Are You Prepared?

Our life here on earth is like a vapor of smoke. It appears for a little while, then vanishes away. We may live to be a hundred, compared to eternity it’s short.

Life is very fragile, to be handled with care. Many times we take it for granted. Everything can be going great, enjoying peace and prosperity. Suddenly our world can be turned upside down with turmoil and disaster. One phone call in the middle of the night, a bad doctor’s report, a car wreck. Any number of scenarios can change our lives in an instant.

Where do you turn when disaster happens? Everybody has seen programs on television. They advise us to prepare an emergency kit. We all know certain things needed to be placed in the kits. Extra water, food, medical supplies, batteries, anything we may need to sustain our family.

All of us need to be prepared for an emergency just in case. The Bible is a book filled with all kinds of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Not only for our spiritual life, but our natural life also. A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself, but the simple pass on, and are punished. ( Proverbs 27:12) That’s good advice for all.

When my world gets turned upside down I’ve learned to run to the Lord for help. He is my peace at all times. He is my refuge and help in the time of trouble.

How many times have we all cried out, Lord please help me out of this trouble? I know I’ve done it many times in the past. Most of us have asked Him to help, but soon as the trouble passes we forget Him.

I’ve learned to abide in His presence at all times. So when challenges come, I don’t have to go searching for Him. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10)

~Ricky Robinson

Image Credit @  Pamela Hodson | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Do You Value Revelation?

Years ago, we invited a brother in the Lord to go to one of Kenneth Hagin’s meetings with us. He said, “Why? I’ve seen him before and all he does is tell the same stories and quote the same scriptures over and over. That man is boring! I already know what he’s talking about. I want to hear something new!”

Seriously?? So, you have problems with your health, problems with your finances, trouble with your kids, and your wife can’t stand you. And you don’t think Kenneth Hagin… one of the most anointed pioneers of faith to live in the last 100 years… can teach you anything about how to live your life?

 

Some people are too stupid to argue with. The problem this brother had was that he simply did not value revelation. And he’s not the only one… I was reading one of the reports from the Barna Group that said:

Asked to think about their last church visit, three out of five church attenders (61%) said they could not remember a significant or important new insight or understanding related to faith. Even among those who attended church in the last week, half admitted they could not recall a significant insight they had gained. ~ From The Barna Group: What people experience in Churches found at http://www.barna.org/congregations-articles/556-what-people-experience-in-churches

There are two problems that emerge in this statistic…. (1) The majority of church goers in the US don’t go to church seeking revelation. If you’re hungry for more revelation and understanding concerning the Word of God, all you have to do is ask Holy Ghost, your teacher, and He will impart that to you. I don’t have room on this blog post to go into all the scriptures that talk of the blessings that come from seeking wisdom and understanding, but you could start at Proverbs if you really wanted to know! (2) The majority of churches are preaching doctrine and going through a form of godliness but are not really preaching the WORD. It is impossible to preach the Word of God and not impart revelation by doing so.

So, ultimately, the problem in the church is that there is a lack of value where revelation is concerned. Christians think there is nothing new to learn by reading, studying, and meditating the Word. Spirit-filled Christians forget that Holy Ghost is here to teach us and lead us into ALL TRUTH. Well, there isn’t one of us on the planet who is walking in ALL TRUTH yet… so, that means there is still room for more revelation… more understanding. We just have to be hungry for it. And there’s the real problem…. people in the pulpits and in the pews aren’t hungry for the TRUTH.

Tell me… do you REALLY value revelation? Well, here’s a test for you, then. I want you to do me a favor: click on the Latest Sermon link on the Gateway website and listen to Apostle David’s message from Sunday night, June 24th. There’s enough revelation in what he said that night to keep you thinking, praying, and studying for a year! Dare ya!

~Linda Frederick

 

image credit:

INTO THE BLUE
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The Living Word

The basic definition of prophecy is, “That which is given by the Spirit of God for the edification, exhortation, and comfort of the Body of Christ.” We look at the written Word of God and understand that it is prophetic… it never fades or wears out. The Word is LIFE and is always new. We can read it and reread it and never stop learning and being transformed by it.

