Published on March 21st, 2010 | Articles, Guest Posts

This guest post comes to us from Paul Scanlon at Abundant Life Ministries.

Zero Gravity Thinking

By Paul Scanlon

Genesis 1:1 records that, ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth’. He then went on to create people in his ‘image and likeness’, passing on to them something of his creative nature. How then is it, that the God of all creation has ended up with a church which is, by and large, non-creative? Sadly, much of the church today could actually be described as being anti-creative rather than creative; it is resolutely resistant to new ideas and change.

To remain relevant we must remain creative. Without creativity our churches will look, sound, feel and be the same ten years from now. And standing still in our twenty-first century world will show up much quicker than at any previous time in history. We live in a fast moving, technological world that makes anything which is not moving appear obsolete overnight.

Creativity Is Not A Gift

Creativity is not a gift just given to certain ‘arty’ types of people. Neither is it a personality type, a particular kind of event or a notable work of art. Creativity is our God given nature; the creator of the universe has downloaded himself into people. Creativity is within our special DNA code; we are all creative by divine nature. We may not all be expressing it, but we already have it. Often, the unsaved are far more expressive of their innate sense of creativity than the church. But when we were born again, our fallen nature was redeemed, and with it our creativity, which was restored back to usefulness for God.

The Church must hear this and accept her responsibility to build creative, innovative, relevant churches that connect with their communities. Innovation is vital to the success of our churches, businesses and ministries. New ideas are our future. Our problem, however, seems to be that the burden of what we know is so huge, it limits what we can imagine. Our greatest challenge isn’t what we don’t know, but what we do know, and that stifles our ability to receive new ideas. We form unhealthy emotional attachments to methods, customs, traditions and styles and see ourselves as custodians of these sacred things. We get confused between form and essence and go to war with each other over hymn books, pews, choir robes, the King James Version and the removal of the church organ. And just in case we in ‘newer’ churches are thanking God that this is not true of us, we also go to war over our newer equivalents of these things. When we confuse form with essence we fight for things God doesn’t even care about. Thousands of churches have split over disagreements about form while completely missing the essence of reaching lost people.

The Two Roadblocks To Innovation

Innovation is the application of a new idea that results in a valuable improvement. This definition protects us from people thinking that innovation is just lots of useless ideas. If it can’t be used to improve what we do, it’s not truly innovative.

There are two massive roadblocks to innovative thinking. They are so huge that most people, and even fewer churches, ever get past them. They are group-think and expert-think.

• Group-think is the power of what most people around us think. It’s the crowd or herd mentality. It was group-think that had Jesus figured as being either Elijah, an Old Testament prophet, or John the Baptist.

• Expert-think is what the experts around us think. It is group-think on steroids!

These two innovation killers pin us down under the huge weight of what’s already known, thereby disabling us from thinking beyond what everyone already knows but which is not working. Democratically run churches can be paralysed by the power of group-think, as can policy run businesses that have forgotten that they exist to serve people rather than their policies. Certain airlines come to mind, but I won’t go there!

Group-Think

Our group can be many things: our nationality, age group, home group, church denomination, interest group, economic group etc. The point is that the weight of evidence suggests that we are all hardwired to conform, fit in and be accepted by the group; to maintain the status quo. And even more so if our jobs, salaries, opportunities and friendships depend on us fitting in with the group. In these cases we are even more likely to keep quiet when progress demands that someone speaks up.

In the Star Trek movies they once encountered the nearest life-form to the church you could ever meet. They were called the Borg; a mindless, group-think, collective consciousness. There was no individuality, no personal identity and no independent thought; ‘all must assimilate to the Borg’ was their mantra. Again, certain airline staff come to mind here, but I must move on!

Following the collapse of the American company Enron in 2001, it was stated in the enquiry report that everyone became mindless conformists once inside the Enron boardroom. What’s really shocking about this is that Enron’s board consisted of highly successful business leaders, professors and former senior politicians. If people of that calibre could surrender to the power of clearly faulty group-think, we are all vulnerable. Group-think doesn’t just affect weak-minded, easily intimidated people. I think I’m a pretty strong-minded independent thinker, but group-think affected my life for years.

Expert-Think

Expert-think is seen in our overwhelming inclination to align ourselves with the boss or the expert or the best known way of doing things. It’s like group-think but on steroids, because experts don’t even need to be present to shut down new ideas. Someone we respect just quoting what the so-called experts say can immediately stifle creativity.

I’m not against expertise. I’d rather have an expert operating on me than a novice surgeon, and rather an expert lawyer than one fresh out of law school. The problem is that all experts approach life with certain fixed mindsets. The advantage of this is that they know how to react, almost without thinking, in complex situations. The disadvantage is that a fixed mindset is resistant to questioning, especially from non experts. I recently read a shocking statement that said the biggest killer currently in America is doctors. The point of the article being that doctors are experts and people don’t think to question either their diagnosis or the prescriptions they are given to take.

Zero Gravity Thinking

A zero gravity thinker is a person who has broken free from the weight and huge downward pull of group-think and expert-think. These innovative thinkers defy gravity by escaping from underneath the burden of what we already know. Zero gravity thinkers help us to reset the gravity levels in our team, church or business by helping us to attain a degree of weightlessness in our thinking. Whilst we welcome gravity in the physical world, we should not welcome it in our mental world. Gravity’s job is to keep everything and everyone down, but what if the idea you need is up?

‘Fix your mind on things above, not on earthly things’ exhorted the apostle Paul. Because God wants to do ‘immeasurably more’ than we can imagine. Isaiah tells us that ‘God’s thoughts are not our thoughts’ but far higher. But the more stuff we accumulate mentally, the bigger the weight of gravity anchoring it down.

The Emperor’s New Clothes

Do you remember the story of the Emperor’s new clothes? Everyone was told that only the most loyal subjects would be able to see the king’s new clothes. As the king paraded through the streets everyone shouted how fine and grand he looked, until he passed a small boy. This little boy shouted out what everyone knew but dare not say: ‘The king is in the all together; he’s naked!’ The story goes that the king fled indoors because he also knew the truth, but had allowed the two ‘expert’ tailors, who were really swindlers, to deceive him.

This story carries a powerful insight about the nature of zero gravity thinkers. They are people with some psychological distance and mental separation from what everyone else is too close to. The boy in the story was outside of the social pressure to appear loyal to the king. He didn’t care what others thought and wasn’t part of any group he didn’t want to upset.

It’s very difficult to keep mental distance from things that we do everyday and it becomes more difficult the longer we do them. When Jesus said to the crowds in his sermon on the mount, ‘You have heard it said… but I say to you’, he was resetting the gravity levels established generations ago on thinking about murder, adultery, divorce, keeping your word, treatment of your enemies, etc. Jesus spent most of his public life challenging old group-think and expert-think strongholds in order to make way for both his new wine and his new wineskin, the church.

The Jethro Factor

Jethro was Moses’ father-in-law and his visit to Moses, when camped at Sinai in the wilderness, is recorded in Exodus. We read, ‘The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for all the people and they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law Jethro saw all that Moses was doing for the people he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”’

Apparently no one had ever asked the great Moses why he did it that way? Moses’ answer was a classic expert-think answer when he basically said, ‘I’m Moses; this is what I do. When people don’t know God’s will or have a dispute they come to me and I give them the answer’. Jethro basically said, ‘That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, this is gonna kill you and the people!’ Then he proceeded to give Moses a zero gravity thinking solution to his problem. Jethro had psychological separation from Moses’ world. He wasn’t a Hebrew, he wasn’t a leader under Moses and best of all, he wasn’t staying. We desperately need people like this in our world, people who can look at what we do and see with ease how it could be done better or smarter. These zero gravity thinkers are the key to keeping our churches, businesses and ministries innovative and relevant.

