Accomplishing God's Will-lessons from the Journey

The Truths we proclaim in the process of accomplishing God's will must line up with God's ways not the wisdom of the day or hour.
This applies in the following four strategic areas; Fulfillment of our calling, Leadership principles must guide, Covenant with many people, Moving with the opportunity:

1. Fulfillment of our calling: If we have a calling, gifts and anointing and if we seek God about something that is within the realm of our calling the idea that we have as a result will be His perfect plan, in scope, timing, place or relationship.
Truth: If we have not sought (inquired of) the Lord diligently and truly heard from Him we will march into battle with a plan that may have worked elsewhere or seem good to us but is not God's plan for the hour or the circumstance we face. Israel at AI. Joshua 7 and 8.

2. Leadership principles must guide: We say we should use leadership principles to accomplish the call He has given but without inquiring of the Lord we will be trapped into ungodly results. Look at King Hezekiah's father Ahaz who did what seemed right according to the leadership principles of the day. 2 Chronicles.
Truth: Leadership principles must be based on the foundational truth of the Word made Rhema for the hour and tested by prayer and humbling ourselves before God until we hear the sure Word of the Lord. All that Ahaz did had to be undone by his Godly son.

3. Covenant with many people: We say we should be in relationship with all who will be helpful to our mission or calling.
Truth: If we have not sought (inquired of) the Lord diligently and truly heard from Him we will make covenant with people we should not be in covenant with. Gibeon in Joshua 9.

4. Moving with the opportunity: We think we must be willing to move or stand still as the opportunity seems right.
Truth: When Israel was in the wilderness they had the pillar of cloud by day and the fire by night. They stayed still (encamped) when it was still but were always to be dressed and ready to move as the Lord commanded at the trumpets sound. We must move or wait based on the Lord's leadership not opportunity. Paul was seeking to go one way where there seemed to be opportunity and God directed Him in a vision and by His Spirit to go to Macedonia. Acts 16:6-12.

Transformation Study Bible

Every year I try to find Bibles that I can recommend to people. The transformation Study Bible is the one I recommend if you are new to Bible study and really want to grow in your walk with God this year.

It is easy to read, contains easy to use tools and gives you insight from a man who is both a scholar and a practical teller of truth. Make sure you check out this new Bible as a gift or as your new tool for having a life that is transformed by the Word of God! It will bring the Legendary Clarity of the New Living Bible along with many other great study tools which will make Bible study easier and more rewarding than you could imagine.
It includes:
1. practical Book Overviews and Outlines
2. catalyst notes giving insight in to 150 keys in each book that the Holy Spirit will Bring to life to help in your personal transformation.
3. cross references which link themes and ideas thoughout the Bible.
4. notes to transform you by the insight of up to 200 words per book in transforming your life.
5. 10,000 study notes give expository study of key passages and idea, places and situations.
6. charts and maps right in the text to bring alive the Biblical world.
7. clear definitions to key words help in understanding a topic

According to the publisher ( and I would agree)

It has Legendary Clarity as Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe Acclaimed Pastor Brings Experience, and Wisdom to Transformation Study Bible

Dallas/Fort Worth, TX—As pastors seek to make the Word of God more understandable in an age that is unfamiliar with the Bible, and as growing disciples seek to discover the truth of Scripture in a skeptical culture, there is a great need for guidance in both the preaching and study of God’s Word. Whether you’re a pastor, a seminary student, or a truth-seeking disciple, an understanding of the Bible can be made clear to you with the help of one of the most influential, in-depth, and practical Bible scholars in modern history.

For over thirty years, millions have come to rely on the timeless wisdom of Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe’s “Be” Commentary series. Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary and insights on Scripture have helped readers understand and apply God’s Word with the goal of life transformation. According to Dr. Wiersbe, “It isn’t enough for us simply to read assigned portions of the Bible each day, as helpful as that is. A truly transforming experience involves meditating on what we read (Ps. 1:2), studying it carefully in the light of other verses, and then obeying what God tells us to do (Josh. 1:8).” Now available for the first time, The Transformation Study Bible offers the full text of the highly readable New Living Translation with accompanying notes and commentary from the 50 books in Dr. Wiersbe’s “Be” series.

