FRANCIS FRANGIPANE MINISTRIES

The Last Great Harvest
(En Español)

In the midst of terror attacks, blatant rebellion and worldwide conflicts, is there yet one more "great awakening" in God's heart that will sweep multitudes into His kingdom? Or is the future irreversibly clocked, ever ticking toward catastrophic conflicts and doom? I, for one, am convinced that the Lord's heart burns for the nations. I believe that a great harvest season awaits us.

It is easy to see sin and predict doom. Yet, the very fact that God gives us the privilege of prayer tells us He desires we participate with Him in the transformation of our world. Indeed, even when a nation seems fully in the grip of evil, the heart of God is searching for one who would "stand in the gap before [Him] for the land." God's heart is to redeem, "not destroy" (Ezek. 22:30). What a tremendous insight into the nature of God, that if just one person embraces Christlike transformation---if he or she stands in the gap in unoffendable intercession---that individual can alter the future of a nation! Before you think I am exaggerating, both the Bible and secular history tell us this is exactly the case. Singular individuals have stood for their families, churches, cities and nations, and throughout time God has used them to alter the course of history (see Heb. 11; Eccl. 9:15).

The key to unlocking this great power from God is to live life with one compelling goal: to obtain the likeness of Christ. Everything about our In Christ's Image Training (ICIT) course is designed to focus our faith upon Jesus Christ. The priorities we present, if properly assimilated, will empower each of us to possess true spiritual transformation.

Our vision at In Christ's Image Training is to train and release hundreds of thousands of Christlike pastors, leaders and intercessors into countries throughout the world. We are entering the season of our greatest transformation; it is accelerating toward us. God wants to use us to reach our families, neighbors and beyond. But first He must renew and transform our hearts. Do not doubt that the Spirit of God can do a deep and thorough work in you. At the end of the age, the Lord has promised His work of raising up people and reaching the nations will be accomplished "thoroughly and quickly" (Rom. 9:28). Take faith! He assures us He will "hasten" our transformation "in its time" (Isa. 60:22).

Right now we are offering our entire text version of In Christ's Image Training for free. This special pricing is for everyone who desires to feed their destiny. Relying on the Holy Spirit, and following the four training tracks, believers find a new, powerful anointing from God on their lives.

We also offer several other enrollment plans for full Level I training, which includes 39 audio messages, exams, certification and certificate of completion. Students who graduate from the full training are then eligible for Level II training: Growing in Christ.
For more information on all our training programs start at
www.icitc.org and read through the Level I page and then the Tuition page for a full list of enrollment plans.
You will need to complete the Level I Registration form, selecting an enrollment plan.

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If you are financially unable to purchase a book from Pastor Frangipane, he would love to give you your choice of any one of his books for free, or for whatever you can afford. (Visit our FAQ page for more information.) U.S. addresses can choose book or eBook. International addresses can select an eBook.

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Ministries of Francis Frangipane
The Ministries of Francis Frangipane - Eword Message

Not Judgmental, But Prayer-mental

Mercy, Not Wrath
The church is created not to fulfill God's wrath, but to complete His mercy.
Remember, we are called to be a "house of prayer for all.nations. " Consider
passionately this phrase: "prayer for." Jesus taught His disciples to "pray
for" those who would persecute or mistreat them (Matt.5 44). When Job
"prayed
for" his friends, God fully restored him (Job 42:10). We are to "pray for
the peace of Jerusalem" (Ps. 122:6), and "pray for" each other so that we
may
be healed (James 5:16).

According to the Word of God, the Lord "desires all men to be saved" (1 Tim.
2:4). Therefore, Paul urged "that entreaties and prayers.be made on behalf
of all men, for kings and all who are in authority" (vv. 1-2). You see, the
call is to pray for people.

"But," you argue, "my country (or city) is a modern manifestation of ancient
Babylon."

I don't think so. But even if it were, when the Lord exiled Israel to
Babylon, He didn't order His people to judge and condemn their new cities.
Rather,
He said, "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you.and pray to the
LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare" (Jer. 29:7).

Time after time, the scriptural command is to pray for, not against; to pray
mercifully, not vindictively. God's call is for prayer moved by compassion,
not condemnation. Indeed, at its very essence, the nature of intercession is
to appeal to God for forgiveness and redemption to come to sinful people.

We have studied what is wrong with our society and can prove, with charts
and surveys, the trends of sin, yet we have failed to appreciate the
influence
of the intercessions of Christ. We consider ourselves experts on the nature
and cause of sin, but deny the nature and cause of Christ, which is
redemption.
Friends, being informed by the news media is in no way the same thing as
being transformed into the nature of the Savior.

The media sees what is wrong with the world and exposes it; Christ saw what
was wrong and died for it. If one could gaze into the image being created
within
the heart of the church, one would find that it would be more the cynical
attitude of the news media than the redemptive attitude of our Shepherd.
Righteousness
must ascend higher than ascribing to the moral views of our political party;
we are called to the standards of God.

Study Isaiah 53. It reveals in wondrous detail the Savior's nature: Christ
numbered Himself with the sinners (v. 12). He interceded for the
transgressors
(v. 12). He is "with us" (Matt. 1:23) and "for us" (Rom. 8:31), even when He
is speaking to us of our iniquity.

