HOW THE ENEMY OPERATES

I realize fully that the title of this post is very broad indeed and that we are only going to be able to touch on a few high points in this brief article.
Ephesians 6:12 says, " For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
Even though our enemies are not people, satan constantly uses people to carry out his perverted dirty work. These ranks of demon spirits are always trying, through whatever means available, to come against the Child of God.

Satan has four big objectives when it comes to hindering the work of God in our lives.
1- Satan wants to cause us to doubt God's Word.
In the garden, he planted a seed of doubt in the mind of Eve and the results devastated the whole human race. See Gen. 3:1

2- Satan tries to distract us from spiritual matters. He wants us to put our focus earthly matters. He will use television, cell phones, computers, relatives, bad news, etc.. to get our mind off the Word and onto things with no eternal value.

3- The devil works very hard to disable us from the service of our Lord. Satan will do anything to stop us from making an impact for Christ. Satan rejoices if he can discredit us in any way. He wants to destroy our testimony. The enemy wants to keep us preoccupied with anything that prevents us from our callings before God.

4- And, satan wants to destroy us physically. One of his most effective efforts involves attacking our bodies. Sickness, stress, addictions, just to name a few, often consume a persons entire life. Of course, our adversary would much rather have us focus on our bodies than on spiritual things.

Satan wants to render you helpless and useless in the everyday battles that you face. He is looking for ways to destroy you. But you and I do not have to be destroyed by the devil. Jesus Christ defeated him at the Cross. You and I can walk in total victory on a daily basis. See Colossians 2: 10, 14, 15

Child of God, trust in what Jesus has done for us at the Cross. Put your faith in Him. Resist the devil. Depend on God;s Spirit. Plead the Blood of Jesus over yourself, your family, your life and your ministry.
In Jesus, we are victorious.

The roadblock of Pride

Often, there are many roadblocks to a person being blessed. One of the major roadblocks is pride. Pride is a really high opinion of oneself.

Lucifer fell because of pride. See Isaiah 14: 12-14. Pride caused Lucifer to attempt an overthrow of God's kingdom. He was cast down and lost his position. How could an angel think he could overthrow God's kingdom? Obadiah 3 says, " The pride of your heart has deceived you." You see, self-deception takes place when pride enters. Pride will cause a person to think they are smarter than God.

Lets look at some [ only some] of the manifestations of Pride.
1- Not seeking God in prayer and in His Word.
2- Disobeying God's Word and Spirit.
3- Refusal to worship and give to God.
4- Forsaking the assembling in church.
5- No repentance when there is sin.
6- More concern with the opinion of others than with God's opinion.
7- Pursuit of pleasure, comfort, and convenience instead of commitment and surrender to God's will.
8- Rebellion-- unwillingness to submit to spiritual, family, or secular authority.

Those are merely a few of the pride indicators that we could list. What is Gods solution? HUMILITY!
God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Casting our cares on the Lord acknowledges that our heavenly Father is the One who will take care of our cares... As we humble ourselves and resist the devil, God's grace will strengthen, perfect, establish, and settle us.

Faith and Faith alone can save

In the book of Romans Ch. 1 verses 16 & 17, the Bible says, " For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the Power of God unto Salvation to everyone who believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the Righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the Just shall live by Faith."
If a person is too proud to bend their spirit before God, then that person will never get to heaven. They may be a kind, gentle, loving person; they may even give to charity. But if pride keeps them from admitting their need for Christ, then they are not accepting His gift of salvation.

Many people are in hell today because their heart was too hard and they really believed that their mind was too smart for the God who created them. There is only one to make it to heaven. Holy God can not tolerate sin in His presence, and God decreed that the penalty for sin is death. " For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23 declares... And Romans 3:23 is clear that ALL men are sinners. So, God has provided a bridge between Himself and mankind. Merciful God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die in man's place. Jesus sacrifice is all that is necessary for a person to enter into a relationship with God.

A person does not work or reason their way into heaven. The bridge that spans the gap between each person and God is crossed only through an acts of faith. By acknowledging the need for a savior and by accepting Christ;s death on the Cross as the payment for their sins. The truly wise people of this world are the ones who have accepted this truth and have bowed at the feet of the worlds redeemer; Jesus Christ

NEW WORD SEARCH TOOL TO ENHANCE YOUR STUDY

Let me tell you about a brand new feature at the bottom of this Cross Focus Blog. It is a Bible Word search tool that will take you into the depths of God's Word. Simply type in a word or phrase that you wish to study, and this tool will take you into the Greek or Hebrew where you can dig out the great truths of the Word of God. I personally use this very tool in daily study and sermon preparation. I mean this is a great way to learn the Word and the original intent in the Word.As with everything on this blog, we have put this here for you. Please avail yourselves of this tremendous Bible Study adventure. You will be glad you did.

Thoughts on the Rapture

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

The rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ is the next great event on the horizon of time. Without going into great detail at this time, I want to give a few salient points as it pertains to this all important subject.

1] There are many signs of the times that point to the fact that we are living in the last of the last days.
+Restoration of Israel as a nation in 1948, fulfilling Bible Prophecy
+Wars and rumors of wars
+ Spiritual rebellion and outright apostasy
+ An emphasis on material prosperity and material and cultural influence
+ An increase of knowledge and fast paced travel
+ Many and various natural disasters
+ Perilous Times.
+ False Prophets will abound in the last days. For Example, the so called Kansas City Prophets that have fostered some of the worst false doctrine in the body of Christ. And now, we have Todd Bentley and his unbiblical angel craze, plus many more abberant doctrines.
+ Wickedness that beggars description
+ Demonic activity will continue to rise as we go deeper into the last days.
+Persecution of the saints will become more pronounced, even in the USA, as we get closer to the Lords return.
+ At the same time, the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ will be spread throughout the earth at a breathtaking rate.

2] Now lets look at the purpose of the Rapture.
+ To resurrect the dead in Christ, separating them from the wicked dead.
+ To take the Saints to heaven, where their works will be judged, they will receive rewards, and partake in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
+ At the rapture, we will receive our immortal glorified bodies.
+ we, the saints, will be presented before the Father.
+ We will be made whole in Spirit, Soul, And Body. The saints will.
+We, the saints, will escape the Great Tribulation.
+ The hinderer of lawlessness in the world, the church, will be removed.
+ The antichrist will then be revealed.

3] Who is worthy to escape?
Those who are in Christ. The Greek word for worthy is "Axios" meaning, "deserving to be fit, to be accepted." Meaning that our living, our walk with the Lord, our Faith, our lifestyle proves our relationship with Christ.

4] EXAMINE YOURSELVES.
2 Corinthians 13:5 admonishes us to " Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the Faith, prove yourselves...."
Examine means "to test, to try" ourselves to see whether Christ is truly living in our hearts. Paul is stating that there must be a true relationship between us and the Lord. Our actions are the actions of a true believer.
The great question of the hour for every believer is simply, "Are You READY?"
Those who are ready are listening for the trump of God.

we wish to thank Evangelist Donnie Swaggart for his insights on this topic.

READING DEVOTIONAL: CITIES OF REFUGE

REMEMBERING DAD

Yes, That is me on the tractor and my Dad making sure I did not fall off. Dad was always making sure that we kids were safe. It was a blessing to be raised in that era, as our parents taught us much about how to think and respect for others.

