Wednesday 30 April 2008

John Piper on How to Stay Humble

"Be more amazed that you're saved than that they're lost".

John Piper - "How Do You Remain Humble?" - "Ask Pastor John" - Desiring God Ministries Podcast - April 30, 2008.

Tuesday 29 April 2008

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Visions in the Spirit

"You and I, it is true, do not know much about visions, and I do not say we should seek them, but there are such things. This old world of ours is a visible, a seen, a material world but there is another world, a spiritual world. Say what you like against the spiritists and I do say that they are wrong but they are right in this respect - they know that there is another realm".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "God's Way Not Ours" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (2003) - (p8).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on John Flavel and the Baptism of the Spirit

"John Flavel says that during the greater part of the day he did not know where he was, he was so enjoying a visitation of God that he even forgot his wife and children in his ecstasy. Is it therefore correct to say that we have not been sealed with the Spirit until we have had some such overwhelming experience?".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Ephesians: God's Ultimate Purpose (Ephesians 1)" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (1978) - (p286).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on the Concious Experience of the Baptism of the Spirit

"Not concious! The Apostles were as men who appeared to be filled with new wine; they were in a state of ecstasy. They were rejoicing, they were praising God; they were moved, their hearts were ravished; they experienced things which they had never felt or known before. They were transformed and were so different that you can scarcely recognise them as the same Peter and James and John and the rest as they once were. Not experimental! Nothing can be more experimental; it is the height of Christian experience!".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Ephesians: God's Ultimate Purpose (Ephesians 1)" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (1978).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on the Experience of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

"You cannot be "baptised" or "filled" with the Spirit without knowing it. It is the greatest experience one can ever know".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Romans: The Sons of God (Romans 8:5-17)" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (1975) - (p271).

Rob Rufus on the Devil's Plot to Attack the Church

"The major attack of the devil is not to stop the revival! The major attack of the devil is to hide this truth that you are righteous through grace and grace alone! Because if he can hide that then he will let the revival start and then after 3 years he will bring laws, rules and condemnation on it".

Rob Rufus - "Session 1" - "Glory and Grace Conference in Sydney" - Wednesday 26th March 2008.

Rob Rufus on Revival and the Gift of Righteousness

"If you have a revelation of the gift of righteousness and that God wants to impress you and it's not about your performance - it's about His - then the encounters you have will last for the rest of your life. But if you don't get this, then the revival will last for 2 or 3 years and will then wane and people will stupidly say, "Oh that was the season and now it's ended". The season of revival should never end! It is from one degree of glory to the next degree of glory!".

Rob Rufus - "Session 1" - "Glory and Grace Conference in Sydney" - Wednesday 26th March 2008.

Rob Rufus on the Key Issue Behind Law and Grace

"It has really got nothing to do with law and grace. It is all about who controls the Church. Does the Holy Spirit control the Church? Or does man control the Church? Does hierarchy control the Church? Does programme control the Church? Does organisation control the Church? Does the talents and religious pedigrees of man control the Church? Does self-righteousness control the Church? Does sophisticated theology control the Church or does the power of the living God rush through the Church in signs and wonders and miracles?

The number one reason why there aren't signs, wonders and miracles in the Church? Easy. Law. Condemnation. It brings in the control of man. Condemnation is an effective insulation against the power of God".

Rob Rufus - "Session 1" - "Glory and Grace Conference in Sydney" - Wednesday 26th March 2008.

Rob Rufus on the New Testament

"The New Testament is God's love letter to you and is perfumed with His Presence".

Rob Rufus - "Invading the Impossible - Part 14" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 20th April 2008.

Monday 28 April 2008

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Excess and Enthusiasm

"There is no problem of discipline in a graveyard; there is no problem very much in a formal church. The problems arise when there is life. A poor sickly child is not difficult to handle but when that child is well and full of life and of vigour - well then you have your problems. Problems are created by life and by vigour, and the problems of the early church were spiritual problems, problems arising because of the danger of going to excess in the spiritual realm".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Joy Unspeakable" - Kingsway, Eastbourne (1995) - (p19).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on the Unchanging-ness of Grace

"You cannot go in and out of grace; you cannot be saved one day and not be the next, and go back and forth. You are either under the dominion of sin and Satan or else you are under the dominion of grace and of God".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Romans: The New Man (Romans 6)" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (1979) - (p143).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on the Power of Grace

"There is nothing that can withstand the power of the reign of grace".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Romans: Assurance (Romans 5)" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (1971) - (p339).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on the State of Grace