I thank God for every Jethro who has visited my church and had the confidence and gravity-free perspective to ask me ‘why?’ about various things in our ministry. Sadly, many pastors are too threatened and insecure to welcome a Jethro and so, like Moses, continue to wear both themselves and the people out.

Do you want your church, business and ministry to still be useful to God ten years from now? If so, you must commit to growing a creative life, and to sustain a creative life you must become a zero gravity thinker.

Published on March 21st, 2010 | Articles, Guest Posts

This guest post comes to us from Paul Keith Davis at White Dove Ministries.

Redeeming the Time

By Paul Keith Davis

We are going to revisit 1977! That is what I prophesied on December 31, 2009 at a conference WhiteDove Ministries co-hosted with our friends, Steven and Stacy Shelley. Initially, my thoughts returned to key events in the life of Pastor Roland Buck beginning in 1977 with the many prophecies and teachings that followed his supernatural encounters. This is a subject I have spent much time contemplating and absorbing. The Lord has made it emphatically clear this was a true word from Him and essential for our generation. I have written about his ministry in Books of Destiny.

However, what transpired over the following weeks was quite surprising and yet encouraging as it relates to our place in divine destiny. Within days of uttering those words, I was profoundly reconnected with many friends from my college years; some of whom played a significant role in my life both personally and spiritually.

Suddenly, I recognized these friends were all prominent in my life in the year 1977. I even accidentally located an individual for whom I had considerable admiration who first introduced me to the Pentecostal Church. At that time my little exposure to church life stemmed from scarcely attending a very traditional Southern Baptist congregation. Needless to say I was shocked at what I experienced in the Pentecostal service that I attended with my friend. I had no grid for understanding what I witnessed, yet something was awakened in me that spoke directly to my personal destiny. I realized my last encounter with her was in 1977.

Even though it was refreshing to rediscover these former friends and learn the course they took in life, I was still not prepared for what transpired on January 24, 2010.

Revisiting A Turn In The Road

I was scheduled to speak that Sunday evening in a Church just south of London, England. As I normally do when ministering in the UK, I flew all night arriving in London around 7 AM. I was taken directly to my hotel with the hopes of catching a brief nap before preparing for the evening service.

However, no matter how much I tried I could not sleep and ended up praying for approximately three hours. Somewhere around noon I went into a revelatory experience that has changed my perspective on multiple levels and provided enormous encouragement.

When I prophesied on December 31st that we would “revisit” 1977 I had no idea I would literally be allowed to see prophetically a key event in my personal life that transpired in that pivotal year. In the experience I saw by spiritual vision a certain day in the fall of 1977 and a chance encounter with the person for whom I had great respect and affection who had been responsible for first introducing me to Pentecostal Christianity two years before.

I watched in the vision as I walked away from this chance meeting and resolved in my heart to pursue a certain course in life that led away from God’s ultimate design for my destiny. Because of insecurities and emotional scaring resulting from a difficult family situation through my childhood and adolescent years, I didn’t have the ability to work through challenging circumstances at the time to make the best decision. Eventually, this turn resulted in my rejecting the commission God offered at my graduation in 1979.

In the experience the Lord spoke to me and said, “This decision and turn in the course of your destiny was not of Me, but I saw it before you were formed in your mother’s womb and I made a provision for you in it.” What a profound expression of God’s sovereignty and love for His children.

I was about to make a turn in the road that would lead away from my personal destiny of having a voice into the Spirit-filled/prophetic community and instead pursue a business career and the determination to stay within the conservative evangelical movement. Even so, the Lord made a provision for my return to the place of prophetic fulfillment and fruitfulness, although this path proved to be much more difficult.

With those words I asked the Lord for a biblical confirmation. Instantly I was given Jonah. Although I have often read the Book of Jonah I have not spent much time dissecting its meaning, until now. After my experience on January 24th I have looked at Jonah with an entirely new perspective and with spiritual eyes that reflect the loving guidance of our Father and His jealousy for our personal destiny.

Jonah’s Provision

We all know the story! Jonah eluded his destiny and God’s desire for him to prophesy repentance to an evil and ruthless city that was notoriously antagonistic towards Israel. Jonah was reluctant to offer an opportunity for repentance and mercy to Israel’s enemy and ran from this personal calling. I realized, like myself, Jonah made a wrong turn in the road to his destiny.

Even so, that commission was woven into his spiritual DNA and ordained as a pivotal experience in his life. I am certain Jonah had no idea we would still be reading about his life these many centuries later and gleaning insight into God’s nature and character because of his journey.

The Bible tells us Jonah boarded a ship and fled to the west towards Tarshish when the place of his destiny was to the east in the city of Nineveh. Jonah abandoned his destiny by boat, but returned by fish. Through this revelatory experience, the Lord has profoundly changed my perspective concerning Jonah’s ordeal. I had always looked at Jonah’s “belly of the fish” adventure as God’s discipline. However, in my revelation I was shown it was the Lord’s PROVISION.

Without the specially prepared and appointed “fish” Jonah would have perished at sea and never accomplished his destiny. Although the encounter was difficult and frightening it was the vehicle by which the Lord returned His prophet to obedience and fruitfulness.

Prepared And Appointed

The Bible is emphatically clear, God prepared and appointed a “great fish” to swallow the prophet and “vomit” him out for a second chance at his destiny. (See Jonah 2:10) Like Jonah, many of us are being offered another opportunity to get it right and fulfill our purpose in life; there we will find true happiness and a sense of satisfaction that comes only from the Lord.

Because of God’s posture in eternity and His ability to see all of time in a single moment, He recognized before Jonah was fashioned in his mother’s womb, the prophet’s poor and rebellious decision. The Lord in His grace made a provision for Jonah. Long before Jonah rejected this commissioning the Lord had already prepared a great fish to partner with Jonah in his return. Before we got off course with God, He already orchestrated a return route for our ultimate benefit. Before Adam ever transgressed and needed a Redeemer, the Lamb of God was already slain before the foundation of the world. (See Revelations 13:8)

No matter what various scholars and theologians may argue, Jonah’s was a literal experience that had a literal fulfillment. The Lord Jesus highlighted Jonah’s testimony on two occasions as a sign of His three days and three nights in the bowels of the earth before His resurrection. If the Lord’s experience was literal, then so was Jonah’s.

Furthermore, scientists may argue that various species of seagoing creatures are not large enough to swallow a human being whole and allow them to survive three days and three nights. Nevertheless, a careful examination of the Scripture prominently affirms that the Lord “prepared” and “appointed” this great fish or sea monster for a specific purpose.

Not only did Jonah have a destiny but also the great fish that was designated and empowered to work with God to return His prophet to his purpose. Perhaps it was a one-of-a-kind species that God designed and engineered just for this encounter. In either event, the experience was literal and it was God’s supernatural provision to return a rebellious prophet to his God ordained calling.

Likewise, many of us have, either knowingly or accidentally, run from our mandate and calling in life. Even so, the Lord made a provision to return us to the place of our fruitfulness; He made that provision before time began. Perhaps we have looked at the experience as discipline, but in reality it is His provision. That was certainly the case in my experience.

Restoring The Lost Years

Clearly, the journey could have been quicker, easier and less costly, but in the final analysis the end result is the release into personal destiny. Jonah may have come out of his experience a little buffeted and smelly, but he also now had a testimony of God’s supernatural intervention that preceded his message, making it even more powerful than it would have been otherwise.

In my experience I realized that the hardships that I have experienced over a significant portion of my life were necessary to eventually return me to the place of my destiny and fruitfulness. Though I may have looked at it as the Lord’s discipline, it was in reality His provision.

