Published Articles - Section 1
Published Articles - Section 1
Permission to reprint for publication will be granted, if requested and the articles are published in their entirety. Copies of the publication in which article appears would be greatly appreciated. Send it to Pam Clark Ministries, PO Box 883 ~ Grandview, MO 64030-0883. E-mail:pamclark@prophetic.net
I believe that you will find them interesting, and hopefully helpful! God bless you!!!
BRINGING FORTH YOUR GIFT
by Pam Clark
As a minister, in particular a prophetic minister, I am called to equip people for ministry (Ephesians 4:11-16). Since not everyone has the same calling, this is a challenge. There are the five fold ministerial calls and then there are the works and workers of the ministry of Christ. First of all, I had to seek God for my gifting before I could really help anybody else.
Now, all Christians are called to evangelize and spread the Word and be a witness, but some are exceptionally gifted at this and have the evangelist calling, and we should support them, but it does not mean they do our part! We are all called to work together. We all should know how to lead somebody to the Lord. Romans 10: 9-10 is a good place to start.
We are all called to study to show ourselves approved, and some have the gift of teaching. We should receive teachers with honor and respect for their labors, and even study through their gifted ministries as a way for us to be approved unto God, but the responsibility is on us to study. Others are called to be pastors, and some apostles and prophets. The five fold ministerial call is described in Ephesians 4:11-16.
How does somebody get to be a minister? Many that you see in pulpit ministry had a special calling from God--a special visitation--where they understood they were called to His speaking ministry service.
For many it was so plain that they knew they had to get to Bible School and be trained. Some were raised in the Church and knew many things from just being around the ministry, but all at some point had to dedicate themselves to carrying the burden and load of ministry.
But many are called who are not doing anything about their gift and calling. Since it does not appear that they have a pulpit ministry, they sit back and watch others thinking that they will get the job done and that their part doesn't really matter. How far from the truth!!!
Some have the stirring of their gift, but it is not understood by them or by others and so they fall when they try to express their gift. Part of the failure can be lack of training and understanding, and part of that can be from not understanding how to deal with the enemy we have, the anti-Christ spirit that opposes the work and good of God in the earth.
One thing many fail to understand is the needed respect for authority. Because many have been abused or not understood, they have been disappointed in authority and have rebelled and worked against it. You will not get far in your ministry gifting and call without healing in this area. Respect for authority is the key to powerful faith in God.
Do you know how many more wrecks there would be if we did not have traffic signals? We would not even eat that many good meals if cooks did not follow the recipes correctly.
Can a car run on jello? No, it takes the proper ingredients of gasoline and oil and transmission fluids all in their correct places. We need four inflated tires, not three, on most automobiles for them to drive correctly.
Order is important. Little can be accomplished without order. Often people get a revelation from God and want the whole world to circle around it. That does not mean it is not a good idea, or even a God idea, but it must be presented in a proper way and order.
And, if God gave the inspiration to you, it is not for somebody else to do the work to fulfill it! Too many people want other people to fulfill their vision!
Because we can't read everything that is in another person's mind, we can easily get confused and even be misunderstood. God even tells us that our thoughts are not His thoughts nor our ways His ways. His are higher! That means we need to have a teachable spirit when we move out in our ministry gifts and calls.
Some get discouraged too quickly. Some may get promoted too quickly. Scripture speaks to both of these issues. Some wait for things to be in perfect order in their eyes and never get anything done because their perfection never comes to pass. Oh how much we miss because the enemy spirit is able to get us off the path to life and even that path of life more abundantly!
Jesus does not despise the smallest gift. He praised the lady who gave her last two pennies to the work of God. Her recognition goes on to this day. He was making the point that every effort counts. What you do or don't do changes the lives of others. Are people better or worse off because of you?
If you are doing your part to the best of your ability, God can greatly increase the Kingdom of Heaven. Many people are won, not by words, but by actions. I heard a story yesterday of a lady whose whole life was turned around because some kind woman patted her on the hand in love in the Name of Jesus, and now that lady is a dynamo in her church!
Don't despise your gifts or your small beginnings. Study to show yourself approved and do the best you can. God will reward you greatly if you do it right in Him. Keep on working to please your Lord. Remember every journey begins with a single step.
Keep on praying! God will make a way. His Plan is for it all to work together with a love and respect for each of us. Don't be defeated by the enemy! And give honor to whom honor is due. Your work shall be rewarded!
(c) Pam Clark Ministries, Email: pamclark[at]prophetic.net
TO THE HOMEPAGE OF PAM CLARK PROPHETIC MINISTRIES
All human flesh is from the seed of Adam and Eve. Rich in their genes, they prospered and multiplied. Where did Cain and Seth get their wives? Well, if the Word of God is true, they were begotten of Adam and Eve.
