We are praising God for the great things He is doing through the Spanish services. My brother Jesse Ramos came back for a second time to release the second half of his message on "Rejection" and the effects it has on a person when not dealt with properly.
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| Having a little fun as we leave home for the Wallace Pack Unit |
He shared some of his personal stories of the destruction rejection brought into his life and how the Lord sovereignly stepped in to deliver him from a spirit of death that came into his life through rejection. The men responded to the altar call to be delivered from rejection in their own lives. There was such thick presence of the glory of God present to heal and deliver in the atmosphere. Good job Jesse!
The worship team, which is made up of inmates in the unit, has really grown and they are developing beautifully! The worship was awesome and anointed. There was such an open heaven that it was so easy to enter in...like stepping off a cliff. How hard is that? LOL. Praise God for these mighty men of God who are on fire and pressing to the Spirit in spite of their incarceration.
Before we began, Jesse and I prayed with the worship team. While Jesse led us in prayer I glanced over at an inmate standing across from me. His identification badge hanging off his shirt collar with big red letters the word - Offender.
During worship I glanced over at the men and the Lord said, "These are My Offenders." He led me to Isaiah 8:12-18
12 - “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.
13 - The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
14 - He will be as a sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 - And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and taken.”
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and taken.”
16 - Bind up the testimony,
Seal the law among my disciples.
Seal the law among my disciples.
17 - And I will wait on the LORD,
Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I will hope in Him.
Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I will hope in Him.
18 - Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me!
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the LORD of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the LORD of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.
As I was worshipping and meditating on this the Lord began to make clear what He meant. He said I was to encourage the men to understand who they are as His sons and who Satan is as their enemy. He said because He put His Spirit in them, they literally carry His DNA; His very nature in them.
To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into. 1 Peter 1:12
Adam was made in the likeness and image of God. He carried the very DNA of God in him. Satan had a big problem with this being he did not have God's DNA in him.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; Genesis 1:26
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28
God said to all the angels you will serve him, meaning Adam. Satan had a problem with this too. Once God gave dominion to Adam and Eve we do not read God addressing creation directly any longer. God now addresses Adam because He gave dominion to him. Satan couldn't take dominion from Adam directly. He had to deceive Adam and Eve in order to get it. So he accused God of not wanting them to know good and evil because they would become like God. They did not understand they were already like God. Satan deceived them into disobeying God. This is how Satan legally took dominion from Adam and Eve. Jesus came to legally take back from Satan the dominion he took from Adam and Eve. Then He gave the dominion to us who are seated in Christ.
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease 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 to 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, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:15-23
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Ephesians 2:1-6
So how does this all fit? Satan is still deceiving believers out of the dominion available to them in Christ. How does he do this? False accusations against our brothers in Christ. The same way he falsely accused God to Adam and Eve. It is rampant in prison, but it is just as rampant in many churches and homes. As long as the enemy can bring an offense to a brother and the brother receive it, the enemy will take that brother's dominion from him and then transform that brother into an "accuser of the brethren". If that brother hardens his heart and will not allow the Holy Spirit or someone in leadership to counsel him then he will become an offense and stumbling block to others. This is what the Lord was revealing through the passage in Isaiah during worship. The passage is obviously speaking of Jesus being a stone of stumbling and a rock offense to the Jews.It also warns of speaking false accusations, but instead making the Lord your focus and reverencing Him. Then Lord will be a refuge and sanctuary to you. But doing this is not enough according to God. He goes on to command us in verses 16-18 that we are to also guard and preserve His commands and to also entrust or teach it to others to keep it without flaw or compromise. If we will be obedient to do as the Lord commands, then we will be as sign and wonder from the Lord of Heaven's Armies to all.
Here is the New Living Translation version of Isaiah 8:12-18:
12 - “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do,
and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.
and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.
13 - Make the LORD of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life.
He is the one you should fear.
He is the one who should make you tremble.
He is the one you should fear.
He is the one who should make you tremble.
14 - He will keep you safe.
But to Israel and Judah
he will be a stone that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem
he will be a trap and a snare.
But to Israel and Judah
he will be a stone that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem
he will be a trap and a snare.
15 - Many will stumble and fall,
never to rise again.
They will be snared and captured.”
never to rise again.
They will be snared and captured.”
16 - Preserve the teaching of God;
entrust his instructions to those who follow me.
entrust his instructions to those who follow me.
17 - I will wait for the LORD,
who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my hope in him.
who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my hope in him.
18 - I and the children the LORD has given me serve as signs
and warnings to Israel from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies
who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion.
Here is what the Lord had me say to the men and what I believe the Lord is saying to us all today.
If you will cease from accusing your brother to Me and if you will instead become your brother's keeper, in other words, commit to not allowing the enemy to accuse your brother through you, then you will become a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to the Devil himself because the Rock Himself will abide in you and He will say of you, "These are My Offenders!" I will used them to destroy the works of darkness.
Father,
Teach me to be a keeper of my brother
and not an accuser of the brethren.
Make me an offender of the works of darkness
that I might show forth Your marvelous light!
Amen.
In Christ,
Samuel
Smashing Pillars...raising sons
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If you would like to mail in a donation, please mail to:
Smashing Pillars International
14403 Walters Rd., #681601
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Samuel
Smashing Pillars...raising sons
Please prayerfully consider supporting our work. Smashing Pillars International is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Thank you in advance. Donations can be made online at:
www.smashingpillarsinternational.org
If you would like to mail in a donation, please mail to:
Smashing Pillars International
14403 Walters Rd., #681601
Houston, Texas 77014