More importantly, I have come to appreciate God’s enduring faithfulness to His Word and His promise to redeem the time. Joel 2: 25-26 declares:

So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, my great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame.

Presently, we are living in a time of prophetic destiny and divine fulfillment through the realization of God’s economy that makes up for lost years and redeems the time. The Apostle Paul put it this way in Ephesians 5:15-16:

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

The Word of the Lord returned to Jonah a second time requesting the prophet to prophesy in Nineveh. This time the bruised and battered prophet had a different perspective and agreed to this appointment and proceeded to Nineveh. What was perceived to be a three-day job was accomplished in one. The Bible declares:

So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown. Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. –Jonah 3:3-5

This is an indication of God’s acceleration. What we perceive to be a lengthy and arduous commissioning can be accomplished very rapidly in God’s economy. He is able to redeem the time, or “buy back the kairos moments” and do in a short period of time what we forecast to take an extended period.

Another Chance To Get It Right

There are multiple applications that can be derived from the spiritual principles outlined in the Book of Jonah. However, I feel it is important to point out that I have come away from my experience feeling a renewed sense of urgency and hope for our own nation. Perhaps God will grant to America another opportunity for grace and repentance as He did Nineveh.

There may be many prophetic voices that are reluctant to prophesy grace and mercy to our nation as Jonah was to Nineveh. Clearly we are in deep trouble as a nation. Even so, I believe there is still a revival on our horizon that will liberate multitudes from the grasp of death and hell. Repeatedly the Lord has emphasized to me that He will finish better than He started; and the Bride’s greatest day is not behind her, but directly ahead. That is what I choose to believe.

Secondly, there is hope for many who are steeped in hopelessness. The Lord has made it profoundly clear that he is returning many of His children back to the place of their destiny and fruitfulness. Though we may return by “fish” and a little smelly like Jonah, in the final analysis we will emerge with a testimony of God’s goodness and the empowerment of His Spirit to redeem the time and accomplish in rapid fashion what we might perceive to be a long and arduous battle.

The one thing we cannot afford to do is to give up. After having done all we must stand and believe in God’s restorative nature and His redemptive ability.

Published on January 25th, 2010 | Articles, Guest Posts, Worship

This guest post comes to us from Laurie Daniel on Facebook.

Faith’s Outworking

by Laurie Daniel

The end of a thing is better than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Ecclesiastes 7:8

We each carry dreams, passions and promises in our heart, both for the things that pertain to this life, as well as to the next. We yearn for realities not yet fully realized or experienced. We live by faith, not by sight. Sometimes our soul doesn’t feel like it, but our spirit is alive with anticipation concerning our future. We have tasted that God is good and faithful and we know that He can be trusted. As Hebrews 6:4-5 says, we were enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come.

The world calls us foolish for living by faith. By it we have entered into a relationship with the Heavenly Father. We have been learning His will and how to receive His blessings and admonitions, and we are standing in faith for more Godly desires to be fulfilled. In the mean time, the devil relentlessly distracts, deceives, and discourages. He wrestles with us, hoping he can wear us down to the point of giving up our faith in bitter defeat. But we are not ignorant of his devises, so by God’s grace we get back up and fight the good fight of faith. As many times as we might get knocked down, we keep getting back up. There is a race to run, battles to win, strongholds to overcome, and we desire to finish well and receive the prize.

The majority of us are all too familiar with those chasms of time that exists between standing on God’s promises and the realization of them. During that time period there are shakings within and shakings without. We are challenged on several fronts; finances, time, health, relationships and reputation. Things just don’t go how we had imagined. We become disappointed in our expectations. Doubt and confusion concerning our dreams and visions of the future knock at our door.

These days, most of us are being impacted at a deeper level of just how critically important patience is in our faith journey. Genuine faith cannot be separated from patience. Patience is our outworking of true faith. In Genesis we read about Joseph’s dream and the years of trials that he endured before it came to pass. In Acts 14:22 we read Paul’s revelation concerning the Christian voyage of faith with patience when he said, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” The passage of time proves all things. Our lives are to be seasoned, tried in the fire and purified. It requires time, heat and pressure.

There are numerous biblical, as well as historical figures who demonstrated faith through patience. Hebrews 6:12 tells us to follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and patience. Hebrews continues about the promise given to Abraham. By faith he obtained it, but not until he had first patiently endured for many years. Through that passage of time, instead of being discouraged, his faith in the Lord grew stronger. Then when the promise came to pass, there was no doubt that the Lord had done it, so that Abraham could not boast in his own abilities or strength.

Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was absolutely convinced that God was able to do anything he promised. Romans 4:20-21 NLT.

The book of James gives more insight into patience.

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord — that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. James 5:7-11

God is pleased by our faith and its outworking in patient endurance. It is also a wonderful testimony of Christ’s character. But God is not pleased by “grumbling,” murmuring and complaining. Have you noticed the correlation between our patience and our tongue?

James exhorted the believers of his day, who had scattered due to heavy persecution to:

Count it all joy when we fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience. Let patience have its perfect work, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-3

As patience is allowed to have its way in us, we become more spiritually mature in our words and deeds. The epistles reveal the incredible trials of the Apostle Paul’s faith. He grew in patience. Because of this, he had matured to a level where he confidently explained to the Philippians:

I know how to be abased and how to abound, everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil. 4:12-13

There are no short cuts or substitutions in growing up in Christ. Anything that is of significant and lasting value does not come quickly or easily. Apparently “blood, sweat and tears” is part of the maturing process. To everything there is a season and a purpose. We are to rejoice loudly and suffer silently. In patience may we possess our souls (Luke 21:19). Paul exhorted the church at Rome to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and continue steadfast in prayer (Rom. 12:12). Many times we just need to rise up into our spirit-man and engage our tongue in the victory!

Just as in Jude’s day, so we too are exhorted to earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 1:3). The same truth that the Lord Jesus told Paul holds true for us: My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9).

By the power of the Holy Spirit we are enabled to continue to withstand and endure to the end. So we set our feet to dancing and our voice to singing, because the joy of the Lord will strengthen us! We need to believe that the Lord is right in the middle of our trials with us, leading us into maturity and the reward at the finish line. God works it all together for good. What He started by His spirit, He will complete in us by His spirit as we submit to His work. No striving in our flesh or premature actions will produce good fruit. The attitude of gratitude continues to be a cure for discouragement. Paul’s prayer for the church at Thessalonica should be our heart cry: May the Lord direct our hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ (2Thes 3:5).

I am amazed at the simple, yet profound perspective in the classic Serenity Prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

Has there ever been a more crucial time in our lives to cheer lead one another on; to diligently exhort one another to patiently endure; to stir up one another with the hope of Christ?

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. Hebrews 12:1-3

That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it. Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT

Published on January 23rd, 2010 | Articles, Guest Posts, Worship

This guest post comes to us from Wade Taylor at Wade Taylor Ministries.

A Personal Testimony

Wade E Taylor

“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect…. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12, 14

A teacher (Walter Beuttler) in the Bible school I attended often spoke of having a “dissatisfied satisfaction.” He was thankful for, and satisfied with all that he had received from the Lord, yet he was dissatisfied as he knew there was much more that could be possessed.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

These “good works” are the things or circumstances that the Lord places in our path for the outworking of His purposes – first within us during our time of preparation, and then through us for the benefit of others. The word “should” is conditional, which means that we have a part in choosing the path that we will follow in the outworking of the Lord’s purpose for us. Because the right choice is usually not the easiest or most convenient, it is extremely important that we choose rightly.

After graduating from Bible school, I diligently sought the Lord as to what I was to do, but seemingly, I was not receiving direction from the Lord. I knew about a new school that was about to open. One of their goals was to train students to minister in the Italian language, and I was unable to relate to this, as I am not Italian, nor felt any calling to minister to Italians.