But the world sees a church with rocks in its hands, looking for adulterers
and sinners. We have become the "church of the angry Christians." In the
drama
that is unfolding in the world today, we have not usually been playing the
role of Christ, but more often the part of the Pharisees. Let us drop the
rocks
from our hands, then lift our hands, without wrath, in prayer to God (1 Tim.
2:8).

"Prayer-Mental, " Not Judgmental
God does not want us to be judgmental; He wants us prayer-mental. As
instinctively as we have judged people, we should pray for them instead.
Today, countless
Christians are angry with their elected officials. We say our anger is
"righteous indignation. " I too feel this troubling that people elected to
serve
have so misused our national treasure, bringing our nation to near ruin.
Yet, if my goal is to be like Christ, I must remember: Jesus expressed
"righteous
indignation" for, perhaps, a total of one hour during His recorded ministry.
Once was for the hardness of people's hearts (Mark 3:5), another was for the
hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes (Matt. 23:13-36), and other times
were at the temple when the Father's house was used for something other than
redemptive
prayer (Mark 11:17). So, yes, Jesus was angry, but His anger was always
replaced with love and intercession for God's people.

How long has your anger lasted? Are you sure your love has not grown cold?
Are you sure you are not seeking to justify a root of bitterness and call it
righteous indignation?

"Well," some argue, "our government officials have sinned." When Paul called
for prayer for kings in 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Nero was emperor of Rome. Nero was
one of the most corrupt men who ever lived. He did not have an illicit
relationship or two; he had public orgies. He skinned Christians alive.
There were
occasions when he illuminated his night banquets with living torches,
Christians, who were tarred and then set ablaze on poles. Nero and his
guests dined
surrounded by Christians dying for their faith. Yet Paul wrote that we
should pray "for kings and all who are in authority" (v. 2). Nero was king
when
Paul wrote this command.

Some may misread my words, assuming that I think there is nothing wrong in
government or society. Yes, there are many things wrong in our world, and
God
will certainly call us, at various times, to confront the sins that plague
our lands. However, my concern is not as much with the White House as with
the
Lord's house! If we are not praying for our elected officials, the least we
can do is to stop cursing them!

The Father's house is to be a house of prayer for kings and all in
authority. We can adamantly disagree with the political views that a leader
has, but
we must also adamantly cry to God on their behalf and serve as intercessors,
even for our cultural enemies.

I can understand the reason for anger toward elected officials, especially
if we consider that they are not doing their jobs. But if all we do is judge
them, we are not doing our jobs. It is not the Holy Spirit within us that
calls for God to judge sinners; it is our frustration with people and the
delay
in the restoration of righteousness. My friend, beware; for when you pray
for judgment to come, remember that it begins "with the household of God" (1
Pet. 4:17). To pray for God to judge a nation or city for its sins actually
initiates judgment from God on the church for its sins! And the Almighty
will
start with those who are quickest to judge others!

When I pray for the political leaders guiding the United States, I ask the
Lord to protect them from the influence of ungodly counselors. Where they
have
failed, I appeal to God to forgive them and to show mercy in regard to the
relaxed moral standards of our land and especially concerning abortion,
which
breaks the Lord's heart. For those who are clearly corrupt, since we are a
democracy, I pray that God would replace the evil leaders with righteous
leaders.

The Lord desires for us to "stand in the gap" (Ezek. 22:30), positioning
ourselves between the failings of man and the sufficiency and forgiveness of
God.
Then, He calls us to persevere in this intercession until, in one form or
another, righteous change occurs in our society.

For all who are embittered with their nation's leaders, remember: each of us
must give an account for our sins at the "judgment seat of Christ" (2 Cor.
5:10). Let us consider with holy fear the warning of God: "Judgment will be
merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment"
(James
2:13).

Father, I ask You to forgive me for my lack of forgiveness toward our
elected officials. Lord, I ask You to forgive, cleanse, and renew them in
Your mighty
presence. Appear to them, Lord, in the night hours; save them from the lies
and plans of hell. Touch and heal their families, and renew them as well in
Your love. Lord, I ask You to forgive my harshness toward all who have
offended me. O God, this day, deliver me from my judgmental attitudes! Help
me to
remember in all things and at all times that "mercy triumphs over judgment"!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Recently updated and revised, The Power of One Christlike Life carries a
cargo of gold from the heart of a man after God's heart. If you have never
read this book by Pastor Frangipane, it contains the nectar
of his walk with God.
This book is freighted with revelation about the nature of God in Christ,
and how the key to everything spiritual is found in the pursuit of Christ's
likeness.

Available in paperback
for $9.75 (retail $13.50)
or eBook
for $6.75 (retail $7.85)

Limited time offer.
Visit our Specials page for more information

If you are financially unable to purchase a book from Pastor Frangipane, he
would love to give you your choice of any one of his books for free, or for
whatever you can afford. (Visit ourFAQpage for more information. )
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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Facebook Comments and Questions on our Message Board

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website would be kindly appreciated.
A service of Frangipane Ministries, Inc.
Copyright (c) 2011
All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations
were taken from the NASB.

Be Anxious For Nothing
(En Español)

Jesus warned that, in the last days, the world would face unfolding trauma. There would be wars, earthquakes and many other disasters. Yet, to His disciples, He said, "Do not be terrified" (Luke 21:9). He also said that, because of world conditions, men's hearts would fail "from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth"(Luke 21:26 NKJV). Not only would actual events generate worldwide fear, but the expectation of difficulties would cause men's hearts to fail.