"Grace reigns and it does not share the Throne with anybody or anything else. You must not put your good works there, or the Church or priests, or saints, or the Virgin Mary or anything else. Grace occupies the Throne alone; and if you try to put anything alongside it, it means that you have not understood the "reign of grace".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Romans: Assurance (Romans 5)" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (1971) - (p319).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Grace

"Grace always abounds. Grace must never be thought of in static, mechanical, mercenary terms. No, no! There is no measure to grace, no limit - it is illimitable".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Romans: Assurance (Romans 5)" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (1971) - (p234).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Fighting Immorality

"No one has ever been cured of immorality by reading books on the control of sex - never has been, never will".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "God's Way Not Ours" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (2003) - (p68).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on When We Sin

"When we sin, we should not feel that we are back under the wrath of God, but that we have hurt a loving Father. What a difference! "There is no condemnation" but we have wounded and hurt a loving Father. So we go back to Him as the prodigal son did, and find that all is well".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Romans: The Final Perseverance of the Saints (Romans 8:5-17) - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (1975) - (p100)

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Worship's Nature

"Our coming together in public worship should be a foretaste of heaven. Public worship should be a gathering of the first fruits, a sampling of what is to be our lot in heaven".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Ephesians: God's Ultimate Purpose (Ephesians 1) - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh - (p308).

Terry Virgo on Unbelief

"God does not despise your weakness but He cannot bless your unbelief".

Terry Virgo - "Gideon - Session 1" - "Let the Nations Be Glad Conference" Newfrontiers Conference in Brighton.

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Natural Laws and Miracles

"God is not confined by His own laws. He has made them and if He chooses at times to act independently of them, why should He not?".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Authentic Christianity - Volume 1 (Acts 1-3) - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (1999) - (p227).

Sunday 27 April 2008

Dr Lloyd-Jones on our Doctrine and Revival

"Does our doctrine allow for an outpouring of the Spirit - the 'gale' of the Spirit coming upon us individually and collectively?".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Revival" - Crossway Books, Wheaton (1987) - (p302).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Phenomena in Revival

"We must not be interested in, nor frightened of phenomena. I am pointing out to you that God Himself has said that the glory is so glorious that men's physical frame is inadequate. So do not be surprised when you read the reports of people fainting, or going off into a kind of dead swoon, it is a measure of the glory of God. It is beyond us and it is not surprising therefore that it should sometimes lead to such consequences".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Revival" - Crossway Books, Wheaton (1987) - (p219).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on a Period of Non-Revival

"Go on with all your activities, if you wish to do so. Go on with your work. I am not saying that you should stop all your efforts and just wait. No, go on, if you like, doing all that you are doing but I do say this - make certain that you leave time to pray for revival and to see that has more time than anything else".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Revival" - Crossway Books, Wheaton (1987) - (p210).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on What Happens in Revival

"It is just this glimpse of God, of the glory of God passing by. That is precisely what it is ... the God who is there in the glory as it were, comes down and pours out His Spirit and ascends again and we look on and feel and know that the glory of God is in the midst and is passing by. It is only a touching of the hem of the garment as it were, it is but a vision of the back".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Revival" - Crossway Books, Wheaton (1987) - (p220).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on How Essential Revival Is

"The Christian church would have been dead and finished centuries ago and many times over were it not for Revivals".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Joy Unspeakable" - Kingsway, Eastbourne (1995) - (p436).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Defining Revival

"I would define a revival as a large number, a group of people, being baptised by the Holy Spirit at the same time, or the Holy Spirit falling upon, coming upon a number of people assembled together".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Joy Unspeakable" - Kingsway, Eastbourne (1995) - (p55).

Saturday 26 April 2008

Dr Lloyd-Jones on "Spiritual Songs"

"Take the passage from Ephesians 5:19. What are those "spiritual songs"? I have no doubt whatsoever but it means singing under the direct inspiration of the Spirit exactly as you have it in 1 Corinthians 14:15".

Dr Lloyd-Jones - "Ephesians: Christian Conduct (Romans 12)" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh - (p88).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Results of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

"God then as we are told here, provides this amazing chariot for us which takes us to the very heavens and gives us this glorious experience of the reality of the Son of God, the manifestation of Christ according to His promise, which moves us and grips us to the depths of our being and we are lost in a sense of wonder, love and praise".

