"It Is Finished"

Revelation: 12:10 “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night".

This is what I heard in the Spirit today:  It is DELIVER DAY!

Your Promise in God has been signed, sealed and delivered by the Blood of the Lamb.

There is absolutely nothing left that needs to be done. IT IS FINISHED! PAID IN FULL.

As I was praying this morning, I came to God in desperation … once again.

Identifying the fiery arrows of doubt, unbelief, fear, anxiety and worry. You know - exactly how you’re not supposed to be. James 1:6-8 says to “ask in Faith, nothing wavering; for he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways”. (ouch!)

So here I was once again. Crying out to the Lord from my fears. (gotta start somewhere).

As His presence came closer, my fears began to dissipate – as they do when He is near. I had enough boldness then to speak to all of the heaviness, the doubt, the worry and the fear saying: “You know what?! “My God is going to come, He knows my voice and He hears me when I cry. He will rescue me and it will be today”.

Sure enough I began to feel better.

As I was sitting there, now in the Presence of my God, I started to think to myself. ‘I wonder how I would act, how I would feel, how different my day would look if I KNEW that there was a package in the mail coming today’.

What if the things I have been waiting for, contending for, warring for were delivered to the front door this morning? The things that the Bible says are mine because of my covenant position with Almighty God. What if it were coming today, like a package ordered from Amazon.

I mean a bonafide faith that God is who He says He is began to rise up. A real solid, substance, evidence of things not yet seen. A Faith that He would do what He said He would do…but not tomorrow. Today.

Man that would be a change of perspective. I felt a lightness, a weightlessness come over me. A sense of His love and embrace wrap around me.

HOPE (expectation of something good from God-future tense) is great. I mean, thank God for Hope! It has carried me thus far. Through mountains and valleys , highs and lows. Through many temptations, toils and snares, I have already come!

Like a pregnant woman, she is preparing for manifestation of what she is carrying. She is peaceful knowing it is just a matter of time. She is expecting new life from the seed that has been sown in the womb, to come forth (in the soon future).

But FAITH. Faith is something different. It is NOW. Faith is the miracle working, manifested power of God in the NOW.

I heard so clear today. It is DELIVERY DAY. The Promises of God MANIFESTED.

The seed in the womb of your Spirit that has been sown, watered, protected, nurtured, developing, growing.

I heard the Lord so strong this morning. “The package is at the door!”. It has already been delivered (at the Cross). It is finished!” He continued.. “The answer (to your prayer) is YES and AMEN, to the Glory of God the Father!”

I realized this is what Faith like a child looks like. They receive their needs (manifested) EASILY AND IMMEDIATELY. Here and NOW.

They are not wracked with fear or writhing with worry that mom or dad will meet their needs. They simply wake up and receive all that is provided to them, waiting for them at the door.

Signed, sealed, delivered.

I’m convinced if the church had a clue, if I had a clue…of the incredible His incredible Love for me, I could spend all of my days being a professional receptacle of the Goodness of God. Easily and Immediately receiving all that Christ died on the Cross to give.

The Great Exchange. My sin and Guilt for His forgiveness. Death for new life. My sickness for health. My fear for Peace. My sadness for His Joy.

Afterall -  “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)

No, I’m not saying we will ever have an ‘easy’, non-resistant life or that as a follower of Christ we will not encounter suffering, nope not saying that at all. But man do we fall short in receiving all that is in our Abrahamic Covenant with God.

Regardless of your theology. Our God is a Good God.  Just like your hearts’ desire is to do good for your children.

Matthew 7:11 “IF you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him?”.

The only thing left to do is THANK Him for what He has already provided.

The answer is YES. If you can see it in the Bible, you can have it. "Yes, I finished it, all of your needs, at the Cross.!"

Yes, today is the day for your miracle. Not tomorrow. By His Stripes we WERE healed. It’s at the door. No striving. No grasping. No warring. No effort. DONE. By Grace alone.

