The Better To See You With...

"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 is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."-(Hebrews 12:2)

"What are you looking at?" I heard in the still small voice that arrested my spirit. My heart was racing in a rush of adrenaline, "You know Lord." A few moments after returning to my anger-driven, self-destructive inward rant of criticism aimed at my disappointment in my then, current situation, I heard it again. "What are you looking at?" I timidly replied, "You are God. You know." I had been driven by the toxicity of my environment to feel utterly disgusted and despondent about my individual call and future in ministry. It was a dark valley at the deepest crevasse along the journey to the base of that particular mountain of faith. I had declared mere hours before at the top of my lungs before God, my wife and an imaginary audience most definitively-"I quit!". I did not intend to resign from life itself, simply ministry. I had allowed my environment to attach itself to my thoughts, and my spirit had become drained in the process. I had gotten alone and began to pray, very selfishly, with misguided motive to be avenged in the midst of the unrighteousness. Rather than seeking the Lord with my Spirit-Man, I sought Him with my barbarian-flesh-man. When I had finished venting my frustrations in poorly crafted confessions, it became silent. Many moments passed, and the echos of my tirade had settled. After I allowed the quiet to fill my senses, I heard Him speak once more. The third time it was not the still small voice that had nudged my intellect earlier. This was an awesome rush of crashing thunder and the power in it stole my breath- "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?" I was stayed to say the very least, and I stood absolutely still, knowing that an answer was required of me. "I... I am looking at my environment." At once I felt a quickening of revelation shake me. I saw in a glimpse of time the positive in the negative and recognized my folly. I received a tremendous moment of reflection from the Lord to recount my behavior, my words and most importantly, my sightlines. Later that night, after having ministered before Pastor Tommy Barnett spoke, I felt a sharp regret for my words, but no release to have them relented and removed from the record of existence. It was as if the confession of resignation was impermiable, irrevocable and although incorrect, unforgiveable. As we joined the congregation, and Pastor Barnett began his message, I was absolutely floored by his opening words. As I began settle into my chair, he uttered two words that I believe were sent from God's mouth to his mouth to my ears:
"DON'T QUIT". He then stunned me into tears. "There is someone here tonight that said that they were giving up. They told God that they were quitting ministry." I felt as though he overheard me, but that was absolutely impossible. "I want you to know that the Lord is telling you DON'T. I also want you to know that He is telling you to stop looking at your environment and start looking at HIM." I was in an instant, renewed.

I realized from that moment, that God is so very gracious to his children, who, for lack of understanding and battle-weariness from the ongoing stretching and trevailing, grow vulnerable. He cared enough for my walk, my purpose and His hand upon my life, that He used that great General of His to speak directly to me. I cannot quite explain in words the impact that has had on me. One specific article of wisdom that was crafted anew in my understanding that day changed my entire walk. I will never again be able to see my environment as the reality of God's economy, intent or plan. What I look at had become of paramount importance. I realized that "what I was looking at" was what was seen. The issues, the challenges and the inconsistencies of my outward environs set the standard for my perception. But what God wants us to look at is what is unseen. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."-(Hebrews 11:1) I wonder how often we fall into the treacherous plot of the enemy found in our eyegate's perception of our surroundings before we gain the ultimate understanding of our perspective's importance. I have written before that our friend and one of our mentors, Dr. Myles Munroe states that "Sight is a function of the EYES, and Vision is a function of the HEART". The sight of the Spirit is SUPER-natural and with the EYES of our heart we see God's truth and our destiny. We become what we see. We absorb what we see. Our eyegates will connect our spirits to our surroundings if we use only our intellect and natural eyes to perceive.

God wants us to remember that this is a temporary state, and that what He sees for us is ultimately ALL that truly matters. We are at a severe disadavantage when we judge our ends by our current states in the natural. Take for instance Abram. In spite of the promise of God to be his shield, his great reward and the previous promise of a son, he does not hear God's prophetic promises. "Behold, (or LOOK) You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." But God's plan is greater, and therefore His understanding of perception is also grander. "Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."-(Genesis 15:3-5) God's answer to him is to "LOOK" onto that which God has the vision for. He set a tremendous example for those of us who look at what is surrounding us, rather than what is SUPERNATURALLY SURROUNDING US.

Throughout the Word of God, He shows us by way of a plethora of examples that we must not judge our natural surroundings to be sovereign or final. God is the only sovereignty, His Word is FINAL. I meditate on 2 Kings 6:8-23 as a reminder of His ultimate and infinite power that is usually unseen by the natural eye. "When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his EYES so he may SEE." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he LOOKED and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."-(2 Kings 6:15-17)

Your challenges today may seem, by NATURAL SIGHT, insurmountable. It may appear that you are overwhelmed by the onslaught, the terror and the sheer size of the forces poised against you. But I know that "My God shall supply ALL of your needs according to HIS riches in Glory in Christ Jesus"-(Philippians 4:19) I also know that He does not want you to quit. He does not desire for you to surrender to the enemy. God did not lay down His Son as a sacrifice for ALL TIME so that we would fall victim to the piercing lies of the adversary's abuse of the eyegate's perception. We must endure as Christ endured. Knowing that the same architect of our lives and our faith is faithful to perfect and finish them. He will never leave you nor forsake you. God's ideal is that we don't not operate with the eyes that are merely planted in our flesh. He wills that we should be gifted with larger, more powerful eyes, in our hearts, souls and spirits that guide our attitudes, choices and confessions of faith. "For we walk by faith, not by sight."-(2 Corinthians 5:17) The eyes of our faith differ so vastly from our natural eyes. They are much larger, more powerful and by far superior, because they are able to see JESUS. So, as we develop onward with our faith, our sight, our vision in HIM, let us be able to LOOK UNTO JESUS and believe. He alone is the Author and Finisher of our Faith, and with the eyes of faith, we see His plans, His will and His Power... BETTER.

The Wind of the Spirit- Part II

"Only the Eagle knows the way the wind is blowing!" Pastor Benny Hinn passionately admonished his new music minister. Moments prior to his rebuke, the young man had decided to alter the music in the midst of the move of the Holy Spirit. Under the anointing, the somewhat reserved man of God is a fiery instrument of the Lord's power. When he gave that rebuff, it had been momentarily uncomfortable for all, but as the Spirit acknowledged the validity of the correction, it became a valid learning experience for us. It is for God to choose and appoint a specific timing and vessel for His anointing to flow through. In the midst of the presence of the Holy Ghost at work in many different meetings, we experienced the wind of the Spirit in multiple capacities. But I can personally attest that for the appointed times of our leadership in the ministering of the Gifts, it is a weighty responsibility to properly obey the prompting of the Comforter. It cannot be manufactured, manipulated or put into a formulaic equation. The Wind or Breath of the Spirit is as the natural wind itself. One cannot instruct the Wind to blow westerly or southerly, but rather must allow the rudder and the marriage of wind and sail to propel his vessel. However, with reference to this point, it is only for the Captain to steer his ship, not the boatswain.