Prophecy and prophetic utterances to the church serve the same purpose, but we often do not recognize or esteem them, and so they do not profit us as Holy Ghost intends. In order for us to have more of the prophetic gift functioning here at Gateway, we need to value the prophetic utterances given to our house and treasure them as life-giving, transforming, always living words from God. No, they are not “scripture,” but if God said them, then they are still living, powerful Words!

You can tell how much you esteem prophecy by the way in which your spirit responds to prophecies, even after much time has passed. If your spirit leaps, if you sense the anointing, if you can still sense the life and power in the prophetic word, then you will be blessed and transformed by that word no matter how often you read it or hear it.

Try it out for yourself. This is a portion of a prophetic word released by Apostle David in July of 2008. As you read it, check your spirit. How are you responding?

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” says the Spirit of the Lord. “All of the building blocks that have been put in place up until this point have had a purpose. Even in those times when you tried things, and you did things and you said, ‘it looks like it didn’t work.’ Know this,” saith the Lord, “be careful not say that anymore.”

“I’m even going to use the things that didn’t seem to work as building blocks in your life, because the building that I am building is not just a physical, natural work, but it is a spiritual work and it will be built here. But not just here, it shall also be manifested abroad because that which is modeled here shall come into manifestation.”

“For don’t you know that you were in training all this time? Don’t you know that I was working a plan all this time? Don’t you know that you have things in you right now that you have been preparing for, and that [they] are not just for this house and not just for this territory, but for the nations? So understand and know that this is a place of training, it is place of growth, and it is a place of maturity and preparation. For your schooling is taking place and your training is taking place and you will fulfill that which you were trained for,” saith the Lord.

“And for some of you,” I hear the spirit of God saying, “even those things that I showed you years ago that you had laid aside and thought, ‘Well it was foolish thinking, it was just something that was in my mind.’ No, no, no,” saith the Lord, “that was what I was giving you and it was for such a time as this.”

And I also hear the spirit of God saying, “Don’t worry about the time that’s lost, because I can make sure that all is restored.” saith the Lord.

This word is just as real, just as powerful, just as anointed today as it was 3 years ago. Let’s purpose in our heart to treasure the prophetic gifts that we have here. Remember, what we celebrate, we will keep in abundance!

~By Linda Frederick

“Cru” Who?

So, Campus Crusade for Christ has joined the seeker-friendly masses and changed its name. What a shame. For more than fifty years, this ministry has been standing for Christ on college campuses around the world, and now they will stand for…”Cru”??? Cru, who??!!

Why would they even consider taking Christ out of their name? Well, because they took a poll and found that 9% of Christians and 20% of non-Christians were alienated by the name. Okay… let’s see. I’m no mathematical genius, but I’m thinking that means that 91% of Christians and 80% of non-Christians were OKAY with the name the way it was! What kind of insane logic is that?

Their website says “New name, same commitment to Christ.” Really?? Well, then why take His name out of the name of your organization? They further say, “The only name that matters is Jesus and what matters most is connecting people to the name that gives life.” Okay… I can buy that, but why didn’t they change the name to something that says THE NAME OF JESUS, if that’s what they really believe?

This is just another one of the strategies coming from the “purpose-driven” emergent church. Simple, sugar-coated deceptions to convince  millions of good people that they are making Christ more accessible to the masses by watering down the message and making people more comfortable. Folks, this looks nothing at all like The Church in the New Testament.

I mean, can’t you just see the Apostle Paul saying, “Now, boys, we’re not getting enough people into the Kingdom by preaching Christ and Him crucified, so we’ll need to take Christ and His cross out of our message. Let’s pay more attention to soulish things and stop being led by the Spirit. Sure, we won’t be producing Sons of God anymore, but we’ll be so popular! Oh, and we have to quit telling people that ‘many are called but few are chosen’ because that is a real turn-off! After all, we don’t want to offend anyone!”

As Apostle David Coker says, “Give me a Mickey Mouse break!”

For all of you who are passionately pursuing THE KINGDOM OF GOD, whose lives are not your own but you are bought with a price, who are determined not to be ashamed of Christ and His gospel… come and join THE CHURCH…there’s work to be done!

For the rest of you… enjoy the concert with your “cru”.

