In consideration of world conditions, American life is exceptional. By comparison, there are no food shortages; no imminent crises of disease; no energy failures, blackouts or currency devaluation. Other countries are not so fortunate: Venezuela, Pakistan, the nations of Central America, Congo and a host of other African nations; the Middle East, the northern regions of the Slovaks and more. It is astounding how good we really have it. We are blessed in ways we cannot measure.

Our problem is that we are constant consumers. Americanism, with all of its profundity, consumes the whole. Christianity has bought into that thought even though the scripture presents a different approach. The Bible makes a demand on us to live spiritually and separately from the world. To that end, I submit that we must “Leave the Corners” untouched, i.e., leave something unconsumed.

Leviticus 23:22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God. It was God’s command not to consume everything.

Incredibly enough, centuries later Boaz obeyed this word. He did not harvest all the grain that his fields produced. He did not take all that belonged to him. His obedience to the Law became evident when he left sheaves of grain for the woman he was soon to marry, Ruth. In time, Boaz and Ruth would produce a lineage from which the greatest king in Israel would come. Ruth and Boaz were the great grandparents of King David; the warrior, psalmist, victory, giant-slayer, poet, and man after God’s own heart. Boaz made a way for Ruth by leaving the corners. Ruth’s life was so profound that her story was written in the holy write. Ultimately she was mentioned by Matthew in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

Boaz didn’t consume everything. He left the corners. He didn’t reap every part of the field, but rather he left enough to secure the future of a nation. His future bride was sustained by the things he gave away. I pray that we save the “corners” of our time, money, energy, and passion. We must work to conserve the margins where prayer has room to work, worship has space to be experienced, and offerings can be given to support missions around the world. I’m echoing the voice of Boaz, “leave the corners.”

Pastor Jeffrey Harpole

If truth be told, John the Baptist was a renegade among his generation. His clothing, bold and harsh approach, and presentation in a wilderness were unique. No one had ever seen such a thing. He did not stand in front of plaster-coated columns as the Romans. He did not grace the steps of the Jewish Temple. His clothing was not that of rabbi or priest. Nevertheless, people came out to see him. Some came to see the “show”: The wild man in the wilderness. In Luke 3, John begins his sermon with these words: “You brood of vipers, who warned you of the coming wrath?” I’m not sure, but I think this would not go over very well in our era. Even at my best, I’m still somewhat offen- sive and still people can’t always take my presentation. However, I know they would have choked on John the Baptist’s preaching. He was raw. He was ruthless. John was so abrasive that you either loved him or hated him, and most hated him.

In his Luke 3 sermon, John makes a pivotal statement. He told them to repent. Then he states that they should not have confidence in the fact that they are from the genealogy of Abraham, e.g., “just because you are in the family of Abraham does not mean you are saved.” John preached that God can raise up children out of stones. If you’ve ever seen Israel, you would know that the whole country is filled with millions of stones. John addressed their confidence in their flesh; their lineage; their heritage.

Jesus will visit this subject on numerous occasions. Jesus said that He did not come for the healthy, but for the sick. In other words, Jesus did not come for a specific group of people, but for all that are lost and blind. While we are grateful for the knowledge of the Gospel, we also know that God will have a church. I believe that He wants us to be His church, but if not, He can raise up the most unlikely to become His children, or as John preached, Luke 3:8 “God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”

A Pentecostal heritage is a blessing, but it won’t get you one foot through those pearly gates. A lineage of Apostolic truth is a priceless gift, but it won’t add up to much when we stand before the White Throne Judgment. Jesus is looking for Worshipers that will Worship in spirit and in truth. He’s looking for a bride that is faithful in every area of life. I believe that God can and will raise up a great people in these last days that come with no lineage or prior connection. They will be stones and they will be powerful.

Pastor Jeffrey Harpole

ESV – I Corinthians 3:1-3 “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?”

Paul once wrote that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places. He was not contradicting himself when he penned the above text. Rather, he was merely pointing out the conflict in both the natural and the spiritual world.

We have power “over all the power of the enemy” Luke 10:19. We have authority over principalities and powers. However, the issue here concerns carnality. The problem in our day rarely involves the devil. It’s more about our own human actions. Jealousy and strife are products of a carnal nature. Pride and a haughty spirit are the responses of the natural side. I know that many have tried to speak the name of Jesus over such things, but they do so to no avail. That’s because the human spirit cannot be cast out like a demonic spirit.

The Prophet Billy Cole once said that if a person has an evil spirit, “we can cast it out in 30 seconds. But if its flesh, it might take 30 years.”

