Cranbrook Fellowship 2000 Albert Zehr and Russell Stendal Tape 3 (First Portion) — George Warnock

The Living Word Cleanses and Divides

The washing of water by the word by a living word not that you know the Bible or all the doctrines. That word comes to your heart and mine as a sharp two-edged sword dividing us under soul and spirit.

Becoming a Living Sacrifice

Oh God, we pray this morning. We know Lord. You want a holy people a righteous people. People totally given over to you. Lord, thank you for that song truth of it Lord. We are to be a living sacrifice unto you that's all you want for us to give ourselves to you.

You told us Lord that you would cleanse us by your word. We can't do the cleansing just as the sinner in Israel would bring His sacrifice to the priest and slay it. That's all they could do and so God is asking us to come to the cross and receive the Sacrifice of the cross.

You say I've been that many years ago. And I received the Lord. But I don't mean quite that. I mean you don't only receive what he did for you, but you receive that cross. See, I think I've done that.

Then may the Lord test all our hearts whether or not we've done it. It simply means that when you take up your cross to follow him. A .W. Tozer put it out so. Clearly in a little writing I have We've got a new cross on the church today one you carry around on your neck or one you put in the back of the church.

The cross that Jesus asked us to bear is if any man will be my disciple let him deny himself and Take up his cross and follow me. Tozer put it so beautifully said when that when they saw that poor fellow Walking outside the streets of Jerusalem or any other place in the Roman Empire carrying his cross.

They were not saying oh, he's looking for a new direction. Oh He's looking for a change. Oh He wants a new way of life. That man had said goodbye to his friends and he went out there not coming back. But now we've got a gospel that preaches the cross is something Jesus did but and we receive what he did for us.

But Jesus said if you're going to truly be my disciple, you've got to hang with him on that cross. I Can't do it. I'm not saying I'm I'm fully there either but God can do it by the mighty operation of the quickening word of God That pierces and cuts us under and divides soul and spirit.

The joints and Marin is a discerner the thoughts and incense of the heart. Oh God I pray that this day Lord this very day. There'll be a quickening word from your heart that you'll put a bond on Every carnal heart every carnal thought every carnal spirit that desires To take the place of the living word in our midst this day.

I pray this day to day if you hear his voice Harden, not your heart God says to his people today. Not this afternoon even but now. If you will hear his voice Harden, not your heart. Today if you hear his voice Harden, not your heart.

Today if you hear his voice, I've not your heart today. Today. Because you and I can't cleanse ourselves. We can't cleanse ourselves. Here's boys. Let that sword cut. Divide us under let it cut Deeply.

God’s Habitation Through Cleansing

Oh All the beloved people. God doesn't want to do a word. He does. He wants to do a deep work in our heart. Oh He wants to do a cleansing work. God longs to come and dwell in us to walk in our midst In your life and mine.

He he wants us to be the home in which he lives. And he's longing he's weeping. He's crying out. I want to live in you. You say he's in my heart. I know but he wants to dwell there. He wants to make you to be his habitation.

He's longing to come and he can't come yet till he cleanses. Till he cleanses and purifies. Oh That's the word of God. Penetrate the heart dividing a thunder soul. Mirrors Revealing the thoughts and enchants of the heart.

That the God of glory might come. At the God of glory might come and take up his habitation within us. Do it for Jesus for your name's sake. Do it for your name's sake. Do it Lord for your name's sake.

Let's fall on our knees before the Lord to the Lord to do a deep work. Oh God oh God in the Old Testament for the cleansing of the people. God says take a dish and Fill it with living water. Water from the stream that was flowing.

And he says take two birds. Listen what even as you see God listen to the living Word of God. He says take two birds. Take the one bird and slay it and let the blood Fill that dish that's full of water.

So that the water might be mingled with the blood of the bird. And then he says take the live bird and dip it in this water. In this water and blood. And let the live bird fly through out wherever it would go.

Let it fly away. And he says that would be for the cleansing of the leper. But Jesus is that blood. Jesus shed that blood and he is the resurrected one who went away. That we might be clean. And so that is that living bird flew away.

It flew away with its wings dripping with water and with blood. But Jesus said Paul the Apostle said by the spirit of Jesus. It's the blood of bulls and goats in the ashes of a heifer. Sprinkling those that were defiled would sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh.

How much more shall the blood of Jesus? Who is a lamb without blemish. How much more shall the blood of Jesus who through the eternal spirit? presented himself. Without blemish unto God how much more shall he cleanse?

Those who are defiled because his blood and the water that flowed from his side has eternal Efficacy and the spirit is truth because the spirit is truth. He bears witness to the water and to the blood.