Hippity Hoppity (a politically incorrect article on Easter)

I was curious about the origin of the Easter Bunny, so I did some digging and here’s what I found. Remember, you’ve been forewarned by the title!

The Easter Bunny or Easter Hare got his start much like good old Kris Kringle – in Germany – or more specifically in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. And just like Santa Claus, the whole point was to take an extremely important and foundational event in the Christian faith, slap a fuzzy round face on it and turn it into a reason to stay home from church to “spend time with your family.” (Oh yeah, political suicide going on here)

Why a rabbit? What’s with the eggs?

You guessed it – it’s really all about sex. Or more specificall, fertility. The Easter Bunny hops along in spring randomly spreading eggs everywhere it goes.

Bunny. Spring. Eggs. You can’t get more fertile than this!

And what’s with all this celebration of fertility? You guessed it – when you trace it all back down – we’re actually celebrating the Greek goddess of “spring-like fertility” named Eostra.

The worship of this goddess was so ingrained in the Greek culture (along with the two days of feasting and celebration that occurred every spring) that the Roman Catholic church decided to adopt some of its customs, give it a little name change and associate it with the resurrection of Christ. Your “mind brakes” might be screeching about now, but think about it: the word “Easter” isn’t anywhere in the Bible. It had to come from somewhere!

And you’ll love this…remember the traditional Easter dress every one of us girls had to wear as children? Yep, that tradition was started by the cult who worshiped Eostra; during the festivals, they had the maidens dress all in white like the goddess as a symbol of untapped fertility. (Cold shiver)

And why a chocolate bunny?

Actually, that one I get – everything is better when it’s made of chocolate.

Just a little more about the crazy egg thing…

It seems that it is traditional for Catholics to dye their Easter Eggs red to symbolize the blood of Christ. Part of the reason there was such an abundance of eggs for Easter was due to the fact that eggs were traditionally not eaten during Lent. However, early Protestants (who do not partake of Lent) didn’t stress over the quantity or redness of their eggs and decided that they liked the variety of colors used by the religiously indifferent to symbolize the many colors and varieties of flowers that begin to bloom in spring (Personally, I prefer the Paws kits that have stickers so you can make your eggs have the crazy eyes!).

Now, I could take this to a serious place and tie the fertility theme back to the blood of Christ because it was the shedding of His blood that birthed the New Testament church and the real whole point of Easter is to remember not only His broken body, shed blood and death on the cross, but that He died for the express purpose of being raised up and born again from death back into life. Why? So that we, who are already dead because of sin, can be born again into that same life with Christ!

For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him will not perish by have everlasting life. ~John 3:16

But, my faithful readers know me by now, and know I’m not gonna go to the serious place. Instead, I’ll leave you with this final reason why bunnies should NOT be associated with Easter:

~by Anessa Back

Kingdom Living

Do we preach the message that Jesus preached? He taught and preached the Kingdom of God, then demonstrated the Kingdom through His actions. For years, we have preached healing, prosperity, salvation, Holy Ghost, and deliverance. Jesus never preached on these subjects. He did not preach salvation, the Cross, or His death, burial, and resurrection. He never taught healing, prosperity or deliverance. Jesus simply operated and functioned in the Kingdom as an example to us as the King of kings. In Genesis 1, God gave man dominion over the Earth and all of the creatures in the Earth. When Jesus was here, He walked in that dominion. He exercised authority over the sea, food, demons, animals, plants, sickness and disease, and even the weather. He demonstrated to His disciples what it meant to be a citizen in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Once we understand that our purpose is to establish His Kingdom here on Earth, we will not have any problem getting our prayers answered. We pray for daily bread because we cannot function in the Kingdom without food to sustain our physical bodies for the work of the Kingdom. We have thought for so long that it was all about us. We thought that God wanted us healed so we wouldn’t be in pain; that He wanted us to prosper so we would be blessed; that He did all these things for us simply because He loves us. Does He love us? Yes, but He did not create us to be a blessing to ourselves. He created us for Him and for His Kingdom.

~Apostle David Coker

The Ways of the Kingdom

I imagine people who immigrate to the US from nations with monarch-style governments have a lot to adjust to. Democratic thinking is totally different from Kingdom thinking! In fact, these two governmental structures are nearly opposite. It’s because of our democratic mindset that we, as believers, have such a difficult time understanding the way things should be in the Kingdom of God. We just don’t know how to function!

