The Anointing II

The Anointing II

We continue our study on the Anointing. This time we want to look at how the Anointing prepares us to receive our ministry. In the Old Testament we read the commandments that God gave to Moses. Aaron and his sons were to be set apart for ministry in the Tabernacle. Before they were allowed to minister they had to be consecrated for their ministry to God and the people of Israel.

Ex. 30:30-31 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, this shall be a holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.

The Hebrew word for “consecrate” is yad, a primitive word; meaning a hand (the open one indicating power, means, and direction) Moses was to anoint Aaron and his sons and they would be a “hand” for God to the people. As priests they would represent God’s power, means, and supply to the people of Israel.

Without the consecration they would stand in their own power with nothing to give but what man had. This principle is important to understand because when God baptized us with His Holy Spirit, we were consecrated unto ministry for Him. Just as the priest represented God in the Old Testament, so we represent God as His hand in the new, releasing His power, means, and direction.

There were some stipulations that could disqualify one of the sons of Aaron to be a priest. These are found in the book of Leviticus 21.

Lev. 21:16-21   And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, If a man of your family, in any generation, is damaged in body, let him not come near to make the offering of the bread of his God. For any man whose body is damaged may not come near: one who is blind, or has not the use of his legs, or one who has a broken nose or any unnatural growth, Or a man with broken feet or broken hands, Or one whose back is bent, or one who is unnaturally small, or one who has a damaged eye, or whose skin is scabbed, or whose sex parts are damaged; No man of the offspring of Aaron whose body is damaged in any way may come near to give the fire offerings of the Lord: he is damaged, he may not come near to make the offerings.

Here is a list of the things that could disqualify someone from being consecrated for ministry. To make it easier to understand I will take the liberty to add a modern understanding to it.

1.     Blind – No spiritual insight

2.     No use of legs – no progress but stagnant

3.     Broken nose – no character/marred character

4.     Unnatural growth – out of place/order

5.     Broken feet – no walk

6.     Broken hands – nothing to give

7.     Back is bent – bound

8.     Unnaturally small – no growth

9.     Damaged eye – no vision

10. Scabbed – hurt feelings

11.  Sex parts damaged – no ability to reproduce/disciple

God came to anoint us for ministry. A lot of people struggle because they have disqualified themselves. They walk around with hurt feelings and unforgiveness that stunts their growth. They want to minister but never do it because they don’t feel the anointing. They have opted out of being consecrated because they are bound with stuff, have no vision, and walk around with hurt feelings. They constantly feel out of place and do not have a walk that confirms their faith and they become stagnant and out of order.

This sounds hard and insensitive but the truth is that when God anoints and consecrate you for ministry you cannot represent Him if you have any of these issues. I know God uses broken people and imperfect people but as your walk progresses with Him, He will address these issues in your life.

Is there something you need to deal with? Is there some stuff you need to get rid off? Are there some things out of order or maybe a place that is not growing? Are there still some hurt feelings you need to get rid off? Remember that God wants to anoint and consecrate you for service but you have to deal with this stuff.

In the New Testament we no longer offer animals to God. We do however offer the sacrifice of praise and worship. We give our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God, holy and set apart for His purposes. To bring these offerings to God we need to be set apart, consecrated, and anointed. God wants to anoint you with His Holy Spirit so that you can be a minster of the New Testament bringing the better promises of God to His people.

Will you pray and ask God to remove anything that might disqualify you from service? The world is looking for a people that can reveal God to them...people not tainted by religion and what the world has. You are the hand of God giving what He has, directing the people to His voice and releasing His power and anointing to set them free.

The Anointing I

The Anointing.

This is one of my favorite things to talk about. I believe that we don’t have enough understanding or experience with the Anointing. Kathryn Kuhlman use to walk in the Anointing in such a special way that she would often say: “Be very careful what you do right now because the Anointing is here and I don’t want Him to be offended.” She understood something that is lost today in our gatherings. People have grown insensitive to the moving of the Anointing of God.

God still anoints people and He is still involved in calling people to greatness in the Kingdom. He still desires to see His Kingdom come and He knows that it can only be done through the empowerment of His Holy Spirit. His promise still stands that He will pour out His Spirit on all flesh. My prayer is that it will be soon.

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. – Acts 10:38

I am trying to make things simple. We have made the message too complicated. Jesus talked about seeds and plants and animals. I believe there are principals that we lose when we try to get another revelation before we learn to steward the revelation we have right now. Israel understood the anointing because there were certain offices that required you to be anointed to be able to operate in them. We don’t do that to people anymore, so we have lost the meaning of it in our culture.

Let’s look at the Anointing. This word simply means: “to be smeared.” There were three different kinds of people that got anointed in the Bible days.

1.     Kings

2.     Priests

3.     Prophets

First of all, if we look at the scripture in Acts 10:38, we see that God gives the anointing. The anointing originated with God. He is the source and the origin of the anointing. This also means that He is the owner of the Anointing. People don’t have it to give it, or own it to manipulate other people. Unfortunately, men have taken the Anointing as if it is their own and have peddled it for profit. When you see people do that, do what Joseph did...RUN!

The obvious question to ask would be: “What is the anointing?”

Secondly, we see that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost and with power. The anointing is not something, but it is someone and his name is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, or the anointing, is the acting agent in the Godhead. He is not just someone that comes upon you but he is also someone that has power. That power is the ability to perform the desires of God in the earth.

Not by power nor by might but by my Spirit says the Lord!

Jesus said in Acts 2:8-9 that we shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses. The proof of His Anointing on us is that we will walk in power. The gifts of the Holy Spirit can accompany this endowment of power because He gives gifts as he pleases. What I believe we can and will see is what we see in the book of Acts. These apostles went about and ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit. Another reason we missed the power could be the fact that we narrowed the baptism down to only receiving a gift. We stopped pursuing walking in power.

Thirdly, we see that the purpose of the power was that Jesus went around doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. His Anointing is on us to do good and to heal all that are oppressed of the devil. The Gospel is called the good news. Jesus said that signs will follow them that believe. The empowerment is there to confirm the word that is preached. The Anointing comes to perform His word being preached.

Lastly, I see that the conclusion of this whole matter is God’s abiding presence. The power is God’s empowering presence but it ultimately leads to His abiding presence. God was with Him. What a statement if we understand what it is saying. Enoch walked with God. In Moses' tabernacle, God lived amongst His people. In Jesus' day, the promise is “Emmanuel”, God with us. Man’s pursuit has always been to find God. What if God finds you? By His own choice He made a way for Himself to abide with us. The Anointing makes it possible.

Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

They refer to the disciples in a wonderful way. “They had been with Jesus.” We know by now that Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven. Yet something remained on them that was visible. We know they got baptized by the Holy Ghost and with power on the day of Pentecost. I also believe that the abiding presence of God was on them. What those Pharisees saw were people that walked in the power, but also people that had His presence on them. God found them and abided on them.

The Anointing is there to make us a dwelling place for His presence.

What is Faith?

What is Faith?

We have heard that faith is spelled: RISK.

Is that correct or not? I don’t believe that is true.

Heb. 11:1-6   Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good report.  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things that are seen were not made of things, which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

That is a very valid question to ask. I have asked people to explain to me what faith is, and I have found that most people struggle to answer it. Some have come up with great theological terms that do not make sense to an unbeliever while others have had simple one-word answers. Here are some of the responses I have encountered in my search to find out what faith is. I cannot mention all of them.

“It means to believe.” I have to play the devil's advocate and ask: What if I don’t believe?

“It is trusting God to do the right thing.” Again I will play the part and ask: What if I don’t trust? There are a lot of people that have been hurt and have been pushed into a place where they find it hard to trust anyone let alone trust God.

“It is to believe what your church believes.” No response.

“It is to not ask questions.” Really?

So what is faith?

According to the book of Hebrews it is something tangible. It has substance. It is something that I can hope for. According to this scripture it is something tangible that God wants to give. So that being said, I need to find out how to get what God has for me.

