SEALS FOR CHRIST Membership
Presently consisting of 30 UDT/SEALS
1 Former Russian Commando
20 Support Team members
Due to the nature of the present and
former duties of US Navy Underwater Demolition Team Frogmen & US Navy SEAL Team
Members, many of our members are not prepared to put
their information on a web site.
Each of us respect the right of the other members. As each man decides to put
some information on this page I will update it.
Members & Testimonies:
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Ken Abásolo - born 1948
Rev. Larry J. Lyons
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RM3 Lyons - BUD/S Class 51 Training 1969 |
RM2 Lyons @ Solid Anchor South Vietnam |
The SS Grayback with our |
Bud/s class 51wc
I
was born on June 22, 1946 at Ft. Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas. The son of a career Army Officer I lived at numerous bases both at home and abroad. During this time I attended different churches because it was expected of me. After my father retired from the Army, we moved to Sherman, Texas. I quit school and joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 17 in Jan. 1964.Rev. Larry & Melissa Lyons
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Rev. Andrey Rasshivaev
St. Petersburg, Russia
In His Love and service,
Rev. Andrey with his wife
Lena and daughters Dasha & Aliona
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Bruce & Lelania
SEALS for CHRIST Support Team Leader and wife Lelania
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Jim Menke
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Chris "Frogfather" & wife Christina
Bent
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MY TESTIMONY
Check Out the Jesus I Know
Rev. Joe Perry
Rev. Joe & Gloria
My name is Joe Perry. I’m the outpost leader for Point Man South Bay and Los Angeles harbor Area. I am ordained by the Assemblies of God International fellowship as counselor and teacher. I am the counseling pastor at my home church, Harbor Christian Center in Wilmington, CA
I grew up with pictures of Jesus as the gentle Savior knocking on the door, the Good Shepherd holding a lost lamb in His arms, the warm Jesus with children all around Him. And He is all of that. But, something happened to me one night out in the middle of the desert!
I'm going to share a little of my testimony. It's not my intention to get into the details, and it is certainly not to glorify my exploits. I was born in Inglewood, California. My father was a fireman. There was a lot of alcohol use in my family and there were a lot of really vicious fights between my parents because of it.
Later we moved to the San Bernardino Mountains. We were extremely poor during those years. My parents still managed to open the local bars every day. (And they opened those many days too) So, I was pretty much on my own from age eight until about 13. My best friend was my dog, a German shepherd named Cindy. We knew all the back country trails to get to the few friends I had that lived miles away. It didn’t matter what time I got home because nobody would be there anyhow. I wasn’t afraid of the boogeyman and often took those trails home at night. It was scary around 2:20AM when my parents got home from the bar as they usually wound up getting in physical fights.
Later we moved down to Redondo Beach, California. I pretty much dropped out of high school in my sophomore year of high school, hung out partying everyday at the beach at Topaz Street in Redondo Beach. I was free to roam wherever I wanted to. I would even take off for days at a time and hitchhike up to the San Bernardino Mountains where I had lived in earlier years. Hang out at our old cabin in Crestline, party there for several days, come home and nobody even knew I was gone.
At age 16 I had some circumstances arrive in my life that created a need for a full time job. We falsified my birth date so I could go into the service. And my parents signed me in as a 17-year-old. I entered the service just a few days after my 17th birthday. (My social security information still shows me one year older than I am.) I had been such a black sheep of the family I wanted to be noticed and I decided after boot camp and gunners mate school I was able to hook up with the U.S. Navy's Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Surveillance Group. MIUWS. I was only 18 when my initial training was finished and off to Viet Nam I went.
I was in Vietnam at the tail end of that conflict (late 1971) and (1972) and that changed me. I lived, and ate like I was Vietnamese. I started to like it actually. That’s why I volunteered to return again. At this time of the Vietnam conflict most of the troops were leaving or gone, so our small unit worked very closely with what I always felt like was a bunch of Vietnamese pirates; at least that's the way we appeared. One of those Vietnamese “Boo” now lives near me and is still a good friend of mine.