Thank Him! for II Corinthians 6:2 “Behold NOW is the day of Salvation [health, safety; deliverance from the molestation of enemies].

THE GOSPEL TRULY IS “Good News”.

However, I don’t just want to preach it and proclaim it, I want to walk in it and personally experience it.

Paul said “I do not come with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration and with power”.

Revelation: 12:10 “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Community Living: T.E.A.M.

T. ogether  E. veryone  A. chieves  M. ore

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious anointing oil upon the head, running down on the beard, 

the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments.

3 It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion;

for there the Lord commanded the blessing - Life forevermore" Psalm 133:1-3

In this scripture “brethren dwelling together in unity” “is compared to the precious oil of Aarons’ anointing”

What does this mean?

What does it mean to “dwell together in unity”?

What does it mean to “be anointed”?

To be anointed by the Lord is to:

1.     Be set aside for the Lords service and purpose (consecrated, sanctified, dedicated)

2.     To then be smeared with His power, might and ability to accomplish that calling/purpose/service

Is 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To… (fulfill His calling/purpose, which is found in the remainder of vs 1, down to verse 3)

And the ultimate purpose of Jesus and for any of us is found in verse 3c “that He (our Heavenly Father) may be glorified”

Apart from the supernatural empowerment of the Spirit of God upon our lives, there is no way that we could bring Glory to God or fulfill our calling and purpose!

We see in Ephesians that it is actually possible to repel, or work against that POWER

Ephesians 4:30 says: “and grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed (marked) unto the day of redemption”

To grieve literally means to cause to sorrow, to make sad; heaviness

John 14:16 speaking of the Holy Spirit of God upon ones’ life says “I will send you another comforter- meaning helper or an aide”

IF JESUS NEEDED THE HELP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD UPON HIS LIFE, WHO ARE WE TO SAY THAT WE CAN DO IT APART FROM THAT SAME POWER OR ANOINTING OF GOD?

In the Old Testament in the book of Exodus Moses was given explicit instructions by God as to the ingredients needed to make this literal ointment for a Holy Anointing Oil, found in:

Exodus 30:22-25 “Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²³ “Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon, two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, ²⁴ five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. ²⁵ And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.”

In this Holy concoction – the mixture of spices contained:

Myrrh- which is a medicinal purifying agent representing the need of Purification and Healing in our lives before we are of any use.

Cinnamon- which represents the need for a lifestyle of Obedience to the Lord

Calamus – which represents the necessary place of Brokenness (of our own will – wants, desires and ways)

Cassia- which represents the necessity of Humility

Olive Oil- the oil that is squeezed out of our lives as a result of personal times of Trials & Testing

There are layers of our heart that God has got to go through before He can draw out the awesome gifts and anointing from our lives. But He is a gentleman and will not force us.

As we said, to anoint literally means to smear or rub, so Moses was to smear or rub this holy anointing oil over the tabernacle and everything in it that was to be sanctified and consecrated as unto the Lord for His service and use.

In the New Testament it is not a literal oil, but literally the Spirit of God in and upon the life of the believer.

John 16:7 in the Amplified reads: “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the ^[a]Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you].”

We all know this familiar scripture:

Acts 1:8 “But YOU shall receive power (and ability), after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”.

What does receive power to be a witness mean?

First of all the word POWER here means dunamis or dynamite ability. It also means strength, miracle power; moral power and excellence of the soul. Also, power that rests’ upon armies, forces and hosts. And finally the power to inhere in godliness and operate upon souls

Notice this power must be RECEIVED: Meaning - to not refuse or reject. To receive a person; give him access to oneself

This received power has a purpose and that is to be a WITNESS: Gotta love this definition of witness – besides the ‘normal’ use of this word which is (a legal witness – to what he himself has seen or heard or experienced).