Obedience is key to flowing with Him. It may be intellectually uncomfortable or pragmatically odd to be moved to and fro in the midst of the current, yet, when we allow our intellects or flesh to dictate the atmosphere of the anointing, it dissipates. Church bodies and gatherings where the Spirit is not flowing are almost inevitably lacking in the atmosphere of faith and therefore, allowance of the flow itself. Although we may be certain that God will move, that does not mean He is WILLING to move in the particular way we are desiring. Our ways are not His, and His thoughts and motives are higher than ours. It is not for us to place boundaries or theorems on Him. There is an entirely different teaching buried here, dealing with distinguishing God's LAW from man's FORMULAS, but let us uncover that treasure at another time. Just as Wind does not respond to the calendars, clocks or impatience of man, so neither will the Spirit of God be bound to our defined borders. A service where there is a time-limit for reasons of popularity rarely sees the type and degree of power that is wrought from open hearts and schedules. Please, understand that I do not attest universal truth to the idea that if a service is 6 hours as opposed to 1 it will rend more anointing. That is not necessarily the case. Some of the shorter services we have ministered in have seen greater moves than some of the marathon services we have experienced. Some of the longer services where the intent is to "tarry" can also lead to a fruitless time of, well, "tarrying" when the waiting is without faith, expectation or anointing. Waiting on the Lord in not passive. When our faith is stirred and the agreement of all is a level above the natural, then the supernatural comes to our revelation. God is always working, and our reception or acknowledgement of His work is dependent more on our openness to bear witness in SPIRIT AND TRUTH, rather than our "show me Lord" spectatorship. It takes a genuine HUNGER for His presence and a thirst for His Spirit to be truly obedient. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."-(Matthew 5:6) When we thirst for Him in obedience, spirit and truth, we witness and receive His POWER.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."-(Acts 1:8) We are given the POWER of the gifts of the Spirit, as well as the evidence of the FRUIT of the Spirit, for the express main purpose of being Christ's witnesses to and throughout the ends of the Earth. We are given wisdom and providentially provided with exactly what to say in the operation of testifying to the Gospel when we flow with the Spirit. When Stephen was seized by Jewish authorities, they witnessed that power firsthand. "These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke"-(Acts 6:9-10) Even before Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, and before the Great Commission, the Spirit of the Living God bore witness to Himself and His Power in multiple instances through this same medium of potency. And when Moses fearfully complained of his lack of eloquence and his speech impediment... "The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD ? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."-(Exodus 4:11-12) God imparts different gifts for specific needs and missions in the process of building His Kingdom through the working power of the Holy Spirit. "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men."-(1 Corinthians 12:4-6)

"The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life."-(Job 33:8) "The Spirit of God" or "Ruach Elohim" is transliterated from Hebrew as "Breath or Wind of God". The Breath of Life itself, comes from and IS the Holy Spirit. The WIND of the Spirit, IS the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of the Living Lord. How marvelous. How truly magnificent. The Person of the Holy Ghost is God's very breath, He is GOD. When we experience the Wind of the Spirit, the breath of God, WE EXPERIENCE GOD. We cannot, in our mortal bodies experience the Father, the Godhead directly. We would disintegrate in His presence. But our Spirit-Man is blessed to commune and receive from the awesome, loving presence of HIS SPIRIT. We are blessed to be given CREATION- the Spirit of the Lord is the likeness in which we were created , "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness."-(Genesis 1:26) We are blessed to be given REVELATION- God reveals Himself and His Plans through the prompting of the Holy Ghost. We are blessed to be given REDEMPTION- The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, then the Holy Spirit leads us to the repentance of our sins. We are blessed to be given the INDWELLING- We are Born Again by His Spirit, and become vessels for His inhabitation. "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? "-(1 Corinthians 3:16) We are blessed to be TRANSFORMED- "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."-(2 Corinthians 3:18) We are blessed to be FILLED, to be given OVERCOMING POWER and thereby testify to His GLORY. The Ruach Ha-Kodesh or "Breath or WIND of the Holy One" is the most amazing, active and POWERFUL GIFT we as believers receive from God following the vicarious atonement that we have been given through the Savior's sacrifice and blood.

The Wind of the Holy Spirit is blowing. In it is the very power of God made manifest here and now on Earth in the land of the living. Miracles did not cease with the death of the Apostles. On the contrary, through the currency and power of the Holy Ghost, the greatest miracles are still yet to come. "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."-(John 14:12) If you have never experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking in other tongues, you have not yet experienced the Spirit-Filled Life. Jesus came so that we would have Life and have it more abundantly. If you seek to have this "abundant life", you must receive the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit. Ask God to direct you to a strong and pure Spirit-Filled Church and speak with one of the servants of Christ there about receiving the Comforter yourself. I promise you- your life will be forever changed and altered to the most incredible level of faith and growth when you do this. If you are already a blood-bought, Spirit-Filled Believer, then let us join in absolute and total agreement together right now, that God is still doing great things! Where there is agreement and the atmosphere of Faith, the Wind of the Spirit is FLOWING- And then let us all proclaim as Kathryn Kuhlman so often declared- "I believe in MIRACLES, because I believe in GOD."

The Wind of the Spirit- Part I

"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."-(Acts 2:2-4)

Almost 10 years ago, I stood alone under a crystal-clear starlit sky in the middle of the desert in Palm Springs, waiting on the Lord. The air was still and absolutely silent. The man-made lagoon was as glass, placid and undisturbed- a perfect mirror of the cosmos above. This was no ordinary time in the presence of the Lord. I had sought Him in the privacy of my prayer closet and had experienced powerfully intimate encounters before, but this night was singularly different. Weeks prior to this very night, my bride had heard from God as to the future He desired, and had appointed to us in ministry. She had heard very clearly that the first step was to leave both our careers in the entertainment industry and New York City itself and move to Tulsa, Oklahoma to launch out. He would then order our steps and direct our future. Upon receiving this directive, she said "I am willing and obedient Lord. But you are going to have to confirm this by telling him yourself." She knew that in order for God to be obeyed, we would both need to have individual recognition and confirmation of this incredibly weighty directive. Without prior knowledge of her experience involving God's direction, I began in the days before this starlit night, to hear very clearly in my spirit- "Tulsa". When praying about my flourishing career in the Theatre, I heard, very simply- "Go". It had rung as clear as the peal of a chapel bell to my Spirit-Man, but the ears of my flesh and my intellect were not so certain. My career was active and full of choices. While others were starving, I was having my pick of the Lion's Share in roles. My Agent was positive that this was my time for immense breakthrough into the higher echelon of both finance and future. It made no sense in the natural; but I have found that when stretching our faith, God's directives very rarely do make any intellectual sense. "Please forgive me Lord, but I need you to show me this is your will". Looking skyward into the depth of His majestic creation I heard a second time, "Go". I pressed again for more clarification- "Please Father, be clear with me." Again I heard "Go". I was stirred, my flesh became anxious at the immensely challenging idea of leaving all that I had worked toward and what I considered at that point to be my dreams and aspirations. Suddenly, it became so silent, that it seemed as if there was not only the absence of sound, but a deficit thereof. I felt as if I were in the vacuum of Space itself. As my intellect and my flesh squirmed in the challenging discomfort of the admonition of the Lord, I dared once more to press Him. "Lord, if it is your will that we should uproot and move to Tulsa to launch into full-time ministry, show me..." Before the words were finished, and before I was through annunciating the request, a torrential wind crashed down onto me and my surroundings. What had been so still had become in the blink of an eye, as a Hurricane rushing the environment. The force of the winds blew the waters of the lagoon to overlap and splash the shoreline. The rush of gusting power toppled over chairs and lounges. It knocked down potted palms and flowers throughout the yard where I stood. Frightened at the power of God, I cried out- "Yes! We will GO!" and as immediately as I uttered the words, the wind fell silent. I had been in the very presence of the Holy Spirit Himself as confirmation of God's hand on our lives, and I was in an instance, forever changed.

