Overcoming Discouragement by Pastor Brent Lokker

I left our Blazing Fire Family Connection gathering last Saturday feeling so filled with love and appreciation for the heart and soul this family carries together.  Then the icing on the cake was the love and power that poured out at Dr. Susan Richard’s “Fullness of Joy” conference last Saturday evening. Many miracles took place.  I prayed for a young woman who suffered from plantar fasciitus (extreme pain in the souls of the feet) that also eventually led to extreme pain in her knees. After praying for a minute or so, there was definite relief, and after praying a second time, all the pain was completely gone!  I have another amazing story that I’ll share this Saturday during our service   Dr. Susan is a rare individual who carries tremendous authority in the Spirit realm and regularly sees powerful miracles but who, at the same time, walks in an ultra-soothing gentleness and humility.  She drips of the love and grace of Jesus!   Dr. Susan will be with us at Blazing Fire Church next Saturday, August 6th, during our regular worship time, 6-8:30 pm.  God continues to bless us beyond measure with people who want to come and pour out the riches Papa has placed within them.    Overcoming Discouragement   Now for something real: The very next day, Sunday, I battled a big-time attack of discouragement.  I can tell you the moment it sprung upon me and instantly I was questioning what I was building and what it was all for.  To appreciate this story, you have to understand that I have been given a strong gift of faith and Kingdom optimism that comes in extremely handy in leading others into Kingdom realities.   I decided to go to the keyboard and worship, but to be quite honest, I was in a sulky mood (also not my true nature) and I just didn’t want to.  So after a minute or two of that futility, I decided to go to my home office to have a good cry with the Lord.  I often find great freedom in sincerely crying my heart out to the Lord (with actual tears) in the times I’m needing to do that.  Well…I tried to cry…and I couldn’t!  Really, I just couldn’t cry.  So then, I decided to tell the Lord why everything was so bad and suddenly I realized…I couldn’t come up with anything.  I tried several times to try and pout about what was so wrong only to discover that I couldn’t do it!   I’m not sure if you’re getting this yet, but the Lord made it so crystal clear to me: “Son, this isn’t you.  This was a spirit of discouragement that pounced on you because, at a certain point, you decided it was easier to give in than to fight it with the truth.  The false feelings it projected were sadness and despair, but it wasn’t real.  There’s no substance to it.  It’s a shadow trying to masquerade as something.  You couldn’t come up with a true reason to cry because it wasn’t there.”   Let me say at this point I understand there are some good reasons to cry and sometimes it’s the healthiest thing we can do.  But this was an outright devious, shadowy attack that had no substance to it.   Once I had this understanding from Papa, I went to the keyboard and worshipped my heart out.  Just as suddenly as the cloud of discouragement descended, it disappeared!   The enemy doesn’t fight fair, but you have a Father who protects you, a Savior who fights for you, and a Holy Spirit who instructs you and gives you discernment.  In the end, you are on the winning side every time!  Do you hear me?!  It’s true!!   I pray for you a keen discerning from the Spirit of God to know when something doesn’t “feel” right, doesn’t line up with what is true in your spirit.  And I pray for encouragement and worship and love and joy to flood your spirit and your soul.  You are alive for such a time as this!  The enemy can do what he wants to try to distract you, but God will win every time and your light is going to shine brighter and brighter!   Much Love, Pastor Brent

Think Big! We Have A Big God by Blazing Fire contributor Julie Carboni

God gives us permission to think really big...outrageously big.  Not because of anything we do or even deserve, but because as children of Abraham we receive that same blessing that has been passed down from generation to generation culminating in the fulfillment of Jesus Christ being given to us as our Lord and Savior, the free gift of His life for ours. United with Christ The law would say we need to follow the rules precisely, in order to expect anything good to happen in our lives.  But thankfully, our Jesus has set us free from religious duty forever!  As Paul says in Galatians: Because we are united with the Anointed One, all the promises of the kingdom are deeded to us, not because we keep the law or fulfill religious duties...And since you’ve been united to Jesus the Messiah, you are now Abraham’s “Child” and inherit all the promises of the kingdom realm!  Gal 3:18, 29 (Passion Translation) We are Blessed beyond Measure Think for a moment....  All the promises of the kingdom...  wow.  That is the inheritance initiated in Abraham’s life but culminating in God’s own Son coming to earth so that we become Joint Heirs with Christ and all the blessings His Father has given Him.  God wants us to dream from the perspective of knowing we are His, and He truly desires to give us good things. Childlike Faith Creates Miracles God wants us to have childlike faith, like many of us had when newly converted. Children think with no limits; they have not yet learned what they “should” or “shouldn’t” believe. They allow themselves to imagine impossible things.  God would like us to do that as well.   Once while Tim and I were still dating as new converts, we prayed for a lady with a brain tumor the size of an orange. We had that childlike faith to believe that of course she could be healed!  We prayed and the next morning, the woman had surgery and the tumor was gone and there were only dead cells left. Why not pray and believe for Big things; our God can do anything. Let’s believe, as John encourages us: “I tell you this timeless truth: the person who follows me in faith, believing in me, will do the same mighty miracles that I do --even greater miracles that these because I go to be with my Father! For I will do whatever you ask me to do when you ask me in my name. And this is how the Son will show what the Father is really like and bring glory to him.  Ask me anything in my name and I will do it for you!”  John 14:12-14 (Passion Translation) Help us, Jesus, grab hold of how real this promise really is in our lives, that You so value us and have invited us into the same relationship you have with Your Father.  Truly we are blessed beyond measure! May God richly bless you with his Infinite Love,                                                                        Julie Carboni (with Susan Fochler)

