s reasonable for God to expect that because look at what He sacrificed to buy us back from sin.  He gave His only Son so that we could walk away from sin, once and for all.  It’s reasonable for God to expect that we would be holy in that new life.

Here’s a spiritual truth in the form of a question:  Why would you want to take the issues and problems of the old life that drove you to salvation, into the new life that you’ve been given?

It’s like the guy who’s been given a new lease on life through a liver transplant risking the destruction of the new liver by continuing to drink excessively and use drugs.

Being a Non-Conformist

 Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
^12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

There’s an old joke about non-conformists:  You can’t tell them apart – They all look the same.  That's what non-conformity may look like in the world, but it isn't true of Christianity.  We are called to be different from the world.  Look at this – It’s the vow of nazarite:

Numbers 6:2-6 (NKJV)
^6:2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, ³ he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴ All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. ⁵ All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. ⁶ All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body.

The vow is about separation to God’s use, right?  Verse two says, “to separate himself to the Lord.”   That’s what holy means, right?  The vow sets out the steps to do that.  No wine or similar drink – No vinegar.  Vinegar is the Bible’s way of saying alcoholic wine.  They shouldn’t cut their hair, and should stay away from dead bodies.  This is different from the way non-nazarites lived.  Another way to say that is that the non-nazarites lived like the world lives.  Nazarites don’t conform to the worldly behaviors.

Our text calls us to be modern-day nazarites. “Do not be conformed to this world;” be different.  Our behavior should be different from the people of the world.  People should be able to see holiness or separation in our lives.  “Hey those Christians, they're not like us.”  Think about this – If we’re not involved in all the things the world is involved in, drunkenness, fornication, drugs, and immodesty to name a few. I’m talking about sin or self-destructive behavior.  Sin is self-destructive, “The wages of sin is death.”  If we’re involved in all those things how can we say that Jesus has the power to change lives?

Do you know what one of the most depressing aspects of my old life was?  It was thinking that I had ruined my life:  That I’d never be anything but a drunk:  That there was no hope for change.  I couldn’t see a way out of the mess that my life was in until I met people whose lives had changed, because of what Jesus had done in their lives I knew it was real, because they didn’t live like me.  They were transformed; changed by the renewing of their minds.  They had a different way of thinking.  While  we're involved in sin, we're not in our right minds.  We're involved in self-destructive thinking.  Self-destructive thoughts are not right thinking.  In many cases it’s a form of mental illness, but by choosing not to conform to the world.  By being holy, by separating ourselves to God’s use, which is our “reasonable service” we're transformed.  Their minds are made new, that’s what renew means; to make new again.  We came to ourselves.  We're now in our right minds again.  I’m a non-conformist now.  I’m not like the world.

Continue in Sin

Romans 6:1-4 (NKJV)
^6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? ³ Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

So, as we become Christians – followers of Christ – we discontinue the sin we in which we were involved.  It’s a reasonable sacrifice; let it go.  Jesus died to free us from that.  He paid the penalty.  We have chosen to follow Him and in doing that we’ve received the call of that nazarite vow.  We’ve died to sin.

As we pass from the death of sin into a new life in Christ.  We leave the old behaviors, the old way of thinking behind.  We begin to walk in the newness of life.  

Be new.  You have a new life, you can let go of the old one.  I’ve been saved twenty-five years and I still wake up marveling that I feel good.  Before, I started every morning with a curse word. Oh, _____, it’s morning.  I hate morning!”  I was still sick from the alcohol of the night before.  I hated life.  I’m delighted that I didn’t have to bring that into my new life.  Now, I usually wake up cheerfully…usually. 

I sacrificed the drunken behavior.  I’ve taken up my reasonable service.  I’m living for Jesus, and my mind is renewed. 

We think our text is a command, but really, Paul is begging us to do that.  He’s saying, “Try it.  You’ll be transformed. Your mind will be renewed.  I think it’s sad when people go into their new lives in a half-hearted way.

“I’m only going to give this much.”

“I’m not offering my body as a living sacrifice.”

“I’m only giving a part of me to God’s will.”

