Monday, April 17, 2006

I had a vision a few weeks ago. I was seing a diver on the topmost platform, stretching his hands and toes, gaining his balance, summoning his concentration, and preparing. He was getting ready to launch himself away from the safety of solid ground. Away from the normal, upright position that we're all so comfortable with. Away from safety, away from the edge. His toes gripped the edge, and curled as his muscles tensed. He was aware of every muscle and bone. He saw himself perfectly controlled and centered. ************************* I had a God thing happen to me recently. I went out to dinner with a friend of mine, instead of going to church. I felt the Lord was telling me to do the dinner instead. We met with 3 other couples that I didn't know real well, all invited by our friend. The guy who ended up sitting across from me turned out to be our church's youth pastor's old youth pastor from like 13-14 years ago! I only met the guy a couple of times before, and I didn't even know he was saved, much less a minister. We didn't go to the same churches back then, but we were in the same city. We sat there the whole time and talked about the kinds of prayer meetings we used to have in the early 90s. The kinds of deep worship experiences we had back then, and we kept saying "It's not like that anymore." I remember how we used to pray in groups of 20 or 30, and the presence of the Holy Spirit of God was so thick, it looked like a haze was hanging in the room. We would get so caught up in worship that we lost all sense of time. One time, I felt that I was kneeling directly before the feet of the Lord Himself, seated on His throne. I didn't ever want to leave, but He told me 'You can't stay here like this- you have people to see.' We talked about how perhaps that we used to be in a low level revival of sorts, and we didn't recognize it because we didn't have a lower frame of reference to compare it to. We just figured that's the way it always is! Little did we know. I don't know about you, but the last few years has been a struggle with the status quo. The comfort zone mentality. The unwillingness to get really radical the way we used to, as a body. Sometimes I feel like if I really stretched out and took a walk outside the boat, that nobody would understand. Anyway, that's just our experience, but it was eerie how we were perceiving the same things in different churches. This former youth pastor understood EXACTLY what I was saying. But as we walked away from each other in the parking lot, I got this vision of the diver. He was pausing right before his dive, and taking one last look over his shoulder, at the way things used to be...

Saturday, June 17, 2006

It's raining It's started. We're seeing the first mist the first sprinkles. For years it seems we've watched the clouds building at first white and cottony as they mushroomed into the sky gathering strength. But darkness has infused the cheerful glow an angry streak brooding across the horizon as the vaporous muscles grow tense flexing and crouching, ready for the next phase. You can feel the electricity if you stop to notice it. Let all the day's busy tension slip off for a moment and feel it on your skin. The dark determination in the clouds swirling upwards, the ions vibrating with expectation. We've seen the favor of God manifest in so many ways lately. The leash is off the dog. An open road is before us, only we'll practice a degree of self restraint- danger, so we must listen to the Master's voice, listen for His approval to take the next obstacle, to force the dominion of His Name. The air is misty on our face. A sheen of glory coats every leaf, sparkling in the dimming light. The look of every opportunity is changing, as if there really are no limits. We say it, we confess this perfect victory, and now we see it beginning.

