• In the Kingdom: Jesus Is Lord!
  • Knowing Your Eternal Destiny
  • Three Components of Every Spiritual Battle
  • Top Ten Ways to Know You’re Growing
  • Why This Blog?

eisakouo

~ "Only by hearing will you hear"

eisakouo

Tag Archives: obedience

… And They Didn’t Live Happily Ever-after.

03 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Daniel - No Compromise

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

being blessed is only the beginning, closed heaven, Daniel, Daniel 17:17-21, fairy tale ending, favor with God, favor with men, Gabrielle Douglas, glory to Him and blessings fall on me, obedience, open heaven, seek God's approval, ten fold blessing, will God bless me

 

 

I have been blogging about Daniel and his friends making a commitment to follow the Lord during difficult and dark times. One of the things the Lord did for these young believers is bless them mightily for their obedience.

17 And as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. 18 Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s personal service. 20 And as for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm. 21 And Daniel continued until the first year of Cyrus the king. Daniel 1:17-21

 

Here is the question we have to ask ourselves… What God did for Daniel and his buddies, will he do for you and me? Does God still multiply wisdom and understanding, and is He still able to make people ten times “smarter/wiser” than the smartest people on the planet? Would God be willing to bless you with a ten fold blessing?

Some people have a difficult time believing God wants to bless them. They find it easier to believe in a “closed heaven” than an “open heaven.” Consequently, they have a negative view of God, not a positive.

Here is the truth: God is not trying to exclude you, He is seeking desperately to include you. If the story of Daniel ended at verse twenty-one, it would be a fairy-tale ending. We would have read… “And they lived happily ever-after .” This is not the ending of the book, but only the beginning  God has work to do and now He has some partners who wish to work with Him. God doesn’t simply bless us in order for us to have… He blesses us in order for Him to make His..story. This is why this story is not a fairy-tale,  but a divinely inspired historical account of God changing the destiny of a nation.

Here is my point and I will leave you alone today… Before we can gain the approval of a King or the world, we must first gain the approval of God. When we seek God’s approval first, out ranking the world will be easy. Seeking to preserve purity not only brought Daniel and his friends the commendation of God, it also resulted in the commendation of a heathen potentate. He didn’t care about the Lord, only results. The King’s lessons would come later. Understand, favor with God ultimately led to favor with men.

 

Put God first, and you’ll never be last.

 

I don’t believe God is finished looking for “a few good men and women.” He is still searching for some Daniels or Danielles which He can bless ten-fold. God still needs some men and women He can place in high positions. Are you one of these types of people who will be trustworthy when given such an opportunity  Being blessed is only the beginning.

 

Blessings,

Pastor

 

Share this:

  • More
  • Email
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Building Altars to Worship

26 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Abraham: Life of Faith

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Abraham, building altars, church, Genesis 12, Hebrews 13:10, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus Christ, Mother Teresa, New Testament, obedience, Old Testament, trailblazer, worship

 

 

I don’t know if you have picked up on this fact before from reading through Genesis, but Abraham was an altar builder.  Isaac dug wells; Jacob made monuments; but Abraham built altars to worship the Lord.

Why were altars so important? If altars were so important to God in the Old Testament, then why don’t we build and worship at altars today? I’m glad you asked that question.  Some of you are probably thinking, “We consider the altar to be the front of our church.”  Yet, this is not really the same type of altar in which Abraham worshipped. I ask those questions to draw a parallel between the altars of the Old and the altars of the New Testament.

 

~ Altars Are About Worship ~

 

True worship takes place in the context of our obedience to God (see Genesis 12:1-5). Abraham was in the process of obeying God’s prompting to go to the land of Canaan. We cannot truly worship God unless we are in the place of obedience.

How many of you have discovered it is difficult, if not impossible, to worship God on Sundays when your living in known disobedience? The only effective way to truly worship the Lord in body, soul, and spirit is to be obedient throughout the week. It is your obedience that gives you excitement, passion, and fervor to worship the Lord. Disobedience breeds apathy, coldness of heart, neglect, and boredom in worship. It was only after Abraham became truly obedient to God that his real worship of God began.

 

~ Abraham Built Altars to Worship Effectively ~

Wherever Abraham went (cities, countryside & villages) he built altars to the Lord God. There he worshipped the Lord.

 

The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. Genesis 12:7

8Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.  Genesis 12:8

Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.  Genesis 13:18

Abraham was a trailblazer.  We know now that God prescribed and commanded the children of Israel to build and worship Him on altars. Abraham didn’t have all this information.  He blazed a trail.  He was simply a lover of God.  He was just discovering the art of worshiping God on altars.

