Matthew 11:1-5
1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.
2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:
5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
We serve a supernatural God, yet so many of His followers are stuck in natural. Can’t see that God wants to use us.
Moses said, “I can’t, I have a speech issue.”
Gideon said, “I’m not qualified”.
“WE CAN’T DO IT”
10 spies’ negative report poisoned the whole nation.
Instead of a breakthrough, it was a break-down.
Why? Was it the devil? The giants? What caused over 1 million people to lose faith and destiny? 4 words, “WE CAN’T DO IT”.
Not just words but what those words contained.
Those words EXCLUDED GOD. Full of unbelief/fear.
Words filled with possibility, potential, power.
His words can move you from:
Sickness to health
Weakness to strength
Loser to winner
Stressed to blessed
Fearful to fearless.
I don’t care what the skeptics say. I don’t care what the economy says. I don’t care what religion says.
WHAT IS GOD SAYING?
WHAT IS GOD DOING?
That’s what I care about.
A word from Him changes everything. He speaks and things are created.
A Ginomai is here for your health. IT SHALL BE.
One word and cancer is driven out of your body.
One word and He supplies your need.
One word and drug addiction leaves.
He is supernatural.
One word from Jesus and Peter broke the natural law of Physics. He stepped into the supernatural. THEN, shout, “THEN”.
Peter went where they said he could never go and did what they said he could never do.
I Prophesy this church is getting ready to step into a REALM with God where you have never been, go to places you have never gone, see things you have never seen. It’s A SUPERNATURAL KINGDOM!
"CAN’T" must be removed from our speech. Use what God gave you.
Give your weakness to Him.
Can’t talk
It’s just a staff
This thorn
And God will make you strong.
Just a little oil.
Now watch our supernatural God. When you and I were born again we were not just born out of sin, sickness, disease, poverty and lack. We were born into the Kingdom of God.
We were born into the realm of the supernatural and the miraculous. We were born into the realm of Signs/Wonders and miracles.
The atmosphere of the Child of God is the realm of the supernatural. Supernatural peace, joy, power, prosperity, wisdom, glory.
The devil is so afraid of you stepping into that supernatural place in the spirit.
He wants to keep you in the boat. He knows Jesus gave you power to cast out devils.
He knows you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
He knows your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost.
He knows the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, dwells IN YOU.
He knows it’s normal for us to operate in Signs/Wonders. He just does not want you to know. He wants you stuck in the boat.
GET OUT OF THAT BOAT.
To move in the supernatural you have to be willing to step into the UNKNOWN.
Abraham stepped out.
Joshua was told, “You have not passed this way before.”
You have to be willing to look foolish.
Elijah put water on a sacrifice while praying for fire.
Peter got out of a boat.
Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
A TIDE IS COMING
I hear the Lord, He is
speaking to me, “A visitation is imminent, can’t you see!”
O church, the TIDE IS COMING
to the shores of this Land, so get ready, get ready, it’s about to land.
A TIDE IS COMING THAT will
stir up this soil.
A TIDE is coming and nothing
He touches will be spoiled.
A tide is coming that will
divide.
There will be no place that
you can hide.
A tide is coming that will
even touch our government. Many
will then know it is He who carries this Land.
O Canada, O Canada! A tide is coming; it’s right at your
shore, for all the little waves were to prepare you for what I have in store.
This
tide is big and it is strong, it will hit this Land.
Everyone will be touched for
you cannot hide.
Even those so dry will feel this
TIDE from on High.
O
Canada, the TIDE IS COMING TO YOUR SHORE!
A TIDE is coming and on this
you can be sure, that no one will be able to stand against its mighty roar.
A TIDE IS coming, of this you
can be sure; NO-one has heard this sound before.
It’s a tide NOT for a city,
church, or town.
This
is a TIDE that will sweep a nation DOWN
So on our KNEES we will fall
when this wave hits US ALL.
A
TIDE IS COMING!
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
CASTING IN PRAYER
Opening Text: 1 Pet. 5:5-10, Eph 6:10:13
1 Pet. 5:5-10
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves
to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed
with humility, for
“God
resists the proud,
But
gives grace to the humble.”
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty
hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares
for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary
the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing
that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to
His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect,
establish, strengthen, and settle you.
Eph. 6:10-13
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the
Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you
may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts
of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of
God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand.
Go over
dream I had.
How do we CAST all our CARE on Him?
Prayer.
God
was showing me that victory in the natural world requires triumph in the
spiritual.
You
can’t carry what you are trying to carry.
You
and I are called to fight our enemy in prayer.
Your
DESTINY, your purpose and SOULS are hanging in the balance.
David
was told to PURSUE, OVERTAKE AND RECOVER ALL when the enemy stole his family
and his stuff.
I’m
looking for some people who are going to go into the enemy’s camp and get back
your STUFF! All of heaven is with
us.
It’s
time we learn to release and unleash spiritual weapons of mass destruction
against our adversary.
This
spiritual attack of prayer by CASTING all your CARE on Him.
Resisting
him by standing in faith through prayer
It’s
about getting your career back, it’s about rekindling your marriage, it’s about
a healthy relationship with your children and to get back every promise you
have lost.
So
like natural fighting, spiritual warfare demands training and strategy. (ZIKLAG)
Warriors
who reclaim stolen things place a high value on certain feelings like anger,
loss, and grief.
Like David at Ziklag, angry at the loss
of a promise.
