The Shepherd and A Lost Sheep...

What a glorious day in the presence of the Lord, and wonderful fellowship with the people of God! I stand in awe of the power of God’s Word, the gift of the Holy Spirit to penetrate His truth through the strong holds of the enemies lies. After having dinner with friends Tom and I pull up on the bike and this man, to whom we have known for several years approaches us and ask for prayer. It is evident in this man’s demeanor he is a victim of child abuse, and tormented within his mind. He begins to share his story with us, to which I am not going into detail, but to say that it was very violent. But I must share this with you, this man has come in and out of the Jesus House for years. He is not homeless, he lives within our neighborhood. Over the last 5 weeks, I have seen the Holy Spirit drawing him into the Jesus House. He would walk by and just stare at the building, then he would come in, but not stay long. And today, he came to our worship service. The message was a teaching of the 23rd Psalm. Keep this in mind as I tell the rest of this story. I am off the bike, Tom is still on the bike, and our friend is standing between us. We hold hands and begin to pray for him. After prayer he beings to confess to us the dark places of his soul and went into detail of his abuse. He tells us that all he wants is peace, because his mind is filled with voices from within and without, tormenting him to the place where he said he was sitting at home, ready to end his life. He remember the message from the service; the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want and something came over him and he left his house to go for a walk, and just at the right time, God’s time, Tom and I pull up on the bike…he knew when he saw us he had to talk with us, he desperately need us to pray for him. I shared with him that Jesus is near the broken hearted to heal them, and He desires for him to receive His peace and to know the peace of God that passes all our understanding. The peace that only Jesus can breathe upon us, and I asked him, “do you believe this, and do you believe Jesus will do this for you?” He says, “No, I don’t believe.” He continues to talk about his abuse. As I listen my heart is moved with compassion and the Spirit of the Lord rises up in me and I ask him if I could pray for him again, this time to lay my hands upon him…I felt compelled to lay my hands upon his ears. I begin to pray over his mind. The power of the Lord’s presence came upon him and he beings to weep…after praying with him, he says, “do you know what happened to me when I was eight years old,/ He repeats, “Do you know what happened to me when I was eight years old? I was singing a song, and my mother told me I had blasphemy the Holy Spirit and I was eternally dammed to hell.” He bent over holding his stomach, his soul filled with anguish and his voice cracked with so much pain. Can you imagine carrying this lie in your soul for so many hears? Can you imagine the torment from the enemy within your mind? This man has lived his life thinking he was eternally dammed and there was nothing he could do to change it… Tom and I walked him through the truth of God’s Word, and he received the understanding that he had not done what his mother had put upon him for so many years…He has carried the guilt and fear of this since he was eight years old. Now in his mid to late forty’s and for the first time he confessed it before God, and he confessed it to us and His ears heard, his eyes could see, and his heart began to understand that he could let this guilt and shame go. If you bring the lies, the fears, and the inner torment out into the light, the devil cannot play with you in dark…Glory! The 23rd Psalm message that I shared today, this man spoke it to me in the parking lot behind the Jesus House. He said, I am that lost sheep carrying the weight of wool that has not been sheered. I am the “cast sheep” I am the torment sheep banging my head trying to stop the pain. He tells us, “My counselors have stamped me as Crazy…but I heard your message, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still waters. He RESTORES my soul!!!” I told him that Jesus did not stamp him crazy, that Jesus has covered him with his own blood. He is made in the image and likeness of God. Jesus is the only one who can lift the burden off of us. My friend, says...ok. I am going to go for a walk and think about this, and talk with Jesus! Please join me in prayer tonight for my friend…the Lord knows His name. Today message, Psalm 23 verse’s 1 through 3. I can’t wait for next week’s message as the Holy Spirit reveals verse’s 4, 5, and 6...GLORY!!!

R.I.P.

The Word of the Lord said, "forget the things that are behind you", I said, "Yes Lord, I will!” (Philippians 4:13) The Word of the Lord said, "In Christ I am a new creature; old things have passed away, all things have become new", I said, "Yes Lord, I am!" (2 Corinthians 5:17) I turned the page of my sinful life closing the chapter ~ Never to dwell in it again, only to lay aside every weight and sin, as I look unto Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of my faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2) I don't believe one should make peace with their past, for it would be like making a peace-treaty with the enemy. The only peace that needs to be made is the peace between us and our Creator. To which God has done through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ…Colossians 1:20-21 “And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile ALL things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be thing in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet NOW hath He reconciled.” Therefore, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1) The Lord desires for us to Hear His Word and to Hearken to His voice, He shall be our God and we shall be His people. He instructs us to NOT walk in the counsels and in the imagination of our own evil heart, for if we do, we will fall backwards, and not move forward…(Jeremiah 7:23-24) God tells Moses to say to His people as they are facing the Red Sea, “Fear Not, Stand Still, and See the Salvation of the Lord, which He will show you this day; for the Egyptians, ‘your past’…you shall see them NO MORE, forever!” Therefore, Speak to my people and tell them to “MOVE FORWARD!” (Exodus 14:13-15) If we are mindful of what we come out of “our past” then we will have an opportunity to return, but NOW, we should desire a better country, that is an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared for us a city!!! (Hebrews 11:15-16) Now the Just shall LIVE by FAITH; but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we ARE NOT of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:38-39) May the same Spirit that moved open the face of the water, and God said let there be, and there was, and it was GOOD, move within you by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit; which He shed on us ABUNDANTLY through Jesus Christ our Savior. (Titus 3:5-6) May the same Spirit that raised Christ from the depths of hell, raise you up leaving your past to "R.I.P." “For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God” Therefore, “the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you.” (Colossians 3:3, Romans 8:11) Turn the Page of your past and SEE, that your story is written within the pages of His story…”for whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the VICTORY that overcomes the world, even our FAITH. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God!” (1 John5:4-5) If you believe Jesus is the Son of God let your past, R.I.P…GLORY