I just want everyone to know that the Center for Bio-ethical Reform (CBR) is a great organization to team up with if you want to get involved in something that really matters!
Last Monday, (April 20th), Susie and I went with my Mom and two of my sisters to UNC Charlotte, to take part in a pro-life event connected with CBR. It felt so great to be a part of this pro-life movement in the middle of this anti-life political climate. If we are ever going to experience revival in our day, we must learn to weep over our sins. "Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy." (Psalm 126) If we don't sow in tears, we will not reap in shouts of joy. I would like to encourage everyone to look up CBR. www.abortionno.org
We must start sowing with a view to righteousness!
God Bless! ~Karl Gessler
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A Tract for Salvation
This is a copy of the tract that I wrote for handing out at Mardi Gras 2009.
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Many people fear the wrath of God, and so they should. The world is restless in its evil.
As a nation that still calls itself generally “Christian”, we commit adultery, look at pornography, pick up prostitutes, commit suicide, commit homicide, commit rape, and child molestation everyday. We slander and lie, we are greedy and we cheat, we have tempers beyond control, we neglect justice and kill the most innocent people in our country, the unborn child. We are guilty!
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer,God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. ~ Romans 1:28-32
And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. ~Romans 2:2
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. ~Romans 1:18-19
We are ALL guilty and completely deserve the FULL wrath of God!
But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. ~2 Peter 3:7
But where is this day of judgment? Well, I believe that 9/11 was a taste of it, but the day is coming and those who are not ready will live to regret it.
The Lord is not slow about keeping His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. ~ Peter 3:9
Well, you might say, if God wants us to be forgiven, why doesn’t He just forgive us of our sins and forget about it?Because there MUST be payment made for EVERY sin. God is holy and everything that comes into His presence must be holy. If you are going to enter into His presence, you too, must be holy. Well, I just finished reminding you of how thoroughly guilty we all are. How in the world are we supposed to become holy?
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. ~Corinthians 5:21
Jesus became your sin! He became my sin! Every sin that has ever been committed was laid on Jesus’ shoulders. The guilt of every murder that has ever been committed was place on the head of Jesus. The guilt of every man that cheated on his wife was laid on the head of Jesus. The blood of every abortion that has ever been committed and will be committed was held against Jesus. This is why Jesus asked the Father that “this cup” might pass from Him, while He was in the garden of Gethsemane. He knelt down, and began to pray, saying,
“Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.And being in agony He was praying very fervently;and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. ~ Luke 22:42-44
Why was He in such agony? Because the “cup” that He was about to drink was the cup of God’s wrath that was full and overflowing. Think about the world around you and all the sin that you see. Think about Hitler and all the sins that he committed. Think about everything that you have done today that was selfish, dishonest or downright evil. Multiply that by the billions of people that are alive today and then multiply that by all the generations that have existed from the beginning of the world. Jesus became that sin. God looked at Jesus, and saw your sin on Him. That is why the scripture says that God was “pleased to crush Him.”
But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief;If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,He will see His offspring,He will prolong His days,And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.As a result of the anguish of His soul,He will see it and be satisfied;By His knowledge the Righteous One,My Servant, will justify the many,As He will bear their iniquities. ~Isaiah 53:10-11
So how can you be clean before God? You must ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and let His blood cover over your shame.You might say, “But I have too much sin! He could never forgive me!” But the scriptures say,
Though your sins are as scarlet,They will be white as snow;Though they are red like crimson,They will be like wool. ~ Isaiah 1:18
If you repent and ask Jesus to come into your heart and life, He will forgive your sin, heal you and make you a new creation. You will be saved from all your darkness, selfishness, addictions and greed.
And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. ~ Acts 2:21
You will receive a new nature, that of a son or daughter of God Himself! Jesus will put in you His very own Spirit and you will soon begin to act and think like Jesus. All your sins will be wiped away and your heart will be filled with the love of God. Ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit and you will receive power to live out this new life faithfully. Peter said to them,
“Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself. … Be saved from this perverse generation!” ~ Acts 2:38-39, 40
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Many people fear the wrath of God, and so they should. The world is restless in its evil.
As a nation that still calls itself generally “Christian”, we commit adultery, look at pornography, pick up prostitutes, commit suicide, commit homicide, commit rape, and child molestation everyday. We slander and lie, we are greedy and we cheat, we have tempers beyond control, we neglect justice and kill the most innocent people in our country, the unborn child. We are guilty!
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer,God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. ~ Romans 1:28-32
And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. ~Romans 2:2
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. ~Romans 1:18-19
We are ALL guilty and completely deserve the FULL wrath of God!
But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. ~2 Peter 3:7
But where is this day of judgment? Well, I believe that 9/11 was a taste of it, but the day is coming and those who are not ready will live to regret it.
The Lord is not slow about keeping His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. ~ Peter 3:9
Well, you might say, if God wants us to be forgiven, why doesn’t He just forgive us of our sins and forget about it?Because there MUST be payment made for EVERY sin. God is holy and everything that comes into His presence must be holy. If you are going to enter into His presence, you too, must be holy. Well, I just finished reminding you of how thoroughly guilty we all are. How in the world are we supposed to become holy?
