Equipper's Edge

A Church that Equips

2011-12-28T22:40:00.002-07:00

A Church that Equips is a daily demonstration of Ephesians 4: 11-16 come to life.

I recently attended a service where the Pastor compared what happens in many churches to a child's play at school, where everyone had rehearsed their part and then presented it for those in attendance to see how well they had performed, or memorized their lines. This made me laugh until I realized what a powerful truth she had revealed.

When we say that the leadership that is called by God is given the assignment to Equip the People of God (the church) What are we saying? What might it look like and what might the values of an Equipping Church be? How might it function?

The English Standard Translation. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds [2] and teachers, [3] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, [4] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

What might it (the church that Equips) look like and what might the values of an Equipping Church be? How might it function?
1. It has a plan to make disciples who are passionate for all that God has for them. This plan is based in all that Jesus began to do and teach.
2. It adapts to and connects with current culture, technology and ideas to reach people with the life that God freely gives us in Jesus to be released in every layer of society.
3. People are focused on being not just doing.
4. Their individual gifts are explored and developed so that they may fulfill Ephesians 4:11-16.
5. Leaders are Equippers not Performers, Controllers or Do it all themselves people.
6. Each person ministers within their gifting and skills and a pathway is provided for continual growth.
7. Every person including leadership seeks to grow into the maturity of Christ which is a life long joy and process.
8. Building up one another is participated in with passion, it is not just a truth to agree with.
9. Doing the work of the ministry is embraced by all in every day life not just in the gathering of believers.

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God so values people, which He has chosen to create us in His image with His DNA. His people (the ones who have decided to give themselves to Him) are the means by which He unfolds or reveals Himself and His ways to all people and all of creation.

The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Devotional

2011-12-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

We are challenged in God's Word to walk worthy of our calling. This requires that we learn God's ways in our battle against the world, the flesh and the devil.

We will be using The Christian In Complete Armour for our daily devotional in 2012 to assist us in the daily battle. You do not need to purchase the book but it will add depth to your daily study.

You may also down load the digital versions at Amazon for the Kindle or kindle reader on your phone or computer. The Nook version is also available at Barnes and Noble for about $3.00

The devotional is available by email or face book group at The Passionate Participation in God Project Group. http://www.facebook.com/groups/TPPIGP/

Please share this opportunity with your friends as well.

Book Summary

"The Christian In Complete Armour is a daily devotional written in the seventeenth century by Pastor William Gurnall. As a shepherd of God's people, Gurnall'sknowledge is extraordinary, yet his style is practical and to the point. Hecombines the sweet encouragement of the love and mercy of Christ with the vicious opposition of Satan and the impending judgment of God. His writings are thought provoking, heart searching, and thoroughly scriptural. ?"Cowards never won heaven. Do not claim that you are begotten of God and have His royal blood running in your veins unless you can prove your lineage by this heroic spirit; to dare to be holy in spite of men and devils." "The soldier is summoned to a life of active duty and so is the Christian."?Like a general challenging his troops in the midst of battle, Gurnall gives Christians eternal knowledge that can be embraced daily and used as an inspiring insight to help in us faithfully walk with God. Thanks to Moody Press for their assistance on this project. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617

THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD

2011-11-05T09:48:00.004-06:00

When we are transferred from the kingdom of darkness in to the kingdom of God's Son at our new birth we are often taught that everything is going to be wonderful from that point on in our lives. See Colossians 1:13-14
This however is not reality, as we are in a war between God's plans and Satan's plans for mankind. It is truly the ultimate struggle between good and evil.
God has not left us defenseless but He has given us the equipment and power with our authority in Him which is necessary to be victorious on a daily basis. The following study from the ESV study Bible is a good starting place to prepare us for this reality.

ESV STUDY BIBLE
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

(Ephesians 6:10-20 ESV)

Eph. 6:10–20 The Whole Armor of God. Paul concludes his exhortations with instructions for all Christians. His imagery is a sustained portrayal of the Christian life as spiritual warfare using the Lord’s resources. There are three subsections: vv. 10–13, 14–17, and 18–20.

Eph. 6:10–13 The Lord’s Strength. Paul introduces the armor of God by focusing on the strength it gives.

Eph. 6:10 be strong. Because Christians cannot stand on their own against superhuman powers, they must rely upon the strength of the Lord’s own might (see 1:19), which he supplies chiefly through prayer (6:18).

Eph. 6:11 The Greek word for whole armor (panoplia) refers to the complete equipment of a fully armed soldier, consisting of both shields and weapons like those described in vv. 14, 16–17. Paul’s description here draws primarily on OT allusions, yet the terms used also overlap well with Roman weaponry (esp. the terms for the large, door-shaped shield and the short stabbing sword). Visible portrayals of such weaponry can be found on the numerous military reliefs (esp. on sarcophagi) throughout the Roman Empire. schemes. Here the diabolical origin is exposed, regarding the “deceitful schemes” of those teaching false doctrine (4:14; see also 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7).

Eph. 6:12 This list of spiritual rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers (see 3:10) gives a sobering glimpse into the devil’s allies, the spiritual forces of evil who are exceedingly powerful in their exercise of cosmic powers over this present darkness. And yet Scripture makes clear that the enemy host is no match for the Lord, who has “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col. 2:15; see also Eph. 1:19–21).

Eph. 6:13 Therefore. Because the Christian’s enemies are superhuman spiritual forces, he cannot rely upon mere human resources but must take up the whole armor of God (see note on v. 11). The divine armor and “sword of the Spirit”—which belong to the Lord himself and to his Messiah in Isa. 11:4–5 and 59:17—are made available for believers. withstand. Along with “stand” in Eph. 6:11 and stand firm later in v. 13, Paul portrays Christians as soldiers in the battle line holding fast against the enemy’s charge. evil day. In 5:16 Paul identifies this whole age as “evil days,” yet the outbreak of the Satanic onslaught against Christ’s people ebbs and flows throughout this era until the final day when the Lord of Hosts will return in power and great glory (Luke 21:27) to rend the heavens and rescue his people forever.

Eph. 6:14–17 Standing Firm. Paul reiterates the charge to stand in the face of dreaded spiritual enemies because the Lord has not left his people defenseless. They have the complete armor of God from head to foot, which consists of the belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet, and sword. These are metaphors for the spiritual resources given to them in Christ, namely, the truth, righteousness (v. 14), gospel (v. 15), faith (v. 16), salvation, and the Word of God (v. 17). As mentioned in the note on v. 13, these are aspects of God’s and the Messiah’s own character and work (as depicted in Isaiah) with which Christians are now equipped. For example, the Lord saw no one to deliver his oppressed people, so he put on his own “breastplate [of righteousness]” and “helmet of salvation” (Isa. 59:17; cf. Eph. 6:14, 17) before coming in wrath against his enemies.

Eph. 6:14 With the simple, rousing order, stand, Paul urges the Ephesians to withstand the enemy (cf. vv. 11, 13), and not give in to fear.

Eph. 6:15 Believers must always be ready to proclaim the gospel.

Eph. 6:16–17 flaming darts. Burning arrows were designed to destroy wooden shields and other defenses, but the shield of faith is able to extinguish the devil’s attacks. the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The spiritual nature of the church’s resources is nowhere more plain than in its reliance upon God’s Word, which is the only offensive weapon mentioned in this list of spiritual armor. The Word of God is to be wielded like a sharp two-edged sword, in the mighty power of his Holy Spirit (see Heb. 4:12).

Eph. 6:18–20 Being Constant in Prayer. This section offers instruction on prayer (the main weapon of spiritual warfare) and explains when, how, and for whom to pray.

All these notes can be found at http://www.esvbible.org/search/eph+6%3A10/

Artwork from Rose Publishing

God's Rules for Battle!

2011-11-04T21:32:00.001-06:00

By Joni Ames
As many of us know, there has seemingly been an increase in the level of battle or warfare in these times. Just as the weather has been heating up, so has "life," in general. Many have experienced panic attacks, fear, depression, and hopelessness on pretty serious levels. We are talking about Christians. Now, before any of us try to "judge" that, let us just remember that Jesus warned of these times over 2,000 years ago.
This isn't something "new." We've all gone through warfare and battles before. However, there seems to be an increase and acceleration in the levels of warfare, as well as the amount of it, in the times we are in.
So how do we posture ourselves to "make it through" these times? Thankfully, we have the Word of God to turn to for our answers.

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GOD'S RULES FOR BATTLE
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While engaging in listening to my "Daily Bible Lesson" on my smart phone recently, the Word of the Lord for the day addressed, "God's Rules For Battle," out of Deuteronomy, Chapter 20. Let's take a look at that....

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Rule 1, (Verse 1): DO NOT BE AFRAID
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"When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THEM." WHY? – "For the Lord your God is with you."
Even if we have armies of people coming against us with all kinds of artillery, we need to remember that GOD IS WITH US!!! And if GOD is WITH us, He is FOR us, so who or what (worthwhile) could possibly matter that would come against us?! (Romans 8:31)

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Rule 2, (Verses 2-3): "DO NOT LET YOUR HEART BE FAINT, DO NOT BE AFRAID, DO NOT TREMBLE OR BE TERRIFIED."
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(2) So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. (3) And he shall say to them, 'Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them;
Whenever a point is repeated, it deserves an even greater amount of our attention. Obviously, it is extremely important. We will see even more "why" in the verses that follow. But let me just insert a few things about fear here first.
The famous sales trainer Zig Ziglar used to explain the letters of the word "FEAR" as standing for meaning "False Evidence Appearing Real." I've had many conversations with various friends of mine who are Christian Counselors, and they all agree that MOST of the cases they deal with are related to fear of some kind. Statistics show that 98% of those fears NEVER come to pass.
So FEAR, in and of itself, is a weapon of the enemy that can paralyze and rob us of our peace, and our purpose, call, and destiny. It can cause us to make seriously bad maneuvers that we would not make if we were not operating in believing those fears. Even though they (most likely) will not occur! In fact, fear can cause us to "loose our minds" and do many untimely and stupid things that we wouldn't normally do! It can even cause us to seek "other" means of comfort or relief - such as alcohol, drugs, affairs, etc. - It is a trick and weapon of the enemy to try to CAUSE us to fail!
The Word clearly tells us that GOD has NOT given to us a spirit of fear! Rather, HE gives to us POWER, LOVE, and a SOUND MIND!!! (2 Tim. 1:7) Fear actually is a negative form of faith. It is faith in the enemy, and not God.
Joshua was told, "Be ONLY strong and VERY COURAGEOUS." - How could He be told to "BE" that?! Well, we can't "BE" or "DO" anything without HIM. When HE is with us, He GIVES TO US the courage, strength, and faith we have need of! HE is the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our faith! (Heb. 12:12) - So if we "use it all up," He can make and give us some more!!!

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Rule 3, (verse 4): REMEMBER - GOD IS WITH YOU!":
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Again, this is being repeated, because it was already told to us in verse 1. But in verse 4, we are again told that He is WITH US!:
(4) "for the Lord your God is HE WHO GOES WITH YOU, TO FIGHT FOR YOU against your enemies, TO SAVE YOU."
We are reminded of this in The Great Commission in Mark 16:20: "And they went out and preached everywhere, THE LORD WORKING WITH THEM and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen." He is WITH us, NOT against us!!!
He doesn't take our hand over to the edge of the battle and throw us to the enemy so He can watch us get beat up and laugh at us! He walks us to the edge to get a good view of what happens and says, "Watch this! I'm going to fight FOR you against your enemies to SAVE you! Watch Me WIN this battle FOR you!" - Woo Hoo!!! - Yay God!!!

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Rule 4, (Verses 5, 6, & 7): GET RID OF DISTRACTIONS
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(5) Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying: 'What man is there who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. (6) Also what man is there who has planted a vineyard and has not eaten of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man eat of it. (7) And what man is there who is betrothed to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man marry her.'
Anyone who had fought in battle can tell you - distractions can kill you. It is so important to be sure that your mind is on what you are doing at ALL times. It's not just YOUR life on the line, but the lives of those around you.
Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
2 Corin. 10:5 says we need to be, "Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

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Rule 5, (Verse 8): GET RID OF FEAR
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(8) The officers shall speak further to the people, and say, 'What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.
Get rid of fear! Gee, haven't we heard that before?! But here we get a clearer reason: Because fear is "catchy," like a bad flu bug.
Remember when the "spies" gave the evil report to the Israelites? In Joshua 14:24 it says, "(7) I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. (8) Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me MADE THE HEART OF THE PEOPLE MELT, but I wholly followed the Lord my God."
Fear can cause us to miss out on our Promised Land.

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SO, HOW DO WE POSTURE OURSELVES IN THIS TIME?
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Let us do as the Word says and renew our minds daily with THE Word. (Rom. 12:2) - The Word of God contains everything pertaining to life and godliness, and it does NOT go forth and return void. (Is. 55:11) - Read it, pray it, wash yourself and your family with it. Soak in it. Saturate yourself with it.
Cast down the fearful imaginations the enemy brings to your mind (2 Corin. 10:5) and bring them into the obedience of Christ.
When you don't know what to pray, pray in the Spirit. Romans 8:26 & 27 tells us that, when we pray in the Spirit, we (1) Pray about the things God wants us to pray about, (2) In the way He wants us to pray, & (3) In His Will. - THEREFORE, Roman 8:28 comes to pass, and He works ALL things for the good. PRAISE GOD!!!
War with the prophecies God has given to you. (1 Tim. 1:18-19) God is NOT a liar. Pray and speak life over those words that you know are from Him, and GO FOR IT!
Prov. 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit." Speak life to yourself and your loved ones, and death to the plans of the enemy. We can say to the enemy, "I refuse that spirit of fear! By the power of the blood and name of Jesus, I command you to take it and go to the feet of Jesus for judgment!"
That may sound simple, but the enemy has to obey the name of Jesus. Spend time in praise and worship. He inhabits His praises. (Psalms 22:3) WORSHIP is your WAR-ship!
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CLOSING PRAYER
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Dear Lord,
We come before you and repent of fear and of speaking in such a way as to infect others with fear. We pray to you as David did, "Let the words of our mouth and meditations of our heart be acceptable in your sight." Help us to remember that we win IN YOU, and help us to remind others of that as well. We love and worship you and thank you that you are fighting for and winning our battles for us!

God's Plans for you are GOOD! (Jer. 29:11)

Joni Ames
P.O. Box 99
Elkview, WV 25071
E-Mail: JoniAmes@aol.com
Website: http://www.joniames.org

Abba's Glory is now on FaceBook

2011-10-06T23:54:00.000-06:00

Come Check out our new page at the Link above. Below you find out more..Vision, Mission and Services offered.

God is: Empowering those who love Jesus and who desire all that He has for this generation

The Vision
Our Vision is to Mobilize Christian believers to Advance the Kingdom of God in the Power of The Holy Spirit. This will be accomplished by bringing individuals and communities of believers into the fullness of all Jesus began to do and teach Acts1:1 as expanded below.

1. Heart of the Father: Discovering a L...ife of Passionate Participation in God and Among His People on a daily basis.
2 . Mind of Christ: Equipping, Teaching and Training God's People in the Word and the Spirit. Both through local groups of believers and online.
3. Empowerment of the Spirit: Encouraging local churches and believers to come together to seek Him and to see His Kingdom advanced. Welcoming God through Worship, Prayer and His Word in homes and throughout the community

OUR MISSION
Our ministry is designed to advance God's agenda in the earth as follows;
1. The Full Measure of Jesus
Abba's Glory was birthed out of a vision to see Jesus' words in Matthew 28:18-20, John 17:22 and Ephesians 4:11-13 come alive in everyone who believes in and wants the full measure of what Jesus has for them.
2. Transformational Discipleship in Every Nation
Building on the principles described in Ephesians 4:10-13 Abba's Glory seeks to fulfill the command of Jesus as given in Matthew 28:18-20 and John 17:22 So that all that he commanded might be fulfilled.
3. Nurturing the Community of the King
Recognizing Christ in others Phi 1:27-2:3, Provoking one another to love Heb 10:19-25; Building up the people of God Eph 4:1-16; Giving honor to each other I Cor 12:12-15
4. Coaching and Encouraging
New and existing leaders as they fulfill their calling, that it might be said of them, 'those who have turned the world upside down have come among us!'
5. Imparting God's Word and Releasing individuals and groups of Christians so that they might have a Life of Passionate Participation in God by doing all that Jesus Began to do and Teach by the power of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus did the will of the Father in fulfillment all that was spoken about Messiah in the Law and the Prophets.

WHAT WE OFFER
1. Personal Discipleship and one on one Mentoring and Life Coaching for Spiritual Formation
2. Abba's Glory Institute, a School of the Word and the Spirit. Offering both online and in person believers training courses and events.
3. Consultation for Vision Implementation with Churches, Para_church and Business organizations.
4. Community Transformational Partnerships among churches and businesses. Providing resources and leadership to assist both in prospering in their individual areas in seeing Christ impact their community.
5. Daily and or weekly devotionals.
6. Believer's Gatherings
7. Published Teachings, Prophetic words and Biblical Articles

http://www.facebook.com/groups/TPPIGP/#!/AGILife

Be a Part of our Pray and Plant Test Run

2011-07-20T22:20:00.000-06:00

Be a Part of our Pray and Plant Test Run

We are seeking God's provision to expand the Impact of Abba's Glory. In August we want to offer our Free Bible Institute to more people. So Please Go to the web site www.abbasglory.com Then click on the Empower the Vision tab. If you give even the smallest amount it will help us test our new online giving and prime the pump for our upcoming Pray and Plant Event. You may give as little as 25 cents. Thank you! God bless!

Wayne Newcomb

Equipping You for a Life of Passionate Participation in God

www.abbasglory.com/

The Transformational Power of God's Word

2011-06-28T22:24:00.001-06:00

I have been fascinated as I have traveled on this journey with Jesus at how very much He has transformed my world view.

It began on that day when He reached out to me and rescued me from the mire and dust to see how many false things I believed about the world around me, the nature of people, their and abilities, as well as, the spirit realm.

I experienced something as a young believer who was passionate about following Jesus that changed the way I saw and experienced the world around me and within me which was the results of being transfered from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of light. Col 1:12-14.

Today we would call what happened to me a Biblical immersion (immerse: reflexive verb to become completely occupied with something, giving all your time, energy, or concentration to it). Every day for months I immersed myself in the Word of God reading the Bible and praying for hours about what I had read everyday. This total immersion not only illuminated (transitive and intransitive verb to provide somebody with knowledge or with intellectual or spiritual enlightenment) me but challenged everything I believed, everything I understood and the way I interacted with the world and everyone in it. Every thought, action and belief came under the conviction and illumination of the Holy Spirit. I spent many and hour repenting and grew in grace and truth. This process did not stop but has has continued for many years now and I have come to understand that my World view has continuously been changed and molded as I have submitted myself, my experiences and beliefs to God.

Another significant part of my transformation was the Christ like love and wisdom of my first pastor, his wife and the church they led. Pastor Jim and Julie Maley and the people of what is now the Pueblo Christian Center taught me by example what the Good News of Jesus looked like in everyday life.

My journey as a believer has also been shaped by others in the Kingdom of God who have written books which are important in adding to or understanding of what we are a part of and just how our World-view impacts our usefulness to God. One of the many books that have impacted me is below.