I have learned that God likes to make it really easy to understand. In the parable of the sower Jesus constantly refers to “he who hears and understands.” Faith does not believe blindly without understanding! We need to develop the ears to hear what He is saying by the Spirit. Jesus liked to tell simple stories.  I believe that God is hiding some spiritual concepts in His word that we need to find. We call these “nuggets” of the kingdom. I studied Hebrew 11 as the “Faith” chapter, constantly asking God to show me what faith is. All these men and women captured something even if they didn’t see the fulfillment of what they believed for. Heb 11:39

“And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:”

What was it that they got that would make it the same for us? I believe verse six has the key.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him:

The rest of this verse could stand on it’s own. Come to God. Believe that He is and that He rewards those that seek Him. Yet, God allowed the writer of Hebrews to add this one little phrase to the verse: Without faith it is impossible to please God. Now before you go ahead and disqualify yourself for not having faith, let me explain something. The word for “please” is a bad translation in English. That word in the Greek means, “To fully agree.” Here is the key. Stay with me as I give you a literal translation of this part of the verse.

Without faith it is impossible to “fully agree” with God.

So what is faith? If it is true that we cannot have faith if we don’t agree with God then it must be true that if we agree with God it is called faith. Now God calls it faith. Why?

If I say that I will give you a million dollars and you agree with me, in essence you are making a statement that says: “You must have it to be able to give it to me. You are saying that you agree with my ability to do it.” When we agree with God, we are saying that we believe He has the ability to do it and give it. When that happens God calls it faith.

Faith is simply agreeing with God and His plan for your life. In this chapter, every one of these people agreed with God and His plan and it was called faith.

“For by grace we are saved through faith (Agreement) and not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. When you agreed with God’s plan for your life He saw that as faith and saved you. Faith is agreeing with God.

Faith is not taking a risk, it is agreeing with God. Doing anything with God is never considered to be a risk.

The next time someone asks you about faith, just keep it simple. God wants people to agree with His plan for their lives. That is the message of the Gospel. God doesn’t want anyone to be lost but all men to be saved. It is not complicating and hard to get. Jesus accuses the Pharisees of making it hard when it is not.

I hope this helped you as much as it did me. I get up every morning now and say to myself: “Papa I agree with your plan for my life today!”

The mountain of God!

Ascending the mountain of God.

In the Bible, mountains play a significant role. Many things happened on the mountains. We will do a short study on mountains in the Bible and the role they played. Here is a part of “PARADISE RESTORED, A Biblical Theology of Dominion by David Chilton, Dominion Press Tyler, Texas.

“The Garden of Eden was on a mountain. God speaks to the king of Tyre (referring to him as if he were Adam, in terms of Man’s original calling) He says: “You were in Eden, the Garden of God. . . . You were on the holy mountain of God” (Ezek. 28:13-14).

Eden was the original “Holy Mountain.” The substitutionary atonement in place of Abraham’s seed took place on Mount Moriah (Gen. 22:2). It was also on Mount Moriah that David saw the Angel of the Lord standing, sword in hand, ready to destroy Jerusalem, until David built an altar there and made atonement through sacrifice (1 Chron. 21:15-17). And on Mount Moriah Solomon built the Temple (2 Chron. 3:1). God’s gracious revelation of His presence, His covenant, and His law, was made on Mount Sinai. Just as Adam and Eve had been barred from the Garden, the people of Israel were forbidden to approach the holy mountain, on pain of death (Ex. 19:12; cf. Gen. 3:24). But Moses (the Mediator of the Old Covenant, Gal. 3:19), the priests, and the 70 elders of the people were allowed to meet God on the Mountain (after making an atoning sacrifice), and there they ate and drank communion before the Lord (Ex. 24:1-11). It was on Mount Carmel that God brought His straying people back to Himself through sacrifice in the days of Elijah, and from whence the ungodly intruders into His Garden were taken and destroyed (1 Kings 18; Interestingly, Carmel is a Hebrew term for garden-land, plantation, and orchard). Again, on Mount Sinai (also called Horeb) God revealed His saving presence to Elijah, and re-commissioned him as His messenger to the nations (1 Kings 19).

In His first major sermon, Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant delivered the law again, from a mountain (Matt. 5 :1). His official appointment of His apostles was made on a mountain (Mark 3:13-19). On a mountain He was transfigured before His disciples in a blinding revelation of His glory (recalling associations with Sinai, Peter calls this “the holy mountain,” in 2 Pet. 1:16-18). On a mountain He gave His final announcement of judgment upon the faithless covenant people (Matt. 24). After the Last Supper, He ascended a mountain with His disciples, and proceeded from there to a Garden where, as the Last Adam, He prevailed over temptation (Matt. 26:30; cf. Matt. 4:8-11, at the beginning of His ministry). Finally, He commanded His disciples to meet Him on a mountain, where He commissioned them to conquer the nations with the Gospel, and promised to send them the Holy Spirit; and from there He ascended into the cloud (Matt. 28:16-20; Acts 1:1-19).

I have by no means exhausted the list that might be given of Biblical references to God’s redemptive activities on mountains, but those which have been cited are sufficient to demonstrate the fact that in redemption God is calling us to return to Eden: we have access to the Holy Mountain of God through the shed blood of Christ. We have come to Mount Zion (Heb. 12:22), and may boldly approach the Holy Place (Heb. 10:19), granted by God’s grace to partake again of the Tree of Life (Rev. 2:7). Christ has built His Church as a City on a Hill, to give light to the world (Matt. 5:14), and has promised that the nations will come to that light (Isa. 60:3). The prophets are full of this mountain-imagery, testifying that the world itself will be transformed into Eden: “In the last days, the mountain of the House of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it” (Isa. 2:2; Isa. 2:2-4; 11:9; 25:6-9; 56:3-8; 65:25; Mic. 4:1-4). Thus the day will come when God’s Kingdom, His Holy Mountain, will “fill the whole earth” (see Dan. 2:34-35, 44-45), as God’s original dominion mandate is fulfilled by the Last Adam.”

Psalm 24 asks the question. “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?” We were called to a higher life than what we have experienced so far. In the plains you are not on the mountain. We are not called to have a “plain” life but to live extraordinarily. God is looking for someone that can come up higher. John got that invitation from God in the book of Revelation. We are to be seated with Him in Heavenly, higher places. We are to live from an advantage point. We need to see things from His perspective.

When Jesus went up on the mountain He changed and became transfigured before their eyes. He was shining with the glory of God. When Moses went up on the mountain he came down and his face was shining with the presence and the glory of God. I believe that God is looking for a generation that will come up on the mountain with Him and then come back down carrying His glory for all to see.

In spite of popular belief, Moses did not cover his face to hide it from the people, but instead when the glory faded he covered his face (2 Cor 3). He did not want the people to look at the fading glory. In the New Covenant, His glory remains. Jesus prayed that we would have His glory. He is ready to raise up a people that can carry it. He wants to make himself known to the world. They want to see Jesus. He is looking for a people that can come up on the mountain with Him!

New wine into new wineskins

New wine needs new skins!

Mark 2:22 And no man puts new wine into old wineskins; else the wine will burst the skins, and the wine perishes, and the skins: but they put new wine into fresh wineskins.

I am not a wine connoisseur but by reading and meditating on this scripture I can easily find a few truths that can change my life, and I hope yours as well.

First of all new wine speaks of blessings. I have no problem understanding that the very nature and heart of God is to bless His children. We have to decide what we want to believe. God is good and God does good things. He wants to bless us and give us something new and fresh.

Is. 65:8 Thus says Jehovah, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it…..

What Jesus is trying to teach here is the fact that for change to, new wine, to happen and to be effective we need to be prepared to be able to contain it differently than we did in the past. What has worked in the past might not be enough to handle what we will face in the future.

