Welcome to our Articles Library
Here you will find an extensive archive of past and present writings from John Crowder. There is a lot of written material in this section of the site, so we recommend you bookmark this page for future reading, brew a pot of coffee, kick back and enjoy the deeper realms of God's Glory as we dive into the Word and search out the sacred mysteries of the heart of Jesus.
| Spirit on All Flesh | Who Has the Holy Ghost and Can We Have More?
Understanding Spirit baptism in view of incarnation and divine union ... Here is a common question we often receive in reference to the finished work of the cross: is there a "second work" of the baptism of th
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| John Crowder |
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| Christological Ecstasy | The Synergetic Bliss of Co-Laboring ... Christology is a rather delicious topic which rests as the core of all Christian dogma; it is concerned foremost with the being of Jesus Christ, who He is in His person as the God Man.
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| There is No Hierarchy in the Trinity | When we talk about the Trinity, this term signifies a special understanding of God existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit – three distinct persons of the same essence and unity who eternally and communally dwell as one substance
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| The Rock of Offense | Believe it or not, there is one single trait in common to every preacher that ever was or ever will be. What do Augustine, John Piper, Jim Bakker, John Crowder and Martin Luther all have in common? Each one will eventually look back at some of the
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| The Life of the Party | God is pro pleasure. Mankind was created to dwell in the bliss of God’s presence in Eden. Eden literally means pleasure or voluptuous living. God walked with Adam in the garden in the cool of the day, which in Hebrew is ruach (walking in the delight of
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| The Great Iconoclast | God will not be confined to our limited, static perceptions of Him. He is too fluid, sublime and living to be contained within the shabby framework of our finite capacities of understanding. He does not dwell in manmade temples, theological constructs or
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| John Crowder |
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| Killing the Sacred Cow | Over the years there have been quite a few folks who have wanted to help polish me up, or package a palatable version of my teachings – as if this Gospel message could be delivered in a nonoffensive way. If I would just sober it up, watch my language and
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| Chosen for Paradise | God’s predestined intention for you was to lavish upon you the eternal wealth of His goodness. You were created as an object of love. Jesus was not twisting His Father’s arm to love you on the cross, acting as a sort of divine lightning rod to absorb the
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| Still Drunk on the Gospel | Over the years we have endured much resistance and misunderstanding for our insistence that divine pleasure is the expected portion for the believer. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “Joy is the serious business of Heaven.”
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| John Crowder |
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| Separation is an Illusion | There is a pervasive, fundamental mindset that exists in the Western Church that is utterly pagan in origin. Dualism is the basic notion that there is a separation between the physical and spiritual world. This concept is not Biblical, nor was it ever ass
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| The Divinity of Man | Our origin existed from the foundation of the world. Through faith, we see that the worlds were framed by the word of God, “so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Heb. 11:3, KJV).
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| Humanity in Christ | The Trinity always intended to bring humanity into its circle of “other-giving” love. This was the very reason the Son of God became flesh. In the incarnation, God’s identity is forever merged with humanity. God has chosen not to be God apart from man
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| God is Everywhere | Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths of hell you are there
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| Lily Crowder |
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| Born From Above | What does it mean to be born again? For all the modern evangelical talk of the “new birth,” there are some major blind spots in the currently accepted message. Is our renewal as sourced in Christ crucified, or our human choice
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| Contemplating the Mystery | We long in all theological teaching to embrace the true goal of instruction – to have our hearts engaged by the presence of God. Let us disperse with the notion that theology has no place in the fields of devotion.
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| What on Earth is Trinitarian Theology? | The gospel is universal, applying to all men. But some confuse this with "Universalism" - most are unfamiliar with the Biblical, grace-based stream of Trinitarian theology.
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| John Crowder |
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| The Vicarious Man | It is one thing to believe that Christ died as a man. But it is altogether scandalous to believe He died as humanity. We must put Christ back at the center of our theology of election.
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| John Crowder |
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| A Case for Divine Complacency | Are you fully satisfied in the Finished Work? The word “complacency” gets quite the bad rap in the church today. But I would encourage you to kick back, recline at the table and enjoy the feast
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| Sanctification is Not a Process | He is your sanctification. Any system that tries to draw your attention away from the person of Christ and onto your own efforts is antichrist in nature. Your union with
God is not an incomplete
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| How do I Drink the Joy of Union? | You must have a foundation that can handle the immensely incredible weight of joy God has for you. Do you want a joy that is not based on your circumstances?