Dr Lloyd-Jones - "Great Doctrines of the Bible - Volume 2" - Crossway Books, Wheaton (2003) - (p254).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Results of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

"It is an occasion in which the reality of divine things becomes plain, in a way that it has never been before and in a sense, never is again, so that they can look back to it; it stands out in all it's glory. And therefore this is something which we should seek. But so many, because of their fear of excesses have never even sought it and have felt that it is wrong and dangerous to seek it and thereby they have put themselves out of the category that includes these great men of God whose experiences we have just been considering".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Great Doctrines of the Bible - Volume 2" - Crossway Books, Wheaton (2003) - (p251).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Books on Revival

"I have made it a practice now for many years, whenever I see a book on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit which I have never seen before to look first at the synopsis or the table of contents at the beginning and the index at the end. I look for "Revival" and I do not find it".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Joy Unspeakable" - Kingsway, Eastbourne (1995) - (pp430-431).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Obsession with Orthodoxy

"Is there not a real danger of our becoming guilty of a very subtle form of Arminianism if we maintain that correct doctrine and understanding are essential to our being used by the Spirit of God ... I said that John Wesley was to me the greatest proof of Calvinism. Why? Because in spite of his faulty thinking he was greatly used of God to ptreach the gospel and convert souls.! That is the greatest proof of Calvinism, predestination and election".

Dr Lloyd-Jones - "The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (1991) - (p297).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on the Preaching of the Gospel

"True preaching of the gospel in it's fullness always exposes itself to the charge of antinominanism".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Romans: The Sons of God (Romans 8:5-17)" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (1975) - (p228).

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Angels

"I fear that we neglect the ministry of angels; we do not think sufficiently about it. But whether we realise it or not, there are angels who are looking after us; they are round and about us. We do not see them, but that does not matter. We do not see the most important things; we only see the things that are visible. But we are surrounded by angels and they are appointed to look after us and to minister to us - guardian angels.

I do not pretend to understand it all; I know no more than the Bible tells me - but I do know this, that His servants, the angels are my servants. They are surrounding us all, they are looking after us and they are manipulating things for us in a way we cannot understand".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Ephesians: Life in the Spirit (Ephesians 4:18-6:9) - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (1980) - (pp205-206).

Rob Rufus on His Ministry Statement

"To the degree that you get rid of condemnation over your life, to that degree the glory Presence of God will manifest over your life. Much condemnation? Little glory Presence on your life, your home and your family. Little condemnation over your life? Much manifest glory of God over your life! No condemnation over your life? FULL manifestation of the fullness of glory over your life!".

Rob Rufus - "Invading the Impossible - Part 14" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 20th April 2008.

Joshua Mills on Being in the Glory

"We come into the glory not so that we can show You who we are but so that You can show us who You are".

Joshua Mills - "Glory Encounters - Part 1" - City Church International, Hong Kong - 13th April 2008.

Rob Rufus on the Glory Cloud and Relationships

"In the glory there is an acceleration of relationships, a unity and a one-ness".

Rob Rufus - "Glory Encounters - Part 3" - City Church International, Hong Kong - 14th April 2008.

Bill Johnson on Right Standing with God

"You cannot lose through bad works what you did not gain through good works".

Bill Johnson cited by Rob Rufus - "Invading the Impossible - Part 14" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 20th April 2008.

Kaye Beyer on Your Ministry

"Do what you are doing and be faithful where you are and God will give you your ministry".

Kaye Beyer - "A Life of Miracles" - Glory Encounters Conference in Hong Kong - 14th April 2008.

Thursday 24 April 2008

A Prophecy from Che Ahn to Todd Bentley

"He has prepared you for such a time as this ... there is a Branham anointing on you and a double portion of it! The Lord is raising you up! And I feel I must say that I must decrease and You must increase!".

Che Ahn to Todd Bentley - "Lakeland Revival - Thursday 24th April 2008" - taken from God TV.

Wednesday 23 April 2008

Rob Rufus on not being ignored

"It is better to cause a riot or a revival than be ignored."

Rob Rufus - There's a flood of glory coming! - City Church International - 13 April 2008

Wednesday 16 April 2008

Ryan Rufus on Reigning in Life

"Now to reign in life is to know that you are right with God. It's to know that He is happy with you, approving of you and pleased with you ... It's too know that His love is towards you constantly and His favour on you. To reign in life is to live totally free from crippling guilt and condemnation with an awareness of your absolute right standing before God that can never change".

Ryan Rufus - "Do Christians Still Have a Sinful Nature?" - City Church International, Hong Kong (2006) - pp45-46.