As Fathers day approaches, I remember many wonderful things about my own Dad, who passed away in 2006. It doesn't seem like it has been 2 years since I've seen and talked to Dad. I sure do miss those times. One thing I remember well and miss very much, were those times when we would sit at the kitchen table and have coffee together and just talk. We talked about everything. Those were great times.

Let me encourage those of you who still have your Dad with you, call him; spend time with him; someday, you will not see him again in this life and at times that can be a lonely feeling.
On this Fathers Day, why not do something extra special for your Dad.

Dad, I love you and miss you.

FROM ME TO YOU

Below you will find 3 excerpts of our telecast. You can view them in their entirety, as well as many others at www.acts2618.com As you view them here at Cross Focus, I believe you will want to watch the entire series.
I feel that these excerpts will be a blessing to your spiritual life. Please, when you have time, visit the www.acts2618.com site; as well as our You-Tube channel.
Thank you and God Bless.

UPDATE; JUNE 5 2008

Praise the Lord! A brand new month is now upon us and the Holy Spirit is moving on the hearts of people through this ministry. We give God all the praise and glory for it.

In the days ahead, I am going to be releasing a powerful, new word that God has given me for the days we are living in and I pray that all of you will check back with our blogs often.

The writings will be fewer in number in June, as we are moving to gain more room for our office. But do keep looking for these new releases that are to come.

At the bottom of this Cross Focus blog, I have added a You-Tube player with one of my videos and several by other men of God that I pray will be a blessing to you. If you click on the http adress on the bottom of the player, you will go to our You-Tube page and let me tell you, you will be blessed by the selections that we post there on You-Tube. God has opened this up to us as a brand new ministry venue. There will also be many personal videos posted there. We have also placed the same player at the bottom of our Cross Talk blog and two different players on Angies Spirit Led Corner blog. Please take full occasion to make use of this material. It will bless you, of that I am certain.

We have also received the results of the feedback on the books we sent out freely to several Christians, called "The Heavenly Man" by Brother Yun. Those who prayerfully took the time to read this free book that we gave them, all gave positive feedback and felt challenged by the book. That was the point. Those who did not take the time to read the book, for whatever reason, well , what can I say.American Christians really need to wake up.

Again, let me thank all of you for your continued use of the sites and may God richly bless each of you.

DRIVE OUT ALL UNBELIEF

The Lord has been speaking to my heart about the days we are living in. In the next few weeks, please be looking on our blogs for more on this subject.
Let me say for today, that in the months to come be prepared to have your faith tested. It is very important that you drive out, forcibly, all unbelief. You and I are going to need to fully depend on the Lord as never before. We will have to trust God to provide for us during some tough economic times ahead. Remember, His word promises His provision. If you and I will remove all idols of greed from our hearts and drive out all unbelief, we will live in Goshen during the upcoming hard times. There is some sensitive information that I am not sharing with you here at this time, and I will have to pray about just how and when I can share it. But I want you to trust the Lord and give no place to fear. God will take care of His children.

Fear and unbelief will rob you of much needed faith and focus that you are going to need in the coming days. Please, do not believe the soft, pillow prophets that are telling you that all is going well in our world. Folks, we are living in the last days. But truly, that is no cause for fear. Hard times ARE COMING, but God WILL PROVIDE for His children. You have got to know that. Many people, who truly love Jesus, panic in times of crisis. They worry and they fret. Listen, Jesus hears all cries, loud or soft and He invites us to come and dine with Him. In the coming days, you and I must walk closely with Jesus. Trust Him and believe His promises.

Do as David did when he was overwhelmed by circumstances: he encouraged himself in the Lord. Even your best friends or relatives cannot give you the comfort and direction that you need. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. Here is an eternal word for your encouragement; THE LORD WILL NEVER TURN YOU OVER TO THE POWER OF SATAN, our enemy. Read Psalm 31:8 and Psalm 31:24
Really, you and I should spend much time in the whole of Psalm 31.

" Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." Hebrews 3:12

" And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not ? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." Hebrews 3:18,19

UPDATE- May 18th, 2008

I thought I would take the time to update you on happenings here at the ministry.

The Lord is so good and has opened up so many doors for us that it's hard to know where to begin. 

First, let me encourage you to take the time to check out the Telecast that we have on our pod-cast page at www.acts2618.com

At the time of this writing I believe we have 16 of the programs for you to watch online.

Of course, we plan to add to that number.

We have been on TCTV-2 in Traverse City, MI for a little over 6 years now and there are plans ahead to possibly start a Internet TV channel for new Telecasts. I will keep you posted on that.

But  the testimonys that we are receiving about the programs online are outstanding and we give the Lord all the praise and glory.

Also, at the direction of the Lord, we began Acts 26:18 Prayer Chapel Fellowship.

It is a group of believers dedicated to the harvest and to prayer for each other and our nation. The Chapel has its own blog-site-- prayerchapel.wordpress.com

Check it out sometime. It is also an audio and video site; with, for the most part, different material than what is on our other pod-casts.  We are offering classes at the Chapel, which will begin sometime this summer. Our first class will probably be on " Praying with purpose and power."  When it is time to enroll, I will post it.

Acts 26:18 Prayer Chapel Fellowship is a home church that will meet on Thursday Evenings at 6:30, and Sunday Evenings at 6:30.  Classes will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday Evenings. The times for the classes has not yet been determined.  

We are also going to New York City, Sept. 7th for Prayer in the Square which is put on by Times Square Church. Thousands of Pastors and other believers will gather to pray for New York and for America. I thank God for calling Angie and I to take part in that this year.  Let me just tell you how much that we love Times Square Church. The Pastors; Dave Wilkerson, Carter Conlon, and others, are true men of God.

Like I said, there is just so much that we could talk about; It is really mind boggling what God is doing. I am going to ask some of you to become partners with me by giving a financial gift to this ministry on a monthly basis. I know that the Lord would be pleased with that and I promise that we use every penny in this work to reach people with the message of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. We can not do this alone, and I really do need your help. Pray about supporting this worthwhile work for Jesus, today. If you desire, you can mail your offerings to: Acts 26:18 Ministries at PO Box 5714.  Traverse City, MI  49696  or you can give online at 

www.acts2618.com

Thank you in advance for all you do. Please check back to this Cross Focus blog, or any of our sites, for up-to-date info.

God bless you,

     Len Paxton

MAY 2008 CHURCH OF THE MONTH

This month, our church of the month is Truth Chapel World Evangelism Fellowship Church in Spartanburg, SC pastored by Scott and Nikkie Corbin.

We are long time friends and associates of this dear couple, and highly recommend this church to all our readers and friends in their area.

Truth Chapel is an independent full Gospel church that is all about the preaching and teaching of the uncompromised Truth[ the message of the Cross.... Christ and Him crucified], and is affiliated with World Evangelism Fellowship and Jimmy Swaggart Ministries in Baton Rouge, LA.  Please check out their web-site at www.truthchapel.org

Also, you would be so greatly blessed and benefitted by tuning in to their 24/7 Internet Radio Station; Sound of Truth Radio.

From time to time, I have posted articles by Brother  Scott on my blogs and we hope you have taken the time to read them.  Angie and I so totally endorse this dear family.