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| A Kingdom of Priests | Mountains can supernaturally level for you and low places rise up to meet your feet on even ground. It is time to return to garden works. Where the supernatural dimensions of grace meet our earthly callings.
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| Salvation Bliss | The Cross: Our Source of Sustainable Pleasure ... There is no longer any lack in you. Christ has caused you to become a source of blessing. Begin to believe it, and you will begin to manifest it.
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| The Euphoria of Christ | To separate pleasure from God is impossible. Follow happiness to its end and you will find God. The world endorses every route that leads to happiness. A lot of billboards promise happiness, but their end is death.
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| High on Jesus | Ever since I first became a believer, I have had a constant addiction to the presence of God. I do not know of any other way to live the Christian life, apart from a loving compulsion to continuously be near this God of gladness.
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| Enjoying Consolations | I would like to address the often misunderstood subject of "divine consolations." The early apostles, saints and Christians throughout history enjoyed the ecstasies and manifestations of God's presence, which today we often call by many names
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| Stigmata and Blood Sign Miracles - Part 2 | Last week, we began discussing the supernatural manifestation of blood signs, namely the “stigmata,” which are marks appearing on the hands, feet and sometimes other body parts, corresponding to the wounds experienced by Christ on the cross.
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| Stigmata and Blood Sign Miracles - Part 1 | Stigmata is a supernatural phenomenon that accompanies states of divine ecstasy, but garners significant controversy in Protestant circles. Stigmata is something we at Sons of Thunder tenderly refer to as “stiggy!”
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| Blinding the Eyes of the Enemy - Part 2 | Intimacy with God is the very thing that blinds your spiritual opponents. The life lived in the cocoon of God’s presence frustrates the enemy and thwarts his assaults against our families, churches and communities, as well as our health and finances.
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| Blinding the Eyes of the Enemy - Part 1 | Have you ever felt that the adversary was watching your every step? Sometimes, it seems that all our best efforts get foiled, because the eye of the enemy seems to bear down on our jobs, families, ministries, relationships or finances.
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| Bilocation and Unexpected Miracles | I would like to share with you an unusual miracle that happened earlier this summer. I believe that those who have been pressing in for a new level of Glory and supernatural abilities are being graced with these
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| Angels of Promise, Angels of Judgment - Part 2 | Right now, angels seem to be invading the affairs of men more than ever before. There are a great variety of tasks and assignments they perform. There are angels that function in each flow of God’s sevenfold nature (Isa. 11:1)
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| Prepare for the Wildfire! Part 2 | We have not begun to imagine the holy violence that is coming to the church. In the coming days, Christians will no longer be viewed as pussy cats, but as lions. I am not talking about waging carnal warfare
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| Prepare for the Wildfire! Part 1 | God is moving His bride beyond charismatic religion. Beyond the conventional and the traditional. An all-consuming fire is being released in our midst, and anything that can be burned will be torched
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| Daring to Delve Deeper | Before the literal second coming of Christ, the Lord will first return in His people. Isaiah the prophet tells us to “arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you”
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| When Will Joel's Army Emerge? - Part 2 | As we begin to believe who we really are, the outworking of our God-nature will spill over into our natural lives with explosive supernatural experience. Awakening depend upon realization
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| When Will Joel's Army Emerge? Part 1 | How long have we heard the prophecies about the Lord amassing a mighty army of wonderworkers, seers and revivalists – a supernatural generation that will prepare the way for His second coming? This is not a new concept
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| Progressive Revelation - Part 2 | The nature of progressive revelation is that God gives us keys along the way, from one level of glory and understanding to another. The Lord is concerned just as much about the process as He is about end results. He is God of the journey
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| Progressive Revelation - Part 1 | Understanding how the Lord speaks to us progressively enables us to better enjoy the prophetic journey and to ultimately engage a higher revelatory realm
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| The Bride in Fullness - Part 3 | There is a process of self-discovery which is not at all a discovery of self, but a journey of discovering the Christ within. It is a process of owning the beauty He has placed upon us – the beauty of absolution
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| The Bride in Fullness - Part 2 | Let me first say that the goal of all ministry to the church is to prepare the bride, like the king’s eunuch in the book of Esther. The Lord wants his ministers to be spiritual eunuchs, who have no desire to draw the bride’s affections to themselves.