The impact of the Wind of the Spirit was, in that case, literal and tangible. But it awakened in me a knowledge of His currency, His flow and POWER. That experience was impressive and inspiring, but I knew within that it was nothing in comparison with the unseen move of His Spirit. Jesus describes the presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit as such: "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”-(John 3:8) I am constantly in awe of the powerful, multi-layered plans of God. Not only had He brought a life-altering witness of confirmation to our entry into ministry, He had demonstrated something in the natural that Jeni and I are now blessed beyond measure to experience in the supernatural every day. The flow of the Holy Spirit IS AS WIND. It is for the Holy Spirit to decide which direction, which measure of pressure, or force to demonstrate and act through to touch or direct God's people. "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left. "-(Isaiah 30:21) The flow of the Holy Spirit is perhaps the most effective and active tool for God to lead His beloved to their destiny. It is a constant flow. Never does the Holy Spirit stagnate. We do. Our understanding or perception of the flow of the wind of the Spirit can become dampened or hindered, but the Spirit Himself will not be restrained. It is rather for you and I to be obedient and willing to hear, acknowledge and act upon the unction or promptings of the Holy Spirit. It is for that reason and necessity that we MUST be open conduits available to God's activity, use and impartation. Why? Because precious people, God is handing out gifts on a constant basis to all who are open to receive them.

"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines."-(1 Corinthians 12:7-11) The GIFTS of the Spirit are the very reason that we must be open conduits free of hinderance for God to impart to. It is through these Gifts that we build His Kingdom, whereas it is through the Fruit of the Spirit that we see the evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit. "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."-(Matthew 7:16-20)

My Father-in-Law composed an anointed song "He's Here Right Now" which expresses "He's here, right now. Here right now. We don't need to wait, we don't need to beg. He's passing out gifts for all to receive. He's here right now to meet every need." And so He is. And truly, when we become cognizant of His omnipresence and His glorious Love for us, we can become open to receive His GIFTS. They come on the Wind of the Spirit. When the Disciples were gathered on Pentecost they were all together and in agreement, ready to receive. At that moment, the entrance of the COMFORTER, the parakletos, the Holy Spirit entered with a MIGHTY WIND and began freely granting gifts. While we are ministering in the power of the Holy Ghost, we are privileged to witness firsthand the awesome gifts of the Spirit. The environment is bathed in God's presence and the atmosphere is one of FAITH. Without FAITH it is impossible to please God, and without pleasing God with our faith, we quench the Spirit. But we manufacture NOTHING. We cannot force His hand nor create His gifts. It is the prerogative and the authority of the Holy Spirit to decide who, what, when, where and HOW. The WHY is for God alone to know. But it is our initiative to flow with the WIND of the Spirit that enables us to minister effectively to the gifts and callings imparted to others. Everything and everyone must be as He wishes, or we miss the outpouring. Sensitivity to this is a process which we as believers are never finished with. It is a constant learning process, and the depth of the mystery and complexity of the Person of the Holy Spirit is BOUNDLESS.

Fear & Fear

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."-(2 Timothy 1:7)

A wise man once told me "Fear is the Mind-Killer." This is an absolute truth... But it would have edified my growth as a believer exponentially, if they had taken the time to dissect the veritable dual-meaning behind the noun itself. Fear, for our purposes of investigation, has two very different meanings by the English definition. First, it is identified as "a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. Second, it is identified as "reverential awe, especially toward God". Fear in the former sense is the same fear the Apostle Paul identifies in 2 Timothy when referring to the "spirit of fear" which would keep us from spreading the Gospel. The latter identity is essential, if not all-empowering to our journey and development in Faith. To be a relative semanticist and honor my God-given affinity and mechanical need for etymology, I believe the responsible approach, before we delve into the value of scriptural understanding, would be to scrutinize the Greek and Hebrew forms that were originally intended. The Greek "PHOBEO" is cited as "fear, extreme fear of; morbid, excessive, irrational fear, or terror of something or someone", the Hebrew word (transliterated as "YIRAH") which can possibly mean fear in this same sense, but ALSO means awe, reverence, respect and devotion. When the Word was translated into the Greek, something very interesting happened. The word which means "reverential awe" in Greek "Eulabeia", and the Greek word "Deilia" which means simply "cowardice" were inferred into the use of "PHOBEO" without specific differentiation applied. Whew. Now, if you are still with me...

The FEAR which we teach as being "a disease" and "a Mind-Killer" is very clearly the terror of impending danger, evil or pain and distress. But there is incredible power in the reverential awe or "FEAR OF GOD". "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever."-(Psalm 111:10) In the English Standard Version, the precise phrase "fear of the Lord" occurs 27 times. There are a plethora of other passages which refer or allude to the reverence or "fear" of God. The Spirit of Fear which is mentioned in Paul's epistle, is the same type which is referred to over 366 times throughout the King James Bible when variances of the words "FEAR NOT" are employed. Which leads me directly back to the unction pressing the purpose of this assignment through the prompting of the Holy Spirit. I heard in my spirit while praying regarding this quandary, "The FEAR of the LORD is the weapon that destroys the spirit of FEAR that the enemy is attacking My people with". Pondering and absorbing that, it struck a vibrant chord in my spirit-man. In order to "Fear not", we must understand in Spirit and Truth, the FEAR OF THE LORD. There is POWER there.

I was then drawn to the famous example set by Franklin D. Roosevelt in his inaugural address when he iconically stated: "Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." Later into the address, he identifies very clearly how to defeat said fear: "In this dedication of a Nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come." He shows that self-same FEAR OF THE LORD which defeats the spirit of fear. "If God is for us, who is against us? "-(Romans 8:31) When we cast aside fear, and embrace the reverence of our powerful God, we literally disarm the enemy. "In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; YOU WILL HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you." -(Isaiah 54:14) God promises us that when we are founded IN HIM, through His righteousness, fear is banished. Consider it an evil exile to which you have been given the King's authority to cast hence to the outer bounds of existence, never to encounter again. Yet, we are the only border guards with sentry-like authority to patrol the outer boundaries of our territories who will either stave off the return of the exiled fear, or foolishly allow it to breach the sovereignty of that which the Lord has declared trespass.

Sadly, the adversary infiltrates delicate and ill-prepared minds, poisoning the valid understanding of the Fear of the Lord. The forces of evil would confuse every thought in regard of the true understanding therein, and mislead these dear ones to gather that God often acts as the perpetrator of an attack in order to bring witness to His authority. But the wiles of the wicked one are transparent to God's Armed force of hearers and doers of the Word. "If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you."-(Isaiah 54:15) God will not be the dispatcher for the attacks of the spirit of FEAR on His righteous; moreover, He promises that whoever encroaches and attempts to rend harm will literally bow in surrender to you. Remember- this is when we are grafted into the rock of revelation that God is to be reverently "feared". We activate His power in our defenses when we recognize His Glory. And God then grants the advocate to crush the enemy who spews the spirit of fear on our behalf. "See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc; NO weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD."-(Isaiah 54:16-17)

Every time you defy the spirit of fear by operating in faith, no matter the prior circumstances, nor the environment of oppression that may cloud the truth of God's power, you gain ground back to the fortitude of the throne. Following their exile, the Israelites, who were in captivity for 70 years in Babylon, returned to rebuild the Temple. They had most definitely faced and stewed in the spirit of fear. In spite of their blessed exodus out of captivity, they no longer had the protection of the wall which had previously guarded Jerusalem. They had no vineyards, no crops and no army. They were practically sojourners at that point. All they did possess was what they brought out of Babylon and their faith... Their Fear of the Lord. "Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries, they set the altar on its bases; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening burnt offerings.-(Ezra 3:3) They defied the spirit of fear and instead focused on their reverence and obedient worship of God. In their obedient sacrifice, they re-established and re-acknowledged the revelation that NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST THEM WOULD PROSPER. The Fear of the Lord had superseded and nullified the creeping fear of re-invasion that could have crippled them.