The most important things about a church, any church, is that it stands for truth unashamedly and that the true Gospel of salvation is preached from behind it's pulpit.  Truth Chapel is a place where you can rest assured that you and your loved ones, will hear the Gospel preached each Sunday.  If you are in their area, why not pay them a visit.

Thanks,

  Len  

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY !!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY !

  MAY 11, 2008

This is a picture of me and my MoM recently taken as we were vacationing in Grove, Oklahoma.

I pray that Mothers would always know that they are very precious in God's sight.

Just as my Mother is precious in my sight. 

All this week, we honor our Mothers. Thank you for all you have done for our lives and for the many sacrifices you have made for us. We appreciate everything that you have put into us. 

Albert E. Bailey tells the story about two bills-- Harry's bill to his mother and Mother's bill to Harry.  The first bill itemized the various jobs Harry had done about the house, and ended: " Total that Mother owes Harry: $3.00

But the next morning Harry found a statement from his Mother, and this is what it said:     Food for Harry, 10 years............. $0.00

               Clothing and home, 10 years........ $0.00

               Toys, Skates, and Bicycle...............$0.00

               For dishwashing, cooking, and 

                                        Laundry and Ironing...$0.00

              For nursing Harry during 

                                        pneumonia ................$0.00

             Total Harry owes mother...............$0.00

Think about and be thankful for Mother, not just on May 11th;  But all the days of life.    

ONE OF MY HERO'S

Dr. Lester Sumrall is one of my heros.

I have sat under his teaching for many years and even though he passed away in 1996; whenever I hear his voice or see him on tv, it is as though he were still alive.

My favorite teachings of Bro. Sumrall are the series on David, Nehemiah, Samson Rides Alone, plus many others. I like them all really. Lester Sumrall is truly a champion for Christ.

You will find links on this blog to Lesea Broadcasting and Feed The Hungry. Please check out this great ministry. From time to time, I may be adding to my list of godly hero's.

The world needs godly role models today as never before.  I very highly recommend that you read " The Life Story Of Lester Sumrall"  It is an inspiring book about a very inspirational man of God. 

All of Dr. Sumrall's material is available from Lesea Publishing. It would be a real honor for you to obtain anything put out by Lester Sumrall.

So, today we honor you Dr. Sumrall.  Thank you for all you have meant to our lives and ministries.

GOD ON BOTH SIDES WITH US IN THE MIDDLE. Part Two

Romans 6:2 asks the believer this question: "How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein ?"

The born again child of God has been, in the mind of God, crucified with Christ, buried, and risen with Christ to newness of life. [ Romans 6: 3-4]

When we are born again, there is a spiritual transformation that takes place within us. 

[ Romans 6:5]

Romans 6:6 tells us " Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Praise God, we are free from the dominion of the sin nature and we no longer have to serve the sin nature as slaves to it, all because of what Jesus did at the Cross and our faith in that.

Look at Romans 6:7  " For he that is dead is freed from sin."  If we are in Christ, we are dead to the sin nature as well as free from the sin nature and also, acts of sin in our daily lives.

Our old sinful nature, while remaining in the believer, should have no power over us.  We are dead to it. Hallelujah !!!

The way that the Christian can cause the sin nature to come roaring back to life in them is when they  commit an act of sin and then try to get victory over it by their own efforts. You will be defeated every time you do that. Keep your faith in the finished work of Christ upon the Cross and realize that, in the mind of God, you were crucified with Him. You were buried with Him, and you were raised to newness of life in Christ. 

The Expositors Study Bible notes for Romans 6: 3-4 says this "When Christ died on the Cross, in the mind of God, we died with Him; in other words, He became our Substitute, and our identification with Him in His death gives us all the benefits for which He died; the idea is that He did it all for us ........ Not only did we die with Him, but we were buried with Him as well, which means that all the sin and transgression of the past were buried; when they put Him in the tomb, they put all of our sins into that tomb as well. ......... we died with Him, we were buried with Him, and His Resurrection was our Resurrection to a " Newness of Life".

All of this is made a reality in our lives when we place our faith in what Jesus did at the Cross and that alone!

Galatians 3:13 tells us that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. The law can never change our hearts, therefore, while it can and most certainly does, define sin; the law is powerless to give us victory over sin or make us stop sinning. It took the substitutionary death of Christ on the Cross to both pay the penalty for sin and to break the power that sin had over man. When we identify with Him in this; we can walk in a life of perpetual victory over the sin nature as well as acts of sin.

Jesus said, as recorded in the Gospel of John; " And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." [ Jn 8:32]    That is why we preach the message of the Cross. 

God wants us free today.

GOD ON BOTH SIDES WITH US IN THE MIDDLE. Part One

Romans 6:1- " What shall we say then?  Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

6:2- God Forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

The finished work of Jesus Christ upon the Cross is our victory over sin, just as it is God's method of salvation.  Salvation and victory over sin can only be brought about as one puts their faith one hundred percent in what Jesus did at Calvary. It was on the Cross where Jesus paid the penalty for sin and broke the power of sin.

Jesus victory there at Calvary becomes our victory when we place our faith in His finished work.

A simple outline would be as follows:  1- Jesus paid it all at the Cross; When we place 2- Our faith in what He did at the Cross, the 3- Holy Spirit will the help us and do His work within our lives.  So there we have it!  1- The Cross  2- Our faith  and 3- The Holy Spirit.

  This is God on both sides and us in the middle..  How could we possibly lose if we are surrounded by God ?  Glory to God!!!

The Christian life is a work of the Holy Spirit within us. [ Galatians 2:20]

We can never live this Christian life as we should without the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit only has the legal right to help us if our faith is in what Jesus did for us at the Cross.

If a believer places his/her faith in good works of any nature, the Holy Spirit can never honor that. That is flesh. The Holy Spirit will not anoint the flesh.  

The problem that each of us face in our lives is sin.  Sin comes in many complexities and forms.

Even though we , as believers have been freed from the old sinful nature, God has allowed it to remain dormant within us for some very specific reasons that we will not discuss  here.

One thing I will say about that though, is the Lord want us to continually look to Him for our daily walk of victory and, in fact, all that we need.  We need to learn to trust the Lord always. 

The Christian must always depend upon the Lord for everything. We must never place faith in self. 

Sin is serious and so severe that we cannot confess it away by positive confession. We cannot even pray it away. Jesus dealt with the sin problem at Calvary. We must exhibit faith in Him.

The devil will continue to tempt us but our victory is in the finished work of Christ upon the Cross.  We must always place our confidence in what Jesus has done and not in what we are doing. This is not to say that we don't do proper works. As the Holy Spirit does His work within us; proper works on our behalf will be the result. [ Eph. 2:10 & Philippians 2:13]

Proper faith will always produce proper works in the child of God. But it will only happen if our faith is one hundred percent in the Cross of Christ. We must never trust in anything else. 

When we properly place our faith in the finished work of Christ on the Cross, the Holy Spirit will give birth to many good works within us--- But our faith must never be in what we do, rather in what Jesus has done. 

There were those in the church at Rome who believed that sin didn't matter anymore because they were under grace, but our text refutes that thinking.  Lets also look at Romans 6:14

" For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." See, grace is what gives us the power to stop sinning. Grace is not a license to keep sinning; it is the power to stop.  The grace of God doesn't mean freedom to sin; it is freedom from sin. Hallelujah !!!