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| The Bride in Fullness - Part 1 | Recently, I was looking at the full moon shining brightly over the bay where we live, when the Lord began speaking to me about His bride. He said simply, “I want My church to shine in her fullness.
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| Authority in Intimacy | Out of the place of intimacy, the believer is given all authority to crush the head of the serpent and live the life of an overcomer. Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God’s universal plan has been to restore mankind to a place of
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| Divine Interception | In recent weeks we have discussed the strategic dance of divine intimacy, as the Lover of our souls will often hide from us, only to be revealed in the very next instant. This repetitive transition between hiddenness and manifestation is a consistent
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| God in Hiding | We must understand that a vital strategy in the Lover’s pursuit of His beloved, is to withdraw from her. We are engaged in a dance, in which the Lover is made manifest to us, just long enough to capture our attention before fleeing back again into
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| Catching the Little Foxes | The compromises that slip in and spoil our vineyard – which spoil the place of intimacy where we bear fruit – these are the foxes He roots out. The lesser pleasures.
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| From Vision to Activation | Until love is awakened, our spirits slumber. Although we begin to envision a lifestyle of reckless abandon for God – that is all we have at first – a vision. A thing is dreamt about before it is realized. Conceptualized, before it comes into being.
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| God of Wildness | The intrinsic element of wild desire must necessarily be at the core of our being to worship God in the manner He prescribes. Love cannot be formulated. There is deep, reckless longing that must burn beneath the exterior forms
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| Manifest Refreshing | Secret prayer releases signs and wonders – power in the natural realm. Look at any notable miracle worker throughout church history and you will see a resume of hours upon hours of one-on-one time with the Lord
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| Lingering | I am really drunk as I am writing this right now, but I will do my best. This week, we are going under the apple tree. And as I entered that realm to pull out some bit of revelation to share, the hand of the Lord was again heavy upon me
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| Maintaining a House of Intimacy | Amid the initial intoxication of holy love, there is a call to the necessary consistency and diligence it takes to maintain this relationship. The Christian life can truly be a continuous string of ecstasies and supernatural experience
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| Mutual Adoration | As we venture deeper into the Song of Solomon, we should not take for granted the graphic nature of holy sensuality that is expressed in the passages we will encounter. The most subtle shadows and intimate innuendos
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| John Crowder |
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| Dark Yet Lovely | Take me with you – let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers. We rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. How right they are to adore you!
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| A Life Poured Out | Jesus, the “anointed one,” the smeared one, is saturated with the fragrant oil of God. He emanates the presence of God in a way that permeates the atmosphere. There is a virtual aura of manifest glory
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| From Whorehouse to Holy Place | In this week’s study we will venture along deeper pathways, moving on from “the elementary principles of Christ … not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.”
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| Developing a Passion for Purity | In our pursuit of intimacy with the Lord, we have been tackling the necessary subjects of sin and purity in recent weeks, as well as the cultivation of wisdom. The very reason the Lord places emphasis on these issues in scripture
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| John Crowder |
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| Living Flame of Ancient Wisdom | St. John of the Cross once wrote, “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.” We have recently discussed how the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom – and furthermore, how the love of God is truly the fulfillment of wisdom
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| Embracing the Holy Terror | Many cannot seem to embrace the paradox of the fear of the Lord and the love of the Lord. This is why many seek to water down the definition of fear as being “reverent awe” or simply “respect” for God.
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| Mature Love | Right living is a litmus test of true faith in Christ. But our “law abiding” comes only as a byproduct of holy love, not as a means of attaining it. As we draw close to the heart of God, we have a burning desire to put away every sin
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| Love and Righteousness | We could talk about intimacy with God until we are blue in the face, yet true love manifests in practical steps of obedience in our lives. This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome
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| The Keyroom of Heaven | I had been traveling in the spirit through several heavenly places in this encounter, when suddenly I was looking over a hill in some remote wilderness. I was rising higher and higher, but could still not see what was below the hill at the bottom
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| Love God and do whatever | The Christian life is really not that complicated. If we can get the love part right, everything else will fall into place. St. Augustine said, “Love God and do whatever.”
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| Immersing into electric solitude | “Soaking prayer” has been a buzzword in Christian renewal over the past decade. However, it is more than the latest religious trend. Throughout the ages, those who walked closest to God were those who basked in his electric radiance.
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