Rekindling the Flames - by Jim Tharp

Believing that the greatest need in the American church today is a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit, I call attention to the apostle Paul’s urgent appeal to his closest partner in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is found in II Timothy 1:3-8, NKJV: “I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God.”

On his first missionary journey Paul visited the city of Lystra and discovered there the unusual young man named Timothy. Learning of the strong spiritual heritage in his grandmother and his mother, the apostle sensed the call of God upon this young believer. Spending months in the area and having a sense of this promising minister of the Gospel, Paul laid hands on Timothy and prayed for Him to be filled with the Holy Spirit. For several years Timothy traveled with Paul and demonstrated the power of the Holy Spirit in his personal life as well as in his successful delivery of gospel messages. Paul even sent him out on his own to help start churches in several cities. But those were years of persecution and many other hardships for messengers of the gospel. 

While suffering alone in Rome’s old dark Mamertine Prison, Paul felt the Holy Spirit impressing on him that he had more to pray about than his coming execution ordered by the emperor. Before his imminent death he longed to see his dear friend Timothy and pray for him to receive a fresh filling of the Spirit.

We read in Acts 4:31 that all twelve apostles, who had previously been filled with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, received a fresh filling of the Spirit. The preceding days had been filled with much opposition—some apostles had been beaten, put in jail, and threatened. They had not lost their faith, but they were hungry, weary, and discouraged. General William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, warned his preachers to stay full of the Spirit “because the tendency of fire is to go out.” John Wesley, the great spiritual leader in England during the 1800s, confessed “When I fail to fast and pray, I soon lose my spiritual heat and passion.”

The Valley of Dry Bones - by Jim Tharp

The prophet Ezekiel reveals how the Lord compared His Old Testament Israelites to a valley of dry bones: “The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ So I answered, ‘O Lord God, You know.’ Again He said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: ‘Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.’” (Ezekiel 37:1-5, NKJV)

In the verses that follow the prophet tells us how he obeyed the Lord, and he reports the miracle that happened just as God had promised. Let us consider the scene that Ezekiel was commanded to view back in that day. He was led out into a valley where long ago a great battle had left hundreds slaughtered. No one had survived to bury the dead. Vultures had long since picked the carcasses clean, and the very dry bones were there. The rains of the centuries had washed them thin, and hundreds of summer suns had bleached them as white as snow. It was not a pleasant sight!

Let there be no misunderstanding about the purpose of this vision! The Lord had a mission for this prophet—Ezekiel was to prophesy. Later we read, “So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.” (Ezekiel 37: 7-10, NKJV)

We read about the backslidings of God’s Old Testament Israelites in several places; in many ways they failed to meet the conditions of their covenant with Jehovah. So to the Church of Jesus Christ throughout its more than two thousand years of existence has all too often failed to live up to the New Covenant of Grace because of periodic seasons of disobedience, division, selfishness, worldliness, and unbelief. This grieves the Holy Spirit who enables us to pray, worship, witness for Christ, and find our place in the Kingdom of God.

The Army of God - by Jim Tharp

“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, ‘Are You for us or for our adversaries?’ So He said, ‘No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, ‘What does my Lord say to His servant?’ Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, ‘Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.’ And Joshua did so.” (Joshua 5:13-15, NKJV)

“Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua: ‘See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.’” (Joshua 6:1-5, NKJV)

After pastoring churches for 43 years and then spending 23 years in traveling the world preaching camp meetings, revivals, and Schools of Prayer, I felt led of the Holy Spirit to spend the later years of my life writing about prayer. I believe the greatest need for the Church and the world in these times is a mighty spiritual awakening. All great outpourings of the Spirit of God bringing revival to the church came about by prayer—Spirit-anointed prayer, prolonged prayer, fasting prayer, burdened prayer. Spirit-anointed prayer is prevailing prayer.

For the last 50 years I have been convinced that the Holy Spirit’s most urgent call to the American churches is a call to prevailing prayer for revival! What America needs at this dark hour are Spirit-filled Christian men and women who will pour their hearts into prevailing prayer and become prayer warriors. God is calling out men and women in all our churches to join the Army of God. While reading Chapter 5 of Joshua, I felt the need to write about “The Army of God.”

Joshua was called of God to replace the great leader Moses in leading the children of Israel out of their slavery in Egypt and take them to a place that God called “The Promised Land.” God had also ordered Joshua to invade and capture the major city of Jericho. So, Joshua was on his way to check out the city of Jericho, which would be the location of his first battle as the captain of his army—an army that had seen previous battles. We need to remember that this is Joshua’s first assignment, and he is going to check out his challenge. But God has been waiting for this new captain to tell him about the kind of army he would need and how to capture that city of Jericho. God had already dried up the Jordan River so the army could cross on dry land. But the Lord needed to get this new captain’s attention.

