BLINGING IN THE KINGDOM!!

Praise the Lord everybody, the worlds season of Thanksgiving is here, but for us believers every day is a day of thanksgiving. I love what God is doing in my life and at my church(FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST HOLINESS USA),
The following is just a little food for thought.

In the world they talk about getting many things like, getting rich, getting paid, getting smart, getting shorty and getting jiggy, but the the word of God says "...in all your getting get UNDERSTANDING."(Proverbs 4:7)

PROVERBS 3:13-24

13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

19 The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:

22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.

23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

Verse 14 talks about merchandise, merchandise being a commodity or goods worth selling or giving away that are needed or desired by others. If we have the merchandise of wisdom and understanding they are to be more desired than silver and gold. Verse 22 talks about wisdom and understanding being a "grace to thy neck". In the world you see people trying to out do one another with these ornate chains, medallions and diamonds to show how prosperous they are.

God says wisdom is your gold and understanding your silver. What good is it to have material wealth if you don't have the wisdom and understanding to maintain it. Sometimes we get fixated on the golden crowns with jewels mentioned in Revelations but without the spiritual "bling" of Wisdom and Understanding we can forget about ever receiving any golden crowns.

Next time you find yourself in church singing "I'm gonna wear a crown" ask yourself if your wearing wisdom and understanding first.

            God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

G.I.'S FOR JESUS

Praise the Lord, everybody, because He alone is worthy. I love the Lord, up, down or sideways no matter how my life is going my faith and my trust is in Him. Even now when things are dark all around there is light in him, I am a G.I., are you?


While watching old World War Two movies over the years I noticed how the soldiers called themselves G.I.'s. I later learned that they called themselves that because everything they had from their underwear to their weapons had "government issued" stamped on it, even their toothpaste and toilet tissue. Thus they began to think of themselves as "Government Issued".

They were manufactured in boot camp and "issued" where ever the Government saw fit. That same Government supplied them with all their needs from the crown of their heads to the soles of their feet. We as Christians need to realize who's we are and who supplies all our needs.

In Luke chapter seven, a Centurion which is a leader over soldiers in the Roman army asks for Jesus to heal his servant whom he is very fond of. In verses 6-9 we see this 6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:

7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

What the Centurion was saying to Jesus was, I like you am a man with authority over people, in this case, soldiers and servants. Jesus was also a man of authority, spiritual authority, which was evident by his preaching, teachings and how He was able to perform miracles and His people were His soldiers. Who are His people? Those of us who are of the household of faith, we are His people and as such we are also His soldiers.

We are called into service by God and are trained in our churches. Everything we have is "God Issued," The word of God says "the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof" Everything we wear, eat and own comes from Him. It is all stamped "God issued" as per the 19th Psalm 1-4The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world. (NIV)

Just as soldiers of the world depend on the government for everything, soldiers of the Lord should be fully dependent on Him. In the worldly army if you have a problem you must follow a long chain of command before your plea is heard.
In the army of the Lord the chain of command is from us to Him, Jesus on the main line, hallelujah! We are G.I.'s for Jesus, God issued and God maintained.
                       
              God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

SIFTING THE U.S.A.

Praise the Lord everybody! God is moving by His spirit and it is time for us to get in step. I don't want to be left for dead by the roadside as God gathers in His saints. This is the home stretch and many are pulling up lame because we are allowing the Enemy to put stumbling blocks in our way. Just as athletes must take care of their bodies so they can endure, we as Christians must take care to work out our salvation with fear and trembling as we run this race. The Enemy wishes to "have" us just as he did Peter. The following is a message the Lord gave me to share with you all.



 Luke 22:31+32 states     31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

The above scripture is one of my favorite scriptures. Here Jesus is letting Peter know that he was about to go through some major league testing of his faith by the enemy. He also told Peter that during that testing his faith would falter but in the end he would return to his faith in Jesus stronger than ever, and that then he should use his new found strength to strengthen his brothers in Christ.

Today as you look around at a falling nation and a church under attack, it is easy to see that the enemy is sifting the body of Christ in America as wheat. Satan has sifted us through separating us by denominations and false doctrines like faith and prosperity that have caused many to compromise their beliefs while others have completely fallen away, caught up in the mudslide of political correctness that is inundating the Church. The Political correctness of the world cannot work in the body of Christ. We cannot be afraid to call sin, sin, for fear of offending somebody. We are not elected officials running for office we are Christians called to a life of holiness and elected by God, so if the whole world decides that homosexuality is acceptable we then must stand alone proclaiming what the word of God says about it, popular or not.