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. ~Corinthians 5:21
Jesus became your sin! He became my sin! Every sin that has ever been committed was laid on Jesus’ shoulders. The guilt of every murder that has ever been committed was place on the head of Jesus. The guilt of every man that cheated on his wife was laid on the head of Jesus. The blood of every abortion that has ever been committed and will be committed was held against Jesus. This is why Jesus asked the Father that “this cup” might pass from Him, while He was in the garden of Gethsemane. He knelt down, and began to pray, saying,
“Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.And being in agony He was praying very fervently;and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. ~ Luke 22:42-44
Why was He in such agony? Because the “cup” that He was about to drink was the cup of God’s wrath that was full and overflowing. Think about the world around you and all the sin that you see. Think about Hitler and all the sins that he committed. Think about everything that you have done today that was selfish, dishonest or downright evil. Multiply that by the billions of people that are alive today and then multiply that by all the generations that have existed from the beginning of the world. Jesus became that sin. God looked at Jesus, and saw your sin on Him. That is why the scripture says that God was “pleased to crush Him.”
But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief;If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,He will see His offspring,He will prolong His days,And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.As a result of the anguish of His soul,He will see it and be satisfied;By His knowledge the Righteous One,My Servant, will justify the many,As He will bear their iniquities. ~Isaiah 53:10-11
So how can you be clean before God? You must ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and let His blood cover over your shame.You might say, “But I have too much sin! He could never forgive me!” But the scriptures say,
Though your sins are as scarlet,They will be white as snow;Though they are red like crimson,They will be like wool. ~ Isaiah 1:18
If you repent and ask Jesus to come into your heart and life, He will forgive your sin, heal you and make you a new creation. You will be saved from all your darkness, selfishness, addictions and greed.
And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. ~ Acts 2:21
You will receive a new nature, that of a son or daughter of God Himself! Jesus will put in you His very own Spirit and you will soon begin to act and think like Jesus. All your sins will be wiped away and your heart will be filled with the love of God. Ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit and you will receive power to live out this new life faithfully. Peter said to them,
“Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself. … Be saved from this perverse generation!” ~ Acts 2:38-39, 40
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Mardi Gras!
Yes, it's true! Susie and I and my sister Bethany all went to Mardi Gras this year. What an experience! One act of obedience really opens up a huge door for ministry and greater faith.
While I did want to go and share the gospel and see God work, I did not want to go and be in the middle of our nations most disgusting festival and be ridiculed by people who do not love or fear God. I have to say that I was scared and intimidated. Yet, God also made me excited and assured me that He would take care of us. Among many other verses, God comforted me with this one in Psalm 91 : "You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you." (Vs.5-7)
Incidentally, our friend Debbie Pitroff gave us that whole Psalm (91) as a theme chapter for our trip and it brought us a lot of comfort. If God is telling you to share scripture with someone, do it! You have no idea how much you will effect by your obedience or disobedience.
While we were in New Orleans, we held up signs on the street corners that said, "Ask me about Jesus". We talked to many people during the five day trip and had a few very good conversations. We handed out some bibles as well as many of our CDs. I also wrote a tract of my own that we handed out to quite a few people. ( I am going to post the tract so that you can read it as well.).
Personally, one of the greatest things to me on the trip was experiencing God's finacial provision. We really had NO money for this trip but God provided abundantly! As a matter of fact, I wasn't going to go at all due to money but then God showed me this verse in Luke 9 when Jesus sent out the disciples saying:
While I did want to go and share the gospel and see God work, I did not want to go and be in the middle of our nations most disgusting festival and be ridiculed by people who do not love or fear God. I have to say that I was scared and intimidated. Yet, God also made me excited and assured me that He would take care of us. Among many other verses, God comforted me with this one in Psalm 91 : "You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you." (Vs.5-7)
Incidentally, our friend Debbie Pitroff gave us that whole Psalm (91) as a theme chapter for our trip and it brought us a lot of comfort. If God is telling you to share scripture with someone, do it! You have no idea how much you will effect by your obedience or disobedience.
While we were in New Orleans, we held up signs on the street corners that said, "Ask me about Jesus". We talked to many people during the five day trip and had a few very good conversations. We handed out some bibles as well as many of our CDs. I also wrote a tract of my own that we handed out to quite a few people. ( I am going to post the tract so that you can read it as well.).
Personally, one of the greatest things to me on the trip was experiencing God's finacial provision. We really had NO money for this trip but God provided abundantly! As a matter of fact, I wasn't going to go at all due to money but then God showed me this verse in Luke 9 when Jesus sent out the disciples saying:
"Take nothing for your journey, neither staff , nor bag, nor bread, nor money;
and do not even have two tunics apiece." Luke 9:3
During the course of this trip, we were down to a $23 dollar gas card and no cash whatsover but through 3 different people, God have us $61! When we arrived home, we had a few chips and peanuts, 2/5 of a tank of gas, and $1.50!! God knew exactly how much we would need and when we needed it. He is so faithful! He can't be anything else! His very character is faithfulness. It has helped me to realize that I am in God's employment and He will provide everything I need because I am doing what is pleasing to Him."and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
1 John 3:22I have posted a little slide show to give you an idea of what our trip was like. The slides range from the smelly hotel we staying in the first night,(we all shared the same bed and smelled like one big cigeratte!), to the YWAM house we stayed in the second night, as well as some pictures of the sights and the people we met while we were down there. Enjoy!
