Thursday, February 23, 2017

He Chose You by Lonnie Ellis

We are part of Gods master plan that He put in place to show a lost people that they are not lost after all but they are His.
 
He loves His children so much that He sent His Son Jesus to pay the price for ALL sin so that they can be in right relationship with Him and into eternity.
 
Now He has chosen and sent you to spread this good news to them about a good, good Father and let them know that He is for them and wants them to share in His heart, His love, His light and His wonderful truth.
 
He gave you the title of Ambassador with His stamp of approval and His authority – (a diplomatic official of the highest rank, sent by one sovereign or state to another as its resident representative).
 
2 Corinthians 5:20 (AMP)
So, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us; we [as Christ’s representatives] plead with you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God.
 
Jesus not only passed you His torch but He placed His torch inside of you so you can touch the life of another.
 
You are His Ambassador and He only sends His best – YOU!
 
Blessings,
                Lonnie Ellis

Friday, February 17, 2017

A Kairos Season by Pastor Brent Lokker

We're In a God-Orchestrated Time!
I woke up this morning and felt my heart strongly pulled towards Papa as I cried my way through Psalm 37 (a really good cry). I want to share these three verses from the Passion Translation to encourage you today:
 
4 Make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life, and he will provide for you what you desire the most.
5 Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust him along the way, you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly!
6 He will appear as your Righteousness, as sure as the dawning of a new day. He will manifest as your Justice, as sure and strong as the noonday sun.
(Psalm 37:4-6, TPT)

 
We’re in a kairos (God-orchestrated ideal opportunity) time. It’s something Kris Vallotton preached last Sunday at Bethel Church in Redding which confirmed what my heart already sensed undeniably in this past month or more.
 
To fully glean from this Kairos season, it’s imperative that we recognize and embrace the vastness of God’s heart that’s being extended to us.  Let’s face it, for most of us the waiting time and transition time we’ve been in for the past few years (especially 2016) has been tough. As my wife Suzanne tells me (I couldn’t know), the transition time just before birth is the toughest time of the entire birthing process of a baby entering into this world.
 
We’re now in a time, orchestrated by God for hugely significant purposes, when the baby is arriving! And in the passage above, the Hebrew verb for Righteousness in Ps. 37:6 is also the same word used for giving birth!
 
What does this all mean for you?  
You’ve been trusting Papa and waiting on some important promises in your life. As you continue seeking and enjoying Him as the ultimate pleasure in your life and invite Him to guide you in all you do by listening to His tender voice, He’ll not only provide for everything He’s asked you to do, but He’ll pull it off perfectly—brilliantly because our Dad’s AMAZING!

AND, He'll give birth to His promises through you and make the wrong things right, bringing those things that are out of order into His divine and perfect order.
 
Keeping His promise to bless you will always be God’s heart for you, but as Kris Vallotton prophesied last weekend, we’re in a kairos season when Papa will do this suddenly (acceleration), against all odds (unusual occurrence) and in a way that makes no earthly sense (supernatural intervention).
 
It's Time! 
My spirit knows we’re in an extra-special time, but please don’t take my word for it. This is something your own spirit must discover and embrace so you can partner with God as His son or daughter and also as a king or queen in His royal family who knows how to carry out His heart on this earth. It’s imperative that you inquire with the Lord what this means for the promises you’ve been waiting for in your life as well as for the transformation you’ve been longing to see in society.
  • It’s time to reengage with the promises of God in your heart!
  • It’s time to let hope arise in full force!
  • It’s time to know your authority as a king or queen and call down heaven’s realities!
To remind yourself of Papa's unchanging heart towards you, the One who keeps His promises, it might do you a world of good to sing One Thing Remains out loud and strong:

Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant through the trial and the change
One thing remains, yes one thing remains.

Your love never fails, it never gives up
It never runs out on me (3x)

On and on and on and on it goes
It overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never, ever, have to be afraid
One thing remains, yes one thing remains.

In death, In life, I'm confident and
Covered by the power of Your great love
My debt is paid, there's nothing that can
Separate my heart from Your great love... 


With Much Love & Anticipation in my Heart,
 
Pastor Brent

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Jesus Closed the Distance by Pastor Karena Lout

I AM MY BELOVED'S AND HIS DESIRE IF FOR ME
SONG OF SOLOMON 7:10
There’s a chorus Misty Edwards sings that grips my heart every time I hear it, “I don’t want to talk about you like you’re not in the room. I want to look right at you. I want to sing right to you.” Sometimes difficulties, pain, disappointment or even busyness can cause our hearts to become hardened. It can feel that a chasm has separated our hearts from Jesus who gave His life to close that distance. Recently Jesus met me up close and personal and reminded me how accessible He is. That chorus Misty sings is more than a nice song to sing. It’s meant to be our every day reality.

There’s Something Bigger Going On
Many of us sense that there’s a deep hunger for the real Jesus and can see that many of His kids are looking to find their way home. We’re already seeing it happen. I have to admit that I became jaded when hearing that revival is coming. I’d often ask God, “What does that even mean?” I encourage you to put on new lenses to see it in a new way. When it comes down to it, revival looks like softened hearts that are surrendered to Jesus. It starts with us. We can only give what we have ourselves. As we look ahead to what God is going to pour out in the earth, there is also a “returning” to what He’s already done. If our hearts aren’t moved, if we’re simply going through the motions of life, if we only want to reach others because it’s the “right thing to do”, we’ve missed the whole point. Let His passion for you and for His kids be your motivator. Jesus wants your heart fully alive.

