Hi all,
Back then Barb and I were teenagers eager to be used of the Lord in ministry, but destined for the university where my parents had gone and where her brother and sister had gone. This did not seem to fit the larger picture of the Lord's call on our lives. But, lacking any direct word from the Lord otherwise, I did what was right in the natural and headed for college. Barb was a year behind me in high school, so she finished up her senior year while I was a freshman about 2 1/2 hours away, then started university the next year while I was starting my second year of college.
 
I lived in a fraternity and she was rooming with her best friend in a dormitory, but we met together a couple nights each week and prayed about what we were to do. We were in university for our parent's but our hearts were for ministry, and seeking the Lord for direction, for some word about our future. One night in September of 1977, a month after Barb had arrived on campus for her freshman year at the university, we met for prayer in my room in the fraternity house. 
 
She was kneeling on the floor worshipping and I was seated worshipping, and suddenly we each had words from the Lord. She was suddenly in the Spirit and standing  before the Lord on a mountain, looking at Him. He put His hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around to view the vast prairie stretching out before the mountains on which she and He were standing. The prairie was covered with a vast field of golden heads of wheat, and when she looked at each head of grain she saw each was a human face, and the Lord told her we were called to the end time harvest.
 
At the same time this was going on, the Lord was talking to me about our future. He said He would send us to Boulder, Colorado, and that my dad was going to cut off funding for school at the winter break, and to spend time fasting and prayer for He would teach me about healing during that time until the timing was complete, and then He would send me out. He also said, "You may be married about a year from now." That part I kept from Barb, but the rest we shared with each other. 
 
We wanted with all our hearts to quit university and start 'ministry' whatever that might be in the midst of the charismatic renewal of the 1970's. But we weren't going to make such a monumental decision without a word from the Lord first. 
 
Faith versus presumption
There are 2 Greek words concerning us today about the word, 'word'. One is logos, and means the whole counsel of God. It is used of Jesus in John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God." Logos is the Genesis through The Revelation counsel of God and the Person of the Word of the Lord. 
 
The other word is rhema, which comes out of the logos to be a specific word to a person. That rhema can come in various forms; vision, word, quickening, witness, something perceived or discerned in one's spirit, and so on, all used to convey the truth that God has communicated something specific to a person out of the logos. A rhema is a specific word to a person from God to you, even if that word is peace, or a witness, or even a heavy feeling in your spirit conveying 'don't do this'. 
 
It is rhema in Romans 10:17 when Paul wrote "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word (rhema) of God." Faith does not come by reading the logos, nor picking and choosing a verse to stand on. Faith comes when God communicates something specific, a rhema, from Him to you. Within rhema there is peace, provision, faith, grace, and so much more - if He communicates to you then all you need to fulfill the word, to accomplish that task, is open to you for the asking.
 
Jesus in John 15:7: "If you abide in me and my (rhema) words abide in you, then you may ask what you will and it will be done for you." What the disciples heard from the Greek is this: "If you stay in me and the specific words I've spoken to you stay in you, you may ask anything you want according to those words and it will be done for you."
 
Here is where we've missed it
Many read this verse not understanding the Greek, leading them to conclude if they just abide in the Lord enough, if they just learn enough, if they just walk in enough purity enough, then anything they ask will be done - but that is NOT what Jesus said. He said if you abide in a specific word from Him or the Father to you, then you can ask anything (according to that specific word) and it will be done for you.
 
Consider Noah who received a rhema word the earth would flood and he needed to build the ark. Within that word as he abided in it, stayed in it, was all he needed, and anything he needed to fulfill the word was his for the asking - he needed time, materials, and so on to accomplish the word - and it was his. 
 
The same is true of Abraham who was called to be a father of nations, so he and Sarah were given the ability to conceive and be delivered of a baby boy. Moses was called to deliver Israel, so he was given the signs and wonders required to do the job, Joshua who received a word about taking Jericho, and on it goes. Each person of faith was in faith because they responded to a rhema word God had given them. They didn't just pick a verse or decide on their own to be 'in faith'. They responded to a specific word.  
 
If you will examine your life you will see anything you had a direct word from the Lord on, flowed and was very peaceful. That is how a rhema works, that is what faith feels like - peace and rest. That is what Barb and I received that September evening in 1977, and it all came to pass and is in process of coming to pass even now. 
 
We have never made a major decision in life without having first received a rhema from the Father or Lord. The 1 time I did it nearly cost my wife her life. Hard lesson to learn, but it was learned. 
 
Call to remembrance former words, revelations, things sensed in your spirit
At the start of this series I mentioned 2 examples of people who 'stood' on specific words to them: Paul and Barnabus who said a verse in Isaiah originally about the Messiah was lifted by the Lord from Isaiah's prophecy about Messiah and told by Him that verse was also for them, and Peter who was told in the 40 days after Jesus' resurrection that when he would be old he would be crucified for his faith. 
 