"Our Father Who Art In Heaven."
YES?
Don't interrupt me. I'm praying.
BUT -- YOU CALLED ME !!
Called you? No, I didn't call you. I'm praying. "Our Father who art in
heaven."
THERE -- YOU DID IT AGAIN!
Did what?
CALLED ME. YOU SAID, "OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN" WELL HERE I AM.
WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?
But I didnt mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my
prayers for the day. I always say the Lord's Prayer. It makes me feel
good, kind of like fulfilling a duty.
WELL, ALL RIGHT. GO ON.
Okay, "Hallowed be Thy name.."
HOLD IT RIGHT THERE. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?
By what?
BY "HALLOWED BE THY NAME"?
It means, it means . good grief, I don't know what it means. How in the
world should I know? It's just a part of the prayer. By the way, what
does it mean?
IT MEANS HONORED, HOLY, WONDERFUL.
Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what "hallowed" meant
before. Thanks. "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is
in Heaven."
DO YOU REALLY MEAN THAT?
Sure, why not?
WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT?
Doing? Why, nothing, I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if
you got control of everything down here like you have up there. We're
kinda in a mess down here you know.
YES, I KNOW; BUT, HAVE I GOT CONTROL OF YOU?
Well, I go to church.
THAT ISN'T WHAT I ASKED YOU. WHAT ABOUT YOUR BAD TEMPER? YOU'VE REALLY
GOT A PROBLEM THERE, YOU KNOW. AND THEN THERE'S THE WAY YOU SPEND YOUR
MONEY --ALL ON YOURSELF. AND WHAT ABOUT THE KIND OF BOOKS YOU READ?
Now hold on just a minute! Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as some
of the rest of those people at church!
EXCUSE ME. I THOUGHT YOU WERE PRAYING FOR "MY WILL TO BE DONE". IF THAT
IS TO HAPPEN, IT WILL HAVE TO START WITH THE ONES WHO ARE PRAYING FOR
IT. LIKE YOU -- FOR EXAMPLE.
Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it,
I could probably name some others.
SO COULD I.
I haven't thought about it very much until now, but I really would like
to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be really
free.
GOOD. NOW WE'RE GETTING SOMEWHERE. WE'LL WORK TOGETHER -- YOU AND ME.
I'M PROUD OF YOU.
Look, Lord, if you don't mind, I need to finish my prayer. This is
taking a lot longer than it usually does. "Give us this day, our daily
bread."
YOU NEED TO CUT OUT THE BREAD. YOU'RE OVERWEIGHT AS IT IS.
Hey, wait a minute! What is this? Here I was doing my religious duty,
and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hang-ups.
PRAYING IS A DANGEROUS THING. YOU JUST MIGHT GET WHAT YOU ASK FOR.
REMEMBER, YOU CALLED ME -- AND HERE I AM. IT'S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW.
KEEP PRAYING.
..pause...
WELL, GO ON.
I'm scared to.
SCARED? OF WHAT?
I know what you'll say
TRY ME.
"Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us."
WHAT ABOUT CAROL?
See? I knew it! I knew you would bring her up! Why, Lord, she's told
lies about me, spread stories. She never paid back the money she owes
me. I've sworn to get even with her!
BUT -- YOUR PRAYER -- WHAT ABOUT YOUR PRAYER?
I didn't -- mean it.
WELL, AT LEAST YOU'RE HONEST. BUT, IT'S QUITE A LOAD CARRYING AROUND ALL
THAT BITTERNESS AND RESENTMENT ISN'T IT?
Yes, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even with her. Boy, have I
got some plans for her. She'll wish she had never been born.
NO, YOU WON'T FEEL ANY BETTER. YOU'LL FEEL WORSE. REVENGE ISN'T SWEET.
YOU KNOW HOW UNHAPPY YOU ARE -- WELL, I CAN CHANGE THAT.
You can? How?
FORGIVE CAROL. THEN, I'LL FORGIVE YOU; AND THE HATE AND SIN WILL BE
CAROL'S PROBLEM -- NOT YOURS. YOU WILL HAVE SETTLED THE PROBLEM AS FAR
AS YOU ARE CONCERNED.
Oh, you know, you're right. You always are. And more than I want
revenge, I want to be right with You..., (sigh). All right...all
right...I forgive her.
THERE NOW! WONDERFUL! HOW DO YOU FEEL?
Hmmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all! In fact, I feel pretty great! You
know, I don't think I'll go to bed uptight tonight. I haven't been
getting much rest, you know.
YEAH, I KNOW. BUT, YOU'RE NOT THROUGH WITH YOUR PRAYER ARE YOU? GO ON.
Oh, all right. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil."
GOOD! GOOD! I'LL DO THAT. JUST DON'T PUT YOURSELF IN A PLACE WHERE YOU
CAN BE TEMPTED.
What do you mean by that?
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
Yeah. I know
OKAY. GO AHEAD. FINISH YOUR PRAYER.
"For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen."
DO YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BRING ME GLORY -- WHAT WOULD REALLY MAKE ME
HAPPY?
No, but I'd like to know. I want to please you now. I've really made a
mess of things. I want to truly follow you. I can see now how great that
would be. So, tell me .. how do I make you happy?
YOU JUST DID!