This book opened my eyes to the area of World-view many years ago and is still around, now in its 4th addition. James Sire's "The Universe Next Door" is a wonderful resource and should be mandatory reading for all Christians who interact with anyone who was not been raised in the Church. Sub titled 'A Basic World-view Catalog' the reader of this book is treated to insights, such as how the Church's weakened Spiritual state led to the rise of false religions and a dependency on science as the underpinning of mankind's belief systems.If you want to know more go to the IVP web site http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=2780

The primary reason for mentioning this book is the comparison of the transformational results and power of a Biblical immersion in the Word and Spirit of God and the contrasting de-transformational results of a life which is not filled with the truth and power of God.

When Jesus came He spent three plus years proclaiming the Kingdom of God. Many could not or would not allow their world-view to be changed by the truth and power He proclaimed through a life that did the will of the Father and that was empowered by the Holy Spirit. One of the most fascinating Biblical accounts of Jesus' impact on people is the account of the disciples on the road to Emmaus.
Lk 24:13-1813 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" 19 "What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took
place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see." 25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. 28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

Their hearts burned within them! The fire of God not only illuminates it also burns away the impure and all that is not of God. Will you allow God to immerse you in His Word and Spirit, allowing His Spirit to illuminate and burn away all that is not of Him? Your World View will Change to His World View even as Moses' was changed when he spent 40 days and nights in the presence of God!

The light of His glory will not fade, but it will transform us as we immerse ourselves in His Word and to His Spirit continuously!

The Eye of the Needle

2011-06-10T22:37:00.001-06:00

Matt 19:24-2624 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go into the kingdom of heaven.
25 When the disciples heard this, they were utterly puzzled (astonished, bewildered), saying, Who then can be saved [from eternal death]?
26 But Jesus looked at them and said, With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God. [Gen 18:14; Job 42:2.] Amp

Jesus speaks a shocking Word.
In order for us to understand its weight and truth today we must look a little deeper. In the Old Testament times a person who had wealth was seen as blessed and favored of God. This adds to the shock value of the passage. Jesus is saying that even those who are seen as favored and blessed of God will not be able to make it into the kingdom unless they lay down their status, wealth, power and humble themselves or literally strip themselves of these.

An Urgent Word from the Lord for His Church Today
The Lord brought this passage to me in prayer recently. As I studied and sought the Lord about this He spoke clearly that we have entered a season as His people in which this passage applies to us all. Specifically this is referring to those in ministry and their ministries. Our gifts, anointing, influence, education and titles or position are not enough to take us into this new season. It is required of us that we lay down all of these things and that like the camel pictured in the illustration lower or humble (get on our knees) ourselves so that we might make it by the Lord’s power as He pulls us through the narrow opening into the Kingdom work He is calling us into in this hour.

What God will do as we move forward will be impossible for man or woman to accomplish but as the passage states all things are possible with God. The Blessings, favor, fame and status which you and your ministry now enjoy are like a vapor or mist in the coming storm. They will not survive outside the gate. The only way in is the Eye of the Needle. Those who humble themselves before the Lord and not just posture humility for others to see will prosper in the fulfilling of the Lord’s purposes.

Phrases like ‘new levels new devils’ will pale in comparison to the opposition we will face and the miraculous level of provision we will experience in fulfillment of the purposes of the Lord. We can rest and be at peace in God as we see the measure of His overcoming which will be manifested as it will be far greater than the enemies’ fierce and fiery storm.

Background study

How can a camel pass through the eye of a needle? There have been scholars who have refused the validity of the explanation that has been given; but whether or not the detail is true in the field of architecture, it is true in the field of theology. The city gates were closed at sunset, and beside the great gates there were small gates which, it is said by some, were called the needle's eyes. If at the close of day the great gates were closed, and a shepherd and his flock came shortly afterwards, he could turn aside from the main way and easily enter the city by the small gate nearby, the gate called needle's eye. But if a caravan of a rich merchant came after the gate was closed, the camel upon which he rode had to be maneuvered through the gate also. To think of the man's riding through the gate in stately pride is out of the question. If he had come earlier, he would have ridden his beast with high disdain, and flipped a coin to a cringing beggar. But now the camel must be brought to its knees. The rider must dismount and walk through the gate like any lowly peasant. The camel, kneeling on a carpet, will be dragged through the gate, the frightened animal barely squeezing through.

This is the position of every man before God. The way of entry by works has been closed. The righteousness of God has barred the gates of pride. No man will enter into Heaven with the rich doings of his own life, and with the disdain and hauteur that accompany human pride. There will be no pride in Heaven except the proper pride of God, who alone is perfect, and who can alone rejoice in His own being because there is no lack in Him whatsoever.
(From Romans: Expositions of Bible Doctrines © 1966 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. All rights reserved.)

God says you are able.

God Calls your name today and He says, “You are able to lay down all things that would allow pride and self-righteousness to hinder you from entering into the fulfillment of His Kingdom purposes for the days ahead. Notice in the background study how the camel is even provided a carpet for his knees, even so God will provide provision and comfort even as we are taken through the Eye of the Needle!

The Time is Now!
So, I encourage you to seek the Lord with fasting and prayer to discover what you must do to get ready for Him to pull you through ‘The Eye of The Needle’ that You will be useful in fulfilling His plans in the days which are upon us. Do not get stuck outside of the blessings and wondrous unfolding of His purposes that lay ahead of us.

Copy write © 2011 Wayne Newcomb, www.abbasglory.com
Artwork from http://www.biblepicturegallery.com/BiblePictureGallery.htm

Looking Beyond the Manifestation of His Presence

2011-05-15T22:16:00.001-06:00

Many people are attracted to the results of God at work. It might be His heart, His power, His majesty, His mercy and goodness or His glory, that attracts them, but what they see is the results of God’s presence. It might be in an individual, a group, a city or a nation but people are attracted to the results of God’s impact on His creation.

In the midst of, or at the time of His working, or the time of His visitation or outpouring people are attracted to the evidence or manifestation of His presence. These times of God’s interacting with people are recorded in the Bible and throughout history. Often they are the catalyst for a fresh move of God, a revival of His work among people, or even a great awakening which changes the course of a nation or history throughout the earth.

During these seasons or times it is easy for us to focus on the manifestation of His presence. The focus may be on His holiness or our lack thereof. The focus may be on His power or majesty, etc. In these seasons people attempt to understand and communicate God’s interaction with them in ways that fit their times or they point to a demonstration of His majesty or characteristic of God in the Bible to define it. This would include but not be limited to, the river that flows from under His throne, Rev 22:1, His glory as revealed in several encounters with God in scripture, His fire as seen on Pentecost and in several places in the Old Testament, and His holiness as revealed in Elijah’s encounter in the temple, Isa 6:1-7.

In the life of each person God desires more than our fixation on, or identification with a particular results or symbol of His having been present at some point in time interacting with us. Let me use the nature walk near my home as an example of what I mean. This is a man made drainage and nature area that originally was a natural drainage area with a creek which captured water runoff. The area has the trees and other vegetation from where the original creek was and the 50 yards away there is the man made one which was created when a housing development was built in the area. There is a great 8 to 9 foot concrete sidewalk to walk on with threes planted along it.

When you turn off from the sidewalk next to our street and enter the nature walk area you notice this large valley with rock formations adjacent to the beginning of the drainage area. During the spring and summer you can see the results of the creek’s life along its banks. There is a variety of vegetation and wildlife that are present close to the immediate area of the creek. Then throughout the valley surrounding the creek and running up to the fences of the housing area there is additional vegetation and wildlife.

During these seasons you cannot see the creek because of the vegetation, but its evidence is very clear in all that is growing around it. This is a very good picture of the results of God’s presence or the river of life having been present at any point in our lives or history itself.

It is God’s desire for us to move beyond looking for the manifestation or results of His presence elsewhere and for us to come into a close personal relationship or to use a biblical term ‘walk’ with Him. When we have a close personal walk with God we will have many times and seasons when the evidence of His presence in and through us will be made known to those around us. The presence of God can be seen in the lives of many people in the Bible, many of whom are mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11.

The most complete picture of this relationship with God will be a composite of all of those interactions, but it is clearly demonstrated in Jesus the Messiah. Jesus demonstrates how we can both lay down our life and plans, along with the authority over our life, while being empowered by the Holy Spirit to live a life that pleases God.

The beginning of the Jesus model can be pictured in three passages of scripture. Philippians 2:5-11, John 17:1-5 and Matt 3:11-4:1 In these passages we see Jesus humbling Himself by laying down His authority and power and doing the Father’s will while being empowered by the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s will.

This is extremely important as it demonstrates to us that we can live a life that is pleasing to God empowered by His Spirit if we are willing to surrender our will and our ability to accomplish it to Him. Then we will be prepared to experience firsthand the outpouring of God’s presence and glory. While others will see the manifestation or evidence of His glory.

This is the first in a series of articles on (Living a Life of passionate participation in God.)

Copy write © Wayne Newcomb 2010

Whose Report will You Believe

2011-05-08T21:10:00.000-06:00

A message from the land where the giants dwell.

Numbers 13-14

Before we begin ask yourself, ‘what is your perception of your life and your circumstances?’ The passage above reveals much about how we can approach what is and will be in our lives. I encourage you to read it when you have time to meditate on it. For now let’s look briefly at a few key points. The three words that mark these points are, chosen, blessed and accountable.

First, you see God choosing the twelve to go and do His work. What an honor to represent God’s people in exploring the Promised Land.

Second, the assignment was pleasant and full of rewards. Look at the size of its fruit and the abundance it held for them. They had the blessing to see before everyone else all that God had prepared for them.

Third, they were accountable to tell the people what wondrous things God had waiting for them.

If you could send someone else ahead to see your circumstances in the days ahead, what report would they return with? God’s Word promises a future with hope because of His care for you in Jer 29:11. The places that God intends to be full of blessings and great bounty are also the places the giants want to settle into, so that they might steal what God has for you. These giants want to dwell in your places of blessing and fulfillment. You must be like the two spies who brought back the good report and have faith that God has a future of blessing and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him for His strategy to take what is promised to them. There is an old song we used to sing in the church which had this phrase in it, “Whose report will you believe?”

There is an interesting passage toward the end of Joshua’s life in which he says that God did not drive out all of the inhabitance of the land so that they might learn to do battle.

Judg 3:1-3, Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan; 2 only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly). NASU

Your circumstances are waiting for you to encounter them. You can encounter them through faith as the promises of God fulfilled or through fear as great trials to face without hope of success. You will not escape battle, but you will take the land if you trust His promises and seek His strategy for each battle.

There is a message coming from the land of the giants, but whose report will you believe?

Say it with Me, I will believe the Report of the Lord!

The Names of the Believer in the Bible

2010-12-30T23:39:00.001-07:00

The Names of the Believer in the Bible A Weekly Devotional starts Jan 3rd.

You may have seen studies on the names of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but this is the first study to look at the names of the believer throughout the Bible. In this study you will discover what God says about you. This study will based on original research and be sent out at the beginning of each week so that you may meditate on and dwell in its truth all week and allow it to become a part of your relationship with your Creator-Father. The picture of Who I am in Christ is just a part of the study.

This study is offered as a ministry of Abba's Glory at www.abbasglory.com and will be offered on the Passionate Participation in God Project group on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302

This is also sent out by email to those who request it.

The Names in the 'Who I Am in Christ' Poster by Neil T. Anderson is Just A Part of the Study.

Wisdom for a Fresh Move of God by His Spirit Today II

2010-10-30T12:03:00.000-06:00

Pillar of Fire (preparation and readiness) ready to wait and ready to go.
Ex 13:19-22; Neh 9:11-12; Neh 9:19-21; Ex 16:10

When we look into this example of God's Supernatural intervention into the events of human history we are tempted to only see the obvious or stated truths.

1. The people were to make themselves clean before they left Egypt.
2. They had to be ready to go at all times.
3. The people were protected and comforted by the power of God demonstrated in the Pillar’s majesty and by the visible demonstration of God presence of with them.
4. The people were organized by tribes but it was the priest-levities who watched for any changes in the status of the pillar and blew the Shofar to announce that God was on the move or that He was stopping.

The facts that might escape us are.
1. Moving approximately 3.5 million people took time and patience. Once the first tribe arrived at the new destination it would be a while before the last of the last tribe arrived. This is true of any new work that God does among His people. There are those who are aware and move quickly and those who get there at a latter time. The Leaders of God's people must lead as good shepherds, realizing that God may be leading but that we as leaders must allow the people to go through the same processes that have given us awareness that God is on the move. We must also be aware that people no matter how dedicated and committed move at different speeds in following the Lord. There are also some who will refuse to move at all and while we may be concerned for them and make every effort to encourage them to participate in what God is doing we cannot disobey God and refuse to follow Him if they will not.

2. Waiting at the appointed place may take more effort and strength than moving ahead to the next big or little thing God is doing for many people. It is the responsibility of leadership to minister to and train God's people when they have reached that next stopping place or plateau and help them to grow in God and be ready to go or stay as called on by God.

3. Miracles, Signs and Wonders are given as God directs and not as we might desire in the flesh. They are also not to be denied as a part of God's provision and direction either. Since he is a supernatural being we should expect Him to be and act supernaturally.

4. There is a purpose to the Supernatural manifestations of God and while they are not for entertainment or fleshly fulfillment of His people we must seek God who is supernatural and expect Him to work supernaturally. If we fail to seek the whole counsel of God for His people we will never attain the full level of maturity He desires. Eph 4:12-14.5.

5. Teaching that He is and works supernaturally must continue. We must not shrink back from teaching the wondrous and glorious ways in which God has and does work when we are waiting for a long season for the pillar of Glory to move again, or for a fresh outpouring to be given. As we shall see in the book of Acts, there were many fresh outpourings or moves of God's Spirit among His people then and throughout Church History. We may not hear about them because their impact may have been limited geographically. We also may not have heard about them because those who wrote the history may have not understood or have been threatened by them.

There are many times when God has poured out His Spirit on people only to have that outpouring of fresh fire hindered by the church, the ineffectiveness or corruption of the people involved or the lack of favor a particular movement had during a certain historic period. History after all is written by the victors.

6. There is a danger in wanting to camp out or constantly be in the glory or experiencing a fresh outpouring of God's presence. There is work to be done. These times of God's manifest presence are meant to change and motivate us as we shall see when we examine Isaiah 6:1 and the verses that follow and the mount of transfigured experience recorded in (Matt 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36)

Questions
1. Are you seeking the majesty and wonder of God?
2. Is your walk with God blessed with fresh manna or stale bread?
3. Have you tried to store up manna or hoard it so that you do not have to seek it daily only to find it rotten?4. Do you proclaim or say you believe in a supernatural God without having a fresh and supernatural relationship with Him?
5. Are you seeking the signs and wonders or the giver of the wonder?
6. Has the pillar been stationary at you church or in your life for a while?
7. When the Pillar is in one location for a longer period of time are you getting mended (made whole) and helping others to get mended as well? Are you growing in your relationship and knowledge of Him so that when the pillar moves, His work among you will be accomplished?
8. Are you seeking the fresh and living water that flows from His presence?

Wisdom for a Fresh Move of God by His Spirit Today

2010-10-29T22:45:00.000-06:00

Wisdom for a Fresh Move of God by His Spirit Today
Part One

What do we need to understand to have Wisdom for a Fresh Move of God by His Spirit today?'
When we examine the history of revival movements and the outpourings of the Holy Spirit in Church History we see that God has poured out His Spirit and moved among His people continually in every generation since He began to pour out His Spirit on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts. We can also see in scripture that God has supernaturally interacted with His people throughout history and that we have many examples in the scriptures both in the Old and New Testaments. The interactions of God with His people throughout scripture serve as both examples and wisdom for us as we seek to be apart of what God is doing in the earth today.

Research:
History of Charismatic Movements and History of Revival Movements:
How has God interacted with His people in history since the New Testament times and what were the results?
1. 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity by Eddie L Hyatt Strang Communications Company
2. Dynamics of Spiritual Life, An Evangelical Theology of Revival by Richard Lovelace, published by IVP
3. Revival by Winkie Pratney published by Whitaker House
4. Rivers of Revival by Neil T. Anderson and Elmer L. Towns published by Regal

Personal Experience:
I have had the privilege of experiencing the supernatural work of God among His people several times in my 36 years as a believer and know that every new supernatural outpouring of God's Spirit carries with it great blessings and challenges for those who are blessed to be a part of it.

Some of these moves of God had local, while others had national and international impact.
This study is designed to provide Biblical truths that will allow us to chart a course during these times when the river of life runs both deep and often fast. A course that take us into greater growth and helps us to allow the deeper encounters with God to produce good fruit for His kingdom among the people we live around and minister His life to.

Church history has examples of those who allowed the fresh outpouring of God's Spirit to grow His kingdom and them and those who were shipwrecked when an outpouring of His Spirit was mishandled and produced error and destruction. Since history tends to be written by the victors, those who were shipwrecked were often seen as heretics and the work God began in them is seen as error.

The Kingdom Vision Taste Test

2010-10-17T11:04:00.000-06:00

Ps 34:8 taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him

AMP

We talk a lot about Vision in the Church, in business and in politics today. When you are around people with a Kingdom vision they have the qualities of the King and that is why they are appealing to people.

People with a Kingdom Vision are focused on the giver of the Vision, they are full of faith that the Vision given by Him will come to pass, they have hope even when things do not look the way they had thought they would be, they have a positive influence on those around them that the King's Vision is within reach and as a result others believe in, and become a part of making the vision reality.

This comes not just from vision casting or sharing the King's vision but from the fruit or impact the Vision has on the vision bearer. When the Vision is fresh and alive it brings freshness and life. When the Vision is dim, contrived or is lacking in the vitality of the King it is hard for someone to follow it or the person bearing it. I have noticed that hope springs from vision and vision from faith or belief that what is not yet is what can be Hebrews 11:6.

Faith in the king and His Kingdom are the key to vision. There are a lot of people who live in fear and doubt and who are always looking for or are wandering around seeking someone or something to give them hope. They are in need of a healthy relationship with God. He is the giver of life, a life that flows continually to those who are in an ongoing relationship with Him.

Today, we are tempted to have a fast food version of our relationship with God, when what we really need is a time of restful feeding on the green grass of His Word and of drinking from the still water of His Spirit, of letting Him minister to us by talking with us and calling us by name, and of letting him rub His healing ointment into the hurts and bruises we receive from everyday life. When we do this and do it again and again we find the life, hope and vision that inspire others to see in us a glimpse of Him.

This glimpse of Him, what He is and wants to do, generates loyalty and passion for the Vision He has given us. People follow a vision when they can see hope and faith of the Kingdom alive in it, not when it is a part of the latest promotion or fashionable idea, which gets pounded endlessly into their information pathways.

When they see Kingdom vision which has come from faith and hope alive in someone it gives them a reason to seek God for themselves and in the building of their relationship with God they gain faith, hope and His vision for them.

Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast of restraint, are discouraged or wander without hope. But blessed is he who keeps God’s Word

The Bible uses the imagery of trees bearing fruit as an outward demonstration of His life flowing through us to produce the fruit of the Spirit, which is the true mark of His life within. Jesus in John 15 speaks about the need for the branches to stay connected to the vine if they are to have His life which produces vision. When we have a healthy ongoing relationship with Him we make it possible for people to get a glimpse of Him. We have a choice; we can allow others to get a glimpse of the King which brings faith and leads to Kingdom vision or a glimpse of us without Him, which will lead the people to not have hope or a purpose and wander aimlessly.

Faith in the King is the key to vision. Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of the things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” NASB revised version.

