Rodney Howard Browne Fragrant Calamus

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

“Yet you have not called upon me, O Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for me, O Israel. You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with grain offerings nor wearied you with demands for incense. You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me, or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses.“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence. Your first father sinned; your spokesmen rebelled against me. So I will disgrace the dignitaries of your temple, and I will consign Jacob to destruction and

Israel to scorn. Isaiah 43:18-28 NIV.

Rodney Howard Browne teaches that God created us to proclaim His praise. He loves us with an everlasting love – a love that gives all, without holding anything back. It is hard for us, as people who have experienced a world contaminated by the presence of evil and sin and death, to comprehend or even fully appreciate just how much God does love us. And yet He continues to reach out to us and demonstrate His mercy and grace at every opportunity. He makes a way in our wilderness and He causes rivers to flow through our dry places. He says that even the animals have the good sense to recognize, acknowledge and appreciate Him as the source of provision and blessing.

He is the God of the second chance. He is always ready to forget yesterday and to forgive our past sins, mistakes and rebellion. He encourages us, also, to forget about yesterday. He offers us a new day and a new beginning over and over. And yet instead of appreciating all He does for us and all that He is to us, we offer Him nothing but trouble in return. We burden Him with our sins and weary Him with our iniquities. We take, but we don’t give. We take His graciousness for granted as we continue in our sin and rebellion and selfishness – expecting Him to step in and pick up the pieces every time we mess up and then to step back out of our lives again until we need something more from Him.

Rodney Howard Browne shows us that God goes out of His way to take care of us, but we are too lazy or too self-absorbed to take the time or to make the effort to press into His presence and to seek His face. We won’t do anything that requires more than the minimum of effort. We want everything done for us, but we are not prepared to put ourselves out in the slightest for the Lord. We let our flesh rule us – we don’t rule our flesh.

He has been infinitely patient with us, while making very few demands. We ought to love Him, appreciate Him, and generously lavish Him with gifts and offerings. We should offer Him the best we have – not just the dregs. We should honor Him with our lips and honor Him with our gifts. Every day we should be looking for ways to please Him and to bless Him and make Him happy. Many people say that they love God, but they don’t act like it. If we truly love God, we will affectionately reverence Him, promptly obey Him and gratefully recognize His blessing! We will bring to Him the best we have – we will lavish Him with our offerings. We will give it with open heart and open hand – holding nothing back! For He is our light and the length of our days – our Rock, our Fortress and our Provider – our Savior, Healer, Deliverer and Lord! He is worthy of the very best that we have to give!

Rodney Howard Brown The Fruit of the Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23 KJV

Rodney Howard Browne talks about goodness. There are several different Hebrew and Greek words translated as goodness in the KJV. When referring to goodness as an attribute of the character God or man, the Hebrew words mean goodness, kindness, graciousness, beauty, gladness, and welfare. The Greek words mean virtue or beneficence and moral excellence – in character or demeanor. When the Bible speaks of the goodness that is extended toward us and that follows us the Hebrew word for goodness means beautiful, bountiful, cheerful, joyful, kindness, loving, merry, favor, glad, pleasant, pleasing, pleasure, precious, prosperity, wealth, welfare and well-favored.

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4 NKJ

Rodney Howard Browne teaches us that God is merciful. So many people – Christians and non-Christians – present our Father God as an angry, hard, judgmental, demanding God, who expects us to keep a whole bunch of rules and regulations. We think that He loves to punish us and so when we sin, we try to run away and hide from Him. We try to defend ourselves and justify our actions, instead of just running to Him in repentance, and asking forgiveness. Our sin destined us for hell, but God’s grace paid in full, by the blood of Jesus, destines us for heaven! It is the goodness of God that draws us to Him. We realize how much He loves us and how kind and gracious and merciful He is toward us and we come running into His arms to receive forgiveness and mercy. The goodness of God leads us to repentance. We repent because we know that God’s mercy will be poured out on our heads and the bondage of sin will be destroyed from off of our lives. What a good God we serve and how good He is to us!

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!

Psalms 27:13-14 NKJ

God’s goodness and kindness toward us are extended to every area of our lives here on earth. He is on our side and He is concerned with our welfare. He provides every good thing that we need – spirit, soul and body. In the middle of any adverse circumstance and situation we find ourselves in, we can know that God is not the author of the disaster (as some believe), but He is the answer and the solution to every problem that we encounter. He is the way out of the problem not the cause of it! We can be encouraged as we wait on Him and put our trust in Him to save us and to bring us out in victory. If we believe that God is the author of our trouble, then our courage will fail because we see ourselves in a hopeless situation. But if we know that He is our answer and that He has made a way for us and that He is ever ready to save us – we can have hope in His goodness and we can see our way out into His blessing and provision!

Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Psalms 107:8-9 NKJ

God is so kind and gracious to us. He is good and He fills us with His goodness. He is not stingy. He does not use a tiny teaspoon to dish out His goodness to us – He fills us – He does not stop until we are overflowing with His bountiful joy, favor, pleasure, prosperity, wealth, and welfare!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalms 23:6 NKJ

God promises us that if we obey and serve Him that His bountiful joy, favor, pleasure, prosperity, wealth, and welfare will be following us all the days of our lives. Not just some days – or when He feels like it – no – every day we will be saturated in His blessing and His abundance. Thank God for His goodness – what a good God we serve. What a joy it is to serve Him!

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

Romans 15:13-14 NKJ

We must be as good to one another as God is good to us. We should be kind and merciful, gracious and honest. We should be generous and hospitable and we should lavish blessings on one another. Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. II Thessalonians 1:11-12 NKJ

Rodney Howard Browne is drawing thousands to the Great Awakening Tour held at the First Assembly Life Center in Billings Montana. People are coming from several states and regions in the Northwest to be touched by the Lord. With 139 harvesters, we have seen over 5,700 decisions for Christ. Come be a part of this powerful move of God. The church is located at: 550 32nd St W Billings, Montana 59102 Please call for details and directions (406) 652-1240

Foundation Scripture: Luke 4:14 -19

14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to
Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 16 So He came to Nazareth , where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” It is so important to have an understanding of the anointing in the day and time that we are living. Many today do not recognize the power of God. They wouldn’t recognize the anointing if it slapped them in the head! When I was a child growing up, there was not much information on the subject of the anointing. There had been more teaching from the standpoint of the Old Testament – about the anointing oil, the make up of the oil, etc. As far as the Church goes, I think that there has been a limited understanding of the anointing and the administration of that anointing, from the New Testament standpoint.We have to realize that the anointing has absolutely nothing to do with the natural world and the natural mind. The anointing is God’s presence. That alone, puts the anointing in the classification of the realm of God. This means that you cannot put God on paper or try to work Him out with your carnal mind. The things of God have to be understood with the heart of man. The word “anointing” many times has been used very glibly. It has be come a cliché, used without any understanding of what it really is or what its purpose is.People often say, “Oh, the anointing is here,” but when you ask them how they know, they reply, “Well, it’s just here.” They don’t know any more than that. If it is happening in the realm of the Spirit, then it will be manifested in the natural realm. You will feel it and see it. People may say that a singer, who sings very well, is anointed, but a good voice alone, is not at all the same thing as the anointing. Many people, including ministers, do not recognize the anointing when it is present – the anointing is the presence of God, manifested. They don’t recognize the tangible presence of God. They have difficulty comprehending how a personal Father God can touch His people with His presence, in a tangible way. This is evident to me, especially when I begin to pray for people. There are times that I will call those who sense His presence upon them to come forward for prayer. Some people come to the front, but you can see that they have no anointing on them. Others sit in their seats, trembling under the power of God, not realizing that God was touching their life, maybe because they have never felt His presence before. When I finally pick them out of the crowd and call them forward, and I tell them the power of God is all over them, they say, “Oh, is that what this is?”What Is the Anointing?The anointing is not some mystical something out there. The anointing is the presence and power of God manifested. We could say that the anointing is the manifest presence of God.We need to realize that there is a vast difference between the omnipresence of God and the manifest presence of God. The Lord is always omnipresent, but He is not always manifesting or displaying His power everywhere. When God’s power does manifest in a way that we can see or sense, then something is going to happen. I can give you many Old Testament examples. When God created the heavens and the earth there was a visible display of His power (Genesis 1). When Moses stood in front of the burning bush there was a visible display of God’s power. Moses took off His shoes (Acts 7:30-34). When a band of men from the chief priest and elders came to capture Jesus, He said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They said, “We seek Jesus of Nazareth.” He said, “I am He!” As soon as He said to them, “I am He,” they went over backwards and fell to the ground (John 18:16).When Jesus rose from the dead, the keepers of the tomb fell as dead men (Matthew 28:4). When Saul of Tarsus was on the Damascus road, a great light shone from heaven and he fell to the ground, hearing Jesus saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:1-5). John on the Isle of Patmos – when Jesus appeared to him – fell at His feet as dead. (Revelations 1:9-17). We read in Luke 5:17 that the power of the Lord was present to heal. When God walks into a person’s life, something happens, something takes place. The anointing is tangible. It can be felt. Just as electricity is tangible, so the anointing is tangible. This is not about man meeting man, but about man coming into contact with a living God – the creator of heaven and earth. This power – this anointing – was promised to us by Jesus (Acts 1:8).