Do
you grieve over your unhealthy marriage, your failing job or your broken
relationship with your children?
If
your LOSS does not bother you enough to fight for it THEN you will just shrug
your shoulders and say, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.”
But that IS A MISTAKE.
A
lifestyle of faith is NOT passive!
True biblical faith RESISTS the DEVIL.
It
infuses you with courage that empowers you to declare to the enemy of your soul,
“I’m mad and I’m not going to take it anymore.” WHO AM I TALKING TO?
A
great champion once said, “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they
have deep inside them – A DESIRE, A DREAM, A VISION.”
It’s
time for you and I to reclaim areas of our lives that have been damaged and
lost through SIN and SPIRITUAL NEGLECT!
Listen again to 1 Pet. 5:10
But may the
God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you
have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
PERFECT – Appropriate condition, establish,
prepare, mend
ESTABLISH – to set fast, steadfast in mind
STRENGTHEN – from sickness and lack by making
STRONG
SETTLE – by the foundation
YOU!
Whether you know it or not, as a Christian, you are
already engaged in spiritual warfare regardless of your level of participation.
If you just sit on the sidelines you’re NOT a
spectator, you’re a casualty.
So arm
yourself with the Word and fight.
Yours for Revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
The Leadership Of David
Isa. 58:12
Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
1 Sam. 16:12-13
12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
Saul was anointed with a flask of oil.
David was anointed with a horn of oil.
One did not cost anything, the other cost a life.
Leadership in the Kingdom is about laying down your life for others.
David’s leadership started with
Obedience – looked after sheep.
Knowing they were NOT his sheep but his fathers, he fought off the lion/bear.
When an enemy shows up, leaders stand up.
David/Goliath.
1 Sam. 17:38-39
38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail.
39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.
You cannot fight with untested armor.
By the way, David served Saul even though he was anointed to be king.
Timing is in God’s hands.
I will NOT touch the Lord’s anointed.
True leadership does not maintain followers but produces LEADERS.
David took four hundred worthless broke men and trained them to be mighty men.
Everything produces after its kind. You cannot produce something better than yourself.
So we must produce leaders of the KINGDOM.
Jesus said, leaders in the Kingdom Of God like David, must first learn to SERVE.
Jesus said, “I did not come to be served BUT to be serve.”
Leadership is a gift to be GIVEN! Why do we need Kingdom leaders?
Why did Israel need David?
Our world needs DIRECTION.
Marl 9:33-35
33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?”
34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.
35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
Now listen.
Matt. 20:26-27
26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.
27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave
So if you want to be great (David was):
1. You don’t own people
2. You don’t manipulate people
3. You don’t oppress people
4. You don’t threaten people
5. You don’t use people
Leadership in HIS KINGDOM is SERVING YOURSELF TO THE PEOPLE.
Yours for Revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
1 Sam. 16:12-13
12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
Saul was anointed with a flask of oil.
David was anointed with a horn of oil.
One did not cost anything, the other cost a life.
Leadership in the Kingdom is about laying down your life for others.
David’s leadership started with
Obedience – looked after sheep.
Knowing they were NOT his sheep but his fathers, he fought off the lion/bear.
When an enemy shows up, leaders stand up.
David/Goliath.
1 Sam. 17:38-39
38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail.
39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.
You cannot fight with untested armor.
By the way, David served Saul even though he was anointed to be king.
Timing is in God’s hands.
I will NOT touch the Lord’s anointed.
True leadership does not maintain followers but produces LEADERS.
David took four hundred worthless broke men and trained them to be mighty men.
Everything produces after its kind. You cannot produce something better than yourself.
So we must produce leaders of the KINGDOM.
Jesus said, leaders in the Kingdom Of God like David, must first learn to SERVE.
Jesus said, “I did not come to be served BUT to be serve.”
Leadership is a gift to be GIVEN! Why do we need Kingdom leaders?
Why did Israel need David?
Our world needs DIRECTION.
Marl 9:33-35
33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?”
34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.
35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
Now listen.
Matt. 20:26-27
26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.
27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave
So if you want to be great (David was):
1. You don’t own people
2. You don’t manipulate people
3. You don’t oppress people
4. You don’t threaten people
5. You don’t use people
Leadership in HIS KINGDOM is SERVING YOURSELF TO THE PEOPLE.
Yours for Revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
How Hungry Are You?
Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
John 6:35
And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
How many know that when you are hungry for something, not just anything will do.
You can try other things but until your taste buds hit on what it is you’re looking for, you won’t be satisfied. Then when you find it “aaah” your taste buds are satisfied.
I’ve come to the place of “MORE”. I know there is more. All prophecies say there is more, so I can’t be satisfied until we taste it. I’m not satisfied because I know there is more.
But for us to develop a genuine hunger for God, we have to make room for a new normal.
Old things MUST pass away.
2 Kings 4:1-2
1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”
2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
We have a prophet and a lady in crisis.
Here is her crisis:
She is in EMOTIONAL pain – her husband died.
There is FINANCIAL pain – he left her broke and in debt and the creditors are calling.
She is in PHYSICAL pain – she is hungry.
Her digestive juices are burning the lining of her stomach.
She has MOM pain – the creditors may take her children.
She is in SPIRITUAL pain – so you see the question -
“My husband feared God, and I feared God so why am I in this mess?”
She needs a BREAKTHROUGH. No pain seems FAIR and her pain is too much to bear.