We zipped up and down the river entrance ways, harbors and coastal areas in patrol gunboats and other small craft, placing listening devices in waterways (sonar buoys) in order to track enemy movement and incoming supplies and snuff it out whenever we could.
Often we would hitchhike (TDY) aboard destroyers going up and down the coast and those even north of the DMZ. Dropping sonar buoys off in that area as well. After those tours I transferred as a gunners mate 2nd class to the destroyer USS Henry B. Wilson and went back one more time in 1975 to that part of the world for the evacuation of Vietnam, Cambodia, and the recovery of the SS Mayaguez that had been captured by the Cambodian Khmer Rouge.
I had eliminated the enemy with gunfire during those tours. Heck, sometimes I wonder if some of them weren’t the enemy and just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That affected me. When I say "changed or affected me" I mean a new hard layer had formed around my heart.
After the evacuation in 75 I traveled all over Southeast Asia and other parts of that part of the world. All of that and I was still only 24 years old when I finally came home. With the exception of a few months in between deployments, I was pretty much gone for almost four years. I voluntarily returned to Viet Nam twice. I continued with the active reserves and back with Inshore Undersea Warfare for several years after. MIUW 12, Long Beach, CA
I tried to
connect with my old friends but I had very much changed over the past several
years and just could not fit in. I felt much older than I actually was. I simply
was not the same Joe who left years before. I had gotten into a fight and in a
split-second seriously injured a man at the Redondo Beach pier. I was only
defending myself, however, that scared me because I knew I would not be able to
play fisticuffs with nobody, we were not trained to box.
I’m not a big guy so I learned how to do the most damage the quickest way possible. Super sucker punch! I wanted to be able to either kill em or put em out for a long time. I didn’t want them to get back up. I wasn’t about to have a grapple match with some big dude. This was part related to training but I also took to another level to survive drunken sailor bar fights. This incident scared me quite a bit however. I was worried I'd kill someone if I'd get in a fight at a bar or somewhere, especially if I wasn't quite in my right mind... you know what I mean? I unsuccessfully tried to walk away from fights and I unsuccessfully attempted to stay out of trouble. I began to suppress my anger.
I was hurt inside and had a hard shell around me protecting it. Even when my dad died and I came home for 2 weeks leave; I couldn't even shed a tear. I was totally desensitized with death. Burned out. Numb. My eyes had seen things no man should see. And I was developing a quick temper, a bad attitude, jumpy, sleepless. I’m not certain if I realized anything was wrong with me at the time.
Started drinkin'and “drugging” in order to feel more able to just simply hang out and feel comfortable around people. That worked for awhile, sort of, got to where I was using a lot of drugs, too much ,and that along with a lot of alcohol and about two years later all of that resulted in my world crashing down around me. Tumbled down in a matter of a few hours one night, early September 1988.
At the time I didn't know what hit me but now I know I ran into a brick wall named Jesus, He can make all things work for the good. Well, I certainly can say that was a good thing; it was not a good world I was living in anyhow. Thank You Jesus! I'm alive today because of Him.
That evening, when that world came crashing down, I found myself in despair standing on the edge of the cliffs at Palos Verdes with a .357 magnum pistol in my hand. Should I jump? Should I shoot myself first then fall off so I wouldn't know I fell off? Then a moment of clarity and rational thinking. What the heck was I about to do? Nah…I had kids and responsibilities and…I had been through much harder situations than the one I was in at the moment. Well, as you can see, I'm standing here today…
I decided to surrender. Surrender to whom? To God, whoever that was. And over the years He revealed himself to me more and more as the Lord Jesus Christ, whom over all those preceding years had been with me, protecting me, even when I ignored Him. Why? I believe somebody had been praying for me and because the Lord had other plans for my life that's why! Even when I didn't know Him, He sure enough knew me. He is faithful. We have a faithful God! Amen? Nobody gave me a tract or invited me to church. He Himself came to me right where I was, right in the nick of time. But, I didn't know Him at first. Oh, I saw the pictures of Him, read about Him a little, but, up until this point in my life I ignored Him, ran from Him. So, I didn't know whom I surrendered to that day, I just called it God. “God Help Me”!