 " Christ in you, the hope of glory:" [ Colossians 1:27]  produces Christlikeness and holiness in the true believer, but this will only happen if our faith is in what Jesus did at the Cross. Salvation, sanctification, holiness and whatever else is needed by the believer from the Lord, can only come to us by and through the Cross.  There is no other way. This is the message of the Gospel.

The way that the child of God is to obtain victory over sin and also, to walk free from sin, is the same way that they got saved.  Colossians 2:6 states,  " As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him."   Simple faith in what Jesus did at Calvary is all that is required. Then, the Holy Spirit comes and works His work within us.  Praise God!

In our next article, we will continue this great Bible subject.     

ANOTHER NEW CD RELEASE IN APRIL

The Lord gave me this message " The Humble Will Hear The Song Of Your Life."  as a word of encouragement to those whom the devil has tried to put under condemnation and bondage. 

In these last days, it is very important for us to walk in the reality of who we are in Christ Jesus. Do not let satan lie to you and bring up your past against you. If you are washed in the Blood of Jesus then you are made the righteousness of God, in Christ.

Please, whatever you do, you owe it to yourself to obtain a copy of this message for yourself, and you should seriously consider purchasing several copies for family and friends. This is truly a life changing message; not because I preached it, but because God gave me this word to see many people set free by the power of the Cross.

The audio on track 2 is lower that it is on track 1 so you will have to turn up your player on track 2.

You may obtain this message as follows: 1-5 copies= $3 each; 6 copies or more=$2 each.

At those prices, why not obtain several today.

  In His Service,

      Rev. Len Paxton     

PRAYER: INTERCESSION

In Galatians 4:19 the great Apostle Paul tells us "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you."

Paul here stresses the importance of travailing prayer both to bring people to Christ and again, to see them into maturity in Christ.

During intercessory prayer for people we must be led by the Holy Spirit. He will often speak to us in our hearts and guide us as to how we are to pray for someone.

During intercessory prayer, we intercept satan's assignments and works from being carried out. Then we pray for people at their point of need. We must never give up until the answer comes.

Sometimes as we pray for the lost and hurting of this world, God allows us to momentarily feel their lostness and their pain. This can bring about a groaning and travail in spirit. 

Also, at times we may feel an unction to pray for someone at a certain time. We may or may not know who or what we are praying for or about. Millions of lives have been saved in this fashion by allowing God to use us in this type of intercession for others.

God also says in Ezekiel 22:30  "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none."

As Christians, we are to stand in the gap and interceed for our nation as well. How many of you pray for your country everyday? That is what we are supposed to do. We are to pray for leadership on all levels. Read 1 Timothy 2:1-3

Our nation of America is in real trouble and we need to cry out to God. Lets look at the 29th verse of Ezekiel 22 for one of the reasons America is in trouble and in dire need of prayer and repentance today.  "The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy; yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully."

When the people of God forget the poor and needy; God takes it personal. This is a very serious matter. I personally believe that one reason [among many] why the selective judgement of God is coming to America is because of the false prosperity gospel we have given to the world.

Instead of telling the world of their need for salvation through the Blood of Christ; we have been preaching a message of greed. We now have a nation of pillow prophets speaking soft words that appeal to the greed of the sinful nature of fallen man.

All of us who truly love God and our nation had better begin to fall on our faces and cry out in repentance to a Holy God. Amen.  

 

Lets look at Ezekiel 22:31 and see the results if we fail to do so. " Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God."

American Christian-- It is time to pray.

PRAYER: COMMUNICATION WITH GOD

Prayer is communication with God as we turn our hearts, minds, spirits,and thoughts toward Him.  Prayer is a form of worship. We bow before our awesome God with a humble and contrite heart. We bring God our adoration in prayer and praise to Him. We also seek and find, ask and receive, knock and have opened to us.[Matt. 7:7-8]

There is no greater calling for the believer than  the place of prayer. Psalm 27:8 tells us that it is the Holy Spirit of God that takes the initiative in our prayer lives. The Holy Spirit births within us desire to seek the things of God and to know Him.  God can use us despite how we may have messed up our life. The Lord will lift us up out of our problems because He wants to use us in His kingdom. He does this for His names sake.[Ezekiel 36:22,23]

Following are some different, scriptural kinds of prayer:

   1- Prayer of authority; binding and loosing:  Matt. 12:29   Matt.16:19

   2- Prayer of agreement: Matt. 18:19,20  Acts 4:31 

   3- The prayer of faith petition:  Mark 11:22-24   John 15:7

   4- Prayer of thanksgiving, Praise and worship:  2 Chronicles 20:20-22   Psalm 100:4,5

   5- Prayer of commitment, consecration and dedication:  Rom. 12:1,2   Matt. 26:39

   6- The prayer of intercession:  Ezekiel 22:30  Rom. 8: 26,27

   Another example of the prayer of intercession is in 1 Timothy 2: 1-3 and Rom. 8:34

   7- Prayer in the Holy Spirit: 1 Cor. 14:2-4, 14, 15

Let me encourage you to take the time to communicate with God in prayer Today.

 

NEW CD RELEASE BY BROTHER PAXTON

In just a few days, our newest CD will be available and I want all our friends to secure their copy. This informative CD will give a detailed account of how good works are the product of the sanctification process in the life of every believer. This message is an absolute must for your library.

Also, you can visit the article on good works at the Prayer Chapel Fellowship site, linked to this blog.

Please take full advantage of all the material that we make available to you and, as always we pray that it will be a blessing to you.

Our only goal and desire is to lift up the name of Jesus and to proclaim the message of  " Jesus Christ and Him Crucified". When you obtain our material, you help us fulfill our part in the great commission.  Thank you so very much.

                   In His Service,

                      Rev. Len Paxton 

Telecast Now On Pod-cast Page At Acts 26:18 Ministries Site.

This is just a blog to inform you that I have placed a couple of our tv programs on the pod-cast at www.acts2618.com for you to view. The Lord has really been blessing these programs and the testimonys that we are receiving as to how God is using the programs in peoples lives are amazing to me. If you could pray for the program, I would really appreciate it. I cannot do it without the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

If you have problems watching the videos, back out of the page and then try again. If you still have problems, go off the internet briefly and then retry. Also, if you hit play on audio or video and you see a faded quick-time symbol with a question mark, do the same as stated above, back out and retry. It will work. Sometimes things get a bit overloaded thats all.