Whenever in the Bible you hear or read the term “CRY OUT”, someone is in a desperate situation.
She cried out to God because her situation was bigger than what a human can fix.
So here is what I’m trying to say. You will never discover that God is all you need until God is ALL YOU HAVE!
When you are at that place you don’t pray little casual prayers, YOU CRY OUT!
I mean cry out. When a baby is HUNGRY, it does not care who is in the next room.
OK so if Jesus says, “Blessed is the one who hungers for righteousness. YOU WILL BE FILLED.”
Why don’t we see more power and presence? The answer is simple. WE ARE TOO FULL. We are too full of ourselves, our money, our friends, our jobs.
So the prerequisite of spiritual passion is spiritual hunger. YOU have got to be hungry.
Why did God move in Guatemala? When God is all you have, God is all you need.
So how hungry are you? TRY fasting to see what hunger feels like.
Write down HUNGER = PASSION.
Passion drives you to the next level. Without passion you will stay where you are because you will have no reason to go anywhere else. This woman CRIED OUT.
She needed things to be different. When God allows crisis it’s to make you hungry for change.
A dark room used to mean, “turn a negative into a positive.”
So the prophet gives her a strange answer, “Go borrow empty clay pots, LOTS of them.”
“Elisha I need money, honey, not pots.
I’m EMPTY except one LITTLE jar of oil.”
Elisha says, “Your empty so go get more empty.”
HUH?
I don’t just want your emptiness; I want your neighbour’s also.
So we have MULTIPLIED EMPTINESS! Church, hear me now! “The amount of your hunger (emptiness) will determine the amount of your filling.”
And if God can get HUNGRY people together it increases the possibility of your FILLING. This was a new approach to a normal problem.
Many have debt, pain, crisis. Church, the Lord wants to increase your emptiness.
What?
Question: “Do I believe the man of God or not?”
How many times have we cried out to God but did not like the answer because it requires a step into the unknown.
Without faith it is impossible to please God.
So if I’m hungry, if I say I have passion, DO I BELIEVE GOD?
So the woman did what was asked.
2 Kings 4:5
So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out.
Your alarm clock told you to get up today and go to church.
Whether you liked it or not, you’re here. God’s alarm clock often seems to go off at the WRONG TIME. But faith IS NEVER A FEELING. FAITH is a matter of “Am I going to ACT?”
This lady / family was hungry. When you’re hungry, sophistication does not matter anymore.
Using your fork right does not matter. You just want food.
This woman was hungry enough for an answer from God and she SHUT the door and started to pour.
Church, when you’re hurting it’s normal to focus on yourself. But the Bible tells us, when we are hurting and in need, it’s time to minister to others.
Then God has more to fill.
You hungry? God says go to your neighbour and take on their emptiness through prayer.
When you are hungry enough to help others, God will fill you.
She poured what little she had into one pot and it got full, then another.
Church, God will keep filling as long as the emptiness keeps coming. The amount of emptiness determines the amount of filling.
You see Church, the solution already existed before she cried out to God; the answer to her problem was in the house but her spiritual eyes could NOT see it.
She thought her hunger made her cry out. But in reality, she wasn’t empty enough yet to receive what she needed.
She cried to get out of debt but God gave her exceedingly abundantly more.
So HOW HUNGRY ARE YOU? Are you hungry enough to help others? Are you hungry enough to do what God tells you to do?
Or keep trying without God. Be content! Be FULL of other things.
Snacks are a substitute for real food.
Are you sure you’re not full of snacks?
God will never bless your snack.
God is looking for growling stomachs. People hungry for God will not accept a pacifier.
Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
John 6:35
And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
How many know that when you are hungry for something, not just anything will do.
You can try other things but until your taste buds hit on what it is you’re looking for, you won’t be satisfied. Then when you find it “aaah” your taste buds are satisfied.
I’ve come to the place of “MORE”. I know there is more. All prophecies say there is more, so I can’t be satisfied until we taste it. I’m not satisfied because I know there is more.
But for us to develop a genuine hunger for God, we have to make room for a new normal.
Old things MUST pass away.
2 Kings 4:1-2
1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”
2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
We have a prophet and a lady in crisis.
Here is her crisis:
She is in EMOTIONAL pain – her husband died.
There is FINANCIAL pain – he left her broke and in debt and the creditors are calling.
She is in PHYSICAL pain – she is hungry.
Her digestive juices are burning the lining of her stomach.
She has MOM pain – the creditors may take her children.
She is in SPIRITUAL pain – so you see the question -
“My husband feared God, and I feared God so why am I in this mess?”
She needs a BREAKTHROUGH. No pain seems FAIR and her pain is too much to bear.
Whenever in the Bible you hear or read the term “CRY OUT”, someone is in a desperate situation.
She cried out to God because her situation was bigger than what a human can fix.
So here is what I’m trying to say. You will never discover that God is all you need until God is ALL YOU HAVE!
When you are at that place you don’t pray little casual prayers, YOU CRY OUT!
I mean cry out. When a baby is HUNGRY, it does not care who is in the next room.
OK so if Jesus says, “Blessed is the one who hungers for righteousness. YOU WILL BE FILLED.”
Why don’t we see more power and presence? The answer is simple. WE ARE TOO FULL. We are too full of ourselves, our money, our friends, our jobs.
So the prerequisite of spiritual passion is spiritual hunger. YOU have got to be hungry.
Why did God move in Guatemala? When God is all you have, God is all you need.