Kingdom Vision does not cause us to be DRIVEN; instead it leads and inspires us. True Kingdom vision makes room for all who would agree with it. It does not need someone to constantly pound it into our heads and manipulate us into sacrifice so that some oneelse's vision of their kingdom can be realized. People will become a part of the Kings vision and freely participate in the cost of seeing God accomplish it when it carries the sweet aroma of a living sacrifice and not the stench of self and pride.

Kingdom Visions spring forth as children of the calling of the King in our lives. The more mature and healthy in Christ we are the more the birthed vision will demonstrate the Fathers heart and not our own!

Kingdom Taste Test
When someone taste of the vision you proclaim will they taste and see that the Lord is Good, or will they taste and see that bitter and impure water has been mixed with the river of life? Or will they see that Jesus has save the best for release in His season?

John 2:9-11 9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, 10 and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now."

In the midst of these troubling times we need to know the King and the precepts of His Kingdom. We learn these from His Word and our walk with Him. Therefore it is important that we walk by the Spirit of God.

Gal 5:16-26
16 But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).
17 For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the [Holy] Spirit, and the [desires of the] Spirit are opposed to the flesh (godless human nature); for these are antagonistic to each other [continually withstanding and in conflict with each other], so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do.
18 But if you are guided (led) by the [Holy] Spirit, you are not subject to the Law.
19 Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency,
20 Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies),
21 Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,
23 Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.
25 If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]
26 Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another. AMP

Artwork by Graham Braddoct's Road to the Cross http://www.christian-artprints.com/

Enoch’s Amazing Walk with God

2010-09-26T20:53:00.000-06:00

How We Can Have an Amazing Walk with God Beginning Today
(This is an updated and expanded version of this message)

Gen 5:24
And Enoch walked [in close fellowship] with and pleased God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him].
Heb 11:5-6
Because of faith Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For even before he was taken to heaven, he received testimony [still on record] that he had pleased and been in close (intimate) fellowship with God. [Gen 5:21-24.]
But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]. Amp

Introduction
What an amazing thing this is, to be in such a close and pleasing relationship with God that you just walk into heaven with Him without dying.
• This Walk, Relationship, Adventure that God is calling us to is greater than the George Lucas’s ‘Star Wars’ Movies, it is greater than J. R. R. Tolkien’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ series, greater than Homer’s ‘Iliad.’
• It is an Adventure that will never end. Let is capture your heart, let the roots of your life go deep into the soil of God’s love and join Him in Living a Life of Passionate Participation in God.
• Align yourself with Jesus the Messiah, the Cornerstone. This is why you were created. This is what Adam and Eve had a taste of and cut it short because they doubted God and had faith in Lucifer.
• A ‘Life of walking with God’ is not meant to be a part of your life, it is meant to be your life! God has given us a free will and does not demand that we give Him our all, but invites us into a life, an adventure of intimate fellowship with Him.
• God is calling, He is inviting us to a life without comparison, a life with Him, the author and perfecter of all that was and is and shall ever be. (HEB 12:1-2)
• Each person’s journey will be different. It will be your own unique adventure with God, but like John Bunyan’s Pilgrim in his book ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ who was [waiting expectantly and confidently] looking forward to the city which has fixed and firm foundations, whose Architect and Builder is God. ( Heb 11:10 Amp) We were created for more than life on earth, but a life that does not end in death and is much more than life on earth in the flesh without God.
• There is no story ever written or told on video greater than the one God has for you. You however must choose to actively participate with Him in faith.
• BE like Enoch, Live a Life of Passionate Participation in God, walk or live in continuous relationship with Him. THIS is why you were created.
• Chose to walk with God. Do Not just let Him walk with you! Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. Operate or live by choosing to continually act in faith by seeking Him out concerning every detail of your life. By doing this your life is lived in active faith as you include God and seek Him concerning every detail and aspect of your life. He is a rewarder of those who genuinely and sincerely seek Him. Heb 11:6
• Your unique life; who you are, how you function, your gifts, heritage education, personality etc. make you the One and only person like you and God wants you to walk in intimate and continual relationship with Him! God love the infinite variety He has created and celebrates every single person. He does not compare you to others. He is not a respecter of one person’s uniqueness over another. He wants an intimate ongoing relationship or walk with you!

Let’s start the adventure by learning more about Enoch’s Amazing Walk With God so that we may Live a Life of Passionately Participating in God.

I. The Plan Unfolds

In The Beginning: Adam and Eve had such a walk/relationship with God. God came to visit them in the cool of the day. Unhindered by sin, they had amazing fellowship with God daily.
• Do you remember the joy of your salvation?
• Remember what it was like when you were first in love with Jesus!

Satan’s Scheme: In Genesis 3 we see the unfolding of Satan’s master plan to destroy humanity’s Walk with God. ‘You shall be like God he said, when actually they became like him, separated because of their sin from God. (Satan was challenging their faith in God)

God's response: in Genesis 3:15 the beginning of God’s plan of restoration with is seen with a demonstration in the shedding of the blood of animals to provide clothing, which is a fore shadowing of the shedding of the Messiah’s blood that we might have that close relationship or walk with God once again. Theologians call this the Protoevangelicum which means the prototype or the original beginning of the good news or Gospel message.

LET’S LOOK AGAIN Gen 5:21-24 & HEB 11:5-6
At what these verses say about Enoch again

Reread the verses above and note their key points.
Comment: Scripture does not give us many details about Enoch’s relationship with God beyond these verses, but we can look at other people in scripture that pleased God.
Action: If we are to discover more about having a walk with God that pleases Him we must begin with the message of the Gospel and Jesus’ ministry as prophesied in Gen 3:15.

II. The Gospel is our Beginning Point: God’s Purpose and Action.
Luke 19:10, John 3:16 and Col 1:13-14

1, Luke 19:10
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world, which He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Col 1:13-14 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

III. What is next: Laying The Foundation 1 Cor 3:10-11

According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Preparing the Soil: If you have ever built or watched a foundation being built you know that the land must be prepared and that you must be careful as to what type of soil you build on.
When we come to God as new believers we have sin and its results in our lives.
We not only need to repent from sin and renounce ungodly influences in our lives, but we may also need cleansing and healing from sins impact in our lives.

Build on Christ alone: We must build from the cornerstone which is Christ a foundation which is from Him and Him alone.

Building a Relationship: Building on that foundation requires a growing relationship.
Relationships have several key parts.
Motivation, Interest, Interaction, Response, these are part of an ongoing cycle which must be kept fresh and alive. Illustration in dating and marriage

IV. Building on the Foundation Which is Christ I Cor 3:12-15
Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

The Word of God as illuminated by the Holy Spirit is our primary and most important resource for knowing and developing a walk/relationship with God. Our prayers and our worship must be founded in the Word or we risk being led away from God by our own soulish desires and responses.

We need both Knowledge and Experience: Wisdom is gained by experience that comes from applying what we believe in life. The Greek valued knowledge, the Hebrew goes one more step to say if you believe something you will act on what you believe. As Christians we must be function like the Hebrew by acting on what we believe.

Knowledge by Itself is not enough
Illustration: Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev former Soviet Premier memorized large portions of scripture to get candy as a child but never came to Christ or served Him.

V. The Enoch Type of Walk with God helps us in Avoiding False Doctrines which take us away from God and from constantly responding in faith and building our relationship daily.

It keeps us from being caught up in the latest fads and winds of doctrines.

False doctrines always have some truth. They also can take truth out of its biblical setting when it was not meant to be. Two Examples:
1. Judas went out and hung himself and Jesus said go and do the same thing. These two scriptures do not go together. Christ never told anyone to hang themselves.
2. Talking daily to Angels instead of God. God assigns His angels to us. We need not seek them out as they are on assignment by God. When they do show up in Scripture it is a big event and we should pay close attention to them. We must however be careful not to get away from our daily conversations and relationship with God Himself.

We must judge our experiences and all we think and do by the Word. There are plenty of false teachings floating around in every generation and we can avoid them if we are in close relationship with God based on His Word.
The solution is getting to know Him intimately and saying YES to Him

VI. Simple Steps to a Growing Intimate Walk with God.
Hebrews 11:6b He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].
James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. NASU

 Start where you are at and build little by little 5 min prayer, 5 min reading, 5 min worship
 Find and fellowship with others who love God
 Start with a good study Bible and learn how to use it, read, read, read and study,
 Then add an exhaustive Concordance
 Then a Bible dictionary
These three resources will make you a good student of the Word!
 Learn to pray by using Scriptural prayers, start with the lord’s prayer
 Listen to worship and praise music as much as possible
 Spend more time doing these things than listening to others teach and preach or in reading other people’s books
 Work on making God your best friend and seek Him out every minute you can.

Growing in our relationship with God requires us to ACT and be active in Drawing near to God!

VII. Do what the Apostle Paul Did and Taught I Cor 14:18-19, I Cor 14:4.
1 Cor 14:18-19 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; NASU
1 Cor 14:4 Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves. NRSV
This gift is available to all Christians in every generation.
VIII. Prayer of Action and Response to This message:
Lord God, please forgive us for being so busy living our lives that we have not made you the priority of our lives. Father bring us close to you by your Spirit and through your Word that we might build a relationship that pleases you and that we might have walk a with you even as Enoch did!
Father, if we have not built wisely then please show us where we must rebuild our foundation and help us to restore our first love with you.

Amen
9/26/2010
(c)Wayne Newcomb 2010, Please do not use without prmission from the author.

Wisdom for a Fresh Move of God by His Spirit Today.

2010-09-12T22:07:00.001-06:00

We need, 'Wisdom for a Fresh Move of God by His Spirit Today.'
When we examine the history of revival movements and the outpourings of the Holy Spirit in Church History we see that God has poured out His Spirit and moved among His people continually in every generation since He began to pour out His Spirit on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts.

We can also see in scripture that God has supernaturally interacted with His people throughout history and that we have many examples in the scriptures both in the Old and New Testaments.

The interactions of God with His people throughout scripture serve as both examples and wisdom for us as we seek to be apart of what God is doing in the earth today. I have had the privilege of experiencing the supernatural work of God among His people several times in my years as a believer and know that every new supernatural outpouring of God's Spirit carries with it great blessings and challenges for those who are blessed to be a part of it.

These notes are designed to provide Biblical truths that will allow us to chart a course during these times when the river of life runs both deep and often fast. A course that take us into greater growth and helps us to allow the deeper encounters with God to produce good fruit for His kingdom among the people we live around and minister to.

Church history has examples of those who allowed the fresh outpouring of God's Spirit to grow His kingdom and them and those who were shipwrecked when an outpouring of His Spirit was mishandled and produced error and destruction. Since history tends to be written by the victors, those who were shipwrecked were often seen as heretics and the work God began in them is seen as error as well. We shall discuss some of these in latter articles. Before we do please read the scriptural accounts listed below and ask yourself the following questions.

What lessons or truths can we discern or observe from each passage below?
How do these truths apply to outpourings of God that you have heard about or been a part of?
1. Pillar of Fire (preparation and readiness) ready to wait and ready to go.
Ex 13:19-22; Neh 9:11-12; Neh 9:19-21; Ex 16:10

2. Isaiah in the Temple (Fresh fire, fresh revelation, fresh humility and holiness) Fresh call) Note Isaiah's state of mined. Isa 6:1-9

3. The Mount of transfiguration (High times are meant to lead to deeper call and greater commitment as well as new power for ministry.) Matt 17:1-9

4. The Baptism and Fillings of the Spirit; Starting in the Upper Room
(Getting pickled takes more than a single power up) The baptism brings a new level and the fresh fillings make us more continually useful as vessels of His Spirit and Glory.

Finally, every supernatural encounter of God with people has certain common elements. What are they? I have listed some below. What else do you see from the passages listed? Are they a formula and pattern to follow or are they not always in a set sequence?

Below are items that seem to be a major part of the preparation for God's Spirit to work. There are Several common elements we can see in these encounters with God.
Cleansing, Repentance, Holiness, Revelation of Mans state in light of Gods majestic nature and holiness, a Willingness to die to self and serve God, or making ourselves available for His call.

Perhaps one of the most challenging times for us a s God's people is becoming the people of God in a community that flows in the River of God both at the beginning of a fresh move of God and during it as it unfolds through us as the Body of Christ or Community of the King in our day to day lives.

I will be addressing this in my next post.

Fasting A 20 Day Study

2010-08-20T13:14:00.002-06:00

The Passionate Participation in God Project will start a 20 Day Study on Fasting starting Sunday August 22nd on our Facebook Group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302
You can get this study emailed to you daily by joining our group at the link above.
You may also find book reviews on fasting books at http://equipperstoolbox.blogspot.com/

FASTING
The voluntary abstention from an otherwise normal function—most often eating—for the sake of intense spiritual activity.

Fasting was an integral part of the lives of the people we read about in the Bible. They fasted during times of mourning, in repentance, or to seek blessing, answers, or guidance. Everyone fasted together on the Day of Atonement. A normal fast during biblical times involved abstention from all food and liquid except for water, but during extreme circumstances even water was declined (see Esther 4:16).

Jesus undertook an extreme fast of forty days and forty nights when He experienced the temptation in the desert. He also speaks of fasting as a normal part of life for His followers (Matt 6:16-18). Later, in response to a question about why His followers do not fast, He answers that wedding guests do not fast while the bridegroom is with them, but that “the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Matt 9:15). From these words it seems clear that Jesus expected His followers to practice the discipline of fasting.

So why is fasting less common today? Probably the main reason is that we rarely deny ourselves anything, whether food or drink or material goods or entertainment. Fasting forces us to take attention from our desires in order to focus on God. Jesus tells His disciples that His food is to “do the will of Him who sent Me and to complete His work” (John 4:34). Fasting can be a humbling experience, as we see just how controlled we are by our appetites. But it also teaches us that what sustains us is not the food we eat or the pleasures we feel, but God alone.

Yet even now, says the Lord, / return to me with all your heart, / with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.—Joel 2:12
Day 226 Spiritual Practice: Humbling Our Souls Through Fasting
Day 227 Not by Bread Alone
Day 228 David Fasts and Pleads with God
Day 229 A Communal Fast
Day 230 Ahab Fasts and Humbles Himself
Day 231 Sanctify a Fast
Day 232 Fasting for Victory
Day 233 I Afflicted Myself with Fasting
Day 234 Joyful Fasting
Day 235 Rejecting the Royal Rations
Day 236 Spiritual Practice: Fasting from Food
Day 237 Ezra Proclaims a Fast
Day 238 Right Reverence
Day 239 Was It for Me That You Fasted?
Day 240 Fasting in Solidarity
Day 241 Fasting After Saul’s Death
Day 242 The People Assemble with Fasting
Day 243 Return to Me
Day 244 Fasting for the Church
Day 245 They Fasted That Day

The Material above is from the book, ‘A Year With God,’ Edited by Richard Foster

The Shortened Arm

2010-08-03T16:53:00.002-06:00

"Parasha: Beha'alot'cha
The Shortened Arm

Beha'alotcha - בהעלתך : "When you set up"
Torah : Numbers 8:1-12:16
Haftarah : Zechariah 2:10-4:7
Gospel : John 5, 6

Thought for the Week:
Moses cried out, "Why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me?" (Numbers 11:11). Moses was exhausted with the ceaseless grumbling and complaining of the people. He said, "I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me" (Numbers 11:14). Ironically, Moses himself became a complainer. He was complaining about people always complaining. In so doing, he became the very thing he criticized.
Commentary:
The LORD said to Moses, "Is the LORD'S power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not." (Numbers 11:23)

Moses was depressed. Depression is the enemy of faith. Depression and self-pity create a spiritual blindness. When Moses allowed himself to be overcome by the pressures and stresses of his responsibilities, he slipped into despondency and temporarily went spiritually blind. He seems to have momentarily forgotten who God is and what God had done in the past.

The LORD told Moses that He would provide Israel with a month's supply of meat. Moses protested against the plan, pointing out to God that it would be impossible to procure sufficient meat to feed 600,000 men for a month. Moses rhetorically asked, "Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, [would it be] sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, [would it be] sufficient for them?" (Numbers 11:22).

Moses' reply seems shocking. Had Moses forgotten that God was already miraculously feeding the people on a daily basis? If God chose to feed them meat instead of manna every morning, what difference did that make? Moses' despondency had blinded him to God's power. His depression had flattened his faith.

God responded with a rhetorical question of His own. He asked Moses, "Is the LORD'S power limited?" (Numbers 11:23). A literal translation of the Hebrew is more poetic. He asked Moses, "Has the hand of the LORD become shorter?" In other words, "Are you suggesting that the God who wrought the ten plagues, split the sea, fed you with manna and brought water from the rock has lost His power?"

The next time you find yourself doubting God, ask yourself, "Has the hand of the LORD become shorter?" The next time you find yourself despondent and depressed, remind yourself of the great things God has done in the past.

Then I said, "It is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High has changed." I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will meditate on all Your work and muse on Your deeds. (Psalm 77:10-12
The Weekly eDrash http://ffoz.org/resources/edrash/behaalotcha/the_shortened_arm.php

So You Think You Know Jesus?

2010-08-01T18:40:00.006-06:00

So You Think You Know Jesus? By D. Thomas Lancaster
http://ffoz.org/blogs/2010/08/know_jesus_better.html/

"Most Christians claim to know Jesus, but most of us don't.
Yes, we know Him as our Lord and Savior, and we know a few parables, a few miracles, and about how he died and rose, but it pretty much stops there. It is possible to be a Christian your whole life and never get to know the real, historical, Yeshua of Nazareth, the first century, Galilean-Jewish rabbi.

Of course, we get to know Jesus by reading the Gospels, but unless you grew up in a Torah observant Jewish home and happen to have an education in first century Judaism, you are not going to understand the Gospels very well.

Remember the first time you had to read Shakespeare? Reading the Gospels without a Jewish perspective and without their rabbinic context would be like a third-grader with no familiarity in Shakespearean English trying to read and enjoy Hamlet. To understand the story and the teaching of Jesus, you simply need more information.

We can get more information from Bible commentaries. Unfortunately, not a lot of people read Bible commentaries. Most people don't even read the Bible, much less a boring commentary in small print with a lot of big words. Even when we do read commentaries, they are sometimes not very helpful. Most Gospel commentaries were written by Christians who did not know Judaism much better than any other churchman. Worse yet, some Christian Bible commentaries are skewed by anti-Semitic prejudices, anti-Torah doctrines, and replacement theology. Those interpretations turn the teachings of Yeshua backwards. A lot of Christian teaching is based upon Christian misinterpretation due to ignorance about the Jewishness of Jesus.

But what if there was a commentary that read more like a story? Imagine a commentary on the Gospels that provided all the important Jewish background information and rabbinic parallels, but did so in a story format, while following the life of Yeshua from His conception to His ascension. Suppose that this commentary harmonized all four Gospels into a continuous narrative so that it felt more like you were reading a novel about Rabbi Yeshua than a commentary on the Bible.

