I promised in the previous posting to talk about being 'face (mine) to FACE with Jesus' on Monday August 16, 1988 at 3am CDT. The short background to this life changing event is recounted more fully in the book, but what happened in that brief personal time with the Savior is so foundational, I can not stop talking about it!
There is a school of thought which says that God speaks only through His Word in these last days. I do not deny He does this. His Spirit interprets our prayers, reveals multiple layers of Truth in a single Bible verse and releases Power from Above through us. Where I differ from men like one of my favorite teachers, Dr. John MacArthur, (whose Bibles I have four different copies etc), is this - GOD IS SOVEREIGN AND CAN DO WHAT HE WANTS, PERIOD!!!
I, myself, am wary of people who said the Lord told them "to do, thus and such". We all remember someone back in the 1980's in a tower in Oklahoma who said he was not coming down until he raised $6 million! This is not what happened to me.
In 1988, I had just chosen the Lord over the flesh in July, finally returning home for good. I was asleep when I suddenly felt myself pulled really fast up the side of a huge green, tree-covered mountain range. I did not, nor do I not now, recognize it. It is amazing that when the Lord wants to reveal Himself, He takes you to the mountaintop!! AMEN and Hallelujah!
I could not see to whom I was speaking, but heard the smooth, deep, loving voice of My Lord Jesus Christ! I have never heard it since August 16, 1988 and do not expect to until He says on that day - when Joe White, Steve Farrar, Billy Graham, Joni Tada, Vicki Lutchman and millions of others stand before Him. The next time I hear His Voice speaking to me again, He will say "This one's mine"!! Thank you, Jesus!!
Here is what the Bible says about the Voice of the Lord from Psalm 29: 3-4 (NKJV) " The voice of the LORD is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty".
In those brief moments, the first thing Jesus said was "I have a plan for you". He did not say what the plan was or is! He then said something really funny which I can not remember to this day! I said "You are joking with me?"
Then the Lord said "Who do you think invented a sense of humor"!!! I am sure He said invented....as He is the Inventor and Creator of all things! With that, He was gone! Just as He appeared in a Burning Bush on a mountain (!!), He comes and goes as He pleases. The book has more of what happened subsequently and how my life changed from then to now.
But since then, the Lord has revealed Himself to me many times through visions and dreams. I have only told very few people about this. Around the year 2000, I remember seeing the silhouettes of two men in the dark in robes in our bedroom in our previous house. The next thing I knew I was looking at myself lying on the bed (obviously just my body) and heard my wife sobbing and praying for me to stay! The two men simply told me "it was not time yet" (verbatim!). Then they were gone just as quickly!
It would appear that, like the Apostle Paul, I was ready to die to go be with Jesus!! Another time, it was as vivid as day, I was allowed to see the Apostle teaching in Heaven but I was not as full of joy as I should have been. I woke up stunned, because I wanted to soar into Heaven with all flags flying!! He was telling me I was not living up to what He put me here to do! This is NO LONGER THE CASE!
Friends, in Jesus Name, I am making up for that right now!! The fire in my heart, mind, body and soul for Jesus is more than a 5 alarm. In fact all the fire trucks in a tri-state area could never douse this Fire for the Lord!! Look at the BMIC fire truck on the right...that is just a symbol of our Passion for the Christ.
The Hot Fire of Evangelism; the Heavy burden for the Lost; the High aspirations to teach True Truth (Francis Schaefer); the Heavenly roadmap He gave me....have all merged right now to a Plan! It is the kind of Plan ONLY JESUS COULD COME UP WITH!!
Praise His Great Name!! "Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory" Psalm 24:10 (NKJV).
NEXT: READ JOE WHITE'S ENDORSEMENT AND MORE ABOUT JOE!! WE ALL KNOW HIM AND LOVE HIM! (We, being, all who have seen him build the Cross at Promise Keepers in the past decade).
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