So how hungry are you? TRY fasting to see what hunger feels like.
Write down HUNGER = PASSION.
Passion drives you to the next level. Without passion you will stay where you are because you will have no reason to go anywhere else. This woman CRIED OUT.
She needed things to be different. When God allows crisis it’s to make you hungry for change.
A dark room used to mean, “turn a negative into a positive.”
So the prophet gives her a strange answer, “Go borrow empty clay pots, LOTS of them.”
“Elisha I need money, honey, not pots.
I’m EMPTY except one LITTLE jar of oil.”
Elisha says, “Your empty so go get more empty.”
HUH?
I don’t just want your emptiness; I want your neighbour’s also.
So we have MULTIPLIED EMPTINESS! Church, hear me now! “The amount of your hunger (emptiness) will determine the amount of your filling.”
And if God can get HUNGRY people together it increases the possibility of your FILLING. This was a new approach to a normal problem.
Many have debt, pain, crisis. Church, the Lord wants to increase your emptiness.
What?
Question: “Do I believe the man of God or not?”
How many times have we cried out to God but did not like the answer because it requires a step into the unknown.
Without faith it is impossible to please God.
So if I’m hungry, if I say I have passion, DO I BELIEVE GOD?
So the woman did what was asked.
2 Kings 4:5
So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out.
Your alarm clock told you to get up today and go to church.
Whether you liked it or not, you’re here. God’s alarm clock often seems to go off at the WRONG TIME. But faith IS NEVER A FEELING. FAITH is a matter of “Am I going to ACT?”
This lady / family was hungry. When you’re hungry, sophistication does not matter anymore.
Using your fork right does not matter. You just want food.
This woman was hungry enough for an answer from God and she SHUT the door and started to pour.
Church, when you’re hurting it’s normal to focus on yourself. But the Bible tells us, when we are hurting and in need, it’s time to minister to others.
Then God has more to fill.
You hungry? God says go to your neighbour and take on their emptiness through prayer.
When you are hungry enough to help others, God will fill you.
She poured what little she had into one pot and it got full, then another.
Church, God will keep filling as long as the emptiness keeps coming. The amount of emptiness determines the amount of filling.
You see Church, the solution already existed before she cried out to God; the answer to her problem was in the house but her spiritual eyes could NOT see it.
She thought her hunger made her cry out. But in reality, she wasn’t empty enough yet to receive what she needed.
She cried to get out of debt but God gave her exceedingly abundantly more.
So HOW HUNGRY ARE YOU? Are you hungry enough to help others? Are you hungry enough to do what God tells you to do?
Or keep trying without God. Be content! Be FULL of other things.
Snacks are a substitute for real food.
Are you sure you’re not full of snacks?
God will never bless your snack.
God is looking for growling stomachs. People hungry for God will not accept a pacifier.
Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
It’s Like A Fire Shut Up In My Bones
James 4:8
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
God’s intent for Adam was to govern. In Genesis 1:28, he had to choose, because God would not make him.
So he gave Adam and Eve dominion and the choice was keep it or give it away.
Satan enters the picture. Satan, who was Lucifer. His rebellion got him cast DOWN to earth.
Now even though he is powerful, God took form the AUTHORITY he once had. So he had POWER without AUTHORITY to use it.
So the fall of man was NOT about SIN. It was about AUTHORITY.
Sin came as a result of giving authority away.
The result of Adam giving up authority was and is a chaotic creation full of evil/perversion.
The New Testament gives Satan titles like:
“the god of this age” – 2 Corinthians 4:4
“the prince of the power of the air” – Ephesians 2:2
“the ruler of this world” – John 14:30
Satan even offered Jesus the kingdom of the world – Matthew 4
Jesus came to get back everything Adam gave away.
That’s why He is called the second Adam.
With Jesus came the Kingdom of God.
So we are in warfare for turf. – Ephesians 6
Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
So Satan wants to rule the seven mountains of society.
1. Religion
2. Family
3. Education
4. Government
5. Media
6. Arts and Entertainment
7. Business
God’s pillar of fire is what led the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage and it’s His fire that will lead us again.
The upper room brought that glory suit back, if you will.
O’ how we need a revelation of cloven tongues of fire.
We need to get desperate in prayer for revival. Only a heaven-sent, Christ-centered, and Christ-exalting Holy Spirit convicting deluge of the Spirit will cause us to seek with a passion for His presence and glory fire.
The problem is we like the “Bic “fire, just a little. You can control it.
But God wants to CONSUME YOU!
Ezekiel said, “I will kindle a fire IN YOU and the BLAZING flame shall not be quenched.”
If Satan gets your authority, he gets your fire.
Thus:
No authority over sickness
No authority over finances
No authority over devil
But listen again to Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
The church has given away authority. Thus, NO FIRE.
So because of this we have no authority and no fire . . .
We have to have a “FORM of godliness but deny its power,
AND from such people turn away.” 2 Timothy 3:5
Who is this talking about?
People in the last day who think they are godly.
2 Timothy 3:7
always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Why learning and NEVER able to understand truth? Because they RESIST real truth, HIS TRUTH.
2 Timothy 3:8
Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;
His Word is fire, it gives you dominion and authority and this is why he does NOT want you to read it.
2 Timothy 4:2-4
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
2 Timothy 4:5
But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Revival fire comes with a price tag, are you willing to pay the price?
Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
God’s intent for Adam was to govern. In Genesis 1:28, he had to choose, because God would not make him.