“The Transformation Study Bible will better enable readers to appreciate, appropriate, and apply the Word of God, which will result in ‘purity, joy, right values, hope, comfort, freedom, new life, peace, guidance, wisdom, integrity, encouragement, and effective prayer,’” states Wiersbe. In other words, if you want to be a new person, knowing and obeying the will of God and becoming more like Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no finer tool to encourage that process than The Transformation Study Bible.

One of the most anticipated and comprehensive study Bibles of the year, The Transformation Study Bible has been a lifetime in the making by a man who is widely known as a prolific and trusted writer and theologian. The former pastor of The Moody Church in Chicago, an internationally known Bible teacher, and someone who has given his life to a deep examination of the Word of God, Dr. Wiersbe lends his vast experience and scholarly insight to the most beloved and revered book of all time. This effort is to encourage believers of all levels to know and love the Bible and to experience the same transformation that has radically changed his life. The result is a Bible that is clear, understandable, and applicable to the lives of its readers.

Dr. Wiersbe writes, “The remedy for discouragement is the Word of God. When you feed your heart and mind with its truth, you regain your perspective and find renewed strength.” By providing a new set of tools for Bible students of all levels, David C Cook and Warren Wiersbe have partnered to provide an essential tool to help bring the “perspective” and “renewed strength” that comes from a life transforming study of God’s Word. This fantastic and long awaited resource will bring more clarity than ever before to the study of God’s Word.

The Transformation Study Bible with General Editor Warren Wiersbe
David C Cook September 1, 2009
ISBN-13: 978-1434765307/2100 pages/$24.99
www.davidccook.com

No More Dead Bread!

What an awesome word this is from Gary Goodell.
"No More Dead Bread!
Permission Newsletter - October 2009

A interesting story was recently passed along to me. It stirred so many triggers inside of me about my many years as a teaching pastor.

"When the waitress came to take our order. One of my friends, when asked what kind of dressing he wanted on his salad, abruptly stated to the startled server, "And I don't want any 'dead bread' on my salad." After letting the comment sink in, the sweet but stunned girl replied, "Oh, you mean croutons!" To which my friend simply nodded in confirmation."

This advertisement came with the story. "Pastors, are you too busy to spend hours of preparation on your sermons? Tired of feeling the stress of having to come up with original ideas week after week? If so, for just $199.95 you can have 52 weeks of quality sermons crafted by homiletical masters, complete with illustrations! Your congregation is guaranteed to be thrilled with the results or your money back!"

Crouton Christianity
Too many listeners have felt the stale effect of "dead bread." For years I actually believed it was my job to spoon-feed others, to sermonize every week, sometimes several times per week. And for those many years I took my study and research seriously, too seriously. For over three decades as a teaching pastor, I became the "sermonator." I was good at my trade (a few others agreed), but seldom did I consider I was unwittingly becoming a well-oiled vendor at dispensing too many buckets of "dead bread."

In my early days as a pastor-teacher, .I was told that any true handling of the Scriptures or honest preparation meant a minimum of an hour of study for every one-minute of delivery of prepared sermon. So by the time I had studied, researched, word-smithed, digested, and then double-digested the message, I was totally clueless that I was serving up some stale and "dead" information that produced little or now nutritional value.

"Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord God, "That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, not a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the Lord," (Amos 8:11).

Trying to "live off" someone else's bread is much like my eating habits in the natural. Like most Americans, for most of my life, I lived off processed, refined foods, non-organic, or real foods. Foods, with the nutrients sucked out of them through the ongoing processing of preserving and packaging.

Some of my very wise friends in learning the benefits of good, right, healthy, real foods are helping me eat better these days. For years they tried to share this information with me, but I don't think I was ready.

This seems too much like the sad state of our spiritual diets. Most of our lives we have consumed spoon-fed teaching from someone else. And as good and admirable as many of these fine teachers were and are, we were, in fact, being fed processed or refined theology. Someone else's recipe, someone else's mix, someone else's diet and thus very little nutritional elements designed for us. Just more, "dead bread."