Today, heart failure is the number one cause of death in North America. Approximately every thirty-four seconds a heart stops beating and another person dies, usually suddenly. There may be many contributors to heart failure, but one major source is the inability to handle stress.

There are times when stress is unavoidable - the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, moving to a new home, severe illness, or going through a divorce - all take a toll. But most of the time accepting anxiety should not be so readily accommodated. The problem is that, just as death entered the world through Adam's sin (see Rom. 5), so the substance of death enters our personal world through our sins as well. Indeed, when we carry anxiety-related stress, we are carrying in our soul a container of death that, without fail, takes an ever increasing toll upon our lives.

Consider our world: War and terror attacks can occur at any time and anywhere. Our stock market and economy continues to bolt up and down, like a wild roller coaster. We have many unanswered questions about the future that are multiplied stress factors.

We also have personal situations. We worry about aging and our health. We have stress at our jobs and stress with a lack of jobs. Our homes should be a harbor of peace, yet they often are a place of strife and anxiety, especially as our children become teens. Someone once said, "A mother is only as happy as her saddest child." It is true for fathers also. We all carry people in our hearts, and as we love them their battles become ours, further adding to the burden of anxiety we carry.

If you want to know how stressed you are, look at your disposition when you drive. If you are always exceeding the speed limit, it reveals the lack of rest in your soul. That extra push on the accelerator is continually occurring on your heart throughout the day, not only when you are driving. Driving simply makes apparent the level of anxiety we have learned to live with.

Paul wrote, "Be anxious for nothing" (Phil. 4:6). Yet we seem to be anxious for everything. In fact, stress-related anxiety is so much a part of our lives that, somehow, it has escaped being identified as being sinful. We medicate it, but do not change the habits of fear that caused it in the first place. But anxiety is sin. At its core, it is a stubborn refusal to trust the goodness of God or rest in His power. Anxiety is a by-product of unbelief. It is a spiritual "terror attack" from hell that is silently killing tens of thousands every day.

God Is With Us
Certainly, I am not suggesting we become passive. However, I am saying we ought to abandon our fears and the stressful anxieties that come from not trusting in God. Our Messiah is "Immanuel," which means "God with us." Jesus promised to be with us, "even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20). At some point we must accept the wonder and power of Christ's promise. Those who believe enter His rest (Heb. 3). He is with us always! To mistrust this promise is to reject the very character of God's nature. This is not a minor issue.

Yet, even now Jesus says,

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30).

Let us come to Him. Let us cast our burdens upon Him, for truly He cares for us. Let us break our addictions to stress. We don't have to be tied up in knots inside. The God of peace will crush Satan beneath our feet shortly (see Rom. 16:20). Anxiety is sin. Let us break the bondage of this sin and walk as sons and daughters of God, who are anxious for nothing.

Lord, forgive me for my sin of anxiety. I renounce fear. I declare that my soul is Your property, that You have promised to care for me. I believe Your promises. I come to You and entrust all I am into Your love and care. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Recently updated and revised, The Power of One Christlike Life carries a cargo of gold from the heart of a man after God's heart. If you have never read this book by Pastor Frangipane, it contains the nectar of his walk with God. This book is freighted with revelation about the nature of God in Christ, and how the key to everything spiritual is found in the pursuit of Christ's likeness.
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If you are financially unable to purchase a book from Pastor Frangipane, he would love to give you your choice of any one of his books for free, or for whatever you can afford. (Visit our FAQ page for more information.) U.S. addresses can choose book or eBook. International addresses can select an eBook.

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We realize that this word from Pastor Frangipane has been posted previously. Yet the Holy Spirit prompts us at key seasons to resend it, reminding us there are others today who need its message.

The Silent Harvest
By Francis Frangipane
(En Español)

A few years ago, I had a dream in which I found myself inside the mind of a dying man. The man had been in a coma for some time; his family had been praying, but they did not know whether or not he had accepted Christ. All they were sure of is that, throughout his life, he had resisted their efforts to lead him to Christ.

In the dream, I became so acutely aware of the man's state of mind that his thoughts, feelings and struggles almost seemed my own. Although his eyes were nearly closed and his vision clouded, he could see his loved ones at his bedside. I watched as he tried to reach toward his family, but outwardly his arm never lifted. Perceiving his thoughts, I heard him speak their names, but no sound whispered through his lips. A loved one holding his hand asked, "If you hear me, squeeze." He heard and pressed his fingers against hers, but no movement was seen; his hand clearly remained limp. He was conscious, he could hear their prayers, he felt the warmth of their kisses on his face, but was perfectly incapable of responding.

The pride and isolation that had, throughout his life, stood guard over his heart were gone. A physical catastrophe had overtaken him. Death approached, and he knew he was unprepared for eternity. Submerged beneath his motionless exterior, a war had raged for his soul, which the Lord won. Subdued by the relentless force of God's love, he was finally at peace. It was during his time in the hospital that he had silently prayed and accepted Christ as his Savior. I was watching his last effort to tell them as life ebbed out of his body.

Suddenly, monitoring alarms ripped through the muffled silence of the room. His heart beat one last time and I found myself looking down at the body of a man who had just died. The room was buzzing with nurses, while his family huddled in a corner, grieving. The idea of their loved one dying without receiving Christ was more devastating than the reality of death itself. I stirred and then woke. Yet, just as I left the dream, the Lord spoke to my heart:

"Tell them he's with Me."

