Descending Dove Ministries

Gentlemen, God impressed upon me this tidbit one Sunday after a message I gave, "That mesage may be the last sermon any of my people in
that congregation may hear. Be sure it will last an eternity!" I would encourage you to receive that message also,
PREACH as if there is NO TOMORROW! PREACH as if your congregation's life DEPENDED upon it (it does!)!
TIME IS GETTING SHORT!

The Lord's return IS imminent!

Let me tell you this story of a fisherman named Peter. One day after fishing ALL night long; Peter was returning to port, their nets were barren,
not even getting a bite! Jesus, a carpenter, was walking along the seashore and saw the fishermen. He called out to them, 'Simon did you catch
any fish?' 'NO', answered Peter. Jesus then said, 'Why don't you throw your nets down on the other side of the boat?' Peter, possibly thinking,
how audacious, how could a carpenter know anything about fishing! Though he had not caught anything and knew he had done all that he
could throughout the night; could this carpenter actually know what he was talking about? So Peter did throw his nets down on the other side
of the boat, and you know the rest of the story, Peter had such a catch of fish, his nets were full to bursting. Jesus had just called Peter into the
mission field, and had provided for his physical need. When God calls us into service, He provides for our sustenance, training, and fortitude.
When someone becomes weary after God has equipped them, you got to ask yourself - are they doing this work on their own strength? I
remember another story, when Jesus sent out His disciples to 'preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.' When they had returned, Jesus asked them, "When I
sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?" "Nothing," they answered. His disciples, including this Peter, discovered time
and time again, that Jesus provided for them in every aspect.

One day after fishing, Jesus instructed Peter to take a coin out of the mouth of a fish he caught, and go to the temple to pay their temple
tax. Still at another time, Peter, being a fisherman by profession, knowing full well the properties of water, (ie. that the fish he catches,
swim in this water); stepped out of the boat at sea and walked on the water. Theologians and scholars have tried to explain this
phenomenon; Preachers and teachers have trivialized, ridiculed, and plain joked about Peter and this miracle; rather than accepting the
fact that faith in God works!

Let us forget about Peter for a moment, and turn our gaze on ourselves. Do we resemble any of these remarks about Peter? Do we doubt the validity
of the accounts given? Do we believe that these miracles were only allowable in Jesus' time? Do we live our lives even remotely as close to that of
one like Peter? Who, after giving a sermon, received 3000 persons into the Church, and who's very shadow would 'heal' people along the streets. I
think rather than belittling Peter, we shouldn't focus our sight on what he was, rather we should focus our sight on what he became. 'Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!' What have we become?

Our lives, the very work we do, in every aspect, SHOULD relect the light and glory of our Master and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Jesus himself tells
us, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it
on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and
praise your Father in heaven.", and again, "And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? knew you not that I must be about my Father's
business?"

So why do our lives NOT reflect this light? Why don't our congregations see and reflect this light in their lives? Why are the lives or our faithful
so riddled with fears, impending circumstance, and lack?

Is it what message, or how the message is preached and/or taught from their pulpit at their church, or that the faithful just are NOT receiving the
daily precribed requirements needed to lead their wholesome, fruitful, prosperous, and blessed life?

If you are thinking that I'm coming at you with a sword - You are right! I come against ALL who rely on MAN and his wisdom, "For
the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and
marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." I come against lame teaching, watered down sermons, and messages that
tickle the ear that don't quicken the heart. My hope and prayer is that this word will cut you to the qwik, and cause you to see your need
in repentance. We CAN be hung by the tongue, if we truely believe the Bible is the Word of God. The tongue also is a fire, a world of
evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. If
we are not attentive to the Word of God, we could be preaching a message from the Word of Hell, for no man can tame the tongue. It is a
restless evil, full of deadly poison. Be wary of Jesus' warning to us, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You
shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to." As teachers,
preachers, pastors, and elders, don't let your lack, your doubt, your lifestyle, your lukewarm watered down sounding good to the ear
messages determine your congregations outcome. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Yet what you
teach/preach to your congregations, they will stand condemned for that.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name,
and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'
Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the
rock.
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

I believe on a very large scale, that most of our church leaders are a very dimmed, clouded lights for their poor examples of leading God's people.
I believe that self preservation comes before all giving. 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind and with all your strength.' SIRS, have we forgotten our calling, our appointment, our anointing, our empowering, our enabling! He has
showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
We are to be about our Father's business, being a halogen floodlight in our every action and deeds that we do, BRIGHTLY SHINING for all to
see. Jesus is the true light, 'In him was life, and that life was the light of men.' Yes, WE ARE the light of the world, but our emphasis should
never be centered on ourselves or taught to be in regard to one's self; NO our emphasis should always be on and show our humility in serving,
'giving light to everyone in the house.' "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have
no reward from your Father in heaven." "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the
needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is
done in secret, will reward you." In the secular world you will hear, 'How can you love others, without being able to love one's self first?' But
God's answer to that is, 'For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.'

You preach GRACE, but teach it in an abstract notion. A farmer takes a waterhose and washes his pig to make it clean, what does the
pig do? It jumps in and wallows in the mud puddle you just made, getting dirty all over again! It is the animal's nature to do just that, the
washing had no effect on it's lifestyle. Just like the LAW of the Old Testament, grace and it's meaning are being misused, misconstrued,
ill-advised, and totally abused! Grace is NOT like a Catholic confessional! God is sovereign, just, and right, and He will NOT BE
MOCKED! What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? We should preach and teach what the Word of
God says, 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!' The Word of God IS life
changing! 'We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?' We need to preach and teach 'Do not conform any longer to the pattern of
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.', and by the teachings of Christ! 'No one who is born of God will continue
to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.'

That's a TALL order! How can we live as Jesus did - sinless! By the GRACE of God! By His grace we're forgiven, by His grace we've been
justified, by His grace we're sanctified. We've been ransomed, set free, bougth by the blood of the slain lamb of God, Jesus; we been called, chosen,
anointed, empowered, and enabled. Jesus provides for our daily needs IN ALL THINGS!, as He did with Peter and the fish with the coin in it's
mouth, as He did with Jonah and the big fish, as He did with David standing against Goliath. We have to take the Word of God for what it says,
for how the Holy Spirit interprets it to our spirits, and STAND on it, believing it, powered by it, allowing it to flow through us, and doing it
(being about my Father's business).

I was asked the other day, whether I believed the story of Jonah being swallowed by a 'big' fish, was an actual happening or some
secretly shrouded message of meaning to get a point across? 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is my answer, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is
useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every
good work." I believe the Word of God is God's Word, besides, I don't recall a scribe being with Jonah when he was tossed from the
boat into the sea, so it must be a firsthand account by it's author, who else would have known about the 'fish'!