In Egypt Israel never had to face giants. They only had to face slavery. Once they left Egypt and inherited the promise land they had to face a different enemy. Now there were giants to fight with. Slaves are not soldiers. So God had to teach them to fight and make war. They had to understand that they needed to change some thinking. They had to become new wine skins so that they could contain the current move of God amongst them. Slaves don’t own property and if they stayed slaves they will never understand the blessing of owning your own land.

This past debrief with our squad we had some team changes. You might wonder why would we change the teams up if they just started to work well together. The answer is simple. What God did in the last four months on the race will not work in the next four months of the race? We changed the wineskin so that they can get some new wine, a new move of God, and a new touch from the Holy Spirit.

We are training five new Coaches at this next training camp, which will launch five new squads in July. God is giving us new wineskins to fill. Does that mean that the existing Coaches are no longer needed? Absolutely not as we challenge them to keep on receiving the new thing that God is doing. If they refuse to change and be renewed they will become redundant and no longer usable. God has blessed us with Coaches that wants to see God do a new thing with these young people.

New wine also needs something that can expand. The fermentation of the grapes releases gas that will expand the wineskin. The truth in this is simply that what God pours into us effects us as it works a process in us. Do we have room for the things of God? Is it okay for Him to stretch our thinking? If you are stuck in a mindset you will feel the loss of losing what He was trying to do in you. Old mindsets struggle to understand the new thing that God is doing. The religious wineskin had no room for the expression of the son of God. His new way of showing who God is did not fit their wineskin of interpretation.

Through the ages people rejected truth because it came in a wineskin that didn’t fit their expectation. On the day of Pentecost they were accused as being full of new wine. I am sure they didn’t behave like the status quo dictated one should behave in the temple. It is a good thing they were in the upper room when He poured out His new wine.

Wine will alter your behavior. Like a friend of mine used to say. One glass and you are still in control. Two glasses and you think you are in control. Three glasses and you know you are no longer in control. The more we have of this new wine the more He will be in control. Paul says that we must not get drunk with wine, natural, but rather be filled with the Holy Spirit, supernatural. One glass of Him and you are still in control. Two glasses of Him and you think you are in control. Three glasses of Him and He is in control. Like they say in the one commercial on TV: "Stay thirsty my friend." 

Can we bring today what we have and if it is not suitable for the next move of God, can we ask Him to give us a new wineskin. A wineskin that can receive and contain the new thing that He is doing? We challenge our racers to expect change. They live for the unexpected. They are hungry for a move of God. Our Coaches will fly anywhere in the world and give of their time and treasure to facilitate this move we are praying about. Can you help us with prayer and support.

The promise still stands. I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. God started in Acts chapter two but he is looking for some more wineskins to fill. Are you up to it? Pray with us as we are looking for more Coaches that can help us fulfill this dream of sending radical young people into the world to bring what God is doing to all the different nations.

The prisoners can't leave

People can’t leave.

Acts 16:22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent their garments off them, and commanded to beat them with rods.

Acts 16:23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

Acts 16:24 who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

Acts 16:25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them;

Acts 16:26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison-house were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

Acts 16:27 And the jailor, being roused out of sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

Acts 16:28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

In this story we see Paul and Silas jailed for preaching the Gospel. They were accused of introducing customs that were not compatible with the customs of the people. For their actions they were beaten and put into the inner prison. The inner prison was the place where all the waste of the other prisoners would flow to. It was a place of stench and disgrace. There they were put into stocks and kept as criminals. I wonder sometimes if what we believe will get us into trouble. No more just believing something, but being so radical that our lives will threaten the status quo of the community around us. Today many people are hated for their Christianity because they do stupid things instead of challenging the status quo.

After they were thrown into jail they refused to have a pity party. To them it was another place of ministry. This time they were ministering unto God. Their desire to worship was greater than their desire to complain. They started singing praises and worshiping God. Your prison is the place of worship. Walls and iron bars cannot contain a joyful heart. Prison is not a threat to people that find God attractive. Prison is the place of opportunity. Joseph did not lose his dream because of prison. Jeremiah was still a mouthpiece of the prophetic from his prison cell. Some people have prisons that are not physical but spiritual. Start singing and see what God will do. Prison is an excuse for God to show up!

As they were singing an earthquake shook the place. That must have been some awesome worship going on! The prisoners were listening to Paul and Silas. Does your worship attract people to listen? It was midnight but no one complained and asked them to shut up. “Let’s get some sleep here.” They were all caught up in the worship. I wonder what they were singing and praying? Then it happened. An earthquake. Most people will miss God in this, but I see something. Isaiah says that the posts shook at the presence of God. In the book of Exodus, God showed up on the mountain and the place shook. In Elijah's day he ran from Jezebel and found God on the mountain and there was an earthquake. The presence of God shakes the earth. I want to see that happen. God shaking the things we have built and setting people free from their chains. Worship is one key that can usher that in.

All the doors were opened and all the chains fell off. Hallelujah to God for opening all the places that have shut us in! People have imprisoned us with their opinions. Government has imprisoned us with their liberal agenda. We were put in chains by our own choice to do the wrong things. God is shaking everything that has kept us in bonds and He is releasing His people from bondage and chains. When can we have such a worship service where we don’t pray for people to be set free but as we just worship the King, He shows up. I like the fact that all the prisoners were set free from their chains. We have only experienced a small part of what God can do. We have seen only a few people set free. Imagine what it looks like when everyone is set free. Free from abuse. Free from their past and free from haunting memories. Free from addictions and free from sin. Free from accusations and free from curses.

 After the earthquake the guards ran to check on the people. They didn’t need any keys to open doors. God removed the control they had over the prisoners. A shaking will remove the powerful manipulating spirits that have plagued the church for so long. Men controlling men with fear and rules made to imprison God’s people. These people will just realize one day that God showed up and set everyone free. The guards in this story expected that everyone escaped. Isn’t it amazing that no one wanted to leave after they were set free? There was something so amazing about their worship that it kept them there. It is absolutely mind blowing that nobody left. Their freedom wasn’t being out of a physical jail, but their freedom was being out of a spiritual jail. When God sets them free they will want to stay. When God shows up people won’t leave.

When we have such a worship life people are attracted to us. They won’t leave us alone. We carry the power to break the chains and to open the prison doors. Jesus said that what He came to do was to set the captives free. They didn’t want to leave Him alone. I think He was a worshiper. God is looking for those that will worship Him. He has something in mind. Will you be a worshiper today? Get past the average thing you normally do and pour your heart and soul out to God. Allow Him to set you free and you will see others around you set free as well. They will have no desire to leave God and follow the world again.

Living His Life!

Living His life

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith OF the Son of God, who loved me and gave His life for me.

This is most probably the greatest exchange that ever took place. This does not make sense in human economics. No one will pay exuberant prices for damages goods. Think about it. We were all sinners and alienated from God. Sin scarred us and left us as damaged goods. In the store you can get a discount if you want to buy something when it is dented or scratched. No one expects to pay full price for something that is not perfect. Yet God saw us as priceless and desirable.

For us to understand the exchange we have to start with the simple statement that we have been crucified with Christ. That is where it all started. God killed the old man and what it represented in Christ. God made Him to be sin for us. He not only died in our place but he died as us in our place. He fully represented everything I have ever done wrong as me on that cross. I must appropriate the fact that he did it as me. In the Old Testament there was an animal killed in the place of the sinner. The animal died and the sinner went home having been given another chance. Christ was our lamb dying in our place so that we can have another chance to live.

Even though the old man was killed new life was given to this new creation I am now. This new life looks like Jesus. His life is pulsating through my being. He is my source and my energy.  This new life is incorruptible and eternal. We were born again with His seed. We are created beings that represent God in the earth bringing heaven to earth. We operate in two realms. Heaven is where we are seated and earth is where we demonstrate who He really is.

