By Francis Frangipane
The Voice of the Holy Spirit
God speaks to His followers through the Holy Spirit, and our ability to hear His voice is evidence of our humility. Don't miss that important truth: our humility is measured by our capacity to hear His voice. And the way to hear God's voice, the process of coming into that, is acknowledging our need, repenting, and becoming pure in heart. As you continue to embrace that cleansing process, you will become more and more sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
True humility brings joy when we listen to His voice. His voice may not be audible. The fruit of meekness and humility allows a greater ability to hear the Spirit speaking. Jesus told His followers, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27, NIV). In Psalm 95:7–8 (NIV), David warned the people, "Today, if only you would hear His voice, ‘Do not harden your hearts as you did…in the wilderness.'" He is speaking the same words to us: "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts" (Heb. 4:7, NIV). A person characterized by humility hears and responds to
the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Blessed Are the Meek, Part 2
Blessed Are the Meek, Part 1
By Francis Frangipane
In the kingdom, there are no great men or women of God, just humble people whom God has chosen to use greatly. How do we know when we are humble? When God speaks, we tremble. God is looking for men and women who tremble at His word. Such people will find the Spirit of God resting on them; they will become a dwelling place for the Almighty.
The divine pursuit begins with the humbling of self. Fleshly desires, soulish fears, and human ambitions try to rule us. Thus, when true meekness emerges in our hearts, it silences the clamor of our fleshly minds. The voice of our fears and inadequacies becomes a whisper. To humble our earthly perspectives and opinions, we must relegate them to a lower priority; they become mere background noise as our focus turns increasingly toward God. No pretense prevails; we come humbling ourselves. We bow on our faces before the holy gaze of God. And in His light, we finally perceive the darkness of our souls.
Embracing the Fight of Faith
By Francis Frangipane
In spite of worldwide conflicts, the Holy Spirit is guiding the church into its greatest season of transformation. We must not look at the pressures of our times as though they were obstacles set to restrict us. For in the hands of the Almighty, these are the very tools He is using to perfect us.
One of the problems of interpreting end time events is the tendency to focus only upon one set of conditions. If we only look at the fact that Satan will be raging or that there will be lawlessness, wars, earthquakes and famines, we might conclude that difficulties and darkness is all that we have awaiting us until the rapture.
Breaking the Bondage of a Passive Spirit
The Spirit of God does not want us merely to tolerate oppression; He desires we conquer it. He has not called us to passivity; He has called us to war! God has anointed us with the power of His Holy Spirit and Jesus has given us His authority over all the power of the enemy (see Luke 10:19).
This authority of the Lord is not just for guard duty or defensive maneuvers. The Holy Spirit desires that, as we follow Christ, we take the battle to the enemy as well. When David sings in Psalm 18 that, under God’s anointing, he can "bend a bow of bronze," he also states: "I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and I did not turn back until they were consumed" (Psalm 18:37).
Let’s make this clear: David was first a worshiper of God. He did not pursue his enemies without first pursuing God. But when the Lord led him into war, he thoroughly defeated his foes.
The House of Prayer
Jesus said His Father's house would be a "house of prayer for all the nations" (Mark 11:17). True intercessory prayer is born of love and comes in the midst of sin and need. It comes not to condemn, but to redeem. The truth is that all nations sin. All cultures have times of crises. Yet these times can become turning points if, in the time of distress, intercessors cry to God for mercy. Thus, prayer brings redemption from disaster.
We must understand: the church is created not to fulfill God's wrath but to complete His mercy. Remember, we are called to be a house of prayer for all nations. Consider passionately this phrase: "prayer for." Jesus taught us to "pray for" those who persecute and mistreat you. Paul tells us that God desires all men to be saved. Therefore, he urges that "entreaties and prayers . . . be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority" (1 Tim. 2:1–2). When Job "prayed for" his friends, God fully restored him (Job 42). We are to "pray for" the peace of Jerusalem (Ps. 122:6) and "pray for" each other, that we may be healed (James 5:16)
The Power of Honor; The Curse of Dishonor
By Francis Frangipane
Among all in his era, Noah was the most godly. He alone was considered by the Almighty, blameless. In a time when terrible wrath was about to unfurl, Noah alone found favor with the Lord. Consider this man Noah and what he experienced: Aware that the end of his world was at hand, he faithfully preached repentance for over one hundred years, yet his words converted no one. His eyes beheld the terrible descent of the wrath of God; his ears heard the terrifying cries, the final cries, of an entire civilization. His mind experienced the horrifying destruction of every man, woman and child outside the ark.
What burden does such an experience create upon the human soul? What nightmares? We don't know how Noah processed the catastrophic end of the world, but here's what we do know: After the flood, Noah began mankind's journey anew. He farmed and planted a vineyard. From the harvest he produced juice, which fermented into wine. We don't know if this was the first time he, or any man, tasted the effects of wine, but we do know that he drank it and it made him so drunk that he collapsed in his tent. The great man of God lay unconscious and naked, in a drunken stupor.