A Sudden Good Break by Doug Addison

Doug Addison

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We will see a lot of positive changes this year, as 2013 marks the beginning of an entirely new way to function. God is releasing unlimited potential for those who are ready to move forward.

Sudden Good Breaks

“Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around.” Proverbs 13:12 MSG

Get ready for “sudden good breaks” and the end of a season of disappointments. This is a time of “suddenness” and quick radical turnarounds. It will require changing the way we think and taking action.

Clean out the old ways and make room for the new. Don’t be surprised if you begin to see a new way to do what you do. Stepping back from your situation will help.

Prophetic Word

“You have sought me and now act on what I am telling you. Trust your spiritual instincts.” This is a time in which you will hear clamoring around you. But listen deep inside to the Holy Spirit speaking to you. This is a time to learn as you go, and you have to enter the race to win! Take practical steps and listen to peace in your heart.

“… but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 NIV

Joseph Anointing Increasing

This year we will see many people who have a “Joseph anointing” begin to come on the scene. This is similar to the Jewish patriarch Joseph (Genesis 37-41) who interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and gave prophetic words that set up a huge financial blessing and far-reaching provision during a famine. These “Joseph people” (men and women) will release prophetic insight and financial blessing into the Kingdom of God.

In 2007 God spoke to me that we were entering into a new seven-year season. Similar to the life of Joseph, people who are called to move in this new anointing from God will go through rejection and turmoil. In 2012 the “Joseph people” started coming alive and began to be released from their prisons of rejection and being forgotten. In 2013 they will begin to rise up in various areas of influence in society.

First Quarter Prophetic Forecast

·        January – Watch for subtle changes in how you think. God is drawing us to a new level of “all things are possible for those who believe” mentality. He is revealing areas where we limit not only ourselves but also God’s power from flowing through us.

·       February – This is a time to take action and move toward new things that God is revealing. Some old prophetic promises and dreams are now being updated. God will show you what is for now, what is for later and what is no longer valid. Watch as fogginess, wilderness and spiritual winter times begin to diminish. New strength and drive will come to you.

·       March – This will be when things start to spring into action with what God is revealing and calling you to. Take practical steps and stay steady. It will benefit you to create a plan of action “as faith without works is dead.” James 2:20 (NKJV)

Fear and Cursing

Two dark forces of fear and cursing have come against people. These two demonic attacks will only lose their grip as we rise above with the opposite spirit from God. As we trust God instead of being fearful and bless people instead cursing them, we will see a great turnaround in our own lives and the lives of people around us.

Unforgiveness Towards Leaders

I had a prophetic dream last month that people are cursing leaders who struggle with addictions. Here’s the dream:

I was standing next to a beautiful large body of water and the atmosphere suddenly changed so you could see all the fish underneath. A group of people was on a small bridge praying and worshiping. As I got closer, I could hear them praying a prayer that turned into a worship song …the song rhymed, “leaders with addictions, have nothing to do with them.”

I knew they had been wounded by the shortcomings of pastors and leaders. There was smoke or some fragrance from their prayer song but as I walked through, it smelled foul. They thought they were doing the right thing by standing up for justice, but God’s heart is for restoration of these struggling leaders. They did not realize they were actually cursing. But as they prayed, you could no longer see deep into the water and the heavens began to close.

I got this prophetic word regarding the dream: the next move of God depends on all of us and it is important to pray, blessing people who struggle. Remember when a woman was caught in adultery Jesus said, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7) Jesus is saying that now. It is time to give up our grievances against those who have hurt us. We don’t have to agree with what they did but forgiveness will open the heavens over our life.

Dream: I Can List

I had a dream last month that I had so many things to do and I was feeling overwhelmed. I cried out to God saying “I can’t!” God spoke to me in the dream that I must create an “I CAN” list. So I have written down a new list of what I can do with God.  It is exciting!

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 (NIV)

This is a time to transform our thinking to line up with God’s unlimited power!  I can and so can you!

I am excited for God’s direction this year and am looking forward to see how our lives will be changed with unlimited thinking!  My prayer is that we would see where we are limiting ourselves and God so that we can take strong steps with a plan of action.

Watching for my sudden good break!

Doug Addison

www.dougaddison.com

2013 Prophetic Insights by Matt Sorger

Matt Sorger

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As I waited upon God going into 2013 I received these words from the Lord. Some came in the form of impressions, others came as visions and some came as scriptures that God was breathing on for this season. Prophetic words are an invitation from the Lord. I sense these following 13 prophetic insights are to be decrees that we aggressively pursue for 2013. They are invitations for use to lay hold of.

1.    Stagnant waters will be stirred in a fresh way. I saw pools of Bethesda stirring again and a fresh healing stir being released. God wants His people to lay hold of the divine healing anointing in a fresh way this year. I saw deep seated, lingering disorders being healed, even down to the chromosome level. I saw stubborn areas within the soul and flesh being healed that people have battled with for years. In John 5:2-5, 9 Christ performs a healing on the Sabbath. Jesus never did anything by chance or accident. He was very purposeful in His intention. God is calling His people to access His healing and power from a place of rest. The Sabbath is more than just a day of rest. It’s a spiritual position of rest. In Christ we enter into the Sabbath. We receive because of the finished work Christ has done on the cross. Rather than begging God for what He has already done, we are simply to step in and receive the finished work. A new level and substance of faith is coming into the heart to receive the finished work. God is highlighting the spirit of faith and understanding the finished work of Christ. Living from the Sabbath position will be crucial in obtaining all God has for us.

2.    A prophetic ear will be given to not only hear but to also listen and comprehend. This hearing will also occur from a position of rest in His presence. A key scripture is 1Sam 3:3,10. In a time of no widespread revelation and where the eyes of the high priest Eli were growing dim, the light was still burning in the temple near the ark. As Samuel rested before the ark in the presence of God, the voice of God speaks to him. After several times of hearing, but not understanding, Samuel is instructed by Eli to say, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.” There is a big difference between hearing and listening. God is refining the prophetic ear and the prophetic movement. He is calling His prophets and His people to come into a place of rest in His presence in the light of revelation. From that place the voice of God will speak. Not only will His voice be heard, but it will be listened to and comprehended. A new clarity of hearing and perceiving God’s voice is coming. It will not be by self-effort or striving. It will be from resting in His presence. Not by might, not by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord.