Neither of them received those words right at the moment of intense need - they had received those words years earlier. Most often we get into a situation and then we go to the Lord for a 'word'. The practice of Peter and Paul above though was to 'stand' on words from years earlier, earlier revelation about their lives, not on something given by the Lord right in the middle of intense moments. Praise the Lord for those, but these examples were of those who pulled on words earlier in their lives, revelation that was still stirring in their spirits, on which to 'stand'.  
 
I've had a Bible since 1978 that I've had rebound 2x, and even now has duct tape on the spine because it is falling apart. But within those pages are highlighted verses, notes, and dates next to some verses marking the time a verse was quickened to me, jumped out at me, provided some revelation or promise. When I stand on the Word for healing for myself, I do so not on a current revelation, but on revelation received January through March of 1978 when the Lord had told me at university that my dad would cut off funding for school and to spend time fasting and praying and He would teach me about healing...he did, I did, and then He did. I stir up past revelation by remembering it, going over those same passages, in my mind going back to that time and once again feeling the rush of excitement in my spirit.
 
Peter said in I Peter 1:23 we are born again of incorruptible seed, meaning it never deteriorates, never decreases in power or relevance. That seed is a rhema word to us about who Jesus is, and our response was faith in Him and the giving of our lives for Him, and we continue to walk in that seed to this day. 
 
That seed, that word, is incorruptible. So if you received revelation as I did in 1978 about healing, and then need that healing power of God in 2017, go back as Paul and Barnabus and Peter did to words years earlier, and renew your time in them, recall that rush of revelation, stir yourself up in that incorruptible seed in you - it is still a living Word and able to be used of God to you in your current situation. 
 
So many spend time looking for a current 'Word' they neglect all their notes written and memories gained from revelation years earlier. KNOW what the Lord has spoken to you in years past. Hold on to them, they are incorruptible revelations, just as full of power now as they were then. You don't need to pick and choose a verse to stand on, you can go back to the living revelation from years past, or if needed, do spend time in worship for something current...but either way, learn to walk with Him thereby living in revelation for your life. 
 
New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

Hi all,
When I was a teenager and was left to babysit my little brothers and sister while our mom went to night school to complete her MBA (after dad walked out of our family), my authority was often questioned when I told them mom said bedtime was 8:30 (20:30). 
 
The Parable of the 'Word of the Mom'
When they got angry with me I told them "Mom said it was 8:30", meaning my word to them was not my own, but mom's. My command was the 'word of the Mom' coming through me. I was 'the word of the mom', so if they wanted to change their bedtime it wasn't me they needed to ask, I was merely the intermediary, the go-between. 
 
They had to go to mom for requests, not me. I had the authority to carry out mom's orders, for all authority in house and yard had been given me by mom, but mom was the source of my authority though she'd given it into my hands. But as to the times and seasons of their bedtimes, that was within mom's authority, not mine. Understand the parable? 
 
"In that day you'll ask me (Jesus) nothing, but I say to you ask the Father in my name and He will give you all...for the Father loves you..." "All authority is given to me in heaven and earth, therefore go..." "And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with and confirming the Word with signs following."  John 16:23-39, Matthew 28:18, Mark 16:20
 
(Some versions say 'the Lord worked with THEM and confirmed the word with signs following, but the Greek says 'the Lord worked with and confirmed the Word..." BIG difference. He doesn't work with us, He works with the Word of the Father. We have authority, but the Father has the power. Unless you know the power is immediately available you shouldn't try to operate in authority.)
 
The Source of the power of the name of Jesus
That is the grammatical structure and theological understanding when we read 'The Word of the Lord' or 'The Word of God (Father)'. The Person called the Word, is simply that, the Word of the Father God the way my word was the word of mom. He Himself, the Word, derives His power from the Source of that Word - the Father. 
 
"Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave Me (Jesus), so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them I protected them and kept them safe by the name (Jesus) you gave to me." John 17: 7-8, 11-12
 
Notice 'the name which you gave me', and an editorial comment here - Jesus said His name was given to us so that we might be one. How often His name is used against one another (though He isn't in that)! Sad. 
 
We use His name against demons, we use His name to lay hands on the sick, but how often have you thought of rallying around that name that we may be one. That is why I have to tell house churches over and over, when you come together you don't allow discussion about your differences and your different beliefs, you gather to focus on the One, on what and Who you have in common - that is the word 'fellowship' or 'koinonia', meaning 'common or all things common'. He is our focus, not your differences. 
 