While we, who are the redeemed of the Lord through Christ Jesus have no need for burnt offerings, we must instead build tabernacles of obedience and altars of sacrifice unto God within our very hearts. The reverence of God is our answer to the spirit of fear. The gap to the foot of the throne is bridged by power, love and a sound mind which are the tangible rewards granted by the blood.
Bear in mind, that we need an advocate to stand in this gap for us before the awesome power of God the Father. We could not commit to be in His reverential presence in our sin nature. We must understand that the true Fear of the Lord is as unfathomable as our inability to conceive His incredible, glorious POWERFUL person in this, our temporal consciousness or flesh. WE NEED JESUS. He is the only one worthy to stand before the Father and claim our benefits. And in His Lordship, we are bound to the dynamic truth of our FREEDOM. You see, Christ did not fulfill the Law and the Prophets, stand accused unjustly before the Sanhedrin, Pharisees and Sadducees, suffer mockery and flagellation at the hands of the Romans under Pilate at Antonia, walk the Via Dolorosa and willingly be nailed to the same cross he carried to the Skull so that we should FEAR. "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we were healed."-(Isaiah 53:5) The punishment which brought our PEACE, our strength and resilience to the spirit of fear was literally purchased by our savior. Jesus paid for us to be freed from fear. "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, FEAR NOT; I am the first and the last."-(Revelation 1:17)

So beloved, as you charge on in the name of Jesus Christ today, receive His freedom. Activate the liberty granted at calvary through His nail-pierced hands and feet. His blood is to be revered, His sacrifice and atonement must not be ignored. If you do not know Him yet or if you do and still live under the weight of the spirit of fear- Cast aside every weight and embrace JESUS. Knowing that "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!"-(John 8:36)

The Role Of Your Lifetime...

On one of our more recent guest appearances on Trinity Broadcast Network's "Praise The Lord" here in the Northwest, we were blessed to be on with our dear friend and a tremendously anointed man of God, Reverend Emmanuel Ziga. We met him as we were ministering at one of our conference appearances with Pastor Benny Hinn, and soon after ministered for him alongside one of our spiritual fathers, Steve Brock. It was as if we had known one another always. I can reflect on about a dozen instances in my walk where the Lord had skillfully designed a divine appointment wherein I would be united with a cohort of destiny. With Emmanuel, Brother Steve, our Russian Brother Dmitry Shatrov and a precious handful of others, I had felt from the very introduction, of the same ilk. It was a reuniting rather than initial introduction. The flow of the Holy Spirit in our friendship is powerful, and so therein is the ministry that we share together; powerfully appointed. In this instance, the interview was spontaneous and charged with His presence. We spoke of God's GLORY, and how the body of Christ NEEDS to experience the wind of the spirit and the glory of God like never before.
Having experienced our original Easter Rock Musical- "The Kingdom" only weeks before, Emmanuel asked me to recount what it was like to "play Jesus". I could reply the only way I knew how: Humbling, life-changing, awe-inspiring and full of tremendous burden. I explained that in the spirit, I had experienced on a microscopic level of consciousness and understanding the amount of weight the Lord endured for you and I. I went on to tell him about what was perhaps the greatest revelation of the experience for me- that was that each of us, is inherently called to "play Jesus" everyday. We are to be Jesus in flesh, spirit and action, every moment of our lives. He agreed and the Holy Spirit then ministered greatly to the viewing audience as we discussed the rigors and importance of penetrating the entertainment industry for the sake of the gospel.

But as I reflected on the main theme of that interview, it overtook and overshadowed my every thought. WE ARE TO BE HIM. It should never be a foreign concept to be as the Lord Jesus, here and now. I recognize that we are mere mortals, simply man or woman and not Christ, but I identified prophetically during that taping, how we are given to the title "Christian" and that in the original Greek literally means "Little Christs". It can be argued that the truer meaning is "slaves of Christ", but the purveyors of that rendering of the definition are mostly agnostics, atheists or those with offenses toward the Way. I prescribe to the former. And as "little christs" we are to be multiplying representatives of Him, His glory and goodness. "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."-(2 Corithians 5:20) An "ambassador" is defined more specifically as a diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and accredited as representative in residence by one government or sovereign to another, usually for a specific length of time. And so we are... "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."-(Romans 8:15-17)

I have been immensely blessed in my former career (and life) to have played countless roles. I have been a hundred different identities, some based on real people, others invented, fictitious creations. I have been cowards and carousers, villains and heroes, idiots and geniuses, madmen and maniacs, sinners and saints. I have swam the icy shores of the outsider and known the emptiness of the unloveable. I have been immersed in the heights of infatuation and felt the adoration of others, seeing the fullness of unconditional love. I walked the path of adventure and invention, tasted and seen and lived to tell about it. I was the author of the "Last Temptation of Christ", Nikos Kazantzakis, the height of anti-conformity- Huckleberry Finn and then of course, I have been the accuser of the brethren- Satan, himself... The list goes on and on... In each instance I learned something that God needed me to grasp and hold within out of preparation for the work of the ministry ahead. It is amazing to think that even then, before I was His, He knew how to work all things together for His glory. Each role was a building block in my understanding of the human condition. Every performance granting a different perspective, not only of the characters, but of myself, and my undeniable NEED for HIM.