Walter Brueggemann on God Speaking/God Silent?

"I suspect that prophetic speech - history-making, human-holy speech about hurt and hope - has disappeared because we have accepted the pretensions of the technological silence. Our proper task is, in the tradition of Israel's prophets, not excessive respect for the silence of technique but exposure of that silence for what it is, a surreptitious, determined resolve to end the rhetorical-political process that makes human life possible, that let's God be present and effective among us".

Walter Brueggemann - "Like Fire in the Bones - Listening for the Prophetic Word in Jeremiah" - Fortress Press (2006) - (p84).

Joshua Mills on Miracles

"The miracle is not what it is - the miracle is where it comes from!".

Joshua Mills - "Grace Encounters Conference - Part 2" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Monday 14th April 2008

Rob Rufus on Definining a Manifestation of God

"What is a manifestation of God? It means God turns up! The loveliness of Who He is is revealed! He manifests Who He is and people experience it!".

Rob Rufus - "There is a Flood of Glory Coming!!" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 13th April 2008.

Tuesday 15 April 2008

Charles Simpson on the Problem with the Church

"The single most evident fact of the modern church - when one compares it to the early Church - is the lack of the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon it's proclamations, programs and people - supernatural power is essential power is essential to vanquish supernatural opposition".

Charles Simpson - "The Cry for Leadership" - New Wine Magazine - March 1976 - CGM Publishing - (pp13-14).

Monday 14 April 2008

Ryan Rufus on How Sanctification Happens

"Sanctification is where your earthly condition starts to become more and more like your heavenly position - the means of this happening is not by willpower or self-effort or through the Law but through regular transforming encounters with the God of glory".

Ryan Rufus - "Sanctification By Grace"The Trinity of Man - Part 1" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 30th March 2008.

Ryan Rufus on What Sanctification Is

"Sanctification is about allowing our position in Christ to flow through our current condition".

Ryan Rufus - "Sanctification By Grace"The Trinity of Man - Part 1" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 30th March 2008.

Ryan Rufus on Methods of Sanctification

"People are trying to use something we are no longer under - the law - to restrain something that we no longer have - our sinful nature".

Ryan Rufus - "Sanctification By Grace"The Trinity of Man - Part 1" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 30th March 2008.

Justin Taylor on Good Advice for Controlling Leaders

"'Because I said so' is not very persuasive to five-year old children throwing a temper tantrum and 'because I said so' is not very effective with twenty-five year old college students in bed with one another. What is needed in it's place is a worldview built around the proposition that God said so. Our calling is not merely to parrot those words, but to sert forth a biblical theology that takes seriously the gracious prescriptions and the gracious prohibitions of our holy, loving Creator".

Justin Taylor - "Introduction" in "Sex and the Supremacy of Christ" (Piper, John and Taylor, Justin - editors) - Crossway Books (2006) - (p15).

Sunday 13 April 2008

Sam Storms on Jonathan Edwards View of the Song of Solomon

"Edward's view of the Song of Solomon is instructive. He adopted an interpretation according to which the bride is not the corporate church but the individual believer. He testifies that no book affected him quite like the Song".

Sam Storms - "Signs of the Spirit - An Interpretation of Jonathan Edward's Religious Affections" - Crossway Books (2007) - (p159).

C J Mahaney on the Song of Solomon

NB: I hardly need mention that I do not quote this because I agree with this statement. I have written extensively about how I disagree with Mahaney's views on the Song of Solomon - as well as a whole host of other Christian theologians including the Puritans. I quote it for a point of reference if anyone is any doubt about what Mahaney is actually teaching. A key point of context can be found when C J Mahaney says: "I'm no scholar" (p154).

"The Song of Solomon. It's about sex ... his "Song of Songs" is nothing less than an explicit and unblushing celebration of sex within marriage ... That's right gentlemen. Solomon's Song of Songs is an entire book of the Bible devoted to the promotion of sexual intimacy within the covenant of marriage. It's an eight chapter feast of unbridled, uninhibited joyous immersion in verbal and physical expressions of passion between a man and a woman ... Spiritualizing the Song of Solomon just doesn't make sense. What's worse, it denies to us the powerful impact that God intends for it to have on our marriage".

C J Mahaney - "Sex, Romance and the Glory of God: What Every Christian Husband Needs to Know" in "Sex and the Supremacy of Christ" - Piper, John and Taylor, Justin (editors) - Crossway Books (2005) - (pp151-152, 154).