It’s sad, because if you’re thinking that way, you’ll never experience real transformation.  You’ll always be stuck with a certain part of your sin.  You’ll never know complete escape, and you’ll always wonder why Christianity doesn’t work for you.  The best advice I can give you is from an old television commercial.  The tag line of the commercial was, “Try it, you’ll like it.”

Are You Converted?

All of us have come from one thing or another.  As a child I was raised as a Catholic.  I went to a Catholic school.  I attended the Catholic Church.  I was taught Catholic values. 

Maybe you were a Buddhist or a Taoist; maybe you practiced Yi Guang Dao, or maybe you were a Muslim, or even an Atheist.  You didn’t believe in God at all, but now you do:  You’ve become a Christian.  You’re no longer involved in what you were doing before.  We would say you were converted, but I have to tell you that just changing religions is not conversion.  For a conversion to take place your life must be transformed.  You don’t think the way you did before.  You don’t speak the way you did before.  You don’t act the way you did before.  That’s conversion.

Acts 9:1-7 (NKJV)
^9:1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ² and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³ As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. ⁴ Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" ⁵ And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." ⁶ So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." ⁷ And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.

Saul Was Who He Was

So, here we have Saul; he’s a persecutor of the church.  Remember, in Acts chapter 8 he stood by while Stephen was stoned.  He held the coats of those who stoned Stephen.  He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees; a teacher of teachers and led a great persecution against the early church.  His attacks caused Christians to leave Jerusalem and scatter throughout the world, but he wasn’t satisfied with just that.  He asked the High Priest to give him authority to travel to Damascus to persecute them there. 

He was breathing threats and murder against the disciples.  Can you picture this?  He had a great hatred toward them.  He was consumed with zeal to destroy Christianity itself…But along the road to Damascus, Jesus confronts Saul and asks him, “Why are you persecuting me?” 

There is a struggle that’s taking place within Saul.  It’s like he’s fighting within himself about things.  When Jesus confronts him He tells Saul, “It’s not easy to kick against the goads.”  This is a word picture – A goad is something that is used to move an animal.  It urges or stimulates and action.  Saul is urged into what he’s doing by a force that’s inside him.  He’s driven to persecute, but Jesus seems to be saying that Saul has been struggling against it…kicking against the goads.

I believe that when we’re sinners, there’s turmoil in all of us.  We’re all seeking God, but since we continue in sin, we feel bad, so rather than change we attack those who’ve already changed.  We’re driven by our sinful nature. 

Suddenly, Saul finds himself face-to-face with the risen Jesus.  This isn’t a vision but a face-to-face encounter.  Look how Saul describes it later:

1 Corinthians 9:1 (NKJV)
^9:1 Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?

“Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?”  Jesus met him there at the Damascus road and changed him forever.  Saul the persecutor became Paul the Apostle.  He no longer zealously persecuted Christians.  Now, he zealously preached the Gospel.  There was a remarkable change in him, as a result of his meeting Jesus – This is conversion.

Conversion comes from an encounter with Jesus.  There are people who come to church, but they continue to live the same way that they lived as sinners.  They continue in sin, there’s no change.  There’s no evidence that they’ve been saved.  That word “convert” means to change form; to go from one thing to another.  If there’s no change there’s no conversion.  There must be a change in thought AND action.  Saul’s name change to Paul symbolizes that change.

Paul Had a Testimony

Paul was completely changed in his meeting with Jesus.  He was one way before he met Jesus but was a completely different person afterward.  You can see that this moment of conversion takes place while he is still in Jesus’ presence.  He calls Him Lord, “Who are you Lord?”  The he acknowledges Jesus as Lord over his life, “Lord, what do you want me to do?”  What are you calling me to?  What is the need you have for me? 

Jesus told him to go into the city and he would be told what to do.  He obeyed and went into Damascus and was filled with the Holy Spirit and the Bible says he began immediately to preach in the synagogues.

Acts 9:20-22 (NKJV)
^9:20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. ²¹ Then all who heard were amazed, and said, "Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?" ²² But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

This is the testimony – He was a persecutor and insolent man.  He had gone to Damascus to bring them bound to Jerusalem, but now he’s preaching Jesus; even proving that Jesus is the Christ.