Before you start wondering and striving to do this let me make it very clear. You never have to teach a dog to bark. You never have to teach a lion to roar. You never have to teach a shark to swim. It is what they were created for. It is in their DNA. It is who they are in the very core of their being. Just put them in the right environment and they will develop and become everything they were created to be. God created the earth as the environment that best suits this new creation. Most Christians wants to run off and go to heaven. Our purpose is to bring heaven here. This world is the place where we develop our skills and abilities to demonstrate and represent God perfectly.

We live by the faith of the Son of God, not faith in the Son of God. It is not we trying to do this but us allowing Him to live His life through us. What does that look like? It looks like “LOVE.” God is love. If we can start there we will be well on our way in demonstrating who God really is. Love forced is a perversion. You cannot force this lifestyle. Allow the environment that you are in to activate the life and character of God to come out. Start seeing your circumstances as the catalyst to greatness. You need tools to dig up gold and diamonds. God has given us the tools to discover who we really are.

Jesus says it best. “ The Son can do nothing of Himself….”  - John 5:19.  “I can of my own self do nothing…” - John 5:30.  “And that I do nothing of Myself….”  – John 8:28.

John 15:5. I am the vine and you are the branches: He that abides in ME and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.

This is very clear. God never expects us to do anything without Him being fully involved in our lives. He is fully independent from us but He chooses not to be. He chose us to be part of what He wants to do. Are you ready to see what that looks like?

Truth or true?

The Truth will set you free.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

We all are looking for the truth. Some find it in philosophy while others find it in religion. Some people find it in their political affiliation and some find it in their financial strategy. Success in all these areas represent what they believe is truth. “If it works then it must be truth”. The problem with all of these is that none of these avenues has the “Truth.” You might be shocked to read this especially if you are a Christian. Does religion not have the truth? The question you need to answer first of all is this: If what you believed were not the truth would you like to know about it?

More atrocities have been committed in the name of truth than anything else. The Crusades that happened during the middle ages was because people were thinking that they had the truth. Today, radical Islam is committing various kinds of terrorist acts in the name of what they believe is the truth. Everyone that does not see it his or her own way or believes it his or her way is an infidel. We have the same thing in many denominations. If you see things different or believe things different then you are ostracized from them and treated like an outcast.

Jesus experienced the same thing in his day. He did it differently than they did it and was ostracized for it. The religious folk like the Pharisees and the Sadducees questioned him to try and prove that he did not believe the right thing. They had the truth and everyone else was wrong. This has been around for a very long time.

I am so glad that God is the only one that has the full understanding of what the truth is. You see, the truth is never something you believe in. The Truth is a person and His name is Jesus. He stated it very clearly. Because we are incapable of fully understanding something, as we continually learn, we cannot make truth something you understand. As we are ever learning we end up with less than the truth if it was something to understand. We learn as we go. So God eliminated the possibility for truth to be an understanding of something. If understanding something is the truth, then we all have different levels of understanding the truth. Jesus said we would know the truth and the truth would set us free. If the truth equals your understanding and truth is suppose to set you free, and we are real and honest with ourselves, then we are all pretty much in a lot of bondage because we are limited by our understanding!

The second point I need to make is that there is a difference between what is true and what is truth. What is true is not always true. It is true that Abraham said that Sarah was his sister. The truth was that she was his wife. When the king took her to be his concubine, God spoke to him through a dream. The truth had to be greater than what was simply true. The truth is always greater than what seems to be just true. God cannot lie and He is the truth. God is bigger than anything else. Truth is greater than anything else. The king sends Sarah back to Abraham fearing for his life. You might think I am playing with semantics here. Not at all! The problem is that we are treating what is true as if it is the truth. This has cost us more in life than anything else. Because we are looking for the truth we will take the truth we believe as the measurement. We will judge all things by what we understand as truth. Most of the time we put our trust in something that is inferior to the truth itself.

What we believe to be truth we call facts. Facts are not truth. It is a fact that you are feeling sick. The truth is that Jesus can heal you. Who is greater? The sickness or Jesus? Remember that truth is always greater than what is true or what is a fact. It was a fact that Lazarus was dead. The truth however was that Jesus who is the life of God was about to show up and give life to a dead body. Before Jesus raised him from the dead they believed that death was final. After he was resurrected they knew that death was a fact and true but it was not truth. Truth was that life was greater. After Lazarus’ encounter with death what do you think he would answer if you had to ask him who is greater, death or life, fact or Truth?

When Jesus said that He is the truth God made the concept of truth exclusive. Nothing else or no one else can claim to have it or know it unless they know Him. Everything that you have ever experienced whether good or bad, if it was not Jesus, though it might be true, it is not the truth.

Again I want to emphasize that I am not playing with words. It is time to inspect and see what we believe truth is. Jesus embodies that concept and if it is not him it might be true but it can never be the truth!

Participating with God - 2

Participating with God. - 2

Last time we looked at what it means to participate with God. Just a reminder that He really wants us to be part of what He is doing currently in the earth. The simple question that I have asked so many times is simply this: Does God have the power to speak one word and heal everybody on the earth that is currently sick?

The obvious answer is yes. Then we need to ask ourselves why is He not doing it? The answer I believe is simply that even though God can do it, He chooses not to. Why would He make a choice like that? He bound Himself to a principle when He commanded us to go and do it. “You go and lay hands on the sick and heal them. Raise them from the dead, cleanse the lepers and give because you have freely received.”

Think about it again for a minute. Let’s meditate on this. For most people God is someone that is millions of miles away with no regard for us as humans. That is the lie of the enemy. The enemy wants us to think that God wants nothing to do with us. The truth is absolutely the opposite of that statement.

Luke 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.

1Cor. 3:9 For we are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

We are obviously included in what God is doing. God wants to be part of your life in every minute detail but more than that HE wants you to be part of everything He does in minute detail. He is not just part of what you do sometimes, He is part of what you do all the time. Like someone said one time: “I don’t want only God, I want all of God.” God does not want only you, He wants all of you!

Jesus commands us to pray for more people to participate with God. “Ask for more laborers.” How do we invite others to join us on this adventure of working and participating with God? We must follow the example of Jesus. He showed them how to do it. Then He invited them to be part of it by doing it themselves. A powerless Gospel is not good news. God demonstrated His love to us by the sacrifice HE paid. A person that lives powerless has a hard time convincing others to join him. When we participate with God He shows up in power to demonstrate that what we are doing has His seal of approval. People will see and feel drawn to God.  

In another passage we see Jesus walking with two men on their way to Emmaus. He explains to them from the law and the prophets all the scriptures pertaining to himself. They don’t recognize Him even as He walks with them. As He wants to go further they plead with Him to stay. Look at what happens next.

Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.

Luke 24:29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

Luke 24:30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.

Luke 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

As they sat down to eat Jesus took the bread and blessed it. Then He gave it to them and their eyes opened. What was the difference between Him talking to them about the scriptures and Him giving them bread to eat? I want to propose something to you. The difference was simply that in the breaking of the bread and the meal, they were invited to participate. In one they listened and pondered, the other they partook and experienced. That is exactly what I want you to see. When we participate with what God is doing He pulls us into an experience. Just listening is not experiencing. Doing is experiencing. Our churches have become places where people come and listen and God is never a reality in their lives. When we get off the church benches and get back out in the streets we will once again have a church that will be visible with power and life. What do you think is better? I am tired of believing and not experiencing. God invites us all to come and drink. He calls us all to come and participate. Do you really want to be on fire for God again? Step away from being comfortable and step into an active life of Christianity. I guarantee you that you will never be bored with God again and you will never be the same again. GO FOR IT!

Participating with God!

Storms and Rocks!

Jesus' mission was not to do His own thing. He didn’t come to show us what it looks like to be an individual doing his own thing.  In the world we live in today the emphasis is on doing your own thing. Doing your own thing can be very lucrative and can bring great success. Sponsorships are looking for the individuals that stand out in their sport.  Jesus was not a sport star. His sole purpose was to please the Father. His purpose was to do His Father's will.  Jesus was always looking to participate in what His Father was doing.