Angels cannot use the name of Jesus because He didn't die for them. Even the greatest angel of all, Michael, the one who guards Israel*, had to rebuke the devil saying 'the Lord rebukes you**' - angels don't have the authority to use the name of Jesus, but humans do because Jesus died for us. *Daniel 12:1, **Jude 9
 
(It is actually an insult to the Lord albeit usually in ignorant disobedience by well meaning believers for a Christian to say 'the Lord rebukes you' against a demon. Jesus said we are to cast demons out using His name - to lay that name down is direct disobedience to Jesus, and an insult against the work of the cross to lower oneself as if you don't have the right to use the name. You're not an angel, you're a human, so use the name and tell demons to go! You don't pray against demons, you command them out!!!)
 
Hebrews 1:1-3 when speaking of Jesus Christ:
"God has spoken to us in these last days through His Son...He is the impressed image of (God) the Father, the exact representation of His (the Father's) nature, and upholds all things by the Word of His (the Father's) power." 
 
Notice that is not 'the power of the Word'. Jesus the Word of the Father has no power without the Father. John the Babysitter had no power of his own. The power was within 'the Mom', lol. If they had issue with their bedtime I really had no say in the matter, I was merely the word of the mom. Take it up with her. 
 
Jesus is by nature, the Father's Word to us - herein revealing yet another error we've been taught and believed. That error being the Word alone has power, and even the error that the mere ink on paper Word has power in and of itself- wrong. If the ink and paper Word had power in an of itself anyone who read the Bible would be saved, as mentioned earlier in this series. That is not the case. 
 
From that error comes declarations and speaking the word 1,000 times in the hope that maybe 1 of those times it will 'work', also included is casting out demons using the name of Jesus dozens of times, also laying hands on people saying, yelling, screaming the name of Jesus over and over, or in prayers over and over...all that demonstrates is the person praying has no power and worse, has no real faith in that most powerful name, nor do they have a clue what the Holy Spirit wants and how He is leading at that moment. If they did, they would know they were moving with the Spirit and 1 mention of that name, 1 command using that name, is all that is required. Sigh. 
 
Many, many Christians are like what Jesus described in Matthew 6: 7: "When you pray don't use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words." His reference to 'Gentiles' means the unsaved, those who worship other gods who think the gods will hear them if they talk loud and long enough. Sounds like a normal altar call at any number of charismatic 'outpourings'. 
 
But if you want to lay aside that error and walk with the Father and Lord you'll realize Christ is in you, and all you have to do is turn your thoughts to Him and He is there - no shouting required. When you stop thinking God the Father is 'out there' and start walking with Him in the truth He is 'in there', a whole new world will open to you. 
 
Listen to the prayers of others in your circle of Christian friends, or in media, or draw on memories of altar calls past. See how little faith in the most powerful name they demonstrate. Look at how they place their faith in formulas rather than zeroing in on what the Father wants, and then 1 time speaking and casting the demon out, or commanding healing. And how many ask Jesus for things rather than the Father - which is what Jesus commanded, and what the apostles followed.
 
The reason they don't have faith in the name is they lack real revelation of Him, and they lack truly knowing the Father from whom all good things flow. Know the Father, determine His will, know where He wants to direct His power, THEN AND ONLY THEN can you flow in the authority that is yours, to effect the Father's will in heaven is done on earth. Period.
 
Jesus by Himself isn't the power source - He is merely the Word of the Father's power. So you have to know the Father and what He wants in order to flow with Jesus and use the weapons of our warfare effectively and correctly. You have no power in and of yourself. Know the Father, ascertain where He wants to direct it, step out as the Head of the body directs, and the Spirit will cause the Father's power to flow into that situation. Until then, shut up. Stay before the Father until you know, until you feel to go in a certain way, until you determine where the peace is, then follow it. Wait. Linger. Don't be afraid of the silence. 
 
He upholds things by the word of the Father's power in the same way I kept by brothers and sister in line using the word of our mother. I was the word of mom to them. I had no power, just authority, but power was mom's and the authority she gave me was first hers. She would only flow with my commands in her name according to how those commands flowed with her will. If I commanded them to stand up until 10pm (22:00) I had no power behind me, therefore no authority, therefore mom's power didn't flow to them.
 
Jesus's power and authority come from the Father. Again, the power is the Father's, who has given the Son authority to use the power. 
 
We'll pick it up there next week...how to balance next week, Blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]
 
 

Hi all,
Last week I shared the tradition of 'standing on the Word' and the examples in scripture of Peter and Paul who 'stood' based on personal revelation the Lord gave them for their situation and life, rather than thumbing through verses to find one that fit their situation. I ended asking where the Lord got His revelation. That may have caused some head scratching because we all assume the Lord Jesus is the source of the revelation - but is He?
 
"Unto us a son is given; unto us a child is born" is how Isaiah 9:6 starts in one of the most recognizable prophesies about the Lord Jesus Isaiah makes. Notice the dual nature of Messiah - He is the Son given, who became the child born. He is both 100% God and 100% man. What does that mean? 
 