As Joshua approached Jericho, he noticed that “a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn.” Joshua was concerned, so he asked, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” He got a strange answer: “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” At this Joshua knew that he was in the presence of God Himself! So, knowing that he was outranked—and grateful for it, he asked, “What does my Lord have to say to His servant?” Reporting to Jesus and recognizing that He was the Son of God, Joshua is humbly anxious for His orders. Joshua knew he could never succeed without his obedience to this “Commander of the army of the Lord,” who is the Son of God incarnate. Without Jesus as His Leader, Joshua could never have taken Jericho, which was the beginning of the taking of the Promised Land. Jericho was only one of many battles to come!

To all Christian prayer warriors, I would remind us that without the fullness and anointing of the Holy Spirit the church will never win the battle against the demonic forces operating in the heavenlies who are seeking to paralyze the church and destroy the American nation. God gave our founding fathers wisdom, courage, and faith to pray their way into forming a nation that would be like a shining city on the hill to attract and inspire all the nations in the world. But Satan has other plans for America. He is out to destroy it with division, hatred, moral insanity, violence, and atheism.

The Family of God - by Jim Tharp

“...Christ is the head of the church, the body of which He is the Savior... Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to Himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:23, 25-27, NRSV)

“Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers... And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:41-42, 47, NKJV)

“Let us not neglect our church meetings as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25, TLB)

God’s plan for your life includes the Church! With all the criticism hurled against it—and some of it is deserved—the Church is still God’s organization for accomplishing His will on earth. Persons who oppose the Church make themselves enemies of God. The professing Christian who neglects the Church is guilty of holding God in contempt.

What Is the Church?

The Church is the Building of God. (Ephesians 2:21; I Corinthians 3:9) God’s main business in history is that of building His Church. In the ancient times He called out a people in whom He might manifest His glory and through whom He might speak to the world. In these times He has a covenant sealed in the Blood of His own Son with a people in whom He would put His Spirit and Life and Power.

The Church is the Body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:12; Colossians 1:18) He is the Head of the Body, and with each believing and obeying member He shares His Life. Through the Church our Risen Lord works out His redemptive and eternal purposes.

The Church is the Bride of Christ. (Ephesians 5:25; II Corinthians 11:2) He gave Himself for His Church. Like a Bridegroom toward his Bride, Christ has pledged to love and protect His beloved. He demands faithfulness on the part of each follower. He has promised to come again for those who prove true and catch them away to The Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

But His spiritual body must take visible form. The Church must be organized. Whether it belongs to a national, independent, or denominational organization, the local Christian cell or congregation is the most vital body for the individual Christian.

God has called you to be a part of the Building, the Body, and the Bridehood of Christ. The Church was purchased by the Blood of Christ and brought to birth by the Holy Spirit, and “the gates of hell shall not prevail against” it. So, do not allow the critics on the outside nor the hypocrites on the inside to keep you from becoming a member of the congregation that represents the Body of Christ!

Which Church is Right?

What Church should I join? Well, the Bible is not going to tell you what denomination to affiliate with, but the Holy Spirit will lead you in your selection of a Church. The Bible does show us an example in the Early Church as pictured in the Book of Acts.

Join a Church where the Word is preached! Social action groups and studies in psychology and intellectual calisthenics all have their place, but if these form the big show where you are trying to find spiritual food, move on fast! Go where the minister preaches the Bible with his or her soul as well as his or her mind. Only the person of God whose heart, mind, and life are judged by the Word can feed your soul.

Join a Church where Bible doctrines are taught without apology! Don’t get trapped in a faithless environment where good men and women apologize for the directness of such Christian doctrines as God, Sin, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the New Birth, Sanctification, the Second Coming, Death, Hell, and the Judgment.

Join a Church where Christian love and fellowship find warm expression. You need to be loved, and you must give love. You must have a sense of belonging. Christians must accept you as you are, and you must accept your fellow members as they are. If you cannot feel strongly that mutual acceptance, then you are trying to adopt the wrong family.

Join a Church that requires something of you! There are plenty of religious clubs around that will let you off easy, if that is what you want. They will let you enroll and then let you alone. But a Bible-centered, Christ-worshiping, Spirit-filled Church will make some demands of its members. From the pulpit, by its discipline and through the programs introduced, the Church must expect discipline, devotion, loyalty, time, regularity, creativity, and finances from its members.