Saturday 12 April 2008

C Peter Wagner on Defining an Apostle

"An apostle is a Christian leader gifted, taught, commissioned and sent by God with the authority to establish the foundational government of the Church within an assigned sphere of ministry by hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches and by setting things in order accordingly for the expansion of the Kingdom of God".

C Peter Wagner - "Dominion!" - Chosen, Grand Rapids Michigan (2008) - (p31).

C Peter Wagner on the Ministry of the Holy Spirit

"The reason we can expect today to do the same or greater works than Jesus is that we have access to precisely the same power that Jesus used to do all His works - the power of the Holy Spirit ... The Holy Spirit was the source of all Jesus' power during His earthly ministry. Jesus exercised no power of or by Himself. We can do the same or greater things than Jesus did because we have access to the same power source".

C Peter Wagner - "Dominion!" - Chosen, Grand Rapids Michigan (2008) - (p103).

C Peter Wagner on Cessationism

"I would suggest that cessationism is now on the endangered doctrines list".

C Peter Wagner - "Dominion!" - Chosen, Grand Rapids Michigan (2008) - (p99).

Rob Rufus on the Power of Testimony

""Testimony" comes from the word; "To do it again". When you share a testimony of what God has done in a miracle in your life - that testimony is a sharing of a prophecy and it carries with it a power to duplicate what you are testifying happened to you".

Rob Rufus - "Invading the Impossible - Part 12" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 6th April 2008.

Peter Day on True Christian Unity

"When it says "Be of one mind" - it doesn't mean that we are all clones ... we are set free from human regulation and we haven't all got to look the same, sing the same, speak the same and be exactly the same in every single aspect of our lives. That's not what it means! "Being of one mind" does not mean we become narrow clones of each other.

You will even find that sometimes the men of the church begin to dress and speak like the preacher. You go to churches where if the preacher's head is shaved, the men start shaving their heads. It happens! They become clones! Yes there are godly standards but we are not all meant to look the same ... God has created us all different so His gracious, glorious character shines through your life!".

Peter Day - "Sunday Morning Sermon" - Lansdowne Evangelical Free Church - Sunday 6th April 2008.

Peter Day on Christian Identity

"If you are a Christian today - you are NO ordinary person! You have the very Presence of heaven by the Holy Spirit in your life! So there is power ... for transformed attitudes and transformed speech and the purpose of this is that there will be unity in the Church because where there is unity, God commands the blessing!".

Peter Day - "Sunday Morning Sermon" - Lansdowne Evangelical Free Church - Sunday 6th April 2008.

John Hosier on the Holy Spirit Exalting Jesus Christ

"Sometimes churches that put an emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit are accused of being casual in their exaltation of Jesus, being more taken up with sensational experiences of the Spirit. But over the years we have found that nothing could be further from the truth. Experiencing the Spirit removes us from a dull academic approach to theology, and stokes our passion and love for Jesus himself".

John Hosier - "God the Holy Spirit" - Newfrontiers Magazine - Volume 3, Issue 7
April - June 2008.

Friday 11 April 2008

Rob Rufus on Laughter

"The laughter opens the door to the glory because people are saying "Whatever you want to do Lord - I am not being religious, I am being free! I am not fearing man by being self-concious or fearful if people reject me. I want Your Presence Lord!".

Rob Rufus - "Does Your Diary Reflect the Priorities of Heaven?" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 22nd July 2007.

Rob Rufus on Right Leadership Perspectives

"I don't fear people leaving this Church - I fear God leaving this Church!".

Rob Rufus - "Do Your Diaries Reflect the Priorities of Heaven?" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 22nd July 2007.

Wednesday 9 April 2008

Rob Rufus on Discerning Genuine or Counterfeit Miracles

"Let me say this: All genuine miracles from God come out of His Presence - then His power manifests from His Presence. If there is no Presence of God there and a miracle happens - then be careful. It is a devil miracle. You have got to know the Presence of God and when you know it then you will know whether a miracle is from God because the Presence will first manifest and then the power will come out of the Presence and do the miracle. If a miracle happens and no Presence is there - watch out! Counterfeit! It is EASY to detect!".

Rob Rufus - "Does Your Diary Reflect the Priorities of Heaven?" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 22nd July 2007.

R T Kendall on God Hiding His Face

"If God is hiding His face from you and you don't know what to do, go and spend a whole day in prayer and fasting".

R T Kendall - "By Love Transformed - A Collection of 365 Life-Changing Daily Readings" - Charisma Publishing, Florida (2006) - (p15).

