What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call upon your God!

Many Christians tell each other to awake! But what is the definition of sleeping? Many know the return of the Lord draws near and they tell each other to awake! Even the ten virgins were falling asleep. In fact, all ten nodded off because the Lord had tarried. Therefore, what is to be awake and not sleeping? Is acknowledging His return to be awaken? Is knowing the signs of the times to be awaken? Are we awake because we see the turmoil that is brewing upon the earth? But even the unbelievers know and see the birth pangs upon the earth. In Jonah chapter 1, it was the mariners that was telling Jonah to Awake! “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call upon your God!” It is really God’s people who are sleeping!

Jonah 1:6 (AMP) So the captain came and said to him, What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call upon your God! Perhaps your God will give a thought to us so that we shall not perish.

Why was Jonah sleeping? He was in the inner part of the ship laying down fast asleep. In a sense, he was in the back of the row of the church hiding staying low so that no one would notice him. And in some case, as many Christians do in church, they are literally sleeping. Or they may be preoccupied with the scores of the sports teams. They may be texting. They may be playing games on their phones. They are not staying focused on the Lord. But more sadly, many Christians are no longer corporately worshiping God anymore. Many have been scattered.

What had Jonah done when God called him to Nineveh? Jonah had made a willful choice to leave the presence of God. In fact, chapter one states it twice of Jonah leaving His presence. Therefore, when we sleep, we may have unknowingly or knowingly left His presence.

Jonah 1:3 (AMP) But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord[as His prophet] and went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish [the most remote of the Phoenician trading places then known]. So he paid the appointed fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His servant and minister].

Jesus had mentioned to His disciples of sleeping as He had gone to the mountain to pray. In Luke chapter 22, as He went up to the Mount of Olives to pray as usual and His disciples followed Him. The Lord, Jesus, had even  prayed all night before choosing His disciples. How much time are we praying before making a very important decision? How much time are we praying seeking His Will for our decision?

Luke 22:39-40 (AMP)And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed Him.40 And when He came to the place, He said to them, Pray that you may not [at all] enter into temptation.

Jesus told them to pray so that they may not enter into temptation. The Lord is implying we must pray to overcome temptation and sin. And more importantly, He mentioned it twice during that night for them to pray so they do not enter into temptation.

Luke 22:45-46 (AMP)And when He got up from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from grief,46 And He said to them, Why do you sleep? Get up and pray that you may not enter [at all] into temptation.

Why were they sleeping? The disciples were sleeping because the were in grief as stated in verse 45. When many Christians experience difficult situations, instead of praying many will stop praying or even move further away from the Lord. It becomes hard to pray as we fall into temptation as our guilt harasses us. But no matter what we may have done, we must step back out into the Light and be exposed of our weaknesses to HIM. We must just repent and move forward. The devil has done a very good job of stagnating God’s people with guilt. When Adam and Eve fell, they hid from God. But God came looking for them. He said, “Where are you, Adam?” Adam said he had hid because he was naked. In our sin, we feel naked and pitiful and we will tend to hide from God. We tend to seek and worship HIM from afar. But God comes to look for you regardless. He is calling your name. His desire is that we stop sinning and return to our First Love. And how is this relationship restored? It is restored through prayer as we repent and pray.

John 15:1-7 I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.2 Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.3 You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].4 Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.5 I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.6 If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.7 If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

On the Mount Olives, the Lord, Jesus, went to pray and his disciples were sleeping rather than praying. When we are not praying, it is then we are sleeping. And if we are not praying, we may enter into temptation. If we continue to choose not to pray, then as Jonah, we may be choosing to leave His presence to sleep in the inner parts of our own ships or lives. When we do not pray, temptation will be more eagerly waiting at our door thus making much of our lives difficult.

The bible tells us to pray without ceasing. The bible tells us to pray in the Spirit. In fact, Ephesians is telling us to pray in the Spirit at all times. It is telling us to the end keep alert. To pray is to keep alert. To pray is to be awake! To pray is to be abiding in HIM rather than leaving His Presence. Pray unceasingly!

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (AMP) Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];

Ephesians 6:18 (AMP)  Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).

Scripture tells us that if we continue to abide in HIM and He is us than whatever we ask, it shall be done for us. A promise is there but it is conditional to us continually abiding in HIM. A condition in which we must be alert and awake. A condition in which we must be praying unceasing in the Spirit.

What is to be praying in the Spirit. We are only able to pray for long duration when we have the gift of tongue. This is why God grants us the gift of tongue. It is for the purpose to draw closer to HIM. All spiritual gifts are given to us by grace so that we may draw closer to HIM and bear His Fruit of Love. We must develop a disciplined prayer life. How long you say? Jesus has set the bar. He would pray all night. He prayed all night before doing His work. I know this is difficult for many. It is difficult for many even to pray for one hour. But we must at least strive to go into a higher realm with HIM. We are to strive to go into our reality. Our reality is the spiritual realm. Let us at least take the small steps to grow in our prayer life. Many people can make commitments to work out and get in shape. Let us make a commitment to work out a prayer life. The stakes are much higher than many realize.

Fire of God Ministries

Pst Steve Yong Kim

October 30, 2012

FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

“The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” Exodus 14:14

“You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you.” Deuteronomy 3:22

“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 2 And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people 3 and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, 4 for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”Deuteronomy 20:1-4

In the Old Testament, Daddy God had trained His people to become brave warriors. He commanded them to fight the other nations that are serving false gods. He commanded them to utterly destroy their enemies. The Israelites won because they have Daddy God who fought for them. But many times, the Israelites disobeyed God. And whenever they disobeyed Him, they were defeated by their enemies. We must learn from the lives of the Israelites. The Lord will give us great victory but HE requires us to hold on to Him. Daddy God will be with us and will fight for us if we remain in Him, if we follow His ways and if we are being obedient.

