Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
Pastor Jim and Lori discuss the dangers of touching God’s anointed. With special guests Pat and Karen Schatzline, and James Levesque.
Quotes
The only way that we can reach this generation is we have to use the television. – Pastor Jim
I believe that God is going to use the cave-dwellers. The cave-dwellers, those who have been waiting for Him to pass by. – Pat Schatzline
But what we need now in America and in your church, we need people that have an anointing. – Pastor Jim
Scriptures
Matthew 10:27 NIV What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.
I Corinthians 1:28 MEV And God has chosen the base things of the world and things which are despised. Yes, and He chose things which did not exist to bring to nothing things that do,
Genesis 9:11 KJV And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
I Kings 19:14 MEV And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, Lord of Hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”
I Kings 19:18 MEV Still, I have preserved seven thousand men in Israel for Myself, all of whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
Romans 11:5 MEV So then at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
Mark 3:25 MEV If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
Isaiah 54:17 MEV No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper,and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,and their vindication is from Me,says the Lord.
Matthew 24:12 KJV And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Revelation 6:9 KJV And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
Romans 11:29 MEV For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.
John 4:23 MEV Yet the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such to worship Him.
Proverbs 6:19 MEV a false witness who speaks lies,and he who sows discord among brethren.
Luke 6:38 KJV Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Matthew 16:19 KJV And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 10:41 MEV He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s rewar
What do I mean? Christianity is the greatest adventure you could ever take, and God is the greatest tour guide on this journey called the supernatural life for those of us who are unqualified. The unqualified of God have never been called to fit in anyway. They are the ones man overlooks but God notices and plucks from obscurity.
There is one word that best describes the unqualified, and it is the word "misfit." In fact, over and over the Bible reminds us that we are "strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Heb. 11:13). We are even referred to as temporary residents who must watch our lives closely (1 Pet. 2:11).
Our identity must not be determined by what the world says about us but by the fact that God dwells in us. If you're not careful, the inner cry you have for God to use you can fade to a faint whisper of yesterday's promises. Instead, you must protect that cry and rise up and realize that as the unqualified, you are uniquely qualified to bring life to a lost world. God almost always chooses the one who wouldn't get picked to be on man's team to be an all-star on God's team (Prov. 15:25).
Throughout history, God has always used the least likely and the most unqualified to provoke change. The Bible is full of misfits—those who usually lost out on man's approval but always won with a God-dreamed vision.
Will They Know You've Been With Jesus?
I've found that when people don't understand the supernatural power of God, they always put God's vessels on trial to defend what they've never experienced. Peter and John found themselves in trouble for walking in the miraculous immediately after healing a man. Acts 4:13 says, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."
What made these unqualified servants of Jesus stand out as they went about preaching the gospel was not who they were but who they knew. The neon sign lit over their lives said these men had been with Jesus. What was it that made these men so special? They understood that without God's intervention in their lives, they were simply unqualified fools.
Do you know what made these men so feared by the religious and powerful? They never relied on themselves to do anything. Their entire reputation was one that made others sit up and say, "These guys have been with Jesus!" They continually pointed back to Him.
As the unqualified, we must desire that when people walk away from us, they never see us but Jesus. If people see Jesus instead of you, they may actually follow Him and not just you on Twitter and Instagram. The moment we spotlight ourselves, we let people down and tarnish the kingdom of God.
God Uses Quitters Too
When we look at the birth of the New Testament church, it wasn't the well-dressed, educated and proper religious leaders who led the way from the upper room to rest of the world. No, it was a bunch of fishermen. They hadn't received any formal training or taken any classes on public etiquette. Really, they were blue-collared rednecks—just a group of guys who would become fishers of men.
God even uses quitters, as the Bible shows through the life and ministry of Peter. God can use people who fail, curse and betray Him. At one point, Peter even gives up ministry and returns to his old profession (John 21:3).
This is why I like Peter so much. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to quit and walk away too. Yet the next morning I usually saw Jesus on the shore, telling me the same thing He told Peter: "Feed My sheep" (John 21:17). How can we quit on the Lamb who has called us to feed His lambs?
We cannot quit. We must hold on. Our mantra must be Galatians 6:9: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
If circumstances, people or lack can cause us to quit so easily on a Father who promised to never leave us or forsake us, then we haven't taken the Great Commission seriously enough. Our victory is not found in what we accomplish, but rather in our ability to never stop chasing God's awesome calling.
I once heard someone say, "If the cost is too great, then the call is not enough!" I must take it one step further and say that if you're able to accomplish your dream on your own, then God never birthed the dream you're following.
God's Power, Not Ours
If God can use Simon Peter, He can use you and me. But if ever we think we can accomplish anything without God's help, then we have bought a lie that leads to destruction.
If you wonder where the power of God has gone, you need only look at the mainstream Christian messages that flood the airwaves with overinflated egos espousing self-help sermons, watered-down talks and hyper-grace theology. Eloquent speech and cool clothes have never chased a demon out of anyone. When we reduce preaching to an art that doesn't require Spirit unction and Spirit visitation, God simply becomes a late-night infomercial that lulls us to sleep.
To preach a compromising gospel that doesn't require repentance makes us no different from the religious who sell indulgences and penance. Nice messages and sweet services simply allow the demons to relax and make fodder of God's people. When we place God in a box of human rationality, we only experience human results.