His Steady Gaze Gives Us Courage
As we look into the eyes of Jesus, the noisy traffic in our head gets silent, our hearts become more tenderized and He gives us courage to begin to leave behind the former things that have prevented us from fully receiving from Him. I know many people who have felt stuck in old patterns, past pain and disappointment. These things breed familiarity and can leave you feeling stuck in stagnant waters. But Jesus is giving us a new normal. It’s a beautiful flowing river that is available for you. “Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her Beloved.” SOS 8:5. You’re going to come through the wilderness into your Promised Land; not in your own strength but as you lean on all Jesus IS and has done for you. It’s time!

My Prayer For You
I encourage you to return to the place that you first met Jesus and felt His love for you and as you do, He will restore the joy of your salvation.  I pray that you would experience how disarming Jesus is and that He’ll give you courage to lay your weapons down, the ways you want to protect yourself. I pray that you would see the justice of Jesus in your life, which is His power to remove everything that would hinder or violate love. Lastly, I pray for great courage to look into the eyes of the ONE who never looks away, to be your true self in the world and to freely give what you’ve been given.

Friday, February 3, 2017

Time To Catch The Wave by Prophetic Overseer Bill Hernandez

- by Prophetic Overseer Bill Hernandez -
 
I sense that the Lord has been approaching us in a whole new way for this particular season in our lives. He's always close, however, in His closeness now I can feel a kind of urgency and inspiration to be proactive and to make an effort to push forward and engage in the activities of the Kingdom. We all have our part to play in our personal lives through our callings, strengths and gifts.
 
Now is the time to re-engage ourselves in our dreams and the things that gave us life. It's also time to take up new ways of serving the body. Now is the time to be fruitful to shake off our season of fallowness. Now is the time to position ourselves to catch the wave that is upon us. It's time for the sleeper to wake up. It's time to pay attention and take note of the Father's nudge to move forward. It's time to ask the Lord to wake you up.
 
There is resistance and some of us have become jaded, but this jadedness must be conquered and put aside because this is the hour of His closeness in a whole new way. We are near the mountain summit of a long climb. This is not the time to throw it all away, to give up, to become complacent or passive.
 
Paraphrasing a book by Hannah Hurnard titled Hinds Feet in High Places there was a child named Much Afraid who was escaping the Valley of Humiliation. She had difficulty walking and her quest was to climb a mountain to the Chief Shepherd's Kingdom of Love and every time she reached a milestone or victory she gathered a stone as a memorial. Having nearly given up getting closer and closer to the top she almost threw away the stones in discouragement. After having struggled to the summit, the stones eventually became glittering gemstones in her crown of victory.
 
We have all been in our various processes or personal quests. We have all served to one degree or another and we have learned a lot and have experienced paradigm shifts in how we view God, the church and our relationships. All that learning has been part of a journey that has taken us to this season, this cusp or turn in what the Father is about to do. This is not the time to give up and throw away the stones and small victories we have accumulated. Part of the process of our destinies is to have times of rest, quiet and a sense of fallowness. Sometimes we can mistake this process for a dead end in our lives. It's time to shake off this perception as the Lord shouts out a clarion call to rouse ourselves from our season of having laid it down for awhile. I can hear Him saying, "TO ARMS", "ATTENTION"!
 
I really feel that it is no longer acceptable to make up excuses for walking away from being available to God's call upon our lives to fulfill the Great Commission in all the ways authored for our particular destiny walk. This is the season to get up and to not ignore Him. I can almost hear the shofars blowing over the land. He's calling us to step forward and to step up to the plate and poise ourselves in readiness to catch the wave that is building on the near horizon. The swell is building.
 
How to catch the wave: Ask Him to wake you up and to help you see what He's doing. Revisit former commitments you made to Him. Review prophetic words spoken over you and reaffirm them. Give any resistance or negativity to Him. Let go of any person that you felt may have hindered or hurt you and move on into your personal glorious calling authored by your Father in heaven. Be honest with your complaints and misgivings with Him. He wants to hear it all, like a best friend except He is the ultimate perfect besty. The worst complaints don't phase Him. Ask what you can do for the body and start doing it, even in small ways or at least intercession. Every bit counts and every part we play adds to the momentum in our lives to move into greater exploits for the Lord. We also have greater discoveries of who we are in His loving eyes. It's not going to happen being in neutral any more. It's time to march.
 
Doug Addison published a word in December 2016. One thing that really popped out was this quote from the Lord, "I am with you, so do not give up..." Here is the link to the rest of the word. It echoes what I am sensing for us. http://dougaddison.com/2016/12/christmas-prophetic-word-for-you-i-am-positioning-you/
 
When the Lord gets closer our hearts get stirred up and when they are, we automatically want to give away the blessings bestowed upon us. Get ready to receive and be re-energized for the Great Commission activities. We are headed into eye popping times.
 
"Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power..." Ps 110:3
 
In Him,
Bill Hernandez