Get Out of the Refrigerator!

The Power of Godliness

"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Revelation 22:11

I was speaking with a brother earlier this week about how that which is on the inside of people is becoming more & more prominent as the days progress.  This is why we cannot be caught up in what goes on in the world...or even the churchworld.  Nothing which happens should surprise us for God has already exposed what is in many hearts.  Therefore, why continue to focus on it?  It is filthy and will become more filthy still.  The true nature people possess (whether fallen or redeemed) is being shown for all who have eyes to see and will become increasingly more manifest as time continues. 

Such is even true of ourselves.  God lets us see everyday what is really in our hearts versus what we like to acknowledge or have others see in us.  Why?  So that we can repent, turn away from such, and be cleansed from it.  Maybe we run to entertainment to escape the disciplines of God.  Or maybe we have carnal desires which cause us to lust after and covet the things of this world; wasting that which God is giving us to benefit His Kingdom on indulging our flesh. 

No matter the attraction, at its core we are battling a love of our own selves.  What is really in our hearts?  What are these days telling us about where our treasure really is? Are we focused solely on ourselves and our own comforts or on the will of God?

The following is a message from Min. Derek Prince:

• We are headed for (and are in) times that will be fierce and terrible.
•  Very little is preached in the contemporary church about God's judgment, but if you don't believe in judgment, then you don't need to be saved because we are being saved from judgment.
• The root cause of the fierce times is the degeneration of human character.
• Corruption is irreversible.  You can slow it down through refrigeration, but you cannot turn it back.
• Moral religion is like a refrigerator.  A person who is in it may appear a week or year later looking okay, but they haven't changed inwardly; they are still morally & ethically corrupt inside.  Sooner or later that corruption is going to take over and finish that person off.
• God does not attempt to reverse the corruption of sin, to improve it, or make it last longer.  God's answer is a new creation and He will not settle for anything else!
• Lots of human programs are just trying to put man in the refrigerator (slow up the corruption).
• God is not interested in Christianizing our culture.  It cannot be saved, which is why God produces a life that is totally new. 
  
  [SIDENOTE: This is why I repeatedly harp on the errors of people trying to take things from the world (music, fashion, dances, attitudes, etc.) and use them for God.  God is not so desperate that He has to borrow from the god of this world in order to reach & mold His people.  This attitude that we can 'take from the world and give to God' often translates into a basic misunderstanding even about what salvation is.  God is not looking to change "worldly" people into "good" people, but to kill the life that is of the world to impart a new life that is from above.]
  
  
• You have to be changed by God in order to belong to God (II Corinthians 5:17).
• The power of godliness is the power which deals with self-love because "love of self" is the main issue.
  
• Our desire should be to part of the standard God is lifting up in the earth (the Body of Christ) to draw men unto Himself.
• We need the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in supernatural display of the power of God in order to save souls.
• The key is prayer...and more prayer.
• Don't just be good "church attenders", but settle in your mind and heart to do something for God; to be vessels fit for His use.
• We cannot follow Jesus until we have done two things: Denied ourselves and taken up our cross.
• What does it mean to deny one's self?  It means to deal with self love.
• Self says, "I want, I like, I think, help me, pray for me, heal me...".  And you say, "Shut up!  I'm not listening to you.  I am listening to what Jesus has to say.  I am listening to what the Holy Spirit has to say."
• Stop focusing on your problems and focus on the Lord.
• Your cross is where God's will and your will cross.
• You cannot follow Jesus doing your own will.
• God's solution is execution, and that is where you and I must come.
• Satan is not afraid of our theology; he is afraid of our commitment.
• To come after Christ, you must lose your life, which is your soul; your self-seeking, self-ambition, self-gratification, etc.
• Some of us have been brainwashed into thinking that the Christian life will be easy.  That is a lie. 
• There are two main idols in America: Comfort & Convenience.  If you want to go on with the Lord, then those idols must be smashed.