So he gave Adam and Eve dominion and the choice was keep it or give it away.
Satan enters the picture. Satan, who was Lucifer. His rebellion got him cast DOWN to earth.
Now even though he is powerful, God took form the AUTHORITY he once had. So he had POWER without AUTHORITY to use it.
So the fall of man was NOT about SIN. It was about AUTHORITY.
Sin came as a result of giving authority away.
The result of Adam giving up authority was and is a chaotic creation full of evil/perversion.
The New Testament gives Satan titles like:
“the god of this age” – 2 Corinthians 4:4
“the prince of the power of the air” – Ephesians 2:2
“the ruler of this world” – John 14:30
Satan even offered Jesus the kingdom of the world – Matthew 4
Jesus came to get back everything Adam gave away.
That’s why He is called the second Adam.
With Jesus came the Kingdom of God.
So we are in warfare for turf. – Ephesians 6
Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
So Satan wants to rule the seven mountains of society.
1. Religion
2. Family
3. Education
4. Government
5. Media
6. Arts and Entertainment
7. Business
God’s pillar of fire is what led the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage and it’s His fire that will lead us again.
The upper room brought that glory suit back, if you will.
O’ how we need a revelation of cloven tongues of fire.
We need to get desperate in prayer for revival. Only a heaven-sent, Christ-centered, and Christ-exalting Holy Spirit convicting deluge of the Spirit will cause us to seek with a passion for His presence and glory fire.
The problem is we like the “Bic “fire, just a little. You can control it.
But God wants to CONSUME YOU!
Ezekiel said, “I will kindle a fire IN YOU and the BLAZING flame shall not be quenched.”
If Satan gets your authority, he gets your fire.
Thus:
No authority over sickness
No authority over finances
No authority over devil
But listen again to Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
The church has given away authority. Thus, NO FIRE.
So because of this we have no authority and no fire . . .
We have to have a “FORM of godliness but deny its power,
AND from such people turn away.” 2 Timothy 3:5
Who is this talking about?
People in the last day who think they are godly.
2 Timothy 3:7
always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Why learning and NEVER able to understand truth? Because they RESIST real truth, HIS TRUTH.
2 Timothy 3:8
Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;
His Word is fire, it gives you dominion and authority and this is why he does NOT want you to read it.
2 Timothy 4:2-4
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
2 Timothy 4:5
But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Revival fire comes with a price tag, are you willing to pay the price?
Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Thursday, May 28, 2015
The Divine Encounter Of Pentecost
Luke 24;49
Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
Matthew 3:11
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Acts 1:4-8
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;
5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
During WWII there were bombs made called incendiary bombs. They had one purpose and that was to SET THINGS ON FIRE.
This gospel we preach is a FIRELIGHTER. On this Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit is here to either kindle the fire in your heart or put a fire there.
On the Day of Pentecost the power was evident by tongues of fire.
Unless the fire falls, what do we have?
Unignited saints. Empty words and no passion.
Yet if we can get those coals from His fire to touch our lips, the body of Christ would be like a censer full of burning coals, igniting the prayers of pure worship.
O’ this baptism of fire.
Baptism is associated with DYING.
Rom. 6:3
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Church, I need the baptism of fire. I want it.
Elijah said “The God who answers by fire, HE IS GOD.”
You can’t hide this type of fire. A hot, fire shut up in my bones type of fire.
It’s a fire of power for witness.
It’s a fire of power for service.
The Bible is our fire guide. His plan on Pentecost is for us to burn like He burns.
Churches should be furnaces and not freezers.
Listen, Fire follows a path:
1. FIRE flows through Honor
2. FIRE flows through Purity
3. FIRE flows through Prayer
4. FIRE flows through Praise/Worship
5. FIRE flows through Practice
6. FIRE flows through Passion
7. FIRE flows through Unity
8. FIRE flows through Thankfulness
9. FIRE flows through Grace
10. FIRE flows through Humility
11. FIRE flows through Joy
12. FIRE flows through Giving
Pentecost – fifty
50 days after Passover
The disciples were gathered in Jerusalem before He ascended to His Father. They were told “Stay here UNTIL you are endued with power from on high, to become witnesses for Him.”
When the Holy Spirit was poured out He filled them and the house.
120 men/women
Luke 3:16
John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Acts 2:3
Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
Isa. 33:14
The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”
Church, you are on a collision course with your adversary, but you were built for the battle and created for that conflict.
Your armor prophesies WARFARE and your enemy is about to encounter a God with whom he cannot contend, nor can he fence in or flee from God’s presence.
So the God who has been fighting with you is about to fight for you.
Charles Spurgeon said, “Apart from the Spirit of God we can do nothing.
We are ships without the wind or chariots without steeds to pull them, like branches without sap, we are withered.”
Joel prophesied Joel 2:28
“And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
Peter said angels would desire to understand this mystery.
Zechariah said it would fall like rain.
Amos said prepare for it.
Hosea said we would have to break up the fallow ground to get it.
Malachi said he would come SUDDENLY to His temple.
Pentecost promises us POWER. Now the God in Christ becomes the Christ in us and as Jesus put a face on the Father so now we put a face on Jesus to this dying world.
Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
Matthew 3:11
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Acts 1:4-8
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;
5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
During WWII there were bombs made called incendiary bombs. They had one purpose and that was to SET THINGS ON FIRE.