3.    New language will be given by God to properly and clearly communicate truths God is highlighting and speaking. For example, the term “soaking” was not used until the outpouring of God’s Spirit in the 90’s. This term helped explain the concept of being filled with God’s presence. New language will be given by the Spirit to more deeply and clearly understand truths God is bringing forth of spiritual realities.

4.    God is giving the blueprints for the new wineskin God is forming. In Josh 3:3-6 the people were to follow the ark into a way they have never gone before. As we follow the moving of the presence of God He will lead us by His Spirit into places we have never gone before. The walk of sanctification will be vital in preparation for the wonders God will do. God is saying to be ready to pull the tent pegs up. When the cloud of His presence moves we need to move with Him. We have to be willing to fold up old structures and ways of doing things in order to stay current and fresh with God.  God’s marching orders will be given. There will be new alignments and relational structures to facilitate the move of God.

5.    We will not continue to do things the same way. The cloud of God is moving and with that our activities will shift. Our focuses will shift. Some old structures will have to adapt and morph with the new way God is moving. There will be fresh Spirit-led activity. God doesn’t want us to be busy. He wants us to be fruitful. Forms, structures and even activities we have done in the past may shift as God moves in new ways. Be prepared to let go of some things and to embrace and step into some new things you haven’t done before. It will be vital to go where the Spirit is breathing. Don’t hold onto something God isn’t breathing on any longer. Be fruitful by moving and being led by the Spirit.

6.    God will be highlighting and deepening within His people an understanding of the true identity of the believer. Revelation of how to live out of union with God will come forth. We will understand our oneness with God and live out of our inner spirit man. For those who are one with God are one spirit with Him. 1Cor 6:17,19

7.    God is going to bring revelation into foundational spiritual truths. Things we thought we knew and understood, God is going to have us look again and He is going to give us deeper revelation and understanding into things we thought we knew for years. Look back upon foundational truths and new light and revelation will be shone upon them bringing the manifestation of true spiritual realities.

8.    The understanding of spiritual warfare is shifting. We are moving from “warfare” breakthrough to a “decreeing and establishing” breakthrough. This will occur with a deeper revelation of who and where we are. Rather than fighting into the second heaven from being under, we will rule and reign from the third heaven being over. I understand that we wrestle not with flesh and blood (Eph 6:12) and that even Jesus experience personal warfare when He was tempted by the devil and overcame by the spoken word of God. But this warfare will not be fought to obtain victory, but will be fought from a place of victory. Christians will live from a third heaven reality understanding how to establish on earth as it is in heaven. A new perspective, a new revelation and with it a new manifestation of Kingdom authority will be released. God is bringing people into a new level of spiritual authority. Eph 2:5-6 is a key scripture. The church will shift from an Old Testament model of spiritual warfare (Dan 10:13) into a New Testament revelation of establishing what has already been won (Col 2:15).

9.    This is the season of the fulfillment of dreams. Many are being brought from a time where the word of the Lord tested them. The second dream to Joseph was highlighted to me in Gen 37:9-11. In it Joseph sees eleven stars and the sun and the moon bowing down to him, speaking of his promotion into a position of authority and influence. Eleven plus two is 13, the number of this year. People are going to step into the manifestation of unfulfilled dreams. The warfare of the last season is being washed away and a new heavenly perspective is being granted. Just as Joseph’s betrayal and trial maneuvered him into his assignment and destiny, so will the trials and testings in our lives propel us into our destinies. Key scriptures are Gen 37:9, Gen 45:5-8, Psalm 105:17-24.

10. God is delivering people from burdens. But it’s not just the removal of burdens. As Psalm 81:6-7 says, He will remove our shoulder from the burden and bring deliverance. This is different than the burden being removed from us. It’s us being removed from under the burden. Get ready for divine shifting that will maneuver you out from underneath burdens into a place of deliverance. In other words, situations or people may stay the same, but you will be maneuvered out from underneath them. It’s a season of deliverance for those who call on the name of the Lord. Psalm 81:6-7 shows 10 promises accompanying this deliverance. These include financial provision, divine health, fear of the Lord on the enemy, the covering of His presence, light in the darkness, food, dry places refreshed, joy, lands and nations, and reaping where haven’t labored. Lay hold of these promises for you, your family, church, ministry and business.

11. There is a generational convergence taking place. It’s a season for new young leaders to be mentored and raised up. Generations are converging together and will function together in relationship for the purpose of multiplication. Generational wells and new wells will open together. Fathers and mothers will take their place and sons and daughters will come into their place. Those that have not been fathers will now step into a fathering role. Gen 26:18-24 is a key scripture for this.

12. I saw a vision of an open door. This is the year of the open door. As we run through it we will come into divine acceleration. New favor, new opportunities and new advancements. Key scripture is Rev. 3:7-13. God will keep us from the hour of trial coming upon the whole earth. It’s time to hold fast what you have so no one robs you of your crown. Have patient endurance. The name of God will be upon us.

13. I saw a vision of the Lord blowing upon a flickering flame. Usually when someone blows on a candle the flame goes out. But as God breathed upon the flame within us it got brighter and hotter. It will be a season of renewing our first love for God (Rev 2:2-7). God is bringing both an encouragement and warning that if our works are not done from the place of first love, the candlestick can be removed. Ministry work must be done from the place of first love for Jesus. God is calling people back to the simplicity of worship and living a life in His presence. This will also bring deeper consecration, holiness and divine fire as a result. Key verse is Mt 12:20. A smoldering wick He will not snuff out.