But, an "it" god wasn't what I wanted nor what I needed. A generalized higher power wouldn't do for me either. I heard people say that the light bulb was their higher power, or the doorknob. Not for me; light bulbs burn out and how were you supposed to draw strength and guidance from a doorknob?? I needed someone I could talk to, someone that could understand me. I needed "The" God. I had trust issues. I needed a God that I could really get to know and trust, and He to know me.
After that day on the cliffs I started thinking and I started reading the Bible. I had some serious questions. What if it's true that there's an all-powerful Creator God who actually cares for the likes of you and me? The Bible had the answers I was looking for. Deuteronomy 23:5, says that "the Lord your God loves you."
Isaia Isaiah 40:11 says, "He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart." Isaiah 43:1-4 tells us that the One who created you and me says, "You a re m you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you… you are precious and honored in my sight, and I Love you."
Man, I didn't even have a clue what love was. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. The Bible is clear in it' message that God does care for the likes of you and me, regardless of our past.
What if it's true that hell is a real place of burning fire that lasts forever? In Matthew 10:28, Jesus says, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. What, be afraid of the gentle shepherd in those pictures? Jesus taught that hell is a real place.
What if it's true that there is only one God and only one way to God? 1 Tim.2:5 says there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Isaiah 45:14 assures us, there is no other God.
In John 14:6, Jesus says "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Now note that He didn’t say “I am a way, or the best way. HE said He is THE ONLY WAY. The apostle Peter taught in Acts 4:12, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." The Bible is clear that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to God.
What if it's true that the timeless truths of the Bible, even though they've been around for thousands of years, will still work in your family life today? That it will work in healing your past, that it will guide you into forgiveness and set you free. 2 Tim.3:16-17 says, "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." In John 7:17, Jesus affirmed that God's Word is truth. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." The Bible is clear that its truths still do work today."
Do you know that most of all the problems we experience in life are a result of unbiblical responses to people or situations? That's an important fact… Now, I continued on in my education after I got my life back together, went to college, got my Masters degree in counseling psychology. Learned all about people problems and how to fix them. Well, that's nice but… let me repeat that important fact again; "most of all problems we experience in life are a result of unbiblical responses to other people or situations. Well, they didn't tell me that in college. Man, I bought and read a lot of books, but, all of the answers to all questions, all problems, and all of the ultimate solutions, are found in just one Book, the Bible.
Gloria (my wife) never received the education I was fortunate to receive, but, she just blows me away with her God given wisdom and knowledge gained through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and reading God's Word. She's a graduate of HSU. Holy Spirit University. She doesn't have a master's degree, but she's got The Masters degree.
My brethren; when our relationship to God is not right, it causes problems in every area of our lives- in our marriage, our career, our parenting, our relationships, and our finances. Then when people have problems, they turn to many different ways of coping before turning to God. BUT, all of these paths are dead ends. The Bible in Proverbs 16:25 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Even when we finally realize that our deepest need is to know God, we often try wrong ways of getting to know God.
For example, we'll rely on our religious upbringing as a child. We'll comfort ourselves by saying things like, "My mother was a Christian so I must be one too." Or, "I was born in the church." Oh yeah? If you were born in a garage, does that make you a car? Or we'll say "I'll give up all of my bad habits, and then God will accept me." In other words I won't drink, smoke, cuss, or hang around those who do. But, the fact is you could live like a monk and it doesn't guarantee you know God. Why? Because God doesn't grade on a curve.
Many people say, "I'll start being religious and get baptized and go to church." That doesn't do it either. You can be baptized so many times that all the fish in the sea will know you on a first name basis, but that doesn't make you a Christian.
What then is the real solution? Well, that's what I want to tell you all. The solution is not found in a plan or a program; it's found in a Person, a Person named Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus didn't say He was a way, or one way, or even the best way. He said He was the only way to God. Either you go through Jesus, or you don't get in the door.