What happened to you when you became a Christian?  Did your thinking change?  Do you think about sin differently?  Have you laid aside your sin?  Do you continue in it?  Is there evidence in your life that you’ve been converted?  The sad thing is that there are people in churches all over the world that have never experienced a conversion.  They remain stuck in their sin.  They continue in bondage.  There’s no evidence that they’ve really met Jesus.  They have no testimony of God’s grace on their lives.  It’s God’s grace that changes us.  Look at this:

1 Corinthians 15:8-10 (NKJV)
^15:8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

This is Paul writing to the Corinthians.  He’s commenting about his testimony.  He’s writing about the power of the Gospel. 

What we do after we’ve been converted is the result of God’s grace working in our lives.  What Paul is saying here is:  I’ve stopped sinning because of God’s grace giving me the strength to make a decision to live for Him.  I preach the Gospel because of God’s grace, having caused a change in my life; I can’t help but declare the mercy that was extended to me.

As we’re converted and God’s grace works in us it’s natural for us to want to share it.  I want to see God work in other people’s lives like He worked in mine.  I want to share the power of God to change circumstances and lives like he’s done for me.

1 Timothy 1:12-14 (NKJV)
^1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, ¹³ although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

Paul immediately preached Jesus.  He didn’t wait until he understood everything about Jesus.  He declared what God did in him through grace.  There are people who’ve prayed the Sinner’s Prayer, but they’ve never been fully converted.  They’re still bound by the sin they were bound with and I really can’t understand it.  Getting saved is being BORN AGAIN:  It’s a new life; a second chance.  Why would you want to bring the old life into the new one?

Maybe it’s because I was so desperate for a change that I couldn’t remain the same way I was.  I’m so thankful for what Jesus has done in me!  That’s how grace works in you.  Paul changed because of the miracle that God did in him.  He couldn’t remain silent.  I can’t remain silent, either, and that’s also evidence of my conversion.

Paul Began to Live Out the Calling on his Life

In the middle of his conversion Paul asked Jesus, “What do you want me to do, Lord?”  He’s looking for God’s calling on his life.  He’s ready to die to his own will and take up Jesus’ will for his life.  That is absolute evidence of his conversion.  Look at what Jesus says:

Matthew 16:24-25 (NKJV)
^16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

This is the mark of a converted Christian.  That word Christian means “Follower of Christ.”  We have no problem following Jesus when He’s going to the place WE want to go, a truly converted Christian, is one who’s willingly following Jesus to a place where he DOESN’T want to go.

Take a look at your own life.  Think about your Christian walk.  Are you calling Jesus Lord?  Have you acknowledged Jesus as authority over your life? 

Do you have a testimony?  Is there a change that has taken place in you as a result of God’s grace?

Are you preaching Jesus?  Do you tell others about what Jesus did in you and can do in them?

Are you denying your will?  Are you following Jesus to the place He wants you to go?

If you can’t answer yes to those questions, then you’ve never really met Jesus, but don’t despair.  He’s waiting for you on your own Damascus road.  You can meet him today and be converted in a moment of time.  Paul’s conversion only took a few moments.  Some people think they have to watch Him for years, follow some ritual, or change before they meet Him.  All it really takes is an openness to His calling on your life – And He is calling.  If you haven’t done so already, then answer the call, today and let His grace work in you.

Holy Ground

At the end of every church service that we perform we have what’s called an Altar Call. This is where the altars are opened to give people an opportunity to approach the altar and meet with God. Sometimes people have the impression that the altar call is only for those who have decided to open their lives to the call of God: Those who have a desire to receive Jesus or as we Christians say, “get saved.” To a certain extent, that’s true, it is for them. It is provided for them to have the opportunity to repent of their sin and make a public declaration of their intent to serve Christ.


But even more than that the altar call is for those who want to meet with God: Those who want to enter into the place where God is and do real business with Him. This is the time of the service where you are able to do that.

The altar is what New Testament churches have rather than a “Holy of Holies.” We don’t have to stand behind a veil of separation. Thanks to the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross, we can enter directly into the presence of God, and that takes place at the altar.

The altar can become a reference point for us. We can go to the altar and say this is the point that I cut off the self-destructive behavior. This is the moment where I allow God to move in my life.