Sound good?
Get on board this fall. Subscribe to "Chronicles of the Messiah," the new Torah Club Volume Four, and get to know Yeshua better.
About the Author: D. Thomas Lancaster is Director of Education at First Fruits of Zion, and regular contributor to Messiah Journal. He is the author of the Torah Club programs, and the books Grafted In, Restoration and King of the Jews."
http://ffoz.org/blogs/2010/08/know_jesus_better.html/

FELLOWSHIP

2010-07-30T13:48:00.001-06:00

We are starting a New 20 day devotional study on Monday August 2nd, 2010 at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302

Join this faceBook Group to get this devotional by email daily.
The First 10 days will study, Recognizing Christ in Others
The second 10 days will study, Where Two or Three Are Gathered

FELLOWSHIP

Engaging with other disciples in the common activities of worship, study, prayer, celebration and service, which sustain our life together and enlarge our capacity to experience more of God.
       From the first pages of Genesis, when God created a mate for Adam, through the pages of Paul’s Letters, with his timeless advice on living together in joy and love, to the final pages of Revelation, where we see a glimpse of the company we will keep in heaven, it’s clear that the Christian life is to be a life lived together. Although Jesus often prayed in solitude, He did not travel Judea alone during His Ministry, but called the disciples to travel and minister with Him. Paul’s description of the Church as the Body of Christ (Rom 12:5; 1 Cor 12:12-26; Eph 4) makes it clear that each of us has different gifts and abilities and only together can the Church run smoothly for God’s glory.
       Fellowship can bring us great joy, encouragement, and comfort. It can also bring frustration and disappointment, as we bump up against each other’s sins, shortcomings, and failures to hear and follow God’s voice in our lives. The amount of text that Paul devotes to solving the problems of community living is testimony to just how hard it can be. One way we can sustain our fellowship and focus it upon God is by sharing Communion together. Jesus commanded us to gather together and remember Him when we ate the bread and drank of the cup. Following Jesus’ example at the Last Supper and the example of the early Church, this sharing is one way we focus our fellowship on Jesus.
       The whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love..—Ephesians 4:16
Day 206 Spiritual Practice: Recognizing Christ in Others
Day 207 The Good Work of Unity
Day 208 Growing Together
Day 209 Building Up Christ’s Body
Day 210 Many Members, One Body
Day 211 How to Live in Community
Day 212 Joy in Fellowship
Day 213 Passing Judgment on One Another
Day 214 Loving Our Brothers and Sisters
Day 215 Pleasing Our Neighbors
Day 216 Spiritual Practice: Where Two or Three Are Gathered
Day 217 Devoted Fellowship
Day 218 Life Among the Believers
Day 219 The Worldwide Community
Day 220 Meeting Together
Day 221 Bearing One Another’s Burdens
Day 222 Pray for One Another
Day 223 Sharing in the Lord’s Supper
Day 224 Be at Peace Among Yourselves
Day 225 That They May Be One
The Material above is from the book, ‘A Year With God,’ Edited by Richard Foster

SATANIC BACKLASH

2010-07-17T23:41:00.002-06:00

I Kings 19:1-10 Recounts the events following Elijah's Victory on Mount Carmel.

19 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow." 3 Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." 6 He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." 8 He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. 9 At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 10 He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away."NRSV
My Comments
      I have seen and experienced the Mount Carmel aftermath phenomenon. This is the experience that comes when God has done a great work though you and then there is a backlash that comes against you. It has always seemed odd to me that you could have an awesome victory in God and then feel defeated, afraid or otherwise like a loser when you were just a member of the team that had a great victory.
      I have since learned from studying spiritual warfare that this counter attack of Satan is designed to rob you of the victory and to keep you from marching into another victorious battle against Satan and his forces. Remember Satan comes, to kill, steal and destroy. In the counter attack he seeks to either stop you or delay you from the next victory. The solution is to run to a place of solitude with God in worship, prayer and study and meditation on His Word. This will refresh and strengthen you and keep the enemy from taking advantage of you during the post victory recuperation period. Without knowing it, Satan actually helps us to remember it is God who brings the victory and causes us to run to God for renewal and to get God’s plan for the next battle.
Remember with God you are never alone. In addition God has strategically placed His people so that when the time is right they will run into the battle with you. They are either in battle or being prepared even when we do not know about them. Trust Him to be your resource and he will provide all that is needed in resources and people when the time is right. Are you seeking God for the renewal and in preparation of the battle?

Elijah Encounters God and recieves His response and 1 Kings 19:11-21

      11 He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 14 He answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." 15 Then the Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17 Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. 18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."
Next We See Another Aspect of God's Response to Elijah: Elisha Becomes Elijah's Disciple
     19 So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. 20 He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." Then Elijah said to him, "Go back again; for what have I done to you?" 21 He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant. NRSV
Artwork: Michael's Victory over Satan

Praise Rise by Ramey Whalen

2010-07-12T20:39:00.000-06:00

SOLITUDE, the Secret Place of Power With God!

2010-07-11T23:10:00.001-06:00

This 20 day Study Starts 07/13/2010 Hosted by the Passionate Participation in God Project at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302.

SOLITUDE The creation of an open, empty space in our lives by purposefully abstaining from interaction with other human beings, so that, freed from competing loyalties, we can be found by God.

The Gospels tell us that Jesus’ very public ministry was interspersed with periods of solitude during which He, either completely by Himself or with the disciples, left the crowds behind to pray. These times of solitude appeared to nourish Jesus for those times when He was in the public eye. He began His ministry with forty days in the desert, just after He was baptized. And He continued the practice of going off alone to pray, often just at the times when His ministry seemed to demand the most from Him.

Solitude is not about becoming a hermit or misanthrope. Indeed, times of solitude can enhance our times of fellowship with others. Neither is solitude loneliness. It is time spent with God. Put this way, it sounds so natural, yet for most of us this time does not just happen. One of the keys to the definition above is the phrase “the creation of an open, empty space.” We must work to create this space, to “purposefully” withdraw even when—especially when—it seems that we have no time to do so. We can all learn from Jesus’ example and take time to focus on our relationship with God, replenishing and nourishing ourselves for busy lives.
Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while. —Mark 6:31
Day 186 Spiritual Practice: Withdrawing to a Deserted Place
Day 187 The Tent of Meeting
Day 188 Wrestling With God
Day 189 Spending the Night in Prayer
Day 190 Hide Yourself
Day 191 I Alone Am Left
Day 192 I Sat Alone
Day 193 He Is With Me
Day 194 Yet I Am Not Alone
Day 195 Opening Ourselves
Day 196 Spiritual Practice: Retreat with God
Day 197 In the Wilderness
Day 198 I Will Bring Her Into the Wilderness
Day 199 Shaping the Soul
Day 200 The Crowds Were Looking for Jesus
Day 201 Rising Early to Pray
Day 202 Come Away and Rest a While
Day 203 I Went Away at Once
Day 204 Preparation Time
Day 205 Down From the Mountaintop

Hosted by the Passionate Participation in God Project at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302.

GOD'S GUIDANCE

2010-06-05T00:15:00.000-06:00

Join our new 20 day study and daily devotional on God's GUIDANCE on Facebook in the Passionate Participation in God Project http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302

Experiencing an interactive friendship with God that gives direction and purpose to daily life.

God wishes to be in relationship with us. One aspect of this interactive friendship with God is guidance. Throughout the Bible we see God providing continued guidance for the rough times and the good. Today, we often think this kind of interaction is no longer possible, but that is not the case. As Dallas Willard writes, “Today I continue to believe that people are meant to live in an ongoing conversation with God, speaking and being spoken to. . . . Given who we are by basic nature, we live—really live—only through God’s regular speaking in our souls and thus ‘by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”1

These words from God can come to us in a variety of ways: through “the still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12, KJV), through others, through Scripture. As with so many of the disciplines, we often must cut through a lot of worldly static to hear God’s voice. Like Moses and Jeremiah, we often resist God’s will, in matters small and large.

But it’s also important to realize that guidance is not just discerning God’s will and direction for specific decisions, such as whether to marry a certain person, start a certain ministry, or pursue a particular career path. Having an interactive friendship with God means that divine will can pervade all areas of our life, so that even when we are not fully conscious of asking God whether to do a particular thing, we can still be within the scope of God’s will. As Willard puts it, hearing God is about who God wants us to be as well as what God wants us to do.

When you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” —Isaiah 30:21

Day 146 Spiritual Practice: Hearing God
Day 147 You Shall Go
Day 148 Here I Am
Day 149 David Inquires of the Lord
Day 150 Through the Mouth of a Donkey
Day 151 Ananias Guides Saul
Day 152 Peter’s Vision
Day 153 You Are the Man!
Day 154 Guided by God’s Strength
Day 155 Guided by the Spiri
Day 156 Spiritual Practice: Finding the Way
Day 157 With Him I Speak Face to Face
Day 158 Asking for a Sign
Day 159 Seeking False Guidance
Day 160 The Fruit of the Spirit
Day 161 Asking for Help
Day 162 What Makes for Understanding
Day 163 A Mentoring Influence
Day 164 Guiding the Nations
Day 165 The Life God Wants for Us

The Jesus Manifesto

2010-05-31T21:41:00.003-06:00

The new book "Jesus Manifesto" by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola (Thomas Nelson) will be on discount at Amazon.com today, Tuesday, June 1st. here is the link to order:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0849946018?tag=stellardesign-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeA

Secrecy

2010-05-15T21:57:00.002-06:00

SECRECY-By Richard Foster in 'A Year With God.' This is part of our new study at The Passionate Particpation in God Project at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302 Sign Up Today

SECRECY: Consciously refraining from having our good deeds and qualities generally known, which in turn rightly disciplines our longing for recognition.

We often long to talk about the good deeds that we do, wanting others to think well of us. The danger of this inclination is that approval will become our motivation. When we fast or pray or give in secret, as Jesus advises us in Matthew 6, we can know we are doing so for the right reasons, looking to God for approval rather than to our fellow humans. God knows all that we are and all that we do; His heavenly reward for any good that we do will far outweigh any earthly approbation (Matt 6:1). Deliberately avoiding earthly recognition, fame, and attention helps to cultivate within us humility and true love for others. It also gives us the opportunity to meditate on the nature of our God, who the Bible tells us is also “hidden” (Isa 45:15) and “in secret” (Matt 6).

That is not to say that our good qualities will never be recognized by others, just that we leave it to God to point them out, We see Jesus avoiding crowds and performing miracles in private, but the crowds invariably find Him and spread the word about Him. Jesus told us that a city set on a hill cannot be hid, and that we are to be the light of the world, not hidden under a bushel (Matt 5:14-16). Practicing the discipline of secrecy simply relinquishes to God the power to reveal our light. This submission is only appropriate, because everything in us that is good comes from God.

Whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. —Matthew 6:6

Day 126 Spiritual Practice: Keeping Our Works Private
Day 127 Not Seen by Others
Day 128 The Appearance of Righteousness
Day 129 In My Secret Heart
Day 130 He Could Not Escape Notice
Day 131 The Light of the World
Day 132 God Will Judge Our Secret Thoughts
Day 133 Riches Hidden in Secret Places
Day 134 Hidden with God
Day 135 The Shelter of the Most High
Day 136 Spiritual Practice: Praying for Others’ Success
Day 137 The One Who is More Powerful Than I
Day 138 Jesus Humbled Himself
Day 139 God’s Splendor
Day 140 Let No One Boast
Day 141 Let Those Who Boast Boast in This
Day 142 Boasting in Christ Jesus
Day 143 We Boast in Our Hope of Sharing the Glory of God
Day 144 God Notices Us
Day 145 A God Who Hides

20 Days of Practicing Secrecy With God

2010-05-15T01:24:00.004-06:00

20 Days of Practicing Secrecy in Your Walk With God starts today on facebook.
This daily devotional study group can be found at The Passioante Particiapation in God Project http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302

Learn to Discipline Your Spiritual Life with this Discipline of Secrecy. Jesus taught us to do our good deeds and works in private and so that we would please God not people.
Learn more by revieving this daily devotional based out of 'A Year With God', by Richard Foster

This Study is divided up into these 10 day sections.
1. Keeping Our Works Private 10 days
2. Praying for Others' Success 10 days

The passioante Participation in God project is sponsored by Abba's Glory Int @www.abbasglory.com. We are a part of the CrossFire International Alliance.

Worshiping God, Not Spiritual Experiences

2010-04-21T01:03:00.000-06:00

This Post is from my daily devotional, The Passionate Participation in God Project on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302 which I would invite you to join or check daily.

Worshiping God, Not Spiritual Experiences, Hebrews 1:5-9

Heb 1:5-9
5 For to which of the angels did [God] ever say, You are My Son, today I have begotten You [established You in an official Sonship relation, with kingly dignity]? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He will be to Me a Son? [2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7.]
6 Moreover, when He brings the firstborn Son again into the habitable world, He says, Let all the angels of God worship Him.
7 Referring to the angels He says, [God] Who makes His angels winds and His ministering servants flames of fire; [Ps 104:4.]
8 But as to the Son, He says to Him, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever (to the ages of the ages), and the scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of absolute righteousness (of justice and straightforwardness).
9 You have loved righteousness [You have delighted in integrity, virtue, and uprightness in purpose, thought, and action] and You have hated lawlessness (injustice and iniquity). Therefore God, [even] Your God ( Godhead), has anointed You with the oil of exultant joy and gladness above and beyond Your companions. [Ps 45:6,7.] AMP

Richard Foster points out these items in "A Year With God", distributed by Renovare'.

“ As the Son of God, Jesus is vastly superior to the angels, indeed is worshiped by them. A salvo of scriptural quotations demonstrates that spiritual creatures and experience are subordinate to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and cannot be substituted for Him. Making spiritual experience one’s primary objective is like being in love with marriage instead of one’s spouse. A good marriage results from loving and serving one’s spouse; a healthy spiritual life results from glorifying Christ. Being in love with spiritual experience is not the same as loving and serving Christ and can even eclipse Christ.

As we seek to practice the disciple of Worship, or indeed any discipline, we must always be aware of the danger of worshiping the discipline instead of Christ. Have you found yourself worshiping for worship’s sake rather than God’s? Ask God to help you keep your focus on God alone.”

My Comments for Today.
I am in love with God and love to worship and be in His presence, to soar on the wind of His Spirit. I have seldom known people who worship for the experience itself, but I do believe it is a good caution for us. This is especially for those of us who love God’s presence and much like Peter on the mount of Transfiguration would rather camp out in God’s presence than fight the good fight in day to day living.

May we worship Him for all that He is and does but most of all because He alone is God!

___________________________________________________

Also available and supporting the With God Life are these products.

Discerning True and False Prophets

2010-03-11T00:03:00.008-07:00

Discerning True and False Prophets and Teachers, 2 Peter 2:1-3; 2Peter 3:17-18

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
17 You therefore, beloved knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen

I have often had people ask me how they may discern between true and false prophets and teachers. Without a long theological discussion here are some simple points.

1. Read and study your Bible form cover to cover every year. When you are familiar with the written Word you will also become familiar with the living Word if you allow His word to convict and cause you to change your heart and behavior.
2. Examine the Fruit:
Does the prophet or teacher’s life style and message agree with the whole counsel of God? Is the power of the supernatural evident? Is the fruit of the Spirit evident?
3. Question the source and purpose of the teaching:
A. Do they claim to have a new or specially revealed truth? The rediscovery of truth is good as we see in Ezra but when too much of the message is focused on the revealing of the hidden things a good measure of caution is required to avoid danger.
B. Is the focus of the teaching uplifting God or peoples abilities? If there is a focus on laws or principles which give people the power or draw attention to mankind’s abilities as they do certain things then you may getting away from Biblical truth. This is where many New Age and false religions build their foundations. They will take biblical truth and combine it with things what seems to be true according to mankind’s current or ancient knowledge (scientific, philosophical, or mystical truths) These combinations lead us away from the unmerited favor of God which we need because of our fallen nature and it’s contamination of Man’s original created state.

An example would be teaching that anyone can have a miracle (Webster says; Miracle 1: an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs) without the supernatural work of God on our behalf. While this may occur we would have to ask ourselves what the source was that allowed the powers of nature to be subdued to power reserved for the dispensation of God’s grace, timing and purpose.

Bottom Line question:

Is a subduing of the laws of nature or their manipulation to our advantage without the direct intervention of God pleasing to Him or something we want to be part of?

Remember Lucifer’s lie in the Garden was that we would be as God. That lie is still very prevalent today.

If the fruit and the power are in line with God’s Word, which uplifts God and His purposes then it is reasonable to believe that he or she is of God

Accomplishing God's Will-lessons from the Journey

2010-01-08T23:38:00.003-07:00

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

2009-12-07T21:15:00.002-07:00

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!

2009-10-01T21:17:00.007-06:00

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

2009-08-10T23:11:00.000-06:00

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

Abba's Glory School of Supernatural Living Registration Begins

2009-07-12T22:41:00.002-06:00

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/

2009-05-22T23:36:00.001-06:00

I am asking God for His Dream and Plan for a City Wide, Yes a Regional, School of Supernatural Living (Discipleship) and Supernatural Ministry with many churches participating and networking their schools together in the Denver area.

A School where this Revolutionary Generation can be Equipped for Passionate Participation in God!

Will you Dream God's Dream with me?
Send me your input!

The Fire of His Presence

2009-04-28T23:11:00.004-06:00

God has Called, You have Answered, You Have been Preparing, Now Do Not Begin to Build it, until the Fire falls!

Man's plan to accomplish His Vision.
Notes on going from Dream or Vision to Reality.
Dream the Dream
Write Out the Vision
Where do You Start
Dream Big Start Small
Develop a Plan-Work the Plan-Make it Real
Define who and what you need to make it happen.
Job Descriptions not individuals.
Sow the Vision or Cast the Vision
Financial reality
Where will the money come from
Pick Team Members and Board

Communication and Marketing
Work Toward Birth or Launch of Your 501c3
Location, Location, Physical and Spiritual
Write a Timetable
What is next as You grow?
Long Range Planning and Ongoing Evaluations

God's Plan to accomplish His vision
The above sounds like the beginning draft for a good teaching, but there is a missing element without which this is a person attempting to fulfill the Supernatural Vision God has given them with the plans and ideas of mankind. It might even be a good plan, but without the "Fire of God's Presence", it is a plan that will not produce the fruit God has desired!
Throughout the Bible Fire is seen as bringing Purity, representing the Glory of God, or the results of God's Presence.

Today we are often so busy 'doing the work of the ministry', that we fail to spend time in God's presence where the Fire of His presence can accomplish its work in making us like Him. What do I mean by this?

The following points will help us in our understanding.
1. When Moses came down from the mountain after spending 40 days in God's presence or Glory his face was aglow 'literally' with the Glow or Glory of God's presence.
2. In the New Testament, the word that is used when speaking about the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has within it the the imagery of a garment which is dipped in dye or the making pickle into a cucumber.
3. Although there are certain text that speak clearly to the baptism in the Holy Spirit and Fire there are additional text which speak about additional fillings with the Holy Spirit. From these verses we can say that the more you are filled with His Spirit the More like Him you will become. The more we are in His presence the more we not only become like Him but the more we know His heart and His Mind and ways. This knowing the Heart of the father, the Mind of Christ and The Power of the Spirit. Comes as we learn of Him and obey what we see and know Him to do and be.
His Word plays a key role in this but we must be wise in using His Word as it can be a weapon of both life and death.
Prayer plays a important role as well. When we communicate both in communication with him and meditation of His Word and His Ways as evidenced there we build a relationship from which we can know His heart.
Worship, praise and adoration in word, in song and with instruments lift Him up and help us come into proper alignment with Him.

We could on on to speak of all of the Spiritual disciplines, but the point is we must have a relationship of our who being, Spirit, Soul (mind, will + emotion) and Body with Him. This relation must be on His terms as declared in His Word (the Bible).

Our relationship with Him must be one in which we begin to realize these two truth:
1. We are in the world but not of it.
2. in Him we live and move and have our being.