Self-Feeders
Bill Hybels apology to thousands of Christians awhile back was a shocker, and impacted great reviews across the board on the diets we have been serving up each weekend. (Bill Hybels is the Founder/President of The Willow Creek Association).

"The Willow Creek Association has undoubtedly had some of the greatest influence on the evangelical church in America as a movement in the last 30 years. In response to the experience-based environment of programs and participation so prevalent, Bill recently said, "We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become 'self feeders.' We should have taught people, how to read their Bible between services, and how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own."

I know some who continue to use the Amos 8:11 text for their personal reinforcement of more and more teaching, and more and preaching, but I personally believe it is just the opposite. There is a famine for the personal nourishment when the Lord speaks to you on an distinctly personal basis. And when He speaks to you personally, it is out of your heart hunger and His heart fullness that He fills you and nourishes you.John 14:26, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name. He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things I said to you."

Parasitical Preaching I am not saying or making derogatory accusations against all preaching and all pastors. Most pastors I know are very sincere, godly leaders trying their best to encourage, motivate, inspire and even equip the saints they lead. And a good sermon that brings insight and revelation to you about the Father, and builds you up and inspires the body of Christ is a good thing. Especially a message that makes you dig deeper and longer on your own into that revealed truth.

The problem happens when you take that sermon in as your sole (soul) food allotment for the week. The pastor has done all of the preparation, and all of the work, and once you take a few bites of his meal, your appetite is wet, but you go no further. You just quit for that weekend and wait until you get another serving, or another teaching, or another sermon, next weekend. The point I am trying to make is that any good sermon, as good as it is, is not your daily diet. No one can eat for you, or feed for you. You have to learn to eat, see, and to hear from God for yourself. As Frank Viola states it is not necessarily pastors but the modern pastoral office and role that is profoundly skewed. Is it possible that the sheer prominence of today's pastoral-teacher role has become problematic? That the mere presence of this role, and consistent visibility of these gifted leaders could actually cause an unhealthy dependence upon them and their position for ministry, direction, and guidance? As long as today's pastor-teachers hang around delivering these hot sermons, the people in the church tend to become more and more dependent on the pastor's personal relationship with God and His ability to present the Word.

Furthermore, the pastoral office itself destroys so many of those who populate it, so it is clear that Jesus Christ never intended for anyone to shoulder that kind of enormous responsibility and power. There is no scriptural context that supports that "one-man teaches all."

So, in this way it becomes parasitical. Parasitical in the sense that the congregation learns to live off its leaders, their study, their research, their devotions, their prayers, even their personal life in God. While one of the age-old reasons for discontented parishioners choosing to leave a local fellowship has been the complaint that "we are not being fed here," it remains such irony, as the true purpose of biblical leadership is not to feed the saints, but to stir hunger in them and then equip them to learn to eat on their own as "self-feeders."

In Search Of A Personal God
Even the most recent statistic say that of the 15% of Americans who do not now identify with any religion still indicate that 51% of them believe in God. Barry Kosmin, a lead researcher states that this trend clearly favors a potential Great Awakening. In other words people are not satisfied with the current packaging of today's religious services, but want a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God.

This hunger is evident when conversations get away from the presenting religious format and get around to conversations about a personal relationship with a personal God. We don't just want facts about Him, or even fellowship with others about Him. We want more, we want His face. But, we not only want Him, He wants us.

God Doesn't Want Just Weekend Visitation Rights
God doesn't just want to visit you for an hour or so on a weekend. He wants to move in with you. He wants to live with you, to actually dwell with you. He wants habitation and not just a scheduled visitation. The Father is pursuing His people these days for increased revelation in their lives that comes only through a habitation of daily nutrition, daily intake of His fresh revelation, and the daily consuming of His "fresh bread."

Psalm 91:1, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." The word "abide" there means to spend the night, or as The Message says it, "spend the night in Shaddai's shadow." In the NT, in John 15:7, "If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you." And of course the word "abide" there means to live, to dwell indefinitely.

So, we no longer just, "do" devotions, anymore than we just, "go to meetings." We instead, enter into a life style of full delightful communion and connection with our Heavenly Father every day. For years as "conference junkies," we were caught up in going from meeting to meeting to find the newest thing, when all along He was offering us His personal "fresh manna," spoon-fed directly by Him to meet our daily needs.

