Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry        Christmas!

God Bless You All

Remember Jesus is the reason for the season!
See you next year: Brother Darrell

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

I See Dead People

Praise the Lord! Again I pray everyone is enjoying Gods many blessings. I am truly blessed today on our sixth day of consecration and I am truly enjoying this time with the Lord.  The word says "the joy of the Lord is our strength" but as I look around I see people in dispare, living in fear and looking for love in all the wrong places. People have put their hope in government and celebrities and both have failed them. The one hope we have they are trying to run him out of the country. "may the name of Jesus be stricken from all books, signs and billboards. May all references to God be stricken from all currency and court rooms. So let it be written so let it be done!" Sound familiar? Think of Yul Brenner in the Ten Commandments. Not only is the world turning away from God but the church, the body of Christ is losing it's way among all the divisions and in house fighting going on. The word of God says in John 5:24+25
24Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
25Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
 these words spoken by Jesus refer to the spiritually dead, those who have not repented from sin and accepted Jesus Christ as there Lord and savior. Everywhere I go in the world I see them. They go about their daily lives unaware and unconcerned about their eternal spiritual well being. They reject the gospel and the existence of God. I pray for them and reach out to them with the love of God and I think to myself "dead men walking" I expect this from the world but what I don't expect is that when I walk into many Churches these days I see dead people. They look alive, they sound alive and they even lift up holy hands and sing Gospel songs of praise but their is a lack of power caused by a lack of real spirit. Preachers preaching their hearts out and teaching their hearts out but still there isn't any growth by the people. people are not getting delivered and set free from drugs and alcoholism and other besetting sins. John 4:23 states
23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 
More people are playing church and using them as social clubs than ever before. Nobody comes out for prayer service and people are only willing to serve if they can be seen by others. The body of Christ is now a valley of dry bones. Will these dry bones live? Only God knows.
There is a remnant, Believers who not only profess they believe but are truly spirit filled and not just operating on gifts. They are the true worshipers that Jesus was talking about. God wants to pour out his spirit in these last and evil days on a church that is ready and willing to receive it and be obedient to it. He does not want to pour out his spirit on a people who will resist it and thereby quench it.
 Ezekiel 37:5+6 states:  
5Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
That remnant needs to pray that God would breath life again into His church. Back in the day we used to sing a chorus that said "I wish somebodies soul would catch on fire and burn with the holy ghost" we need to start singing it again and meaning it starting with ourselves first. I used to be apart of a ministry that fed and cared for the homeless and addicts in 42nd Street area of New York in 1992 and 1993 called the Upper Room, it was an outreach of Times Square Church. We were a praying ministry, staffed by prayer warriors and we would pray for hours before we would open the doors to our clients. As you walked in those doors the prayer was almost tangible, you could feel the power, the anointing God had placed on the room. We had many people who were delivered from drugs and alcoholism, many entered drug programs including myself, I personally saw and was involved in many miracles God performed there. In all these years I have yet to find another ministry quite like it, though some have come close.

Bottom line we need to wake up and live, Dead people can't help anyone, Jesus once said "let the dead bury the dead" Our jobs are the same as our saviors and that is to bring people "life and that life more abundantly" We have to have life to bring life but we must remember as Paul did in Galations 2:20
20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 
So let us live so others may live. God bless you all.
                                                             Brother Darrell, A Watchman














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John 5:24+25


Thursday, December 15, 2011

Holy Ghost MRI/Getting Naked before God

Praise the Lord! I pray everyone is enjoying the many blessings of God. I myself am blessed just to be here in the land of the living. I love the time I spend before the Lord waiting to hear from Him, hear him speak to my heart and feel his presence as I bring my prayers and petitions before Him. We are in the fourth day of our seven day consecration and I am just starting to really get into the spirit of it. I feel God starting to deal with me about some things and I love that feeling of cleansing and purging. It is good to get naked before the Lord, because he can see through any type of cover you can put on. Look at Adam, before he knew he was naked he was comfortable spending time in front of God completely uncovered. That is the way God intended us to be in our relationship with him and with each other. When sin came in that's when we started hiding and covering up things.

When I was a child I remember one of my school teachers telling us the story of the "Emperors New Clothes" It was the story of this King who went out among his people believing he had on these fine clothes when in reality he was naked and everyone went along with it because they were afraid to tell the king he was naked. Today in the body of Christ we have saints walking around believing or betraying themselves as being naked and transparent when in fact they are wearing coveralls, and we are afraid to tell them for fear of making enemies and they believe they are hiding something from God and His people. David in Psalm 139:7-12 states
7Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
David knew what a lot of us fail to realize, we can't hide from God! I'm sure he learned this lesson after his own sin with Bathsheba was exposed, not to God but exposed to himself. He had somehow fooled himself into believing he had not sinned and that he was within his rights to have her. when the prophet Nathan came before him and told him a story of another powerful man who had committed the same sin David was quick to condemn him to death.(see 2nd Samuel Chapter 12) How quick are we to point the finger at others sin and make excuses for our own.