It seems that we want a relationship with God that is based on our preferences, but a review of the interactions of God with people in the Bible are varied in many ways. What is never varied is that He is a Supernatural being interacting with His creation.

So, let us seek Him, 'the author and finisher of our faith.'
So, let us make Him and not our labor for Him our number priority.
So, let us spend time in His presence as outlined above.
So, let it be known far and wide that we continue this relationship through out the day and not just in a devotional time or place.

In closing we can have an exciting relationship with Him every day all day without being so 'heavenly Minded that we are no Earthly Good."

The more we are in His presence the easier it is to hear His voice, know His ways and see His power displayed in the lives of people.

Then His plans and Visions for ministry that He gives us will have the Owners authority and Imprint!

Prayer Storm for Abba's Glory

2009-03-09T22:01:00.004-06:00

This coming week on Wednesday March 11th we would like to have a concentrated time of Prayer for break through for our new ministry, Abba's Glory. We are asking people to join us in Prayer where they are at all over the world during a 12 hour Prayer Storm, beginning Wednesday a 12: 00 noon mountain time and finishing up at midnight that day. This is the time for break through, destroying the works of darkness and for raising up of the people of God to joyfully and boldly fulfill John 17:22. So that the Glory of the Most High God would sweep away the sleep and apathy from His people and the darkness from those who have not seen the light.

That there might be an open heaven and that God's people would be raised up to accomplish all that Jesus began to do and teach. "Let us put an end to God's people perishing for a lack of intimate knowledge of the most high and His ways." Please let me know if you will be available join us during this 12 hour prayer storm as we seek to Spring into the fullness of God's will!.

What is Abba's Glory and what is it's purpose? Abba's Glory is a ministry designed to fulfill John 17:22 22 I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one: AMP Abba's Glory seeks to equip and provide resources for those believers who are desperate for more of God, who are passionate about being a part of all that Jesus began to do and teach, who will take up the mantle and towel of the King and fully Embrace His Kingdom!

We are in the process of developing (in Obedience to a prophetic Word God gave me over a one year ago.)A School of Supernatural Living ( Becoming all that Jesus desires(discipleship) ) and A School of Supernatural Ministry ( Doing all that Jesus began to do and Teach )(ministry Training for a new Day.)

PRAYER REQUEST That we have the will of God in all things.
Specifically:

1. Spiritual discernment and strategies to see the power of God released upon His people, that they might walk in the revelation of the fullness of the Glory Christ has given us.

2. Where and when we hold meetings and classes, including web classes.

3. Development of a web portal to communicate what we are doing and to link believers to other ministries and multimedia resources so that they might fulfill God's design for their life.
4. Right Relationships with those God desires for the accomplishment of the Vision

5. Resources to accomplish all that God desires according to His Time table.
6. Alignment with those who have a common Vision and who desire to see a mighty army raised up in this generation.

PrayerStorm

2009-01-27T22:26:00.006-07:00

Revival in the Church - for the PrayerStorm
hosted by James W. Goll
Jan 2008
1-877-200-1604
http://www.encountersnetwork.com/
The material below is from The Encounters Network site. Please go there for more information!
"A Youth Extravaganza that will Rock the Nations
Revolutions rarely begin suddenly. Instead, they grow up over time as people become less and less satisfied with conditions as they are. One incident leads to another and tensions mount until finally one catalytic event becomes the flash point that propels them into action. The American Revolution did not occur overnight. Among other things, it arose because of a long series of actions by the British Parliament that many colonists felt were attacks on their civil liberties. Discontent and unrest grew until April 1775 when clashes between colonial militia and British regulars at Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts, became the flash point that sparked the colonies into open rebellion.

A spiritual revolution is underway in America, and it is already going global. The Holy Spirit is the instigator and He is doing a mighty work in the midst of God ’s people. Like any other revolution, the decay of the moral climate had been building up for some time.
Many people remember Stand in the Gap, the Promise Keepers-sponsored meeting on October 4, 1997, which brought hundreds of thousands of men from every denomination and walk of life together on the Mall in Washington, DC. Businessmen and bikers, engineers and architects, doctors and lawyers, students and teachers stood side by side for hours and worshiped, confessed, repented, and prayed together. It was a seminal event.
One year earlier, in November 1996, James (Jim) Goll had a dream that was prophetically related to these mass gatherings in the nation ’s capital.

I heard an audible voice which said, “Out of the belly of the Promise Keepers movement will come forth a youth extravaganza that will rock the nations. The stadiums will be filled. The stadiums will be filled as out of the belly of the Promise Keepers movement comes forth a youth extravaganza that will rock the nations. ”

I awoke from this dream to the awareness of the presence of God permeating the bedroom. Immediately I was catapulted into an open vision where I saw a massive outdoor football stadium filled with young people who were radically worshiping God. Beams of laser light crisscrossed the sky and came together to form a huge cross that was high and lifted up above the stadium. At the same time an enormous screen at one end of the stadium was displaying a graphic multimedia presentation of the crucifixion of Christ. As a hammer pounded nails through the wrists of Jesus, in the background I heard people singing “Didn't ’t He, ” an old song from the Jesus Movement of the 1970s, with the words, “And the hammer fell on the wooden nails …”
As all this was occuring, the spirit of conviction of sin began falling upon the young people, and they started crying out to the Lord for mercy and screaming, “What must I do to be saved? ” It was then that I heard aloud in the room once again the words, “Out of the belly of the Promise Keepers movement will come forth a youth extravaganza that will rock the nations. ”
At that time I had no idea at all that a year later the Promise Keepers would be holding Stand in the Gap in Washington, DC, or that in another three years hundreds of thousands of young people would gather at the same place for The Call DC.
Restoring the Hearts of the Fathers and the Children

The closing verses of the last book of the Old Testament contain a remarkable prophecy. After spending three chapters taking the Israelites to task for their public and private sins and for rebelling against God, Malachi ends with these encouraging words from the Lord:
Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse (Malachi 4:4-6).
First, the Lord charges the people to “remember the law of Moses ” as found in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, and as embodied specifically in the Ten Commandments, which they were violating. Then He promises to send “Elijah the prophet ” to usher in a period of restoration that will turn the hearts of the fathers and the children to each other and back to God. This transgenerational awakening will occur “before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord ” and will prevent the “curse ” of God ’s judgment from smiting the land or even reverse it if necessary.

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke make it clear that John the Baptist was the historical fulfillment of God ’s promise in Malachi to “send …Elijah the prophet. ”4 John was also the prophetic forerunner who prepared the way for the coming of Christ. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus certainly turned the hearts of many fathers (and mothers) and children back to the heavenly Father and inaugurated an age of grace in which the judgment of God is averted to give everyone an opportunity to hear the gospel and repent.
However, the nature of biblical prophecy is such that in many instances there may be more than one fulfillment. In Malachi 4:5, for example, the phrase “the great and terrible day of the Lord ” is a common prophetic expression understood to refer not so much to Christ ’s first coming as to His second coming. In this context Malachi 4:5-6 can be seen as prophesying a spirit of Elijah that will arise in the endtimes, igniting a transgenerational awakening that will turn the hearts of the fathers and the children back to God and prepare the way for the triumphant return of Christ.

Already there are signs that this has begun to happen. Stand in the Gap was powerful and significant evidence that the Promise Keepers movement has an anointing of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and back to the Father. This anointing even now has moved beyond the borders of the United States and entered Europe and other lands. Many Christian leaders believe it will continue to progress across the globe as a forerunner ministry that is part of a latter-day fulfillment of Malachi ’s prophecy.
Then, “out of the belly of the Promise Keepers movement ” and sparked by Columbine, came
The Call DC, one of several indicators signifying the arising of a new generation of “children ” whose hearts are being turned back both to their earthly fathers and to their heavenly Father.

The Call DC was not a one-time event. It was a catalyst that opened a door to new beginnings. On September 22, 2001, The Call New England drew an estimated 50,000 believers to Boston ’s City Hall Plaza. For 12 hours participants fasted, repented for the sins of both the church and the nation, and prayed for revival, spiritual transformation, and ethnic, gender, and generational reconciliation in every area of society. This solemn assembly was especially urgent and timely in the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington just 11 days earlier.
Similar gatherings occurred in San Francisco, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City (June 29, 2002), Nashville (7/7/2007), Las Vegas (9/2007), Ohio (1/2008), Birmingham (4/2008), San Diego (11/2008)and other cities as well as international locations such as England (July 13, 2002), Germany, Korea (November 2002), the Philippines (November 30, 2002) and in Israel (5/11/2008). This radical voice crying in the wilderness is going to spread like a prairie grass fire across the nations of the earth.

A revolution is underway today in a spiritual and moral environment that resembles in many respects that which existed in Israel when the original prophet Elijah made his mark. This is movement is not limited to The Call – but it has been a mighty force to get the ball rolling. Let the joining of the generations arise. Let prayer for the greatest youth awakening the world has ever seen mount in every nation of the earth.
Let us storm heaven with prayer until one billion youth have come into the Kingdom of God for such a time as this!

Practical Connection Points:
1. Make history with us by being a part of the PrayerStorm weekly thrust targeting the Greatest Youth Awakening the World has Ever Seen. Visit http://www.prayerstorm.com/ to sign up.
2. Go to http://www.campustransformation.com/ and http://www.campusamerica.org/ to get more practical information on networking and how to start a 24/7 campus house of prayer.
3. Go to http://www.thecall.com/ to receive information on participating in one of many regional, national and international calls for solemn assemblies with worship, prayer and fasting around the world.

Lord, we call forth in our day and in this generation, the Greatest Youth Awakening the world has ever seen. You have done it before, now do it again! Release a move of God that will usher in one billion souls into Your kingdom for Jesus Christ sake. Send revival now! Move quickly Holy Spirit and raise up the greatest youth prayer army of all time. We declare that these prayers are in agreement with Your prophetic purposes for this generation and we praise Your holy name! Amen and Amen!

James W. Goll In Jesus Great Name, Amen and Amen!"

http://ww2.micahtek.com/nexolive/clients/mttn/nPrayerStorm.cfm?&VISIBLE=false&CFID=18400697&CFTOKEN=47157066

Manifesting Your Spirit by Graham Cooke

2008-12-26T23:18:00.004-07:00

' We serve a God who fills all things with Himself. In every believer there is an internal Presence that provides spiritual momentum. We are designed to be carriers of Living Water. We are created in Christ to never be thirsty again. A well has been dug within each of us.

Warriors know about and have experienced Divine displacement. The removal of the old, and the establishing of a new nature, mindset, and spiritual reality. The God who makes all things new, works through the inner man in a powerful way. This internalized relationship is the bedrock of all our experience and interactions between earth and Heaven. Whatever we need will be manifested, (made real) in our spirit as we exercise faith and dependence upon the Lord.

In this three volume series The Way of the Warrior Graham Cooke explores what it means to manifest our spirit in the course of life. Power flows from the inside out! Warriors live within themselves, calm and untroubled by externals.

In the heat of battle, when faced with difficult circumstances, contending against impossible odds, warriors call up the majesty and supremacy of God that is already present in the Secret Place of their Spirit. They have a warrior's perception of the Reality of God in the midst of provocation, attack and opposition.

Trust: The Evidence of Love
An excerpt from Graham Cooke’s Manifesting Your Spirit can be found at the link below.
http://grahamcooke.com/index.php?fuseaction=e4_news.display_full&news_id=63

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Invocation
Chapter 2: Waking up Your Inner Man
Chapter 3: Digging Out a Well
Chapter 4: Internal Frame of Reference
Chapter 5: To Manifest Means to Make Visible
Chapter 6: Agree with Your Trainer!
Chapter 7: The Starting Point for Breakthrough
Chapter 8: Faith's Partnership with the Will
Chapter 9: Warriors Have a Royal Perspective
Chapter 10: Resilience
Chapter 11: Inner Atmosphere Determines Outer Environment
Chapter 12: Frustration
Chapter 13: Your Intimacy Intimidates the Enemy
Chapter 14: A Warrior's Perception of Reality
Chapter 15: Warriors Prove God's Dominance
Chapter 16: We Should not be Deflected from Purpose
Chapter 17: Weakness Cannot Prevent us from Overcoming
Chapter 18: The Art of Thinking Powerfully
Chapter 19: Meekness: Your Secret Weapon
Chapter 20: Strengths and Weaknesses are a Paradox
Chapter 21: Listening
Chapter 22: We are Anchored by Purpose
Chapter 23: Declaring Your Commitment
Chapter 24: The Water Level is Rising . . . a prophecy'

The material above is from The Arsenal Book Store and graham Cooke's web site.
http://arsenalbooks.com/category/s

Qualities of a Spiritual Warrior

2008-12-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

Qualities of a Spiritual Warrior
The Way of the Warrior Series Vol One
Graham Cooke

Brad at The Arsenal Books has just posted information on this new book by Graham Cooke. Below is material from The Arsenal site where you can order this book. If you want to grow up as a Christian and stop the enemy from pushing around this is a great place to start!http://arsenalbooks.com/product/Qualities_of_a_Spiritual_Warrior_Graham_Cooke/31/?r=octem

Warriors do not react to their circumstances, they respond to God. They see everything as an opportunity to learn, grow, advance and increase faith. They have taken their own internal territory.

They do not avoid tough situations; they are not looking for rescue. They are developing a revelation of God so profound, it governs every facet of their lives.

Warriors know that Jesus reigns and everything leads to majesty. That means that every situation is not theirs to win; but theirs to lose.

In this book Graham Cooke examines the qualities of people who fight from victory not towards it. He explores the attributes required for involvement with God at a high level of warfare. Warriors cannot be intimidated by the enemy, because they are too busy being fascinated by Jesus.

In this three volume series The Way of the Warrior, Graham Cooke explores what it means to be captivated by majesty. He is a passionate believer in the supremacy, sovereignty and glory of God in and through the body of Christ.

There is a place in the Spirit set aside for us where we make the enemy confused. We weary him by our rest. We discourage him by our faith. We demoralize him with our joy. We depress him by our endurance. He is dispirited by our favor; defeated by our grace. Warriors win by staying fresher, longer.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The World is Crying Out for Heroes
Chapter 2: Spiritual Warriors Change Atmospheres
Chapter 3: Standing in the Forefront of the Battle
Chapter 4: Great Leaders Produce Kingdom People
Chapter 5: Seeing Beyond the Natural Realm
Chapter 6: Difference Between Anger and Assertiveness
Chapter 7: Rest: The Warrior's Greatest Weapon
Chapter 8: Stillness
Chapter 9: Boldness and Humility
Chapter 10: Confidence is the Hallmark
Chapter 11: Endurance
Chapter 12: Warriors Break Through for Others
Chapter 13: Fearlessness
Chapter 14: A Revelatory Capacity to Receive
Chapter 15: Preoccupied With Jesus
Chapter 16: Understanding Crisis and Process
Chapter 17: Knowledge Without Experience is Not Truth
Chapter 18: The Mystery of Godliness
Chapter 19: Contentment: The Outward Expression of an Inward Glory
Chapter 20: Everything Leads to Majesty

Endorsements
Qualities of a Spiritual Warrior is the most inviting book on the subject I've ever seen. It is refreshing to read a book on warfare where the author is not impressed with the devil. Graham instead restores us to our rightful place of being captivated with Jesus. His wonderful understanding of the ways of the Kingdom does more than just bring clarity, it empowers the believer to live with victory as the normal expression of following Christ.
Bill Johnson, Bethel Church, Redding, CA

Spiritual warriors who forcefully advance the kingdom by intentionally invading enemy territory attract the heat of principalities and powers and soon find themselves in hand to hand combat with these dark spirit beings. But the wisdom of the battlefield belongs to these warriors and even the principalities and powers stand in awe at the unveiling of the manifold wisdom of God. (Ephesians 3:10) Like Caleb, Graham's appetite for battle continues to grow and these pages reveal the wisdom that only comes through seasoned frontline spiritual warfare. As Solomon once said; "By wise counsel wage war." (Proverbs 20:18)
Phil Mason, Spiritual Director, New Earth Tribe

About the Author
Graham Cooke is part of the leadership team at The Mission in Vacaville, California, working with senior pastor David Crone. He regularly provides prophetic input regarding the work of The Mission and is developing a prophetic voice within the church and across the region. He functions as part of a think tank in Vacaville and around the world looking at the changing face of the church and kingdom and developing strategies to remain aligned with the Holy Spirit.

Graham is a popular conference speaker and is well known for his training programs on the prophetic, spiritual warfare, intimacy with God, leadership, and various forms of spirituality and the supernatural.

He also functions as a consultant on the process of transition, specifically enabling churches to progress to a higher dimension of calling and vision. He has a passion to build prototype churches that can fully reach a postmodern world.

ORDER your copy today at The Arsenal http://arsenalbooks.com

http://arsenalbooks.com/product/Qualities_of_a_Spiritual_Warrior_Graham_Cooke/31/?r=octem

The Spirit and Truth Study Blog

2008-10-25T22:19:00.004-06:00

I want to introduce those read this blog to another New Revolutionary.

"These New Revolutionaries are the ones who reject the spirit of religion and passionately embrace the truth and power of God's Word to change what is by into what God desires."

Jessica TenBrink is a worship leader with a heart after God who has the gifting and skill to lead a group of believers deep into the father’s presence and on into His heart!

Jessica has recently started ‘The Spirit and Truth Study Blog’, which is designed to take you through the entire Bible and study Biblical Worship. Jessica's introduction to her new blog is below along with a bio and photo. ‘

The Spirit and Truth Study Blog’, by Jessica TenBrink This blog chronicles my study of the Word to learn what it really means to worship in Spirit & Truth. John 4:23 says, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." My desire for The Spirit and Truth Study is to become one whom God can find faithfully worshiping Him. Join me in the study. Comment, and offer your insight so we can grow together. http://spiritandtruthstudy.blogspot.com/

Invitation
“I want to invite you all to visit me on my new blog and join me as I start an intense study in the Bible on worship. My new blog is focused solely on a brand new study that I am embarking on. I thought I would chronicle it in blog form for anyone who would like to pitch in with their insight or comments, or even questions. What fun! I have posted the backdrop to the study so far (what has led to the start of the study) and I hope to begin posting actual study material within the week. If you know anyone else who might be interested in reading as I study the Bible in the context of what kind of worship God requires, please let them know as well! You can subscribe to my blog on the left hand side of the homepage where it says "subscribe". Then you will get automatic updates after each post.”

Bio:
Jessica TenBrink is a graduate of Oral Roberts University, a wife to Karl, and a stay-at-home mother to Annalee (7) and Mattea (2). A pastor’s daughter two times over (both her mother and father pastor Crossfire, a Church Without Walls in Centennial, CO), she has a calling to minister to the local Body of Christ as worship leader. She served Crossfire as its first worship leader for two years beginning in 2005. She has a heart to see the Lord exalted within the corporate worship setting with passion, might, and abandon. Her desire is to counter the cultural norm in America that says, “I can worship God just fine with my hands in my pockets.” Her desire is to raise up Davids—people after God’s own heart, whom God seeks out as worshippers while they worship in Spirit and truth.” David was not only a worshiper; he was a warrior. Jessica’s vision is to raise up warriors for the Kingdom of God who accomplish extraordinary things in the very potent humility that true worship requires. Because the Lord dwells in the praises of His people, her vision is to encourage, mentor, and teach believers that God moves when we praise and worship His name! Jessica and Karl are raising their children and serving the Lord in Colorado Springs, Colorado. http://spiritandtruthstudy.blogspot.com/

ARE YOU NAKED?