7 “I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 8 For he said, “Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely.” And he became their Savior. 9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.” Isaiah 63:7-10 

The Israelites fought their enemies in a physical combat and we Christians are also in a battle and we are fighting our enemies in a spiritual combat. Satan and his subordinates are strong but our God who is with us is much stronger. Daddy God will be with us and He will also fight for us the way He fought for the Israelites. But there are conditions. We must remain in Him and be obedient always. We must avoid committing any sin because if we do, the enemy will have an opportunity to defeat us. Every sin committed is an open door for Satan. Daddy God requires us to walk in all His ways and to follow His commandments.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-4

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

In the Old Testament, when the Israelites were enslaved by their enemies, they remember God who brought them up out of Egypt and they cried out to Him and prayed for deliverance. Daddy God, who is ever faithful and loving and merciful, came to rescue His people. He delivered them from their enemies. But sadly, the Israelites disobeyed God again and provoked Him to anger by serving other gods and doing the abominable things of the other nations. So He strengthened the other nations in order to defeat them.

“Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.”Jeremiah 50:34

“I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath.” Jeremiah 21:5

42 “And the LORD said to me, ‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.”  Deuteronomy 1:42

It is the same for us. If we cry out to God and humble ourselves before Him, He will help us and deliver us. But we must not follow the wicked ways of the Israelites before. We must not repeat disobeying God. In the New Testament, whenever Jesus healed a man, He told them to sin no more. We must not sin again after God had delivered us. We must fight every temptation which is the scheme of the devil. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. We must become brave warriors of the Lord of Hosts. God had given us armors and we must use it to defeat our enemies. He had given us the helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, shoes of the gospel of peace, shield of faith and sword of the Spirit. It is not the time to slumber or be weak. Rise up! Warriors of the Living God and go possess the land that our enemy have stolen from us. Our nations, our family, and our friends are still enslaved by Satan. We cannot save them if we are becoming afraid and weak. How many of us can pray for long hours until we are exhausted for our family, friends and for our nation? We must be willing to lay down our lives for JESUS. We must be willing to fight the spiritual battle. Through the process of spiritual warfare, we are tested and tried and we are learning to trust and depend on the Lord. The brave warriors of the Lord should not give up until they see the results. We must strengthen ourselves in the Lord. We must fight the good fight, keep our faith and finish the race

“Hammer your plowshares into swords, your sickles into spears! Let the weak say: I am a warrior! And the meek: I too will fight!” Joel 3:10

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12

“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” 2 Timothy 2:3-4

ALL GLORY TO GOD!

-Daddy’s girl

Those who teach will be judge with greater strictness

1 “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” 1 James 3:1-2

Many want to be teachers and leaders of the church. In the Bible, it is said that teachers will be judged strictly. Even we have the sincere desire to become a teacher or a leader, and the desire to lead the lost, if we are not appointed by God; we are not fit to be teachers or leaders.

While praying, Daddy God had told me that the reason why there were many differences of beliefs in His church is because many do not preach the pure unadulterated Word of God. This is also the reason why many are spiritually sick in our church and many were not able to overcome and live in holiness. Many teachers or leaders are corrupting and watering down the gospel for the sake of pleasing the church members. It breaks the heart of Daddy God. In a vision He had showed me a shepherd who is leading a flock in a valley where there was no enough grass to eat. And the sheep were all malnourished. This is the condition of many churches today.

“3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,” 2 Timothy 4:3

1 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” 2 Peter 2:1

The teachers or leaders of the church must always be careful in preaching God’s Word. Their wisdom must not just come from what they have learned from theology schools but from God. Daddy God said that if we corrupt the gospel the saving power of it would be weaken and it will result to more unsaved souls. Many try compromise, but if we are a true Christian, we should never do this for we must fear the Lord. The teachers or leaders must preach 100% of God’s Word even many will view it negatively. Many are preaching the positive aspects only. They only preach God’s mercy and God’s wonderful promises. They avoid preaching the cost of being a true Christian and what it is like to carry the cross.

God’s Word is like a sword, and it will cause pain to the carnal men. It will show man exactly what he is. It will cut off the things which are evil. We are all like a tree and Daddy God is cutting the diseased part so that we may grow and bear more fruits.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

“and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:4-5

The teachers or leaders should preach the pure Word of God out of pure motives and with all humility. Many want to gain praise from men than to gain praise from God. Those who preach should do it for the glory of God and not for their glory. Many want to be popular and they teach things that tend to please everyone.

The teacher or leader with a divine wisdom from God is the one who is living a good life and is following the teaching and commandments of Jesus. That person will not boast of his wisdom. Many of the teachers and leaders of today are attacking each other and are often defensive. They wanted to prove that they are the one who’s right and they don’t want to be corrected. If we don’t want to be corrected by others, how can we be corrected by God?

“if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.” Romans 2:19-23

 There is a greater judgment that is coming for all those who does not preach the pure Word of God. Daddy God will require from them the blood of those sheep that have been torn and scattered. Those appointed by God should tend, care for, and provide spiritual food for God’s people. Jesus loves His flocks and the appointed shepherd must love the flock as well. If they say that they love Jesus, then they must show it by feeding His lambs and His sheep.

“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” 1 Peter 5:1-4

ALL GLORY TO GOD!

-Daddy’s girl