Foundation Scriptures: Acts 10:34-48 (NIV) Vs. 34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism. Vs. 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right. Vs. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel , telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. Vs. 37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, Vs. 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him.Vs. 39 We are witnesses of everything He did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed Him by hanging him on a tree, Vs. 40 but God raised Him from the dead on the third day and caused Him to be seen. Vs. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen, by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.Vs. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. Vs. 43 All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” Vs. 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. Vs. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. Vs. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, Vs. 47 “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” Vs. 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

When you are baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit and power you know it. It is not maybe or I hope so. After receiving the Holy Ghost, they all spoke in other tongues. When a believer gets hungry for God and desires to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, all they have to do is ask in faith and expect to receive. God will always meet you at the point of your faith. The Holy Spirit has been sent to every believer (if they will receive Him) anointing him with power (Vs. 38), so that they can go about doing good, healing and delivering all who are under the power of the devil! Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem , and in all Judea and Samaria , and to the ends of the earth” (NIV). Every time the Holy Spirit anoints a believer, He anoints them with power.You are anointed with power to do good.Healing people and saving and delivering them from the devil’s influence is doing good.It’s a crazy world when you have ignorant and/or religious people calling healing and deliverance the work of the devil and then calling death and destruction the work of God!Jesus came to show us the work of the Father.Everywhere He went He displayed God’s power by healing, forgiving, delivering and raising people from the dead.The power of the Holy Spirit was at Jesus’ disposal to do good.When we are anointed, we display God’s power and anointing in our lives by doing good and delivering those under the influence of the enemy. It is interesting to note that even though Jesus was the son of God, He did not begin to preach or do miracles until He was baptized in the Holy Ghost.We are given the same Holy Ghost.We can do the works of Jesus, because He lives in us and the Holy Ghost has anointed us, just as He anointed Jesus. John 3:34-35 (NKJ) Vs. 34 “For He who God has sent speaks the words of God, for does not give the Spirit by measure.”Vs. 35 “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hands.” God gave Jesus the Spirit without measure because of His obedience and consecration. Even though we have the same Holy Spirit, we do not have Him in the same measure because we are limited by our carnality.However, the more we yield to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives, the more He cleanses and purifies us and the more He can flow through us.The Holy Spirit can flow through us in great power as we yield our will to Him.

Foundation Scripture: Luke 13 vs. 11-13 (Amplified) And there was a woman there who for eighteen years had had an infirmity caused by a spirit (a demon of sickness). She was bent completely forward and utterly unable to straighten herself up or to look upward. Vs. 12 And when Jesus saw her, He called (her to Him) and said to her, Woman, you are released from your infirmity! Vs. 13 Then He laid (His) hands on her, and instantly she was made straight, and she recognized and thanked and praised God. There was something special about the touch of the Lord’s hands on this woman and the other people He healed and delivered. That “something” was the anointing. When Jesus touches someone’s life, it changes forever! Jesus can take someone who is completely down and out and totally transform them.No matter what you may be going through – Jesus cares! He loves you. He wants to touch and change you. Jesus can take what the world has despised and discarded and rejected and make something beautiful out of it. It does not matter what other people may think of you. It does not even matter what you think about yourself. If you place your life into His wonderful hands, His miracle-working hands, He can make something beautiful and worthwhile out of whatever you give Him. He can make something beautiful out of your life. Here is a poem that has blessed me greatly over the years and I pray that it will bless you, too.

Rodney Howard Browne talks about The Touch of the Master’s Hand‘Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer thought it scarcely worth his while To auction off the old violin, but he held it up with a smile. “What am I bid for the old violin? Who’ll start the bidding for me? One dollar. One.Who’ll make it two?Two dollars.Who’ll make it three?” Going for three. . .but no,from a room far back A gray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow. Wiping the dust from the old violin, and tightening up its strings, He played a melody pure and sweet, as sweet as an angel sings. The auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low, Said, “What am I bid for the old violin?”as he held it up with the bow. “One thousand, one, who’ll make it two?Two thousand, who’ll make it three? Three thousand once, three thousand twice, going and gone” said he. The people cheered, but some of them cried, “We don’t quite understand What changed its worth.”Quick came the reply, “The touch of the Master’s hand.” Many a man, with life out of tune, battered and torn by sin, Is auctioned off to a thoughtless crowd, much like that old violin. A mess of pottage, a glass of wine, a game, and he travels on. He’s going once, he’s going twice, he’s going. . .he’s almost gone. Then the Master comes, and the thoughtless crowd can never quite understand The worth of a soul and the miracle that’s wrought by the touch of the Master’s hand. Author Unknown.