Therefore, I pushed aside the “drawing” that I felt toward this school, and instead, I decided to pioneer a church on Stenton Avenue in north central Philadelphia. On July 4, 1959, I started toward Philadelphia, a sixty mile trip, to rent a store front for the church, and to find a place to live. As I drove south, the feeling that I was going in the wrong direction became stronger and stronger.

I stopped the car and asked the Lord about this feeling. He responded that I was to go to this new school. I had to turn around and go in the opposite direction. I had prayed much about what I was to do after graduation from Bible School, but the Lord waited until I had taken an active step toward serving Him, then He spoke regarding the place where I was to be.

Soon after arriving and being settled in a guest room, I found a quiet place where I could pray, and repeated to the Lord that I did not want to come here, but that I wanted His best. In response, the Lord clearly spoke the following into the depth of my being: “I will allow you to go to Philadelphia, and I will give you a ministry there and I will bless it. But, this is where I want you, as this is My will for you at this present time.”

The next day, I was accepted as a student and moved in. A few months later while alone praying, suddenly I was in heaven, standing in the presence of God. I knew that He was directly in front of me, seated on His throne, but I could not see Him as I was blinded by brilliant glory. I had a sense of holiness that was beyond any ability or words to express.

As I stood there facing the throne, from my left, intense wave-like streams of glory, in brilliant color, began to move slowly toward me and entered into the depths of my spirit. This could be compared to a freight train, with each box-car carrying a cargo that was deposited into my spirit. As each of these entered into me, one after another, I became aware that I was to establish a ministry on this property. It was as if every cell in my body became a sensitized voice box, and I understood the Lord’s desire for a “set-apart place” in which He could both be and do as He desired.

When I returned from heaven to the place where I had been praying, I was so deeply affected by the manifest glory I had experienced, that I had great difficulty in relating and functioning in my normal circumstances. It was two weeks later that I was able to be “normal” again.

I gradually became aware that the purpose of the “ministry” to which I was being called would be to prepare those whom the Lord would send, to recognize and become responsive to His voice and also to have a respect for, and a sensitivity to His manifest presence. This related to those who would be “called apart” to be “made ready” for His end-time purposes.

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7

This Italian Assemblies of God school closed at the end of its third year and remained vacant for six years, when in a very unusual way, this property was given to me. While waiting during this period of time, the Lord caused me to know that I was being prepared to be used as an end-time “John the Baptist.” Later, the Lord confirmed this through a Scripture that expresses the deepest irony in all the Word of God.

“Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.” Luke 3:2

“Annas and Caiaphas” speaks of the headship and function of the established religious system, which the Lord by-passed. “John… in the wilderness” speaks of an isolated, barren environment, which the Lord used to prepare John for a critical time of ministry.

The Church system was fully in place and functioning. Yet the Lord could find no one within the religious system of that day who had a “hearing ear,” to whom He could impart a “present” word. Therefore, He chose one who was not a priest, and led him into a “wilderness experience” to be trained.

Today also, there are those within the Church who have fully committed the totality of their being to the Lord, and are being called apart to receive a fresh word from the Lord. This speaks of the absolute necessity of our receiving a “present word” concerning preparation (our being an end-time corporate John the Baptist), to become a witness of the Lord’s manifest presence in these last days. Therefore, we must make the right choices to bring this witness into its full expression, first within and then through us.

This religious system, which the Lord by-passed, had experienced the glory of God and had received much by direct revelation from the Lord. However, they became dependent upon past experiences for their present standing with the Lord. The fact that the Lord had moved through them in the past was not enough to equip them for the present need. They were incapable of hearing a present word concerning the soon to appear “Lamb of God.”

During this present time, there are those who are being called apart concerning the soon to appear “Lion of the tribe of Judah.” Therefore, there must be within each of us a present seeking of the Lord, even though we may have received much revelation from Him. Yesterday’s revelation is not enough to prepare us to face today’s problems and pressures.

While I was a student in Bible School (1956-1959), we experienced a major visitation from the Lord which lasted two weeks. We were daily in Chapel from early morning until late at night. In the beginning, there was a time of intense confession and cleansing, after which His “manifest glory” was poured out upon us. Along with this, a “fountain of new wine” was discovered. Anyone who “drank” therein became intensely filled with the Holy Spirit in boldness and power.

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18

“Being not drunk with wine, wherein is excess” speaks of a substitute for this higher spiritual impartation and enabling power. This substitute (wine) has been used by Satan to wreck countless lives and families. Any seeming “benefit” that comes from it is deceptive, and carries a terrible price tag.

“…but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:18-19). This is the transforming effect of the real wine of the Holy Spirit. It will release us into a spiritual boldness and liberty beyond that of which we are capable, which will glorify God and enable us to minister in great freedom and power.

However, no matter how tremendous this experience might be, we cannot continue to depend upon the experience of “drinking at the fountain of past visitations.” It is urgent that we begin seeking the Lord to bring us into a fresh new dimension of the supernatural. No longer are we to look back to where we first met the Lord. Nor, are we to tell the Lord how, when, or where the “new” is to come into our lives and ministries (I turned around went north to a place that seemingly did not fit the calling I had received).

We must have a “dissatisfied satisfaction” – our being thankful for what we presently have, but actively seeking the Lord for “more.” There are two sides to a coin. They are different, yet make a singular whole. Our past and present experiences must merge to make a way for us to enter the future.

John’s testimony was that he is the “voice of one crying in the wilderness.” He clearly saw the urgent need of that hour by saying, “Prepare you the way of the Lord, make His paths straight” (Mark 1:3). The very heart of my calling and ministry is the preparation of a “voice” that can speak in our day, as John spoke in his day, to be available to the Lord for His purposes during this difficult time in which we live.

All this came into being, when, on July 4, 1959, I stopped the car while driving toward Philadelphia, turned around and went in the opposite direction, in response to “a present word” from the Lord. Looking back, I can rejoice in the fact that I made the right choice.

Many years have passed since that date in 1959. There were years of glory, spiritual impartation, and transformed lives. Mistakes were also made, for which I have repented and received forgiveness from our Lord. Now, at this present time while residing in Washington DC, I am receiving a “present word,” and I am again making another “turn” that I might move into a higher outworking of my calling and ministry, which is now coming into its intended purpose and fulfillment.

I pray that you also will look beyond your past spiritual experiences, and your present circumstances, and make the right choice during your critical moment of decision.

Published on November 22nd, 2009 | Articles, Guest Posts, Worship

This guest post comes to us from Francis Frangipane at Francis Frangipane Ministries.

One Message

Francis Frangipane

The Lord alone will be exalted in that day.” – Isaiah 2:11

Normally my Sunday sermon is prepared a few days in advance, but this week was different. All week the heavens seemed like bronze. Saturday morning came and still I was at a loss. Nothing seemed alive. It was now Saturday evening and I was pacing the floor seeking God. “Lord,” I asked, “What is the message for tomorrow morning? What topic should I address?”

A dozen ideas filed through my mind, loitered momentarily in my imagination, and left as unanointed as they had arrived. I went to bed praying. When I woke Sunday morning, my prayer was still on my lips.

A half-hour before I had to leave for church, I had not quit pacing the bedroom floor. For the umpteenth time, I asked, “Lord, what is the message?” when suddenly the electricity to our home clicked off, reset, and then came back on. This, in turn, caused the answering machine on my desk to also reset. Perfectly synchronized with my prayer asking for a sermon topic, the machine replied in its computerized voice: “You . . . have . . . one . . . message.”

When a voice comes out of the air and says, “You have one message,” if your message is not centered upon the life and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, you have missed the purpose of Christianity! That morning I preached Jesus. People said there was more fire than ever in my sermon.