The fact Jesus Christ is both the Son given and the child born is reflected in His name and title: Jesus refers to His humanity, the name given to Mary for the child in her womb. Christ is the anointed One of the Father. He is therefore Jesus Christ. The God-Man. 
 
Being God means He existed before He ever became the child born. He was Christ the Son first and foremost, who was later given to become the man Jesus. The fact the Father God gave Him is a clue as to whose revelation we are receiving from the Lord Jesus. In my series "I AM; Who Jesus is and Where He Came From" I go into detail concerning the origins of the Father-Son relationship and Christ's appearances in the Old Testament, but I'll hit some high points here. 
 
Understanding the Word of the Lord
In I Samuel 3 it opens saying "The Word of the Lord was rare in those days, there was no open vision", to establish the context for what is about to happen. This classifies for us that a visitation from the Lord is called 'an open vision'. As we'll see, Samuel's eyes were wide open to see the natural, but he also saw the Lord in His realm. 
 
The boy Samuel is on his bed and he hears a voice call to him; "Samuel. Samuel." The boy gets out of bed and goes to the high priest, Eli, certain he had called to him. But Eli told him it wasn't him who had called, and this happens three times. Verse 7 is interesting in an explanation on why the boy didn't recognize the voice: "Samuel did not yet know the Lord; neither was the Word of the Lord yet revealed to him."
 
After the 3rd time Eli told Samuel to answer the voice and stay put, which he does. Verse 10 says this: "Then the Lord came and stood as He had at the other times, and said, 'Samuel, Samuel'." Notice - the Lord came and stood as He had the previous times. Who was this Lord that came to Samuel's bedroom that night? 
 
Verse 21 tells us: "The Lord appeared again in Shiloh to Samuel, for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel as the Word of the Lord." 
 
Samuel set the stage
Samuel was prophet in Israel in the time of the Judges for which that book is named. The time of Judges was after Joshua died but before Saul became King. Samuel was the last judge, for he anointed Saul and later David as kings. Other judges over the centuries of the time of the judges included Deborah, Samson, and Gideon. 
 
Samuel therefore being the prophet or Seer as he is called that* established the kingship of Israel, serving as the type of all prophets Israel would have. How the Lord treated this first prophet was how He treated all the rest of them in the OT. That is the reason the phrase 'the Word of the Lord' appeared to Samuel is important. *I Samuel 9:9, 13
 
Other 'Word of the Lord' mentions
The Lord appeared to Samuel who knew Him as the Word of the Lord - this is an appearance by the Son to be given, Christ, who appeared to him. We must keep this first and foremost, He is the Word from the Father God to people - the Word of the Lord (Father God). Jesus is not a 'stand alone' Person nor concept nor even are His Words written in pen and paper stand alone verses - they proceed from the Word and that Word proceeds from the Father. 
 
After Samuel the Lord appeared to his successors in the same way, as the Word of the Lord, and when you read 'The Word of the Lord came to..." it is vital to understand that is the Person of the Word of the Lord - Christ - and the proof is that when you see that phrase the prophet will say He talked to them, or Him appearing or something he saw. 
 
Consider...
"Jeremiah...to whom the Word of the Lord came...the Word of the Lord came to me and said before I formed you in the belly I knew you and called you...then the Lord stretched forth His hand and touched my mouth and said..." 1:1-9
 
"The Word of the Lord came specifically to Ezekiel...and I looked and a whirlwind came out of the north and a fire enfolding itself..." (His vision of the throne and cherubs) Ezekiel chapter 1
 
"The Word of the Lord who came to Micah...which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem..." Micah 1:1-2
 
"...came the Word of the Lord to Zechariah, saying..." Zechariah 1, in which he describes visions (actually through most of his book)
 
As I said earlier, I don't want to go into full detail and if you want more information you can listen to my "I AM" series, but understanding that starting with Samuel Christ appeared to the prophets as the Word of the Lord is important. 
 
John 1:1-14: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...and the Word became flesh and lived among us." 
 
The 'Word' he is talking about is that Word of the Lord who appeared to the prophets, and finally, after centuries appearing to prophets through the centuries, actually 'became flesh and lived among us.' WOW. He is the Word of the Father to man - up to now just specific prophets and people in the Old Testament. But He became human, for us all.
 
So that means...
The Person of the Word of the Lord, the Person of the Word of the Father, is our Lord Jesus Christ. To Adam He was the Lord God in the Garden of Eden. To Abraham He was Jehovah Jireh and El Shaddai, to Moses He was Jehovah Nissi (banner) and Rapha (healer) - but all those appearances before Samuel were unique and specific to the situation. Centuries later He appeared to Samuel as the summary of all those revelations of His character and more, as the totality of the Word of the Lord (Father) for man.
 