It also literally means a martyr: nobody wants to talk about this one. It means that you are so converted to a belief in Christ that if given the circumstances – you would choose death over denying Him. In this day and age and amazing USA that we live in we more than likely, at least in this lifetime won’t have to literally die for our belief, but there is most certainly a death that will be required to take place in order to walk in and not reject this POWER. The POWER that precedes a transformation from flesh to spiritual. A voluntary death of THE FLESH in order to adhere to your faith and what you profess to believe.

            So if your life doesn’t reflect a continual death to flesh and life according the power of the Holy Spirit. It really doesn’t matter how much you speak in tongues. You’ve missed the whole point – making the outward more important than the inward, instead of the other way around.

Back to the precious oil spoken of in Psalm 133……

Psalm 133 says that when brethren dwell together in unity it is the same as have the power of the anointing of God upon. Upon your marriage, for example, or upon your church or upon your ministry.

           

WHAT CAN WE ACCOMPLISH FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD TOGETHER?

The power of agreement is limitless. When we come into agreement, when we operate in unity, when we are all one, there is nothing that will be restrained from us which we can imagine to do!

We are Many Players but One Team!

I Corinthians 1:10 “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

Power of Agreement

Matthew 18:19-20 “Again I say^[a] to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

The Power of All

Genesis 11:1-6 “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. ² And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. ³ Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. ⁴ And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. ⁶ And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.”

10,000 Times More Powerful, Together

Deuteronomy 32:30 “How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the Lord had surrendered them?”

When believers are of one heart, one soul and we are all speaking the same thing there will be power and provision. Acts 4:21-34, Psalm 133:1-3

On the other hand

CAN WE HINDER THE KINGDOM OF GOD by NOT WORKING TOGETHER?

DIVISION stops the POWER and PROVISION!

Matthew 12:25 “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand (firm, fixed or established)”.

CEV: “Any town or family that fights will soon destroy itself”.

James 3:16 “For where envy/jealousy and (strife, contention) self-seeking exist, confusion (disorder, instability, rebellion) and every evil thing are there.”

HOW TO ELIMINATE DIVISION! Work it out in Love!

Matthew 18:15-17 Amplified: “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens and pays attention to you, you have won back your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two others, so that every word may be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he pays no attention to them [refusing to listen and obey], tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile (unbeliever) and a tax collector.”

Luke 17:1-4 NKJV: “Then He (Jesus) said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! ² It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. ³ Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

To walk in Love is to: Respond to insult injury and injustice with positive aggressive acts of good that are designed to bring redemption to the offender!

LOVE: The unconditional acceptance of other people and the active seeking of their highest good.

Ministry:  Literally means “To meet a need”. Our purpose as believers, ministers and missionaries is a calling to meet the needs of people. In order to successfully carry out any vision, purpose or plan of God, we must decide to stand together as ONE!

"So You're Called to Missions?" The Heart of a Servant

 A Christian Missionary:  A Disciple sent into an area to perform ministries of service or MEET A NEED.

To advocate or promote the Kingdom of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ by meeting the practical needs of a different culture or people group, then your own.

For me, this photo - based on the story of the woman (who was a sinner) in Luke chapter 7, is a perfect picture of what it is to have the heart of a servant. A heart that is completely sold-out to Him in reverential awe and thanksgiving, worship, surrender and service. Total abandon of the old (sinful bondage) to the new (forgiven and free to serve).

LUKE 7: ³⁷ And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, ³⁸ and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

Genevieve's Version: In essence I can hear her saying,

"Because of You, and Your intense love for me, I will never be the same again. Here I am, at Your service. You have done so much for me, if I worshipped You for the rest of my life, it could never be enough. What can I do for You? If it's important to You, it's important to me. If it grieves You, it grieves me. You are my God and I am Yours. I surrender all".

 Jesus said to the Pharisees and religious people in the room:

⁴⁴ “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. ⁴⁵ You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. ⁴⁷ Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

When you KNOW you have been forgiven of MUCH, you love (Jesus) MUCH! When you love Jesus MUCH, you begin to take on His characteristics and attributes.