We pray that all of our audio/video selections will be a blessing to you. I encourage you to join us often and study with us.
Also, please e-mail us with your thoughts and prayer requests as often as you like. We also need for some of you to prayerfully consider partnering with us. Let us take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
In His service,
Bro. Len

PRAYING WITH POWER part 5

There is no doubt that we are living in very difficult times. The coming of the Lord is near, and Jesus said that there would be an increase of all things difficult. { see Matthew 24}
Jesus had a concern, that as sorrows and difficult times increased, many people would lose their love for the Lord, many would stop praying and persisting in their walks with God. As a result, many would weaken in faith. Jesus asked this question,"when the Son of man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"[ Luke 18:8]

I find that when people go through crisis situations they call out to God. Its too bad that people do not practice a life of prayer, so when the crisis comes they are well grounded in trust and thereby better equipped to handle any crisis that comes. When the crisis comes, we still pray; of course. But in the midst of a crisis emotions are high, bodies are weaker and the voices of advice are many. It is harder to sift out the godly path if we are in the middle of a mess and unprepared in prayer.
If we are walking and talking with God daily, God can give us warnings about which person to receive counsel from-- when to say no to a child-- when to say yes to a business deal, etc. In fact, God may have been trying to get you alone for awhile. God knows the road ahead and He wants you to make it through. But hear me now, THERE IS NO WAY TO MAKE IT THROUGH APART FROM GOD'S PLAN. We must hear from God. We must be in daily prayer. Not when we feel like it, Daily Prayer...

Many people I know are just plain lazy. They have plenty of time to run around town and even convince themselves they need to.
They have plenty of time to gossip on the phone and watch tv. They have plenty of time for fishing and sports. But the poor souls just don't have time to pray and study the word of God. I feel sorry for them because the days we are coming into will demand more than that from true believers. The scripture tells us, " Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."[ 1 Peter 5:8] Satan is our enemy and he is on the prowl. He is after our faith. He wants to destroy our lives in every capacity. The weapon he will often use to work against us is deception. We must draw close to God in these last days. Scripture goes on to say, " Whom[satan] resist steadfast in the faith." [1 Peter 5:9a] I will ask you, how can you resist the devil and how can you have growing faith if you are too busy for God?

The importance of praying with power cannot be taken lightly. Now, as we close this teaching, lets recap what we have said.
1- Pray daily. Practice praying without ceasing, in other words be constantly in an attitude of prayer.
2- Pray until you touch God. This is "praying through"
3- Do not be concerned about time-- just learn to walk with God in communion. Build a close relationship with Him.
4- Pray not only for your needs but pray also for the things that God desires. Pray for others also.
5- Include worship, praise, and thanksgiving with your daily needs and requests.
6- When you don't know what to pray, allow the Holy Spirit to pray through you.
7- Pray in faith. Faith is built through spending time in the Word of God and praying.
8- Your life of prayer will be a great source of strength and deliverance in the midst of crisis.

God, put in all of us a heart that is easily wooed to your presence. Help us to pray through all our trials to completion... to listen closely to Your Spirit in our secret time of communion with You.... and to put all our confidence in Your revealed Word. In these ways we can know that our prayers will be pleasing to you. In Jesus Name, Amen.

PRAYING WITH POWER part 4

To pray with power we must be certain that we have the mind of the Lord. We cannot receive if we are double minded.
If we try and function with partly our mind and partly the mind of Christ; we will be unstable in all our ways including our praying. Lets look at a verse from James Chapter 1: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.[ James 1:5-8]

The Lord does not just give the believer any old thing that they may want. The Holy Spirit will give birth to the desires of a believers heart. In other words, The Holy Spirit will give the right desires to the believer. God does not grant every thoughtless and selfish request. To ask in faith we must first have ascertained what is the mind of the Lord. Faith cannot go beyond the known will of God. Faith is trusting God. Faith is knowing and believing in the benefits Jesus provided for us by His death upon the Cross. Faith reaches out to God for the answer of God, and then, faith trusts God whatever His answer.

Prayer can be mechanical and weak, or prayer can be powerful and effective. Prayer cannot be powerful without faith.
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." [Heb. 11:6]
Faith believes that God rewards our diligence in prayer. Why? Because the Word says so, thats Why!
If we know God's nature and character then we can pray with bold confidence. We learn about God through His word. Yes, the object of our faith is always Jesus Christ and Him Crucified but we still must read the Word and pray. The Holy Spirit responding to our faith in what Jesus did at the Cross will always produce in us the desires of prayer and Bible study.

Satan loves to fill our hearts and minds with doubts. He loves to weaken our faith. A weak, powerless Christian is no threat to the enemy's domain. That old liar, the devil will put doubts about your salvation, doubts about other believers, doubts about God's faithfulness into your mind and heart. Sometimes these doubts take on the form of worry. How do you gain power in prayer that will defeat worry and doubt and unbelief? You must build your faith. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."[Romans 10:17]

The more you spend time in God's presence, touching Him, and receiving comfort from Him, the stronger your faith will grow. The stronger your trust will grow. But it all starts with the Word. Remember, faith can only go as far as the known will of God.
Remember also that our desires in prayer must be according to the will of God. The only way to insure that is for our desires to be birthed in us by the Holy Spirit. The only way for that to occur is for the believer to properly place his/her faith in the finished work of Christ upon the Cross. That will bring about the help of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian which will always produce proper desires. Again, it all goes back to the message heard and received. It all goes back to the Word of God. " And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us." [1 John 5:14]

It is time to get alone with God. Start meeting God daily for prayer and you will see your faith increased. You will begin to pray with power. When we come to you again, we will continue this teaching.

PRAYING WITH POWER part 3

Dear friends, the church will never truly understand how important prayer is until we understand one foundational truth: Prayer is not just for our own welfare and benefit-- but for the delight of the Lord.

When we pray we are not only to ask for things we need but also, we must ask for things that God desires.
Christians can be very self-centered and selfish when it comes to prayer. So many times we only go to the Lord to unburden our troubles and sorrows to Him. We seek a supply of strength for our next battle. These things are legitimate and of course we should seek Him for our benefit. But, our praying will not be complete if we do not share His heart.
We are told to come boldly to the throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find Grace to help in time of need. [Heb. 4:16]
The Lord tells us to cast all our cares upon Him for He cares for us.[1 Peter 5:7]
God certainly does care about all of our needs. But whereas we seek relief and help from the Lord, He desires fellowship with us-intimacy and communion.

Our primary purpose in praying should always be to fellowship with the Lord. He has already made provision for our every need. We are told that we have not because we ask not. [James 4:2] But we are also told that we ask and receive not, because we ask amiss in order to consume it on our own lusts. [James 4:3] And we are also instructed to love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever. [1 John 2:15-17]

Our heavenly Father knows what we need even before we ask and if God will provide for the birds and flowers, He will certainly take care of us. [ Matthew 6:8,25-33] As we fellowship with the Lord and get to know Him better, and as we seek His kingdom first, our needs will be provided for. God is saying to us:" When you come into My presence, focus your attention on fellowship with Me-- on getting to know Me. Don't let your focus be on material things. I know what your needs are. Seek Me first."

We know that the Lord delights in His people. David said,...He delivered me, because He delighteth in me. [Psalm 18:19]
In Psalm 37:4 the Bible says,"Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
"I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste." [Song of Solomon 2:3]
As He delights in us, He wants us to delight ourselves in Him..

Coming to the Lord with delight does not mean we cannot come to Him with sadness and grief. You see, delighting in the Lord means preferring to be with Him above all others. This gives new meaning to our times of being sad, downcast, heavyhearted, or confused. Who do we run to in such times? Whose company do we prefer in such times?

Read the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel for an excellent example of this.
Don't hide from the Lord. Don't run anywhere else. Run straight into His presence and weep out all of your hearts troubles to Him. Tell Him everything you are going through. Let Him have all your saddness. I like the old song that says, take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

The strength you receive from the times of being shut in with the Lord will see you through the hard times you will face in life. In our next article, we will continue looking at "Praying with power".