God is Good
Although some time has passed since I first had this dream, I am increasingly aware that many of God's people carry a deep abiding heartache concerning the death of an unsaved loved one. Obviously, this dream does not apply to all, but there are some for whom this experience is divinely directed. Thus, I submit this to you in a general sense, because the Holy Spirit has assured me He will bear witness to your heart that this word is for you.

I have also felt an urgency to pass this dream on to you. The Lord has an important work for you. However, the enemy has used this unresolved loss to sow doubt into your soul. Not only are you troubled about your deceased loved one, but you are carrying doubts about God's love, and you doubt also the power of prayer. Your confidence in God has been compromised. Yet, it is precisely at this time that you need to stand without doubt for other members of your family.

Beloved, though there are many questions about the mysteries of life, we must not let the unknown obscure the face of the known: God is good. We know God loves us because He sent His Son to die for our sins. Indeed, Jesus said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). When we look at Christ, we see God, and we know that God cares.

Additionally, some of us have lost loved ones in sudden tragedies, where they seemingly had no time to repent or turn to God. Let me remind you of those who have faced near-death experiences. They tell of seeing their "life flash before [their] eyes." Indeed, they say that time itself seem to stop or move into slow motion. I believe that, even in what seemed like a "sudden" death, time slowed to a crawl. According to their testimonies, evidently, there often is enough time in this altered state to see and ponder one's entire life - and to make a decision or even call upon the name of the Lord.

In spite of what we do not know about life's many mysteries, one thing remains eternally true: God is our loving Father. He does not desire that any man perish, and He will fight to save us, even to the moment of our death. Let us, therefore, cast our burdens upon the Lord, for He genuinely cares for us. And let us again run with endurance the race set before us, for He has promised that even for those "sitting in the . . . shadow of death, upon them a light dawned" (Matt. 4:16).

Lord Jesus, thank You for dying for my sins. Lord, there are many issues I do not know, but I do know that You are good. Those things I do not understand, I give to You. I trust You with my life, and I put in Your hands the care of those I love.
Jesus taught that one of the prevailing signs of the end would be multitudes succumbing to fear concerning worldwide conditions (see Luke 21:26). Denise Frangipane shares a significant testimony of how the Lord delivered her from the grip of debilitating fear. Her words of faith have inspired many people over the years and we pray they will be an inspiration to you also.
Let us know what you thought about this teaching. Talk to us on Facebook
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If you are financially unable to purchase a book from Pastor Frangipane, he would love to give you your choice of any one of his books for free, or for whatever you can afford. (Visit our FAQ page for more information.) U.S. addresses can choose book or eBook. International addresses can select an eBook.

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Asher Intrater is the senior leader of a Messianic congregation in Israel. Asher's perspectives and insights are highly valued both in the Holy Land and beyond. He is also personal friend of Pastor Frangipane. Our ministry is very committed both to Israel and especially to the emerging church there. For more information about Asher's ministry, please visit their website: www.revive-israel.org.


Faithful Friend
By Asher Intrater

One of the most important characteristics of a godly person is to be faithful. That means to be faithful to your friends, a faithful friend. The edition of our book "Covenant Relationships" in Hebrew is called, "Faithful Friend." Yeshua said that the ultimate goal of discipleship was to produce friends for Himself (John 15:15).

"Pursue love" - I Corinthians 14:1

To pursue love means to pursue people by means of love. Being a faithful friend demands initiative and effort. It does not just wait for someone to come along. It reaches out to demonstrate faithfulness to others. Saul (Paul) blessed Onisiphorus because he searched and found Paul when he was in prison (II Timothy 1:17). Paul also rejoiced to do the same thing; he left a successful ministry opportunity to search out his friend Titus. Finding Titus was considered a greater "triumph" than success in ministry (II Corinthians 2:14-15).

"He loved them to the end" - John 13:1.

Yeshua loved His disciples all the way to the end. Being a faithful friend involves a process. It is a series of tests. It has a price to pay. That price increases along the way until it demands faithfulness even unto the death (Revelation 2:10). Faithfulness is a long path of dialogue, confrontation, forgiveness, disappointment, pain, and sacrifice. To be faithful is to go all the way with another person.

"If your brother sins against you go to him and rebuke him between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have won your brother" - Matthew 18:15.

This verse more than any other describes the process of covenant dialogue from a faithful friend to another when there is a problem. The purpose is not just moral confrontation but an effort at restoring relationship. To be faithful you must continually enter into honest loving conversations to correct problems and restore relationships. There is no such thing as human relationship without problems.

If you love Me, keep My commandments" - John 14:15 (13:34; 15:9; 15:10; 15:12; 15:16).

Love is something we are commanded to do. It is based on obedience, not on emotions. Love has emotions but is not dependent on them. It is not even dependent on other people. Trust is dependent on others' trustworthiness. However, we can love people before they are trustworthy. Yeshua loved the whole world (John 3:16), but He trusted no one (John 2:25).

All people are basically unfaithful in their "human" nature, but God is faithful to us in spite of our unfaithfulness to Him (Romans 3:4). Likewise to be faithful to someone is a unilateral decision on our part. Be faithful even if no one else in the world is. Choose to walk in loyalty and integrity; in humility and grace.

A good relationship demands the mutual faithfulness of both sides. However, your being faithful to that relationship is your side alone. A good husband will decide to be a good husband to his wife regardless of what kind of wife she is (and vice versa). We do what is right "as unto the Lord (Ephesians 5:21, 22; 6:1, 6:7)."