The fact is, the church has only one message. The proclamation of who Jesus is and what He has accomplished is the eternal message of the church; it is the only message the Father promises to confirm with power. To reveal Jesus through obedience to what He taught is to bring the life of His kingdom into our world. As we return to the simple “purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3), we will find the most powerful manifestations of the Lord Jesus awaiting us. Indeed, at the end of the age, the church that loves Him will display Him. We will reveal His glory.

The Answer: More of Christ!

When we consider that America is plagued with abortion, violence, pornography, Satanism, drugs, national debt, sexual abuse, and the breakdown of the family structure, it becomes obvious we need more of the nature of Christ!

Indeed, how shall we deal with the terrors that have invaded our world? Should we move to Idaho, stockpile food, and wait for the tribulation? Perhaps we should simply close our eyes to the world and hope for the rapture?

Or should we find out what God is planning to do and throw our lives into His purpose?

My prayer is that God would give you a vision of what He’s planning to do before Jesus comes for His elect. The time is at hand when the works Jesus did, we shall also do, and even greater works (John 14:12). What is coming on the earth is “the day of [God’s] power” (Ps. 110:3). Beloved, think about it: great opportunities are set before those who seek conformity to Christ’s image in this day.

It is a time to simplify our lives and focus on our transformation. We truly have one message!

Published on October 26th, 2009 | Articles, Guest Posts, Worship

This guest post comes to us from Francis Frangipane at Francis Frangipane Ministries.

Come and See

Francis Frangipane

The two sons of Zebedee began their spiritual commitment as disciples of John the Baptist. In fact, James and John had actually been standing near the prophet when Jesus walked by. “Behold, the Lamb of God!” the Baptizer said, and from that moment the two disciples began to follow Jesus (John 1:35-37). This was an insightful account. It is John’s handwritten testimony of how he came to the Son of God. Yet, John has deeper truths to reveal beyond this historic portrayal. He is also going to reveal what we should each ultimately seek when we come to Christ.

Let’s pick up the account. James and John, having heard and believed John’s messianic proclamation about Jesus, are now walking, perhaps hurriedly, to catch up to Jesus. They are within conversation range.

Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest Thou? He saith unto them, Come and see.
—John 1:38-39 KJV

There are many reasons one comes to Christ. We may seek Him for health issues or to possess the keys to prosperity. Perhaps we need deliverance or are burdened with the cares of a loved one. Yet, as the Lord asked John and James, so He asks each of us: what are you seeking in life? What goals compel us? When we approach the final season of our lives, will the things we have achieved be transferable into eternal accounts? Or will we have spent our time and energies on that which is void of true life?

Jesus asks, “What are you seeking?” It is a very important question. The Lord desires that we take inventory of our passions and objectives, and then chart our course toward heavenly values. You see, many say they love Jesus. What they mean is that, in time, they hope to get around to loving Jesus. Right now, however, they barely know Him and almost never spend time seeking Him.

The proof that we love Him is that we keep His commandments (John 14:15). What must He think when so many who say they love Him are, in fact, not loving Him but actually having an affair with this world? May God have mercy.

Yet, this is not the situation with you. In spite of your flaws and weaknesses, you sincerely desire to possess more of God. You have emerged from the difficulties of your past and, though tried in the fire, your heart’s desire is to walk close with the Lord. Indeed, Christ sees this holy desire and, to Him, it is the most precious part of you.

The Lord’s heart is also moved toward those who follow Him, though they may walk limping. To those wounded by injustice or the effects of sin, the Lord’s promise remains faithful: “A bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish.” Surely, He will bring to victory the justice due you (Isa. 42:3; Matt. 12:20).

Like James and John, we, too, “behold the Lamb of God.” Just as He asked them, so He asks us, “What are you seeking?”

The Dwelling Place of Christ

In response to Jesus’ probing question, the disciples’ answer may seem strange. For they did not ask Him for greater power or one of His many spiritual gifts. Instead, they asked Jesus something more personal, and intimate: “Where dwellest Thou?”

I’d like us to consider the poignancy of their answer. They wanted to know where Jesus lived. There are times when a question transcends the simple boundaries of intellectual curiosity and actually reveals one’s quest in life. Such is now the case: they are seeking to live with Jesus. They are searching for the dwelling place of God.

It is not wrong to desire spiritual gifts or to ask God for special blessings of health and financial prosperity. It is not wrong; it is just not enough. Inside the heart of a God-seeker is a quest for more. We are in search of the “dwelling places” of God. In truth, our hearts have been divinely programmed. There are within us “the highways to Zion” (Ps. 84).

Our destination is nothing less than oneness with Christ. All fruitfulness comes from living in spiritual union with Jesus. In contrast, whatever we offer as service to God that is not the result of our union with Christ, that labor is in vain; it is a weak comfort. For apart from Him, we can do nothing.

John tells us in his first epistle that those who say they abide in Him ought to walk “in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6). Abiding in Jesus leads to walking like Jesus.

Beloved, there is yet much more to learn and discover concerning our Lord! We must beware of spiritual complacency. Recall the prayer of Moses: At the end of his life – after being used by God to confront and defeat the gods of Egypt, after dwelling in the Lord’s glory and beholding miracle after miracle for forty years – Moses prayed, “You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand” (Deut. 3:24).

You have begun? No matter how much we attain, no matter what revelations of God’s glory are ours, we have only begun to see His glory.

The disciples answered astutely, “Rabbi, where dwellest Thou?” May this become our prayer as well: Where do You live, O Son of God? Where is Your dwelling place? To all who feel similarly, Christ says to us what He promised them: “Come and see.”

Dear Master, I turn to You now. You are my life’s greatest goal. I desire to live with You, to abide in the wonder of a life united with You.

This chapter has been taken from Pastor Frangipane’s newest book to be released in November 2009, And I Will Be Found By You available from Arrow Bookstore.

Published on September 26th, 2009 | Articles, Guest Posts

This guest post comes to us from Wade Taylor at Wade Taylor Ministries.

Divine Delays

Wade E Taylor

“But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Most all of us have received a word, or an indication of something that is to take place, but somehow is delayed, and we wonder why?

The word “after” tells us that there is something between the promise, and a productive life experience. “After” speaks of a “divine delay,” until certain conditions are met, and the Lord is satisfied to release the needed “divine enabling” (power) for the fulfilling of the promise.

This “process” can be seen in the life of Jesus, when He was baptized by John in preparation for His ministry.

“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up immediately out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17

During the baptism of Jesus, as He came up out of the water, the heavens opened, the dove descended to rest upon Him, and the Father spoke: “This (explicitly) is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus had now received the Spirit without measure, and a confirmation of the “approbation of God” (divine favor) resting upon His life.

It would appear that Jesus was now ready to begin His ministry. Instead, He was immediately led into the wilderness, where for forty days, He suffered hardship, hunger, and temptation. It would have been easy for him to doubt, or to discount what had happened at the time of His baptism.

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days He did eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered.” Luke 4:1-2

The “wilderness” is a barren place, where there is nothing – no divine favor or blessing, no one to seek out for help, or to give a word of encouragement. Instead, when Jesus became intensely hungry, the enemy came and reminded Him that He, being God, could easily feed Himself by turning stones into bread. Jesus refused to satisfy His hunger with anything less than the provision of His Father.

“And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If You be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 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.” Matthew 4:3-4

It was in the place of hunger and privation, rather than in the place of blessing, that Jesus received the ultimate blessing. He had to go through a time of processing (wilderness time) in order to enter the higher purposes of God.

“And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee….” Luke 4:13-14

Notice that Jesus entered the wilderness in the “fullness of the Spirit,” but He came out in the “power of the Spirit.” Between the time of His receiving the blessing of the Father, and His receiving the enabling “power” for the outworking of His ministry, there was a delay – a time of testing during which Jesus suffered intense hunger.