I encourage you to pray over these 13 prophetic decrees and meditate on them and apply them to your lives as the Holy Spirit leads you.

Matt Sorger

www.mattsorger.com

2013: New E.R.A has Begun: Kingdom Alignment by Angela Greenig

Angela Greenig

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This 2013 is one of the greatest years of Heavenly Angelic Visitation that we will ever witness! The sky is the limit to what you can have when you pray and believe.  God says you will receive wisdom to make and fulfill destiny and dreams within your lives.  Dreams that you may have thought were aborted or stolen.  Dreams that you thought you had lain down. God says you will walk in a greater power of the Holy Spirit.  For many, this is your year of Favor, and the IMPOSSIBLE becoming possible.

The previous two years have been a time of alignment and preparation.  They have been vital to the Purposes and Plans God has in store for each one of us that will be revealed in its fullness this year if we will pray, seek, and pay attention.

Numbers are Very Symbolic:

·       In 2010 – [20] is Redemption, and [10] means Divine Perfection/LAW/ORDER Gods laws had to be in place, not only in the natural but in the Spirit as well.

·       2011 – [11] Means Judgment, if you break it down, it means Deliverance/Justice

·       2012 – [12] Means governmental authority that releases perfection. There are many, many facets to the number 12.

·       2013 – The Apostolic and Prophetic Fathers and Mothers will take their rightful seats of authority, at Gods table. There will be a spiritual change this year that will charge the atmosphere.  The number 13 means sin/rebellion. It is coming down. Many prodigals are and will come home this year. The number 13 also means Disciple; many will help us to release the ERA (Evangelism, Radical Army). It’s the year of fulfilling the harvest. Evangelism will rise and shine upon those in great darkness.

Arise Sons and Daughters

Arise Sons and Daughters from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you-rise to a new life!  Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! This new season is here and it’s now. It will take faith to step into the fullness of what God has called and ordained for you. Many of you have an uncommon seed that will produce an uncommon harvest!! This is the year of the sickle to be put onto the fields, for behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and dense darkness [all] peoples, but the Lord shall arise upon you [O Jerusalem], and His glory shall be seen on you. He’s rising upon you right now!!! You have purpose in His Kingdom, what you do with this seed and the year ahead will be determined by you. If you keep the seed [your destiny, business, family] in your hands God cannot activate the fullness of His Blessings and goodness.

You Will Succeed

This year determine in your Soul [your mind, will and emotions] that this is the year you succeed in all that you do. Speak to the mountains and the circumstances in your life. Decree those things that have not yet happened that they will. I believe that God is daring us to dream again. The writing is on the Wall and losing is not an option. Far too long many have settled for status quo, barely getting by but getting by.  For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.  And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes round about you and see! They all gather themselves together, they come to you. Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried and nursed in the arms.  Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart shall thrill and tremble with joy [at the glorious deliverance] and be enlarged.

May you be encouraged as you dwell on the Glory of His Majesty! “The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men.” Daniel 4:17Oh, Most High… God has made the heavens and the earth by your outstretched hand.  Rejoice in the Power and Majesty of Our King!!!

This new season will be just that: new, refreshing and you will step into your destiny!

 

Angela Greenig

www.angelagreenig.com

Prophetic Words for 2013 by John Belt

John Belt

I really believe that God has good things in store this year. I’m a firm believer that when we put God first in our lives, making Him our true contentment that everything falls into place.  Many things that we’ve been seeking the Lord for and wanting to see happen I believe will begin to happen this year.

Songs of Victory

I John 5:4 “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith.”

2013 is a year of victory. God is giving his people the opportunity to play a “flying V” electric guitar.  For those of you who are not familiar with the flying V, it was an electric guitar that was designed in the 1950’s.  This electric was, in most cases, popularly associated with the roaring rock and roll sound.  What I saw is that as we lift our voice up to God like the roar of a lion victory would accompany our praise. When we do this it will set new things in motion in our lives, break chains and rock our world.  We will soar, flying in victory, as we move aggressively into His Kingdom plans.

Coat of Many Colors

This year will be a new beginning of dreams being fulfilled.  With every dream, every vision and every promised land there is a challenge and call to overcome.  The coat of many colors that was given to Joseph is a picture of what God gives to us to put on. (Gen. 37:3)  God is a God of color, of diversity, of beauty and of brightness.  He takes us beyond the place of grey and dullness calling us to dream beyond ourselves into a place that overflows and affects others.  Just as Joseph had the dream that God had given him, he also had to overcome many things to see those dreams come to pass.  In a moment he inherited a kingdom.  When the fullness of time comes for our dreams God is faithful to see that they come to pass.  Our faithfulness, commitment and uncompromising heart is required to inherit the fullness of what God has for each of us.  In order to inherit a promise we must have a dream with the accompanying grace to overcome in the seasons of life that are packaged with these dreams.

Awakening to Throne Room Worship

Revelation 4:9-11 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty- four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

When Jesus died on the cross, not only was His sacrifice for the forgiveness, deliverance, and cleansing from sin, but the veil of His flesh was rent asunder as an entryway for us to come into His courts.  The Throne Room of God is the most intimate place of worship for all believers.  Just as we see the types and shadows in the Old Testament as we look at the temple, how it resembles the areas of worship and sacrifice as a picture of the heavenly, so we can now move from the outer courts into the most holy place of God’s sanctuary.  Not to exclude how the Spirit inhabits us in the most holy place of our hearts.

There is a divine exchange that takes place when we have a heart that desires to experience that heavenly dwelling just as Paul did.  Because of our desire for the heavenly dwelling there is an equivalent blessing in our present lives on earth as He inhabits us by the glory of His Spirit.  When we speak of “Christ in us the hope of glory,” we are talking about the glory of God within us, our experiencing His Throne being set up in our hearts.  The Throne Room of God is the center point of heaven. In the same way the Throne Room of His Presence is set-up at the most central place of our being.  This year people will begin to better understand that it is mediocre at best to get stuck in a performance model of worship where intimacy with God is not central to the worship experience.  Deep calls to deep.  When we realize how deep that place is in us we will ask God to fill that place with the depths of His Spirit.  A deeper hunger will cause us to desire to be in His courts worshipping before His Throne.