This is the skeleton of a message I gave in late September, 2007.

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There are three anointings, or callings- Priest, Prophet, King. Ive been struggling to express a vision of the interrelationship of different roles within the body of Christ, but the five-fold paradigm, the motivational gifts, and other ways of delineating these things just weren't working for me. It seems that the Old Covenant priest/prophet/king anointings fell right into place however.

I believe there must be a mutual submission of one member to another in the Church. When one role operates in the present timing of God, the other roles flow with it. Then, when God switches gears, the others must change focus. Even within our own lives, we have to react and download the heavenly blueprint in different ways, as situations arise.

• The priestly anointing concerns itself with traditions and practices of regular religious life. -Pray every day, read your Bible, give into the offering, remember the widows and orphans, good disciplined stuff.
• The priestly anointing's weaknesses include a tendency to 'regulate'.  "Regulation- A law, rule, or other order prescribed by authority, esp. to regulate conduct."
• Under this condition people go through the motions with their bodies and minds, but not their hearts. Their hearts are unengaged. Worship becomes rote. Devotion becomes ritual. Expectancy dies.
• Tension in a relationip is good, a source of excitement. Certainty that God is good, but what's He going to do with us, or to us, today? Too much of the priest will kill that.

 What's the prophetic look like?

In the upper room, the priest role was in control. They webeing obedient to the command of Jesus to stay in Jerusalem and wait--when SUDDENLY-- the prophetic swept in, and the prestly ways went out the window immediately. The prophetic rose up and spilled out into the streets, and a generation was impacted.

• The priest, prophet and king are being called to submit to one another. We must have agreement. Psl 133 tells us that agreement is paramount, and a condition of the commanded blessing. Interesting that God uses the picture of Aaron, the high priest under the law.
• We must have grace with one another as we enter new realms- walk in love, assuming the best of each other. Walk in patience, understanding one another. Esteeming others better. Admire others who make mistakes, because they're walking on water- while we're still sitting in the boat. The judgment must stop, and the fear of offending each other must stop.

 King's anointing

In Revelation 2, Jesus brings up the doctrine of the Nicolaitans- a false separation of the secular and sacred, or of the clergy and laity. Unless you're in 'full time ministry', unless you have a bible college degree, blah blah blah. The pharisees asked Jesus "by what authority do you do these things?" He responded by confronting their refusal to recognize John the Baptist as a man empowered by heaven.  They refused to answer because of their bondage to political expediency, their source of authority, while Jesus and John, being empowered and validated directly by God, were free to see the truth. (owned!)

Personal authority, the power of co-creation- the operational principle of a King.

• (1 Sam 10:7) Samuel, after anoiting Saul to be king, says to him "Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. " He basically was giving Saul a mandate  act like a King. God would back him up, as he did whatever he felt like.
• (Psl 115:16) The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
• (Acts 15:25-28) It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,  28For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

• Acknowledge God in everything you do. As you go forward in life, do whatever you feel like, followyour passion, after submitting your ways to God. If you're not running from Him, He'll let you know if you need any specific instructions.

• Kings take territory by acquiring influence in the high places of societal control, not just within the church. They can do things that priests and prophets cannot.

This is the result of some research I was doing on monetary systems. The implications are staggering.