Healing for our Nation by Pastor Karena Lout

My heart has been heavy by recent tragic events in our country. Sometimes words don’t suffice when people are suffering and in pain. We can add insult to injury in our attempt to comfort and understand. Our reaction can sometimes be to minimize what others are going through because we ourselves haven’t had the same experience or because we want to fix something that can’t be fixed overnight. But most of the time, the best response is to simply listen and empathize. Listen to someone’s story. Listen to understand. Weep with those who weep and of course, pray. Love closes the distance.   “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.”   1 Corin. 12:26    Bill Johnson shared a very powerful message from 2 Chronicles 7:14, addressing the recent shootings, as well as the political state of our nation. God wants to transform our land from the inside out, healing deep fractures and systemic issues. We are called to partner with a spirit of humility to listen, pray, and move forward in faith until we see God’s Kingdom bring light to America.   Be encouraged that the love and light you each carry is making a difference more than you know and that Jesus is faithful to bring healing to our land.   Here is the link to Bill’s message: http://podcasts.ibethel.org/en/    Love, Karena

From Shame to Freedom by Pastor Brent Lokker

Last Saturday we took a journey with a thirsty Jesus who met a Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well.  She had some serious pain from her past that was causing her to make poor decisions in life, leading to deep shame (John 4).  We tend to think sin is the big problem, but Jesus knows shame is the real killer. Shame is used by the enemy to give us a false impression of ourselves, thus leading to further destructive life-choices. The cycle of shame is relentless and lethal and not from God.    Which one of us can’t identify with this woman in one way or another?   Jesus offers her and us His living water instead of our old, tired ways of putting up a good front in our misery (the symbolism behind Jacob’s Well). Then, Jesus does something that’s almost disturbing, unless we really know the integrity of His heart that’s always motivated by love.  He intentionally pushes on a sore spot in this woman’s life by making mention of the very thing she’s ashamed of—she’s had 5 husbands already and she’s not married to the man she’s currently with.  Why would he do this?  Simple.  Out of his great love and compassion for this woman, He was allowing her to get in touch with her pain because he was about to take it’s sharp teeth away, forever changing her life. Rather than judging her, He was going to love her into freedom.   Almost certainly this woman’s choice to move from relationship to relationship with various men was rooted in deep father wounds. So when she asked Jesus, “Where is the right place to worship God, on this mountain or that one?”  His response was to introduce her to a heavenly Father who loves her with all His heart—a father who wants to be with her so much that He would meet with her inside of her own heart!   You have to catch this: Jesus wasn't dealing with her sin. Instead, He was healing her to the very core of her being.  She was receiving tender truth to realign her identity and worth to God’s unchanging opinion.  Jesus was saying to her, “The world says you’re worthless because you’ve made a mess of your life. But I say you’re worth everything to your father and He’s spared no expense to free you and claim you as His treasured one.”   One encounter with the living, loving Jesus rocked this woman’s world and changed her forever!  She had tasted of His goodness and mercy and she would never be the same. She ran back to her city—to the same ones who had despised her—and had this message to share:   “I met a man who knows everything about me and he loves me!”    Then the most amazing thing happened.  The townspeople listened to her!  They came streaming out to meet Jesus!  Can you imagine the depth of healing that took place in that encounter with Jesus that would cause such a dramatic transformation? Whatever it was, the people saw it and raced out to meet Jesus.   This Saturday during our Blazing Fire worship service, we're going to pick up the story where we left off and see how one changed life can be the catalyst for the transformation of an entire region!   As you make the choice to love people around you at home, in the marketplace, in the workplace or wherever you go, never underestimate the significance of one transformed life and the ripple effect it will have! This is why the Lord urges you not to judge people, but to love them and see the treasures within. This is what will set the captives free!   Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.  - Ephesians 5:1-2 (MSG) -