PRAYING WITH POWER part2

Sometimes we know exactly how to pray [ or at least we think we do] but at other times it seems we don't have a clue and that is when the baptism in the Holy Spirit becomes important in our prayer life.
During the times we feel hindered in our praying, the Holy Spirit begins to pray through us. The Spirit searches the heart and begins to pray according to the will of God. Look at Romans 8:26-27
" Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weakness. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

The important thing is what comes out of our hearts. Prayer is spending time with God. Do you remember when you first fell in love? You wanted to spend time with that person, but it seemed that you were very awkward every time you wanted to say that you loved them. The feelings were there but sometimes you just couldn't find the right words. People who love us don't care what words we always use, they just want to know that we love them enough to spend time with them and that we value them. It is no different in our relationship with God. God is most interested in knowing that you love Him and want to spend time with Him. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me". [Revelation 3:20]

As it regards prayer, remember that good relationships consist of 2 people giving and 2 people receiving. If you want a close relationship with God, make sure you know how to give as well as receive. It is true that we can never outgive the Lord, remember He longs for relationship--- and a key part of our giving to Him is our thanksgiving, our praise, our worship, and our love gifts.

Jesus taught His disciples to; Glorify God--- "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name."
Reverence God---"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Ask God---"give us this day our daily bread."
Repent to God---"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors".
Commit to God---"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil".
Worship God--- "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen".

This example prayer is found in Matthew 6:9-13. Jesus was here showing us how to enter prayer relationship with God. Much of the prayer involves praise, honoring God and worshipping Him.

When we come back to you again, we will look more at praying with power.

PRAYING WITH POWER part 1

Prayer is a very powerful key in the way we overcome the devil in the everyday battles we face.
The more time that you spend with God in prayer; the stronger you will become and the better you will understand the purposes of God for you in His kingdom. As we pray, we gain wisdom and courage to resist the devil in our lives.
Satan will do everything he can to fill up your life so as to make you believe that you don't have time to pray. Also, he will bring circumstances and crisis that eat up your time and keep you from your life of prayer and important time with the Lord.
All of us must begin to look for times in all of our busyness when we can retreat to the Lord in prayer and fellowship. Be driven to prayer by your desire.

If you are too busy to pray then you are on a pathway to spiritual and emotional collapse. You will be drained in your emotions, and the roller coaster of life will begin to speed out of control. Find time to pray. Make time to pray.
Put down the remote control; hang up the telephone; make the children settle down; unplug from the voices of our generation and make time to get alone with God. If you don't, you will be committing spiritual suicide.

Pray until you pray through!! Pray until the breakthrough comes.. Do not set a time limit on your time together with your sweetest friend. In the Bible, Daniel prayed 3 times a day. David rose up early in the morning to talk with God and communed with Him at night upon his bed. He praised the Lord all day long. Paul prayed without ceasing. Read Romans 1:9

These great men enjoyed relationship with God. For Daniel it was regimented and disciplined; for David it was a continual song all day long; and Paul was so active in the business of the Lord, his prayer life remained constant and regular because of the intensity of his ministry battles.
When you spend time with God; as you get to know Him, your hunger and desire to know Him more will increase.

Someone may ask "what should I pray for?" Well, look to Jesus as the example. Jesus prayed with regard to specific cases; He prayed for direction; He prayed for blessing; He prayed for emotional strength; He prayed for His disciples; and He prayed just to be in communion with the Heavenly Father. Whatever was on His heart, Jesus brought it to the Father. This is the way prayer should be for us too.
" Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" [Philippians 4:6-7].

This verse shows us the content of prayer--- "everything that concerns us"; and the goal of prayer---" peace and knowing that we have touched the living God."

The end result of a healthy prayer life is POWER. And in our next installment, we will look at that.

Pod-Cast update

First of all, let me say thanks to all of you who are making use of our Pod-Casts that are on our main web-site. It means alot to us simply to know that you are listening.

In March, we had 1,616 visits to our Pod-Casts alone. Again, thank you so very much. You need to avail yourself of the strong Gospel preaching that we have made available to you. Satan would very much like to make people believe that they don't have enough time to regularly listen to the Word of God. But we all need to make the time.

If you can plan to go on and listen even once a week, it would be of utmost blessing and benefit to you, I believe.
Please do all you can to join us at least once a week. There are titles on the front page as well as many titles archived.

Thank You and God bless,
Rev. Len Paxton

THE HEAVENLY MAN.

I have just finished reading this book and it brought great conviction to my heart.
Sometimes I don't think that the American church has a clue as to what our brothers and sisters in Jesus have to endure in most parts of our world today.
I must admit that at times while reading the story of Brother Yun, my cheeks burned with shame. While great portions of the western church listens to its messages on 3 steps to a better personality or 5 steps to prosperity, Christians around the world are suffering greatly for their faith and yet will not compromise the true message of the cross of Jesus Christ.

I highly recommend that every single Christian read this book. Someday, a taste of the rest of the world may come to the shores of America and we are not ready for it, believe you me.

This astounding report of a Chinese believer will stir your soul and penetrate your heart.
Brother Yun endured great persecution and hardships at the hands of the Chinese government.
One Evangelist said that reading this book was like reading something from the book of Acts. The Lord so faithfully provides for His true servants.

Again, let me strongly encourage you to read this powerful book that brings glory to Jesus Christ.
We will be stocking a limited number of these books for a short time and you can e-mail me as to how you can secure your copy. They are also available at your local christian bookstore.

WHY WE CAN BE FORGIVEN

Forgiveness is of such importance to each of us that we must realize that the basis for our forgiveness is the Cross of Jesus Christ. We can be forgiven only on the basis of what Jesus did on our behalf. Before Jesus suffered and died on the Cross, Isaiah the prophet gave us a picture of what He was to do and why He was to do it. In Isaiah 53 Isaiah describes the suffering death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

" Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:4-6

That is the basis of God's forgiveness. It does not compromise His justice. The justice of God was fully and finally satisfied because Jesus became our substitute and took our iniquity, our rebelliousness, and our guilt. Isaiah and Paul both emphasize that none are excluded from the need of forgiveness. [Romans 3:23]
It may not be some atrocious crime of murder or rape that each of us is quilty of, but Isaiah says that we have all gone astray. We have all turned to our own way. We have been rebellious. We have been self-pleasers. We have lived by our own standards. We have robbed God of His glory. This is all summed up in one strong word of scripture, iniquity.
But thanks be to God, the Lord laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. The Hebrew word that is translated " laid on Him" is a vivid word. It means " made to meet together on Him". All of the sins, all the burdens of men, all the guilt, of all ages, of all races, past, present, and future, came and met together upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ as He hung on the Cross.

Jesus did not die for His own sin. He never sinned. Jesus was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him.
Please take note how closely linked healing and forgiveness are. Many times people are seeking healing, when what they really need is forgiveness before they can be healed. It is also true that, at times God does heal people who are not forgiven as yet. We also see that the consequence of forgiveness is peace. Because Jesus was punished on the Cross for our sin, God offers us peace and reconciliation. On the Cross, Jesus was our substitute.