The Bible says that all of us have sinned. Any kind of sin is a form of cosmic treason. Sin is like raising our fist in God's face, saying, “I’m going to live my way!" Sin involves the breaking of God's commands. The payment we owe for sin is death. God is not grading on a curve. If you are less pure than Jesus is, you cannot get into heaven as you are. Did you hear that?
Wherever Jesus went, sin was revealed, and people just plain don't like sin to be revealed especially when it's your own. But, sin separates us from God forever. Our prayers are not heard. You are in a very good place when you can weep before God, repenting over the least little thing. You must allow God to make you fit for heaven by receiving Jesus Christ into your life. The ultimate sin, the final sin that sends everybody to hell that commits it, is the sin of not receiving Jesus Christ as your personal savior. The sin of unbelief is the only sin that Christ's death did not pay for.
Now before we get any crazy notions to raise our fist at God, let me tell you about whom we're dealing with. If you have been struggling with fully submitting your life to Jesus; I believe your thought process, even your entire life will be altered if you capture this message. Read Revelations 1:7-20
Several years ago, after I was clean and sober and began seeking the Lord, I went through a terrible time of darkness manifested as a deep, deep depression. (I knew little about spiritual warfare at that time, and the devil was hammering on me.) And I knew virtually nothing about PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Late one afternoon, in a very depressed state of mind and spirit, I got in my truck and drove to a place way out in the desert to an area that I was not familiar with. As it became dark outside I began to take random turns on dirt roads until I became totally lost and the roads ran out.
I then got out and started walking. It was dark, no moon. It was like I was in a dark cloud of heaviness and I simply did not care about what I was doing, where I was going or what could happen to me. I was only wearing shorts, sandals and a tank top. It was around early November and it was now a moonless night, getting cold, and absolutely no light.
But suddenly… I noticed a small bright light on the horizon. A very small pin light but very bright. Not like a flashlight or a car headlight. It was a white light. This light began to grow in size and intensity. Bright, white bright and soon it took up the entire eastern sky like a nuclear explosion. I was still on the ground because now I couldn't get up. The desert was lit up with this white, pure light, it was hot, and the best description I can tell you, it was a star like cross of a persons form formed out of the light; He was beautiful, and then a voice like many waters spoke to me..."Joe, you are breaking the heart of everyone who knows you, including Myself. Come to know me. Let me show you what I have prepared for you." Then…Silence… the light folded in upon itself and was gone.
HA! Some people would call this a UFO experience. I call it a U KNOW WHO experience!
It was totally black out, no moon and by now it must have been very cold, but strangely I felt warm like I was sunburned. I just knew for certain that Jesus or an angel sent from Him had just spoken to me. He had mentioned me by my first name. He had known me all of my life; even before that!
I had to get back home, but, I had been probably been walking for hours, had no idea where I was and couldn't see anything in front of me. I was stumbling through brush and tripping over rocks. Then I discovered that if I briefly closed my eyes, like a deep blink, I could still picture the lit up desert. So I began to blink and walk in the total darkness. Within a half-hour I literally walked right into my dark blue truck.
I waited until the sun began to come up and headed back home. And by the way; remember I said I was wearing shorts, tank top and sandals? The exposed areas of my skin were "SON burned” Now, I suppose I could tell you that this was my "without a doubt there is a God." experience. But as time passed, the greatest proof was a life changed. My life changed! Jesus didn't quite reveal Himself as the gentle shepherd to me that night.
He revealed Himself to me that night as Almighty God! If you haven’t already; I want you all to meet Almighty God Jesus through His Holy Spirit. What is the name that describes our Savior and Messiah? It's Christ. What is His personal name? Jesus. And what is His Divine title and position? It is Lord. Move it around a little and put it all together, and you have His full name, one that demons cannot throw doubt upon. His full name is Lord Jesus Christ.