To Every City
God has been doing a neat thing in me and the lives of the people I love. He is calling us out to be proactive in spreading the gospel of His Kingdom. I have always wanted to travel this country and call this nation to repentance and revival. I don't want to simply call them to it, I want to see it happen!
I believe that God is calling my wife (Susie) and I to go to many of the major cities of this country and minister in the churches as well as the streets. We are seeking a true revival of righteousness.
So far our journey has taken us to New York NY, New Orleans LA, and Asheville, NC.
I don't want to sound brave because I'm not but I know that God is making me brave. It has definitely been stretching and a trial of faith so far but we have come out victorious.
I believe that God is calling my wife (Susie) and I to go to many of the major cities of this country and minister in the churches as well as the streets. We are seeking a true revival of righteousness.
So far our journey has taken us to New York NY, New Orleans LA, and Asheville, NC.
I don't want to sound brave because I'm not but I know that God is making me brave. It has definitely been stretching and a trial of faith so far but we have come out victorious.
Psalm 92:1-2 says: "It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness at night,".
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness at night,".
The lovingkindess of God is His covenant love with us. He is bound by His word to His lovingkindess. Jesus promised to take care of ALL our needs are we are believing Him. We are binding Him to His word, His lovingkindness, and EVERY night we have been able to declare His faithfulness. I am looking for the greater things that are still to come. Come Lord Jesus, come! Bring revival for Your name sake. Amen.
--Karl Gessler
P.S. To avoid the confusion, the girl in the picture with me is my SISTER Bethany, not my wife, Susie. Susie took the picture :)
Saturday, March 21, 2009
We're "big" in Oregon!
Recently I received a phone call that I didn't expect. A man from Astoria, Oregon had heard one of our songs off of a sampler CD and wanted to know where he could find sheet music. Awesome! A worship leader on the other side of the country will be singing one of our songs! That's what we wanted. We haven't played a concert since our CD was recorded, although we continue to lead worship in different settings, so it's hard to get the songs out there.
I'm looking into the possibility of making sheet music available at our website, www.zealouscore.com. I'll admit, the site needs a bit more media, and that would be a practical addition.
It's possible that this summer will be spent recording a Christmas album. Time and money will tell. We'll just jack up the AC and start a fire in the studio - make some hot chocolate, etc. My friend who recorded our last album (PitCore Recording - gipitt@hotmail.com) has expressed an interest in the project. Hopefully my recent musical training will prove useful.
I'm looking into the possibility of making sheet music available at our website, www.zealouscore.com. I'll admit, the site needs a bit more media, and that would be a practical addition.
It's possible that this summer will be spent recording a Christmas album. Time and money will tell. We'll just jack up the AC and start a fire in the studio - make some hot chocolate, etc. My friend who recorded our last album (PitCore Recording - gipitt@hotmail.com) has expressed an interest in the project. Hopefully my recent musical training will prove useful.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Zealous Core, a.k.a. the Gesslers
Wow, so this is a blog site! Pretty cool. I've decided that since the homepage and the "Things of Interest" page are the only things being updated on our website these days, I'll start recording them here, where people can comment, give feedback and all that. Let me know you're out there!
What on earth would we write that you would want to read? We'll Karl and Susie and crew just back from their NYC mission trip, and you'll be able to read about it here (perhaps with a few photos. Also, a friend of mine recently shared some thoughts and concerns about prophetic ministry, and maybe she'll let me post our conversation.
Here are two brief reviews on books I've read recently, since we've gotta start with something:
The Release of the Spirit by Watchman Nee
For me, this book walks hand-in-hand with Andrew Murray's book Absolute Surrender, perhaps because they ministered to me in the same way in winter of 07-08. Nee draws an image of human beings as a trinity - the spirit (inner man), the soul (outer man), and the body (outermost man). His main thesis is that every last part of the outer man - our thoughts, feelings and intellect - must be broken before our spirit can connect with the Spirit of God in power. Be warned, if you read this book, that Nee tends to make statements with the voice of authority, whether or not his argument is sufficient. None the less, I gleaned an awful lot from this little book.
The Worship God is Seeking & The Justice God is Seeking by David Ruis
If you don't recognize his name, you would likely recognize some of his music. David Ruis writes from a liturgical background (Anglican, I think) about how we can better please the Lord in our worship. The first book seems to be a snapshot into his thoughts on worship - a lot of good points and observations, but no well-defined conclusion. The second book, however, expands on a point to which he alluded in the first book. Ruis draws from a mass of scriptures regarding justice and the poor, recognizing that without justice and righteousness, our worship is meaningless.
Like most of the Regal books these are both short and sweet.
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