...and we know Jesus was a SERVANT. and not just a servant, but also Highly exalted.

When we humble ourselves through His example, we live in a realm of resurrection power that cannot be found any other way.

Simply put, a Missionary is a SERVANT. A guest in a foreign land, whose focus is to Advance the Kingdom. One of the fastest and most effective ways to do that, is by doing it His way.

PHILIPPIANS 2:5 says:

⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

1 Peter 5:6 Instructs us to "Humble (bring down one’s pride and opinion of ones self) ourselves under the mighty hand of God (the same hand that created the universe) that He may exalt you (lift up high, raise to dignity and honor) in due time (the right time, opportune season).

Jesus came in a manger, in meekness and humility and as a result He received unparalleled power, anointing and authority in the Spirit. There is power in HUMILITY.

Nowhere in scripture does it say that freedom means to be free to live for SELF!

Being a servant means to live for someone else, other than yourself.

When preparing for the Mission Field, my advice is: "Get yourself off your mind!"

There is a bigger picture at hand. Refocus yourself on the Vision that God has for the ministry you are involved in.

It's not about me or you, it's about making His Name great.

After all we are His Representatives...the called out ones'. We are the one He is depending on to carry out His hearts' desires in the earth.

No pressure! (sarcasm)

I Corinthians 9:19 Paul says: "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself a servant (giving of self wholly to ones' needs and service) unto all, that I might gain the more (winning a hurting people, a dying generation over to the Kingdom of God)".

Preparation of the Heart

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,

as working for the Lord, not for men.” Colossians 3:23

     Ø  Lift up Jesus Christ with your thoughts, words, and actions

Ø  Develop and maintain a servant’s attitude.

Ø  Pray for and support your leadership and their decisions.

Ø  Attitude check! Be positive and encouraging.

Ø  Remember what you learned as a child, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”

Ø  MUY IMPORTANTE! Be a team player, not a gossiper.

Ø  Remember the missionary job is to learn and serve, not to lecture and direct.

Ø  Be open to different perspectives and ways of doing things.

Ø  Remember you are a guest in a different culture. Enjoy it and learn.

 

MAKING IT PRACTICAL!

(for sure common sense, but it's amazing how easy it is to forget in the midst of PRESSURE)

1.      Ability to Follow Instruction: and take direction in accordance with policy, regulation or case by case situation.

2.      Patience: and ability to work in very high stress and intense environment.

3.      Stress Management: The ability to keep functioning effectively when under pressure and maintain self-control in the face of hostility or provocation.

4.    Flexibility:  and willingness to adapt to constant change. Openness to different and new ways of doing things; willingness to modify one’s preferred way of doing things.

5.      Focused: individual must be devoted to the work at hand. (Again it is a Calling and not employment)

6.    Spiritual Fortitude: every missionary should have the mentality that Christ - His Word and His ways of doing things are at the center and core of who they are, who they strive to become and who they strive to please.

Much Love and Many Blessings to All!

"So, You're Called to Missions?"

Right around 15 years ago now I experienced a radical encounter with God. I don’t know any other way to describe it but to liken it to Paul on the road to Damascus. (Hope that doesn’t offend anyone?).

It was as if the Power of God literally fell upon my life so suddenly and so forcefully that even my own free will was overridden as I stood under the conviction and mercy and forgiveness of a Living God. I knew at that moment in time that the rest of my life here on earth, would be taking a completely different course.

My life to that point consisted of hopelessness, despair, drugs, alcohol, addiction, rejection and abandonment, abuse, failure and worthlessness just to name a few.

II Timothy 1:9 says that we have not only been saved, but that we have also been called.  
“who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began”.

I began to understand that even before time began God knew that I would be saved (rescued, delivered, healed; made whole) and He knew the call (to Name and give an attribute or assign a quality to).