We live in the New Testament era of grace, so where are our worship altars?  Are all the altars gone or are they present here today?  Why ask?  In order to gain forgiveness, acceptance, and access to God, altars were needed.  Sacrifices were made on altars.  Blood was spilled on altars.  This was done that sin might be removed and the worshiper cleansed.

We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat (Hebrews 13:10) which is in Christ! Through His blood we have access any time to the throne of God. In Christ we have everything we need that “pertains to life and godliness.”  So today we no longer have need of “altars” in the Old Testament sense.  But we do need altars in our lives in another way.

 

~ The Altar Represents True Worship ~

The altar represents true worship and involves: SURRENDER, SACRIFICE, and SERVICE.  Abraham would have used raw stones (not touched by man’s strength and skill) to represent a yielding to God’s strength and not trusting in his own strength.  (Exodus 20:25).  We cannot worship or offer God anything that is not tainted in some way by the world.  Therefore we are to take things God gives us (Jesus Christ) and worship the Father.  It is important that you understand this point because most people do not.  They want to worship God in their own way or fashion.  When God rejects them by not gracing them with His presence they are offended.   It is imperative we worship God as He requires through Jesus Christ and Him alone.  He is our altar.  We are to approach God in and through Him.   In Abraham’s life we can see the need for altar worship.  It is gives a keen sense of who Jesus is and our need for Him.

Are you ready to examine the three types of altars Abraham erected and discover the deeper meaning of what it means to worship at God’s altar?  I will discuss these later this week.

Blessings,

Pastor 

Share this:

  • More
  • Email
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Do You Ask for a Sign or Understanding?

15 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by eisakouo in Receiving Revelation

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

be it unto me according to Your word, Christimas Story, ignorance asks for understanding, Luke 1, Mary, obedience, silence, unblief asks for proof, voice of unbelief, Zacharias

Christmas is upon us again.  It is during this time we hear “The Christmas Story“. One of my favorite sections of the Advent Story is how God orchestrated the whole event.  The Lord initiated the event by speaking to the parents of both John the Baptist and Jesus.  One set of parents was older and the other younger.  In addition, their response to the Lord’s instructions was radically different.

     First, Zacharias was given a promise from God that was beyond his comprehension.  (Luke 1:5-24) He was told he and his wife Elizabeth were going to have a son in their old age. It was difficult for him to believe, so he asked God to give him confirmation.  Apparently an angel speaking to him inside the temple wasn’t a big enough sign! God silenced him for nine months.

At first glance this might appear to be too harsh.  We need to understand the bigger purposes of God.  When God silences the voices of unbelief, it is usually because their words could affect the outcome of a promise. Silence is not a bad alternative if you’re prone to destroying the word of God with your own mouth.

When Zacharias saw God’s promise fulfilled, he chose to name his son according to the command of the Lord.  All this stood against the wishes of his relatives.  They thought Zacharias would name the child after a member of the family.  When Zacharias chose obedience to the Lord’s initial word,  God loosed his tongue.  Obedience against popular opinion will often reintroduce someone to personal faith.   This a faith that goes against understanding.  (See Luke 1:57-66)

The Lord also gave instructions to Jesus’ parents, specifically Mary.  Like Zacharias, Mary was also given a promise beyond comprehension.  She was to give birth to the Son of God. When she couldn’t understand, she asked how it was possible since she was a virgin.  (See Luke 1:26-56)

She too was blown-away by the magnitude of the Lord’s words.  The difference here is profound.  Mary didn’t ask for a sign or confirmation.  She asked for further understanding of the Lord’s plans for her.  As Bill Johnson says, “Understanding a promise from God has never been the prerequisite to its fulfillment.”  How many of us have had to learn the hard way, we do not have to understand everything the Lord is doing in our lives in order for it to come to pass.

Ignorance asks for understanding; unbelief asks for proof. Mary stands apart from Zacharias because, while being ignorant, she surrendered to the promise. Her cry remains one of the most important expressions the Church can learn in this day—“Be it unto me according to Your word.”

So we have the choice: to stand in the shoes of Zacharias and lose our voice, or walk in the ways of Mary and invite God to restore to us the promises we cannot control.

Who do you want to be like?  It is imperative we not lose our voice due to lack of faith in what God is doing and calling us to do.  Lets be in agreement with Mary’s prayer today…”Be it unto me according to Your word.”

