November 5, 1993

[DEUT 30:19] BLESSING OR CURSE, LIFE OR DEATH, WHICH WILL YOU

CHOOSE?

Greeting to the saints in tribulation, that love not the world, but have set their affection on the things above, through the unfeigned love for our savior and King, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In this day and hour there are a group of lukewarm Ladicean believers, that are comfortable and think they have need of nothing. They are naked and exposed in their self-righteousness. The blind leading the blind, deceived and deceiving others, teaching the doctrines of men, ever learning, but never coming into the fruit bearing season. Having a form of Godliness, but they are transparent to the world of the duality and lack of power to overcome the world. Consider the love and mercy of the Lord to allow us to stumble on these stumbling blocks so to awaken us to our need to repent. [Act 17:30] declares, '1And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." How many of us are familiar with the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit, the love and union we seemed to have for one another. The singing and praising and of lifting up to heaven holy hands, in the evening and morning prayer and devotions with much ease and enthusiasm and now it is like trying to push a locomotive up hill. Where are the intercessors? Where is the love and union of the Believers? Because of so many different doctrines and denominational banners being lifted up, no one can see Jesus. Will someone be willing to take up the banner of love and exalt His name?

Is Christ divided? Will you except Jesus in His name or will you except another because his name has reputation or accept his denomination? Let our affection and loyalty be reserved for Him that loved us and gave His life for us. The fleeting riches of this western world has lulled many of Gods people to think that riches are Godliness and not understanding that Godliness with contentment is great gain, when sleep is sweet when you eat you are satisfied, when you’re trust is in the Word of God to keep you and your loved ones from evil and in quiet peaceful safety. [Prov 1:33] "But who hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely and shall be quiet from fear of evil." and again in [Prov 11:4]"Riches profit not in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivereth from death." Although we are not appointed for wrath, if we do not seek to live by the faith of Jesus Christ looking continually to Him, then we have chosen the wide gate and the broad way of living by the natural eye as the unbelievers do. This pathway leads to destruction. When you live by faith, the people that live by sight will say that you are not facing the real world and that you are different or strange. We know that they are deceived and are living in a world of darkness and they shall stumble and fall and not get up.

How many of God little lambs are wondering around as sheep without a shepherd. Woe unto the shepherds that are at ease in Zion, that are not healing the sick and do not bandage up the wounded, but are saying the fat of the flock and getting fat themselves, while the heritage of the Lord becomes thin and lean. The Father of these little ones is sorely grieved [Isaiah 59] "Yea truth faileth, and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. And the Lord saw it and it displeased Him, that there was no judgment, and He saw that there was no intercessor, therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him and His righteousness, it sustained Him." Then again in [Ezek 34:10] "Behold I am against the shepherds and I will require my flock at there hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock, neither shall the shepherds feed themselves anymore, for I will deliver my flock from their mouth." As a shepherd seeketh out his flock, in the day he is among his sheep that are scattered so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all the places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will set up a shepherd over them even my servant David (beloved). He shall be their shepherd. Here we see that the Lord God will tear down a religious structure that keeps the commandments and traditions of men, and He shall set the captives free, heal the sick and bind up the wounded to make the crooked paths straight and the rough places smooth. For the Lord is our shepherd, we shall not want. He shall provide green pastures, new pastures, green and tender. He shall restore our souls with the clean water of the river of life that flows from the throne of God. The abundant flow shall push our debris into the sea of forgiveness. The Lord God is raising up an army that will march through the land, shoulder to shoulder no breaking rank. They will have one head and one mind. They will be the David, the beloved son. They go wherever the Holy Spirit goes. They will turn only when the Holy Spirit turns. They have died to self and have risen with Christ so that they can say as Paul [Gal 2:20] "I am crucified with Christ, never the less I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loves me and gave himself for me." For as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the son of God. For this troop will have the mind of Jesus Christ who did not seek his own glory or reputation, but sought to please his father who sent him.

The religious leaders and their followers rejected Jesus. Those misunderstood him in his own family. His own friends thought he was beside himself. The religious leaders hated him without a cause. He did not seek to please man but the Father. His doctrine was not his own for he did not seek his own glory and He spoke what he was taught by the Father and he loved not his life unto death but he gave his life a ransom for many. The Lord is looking for those who would "take up thy cross and follow me."

[Matthew 10:38-39] "He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that looseth his life for my sake shall find it." Again in Matthew 16:241 "If any man come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

The meaning of this teaching by Jesus about losing oneslife is not that we die and go to heaven, but to die to "soul and self.' Self-preservation, not seeking our own interests and desires and even forsaking our own pleasure. Seeking to identify with the life of our master who purchased us with His blood. The Lord is looking for soldiers that will endure hardship and not get entangled with the things of this life. We live in perilous times, when we will not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God or perish. The just shall live by faith. For the word of God is fulfilling itself and not returning void, but is accomplishing what it is being sent forth to accomplish. Whether it be blessing or cursing. You can be literally blind and still know that the curse of [Deut 8:15] is pressing down upon the world because the darkness can be literally "felt" in the soul and the flesh, and as we can also look around us and see it.

We as the inheritance of Jesus Christ the children of the Most High God are not under the curse of the law, unless you have put your self back in the works of the law. We must rather follow the law of love. For the Lord said I desire mercy rather than sacrifice. And there is no mercy through the law. But there is grace and mercy through Jesus Christ. [Rom 13:10] Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Our spirit, soul and body need to be flooded by the Word of God which is truth and light, that wherever God has planted us, we can grow and turn back the darkness and be like a tree planted by the water to be a shelter to all that are being inundated by storms. Let us not be overcome by evil but let us overcome evil with good. Come let us be "overcomers." We are all called and an excellent mandate that can be a guide to our calling is found in the book of [Joshua 1:6-9] Moses speaking to Joshua can also speak to us "be strong and of good courage. This book of the law (the word of God and or bible) shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shall meditate there in day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein, for then thou shall have good success.

I also along with Paul in [Eph 1:16-18] "cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints."

I remain in the love and hope for you to stand on the Rock of our salvation and not be moved. Keep looking up and watching for our redemption draweth nigh.

Brother Edward J. Hintz