If we’re going to become effective citizens of the Kingdom of God, we must know what a kingdom looks like. Let’s examine some characteristics of a kingdom:

• Kingdoms have a king. Jesus is the King of kings.  We have been made kings and priests unto our God through the sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus is THE King, and we are kings who are meant to exercise rule and dominion in the Earth.
• Kingdoms have territories. The Earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof. It is a territory belonging to the Kingdom of Heaven, given first to Adam and then to Jesus. As kings, we are to rule this territory.
• There are citizens in a Kingdom. Philippians 3:20 says, “Our citizenship is in Heaven.” If you took 10,000 U.S. citizens and put them on a deserted island, it eventually would look like the country from which they came – same government, language, and culture. We are citizens of Heaven, living on Earth, and we are here to establish the government, language and culture of Heaven.
• Kingdoms have a constitution of basic laws. In a politically organized body, everything is done according to that constitution. Our constitution is the Bible; all of the basic laws of God are written there.
• Kingdoms have laws. All laws have benefits and penalties. God’s law in the Garden was simple: do not eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The benefit of obeying was eternal life and fellowship with God. The penalty of disobeying was physical and spiritual death. In the New Testament, we were given the law of love. If we do not obey that law, our faith will not work, because faith works by love.
• Kingdoms have government. Government is an organization or agency through which a unit exercises authority. Isaiah 9:6 says “the government shall be upon His [Jesus’] shoulders.” We are the Body of Christ; the Government of God rests upon us. We are the agency that exercises Kingdom authority.
• There are privileges and benefits to being in a kingdom. If a citizen of a kingdom gets attacked, it is like the kingdom itself has been attacked. If you seek first the Kingdom of God and the devil attacks you, it is as if he attacked the Kingdom of God. Heaven’s army will protect you because you are a citizen.
• A kingdom has a code of ethics or moral principles and practices. If we violate the principles and practices of God, we do not get His full blessing.
• Kingdoms have an army. The Bible says that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but with principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and wicked spirits. We are not the ones who physically deal with them but we do not have to do all the spiritual fighting either. We have an army of angels who respond to our words and fight for us.
• Kingdoms have a currency. In the world, we buy goods and services with money. In the Kingdom, we obtain things with our faith. Faith is the currency of the Kingdom. The amount of faith we have determines what we are able to believe God for.

Becoming a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven is simple: confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, and you shall be saved. Walking in a Kingdom mindset is a little more difficult. It’s time we embrace God’s structure of government so that we can truly see His Kingdom established here on Earth!

~Apostle David Coker

Apocalypse Redux

I know I’ve posted this article before, and it’s probably not kosher to re-blog things, but I still feel that I need to address some of the misconceptions that are being broadcast about God’s involvement in some of the natural disasters that have occurred over the last few years. So here it is… Apocalypse Redux.

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.  – Romans 8:19

Apocalypse.

What images come to your mind when you hear that word? Helicopters flying low over the jungle canopy or giant meteors crashing into the Earth? Images from Mel Gibson’s movie, Apocalypto? Or maybe your mind goes to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Or blood, fire, and smoke. Perhaps the Antichrist and all his armies gathered in the Valley of Megiddo?

Legend, lore, and religion have conditioned us to think, “death and destruction” when we hear the word, apocalypse. In the Greek, the word apokalupsis means: a disclosure of truth concerning divine things before unknown; used of events by which things or states or persons hitherto withdrawn from view are made visible to all; manifestation; appearance; revelation of future things relating to the consummation of the divine kingdom.

We have been duped by the enemy into thinking that apocalypse is something to fear: something to escape. But the Bible says that all of creation is groaning in expectation of the apocalypse – the manifestation of – the sons of God. Only true sons of God can establish the Kingdom. Only sons of God understand that authority has been given to them to bear fruit, multiply, increase, replenish the earth, and subdue it by taking dominion over it.

In truth, apocalypse brings Kingdom truth and restoration. Apocalypse brings life, light, abundance, and increase. The apocalypse of the sons of God is what all of creation has been waiting for; it’s what God has been waiting for. His desire to establish a Kingdom of sons has not waned since the Garden. That desire is waiting for the manifestation of – the revealing of, the apocalypse of – the sons of God who will cause it to come to pass.