Healing Power of the Spirit

Another thing that will happen this year is an exponential increase in power healing in the Body of Christ.  Those things that have been broken will be healed in people lives.  This applies to physical healing, but also to those who need emotional healing.  One of the main attributes that I’ve always noticed when healing anointing is present is that great joy accompanies it.  There is a high level of faith and joy present as we release God’s healing presence.  Part of what will help this to occur will be as we move into a place of greater dependency, true identity and are intent in our hearts to really give God all the credit for His work.  Self-exaltation, self-promotion and all the associated things that go with this will have to be removed for those who really want to see true results.  True faith is what God is looking for.  This has a two-fold meaning.  This means that the faith is pure in a way that is sincere.  It also means that the substance of faith is in operation.  This substance of faith will be such that it cuts through oppressive atmospheres to bring a substantial result in people’s physical bodies.

Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

Just as in the Book of Acts, Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were “oppressed” by the devil.  There is a reason why “the devil” is mentioned here.  We have to have discernment once again to recognize the adversary we are dealing with. Oppressive atmospheres are contrary to the atmosphere of heaven.  The anointing of the Spirit is what is needed to break into the lives of people in order that they may break out of oppressive prisons that the devil has bound them in.

Moving Away From Intellectual Dependency Toward Hunger for God

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

In this day we are living in, as it was in Jesus day, there has always been the choice for people to live by the food of the intellect or the food of the Spirit.  Those who live by the food of the intellect feed on the natural mind, theological worship and all the things that support that system of thinking. it is obvious that we need a good doctrinal foundation, but once we have that we are to move into the maturity of demonstrating the kingdom.  The Holy Spirit is the person that makes what we know in our minds effective, active and penetrating in our actions. Our lives are not to consist of just words but a life that demonstrates God’s power.  Those who have found that the intellectual approach to seeking God has not produced any power to help others will turn to true hunger for God. Some are going to say, “Enough is enough!”  They will seek God through fastings, prayers and worship allowing themselves to be fed by the pure words of God in scripture (by the Spirit), rather than the flattering words of seduction or the intellectual arguments of foolishness. God is sounding a wake-up call to His Body to fully embrace a hunger pursuit of His presence and power, not for the sake of personal benefit, but for the cause of displaying His glory and power throughout the earth.  It is due season for the Body of Christ to manifest the brightness of WHO HE IS.

Have a Blessed 2013!

John Belt

www.liveinhispresence.com

The Spirit of Adoption by John Paul Jackson

THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION

Written by John Paul Jackson

In 1988, my wife and I adopted a child right out of the hospital. I remember walking up to the nurses’ station to sign the adoption papers, and I wondered, Will I be able to love this child as much as I love my natural son? My mind said, “Yes,” while my heart said, “I don’t know . . .” I was uncertain.

But then something happened. I was standing there at the nurses’ station, the adoption papers before me. It seemed like there were 50 different things I needed to sign. But as I picked up the pen, something came over me. The best way I can describe it is that a blanket dropped on me. I felt the weight of it, and right there in front of the nurses and administrative team, I just began to weep. I loved this little baby I was taking into my household. I loved him as much as I loved my firstborn son.

I don’t know how to convey what happens with the Spirit of Adoption. Those of you who are foster parents or have adopted children know exactly what I am talking about. The Spirit of Adoption is real. It is not a “make-believe” feeling. It is not something that says, “Well, you start to feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and that’s how you know.” No, it is a fierce attitude of heart that declares, “I would give my life for this child. I will do everything in my power to protect this child.” It is so much more than a feeling. It is the understanding that your life is not as important as the life of your child.

THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE

While He walked the earth, Jesus just oozed the Spirit of Adoption. Essentially, He declared to the world, “I love you more than I love My own life. I am here to give My life for you and keep you from death.”

The Holy Spirit is known as the Spirit of Adoption. He is also known as the Spirit of Life, which is a similar concept. Romans 8:2 says that “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

The lesser law, the law of sin and death, existed until Jesus died and rose again. When He took the keys of death, hell and the grave, the law of sin and death was abolished — but all of us know what that law feels like. We know what it feels like to be alone, to be children without parents. We are familiar with the shame and weight of sin. When God signs our adoption papers and makes us His own, something happens in the spiritual realm, and our adoption is literally fulfilled. It isn’t just pleasant words but something that actually happens. We are no longer alone. We become flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone (Ephesians 5:30) — we become His natural-born children.

THE STRENGTH OF THE ADOPTION SPIRIT

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
~ Romans 8:15 (NASB)

God is your Father. You have been reconceived in Him, and because He is your Father, He will not give you a stone when you ask for bread (Luke 11:11–13). He will father you. He will be there for you. He will hold you up. He will comfort you.

Many of us live in fear, not understanding the relentless strength of this Spirit of Adoption. We think we could somehow discourage His love. But that is not true. He has picked up the pen and signed the papers with His blood. The deed is done. The Spirit of Adoption has come upon us, and it is an intense love.

On a personal note, my younger son recently returned home for a short visit. A soldier in the Army, he spent the last year in Korea, and today he left for Fort Bliss. My wife and I were given a son to raise, and the Lord is taking him where He wants him to go. Though he is now as strong as an ox and almost as big, I wept as I hugged him and saw him off. I suppose the Spirit of Adoption never leaves the heart of a father.

How to Change the Atmosphere in the Room by Tommy Tenney

Tommy Tenney

You’ve been apprehended by God for a reason. Even without words you should impact those around you with His power and anointing.

Time and again we ask ourselves, “Why can’t I win my friends to the Lord? Why is it that my family members just don’t seem interested in God?”