This gospel we preach is a FIRELIGHTER. On this Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit is here to either kindle the fire in your heart or put a fire there.
On the Day of Pentecost the power was evident by tongues of fire.
Unless the fire falls, what do we have?
Unignited saints. Empty words and no passion.
Yet if we can get those coals from His fire to touch our lips, the body of Christ would be like a censer full of burning coals, igniting the prayers of pure worship.
O’ this baptism of fire.
Baptism is associated with DYING.
Rom. 6:3
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Church, I need the baptism of fire. I want it.
Elijah said “The God who answers by fire, HE IS GOD.”
You can’t hide this type of fire. A hot, fire shut up in my bones type of fire.
It’s a fire of power for witness.
It’s a fire of power for service.
The Bible is our fire guide. His plan on Pentecost is for us to burn like He burns.
Churches should be furnaces and not freezers.
Listen, Fire follows a path:
1. FIRE flows through Honor
2. FIRE flows through Purity
3. FIRE flows through Prayer
4. FIRE flows through Praise/Worship
5. FIRE flows through Practice
6. FIRE flows through Passion
7. FIRE flows through Unity
8. FIRE flows through Thankfulness
9. FIRE flows through Grace
10. FIRE flows through Humility
11. FIRE flows through Joy
12. FIRE flows through Giving
Pentecost – fifty
50 days after Passover
The disciples were gathered in Jerusalem before He ascended to His Father. They were told “Stay here UNTIL you are endued with power from on high, to become witnesses for Him.”
When the Holy Spirit was poured out He filled them and the house.
120 men/women
Luke 3:16
John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Acts 2:3
Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
Isa. 33:14
The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”
Church, you are on a collision course with your adversary, but you were built for the battle and created for that conflict.
Your armor prophesies WARFARE and your enemy is about to encounter a God with whom he cannot contend, nor can he fence in or flee from God’s presence.
So the God who has been fighting with you is about to fight for you.
Charles Spurgeon said, “Apart from the Spirit of God we can do nothing.
We are ships without the wind or chariots without steeds to pull them, like branches without sap, we are withered.”
Joel prophesied Joel 2:28
“And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
Peter said angels would desire to understand this mystery.
Zechariah said it would fall like rain.
Amos said prepare for it.
Hosea said we would have to break up the fallow ground to get it.
Malachi said he would come SUDDENLY to His temple.
Pentecost promises us POWER. Now the God in Christ becomes the Christ in us and as Jesus put a face on the Father so now we put a face on Jesus to this dying world.
Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Our Passover Lamb
Hebrews 4:9
9 There
remains therefore a rest for the people of God.
What if there was an appointed time for your
healing?
What if there was an appointed time for your
deliverance?
What if there was an appointed time for your
restoration?
What if there was an appointed time for your
salvation?
Well there is. Its called PASSOVER!
IT’S CALLED THE blood! It’s
called the CROSS.
Jesus, our Passover lamb, took care of everything
on that cruel, rugged cross.
Our roots, our Hebrew roots, give us stability
and fruit and strength.
That’s our Hebrew roots.
There were three crosses that day. The cross in the middle bore the one
who died for our sins. Two
criminals were crucified also that day.
One asked for forgiveness and Jesus promised him
a home in paradise. The other
mocked his choice and now is in a Christ-less eternity.
So here is the question. Do you know the one who DIED FOR SIN?
There is only ONE who has ever lived who lived a
perfect life, who qualifies to die for the sin of another. HIS name is JESUS. Do you know Him?
Think about this:
He died willingly – He could not be made to die.
He died sacrificially – He chose to die for our
benefit.
He died lovingly – He forgave us.
He died triumphantly – His resurrection brought
us life.
He took our penalty for
sin upon Himself.
Now! Have you DIED TO SIN?
Is he your Lord and Savior?
Have you repented and turned away?
Consider that through faith in Jesus, His
righteousness became your righteousness.
Consider that you received the Holy Spirit as
proof of your own future resurrection.
You are granted access to God as His child. And now you are free from the
consequences and condemnation of sin.
O’ somebody praise Him.
If you died today, would you be one who DIED IN
SIN? You will die some day, what
if it was today? Which cross would
you be hanging on?
Think about this:
We all have an appointment with death.
There is only one way to experience VICTORY over
death.
If you WAIT until a later time it’s like playing
Russian roulette with your soul.
Whatever is keeping you from trusting Jesus now
is one of the very things He died to set you free from.
Will you confess Him as Lord? Will you value what He did for you?
Yours for Revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Breaking The Spirit Of Affliction
Zephaniah 3:19
Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame and gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame In every land where they were put to shame.
I have a word for somebody! Actually, four words.
SING
SHOUT
BE GLAD
REJOICE
Why? And what for?
The CROSS!
The cruel, bloody cross is the place your enemy was defeated.
Not just defeated but CRUSHED!
Not just defeated but CAST OUT!
Zephaniah 3:15
The Lord has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall see disaster no more.
What should have judged you was taken away.
Your enemy was CAST OUT!
The King of kings is in your midst and there will be NO more DISASTER.
O’ Church, what the enemy thought was your demise was really his.
So on that cross was an exchange.
Our sinfulness for His righteousness.
Our shame for His glory.
Our curse for His blessing.
Our brokenness for His healing.
Our poverty for His abundance.
Our rejection for His acceptance.
Our death for His life.
You shall see disaster no more. This thing is about to end. This pain is about to leave.
This is THAT DAY! DO NOT fear!