To Samuel He summed it up as the Word of the Lord (Father), and then THAT was summed up as the Word from the Father when He became conceived in Mary's womb as THE message from the Father - Peace on earth and good will TOWARDS men. 
 
That isn't peace man to man, but God the Father whose angelic army appeared to the Shepherds, said proof of His good will towards men is that His Word became flesh and lived among us. Amazing. So now we see that 'standing on the Word' certainly is not picking a verse ourselves upon which we stand our ground - the example through the centuries is that of men and women who received a specific Word of the Lord for their situation - in the NT we saw Paul and Peter.
 
Next week I'll close it out with more New Testament realities about the Word of the Lord who came to become that man...and where He gets His 'words' for us...until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]
 

Hi all,
Home after  church one day a mom found her little boy in his room, standing on top of his Children's Bible, feet together, arms wavily wildly as he tried to maintain balance. When the mom saw him she asked what he was doing, and he replied that he had been praying for a bicycle and his children's church pastor said you had to stand on the Word to get your prayers answered, so that is what he was doing. "Mom, do you know how long I have to stand on the Word before God gives me my bicycle?"
 
With results ranging from the humorous to the tragic, the phrase 'standing on the Word' has permeated most of Christian culture to such a degree that in some circles when people ask how someone is doing they might reply, 'Oh, you know, still standing on the Word' as some sort of measure of emotional and spiritual health. 
 
Enter man's tradition
Is there power in the ink and paper verse? No. If the Bible alone had power then anyone who read it would be saved, but we all know that doesn't happen. What makes the Bible so powerful? It is more than the concepts therein, it is that the Holy Spirit brings to life the words on the page. Without the Spirit making those words alive, you have just a 'book' called the Bible. 
 
So if you are 'standing' on a verse without the Holy Spirit having communicated to you that verse is for you, you are standing merely on ink and paper. But there is a solution. 
 
There was no New Testament to 'stand on' until the late 300's AD, some 250 years after the events we are so privileged to read about in our New Testament. Apostles Paul, Peter, James, John, and Jude were doing church in the house and writing their letters to people doing church in the house. They had no written scriptures other than Genesis through Malachi, for no one had yet written about the life of Jesus and their own letters were just then being copied for reading in (home based) churches.
 
When Paul wrote in his letter that became Ephesians 6:13-14 to put on the whole armor of God and having stood, stand against the wiles of the devil, he never actually said to 'stand on the Word'. Our stand is against the plans of the enemy. What Paul wrote became twisted through the 'Word of faith' movement of the 1980's to be taught as 'stand on the Word', having been repeated enough most Christians who believe it that think it is chapter and verse. But it isn't. This is: 
 
"Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil...for we wrestle not against flesh and blood...therefore take to yourself the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand on the evil day, and having done all to stand, stand therefore..." Ephesians 6:11-13 We stand against Satan's plan. How?
 
What DO we stand on? The truth in scripture
In Acts 13:45-48 Paul and Barnabus are teaching about Jesus and are strongly opposed by the unbelieving Jewish population of the city, and Paul makes this declaration: 
 
"It was necessary that the Word of God should first have been spoken to you; but seeing you put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, look! We turn to the Gentiles, for this is what the Lord commanded us, saying, 'I have set you to be a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.' 
 
The word that Paul said the Lord spoke to him that he quotes here, is Isaiah 49:6 in a prophesy about Messiah. The Lord lifted that verse to tell Paul it applied to him. Paul didn't open Isaiah to look for a verse that fit his life or situation. He didn't read it in his memory verses nor in his morning devotional. The Lord spoke that word to him. 
 
THAT is how we stand, we stand on fresh revelation which the Lord speaks to us for our situation. The Lord lifts verses and tells us, reveals to us, that verse is for us. WE don't make that decision. 
 
Revelation from the Lord on a particular verse is revelation from heaven, and the gates of hell cannot stand against revelation from heaven. Paul didn't thumb through the Old Testament to find a verse to 'stand on', He received revelation from the Lord. To do that, you have to know the Lord and walk with Him and pray about your situation until you get a 'Word' - not quickly use your daily memory verse because it just happens to fit - unless the Lord told, showed, revealed, communicated to you that it was for you.
 
In John 21:18 Jesus prophesies to Peter about how he would die, stating: "Truly I say to you, when you were young you dressed and walked wherever you wanted. But when you are old another will dress you and carry you to a place you don't want to go." The apostle John adding in v19: "This He spoke to signify what kind of death he would glorify God, and when He had said this to him, He said, "Follow Me." Notice Jesus is telling him when he is old he will be crucified - this is important. 
 