This is exactly why God is awakening the misfits and the unqualified. Purity is the backbone of authority, and authority is determined by brokenness. The spiritual depth of the unqualified will not come from degrees on the wall or memberships in prestigious God clubs but from the classroom of brokenness. If you will cry out on your knees in your prayer closet, then you will stand out on the shoulders of God in the public square.
God has always confounded the wise. He doesn't look for social stature, good looks or even the most intellectual among us. He calls forth the available, no matter how misfitting they are.
Pat Schatzlineis a leading international evangelist and author. He and his wife, Karen, co-founded Remnant Ministries International.
If you liked the article, you'll love the book.
Evangelist and author Pat Schatzline shows how you can be used by God no matter what your weaknesses through his most recent book, Unqualified: Where You Can Begin to Be Great (Charisma House). You can find his book at amazon.com, christianbook.com or anywhere Christian books are sold.
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When Pat Schatzline wrote I Am Remnant in 2014, it hit such a chord with people that he renamed his ministry "Remnant Ministries International." As he traveled around the country speaking at churches, pastors and others would tell him—often with tears—how it resonated with them and that they were part of the remnant God was calling, but that they felt unqualified.
That led to his latest book, Unqualified, which shows how God always uses those who are unqualified to accomplish His will—in other words, those who are humble and know they must depend on God because they can't do it themselves.
The book resonated with me because I certainly felt unqualified when I started Charisma magazine as a 24-year-old newspaper reporter. I still feel unqualified as I try to mobilize the church, involve myself with the culture wars or speak at places like the United Nations about the persecuted church.
I had the privilege of publishing Unqualified, but time doesn't allow me to read all the magazines, Internet content and books we publish. Yet somehow I felt drawn to this book. I try always to read a book during my daily quiet time to challenge me spiritually, and I'm glad I read this one.
Pat is the consummate storyteller. Known for his crazy humor and unique ability to communicate God's Word with passion, he says his desire is to introduce a generation to the awesome love of the Father and to see God's last day remnant make a stand for truth through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The chapter that grabs most readers is titled "Ah, Sovereign Lord," in which Pat shares how he learned the nature of God. He also tells about a troubling dream during the summer of 2014 in which a wave washed across a map of the United States. In the dream, he shouted to people to jump to safety. One day he was crying out to God, reminding Him that He'd promised never to destroy the world again with water.
He writes, "Then I heard God say, 'Son, the dream you had was not the destruction of America, but a wave of My glory that will flood America!
"I said, 'Lord, I want to see America shaken by Your glory, but it seems so far away.' The Lord then spoke again to me. He said, "Get ready, because it is coming!"
How encouraging that message is in a time when what we see around us and the messages we hear from leaders are often the opposite.
I knew I was in for a treat when I saw 25 endorsements in the front of the book received before it was published. I'd never heard of many of the people, but there were also well-known leaders like Sid Roth who wrote, "If you are unqualified plus Jesus, you are qualified and chosen to be front and center for the greatest harvest in history."
Marcus Lamb went even further, "The book will help change the course of the church for generations to come."
One thing I liked is the way the author added "quotes" from a wide variety of people on what it means to be unqualified. These are "extras" because they aren't part of the text itself. If you simply flip through the book and read them with their gray background and different type font, they will inspire you.
Some like Joel Stockstill have national influence. He wrote, "The unqualified are those who have paid the price to walk closely with Jesus but have not been noticed by man for extreme gifting or personality. The playing field is being leveled by the Lord of the harvest and the laborers of true passion are being released."
Others were students like 20-year-old Tommy Vardaman of Portage, Indiana, who said, "I would rather be considered unqualified, because then it is no longer about what I can do but what He can do through me."
The one I like best came from pro bass fisherman and winner of the 2014 Bassmaster Classic—Randy Howell of Springville, Alabama. He wrote, "The fishermen that Jesus called were the perfect example of the unqualified, but the only qualification Jesus asked for was faith."
Who should read this book?
Anyone like me who likes to be inspired during their quiet times
Pastors looking for pithy content to inspire their sermons
People in general who feel unqualified and want to be encouraged—almost like a spiritual pep talk
Those believing for an end-time harvest who want to understand strategies and to see God's plans and purposes
Pat's book is for the humble and for those with a heart to serve the kingdom.
"The spiritual depth of the unqualified will not come from degrees on the wall or memberships in prestigious God clubs, but from the classroom of brokenness," Pat says. "God doesn't look at polls or opinions when He chooses His leaders. He always looks for someone with a heart, regardless of what the world thinks."
Do you remember the book The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren? It was also a book that resonated with people. But when it came out, Rick Warren was not well known. Pastors and others who had been touched by his ministry began talking about the book. The book took off, inspiring and influencing millions to find purpose in their lives.
I urge you to purchase Unqualified and read it. It's available wherever Christian books are sold or you can quickly download it on Kindle. You can purchase it through one of the online bookstores like Christian Book Distributors or amazon.com.
Pat believes passionately in this message. He's on a mission. The book is born out of that—not just a desire to write a book. But, he needs your help to forward this message on social media or to talk about the book within your circle of friends.
And as always, leave your comments below.
Steve Strangis the founder of Charisma and CEO of Charisma Media. Follow him onTwitter or Facebook.
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