"A brother is born for adversity" - Proverbs 17:17.

To be faithful is to be aware when a friend is in need or in trouble. That is the time to run to be close. It is hard to demonstrate faithfulness when everything is going well for the other. When the going gets rough is when we get going to help. Those are the choice opportunities.

"Make for yourself friends through unfaithful mammon…" - Luke 16:9.

Yeshua emphasizes here the simple point that friends are more important than money. He does not mean to "buy" friends in a manipulative, controlling manner. Rather, money can be a tool in building relationships. Anything you can buy with money is less important than friendship. Everything in this world is temporary. Only faithful relationships are eternal.

Money is not a means to purchase goods for ourselves, but a means to bless people. People are often in financial need. Money can be used to demonstrate faithfulness. When you use money to help others, you raise the opportunity to develop trust.

"Many a man declares his own loving-kindness, but a man of faithfulness, who can find?" - Proverbs 20:6.

In this world today, many people speak of love, but a person who is faithful to his friends is a rare commodity. Let's be one of them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Recently updated and revised, The Power of One Christlike Life carries a cargo of gold from the heart of a man after God's heart. If you have never read this book by Pastor Frangipane, it contains the nectar of his walk with God. This book is freighted with revelation about the nature of God in Christ, and how the key to everything spiritual is found in the pursuit of Christ's likeness.

Available in paperback for $9.75 (retail $13.50)
or
eBook for $6.75 (retail $7.85)

Offer expires July 20, 2011

Visit our Specials page for more information

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Let us know what you thought about this teaching. Talk to us on Facebook

Comments and Questions on our Message Board

Please feel free to forward this message to others; acknowledging our website would be kindly appreciated.

A service of Frangipane Ministries, Inc.
Copyright (c) 2011
All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations
were taken from the NASB.

Please visit our website for additional messages and resources.

Our nation needs prayer. I'm encouraged by the governors, mayors and other political leaders who are holding large gatherings for the purpose of humbling themselves, seeking God and asking for forgiveness. Our nation needs to return to God. If we do, it is possible that the best days are ahead for the USA. Remember, what is not possible for man, is possible for God. In fact Jesus said, "All things are possible with God" (Mark 10:27).
The following is a short excerpt from pastor Frangipane's book The Power of One Christlike Life.