About 10 or a bit more years later Acts 12 opens with the matter of fact statement Herod had killed James, the brother of John, with the sword and had now arrested Peter with the intent of doing the same. Peter is still a young man, and being executed by sword is not crucifixion. I believe that is why Peter was so sound asleep in v7 that the angel had to hit him to awaken him. (Greek for 'hit': pataxas, to beat as in the beating of the heart, to strike, to hit). Peter was deeply asleep.
 
The Word Peter was 'standing on' was revelation from the Lord from roughly 10 years earlier that when he was old he would be crucified. Later in life, in his last letter which is our II Peter, in 1:14-15 he said this: "...knowing the shortly I must put off this tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me. Moreover I write this that after my death you will have these things always in remembrance."
 
Peter was fully aware in Acts 12 how he was going to die, and it wasn't going to be by sword when he was still young. He was sound asleep as he 'stood' on the Word. Paul was 'standing' on a similarly given personal word from the Lord that shifted his attention to the Gentiles. 
 
We stand on personal revelation for our situation. That's how it is done. For your situation now - stop what you're doing, carve out time with Him (worship and then being quiet in HIs presence is what I recommend), and let Him give you a word for your situation. But that raises the question, where does Jesus' revelation come from? 
 
That is for next week. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

Hi all,
Before I take Chris back to his group home after his weekly home visit, we always eat at a restaurant. It can be a simple hamburger eaten in the car as we sit by railroad tracks waiting for a train to pass, or going in to a restaurant to have a 'sit down' meal. This particular day he wanted to eat inside at Braum's, a regional chain of hamburger and ice cream stores, as he was in the mood for (fried, boneless) 'chicken strips' and a chocolate milk shake. 
 
He likes a corner table which is easy for his wheelchair to roll under and has a nice view of people in their cars in the drive-thru area. Chris is 37 physically but due to brain damage at birth, the cord wrapped around his neck in a slip knot, he is about 4 years old mentally. As a result he is the most friendly 4 year old in a 37 year old's body you'd ever hope to meet, has never met a stranger, and keeps a running commentary going about cars, trains, people, dogs, and anything or anyone else who crosses our path. 
 
As we sat in the corner and speculated what the people in their cars in the drive-thru window were ordering and where they were going, I noticed in the background noise of all the commotion inside the place, someone's car alarm going off in the parking lot. I figured it would turn off after 30 seconds or so as they tend to do, but this one kept going - it was one of those alarms that honks the horn every second and a half or so, but it being outside as I said, was just background noise. 
 
As the horn continued I thought to myself, "Must be some older couple hard of hearing or something, not realizing their car alarm is going off. I should try to find who owns it." as I scanned the seating area and noticed I was the youngest of the customers other than Chris. But then Chris asked something about another car in the drive-thru, and we speculated about what they were ordering, where they were going, what kind of car they were driving - and still, that noise was in the background. I thought I really needed to find that old person and tell them their alarm is going off. 
 
That was when I craned my neck enough to study the parking lot in detail to see where the car was located that was making all the racket, only to discover it was my car! I was the old geezer who was clueless his car alarm was going off! My hand quickly dove to my left pocket where even on the outside, I could feel the key fob and some coins I had gotten from paying for the meal, and when I sat down and the pockets tightened a coin had been pressed over the alarm button - it was me that whole time!
 
The annoying Holy Spirit 'car alarm'
The Lord tries to grow us from the inside out, for Christ is in us, the hope of glory. His voice is like that car alarm going off, background noise, floating up from our spirit man to the back of our mind like a suggestion - soft, gentle, as an idea from 'out of the blue' - yet He is always there until we either shove that voice so far into the background by sheer determination to hear other voices we barely hear His, or we deal with the issue He brings up. 
 
Haven't you ever noticed when let's say, you have an urgent bill to pay over here, He is instead dealing with your heart about sister or brother so and so over there? If you're like me you've thought, "Yes Lord, I know I need to love them, but could we talk about this bill instead?" LOL 
 
We've each experienced that just before we made the decision to believe on Jesus - do you remember? After you heard of Jesus you couldn't get Him out of your mind; the question of what you're going to do 'about Him' was always in the background. No matter how life distracted you, when your mind shifted to neutral or 'quiet mode', there was the question about Jesus floating into your consciousness. That is how He works. That is His 'car alarm' inside each of us until we either shut Him up by layering our time and attention with the distractions or numbing things of life, or we decide to listen to Him and decide for Him thereby entering into what He has for us.
 
There is a song in Margaret Becker's 'Falling Forward' album (1998) titled 'Clay and Water' that include these lyrics: "I am clay and I am water, falling forward in this order, while the world spins round so fast, slowly I'm becoming who I am. Nothing ever stays the same, the wheel will always turn. I feel the fire in the change, but somehow it doesn't burn. Like a beggar blessed, I stumble in the grace, reaching out my hand for what awaits..." We may stumble, but if the heart sets itself, you are becoming who you are in a life-long process. His judgement, His righteousness doesn't burn if we deal with our heart quickly. 
 