John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

John 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

Jesus loved to participate in what His Father was doing. So many times we decide to do something and then ask God to bless what we are doing. What God is doing is already blessed. When we participate with what He is doing it will always be blessed without us having to ask God to bless it.

The story of Peter and the disciples in the boat is a great lesson in participation. They were all in the same circumstances. A storm was threatening their lives and they had to fight the circumstances around them. I am sure they were in doubt of their lives. They were cold and wet and tired. Then Jesus appeared to them walking on the water. He was above their circumstances. The sea that was a threat to the disciples was not a threat to Him. Then Peter does something that was unheard of. He asked Jesus if he could come to Him. In the story it sounds as if Peter doubted that it was Jesus. “If it is you, call me to come to you,” he requested. What we are missing is that this doubtful disciple was doing something the others didn’t do. The difference between Peter and the other eleven on the boat was that in spite of him doubting, he wanted to participate with what Jesus was doing: walking on the water.

Peter did something different than any one of the others. HE had an experience none of the others had. He moved from being controlled by the storm to being under the control of Jesus. When he saw the waves and doubted again he sank. Him participating was not without failure but Jesus was close enough to help him. When we step out and participate with God, failure is not taken away but when it happens He is there to save the day. When they returned to the boat the storm calmed. What Peter experienced outside of the boat now was experienced inside the boat. Do you need to bring some peace back to your family, job, or friends? Step out and participate with Him.

Lazarus died and Jesus got there four days late. As soon as his sisters saw Jesus they confronted Him with the fact that He was late. “If you had been here he would not have died.” Their response was understandable because they loved their brother. Jesus responded to them by not explaining His delay but with the solution. “If you believe you will see the glory of God.” When Jesus got to the grave where they buried Lazarus he wept. He also loved Lazarus. What was behind the stone in front of the grave had great value to both Jesus and Lazarus sisters. How many things of great value have we buried behind a stone because we thought it died when God didn’t show up on time? When the disciples confronted Jesus about Lazarus He declared that Lazarus is asleep. To the natural eye it looks dead but God declares it to be asleep. “Lets go and wake him up,” Jesus declared over Lazarus. What you think is dead and gone, God can wake up and use again.

When they got to the place where they buried Lazarus, Jesus requested they remove the stone. “He stinks,” his sister declared. So many times we ascribe a condition to the things we thought were dead when in actual fact it still carries the potential of life! I am so glad that Jesus ignored their conclusions. “Take the stone away,” He said. What I want you to see is that He was inviting them to participate. He wants to do something supernatural and give life back to the precious things in your life. The things you buried and stuck behind a rock to hide it, He wants to restore back to life! He does not remove the stone because He didn’t put it there. You remove the stone and in doing that you are participating with the supernatural thing He is about to do in your life!

Then Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb. He has the power to give life to the dead things in your life. As Lazarus came out of the grave he was still bound with the grave cloths. When life returns there might still be things that needs to be loosed. Jesus again invites them to participate. “You let him loose and let him go.” Their participation with Him caused Lazarus to be totally free and alive. What do you think is dead in your life? The invitation stands for you to set it free by participating with what He is doing.

Just like Jesus participated with the Father so we can participate with Him. Are you ready to deal with some storms and rocks? He is there to change your circumstances!

Dying to live!

Dying to live!

For most people death is final. Some fear it while others see it as glory. To most people it is sacred and to some it means nothing. What does the bible say about death? What is death to us as born again children of God? Is it something to fear or is it something to desire? Some people will do anything in their power to avoid dying while thousands of martyrs refused to give up their faith because they didn’t fear death.

I lost a few friends these last few years. What about us that are left behind? We will all die some day. We can either fear it, or look at it through a kingdom lens and see that even while we live death can have a powerful meaning.

Let me start by saying that Jesus overcame death. The scripture makes it clear that He removed the sting of death that was sin. Sin gave death power. God dealt with sin and in doing so removed the sting of death. So instead of death being an enemy it actually begins to help us.

John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

1. Principle of Multiplication!

Death is not an end to a means; it is the start of something new. Jesus demonstrates, that in His death He would produce men that would be like Him. The principle is that if a seed is planted, it gives up its life to produce many seeds that have the same character and potential that the original seed carried. Jesus was planted as a seed and HE died. That death released the principle of multiplication. We fight everyday to preserve our lives and wonder why we never see any growth. We sabotage the multiplication that we carry in our destiny by trying to save our lives.

John 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Phil. 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

2. Principle of Restoration!

Heb. 9:27-28 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

The word for “men” once to die comes from the root word that means a specific man. In essence this scripture is saying that it is appointed for a man to die – Jesus - and then the judgment. Jesus died as the man of God. He was God’s choice as a substitute for all of us and was judged accordingly. Because all sin was judged and paid for he appears to us for salvation. The very word “salvation” means to restore to its original plan and purpose. What sin took away He came to restore and put things back in God’s order. His death released the power of God to restore us to His original purpose.

3. Principle of Ownership!

Rom. 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

Before Jesus died there was something that had the power to separate us from God. Because God sets principles in place that He never breaks, sin could separate us from God and God would not intervene. So to resolve the issue, God dealt with the very thing that had the power to separate us. After God satisfied the price for sin, He removed its power and took permanent ownership of us, the redeemed. Now nothing can separate us from the love of God. Sin gave death power to separate us from the love of God. Sin empowered people to refuse the love of God. God removed sin and now even sinners can’t refuse God’s love. No sin equals no power for death and no more separation from God!

Rom. 8:33-39 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

4. Principle of Participation!

John 6:53-54 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Jesus is the bread of Life. Twice He multiplied bread to feed the multitude. As the bread of Life we have seen Him giving His life which means multiplication. When we partake of Him we partake in the principle of multiplication. Jesus invites us to participate in His life. All of Jesus' life and ministry was an invitation to participate. He sends His disciples to do what He did. “Go and heal the sick” just like they saw Him do. What separated Peter from the rest was that He saw Jesus walk on water and wanted to participate in what Jesus was doing. When we lay down our lives and desires we volunteer to participate in His life. Think about it!

5. Principle of Identity!

Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

We are dead. We are alive. Have I lost it? No. We live because we died. We have His life because we died. Because His life is pulsating through my very being I live by His faith! I am more alive now that I died than I ever was when I wanted to save my life. Death brought glory and life and not corruption. This new death we die carries glory and immortality. I live because of Him, I live for Him. My only identity is Christ. He is the God of the living and I am alive. He is my God.

Luke 20:38 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.

Everlasting Life!

Everlasting Life!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The message of most evangelicals is focused on dying and not living. The age-old question that is asked over and over again is: If you die tonight where will you spend eternity? We have focused on giving people a better death instead of a better life. This scripture does not say that if you believe in Him you will have a better death. Somehow we live to die and then to go to heaven. Our subconscious understanding is that life really is only on the other side of death. This is contrary to what Jesus came to do.

His life was a demonstration of what we need to have before we die. Life after death is not the issue here. When you die, and we all will, you will spend eternity with Him. What we need to look at is how did you live your life before you died? In a movie one time a statement was made by one of the characters. “We all die but we don’t all live.”

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Jesus is speaking here and He makes a statement that qualifies when this reality of eternal life happens. He says that if you hear and believe, both things a dead person cannot do, you have passed from death to everlasting life. Everlasting life is imparted when you believe. You already are living forever. Why then is our message of salvation centered on dead things and not living things? He imparted everlasting life so that we might live!

John 10:10 Jesus said: The thief comes to kill, steal and to destroy but I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.

Jesus’ mission was to deal with sin and to give us life that would manifest in abundance. The enemy steals, kills and destroys. That reality is only experienced this side of eternity. Jesus came to give back, and give back in abundance what the enemy steals. Life as we experience it is not what God ever intended for us. The bible is full of testimonies about people that lived in abundance. I am not talking about being rich. I am talking about people that saw and faced difficult situations but in every one of them God showed up. I am talking about people that faced their fears and God showed up. I am talking about people that faced famines, wars, their lives at stake, and God showed up. That is life abundantly.  Eternal life is a person. His name is Jesus.