In relation to us, this “wilderness time” is an “indeterminate” span of time during which a particular purpose is accomplished. Our self-dependence and self-centeredness must come to an end through an experience of “utter dependence” on the Lord. When we are tested, we will either pass the test as an “overcomer,” or we will come short of gaining a victory over our self-life, and will need a further time of preparation.

We tend to measure our spiritual attainment with the “blessings,” or the “giftings” that we have been given. However, these are only the beginning. We must go beyond these (what we do), to a change in our nature (what we have become). Therefore, by divine arrangement, the Lord will place us in situations where there is no available means of satisfaction (wilderness), that a higher purpose might be accomplished.

Because the Lord is more interested in what we have become, than in what we are doing, there are “divine delays” that we must face in the outworking of our spiritual development.

Especially at this present time, there is a call to come “higher.” If we desire to go beyond the level of our present spiritual experience, and “apprehend” the higher calling and purpose of our Lord, we will be taken through a difficult time of testing and proving in order to become a part of the “corporate” Jesus (He is the head, we are the body) that is about to be revealed in His coming “Parouisa” (the manifestation of His end-time glory).

Jesus will again do all that He did in a single body, through a corporate body.

“Verily, verily, I say to you, He that believes on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to My Father.” John 14:12

The “greater works” – all that Jesus did in His first coming in a single body, are now about to happen again, but through a many membered corporate body. For us to have a part in this, we must be prepared, as He was prepared.

“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven…. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” Revelation 4:1-2

In the message to the seven Churches, each “door” led into the next period of Church history. At this present time, there is something different, because we are living toward the end of the Laodicean Church Age, and there is nothing further. There is a door that is to be opened, but it is not a horizontal door that will lead into another aspect of the Church, rather, it is a vertical door that leads upward to the throne.

For those who are ready, there is a progression that is about to take place, from the pulpit (Church) to the throne (Kingdom). This spiritual hunger, the stirring and searching that is taking place within us today, is happening because the Lord is knocking upon the door of our heart, seeking entrance within our lives, due to the urgency of the hour in which we live.

Jesus said:

“If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” John 14:23

The word “abode” in John 14:23, and the word “mansion” in John 14:2 in the original text, is the same word. Jesus is saying, “I will come and make My abode in your present life experience.” Another way to say this is, “In My Father’s house are many levels of relationship.”

We are to progress from one level of relationship to another level. During each upward step in this progression, there are dealings – things that the Lord must do in order to prepare us for the higher level. If we are not careful, we will misunderstand and misinterpret these things.

In the Song of Solomon, the Bride said:

“It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found Him whom my soul loves….” Song of Solomon 3:4

It was “but a little” that I passed from them (our dependence on hearing from the Lord through others), that I found Him. This is a “wilderness time” (time of testing), in which we are separated from the spiritual womb where we have been very comfortable, into a new place and level of relationship and attainment. Our tendency, rather than to wait and allow the Lord to bring the adjustment, is for us to go back to the place where we were comfortable.

I received a “word” directly from the throne of God in 1959, that I would have a ministry to prepare “overcomers” for the end-time purpose of the Lord. This visitation was so powerful that I thought it would begin within a few weeks. As time went on, things would happen that would cause me to think that this ministry was about to begin. The next thing I knew, it all fell apart. This happened several times.

The excitement came, and then all at once I was saying, “Lord, what happened?” I sought out and tried all that I knew and understood, but none of it worked. Finally, I said, “Lord, I give up.” Within a short time after I said this, it happened. I then realized that it could not have happened sooner, as there was a much deeper working of the Lord that first had to take place within me.

“Divine delays” stretch our patience. “…I sought Him, but I found Him not” (Song of Solomon 3:2). Why? The Lord has something better for His Bride. He is waiting (divine delay) so He can take us further, but there is a price that we must accept.

The “sermon on the mount” is the “key” to a Kingdom life.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

“Blessed” are all those who have come to the end of their abilities, into abject poverty and utter dependence – those who have come to the end of self, and trust the Lord, leaning heavily upon Him, “for theirs is the Kingdom.”

We have discovered “methods” in our spiritual life experience with which we are comfortable, as we know how these function. When we do certain things, we experience a certain response. If we are to go further, we must enter into a time in the “wilderness,” where we can be separated from these dependencies. In order to go higher, we must move into a place that is unfamiliar to us, leaving the familiar behind. We must be careful to “stay” in the wilderness for the full appointed time, as we tend to say, “I am going back, as I felt much more comfortable there, and I knew what to expect.”

The Lord is seeking to bring us out from the familiar, into the “ways” of the Spirit. Here, His voice is becoming as the “voice of the trumpet” with a present word for us.

“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up here, and I will show you things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.” Revelation 4:1-2

It is not easy for us to move from the familiar, into a place of dependence, where we become available for the Lord to speak through us, as He may desire.

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed and he went out, not knowing where he went.” Hebrews 11:8

Abraham went out not knowing where he was going, as the future was veiled. There is a purpose in our wilderness experiences, as the delays and reductions that we experience have a higher purpose. We are being brought into the place of total dependence and obedience in which we will receive – “after.”

“And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, and to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments, or no.” Deuteronomy 8:2

The delays of God reveal our true motives and intents that correction might be made, and that we might be brought up into a higher level of relationship and experience.

“Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When He had heard therefore that he was sick, He abode two days still in the same place where He was. Then after that says He to His disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.” John 11:5-7, 11

Martha (service) and Mary (devotion) were attempting to get Lazarus (adamic nature) healed.

“Then said Martha to Jesus, Lord, if You had been here, my brother had not died.” John 11:21

Jesus stayed away “two days” (divine delay). Lazarus (adamic nature) is now bound up, and has become so dead, that he smells. In the “fullness of time,” Jesus came and said, “Lazarus, come forth.” Later, Jesus is sitting at the banquet table with Lazarus (John 12:2). The delay was to bring forth the higher, because life comes out of death. Unless we go through this time of processing, we cannot receive the word to “Come up” (Revelation 4:1). Service and devotion (religious activity) will hinder, if they possibly can.

There is a purpose in the Lord seemingly discouraging us. This short time of discouragement will only make our roots go deeper, and cause us to push all the harder.

“…The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” Matthew 11:12

Mark 7:25-29 is the story of a certain woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, will you heal my daughter?” He answered, “This is for the children, the chosen, not for the dogs.”

In other words, Jesus said, “you are a dog, you cannot have this.” She replied, “The dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.” Jesus said, “For that saying, your daughter is healed.”

This Greek woman knew what she wanted, and she refused to be insulted. Blessed are the bankrupt, the “poor” who will give up the right to their own lives and become a part of the expression of His life.

“Let us not be weary in well doing (our present level of believing in hope of receiving): for in due season (there is an appointed time) we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9 (comments added)

The Lord may allow a “divine delay,” as we wait for our “appointed time.” If we will patiently endure our “time in the wilderness,” and move past our expecting a quick response, we will receive the reward, as the present word of the Lord is, “come up.”

If we do not weary in our waiting in hope, then in “that day,” at the appointed hour, the body that is veiled (that which all creation is groaning for – Lazarus being called out of the tomb by Jesus), will be called to come forth to be unveiled and empowered, for the outworking of the end-time purposes of the Lord.

“Come, and let us return to the Lord: for He has torn, and He will heal us; He has smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days will He revive us; in the third day, He will raise us up and we shall live in His sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord; His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come to us as the rain, as the latter and former rain to the earth.” Hosea 6:1-3

“Come… He has torn, and He will heal us.” As we submit to and are patient in the times of processing, then the Lord, in His time, “will raise us up and we will live in His sight.”