During the run of Roger Miller's Musical "BIG RIVER" in which I portrayed Mark Twain's unruly, rebellious yet affable and forgivable character Huck Finn, I had one of the most intense and utterly memorable experiences of my life. In my off-time I had been studying Eastern Texts and Books of Religion. I was half-way through The Koran, having finished reading the Dhammapada, the Bhagavad Gita, and was inquiring of Allah, Buddha and the Pantheon of Hinduism for the identity of the supreme being. The character of Huck was one that I could whole-heartedly identify with at the time. He was somewhat lost in a world where he was constantly being told things like "be good" and "read your bible or you'll never get to heaven". He was repelled out of disgust by the boundaries and hypocrisy of religion, yet nevertheless unknowingly watered a desire for grace; Well, more correctly the desire for grace and playing "hookey". He had a heart of gold, though, that throughout the book proved that there was hope for him still. He wasn't quite sure how to communicate his goodness, when he tried he failed, when he tried to do "no good" he was hijacked by providence, and the Lord acted through his deeds without his knowlege nonetheless. I felt for him, and identified with him on a spiritual level. One of the songs I was privileged to sing was "Waiting For The Light" The lyrics testified "I have lived in the darkness for so long, I am waitin' for the light to shine..." I lived that song. I had been working long days in a compressed period of time (as is the case with many rehearsal periods) and had gone directly to my room out of exhaustion and laying down, was deep asleep before the second breath on the bed. It is important that I state that I had, at that point in my life, not yet met the woman of my dreams, and was deeply seeking a revelation of who God was. I promise to share my full testimony sometime in the future, but for now be reconciled that I did not, for many reasons, ever touch a bible or consider Christ, until after the following:
As I slept, I dreamt so vividly that to this day I can recall every second, it was as real as any waking moment. In truth, I believe that this moment was MORE REAL than my waking cognizance, it was beyond describable reality. I saw a desert surrounding me. I could identify each individual grain of sand, and even remember the scent of sandalwood in the warmth of the soothing winds. I looked heavenward and saw an ultra indigo-blue colored sky, without cloud or blemish, with the illumination of a bright and glowing sun, yet I could not, as I scanned the horizon and the breadth of the sky, find the sun. As I peered into the distance, I saw through the nearly invisible waves of heat, a figure approaching. I was not apprehensive. Instead, I felt a peace like never before in my life. As the body gained ground toward me, I began to see the shape of a man, cloaked in white linens from hood to drape of tunic to his sandals. The closer the man got, the more I began to consciously reel over his bearded likeness. He was the most incredible conglomeration of identifiable visions of the Lord Jesus Christ from within and without my knowlege of art, film and imagination that I had ever seen. I knew without asking anything- this WAS Jesus of Nazareth. This WAS Him. He was within arm's reach when gazing through me He offered me as He held out a wooden dipper-"Drink". I looked down into the cup and at once saw the whole of the cosmos stirring in the purest water I had ever seen. I remember thinking in that instance, that the water looked as though it was actually ALIVE. For whatever reason, conditioning, fear of the unknown or stark ignorance, I answered- "But, I'm not thirsty." He smiled at me and said "You will be." And with that I woke up suddenly. I was dumbstruck. I could not utter a word for several hours after, nor could I sleep for the remainder of the night. I have never been the same.

About a year and a half later, I met my love and, fast-fowarding into our relationship, having never disclosed that experience to anyone, shared it with her. Jeni fell silent. She then, after taking it all in, began to explain the meaning of "living water" and then showed me that without any prior knowlege of the scripture, the revelation I had was directly from God Himself. I had, as I believe, an exclusive, intense person to person with the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Why? Because from that moment forward, in spite of my shortcomings and failures I knew that I had a higher calling. I foolishly did not act on it until years later, but I knew. Ultimately, in my spirit, I knew that the greatest role of my life, was to daily play the role of Jesus Christ. William Shakespeare is renowned for the statement from As You Like It-

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts"

It is absolutely true. No, it is not scriptural, but there is great wisdom there. We choose which of these parts we play. Some play many and avail no fruit whatsoever throughout their lives. Others play only one and lead meaningful, stable existences. But the truly advanced, the ones who have genuinely tasted and seen that the Lord is GOOD- They play the greatest role of all- They are Jesus, the Son of the Living God, embodied here in this contemporary time, healing, ministering, preaching the good news with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, empowering their roles to the glory of God until His triumphal return.

So, when you put your costume on today, rather than donning the attire that simply defines your likes, dislikes and predispositions of fashion and age, PUT ON CHRIST. Wear HIM. Be HIM for this lost and dying world. Play the part of Jesus to the unloveable miscreants and losers who have forgotten hope. Be Christ to the child without a father, the widow without husband, the sons and daughters without joy. I encourage you, rather than play an existential and ultimately meaningless lifetime out, make the decision to receive direction from the eternal and Magnificent Director, God Almighty. Play today with all of your heart- The Greatest Role... The Role of Your Lifetime- JESUS CHRIST.

The Winepress Giant

"And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, 'Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? Am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.' And the Philistine said, 'I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.'"-(2 Samuel 17:4-10)

While traveling recently, I was praying and distinctly heard in my spirit "Champion". Now immediately, I began to pray broadly for my dear friend's infant son, whose surname is Champion. In the midst of focusing on my contemporary's progeny, I felt a tug of correction and then almost involuntarily turned my eyes toward the newspaper in the hands of the man diagonally across the aisle from me, and the first thing I saw was the word "CHAMPION" in bold capital letters. There it was again. Stark and bare to my gaze in a newsprint black and white. At that point, my prayer became a request for revelation. I was quickened to my bible, where I went directly to the concordance to find in both the King James and the New King James Versions, only ONE entry for the word "Champion". It is the mention of the Philistine Giant who has became the proverbial picture of the adage "The BIGGER they are... The harder they fall". The use of the word is singularly assigned to the mammoth brute who held the self-same role of "champion" for Philistia. It can be deduced through the description in the text that, Goliath stood at a great height. By way of Hebrew measurement, he stood six cubits and a span tall, with a Hebrew cubit equalling roughly 18 inches and a span being the equivalent of about 9 inches, that would set his height roughly at an impressive 9.5 feet. His armor, weighing in at an anthropologically estimated 125-194 pounds and his spear's head at 20-30 pounds, indicates that he was not merely a giant in stature, but rather a hulking beast of physical strength and stamina. Goliath was built for destroying his opposition.

But the physical description of the "champion" of the pagan Philistines is not what pulled me deeper into the Word. His name simply means "Great" or "Very Large" in most translations, and such has the legend given value to his name and size, coining in itself a descriptive quality of massive men and challenges. We see that his name is followed immediately by the disclosure of his birthplace. "Goliath, of Gath". Gath (or in Hebrew "Geth") of the Philistines' was one of the five Philistine city-states, established in northwestern Philistia. It was a city about midway between Bethlehem and the Mediterranean Sea. It means "Winepress". What an amazing God we serve that He allows us to glean immense revelation from even a detail such as this. The "Winepress" is such a vital place of metaphorical and practical significance throughout the scripture and in God's Plans. After all, it is in the winepress that the grapes of wrath are stored... "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."-(Revelation 19:15) And it is the winepress which serves Jesus' parable of the wicked vinedressers or tenants as the metaphor for the "fruit of the Kingdom". "And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it."-(Matthew 21:34) It also sets a vivid vision in one's mind of the wine or spirit being pushed, crushed or transformed under the pressure of change and challenge of transfiguration that the process of making wine is often defined by. A great wine must be crushed into juice at the correct time, and with the appropriate pressure, or it will spoil the outcome of the fermentation, thus destroying the destiny of the grape itself. The beautiful use of Wine as sacrament in the eucharist and symbol of the Blood of our Lord is deserving of an individual encounter, and must be focused upon with consecrated attention; however, we do recognize the importance of the foreshadowing. Jesus is of course, from the line of David. And so, we come to it. David was fighting the Champion of The Winepress. I imagine that at that particular moment, no one identified the immensely symbolic meaning of it all, but rather with great trepidation, saw a nine foot tall madman who ate Hebrews for lunch. But David did not.