1John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

1John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

1John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.  

Eternal life is to know Him. Eternal life is to have Him. Christ in us the hope of Glory. Eternal life is what you have right now. Because of that gift He gave you, you live never to die. Your body will die but the death that came from sin is removed and eternal life was given to you. You have that now. How will this change the way you live right now?

Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Daily I desire to know Him better. I must have more of Him. I must know Him better. My heart longs for Him. He is my everything and I desire nothing more than to be found in Him.

Everlasting Life!

Everlasting Life!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The message of most evangelicals is focused on dying and not living. The age-old question that is asked over and over again is: If you die tonight where will you spend eternity? We have focused on giving people a better death instead of a better life. This scripture does not say that if you believe in Him you will have a better death. Somehow we live to die and then to go to heaven. Our subconscious understanding is that life really is only on the other side of death. This is contrary to what Jesus came to do.

His life was a demonstration of what we need to have before we die. Life after death is not the issue here. When you die and we all will, you will spend eternity with Him. What we need to look at is how did you live your life before you died. In a movie one time a statement was made by one of the characters. “We all die but we don’t all live.”

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Jesus is speaking here and He makes a statement that qualifies when this reality of eternal life happens. He says that if you hear and believe, both things a dead person cannot do, you have passed from death to everlasting life. Everlasting life is imparted when you believe. You already are living forever. Why then is our message of salvation centered on dead things and not living things? He imparted everlasting life so that we might live!

John 10:10 Jesus said: The thief comes to kill, steal and to destroy but I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.

Jesus’ mission was to deal with sin and to give us life that will manifest in abundance. The enemy steals, kills and destroys. That reality is only experienced this side of eternity. Jesus came to give back, and give back in abundance what the enemy steals. Life as we experience it is not what God ever intended for us. The bible is full of testimonies about people that lived in abundance. I am not talking about being rich. I am talking about people that saw and faced difficult situations but in every one of them God showed up. I am talking about people that faced their fears and God showed up. I am talking about people that faced famines, wars, their life’s at stake and God showed up. That is life abundantly.  Eternal life is a person. His name is Jesus.

1John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

1John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

1John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.  

Eternal life is to know Him. Eternal life is to have Him. Christ in us the hope of Glory. Eternal life is what you have right now. Because of that gift He gave you, you live never to die. Your body will die but the death that came from sin is removed and eternal life was given to you. You have that now. How will this change the way you live right now?

Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Daily I desire to know Him better. I must have more of Him. I must know Him better. My heart longs for Him. He is my everything and I desire nothing more than to be found in Him.

Nevertheless People!

The “nevertheless” people!

Luke 5:4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

Luke 5:5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

Luke 5:6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

These are the people that never look at the odds. They are the ones that have done that, have been there, and earned that t-shirt. They know that what they have tried didn’t work and they have only one option left.

Peter was a fisherman by trade. He knew the season and when the fish would be caught. He knew the lake like the back of his hand. He fished all night and ended up with no catch. Nothing to show for him toiling all night long. I am a fisherman myself. I love fishing and I know the feeling of trying everything and still coming up empty handed. I know what it feels like when you try to justify about what went wrong. In this story we see Jesus appearing on the scene. He is about to speak a word over a dry season in Peter's life.

“Peter, let's go out and you let the nets down again.”  I am sure that a hundred excuses ran through Peter’s head. “He is a carpenter, he does not know you don’t fish during the day.” God will cause a word to come to you that will look like it is out of season. His word will most probably not look like it fits the season you are dealing with. Jesus did not appear to confirm the season of failure; He came to change the season of failure for Peter.

Too many people are waiting for God to confirm their season and the things that they struggle with. He does not come to confirm your struggles; He comes to set you free from your struggles. “Peter, let's go back to your place of failure.” Peter acknowledged the fact that it was a failure for him, but the voice of Jesus was speaking louder than his failure to produce a meal for his family. Failure has a voice that can drown the voice of God. The victory came when Peter accepted the word of Jesus.

I call it the “nevertheless” people. Peter had no idea what the outcome of his obedience would be. He was just willing to follow the word. “We caught nothing, nevertheless at your word I will go and do what you asked of me.” When Peter made that statement, he saw the power that a word from Jesus carried. Are we allowing the word of God to be released because we agree with him more than we agree with the circumstances we see right now?

Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

We are a “nevertheless” people. We have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless we live. What a statement. I am dead yet I am alive. I am dead to sin but alive to God. What do I see when I look at myself? Some days I see the dead man still trying to raise his head. Some days I still struggle with the flesh. Some days I have to take a stand and simply say: Nevertheless.

This is where faith is activated. We never deny that we have problems or even struggles, but we choose to declare the word that has come to us in our season of struggle. The budget looks like we will not make it this month, nevertheless He is still our supply and blesses us abundantly and above all we can ever ask or think. The doctor gave you a bad report, nevertheless He is still the one that determines the outcome. The children are acting up and not serving God, nevertheless He is still the Savior and redeemer and He loves the ones that run from Him. Nevertheless is the word that activates faith and releases His promise over our circumstances. Nevertheless is the word that brings changes to our season.

Jesus prayed that God would take the cup from Him. He knew what the reality was of what He was about to suffer. I love His prayer in Gethsemane. “Nevertheless not my will be done but your will be done.” Jesus was a “nevertheless” person. Nevertheless is the word of total surrender to His plan for your life. You know where you are today. You know how many times you have struggled and never saw the answer to your prayers. Maybe it is because you never got to the place where His voice is louder than your circumstances. Will you quiet down for a few minutes so you will hear Him speak? It might not sound like the answer you are looking for. Remember, He is is not there to confirm you struggle or your problem, He is there to change your season and put an end to your struggle. Become a “nevertheless” person today. He is waiting!

Reason for the Season!

Reason for the Season.

Luke 1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

Luke 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

Luke 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

Luke 1:33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Luke 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

As we sang some of the Christmas songs at the office this morning, I was thinking about the account of Jesus’ birth. We all know the story so well. Mary and Joseph were looking for a place to stay and could not find room at the inn. So they ended up in a stall where Jesus was born and put into a manger.  No room at the inn became a phrase that a song was written about. It amazes me that just those few words would be prophetic about His whole life.

John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

In a few days we will celebrate Christmas and I wonder if this statement is still true? Will we receive Him when He shows up? The question though is: Will we recognize Him when he shows up? What does this Christ look like?

He is God but he comes as a baby. He is God but He stays in a stable. He is God but there is no room for Him at the inn.

Wise men were seeking Him out. They traveled from another country to find this king that would be born. They would lay at his feet gifts of incense and myrrh. They would see a king when everybody else saw a baby. Do we still have wise people that seek Him? Has our celebration of this season narrowed our vision to the point that we no longer see a king but just a baby? Wise men still seek Him out!

Mary gives us a key! How can this be? God was about to overshadow Mary with His Holy Spirit and birth within her the one that would be Emmanuel - God with us. What will happen if we cry out to God for a fresh overshadowing over our families and us? Does the world need a new encounter and does the world need us to bring a fresh manifestation of God with us? What will happen when we make Jesus visible again?

He was a baby that intimidated the rulers of His time. The political rulers felt threatened. There was no room for another king. "Kill all the newborn babies!", Herod cried. Is the message we carry a threat to the political agenda of our day? Do we birth something that will expose the lies of the politics and stop the manipulation of the hearts and minds of men?

This Emmanuel was a threat to the religious system. It took them 30 years to catch on but He was outside of their box. There was no honor from the religious folk for a man that would rather spend time with the sinners and prostitutes instead of going to their conferences. Making the claim to be the Son of God when they all struggled with an orphan mindset does not fit the religious status quo.