Published on September 22nd, 2009 | Articles, Guest Posts, Worship

This guest post comes to us from Francis Frangipane at Francis Frangipane Ministries.

Love Me Where You’re At

Francis Frangipane

I have discovered that, as we seek the Lord, our most difficult periods can be transformed into wonderful breakthroughs into God’s love. For me, one such season occurred during the years 1979 to1981. The association of churches with which I was aligned had fallen under spiritual deception. Not only were its core doctrines increasingly seeded with New Age influences, but immorality crept in, and key leaders began leaving their wives for other women. I could no longer remain silent. As a result, in 1979 I left my congregation in Detroit, Michigan, where I had served as pastor, and traveled to the organization’s regional headquarters in Iowa. I came to plead for repentance. However, after meeting with the senior leaders, I was asked to leave the group.

So here we were – we had left our church, we had no money, and we had four little children and couldn’t afford even basic housing. Desperate for anything, we finally found an old farmhouse in rural Washington, Iowa. The home was over a hundred years old, but it actually looked much older. After negotiating with the landlord, we were given a year of free rent provided I did basic repairs to the house, such as cleaning and painting.

Even so, the house needed more than I could provide. The furnace did not work well, so we installed a wood burner stove in the kitchen. That first winter, it turned out, was one of the coldest in Iowa’s history. Frost formed on the inside walls, spreading a foot or two around each window; wind chills dropped to 60 below, and even colder, on several occasions.

To keep warm each night, the whole family cuddled tightly on one large mattress on the dining room floor, about 18 feet from the wood burner in the kitchen. A fan behind the stove nudged warm air in our direction. My nightly project, of course, was to build enough heat in the stove to keep us warm until morning.

While I worked the fire, I also would pray and seek God. The wood burner became a kind of altar to me, for each night as I prayed, I offered to God my unfulfilled dreams and the pain of my spiritual isolation. Yes, I knew the Lord was aware of our situation. Though we had virtually nothing, He showed Himself to us in dozens of little ways. I just didn’t know what He wanted of me.

As the seasons came and went, another child was born, and then we fostered a young girl from Viet Nam, giving us six children. Still, as the family grew, the little area around the wood burner became a hallowed place to me. Even in the summer, I would sit on the chair next to the stove and pray and worship.

I would like to say I found the joy of the Lord during this time, but in truth, though I gradually adjusted to my situation, I felt an abiding misery in my soul. Our deep poverty was an issue (I barely made $6,000 a year), but more than that, I felt like I had missed the Lord. My continual prayer was “Lord, what do You want of me?”

Three years of seeking God passed, and I still carried an emptiness inside. What was God’s will for me? I had started a couple Bible studies and spoke a few times in churches, but I so identified with being a pastor that, until I was engaged again in full-time ministry, I feared I had lost touch with God’s call on my life.

In spite of this inner emptiness concerning ministry, I actually was growing spiritually, especially in areas that were previously untilled. I went through the Gospels hungry to study and obey the words of Christ. Previously, I had unconsciously defined a successful ministry as something born of my performance. During this time, however, the Lord reduced me to simply being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Indeed, a number of things I thought were biblical I discovered were really just religious traditions. The Lord desired that I take inventory of my heart and examine those few truths for which I would be willing to die. He said the truths for which I would die, for these I should live.

Frankly, things like the timing of the rapture or nuances about worship style or spiritual gifts dropped in their priority, though I still considered them important. Rising to the top of my focus was a passion to be a true follower of Jesus Christ – to obey His teachings and approach life not merely as a critic, but more as an encourager. I also found myself increasingly free to enjoy and learn from Christians from other streams and perspectives.

Yet, these changes, though deep and lasting, occurred slowly, almost imperceptibly. They were happening quietly in my heart, and only in hindsight did I see what the Lord had done. Throughout this time, I was preoccupied with feelings of detachment from God’s will. My prayer to know the Lord’s plan for me continued daily.

The Breakthrough

One day, as I stood in the kitchen pantry, I repeated again my abiding prayer: “Lord, what do You want of me?” In a sudden flash of illumination, the Lord answered. Speaking directly to my heart, He said, “Love Me where you’re at.”

In this time and season, remember, I was not a pastor or minister. I was a television repairman doing odd jobs on the side to provide for my family. I hated what I was doing. In my previous church I taught against TV and now I was “laying hands” on television sets and raising them from the dead! The Lord’s answer cut straight to my heart. I was awed at its simplicity! I asked, “Love You where I am at? Lord, is that all You want of me?” To this He responded, “This is all I will ever require of you.”

In that eternal moment peace flooded my soul, and I was released from the false expectation of ministry-driven service. God was not looking at what I did for Him, but who I became to Him in love. The issue in His heart was not whether I pastored, but whether I loved Him. To love the Lord in whatever station I found myself – even as a television repairman – this I could do!

A deep and remarkable transformation occurred in me. My identity was no longer in being a pastor, but rather on becoming a true lover of God. Having settled my priorities, amazingly, just a couple days later I was invited to pastor a church in Marion, Iowa. In spite of all my previous anxiety about returning to ministry, I did not jump at the opportunity. For I had found what the Lord truly desired of me. Though I eventually accepted this call, my focus was not merely on leading a church, but loving God.

What God Seeks

More than one’s ministry, God seeks our love. His great commandment is that we love Him, ultimately, with all our mind, all our heart, and all our soul and strength. If we love Him, we will fulfill all He requires of us (see John 14:15). And it is as we love Him that He orchestrates all things to work together for our good (see Rom. 8:28).

Beloved, loving God is not hard. We can fulfill any assignment – auto mechanic or housewife, doctor or college student – and still give great pleasure to our heavenly Father. We do not need ministry titles to love the Lord. Indeed, God measures the value of our lives by the depth of our love. This is what He requires of every true God seeker: to love Him where we are at.

Lord Jesus, the revelation of Your love has swept me off my feet. Lord, You have drawn me and I run after You. Master, even in the mundane things of life, I shall express my love for You. Consume me in Your love.

Published on September 5th, 2009 | Articles, Guest Posts

This guest post comes to us from Francis Frangipane at Francis Frangipane Ministries.

The Silent Harvest

Francis Frangipane

A few years ago, I had a dream in which I found myself inside the mind of a dying man. The man had been in a coma for some time; his family had been praying, but they did not know whether or not he had accepted Christ. All they were sure of is that, throughout his life, he had resisted their efforts to lead him to Christ.

In the dream, I became so acutely aware of the man’s state of mind that his thoughts, feelings and struggles almost seemed my own. Although his eyes were nearly closed and his vision clouded, he could see his loved ones at his bedside. I watched as he tried to reach toward his family, but outwardly his arm never lifted. Perceiving his thoughts, I heard him speak their names, but no sound whispered through his lips. A loved one holding his hand asked, “If you hear me, squeeze.” He heard and pressed his fingers against hers, but no movement was seen; his hand clearly remained limp. He was conscious, he could hear their prayers, he felt the warmth of their kisses on his face, but was perfectly incapable of responding.

The pride and isolation that had, throughout his life, stood guard over his heart were gone. A physical catastrophe had overtaken him. Death approached, and he knew he was unprepared for eternity. Submerged beneath his motionless exterior, a war had raged for his soul, which the Lord won. Subdued by the relentless force of God’s love, he was finally at peace. It was during his time in the hospital that he had silently prayed and accepted Christ as his Savior. I was watching his last effort to tell them as life ebbed out of his body.

Suddenly, monitoring alarms ripped through the muffled silence of the room. His heart beat one last time and I found myself looking down at the body of a man who had just died. The room was buzzing with nurses, while his family huddled in a corner, grieving. The idea of their loved one dying without receiving Christ was more devastating than the reality of death itself. I stirred and then woke. Yet, just as I left the dream, the Lord spoke to my heart: “Tell them he’s with Me.”