I can remember the exact moment I gave my life to Jesus Christ; February 29, 1992. I remember the sermon that pastor preached; it was on commitment. I remember the brother who came and prayed with me, in fact, he’s a close friend to this day. If you walked into the Door Christian fellowship in Colton California, I can show you the exact place where I knelt down and prayed. It’s a reference point in my life. God began to change me at that time and at that place.

But I have never stopped going to the altar. I need to continue to meet with Him there. I need to continue to open myself to repentance. Because we are never completely free of temptation and sin, while we remain on earth. Salvation is a process that isn’t completed until we enter into eternity in the presence of Jesus. The altar is the place where the work can be done: The place where God can deal with us about certain aspects of our lives, our hearts and our personalities.

Have you realized that all of us get convicted? That’s good; I hope I never get to the point where I can’t hear from God about the things that are wrong in my life. We should never come to a place where we can sit comfortably in church. Where we can no longer be convicted: Where we feel like our sin is gone, because it isn’t that we have stopped sinning, we have just stopped giving the Holy Spirit permission to deal with us about it. If we refuse to allow Him to expose us, and convict us then there can be no change and we go on as before.

We should all desire to meet with God, personally. We should all want to step into the presence of God and let Him work out the sin and the parts of us of which we’re ashamed. We need to step onto Holy Ground.

Exodus 3:1-6 (NKJV)
3:1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." 4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." 6 Moreover He said, "I am the God of your father--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

The Altar

The altar is defined as a place of sacrifice. The Hebrew word for altar is misbeach (mis bay akh) which comes from the root word Disbeach (dis bay akh) which means to slaughter an animal. So the word altar is defined as a place o slaughter or a sacrifice an animal. We don’t sacrifice animals any more but the New Testament altar is a place where we take our lives and sacrifice them to Jesus Christ: Where we come to grips with the sin that is there and begin to lay down those things; stepping away from them…even the ones we like. .It is a place where we can meet with God and a place where He will meet with His people. It’s Holy Ground.

In the Old Testament they built altars to honor God, or to mark some place where God moved powerfully in their lives: Some point where God changed them or delivered them.

Exodus 17:13-16 (NKJV)
17:13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner; 16 for he said, "Because the Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."

As Israel crossed the land of the Amalekites, they followed behind them and jumped them from the rear. They were attempting to destroy Israel and God spoke to Moses and told him to stand and fight. Moses sent Joshua to fight the battle. Then Moses stood on a hill with the rod of God in his hand. When his hands were raised the battle went to Israel, but when his hands dropped the battle went to Amalek. So they sat him on a hill and propped up his hands and God gave them a great victory over Amalek. This was something that God did. So Moses built an altar to honor God for this deliverance from their enemies. That altar was a reference point for the Israelites.

It should be the same in our lives. The altar should be a reference point for us, because it is the place where God picked us up and delivered us from the attack of Satan on our lives. He picked us up from the mess we had made in our lives and set us down changed and delivered.

We need the altar as a reference point in our lives, because we face the Amalekites in our lives the same way. The Amalekites represent the worldly influences that we all face in life. The influences that try to take us out of the will of God, little by little; subtly and quietly trying to draw us away a little at a time. That was the strategy of Amalek, to pick them off one at a time, little by little.

That is also the strategy of the enemy we face. Do you realize people don’t backslide all of a sudden, all at once? They are influenced away from the things of God a little at a time. Nobody wakes up one morning and says, “That’s it, I’ve served God long enough. Now, I’m going out to live like a wild Banshee.” It rarely happens that way; it happens a little piece at a time. We quit attending church, we quit praying, we stop guarding our hearts and eventually we are away from God and deep in sin.

When w e pray and contend we will have victory, but when we don’t, then we start to lose the battle with sin. Moses lifting his hands symbolized prayer, and Israel led in the battle, but dropping his hands symbolized the absence of prayer and Amalek prevailed. The battle was won on the top of the hill as Moses lifted his hands.