Join a Church that really makes an event of its services! If you are going to grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, you need to belong to a Church that makes its services the most important hours of the week in the lives of its people. The pastor and staff must pray, plan, and present the entire order under the leadership of the Spirit. Every portion must be put to the test of prayer beforehand and surrendered to the Holy Spirit during the service itself. You will be able to look forward to such an event with joy and bring your guests with delight.

Join a Church that believes in the leadership of the Holy Spirit! Who seems to be sovereign? –-The pastor? The Church Board? A few influential laymen? Or the Holy Spirit? If the Holy Spirit is allowed freedom, then the Church will be free. The atmosphere will be spiritual. There will be love. There will be power. There will be an element of the supernatural. You can make it in such a fellowship.

Join a Church that is strong in evangelism! If you were not already a Christian, could you get saved in that Church? Can you bring men and women to Jesus Christ in the Church where you are trying to worship? The Church must employ many methods of evangelism, for example, pulpit evangelism, personal evangelism, group evangelism, and fellowship evangelism.

Join a Church that invests in world missions! It must be interested in the person next door, but it must also give financially to evangelize the underprivileged continents and areas of the world. Do not hold out on world missions.

Yes, Join the Church! Do not be a spiritual orphan or a religious vagabond. Join the family of God. Belong! Get registered in officially. Take on both the opportunities and the blessings of a Church home. Of course, you are going to be disappointed with some of your new brothers and sisters. You will probably be shocked to learn that the Lord does not seem to have complete control of a few of them. You have started to follow Jesus. Launch out into the deep. Fellowship with those members who have depth, balance, and complete commitment to Christ.

Yes, Join the Church, anyway! You cannot afford to waste your time and wear yourself out in a futile search for the perfect Church. In spite of the fact that the Church is called unto Holiness, you will discover that every believer has his or her imperfections—and this includes you. But we can remember and remind each other, “God isn’t through with us yet!” So, pray for the Spirit to do His cleansing and polishing in your Christian life.

And, Yes, Stay in the Church! You have been accepted into the family of God. You have adopted the membership, and they are your brothers and sisters. You have adopted the Pastor and he or she is your shepherd. You have adopted the doctrines of the Word, and they have formed your way. You have adopted the programs of the Church, and they become your ministry. For all of this life and throughout eternity, you will rejoice that you are part of the family of God!

Jesus Is the Way - by Jim Tharp

"Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:5-6)

Some years ago, a poor Texas sharecropper received word that a wealthy relative in England had died and left him over a million dollars. But the miserable old fellow went on scrounging and worrying and cursing through life until he died in abject poverty. A few neighbors chipped in to give him a decent burial.

God in His love has sent the message to every sin-cursed son of Adam that He has made provision for their eternal life. But millions go right on laboring and doubting and walking in darkness. They refuse to believe the greatest story ever told.

The appalling ignorance of salvation involves the devoutly religious and the brazenly sacrilegious, the profoundly intelligent, the pathetically ignorant, the fabulously wealthy, the wretchedly poor, the genuinely sincere, and the despicably hypocritical. But not everyone!

Millions have believed. They have listened to His Word with conviction. They have believed in their hearts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He lived a life of perfect righteousness for them, died on the cross to pay for their sins, and returned from the grave to be their Eternal Savior and Lord! They saw the light, heard the call, and felt the change. You will find them on every continent. They come in all colors. They belong to all denominations. They represent every age.

Christians around the world form an impressive minority. They shine in the darkness. They know where they are going. They seem to know that their convictions and values are held in contempt by the present order. Still they go on—in radiance, love, power, and purpose. Having tasted the Bread of Eternal Life and drunk the new Wine of the Spirit, they refuse to turn aside to the carnal elements of a condemned world.

Why don’t you come and go with us? It is the only way to go! Let me tell you how to turn into this way. It is simple, but it is not easy!

For God So Loved the World

1. Realize that God loves you. Stop blaming Him for war and tragedy and death. Quit fussing at Him for your personal heartaches and disappointment. Open your mind to the truth that our rebellion against the goodness of God has let evil forces loose in our world. But despite all this, “God Is Love.” (1 John 4:16) He has never willed any harm to one of His creatures or children from all eternity. In the very face of our rejection of His will, “. . . God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

All Have Sinned

2. Acknowledge that you are a sinner. Do not try to justify any action in your past that violates God’s Word. Do not seek to excuse any attitude in the present that His Word might condemn. Allow yourself to be the sinner you are. Only sinners who acknowledge their sins can be saved: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) It is only a short step from owning up to sin to repentance for sin. Repentance is agreeing with God about your sin and changing your mind about your sinful way. It is having done with sin and going God’s way.