2008-10-24T14:46:00.001-06:00

Are you naked? was written by Tom Crandall.

Tom is one the New Revolutionaries I have recently written about. I believe you will find this article to have the authenticity of the Holy Spirit.

In a day when so many leaders are chasing popularity and seeking to build a crowd with worldly methods it is refreshing to find those, like Tom, who have the heart of the Father, the mind of Christ and the Power of the Spirit. The proclamation of the Gospel and the Lord Jesus who is the King of the universe are without compromise in Tom's ministry.

May God reveal his message to this generation through these New Revolutionaries with His authority and power to a generation caught in the whirlwind of spiritual darkness, confusion, false god's, phony promises and false hope!
________________________________________________

Are you naked? “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid” -Adam. Have you ever felt vulnerable and exposed to the point that all you wanted to do is run and hid? I have, more times than I am willing to admit. It’s one of the worst feelings in the world!! You feel like everybody is looking at you and at that moment all the things you wish you could change scream at you; insecurities, secret sins, failures. The masks come off. I’m sure what Adam and Eve experienced that day in the Garden of Eden was very similar. “Oh no its God, hurry quickly under the bush, he won’t find us there! We’ll be covered.” Truth be known, that feeling that feels like a lightning bolt going through your subconscious telling you your missing something can be one of your best friends. After all, who wants to be naked and exposed before other people? Can you imagine (please don’t) if your neighbor walked out of their comfortable abode to get the news paper one morning with nothing but starbucks in hand! AAAHHH! Though most of us would make a mad dash for our front door, a good neighbor would scream on their way in, “you’re missing something!!” As funny as this sounds our walk with God can be very similar. This is why I am so thankful for the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

He is my most faithful partner in life. He let’s me know when I leave the house having forgot to put my pants on. I can honestly say that my greatest fear in life is no longer being rejected by people, preaching a bad message or looking bad because of a decision I made; it’s being naked, and I’m not talking about leaving the house having forgot my shirt, but leaving the house or doing anything for that matter not clothed in the manifest presence of God! Spiritual nakedness can come from eating the fruit of bitterness and unforgiveness, a critical spirit and judgmental attitude, or just being to busy for God. Remember the seven sons’ of Sceva from Acts 19? They approached demon possessed people and tried to do spiritual things with out having their own spiritual power but rather attempting to operate in someone else’s, can I say again they were naked; with out the presence of God they got beat up so bad that they left physically naked and bleeding from such a bad beating.

For me, the simplest thing such as loving a little child to mowing the lawn I need to make sure that I am clothed in the presence of God, and not showing the world that it’s ok to go shirtless. Adam and Eve were so use to being clothed in the presence of God that when it was gone, they freaked out. It wasn’t until God came and made the first animal sacrifice to cover their nakedness with the skins of an animal that they felt comfortable again. Jesus Christ has paid our price to be clothed or wrapped in his presence. His blood has provided us with the opportunity to put our clothes back on. Do you freak out and get as scared as I do when you’re to busy to get fully dressed in the morning, or are you in the habit of walking in spiritual nakedness. The army of Israel was petrified of one man named Goliath because they were naked, but little scrawny David hit this giant trained warrior with a rock and cut his head off because he was wearing the right clothes! So the next time you get intimidated, or a friend tells you “you’re missing something,” get clothed in the power of God and you will stand with a confidence that is not in your own flesh but is in the presence of the one who spoke the world into existence with a simple word. Are you naked?

Tom Crandall http://www.collidemovement.com/

BIO:

Pastor Tom Crandall serves as the Youth & Young Adult Pastor of Mountain View Christian Assembly, Sandy. Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, he has a background in Evangelism & Outreach, Youth, and Young Adults. After having a radical encounter with God in the fall of '95, his pursuit has been to know Jesus Christ and to see others have a divine encounter with the Lord. Soon after his salvation experience, he felt the call of God on his life and attended the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry in Pensacola, Florida, from '97 to '99, where he received his Associates Degree in Practical Ministry. There he met his wife, Leslie, and they were soon married September 11, 1999. Since then, they have been on staff at churches in Texas and Ohio where they served with passion and love. Their heartbeat is to see the lost transformed by the love of Christ and the Church revived and walking in the character and power God has called her to. They reside in Salt Lake City, Utah, and have two incredible kids name Joel and Adelyn

Leadership Essentials

2008-10-21T22:38:00.007-06:00

It is said that leaders lead, but it is also said that leaders who are untested and untrained only lead themselves and others into trouble. Often those who are gifted as leaders are given leadership roles without any awareness of their character, training or maturity. This happens because we so often lack solid leadership.

The Bible tells us that without a vision the people parish or wander aimlessly. The leader who is given the vision will destroy him or her self along with the people following them in the pursuit of that vision if they are not of sound character and tested under fire.

We have all seen this in our culture, politics and within the Church. People are almost given a free ride if their gifts are large enough. The political figure, athlete or co-worker whose smooth ways, words, money or connections get them into power when another person is more qualified. All of this to say that raising up and equipping solid leaders is a challenge that we need effective resources to accomplish. Leadership Essentials is such a resource! The materials below are from the Intervarsity web site. Please click on the link to discover more. You will want to purchase this book it is a great tool!

Leadership is essential.
Maybe you've shied away from leadership because you don't know what it will involve, or you feel too unsure of your own abilities. But your leadership is needed! In every sector of society, from families to businesses to churches, leadership roles remain empty, waiting for people willing and able to step up and make wise decisions that bring positive change. And, in a world with priorities vastly different from Christ's, Christian leaders are especially needed to point people to him.

Preparation is essential.
As essential as the leadership itself is the preparation beforehand, which is why Greg Ogden, a seasoned leader himself, has created this interactive guide that will give you the tools you need to lead well, using your unique gifts and experience.

Divided into four sections, this workbook will help you develop character, postures, vision and skills as you participate in the following elements in each chapter:
1. a memory verse
2. a Bible study
3. a reading
4. a leadership exercise

By working through these multiple channels of learning you'll be equipped not just with head knowledge about leadership but with true character formation and awareness of your own abilities that will prepare you for the challenges and choices of leadership.

Designed to work well on your own, with a partner or with a group, Leadership Essentials by Greg Ogden and Daniel Meyer is the essential preparation tool for those who would be led and shaped by Christ to lead others with strength and wisdom.

Table of Contents

Introduction:The Art of Multiplying Influence

Part One: The Character of a Leader

1 Holy

Developing a vision of Christlike character

2 Habitual

Cultivating spiritual disciplines to sustain our leadership

3 Humble

Keeping watch over our souls

Part Two: The Posture of a Leader

4 Kneeling

Embracing servant love as our primary model

5 Teaming

Building teams to accomplish our corporate mission

6 Stewarding

Stewarding our gifts, passions and personality

Part Three: The Vision of a Leader

7 The Compelling Christ

Loving passionately the compelling Christ

8 Embracing the Kingdom

Engaging people in mission

9 Helping Others See

Lifting people out of lethargy and inertia

Part Four: The Shaping of a Leader

10 Taming Temptation

Facing the dangers of money, sex and power

11 Conquering Criticism

Handling criticism with humility and fortitude

12 Defeating Dragons Addressing disappointment, frustration, anger and depression

Features & Benefits
A follow up to Greg Ogden's bestselling Discipleship Essentials
Great for use in small groups, one on one, or in mentoring pairs or triads
1. Includes material for individual use as well as group discussion
2. Includes key readings on leadership
3. Includes inductive Bible study
4. Includes leadership exercises

http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/features/code=1097

The New Kingdom Revolutionaries

2008-10-10T22:36:00.002-06:00

God is raising up New Revolutionaries within His Church to bring about a New Reformation! The Leaders or Captains of these New Revolutionaries have been exposed to the greatest Shift in the work of God that has occurred in centuries.

These New Revolutionaries want more than revival of what is and have diligently prayed and worked for what God in His Word has promised. They seek the work of His Spirit in this generation with such magnitude that nations are changed and the tide of darkness and the stench of hell and death are cleansed from their cities and nations.

These New Revolutionaries are the ones who reject the spirit of religion and passionately embrace the truth and power of God's Word to change what is by into what God desires, a reformation of every village, town and city in the nations of the earth.

Our God rejecting world has been imposing their way on the earth and people of God long enough! Now is the time for The New Revolutionaries to bring about a New Kingdom Reformation!!

These New Revolutionaries embrace many streams of God's work but are more interested in the work God is doing and wants to do than being a part of a particular fellowship, organization or denomination!

With this message on my heart and having recently delivered this call for New Revolutionaries which included this message and the previous two articles below at a gathering of younger believers at Prepare the Way Ministries led by Pastor Dan and Jennie Yeackley. I began to search to discover if others in the Kingdom had also sensed the urgency of the Spirit concerning these things.

I found the Reformation Manifesto on the Arsenal Book site linked below and did some investigation into its content. Cindy Jacobs, who has been a leading force in taking the power of God to the nations, as well as, a leader in both the prayer, spiritual warfare, prophetic and market place ministries movements has captured the heart of God in this book.

When we read Isaiah 6:1-8 and other places in the Bible where God reveals Himself to people there is a process which includes the Revelation of God's majesty, a realization of even a godly person's short comings in God's presence, a cleansing and affirmation of God's desire to make us partners with Him and then a opportunity to be used of God to carry out an assignment at His direction.

Isa 6:1-8

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, [in a vision] I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the skirts of His train filled the [most holy part of the] temple. [John 12:41.] 2 Above Him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two [each] covered his [own] face, and with two [each] covered his feet, and with two [each] flew. 3 And one cried to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory! 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone and ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts! 6 Then flew one of the seraphim [heavenly beings] to me, having a live coal in his hand which he had taken with tongs from off the altar; 7 And with it he touched my mouth and said, Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity and guilt are taken away, and your sin is completely atoned for and forgiven. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. AMP

We see several times in the Bible that God reveals Himself, His glory and the wonder of His majesty to people. The glorious presence of the God above all gods and Creator and sustainer of all that is, is meant to both change us and motivate our lives and passions to be poured out for the purposes and ways of His choosing. It is more than a bless me experience it is equipping and changing us to be partners in His workings among mankind.

We must have His glory and wondrous presence, but we must also respond to Him when we encounter Him and be available to be cleansed and sent to do what pleases Him if we are to see His glory translated into changed people, communities and nations!.

God is calling for New Revolutionaries, will you answer the call and say, Here am I send me? Ray Boltz has a great song and video, I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb you can find it on you tube. Answer the call and pledge allegiance to the Lamb of God, King Jesus!

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=I+pledge+alligance+to+the+lamb&search_type=&aq=f

For Information on The Reformation Manifesto by Cindy Jacobs and information of how to get your own copy go to these sites.

This book will challenge your thinking and have you seeking God for His wisdom concerning these things.

http://equipperstoolbox.blogspot.com/

http://www.arsenalbooks.com/category/s

This article is a revised version of a previous article by me

The Kingdom Shifts To The New Revolutionaries

2008-10-09T21:14:00.008-06:00

God is releasing a New Generation of Kingdom Revolutionaries who are leading a major Shift in the battle between the Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness. The new Jesus Movement is here!

Over the last several years many have said there is a Shift of major proportions coming in the church. A brief look at the several recent books that have been published, such as, The Revolution by George Barna, They Like Jesus but not the Church by Dan Kimball, and talk of having Permission to do Church Differently in the 21st Century by Graham Cook and Gary Goodell all speak to us clearly that The SHIFT is not just coming but already happening.

The continuous Shifting (Revival, Renewal, Reformation, Great Awakenings) within the Kingdom has fascinated me off and on for a long time. The SHIFT (the coming of the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of man) can be seen in many examples throughout church history.

I believe that an examination of Church history shows that God has been shifting and sifting the Church for over 100 years in significant ways. In fact He has been shifting it for nineteen hundred years and Power shifting it for more than the last 100. With each new wave coming more quickly than the previous one.

When the age of enlightenment began knowledge began to increase among men. Scripture says in the last days knowledge will increase. With each new increase the pace has quickened and with it the enemy has enlarged his efforts to shift people's hearts away from God. God in turn has been shifting His people to respond by releasing His Spirit (life or Kingdom) and with it the Gifts and the Fire of God to cleanse people who follow Him so that they can walk in the knowledge and power of God and respond to the increasing waves of knowledge with the wisdom and power (the life) of God.

We often see THE SHIFT as a season of change renewal or revival, a period where Christians have an increased passion and desire to please God and know Him better and where the Holy Spirit operates more noticeably. It is however, more than just and increase in our desire to please God. It is a change in how we do things and why we do things related to the work of God both on a personal and church wide basis.

It is from this Life flow from God (Holy Spirit) that man is made able to respond as God desires to captivate the hearts of people while the world, the flesh and the devil seek to captivate them through ever increasing knowledge and self satisfaction. This truth, that knowledge brings carnal satisfaction and fulfills the desire of a person's inner soul needs and wants (while masking the innermost spiritual needs of a person, which are only met as we align our spirit man with God and His purposes) is seen as it springs forth in the attack so cleverly implemented by the Morning Star turned deceiver in the Garden. "You shall not surely die, but you will become as God knowing (knowledge defined by the Greek mind set: one who is aware of both options of a concept) good from evil.

”The truth is that by disobeying God they became partakers of both evil and knew it even as they had been partakers of good and knew it.; one who has awareness gained by participation in evil, but had been partakers of good)

This Greek idea of knowledge, while very much like Lucifer/Satan was also very much un-God like because He (GOD) has never partaken of evil for it is contrary to His nature.

All of this to say YES, The Shift (away from the old wineskins and kingdoms built by man in the name of God) is gaining momentum at this very hour.

May we humble ourselves before God so that we can Shift with God as He releases His Spirit and Fire to bring His message of deliverance salvation, and cleaning accompanied by the working of His mighty power through His signs, wonders and the lives that have been radically changed by Him!

ARTWORK: http://www.majesticartworks.com/ID11herald.htm by William Hallmark http://www.majesticartworks.com/

God's Unfolfing Battle Plan

2008-10-08T08:18:00.002-06:00

The Spiritual Warfare Movement is not as visible or as distinct an element in the seminar circuit as it once was. Now, it is part of the mainstream of the Third Wave, New Apostolic, Charismatic, Pentecostal, Prophetic Movements and many Evangelical Churches.

We now understand the Battle that rages for the souls and cities of the Earth in a greater way. Knowledge of the importance of prayer walking and strategies for taking cities back from the evil one are well known. But, what is God unfolding now and in the days ahead? What do we need to know and do in the days ahead to be completely useful to the Lords plan to establish His kingdom in the lives of people and in the Earth in the days ahead?

Chuck Pierce's book will have you crying out for more of God and for His grace and wisdom to take your place in establishing the Kingdom in the exciting and powerful days ahead!

God's Unfolding Battle Plan by Chuck D. Pierce
In this season of war that we have been living in, the Lord has released much revelation. THE

SPIRITUAL WAR AROUND US IS UNFOLDING.
A people without knowledge perish. God's Unfolding Battle Plan and the revised Future War of the Church will help you understand how to stand in victory in the times we are living in. God's Unfolding Battle Plan: A Field Manual for Advancing the Kingdom of God will point you into an understanding of the warfare we are presently fighting and what is ahead for us in the future.

In God's Unfolding Battle Plan, Chuck Pierce continues to empower Christians to face the exciting present (and future) for the Church that he began to lay out in The Future War of the Church. Yes, we are in the midst of a battle that will only increase in strength, but the victory has already been promised. Outlining the next seven-year period of spiritual war (2008-2015), Pierce shows how God will advance His Kingdom, causing the faithful to rise up and God's will to be done here on Earth as it is in heaven.

God's Unfolding Battle Plan offers a glimpse into what's ahead as well as encouragement to triumph over the attending forces of lawlessness, hopelessness and violence.

Discover what God has said to Pierce about the upcoming period and learn how to prosper through strategic intercession, worship warfare and a powerful new weapon of intercession: the four watches of the night.

Remain hopeful, knowing you are a part of God's unfolding battle plan and that the best is still ahead. This book will also give you great insight through the next 20 years and beyond!

The chapters are:
Chapter 1 - Becoming a Warrior in a Season of War
Chapter 2 - The Mind War: Critical Times Require Critical Thinking
Chapter 3 - The Blood War: Empowered in Soul and Spirit
Chapter 4 - The Time War: Praying to Reorder Your Day
Chapter 5 - The Presence-and-Glory War: Is Your Lampstand Burning?
Chapter 6 - The Power War: Who Are You in Agreement With?
Chapter 7 - The Wealth War: Defining Your Boundaries
Chapter 8 - The War of the Nations: Will the Real Ruling Nation Please Rise
Chapter 9 - The Harvest War: Keep Praying and Prophesying

Buy this Book at The Arsenal Book Store. http://www.arsenalbooks.com/prodinfo.asp?number=9780830744701

Or at the Glory of Zion store, http://gloryofzion.org/webstore/Scripts/prodView.asp?idProduct=438

The Arsenal Bookstore

2008-10-06T23:13:00.012-06:00

The Arsenal Bookstore was founded by C. Peter Wagner as an extension of Global Harvest Ministries.

In January of 2004, the Arsenal was sold to T.A.B. Enterprise, an organization started by two of Dr Wagner's former employees who have a passion to provide the best resources available to promote the advancement of the Kingdom.

If you would like more information about Global Harvest ministries please click here http://www.globalharvest.org/

The Arsenal Bookstore's mission was and is to provide cutting edge resources to mobilize the body of Christ toward the accomplishment of the Great Commission.

http://arsenalbooks.com/ To Order call 1-888-563-5150

__________________________________________________

The Arsenal specializes in the following topics:
Apostolic Ministry
Prophetic Ministry
Prayer and Intercession
Spiritual Warfare
Spiritual Mapping and City Transformation
Deliverance and the Deliverance Ministry
Signs, Wonders, and Miracles
And Other Charismatic topics

__________________________________________________

The Tabs available at the site are as follows.
New Release
Best Selling Authors A-F
Mahesh Chavda
Jim Chosa
Randy Clark
Graham Cooke
Paul Cox
Jonathan David
Paul Keith Davis
Naomi Dowdy
John Eckhardt
Best Selling Authors G-L
Noel & Phyl Gibson
James Goll
Rebecca Greenwood
Sylvia Gunter
Frank Hammond
Bill Hamon
Joe Ibojie
Cindy Jacobs
Bill Johnson
Rick Joyner
Best Selling Authors M-Z
Ana Mendez Ferrell
George Otis Jr
Alistair Petrie
Alistai Petrie Videos
Chuck Pierce
Derek Prince
Dutch Sheets
John and Paula Sandford
Dale Sides
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The Blood
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Prophetic Worship
Women In Ministry
Worship

A NEW BREED of MODERN PREACHERS

2008-10-03T23:20:00.003-06:00

I found this while browsing and I believe everyone needs to read it. It is from SermonIndex.net
http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=category&cid=224
Let me know what you think.