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Saturday, October 27, 2007

Nazi gold and the Kingdom of God  During WW2, The Nazi regime needed money to finance their war, as all nations do. They deposited gold into Switzerland, and the Swiss gave them paper money in return. There is strong evidence and a considerable body of research has been done, which suggests that most of the gold probably came from the Jewish population that they took prisoner. I've researched this a bit myself- here's a very small example of what I've found: "Much of the information surfacing recently about Degussa [a German contractor for the Nazis] comes from a lawsuit filed in New Jersey. Degussa held an exclusive contract with the Nazis for re-smelting items taken from the Jews in the concentration camps, including dental gold. There was so much gold being taken from the victims at Auschwitz that Degussa built a smelter there. According to Oberstrumbannfuhrer Rudoff Hoss, the commandant of Auschwitz, the daily yield of gold at the camp was 24 pounds." 24 pounds a day, just from dental fillings, wedding rings, etc! Disgusting and amazing, all at once. That's A LOT of gold. So Switzerland was enriched by blood money-- in fact, the covenant wealth of God's people. I'm not sure how much wealth poured into their banks, but it's clear that it was quite significant. What became of this wealth? Well, the Nazis lost of course, so Switzerland was never required to return it. Here's a snapshot of the present-day financial power structure of the planet, and it happens to be based in Switzerland: http://www.augustreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id... So we see that the BIS (The Bank of International Settlement) is the epicenter of all international central banks and large scale monetary exchange. As powerful as Federal Reserve director Ben Bernanke may be, he does answer to a higher authority- namely, the BIS. So here we have it: covenant wealth, stolen by murder, and funneled into the world's system. This, in my opinion, is the actual Financial Mountain, a 'kingdom of this world', if you will . It's a definable, actual structure- not some decentralized network of relationships, not some spiritual idea. It consists of banks and organizations that couple with political structures to control the major financial activities world. ********************** Now let's go back to Genesis and look at Joseph. (For review, read Genesis 41, the whole chapter.) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2041%20;&version=31; Here was a man gifted by God and placed into a particular circumstance which allowed all the world's wealth to flow into Pharaoh's coffers. The seven year famine resulted in Pharaoh's ownership of all money, land, cattle, and even the enslavement of multitudes- just so they could eat. Fourteen years total, and the world literally belonged to Pharaoh. Fast forward to Moses. On their way out of Egypt, the people of God asked for all the precious articles of Egypt, and they were given up. Why did God honor this request with such favor? Because this wealth was really God's all along. He caused Joseph to do what he did, He caused the wealth to be concentrated there, He built the Egyptian empire and kept it safe and sound there, waiting for the day when his people would acquire it and go on to their ultimate purpose. And what was that purpose? To worship God in the tabernacle, and live as a kingdom of priests. Now look at what God says about you: 1 Peter 2:5 "You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. " So the ultimate purpose of wealth isn't political power, a BMW, a big house, a yacht-- but the harvest of souls, to build a spiritual house of worship for God. HALLELUJAH. Understand who you are. See the parallel? We are entitled, by blood covenant, to this wealth. It is ours, according to 2 Corinthians 8:9 "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though Jesus was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. " We are a seeds of dominion in God's plan. We may be the very beginning of a new thing, or a piece of the overall strategy. In any event, it's a HUGE assignment, and Goliath stands in the middle of the valley and mocks our God, glorying in his natural strength, as the church structures all around us piddle around paying monthly bills. We, the church, must tap into the supernatural power supply that flows from Heaven to do this. The gates of Hell shall not prevail. Psalm 2  1 Why do the nations conspire        and the peoples plot in vain?     2 The kings of the earth rise up        and the rulers band together        against the LORD and against his anointed, saying,     3 "Let us break their chains        and throw off their shackles."     4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;        the Lord scoffs at them.     5 He rebukes them in his anger        and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,     6 "I have installed my king        on Zion, my holy mountain."     7 I will proclaim the LORD's decree:        He said to me, "You are my son;        today I have become your father.     8 Ask me,        and I will make the nations your inheritance,        the ends of the earth your possession.     9 You will break them with a rod of iron;        you will dash them to pieces like pottery."     10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;        be warned, you rulers of the earth.     11 Serve the LORD with fear        and celebrate his rule with trembling.     12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry        and you and your ways will be destroyed,        for his wrath can flare up in a moment.        Blessed are all who take refuge in him.