From the beginning, God desired a personal, powerful and productive relationship with His creation. All creation, it says in Romans 8, longs and labors for the glorious liberty of the children of God. When Cain grew angry because God was not pleased with his offering, God said to him, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?" (KJV)
God was not trying to condemn Cain; He was trying to raise him up, but Cain refused and allowed sin to enter in and he murdered his brother. Then Cain was banished from the face of the Lord.
God put a mark on Cain to offer him hope. He still held his life as precious before Him. How could God do that? It was because God knew He had the power to raise the dead, but man had to learn that obedience to God comes first and foremost.
But Cain chose to go out from the presence of the Lord. Even though man had disappointed Him, God knew there would be some who would call upon Him for deliverance from sin and the power of the evil one.
Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, was the atoning sacrifice for sin. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that who so ever would believe in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
When John the Baptist recognized Jesus by the Spirit, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" Through Jesus, God's Son the Messiah, God chose to reconcile the world unto Himself, if people would be willing. It is our job to let people know this Good News!!!
People who accept this Good News are born again when they receive Jesus into their hearts and lives. They are new creations, changed beings. Jesus said that "Unless a man shall be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." And if he can't see it, he certainly cannot enter it and enjoy its fruits!
The Kingdom of God is the place where Jesus is the King. We acknowledge Him as our Lord and He infuses the power of the Holy Spirit into our lives. We can have as much of God as we will seek Him for. We only lose out and endanger our souls when we neglect so great a salvation.
God wants to open the mysteries of Heaven to you. He can show you things you never dreamed possible. He will reveal to you how He created this world to be a blessing to you, not a curse.
But He is OUR Father. Until we realize that each human life is precious in His sight, young or old, black, red, yellow, white or polka dot (ha ha), we are not pleasing to Him. Even the baby in the womb is precious to Him. God cares about you!
The book of Isaiah explains to us that it is our sin that has kept us from God. We need to be set free. God has a plan for you and that includes help from His Spirit and from His saints--His obedient children. Let God love you. Receive His Spirit into your life. Pray for God to fill you and He will. He will even scoop you out that He may fill you even more.
His Son is the Way. Ask Jesus into your heart today.
(c) Pam Clark Ministries ~ Email: pamclark[at]prophetic.net
A friend just told me about a co-worker who got killed by somebody who ran a red light, but here in Houston running red lights is so common, many think it is acceptable. This can especially make you mad if you are the victim of a speed trap on one of these roads where you think you are driving safely but the speed limit is so low it is easy to go beyond it.
A friend of mine from out of town didn't realize that you need to wait a few minutes at your green light for all the other cars to go by on their red, and she got hit broadside with her two young sons inside the car and they were spun around and around in the middle of the intersection scraping the car around two sides of it.
Thank God she and her sons were OK in this instance but when people do things frequently, even though they aren't right, they become de-sensitized. It's like the frog in water experiment--if you put a frog in hot water, he will jump out. But if you put him in cold water and slowly raise the temperature, he will just sit there till he dies.
Because of our moral decline, there are many things we just don't see as wrong anymore. Prophets of the hour can raise their voices, but it's mostly unheard. And that brings us to "Mystery Babylon."
What is "Mystery, Babylon the Great, The Mother of Harlots" referred to Revelation 17:5? Well, a good portion of your Bible bookstore will have quite a number of books on that subject and most consider it the "world's system," but what about the world system is it?
When God made the earth and man in it, He said, "It is very good." There are some things that are right! But "Mystery Babylon, Mother of Harlots" is spiritually speaking about those who go their own way rather than God's and follow others who do as well.
It's called "Mystery" because they want to appeal to the mystique. Mysteries can be fun to try to figure out, but this would be a manipulation by a half truth or a lie. People will say, "Shhh, I can't tell you, but I know something." Like the slick used car salesman, they will say, "Trust me, I know."
And so, we want to trust and sometimes do, only to find ourselves ripped off. This is why we are warned that Satan will come as an "angel of light." Sounds good, looks good, but the end is the death of something good.
Parents and teachers and ministers cannot be everywhere but the Holy Spirit can. This is why it is important for us to know the Word and will of God for ourselves. This is why the Bible says we must apply ourselves to it to prosper.
It's not enough to just trust someone. In watching the news, you can see corrupt leadership everywhere, and I am not so sure the ones reporting a lot of that aren't corrupt! We live in a sin sick society. It is a challenge to survive from here to Heaven.
