Francis Frangipane > Quotes

“The very quality of your life, whether you love it or hate it, is based upon how thankful you are toward God. It is one's attitude that determines whether life unfolds into a place of blessedness or wretchedness. Indeed, looking at the same rose bush, some people complain that the roses have thorns while others rejoice that some thorns come with roses. It all depends on your perspective.

This is the only life you will have before you enter eternity. If you want to find joy, you must first find thankfulness. Indeed, the one who is thankful for even a little enjoys much. But the unappreciative soul is always miserable, always complaining. He lives outside the shelter of the Most High God.

Perhaps the worst enemy we have is not the devil but our own tongue. James tells us, "The tongue is set among our members as that which . . . sets on fire the course of our life" (James 3:6). He goes on to say this fire is ignited by hell. Consider: with our own words we can enter the spirit of heaven or the agonies of hell!

It is hell with its punishments, torments and misery that controls the life of the grumbler and complainer! Paul expands this thought in 1 Corinthians 10:10, where he reminds us of the Jews who "grumble[d] . . . and were destroyed by the destroyer." The fact is, every time we open up to grumbling and complaining, the quality of our life is reduced proportionally -- a destroyer is bringing our life to ruin!

People often ask me, "What is the ruling demon over our church or city?" They expect me to answer with the ancient Aramaic or Phoenician name of a fallen angel. What I usually tell them is a lot more practical: one of the most pervasive evil influences over our nation is ingratitude!

Do not minimize the strength and cunning of this enemy! Paul said that the Jews who grumbled and complained during their difficult circumstances were "destroyed by the destroyer." Who was this destroyer? If you insist on discerning an ancient world ruler, one of the most powerful spirits mentioned in the Bible is Abaddon, whose Greek name is Apollyon. It means "destroyer" (Rev. 9:11). Paul said the Jews were destroyed by this spirit. In other words, when we are complaining or unthankful, we open the door to the destroyer, Abaddon, the demon king over the abyss of hell!

In the Presence of God
Multitudes in our nation have become specialists in the "science of misery." They are experts -- moral accountants who can, in a moment, tally all the wrongs society has ever done to them or their group. I have never talked with one of these people who was happy, blessed or content about anything. They expect an imperfect world to treat them perfectly.

Truly, there are people in this wounded country of ours who need special attention. However, most of us simply need to repent of ingratitude, for it is ingratitude itself that is keeping wounds alive! We simply need to forgive the wrongs of the past and become thankful for what we have in the present.

The moment we become grateful, we actually begin to ascend spiritually into the presence of God. The psalmist wrote,

"Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. . . . Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations" (Psalm 100:2, 4-5).

It does not matter what your circumstances are; the instant you begin to thank God, even though your situation has not changed, you begin to change. The key that unlocks the gates of heaven is a thankful heart. Entrance into the courts of God comes as you simply begin to praise the Lord.”
― Francis Frangipane

“Grace cannot be confused with righteousness. Grace is receiving what we do not deserve; mercy is not receiving what we do deserve. Righteousness, on the other hand, includes what most of us would consider difficult matters, such as punishment, correction and judgment. It also includes what most of us would consider positive matters, such as the fruit of the Spirit.”
― Francis Frangipane

“How easy it is to blame others for our unhappiness, but we are only unhappy when something other than Christ has become our life.”
― Francis Frangipane

“If you want to identify the hidden strongholds in your life, you need only survey the attitudes in your heart. Every area in your thinking that glistens with hope in God is an area which is being liberated by Christ. But any system of thinking that does not have hope, which feels hopeless, is a stronghold which must be pulled down.
THE”
― Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds: An In-Depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: The Mind, the Church and the Heavenly Places

“The conflict will always beyond ur strength.The enemy always pushes
us beyond our personal, inbred, preset limits concerning how far we'll
go for God:"Here's how far I'm going to love,this is how many times
I'll turn the other cheek."The test kills the limits of our humanity,til we're like Christ in everything We're left with a choice:Become Christlike or gradually shrivel into superficial hypocrites: angry people who have stopped walking with God, who blame others for our bitterness.”
― Francis Frangipane

“Our success in life is determined by one primary objective: how functionally transformed into Christ's likeness have we become? If He sees that we were forgiving even when wounded; if He sees in us a heart that holds fast its faith even in times of adversity; if He finds us to be truly repentant and genuinely humble, even when we could boast; and if He sees we are... committed to a life of love, we will have fulfilled the purpose of God. We will receive a great reward. If, however, the Lord sees in us a soul easily offended or that we blame others for our joyless, angry attitude; if He scans our inner man and finds we are self-righteous and judgmental; or if our conscience alternately either accuses or defends ourselves, then we will render an account for our life at the judgment seat of Christ (Rom. 1:29, 2:5; 2 Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27). Thus, it is of the utmost importance that we settle the eternal goal for our lives. Are we seizing life's opportunities to appropriate Christ or are we mostly coasting? Let us say with vision and assurance, I am preparing myself for God.”
― Francis Frangipane