I even knew of families who packed up everything and "moved" across the state and/or the nation in an attempt to position them in some setting where "God was moving," or where they had heard a prediction, or a prophecy that "He would soon be there."

We are being wooed to a whole new way of being with your Heavenly Father through solitude, silence and prayer. Just you, alone, face to face with Him. No props, no mediators, no "in betweens." Just you and Poppa in raw time, in real time, you spending time with the maker of the universe.

If it is time for a shift, particularly when everything is shaking, it is a shift to hotly pursue the face of God, and when heaven touches earth, we will not only want to spend more time in His presence, it will become our "magnificent obsession," and our "dangerous delight."

Mentoring the Message
I am currently involved in helping to facilitate some men's mutual mentoring groups here in San Diego. What I think I enjoy most is the whole process of simply getting others to talk, releasing them and coaching them to openly discuss their journey with other fellow travelers. And to witness these men opening up, even surprising themselves, by what comes out of their mouths. What incredible insights, pieces of the picture, parts of the revelation and words of wisdom that come out of these interactions.

I find these kinds of settings do several things for others and for me. When people are allowed and encouraged to openly share, they discover the treasure that is within all of them. This becomes a deep process of self-enrichment when as someone starts sharing what they see with others, and the feeling that they really have connected with the group and with God.

When people openly share the things of God in gatherings with other believers they get encouraged to steward their own personal gardens and reservoirs even more diligently, because they want to get more, so they can dig up more, to harvest more, in order to give more, and to stir more hunger in one another.

What "wisdom pools" are created as people in a gathering unpackage a Scripture or a concept together, rather than all of the insight coming from one or a few elite (the overly trained) individuals. It starts to feel like a planned and yet spontaneously prepared feast. Leaders or facilitators in these groups must resist the temptation to "over lead" or "over feed" as they keep prodding and creating a safe atmosphere for the priesthood of all believers..

David's Determination And Yours
I think we are all feeling a similar passion that David had for a habitation of God. "Dead bread," will not work, over-cooked or over-worked regurgitated food from someone else is not satisfying, not nutritional, not even functional. David had a determination; he wanted a home with God.

"O God, remember David, remember all his troubles! And remember how he promised God, made a vow to the Strong God of Jacob, "I'm not going home, and I'm not going to bed, I'm not going to sleep, not even take time to rest, until I find a home for God, a house for the strong God of Jacob," (Psalm 132:1 - 5, The Message).

So, go ahead, build Him a place in your life, find a secret place, and give Him some specific and intentional sacred space. You have to eat. And you have an ever-present teacher, the Holy Spirit. You have a deep hunger that longs to be satiated and satisfied, and can only be met from Him. So commit in these times to "buying up more of your time." Get more intentional as you spend time living fully off the "fresh daily bread". God Himself serves up! In His grip,

Gary Goodell

Do Church Differently In The 21st Century

Permission Granted: To Do Church Differently In The 21st Century!

Did you ever wish you had permission to change the way you “do church”? Well, now you have it. Permission Granted: To Do Church Differently In The 21st Century You have permission to: Welcome His Presence.
1. Grow in Christ as He has desired.
2. Experience a God-orchestrated meeting.
3. Become the Church, not attend the church.
4. Grow in intercessory prayer.

This “how to” book provides proven tactics to move your church into a “Third Day” realm fully committed to worship. Follow along with authors Graham Cooke and Gary Goodell (director of Permission Ministries and a leader of ThirdDayChurches.com) as they share their years of experience developing new ways to welcome His presence into your church, home, community, your life and the lives of those in the congregation.