Those of us who struggle with temptation and sin, we need to be willing to come to the altar and contend for victory. We need to come to the altar and fight Amalek. The altar is a place where you can meet with God: Where you can contend for victory. Your contending, your struggle with sin honors Him and the struggle that was played out on the cross by his Son. Jesus died so we can have victory over sin and struggle to die to self pays honor to His sacrifice. He didn’t die in vain.

We are Able to Step into the Presence of God

It wasn’t always like that, you know. In the Old Testament, God commanded Moses to build a tabernacle and gave instructions for a place where He would meet with His people.

Exodus 26:33-34 (NKJV)
26:33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy.

This is description of the Holy of Holies. The mercy seat is the place where God is. This is the place where God said He would meet with His people. But the veil was designed to keep us from entering into the place where God was. Once a year, the High priest only could enter into the Holy of Holies, but he had to prepare himself first. He couldn’t just walk in there.

Leviticus 16:11-13 (NKJV)
16:11 "And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself. 12 Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. 13 And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die.

Notice what the last part of that scripture said, “And he shall not die.” In other words if he hadn’t atoned for his sins: If his heart wasn’t right with God: If there was some sin in there…God would have killed him.

Can you imagine what it would be like if God immolated us instantly every time we approached the altar with some impurity in or lives? Every church in the world would have a pile of smoking cinders to clean up every Sunday. The Holy of Holies was the place where God was, and because of that it was Holy ground. The altar in your church is the place where God is. It’s Holy ground for the same reason the burning bush was Holy Ground.

The altar is also Holy Ground because it was bought at a price. A price was paid; our sin was atoned because Jesus Christ shed his blood on Calvary’s cross once and for all.

Mark 15:37-38 (NKJV)
15:37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. 38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.


His death paid the price that gave us access to God. His death opened up the altar so we could meet with God. We have access through His Son. We are justified by Jesus’ death. That word justified means to be made innocent. We are made innocent through Jesus’ suffering and death. His death made us innocent of our sin.

The Altar is Covered in Blood

2 Samuel 23:13-17 (NKJV)
23:13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 And David said with longing, "Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!" 16 So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord. 17 And he said, "Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this! Is this not the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?" Therefore he would not drink it. These things were done by the three mighty men.

Where did this come from? What does this have to do with the altar call and Holy Ground?

Picture how this exchange went. They’re in this cave, it’s hot and dusty. This is taking place after Saul had chased and tried to kill him. It is after Absalom had tried to usurp the kingdom. He’s at war with the Philistines and he’s looking back and reminiscing about simpler times. David grew up in Bethlehem. After he fought Goliath, the Bible says Saul didn’t let him go back to his family. He fought Goliath when he was about seventeen. So he’s thinking back to his childhood. He’s thinking back to happier times. He’s probably just reminiscing, “Oh, how great it was to drink the water by gate in Bethlehem.”

These men, desiring to please their king; not because they were ordered; not out of obligation but because they loved him, fought their way through the army of the Philistines to get a cup of that water for him. Imagine what they went through! They fought their way to the well. No doubt they continued fighting at the well. Then they had to fight their way back through the line. They were probably injured. They had probably spilled some blood.

They give the water to David and David immediately understands what it took to get that water. He sees what these men were willing to sacrifice for that water. He sees the price that they paid to bring it to him and he can’t see it any longer as just water. What he sees is the blood of the men who risked it all to bring it to him. Because of the sacrifice they were willing to make. Because of the price they were willing to pay he knew that to just drink it would profane the honor they had paid him. He looked at it with reverence and he poured it out as an offering to God.

Think about the altar. Think about the sacrifice that was made to give us this place of access to God. The place where we can meet with Him, where we can answer the His call on our lives. Jesus’ blood was poured out to tear down the veil of separation and gives this meeting place to contend for victory. The altar is as holy a place as the place where David poured out that water.

The altar is the place where people can be delivered from sin. It’s the place where we can begin to turn the tide on the destruction of our lives; on our self-loathing. It’s the place where we can contend for victory in the battles we face in life. It’s the place that he paid for when he died to give us access to God through him. It’s covered with Blood. It’s sacred. It’s Holy ground.

The Spirit of Not Enough

Have you ever felt like there just wasn’t enough time in a day? That you have more things to do than you have time to do them. When you’re looking at the bills do you think to yourself, "There just isn’t enough money to pay them all"? Are you so tired from work and all the other things that have to be done that you just can’t make it to church?

Where are you going to get the energy, there's just not enough; time, money or energy to do everything that has to be done. But the problem is that there 's a calling on your life. God has a plan and a purpose for you. As a Christian there are commands that are placed on our lives. God has a plan for us but it is in addition to all the other things we need to do. We have to work to put food on the table. We have to go shopping, get the kids to school, and be a part of their extra-curricular activities. This is just life, not to mention the demands that are made on you for other things. Is it just me or does everybody seem to have their hand in your pocket?

God isn't asking you if you have enough time, money or energy to do what he has commanded you to do. he didn't ask, "Is it possible, if you have enough time that you could do me a favor?" He just said go do it. It's up to us to figure out how to make it all work.

I believe that this feeling that we have that there's not time or resources is one of the spirits of the age. It is the "Spirit of Not Enough." Think about this for a moment , this is the most properous generation in the history of mankind and yet one of the things we always here is, "I don't have enough.: There is never enough.

One of the things I hear all the time as I witness to people is, "I'll come to church, when I have time." I used to have conversations with the people I worked with. They’d tell me about the stuff they saw on TV the night before; they’d tell me about the weekends they spent playing, going fishing on Sunday morning, parties, just sleeping late. But when I’d invite them to church they always said, “I work too much…I’m too busy.”

That's a lie from the pit of hell. It's designed to stall the work of God and to keep us from stepping out in faith. It takes faith to come to church regularly. It takes faith that all the bills will get paid and all the things will get done while taking time out to attend church or be involved in the work of the church. The lie is designed to keep us from seeing the will of God for our lives.

But we can overcome the "Spirit of Not Enough." We can remove that spirit from our lives. Look at this in the Book of First Kings:

1 Kings 17:8-16
8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.”11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”12 So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.14 “For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’ ”15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.

The Spirit of Not Enough

At this time in Israel there is a great drought. the drought has been brought on because the king, Ahab, has led the people away from God. he has turned them to false gods. The drought was an effort by Elijah, the prophet, to demonstrate the power of God.

1 Kings 17:1
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.”

So God brought on this drought throughout all of Israel and the surrounding areas or Tyre and Sidon. The widow lived in Sidon and our text tells us that God commanded her to provide for the prophet. Elijah follows God's will and goes to Zarephath. he meets the widow and asks for a drink, but as she goes to get the drink he stops her and says bring me a morsel of food.

She stops right there and say, "I don't have enough." I'm going to gather the firewood, then I'll cook our last meal and then we'll starve. She's looking at what she has, these are hard times, she's seeing that there isn't enough for her and her son. She doesn't want to share what she has. She’s just like us isn’t she? We are all guilty of this. The Bible says God commanded her. She’s a woman of God and has heard the command from God to meet the needs of the prophet and she’s willing to do that when she has enough, but when she doesn’t that's another story isn't it.

This is human nature. There are things we want, things we need, things we absolutely have to have. But we only have so much. Our paycheck is a finite amount, but the people trying to get a cut of it aren’t. There’s always somebody else who wants money.

There's never enough time, either. I don't have enough time for all the things I have to do. I can't get everything done, as it is, and now I'm being asked for more time to do other things. "I never get any rest. Up early for work and work all day. Three services a week, now they want another night for Bible Study and outreach. When do I get to rest?"

This is the widow's thinking, "I have barely enough for us and now you want a piece." "Who are you to ask for some of what we have?" She says this to Elijah, the man of God.

Elijah, in this text is a picture of Jesus. he is a type of Jesus Christ. Have you ever had Jesus interrupt your plans? You decide to spend the day at the beach or some other thing and God has a different plan for you that day? When you hear it you kind of complain to God, "I never have time like this. When do I get to have some time for myself?"

Doesn't it seem like time has compressed for us? Think about this, whatever happened to the 40 hour work week. It doesn't exist anymore. the world demands more of our time than ever before, but there's still the call of God, isn't there?

