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FISHIN’ FOR MEN
By Dickey Porter
The Lord My Shepherd
December 2003
The
23rd Psalms is one of the most beloved Psalms of all time. “The
Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” It is one of the very first
Scriptures that my mother taught me. Most likely just after I memorized John
3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son…”
It has been endeared by many generations.
It appears
in most bulletins at funeral parlors when saints go to celebrate the life of a
loved one who has gone on to be with the Lord. What a comfort it is at times
that are sorrowful and trying. “Yea though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me;” This
statement has been an anchor to many a soul when death has visited the family.
But
I want to look at this Psalm today from a different dimension than is normally
understood. I want to look at it from the finished work of Christ. My mindset
going into this is that I’m walking through the valley of the shadow of His
death and not my death. I am already dead and my life is hid with Christ in
God. Col 3:3
I
understand that this Psalm is all about Him and very little about me. He is the
Lord our shepherd. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me
beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of
righteousness for His name’s sake (not mine). He prepares a table before me. He
anoints my head with oil. My cup runs over. Goodness and mercy follows me all
the days of my life and I dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Goodness
leads me to repentance and mercy covers all my sins. Green pastures are
equivalent to the throne room (3rd dimension of grace) where the bow
around the throne is green. The still waters represent the sea of glass, which
is before the throne of God and is a reflection pool where the glory of God is
revealed. My soul is restored as I am transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans
12:1-3). The steps of a righteousness man are ordered of/by the Lord
and it is all for His glory. He meets all my needs. I have no lack. Abundance
is everywhere in the kingdom of God. Jesus did it all. All that He requires of
us is to believe what He did and confess it with our mouth. (Word of our
testimony)
There
is much to be said about this Psalm, but I’ve said enough to provoke you to
study, prayer, and meditation. Can you see it?
About
the Father’s Business
The Call of God
August 2003
In
the book of Genesis, chapter 1, verse 3, we have the first recorded words of
God. “And God said, Let there be light.” Four short words that were so powerful, the destiny of mankind
was set in motion in that fateful instant. Many of today’s scientists and
modern thinkers say that creation began with a big bang. I don’t know how big
the bang was or even if there was a big bang. All I believe is that God created
the heavens and the earth in the beginning and called the light Day and the
darkness He called Night. It is recorded in verse 5 that the evening and the
morning were the first day. Since God always finishes something before He starts
it, let’s examine His first four words to mankind and let the Spirit of God
move upon the face of our spirits and bring revelation to us in a new and fresh
way.
When
God said ‘Let there be light’, he wasn’t commanding light to shine upon the
earth. He did that on the 4th day of creation (v 14-19) when he made
the sun, moon, and stars to shine. So, just what exactly was God up to when he
uttered those first words? I think that
the explanation is simple. He was dividing the two kingdoms or families that
are upon the earth. He was calling His people. In God’s mind and eye, there
have only been two men in the earth. The first Adam which brought sin and death
to all of mankind and the 2nd or last Adam which is a life giving
Spirit. The first Adam sold us out to evil (kingdom of darkness) and Jesus, the
2nd Adam redeemed us from that awful curse and translated us into
the kingdom of light. God, knowing the end from the beginning, established that
division on the first day of creation. Every human being that has ever lived,
belongs to one family or the other. Since Jesus went to the cross, was buried
and resurrected on the 3rd day, Christians are the only ones that
belong to the day and every other religion belongs to the darkness.
That’s
a pretty bold statement, but if one believes what Jesus said – ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father but by Me.’, then it only takes boldness to
repeat what Jesus said. I’m not worrying about offending anyone or am I trying
to be politically correct. I am simply saying the truth. If we want to see our
world changed and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and
His Christ, then we must quit being so wishy/washy and begin to preach the
gospel of the kingdom. The gospel is not a set of rules or laws that we must
abide by either. It is telling the world that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for those who believe.
Rom. 10:4. It is telling what Jesus did to set us free.
“The mighty God, even the
Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the
going down thereof.” Ps 50:1. God hasn’t called the
kingdom of darkness, only the children of the day. The rising of the sun until
it goes down is called day. And what is He saying? “Gather my saints
together unto me: those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” Ps
50:5. But we don’t make animal sacrifices like the saints of old, you
might say. This is not a valid argument. “I
beseech therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a
living sacrifice….” Rom. 12:1.
We don’t sacrifice animals, but rather ourselves unto God.
Are
you a child of the day? Is Jesus your Lord and Savior? Have you offered
yourself to Him? We were predestinated to be conformed to the image of the Son
of God and the Scripture says in Romans 8:30, “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he
called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”
Now that is the good news. Not a list of do’s and don’ts but rather a bold
statement telling us who we are in Christ Jesus. “If any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature…” Have you answered the call?
Dickey
The Order of
Melchisedec
July 2003
Have
you ever wondered why Jesus was made a priest after the order of Melchisedec
and not after the order of Aaron or Levi? Just what is the order of
Melchisedec?
Let’s
look at what the Bible has to say about Melchisedec. It says that he first
being by interpretation the King of righteousness and after that King of Salem,
which is, King of peace. Without father, without mother, without descent,
having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son
of God.
This
was the great man that our father Abraham paid tithes to when returning from
the spoils of the enemy. Even Levi paid tithes to Melchisedec while still in
the loins of Abraham, and it is written that here men that die receive tithes;
but there he receiveth them.
The
Levitical priesthood could never bring anyone to perfection (maturity) because
of the law. For the law made nothing perfect. Heb. 9:19. What the law produced
in the hearts and lives of people was sin and death, because that is the end of
the law. We can’t preach the law to people and expect them to attain to
righteousness because that is not what the law produces. When we preach the
law, we set people up for failure. This is not the gospel. When we preach the
gospel plus the law, that is wrong too because that teaches a performance
doctrine. If we just do enough good things, then God will bless us because He
has forgiven us. This gift of God is not of works lest any man should boast.