Bill Johnson on the Manifestation of Joy

"For reasons unknown to me, one of the greatest offences in this present move of God is the manifestation of joy. Every season that brings new outpourings of the Holy Spirit (revival) interjects a new experience and manifestation that causes offence. It is necessary. Only when we are able to get past the fear of the criticism of others that such an experience brings are we poised to receive all that God has for us".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face with God - The Ultimate Quest to Experience His Presence" - Charisma House Publications, Florida (2007) - (p169).

Monday 7 April 2008

Reinhard Bonnke on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

"Baptism in the Holy Spirit is immersion in the Spirit. Considering that the Spirit is the operating power of God, it should be noticeable if we are immersed in Him! It takes rare faith (or credulity) to believe one receives blessings which are never felt and leave no traceable result. But that is doctrine held by many, that when we first turn to Christ and Jesus saves us all, a comprehensive once-and-for-all spiritual package. The problem was how or why this third person, the Third Person, came onto the scene later. But the fact of the matter is that this is what happens, and our theology has to fit the fact".

Reinhard Bonnke - "Holy Spirit - Revelation and Revolution" - ER Publications (2007) - (pp35-36).

Saturday 5 April 2008

Bill Johnson on the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ

""I will have poured out My Spirit on (them)" (Ezekiel 39:29). The face of God is revealed in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit also needed to happen to Jesus for Him to be fully qualified. This was His quest. Receiving this anointing qualified Him to be called the Christ which means "anointed One". Without the experience there could be no title".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p109

Bill Johnson on Old and New Covenant

"For the believer it is theologically immoral to allow an Old Testament revelation of God to cancel or contradict the perfect and clear manifestation of God in Jesus".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p107

Bill Johnson on is God Angry?

"Most of those who embrace the idea that God is an angry Father do so in equal proportion to their inability to demonstrate His power. Powerlessness demands an explanation or a solution. Blaming God seems to be easier than it is to take responsibility and pursue an encounter with Him that changes our capabilities in ministry".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p105

Bill Johnson on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit - what It Is

"The Baptism in the Spirit, a profound encounter with the face of God, adds the power of heaven to bring transformation to planet Earth. This baptism qualifies the least in the kingdom to be greater than John (the Baptist). It is a promise in effect now, to the degree we live in and manifest the King's domain".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p102

Bill Johnson on Judging a Move of the Holy Spirit

"The sobering thing to realize is that our response to the move of the Spirit is not a response to manifestations. To reject the move of the Spirit of God is to reject the face of God".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p85

Bill Johnson on the Kingdom of God

"The kingdom of God must never be reduced to talk, ideas and principles. The Kingdom of God is power. Unlimited power has been granted to those who encounter Him over and over again. Each encounter works deeper in our hearts, bringing about the needed transformation so that we might be entrusted with more of Him. The more profound the work of the Spirit is within us, the more profound the manifestation of the Spirit flowing through us".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p83

Bill Johnson on the Baptism of the Spirit and Scripture

"The best ground for us to stand on when considering the baptism of the Spirit is the Scriptures. Much of the confusion and debate that has arisen over this issue derives from people evaluating it on the basis of their experience or lack of experience, rather than inviting the Holy Spirit to bring their level of experience into alignment with what He has already declared. Those who intentionally ignore elements of Scripture that are outside of their experience betray a lack of trust in the God who wrote it".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p81

Friday 4 April 2008

Rob Rufus on Praying for the Sick vs Authoritative Commands

"How is Hong Kong going to get saved? By the evangelical message that is; "Just your sins seperate you from God - repent and get saved - keep the demons and be sick and depressed and be miserable and one day it will all be worth it because you will get to heaven"?

That is not what the early church in Acts did and they turned the world upside down! They prayed every now and then and asked God to heal the sick but that was the exception. The norm was to give authoritative commands and today we have made the exception the norm and the norm the exception. And we wonder why we don't have a higher level of miracles!".