 

Blessings,

Pastor

Share this:

  • More
  • Email
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

What Real Obedience Can Look Like!

12 Wednesday Oct 2011

Posted by eisakouo in Receiving Revelation

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Beth Moore, hairbrush, hearing God, John 1:14, life in the Spirit, Love, obedience, witnessing

      I have spent a lot of time in the past few blogs discussing the importance of hearing God speak and walking in obedience to the spoken word.  I haven’t been able to work in many illustrations.  Below is a story from Beth Moore’s life back in 2005.  It is a alittle long, but well, well worth the read.  In fact…it’s a must read.  Did I sell it?  Please take some time to digest her story. 

Blessings,

Pastor

Beth Moore at the Airport : The Hairbrush Story

At the Airport in Knoxville on  April 20, 2005,
      Waiting to board the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing.  I’d had a marvelous morning with the Lord.  I say that because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you.  You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise.  Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons not the least of which is your ego. I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight.  Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier.  His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still  in his shirt.  His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones.  The strangest part of him was his hair and nails.  Stringy gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back.  His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man.
 

      I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face.  As I tried to imagine what his story might havebeen, I found myself  wondering if I’d just had a Howard Hughes moment. Then, I remembered that he was dead.  So this man in the airport…an impersonator maybe?  Was a camera on us somewhere? There I sat, trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served on a wheelchair only a few seats from me.  All the while my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him. Let’s admit it.  Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern,  and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man.

      I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I’ve learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen.  And it may be embarrassing.  I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. “Oh, no, God, please, no.”  I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, “Don’t make me witness to this man.  Not right here and now.  Please.  I’ll do anything.  Put me on the same plane, but don’t make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience.  Please, Lord!”

      There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, “Please don’t make me witness to this man.  Not now.  I’ll do it on the plane.” Then I heard it…  “I don’t want you to witness to him.  I want you to brush his hair.”  The words were so clear, my heart leapt into my throat, and my thoughts spun  like a top.  Do I witness to the man or brush his hair?  No-brainer. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, “God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man.  I’m on this Lord.  I’m you’re girl!  You’ve never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life.  What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if  he is not redeemed?  I am on him.  I am going to witness to this man.” Again as clearly as I’ve ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind.  “That is not what I said,  Beth. I don’t want you to witness to him.  I want you to go brush his hair.” I looked up at God and quipped, “I don’t have a  hairbrush.  It’s in my suitcase on the plane.  How am I supposed to brush his hair without a  hairbrush?” God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God’s word:  “I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:17)  I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself.

     Even as I retell this story my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely as possible,” Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?” He looked back at me and said, “What did you say?”
      “May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?”  To which he responded in volume ten, “Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you’re going to have to talk louder than that.”  At this point, I took a deep breath and  blurted out, “SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?” At which point every eye in the place darted right at me.  I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Longlocks.  Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, “If you really want to.” Are you kidding?  Of course I didn’t want to.  But God didn’t seem interested in my personal preference right about then.  He pressed on  my heart until I could utter the words, “Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem.  I don’t have a hairbrush.”  “I have one in my bag,” he responded.  I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger’s old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing.  I stood up and started  brushing the old man’s hair.  It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted.  I don’t do many things well, but I must admit I’ve had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I’d done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull. 

      A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man’s hair.  Everybody else in the room disappeared.  There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange, but I’ve never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life.  I believe with all my heart, I – for that few minutes – felt a portion of the very love of God.  That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while.  The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God’s.

      His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant’s.  I slipped the brush back in the bag, went around the chair to face him.  I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees, and said, “Sir, do you know my Jesus?” He said, “Yes, I do.”  Well, that figures, I thought.  He explained,  “I’ve known Him since I married my bride.  She wouldn’t marry me until I got to know the Savior.”  He said, “You see, the problem is, I haven’t seen my bride in months.  I’ve had open-heart surgery, and she’s been too ill to come see me.  I was sitting here thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride.” 

       Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we’re completely unaware of the significance.  This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known.  It was a God moment, and I’ll never forget it. Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane.  I was deeply ashamed of how I’d acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft. I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, “That old man’s sitting on the plane, sobbing.  Why did you do that? What made you do that?” I said, “Do you know Jesus?  He can be the bossiest thing!”  And we got to share. 

      I learned something about God that day.  He knows if you’re exhausted because you’re hungry, you’re serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on, but you feel too responsible to budge.  He knows if  you’re hurting or feeling rejected.  He knows if you’re sick or drowning under a wave of temptation.  Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed.  He sees you as an individual.  Tell Him your need! I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way… all because I didn’t want people to think I was strange.  God didn’t send me to that old man.  He sent that old man to me.