Now let me stop here and jump ahead, then come back.
God said, “I will deal with all who afflict you.”
So what is AFFLICTION?
Affliction is a condition of suffering, pain, distress and calamity imposed by illness.
Affliction is anything causing pain or suffering.
Affliction is a spirit.
It’s tribulation etc.
“SING, SHOUT, BE GLAD, REJOICE!”
The Bible is full of people who were afflicted.
Hannah called her barrenness an affliction and she cried out to God and He heard her.
In Psalms 25:16 David cried out for mercy because he was afflicted.
Jonah 2:2 (KJV)
And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
Then there was Job and Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 15:11
The Lord said:
“Surely it will be well with your remnant;
Surely I will cause the enemy to intercede with you
In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.
Jeremiah 16:19
O Lord, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
Afflictions have power.
It has cords in which it ties people down.
Job 36:8
And if they are bound in fetters,
Held in the cords of affliction,
When you’re in a battle and refuse to step up to confront it, affliction will hold you down.
In 2 Chronicles 28 and Isaiah 30 it talks about the bread and water of affliction.
It means human beings used by the devil to afflict you like firing you for no reason.
Hates you for no reason. It’s affliction.
Affliction binds.
Job was bound by affliction.
“BUT Jesus.”
Affliction tries to bring you low like it did Job.
Lamentations 1:3
Judah has gone into captivity,
Under affliction and hard servitude;
She dwells among the nations,
She finds no rest;
All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.
The enemy wants to take your praise.
If you stay in affliction you will never get out.
You have to protect your PRAISE.
Lamentations 1:4
The roads to Zion mourn
Because no one comes to the set feasts.
All her gates are desolate;
Her priests sigh,
Her virgins are afflicted,
And she is in bitterness.
All because of affliction and lack of praise.
“HE’S NOT GETTING MY PRAISE!”
God’s promise “I will deal with all who afflict YOU!”
That’s what the cross did.
Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame and gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame In every land where they were put to shame.
I have a word for somebody! Actually, four words.
SING
SHOUT
BE GLAD
REJOICE
Why? And what for?
The CROSS!
The cruel, bloody cross is the place your enemy was defeated.
Not just defeated but CRUSHED!
Not just defeated but CAST OUT!
Zephaniah 3:15
The Lord has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall see disaster no more.
What should have judged you was taken away.
Your enemy was CAST OUT!
The King of kings is in your midst and there will be NO more DISASTER.
O’ Church, what the enemy thought was your demise was really his.
So on that cross was an exchange.
Our sinfulness for His righteousness.
Our shame for His glory.
Our curse for His blessing.
Our brokenness for His healing.
Our poverty for His abundance.
Our rejection for His acceptance.
Our death for His life.
You shall see disaster no more. This thing is about to end. This pain is about to leave.
This is THAT DAY! DO NOT fear!
Now let me stop here and jump ahead, then come back.
God said, “I will deal with all who afflict you.”
So what is AFFLICTION?
Affliction is a condition of suffering, pain, distress and calamity imposed by illness.
Affliction is anything causing pain or suffering.
Affliction is a spirit.
It’s tribulation etc.
“SING, SHOUT, BE GLAD, REJOICE!”
The Bible is full of people who were afflicted.
Hannah called her barrenness an affliction and she cried out to God and He heard her.
In Psalms 25:16 David cried out for mercy because he was afflicted.
Jonah 2:2 (KJV)
And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
Then there was Job and Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 15:11
The Lord said:
“Surely it will be well with your remnant;
Surely I will cause the enemy to intercede with you
In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.
Jeremiah 16:19
O Lord, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
Afflictions have power.
It has cords in which it ties people down.
Job 36:8
And if they are bound in fetters,
Held in the cords of affliction,
When you’re in a battle and refuse to step up to confront it, affliction will hold you down.
In 2 Chronicles 28 and Isaiah 30 it talks about the bread and water of affliction.
It means human beings used by the devil to afflict you like firing you for no reason.
Hates you for no reason. It’s affliction.
Affliction binds.
Job was bound by affliction.
“BUT Jesus.”
Affliction tries to bring you low like it did Job.
Lamentations 1:3
Judah has gone into captivity,
Under affliction and hard servitude;
She dwells among the nations,
She finds no rest;
All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.
The enemy wants to take your praise.
If you stay in affliction you will never get out.
You have to protect your PRAISE.
Lamentations 1:4
The roads to Zion mourn
Because no one comes to the set feasts.
All her gates are desolate;
Her priests sigh,
Her virgins are afflicted,
And she is in bitterness.
All because of affliction and lack of praise.
“HE’S NOT GETTING MY PRAISE!”
God’s promise “I will deal with all who afflict YOU!”
That’s what the cross did.
Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
2015 – The Year Of The Kingdom – The Year to Halal
Psalm 34:1-3
1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.
Halal is connected to the word HALLELUJAH which is connected to HEI (HEY).
Charles Spurgeon said:
“I think the common use of the word “Hallelujah” or “Praise The Lord” is simply profane.
Surely this is NOT a word to be dragged in the mire – it should be pronounced with solemn awe and sacred joy.”
Hallelujah means “Praise Yah” or “Praise The Lord”.
So in saying Hallelujah you are saying the Lord’s name.
Psalm 68:4
Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Extol Him who rides on the clouds,
By His name YAH,
And rejoice before Him.
Luke 2:13-14
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Peace to men of good will or peace among men with whom He is well pleased.