The answer may shock you: The reason people who know you aren’t interested in God may be because you don’t have enough of His presence in your life.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be so saturated with God’s presence that when I walk into public places everyone near me will suddenly feel uncomfortable if he’s not right with God. I’m not wanting to condemn or to convict; I just want to carry the fragrance of my Father with me so that people will know that He is there.

The Purpose of His Presence 

We understand “program evangelism” – knocking on doors, passing out tracts or participating in other outreaches of the church designed to reach the lost. And John Wimber helped us to understand “power evangelism,” which involves praying with someone on the street instead of just witnessing or giving out tracts.

But there is little understanding of what I call “presence evangelism.” This is what occurs when the residue of God on a person creates a divine radiation zone of His manifest presence that affects those around him (see Acts 4:13).

“Shadow healing” would fall into this category. That’s the kind of healing that took place when the shadow of the One with whom Peter walked created a healing zone around him (see Acts 5:15-16).

So would spontaneous deliverance–the kind that occurred when Jesus set foot on the Gardarene shore and a possessed man a half-mile away was suddenly freed from the grasp of demons (see Mark 4:35-5:20).

The demonized man ran to worship Jesus as soon as he saw Him. Up until that moment, he had had no control over his own actions. He responded to the demons’ commands, even when they told him to harm himself.

Today we need to hear the footfall of God as His foot touches the earth. When it does, we won’t have to worry about telling demons to run. We won’t even have to scream Scriptures against their princes or practice pulling down demonic strongholds – because the purpose of His manifest presence is to set the captive free (see Luke 4:18). This purpose will be fulfilled automatically when He shows up.

Bring Back His Glory 

If the Father of us all can allow His manifested presence to touch earth just once, then the flood of glory it will spawn will bring revival throughout the land as demons flee and sinners fall to their knees!

We have managed to turn what we erroneously call “church” into a big “bless me club.” I’m not so sure that we need to seek blessings anymore.

We need to seek brokenness and repentance and say by our actions as well as our words, “God, we want You. We don’t care if You ‘do’ anything or not. We are crawling up on the altar. Let Your fire of cleansing fall so we can finally see Your face.”

Why would we go through all this? There are at least two reasons I can think of. First, the experience of seeing God’s glory is life-changing. It is the most habit-forming experience a human being can have, and the only side effect is death to the flesh.

Second, God’s glory aids evangelism. If we can carry even a residue of it back into our homes, businesses and lukewarm churches, then we won’t have to beg people to come to the Lord in repentance. They will run to the altar when His glory breaks their bondage.

We have tried to pave the way for people to come to God through painless, cheap grace and costless revival. But all we wound up with was bargain-basement salvations that lasted hardly a week. We gave people an emotional encounter with man when what they really needed was a death encounter with the glory and presence of God Himself.

The Nation is Hungry for More

I have a problem with our “part-time, gone fishing” church mentality. Most of America’s churches attempt to satisfy the nation’s hunger for God while operating only two hours a week on Sunday morning!

Aren’t we supposed to be offering the Bread of Life to the hungry? Something is terribly wrong, and I don’t think it is America’s hunger for God.

People are hungry, but they are smart enough to know the difference between the stale bread of yesterday’s religious experience and the fresh bread of God’s presence. We must conclude that the reason the hungry aren’t knocking on our doors is because the House of Bread is empty.

The hungry need fresh bread in abundance, not stale crumbs from the last century. The United States is ripe for revival. It is time for God’s people to get desperately hungry for Him because the fires of revival must first ignite the church before its flames can spread to the streets.

I am weary of trying to accomplish God’s works with the hands of man. What we need for nationwide revival is to have God show up.

There have been times when God’s glory has been flowing in His churches so much that His people had to be careful in area restaurants. Bowing their heads to pray over their meal, they would look up to see waitresses and other customers weeping uncontrollably and asking, “What is it with you people?”

My wife had an experience like this. She was standing in line to pay for some purchases at a store in Houston during God’s recent visitation when a woman tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to see a total stranger weeping unashamedly.

The woman told my wife, “I don’t know where you’ve been, and I don’t know what you’ve got. But my husband is a lawyer, and I’m in the middle of a divorce.” She began to blurt out her other problems and finally said, “What I’m really saying is, I need God.”

My wife looked around and said, “You mean right here?” She said, “Right here.” My wife just had to ask again, “Well, what about the people in line?”

Suddenly the woman turned to the woman standing in line behind her and asked, “Ma’am, is it OK if I pray with this lady right here?”

But that woman was also crying and replied, “Yes, and pray with me too.”

The Fresh Bread of His Presence

Supernatural experiences such as the one my wife had will happen to you too, but there is no shortcut to revival or the coming of His presence. God’s glory comes only when repentance and brokenness drive you to your knees, because His presence requires purity.

What we need to do is come clean and confess our sins. We must repent and ask God to put a hunger in our hearts for Himself, not just for His things.

Like the prodigal son, sometimes we use the very blessings God gives us to finance our journey away from the centrality of Christ. It’s very important that we return to ground zero, to the ultimate, eternal goal of abiding with the Father in intimate communion.

It was the prodigal’s revelation of his poverty of heart that propelled him back into his father’s arms. We must recognize our poverty of spirit–that we don’t have what the lost are hungering for. And what is that? The fresh bread of His presence.

If we repent, God will give us such a heart and passion for Him that we will begin to see His glory flow out of us to convict and save the lost. The faintest shadow of His presence in our lives will heal the sick and restore the lame we meet in the streets.

His presence can so saturate us that unsaved guests won’t be able to step into our homes or be around us with unrepentant hearts. His glory will bring conviction in their lives that leads to salvation–not because of the words we say, but because of His presence and power in our hearts.

Tommy Tenney

www.godchasers.net

How to receive your spiritual inheritance through Leadership by Juanita Bynum

How to Receive Your Spiritual Inheritance through Your Leaders by Juanita Bynum

 

God wants you to receive the full portion of your spiritual inheritance – so purpose to glean from the leaders He puts in your life.

