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John 6 contains one of the hardest passages for me in all of Scripture. It’s a difficult text for pastors especially because it speaks of followers who end up rejecting Christ and turning away. The passage I’m referring to isn’t a teaching or prophecy. It’s a scene in which people literally left Jesus in droves.

He had just miraculously fed a crowd of thousands. The people were amazed and thrilled by what he’d done, ready to follow this wonder-working Messiah. But when Jesus challenged them about what they were really after, they scoffed and left by the masses.

I want to make three statements to you about the touch of God on someone’s life.

Is your life a spark or a torch? When it comes to our walk with Christ, the Bible shows us there is a crucial difference between the two, and that difference determines whether our walk is pleasing to him. We see this difference in the lives of Saul and David.

“Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).

Most Christians know what the Bible says about God's great love for his children. Yet even after years of walking faithfully with Jesus, many have never learned to appropriate that great love. Sadly, there are dedicated servants of God who have never enjoyed the glorious experience and benefits of knowing the Father's love. And nothing saddens God's heart more.

In my years of ministry I have identified three main hindrances that keep Christians from entering fully into the special love our Father has for us.

For years, I have been faithfully warning of a soon-to-come worldwide economic holocaust. Right now, we are seeing this coming to pass around the globe. I have warned that Christians are going to suffer, that there will be great loss and hardship, and already this is happening. Multitudes of precious saints all over the word are now enduring great financial and mental stress.

As awful as these things are, none of them should be the focus of our energies and ministry. Rather, we must continue proclaiming the love of God the Father and the tender mercy of our Savior Jesus for us.

If you are a Christian who seeks God with your whole heart, you are a target.

This message is for believers who are experiencing a season of severe testing. I’m speaking to those who endure deep trials and are worn out mentally, physically and spiritually. We live in a time of great stress, when trials can come upon us suddenly and leave us overwhelmed, weary and confused.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

“But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Ephesians 4:23).

These are all exhortations from the apostle Paul. He’s telling the people of God, “Let the mind that is in Christ — the very thinking of Jesus — be your thinking also. His mindset is the one we all are to seek.”

When I read about the exploits of godly men in the Old Testament, my heart burns. These servants were so burdened for the cause of God’s name, they did powerful works that baffle the minds of most Christians today.

In recent weeks I have been crying out to God, "O Lord, take hold of me. Grip me, possess me, apprehend me!" Oh, how I've longed for that. But I didn't know I wasn't prepared to have the Holy Ghost handcuff me!

It is clearly Scriptural — and, in fact, apostolic — to pray that God handcuff you. This means asking Him to place manacles on your hands, to lock them up, throw away the key and take you as His prisoner.