God is Good

Although some time has passed since I first had this dream, I am increasingly aware that many of God’s people carry a deep abiding heartache concerning the death of an unsaved loved one. Obviously, this dream does not apply to all, but there are some for whom this experience is divinely directed. Thus, I submit this to you in a general sense, because the Holy Spirit has assured me He will bear witness to your heart that this word is for you.

I have also felt an urgency to pass this dream on to you. The Lord has an important work for you. However, the enemy has used this unresolved loss to sow doubt into your soul. Not only are you troubled about your deceased loved one, but you are carrying doubts about God’s love, and you doubt also the power of prayer. Your confidence in God has been compromised. Yet, it is precisely at this time that you need to stand without doubt for other members of your family.

Beloved, though there are many questions about the mysteries of life, we must not let the unknown obscure the face of the known: God is good. We know God loves us because He sent His Son to die for our sins. Indeed, Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). When we look at Christ, we see God, and we know that God cares.

Additionally, some of us have lost loved ones in sudden tragedies, where they seemingly had no time to repent or turn to God. Let me remind you of those who have faced near-death experiences. They tell of seeing their “life flash before [their] eyes.” Indeed, they say that time itself seem to stop or move into slow motion. I believe that, even in what seemed like a “sudden” death, time slowed to a crawl. According to their testimonies, evidently, there often is enough time in this altered state to see and ponder one’s entire life – and to make a decision or even call upon the name of the Lord.

In spite of what we do not know about life’s many mysteries, one thing remains eternally true: God is our loving Father. He does not desire that any man perish, and He will fight to save us, even to the moment of our death. Let us, therefore, cast our burdens upon the Lord, for He genuinely cares for us. And let us again run with endurance the race set before us, for He has promised that even for those “sitting in the . . . shadow of death, upon them a light dawned” (Matt. 4:16).

Lord Jesus, thank You for dying for my sins. Lord, there are many issues I do not know, but I do know that You are good. Those things I do not understand, I give to You. I trust You with my life, and I put in Your hands the care of those I love.

Published on August 31st, 2009 | Articles, Guest Posts

This guest post comes to us from Paul Keith Davis at White Dove Ministries.

Going Behind the Veil

By Paul Keith Davis

A few years ago the Lord gave me a wonderful experience that I believe depicts the calling of several within the Church being prepared to go behind the veil and begin to understand great and mighty things which we presently do not know. There are some being groomed to experience Jeremiah 33:3 and receive key strategies and insight directly from the Lord that will be of paramount importance during this season. This prophetic Scripture declares:

Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand). Amplified Version

In the experience, I saw the Lord walking in a determined manner, but I could only see Him from the back. He was wearing a dark blue robe that reached to the ground. The color seemed to be indicative of His revelatory nature. I was not able to see His face for I was walking from behind Him. I suppose that could be good in that he was leading and we were following.

As I approached Him I knew exactly who He was. Other people were seemingly around but I paid little attention to them. As I approached Him I threw my arms around him and placed my head on his right shoulder feeling a great sense of affection and friendship. It would have been nice to simply remain there for a few years. It is important to remember this is an experience to help illustrate the relationship and affections this company will have with the Lord.

He allowed the loving embrace for a few moments and then pointed to a wall directly in front of us. It had a stone/tile appearance. I noticed at the base of the wall an area that seemed to have been opened once before but was now sealed and “hidden” with small stones, flat rocks and scraps of paper. It was as though the wall was there the entire time but it took the Lord pointing it out to open my eyes to it. I began to remove the paper, stones and flat rocks and discovered that it was an access to a chamber behind the wall.

As I continued to dig, the tile and stone material could be easily removed. Once the hole was large enough for me to pass through I discovered a room filled with thousands of ancient scrolls, parchments, journals and books.

I inherently knew this library of priceless materials had been primarily preserved for our day and contained key secrets in walking closely and intimately with the Lord. It will be a fulfillment of Isaiah 48:6-7 saying:

You have heard; look at all this. And you, will you not declare it? I proclaim to you new things from this time, even hidden things which you have not known. They are created now and not long ago; and before today you have not heard them, so that you will not say, “Behold, I knew them.”

Great forerunners like the Patriarch Enoch were allowed to go behind the veil and read the writings of Heaven contained in these books. Not only do they portray an intimate walk with the Lord, but also hidden secrets involving creation, time, space, matter and tremendous insights into the Scripture that we must contend for and give ourselves wholeheartedly to apprehend.

Three Key Scriptures

In the center of the room was a wooden stake about six feet in height and a parchment made from what seemed like a small piece of leather attached to it. I knew something important was written on the parchment. I could read three scriptures that were inscribed. They were; Jude, Psalms 68, and 1 Kings 3.

Each of these passages could have a variety of meanings on multiple levels inherent with each individual. However, I believe there is a clear warning being issued, highlighting the characteristics of both true and false forms of leadership that can be identified through the Book of Jude. There are three counterfeit spirits pinpointed in this vital book that we must understand and identify. The spirits of Cain, Balaam, and Korah have been highlighted as New Testament adversaries having the following characteristics:

Cain= sincere form of religious activity with an absence of spiritual revelation as to what God truly desires.

Balaam= attempting to curse what God has blessed and utilizing spiritual gifts for personal gain.

Korah= a rebellious form of self-promotion.

The Lord has given us and many prophetic friends’ clear warnings about solely relying upon human ingenuity and gifting as a substitute for the true and legitimate apostolic ministry illustrated in the book of Acts. Very often a false spirit will preempt the release of the genuine with some very convincing qualities and attempt to sway many to its following. We are admonished in Scripture to judge fruit and the signs of the true apostolic ministry based in humility and a Christ-like nature.

Authentic apostolic ministry will promote the revelation of Jesus Christ and build His kingdom with the undiluted gospel of the Kingdom confirmed with miracles, signs and wonders. The early apostles were vindicated by the Holy Spirit saying:

And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus. Acts 4:29-30

Supernatural Wisdom and Insight

I believe there are many who will also begin to be commissioned in a manner similar to the way Solomon was set apart and endowed with significant spiritual insight and understanding. Solomon’s wise prayer was for more than just natural human wisdom and intelligence. Careful examination reveals that he asked God for the ability to perpetually here the Spirit’s Voice. He prayed:

So give Your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge and rule this Your great people? 1 Kings 3:9 AMP

The Scripture expresses that he received a “hearing heart” allowing him to walk with wisdom and supernatural comprehension during his days of leadership. We desperately need a similar impartation.

A Psalm for the Bride

There are numerous significant truths illustrated in Psalms 68. Primarily it is pointing to God’s justice beginning to be exemplified in the earth rendering blessings for those walking in righteousness and judgment on unrighteousness. It also prophetically highlights the glorious consummation of the ages with the promised “latter rain” outpouring to fully appropriate God’s inheritance. It speaks of people coming out of slavery and bondage to be set free with the purity and freedom of the “dove company.”

The earth quaked; the heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel. You shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God; you confirmed your inheritance when it was parched. Your creatures settled in it; you provided in your goodness for the poor, O God…When you lie down among the sheepfolds, you are like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and its pinions with glistening gold. Psalms 68:8-10 & 13

It also points to the “spirit of the fathers” being released and restoring us to a place of intimacy and fellowship previously known by our apostolic fathers. We have been largely known as a “fatherless” generation. However true and genuine spiritual fathers are soon to emerge with a heart of compassion and humility preparing a generation for intimate relationship with the Lord. These fathers will have the ability to impart spiritual gifts and awaken the seeds of desire and hunger for the Lord and the things of His Spirit.