Coming to the core
Some of us are seasoned citizens who have lived long enough to have experienced the various charismatic and evangelical ups and downs, from favorite ministers falling from grace to following the current fad doctrine to church hopping. Some of us have experienced people who think they are the Holy Spirit, needing to point out everyone's error and sin though they never turn the finger of accusation on themselves. We've seen it all, or most of it. Seasoned citizens have enough time and mileage under their feet to have at least tasted some imbalance, or maybe even were part of some of that imbalance for a time before the Lord brought them back to balance. 
 
At some point most realize all of that is just 'fluff', distraction, immaturity, and has nothing to do with Christ in them, it's just spiritual busy-ness masquerading as spiritual growth and maturity. At first they are confused by their lack of interest in the latest 'outpouring' or debates ranging from flat earth to pre-tribulation rapture and everything in between, and wonder what is wrong with them. In the past they would have jumped on the loudest and most spectacular spiritual band wagon that was tooting its horn. But now all they want is something real. To really know God. Nothing else satisfies. They want the effect of righteousness in them, they want to know the ways of righteousness.
 
They 'wise up' and realize the core of what they are really looking for - they want to know the Father and the Lord Jesus. They want to fellowship with the Holy Spirit. They want to grow in love, joy, peace, gentleness, long-suffering, meekness, godliness, consistency, moral excellence, brotherly love, agape' love. They want to be complete and lack nothing in Christ. They want relevant spiritual life. They want genuine friends who won't dump them if they change churches or happen to offend them once or twice. 
 
You are moving in one of these directions - which one?
"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and won't come into the light for fear their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light so that they may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." John 3:19-21 To stay the same means staying in darkness. Move forward, race to the judgement, run to the light. 
 
Becoming who you are - I close with this
From my formative years my heart was confirmed in seeking righteousness first and foremost in part by things like Nancy Honeytree's 'Evergreen' album (1975), which I have on my phone and computer play list, and still listen to frequently. The song 'Searchlight' contains these lyrics: "Searchlight, turn your beam on me when I'm not what I seem to be. When darkness creeps in, turn your light on my sin, Oh searchlight, turn your beam on me. Jesus, when my life is done, and you call me to your throne. How I long to hear you say, on that resurrection day, Oh well done my child, welcome home! Welcome home child."
 
The ways of righteousness are a process, and is best aided by looking at it long term. The Father and Lord invested in us for eternity. Ephesians 2:7 says He will continued to show His grace and kindness to us in Christ 'in the ages to come'. Deal with issues He brings up on the inside, and correct, learn from the mistake, and move on. Don't stop your progress by wallowing in the dirt. Allow the work of righteousness in you to have its way. Set growing in Him is your #1 goal, so conform your emotions, decisions, and actions to what He would have you think, feel, and do. The reward of righteousness is peace. Ahhhh.
 
New subject next week. Blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email at [email protected]
 

Hi all,
Jesus never changes: The way He handled people in the gospels is the way He handles you and I today. So if we look at the gospels we'll know how He deals with us. 
 
He doesn't change how He deals with us based on our rough childhood, or our easy childhood, nor whether we are rich or poor, male or female: Truth is truth, and no matter where we've been or who we are, He is always going to be asking us from the inside out to align our emotions and thoughts with Truth. He brings us to the opportunity to make right decisions, to feel right feelings, to see His truth in any situation. 
 
So when we are talking about emotional hurts we first need to ask if these hurts are righteous emotional hurts, or unrighteous hurts. All hurt is not the same. Some hurts are the result of events they brought on themselves. That hurt is not justified and they need to be left to the Lord and their heart to face the consequences, and that is what He will do if they won't come to the Truth of the matter. But then again, some hurt is justified, as when a person becomes the victim of another through word or deed, and that needs to be healed by the Lord, which often involves walking out healing over time. But first to unjustified hurt.
 
Hurt and disappointment in people
In John 6:26 Jesus told people seeking Him 'You seek me not because of the miracles, but because you ate the loaves (of bread He had multiplied) and were filled." Ouch, that had to hurt. When He then launched into a couple of difficult to understand parables about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, many of them left - confused, hurt, and disillusioned. (John 6: 66-67)
 
Was their hurt justified? Their feelings of betrayal were real. Their feelings of deep disappointment in Jesus were real. Their life plans were suddenly rearranged and they went back home to pick up the pieces after following this man they thought would be the new king, but He had SO hurt them. Was their hurt justified? No. Were their feelings of hurt, disappointment, betrayal, real? Yes. Real feelings, but unjust feelings, so He expected them to adjust their feelings to Truth - He is the same today with us. 
 