John said I saw water and I saw blood flowing from his side on Calvary. John says I saw it. The Spirit of God saw it also. The Spirit of God was there because Jesus made that sacrifice through the eternal spirit.

The Spirit, the Water, and the Blood

You know why we're not finding the cleansing that we want. Because we do not let the spirit of truth. We do not let the spirit of truth have his way in our midst. We crowd him out of our lives as individuals.

We crowd him out of the church with all kinds of nonsense and paraphernalia that God never ordained. He wants the people who gathered together in his name and unto him and unto him only God wants his people to take away all the trivial trivial things that come in to Magnify the worship of God.

All the paraphernalia all the banners all the ribbons all the tinsel all the trash the comedians. The magicians all this stuff that they're bringing into the house of God. God wants to purge it out of our midst that we might gather solely unto him.

Wants to cleanse us by the washing of water. The water and the blood is mingled together and The spirit is truth and the spirit bearers witness to the washing of the water and the blood. Oh We thank you Lord Jesus for cleansing by the water and the blood that flowed from Jesus side.

Just as efficacious today as it was when it flowed when Jesus died in the cross because the Spirit of God was there at that sacrifice. Appropriating Absorbing in his own being the efficacy of the blood and the reason we don't have the cleansing of the blood as we are is Because we've crowded the Holy Spirit out of the church.

Holy Spirit, holy dove. Come back into the midst of your people as we pray together. We pray that the Cleansing of the blood and the water Will come back into our midst. Come into our hearts. That we might know the efficacy of the cleansing of the water and the blood of Jesus.

The cleansing stream I See I see I Plunge and oh it cleanses me. It cleanses me. Yes Cleanses me. Oh praise the Lord. It cleanses me. Cleanses the Lord by the washing of the water by the word. That we might be as clean as Jesus is clean.

Because it is his blood and only his blood that makes us clean. But only the Spirit of God can apply the work of the cross to our life. Cleanses we pray Oh Lord by that cleansing stream that flowed from the cross.

Walking in the Light and Holiness

And Lord, I pray for your people bowed before you Lord Jesus we go we walk in a world that's full of strife full of contention full of mouth full of all kinds of wickedness. All kinds of lusts Lord That fly at us from all directions and our minds become contaminated our hearts become contaminated.

Give us grace this day Lord to so appropriate your word in your spirit Lord that we can walk through the lowest pits of darkness if need be and know that we walk in the purity and in the holiness and in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Because you've made that available for a people that can walk in darkness and yet know the light so that the darkness and the light are both a light to thee and The darkness and the light will be the same to us because we're clothed in light.

Clothes us in light Lord and help us to walk in light. That our whole body might be full of light having no part dark. But walking in the pure light of Jesus where that's why you died and that's why you went away.

That's why you went away that on the throne of glory. You might minister light to your people that your church will no longer I'd be a dead laugh, but a laugh that shineth brightly. Enlightening those with whom we come in contact and forth thy light and thy truth.

Oh Lord Even this morning and help your people Lord even now I pray enable every Heart in this room that's solemnized in your presence and enable each heart Lord to reach out even now Lord and Receive Lord in a new dimension and the dimension of grace and love and truth that we've not known before a Dimension of the Spirit of God in our lives that will enable us to walk in holiness and in purity.

In humility and meekness and gentleness and injustice and righteousness. Even now Lord do a work in the hearts of your people. Cause your people to cry out and to you Lord in this hour. For the mantle of Jesus to envelop us and keep us in that mantle keep us under that robe of righteousness.

Even as we walk in a world of sin and darkness do it Lord any talk about before you Do a mighty work of grace a mighty work of healing Lord do a mighty work of healing Lord. Thank you, Lord. Jesus heal our inner man heal our spirits.

Healing virtues that flowed from Calvary Lord. Thank you, Lord. Jesus a word that keeps coming to me is.

The Hearts of Fathers and Children

The very very very last verse of the Old Testament and that verse says that before the final day the hearts of the fathers shall be turned to the children and the hearts of the children To the fathers.

I'm really especially thrilled and blessed To see so many young people here. My heart has been pounding all morning and this weekend for the young people. Because whether we believe it or know it or not.

For the Lord to consummate this age He must include the young people. In fact, he may primarily move through the young people. Maybe he's allowed us some of us to have some suffering in anticipation. But perhaps he also wants to do a cleansing work within the families and within the households.

God’s Keeping Power for Young People

Somehow the Lord was very gracious and he met me at about age 10 and because no doubt of a praying mother he never never allowed me to leave him and I sat through many many meetings where testimonies were given to young people and over and over the testimony was I'm somebody who had been in the depths of the gutter and in sin and in this and that and all the other things and Then the Lord met them and rescued from them and he's glorious.