Only 3 years after my life-changing encounter with God and as much teaching, training, Word and Praise that I could fit in, I knew without a doubt that God had called me out of one place, and into another.
I didn’t have a vocabulary for it then, and I certainly would have never considered ‘missionary’ to describe Gods’ call on my life, but come to find out it was/is the assignment on my life.


Here is a definition.
A Christian Missionary is a Disciple sent into an area to perform ministries of service or MEET A NEED. To advocate or promote the Kingdom of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ by meeting the practical needs of a different culture or people group.

At the most basic level, a missionary is someone who has been sent. That’s what the word “mission” entails. It may not appear in your English Bibles, but it’s still a biblical word. Eckhard Schnabel—one of the world’s leading experts on mission in the New Testament— makes this point forcefully.

The argument that the word mission does not occur in the New Testament is incorrect. The Latin verb mittere corresponds to the Greek verb apostellein, which occurs 136 times in the New Testament (97 times in the Gospels, used both for Jesus having been “sent” by God and for the Twelve being “sent” by Jesus). (Paul the Missionary, 27-28)

The apostles, in the broadest sense of the term, were those who had been sent out. Linguistically, this sent-outness is also the first thing we should note relative to the term missionary. It is, after all, the first thing Jesus notes about his mission–that he was sent to proclaim a message of good news to the poor (Luke 4:18). Being “on mission” or engaging in mission work suggests intentionality and movement (Paul the Missionary, 22, 27). Missionaries are those who have been sent from one place that they might go somewhere else.

Every Christian–if we are going to be obedient to the Great Commission–must be involved in missions, but not every Christian is a missionary.

When most people think of Mission work they automatically think of international or even 3rd World Countries, etc.

But here in the U.S., right in our back yard is a mission field.

The purpose of this Blog and several to follow is to educate on the subject of Missionary and being sent into the "Native American Mission Field", and what it looks like to PREPARE YOURSELF for it.

For Non-Natives in particular, to be in Native American Ministry means to be called to a different place, a different culture and nation.

HISTORICAL: The story of the Native American people is complicated and marked by significant trauma and atrocities which resulted in the largest genocide of the 19th Century. Efforts to assimilate Indians into mainstream American society often involved the removal of native children from their homes on tribal land and sending them to religious and BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) boarding schools. Fueled by Richard Henry Pratt’s belief that Indians could be civilized through total immersion, these schools prohibited children from speaking their language, following their cultural practices, or spiritual beliefs. What happened to these young vulnerable children in many of these schools resulted in overwhelming, long-standing effects of trauma and unresolved grief. These traumas which interrupted the ability to parent, has led to most of the current social problems which plague Indian communities today.

GENERATIONAL: To grow up as a young Native American in the world today is very different than in most other cultures and people groups.  The generational cycles of affliction and hardship make it much more difficult.

STATISTICALLY:
Child Abuse and Neglect: A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds and more than five children die every day as a result (NCAS)
Alcohol Abuse: Alcohol abuse in the Native American community is epidemic and the leading cause of death of the tribal youth more than any other drug. (The Indian Reporter)
Domestic Violence: Three-fourths of Native American women have experienced some type of sexual assault in their lives (American Indian Women’s Chemical Health Project)
Child Sexual Abuse: One of the most destructive problems affecting children in Indian Country today is sexual abuse. Life for Young Natives Today
Poverty, Suicide, Hopelessness and Despair.
.......the list goes on and on, and to be honest most of these statistics describe my own personal life before Christ....BUT GOD.



Especially for those of you who feel the Calling of God for this type of ministry the next several blogs I want to look at the following pertinent topics:

• Spiritual Warfare
• Cultural Sensitivity
• Servants' Heart
• Walking in the Spirit vs. the Flesh
• The Condition of the Heart
• Community Living

Also maybe some real life examples from some of the best Missionaries that I know:).

In Him and with much love...........Bless YOU