Dearest friends,
I hope you appreciate this week’s letter.
THIS WORD CAME ROARING INTO MY MIND LIKE A BULLET SHOT OUT OF A GUN THIS WEEK, I felt as though I should share it with you in our weekly letter.
PASSION VACUUM
WHATEVER LOWERS OUR ESTEEM FOR THE PURPOSE OF GOD IN OUR LIVES, is a PASSION VACUUM
1. When the passion for sport blinded a stadium of mockers to the possibility of God's long suffering to respond with empowering grace. i.e.: Samson, recall if you will and check the box. Here we have a man of God who knew the power of God but was willing to exchange it for what his eye lusted for. Enter Delilah, the super slide to binding, blinding and grinding. In the prison he learned that God gives men second chances. A key to this is Samsons hair began to grow again, his strength was in a vow, not just his hair. His hair was secondary to his vow. (No razor on his head and no strong drink). Commitment is reflected in a man's relationship with God. His unique gifting and power were directly related to purity.
2. Daniel! God joined those who defied a megalomaniacs decree. It seemed like too little too late, according to man's understanding, he showed up when the heat was excessive. He walked in the heat of the trial with them. A greater reality showed up in their furnace, why do I say, "Their furnace? They owned it!!!
3. God loves to show Himself strong on the behalf of those who fear Him. His eyes search to and fro over the entire earth seeking to find those who are in constant pursuit of Him.
4. A few weeks ago, I was asked by a young man, that I had never met, a question I had never been asked before. "How do you keep your Passion for God after all the years you have served the Lord?" My answer was simple wrapped up in one statement: I have always prayed, "I WANT TO BE POSSESSED BY SOMETHING GREATER THAN MYSELF." I am like a boy who told the Old Preacher, I want to know God like you do. He took the young man to a pond in the woods on a cool morning while morning dew was hanging heavy in the forest an while baptizing him held him under the water to the point the young man thought he was going to drown him. I thirst!! (THE STORY GOES UNTIL YOU ARE AS DESPERATE FOR GOD AS A DROWNING MAN IS FOR HIS NEXT BREATH).
5. The story of the lover in pursuit, at midnight. You must seize the opportunity of a lifetime in the lifetime of the opportunity. Some will go out of meetings like these with (wishes) instead of Marching Orders.
6. Steve Hill. I was asked to give a word at the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Florida. One evening, the Lord gave me this to say, "When the priest ascended up the steps to the altar of sacrifice, he had to have his buttocks covered." When men fall into shame, the shame of their nakedness is seen. What happens as a result of their shame is their loss of passion is manifest because their passion for God has been vacuumed out of their heart.
We Love you and encourage you to believe the truth of scriptures…
"THE BRIDE HAS MADE HERSELF READY"
Yours for Souls,
Pastor Cleddie