 

Christ Died for Us

3. Trust in Christ alone as your Savior. Believe that His suffering on the cross paid in full for all your sins. Do not try to be your own savior through self-improvement and self-righteousness. Make certain that you see that all your good works glorify God and understand that they are the result of salvation not the cause. Salvation is a free gift. Christ took your rap. Any effort on your part to save yourself would be to hold Christ’s work for you on the cross in contempt. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)

Contending for Our Christian Faith - by Jim Tharp

“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith . . ..” (Jude 1:3)

“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God.” (II Timothy 1:6-8)

“But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (II Timothy 4:5-8)

Jude, a half-brother of Jesus Christ and called to be one of Christ’s apostles, feels compelled to write and urge those who had believed in Jesus as their Savior to “contend earnestly for the faith.” Even though we are reading this Scripture 2,000 years after Jude wrote this warning to the early church of Jesus Christ, I think that we believers should be more serious today about contending for our Christian faith. There are reasons why we must contend for our faith. Most people who repent of their sins and trust in Christ as Savior may not realize that they are being called into a battle against evil. Christian living is spiritual warfare!

The Bible teaches us that the three enemies of the Christian are the world, the flesh, and the devil. By “the world” is meant the very spirit of the age—the system and philosophies of the world (the world trying to control our thinking); by “the flesh” is meant our own selfish natures; and, of course, “the devil” is the evil one who was thrown out of heaven because of his rebellion against God. His destiny is divinely sealed; at the end of the ages, he will be condemned to the eternal fires of Hell. As believers, we must learn to pray earnestly and read our Bibles thoroughly to learn how to defeat Satan with his lies, schemes, temptations, and other attacks.

In II Timothy 1:6-8 we are given the secret of winning our battles against the powers of Satan. The apostle Paul begins by reminding us “to stir up the gift of God which is in you.” This “gift of God” is a reference to the Holy Spirit, who is implanted within us, the very Spirit of Jesus and of God the Father. He is the spiritual Power needed to cleanse us from our carnal selfish natures, purify our hearts, and give us power over the world, the flesh, and the devil!
   

While the Holy Spirit is a given in our experience of being born anew in the Spirit, we are commanded to ask for His fullness of power. I urge us to hear what Jesus promised His disciples—and all of us today—in the Gospel of John, chapter 14:12-17: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

Please notice that Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our “Helper!” The Holy Spirit gives us power to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil! There are areas of power in which the Holy Spirit helps us contend for our Christian faith.

PREVAILING IN PRAYER -by Jim Tharp.

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:25-28)

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:17-18)

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude, verses 20-21)

Our Lord Jesus Christ is Himself our example for prevailing in prayer. Immediately after being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, Jesus prayed to the Father and was “filled with the Holy Spirit.” “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness....” (Luke 4:1) Before facing the temptations of Satan, He spent many days in prayer in that wilderness alone with His Heavenly Father.

Now Jesus’ baptism was not for Him to get saved by confessing His sins, as it was with the others who were being baptized. Jesus Christ was the eternal Son of God who had become the Son of Man—He was not born with the sin virus. God the Holy Spirit had breathed into the womb of the Virgin Mary, and Jesus was born as the Savior of anyone who would believe in Him.

Before He faced the temptations of Satan to be the Overcomer, before He performed miracles, and before He suffered and died on Calvary’s cross to atone for the sins of those who would believe in Him, He became a Man of prayer. And He prayed in the power of the Holy Spirit. We read in Luke 11:1: “Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.’”

If American Christians would take prayer as seriously as Jesus and His disciples did, neither the churches nor our nation would be in its present darkness. At this late hour, there is no greater or more urgent command in the Bible for American believers than that found in Ephesians 5:18: “. . . be filled with the Spirit.” For prayer warriors to come against the advancing evil of our day we must be clothed with more than a good education, sound theology, and a convincing personality. The apostle Paul warns us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:11-12)

I regret reporting that many of the Christians I have met throughout my 70 years of preaching the Gospel have not been Spirit-filled Christians. I am glad to report that I have seen a good number of believers become filled with the Holy Spirit. I have been privileged across the years to pray with many of them and realize the increase of joy and power in their praying. Many of them have encouraged special prayer meetings to pray for revivals and have been used by the Holy Spirit to fast and pray for spiritual awakenings in the churches where they worship.