David saw only his destiny. It was a challenge that he had been training for. He had slain a bear. He had killed a Lion. He was faithful and willing to die for the God of his fathers. He was so whole-heartedly committed to being the willing hand of the Lord, that I believe heaven and the earth and it's fullness stopped for that moment and peered upon the occasion with awe. Prior to this dynamic milestone, David had been anointed by the Prophet Samuel upon the command of the Lord, out of the sons of Jesse. The Spirit of the Lord came upon David and left Saul that day, creating an opportunity for the young shepherd to minister to the now demon-plagued King with his renowned musical skills. I find it poetic that the presence that was removed from Saul was the only thing that could soothe his trouble. It was through this union that God divinely prepared the opportunity for David to step forward and volunteer to smite the giant on behalf of Israel. The Lord God was most certainly with him. David also recognized the great reward awaiting any who slew the beast. The divine time had arrived. Goliath had come day and night for forty days to taunt the armies of Israel. No man was of the mettle to meet the challenge and face their champion. By appearances no man was the clearly chosen "Champion" of Israel. But appearances were never what God had in mind with David. "Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to."-(1 Samuel 16:12) But the Lord was not concerned with his outward visage. "But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart."-(1 Samuel 16:7) And his heart was ready.

The fullness of the showdown is marvelous and rich. David is given Saul's armor which is too heavy and "unproved" by him and so discarded. Instead, he takes only his sling and five smooth stones with him. The giant mocks him and he rebukes the Philistine. "Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel."-(1 Samuel 17:45-46) And he does just that. The renown of David grows, built upon his victory against the impossible through the intercession and hand of God upon him. David becomes great. David, the musician and shepherd boy, becomes the CHAMPION of the God of Israel.

He faced the Winepress Giant and utterly defeated him. But the purpose behind this meditation is not to merely revel in David's victory and profess that "we all have giants to face and conquer through preparation and a heart that is after God". While that is absolutely true, it is incomplete. For you see, David did become great, King and perhaps the most feared King-General that Palestine and the Middle-East had ever seen, but he had great human error. His failures teach us more than his successes ever could. It speaks to me that we all learn more from our failings than the moments of greatness, as the moments of greatness often are borne out of the training we receive falling on our faces. David would be known as an adulterer, a murderer, and the ruler of a reign of blood. But this day, I was drawn to the mistake he made in fleeing from Saul to the land of the Philistines. Ironically, he not only returned to Philistia, David went to the winepress itself. "But David thought to himself, "One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand." So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maoch king of Gath. David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him."-(1 Samuel 27:1-4) While Saul discontinued his search for David, it was to be, in broad perspective and in my opinion, a poor decision on David's behalf. Before this, he actually attempts to flee there and upon arrival at the city gates acts as a madman. "That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances: 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'? David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard."-(1 Samuel 21:10-12)

It was FEAR that drove David to Gath, and FEAR which made him to feign insanity. It was also FEAR of Saul that leads him there again 6 chapters later to hide under the cover of Achish thus making David and his men into raiders for that season. Do not misunderstand my tone; I do realize that God made the best of all of his shortcomings and failures. However, FEAR is never of God's will. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."-(1 Timothy 1:7) Fear is a spirit, and it is a contagious disease. I have witnessed fear destroy men and women's lives. I have unfortunately also witnessed the enemy use fear to destroy entire churches and labors of the Kingdom. It was not to condemn that God brought me circuitously to this re-revelation. You see, we all must face fear and either fight or fly. Fear is inevitable in our walk. But it is not final. We have been delivered from fear from the very stripes and crucifixion of our Lord, Jesus Christ. "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."-(Matthew 8:17)
FEAR IS A DISEASE. If you do not believe me, look into the fruit of fearful leaders. Look into the Word and witness what fruit comes of fear. David's examples of failure root inevitably out of fear and insecurity. Yes, he lusted for Bathsheba, but is not lust a condition and sympton of insecurity, and thereby fear itself? I believe it is a sister spirit to that of fear, and that perhaps, all sin roots from our vanity. Fear is a spirit that roots like a tick into the fabric of a person's insecurities and vanity. When we are entirely committed to seeing the assignment of the Lord completed, we fear nothing. Rather, we embrace everything, counting it ALL JOY. "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;"-(James 1:2)

Fear is a disease. Insecurity is a condition wrought out of selfishness. Jesus bore our grief, our fear, our doubt- Do not re-crucify Him. Whatever befalls you, do not return to dwell in the land of the evil that you previously defeat. Do not remove that same mantle that God bestowed unto you as "Champion" over a challenge by delivering yourself to the birthplace of the enemy's weapons. Although the Lord uses all things together for good, it is preferable that we get, attain and use WISDOM. With wisdom, we can avoid "failure-based learning" altogether. When you go to the battlefield and face and through the favor and anointing of the God of Israel, decimate your "Winepress Giant", keep his head as David did. I assure you that the souvenir of victory will bar you from falling into the hands of the enemy as easily as forgetting it would. Above all else, seek the Lord when you are tempted to run out of the spirit of fear from that which He allowed to stretch you and make you a "Champion".

The Anointing Of The Lord

"At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him."-(Mark 1:9-13)

After the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove, and then led him out into the wilderness to be tested, the Lord returned to the civilization of Galilee to begin His ministry. "And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."-(Luke 4:14-19) And He returned in the POWER of the Spirit. Jesus began His ministry with the empowerment and authority given through the anointing. The glorious witness of every act of grace, power and the miraculous borne of the anointing of the Lord.

Jesus IS the anointed one of God. He is the Messiah. The word "Messiah" (Hebrew 'Mashiach') comes from the verb mashach, which means to smear or anoint with oil, usually for the purpose of dedicating or consecrating something (such as a temple vessel)or someone (such as a prophet, priest or king) for the service of Adonai, the Lord God.

The power of His presence, the very being of His grace was and is surrounded by the substance of the anointing. What is more wonderful, and perhaps most impressive to me, is the revelation that Jesus was anointed by God, the Apostles were anointed by Jesus, we are the recipients of the anointing by way of the sacrifice and substantiation of the new covenant. "He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth. Remember His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac,
And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel for an everlasting covenant"-(1 Chronicles 16:14-17) Through the shed blood of the lamb of God, we are heirs to the Abrahamic Covenant, and through the anointing we also gain divine consecration from the Father: " He permitted no man to do them wrong; Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, Saying, 'Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.'"-(1 Chronicles 16:22)

"Anointed" renders one to be definitively sanctified, consecrated and set apart for a task or a position by God. We find this same word used for "anointed" in the Old Testament termed for prophets, priests, kings and judges. Their anointings were often temporary, empowering them to accomplish their assignment. These offices were types and shadows which pointed to Jesus, THE anointed one. Jesus is singularly perfect in fulfilling all the offices; He came as a prophet-"The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren."-(Deuteronomy 18:15), He is now functioning as our high priest-"You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek"-(Hebrews 5:5) and when He returns He will become judge and reign as our king-He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful."-(Revelation 17:14)
Today, we believers who are purchased by the blood are anointed priests who are able to transport people to be cleansed by the very same blood of Jesus Christ, our high priest by way of the powerfully anointed message of the Gospel.

Perhaps the most dynamic and awe-inspiring attribute of the anointing of the Lord is its supernatural power to shatter bondage. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing."-(Isaiah 10:27) My father-in-law wrote an incredibly powerful song that my wife and I minister with, which proclaims "The Anointing of the Lord breaks the yoke of bondage, The Anointing of the Lord sets the Captives free, The Anointing of the Lord brings rivers to your desert, that Anointing is raining on me, That Anointing is raining on me..." I love that song, because as we minister with it, the Holy Spirit brings explosive breakthrough into the lives of those pressing into the flow of the very power of God. I have witnessed the anointing deliver people from addiction, affliction and every type of sin. God uses His power to accomplish His plans and to increase the current of His will.