You name it. I did it. And you know what the devil used to whisper to me young people. He used to whisper to me and say you're never going to have a testimony. You're never going to be able to tell anybody anything Of what God did for you because you haven't been anywhere.

You haven't done anything. You haven't even stuck a cigarette in your mouth. You better get out there and see what the world's like so you can talk about the great salvation of the Lord. I think this is a lie.

He propagates on the young people and sometimes unwittingly we help him By putting forward this kind of testimony. I was in my 40s When I heard such a testimony given to the young people and I cried out Oh God.

What are the young people supposed to do with this? Visualize it empathize with it feel it. Wish they could do it. It's supposed to demonstrate God's great mercy, but we need to demonstrate his keeping power.

Especially in this time young people there isn't time to go out and Experiment and see what's going on in the world. The Lord is going to move very quickly. But there's two verses the one I just mentioned the hearts of the fathers must be turned to the hearts of the children and Also at the end of the great faith chapter in Hebrews It says that God could not complete and perfect what he had showed to those before us without us.

And I think the young people could even claim that verse. Just look at that verse. Oh dear Lord Jesus the last one in Hebrews chapter 11. These were all commended for their faith. Yet none of them received what had been promised.

We your parents haven't received yet. What we sense within our spirit is getting promised to us. God plans something better for us that only together with us. Would they be made perfect? But listen First of all dear young people The Lord needs a pure heart and in this age in this time You are saturated all around you with rebellion and insubordination and questioning of authority an Immorality and Whatever is right is what you think is, right?

Honoring Parents and Removing Walls

And To any extent that this has permeated our hearts We must repudiate it even though I knew the Lord. I Did have a problem with one of my parents. I seemed to have a need To analyze and correct my parent whether I did openly or not, I did it in my heart and This created a wall.

And I know the word said honor your father and your mother, but one of my parents had some pretty far-out ideas Even concerning the word and some things that were not according to the word. But one day the Lord brought me to my knees and told me it is not the place of a child to correct their parent and I repented to the Lord and I repented to that parent and a wall got removed and The Lord could take a further step inwardly.

Parents, Children, and the Misuse of Authority

But parents have you come to your knees yet concerning the handling of your children? I was a young man. I was a pastor. We had two beautiful little children and our family was considered the model in the church.

Our oldest little girl had a problem of sucking her thumb. I was very embarrassed with that. I Thought that indicated I don't know what but something that reflected on my image, I guess I Never forget one day.

I was carrying her down the aisle and As I was carrying there She poked her some thumb in her mouth. It began to suck it and As I was carrying this little one and a half year old in my arm I put my thumb up into here and I jerked it down.

She winced with a little bit of pain. And we sat down. Sometime later One night the Spirit of God began to roll over me in waves. Said you arrogant selfish Egotistic young man, you think you have children just for your own glory.

Just to manifest how good and how great you are. When you did that to your daughter you didn't do it for her sake. You didn't do it for her betterment. You didn't do it out of love. You did it for your Rotten ego.

Why are you so hard on your wife? Because it might reflect on you As your great special image. In this congregation, I don't know brothers and mothers. Can you allow the Lord to shine into your heart?

How you relate to your children. How much is it seeing them as? Gifts of God to put into your custody that they could come to know him and see him and To what extent have we used them? To build our own personal kingdom and ego and to whatever extent we have.

Have we pretended and purified our hearts? And asked the Lord to cleanse us that night. I began to weep and weep and my wife thought I was having a nervous breakdown. She wanted me to explain what was happening.

I couldn't and I kept telling her I'm sorry, I'm sorry. She said you don't need to be sorry. What is it? Sorry for? When the light comes in brothers and sisters, you know, we all want to see the Lord we all want to get closer to him, but do you know that he's light and light shines two ways and The extent that we resist He is shining into the very depths of our being.

To expose every thought every motive every ambition. To whatever extent we limit him from that. To that extent we keep ourself at a distance from him. No, man can see God and live only to the extent we're willing to live put to death all within us.

That is of self only to that extent. Can we see him? We'd like to preserve ourself pull a veil back. Take a good look and stay the way we are. I don't know. This may be too much this experience. I mentioned in mine.

Unfortunately, sorry to say it wasn't the only time I had to come to this end and even again this morning. Our children are grown. Even after our children have been adults the times have come. The Lord has had to rebuke us and we've had to confess to them that we've reached over.

Into God's territory to pry to influence them. Again we always say it's for God. We want him to be for God. Listen ask the Lord to shine in and ask show you how much we want them to be for God and how much we want Them to be as these things are exposed with the exposure.