We cannot earn our forgiveness. Period..
In Romans, chapter 4, Paul bases his teaching on the experience of Abraham. Paul points out that Abraham did not earn his relationship with God. Abraham was justified because he believed, not because of what he did. Read Romans 4:1-5
If we lead perfectly good lives then we would have received the reward of righteousness as a due. But Paul says because none of us has led perfect lives, we cannot claim it as a due. We have to receive it out of God's graciousness as a free gift to us. Paul then goes on to quote the words of David in Psalm 32. He talks about "blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputes not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." [verses 1-2] When we receive Christ and what He did for us at Calvary; our sins will never be counted against us...
Paul continues by telling us in Romans Chapter 4:20-25 that it is Christ who was raised to life for our justification. As we put our faith in what Jesus did for us at Calvary this becomes a reality for us. We are justified through faith in the death of Jesus on our behalf. When all our sins are forgiven us because of our faith in Jesus, we are reckoned righteous with the very righteousness of Jesus Himself.

When God forgives us through our faith in Christ, He does not partially forgive us. God totally forgives us. Lets look at Micah 7:18-19. "Who is a God like unto you, who pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."
Isn't that so beautiful? Everything that we have ever done wrong-- everything that could ever make us feel guilty, every accusation that the enemy could ever bring against us-- God treads them under foot and then hurls them into the depths of the sea. If God has forgiven you then you are forgiven.

God's forgiveness is total. In Isaiah 43:25 God speaks to His people: "I, even I, am He Who blots out your transgressions for My Own sake, and will not remember your sins."
When God forgives us, He gives us a clean record. It is as though what has been forgiven had never taken place.Not only does God blot out the record, but He blots it out from His own memory. He says that He will not remember our sins any more.
When God forgives, He forgets... All because of Calvary...

IPTV ON SKY ANGEL

Many of you have been asking what we know about the Sky Angel Christian TV system.
If you call 1-800-Sky Angel, you can obtain info. on all their packages.
To my understanding, they do have a way that you can watch using your high-speed internet.
Feel free to call them for more info.

BROTHER PAXTON NOW ON SOUND OF TRUTH RADIO

On March 1st, our dear friend Scott Corbin began airing Brother Paxtons sermons on his internet radio station.
Brother Corbin pastors a great church in Spartanburg, South Carolina called Truth Chapel World Evangelism Fellowship Church.
We strongly support this Brother and his wife Nikki, and we urge all of our readers within driving distance of their church to, by all means pay them a visit. And if you are looking for a good home church, this would be the place for you.

You can catch my programs on Saturday's at 12 noon, and Sunday's at 1 am and 8 am. Sound Of Truth Radio has an excellent line-up 24 hours a day. Please give it a listen by going to the www.siwministries link on this Cross focus blog or go directly to the site.

Thank you so much.
In His service,
Bro. Len

A WORD ABOUT OUR NEW SITE

We want to take this oppritunity to tell you about our other locations on the web. Very soon all of these will be linked at our main web-site, which is www.acts2618.com

We have just launched a new blog and you will find it linked on this Cross Focus blog and as I have already stated, very soon it too will be linked on our main site. It's called Cross Talk and I think it will be a blessing to you. We have made it so you can leave comments on that blog as well as from time to time, we will have polls for you to cast your vote. Let me strongly encourage you to do so. It is a more interactive site.

It is kind of geared to the younger people but young and old alike can be blessed by what will be posted there.

The Lord would have us do all we can to tell the good news of Christ and Him crucified and we are trying to do just that.
Please, once again let me encourage you to participate as much as is possible and let us know that you are out there and are reading.

Thank you so very much,
In the Masters service,
Len and Angie Paxton

NO TURNING BACK

"And Jesus said unto him, No man,having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God". [Luke 9:62]

By the grace of God, I started out living for Jesus many years ago. Along the way I have stumbled and made many mistakes and missteps. Always and without exception, when I reached out for the Lord to pick me up, He did.
Never has there been a time when He left me to my own devices or to wallow in my defeat. Because of the finished work of Christ upon the Cross, I am saved today and preaching this glorious gospel. Whether on the mountaintop or down low in the valley, the object of faith has always remained the same; Christ and Him Crucified. There is no other solution for any of us nor do we need any other.

We live in a world today that is very, very different from the world at the time I received Christ. Today, political correctness is all the rage and tolerance is demanded. Compromise is on the lips of many top christian leaders these days. Nowadays, so many in the church are trying to mix Jesus in with the rest of their "stuff". In the world of seeker-sensitive evangelism it is a crime to mention the word sin or to call men sinners. I never would have gotten saved had not a true man of God told me that I was a sinner that needed a savior. I did not receive Christ for life enhancement; I received Christ to escape the wrath to come. I have broken the laws of God, as we all have, and can do nothing myself to set it right. I need and in fact must have, a savior.
I did not receive Christ to merely "enjoy the trip", I want to be saved from the judgement at the end of the trail. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only way that man-kind can become right with God again and though that is not popular today, I will never quit preaching it. It is the truth!

No power in this world [or in the church for that matter] can compel me to change my convictions just because a mob wills it.
Our enemy, satan, would love for us to stop preaching the true gospel and the message of the Cross. Because the moment the preaching of the Cross stops, people stop getting saved.[ 1 Cor. 1:18, 21-23]
When a preacher like Joel Osteen states that he never mentions the Cross or sin, how can people truly be saved?When we allow a man like Rick Warren to try and bring all religions together in our christian churches, what does that say about the significance of our faith in the Lamb of God? And by the way, isn't Jesus enough purpose? Did not Jesus provide us with the real "Purpose Driven Life" when He went to the Cross?
Why do we seem to think we need some fad to take the place of what Jesus did for us at Calvary?

Just like David did, you and I need to stop hiding from the things we fear and go after them face-to-face. Shake no hands with the enemy. If you are a true gospel preacher, then do not negotiate with the powers of hell. Don't flirt with your enemies and do not let them flirt with you. The enemy and his demons are not in charge of me. Refuse to allow anything or anyone to conform you to the spirit or the ways of the world. Do not be conformed, but be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.[Rom.12:1-2] We need to boldly march into these last days and follow the path least chosen instead of following the path of least resistance.

The world and the modern liberal, seeker-sensitive church can do as it desires; But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. [Joshua 24:15]. Its high time to cease halting between two opinions and choose this day whom you will serve.
As for me, I will take the way of Calvary.

PAST, PRESENT, and FUTURE

As I once thought upon the 3 words past, present and future, I realized the following:

Our past: Get over it.
Our present: Led by the Holy Spirit
Our future: Hidden with Christ in God.

Today is the pivot point of my life.

Tomorrows past is TODAY. Nothing that has happened TO you is any greater than what God is doing IN you.
Yesterday's future is TODAY. Where you have been is not any greater than where you are going.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOUL-WINNING

Every person you meet will either be saved or perish.
People of the world will perish without Jesus Christ.[Rom 6:23]
But God is not willing that any should perish. [1 Tim. 2:4 ; 2 Pet. 3:9]

Soul-winning should be the focus of every believer. There should be no lack of urgency to reach others and yet, we live in a selfish, narcisstic, "I" centered society. Someone once said that if we really believed in the horror and pain of a fiery, devils hell, then we would crawl across broken glass to tell one poor, lost soul about Jesus--who [Jesus] is the only way to escape an eternity in the awful place called hell.