But the greatest purpose of our becoming the Anointed of the Lord is definitely NOT self-gratification. It is to fulfill the Great Commission. Jesus said "Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth in Me, the works that I do he shall do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto My Father."-(John 14:12) We are given the person of the Holy Spirit to guide and empower us here on earth and the empowerment of the anointing to preach the gospel. "And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the Word with signs following. Amen."-(Mark 16:20)

Peace Speaker

"Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
And he said unto them, 'Where is your faith?' And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, 'What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.'-(Luke 8:22-25)

If the occurance of storms in the life of a believer were not to be expected, I highly doubt that this event would have been recorded in all four gospels. It is the will of the Lord that we understand that: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."-(John 16:33) In truth, we must cheerfully anticipate the challenges and "storms" that await us along the path of our earthly training for eternity. "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."-(James 1:2-3) If we can learn to be as Jesus in the torrents and chaos of the tribulations that stretch our boundaries, we will become more like the Master Himself, and greater grace will abound in our lives.

A few years ago, a great man of God, dear friend and spiritual father of ours, Dr. Ralph Wilkerson, founder of America's first Mega-Church, Melodyland Christian Center in Anaheim, California (across the street from Disneyland), was traveling with Pastor Benny Hinn and entourage to a crusade on the ministry jet. The weather over the flight path was forecasted as "clear, smooth and docile" and the Captain had even announced that they should arrive early to their destination. Dr. Wilkerson was exhausted from the previous crusade (a state we are altogether familiar with) and decided that this would be a grand opportunity to get some much needed rest. He fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. About a third of the way through the flight, the Captain announced that they were getting reports of a "massive tropical storm". He said they were attempting to fly around it, but that their fuel limited the possibility of out-flying the storm. The turbulence hit hard as it became evident to Pastor Benny and the other passengers that it would not be possible to avert the danger ahead. The Captain let him know that they had no choice but to spearhead into the storm and "hope for the best". The conditions were deadly. The jet was tossed to and fro, sending the passengers, who were being shaken like rag dolls, into panic. The Captain came over the loud-speaker and with a quavering voice said "I don't know whether we're going to hold together here, and we are running out of fuel. Everyone needs to be ready to brace for impact." The attempt to avoid the storm nearly drained the fuel reserves and the situation became entirely grim in an abbreviated blink of time. Pastor Benny recalled to me that people were crying, praying in tongues and some weeping and singing hymns all at the same time. He then related to me that the entire time this was going on, Dr. Ralph Wilkerson remained peacefully asleep. He stumbled over to him to alert him of the imminent danger that they were in, and shaking the sleeping man of God said- "Ralph! The plane is going to go down!! Get up and pray!!" Dr. Wilkerson opened one eye and said very calmly- "Let me sleep. Jesus slept in the midst of the storm, let me sleep. Where's your faith?" Moments after that, the Captain announced that they were breaking through the storm and that they had just received clearance to land at an alternate landing strip to refuel. It was a miracle. God had pulled them out of the grip of death and destruction and safely delivered them.

I often reflect on that situation as the literal contemporary exemplification of Luke 8:22. It forces me to contemplate situations of dire outlook that occured in my own walk and review how I carried on through them. I believe that the darkest instances of challenge we have faced have always equated to the deepest, most substantial growth in our faith and spiritual maturity. As believers, we often pray for "breakthrough" or "revival" or "growth". We ask the Lord for a deepening of our relationships, an empowerment of His grace and glory in our lives. But few and far between recognize that God does not offer developmental conditioning and growth to us without testing. We were never promised total deliverance from trials or tests in this life. On the contrary, we were told to expect them, endure them and finish our races, not for the comfort in the present, but for the "joy set before us"-(Hebrews 12:2). Jesus said as He prayed for us in the Garden of Gethsemane "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one."-(John 17:15) He could have asked the Father to keep us entirely out of the world and its snares. But instead, He asked that we would be kept from the evil one. A request that positions us to ultimately win, but also retain the development and seasoning of taxing and testing.

Knowing that we are victorious in Christ, we are given the power to act with Him at the helm. When we face trials, challenges and tests, we are granted the grace, power and authority to wear Him. "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."-(Galatians 3:27) As we are covered by and in the person of Jesus Christ, we have not only the authority to claim victory over the adversary's plans, but to remain in peace, even speaking peace to and through every storm. "Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm."-(Mark 4:39) So, precious people, as you encounter the storms that will inevitably occur in this beautiful life we have been blessed with, do not curse the clouds and lightning, do not be dismayed by the winds and the downpour, rather, be secure in the knowlege that your faith will grow through each one, as you are ever equipped by Jesus Christ to be a "Peace Speaker".

Cast Your Bread Upon The Waters

"Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days."-(Ecclesiastes 11:1)
Indeed, Solomon sounds a call to faith. A trumpet call of wisdom that sends the weak of belief into trepidation, trembling and testing. But before one quakes with the insecurity of quavering disbelief, it is important to seek the origin and meaning in a word to in order to understand its power and thereby glean its deepest benefit.

I love the Word of God. It is entirely rich, incredibly beautiful and absolutely perfect. But our understanding of the Word is often poor, our thoughts limiting and our ways flawed. That is why we must seek the fullness of the Word through true examination. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, and seeking Him demands our full attention. I also am a firm believer that the Lord has left us treasure hidden in deep places, fortunes stowed far past the outer, immediate layers of a specific Word. In other words, God WANTS us to "read between the lines". I was in prayer and the Lord led me to Ecclesiastes 11:1. Upon reviewing it I began to meditate on sowing seed into the ocean of need. As I prayed and and asked for further instruction, I heard- "Squint your eyes and look closer." I re-read it again and began to investigate further...

In some dissertations, the meaning is defined as an old Hebrew Idiom meaning to give to charity and it will be returned to you. In middle-eastern history "cast your bread on the surface of the waters," is rendered from the tradition of sowing seed by casting it from boats into overflowing rivers, or in marshy ground. When the waters recede, the grain will fall to the soil and spring up. Some scholars sited the same custom, specifically with the annual overflow of the Nile, and the seed specifically rice, which fares successfully germinating in marshy shores. The interpretation that I felt rang truest in my spirit is a cross-breed of these; The flooding of the shorelines of certain Palestinian rivers (the Jordan,et al) would leave an inch or more of rich, silty overflow on which, wise farmers would sow wheat for the coming seasons. The wheat fared well in germination, growth and inevitably produced a richer harvest. The "bread" is the wheat to become actual bread, and the waters, are well, waters. I believe that the Hebrew translations and the anthropological implications of the latter description to be the most relevant to Solomon the wise, author of this text, and the most appropriate to the time and region. Authors of the scripture operating within the impartation and inspiration of the Holy Spirit often sited contemporary similies, allegories and parallels to enrich the reader's understanding and retention of a word.