I like the way Proverbs 25:2 says it in the Living Bible: "It is God's privilege to conceal things, and the king's privilege to discover and invent." There are some things God conceals for His own glory, but He does not do it for evil purposes. In fact, it is the Spirit of God that will give you the discerning of spirits to discern evil!
God conceals for the strategy and honor of His glory. But "Mystery Babylon" will say, "Shhh, I can't tell you, but trust me, I know." Where is your trust? Is it in His Word or in the world or religious system of man? Your eternal life may depend on it!
God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all. God can conceal as well as reveal. Are you having a problem? Go to Him and He will tell you what is right and what is wrong. He will do it in a way that blesses all concerned. Satan will trick you into believing a lie that will hurt and destroy.
If someone "can't tell you," but expects you to put your trust in them without giving you the benefit of understanding, look to God, because chances are, He is right and they are not. This can make a big difference to you life!
Look to Him and live! He is a sure foundation!
(c) Pam Clark Ministries ~ Email: pamclark[at]prophetic.net
Who loves ya, baby? God does, that's Who! With all the loves in life that come and go, there is one that remains constant, and that is the love of God.
We can attempt to build our lives on many things, but if we don't build it on the love of God, our foundation will not hold. We can spend all our time building great monuments to society, but if the foundation cracks, all is lost.
Families are great, but even good families can have tragedies. Someone can go astray, get lost, rebel or even die, and that can make things very difficult and hard.
A job can be lost, a friend can turn away, even your dog can run off. Things may not go according to our plans. If we put all our foundation on the wrong thing, everything in our life can collapse.
Many wake up to find that their whole world has changed in one moment. How do we get back on track? How do we save those things that appear to be lost? How do we restore that which has been taken away? We go back to the Source.
Who are we, anyway? We are a creation of God. Acts 17:24-26 (LB) says that God "made the world and everything in it, and since He is Lord of heaven and earth, He doesn't live in man-made temples; and human hands can't minister to His needs--for He has no needs! He himself gives life and breath to everything, and satisfies every need there is. He created all the people of the world."
Man fell and needed a Savior and God provided that through His Son Jesus, the only begotten of the Father. It took a certain and perfect price to pay for our sins and Jesus was the only perfect One who could do it. God gave His Son Jesus to die for us so that we might live forever in His goodness, because He loves us. His way is right and sure.
Our lives are not our own. We have been bought with a price. So even if all else fails, God remains true. If we build our lives on Him, then when something falls down or fails or breaks apart, it does not destroy us or consume us because we have built our lives on the Sure Foundation, Jesus who loved us enough to die for us. Because of Him, love can come again and our lives are a testimony.
We can still have love in us, because He first loved us. He paid the ultimate price for us. He is constant, He is always there. God will never leave you or forsake you.
And the story isn't over yet! With God we can re-arrange the pieces of our lives to make things live again. God offers things that the world does not. God offers forgiveness when the world says forget it. God offers peace in the midst of a storm.
God says give when the world says you are a fool to do so and then blesses it, and God will tell you to receive when you know you don't even deserve it. God says start when the world says quit and God says go when the world says no. But with God, nothing is impossible!
The mystery of God is the mystery of the resurrection. When something seems dead, God can make it alive again. A loved one seems lost, but is really thriving in Heaven, waiting and hoping for you to join them at your right time.
No wonder the people accused the disciples of turning the world upside down with this message! God can turn it around! He can make the wicked past die so His glory can appear.
When all seems lost, it isn't. He is the Rock, the Sure Foundation, the trusted Cornerstone. Build on Him and be saved. Who loves ya, baby? He does, and it's a forever thing.
(c) Pam Clark Ministries ~ Email: pamclark[at]prophetic.net
It is really great to feel good. When we feel good, we usually look pretty good, act pretty good and feel pretty inspired about things. But how reliable are those good feelings?
We have often been called "a feel good" society in a land of much pain. If you took a poll of the headline news on television, radio and in the paper, on a scale of one to ten for good feelings, you are usually in the lower half or more on the negative side.
People are often accused of thinking only of themselves, being self centered and self serving. And to some degree, it is true, but do they really want to be that way or have they just evolved that way from the input we give?
Are Christians truly the light of the world? We need to think about this! Perhaps people think of themselves first because they think no one else will. To them, it is every man for himself. There are enough situations in life that can make you feel like that!
But as Christians, we are a different people. If the Holy seed of Christ's Spirit is within, there is something in us that if groomed, can make a mighty difference.
There is a Proverb that says "When the righteous rule, the people rejoice." Another one says that "When the wicked rule, the righteous hide." Where are we in that?
Where are we hiding? Where are we rejoicing? Does it seem to you that our rejoicing places seem to get narrower and narrower in this society? Many are hiding in churches because it feels like a safe place, but stay around long enough and you will see church people have hard times, too.