The Commitment of an Intercessor
(En Español)
Then Moses returned to the Lord, and said, "Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. But now, if Thou wilt, forgive their sin---and if not, please blot me out from Thy book which Thou hast written!" (Exod. 32:31-32)
The prayer of Moses is remarkable. Moses was not only the leader of Israel, he was an intercessor as well. Ultimately, an intercessor gives up all personal advantage for the sake of those for whom he prays. Moses knew he personally had favor with God. Yet he presented himself as a remarkable portrait of one irreversibly committed to Israel's transformation. He said, "If Thou wilt, forgive their sin---and if not, please blot me out from Thy book."
Moses said, in effect, that he was not serving for individual gain or glory - this was not about him, but about the people he loved and served, rebellious as they were. The soul of Moses was bound together with the future of Israel. Similarly, we must see ourselves irreversibly bound together with the lives of those we pray for, both family and friends, as well as our community and nation. Moses would not be blessed, honored or pleased apart from the fulfillment of God's promise to the Hebrews. If God would not forgive them, He could not have Moses either. Israel and Moses had become a package deal.
Have you struggled with situations in your personal life in which you cannot seem to break through? Perhaps you are spending too much time on your needs and not enough time praying for others. Make a prayer list of people with desperate needs, and as you intercede for them, see if the Holy Spirit doesn't break through for you, too. Indeed, include your enemies and those who have hurt you. Remember the story of Job. When he prayed for his friends, God healed him (see Job 42:10). Intercession not only transforms the world, but also transforms us.
Lord Jesus, I am awed at Your willingness to show mercy. You actually changed Your mind about judgment on sinners because of one man, Moses. Lord, in my world and times, let me be that one who so delights You, who is so intimate with You, that my prayer for mercy outweighs Your judgment to destroy the disobedient. May the favor You have given to me be multiplied to those who yet do not know You, and may it spread until all the earth is filled with Your glory!Recently updated and revised, The Power of One Christlike Life carries a cargo of gold from the heart of a man after God's heart. If you have never read this book by Pastor Frangipane, it contains the nectar of his walk with God. This book is freighted with revelation about the nature of God in Christ, and how the key to everything spiritual is found in the pursuit of Christ's likeness.
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The Divine Obsession
There are three basic categories of Christians. The largest group consists of people who, though they try to avoid the darkness in the world, have no hope that the world can be redeemed. Assuming Christ's return is imminent, they retreat into what seems a shelter of apathy concerning the non-Christian world around them. Yet most are not truly apathetic. Their souls, like Lot's, are vexed by the conduct of unprincipled men (2 Pet. 2:7-8). Their compassion, though, is kindled even if it's limited. Rarely do they extend themselves beyond the needs of their immediate family and closest friends. They love the Lord, but they don't know how or what to do to change society or even to positively impact their neighborhoods.
The second group of Christians consists of those who would rather rail at the darkness than adjust to it. Though much smaller in number than the first, they are by no means apathetic; in fact, they appear exactly opposite. They rage at the depravity of the ungodly and protest the audacity of the wicked. They pound the pulpit and the pavement; they are both vocal and visible. Yet their ability to transform their culture is, for the most part, neutralized by their negativity and rage. They are dismissed as judgmental extremists. Most sinners simply cannot endure the harshness of their approach.
Both groups sincerely desire to see our culture transformed. Yet the same problem afflicts them: they are troubled that the world is unchristian, without being troubled that their own hearts are un-Christlike. They do not perceive the priority of God's heart, which is the transformation of the church into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:28-29).
World Changers Needed
It is this very passion to be conformed to Christ that separates the third group from the others. Though smallest in number, its members are the most effective. Throughout history, these have been the world changers. These are the individuals who have understood the priority of God. They know that the Father's highest passion is to behold His Son revealed in a believer's soul. As much as they are moved with compassion for the lost, their primary quest is not to touch their neighbors' hearts, but to touch the heart of God. They know if they awaken the Father's pleasure, the power of His Spirit will go before them. God Himself will change the hearts of those around them.
It is my sincere quest in life to be like Jesus in everything. It stuns me to know that if I am truly conformed to Christ, I have the Spirit's promise that I will also awaken the pleasure of Almighty God. Here, in my transformation, is the power to touch cities and redeem cultures, for it takes transformed people to transform nations.
To Be Like Christ
Indeed, it was this hunger for Christlikeness that was the secret of Paul's success. His expressed vision was simply, "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (Phil. 3:10).
Paul's passion was taken up with this one heavenly goal of being conformed to the life and power of Jesus Christ. The apostle's quest was not only to win the world but to know Jesus Christ. The works Paul accomplished - founding churches, writing almost half the New Testament, winning the lost, demonstrating miraculous spiritual gifts, and remaining faithful throughout times of terrible suffering - were all by-products of his passion to know Christ.
Likewise with us, the Father's immediate, primary goal for the church is for us to be like Christ. He rescues us so He can transform us. Some say that the Father's goal is to win the lost. Yet, if this were His highest priority, He would simply bypass the church and save men Himself. Has He not proven, as seen in Paul's conversion, that His abilities to save people are without limit? Did He not change the arrogant heart of King Nebuchadnezzar into a man of meekness who gave glory to God? Who can resist Him who is irresistible? However, instead of revealing His glory, it is His choice to reach to the lost through the agency of transformed people.
This, my friends, is the glorious mystery of our existence: the Almighty has purposed from eternity to create a race of men and women who, though tested in a corrupt and violent world, bear the image and likeness of Christ (Gen. 1:27). Christ calls this heavenly-natured people "the church," His "new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17 NKJV).
The Holy Obsession
To be in love is to be obsessed with one's beloved; to be obsessed is "to think continually about the same thing." In this sense, the Father is obsessed with filling the universe with the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Beginning with eternity past, revealing the Firstborn in the womb of time, and continuing with the transformation of the church, the Father desires all creation ultimately to be summed up in Christ. Our goal is to participate in this "summing up" (Eph. 1:10) until all that we are is conformed to Christ.