Soul winners are wise. [Prov. 11:30]
Soul winners are partners with the Lord. [2 Cor. 6:1]
Soul winners will shine brightly. [Daniel 12:3]
Soul winners are happy people. [Psalm 126:5-6]
Soul winners cover a multitude of sins. [James 5:19-20]

Jesus Christ commanded all Christians to go and make disciples.[Matt.28:19-20] Jesus love for me and my love for Him compels me to be a soul-winner.[John 14:15, 21]

It is written in the Jewish Talmud that God has said " In every place where you find the imprint of men's feet, there am I."

" For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." [John 3:16]

JESUS CHRIST AROSE !

Soon we will be celebrating Resurrection Sunday again, and what a celebration it is.
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was crucified, died, and was buried and on the third day, rose again to be seated at the Fathers right hand. He ever lives to make intercession for us. Hallelujah!

Last year[2007] a program on the Discovery Channel called "The Lost Tomb Of Jesus", was yet another attempt to disprove the authenticity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If a Christian minister says anything negative about another religion it provokes an uproar. But when some Hollywood movie producer blasphemes the resurrection of our precious Lord Jesus Christ we are encouraged to be tolerant and willing to dialogue about the matter. We are accused of being narrow minded if we respond any other way. Rubbish, I say.

By the way, the so-called "evidences" of that particular program has been refuted by the worlds leading experts.

I have always believed that the truth can stand the tests of time. Nothing which is true is threatened by the claims or so-called evidence of those who oppose it. We have always tried to respect the thoughts and beliefs of those who differ with us, but this is different. You can't have a discussion with EVIL. I emphasize the word evil because I refer not to a person--James Cameron, who produced "The Lost Tomb Of Jesus". I do not refer to those who chose to air the program or even those who wholeheartedly brought the lie. Though that is evil to be sure, the evil I am refering to is the one Jesus called "the Evil One"[Matt. 5:37,6:13,13:19,13:38, John 17:15] Satan himself is who is behind this..

Make no mistake about it, we have an enemy who would like nothing better than to strip people of the belief that Jesus Christ indeed rose from the dead and convince them that "your faith is vain" [1 Cor 15:14].
THE FACT IS: Jesus Christ DID rise on the third day. He said He would arise and He did. His disciples, who cowered in fear in an upper room after His death, became bold, confident preachers who were willing to die for the Gospel after His Resurrection. More than 500 people saw Him personally after He arose.[1 Cor 15:6]. An infant church in Jerusalem that was threatened with extinction because of persecution became so passionate about telling the news of His resurrection that you and I know the Gospel today because of their witness.
Volumes have been written over the past 2000 years that contain all the evidence that is necessary to demonstrate the validity and reality of the resurrection.
Also, we know that He Arose because we have met Jesus Christ and have been forever transformed by Him. That is, born-again Christians have. That's all the proof I need. I KNOW Jesus is alive. We were just talking together this morning.

JESUS IS ALIVE.. That's the true message of Easter. Some things aren't up for debate. Call me narrow-minded. Tell me I'm wrong. I don't care. Grace doesn't require that we shrug our shoulders and smile when people assault our risen Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus rose from the dead and He lives in my heart today and He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and Jesus Christ is coming back soon. Its just that simple!

NEW CD RELEASE BY BROTHER PAXTON

Recently, on TCTV-2, I did a 3 program mini-series on "The Sin Nature". I personally feel that this is a vital teaching that everyone of us needs to hear over and over again so that we get it down into our spirits. That is why we have captured the audio of these three shows on one CD.

We want all of our regular readers and listeners to obtain their copy of this all important teaching. You may go to our web site and e-mail us for information on how you can secure your copy.

THE WARFARE IS ACCOMPLISHED AT CALVARY

"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. [IS 40:1-2]


"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, IT IS FINISHED: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.
[St John 19:30]


As long as you and I live in the body we will face challenges and struggles. It is a story as old as time. But on the Cross of Calvary, Jesus Christ won the victory for all who will place their faith in Him. During hard and difficult times I do not have to lose my peace and joy because Christ is my peace and joy as well as everything I need. The world around me may be shaking and falling apart at the seams but as a Christian, my confidence is in what Jesus has provided for me.


With faith and patience we inherit the promises[Hebrews 6:12]. Jesus has already defeated the powers of satan on the Cross[Colossians2:15]. Because of Calvary, we can have a clean heart and walk in the purity and righteousness of the Word of God. The battle is no longer our battle but the Lord's battle.

Here are several things to consider when you are in a battle and waiting for the victory to manifest itself in your life.
1- Satan can cause a battle to happen, but he cannot determine the final outcome.
2- Your reaction to the trouble will determine if God, or the enemy, is allowed to work in the situation.
3- A setback is only temporary and not final. A small defeat is no sign that the enemy has won.
4- God has already set a day, hour, and moment for you to come out of your fiery furnace. You must keep your faith in what Jesus did for you at the Cross until you see the victory take place.
5- God calls this fight " the good fight of faith"[2 Timothy 4:7] A good fight is a fight that is already won. God says to us through Calvary " The warfare is already accomplished!!"

God is never surprised when conflict comes to us. He already knew all about it before satan even began his strategy. The Lord wants us to keep our faith in Him at all times. The victory is already WON!!!

God says "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."[Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV].

Every battle is already predetermined that YOU come forth the victor, because Jesus is the victor...
When the battle comes, some give up, give in and lose heart. Only then can satan take advantage of us.
Faith in what Jesus did at Calvary will ensure a completed victory.
The warfare is accomplished at Calvary!

2008 ELECTIONS Part one

While as a ministry, we cannot endorse a particular candidate: although I personally feel we should be able to do so, we do have the duty to comment as it regards the Christian vote in November. Every other group of people in this country is afforded the right to speak up on the issue's, we Christians should be able to do the same.

There is a movement in America that is trying to remove God from American history and culture. One of the two major political parties along with the American Civil Liberties Union, spend millions of dollars on lawsuits aimed at keeping prayer out of all public and government places. They try to remove nativity scenes and even want to take God's name out of the pledge of allegiance. This leftist, evil faction wants the Ten Commandments removed from public buildings.


Back in the 1800's, Russia was a strong Orthodox Christian nation. Prayer and Bible reading was permitted in the public schools. Many teachers were christians and could freely share their faith. But from 1917 to 1937 there was an organized effort to remove all religious emblems and information from Russia. They had a ten point plan that they used to do this. It is the same thing we are now seeing happen in America in 2008. America is already on the sixth point. Four more steps to go before God could become illegal in our beloved nation. In Russia, the final step was making preaching illegal and arresting the preachers.

In our land, this tenth and final step will be finalized with " hate crimes" laws that will make it a crime to preach against any form of sin. This would never happen if christians would stand up for their beliefs. If christians would all get out and vote based on the moral issues, we could see this plauge in our land stayed. However, christians would rather hear preaching on prosperity than take a stand for righteousness. Today too many seeker-sensitive pastors are filling the pulpits of America and they think its cute to tell people that they can remain in their sin. Today rather than being committed to Christ, far too many seek the purpose driven life. I really hate to say it, but we are in deep spiritual trouble.