Growing Up Into Him by Pastor Russ Fochler

We are loved and accepted by Abba God at whatever level of maturity we are.  He loves us simply because we are His children.   It’s good to rest in that truth and resist the temptation to despise any immaturity in our self – or in others.

And with that foundation, we are called to continue growing up into our Messiah Y’shua.   Because our designed destiny is to rule and reign with Him as His Bride.

Part of growing up involves feasting on the Word – the Living Word (Jesus!) and the Holy Bible – that reveals Him.   As Leif Hetland notes; as we soak in His words – we “get ahold of them” And then, by His powerful grace; His words “get ahold of us”!

It is important to understand that all of us bring our own “lenses” or filters to the written Word (and even the revelations He gives us).   This is part of why books like Brent Lokker’s “Daddy, You Love Me” are so important.   If we assume that Father God is hard to please and condemning – then we will “find” what we are expecting to see.  But if we see the big picture of the extravagant love of our Creator and Father – then the Bible becomes alive with this truth.

Since we all have our own "lenses", does that mean we can ignore everything in the Bible that doesn’t match our “view”?   That would not be wise.  We would then remain immature (like children) as Paul observes in the verses above from his letter to the Ephesians.   And I’ve seen how people latch onto “doctrines” that seem to justify self-centeredness, hardness of heart, or an “elite” attitude towards others.   But, “no worries”; our Papa is patient and grace-filled with us – and He continues helping us grow up to be like Jesus.   All inspired Scripture is valuable to us - even the parts that we don't yet know what to do with.

Living With The Tension Between Some Biblical Truths

Some of my favorite teachers – including Graham Cooke, Kris Vallotton, and Paul Manwaring observe that Biblical values, coffee mugs, and even our bodies  must be held in some tension for life to flow.  Part of spiritual maturity is being able to live life and make decisions while aware of the tension between some Biblical truths.

For example, the written Word tells us to love people, and to extend grace and forgiveness even as God loves us and forgives us.   And “shepherds” are also called to protect “sheep” from “wolves”.  These values must be held simultaneously by leaders –even though there is a tension between them.

When we love God and His Word; how do we understand and apply His truths-in-tension to the challenging situations in our life?   The key answer is our relationship with the Holy Spirit.   We need Him to lead us into all truth – indeed how Truth (the person of Jesus) desires to respond with us to each situation.   The Holy Spirit will illuminate the Scriptures and help us see His priorities for us.   Without leaning on the Holy Spirit, we can justify our actions with scripture passages, but miss our Father’s heart....

I encourage you to embrace the deeply engaging process of growing up in all things into Jesus - our Savior, King, and Bridegroom.

14 “…that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him, who is the head – Christ—“  The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesian church (chapter 4 NKJV)

Gratefully,

Russ Fochler

P.S. If you would like to study truth and the Bible in much more depth and breadth, I highly recommend Kris Vallotton’s notes on “The Truth About Truth”.  You can read and download them from:

http://www.kvministries.com/sites/default/files/downloads/documents/the_truth_about_truth.pdf

There's Something Bigger Going On! by Pastor Lonnie Ellis

A huge shift is happening in the Spirit!  God continues to take us all from Glory to Glory (2 Cor 3:18) and He is preparing believers more than ever to usher in a massive harvest of souls--sons and daughters who wlll soon discover their true Father and who will meet their Savior, Jesus, who paid the ultimate price on the cross for their complete freedom.  It's time to bring them the love and power of God and they're going to need a spiritual home with dads, moms, brothers and sisters who will help to heal them, encourage them and send them out again, equipped to bring in more sons and daughters.

Are we ready??

Last Saturday night, Pastor Brent, Pastor Lonnie and Pastor Angela opened up their hearts to share what God has been saying to them about preparing for this shift (listen to that message here: http://blazingfire.podbean.com/2013/01/16/brent-lokker-theres-something-bigger-going-on-01-12-13/)

We heard God, in a sense, daring us to give away the gold nuggets we carry of our life-transforming Kingdom Core Values to the Bay Area and to the world and trust Him to provide for our needs as certain people help to pay it forward to other students in the future who will need the same instruction.  We have a harvest to reach and it's time!

"Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." (Jesus in John 4:35)

In the 5 days since sharing this new direction from the Lord, 35 students have already enrolled in our on-campus school and over 20 have enrolled in our online school. We anticipate many more people enrolling in KTSOS in the next two weeks. Class size for our on-campus school is limited, so we will cut off the enrollment when we reach that limit.

To take away every excuse you may have, we are providing a two-week window for both the on campus and online schools for you to try it out.  If at the end of that time, this school is not for you, you can walk away from it with no hard feelings on our end.  If at the end of that two weeks, however, you know that God is saying "yes" for you to complete the 5 month school, we will ask you to formally agree to attending class, doing the homework and submitting to our leadership while you are in class.  The only thing you will need to purchase for yourself are the 3 or 4 required books (approximately $50 that are in hard copy or e-book form on Amazon). 
You may already own the books:

Daddy, You Love Me by Brent Lokker
Supernatural Ways of Royalty by Kris Vallotton
Culture of Honor by Danny Silk
and possibly one more book still to be determined

So what is your response?

If you already know in your spirit that this is where God wants you to be (on campus or online for the next five months), sign up right here, right now:  http://www.ktsos.org/application-online/
 

On-Campus School Starts: Feb 5, 2013 and runs Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays from 9:30 am-2:30 pm until June 27th.

Registration forms due by: Feb 3, 2013

On-Line School Starts: Feb 19, 2013 (approximately 8 hours of worship & instruction/week to view at the times that are best for you during the week)
Registration forms due by: Feb 11, 2013

Location:

Parkway Fellowship International Prayer Center in Dublin, California - just minutes by car from The Bart Station.

To register or for more information go to: www.ktsos.org

Pay It Forward-NO Registration or Tuition Fee:

That means you pay whatever the Holy Spirit tells you to pay before, during or after the school term. We believe in sowing into the Kingdom of God. As we sow into you, we believe the Lord will multiply what has been sown--not just for you but for the generations to come. We further believe that the Holy Spirit will move and nudge you to sow back into the wells that fill you. In other words, if you are led by Holy Spirit to make a love donation back to our school, future generations after you will receive the gift of the school you were able to experience. We would appreciate any amount, however often you choose to sow back into the school financially, to offset the very real overhead costs of our school. With that said, it is still a gift! Sowing financially is not a requirement or expectation. We will love on you and bring you the spiritual gold nuggets from heaven no matter what! No pressure, no gimmicks.

The Vision & Purpose:

The vision of Blazing Fire’s Kingdom Training School of Supernatural is to build up and equip sons and daughters to release the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth in signs, wonders and miracles as they walk out their destiny in love! Kingdom Training is designed specifically for on-fire followers of Jesus who want to have a life that matters as warriors of the King, being used by Him to transform the world one heart at a time! We will equip and train you to see the Kingdom of God come here on earth just as it is in heaven! Kingdom Training is under the authority of Blazing Fire Church, whose vision is: to be passionate lovers of God who are joyfully experiencing His goodness, Fueling grace-based regional transformation as a Kingdom equipping resource center, and sending people to change the world! Blazing Fire Church is under the authority of Bethel Church in Redding, CA, whose mission is: “Revival—The personal, regional and global expansion of God’s Kingdom through His manifest presence.