It’s time we stopped letting people blame God for the natural disasters caused by the groaning of creation. We – The Church – have a part to play in how long these disasters will continue. It’s time for the sons of God to get the revelation of who we are and what God’s purpose for us is. It’s time for the Kingdom of God to be established in the earth. It’s time for apocalypse…NOW!

What’s Your Favorite Scripture?

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. ~ Hebrews 11:1/3

What is your favorite scripture? I have a lot of favorite scriptures, but my very favorite is Hebrews 11:1-3. You know, sometimes when you are in the middle of a battle and the devil is kicking you around, it’s hard to think of a single scripture for your situation. When I was being trained in the Army, they taught me to react instantly, because I would be in many life or death situations. I had to learn to do something NOW! In battle, you’re not thinking about 10 minutes ago or 10 minutes from now—you are operating in the NOW.

This scripture continues to remind me that that Christ is the only true hope I have. Through faith in Him, I understand that God framed the worlds with His words. If His words are life and He breathed life into me, then my words are life. This brings more light to Mark 11:23-24. Whatsoever I say (framing those worlds!), I shall have.

The validity of faith does not rest on the sincerity of the believer, but on the reliability of what is believed. Hebrews Chapter 11 records those who willingly took God at His word, even when there was nothing to cling to but His promises. They learned how to trust Him in those NOW moments they all faced. They learned that He was the substance of everything they hoped for.

We all have faith, but some of us walk in a greater measure. To get more, believe for more. Just the fact that you pray to and believe in a God you do not see is faith in itself! It’s like writing this article…it took a lot of faith!

Oh yeah…What’s your favorite scripture?

~Guest Contributor, James Parrish

Non Negotiables

All churches…and all people for that matter… should have some core values that are non negotiable. Storms may come and storms may go, but the rock on which your church stands will determine its ability to stand through trials and tribulations. At our church, we have 5 core values that define our culture, our mission, and our vision.  These core values are non-negotiables that we don’t debate and that we use as a guide for everything else.

1. The WORD – Everything must be built upon and supported by the Word of God.  We believe the Bible is a compass for daily living and that while individual actions may not always be clearly defined in the Word, there is and must always be a Biblical precedent for the actions we take and the decisions we make.
2. SPIRIT-LED – We should not be content to just be “effective.”  We aren’t looking to produce the perfect program or “great” classes.  Instead, it is our goal to build a church of individuals who are spirit-led.  We put a great emphasis on excellence, but following the promptings and urgings of the spirit of God within us is our first priority. We believe it is through our born-again spirit that God leads us, guides us in His paths and establishes Kingdom government in this world.
3. MORTIFICATION – We literally live and die on mortification.  This is the process of dying to your “mind of sin” and being born into your “mind of Christ.”  Through praying in tongues as much as possible, we edify our spirits and build them up.  Through fasting, we weaken the strongholds in our souls that empower wrong thinking.  Through individual worship, we empower our spirit to have dominance over the old thinking of our soul.  This is what we call the mortification process, which we believe is God’s primary process of spiritual development in New Testament believers.
4. FAITH – We believe that Faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God.  It is the primary language, social structure, and method of Kingdom business happening.  It is also the primary distinctive that separates Christianity from the rest of the world.  We believe that Faith in our sonship to God is the source of our eternal security, our present peace, and our future mission.
5. NEW TESTAMENT GOVERNMENT – We believe that the New Testament church had a specific government and authority.  Through Apostolic leadership, God is able to set a course that empowers all the gifts in the Body of Christ to be effectively equipped and matured.

Through these core values we execute the vision of God for our church.  While we frequently have changes in specific expressions of the vision, our heart is always to:

-       Teach people to walk by faith in the principles of God’s Word

-       Equip people to grow and mature to do the work of the ministry

-       Provide a place where supernatural manifestations of the spirit are prevalent to meet needs and set people free

-       Evangelize and transform our community and the surrounding area by providing salvation for spirit, soul, and body

-       Provide a model of ministry and church growth in order to develop and strengthen ministries and other churches

What are YOUR non negotiables?