 

Years ago I was faced with a decision about whether or not to leave my church. As I sought God’s will, my thoughts went back to situations and circumstances I had experienced in the body of Christ through the years.

 

Interestingly, I began to realize the direct relationship these situations and circumstances had to my relationship with my pastor. Even though I had been extremely active in church for years, I had never before understood how relevant my relationship with my pastor was to my relationship with my heavenly Father.

 

Suddenly I was confronted with the realization that although I was able to say I had been in church for years – indeed, I was raised in the church – I had never before thought about whether or not I was receiving everything my heavenly Father intended for me to have as my spiritual inheritance. A lack of knowledge about His portion for me had robbed my life and hindered me from reaching my full potential in Him.

 

Now I’m concerned that this could happen to other believers. I’ll tell you why.

 

I see the onset of a mighty revival across this nation. Everywhere people are being saved and ushered into the body of Christ. These new members of Christ’s body are looking for churches where they can be nourished and fed with the Word of God.

 

I don’t want them to miss out on an authentic experience in God!

 

You see, you can have the experience of salvation and receive a new heart but still miss the experience of walking into your spiritual destiny – your spiritual inheritance – the portion that is supposed to be implanted into your heart.

 

After you receive a new heart, that heart must continually be fed by your heavenly Father. Receiving your spiritual inheritance is an ongoing process. You can miss out on all He has for you if you try to diminish the experience by isolating it to a one-time event. Just as you need daily nourishment to keep your physical body alive, you need to receive your daily spiritual portion from your heavenly Father to reach your full potential in Christ.

 

One way you do this is through developing a relationship with spiritual parents. It is vital that you know when you have met the ones God has appointed to be your spiritual parents and that you recognize they are preparing you to receive your spiritual inheritance. This will help you to guard against losing that inheritance.

 

The Father’s Portion

 

When the Lord led me through the process of reviewing my past experiences, I remembered how I felt as a young teenager when my first pastor, Luke Austin Sr., passed away. I was lost, disconnected. From that point on, I began to wander spiritually.

 

Almost 18, I asked my mom for permission to move to Milwaukee. I was searching for more but didn’t know it.

 

Since my pastor was an older man, he had been like a spiritual grandfather to me–but I didn’t understand the weight of his influence on my life or what the loss of it meant in my spirit man. I didn’t recognize that the loss had created an empty place within.

 

I started searching, not knowing what I was searching for. On my quest I met several pastors, but it wasn’t until 1982, when I moved to Port Huron, Michigan, that the Lord connected me to my spiritual parents, Pastor William and Sister Veter Nichols.

 

Pastor Nichols immediately became concerned about me as a person. He observed my life and saw some issues that needed attention.

God stepped in through this godly man to make certain I would not miss out on my spiritual inheritance. The Father wanted me to receive the full portion of what He had to give me – and He wants you to receive the full portion of your spiritual inheritance, too.

 

His portion will change you. It will birth you into destiny. When you are receiving your spiritual portion from God, it will feed your spirit. As your spirit grows, you will come to maturity in Christ. And as Christians everywhere mature in Christ, maturity will come to the body of Christ. So we must be sure we are getting the Father’s portion.

 

I believe a lot of people are asking in this season, “Where is my spiritual inheritance?”

 

If you are seeking spiritual leadership and nourishment in the body of Christ, your introduction to a local ministry should be based on a divine connection, communication and relationship that you have with the leadership of that local ministry. Your connection to the church should not be based on the choir, the praise and worship team, the basketball club or the usher’s board. In short, you should not join a church for its activities.

 

Too many people have done this. They haven’t linked to the divine portions of their spiritual fathers and the deposits of their spiritual mothers. God’s Word gives us this advice:

 

“My son, hear the instruction of your father; reject not nor forsake the teaching of your mother. For they are a [victor’s] chaplet (garland) of grace upon your head and chains and pendants [of gold worn by kings] for your neck.” Proverbs 1:8-9, The Amplified Bible

 

People, like sheep must be led. Why? People can easily become entangled with their peers in situations that magnify issues they have not dealt with. They come to church, but their hearts are not in the right posture.

 

Leaders have been called to feed, which means those being led must eat. The Bible’s pattern is clear – spiritual leaders are to lead, and we are to submit to them for spiritual direction.

 

Jesus addressed our need for spiritual leadership when He talked to His disciples, who were future leaders. In the following verses we can identify the posture we must have as believers if we desire to obtain our Father’s portion.

 

“Jesus said to them, Come [and] have breakfast. But none of the disciples ventured or dared to ask Him, â??Who are You?â?? Because they [well] knew that it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so also [with] the fish.” John 21:12-17

 

The Father’s portion is a meal that satisfies, and it must be digested in order to work in our lives. So when we walk through the doors of the church, we should be prepared to worship the Father and receive a meal from His table.

 

Eating Well

 

A dietician will tell you the best time to eat isn’t when you’re starving–because you will eat anything. That’s our problem. Too many in the body of Christ are starving because we eat a healthy meal only once or twice a week.

 

In other words, we don’t maintain intimacy with God on a daily basis, so we can’t even digest properly what we receive from Him. We are malnourished.

 

Recently I have been changing my diet and lifestyle. The first time I went to the dietician’s office, they inquired about what I had been eating. I told them I had been eating one big meal each day, though I snacked on potato chips and other quick foods throughout the day. When I wanted to lose weight and started removing snacks and sodas from my diet, I couldn’t lose the excess pounds–even though I was still eating just one meal a day.

 

After I described my eating habits, they told me why I hadn’t been able to lose the weight. My body knew that it would get only one full meal a day, so it kicked into survival mode. In other words, it held onto that one meal and turned it into fat reserves. Therefore, the meal wasn’t giving me the energy I needed to do what I had to do.