"Permission is Granted....will provoke new thoughts that will challenge you to change. If you are satisfied with the present condition of the Church, then this book will offend you. But if you are craving for fresh expressions of your personal and corporate faith that are relevant for today and tomorrow's world, then the words in this book will stir you to action.
Permission is Granted...., written by Gary Goodell and Graham Cooke, is strategically thought out, Biblically grounded, and filled with vision and faith. Take the dare and let your heart run wild; dream a big dream of a Third-Day Church that has both new wineskins and new wine." --James W. Goll, Cofounder of Encounters Network, Author of The Seer, Dream Language, and The Lost Art of Practicing His Presence

"Gary Goodell has been 'around the block' concerning the religious world. He has operated in traditional churches and seen all manner of flakiness as people seek to come into their spirituality. Consequently, he has a great perspective over what the Third-Day Church should really look like. Permission Is Granted...encourages us that God is bringing great change to what we have known as 'church life.' You will enjoy reading this." --Chuck D. Pierce, Glory of Zion International Ministries, Denton, Texas

"As the Body of Christ forges ahead in this third millennium, there is great need for pioneers, fathers, and those willing to 'follow the cloud.' Gary Goodell has always been this kind of leader, through his many years in his Pentecostal roots of Foursquare, during the renewal days of Vineyard, and now as the apostolic leader of Third-Day churches. His new book, Permission Is Granted..., is more than a model; it is a mirror of lifestyle that Gary and Jane Goodell, as well as those who God has sovereignly connected to them from around the world, have lived and walked for may years. Thank God for those who are willing to write the story, rather than always reading someone else's. I strongly recommend this prophetic manual to all those whom God is leading into the Third Day." --Jill Austin, Master Potter Ministries, Laguna Hills, California

Graham Cooke has been involved in prophetic ministry since 1974. He founded the School of Prophecy. A popular conference speaker, Graham has established a wide range of training programs that are renowned for their practical application, teaching content, and prophetic impartation.

Gary Goodell has been doing ministry stuff for 40 years. He directs Permission Ministries, a mentoring system for Simple Church and helps lead ThirdDayChurches.com. He is the father of two married children and the grandfather of six. He and his wife, Jane, live in San Diego, California. On several occasions, history has provided the needed critical mass and the synergistic inertia to thrust the church into breaking out of its' box and becoming the force in culture and society that God intended it to be.

Today, the church, in the 21st Century, has once again reached this "critical mass." It is something so big and so obvious that the winds of change demand we look hard at our forms and face the reality that a different church must provide a different response to a postmodern age.

This Third Millennium ("a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day," 2 Peter 3:8; Psalm 90:4), or this "Third Day" requires a "Third Way" of doing and being the church.
This book tells the story of one of those churches—a single-cell, Sunday morning, building—driven, pastor-dominated church that has broken out into an empowering network of churches and ministries. It is a must read for anyone who wants to 'do church differently,' in the third millennium.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/store_items_view.asp?itemid=19383

You can purchase this book at the Arsenal Book Store
http://www.arsenalbooks.com/prodinfo.asp?number=0768423805

Online Class Date to be Reset

One:One' Class launch Delayed... New date to be posted 8-02-09

Free Online School of Supernatural Living

Hello followers of Jesus, Prayer Warriors, Revivalist and Faith Revolutionaries!

Please accept this invitation to Register fro our 1st online class in our Abba's Glory School of Supernatural Living beginning August 3rd. Register at equipper@gmail.com.

This class will use facebook, Twitter, Instant messaging, email and my website and blogs to deliver content and to handle discussions. 'One:One' will explore what it means to live a Supernatural life with weekly class material, daily tweets, and weekly instant message discussions.

Today's 'One:One' Twitter concept. "A Life of Passionate Participation in God is the living and daily inheritance of each born again believer as we live with God's DNA operating in us!"

www.abbasglory.com
http://www.facebook.com/wayne.newcomb
http://twitter.com/Equipper
http://equippersnetwork.blogspot.com

Abba's Glory School of Supernatural Living Registration Begins

Hello fellow Revivalist and faith Revolutionaries!

Please accept this invitation to Register fro our 1st online class in our Abba's Glory School of Supernatural Living beginning August 3rd. register at equipper@gmail.com.

This class will use facebook, Twitter, Instant messaging, email and my website and blogs to deliver content and to handle discussions.


'One:One' will explore what it means to live a Supernatural life with week class material, daily tweets, and weekly instant message discussions.
http://www.abbasglory.com/
http://www.facebook.com/wayne.newcomb
http://twitter.com/Equipper
http://equippersnetwork.blogspot.com/