Rob Rufus - "The Power of the Authoritative Command - Part 1" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 10th September 2006

Bill Johnson on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

"I personally feel that the baptism (of the Holy Spirit) itself and it's purpose are infinitely more important than the question of what is or is not the initial evidence of the experience. This profound encounter with God is given to us so that we might be filled with His power and be enabled to authentically demonstrate the life of Jesus before this world".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p81

Bill Johnson on God's Grace

"These two aspects of God's grace - access and power - set us up to understand what it means to grow in favour with God. At the heart of growing in favour are two aspects: 1. The pursuit of God, the practice of coming before God through the "new and living way" (Hebrews 10:20) that Christ had made available to us and 2. Receiving in God's Presence, measures of His own nature that empower us to be conformed into the image of the Son He loves".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p24

Bill Johnson on the Pursuit for the Power of God

"Some of my brothers and sisters belittle such pursuits saying, "Signs and wonders are suppose to follow you, not you follow them". My perspective is a bit different: If they're not following you, follow them until they follow you".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p7

Bill Johnson on Scripture and the Quest for God

"Scripture is saturated with the theme that we were made for a relationship that allows us to know by experience the supernatural God who created us and it soon becomes evident to me that the encounters God had with people in the Bible were not reserved only for those of that era. Encounters of that magnitude actually started to look possible, even probable again".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p7

Bill Johnson on the Quest and Journey for God

"This journey is so sacred, so all-consuming, that very few respond to it's call. While the seeds of this quest are found in the heart of every man, woman and child, most seem to be numb to it's existence. Many work to stifle the desire in us to seek the face of the One in whose image we were created. Whether we are overwhelmed by the prevailing winds of secular reasoning or the pain of religious disappointment, such forces cause us to abandon the ultimate quest and give in to the other impulse that has infected man since the Fall - the impulse to hide from God".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - pp4-5

Bill Johnson on the Price of Seeking Him

"The bottom line is that we give all of ourselves to obtain all of Him. There's never been a better deal".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p4

Bill Johnson on the Quest for God's Manifest Presence

"The quest for His face is the ultimate quest. But to embrace the quest for the face of God, one must be ready to die. Thus, this quest is not a journey for the faint of heart. It is far too costly to pursue from mere curiosity".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p4

Bill Johnson on Finding God and His Manifest Presence

"The question for every believer is whether we will be satisfied with only a partial transformation or whether we will be so captivated by Who He is that we will allow Him to kill everything in us that would inhibit us from becoming a mature manifestation of Christ".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p4

Bill Johnson on The Presence of God

"As He infects us with His Presence, we are drawn into an ongoing mission by the One who longs for us. This mission is simply the mission to become more and more fit to see Him in His fullness".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p3

Bill Johnson on Real Sanctification and Intimacy with God

"The impulse that drives the life of the believer isn't the need to perform for God but to commune with Him".

Bill Johnson - "Face to Face Intimacy with God" - Charisma House Publishing, Florida (2007) - p3

Thursday 3 April 2008

Ryan Rufus on Sanctification as Want To

"Sanctification is not a 'have to', it's an overflow of what has already taken place inside of you. Take off the have tos and the want tos will arise...

Take the have tos off the body of Christ and you will discover that all the want tos that got put in at the point of salvation will start to come out."


Ryan Rufus - Sanctification by Grace - City Church International - 30 March 2008.

Ryan Rufus on Law and Sanctification

"A lot of sanctification teaching today is people trying to use something we're no longer under to restrain something that we no longer have. People are trying to use the law that we're no longer under to try to restrain the sinful nature that we no longer have."

Ryan Rufus - Sanctification by Grace - City Church International - 30 March 2008.

Tuesday 1 April 2008

R T Kendall on the Proper Use of the Law

"What is the proper use of the Law?

1. It shows the righteousness that God requires.

2. It shows the righteousness that Christ fulfilled as our substitute.

3. It serves as a backdrop by which we can tell if we are walking in the Spirit".

R T Kendall - "Grace" - Charisma House Publications, Florida (2006) - (p65).

R T Kendall on the Gospel and Law

"The gospel was virtually complete in itself in Abraham before the Law came in. The plan of salvation is given as though there had never been the Law in the first place. We are saved by faith alone ... we are not saved because we are now going to keep the Law. We are now going to keep the Law. We are not saved because we are now going to stop doing this and that ... if that continues to be our way of trying to get saved then we will never be saved".

R T Kendall - "Grace" - Charisma House Publications, Florida (2006) - (p63).

R T Kendall on the Law in the Plan of Salvation

"The Law came in as an extra, it was "added" (Romans 5:20, Galatians 3:19). Once we trust what Jesus did for us on the Cross - when the law was fulfilled - we are in effect put back into Abraham's position who believed the Gospel and was saved before there was such a thing as God's Law. We are therefore not "under" the Law ... this does not mean we are given liberty to live in an ungodly manner - quite the contrary. We are led by the Spirit who leads to holy living".