 

They told me to start eating at least six mini-meals a day, and along with that to increase my water intake. That way, my body would know that it didn’t have to turn each meal into fat storage. It would understand that another meal would be coming in two hours, so it would turn each meal into energy.

 

As I was faithful to the new diet and lifestyle, my metabolism started kicking in.

 

And when this happened, everything began to change, including the appearance of my skin. Even better, the excess weight started dropping off.

 

This same dynamic happens in the spirit realm. If your spirit man knows that it’s going to get only one meal, you won’t be able to lose the “excess flesh” you’ve been carrying around. One meal a week is not enough to make your spiritual metabolism kick in and burn off everything that is not pleasing to God.

 

You must increase your intake of balanced meals in order to digest the Word of God properly. Through this consistent intimacy with the Father, your character will begin to change. You will become a mature Christian.

 

A healthy walk with the Lord cannot be developed on a one-day-a-week meal; it must be nurtured every hour of every day. This is why the Bible tells us we must always pray and not faint (see Luke 18:1-8). Praying allows us to stay in communication with God throughout the day and builds our faith to believe that He hears the cries of His people.

 

How does this tie into our relationship with leadership? Just as our heavenly Father requires us to be in constant communion with Him, He wants us to go as often as we can to eat from the table of the “messenger” He has sent to stand in His stead on the earth. It is all part of the process.

 

Spiritual leaders stand in the stead of the Father. If you do not have a relationship with your spiritual leaders, God will not stop until He establishes that relationship. The Father is concerned about every individual sitting in the pews, but His primary goal is relationships – with Him and with those who represent Him in leadership. He is a God who moves through divine order.

 

That is also why He didn’t send an angel or another created being to fulfill His plan of redemption. He sent His very own Son. In doing so, God was helping humanity to understand that deliverance must come through the relationship of family. Deliverance comes through the bloodline. Deliverance comes through God’s being our heavenly Father – and our being children of the Royal Family.

 

Leadership is supposed to be set up in our hearts as well as in our churches. This is His order. And when the body of Christ receives this revelation, our spiritual metabolism will kick in and cause us to shed the excess flesh that has hindered our growth and development as a family in Christ.

 

At this point, you may be considering the conditions in your own church. You might be thinking: But you don’t know what I’ve been through. You don’t know about the Jezebel who is trying to take over our church. You don’t know how many times I have been humiliated and embarrassed by people in leadership positions.

 

I can respond to your objections by saying, “I can identify!” I have experienced the same types of things. What I didn’t realize at the time is that God has a remedy for every condition I was experiencing.

 

I had to come to grips with this important fact: If God didn’t tell me to leave my church, then I couldn’t go anywhere. And if God is not telling you to leave your church, then you might as well buckle your seatbelt because He is preparing you for your next level. Believe me when I tell you, He is about to birth something great in you – and you cannot give birth while running.

 

You may think that it is time to switch ministries, but it may just be time for you to switch your “spiritual seat” and begin to see through the revelatory eyes of the Spirit. That’s what I did…and it changed my life. So pull your chair up to your father’s table, and dig in!

Juanita Bynum

www.juanitabynum.com

Legalism says “Do”, Grace says “Done” by Ken Legg

Many Christians across the world are now making the transition from legalism into grace. Legalism is the belief that my works are the basis of God’s acceptance and blessing. Grace is the belief that I am always accepted and qualified for every blessing because of the finished work of Jesus.

With legalism the focus is always upon self. With grace the focus is always upon Jesus. Legalism says, “Do”. Grace says, “Done!” There is nothing I can do to make God love me more; and there is nothing I can do that will make Him love me less. This is grace. When we try to relate to God and the Christian life through law-keeping we leave the realm of grace. Legalism nullifies the grace of God.

But not everyone is convinced. Here are some of the popular objections I come across to the grace of God, and how I answer those objections:

1. “We all need rules to give us structure and goals, and to lead a better life”

Paul was deceived into thinking this, and it ‘killed’ him spiritually. Rom.7:11

Legalism actually incites us to sin, not holiness. The commandment puts a thought in our mind that wasn’t previously there, so that we obsess over it. And it touches the point of our rebellion. Rom.7:5,8

The Law is good, but our ‘marriage’ to it is bad, because the power-base in this marriage is the flesh, which is weak. Rom.7:18; 8:3. God’s plan for us is not to be married to the Law but to Christ. Rom.7:1-4

1. “I believe in grace, but it needs to be balanced”

In other words, grace saves us but works keep us? Having begun in the Spirit are we to be made perfect by the flesh? (Gal.3;3)

What we call balance is really mixture. Rom.11:6

Grace must stay pure in order to be radical and effective

1. “Grace is just a license to sin”

No, grace is the only thing that can get us out of sin. It is God’s ability in the place of our inability. It is God’s way of holiness. Rom.6:14

Some people might abuse grace and turn into licentiousness, but true grace is not an encouragement to sin. Titus 2:11-14

1. “I believe in grace, but we still have to do our part”

Our part is to believe that Jesus has done it all. John 6:29. Our full salvation is provided by Him.

The Christian lives by faith. Rom.1:17; Gal.2:20

1. “But I believe that if you want God’s blessing, there is a price to pay”

Everything that God wants to do in our lives has already been paid for. False teachers try to get you to pay for what Christ has already paid for. Rom.8:32

We are already blessed with all things. Eph.1:3; 2 Pet.1:3

Good works are our free response to what God has done for us. Any works that seek to pay for blessing and favor from God are dead works

1. “If there’s nothing I need to do, why should I do anything? Grace takes away the motive for Christian living”

Paul taught grace more than any other, and yet worked harder than all others. 1 Cor.15:10

If the only reason you serve, give, obey, etc. is to receive something from God in return, then grace does not remove the motive for giving, but rather it reveals your mercenary motive!