What about Mark 1:30-38 where Jesus was staying at Peter's mother in law's house, healing any who came to the door until sundown. The next morning He went outside to be alone and pray, and when they found Him Peter said; "Everyone's looking for you!" expecting Him to start healing again as He had done the previous night. But Jesus said He was going to other towns instead. HOW disappointed all the people must have been - how hurt - they had need of healing and just on a whim Jesus cancels and moves on. What if you had not made that sundown deadline the night before and you were left sick or injured? Their hurt and disappointment were real. But was their hurt justified? No. Where their feelings of disappointment, hurt, anger, real? Yes. 
 
Here is where the rubber meets the road of growing up in Christ
Separate your feelings from the moment and ask yourself if your hurt is justified. If it is, then the Lord is with you and you can ask Him to deal with them, and He will help you work through your feelings and sense of injustice you suffered. 
 
If you find that your feelings are not justified, if your feelings are the result of wanting something unrighteous, then He is not with you (resisting right is pride, and God resists the proud) and unless you correct yourself, you will be left to deal with your feelings until you do. If you continue to resist (as pride does) you may find yourself a spiritual island, blaming all those around you who hurt you and let you down and abandoned you (even though your feelings are unjust as you caused them to do so) - until you are ready to admit your own failings. Coming to grips with the ugliness of our own heart and remedying that condition through Christ, is called growing up in Christ. 
 
There are dozens of examples in the gospels of Jesus disappointing people, hurting people, making them disillusioned and angry. Those feelings in others He caused are in part what sent Him to the cross. He made people angry and brought up emotions in them they didn't want to deal with. He never changes!! He is still doing that in us today! 
 
He will still provoke us from the inside out with the choice of right decisions and emotions, or wrong decisions and emotions. He brings us to face Truth. THAT is the point of decision, the point of heightened awareness and emotions concerning our situation and Truth. Once He has made us aware of the truth, He silences Himself to observe the workings of our hearts and minds and emotions to see what we will do.  
 
Being hurt is a fact of life; staying hurt is a choice
The feelings are real, but living in hurt is a choice. Labeling yourself as damage, hurt, is a choice. Yes, your feelings of rejection, betrayal, hurt, anger, are all really felt, but hurt is a choice. Upon receiving the sting of a rejection, if a person switches their emotions and thoughts immediately to love the one hurting and accusing you, the sting of hurt can then be viewed from a distance which allows a determination of whether the hurt we feel is righteous hurt or not. 
 
Jesus was disappointed his closest friends couldn't stay awake to pray with Him in the Garden. That was justified hurt. (Mark 14:37) But it didn't slow Him down a bit from what was right to do (go to the cross). That is the difference. People get hurt so they justify themselves slipping into neutral in life, stopping to celebrate and repeatedly rehearse their hurt, justify their hurt, blame others for where they are in life. They blame others, going church to church, meeting to meeting, person to person, never able to settle down and forge real and long term relationships, a spiritual island surrounded by people as they nurse their hurts. 
 
We can't let hurt stop us from doing what is right. Choosing to do what the Word says when it is against all you feel and all your hurt, is part of growing up in Christ. When you don't seek your own, when you don't provoke or respond to provocation, when you apply love to the unlovely. You are in charge of your feelings. Don't justify them by hormones, being tired, being sick, being under a lot of stress - just be in charge of what you feel. Learn to control feelings. We are led by logic, reasoning, the Holy Spirit, but rarely are we led by human emotion alone - they are so fickle. We are to be in charge of our feelings, it is that simple. Choose to do right no matter what you feel. Always.
 
Jesus always brings us to the point of decision - He is always asking us questions to prove what is in our heart
He asked the 12 who they thought He was: Who had the revelation from the Father who Jesus was. He is still asking people today, 'Who do you say I am?' 
 
When confronted with a massive crowd and no way to feed them, He turned to Philip and asked how they would feed that many people, probing to see if Philip or any of the others would think 'outside the box', in faith, expecting something extraordinary of the Lord since they had seen Him do so many miracles already. He is still asking us what we will do when faced with impossibilities before us; will we think 'outside the box' expecting Him to do the extraordinary as, or will we like Philip, shrink back to the natural realm and look for natural solutions only?
 
In Matthew 17:25, 21:28, 22:42, Jesus asked "What do you think?" to His hearers, and He is still asking us "What do you think?" about our situations in life. Will we answer in righteousness, or from a deep but unrighteous need to be right in all things? 
 
In Mark 3:4 Jesus asked a question recorded also in Matthew and Luke: "Is it right to do good (on the Sabbath)?" And He is still asking us to judge if the need before us is right and proper to do, or if we should do something else. I'll close the series next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]