R T Kendall - "Grace" - Charisma House Publications, Florida (2006) - (p58).

R T Kendall on a Perfect Righteousness

"How then is it possible for a person to have a righteousness that is superior to that of a Pharisee or teacher of the Law? Anyone in the Kingdom has a righteousness that is not their own. Paul the Apostle called it an "imputed" righteousness. (Romans 4:1-25) This means righteousness put to one's credit by virtue of faith ... once a person transfers the trust he or she once had in their own works and now trusts Christ's blood, the very righteousness of Jesus is simultaneously transferred to them. And no Scribe or Pharisee could even begin to come upto that standard! The very righteousness of Jesus who fulfilled the Law is put to our credit".

R T Kendall - "Grace" - Charisma House Publications, Florida (2006) - (p48).

R T Kendall on Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit

"Developing a hypersensitivity to the Holy Spirit pays great dividends".

R T Kendall - "Grace" - Charisma House Publications, Florida (2006) - (p42).

R T Kendall on Jesus Christ fulfilling the Law

"I can only conclude that Jesus was moving in a direction in which the Law would be transcended; not disregarded but out-classed".

R T Kendall - "Grace" - Charisma House Publications, Florida (2006) - (p41).

R T Kendall on Christ our Substitute

"Christ was our substitute; He kept the whole of the Law perfectly. He is our satisfaction before God (Isaiah 53:6, 2 Cor 5:21) and our substitutionary sacrifice (1 Cor 1:30). This means that Jesus who was perfectly sinless and holy was our substitute before God. He is on our behalf; our very sanctification. It is perfect and unimprovable".

R T Kendall - "Grace" - Charisma House Publications, Florida (2006) - (p26).

R T Kendall on the Sermon on the Mount

"The Sermon on the Mount is best understood as part of Jesus' doctrine of the Holy Spirit".

R T Kendall - "Grace" - Charisma House Publications, Florida (2006) - (p29).

R T Kendall on Jesus and the Law

"Who is required to achieve all this? Jesus achieved this. We are not required to accomplish what He has already achieved on our behalf. He was under the Law but we are not ... for being led by the Spirit leads to a righteousness that is even higher than that of the Law".

R T Kendall - "Grace" - Charisma House Publications, Florida (2006) - (p28).

R T Kendall on the Fulfillment of the Law

"Moses gave the Law but couldn't fulfill it. Joshua perpetuated the Law (Joshua 1:8) but couldn't satisfy it's demands. King David loved the Law (Psalm 119:163) but broke it. The prophets upheld the Law but couldn't keep it as required. The Levites carried out the Law but still came short of it. The Pharisees and Sadducees and teachers of the Law argued about it but did not have a clue as to it's deeper meaning".

R T Kendall - "Grace" - Charisma House Publications, Florida (2006) - (p27).

R T Kendall on the Law and God's Plan

"The Law was but a paranthesis in God's plan of salvation ... (The Law) was temporary in God's mind and plan from the beginning".

R T Kendall - "Grace" - Charisma House Publications, Florida (2006) - (p26).

R T Kendall on the Law and Sermon on the Mount

"At the moment Jesus said this in the Sermon on the Mount, these things remain unfulfilled - the specifications and all the sacrificial offerings. Jesus did not nullify these things at that moment; He still had to keep them Himself. After all He was "born under law" (Galatians 4:4)".

R T Kendall - "Grace" - Charisma House Publications, Florida (2006) - (p26).

Rob Rufus on Church Ministry and Identity

"We don't need ministry to be important or to be doing things to be worth something! We are righteous! We are important! We have identity! And the more secure we become in our identity in our righteousness, the more ministry He will give you! Everyone in this room wants to be used by God and do you know why? Because in this coming wave of the glory God will use every Christian who deals with the control spirit and gets it off their life and stops controlling others and deals with condemnation and gets it off their life. Those who get equipped will be ready for this next move! Those who do not open to the message of righteousness will not be ready for the next move!".

Rob Rufus - "Invading the Impossible - Part 11" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 23rd March 2008.

Rob Rufus on Living a Holy Life ... Truly!

"When I see a Christian who is sinning a lot, I don't have any judgement any more. I say that they do not have very much faith that they are the righteousness of God. The more you realise who you are, the more you start living out who you are. But if you have got to be forced into holy behaviour by threats of hell and disapproval from God or the Church then the holiness that you go into is false and is based on control and dark demons, demons of witchcraft".

Rob Rufus - "Invading the Impossible - Part 11" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 23rd March 2008.