Paul said, “I could not speak unto you as I did unto spiritual people.” He said, ‘I wanted to teach you, but you were too carnal to receive my word. I wanted to direct you in the deeper things of God, but you were so full of jealousy and strife that I could not.’

While this is not the first or last time I submit these thoughts, they are pertinent in this hour of great carnality and fleshly desires. Obedience and submission have fallen on hard times, of this I am sure. Unity is constantly under attack, even in the church. Seeds of doubt are being planted all around us in order to disrupt and thwart the work of the Kingdom in our time. I know that it would be easy for us to attribute such things to the work of Satan, but to do that we would have to ignore the deeds of fleshly people.

I rise to say, keep your bodies, minds, and words under subjection. Or as the Word says, Proverbs 13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.

Paul will reiterate this sentiment: 1 Corinthians 9:27 “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

Pastor Jeffrey Harpole

In reflection of the many times I have preached the Word, I realize how the subject of faith so often seems like an intangible thing. In some circles, it is met with disdain as it hinges on the supernatural and not on “reality.” To have faith in something you cannot see has been discredited by the humanistic mind. Sometimes even believers shrug off the word because of its illusive nature. The Bible, however, is clear that it takes faith to believe in God and faith to be saved. Healing is said to be “according to your faith.”

Faith can be lost and found again. It can elude us in times of drought or pain. When things don’t work out for us, even though we pray, faith looks like a figment of our imagination; some pulpit grammar without any real proof. I know how difficult it is to believe the rain will come when there is no cloud in the sky. I’ve been there time and again thinking God will feed the entire congregation with a full meal when all I’m holding is an insufficient lunch.

Nevertheless, the book of Hebrews says that faith is substance. The 11th chapter declares that there was so much substance it became the “credentials” of the Old Testament elders. By faith, they stepped out and suddenly God stepped in. By faith, they saw the result even though there was no logical reason to believe anything would take place. Faith moved Abraham to a place with no address. It caused Noah to build an ark with no historical precedent of a flood.

Faith is the great line that separates the heart. It makes demands on us that cuts against the grain of reason and common sense. Faith to believe God or the preached Word divides those who grow in God and those who are stagnate. The devil himself is after our faith. He wanted to steal it from Job and from a host of other patriarchs. Doubt is the easy way out. Skepticism is the way of the flesh. Faith is our connection to God. Perhaps, until we see Jesus face to face, faith is the only connection we have. When Jesus returns, the Bible ponders this matter: Will He find faith on the earth?

When I cannot figure things out; when I cannot see my way for the cloud of chaos that consumes me…I’m looking to Jesus Who is the Author and Finisher of my Faith!

Pastor Jeffrey Harpole

Peel away the outer layer of today’s modernized event and you’ll find the Passover. Israel remembered this day when God saved them from death through the blood of an innocent lamb. The fulfillment of their Passover occurred when Jesus, The Lamb of God, died on the cross. The work done on Golgotha paid the ransom for our sin. Nevertheless, while our sin was atoned at Calvary, the power to live an abundant life came on the third day when Jesus rose from the grave! Jesus paid it all as He conquered the grave. O death where is your sting; grave where is your victory?

The scripture is filled with Types concerning this momentous occasion. All of it stands as a witness to the wonder of His divine plan. Yet I am consumed by a small word found in the narrative of Abraham. God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mt. Moriah. This is the same mountain where the Temple would be built and the same region where Jesus was later crucified. Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son until the angel of the Lord stayed his hand. Then God provided Himself a lamb (ram) caught in a thicket. The sacrifice was held in place by thorns.

The Hebrew word for thicket or thistles is çebâk, derived from the Hebrew word çâbak, which depicts interwoven branches with thorns and thistles. Thorns trapped the sacrifice so that Abraham could make the sacrifice. The curse levied against Adam was thorns: Genesis 3:1 “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; Genesis 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread…” Jesus was The Lamb crowned with thorns. He took the curse on His head to set us free. Incredibly enough, Moriah was the early habitation of a small tree or shrub called acacia. It was the same wood used to make the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark where God rested, or where they “arrested” God, produced the thorns that held the ram for Abraham and were later woven to create the Crown of Thorns that adorned The Lamb!

Jesus wore a crown of thorns…but that was before the empty tomb. Today He is crowned with Glory and Honor (Hebrews 2:9). He is the King of all kings and the Lord of lords. He is the Resurrection and the Life.

Pastor Jeffrey Harpole