After delving into the definitive natural, I sought to gain insight into the SUPER-natural. What did the Lord mean to convey spiritually through this verse? I believe that there is a broad, wonderfully kingdom-minded principle to be obtained here. The world is the ocean of need, our bread is literally the provision that we can give to the hungry and starving to survive. There are over 3 BILLION starving people on earth, TODAY. Casting literal bread out to those in need is imperative, but that is not necessarily a direct spiritual revelation. It is rather, the result of a deeper revelation of the spirit man. I do believe that we, as believers must live to feed the hungry, as we are the hands of Christ here on the earth. But the Lord quickened me to another verse to lead me to the deeper meat being offered. "For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always."-(Matthew 26:11) This truly made me "squint". I heard it. I understood its original meaning and the context that Jesus spoke in. I also know that Jesus himself IS the "Bread of Life". Our daily bread which we are to cast for all to receive is the Christ Himself, and His Gospel. The return that we see after many days will be abundant and eternal. But I reflected on Ecclesiastes 11:1 and then those words, and it struck me- We must be generous to all with all that the Bread of Life has given to us in order to remain in the presence of the King. Casting your bread on the waters had the absolute of being liberally generous with knowlege of a great return, but what became clearer, for me, was God's desire for this to be not simply a wise bit of counsel telling us to hedge our bets because we don't know what's coming, but rather a call to true faith... GENEROUS FAITH.

Like a waterfall, more was flowing to me in the spirit. "The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself."-(Proverbs 11:25) Then the Lord showed me in Deuteronomy regarding the year of Jubilee- "Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him."-(Deuteronomy 15:14)

"Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days." It means that we must absolutely trust God with our entire being. We must trust Him at His Word with our goods, properties, finances and all that we steward over. We must trust God at His Word with our Love, consideration and generosity of emotion. We must, perhaps above all else, trust Him at His Word with our ENTIRE spirit. Truthfully, if we absolutely do trust Him with our whole spirit, the rest is easy. That is why we believe so strongly that if you don't tithe unto God, you simply don't believe Him at His Word. But that is for another time... Nevertheless, the purpose for this exposition is for me to share my heart regarding seeking the depth of a matter, a word or a leading. God is so very detailed in His directions. It is us who miss the contours, specific insights and fine lines hidden within, usually as a result of our habitual superficial humanity. But when we stop and dig deeper, when we "Squint our eyes and look closer"... that is when we glean the best from His Word. So I encourage you today: Cast your bread, your trust, your faith and your depth of desire out on the waters, and be broadened.

Standing Upon or Next To?

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."-(Proverbs 22:6)
This verse of wisdom is widely known and quoted with regard to parenting one's children with the love and admonition of the Lord. But I would pose a question to those who sit in the office of parent, mentor or leader to the seeds of our future: Are you standing upon that verse, or next to it? Allow me to clarify myself. If we are "standing upon" this or any other verse from the Word, we DO it, committedly and consistently. If we are merely "standing next to it", we are selective about our execution of it. But if I plant a seed of any sort, whether that is a natural seed in the soil of a garden, a financial seed in the soil of the kingdom, or the seed of the Word into the soul of a person, it has specific needs. In order for the seed to become more than a capsule of possibilities buried in the ground, certain steps must be taken. It must be attended to. I must water the seed, and allow the sun to penetrate the soil. I must be sure to attend also to the soil itself, seeing that no hinderances block the inevitable sprouting of the seed into the birth of direct sunlight. It must be done consistently and diligently. In some instances, I must guard the seed from predators that would cut it down before its time. I must tend to the removal of weeds that would choke it, and pests that would eat it. As the seed becomes a sproutling and then a young creation, I must guide the direction that it will grow with encouragement and support. Without this care, our seeds will not flourish. In truth, without this watering, tending and support, our seeds will suffer stunted growth, or worse still, perish entirely.

It unsettles me to hear from a parent who rings claim to salvation and discipleship of Christ that they will "let the child decide". While I agree whole-heartedly that the decision for salvation must be personal, I also know indubitably that it is our responsibility as believing parents to "raise them up in the way they should go". Their decisions will be based on a core-belief system that is 80% established by the time they reach the age of 5, and 95% established by age 18. It is imperative that our witness by way of our walk, our talk and our genuine spirit life are that of example. For it is by example that Jesus demonstrated how we should live. It is by example also that we need to establish what is good, just, holy and righteous to our seed. Our confession is so very powerful to the little ones that we cover; so much so that Jesus said "And whosoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it were better for him if a great millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea."-(Mark 9:42)

Training them up is an inherent responsibility of parenting and most directly done through our actions, confession and watering of our progeny. But it is also the soil or environment that we place them or allow them to be placed in to grow, that is an incredible influence. The children they play with, the media that they are exposed to; every single social situation will in some way, inevitably sculpt our seed. For instance, the public school systems are not necessarily the ideal place to raise a spiritually healthy child anymore. Don't think I am entirely critical of the public schools. I am a graduate of the public school system. My mother taught elementary education for 37 years in my original home town in the public system, and the lives that she and other great educators touched are and were indeed changed for the better. I also am aware that statistically, public schools in comparison to private christian schools (not private preparatory) typically outrank in the level of education and the scoring curve on national tests. In truth, my children will both be attending public school this fall. But the spiritual risk is HIGH. The total lack or allowance of God's presence in the lives of American children within the school walls is disarming. I realize that there is a separation of Church and State, and neither uniform prayer, worship nor assembling during school hours are allowed, however, the choice to worship, pray or assemble after to praise Jesus should never be questioned. It is part of our liberty as Americans. The fact that we have atheists seeking to gut God out of the American equation is a completely different writing subject that upon the prompting of the Holy Spirit, I shall tackle.

But the reason I bring this up is that Christianity is not an American faith, and the Lord is persecuted by an international span of offended unbelievers who would see God gutted out of ALL public life. For instance, in European courts, right now, there is a case demanding that the school systems of Italy remove all crucifixes from their classroom walls as they "restricted the right of parents to educate their children in conformity with their convictions, and the right of children to believe or not to believe." Now, I am not Catholic, nor do I promote the use of the crucifix, but I see here in spite of denominational difference, a direct opposition to the soil of education in a predominantly catholic nation training up children to believe in Christ. What's ironic here, is that the reasoning and purpose is the same on both sides of the battlefield. We need to "educate our children in conformity with our convictions". We need to educate our children in line with the Word of God, thereby raising them up in the way they should go. As convoluted as that example is, it is an example of the turbulence involved in the exterior soil that we plant our seeds in to be watered by others. Some soil is inherently rich and fruitful, easy to maintain and glean from. Other soil is rocky, parched and without vitamins, minerals and it must be attended to with vigilence.

When we are blind to the Godlessness of certain environments that they are exposed to, we aid the enemy in driving them out of the way that they should be raised to go. I am certainly not condemning either private or public educational institutions, but rather raising the important banner of awareness that shows us to be vigilent on their behalf in all situations. We cannot sit idly by our seed and say "Well, whatever will be, will be..." NO! We must be the reminder that God is real, God is Love and God is sovereign with or without the world agreeing. That is "standing upon" Proverbs 22:6. That is standing upon the Word. My bride and I do our utmost everyday to bring God to the forefront of every situation, every challenge, every celebration and in all things we show and train them to follow Jesus. I have seen in the prophetic that my sons will serve God in magnificent and incredible ways. I have also seen in the prophetic that we as parents MUST be accountable for their main training. We must water them daily, we must expose them to the SON, ever pruning back the enemy, fencing off his attacks, removing the weeds that would choke the Word and supporting and encouraging their growth every day. We must water diligently and leave the increase to God. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:6 "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." So, I commend you who sow seeds unto this earth, His Kingdom and thereby eternity- STAND UPON THE WORD.