This Emmanuel was a threat to the powers of darkness. “What have we to do with you Jesus?”, they would cry out. “Have you come to punish us before our time?” His presence in a place would shake the foundation of darkness and they would tremble as His words would set the captive free from pain and sickness and bondage.

As we were worshiping, I heard the Spirit of God speak to me. I want to release His word as  a prophetic word for next year.

“The time has come for a people that will be my Emmanuel in the earth. I will be manifested through a people that will welcome Me in this season. I will be manifested through a people that will make room for Me to come and be with them. I will birth again through them the presence that will intimidate the powers of this day. For too long have My people been intimidated by the enemy. No longer will they submit to fear and intimidation but they will rise up in this season and recognize that what they see is Me. They will seek Me and find Me and I will manifest Myself to them in this season. You shall go out and be known as a people of power. You shall go out and be known as a people of Emmanuel. My presence will go with you and will be before you day and night. Stand up and take the land. Stand up and take your inheritance.

Say what devil?

Say what devil?

Matt. 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

Matt. 4:2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered.

Matt. 4:3 And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.

Matt. 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

I want to look at the life of Jesus. Too many Christians struggle to make the connection with His humanity. Let me just start to say that Jesus is a risen King and Savior. He is not what He was when He became flesh. He is an eternal King and has eternal glory and life and power. To ignore the fact that He was a man in the flesh is also stupid. In the book of Hebrews it is stated that He was tempted in all things just like you and I are tempted so that He can be a Savior that can have compassion for us. The same things we are struggling with each day are the same things that were brought to Him by the devil. He did not come to just “feel” us; He came to “ be” us. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us – 2 Cor 2:21.

On the basis of understanding that He knows what we are facing, I can then be encouraged by the fact that He came to save us. More than that, I can learn to overcome because He overcame all temptations. Without Him making it possible we would not have a reason to believe. In this passage we see that the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. He did not go and look for it himself. Most of the trouble we find ourselves in is not because His Spirit led us there. There is a difference in what you encounter when He leads you and what you encounter when you lead you. Jesus teaches us to pray and ask God not to lead us into temptation. This sounds like a contradiction in scripture. Not really, if you understand that one of them is with purpose and has benefits. One of them is Him leading us into the wilderness and the other one has benefits for the enemy.  I lead myself and look at temptations.

After Jesus fasted for forty days he was hungry. I need you to see that his body was weak and in need of sustenance. Medically it is proven that your body can live from its own resources for 40 days. After that it begins to consume itself and causes organs to fail. So Jesus was at the point where he was physically challenged and at a point where He had to make decisions that would sustain His body. Now, the enemy comes and guess what he focuses on? The need that Jesus had to satisfy his hunger was his focus. “Make these stones to be bread.” Come on and feed yourself. You know that you can do it! Jesus knew that He had the power to do that. He could speak the word and those stones would be bread. He had the authority to do that and satisfy His own need. He had the power to save Himself by feeding His body what it needed.

I love what Jesus says in response to the enemy’s solution. The devil is smart sometimes. He comes with the solution that looks like the answer to your prayer. It looks like the perfect solution. He didn’t say to Jesus: “You are hungry so ask God to give you strength for five more days.” That is not a logical solution. The enemy likes to make it look easy. So Jesus chooses to speak, to use the same power He would have used if He spoke to the stones, but instead of speaking to satisfy His own need, He speaks about what really sustains not just His life but also all life. Every word that proceeds from God brings life. Jesus knew that bread would be a temporary fix. When God speaks it is a permanent fix.

When we are faced with difficulty and temptation we look for the quick fix. We want to find the path of least resistance. We compromise by accepting the enemy’s solution. We seek to satisfy our need first. We don’t exist by what we get, we exist by what He gives. We have the power to choose what will sustain us: our declarations or the declarations from God. What does God say about your need? Jesus obviously knew that God wanted to say something about where He was in His temptation. Remember that He was there by the Spirit's doing. So Papa, what do you want to say about me being hungry? Papa, what do you say about my sickness? Papa, what do you say about my family? God wants to speak over your situation. That was what Jesus was saying. Not my words but His word is the solution!

I pray that we will always find His way. If He got us there, He can bring us out again. What if Jesus questioned why the Spirit led Him there? Maybe the Spirit wanted me to make these stones to be bread. That is why He brought me here, right? Now is not the time to try and prove yourself. You never have to prove who you are when God backs you up. God never takes you to the wilderness to prove who you are; He takes you to the wilderness to prove whom He is! That is why His word matters. We live from every word that comes from Him!

Pebbles or a rock?

Pebbles or rocks?

Matt. 7:24 Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Matt. 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Matt. 7:26 And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

Matt. 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

I used to be very passionate about stating my point of understanding about truth. Then one day God convicted me. The questions God asked me were simple and very poignant. I realized that I only have parts of the truth. I didn’t believe a lie, I just needed more understanding. God showed me that sand is particles of rock or very, very small rocks. Really small rocks. I understood that I was trying to build something on the sand. I needed to have a greater revelation from God. I needed the revelation that only comes from relationship and not human understanding. I am still passionate but with much more understanding!

Pebbles are very small rocks. Rocks can be really big. Think about Stone Mountain in Atlanta.  That is one huge rock. Think about the rock of Gibraltar.  That is one huge rock. Think about Ayers Rock in Australia.  That is one big rock. That is what I mean when I talk about a rock. Something so big it cannot be moved.

Jesus spoke to Peter after Peter had the revelation about who Jesus really was. “You are the Christ,” Peter confessed. Jesus’ response was simple. “Peter, you are a rock and upon this rock I will build my kingdom and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

It is impossible to build something on a pebble. A pebble is not big enough. You can build on sand, which is even smaller than pebbles. Sand is really tiny pebble of rocks. In this parable Jesus compares the ones that ignore His words as someone that builds on sand. I want to add something to our understanding here. When we have a really small understanding of the truth and we want to build our lives on that small understanding of the truth, we are building our lives on the sand. People are having small understandings of a lot of things in the kingdom. Any time a storm comes they lose their stability because they are on sand. They don’t have enough of a truth to keep standing. The winds of change sweep them away and they keep on running after strange doctrine. They struggle continually to find a firm foundation for their lives.

Jesus wants us to have the full understanding of truth. He gave his Spirit to lead us into all truth. Truth will be a rock that will keep you standing in the midst of the storm. Truth is not knowledge about God, God is truth. Jesus defined that for us when he said: “ I am the way, the truth and the life.” Truth is a person. Peter got that revelation when he saw Jesus as the Christ. He didn’t know about Jesus, he knew Jesus. If you can have one revelation of Jesus, He can build his kingdom on that. You already have that revelation.

When you got saved you believed that He is a Savior. The truth is: He is! You can build your life on that one truth. Don’t stop with getting saved. That is a pebble. If He is a Savior then he can save you spirit, soul and body. What about Him saving the way you think? What about Him saving the way you live and the way you talk? What about Him saving your family? Now we are seeing a rock!

2Sam. 22:47 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.

He is also a redeemer. He is also a restorer. He is also a baptizer with the Holy Spirit. He is also a justifier and an imparter of righteousness. He is also a King. He is also a warrior. He is also an overcomer. He is also a rewarder of the faithful. He is also…….!

The bottom line is simply this, Jesus said: “If anyone does these things I say, he is a man that builds on a rock.” None of the truths that God reveals to you becomes a rock until you act on them. You can believe all you want but it stays a pebble until you step out of your comfort zone. We are to be men and woman that can say “Our beliefs are tried and tested.” Someone with experience is never at the mercy of an argument. They can say God does not heal today. If He has healed you, you will never be moved. You experienced truth and it is a rock that you are building on.

Examine yourself and see where you are still trying to build on sand. Allow His Spirit to increase the truth of who He really is. Continue to build on the Rock! His name is Jesus!

What did you expect?

What did you expect?

1Cor. 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for them that love him.