Seventy two times the New Testament uses these three words together to describe the majesty and uniqueness of our marvelous Savior. Acts 28:31 says that Paul "preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1 says, "since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:5 says, "For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake." Philippians 2:11 asserts that one day, "every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father". 2 Peter 3:18 invites us to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Jude 4 calls Jesus Christ "our only Sovereign and Lord."
I have experienced during times of worship; where I felt like the roof is going to lift away and expose an open heaven. That, "just beyond" the worship, like there is a curtain behind the worship, I can hear that same voice I heard in the desert that night. The voice that the Bible describes as like many waters.
He visits us. He speaks to us. He wants to speak to us as a body and we need to get tuned in to His voice. Friends, God is getting ready to do something and He wants to speak to us. He wants to give us our operation orders!
You see, the last book of the Bible tells us about a coming world leader who will at last bring peace and order to our troubled planet to replace all the chaos and confusion that now plagues the earth. The name of that leader is not Antichrist; it is Jesus Christ. Antichrist will rule the earth for seven years. Jesus Christ will defeat him. Jesus is going to win. And you "should" bet your life on it!
We, my fellow veterans, know what it’s to be men under authority. If you don’t mind I want to shift gears and make a little detour in my message. I’ll come back to it; I’ll weave this right back into it. I’ll make it fit.
I’m going to
read Matthew 8:5-13.
And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and
saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented."
Jesus *said to him, "I will come and heal him. " But the centurion said, "Lord,
I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my
servant will be healed. "For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers
under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and
he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does {it.}"
Now when Jesus heard {this,} He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. "I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline {at the table} with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that {very} moment.
In this passage I just read we hear of the healing of the centurion’s servant in which Jesus highly commends this soldier’s faith. Calling his faith greater than any he had found in Israel. This is not the only time we read of military personnel presented in favorable light. There are several examples of soldiers who were outstanding in their service to God. Joshua and Caleb were soldiers who stood out. They tried to persuade Israel to trust in God and were threatened with death. They were persistent however and in the end they were the only ones over the age of 21 to enter the Promised Land. After entering that land their military victories are well documented.
There are many other mighty men of valor told about in the scriptures. I think there’s a very important message that we need to acknowledge.
Military personnel have a particular attitude toward authority. The military teaches the importance of being under authority. Without a respected line of authority, chaos would develop. It’s impossible for a large group of individuals to function efficiently without a chain of command that is respected. Instead of united, coordinated forces, it would be every man for himself. Soldiers are drilled to submit to authority immediately. Delay can be disastrous on the battlefield, where speed can mean the difference between life and death, victory or defeat. Questioning authority, balking at commands, can easily result in ones own death and that of their comrades. Thus the military teaches both, how to submit to authority as well as how to exercise authority over others.
Successful Soldiers learn about their enemy, his tactics, and where he operates from. Soldiers know how to use their weapons under a variety of conditions. During battle, we temporarily cast fear aside and attack. We run to the enemy to keep him off balance. There’s a strong advantage to be the aggressor and not defender.
So goes it in the spiritual realm. Our spiritual enemy is no dummy and does have limited power and a pretty darn large army. But we have, (you need to get this) we have unlimited power in a battle with a predetermined winning outcome! Oh we might get some wounds, the battle can be heated at times but this can be done without fear. WE WIN! It’s guaranteed from the beginning of time! Hallelujah! Thank You Lord Jesus! So here we are brother and sister vets. Bring this into your ministry. Knowing how to submit to authority, obey the will of the Lord immediately upon hearing the Gospel or prompting of the Holy Spirit. We wouldn’t hesitate to obey orders if our lives were in danger, why hesitate when your soul is in jeopardy? Warfare, whether carnal or spiritual, requires complete devotion and total concentration to the task at hand.
