Drink In the Fall Feasts! - October 2, 2009

Hello Amazing Friends!

First of all, a reminder that Paul Manwaring of the Bethel pastoral staff in Redding, will be with us this Saturday evening at Blazing Fire Church!! Paul is an amazing man of God with brilliant insight for the emerging new wineskins that the Lord is revealing to His Church. If you cannot come, it will be available to listen to for free on podcast sometime next week (www.blazingfire.org).

Now, I want to share with you a quick overview of the three Jewish Fall Festivals, along with some of the significance for us who live in the glorious New Covenant of Grace!

There is a reason God has put certain traditions in place for His children—it’s because we tend to forget. We are in the midst of three very important feasts that God instituted for the Israelites centuries ago that are wonderful reminders for us today.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which this year began at sundown on Sept. 18^th, the beginning of “10 days of Awe” which is a time for repentance. Repentance is not saying to God, ‘I am a worm,’ but it is coming into complete agreement with who you are as a Son or Daughter of God who has been paid for by the blood of Jesus. It is a time to turn our backs on the lies that keep us in chains and remember our freedom in Christ to bring his light and life to a world who desperately needs to know the Good News!

That 10 days ends with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This year, that happened at sundown on September 26th. It was on this one day of the year that the high priest would enter the Holy of holies to present a blood sacrifice to alleviate people of the guilt they had from their sin. This is the reminder that Jesus has absolutely done everything to make us right with God. Hebrews 10:11-14 reminds us that, “Every priest stands at his duties every day, offering over and over again the same sacrifices which are quite incapable of taking away sins. Jesus, on the other hand, has offered one single sacrifice for sins, and then taken his seat forever, at the right hand of God, where he is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. By virtue of that one single offering, he has achieved the eternal perfection of all who are sanctified!” That would be you and me! Everyone who has said yes to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus is perfectly cleansed from all unrighteousness!! There is not one thing that we can do to add to his finished work on the cross. We are not at odds with God in any way!! Waaaa Hoooooo!

And now, the third Fall Feast is approaching—Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles—which this year falls on Oct. 3rd, this Saturday. It is a joyful celebration of the harvest--the perfect provision of God--and it is a reminder that Jesus is God's perfect provision as Savior of all nations! It was on this festival that Jesus cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:37 & 38)

This is a reminder to you to drink and drink and drink of the goodness of God! And after you have done that…drink some more!!

Wedding Bells Are Ringing! - September 18, 2009

Tomorrow, Saturday, September 19th, Lonnie Ellis, an Elder of Blazing Fire, and Angela Elias are getting married during our worship service! The service begins at 6:00 pm. We have enjoyed a wedding during our worship service one other time before and it was positively "off-the-hook!" We are anticipating an extra large crowd, so I encourage you to come a bit early to get a seat. We will begin with the same passionate worship time that you are used to experiencing at Blazing Fire and at the conclusion of that time, Angela will come down the aisle to meet her waiting groom!

There is, of course, another Groom who is waiting as well! He has his gaze fixed attentively on his bride--a gaze marked by expressive pleasure, delightful joy, and steadfast love! This was the Groom who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, thinking nothing of the shame (Heb. 12:2). You were absolutely the joy that was set before Jesus! He had to have you as his very own for all of eternity and he willingly chose to lay down his life to set you free to become his perfect match that you were meant to be. He not only sacrificed himself to be sure that sin could not take you down, but he also continuosly sings his truth over you to be sure that your beauty increases from glory to glory!

The Message Bible translates part of Ephesians 5 like this: "Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness!" That's you and me, beloved! This is what Jesus does for us without fail because He WILL have a radiant, beautiful bride at his side, and His strong love will faithfully and perfectly bring us down the isle where he will capture his prize to be his forever!

Here is a foretaste of what is coming: "Then I heard the sound of massed choirs, the sound of a mighty ctaract, the sound of strong thunder: 'Hallelujah! The Master reigns, our God, the Sovereign-Strong! Let us celebrate, let us rejoice, let us give him the glory! The Marriage of the Lamb has come, his Wife has made herself ready. She was given a bridal gown of bright and shining linen. The linen is the righteousness of the saints.'"

Can you hear the wedding bells ringing? They are louder than they have ever been and you are looking more beautiful to Jesus than ever before! Keep your eye on the Prize just as he is doing with you!

Waaaa Hoooo! - September 10, 2009

"Waaaaa Hoooooo!" That's what the Lord says when he looks at you!! He also says, "Wow! Look what I did when I made you! I really outdid myself!! Wow! Wow! WOW!!!" And He's not just saying it--He's feeling it and His whole being is deeply moved by you.

Now, if you think I am stretching the truth a bit, take another look at the Scripture that reads, "Yahweh, your God is there with you, the warrior-Savior. He rejoices over you with happy song, he renews you by his love, he dances with shouts of joy for you, as on a day of festival!" (Zeph. 3:17)

He's not putting up with you, he's CELEBRATING you!! His heart is longing and aching for us to see what he sees so that we can truly walk in the greatness of who we are! In fact, all of God's creation, in harmony with Him, is longing for the very same thing (Romans 8:19).

So, once again, it's time to agree with God's assessment of the truth about yourself. Anything else is believing in an inferior reality. Your Father says about you: "Child, You are Amazing! Inspiring! A delight! A joy to look at and be with! You cause my heart to dance, to sing, to leap with gladness because you are exquisitely made! I formed you with pleasure and fashinoned you with pride! You are my finest creation--one that I choose to intertwine myself with for all of eternity! Yes, YOU! You are the one who makes my heart beat faster each time you glance at me! You are the one who turns me inside out when you choose to worship and love me! YOU! You are the one I love and adore and cherish and treasure...it's YOU!"