As I was driving to church on Sunday I was observing the lake and the place where we are staying. The beauty of creation took me in, and how even in winter, the trees without their leaves have a special beauty to them. Crossing over the bridge I could see the lake. The water was like a mirror reflecting the trees and the landscape next to the lake. I could see everything double. The trees on the shore, and then their reflection in the water. In the distance there was some fog hovering over the water in one of the coves. It was picture perfect. A picture that truly painted a thousand words!

As I was pondering on how God created all this, I was reminded of this scripture. Have you ever wondered what heaven must look like? If we enjoy the beauty of this creation, I wonder what we will do once we see the other things that God has created for us.

It took God six days to create the world, as we know it. Not to get too deep, if it was one day or thousands of years is not an issue. Some would want to make it an issue. The question is, though, if God is capable of creating it in one day or creating it in a thousand years. The answer to both is yes so we don’t have a problem. As God created this world and all we know in it, He then rested for a day. The fact that He rested does not mean that God never created again. Everyday when someone is born God is creating. When an artist gives expression to a gifting that God bestowed on them, He is creating. The point I am trying to make is that God is still creating. Can you imagine someone with as much creativity as God doing nothing for six thousand years? Can you imagine someone with the talents of Leonardo DaVinci not being able to paint or sculpture?

Now think with me. What has God been up to the last six thousand years? Jesus said that He would go and prepare a place for us. What does that place look like? Can you even begin to imagine what He has been preparing? A God with so much creativity, a God with so much ability, a God with so much potential, what has He prepared? I hear people talk about streets of gold. I think it is something much better. People talk about all kinds of things and the best they can come up with is something that is found on earth. I think it is something much better. The things that He has prepared are something that has never come up in our understanding, has never come up in our hearts. It is a place beyond understanding. This place is not called heaven or paradise. This place is in Him.

What did you expect? Our ultimate destination is Christ. He is the end to all our means and expectations. The same Paul that wrote about us not being able to think or dream what He has prepared is the same Paul that wrote: THAT I MIGHT BE FOUND IN HIM AND BE CLOTHED WITH HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! Can you imagine what it is like to be consumed by him? Can you imagine what it is like to move and live and have our being in Him? Eternal life according to John 17:2 is to know the Father. It is not streets of gold or even anything represented here. Paul also wrote: That I might know Him and the power of His resurrection. What did you expect? Only you can answer that truthfully!

Hold on to your garment!

Hold on to your garment!

Gen. 39:12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.

In the story of Joseph we read that after he came to Egypt he landed up in Potiphar’s home. There he served and the favor of God was on him. He was in charge over the whole household of Potiphar. While working there as a slave Potiphar’s wife started to try and seduce Joseph. It went on for a while and Joseph refused to give in to her demands because he honored God and he honored Potiphar. One day as they were alone she grabbed a hold of Joseph and as he fled his garment tore and a piece of his garment stayed behind. She accused him of trying to rape her and used the garment as evidence against Joseph. A piece of his garment stayed behind and it became evidence against him even if it was false evidence.

God spoke to me and said that sometimes we leave a piece of our garment behind for the enemy to use against us. Even though Joseph was totally innocent, there was evidence that the enemy wanted to use against him. Just like Potiphar’s wife made it up, the enemy doesn’t mind making up lies about us. When we say something unkind, we leave a piece of garment behind. When we do something contrary to our testimony, we leave a piece of our garment behind. When we gossip or spread false stories, we are leaving a piece of our garment behind. Any evidence that the enemy can use to accuse us is a piece of our garment that we leave behind. Paul admonishes us to walk worthy of our calling!

When Saul was persecuting him, David cut a piece from Saul’s garment while they were in the cave. He was convicted for doing so and the second time he would not have his men touch Saul. He understood that you couldn’t touch the anointed of God. He had a piece of garment that didn’t belong to him. I wonder if he realized that using Saul’s garment as a witness against Saul, he was trying to prove his own righteousness, a righteousness that wasn’t from God. He knew not to touch God’s servant and now he was standing there with his own righteousness instead of having God’s righteousness.

Lets look and see what happened to Noah after the flood!

Gen. 9:21-23 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.  And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.

Noah drank wine and was lying in his tent naked. So Shem and Japheth took Noah’s garment and put it over their shoulders and walked backwards to cover him up. They didn’t want to see their father’s nakedness. Neither did they want to hold onto his garment. They used Noah’s garment to cover him. When we see our brothers or sisters naked, exposed because of a weakness, we should cover them and not expose their nakedness. Ham however saw his father’s nakedness and made it known. For that he was cursed. When we refuse to give garments back we set ourselves up for a curse. Just as we don’t like it when people have a piece of our garments, we need to make sure we don’t keep other people's garments. The law forbade someone to keep anybody’s garment if they gave it to you as a pledge. By the end of the day you had to give it back. You were not allowed to let your brother go without his garment that he used to cover himself up with.

Ex. 22:26-27 If thou at all take thy neighbor’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goes down. For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? And it shall come to pass, when he cries unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.

So I see two things here. First: Don’t leave a piece of your garment behind. Be careful and walk in a way where you can always give account of the hope that is in you. Secondly: When you see your brother in a fault, cover him up in a loving way. Forgive him and stand in the gap for him. That way he is not naked and God will bless you!

Taking a Risk?

Taking a risk or taking a faith?

Heb. 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The bible is full of people that took a risk. Noah took a risk to build something that was never built. Moses took a risk to take an assignment that was never done before. Joseph took a risk by sharing his dreams. David took a risk by facing a giant. Joshua took a risk by believing he and God's people could conquer the promise land. Elijah took a risk by proclaiming that it would not rain for three years. Daniel took a risk by refusing to stop praying. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego took a risk by refusing to bow before the idol of king Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah took a risk by prophesying against Israel. Ezekiel took a risk by prophesying destruction when all the other prophets declared prosperity. The disciples took a risk by following Jesus. Peter took a risk by walking on the water.

Life is full of risk. Every morning when you get up you will be faced by what life throws at you. Can you imagine how Noah must have felt? It is said that it took one hundred and twenty years to build the Ark. He was building something that nobody had ever seen waiting for a flood that had never happened. That is taking a risk. Can you imagine what Moses must have felt like? He was taking a nation out from a country that had a people that did not want them to go, taking a people or a nation that did not want to go, to a nation or country that did not want them to come. That is taking a risk. I am not even talking about getting water to run from a rock when three million people are watching you.  That is taking a risk.

Imagine what David must have felt like when he faced Goliath. All of Israel was gathered but every time Goliath came out to curse God they were scared. Here comes David and he faces someone that had experience fighting. Goliath was trained in warfare and had a record of winning. No one had ever beaten him in a fight. David, you were taking a risk! Remember when Moses faced Pharaoh and his priests, how they made their staffs turn into snakes and made water turn into blood? Imagine Elijah facing the Baal priest to call down fire from Heaven. No one had done it before. All of Israel had turned away from God and killed His prophets. There were four hundred and fifty Baal priests worshiping their god. There was a chance that they could have called fire from heaven. Yet Elijah challenges them. You know the story. No fire and now it is Elijah's turn. Pour water on the wood and the sacrifice. Make it more difficult. That is taking a risk.

Every one of these heroes stepped out of their comfort zones and did something. What we look at as risk was faith. I could not find the word “risk” in the bible. The closest translation we have is the word “jeopardy.” The truth is that when you take a “risk” you actually don’t take a risk. God always shows up like He did with every one that took a risk, because they actually took a faith.

Anytime you step away from the norm and trust God and act in simple faith He will honor your faith and show up. That is why we read in Hebrews eleven it says: “By faith Noah build an Ark. By faith Moses went when he was sent. By faith , by faith, by faith.

The bottom line is simply this. When you got up this morning you were not faced by risk, but you were faced by faith. God is challenging us today to live by faith. What some might see as risk, we choose to see by faith. Our faith pleases Him. Will you change the way you see today?