John 1:14  “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Life shouldn’t be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving  safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly shouting, “Wow! What a ride!  Thank You, Lord!”

Share this:

  • More
  • Email
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Are You Ready To Be Used By The Holy Spirit?

28 Sunday Aug 2011

Posted by eisakouo in When the Holy Spirit Comes

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

divine appointments, Holy Spirit, insights, new revelation, obedience, prompted, readiness, supernatural movements, wants and desires

      Our readiness to be used is important.  The Lord knows the truth.  The question remains, do we?  We have a tendency to think of ourselves in better spiritual shape than we actually are.  Here is a six fold test to measure our readiness. 

  1. Have you been obedient to what you already know?  The Holy Spirit has already been speaking to you in some shape, form or fashion.  To assure you hear new information, you must be obedient to what the Holy Spirit has previously spoken. 
  2. Are you open to receive divine appointments?  Before you get big assignments, you are given small assignments.  These small assignments reveal whether you are willing to have your life interrupted for His service. 
  3. Are you available to be prompted by the Holy Spirit?  The Holy Spirit doesn’t forecast two weeks in advance when He is going to speak to you.  He doesn’t consult with your Daytimer.  He prompts conveniently and inconveniently.  This shouldn’t test our obedience, but simply prove it. 
  4. Are you open to be a part of supernatural movements of the Spirit?  The movements of the Holy Spirit are not always neat and orderly.  Miracles, deliverances, and healings are often surrounded by commotion.  Most will be uncomfortable with the flow of the Holy Spirit, but you must remain in the center of what the Holy Spirit is doing. 
  5. Are you open to the insight and revelations of other believers?  The Holy Spirit moves in other believers and you must be able to receive from them as well.  This knits you into the greater body of Christ. 
  6. Are you willing to let God change what you want?  If you have been a believer for any length of time, you have some “wants” for yourself and the Kingdom of God.  Part of the Holy Spirit’s job description is to take the things of God and make them known to you.  As this process unfolds, it changes us.   Our wants and desires become the Lord’s wants and desires. 

Share this:

  • More
  • Email
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Your Wedding Clothes Are Coming!

15 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by eisakouo in The Lord's Return

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

fine linen, Luke 19:7-8, obedience, righteous acts, wedding clothes

Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.  Luke 19:7-8

      The Lord has told me numerous times in the past two years to “get ready for the wedding!”  I have heard this so many times, I believe it to be imminent.  The Lord is shaking and waking anyone “who has ears to hear” to look forward to a greater reality that is about to happen.  The church, of course, is the bride of Christ.  The Father’s call is to ready ourselves now by putting on our wedding clothes. 

      Practically speaking, have you received any of your wedding clothes yet?  According to Scripture, God the Father provides everyone wedding clothes.  Believe it or not, today and everyday you will receive multiple opportunities to get portions of your wedding clothes.  They are the “righteous acts” you perform everyday.  “Righteous acts” are those words, opportunities and deeds the Father gives you to perform.  Simply put, it is your pure and simple obedience to the known will of God in your life.  More than likely, no one will ever know your simple obedience.  This is why it is “fine linen.” 

       Remember, the Lord is calling for His Bride to ready herself for the wedding.  He wants all believers to be dressed for that day.  Your wedding clothes are on their way this very moment.  Be ready for them!

Share this:

  • More
  • Email
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Categories

  • Abraham: Life of Faith
  • Christmas
  • Daniel – No Compromise
  • Discipletips
  • Dying to Self
  • Holidays and Special Events
  • How God Creates a Man or Woman He Can Use
  • How to Receive an Answer from God
  • Humor/Reaping and Sowing
  • Illustrations/Cartoons/Etc.
  • Kingdom of God
  • Living In Uncertain Times
  • Luke
  • News/Hot Topics
  • Our Journey Into The Promised Land
  • Our Spiritual Process
  • Portraits of the Blessed
  • Quotes
  • Receiving Revelation
  • Servanthood
  • The Lord's Return
  • The Strange & Unusual Voice of God
  • Times of Testing
  • Uncategorized
  • When the Holy Spirit Comes

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 231 other subscribers

Archives

Blog Stats

  • 248,163 hits

Eisakouo

Eisakouo

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Top Rated

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • eisakouo
    • Join 173 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • eisakouo
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: