The Refuge Of Righteousness - Blogs

Seedtime and Harvest

no@spam.com (Fern Poyser) — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:00:00 CDT

Nothing comes to the world fully grown. All plants start with a seed. People start as seeds, also grown into babies in the womb an then come into the world needing parents to bring them to adulthood. Businesses start as ideas. Huge churches start with one person being called. Everything that God brings into the world, he brings in small so that the person nurturing and mentoring the seed will grow as the baby, business, career or ministry grows.

Don't Despise the Wilderness

no@spam.com (Fern Poyser) — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:00:00 CDT

Seeds always grow in the dark richness of the soil in which they are planted. Seeds grow in darkness, because when a seed is planted into the ground, for a season the seed is in darkness before it sends its leaves to the surface in search of light. Nobody likes the dark period, but it's in the dark period the power is released for you to spring forth. When the seed is underneath the soil, somthing happens. You could leave the seed on top of the soil and nothing would ever happen except tht it would be eaten by a bird or other animal. The seed fares poorly on the top of the ground. It has to get inside of the soil for it to really take root, and deep inside the soil is a dark, dark place.

Greatness always starts with darkness. On the way to anything worth doing, there will be times of darkness. In the Bible these often come in the wilderness. These are times when your resolve, commitment, maturity and discipline are tested before you can go on to the next period of fruitfulness in your life. Not even Jesus escaped this. Before His ministry began, the Bible tells us of his tests in the wilderness with the devil (Luke 4:1-2, 13-15).

After Jesus was baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit and God spoke his approval over him (You are my beloved son, in you I am well pleased), Jesus was ready to step right into his ministry with power, right? Wrong. Instead of being led out to preach, the Spirit of God led Him into the wilderness. There for 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus prayed and fasted. We have no record in the scriptures of God ever speaking to Him during this time; in fact, the only person who showed up was the devil! The Bible tells us that Jesus was tired and hungry and that was when Satan came to try to trip him up.

The wilderness is not a fun place. It is the place where you wanter looking for the right direction and wonder what is happening with God. Did you do something to offend Him? Has he abandoned you? Or is He just busy with more important people? Did you really hear correctly in the first place?

The wilderness is a place where you are hungry, where you long to see God move in your financial situation for it to straighten out, where you are tired from working long hours and working so hard for such small results. It is also a place where hearing from God was not as it had been before. You pray for direction and guidance and it seemed God was ignoring those prayers. And just as it happened with Jesus after 40 days of praying and fasting and calling on God, the devil was the only one who showed up.

The wilderness was a testing and training place to see if you are ready to handle more power and responsibility from God.

When Jesus' time of testing was over, he returned in the power of the spirit to Galilee, he had new power in his words and his fame spread instantly, God's favor was also upon Him as it never had been before while he was on the earth. Jesus faithfulness and continued commitment in the wilderness won him access to more of God's miracle working power as he resisted and defeated the devil with the Word of God.

If we can show the same faithfulnews and commitment through our wilderness times, then it will open up new power and authority in our walk as well as accomplish the destiny God has put within us.

Jesus is our pattern. Do we want to walk in more power? Do we want to know the will of God and speak nothing but what God tells us to say? Then we need to be in prayer constantly and daily just as Jesus was, and we need to know the Word of God until it oozes out of every pore. That way, when we are tempted, we respond with God'w Word; when we are in crisis, we respond with God's Word; when we are stressed, we respond with God's Word; and regardless of what happens, the Word of God is the first thing that comes to our minds an to our mouths.

When you are led by the Spriit into the wilderness as Jesus was, then it is a test to prepare you for promotion. It is a temporary holding place to make sure you can handle the power and responsibility that god is about to release upon your life. Do you have the commitment and resolve to see it through despite persecution and hardships? Do you have the discipline not to get caught up with the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, or lusts for other things and keep your priorities straight? Do you hav ethe maturity to press on with what God has already put in your heart and not waver because you haven't had a "fresh word" from him lately? Or are you so hungry for God's voice that you will push to hear any voice regardless of whether it agrees with the Bible or not?

We can only pass the wilderness tests if we stick to God's Word and continue to seek intimacy with Him through the entire experience. If you pass the test, you are ready to be promoted to the next level.

All Destinies Start in Service to Others

no@spam.com (Fern Poyser) — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:00:00 CDT

Joseph had a tream from God that he would be a leader in his family. So when he was told by his father to deliver a essage to his older brothers, he took it as a mandate to supervise and boss them around. In his arrogance, he did nothing but alienate the very people he was supposed to lead. What was he missing? A servant's heart.

Then his brothers sold him into Egypt where God could teach him to be a servant by having him live as a slave.

Moses thought he could make God's calling on his life happen through the strength of his own hand. Instead of jump starting his destiny, however, he was chased away as a murderer. So God took him to the backside of the desert where he learned to be a shepherd taking care of someone else's sheep. Forty years later, once he had a servant's heart, God called him back tohis original destiny of delivering God's people from slavery in Egypt.

Jesus said "For even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)

Do you want God to promote you into your destiny and call others to serve you in it? Then you need to find another person's destiny that you can serve faithfully and into which you can sow your time, talent, and treasure so that God can build you up into what He needs you to be. You need to pray for it, speak the Word and truth over it and see it prosper and flourish, whether it is a ministry, a job, your family, or something you are volunteering your time for. And when you do so faithfully, God will notice and call you into what He has wanted to give you since before you were born. If you are faithful over little, he will promote you into bigger things.

The "Check" in Your Spirit

no@spam.com (Fern Poyser) — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:00:00 CDT

Experiencing the peace of God inside is a guide. If you start to do something and you feel like you have no peace about that decision - in other words, you feel really uncomfortable about the idea, and you know it is not fear or lack of confidence making you feel apprehensive - then that is probably not a direction that God wants you to go in.

A lot of believers call that a "check" in the Spirit. They decide to do something and then wait to see how their heart feels about it. If they have peace about it, thenit is a go. If they don't, then it is a no.

Entering Your Destiny - Know The Season

no@spam.com (Fern Poyser) — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:00:00 CDT

Sometimes if we are comfortable where we are and suddenly we start to change and where we were comfortable before, we grow restless. Everything that had felt so right before starts to feel out of sync. This means God is changing your heart and in doing so He was reawaking the true destiny He has for us. God thinks we are now ready for the next level.

Just as there are phases or seasons in our lives as we grow up, there are phases or seasons in realizing our God-given destinies. If we fail to "pass" the tests of the season we are in, it can keep us from moving on to the next. We have to realize as the seasons change, so will many other things in our lives. God gives us a grace to be in the place we are supposed to be, but then the time to be in that place ends, so will the grace. When it is time for you to move on, the grace will begin to lift and you will become restless.

Intimacy with God

no@spam.com (Fern Poyser) — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:00:00 CDT

If we spend all of our time listening to what other people know of God and never spend any time with Him ourselves, do we have much hope of ever really hearing from Him for ourselves?

One of the first keys to developing a relationship with Jesus is getting into His Word. In the books of the Bible - especially the stories of Jesus and the letters written by Paul and the other apostles - God Himself writes to us, letting usknow what He thinks is important and telling us stories of all those through the years who have been courageous enough to draw close to Him and do His will. In getting into His Word, it is also good to get into Bible studies and sit under the teaching of others to learn what they know and how it has changed their lives. God has called us to need each other and learn from each other as fellow believers and we need that constant interaction to make us stronger.

Prayer is a two-way communication. Not only do we need to spend time talking - but we also need to listen. We need to do more than present our requests and needs to God; we need to let His requests and needs touch our hearts. We need to let His passion and energy soak into our hearts.

Then we need to get into His presence. When His people gather together and lift their voices to Him in praise and worship, that act of worship creates room for Him to come and be with them.

When we are willing to lay aside our own needs and desires for a time to come before God and sing our thanksgiving and praises to Him, it allows Him to fill us afresh with His Spirit, speak to us, and touch our lives.

The closer we draw to Him, the more we learn to recognize His voice, the easier it will be for Him to speak to us directly and go guide us into the abundant life He wants for us.

We can miss the SUPERNATURAL by seeking the SPECTACULAR. We want a dream or a vision, but all God gives us is an impression, and we end up missing Him not because He is silent, but because we are trying to control the way He speaks to us.

Deliverance From Addictions

no@spam.com (Fern Poyser) — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:00:00 CDT

For one thing, while my addiction to cocaine disappeared overnight, other habits I had formed did not. I was still bound to cigarettes. My body was still hooked on nicotine even after Jesus miraculously delivered me from cocaine addiction. I really struggled against lighting up. In my heart I didn't want to smoke anymore, but there I would be, still smoking regularly, but doing it with tears streaming down my face because I wanted to stop so badly. I would get so angry about it that I would throw my last pack of cigarettes out the window on the way home, only to rush back out soon after and buy another pack!

HOW DELIVERANCE COMES

As I learned to pray, study and live the Word, and as I worshipped God with my whole heart, gradually I changed on the inside to such an extent that at the end of that time I could finally set that pack of cigarettes down and not pick them up again. Through my discipline in the Word and prayer, I had formed new spiritual strength inside of me that gave me the self-control to beat nicotine - my spirit had become strong enough to overrule my physical desires. It was just as miraculous as what had happened to me with drugs, but it took longer to come because there were things I had to do and to believe to be changed. Yet when I finally did set them down, I kicked them just as much as I had kicked drugs out of my life.