Elisha knows this woman is poor, it has to be pretty obvious, doesn't it. But he poses the question anyway. God does that. he knows our schedule. he knows what we've got to do. he knows about our financial situation, but he says, "Just one more thing...Can you reach into that little bag that you have for yourself and give it to me first?" He’s really asking, “What’s first in your life? Work; Your boss; the car, the mortgage?” The little bit that you have for yourself or me? We're crying, "There's only enough for me," and God is saying, "I need that little bit you have for my will to be done."

God is Doing Something in Elijah and in the Widow

God is doing something here in both Elijah and the widow. This is a test of faith for both of them. For Elijah, God says, "I have commanded a widow to provide for you." But when he gets there and sees this woman, she is down to her last meal. She hasn't got enough for her self and God is commanding here to provide for him. What would you think if you were Elijah?

For the widow, after today they starve, there's nothing left. Then the prophet shows up and says feed me first.

1 Kings 17:12-13
So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.

So she is faced with a test of faith, also. But there is a promise attached to her obedience, “For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth."

If she is obedient then God will ensure that she won't starve. he will provide for her needs until the crisis (drought) passes. There is a promise that is attached to our obedience as well. If we will respond to the command of God to give of ourselves.

John 10:10
10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy. he's the one who feeds us the line that we don't have enough. he's the one who tells us we can't give to the church and meet all of our own needs. he's the one who asks, "How can you give more of your time, or money, or yourself when there isn't enough for you?" He's the one who says that God asks for too much. He's the one who wants to steal your blessing. The devil doesn’t want you to get blessed. He wants you to feel like there’s too many demands from the church in your life. He wants you to think that it’s the pastor that’s asking too much. He wants you to think that all the things the church does are up to the Pastor to do. Because he wants you to miss out on the blessing that God has for you.

But Jesus says, "I have come to give life life and that more abundantly." he isn't coming to steal from us, he comes to bless us with abundance. The devil comes to steal but Jesus comes to give. he will give sufficient time, energy and resources to see his command done. That's what he does with this widow, if she will obediently feed the prophet, God will provide sufficient resources to see His command through. The same is true for us, not just in the realm of resources, but in the giving of ourselves, too.

Luke 6:38
38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

My friends at work used to tell me. You're doing too much, you're burning the candle at both ends. You're going to make yourself sick. But the truth was that i was more energetic and fit than any of them. Energy was imparted to me, because I was in the will of God. I spoke to a pastor friend, not long ago, who complained how tired and discouraged he was. What the conversation boiled down to was that he wasn't really doing what he was called to do. He had other plans working other pursuits. he wasn't really fulfilling the call of God in his life so he wasn't receiving anything back.

Have you ever noticed when you’re feeling lazy and you lay down, you begin to feel more and more tired? I don’t know why I’m so tired! When you sleep too much you just don’t feel like doing anything. When my kids don't want to do what they are asked to do, suddenly they have to have a nap; they get very tired. We're the same way, when we don't want to do what God is asking us to do, we get very tired. When I'm really busy, that's when I'm happiest. I have energy throughout the day.

The same is true with doing what God has called us to do. Outreach energizes. Seeing someone respond energizes. That's the vessel being refilled. That's God's response to our faith and faithfulness.

Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

This is the replenishment of the vessel. This is the promise behind the command. This is what having and abundant life means.

Living Life Abundantly

Elijah, is a type of Jesus here. he comes with a burden and a promise. The widow is struggling with the "Spirit of Not Enough," and yet in her response of faith she was replenished. This same thing is true for us. If we will respond to the call of God he will make his will possible for us.

We have a tendency to see the cup as half empty. "I have nothing left. There's nothing I can do. It's impossible!" Just remember this:

Mark 10:27
27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

Jesus will make a way for you if you will just step out in faith. Faith and obedience are the things that will overcome the "Spirit of Not Enough." Don't let that thief of old rob you of your blessing. Don't let him be the victor IN the struggle for obedience. He always appeals to the flesh: The part of us that wants to hoard things, like leisure time and money. Jesus always appeals to the higher things in our makeup, faithfulness, character, and selflessness. Which of those is easier to respond to? But which has blessing and promise attached? Which one tears down and which one elevates? The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, Jesus comes to elevate us. Jesus comes with the promise of replenishment. He will sustain us.