Genesis 29:35
And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
This is where we get the word Praise (Judah).
1 Chronicles 16:4
And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel:
So He wanted the most exuberant, bold, wild, praise right next to His presence.
So the closer we get to Him, the more we feel Him, the wilder the praise should get.
“Praise is the RENT which God requires for the use of His mercies.” Charles Spurgeon.
2 Samuel 22:4
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
O’ that garment of praise, it creates an almost miraculous change in people’s lives.
If we would but praise Him, we would worry less. Why do we focus on stuff, worry, sickness?
We focus on our lack, our pain, the husband's small wages.
Why not focus on the mercies of the Lord?
That’s the garment of praise.
Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.
Halal is connected to the word HALLELUJAH which is connected to HEI (HEY).
Charles Spurgeon said:
“I think the common use of the word “Hallelujah” or “Praise The Lord” is simply profane.
Surely this is NOT a word to be dragged in the mire – it should be pronounced with solemn awe and sacred joy.”
Hallelujah means “Praise Yah” or “Praise The Lord”.
So in saying Hallelujah you are saying the Lord’s name.
Psalm 68:4
Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Extol Him who rides on the clouds,
By His name YAH,
And rejoice before Him.
Luke 2:13-14
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Peace to men of good will or peace among men with whom He is well pleased.
Genesis 29:35
And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
This is where we get the word Praise (Judah).
1 Chronicles 16:4
And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel:
So He wanted the most exuberant, bold, wild, praise right next to His presence.
So the closer we get to Him, the more we feel Him, the wilder the praise should get.
“Praise is the RENT which God requires for the use of His mercies.” Charles Spurgeon.
2 Samuel 22:4
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
O’ that garment of praise, it creates an almost miraculous change in people’s lives.
If we would but praise Him, we would worry less. Why do we focus on stuff, worry, sickness?
We focus on our lack, our pain, the husband's small wages.
Why not focus on the mercies of the Lord?
That’s the garment of praise.
Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
Thursday, January 15, 2015
2015 – Rediscovering The Kingdom
Matthew 13:44-45
44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,
If something is lost it must be searched for to be found.
You are going to rediscover the Kingdom of God in 2015.
5775 – Ayin Hei (Hey)
The year to see again. God will restore spiritual blind eyes this year. What you could not see last year, you will this year.
Let me give you some of the meaning of Ayin Hey.
It means double portion.
It means GRACE.
It means, “to behold through a window.”
Hey is connected with the word BREATH.
Its picture, in Hebrew, is a man with his arms raised and praising God.
Hallelujah is a HEY word.
2 Samuel 22:4
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
Praised is the word Halal.
So praising the Lord through the breath of our mouths and through the position of our hands will be KEY weapons in overcoming the enemy this year.
Hey also means “BREATH” or “WIND”, Whirlwind.
Acts 2:2
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
John 3:8
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
2014 was the year of the open door.
The open door of the Kingdom.
The Kingdom of God is something that doesn’t just happen; it must be entered INTO by being converted.
Matthew 18:3-5
3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
Vs. 3 – BECOME IS GINOMAI.
As it was last year, Ayin means to “see” or perceive. You can be optimistic or pessimistic.
Many in the church feel ineffective, insignificant, disappointed. Once full of hope; now despair.
Like Abram of old, we have come to the end of ourselves.
Abram had a promise but it tarried beyond his human potential to make it happen.
But remember Hey” means 5 and it was on Abram’s fifth encounter with God that everything changed.
Genesis 17:4-7
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
It was here his name was changed to Abraham.
Abram alone was powerless to produce a son.
So God, when He renamed Abram, added Himself to Abraham to transform him.
So this year God’s GRACE will fall on you to empower you to rise above your human LIMITATIONS.
Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,
If something is lost it must be searched for to be found.
You are going to rediscover the Kingdom of God in 2015.
5775 – Ayin Hei (Hey)
The year to see again. God will restore spiritual blind eyes this year. What you could not see last year, you will this year.
Let me give you some of the meaning of Ayin Hey.
It means double portion.
It means GRACE.
It means, “to behold through a window.”
Hey is connected with the word BREATH.
Its picture, in Hebrew, is a man with his arms raised and praising God.
Hallelujah is a HEY word.
2 Samuel 22:4
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
Praised is the word Halal.
So praising the Lord through the breath of our mouths and through the position of our hands will be KEY weapons in overcoming the enemy this year.
Hey also means “BREATH” or “WIND”, Whirlwind.
Acts 2:2
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
John 3:8
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
2014 was the year of the open door.
The open door of the Kingdom.
The Kingdom of God is something that doesn’t just happen; it must be entered INTO by being converted.
Matthew 18:3-5
3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
Vs. 3 – BECOME IS GINOMAI.
As it was last year, Ayin means to “see” or perceive. You can be optimistic or pessimistic.
Many in the church feel ineffective, insignificant, disappointed. Once full of hope; now despair.
Like Abram of old, we have come to the end of ourselves.
Abram had a promise but it tarried beyond his human potential to make it happen.
But remember Hey” means 5 and it was on Abram’s fifth encounter with God that everything changed.
Genesis 17:4-7
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
It was here his name was changed to Abraham.
Abram alone was powerless to produce a son.
So God, when He renamed Abram, added Himself to Abraham to transform him.
So this year God’s GRACE will fall on you to empower you to rise above your human LIMITATIONS.
Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong
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