A NEW BREED of MODERN PREACHERS
-by Greg Gordon
A new movement of fearless uncompromising preachers:
God is raising up a new breed of preachers in our day. People are
sick of modern-day soft preaching that does not move our
consciences anymore then a worldly movie would. God is going to
raise them up, they will not be bred in modern day seminaries or
bible colleges. They will speak against the whole system that is
raising anemic preachers and teachers. Their messages will be
bold, strong, pointed, it will offend many but save many. Their
preaching will bear witness to their calling. God will be in their
messages and the fear of God will come with their message. God
has always been faithful to have a voice in every generation.
Surely we find ourselves in a time as the Psalmist lamented:
“There is no more any prophet, neither is there among us, any
that knoweth how long.” Yet they will come! They will come with
messages that will sear our consciences, Oh how we need a
modern day prophet. Will the modern day prophet agree with all
the theology and comfort of American Christianity? No, his
message will so contradict all of what we know of Christianity that
we will hardly believe he is from God. Jeremiah was a prophet that
heard from God and he prophesied: “behold, I will make my words
in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.”
These new breed of preachers will be men that are shut-in with
God and hear from him and their words will be as “fire” and the
people “wood.”

D.M. McIntyre spoke of this same heavenly principle: “Before the
great revival in Gallneukirchen broke out, Martin Boos spent hours
and days and often nights in lonely agonies of intercession.
Afterwards, when he preached, his words were as flame, and the
hearts of the people as grass.” Oh these men will be “much with
God” and “little with men.” The things of earth to them will grow
strangely dim. They will be strange men to the ways and systems
of the world. They will speak against the hypocrisy in the pews
and the hirelings in the pulpits. The fear of man will not have any
hold on these men, the holy fear of God will be their overwhelming
vision. They will speak the “word of the Lord” in due season and
not refrain from being a mouthpiece in the hand of the Lord.

PROPHETIC Preaching

A.W. Tozer spoke of this new breed of preachers in his short
article ‘prophetic preaching’ - this is the need of our day and it will
come: “If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation, it must be by
other means than any now being used. If the Church in the second
half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in
the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper,
ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly
type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no
questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to
make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have
been tried and found wanting. Another kind of religious leader must
arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who
has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne.
When he comes (and I pray God there will be not one but many),
he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking,
smooth civilization holds dear. He will contradict, denounce and
protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition
of a large segment of Christendom. Such a man is likely to be lean,
rugged, blunt-spoken and a little bit angry with the world. He will
love Christ and the souls of men to the point of willingness to die
for the glory of the One and the salvation of the other. But he will
fear nothing that breathes with mortal breath. This is only to say
that we need to have the gifts of the Spirit restored again to the
Church. And it is my belief that the one gift we need most now is
the gift of prophecy.”

Uncompromised, unsettled, unyielding, unmovable, unshakable!
These men will come with unbelievable message to those steeped
in unbelief. David Wilkerson said once, “only praying men touch
God.” These men will be ‘men of God’ that touch God and hear
from Him. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Joel, Hosea, Zechariah,
these men will find good company with the coming prophets. They
will be fully accepted of God and fully rejected by men. God will
call them ‘blessed’ and men will call them ‘cursed.’

PICTURE of a PROPHET

Leonard Ravenhill in his book “America is too young to die” speaks
of the true picture of the coming prophets to Christendom. Oh how
sorely we need them: “The prophet in his day is fully accepted of
God and totally rejected by men. The group challenged by the
prophet because they are smug and comfortably insulated from a
perishing world in their warm but untested theology are not likely to
vote him ‘man of the year’ when he refers to them as habituates of
the ‘synagogue of Satan!’

"He is unpopular because he opposes the popular in morality and
spirituality. In a day of faceless politicians and voiceless preachers,
there is not a more urgent national need than that we cry to God
for a prophet! He has not price tags. He is totally ‘otherworldly.’

"He lives in the heights with God and comes into the valley with a
‘thus saith the Lord.’ He is the villain of today and the hero of
tomorrow. He is excommunicated while alive and exalted when
dead! He walks before men for days, but has walked before God for years.

"He announces, pronounces, and denounces! God talks to him
about men. He talks to men about God. There is a terrible vacuum
in Evangelical Christianity today. The missing person in our ranks
is the prophet. The man with a terrible earnestness. The man
totally otherworldly. the man rejected by other men, even other
good men, because they consider him too austere, too severely
committed, too negative and unsociable.

"Let him be as plain as John the Baptist. Let him for a season be
a voice crying in the wilderness of modern theology and stagnant
churchianity. Let him be as selfless as Paul the apostle. Let him,
too, say and live, ‘This one thing I do.’ Let him reject ecclesiastical
favors. Lim him be self-abasing, nonself-seeking, nonself-projecting,
nonself- righteous, nonself-glorifying.

"Let him say nothing that will draw men to himself, but only that
which will move men to God. Let him come daily from the throne
room of a holy God, the place where he has received the order of
the day. Let him, under God, unstop the ears of the millions who
are deaf through the clatter of shekels milked from this hour of
material mesmerism.

"Let him cry with a voice this century has not heard because he
has seen a vision no man in this century has seen. God send us
this Moses to lead us from the wilderness of crass materialism,
where the rattlesnakes of lust bite us and where enlightened men,
totally blind spiritually, lead us to an ever-nearing Armageddon.
God have mercy; send us PROPHETS!”

RUN for YOUR LIFE

The message of these men will seem strong and extreme to most.
They will call for utter immediate implicit obedience to the commands
of the Lord. They will call for a turning away from sin and from sinful
practices. They will preach a God-exalting and men-abasing
message. They will not be worried about men’s self-esteem or
happiness but rather their clarion cry will be: “Holiness Unto the Lord!”

Their message might sound like this excerpt of a message
preached by Carter Conlon: “Run from gospels that focus on your
success and prosperity. Run from those that use the name of
Jesus Christ only for personal gain. Run from those that are picking
your pocket in the name of Jesus. Run! Run from gospels that focus
only on self-improvement, or on three steps to a better personality.
Run from churches where men and not Christ are glorified. Run,
get out of that place! Run from churches in America and Canada
where there is no Bible, no cross, no searching Word, no
repentance from sin. Run when there’s no mention of the blood of
Jesus. It’s an unclean place, so run! Run from churches where the
worship leaves you cold, where there’s no sense of God’s
presence, because they don’t know God. Run! Run from churches
where you’re comfortable in your sin. If you enter God’s house with
sin in your life, but you’re not convicted of it, you’re sitting at a
table of devils. Run! Run from pulpits that are filled with politically
driven men who use the pulpit of God for a personal agenda. Run!
Run from those who preach division between races and cultures.
Run! Run! Get out! Turn it off. They know nothing of God. Run from
ungodly, spasmodic movements and endless empty prophesying.
Beloved Church. Run for your life! Run from preachers that stand,
who tell only stories and jokes. Run like you’ve never run before.
Run from those that are only after money and they use one
gimmick after another to get your money. One foolish thing after
another to get your money. Run.”

God is going to get the attention of us. He is going to shake
“everything that can be shaken.” We should be on our face brothers
and sisters. Great times of shaking are coming. Are we standing
firm on truth of God or are we allowing the world and its cares to
choke our spiritual life? God is going to raise up a new modern
breed of preachers that will be uncompromising and unrelenting in
their proclamation of the heart of God. Hear this blunt blaring word
from the late Dr. Joseph Parker: “Oh, ye white-faced, weak-kneed
believers! Believers in what? Ye shifty speculators, stealers of
prophetic mantles! go, drink yourselves to death, and go to your
proper devil! Ye are not the Church of Christ, might well be the
speech which ascended Pauls might deliver to us, as we reshuffle
the theological cards, and rearrange our credenda, and modify
and dilute our doctrinal positions and enthusiasms.” Let us also
hear one of Mr. Ravenhill’s often quoted lines: “Our pulpits today
are occupied with puppets rather than with prophets, with
organizers rather than with agonizers.” Does that smite? It is true!
Let us start praying to see God revive, restore, renew and
revolutionize the Church as we know it. We need a mighty touch
of God’s Spirit and men that will speak with that anointing from
heaven. God is raising a new breed of preachers in these last
days. Oh how we need them!

-SOURCE: http://www.sermonindex.net/

The Call DC 2008

2008-08-02T20:41:00.012-06:00

There is a Call that has gone out accross the Earth.

This Call is being heard by many who in turn are crying out to this generation of New Kingdom Revolutionaries to Cry Out to and Seek God with all of their heart soul and strength! One of the visible results of this is

THE CALL DC 2008 led by Lou Engle

About TheCall
http://www.thecall.com/

The material below is from the Call website

"TheCall is a divinely initiated, multi-racial, multi-generational, and cross-denominational gathering to corporate prayer and fasting. We believe that our nation is in desperate need of the mercy of God and a great Spiritual Awakening. TheCall is committed to mobilizing people from all across America to gather together to petition God for His undeserved mercy for our nation in 12-hour solemn assemblies. Just as in the days of Joel, we believe that now is the time to blow the trumpet across our land, to fast, to pray, and return to the Lord with all our hearts.In the midst of an “entertainment” driven society,

TheCall does not seek to entertain, but to encounter God. Unlike other mass gatherings which attract people through the rhythms of loud music, the glamour of flashing lights, or through the appeal of charismatic personalities, TheCall is a gathering centered around the affections of a loving God. There will be no advertised bands and no promoted speakers, as our purpose is not to promote any man or ministry.

TheCall is a FAST not a festival. TheCall is a SOLEMN ASSEMBLY not a conference. Whereas conferences focus primarily on training and discipleship, the 12 hours of TheCall are spent primarily before the Lord in the place of prayer and worship. We believe the hour is late and the times are urgent. Our nation is in desperate need of revival and it will be only through the corporate body of Christ uniting in the place of prayer that we will find any hope in this hour. We believe we can see our nation changed as the Lord pours out His Spirit and brings refreshing to the broken, destitute, and the weary across our land.

History of TheCall

In 1997 our nation witnessed one of the largest Christian gatherings in American history. The Promise Keepers, a ministry specifically focused on igniting men with a passion for Jesus, gathered a million men on the National Mall in Washington DC to call men across our nation to a lifestyle of purity and godliness. A man named Lou Engle was deeply impacted by this highly profound event and burdened with a God-given dream. The vision was to raise up a corresponding youth movement to cry out to God for a revival to sweep across America. .

Two years after the inception of this dream, a woman approached Lou Engle and asked if he had ever considered putting young people on the Mall like the Promise Keepers did in 1997. Taken back and amazed, Lou replied that two years prior he had been burdened with a dream to see the youth of our nation gathering at the National Mall. He confessed he actually prophesied this coming gathering would be a sign from God that there was still hope for our nation. The woman promptly wrote a check for $100,000, setting into action a whole chain of supernatural events that would eventually result in the TheCall DC on September 2nd, 2000. God’s blessing was clearly manifest throughout the day as the presence of the Holy Spirit infused the prayer, worship and intermittent words of encouragement from our nations spiritual leaders. The result of one man's obedience to the God-given dream was an attendance of over 400,000 young people.

After this TheCall DC in September 2000, TheCall was exported across the nation to twelve different locations, each one gathering thousands of people hungry for a movement of God. Rather than promoting man’s good ideas, these massive gatherings were spent in corporate fasting, prayer, and worshiping before God. Specific regional issues were confronted in each gathering in the place of prayer. In each Call, issues such as racism, sexual immorality and abortion were brought into light and repented for corporately by the body of Christ. In New York, Dallas, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Nashville, and Kansas City, a movement of prayer and fasting has filled stadiums with the sounds of worship and the incense of prayer. This divinely-initiated movement of repentance has extended beyond the narrow borders of America as TheCall has traveled to Australia, Germany, the Philippines, Norway, England and Israel.

Today TheCall is marching across our land to Washington D.C. to come together for a historic gathering on August 16, 2008. We believe that our nation is in a critical hour and in desperate need of revival. While our society's moral compass continues to erode the faith of our nation is becoming increasingly secularized. The world in its rebellion violently pursues the fulfillment of all fleshly desires, yet the church has fallen prey to many of the same sins that plague our society. Even within the church truth has been substituted for spiritual relativism and religious tolerance. Sexual immorality, racism, and abortion are just as prevalent from our pews and pulpits as they are in our secular universities. We are in an hour of crisis, an hour when we have to confront our own spiritual barrenness as the church and in the place of prayer cry out to God for mercy on our nation and revival in our land. Our hope in this hour is in God and God alone.

On August 16, 2008 we are calling for 1,000,000 people to again gather together in the National Mall to fast and to pray for God to pour out His undeserved mercy on our land."

See YouTub of TheCall
http://www.youtube.com/thecallvideos

THIS IS THE GENERATION

2008-07-06T20:04:00.000-06:00

THIS IS THE GENERATION

"Ask of me of things to come concerning My sons; and concerning the work of My hands, command you Me." Isaiah 45:11

This passage in Isaiah aptly sums up the life and impact made by Daniel. He sought the Lord and He answered Him. Daniel was fervent in His role as God's ambassador in a caldron of power fueled by sorcery. He served as the catalyst to the shift restoring God's purposes to His people.

Daniel consistently faced what unfolded before him with a Kingdom mind-set. He knew what to do in the most adverse of situations. His perspective reflected not only God's heart, but God's intentions and the Lord's ways of accomplishing His purposes at the generation-level."How great are His signs! And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation." Daniel 4:3 Amp

Joseph the patriarch, without wavering at the cost, paved the way to reclaim the plan of God's heritage for his people. It was a heritage that had been all but lost by the indiscretions of the generation represented by his brothers.

Moses was raised up as a deliverer to break the bondage of conformity and lead a generation of God's people into the purposes of God. Yet, due to the short-sidedness of that generation, it would take another generation to enter the place of God's promise and calling.

When it comes to God's redemptive purposes, the Lord works through generations and those He has anointed to lead a generation. For each generation, there is a mantle of opportunity extended.

It is through a generation that the shifts required for God's course corrections are set in motion. When a generation enters and embraces a unity-of-purpose tied to what the Spirit is bringing forth, then amazing things will happen. These amazing things will break the mold and operate against the odds; and God will be glorified not only among His people, but among outsiders witnessing the realities of God operating in their midst.

Understanding the Times

"Till the Spirit is poured out from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest, justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the fertile field." Isaiah 32:15-16

Before us is an outpouring of the Spirit that will shake the infrastructures of the world's power systems. The shaking has begun. This shaking has released a shift within the Body globally. Old models appropriate for their time no longer work. It will be a time of awe with a cleansing and removal of dead wood, as in the time of Shebna (Isaiah 22).

The spiritual leadership required during a shift carries a cost that cannot be accomplished by any means other than humility and holiness. The servant leaders at the forefront of this move of the Spirit are ones who will evidence the true operation of the Kingdom paradoxes imparted by

Jesus. As this shift aligns, there will be a touching of generations.

The Mantle of Facing Adversity

A generation is emerging to assume the mantle. It is one largely free from the entanglements and limitations of those whose mind-sets and approach to the Kingdom have been diluted and tainted by achievement and institutional conformity. It will prove to be a trusted generation, one totally unfazed by the influence of wealth and power.

It is a generation that is not beguiled by the status quo or intimidated by the prospect of change. It understands the most basic premise of business ...that opportunity will yield, as adversity is faced head-on, by managing change. This generation of God's people is poised to pierce the bondage of corruption and move forward with the mind-sets needed to extend and redeem God's purposes across the earth -- to its generation.

"Sing aloud to God our strength, for this is a statute for Israel. This He established in Joseph as a testimony, when he went through the land of Egypt. He called in trouble and You delivered him. You answered him in the secret place of thunder." Psalm 81:1-7

For those who rule their own spirits in the fire, God's answers from the crucible of "the secret place of thunder" will change the course of nations. "The Lord thunders with His majestic voice and does not restrain the lightning when His voice is heard. The Lord thunders wondrously with His voice, doing great things beyond our comprehension." Job 37:4

This generation carries the anointing of the societal-transforming, pioneering leadership modeled by Joseph and Daniel. It is a generation that will follow the pathway navigated by Joshua and Caleb, who took their generation into the land of their calling.

Generational Identity

As the mantle is passed, each generation must stand on the foundation of its own identity in God. Each generation must wield the mantle of its own calling marked by its own unique identity. The generation coming forth reflects the context seen by Daniel many years ago."In the time of the end, many shall be purified and refined, but the wicked will do wickedly and none of the wicked will understand, but the wise shall understand." Daniel 12:10

Unlike any generation in recent history, this one will usher in a time of closing the gap between the purposes of God and the power structures of this world. It will find its identity in facing the fire. Yet, the fire of adversity bears no restraint to the one truly addicted to God's presence, as Joseph and Daniel were.

God's presence is a consuming fire. Those entering this time of His strategic purpose must reflect the sanctification required for the calling, in order to avoid being overwhelmed and consumed. Prayer support is essential, but if those called haven't acquired their own authority to match the calling, then regardless of the prayers rendered by others, the effort will fall short.

Spiritual maturity involves piercing the veil by means of the Spirit rather than the flesh. It is the proactive, ongoing encounter with God rather than the vicarious group-think of the information junkie. Beyond connecting the dots and laying foundations, will come the facing of the fire that brings things full circle to closing the gap of the fullness of God's intentions for this generation.

The Gateway to Reality

Reality in its purist sense is spiritual. The Word aptly applied provides the pathway of godliness that guides us into His presence. God is Spirit and they that know Him must know Him in Spirit and in Truth. Spirit controls matter. Without the active revelation that guided Joseph and Daniel into their destinies, our worldview, even our 21st century, western Christian worldview is at best a constraining filter. The truest foundation to viewing reality is in hearing the voice of the Lord.

Hebrews 3 speaks of a generation that made the Lord angry. It was a generation with a worldview that was never quite able to divorce itself from its dependency on Egypt for its identity and purpose. Despite it being a generation that for over forty years saw some of the most remarkable works of God seen by man, as well as being the recipients of the Torah; yet the Word tells us that they failed to know His ways. Most revealing, in this sequence of scripture, is that knowing God's ways had its pivot point on hearing His voice. Again, in the fourth chapter of Hebrews is the same admonition: "today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts."

Throughout the Bible, those who were the heroes of faith were those who knew His ways and discerned the voice of the Lord as if it were the most natural thing in the world. They were the leaders and prophets who knew God's heart and whose efforts were based on a calling to mobilize their generation.

A Mobilized Generation

Over the centuries, God's desire has been for a mobilized generation; a generation who would hear and obey His voice. Jesus broke the mold to the institutional constraints that marked the sad condition of God's people at the time of His coming. Again and again, the Lord Jesus made reference to the generation in which He came. He referred to it as being evil and perverse.

Especially noted among those described this way were the leaders of the religious establishment, who were trapped by intellectualism and full of their own self-importance. They were seduced by power and aligned with whatever it took for their own personal advancement. Rather than serving and facilitating the mobilization of everyday people for God, they had become sowers of hurdles that set their personal nests on high and encumbered the pathway of others in God.

Peter describes the result of what Jesus released, within the context of that generation representing a "nation," mobilized to pave the way from darkness into Light."But you are a chosen generation , a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9

Yet, the spontaneity and fervor of the early Church waned into becoming institutionalized and powerless. While the winds of the Spirit would fan the fire of God in a way that impacted individual generations, the continuity between generations has been largely fragmented until now.

The Heritage of Dominion

Beyond our individual callings is a multi-generational heritage. It is the heritage that restores God's rule and authority -- His dominion across the earth. That "great cloud of witnesses" referred to in Hebrews 12 is a unique, "across-the-ages" glimpse of this multi-generational heritage."Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure." Psalm 103:21

The restoration of dominion is a heritage that the generations will share. The process that will bring it together, however, is one punctuated at the generational level.

God created man "to rule over the works of His hands." That's the basis of what we call dominion. Closing the gap to God's rule and authority will take an unusual, anointed generation to pave the way. Many notable leaders in this last generation have made an impact; yet less than a handful have brought strategic change to its generation. That is what this shift is all about: the alignment that will change the course of a generation.