Ephesians 6:10-13 reads:
Eph 6:10 ¶
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm
against the schemes of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against
the spiritual {forces} of wickedness in the heavenly {places.}
Eph 6:13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to
resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
For we are to be people under authority, the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ! An authority over all things in heaven and earth! An authority that demands obedience. The term "Son of Man" is the code name for the Messiah. This is the glorified and ascended Jesus Christ in heaven. The same One that appeared in the manner He did to get my attention out in the desert that night through His Holy Spirit. The same one for whom I can hear His voice "just beyond the worship", just beyond my prayers.
LISTEN carefully. Beloved, if there's anything in your life that in any way resists the power of the Holy Spirit and the entrance of His Word into your heart and life, drop on your knees and cry aloud for mercy. When the Spirit is waiting at your heart's door, do not resist Him; instead, open your heart to the touch of God. Resisting the Holy Spirit will drive you in to sin. Yielding to Him will give you His power.
He sees all, knows all, and searches all; absolutely nothing can be hidden from Him, even the deep motives of our hearts. He sees into the deep and secret places of all of us. With holy intelligence, Jesus knows every detail about every one of us. Nothing escapes His attention. He never has to gather information or ask questions. "Listen" There is no place to hide. Get right; right now. But the good news is, when you are right with Him, this knowing that He is there with you becomes a blessing! Nothing can obscure His vision. That's why we should strive to seek His vision. No knowledge is out of His reach. With blazing insight and penetrating gaze, He fully knows every detail about us. Knowing this about Him produces within us the fear of the Lord, which is the conscious awareness that God is continually watching and evaluating everything we say, think, and do. Are you beginning to get a new vision and respect for our Lord?
Catch this… Jesus will judge sin in His churches. Yes, He will judge sin in the world too, but, according to 1 Peter 4:17, "it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God." Are you family? Why does the Lord Jesus Christ begin His judgment with His church? Well, do you hate weeds more in your neighbor’s yard or your own? You hate them especially in your yard, right? Do you hate cancer more in your neighbor’s family or your own? You hate to see cancer hit any family, but you especially hate to see it hit your own. In the same way, Christ especially hates sin in His own spiritual family, even more than he hates it in the world. (Let this all sink in for a moment). Wow…
Revelations says His voice was like the deafening roar of a powerful waterfall plummeting hundreds of feet below. In other words, when Jesus Christ speaks, He drowns out all other voices. He is the final authority. In Southeast Asia I went to the bottom of a giant limestone sinkhole. A large waterfall fell into it from a few hundred feet above. The roar of all that water rushing over the falls was deafening! The cascading waters completely drowned out all other sounds, including all I tried to say. I could only hear the roar of the water. Nothing else. For a long time after leaving that place, I could still hear the cascading waters reverberating in my ears.
So it is with the Lord Jesus Christ. When He speaks, He utterly drowns out every human or demonic voice; His truth flushes away man's feeble opinions. What Jesus says to his churches is the final word. His appraisals cannot be debated. His verdicts cannot be overturned. His promises cannot be broken. That's great news isn't it?
Hebrew's 4:12 says, "For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
This sword, therefore, portrays Christ's judicial authority to discipline His church, removing our evil thoughts and ungodly attitudes with conviction through His Holy Spirit, which leads to repentance. With his sharp sword, Jesus stands ready to surgically remove sin from His body (us) just like a surgeon to cut out a life threatening malignancy. Because He loves us and wants us spiritually healthy and alive.
His face shines like the sun, too brilliant to look upon, for it radiates the splendor and majesty of the Shekinah glory of God. Jesus Christ is no longer a lowly suffering servant on a cross. He is now our risen and victorious King of Kings. He is utterly brilliant, gleaming in glory and greatness.
What a vision of Jesus! His head, His feet, His voice, His hand, His mouth, His face, all portray perfect power and perfect authority. This Jesus can overcome any obstacles in your life!
When you close your eyes, is this the Christ you see? When you pray, is this the Lord before whom you come? When you worship, is this the Jesus to whom you sing? When you read your Bible, is it this Master that you hear speaking to you? Well…??? Probably not. Why? Because, let's face it. We have become too casual in our relationship with Christ. Too comfortable. Too horizontal. Too buddy buddy. It's no wonder that in a recent survey I read of ex-church members, it was revealed that the main reason they stopped going to church was that they found it boring. Boring? Not this Jesus! He reigns in exalted loftiness, dwells in consuming majesty and glory. There's nothing boring about Him at all! HA!