The good news is that Jesus has prayed for us. So no matter how dark things get, no matter what the enemy throws at us, those of us who endure to the end and faint not, will come back stronger then ever and be able to bare the infirmities of those who are weaker.
So let us not get caught up in the Tsunami that the enemy has unleashed in these final days and let’s hold on. Remember Jesus has prayed for us and you can’t do any better than that. God bless you all.
                                                       Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

"IN ALL THESE THINGS..."

Praise the Lord, everybody, because He is worthy to be praised. I cannot begin to tell you all the things my wife and I are going through right now. to say they are Job-like would not be true because his afflictions came out of the blue, a lot of my problems are secondary to my own disobedience and past drug addiction. My wife's afflictions are more Job-like with no reason or cause that man can see but whatever the cause of our trials we have hope because we have our faith and trust in God.

As I was praying about these things the other day I came across the following scripture and as I read it certain words jumped out at me and bolstered my faith and resolve.

ROMANS 8:33- 39     33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.


34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The words "IN ALL THESE THINGS..." kept resounding in my mind. I began to think about "all these things", the infirmities, the attacks, the trials and tribulations we have been through. Even when you can't see any light at the end of the tunnel in the natural Gods word says we "are more than conquerors" in all these things.

To conquer means To overcome or surmount by physical, mental, or moral force, meaning we will overcome the physical, the mental and moral or spiritual aspects of our afflictions. In other words "All these things". Verse 38 states 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Gods word has persuaded me that neither "now" trials nor trials "to come" can separate me from the love of God. I feel like shouting right now, can you imagine!

God loves us so much that it is His wish that none of us should perish, His word says that He would never allow us to carry more than we can bear, it says He will supply all our needs and make ways of escape so that we don't have to fall into the temptation of sin. So in my mind, that means Gods love and presence are ever present in our lives, those of us who believe and put our faith in Him. How can we lose? That is why we are MORE than conquerors, anyone can overcome a situation but we believers are mighty through God, He has our backs what can be better than that!

So again I set my face like flint and carry on knowing that through Jesus I am more than a conqueror in "All these things"
                  God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking off the wall

                

GOD DON'T BLESS NO MESS!

Praise the Lord everybody for He alone is worthy to be praised. I love the Lord and I love all of you. I thank God for this ministry and how he uses me in it, I'm not writing to please myself or man. I'm writing to please God and that is not always pleasant for me or the body of Christ. The following is a cautionary word.


Ezekiel 13:6, 7      6) Their visions are false and their Divination's a lie. They say,”The Lord declares,” When the Lord has not sent them; yet they expect their words to be fulfilled. 7) Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divination's when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?

False Prophets have been a problem for believers since God first began using men to speak to his people. For some reason some men want to be prophets and men of God but they want it for the wrong reasons. They want to be seen, they want to be spoken highly of by other men. They want to attract the opposite sex and they want power. Then there is a group who are even more diabolical, they are fueled by hate and rage and they are filled with the spirit of the Anti-Christ. They purposely mislead the people with false visions and false prophecy hoping to lead them straight to Hell because they hate God and they hate his people.

Many are led astray by them because of their lack of knowledge of Gods word. That is why we must study to show ourselves approved, workman who need not be ashamed. God has said “my people perish for lack of knowledge” and the enemy uses that lack of knowledge whenever and wherever he can.

Prophets throughout history were loners without many friends. People were afraid of them and hated to see them coming because you never knew what kind of message they were bringing, also they represented Gods light and men love darkness. They also mostly brought news of Gods judgment or His coming wrath.
The office of Prophet today is held by the Holy Spirit and those Christians with the gift of prophecy are usually just confirming what the spirit has already spoken to us about.

 Today’s false prophets try to make it a more glamorous position, traveling from church to church promising big crowds and big offerings as people are willing to go just about anywhere to hear a word from the Lord. Yet what they usually get is a message filled with generalities and vagaries and promises of blessing that amount to nothing but lies and the Pastors that allow them in their pulpits because of the lure of large offerings and crowds are just as guilty.
So next time you see an invitation to go see the Prophet always pray and check all prophecy against scripture because all prophecy must line up with scripture, and if  what they tell you is news to you and not confirmation then pray and get confirmation. See if God is in it.

          God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking off the wall

"IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD..."

Praise the Lord everybody fore He is worthy to be praised! I love the Lord and I love His word, I stand on it and try to live by it each and everyday and I have not been disappointed in it's power and wisdom. That is why it bothers me when people question Gods word and it's authority. The following is a little something God inspired me to write.

