Parables, psalms and proverbs to edify the body of Christ
For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. Romans 12:4-6
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. 1 Corinthians 12:7
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-12
This publication is collected in obedience to these scriptures, with the understanding that the anointed writings of men and women of God are one of the gifts which we are to use; one of the manifestation given for the profit of all; one of the ministries given for the edifying of the body of Christ. These writings, insofar as they are guided by the Holy Spirit, are given by God with the intention that they be shared with the body at large for benefit and exhortation of many. Those who first receive and author them are not the end recipient, but are the Kingdom couriers entrusted with the very heart of God.
I encourage you to read Holy Exhortation slowly and prayerfully. Open your heart to the voice of God as you read, and let Him speak in the margins and between the pages. His words are of ultimate value, and this publication possesses value only insofar as He speaks to you through it.
Judgment
Ethan B. Ferris
A Lament of Man
Your salvation is precious
Yet squandered on me
Your Kingdom of glory
Bankrupt for a foreigner and doer of iniquity
Were I Your counselor, o’ God
Though far be it from me to presume
I would urge you to hide away your splendor
And cast me far from you
Do not let my filth besmirch Your Holy Name, o’ God
Declare your glory in my woes
For I am a blot on your creation
The LORD’s Response
Is your power of sin greater than my righteousness?
Would you presume in willful pride to be able to corrupt the Almighty?
Which is greater, you or I?
Will not the greater consume the lesser?
Humble thyself, o’ man
Speak not of things beyond your ken
If your mind be so twisted and tainted
Cast off your judgments to the last
Step off your throne of death and kneel at the feet of life
Have you come to repent or repay?
Mortify your flesh, deny your desire
Repayment shall never be satisfied
Your throne of knowledge hungers for suffering
I tell you, if you would repent, then live!
My repayment is sufficient to sate the demands of justice
Yet this small burden I levy to you
Live in the fullness of the Kingdom I died to give to you
God's Firetenders
By Ethan Ferris
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. Ephesians 4:11
Meditating upon this scripture, I saw a pile of kindling and wood; dead, dry and ready to be lit.
An apostle came bearing a torch. From the torch flew sparks, which landed upon the kindling, igniting a fire.
A prophet came next. He knelt beside the small, flickering flame and blew gently into its heart. The fire came alive a little more - it ate greedily of the kindling and the wood, strengthening and burning brighter.
Now, an evangelist came. With a stick, he prodded the fire. He turned the logs and shifted the embers, pulling out that which would smother it and giving it room to breath. The fire, now strong, continued to grow.
But wind and rain came to snuff out the flames. Yet there came a pastor, hunched over the fire, covering it. He protected it with his own body, letting the harsh elements beat upon his back.
The wind faded, and the fire was strong enough now to burn on its own. A teacher came, and he put a pot over the fire, so it may feed the hungry. He lit a torch from the fire, so it may light the way for the blind. He put its embers in a hearth, so it could warm the weak.
A Prayer for Hunger
Ethan B. Ferris
Jesus, may I read Your word and seek Your presence for the rest of my days and more. May I do so not as an obligation or a ritual, but with the same consistency with which I eat. Born of an awareness of need, let me seek You out of constant hunger. Let me not be like those who went away offended when You told them to eat of Your body and drink of Your blood. May I always be satisfied in you but never sated, always taking my full portion of Your grace and mercy with gratitude and excitement. I am Yours, You are mine. I yearn for You. My spirit aches with ravenous wanting. Feed me, Jesus. Else I shall not eat.
–
Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” John 6:53-58
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Deuteronomy 8:3
An Invitation to the LORD
Ethan B. Ferris
Come in, King of glory
Raise up, you ancient gates
Step aside, trauma and fear
Kneel for the LORD’s coming
Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!
Radiant Jesus, burn all else away
Capture me in Your love
This moment, this kairos, is Yours
All to come and all to pass
The now you spoke forth at the dawn
Let not creation rebel
Let not I rebel
Upon this Rock all of reality rests
Try as I might to find another source
You, LORD, You only give me life
Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!
Your plan, spoken for Your glory
Is coming forth in this time
You are God
Ezra Revival
Ethan B. Ferris
Many rightly desire the great manifestation of God’s power, presence and revival displayed at Pentecost.
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4
This is the beginning of revival, yet the enemy would have us believe that it is the fullness of revival. He would point to one manifestation of our God and convince us that it is the manifestation of our God, thereby distracting us with the pursuit of an experience rather than the pursuit the person of Jesus Christ.
Behold, those present at Pentecost did not remain in that room for a moment longer than the Spirit did!
Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:41-47
Going out, now being living temples of God’s presence, they carried what they had received into the streets of Jerusalem and into their daily lives.
The fullness of revival lies in the application of the impartation.
I look to the stories of Ezra and Nehemiah as models for the fullness of revival - a move of God not limited to (though neither neglecting) worship sessions in the secret place, including the hard, daily, often inglorious labors of bringing God’s love beyond the bounds of the temple.
This is a revival that includes walking boldly into an impossible situation on the basis of faith. It includes putting one’s hands to the earth, physically, to build for the glory of God and to serve one’s family and neighbors. It includes the difficult diligence of accepting aid only from the LORD and nobody else, maintaining holiness and purity in His sight.
All fueled by the intense, glorious, healing manifestation of His presence in the temple, no matter how humble that temple or subtle that manifestation may seem.
All whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. Ezra 1:5
From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, although the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid. Ezra 3:6
…all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work… Ezra 3:8
Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel.” Ezra 4:1-3
Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them (representing the putting away of anything we have made covenant with other than God, and all the fruits of those covenants), according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Ezra 10:3, Notation Added
The intention of this publication is to provide an opportunity to obey the commission of God in Romans 12:4-6, 1 Corinthians 12:7 and Ephesians 4:11. Further, it is not to do this just for me, but for many to whom God has entrusted fragments of His divine creativity. Any person may submit material to be potentially published in Holy Exhortation with full credit.
Submissions may be made by email to ethanbferris@gmail.com.
An important point about submissions; I will make the final, prayerful decision about what is published. Not everything that is submitted will be published, but everything that is submitted will be prayerfully considered for publication.
If I do decide to publish a piece, be it my own or someone else’s, it is not a final judgment on that piece as ‘good’ or ‘from God’. It merely states that when I inquired of God as to whether He wished it to be published at this time and in this manner, I believe to have heard Him say, ‘Yes.’
Similarly, if I decide not to publish a piece, it is not a final judgment on that piece as ‘bad’ or ‘not from God’. It merely states that when I inquired of God as to whether He wished it to be published at this time and in this manner, I believe to have heard Him say, ‘No.’
With that said, I look forward to reading what God has inspired in you, and I pray that you have been edified by this volume. May you be filled with the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Chris.
Ethan B. Ferris
Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.
John 7:16-18
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