The
order of Melchisedec though is not after the law of a carnal commandment, but
after the power of an endless life. Jesus, our high priest who sits in the
heavenlies, has an unchangeable priesthood, therefore he is able to save us to
the uttermost that come unto God by Him seeing that He ever liveth to make
intercession for us.
If
we could just hear Romans 10:4 which says “For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” then maybe we could quit condemning
ourselves and others and quit trying to keep the law which was given to the
Jews and not to the Gentiles. As a matter fact, if we don’t hear what Romans
10:4 says, then we will never be allowed to go on to perfection.
What
a tragedy it will be for us if we live out our lives here on earth and never
find out about this great truth. That Jesus really did come to set us free.
That He never intended for us to be bound by regulations, dress codes, holy
days, and countless other man-made traditions that have made the word of God of
none effect. What if our faith is truly what the just live by? What if our believing
is the only prerequisite for enjoying the benefits of God and His kingdom? What
if Jesus really meant what He said and said what He meant?
When
we preach that Jesus is our righteousness, that we are holy, that we are
forgiven, and we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, then we will begin to respond
to the kingdom of God as He intended. We will grow up unto Him (become perfect)
who is our head and we will truly become the body of Christ in the earth,
reproducing the Jesus that all the world will be drawn to.
If
we ever have the boldness to preach the gospel as we ought, then the world will
beat down our doors in order to hear more about this precious Jesus that we
have come to know in such an intimate way.
About
the Father’s Business
Dickey
The
Resurrection and the Life
April 2003
"I am
the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet
shall he live, and whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die." John 11:25,26
Jesus spoke these
words to Martha shortly before going to the tomb of her brother Lazarus who had
been dead and buried for four days. Jesus told her that her brother would rise
again. Martha replied that she knew that her brother would rise again in the
resurrection at the last day. Yet Jesus was speaking of another day called
today and it is that day that I want to talk about.
"Again,
he limited a certain day, saying in David, today, after so long a time; as it
is said, today if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart." Hebrews 4:7. The writer of
Hebrews goes on to speak of entering into the rest of God. We must cease from
our own labors and enter into his rest. How do we do that? By allowing the Word
of God to divide asunder our soul and spirit to the extent that we cease from
doing our own ministries and enter into his (Jesus’) ministry. We must lose our
lives, so that we may find his life in us.
"For we
which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also
of Jesus might be manifest in our mortal flesh." II Corinthians 4:11.
"I am
crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me,
and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of
God who loves me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20. If you
associate these Scriptures with John 11:25,26, I believe that you will see that
Jesus is wanting to and is manifesting His life through His own body in the
earth today. You won’t find it in "religion". You won’t find it in
Mystery Babylon and you certainly won’t find it by "going" to church.
It is found in
relationships. First and foremost, our relationship with Jesus and secondly,
the relationships that we have with family, friends, and neighbors. It is
allowing God to divinely set us in the body as it pleases Him. It is in finding
those who are of like precious faith. We can be connected with people that we
only see maybe once per year and not be connected with our own flesh and blood.
That doesn’t mean that we don’t love or fellowship those with whom we are not
connected, but we should realize where God has placed us and not forsake that
assembly.
Lest I be
misunderstood, let me clarify something that I said above. We won’t find the
life of Jesus in us by "going" to church. We must "be" the
church in order to find the life of Jesus. Being, not going is the key. In Him
we live and move and have our "being", not going. Many go to
"church" who are not the church.
May the precious
life of Jesus be found in each and everyone who reads this letter and may that life
be manifested in your world.
About the Father’s Business
Dickey
A good man
out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an
evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is
evil; for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. Luke 6:45
This inspiration is
from a revelation that the Lord gave to me nearly 20 years ago. I was trying to
figure out what the treasure of the heart was because Jesus said in Matthew
6:20,21, "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven; where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor
steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
I didn’t know if this was prayers, works, hopes, dreams, or just what the
treasure was. I knew that it had something to do with words because it was from
the abundance of the heart that our mouth speaks. So our words had something to
do with the treasure.
I read in James
chapter 3 about the tongue and found that he said in 3:10, "Out of
the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought
not so to be". That’s when I came to the conclusion that we can
bring forth good fruit or evil fruit from our heart, but I still didn’t know
exactly what the treasure of the heart was. I didn’t want to bring forth evil
fruit.
I suppose that one
of the Scriptures that helped me to see what the Lord was trying to show me
about the treasure of the heart was in Hebrews 3:12. "Take heed,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing
from the living God".
I finally
associated an evil heart with unbelief and therefore a good heart had to be
associated with believing. So the simplest way to describe the treasure of the
heart is to say that the treasure of the heart is what we believe. When we fill
our heart with the Word of God, meditate upon it night and day, have intimate
supplication with Jesus our Lord, and communion with the Holy Ghost, then we
have this treasure in earthen vessels. Our language will also reflect that
because it is from the abundance of the heart that our mouth speaks.
If, on the other
hand, what we believe is what the world has to say about God, or our hearts are
filled with the traditions of men and we don’t study, pray and otherwise seek
God’s face, then we can’t help but be filled with unbelief. That is why we
curse when we should be blessing. That’s why we mummer and complain when things
go awry. We blame God for not answering our prayers and we don’t even know that
God won’t answer prayers that are amiss. Evil fruit comes from evil treasure.
Lord, may the words
of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. In
Jesus’ name.
About the Father’s Business
Dickey