“Always remember: Victory begins with the name of Jesus on our lips; but it will not be consummated until the nature of Jesus is in our hearts. It is not enough to have
your "house ... swept, and put in order" (Matt. 12:44); your thought-life must be occupied by the Person of Christ. But as you persist in yielding yourself to Christ, He will remove Satan's armor from your mind. He will show you what you need to bring down. You will see that the weapons of your warfare are mighty, to the pulling down of strongholds!”
― Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds: An In-Depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: The Mind, the Church and the Heavenly Places

“My personal attitude is this: I will stand for revival, unity and prayer; I will labor to restore healing and reconciliation between God's people. Yet, if all God truly wanted was to raise up one fully yielded son--a son who would refuse to be offended, refuse to react, refuse to harbor unforgiveness regardless of those who slander and persecute--I have determined to be that person. My primary goal in all things is not revival, but to bring pleasure to Christ.”
― Francis Frangipane

“Let us wash the cosmetics from our souls and look at the unadorned condition of our hearts.”
― Francis Frangipane, Holiness, Truth and the Presence of God

“We should realize that the greatest defense we can have against the devil is to maintain an honest heart before God.”
― Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds: An In-Depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: The Mind, the Church and the Heavenly Places

“Each day the Spirit of God assured me that He wasn’t looking at my intellect or talents, but my yieldedness. Some of what I have found in the beauty of Christ’s humility I have chronicled in this second manual. Many Christians know they are called to a destiny in God, yet Jesus warns that though many are called, few are chosen. Here, in Isaiah 66, He reveals what He’s seeking: humility, contriteness of spirit and a heart that trembles at His word. He says, “To this one I will look.”
― Francis Frangipane, Humility

“Remember, Satan fears virtue. He is terrified of humility; he hates it because humility is the surrender of the soul to the Lord, and the devil is terrified of Jesus Christ.”
― Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds: An In-Depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: The Mind, the Church and the Heavenly Places

“Though your feet are still on earth, through the vehicle of the Holy Spirit you are united to the actual Person of Jesus Christ, who is seated at the throne of God. Even as your limbs are attached to your torso, so your heart is attached to the power of God. You are never alone. Christ is always with you. What you were as a person prior to salvation, you will never be again!
The”
― Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds: An In-Depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: The Mind, the Church and the Heavenly Places

“Satan will not continue to assault you if the circumstances he designed to destroy you are now working to perfect you!”
― Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds: An In-Depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: The Mind, the Church and the Heavenly Places

“Are you troubled by demons of fear or doubt? Submit those areas to God, repenting of your unbelief, and then yield yourself to
Christ's faith within you. Are you troubled with spirits of lust and shame? Present those very areas of sin to God, repent of your old nature and draw upon the forgiveness of Christ and His purity of heart.”
― Francis Frangipane, Discerning of Spirits

“We must realize that it is not Satan who defeats us; it is our openness to him. To perfectly subdue the devil we must walk in the "shelter of the Most High" (Ps. 91:1).”
― Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds: An In-Depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: The Mind, the Church and the Heavenly Places

“How do we defeat the enemy? Our victory begins with the name of Jesus on our lips, uttered in fervent prayer. Our triumph is consummated by the transformation of our nature, where Christ Himself dwells as Lord in our hearts.
Follow”
― Francis Frangipane, Discerning of Spirits

“If we do not move in divine forgiveness, we will walk in much deception. We will presume we have discernment when, in truth, we are seeing through the veil of a "critical spirit." We must know our weaknesses, for if we are blind to our sins, what we assume we discern in men will merely be the reflection of ourselves. Indeed, if we do not move in love, we will actually become a menace to the body of Christ.”
― Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds: An In-Depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: The Mind, the Church and the Heavenly Places

“The Father is more concerned with the coming forth of His Son in our lives than He is in defeating Satan. Who”
― Francis Frangipane, Discerning of Spirits

“THE GOAL IS CHRISTLIKENESS, NOT WARFARE
There is a time, which we will speak of later in this book, when the Lord will call us to pull down the strongholds of hell over our churches and our communities. There is another time, however, when to engage in much spiritual warfare is actually a distraction from your obedience to God. Jesus defeated Satan in Gethsemane and the cross, not by directly confronting the devil but by fulfilling the destiny to which He had been called at Calvary. The greatest battle that was ever won was accomplished by the apparent death of the victor, without even a word of rebuke to His adversary! The prince of this world was judged and principalities and powers were disarmed not by confrontational warfare but by the surrender of Jesus Christ on the cross.
There are occasions when your battle against the devil is actually a digression from the higher purpose God has for you. Intercessors and warfare captains take note: there is a demon whose purpose is to lure one's mind into hell. Its name is "Wrong Focus." If you are continually seeing evil spirits in people or in the material world around you, you may actually be fighting this spirit. The ultimate goal of this demon is to produce mental illness in saints who move in deliverance. Listen very carefully: we are not called to focus on the battle or the devil, except where that battle hinders our immediate transformation into Christ's likeness. Our calling is to focus on Jesus. The work of the devil, however, is to draw our eyes from Jesus. Satan's first weapon always involves luring our eyes from Christ. Turn to Jesus and almost immediately the battle vanishes.
I knew a man once who owned a record company. Besides running the operation, he also spent many hours in production listening to the "mother disk," which was the record from which all subsequent records were pressed. Over the years, his ears became adept at catching the "pops and sizzles," the imperfections that had to be eliminated in the master disk. I remarked one day”
― Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds: An In-Depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: The Mind, the Church and the Heavenly Places