Christians are not exempt from the evils of this world. Oh, we wish we were and some come to Christianity thinking that is the way it ought to be. When a fellow Christians fails, we say "My, did they sin!" while working to hide our own shortcomings.
We are a paradoxical people! We are a mixture! The Bible says we are eternal beings--treasures in earthen vessels. The earth will pass away, but where will our eternal be? That is a serious, sobering question.
What about these feelings? Sometimes they can really get in the way of right and wrong. Sometimes they will be the short term pleasure with a negative consequence.
Many are on alcohol and drugs today because they are trying to anethesize their pain. For many of these people, this is their way of coping with the hard things in life. Most do not know that God has a plan for our pain. Many would be surprised that God has a way out for much of it in the short term and all of it in the long term.
We are failing in presenting the Gospel! To many today, it seems like a way to manipulate God. Many see people trying to make God a cosmic bellhop, so they begin using the term "the force" to de-personalize God because they don't like the idea of a personal being working against them.
The truth is there is a "being" that is working against us. He is known as Satan or Lucifer or the devil. He has great influence. Many today are trying to make friends with the devil in order to appease him, but they are only working against themselves, for a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.
There is a "Being" that is good who is called God Almighty. He speaks to the eternity put within our hearts. Though this life fade away in some of the most inane ways, He forever remains. We can be a part of that good life by accepting His Son Jesus into our hearts. It's not a gimmick, it's a reality. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. (I John 3:8)
That acceptance causes a soul change that puts our life's course toward a good end, but we must be participants in it to qualify. It's not that we pay to get to heaven, because then we would qualify by the works we do, and we don't get there that way.
The works that we do indicate that our faith is real. It's not so much what type of works we do, it's the attitude we do it in that speaks to God. He looks at the heart.
But then we get back to those feelings again. In maturing faith we come to understand that it is not the pitter-patter of the heart as it is the end results. I may not feel like going to work, washing the clothes, putting gas in the car or paying my bills. I may want to date the cute person rather than the practical person.
But when life shakes down, have my best interests been served? God will hold me accountable for my influence on others as well. We are our brother's keeper. And it's a very pleasant feeling in the end!
(c) Pam Clark Ministries Email: pamclark[at]prophetic.net
How many people feel like they are going through some major changes? Are you going through a sifting? There is shifting and shaking taking place in the Body.
Why? God is bringing to the top, that which He can work with. He is arranging the Body in His order. He is not only cleaning things out, but He is bringing up and bringing forth that which is good---that which He can use, and those whom He can strategize-- are you flexible for His Plans?
As you know, gold is heated and the dross is skimmed off of the top. How big is your nugget? How much good grain is left in the sieve after He shakes? And, can He -- is He able-- to put you all together for HIS use?
So, what are these grains and seeds He is separating out?
WHAT IS GOD BUILDING AND SOWING???
God is sifting for the precious seed that He wants to plant. WE are the planting of the Lord--WE are the Harvest and He is the Lord of the Harvest.
The Harvest thrust is good and fulfilling if we know what the Harvest thrust is about--then we can maintain it. Are we just looking for human beings to sit on a church pew as good as that is?
No, it about sowing ourselves into the Church and the community and reaping a righteous lifestyle. You can't do it without the Church.
It's not just about "those out there"-- it is about us-- THEY are a part of US that we must reach. It's unity for whom Christ died. God sows, we reap. Listen to this:
"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you." (Hosea 10:12)
There is an order to this, if you will notice it: "Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven." Psalm 85:11)
"Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open [that is us], and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it." (Isaiah 45:8 KJV)
"I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of My Mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, [GOD IS SOWING] that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." (Isaiah 45:23)
"For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." (Isaiah 61:11 KJV)
"In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch [the shoot, the outgrowth] of righteousness to grow up unto David; and He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land." (Jeremiah 33:15 KJV)
WHAT ARE WE REAPING NOW? "Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men. Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled..." (Hosea 10:13-14 KJV)
"But GOD SAYS, 'Let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.'" (Amos 5:24 KJV)
We are to sow our lives, into the Church and the community and reap a righteous lifestyle. Look what God says He will do, if we do...
Amos 9: 9-15: "For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. [That's the believer.] All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, which say, 'The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.' In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by My Name, saith the Lord that doeth this. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God."
This life is good, but Heaven is even better. Here, and in Heaven, preparation is taking place for a righteous lifestyle.
God is in charge of this Harvest, but we are the seed and fruit of His Harvest! We must grow up and work together.
(c) Pam Clark Ministries ~ Email: pamclark[at]prophetic.net