Now, if the Father is obsessed with His Son, let us also surrender not only to God's will but also to His obsession. Indeed, Jesus prayed that the very love with which the Father loved the Son would be in His disciples (John 17:26). We can receive and be flooded with the very same quality of love that the Father has for His Son. We can know the divine obsession.
Therefore, let us ponder and then pursue what it means to be Christ-like. Let us give ourselves to the divine obsession of God: to see creation, starting with ourselves, summed up in Christ. For it is here, in the transformation of our lives, that we discover and fulfill the wondrous obsession of God: the unveiling of His Son in the earth. It is here, at the threshold of Christ in us, that we discover the power one life surrendered to Christ has upon the heart of God.
Father, let my heart become as obsessed with Your Son as You are. Let the fullness of my absorption with Him displace all other pursuits until, at the mere glimpse of Jesus, my whole being is flooded with the pleasure You Yourself feel.Recently updated and revised, The Power of One Christlike Life carries a cargo of gold from the heart of a man after God's heart. If you have never read this book by Pastor Frangipane, it contains the nectar of his walk with God. This book is freighted with revelation about the nature of God in Christ, and how the key to everything spiritual is found in the pursuit of Christ's likeness.
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Standing Behind Our Wall
The sense of distance we often feel between Christ and ourselves is an illusion. As we enter the days prior to Christ's Second Coming, the Lord shall begin to remove that falsehood. Indeed, He promises, "In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you" (John 14:20).
The Scriptures tell us that Christ is the vine, we are the branches; He is the head, we are His body; He is the Lord and we are His temple. From start to finish, the Bible declares the Lord not only has a dwelling in Heaven, but that He also abides perpetually in redemptive union with His people. The ever-present focus of His activity is to guide us into oneness with Himself.
Thus, for all that the Holy Spirit has come to establish in our lives, whether through gifts, virtue or power, His highest purpose is to lead us into the presence of Jesus. The Holy Spirit labors ceaselessly to establish intimacy between ourselves and the Lord Jesus. Someone once said that intimacy means "into-me-see." Intimacy means secrets shared. The Father sees us in secret; He establishes within us the "secret place of [His] presence" (Ps. 31:20), where those who fear Him can always find Him (Ps. 27:5).
This union with Christ lifts us higher to a personal, rather than merely academic, relationship with God's Word. We hear the Shepherd's voice speaking to our spirits, bringing comfort, correction and direction (John 10:27). Not only are we privileged to know Christ's teachings, but as we grow, we also discern the tone of His voice in His instruction. This is heart-to-heart intimacy.
Listen to His wonderful promise:
"I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep" (John 10:14-15).
Jesus says, "I know My own, and My own know Me." How intimate is this relationship? Scripturally, the union between Christ and our hearts is of the same quality as His union with the Father. He says it is "even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father."
Finding Our Beloved
Yet, the sense of distance between Jesus Christ and ourselves persists. You may have prayed, Lord, You said You are with us forever but I feel isolated from You. If Christ is within us, how can we find the living flame of His presence?
In the Song of Solomon, this quest to find the secret place of His presence is given wonderful expression. The bride says, "Listen! My beloved! Behold, he is coming, climbing on the mountains, leaping on the hills! My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag" (Song of Sol. 2:8-9).
This is our Lord, full of vitality! He is "climbing on the mountains, leaping on the hills." To see Him on mountains, though, is to behold Him from afar. He remains distant. How do we live in a moment-by-moment sense of His indwelling presence? We still ask, "Where are You, Lord, within me?"
The bride continues,
"Behold, he is standing behind our wall, he is looking through the windows, he is peering through the lattice" (Song of Sol. 2:9).
Yes, Christ dwells within us, but He is standing behind our walls. Indeed, there are many "walls" between us and the Savior, and all of them are consequences of unrenewed minds and hardened hearts. We have barricaded ourselves behind fears and carnal attitudes; we are held hostage by sin and worldly distractions.
Yet these barriers can be eliminated. To the degree they are removed, we possess functional oneness with Christ; we experience true spiritual advancement.
Removing The Walls
Even now, let us pursue the removal of these barriers.
Imagine that, even as you are reading, the Lord Himself has quietly entered a nearby room. You look, and suddenly the room is vibrant and alive; it is pulsing with waves of light. Instantly, your spiritual senses are flooded with fear and the awareness of God's holiness; living, probing light actually enters you and descends into your heart, illuminating the true condition of your soul. My question: Knowing that Jesus Christ is in the room, would you enter?
If you could not bring yourself to move toward the room, what would be your reason? If it is because you feel you have failed the Lord too many times, then shame has become a "wall" between you and Christ. If fear keeps you distant, then fear is the barrier between God and you; if an unrepentant heart is keeping you from intimacy with Christ, then heart hardness is your cause of isolation.
Remember, the pure in heart see God (Matt. 5:8). If we repent of our wrong attitudes and sins; if, instead of shame and fear, we clothe ourselves with the garments of praise and salvation, the barriers between ourselves and the Lord shall be removed (Ps. 34:3-5).
But let me ask you a second question: How would you enter Christ's presence?
It is my opinion that we would not pick up tambourines and dance into His glory. No. When the greatest apostles and prophets beheld Him, His presence caused each to fall face down as a dead man. For me, it would be with great trembling that I would approach the room of His presence. I would inch my way closer.
How can we remove the sense of distance between Christ and ourselves? In the same way we would repent of sin and shame before entering the room, let us turn our gaze toward His living glory. In trembling obedience, let us enter the fire of His presence for, in truth, He is closer than the room next door. He is, even now, standing behind our wall.
Lord Jesus, I remove the wall created by my fears, sin, and shame. Master, with all my heart I desire to enter Your glory, to stand in Your presence and love You. Receive me now as I bow before Your glory.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This message was adapted from a chapter in Francis' book, And I Will Be Found By You which is currently included as part of a discounted package of spiritual resources on seeking God. Published by Arrow Publications, it is available at www.arrowbookstore.com
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To Walk With God