The only acceptable motive for serving, giving, obeying etc. is love. Gal.5:6

Ken Legg

www.small-groups-ministry.com

Betrayals by Os Hillman

Betrayals by Os Hillman

By Os Hillman

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If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend.Psalm 55:12-13

“You will always be attacked in the place of your inheritance,” said the man sitting across the breakfast table. “God dhas called you to bring people together and to impact other people’s lives as a result of this anointing in your life. You must make sure that you seek to maintain righteousness in all of your relationships.” Those words came from someone who had the wisdom and authority to speak them to me.

I have had a number of close relationships that ended in betrayal. I am very loyal to my friends and those with whom I have covenant relationships. Yet there are times that no matter how righteous you are, when someone means to betray you, he will do it. Loving those who betray you is “graduate-level Christianity.” The religious community and one of His closest friends betrayed Jesus. Those who were closest to David betrayed him. Joseph’s own family betrayed him. Loving our enemies cannot be accomplished by mustering it up. It can only happen when we have come to a death in ourselves so that Christ can love through us. It is truly one of those acts of identifying with the cross.

If you are a leader, you can be sure God will allow you to experience betrayal. It is one of those courses in the Kingdom that may not be required until God has seen that you have successfully passed other tests. It is the most difficult and most gut wrenching of all tests. A godly response goes against all that is in us. Our natural response is to protect, retaliate, and retain unforgiveness and bitterness. Our natural response is Satan’s most powerful weapon; to overcome it requires much grace from God. Ask God to build His nature in you now so that when such attacks come, you will be aware that it is a test and you will respond in righteousness.

Os Hillman

 

By permission only. To learn more about Os Hillman, go to:www.marketplaceleaders.org.

The Baptism of Love by Francis Frangipane

The Baptism of Love by Francis Frangipane

By Francis Frangipane

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It is hard for us in this anxious, fearful age to quiet our souls and actually dwell upon God in our hearts. We can engage ourselves with Bible study or other acts of obedience. In varying degrees we know how to witness, exhort and bless. We know how to analyze these things and even perfect them. But to lift our souls above the material world and consciously ponder on God Himself seems beyond the reach of our Christian experience.

To Dwell Upon God

Yet, to actually grasp the substance of God is to enter a spiritual place of immunity; it is to receive into our spirits the victory Christ won for us, which is oneness with God in Christ.

Thus we cannot content ourselves merely with the tasks we are called to perform. Ultimately we will discover that study and church attendance are but forms which have little satisfaction in and of themselves. These activities must become what the Lord has ordained them to be: means through which we seek and find God. Our pleasure will be found not in the mechanics of spiritual disciplines, but that these disciplines bring us closer to God.

Paul’s cry was, “That I may know Him!” (Phil. 3:10). It was this desire to know Jesus that produced Paul’s knowledge of salvation, church order, evangelism and end-time events. Out of his heart’s passion to know God came revelation, the writing of Scriptures and knowledge of the Eternal. Paul’s knowledge was based upon his experience with Christ.

On the other hand, we have contented ourselves not with seeking the face of God, but with studying the facts of God. We are satisfied with a religion about Christ without the reality of Christ.

The Bible is the historical record of man’s experiences with the Almighty. Out of personal encounters people had with the living God, our theological perspectives have developed. But knowledge about God is only the first step toward entering the presence of God. As much as the Bible is a book of truths, it is also a map to God. As Christians, we study and debate the map yet too often fail to make the journey.

Love Surpasses Knowledge

There is a place greater than knowledge; it is a simple, yet eternally profound place where we actually abide in Christ’s love. This is, indeed, the shelter of the Most High. Remember the apostle’s prayer was that we each would “know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge” (Eph. 3:19). As important as knowledge is, that verse tells us love “surpasses knowledge.” Doctrinal knowledge is the framework, the vehicle, that opens the door toward divine realities, but love causes us to be “filled up to all the fullness of God” (v. 19).

There is a dwelling place of love that God desires us to enter. It is a place where our knowledge of God is fulfilled by the substance of God. The Amplified Bible’s rendering states:

“May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, that you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it]; [that you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!” (Eph. 3:17-19)

Is this not our goal, to be rooted deeply in love, to grasp the breadth, length, height and depth of God’s love; and to know for ourselves the deep, personal love of Christ? Can any goal be more wonderful? Indeed, to be filled and flooded with God Himself is the very hope of the gospel!

You see, God cannot truly be known without, in some way, also being experienced. If you had never seen a sunrise or a starry night sky, could any description substitute for your own eyes beholding the expansive beauty? Awe comes from seeing and encountering, not merely from knowing that somewhere a beautiful sky exists.

Likewise, to truly know God we must seek Him until we pass through the outer, informational realm about God and actually find for ourselves the living presence of the Lord Himself. This is the “upward call” of God in Christ Jesus. It draws us through our doctrines into the immediacy of the divine presence. The journey leaves us in the place of transcendent surrender, where we listen to His voice and, from listening, ascend into His love.

The earth’s last great move of God shall be distinguished by an outpouring from Christ of irresistible desire for His people. To those who truly yearn for His appearing there shall come, in ever-increasing waves, seasons of renewal from the presence of the Lord (see Acts 3:19-21). Intimacy with Christ shall be restored to its highest level since the first century.

The Baptism of Love

Many on the outside of this move of God as well as those touched and healed by it will look and marvel: “How did these common people obtain such power?” They will see miracles similar to when Jesus Christ walked the earth. Multitudes will be drawn into the valley of decision. For them, the kingdom of God will be at hand.

But for those whom the Lord has drawn to Himself, there will be no mystery as to how He empowered them. Having returned to the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ, they will have received the baptism of love.

Is this possible, my Lord? Is it true that I might know the love of God that surpasses all knowledge? O God, I seek to know You, to live in the substance of Your love. For Your love is the shelter of my protection. Help me, Master, to recognize Your love, not as a divine emotion, but as Your very substance! Help me to see that it was neither Pilate nor Satan that put You on the cross; it was love alone to which You succumbed. Remind me again that it is Your love that still intercedes for me even now.

Francis Frangipane

www.frangipane.org