The Joseph-Daniel Generation

The context involves the penetration of the infrastructures of the world's systems for the restoration of God's dominion. While there have been many forerunners and pioneers, for the most part, the emerging Joseph-Daniel "generation" will be ones assuming their mantles between the ages of their early thirties to mid-forties. It follows the pattern of Jesus, Joseph, Daniel and David, whose exploits for the Lord peaked at these ages.

Not to be confused with the benevolence and impact of the array of those being mobilized in mid-life, which reflects its own unique mantle, the Joseph-Daniel generation will pave new ground from the onset. They will understand the connection between the bottom-up and top-down strategies for transformation. They will work alongside of and be fathers to the Pharaohs in their spheres, with their counsel being heeded for their good. They will turn famine into opportunity.

They will reflect a mix of wisdom and humility that earns the trust and favor of the most scrutinizing. Their decisions and modus operandi will consistently demonstrate the prophetic wisdom and reality of God operating in their midst. Their authority will be tied to enabling opportunity that builds community and with it, the Kingdom.

Their perspectives will be shaped not by contemporaneous worldviews and doctrines, but by the wisdom of God's Word with their spirits being forged in the fire of His presence. Their impact will be marked by the subtle difference between what they can do for God and what they allow God to do through them. They will embrace the solitude required for the continuity of hearing the voice of the Lord, without the enticements of the approval of men. They are ones who the world can trust, who will thrive and bring order out of chaos during times of shaking."Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord. He is like tree planted by the rivers of waters, whose leaves stay green. In the time of drought, he knows no distress, but bears fruit." Jeremiah 17:7

So it is that among us today are those emerging as generation-shakers, leaders who will move on a level that is not just strategic, but bears the imprint of those Kingdom paradoxes and those who, throughout the ages, operated outside the box in the way they heard God's voice. They are a generation who will hear and respond as one ...to the heart and voice of the Lord.
"This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face -- even Jacob." Ps 24:6
____________________________________________________________________________
Morris Ruddick has been a forerunner and spokesman for the call of God among business leaders. He is author of "The Joseph-Daniel Calling" and "Gods Economy, Israel and the Nations," which address the mobilization of today's top-down and bottom-up economic and community dimensions of Gods Word. They are available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and other popular outlets.

Mr. Ruddick is also the founder of the Global Equippers Entrepreneurial Program, which imparts hope and equips economic community builders where God's light is dim. To schedule a speaking engagement, sponsor a workshop, make a donation or to get more information on how you can help, contact Global Initiatives at 303.741.9000.

2008 Copyright Morris Ruddick -- response@strategic-initiatives.org
Reproduction is prohibited unless permission is given by a SIGN advisor. Since 1996, the Strategic Intercession Global Network (SIGN) has mobilized prophetic intercessors committed to targeting strategic-level issues impacting the Body on a global basis.

For more information on SIGN, check: www.strategicintercession.org

Vision: Without It The People Of God Perish

2008-04-04T21:42:00.002-06:00

Breaking Tradition to Accomplish Vision

Training Leaders for a Church-Planting Movement by Paul R. Gupta and Sherwood G. Lingenfelter

This is the insightful story of Hindustan Bible Institute (HBI), a Bible institute founded in Chennai, India to teach pastors and to foster church planting, which over time had lost its vision.
This inspiring story tells of the dismantling and re-building of the HBI program to return to its original vision, planting one million churches in one million Indian villages, effectively reaching that massive nation for Christ.

"Breaking Tradition" is largely Bobby Gupta's story, but Sherwood Lingenfelter, Provost and Senior Vice President of Fuller Theological Seminary, comments after each chapter, giving his perspective and applications to the larger world of evangelism and church planting. Helpful research and discussion exercises follow each chapter.
Dr. James Montgomery, founder of Discipling a Whole Nation (DAWN) Ministries, says "It provides a major breakthrough in strategic thinking." Noted missiologist Dr. Paul Hiebert calls this book "essential reading."

Description: Why does one church's membership increase and another's doesn't? Perhaps it's because a unique, God-given vision drives the growing congregation's ministry. Exploring the importance of having a clear understanding of God's purpose, Barna shows how vision differs from mission, identifies characteristics of godly insights, suggests practical steps in discovering God's vision for your congregation, and more. 168 pages, softcover from Regal.

Where there is no vision, the people perish? (Proverbs 29:18). Grasping God?s vision for your ministry is definitely not an option. It is an absolute must. To minister authentically and authoritatively, you must first clarify your vision?then embrace it and make it the focus of your life?s work and the heartbeat of your church. In The Power of Vision, bestselling author George Barna shows why vision is really a clear mental image of a preferable future, imparted by God to His chosen servants.

You'll learn:
How God has shared His vision throughout history.
How vision differs from mission.
The myths that Christian leaders have about vision.
Common practices and beliefs that inhibit true vision.
The characteristics of godly vision.
Practical steps toward discovering God?s unique vision for you.
Ways to share and promote congregational ownership of the vision.
http://www.gospellight.com/

Arguably the most important of George Barna's books, The Power of Vision has proven to be a ground-breaking resource for the Church since its release in 1992. The 60,000-plus seller brings the idea of "vision" into concrete, biblical terms that Christian leaders can grasp and use. Now, Turning Vision Into Action takes the vision concept one step further, and provides "hands and feet" to the first release. In this new book, you will learn how to apply vision and make it work both in ministry and at home. This book lays out a workable, easy-to-follow plan for identifying, shaping, defining and applying God's vision for you. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0830718524/002-1087393-4532044?v=glance&n=283155

Description: In this study guide companion to Myles Munroe's eye-opening book, The Principles and Power of Vision, you will explore deeper insights into your purpose and thought-provoking questions for personal application to your life. Designed for either individual or group study, this guide will help you to: dig deeper into proven biblical principles; expand your knowledge of the issues at hand; enrich your understanding of God's truths; apply the material to your particular life circumstances; fulfill your true purpose and potential in life. The most important thing we can find out about ourselves is the purpose for our existence. As you progress through the time-tested truths and principles of vision in these pages, you will come to understand your life's purpose, discover how to make your dreams and hopes a living reality, and find a new passion for living.http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=89537&netp_id=323208&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW

Principles and Power of Vision Summary:
"Individuals need it. Corporations need it. Nations need it. All successful organizations need it. What is it? A clear vision. It has been said, ""If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."

" In essence, without a sense of vision, life is an unpredictable experiment into the unknown.

Vision is defined as a mental image of a preferred future, a conceptual picture of a desired end. Vision is a detailed documentation of a future desired."

"Eyes that look are common, but eyes that see are rare""!

Sight is a function of the eyes, but vision is a function of the heart.

There is no greater source of hope and confidence than that of vision.

Vision is the birthplace of change and the incubator of motivation. Every great act that has positively impacted human history was a result of vision.

Vision is the key to unity, the source of corporate motivation, and the magnet for commitment.

Vision provides the stimulus for personal and corporate discipline.

You were not meant for a mundane or mediocre life. You do not exist just to earn a paycheck.

Revive your passion for living.

Pursue your dream.

Discover your vision-and find your true life."

http://www.ebookmall.com/ebook/130731-ebook.htm

Equipping You To Fulfill God's Vision for Your Life and Ministry

2008-03-10T21:38:00.008-06:00

Hello, below is a detailed statement of what the Equippers Network is about.

This material is also posted on ministry Hub site at http://www.equippersnetwork.com/

MINISTRY OBJECTIVE/OVERVIEW
"Empowering churches, Individual believers, Market place and Ministry leaders to fulfill God's heart in the earth today according to Ephesians 4:11 -13 To:

1. Fulfill their call to release the Life of Jesus among the people of the earth.
2. Build up fellow believers/followers of Jesus.
3. Encourage and assist believers to grow into maturity, reaching the full stature of Christ."

The Equippers Network exists to help you fulfill God's calling and to minister His revolutionary life today. We are experiencing a dramatic change in ideas or practice in the Church today as we seek to fulfill God's plan to make disciples of all nations.

George Barna states in Growing True Disciples; "We need to be igniting and nurturing people’s passion for God and get out of their way.” Those with a unique Vision, those who are called by God need continuous mentoring and training if they are to be sent forth as radical, healthy people of the Spirit who are focused on accomplishing what Jesus has called them to at all cost.

The Equippers Network Vision is to mend, equip, train, mentor and release people into cutting edge Spirit led ministry that flows from God's heart. My passion is to help believers fulfill to the fullest measure God's Call on their life by Coaching and Training them as God works in them, so that they can fulfill Ephesians 4:12-13 to:
1. Birth, Develop and Mature the calling or assignment God has given them vision for.
2. Build up believers by means of connecting them with others who are seeking to fulfill God’s vision for their life.
3. Bring believers to Maturity as passionate followers of Jesus the Messiah by means of Relational Discipleship, Coaching, Mentoring, and Hands on Training and Teaching.

God the Great Creator has given us the His unique ability to create and have the vision to create ministry. These Creative Visions for Ministries flow from His calling in the believer’s life and all that he has created us to uniquely be by His grace and power working in us.
Plan of Action Meeting with groups of believers with a focus of encouraging the following elements in those meetings:

1. Passionate Worship
2. Training, teaching and imparting so that we can do what we learn.
3. Connecting with other Equippers and discovering what God is doing in each others ministries with an ear to hear what He is saying by His Spirit to the People of God.

Individual Coaching-Mentoring(Discipleship): This can be for an individual, couples or teams. These sessions are designed to help each person, couple or team to move from where they are to the continual fulfillment of God's call in your life.

Weekly small group training options are also available as requested to provide vision and systematic training according to the need of each group.

Ministry in local Churches or other believer gatherings. Ministering the life of Jesus for the purpose of mending and stirring up people to take the life they have been given into the their family, community, school, place of employment and the market place to demonstrate and give away to others the Life Jesus has given to them!

The Equippers Network family of Blogs are listed below:
Equippers Network http://equippersnetwork.blogspot.com/
This site has teachings, exhortations and book reviews.

Equippers Edge http://equippersedge.blogspot.com/
This site offers materials from the Equippers network monthly training meetings.

Equippers Tool Box http://equipperstoolbox.blogspot.com/
This site reviews books, music and other resources and suggest materials for leaders so that they might more effectively be used of Jesus today.

Equipper's Blog http://equippersnetwork.vox.com/
Speaking Light To Those Who Follow Jesus, So that they can be a part of What He is doing In The Earth Today.

The Equipper's Resume http://equippersresume.blogspot.com/
This Blog tells "My Story". It is about the opportunities I have had to serve, to lead, to learn and make a living along the way.

Catch His Vision for Your Life and Ministry
Ministry Vision:
To empower churches, groups of believers, ministry leaders and individual believers to fulfill God's heart in the earth today according to Ephesians 4:11 -13.

'It is my passion to see God mend, equip, train, mentor and release people into cutting edge Spirit led ministry that flows from God's heart.'

Vision for the individual believer:
To equip and motivate those who have become followers of Jesus to have more than a life changing experience, to become people who have a life that changes and matures day by day, so that they can take their unique place in what Jesus is doing on the earth today.

EQUIPPING LEADERS IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS
1. Servant Leadership: Mature and creative, team builder, relational motivator who believes in equipping and releasing people into their calling.
2. Worship and prayer: I not only want to encourage others to come into the presence of God in public and in private, but I love to worship and pray on my own.
3. Proclamation of God's Word: Passionate teacher of God's Word so that it can be useful in every day living!
4. Communications: Ability to communicate effectively with individuals at all organizational levels, internally and externally.
5. Relational and team building mindset: Strong ability to quickly establish rapport with a diverse range of personalities and cultures.
6. Creative Biblical Ministry to meet changing the needs of people as directed by the Spirit: I have created and developed a number of ministry training, leadership, small group, and discipleship and outreach programs in local churches while serving as a pastor, associate pastor and Bible college instructor.
7. Administration: Implementing the Vision of God by equipping and releasing His people to accomplish the work of God through their unique Gifts. Organizational and management excellence that meets peoples needs while accomplishing the vision effectively.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Resumes are helpful when people want to know about someone's professional and educational accomplishments, but they fall short of the mark when you want to know the person behind the achievements.

I have provided a personal profile on the right and personality test results on a blog to tell you more about who I am and how I function. I want you to know my passions and my heart, because these things will tell you what motivates me. Find out more at about me on my resume Blog. http://equippersresume.blogspot.com/

I BELIEVE
1. In a passionate pursuit of knowing, experiencing and enjoying God and in bringing others along on the adventure;
2. In equipping, mending, nurturing, building up, challenging, releasing, mentoring, inspiring, motivating and encouraging the people around me;
3. In servant leaders who will be responsible and accountable to the team they are a part of;
4. In the unfolding, creative, and fresh work of God for every group of people;
5. In dreaming and praying big while being faithful with those who are around you;
6. In allowing, encouraging and supporting others to follow the calling and dreams in their life; 7. In working hard to do my part and allowing God to do His;
8. In the wonder of God's endless, creative and unique style of accomplishing His will among people;
9. In one day hearing Him say, well done you who has been a good and faithful servant.

You can visit each blog and sign up for the new material that is coming on each blog.
Simply click on the link and find the sign up form on each blog site.

'It is all ‘By His Grace’
The Equipper

ARTWORK Midnight Herald by William Hallmark
http://www.majesticartworks.com/ID11herald.htm

Discipleship Is ???

2008-02-19T22:54:00.001-07:00

Discipleship Is?

Jesus' Command to Make Disciples was not a lofty goal or a great suggestion it is our greatest priority after loving Him!

Jesus told us, yes he even commanded us to make disciples and yet we seem to find ways to do everything but what He commanded us to do.

To start our discussion let us look at what Jesus said.
Mt 28:18 - Mk 1:1 18
Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days ( perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be). AMP

Definition of a Disciple:
We also need to start with a clear definition of what a disciple is.

Vine’s Expository Dictionary Defines a Disciple As;
1. mathetes NT:3101, lit., "a learner" (from manthano, "to learn," from a root math—, indicating thought accompanied by endeavor), in contrast to didaskalos, "a teacher"; hence it denotes "one who follows one's teaching," as the "disciples" of John, Matt 9:14; of the Pharisees, Matt 22:16; of Moses, John 9:28; it is used of the "disciples" of Jesus (a) in a wide sense, of Jews who became His adherents, John 6:66; Luke 6:17, some being secretly so, John 19:38; (b) especially of the twelve apostles, Matt 10:1; Luke 22:11, e. g.; (c) of all who manifest that they are His "disciples" by abiding in His Word, John 8:31, cf. 13:35; 15:8; (d) in the Acts, of those who believed upon Him and confessed Him, 6:1,2,7; 14:20,22,28; 15:10; 19:1, etc.

A "disciple" was not only a pupil, but an adherent; hence they are spoken of as imitators of their teacher; cf. John 8:31; 15:8.

INTRODUCTION: Becoming True Disciples
Today God is calling us to fulfill His plan for our lives, that we Become like Christ and Do what He saved us to do, BECOME TRUE DISCIPLES!

Eph 3:1-10; The Mystery of the Ages
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles —
2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you;
3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery , as I wrote before in brief.
4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.
8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,
9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. NASU

Col 1:13-14 Rescued from the Kingdom of Darkness For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. NASU

Eph 1:13-14 The Holy Spirit in Us is His Promise of His Kingdom within Us 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance , with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory. NASU

Eze 36:25-27 A New Heart and Spirit
26 "Moreover, I will give you anew heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. NASU

2 Co 5:17 A New Creation
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. NASU

Mt 28:19-20 Observe All I Command, Teaching Them to Observe (do) all that I commanded you19 " Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." NASU

Eph 4:11-16 The Purpose of Discipleship Revealed
11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. NASU

Matthew 25:14-30 Parable of the Talents“For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, which called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 "To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 "Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 "In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 "But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. NASU

What Must We Do To Become True Disciples?
John 3:16, Ephesians 4:11-13, Acts:17-11 Joshua 24,

Acts 17:11 Eager to Receive the Message and Examine the Scriptures
11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. NASU
Joshua 24 Choose You This day whom you serve""Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." NASU

Every Day we must choose to say yes to Jesus and no to ourselves and the ways of the world.

Below is a site with Discipleship resources that can help you fulfill Jesus' Great Commission!
http://discipleshipideas.com/

The Fire of His Presence (revisited)

2008-01-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

The natural inclination of people when we believe we have heard from God about a Vision or plan for ministry is to run out and find the best possible way to build it. There are lots of great sermons and books on developing your dream or vision for ministry.

It has been said,"God has Called, You have Answered, You Have been Preparing, Now Begin to Build it."

This sound like the beginning for a good teaching, but there is a missing element without which this will be us attempting to fulfill the Supernatural Vision God has given us with the plans and ideas of people. It might even be a good plan, but without the "Fire of God's Presence", it is a plan that will not produce the fruit God has desired!

Throughout the Bible Fire is seen as bringing Purity, representing the Glory of God, or the results of God's Presence. Today we are often so busy 'doing the work of the ministry', that we fail to spend time in God's presence where the Fire of His Presence can accomplish its work in making us like Him.

What do I mean by this? The following points will help us in our understanding.
1. When Moses came down from the mountain after spending 40 days in God's presence or Glory his face was aglow 'literally' with the Glow or Glory of God's presence.
2. In the New Testament, the word that is added when speaking about the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has within it the the imagery of the dying of a garment or the pickling of a cucumber.
3. There are certain text that speak clearly to the baptism in the Holy Spirit and Fire, but there are additional text which speak about additional or fresh fillings with the Holy Spirit.

More of the Holy Spirit More of the Fire.
From these verses we can say that the more you are filled with His Spirit the More like Him you will become. The more we are in His presence the more we not only become like Him but the more we know His heart and His Mind and ways. This knowing the Heart of the father, the Mind of Christ and The Power of the Spirit comes as we learn of Him and obey what we see and know Him to do and be.

His Word plays a key role in this but we must be wise in using His Word as it can be a weapon of both life and death. Prayer plays a important role as well. When we communicate both in communication with him and meditation of His Word and His Ways as evidenced there we build a relationship from which we can know His heart.

Worship, praise and adoration in word, in song and with instruments lift Him up and help us come into proper alignment with Him. We could on on to speak of all of the Spiritual disciplines, but the point is we must have a relationship of our who being, Spirit, Soul (mind, will + emotion) and Body with Him. This relation must be on His terms as declared in His Word (the Bible).

Our relationship with Him must be one in which we begin to realize these two truth:
1. We are in the world but not of it.
2. In Him we live and move and have our being.

It seems that we want a relationship with God that is based on our preferences, but a review of the interactions of God with people in the Bible are varied in many ways.

What is never varied is that He is a Supernatural being interacting with His creation. So, let us seek Him, 'the author and finisher of our faith.' So, let us make Him and not our labor for Him our number priority. So, let us spend time in His presence as outlined above. So, let it be known far and wide that we continue this relationship through out the day and not just in a devotional time or place.

In closing we can have an exciting relationship with Him every day all day without being so 'Heavenly Minded that we are no Earthly Good." The more we are in His presence the easier it is to hear His voice, know His ways and see His power displayed in the lives of people.
Then His plans and Visions for ministry that He gives us will have the Owners authority and

Imprint! Artwork at: Given for You by Graham Braddock http://www.christian-artprints.com/Christian%20art%20-%20Given%20for%20you%20-%20Braddock.htm