In the days ahead many will be stirred by proclamations, both true and false, of ominous events set for fulfillment on specific dates. However, we are not being prepared for a "date" but for a marriage. It is the depth of our day-by-day relationship with Christ that defines walking with God at the end of the age.
The confidence we have as we face tomorrow is rooted in the quality of our walk with God today. Thus, as these days unfold, the way of the Lord will be revealed for what it truly is: a narrow path upon which we walk with God. It is an indisputable truth: the only way to prepare for Jesus' second coming is to faithfully obey what He commanded in His first coming---and His first command was "Follow Me" (John 1:43).
What does it mean to "follow" Jesus but that we walk faithfully with Him throughout our life. The fact is, we anticipate the nearness of the Lord, but we do not know when He might return. While I believe we are very near to the end of the age, still it may be many years before some of the unfulfilled prophecies come to pass. Regardless, our call is to follow the Lamb---to walk with Him every day.
If we study the Scriptures, we will see that, from the beginning, the Lord always provided for those who walked with Him in His presence. No matter what occurred in the world, God's servants were not held hostage to the fears and anxieties of their times. Their walk with God prepared them for all things.
Jesus said the days prior to His return would be as the days of Noah. Let us look again at Noah's life. God did not give Noah a predetermined date specifying when the flood would come. The Lord gave Noah two things: a task, which was to build the ark, and time to get the job done.
The Almighty could have destroyed wickedness in a heartbeat. Yet, the Scriptures tell us that the "patience of God kept waiting . . . during the construction of the ark" (1 Pet. 3:20). The priority of God was focused not on what was to be destroyed but on what was being built.
Too many of us are so focused on what the devil is doing that we fail to see what God is doing. The focus of the Lord is not on how dark evil becomes but how Christlike the church becomes! There is a grace streaming from God's heart. In the midst of great darkness, the Lord has purposed to bring glory to Himself and protection to His people.
God told Noah to build the ark. When the task was completed, then the flood came. We also have a task, a vision from God: build the house of the Lord and participate in the harvest of the nations. Jesus did not say, "When evil gets worse the harvest begins." He said, "when the crop permits . . . the harvest has come" (Mark 4:29).
Certainly, God's highest plans will not be diverted by the increase of wickedness. One may say that God's justice demands He destroy the wicked! Yes, but His nature demands His good plans and promises concerning His glory in the church first be fulfilled!
Look again at Noah. Noah lived at a time when "every intent of the thoughts of his [man's] heart was only evil continually." His world, like ours, "was corrupt in the sight of God, and . . . filled with violence" (Gen. 6:5, 11).
Yet, during these same days, "Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord" (Gen. 6:8). What was unique about Noah? How did he find the preserving grace of God in his life? The Scriptures tell us, "Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God" (Gen. 6:9).
I love this Scripture: Noah walked with God. What does it mean to walk with God? It means that we stay yielded to His Word and attentive to His presence. Though we do not see Him, we know Him. We have found our place of security in the Almighty. Our peace comes from Him, not people, places, or things.
The name Noah means "rest." As the Lord's servant, Noah not only knew his mission in life, but he found His place of rest in God alone. Step-by-step, day-by-day, Noah lived in the Lord's presence. Noah walked with God and was intimate with Him.
But to know someone deeply does not happen quickly. It takes time to penetrate through the veil of unknowing into the place of enduring friendship and intimacy. This is why walking with God is so pleasing to Him, for it creates a time-tested relationship between God and man. We no longer are controlled by the opinions, criticisms, and approval of the world around us. Only as our walk with God matures does intimacy with the Creator truly begin and peace about the future increase.
Consider Abraham. Abraham was called the friend of God (see Isa. 41:8). When he was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless" (Gen. 17:1). Walking with God leads to purity and intimate friendship with God. It is the source of becoming blameless.
Abraham's descendants, Isaac and Jacob, also walked with God (Gen. 48:15). The lifelong companionship between the Almighty and these patriarch's set the standard for all who followed, from the kings and the prophets of Israel to each Christian who walks with God today.
My Own Experience
We should not be hard on those who have falsely affixed a prophetic event or even the Second Coming to a specific date. It is usually the sincerity of these people that propels their prophecies into regional or national prominence. I, myself, was swept up in a similar experience in the mid-seventies.
Those were days when threats of nuclear war seemed everywhere; many Christians were predicting divine judgment for America. During those days, I came across an article about a huge comet that was due to appear on Christmas Day, 1975. Previously unknown, the comet was named Kohoutek after the Hungarian astronomer who discovered it. The signs of the times confirmed my fears, but when I read in a religious publication that Kohoutek meant "the wolf that devours the lamb," I felt certain that this was a "sign in the heavens" confirming that the end was near.
Compelled by my inner convictions, I began to warn every church in Detroit, all 1,200 of them, that the world would end that Christmas. I even managed to become a guest on the most-watched morning talk show in Detroit, where I warned as many as three million people of God's imminent wrath.
Christmas came and went and nothing happened. The comet was an over-exaggerated astronomical flop. I had been so sure of my insights, so fearfully compelled by the signs of the times, yet so wrongly informed. Then in late January, I happened to meet a woman fluent in Hungarian. I asked her to translate Kohoutek into English. She thought it meant something like "add a tomato to the stew."
God knew my motives were right, even though my knowledge was wrong. Out of that humiliating experience I began to research other "end of the world" movements in church history. In my study, I discovered two significant items that occurred in Europe. Masses of people were convinced the year 1666 would see the rise of the Antichrist. This thought led to waves of fanaticism and fear which spread from country to country.
I had also been reading a devotional containing a series of letters written by a man named Brother Lawrence, a monk who served Christ as a dishwasher in a monastery. The simple, yet profound, sense of God's presence that accompanied Brother Lawrence made this book, The Practice of the Presence of God, an enduring Christian classic. But what changed my life was that his first letters were written in the year 1666, during the time when Europe was awash with fear of the Antichrist! For all the turmoil in the world around him, at least one soul dwelt in the peace of Jesus Christ.
Brother Lawrence serves as a model for our generation. For when the terrors and confusion of the end of the age increase, it is only in the Lord's presence that we shall find a calm harbor. And to truly know Him then, we must walk with Him now.
Enoch Walked With God
One of my favorite texts is from Genesis 5:22-day24. It reads, "Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years . . . and he was not, for God took him." Hebrews 11:5 tells us that Enoch had "obtained the witness . . . he was pleasing to God."
Enoch walked with God 300 years. Every day, Enoch arose and sought the Lord, walking faithfully with the Almighty. Eventually, Enoch became so pleasing to God that, without passing through death, He was taken home to be with the Lord.
So also with us, when we faithfully walk with God we bring great pleasure to our Father. The Scripture says that Enoch "obtained the witness" that his life was "pleasing to God." God communicated His pleasure to Enoch. To know the pleasure of God is to taste the nectar of heaven itself.
Whatever may happen in the future, the God of the future is walking with us today. And while we may not be able to see into tomorrow, our faithfulness to Christ today is our best security for whatever lies ahead.
As the first person raptured by Christ, Enoch sets the standard for all whom Jesus will one day gather to Himself. They simply and passionately walk with God.

The preceding message is adapted from a chapter in Francis' book, The Days of His Presence. For more information on this book, please visit the Arrow Bookstore.
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