God Cares More About Your Future Than He Does About Your Past

no@spam.com (Fern Poyser) — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:00:00 CDT

You can't drive a car forward by looking backward all the time. If you try, you will crash! Even though the average driver travels twelve thousand miles a year moving forward for one mile in reverse, more accidents happen while backing up than while going forward. Keep your eyes focused on where you are going!

When you are driving a car, have you ever noticed how big your windshield is compared to how big your rearview mirror is? Your rear view mirror is tiny compared to all the windows that are put in the car so that you can see out. Why is that? Because that is how much more important WHERE YOU ARE GOING is than WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN.

Certainly we can look back and learn from the mistakes or triumphs we have had in the past, but we don't spend all our time looking in the rear view mirror. If we did, we would crash into whatever is just ahead of us. We only need to take a glimpse at what is behind us every once in a while to make sure it doesn't creep up on us unawares. The rest of the time we spend looking at where we are going, check ing our dashboard to see how fast we are heading there, and checking the engine gauges and lights tomake sure all is running smoothly. We make sure we have enough gas and that the air is the right temperature. We play the right kind of music on the radio.

Destiny is not about where we have been, it's about what we are doing now in the present to make sure we are headed where God wants us to go in the future.

Let God's Word Abide in You

no@spam.com (Fern Poyser) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:00:00 CDT

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. John 15:7 (KJV)

It is important to take time to meditate the word of God before you pray about a certain issue. Meditating in the Word on healing, for example, causes faith to come to you for healing. When you read the scriptures in which Jesus laid hands on the sick and healed them, and think about it, and meditate on it, you will begin to see yourself healed when hands are laid on you. That is seeing yourself healed by faith. That is God's word abiding in you.

You should never hear the Word about healing, have hands laid upon you, and just stop there. If that's the case, there is no scripture to abide in you, and the healing you received may slip away from you. The Word in you needs to be "watered." That means you read the Scriptures daily to fill yours elf with the word of God. Without your effort of getting God's word in your heart, the word that is in there will not have any roots. So you get your healing, but then you lose it. Why? God's word isn't abiding in you.

The Word abide means to take up residence; to dwell in. Why would His words have to abide in us? God's words must abide in you because they are the power. If you are praying without the power source you are not going to get any production. What is the production you're looking for? Faith. Jesus said, "If ye abide in Me, My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will." We know the word of God teaches that you can't ask for anything except by faith. That is why he or she that comes to God must believe. When you are asking you are asking of God. You are coming to God. So for you to ask you must ask in faith. But if you have no Word in your spirit, you have no faith, because faith comes from the word of God.

Now you can get healed. You can hear it, believe it and get healed. But for you to keep it you have to meditate in the word of God, because Satan comes immediately for the word. In order to obtain your desire and keep it, you must be firmly persuaded that you have what God promised. A lot of times people are quick to say, "I abide in Him. Now it's time to ask." However, unless you've taken the time to get the scriptures in your heart, there will be no faith produced in you. I like to say it this way: No Word, no faith.

When the Word is abiding in you, you become firmly persuaded that you have what you are asking for before you even see it. Where do you get that firm persuasion from? The Word. The Word produces confidence in your spirit. The Word produces faith. It makes you more grounded in what God is saying, and more grounded in the fact that if God said it, then it is so. If God said it, then the power is present to bring it to pass.

Scripture References: Joshua 1:8; Romans 4:18-21; Hebrews 11:6

[Courtesy: Bishop Keith Butler]

The Difference Between Being Lost and Being Led

no@spam.com (Fern Poyser) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:00:00 CDT

"Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness” (Exodus 15:22).

Many people who find themselves stuck in difficult situations often feel as if they've become lost. Somehow, they've arrived in a wilderness where everything has dried up and nothing seems to be growing. Many of them have lived in this wilderness for so long that they have given up on things changing and concluded that this must be all God has in store for them. On numerous occasions, they have attempted to change their situation, but all of their efforts have failed. If this sounds like you, you may not be lost at all! You may be squarely within the Will of God. All dry places in life are not the result of being lost. Sometimes God uses dry places as a place of preparation.

In Exodus 3:8, when God met Moses at the burning bush, He told him that He was going to deliver His people from bondage and into a land flowing with "milk and honey”. Yet, we know when God delivered His people from bondage, He led them directly into a "wilderness” where they spent 40 years. We know that their wilderness experience had a purpose because the Bible tells us that there was a shorter route available that they could have taken and avoided the wilderness altogether. Exodus 13:17 says, "God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near."

Whenever God leads you some where He has a purpose and a predestined place for you, even if the route is a long or a dry one.

Often, your wilderness is the doorway to your promise. At the initiation of Jesus' public ministry He was led into the wilderness first before He ever preached a sermon. If you are in a wilderness right now, remember what you learned while there because it will be necessary to sustain you in your Promised Land. Don't faint or lose heart. You may be at the door of your promise and purpose. You may not have been lost at all. You may have simply been led!

[Courtesy: Rev. James C. Matthews]