“In the Kingdom of God there are no great men, only humble men God has used greatly.”
― Francis Frangipane

“A peacemaker is not merely someone who protests against the war; he is one who is inwardly so yielded to Christ in spirit and purpose that He can be called a "son of God." Where he goes, God goes and where God goes, he goes. He is fearless, calm, and bold. Peace emanates from him the way light and heat radiate from fire.”
― Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds

“Once we have found this secret place in God, nothing we encounter in life can truly defeat us; God Himself preserves us in all things. In every distress or devilish plot aligned against us, we emerge as “more than conquerors” (Rom. 8:37, KJV). In God’s shelter, the redemptive power of Christ reverses the plans of Satan, annulling both the assault of the enemy and its aftereffects.”
― Francis Frangipane, The Shelter of the Most High: Living Your Life Under the Divine Protection of God

“It is significant that the process of deliverance quite often involves a season of inner conflict and turmoil. This is a good sign, signifying the individual's will desires to be free. We should expect a time where we must exercise our authority in Christ as we "resist" the devil (1 Peter 5:9). Paul speaks of the "struggle" of the church against principalities and powers. There will be a period of fighting involved in the process of pulling down strongholds, for you are breaking your agreement with a foe who will fight to remain in your life.”
― Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds: An In-Depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: The Mind, the Church and the Heavenly Places

“Another example of this is astrology. Multitudes of believers are subconsciously bound to the characteristics and weaknesses of their "zodiac sign." In their search for identity, this mixture of deceptive facts and illusions was absorbed into their soul, where it continues to stand even today in direct opposition to God's work of transformation.
As Christians, the”
― Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds: An In-Depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: The Mind, the Church and the Heavenly Places

“Finally, simply do what you know to do. If you stumble, get up. If you sin, repent. Whatever you do, in spite of your feelings, do not lose your vision of Christlikeness. Your vision is your surest hope. Guard it. If you are faithful to your goal of Christlikeness, God will give you the grace to live in His presence. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed, you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Col. 3:3–4). —FRANCIS FRANGIPANE”
― Francis Frangipane, Holiness, Truth, and the Presence of God: For Those Who Are Unsatisfied with Their Spiritual Life and Willing to Do Something About It

“How awesome You are, Lord. You gave Your life in covenant with God for me. I know no love like Yours, no goodness comparable to You. There is none like You; no, not one. Grant me the courage to live in a covenant relationship with You. Grant me the faith that knows You are on my side against sickness and fear and that I am on Your side against sin and evil. In the power of Your covenant, I shall know complete victory.”
― Francis Frangipane, The Shelter of the Most High: Living Your Life Under the Divine Protection of God

“The third couple stepped forward for ministry, and again the word of knowledge was present. The prophet spoke to the husband, revealing his past, present, and insight into his future. Then the man of God turned to this third minister’s wife. As he began to speak of her past, suddenly he stopped. “There was a very serious sin in your past.” The woman, with her worst fear upon her, turned pale and closed her eyes. The congregation hushed and moved to the edge of their seats. The prophet continued, “And I asked the Lord, ‘What was this sin that she committed?’ And the Lord answered, ‘I do not remember!’” The Lord had been faithful to His promise: “I will not remember your sins” (Isa. 43:25). Although many times this minister’s wife had asked for cleansing, still she could not believe the depth of God’s forgiveness. Christ had placed her sin in the sea of His forgetfulness. He removed it “as far as the east is from the west” (Ps. 103:12). From everywhere but the prison of her own mind, her sin had been paid for and removed. And now, in His great mercy, He removed it from there as well! Oh, what burdens we carry; what guilt and limitations surround us because we do not accept God’s total and perfect forgiveness. In Isaiah we read, “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isa. 43:25). How great is the God we serve. How wonderful is His love toward us. He is our Redeemer, our Savior! If you are willing to forgive others and will but ask Him to forgive you, He will pardon your debts as often as you contritely turn to Him. He promises He will remember your sins no more.”
― Francis Frangipane, Holiness, Truth, and the Presence of God: For Those Who Are Unsatisfied with Their Spiritual Life and Willing to Do Something About It

“Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). From God’s eternal perspective, we are freed from sin. It is here in the realm of time, and specifically in our minds, where sin still has a temporary hold.”
― Francis Frangipane, Holiness, Truth, and the Presence of God: For Those Who Are Unsatisfied with Their Spiritual Life and Willing to Do Something About It

“The only One who has a right to shape our lives is Jesus Christ. We must determine to allow nothing and no one to shape us, not even our personal experiences, unless they are consistent with the promises of God.”
― Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds: An In-Depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: The Mind, the Church and the Heavenly Places