There is remarkable thing
in Psalm 42!! Verses 5 and 11 are
exactly the same, except for one word…. Can you find it?? If not, I’ll show what it is at the end of
this article!
Even strong Christians can have problems that
drag our faces down. We have many
gorgeous Filipino women in our international congregation here in
Also, there are many lonely African &
Asian men, coming from very poor nations... hoping to find work here, hoping to
support their family back home. .….And sometimes there is no work here, or their jobs are the hardest & dirtiest,
with 12 hour work days, no holidays & only one day a week
off………Sunday! & they spend it in the
church….
They are saved, even Spirit filled….but their faces are DOWN… Their
hearts are down…. What happened to the NEW CREATURE IN CHRIST JESUS? They come to the morning service….they come
to the Bible study…they come to intercessory prayer Friday night….but their
faces are still DOWN.
Then comes SUNDAY NIGHT PRAYER,
where we just worship the Lord, and the Holy Spirit is in control. Nobody preaches… We all sing songs to
Jesus….the lights are very low, and people GET WITH JESUS in any way they
please….loudly, quietly, on the floor,
walking around, sitting up, crying, laughing, shouting or moaning or
singing…..It’s great!!!! We put
specially made worship music on after the singing, so all the musicians can
also spend time in
the glorious Presence of the Lord… NOTHING can change a heavy heart like this
Special time just to be with HIM.
We don’t get into
counseling sessions….Let the Holy Spirit be counselor. But sometimes I walk way
to the back rows, where its quite
dark, and the Spirit leads me to
somebody who is SO SO DOWN HEARTED... just sitting
there in the dark… After talking with
them very shortly, I usually bring
them to The altar….I let them cry and
cry their heart out for awhile, & I pray and cry with them…sometimes they
shout, & scream out their frustrations….…then I ask them to take that burden in their
hands, and literally LAY IT DOWN on the altar and leave it there. They do that. (Psalm 55:22)
They cry some more…….heads still down…. Until
finally I ask them to just LOOK UP, and begin to worship
Ps 27:6,
123:1, 134:2 etc.)
NOW THAT IS A HOLY SPIRIT FACE LIFT!
It only happens when we
LIFT HIM UP…then He lifts us up WITH HIM!
We should always allow people just come to the
altars and cry their hearts out…but we shouldn’t let them leave without getting
this face lift! This type freedom can happen anyplace, but kneeling at an old fashioned altar, with other people around in worship, truly HELPS this along…..God really seems to
like altars & people gathered together in unity to worship! (& the
devil hates it)
All our counseling on the
phone, etc, etc….can’t really bring people to a break
thru! It takes an encounter with the
Holy Spirit….and it takes a lifting of the head and hands in faith. It takes a LOOKING UNTO
THERE IS A FUNNY PART TO
THIS! Across the street from our church there is a
7/11 convenient store (yes, we have them
in Japan) They can hear our singing and
see us in our nice clothes on Sunday mornings, as many of us go there to get a
snack afterwards.
BUT ON SUNDAY NIGHT, after
our HOLY SPIRIT FACE LIFT…. WE go in there to get a coke or snack, and
we are all so full of joy, and laughing and loving each other……but really, WE
LOOK A MESS! Red , swollen eyes….shiny noses, no lipstick,
no mascara, no make up….hair all
sticking out, voices scratchy from crying…….
BUT SO HAPPY!
We laugh & wonder what those people
working in 7/11 think of us every Sunday night!! They probably think we need to get A face lift……or wonder what kind of drinks that church
serves! …But we don’t care about the
OUTSIDE of us at all…..we have been made so so so beautiful on the inside. And the Holy Spirit did it all
- A complete make-over.……….for FREE.
I sure hope you can get a Holy Spirit Face
Lift at your church!
Now if you
haven’t found the difference between verses 5 & 11 in Psalm 42…
Verse 5,
But in verse 11,
Of MY
countenance…” So, when we behold GOD’S
GLORIOUS COUNTENANCE….Our OWN countenance (or face) is also CHANGED to GLORY!
THIS IS THE HOLY SPIRIT’S
FACE LIFT!