Galatians 1:10-12  10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. 


Whenever I am witnessing I hear this all the time, “men wrote the bible” or “the bible was changed by men to fit their purposes.” Paul had to address the same accusations from the Galatians. People then and today don’t want to hear the truth. They want to soften Gods word by saying “God never said that! Men just put that in there because it was a popular idea at the time of the crusades.” A lot of homosexuals said that about scripture condemning homosexuality. The truth of the matter is, yes, homosexuality was an accepted practice among men pretty much since the beginning of time, especially during the time of the Roman Empire. So was prostitution, human sacrifice and a plethora of other unseemly practices,They were called SIN, by God and He Spoke against sin from the very beginning when Adam and Eve committed the first one allowing sin to enter the world.

 Even before God Gave Moses the law He Gave man a since of right and wrong, a conscience, that’s how Joseph knew to run and not sleep with Potithars wife. I’m sure back then just as today there were plenty of men who would have gladly taken his place.

 Today We believers have more than just a conscience we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, leading us into all truth. Paul said “we have the mind of Christ”So I say to you “who is making up what?” Next time a non believer tells you that Man made up the bible; just hold your head high and say “all scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2nd Timothy 3:16) “ Gods word also says in 1st Corinthians 1: 17-19  17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

God said it and I believe it. "Let God be true and every man a liar.”
                            God Bess you.  Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall                                                                                                                                                                                    

SHAKEN BUT NOT STIRRED!!

Praise the Lord because He alone is worthy to be praised. God has truly been good to me and my wife who just got out of the hospital this past week. She is feeling much better but still has some issues that we need God to handle and heal for her. In this house we serve and trust the Lord! So as we wait on Him we will yet praise him. The following post is straight from the heart of God and really gave me pause, I am sure it will do the same for you.


Hebrews 12: 25-27       25See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Twelve years ago on September eleventh 2001 terrorist attacked the world trade center in New York and the world’s financial center and the symbol of capitalism in America came tumbling down. It was a catastrophe of biblical proportions. The people of this country were shaken; they flocked to churches across the Nation seeking answers from the same God they were previously trying to turn their backs on by taking prayer out of schools and the Ten Commandments off the walls of its court rooms. A country where at one time on Sundays super markets and malls were closed and “blue laws” were in effect and people flocked to churches, now it is a place where Sundays are wide open and God has to compete with two for one sales, sports and liquor sales to get people into his church on Sundays. But for one short period that all changed, people were hurting and turned to God for answers.

 They came, some for the first time, some were coming back after leaving the church for various reasons. They appeared to be earnestly seeking answers and they were earnest in their attempts to find answers, but were they earnest in their attempts to find God for those answers?

All you have to do is look around you when you go to church these days to see that the answer is no. The same churches that were full after 9/11 are now half empty. The people who went looking for answers left out one important thing “seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” They forgot to seek God. Instead they sought answers that made since to their carnal minds and rejected sound doctrine. The bible talks about the word of God being spiritual and that only the spiritual can understand it. How do we become spiritual? We first must repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, and then His spirit will come and live in us and lead us into all truth.

9/11 shook a lot of people up but it did not stir up their hearts enough for them to truly seek God and to realize they needed a savior most of all.  They were shaken by 9/11 but not stirred enough to put pride and intellect aside so that God could truly come into their lives. So in the short time they did go to church, Gods word was not able to take root in the fallow ground of their hearts and the cares of this world washed it away and the people did not know who to blame and fell away from fellowship.

 It is not all their fault. Though they blame God and even deny His existence in some cases the church, yes the body of Christ has to take some of the blame. People hurting, confused and afraid walked into churches all over the country and were greeted with pastors preaching faith and prosperity and members with no power and living like the world. There were no peculiar people, nobody trying to live holy or teaching about living holy. So multitudes of new comers came in looked around and came to the conclusion that Jesus is not the answer. What a shame.

We Christians should have been stirred up by the opportunity we had in front of us and many were, but we failed in our presentation and in other cases our testimonies did not stand up to scrutiny. We are Christ’s representatives here on Earth; let us always remember to walk according to our calling in Christ Jesus. Let us prepare ourselves so that next time God shakes our world we will be able stir those who come looking for answers and at the same time allow God to stir up our gifts so He can use us to touch and change people’s hearts. God Bless You All
                                 Brother Darrell, Speaking Off the Wall