Comes the cleansing and the washing and the removing if there's any barrier between us and any of our family in any. Only the exposure along with the cleansing suddenly. Another layer of a wall is gone.

Repentance Beyond Counseling

Friends counseling doesn't do it. I've seen and been in situations of years of counseling between parents and children between spouses. It goes on and on and on and on. Bring some insight maybe. But it's not the real thing I have seen recently in our travels.

Parents and families teenagers. Who have been an utter most? Rebellion and alienation with their parents for years. Have it flushed and cleansed permanently in a matter of a few moments and Sometimes fathers have had to begin to stand up publicly.

Maybe even some secret sins. I don't know. I just have a feeling this morning. The Lord might want to do something in this way. I Don't think he can reach over and cleanse the church. If he has these kinds of impurities.

These kinds of hidden things in the families. He began in our heart in the heart of our family in his house. Don't worry so much about the corruption in society. He's interested in the corruption in my family between me and my dad.

Between me and my mom and we all know it's not easy. It's not easy to be a teenage girl with a mom or a teenage boy with a dad.

Grace for Families in a Fallen World

Maybe there's some hidden anger. Children went in here. One-year-old two-year-old went in. That didn't mean they first Escapes trouble. They had greater troubles in Canaan. But they had greater grace and God says we're sin abounded should be grace.

For it's more grace the more evil there is in the world and the more Evil there is in the church and the more sins are in the church. God says he's got more grace. More grace than there is evil. God we look for that grace.

That abundant grace you promised for the more evil we want. That more abundant grace you for all its Lord.

The Covenant and the Spirit of Elijah

Came to my mind on this verse in Malachi 4. This is remember the law of Moses. Statutes and precepts for all Israel. And before the end comes I'll send the spirit of Elijah unto you. And he'll cause the hearts of the fathers to return to the children.

In the hearts of the children to return to the fathers lest I come and destroy your land completely. Or strike your land with a curse. And I studied this out in the original where it says remember the law of Moses.

That's the covenant the covenant with God statutes and ordinances. That word statue literally means that we belong to God. It means the rights that God has over us because we're in covenant with him. It means all the rights and privileges go back to him.

And ordinances means he has a new way of doing things his way that we need to understand and his promise is is that? He wants us to get this covenant straight that it means that we belong totally to him.

We have no rights and privileges of our own and that he has a new way of doing things. And he promises to send the spirit of Elijah the spirit of God himself in a people. That will then turn the hearts.

In the old Spanish. It says the spirit of Elijah will convert the hearts of the fathers to the children. And the hearts of the children to their fathers, and I believe the Lord. We spoke on Elijah last night, but I believe this is what is happening.

I believe the Lord has used our brother this morning here as part of that corporate Elijah. As part of that ministry that begins to convert those hearts back of the fathers to the children children to the fathers.

And I believe the Lord Wants us to have good solid families. Let's pray that this will continue. I.

Repenting of Legalistic Pressure

Really feel just one word further. You know especially we who love the Lord so much. We parents I? Think we have a tendency that we may not be so much aware of and that is to bring a lot of legalistic pressure on our children.

Very very high expectation. Much talk about submission so many things and this. I Think sometimes the Lord would call us to repent of. It isn't only the children that need repentance. I think they need to hear the response from some of the parents.

That we ourselves acknowledge. That we have stepped across the border and added to their frustration. My heart senses there needs to be a two-way response. I Don't know if this is in any of your hearts.

Any father or mother I think sometimes it helps even if you are as it were a type of scapegoat but as they confessed and Melted one with the other this morning it I started to cry because it took me back a few years when our Stephen was growing up and Being it was Foster boy to me it doesn't make an extra problem but I felt I'm going the Bible way the Bible way is Spear the rod and spoil a child and though it was just verbal it seemed to help my ego that When I cracked the whip the boy jump so therefore I was following a Bible rule But not with the Bible love of God, and I think that applies to all the Bible rules doesn't it?

Yes, that if it's a rule there. We're following and We don't have the full love of God to follow it. Well. Maybe we better Stop and clear things up Because It came to the place After this had I taken this attitude for maybe about a year Eyes in prayer one day and the Lord dealt with me quite definitely Where's I thinking I falling a Bible way and getting into the spirit of love of God?

He showed me I was getting into a spirit of genocide and That was quite a shock to me and Looking back on it. I don't think he meant literal Genocide, but there's other forms That a child Can be so put down by verbal abuse That they're killed and you meet young people like that.

Maybe every day if you're moving across the land They can't look you in the eye they can't ever get up and speak to a group bigger than one or two and it's usually that somebody has killed them along the way and so we need to Pray for the life of our young people.

God is life and he wants Us to bring over children that they're bubbling with life the life of God.