In fact, let's suppose that this Jesus whom I have been speaking about this evening were to walk into wherever you are right now. What would be your response? Would you continue to sing worship songs? Would you walk over and introduce yourself to Him? Would you eagerly tell Him about your ministry and the wonderful things that you are doing? Would you ask to explain some deep mystery that has been perplexing you? Would you just run over and hug Him? Would you get Him to autograph your Bible?
I doubt it friends! You wouldn't do any of those things. What you would do is immediately fall on your face before Him. Covering your eyes from the glare of His glory! You would drop to the ground in humble adoration. No one would remain standing, let alone initiate any conversation with Him. With much fear and trembling, we would acknowledge His divine presence by collapsing to the floor. We would all fall to the ground like cut timber. Holy terror would grip our hearts. We would experience repentance and revival unlike anyone has ever seen before. Our faces would hit the dirt, and we would experience complete and total brokenness before Him. Man… why would we want to wait until He comes? What is stopping us from doing that right now in the presence of His Holy Spirit?
God wants us to be free. Men and women are tired of imitations; they want reality; they want to see people who have the living Christ within, who are filled with Holy Spirit power. We will not accomplish that with our own power or devices. We are called to be ministers of life and instruments pointing to the saving power for humanity. God works mightily in us, proving us and manifesting His grace. Learn right now to take the victory run to that enemy and shout in the face of the devil, "It is done"!! , It is done devil!! For Your glory Lord. Thank You for the victory I have in you! Amen
We have fellow veterans out there hiding, hurting, in bondage, POW’s of our spiritual enemy… Who is best to get out there and be Point Men to point the way to Freedom in Christ? We’ve been there, we know the way!
OKAY. I’ll close with this. You’ve all heard that a man is known by the enemy he has? If you’ve got a price on your head you know that you are a threat to enemy operations. Are you a threat to the kingdom of darkness? If the satan and his demons were having a board meeting and your name came before the board, what would they say? Would they say to put extra demon troops on you to harass and oppose you? Would they put a high price on your head? Or would they say “This guy is no threat to us or our activities. Leave him alone. He needs no help from us”. Remember, the devil and his henchmen are created beings with limited resources. They won’t waste their time on those who do not pose a threat. There are millions of church going Christians sitting in their pews Sunday after Sunday who pose little threat to the kingdom of darkness.
If we truly believe that we war against rulers and principalities that cannot be seen, then we must realize that their mandate is to hinder any believer who is seeking to walk in the fullness of God. Greater is He that is in you, than he who is in the world (1 Jn 4:4).
If you are seeking to fully follow our Commander In Chief in this spiritual war, you can expect harassment from the enemy. Often this harassment comes in the form of temptations and God permits temptations because it drives us deeper into the soil of God.
I remember one morning in Viet Nam where we got into a situation where we were heavily out-gunned. I was ashore and that was uncommon to be caught in this type of situation. I was lying on the side of a muddy dike and could here the bullets smacking into the mud above me. All I could do is press into that mud! Today when you come under attack-Press Into Jesus! These times of temptation reveal God’s awesome power to keep us and walk us through those temptations, or whatever the attack is. The point is, do not consider it strange if you find yourself fighting major battles the more obedient you become to the Master. God desires each of us to become a feared enemy of hell in order to affect satan’s domain
Heavenly Father, you are awesome in power. Lord, fill these veterans with your Holy Spirit. Give them Your power, your knowledge, and your vision. Let their Outposts be a fearsome stronghold of Yours. Let these Point Men be armed with Your might! Lord you know who are yours, Use us Dear Lord, guide us to those who need to know you. Provide us with your power to break the chains of bondage of those who are prisoners of the enemy so they may be sold out soldiers for you! In Jesus’s mighty name I pray. Amen
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