God knows about everything we do, He just wants us to be willing to humble ourselves and admit our sins and ask him for forgiveness. Throughout the old testament you read where had to strip the Children of Israel naked before their enemies and before Him because of their sins but once He has done this and they are humbled and naked before Him that is when God turns his wrath away from them and lifts up their head again. \He raises them up once again. Even Jesus The son of God Had to be beaten and striped naked and hung on a cross to die before God raised Him up and gave all power in heaven and earth to him.
I often cry, sobbing before God when I come into his presence fully exposed, realizing who I am compared to Him. The fact that He allows me to come into his presence is a humbling experience in itself. His presence is like having a Holy Ghost MRI. You can feel him looking through you. What can you hide from His gaze? Paul states in Hebrews 4:12+13
12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

When I sat down to write today I had intended to write about faith again but God had other plans, so His will becomes my will. Again as the fourth day of consecration is coming to an end I feel so blessed to come before him as a broken vessel ready, willing and able to be used by Him. I pray we will all learn to get before the Lord and get naked. God bless you all.
                                                  Brother Darrell, a Watchman 

Monday, December 12, 2011

Chosen and Predestined, Hallelujah!

Praise the Lord! I pray everyone is enjoying the many blessings of God. I myself am blessed as usual just to be able to be here writing this blog and doing what God has called me to do. Today I'm not writing about faith. I am going to share something God Gave me to write this past Friday for my Brother and sister inlaws church. They are on a seven day consecration and the theme is "chosen and predestined' they wanted something for the church news letter. I and my wife have been going on these consecrations with them and have been blessed beyond measure. When I sat down to put pen to paper my mind was blank and I asked God to "give me what YOU want me to write" and his answer was what you see below. I pray it blesses you as it has blessed me.

      Chosen and Predestined, Hallelujah!

“For many are called but few are chosen” Matthew 22:14(KJV) I remember reading that verse many times before I began to realize what it meant for me. Throughout the Bible you see where God has chosen certain people to use to accomplish His will here on earth. He chose the Jews as his people, He chose David as king, Samuel, Elijah, John the Baptist, Mary, Joseph and the list goes on and on including His son Jesus and his Disciples. When I realized that I was a follower of Christ, in other words a Disciple of Christ I began to realize that I too was chosen.

 Jesus states in John 6:4 44No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. Before you can be drawn you must be chosen. Isn’t that wonderful! We believers are Chosen by God, Just as The Jews are His chosen people from the old covenant those of us covered under the blood of the new covenant in Christ Jesus are now joined together with the Jews as Gods chosen people, and we all know the things He did for them.
Chosen for what? Ephesians 2:10 states 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
When you’re in Christ you are a “new creation”, a chosen creation for “good works which God hath before ordained” that we should live them out. Ephesians 1:11 states:
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,

So having been chosen we were also predestined to be used by him to bring forth His will here on earth. This is the high calling that Paul talks about in Philippians 3:14 so we too must also press toward that mark. We can no longer be Sunday go to meeting Christians who are satisfied with the status quo. We must keep attaining to a higher level, higher ground in Christ.
God bless you all. Brother Darrell, A Watchman
13Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Where is your Faith? part 2/ Faith and Works

Praise the Lord! I pray everyone is enjoying the blessings of God. I myself am blessed just to be able to be here addressing you all right now. Two nights ago some drug crazed man tried to kick my front door down, he apparently in his confusion mistakenly came to my door seeking drugs. It was about 4a.m. and the noise startled me out of my sleep. I yelled at the guy and threatened to call the police and he left. It shook me up at first and for a minute I even thought about getting a weapon to keep in my house, then I realized two things, One: I had gone to bed that night without praying and anointing myself as usual and two: I remembered whose I am and whom I serve and how many times He has delivered me from worse situations. I then called my wife and we talked and prayed finally I went went back to sleep. The devil is a liar!
When studying about faith in the bible one of the most quoted scriptures is in Ephesians chapter 2:8-10

8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9Not of works, lest any man should boast.
That is pretty clear, our salvation is based on faith not works so no man can say he saved himself because of what he did. Then the next verse says
10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
This may be confusing to some, they might say Gods word contradicts itself but is this really true? The point of the matter is that we can't work our way into heaven, no matter how many tracts we give out, how many doors we knock on, how many big offerings we give and how many "hail Mary's" we say, it is our faith or lack there of that determines where we will spend eternity. Faith in what? you might ask, first we must believe there is a God and that He sent His only begotten son to live and to die on a cross so that we, sinful man, could be redeemed back to God so that we could stand before Him  justified, Justified by what? by our faith in these things. How then do we show that we have this Faith that the bible speaks about? this is where works come in. The above scripture talks about how those who believe are created "unto good works" Not works to build ourselves up but works "ordained" by God for building up His kingdom and to give Him Glory. "Faith without works is dead" James 2:19-21 states
19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Abraham demonstrated his faith by obeying God believing He would work it out somehow. Going to church on Sundays is by itself an act of Faith albeit a basic act of faith. As we take those basic early steps of faith God expects our faith to grow stronger as we go from experience to experience in Christ.
James 2:14-18 states it plainly
14What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Faith is not just something you have it is something you demonstrate, it is an action word. Unfortunately some in the body of Christ say they believe and that they trust God but at the same time they are always whining and complaining and at the first sign of trouble they have an anxiety attack. "Is there anything to hard for God?" The answer is no! Is God soveriegn? the answer is yes! We have to stop talking about faith and start being about faith. The next time I speak to a Christian brother or sister about what I'm believing God for and they tell me " that's all well and good but God gave us common sense" I'm going to throw up. I tell people God is dealing with me about something and they ask me "how do you know it's God maybe it's the devil talking?" I'm going to cry. Demonstrate your faith, study Gods word and stand on what it says. It's not works that save you but it is works that show you are truly saved.
                        God bless you all, Brother Darrell, A Watchman