What better way to start closing out this year than by spending some time reflecting on recent services and the goodness of God?
Are you tired? Worn out? Fighting, but not seeing real victory? Burned out on religion? Come to Christ—to His Truth—and recover your soul by seeing what you’re fighting. Once you do, come storm or battle, his peace will meet you there.
If you’re reading this and feeling it, don’t worry, you’re in good company.
Share this with a friend who’s taking a deep breath and looking in the laver.
The laver is the part of the tabernacle in the outer court. It is there to let us see ourselves. Look in it—see what is holding you back.
Whatever we think, we are. Our emotions are generated by our thoughts. Fear, anger, distress, hate, hopelessness, unhappiness, downcast, insecure, full of self-doubt—each one started with a thought.
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. -Proverbs 23:7
We have to find the source of fear, anger, distress, etc.—before we can fix it.
A River Runs Through It
At the laver, you can cleanse yourself from unrighteousness. God has a crystal river flowing in which we can wash ourselves.
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. -Revelation 22:1
What People are Remembering
The bitter enemy.
The “bitter enemy of your soul” is a quantum leap from “ornery rascal”.
Looking in the laver and seeing yourself helps you identify things you’re fighting, like covetousness. It slips in or rears its head when we’re busy complaining and being unthankful.
When you covet, you feel like God has short-changed you and hasn’t treated you right. You feel that you should have been blessed, but weren’t. Covetousness is close to idolatry with God, so take heed. We are not owed anything by life or by God, but rather are working to receive His promises He made to us.
You can NEVER be at peace with the spirit of covetousness in you.
It Tries and It Tries But Can’t Get Satisfaction
The carnal nature can never be satisfied. Ever. It always wants something more, new, different. It’s satisfied for only a fleeting moment–then it wants something else, something more. Give it a million dollars; it wants two million.
Where Are We As a Church?
As Brother Patrick said, “We’re in the laver now.” We are seeing ourselves and what we need to overcome. We’ve come this far and have been battle-tested and are still standing. Thank God for that!
Don’t Walk Through Life Cast Down When You Can Have Peace Now.
Don’t wait until the end for peace. (Besides, you won’t make it.)
Brother Nobles has spent a lot of time showing us how losing our thankfulness unravels everything else causing us to have no peace or joy anymore. He remembers way back one night when he stood at the altar in a small church in Potter’s Hill. On the left side close to the piano where Sister Jean was playing, he cried out to God and was filled with the Spirit.
He recounts all the hundreds of hours Elder spent with him working to plant these things in him and other men so they could carry this truth and church on toward the finish line. He told us how important it is to go back frequently in our own lives to times like those and remember them to keep thankfulness in our hearts. It will bring us peace and joy.
A Peace That Remains and Joy Unshakeable
Peace is not the absence of conflict. We will always have conflict in this life. It’s God’s peace, and it comes from thankfulness and passes all understanding. Peace leads to joy, and no one can take away this joy that God gave us.
And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. -John 16:22
We don’t lose this joy. We let it go. We give it up.
Peace and joy start with a thankful spirit.
Being thankful is the game changer.
I am so very thankful and I am learning to be more thankful for everything in my life. Even those times when adversity comes against me, I look to the Lord and ask for His help to see what I need to see in myself so that I don’t rise up in my spirit but that I filter my actions through the Holy Ghost. Come to find out, if I look to God, the outcome I expected has been softened. I am learning how to seek God first in all things.
These recent teachings have helped me know I can be a better person and stirred a desire in me to do just that. I want to be a better person. I want to please God.
I am thankful that God has favored us by anointing Bro Nobles to deliver these messages which are bringing us to a higher place in Him.
Sis Clara James
This recent message was such a blessing to me. Bro Nobles had shared Bro Sowders on Saturday evening and I received the message about the carnal mind being the bitter enemy to my soul. I was thankful thinking about all the teaching we have been receiving out of Romans 8:7 and how to defeat this nature.
On Sunday morning in Kinston and in Onslow in the evening, Bro Patrick shares out of the same quote from Bro Sowders how we are at the laver. It revealed to me the time we are in Gods plan for the Body of Christ. As we were hearing this my heart filled with such joy as I looked back at the last few years. I could see how the messages Elder preached on ensuring we praise the Lord and worship Him more, the messages from Bro Nobles on Charity, the carnal mind, and remaining thankful were all tied together.
It blesses me so to the Lord preparing the Body of Christ through the messages from His Ministry for the place in time we are currently, at the laver, preparing and cleansing ourselves for the next step into the Holy Place.
This is such an exciting time and time to be truly reflective and diligent. To be thankful for the Lord helping us to make it this far, and to ensure we are doing all we must do to continue to allow the Lord and His Ministry to cleanse us. Looking forward with joy to continue hearing more!!!
Thank you for that post! To have revelation of how to recognize my nature & how to battle it & take on the nature of Christ gives me great peace & joy! To be thankful to God for all his blessings, instead of complaining means so much to me in my relationship with my Saviour. Even in the midst of trials & sorrow, I have peace & joy in my heart!
Thank you Lord!