Time is much too precious and our place in Kingdom history is much too far along for us to be waylaid by incorrect thinking anymore. Rise up, Saints! Take your rightful place as the Beloved Sons and Daughters of the Most High God! Know that you are loved! Agree with it...Savor it...Revel in it...Operate from it...And share it with as many others as you possibly can! Tell me one person on this planet who in the depth of their being does not want to heart that there is an eternal Father who says about them..."Waaaaaa Hoooooo!"

A New, Supernatural Creation! - Sept 4, 2009

Hi Friends!

Just a short message this week to remind you that there is an important Kingdom Training School of Supernatural Ministry Informational Meeting tomorrow, Saturday, September 5th, at 4 pm for those who are considering attending the school but need more information. The meeting will take place at our usual place of worship, Harvest Valley Christian Church, 3200 Hopyard Road, Pleasanton, CA.

Also, a few of you were asking me to post the declaration we made together a few weeks ago when I preached about "A Supernatural God and His Supernatural People." Here is the declaration. I encourage you to say it out loud like you mean it! Agreeing with God's truth changes us!

"I am a New Creation! My old natural self is gone and I live in the power of God's Spirit as a supernatural being! I have been born from above and Christ has made his permanent home inside of me! God has empowered me with his authority to usher in His Kingdom of light and to make a real difference in this world! With God's permission, I am a broker of the spiritual realm wherever I go, releasing the light, life, hope, love and power of Jesus!"

YES!!!!

A Big Dose of Joy! - August 28, 2009

Hello Friends!

Having just talked last Saturday about how God moves supernaturally, I thought that this article from Beni Johnson (of Bethel Church in Redding) would be a perfect word for many of you. Although this is a word for 2009 and we are 2/3 through the year, this word is just for YOU right NOW!

"We have eight grandchildren. I really love learning from them. One of our granddaughters, Selah, is a mystic. What I mean by that is that she sees into the spirit realm and she lives there; that is her life. We have some amazing stories from her. I would like to share with you what Selah saw about 2009.

Selah loves to dance, and when she dances, she brings heaven to earth. She uses dance as a way of intercession and warfare sometimes. She was dancing in one of our Friday night services and it was a mix between ballet, hip hop and gymnastics. When she was dancing, she was having a vision at the same time. All of a sudden, she began laughing hysterically out of control and rolling around on the floor. Her mom had to take her out of the service when worship ended because she was the only one laughing.

After she calmed down, her mom asked her what had happened. Selah said, "I was dancing, and I saw these gifts beginning to fall all over the building. God told me what was inside two of the gifts. One was the gift of peace and the other was the gift of not being afraid. Then, there was one gift that was wrapped in brown with a red ribbon and it had a big S on it. I knew that was special for me and I opened my box and it was the gift of laughter! " Selah then rolled over and drew a picture of the two gifts and a person lying down and holding a sign up that said, "Laughing 2009."

After this happened, my son called me and told me her vision. I absolutely loved it. I don't know about you, but I will take that! I will take those three things for 2009: peace, fearlessness and laughter! Let's dive into the heart of the Father for this year. Laughter for 2009

Love,
Beni
www.benij.org"

You have every reason to be filled with hope and joy--you have a Daddy in heaven who totally adores you and is always 100% for you!

A Good, Generous Benefactor - August 21, 2009

Hi Friends!

Unless you have had a truly good, generous & benevolent parent or guardian in your life to know what that's like, it can be difficult to believe that our Heavenly Father is exactly that--Good AND Generous AND Benevolent!

2 Corinthians 9:8, 10 describes Him like this:
"God has the power to cause all kinds of gifts to overflow to you, so that you will be wealthy in all things at all times, and will have much left over for every good work. God who fully supplies every single expense, plus more, to pay for the seed for the sower, and to pay for all the expenses for bread to the eater, will supply all the expenses to pay for, as well as multiply, the seed you sow, and make the crops of your righteousness grow!" (from The Source N.T.)

The verb for "fully supplies every single expense, plus more" (epi-khoregeo) refers to the paying of all expenses, every single one of them, even additional, unplanned expenses. In other words, no stone is left unturned! The word used is the same one used for 5th century Greek drama where a private citizen, known as a khoregos, would vie for the great honor of paying for the entire drama--elaborate stage sets and costumes, training--whatever was needed. The expenses were considerable, but it was considered a huge privilege to pay the costs to make it all happen. At the end of the drama, the khoregos would be brought forward to the thunderous applause of the crowd.

Our Father is the One who knows every word of every scene of every act in the drama called "our lives." He considers it his great honor and huge privilege to pay for what is needed on your behalf! And not just what you need to get by, but to include the added touches--the extra kisses from heaven--to show you his good, generous and benevolent heart! A Day is coming soon when we will all be with God and see how all of our lives were perfectly woven together in this "Story of Christ through the ages", in which we all were given a significant part to play--and we will rise as one in a THUNDEROUS OVATION in gratefulness to the One who supplied everything we needed to do our part and to get us home safely!!!

Yeah...He's THAT good!

Planetary Revival! - August 7, 2009

Hello Amazing Friends!

The last several weeks at Blazing Fire's worship gathering, we have been receiving astounding kisses from heaven! Something very special is going on! Something special has been going on for many years, but this is greater and sweeter still. Holy Spirit has been drawing us so much deeper into the Father's heart in worship--two weeks ago we were taken into an extended time of spontaneous heavenly singing in the Spirit and last Saturday into an erupting crescendo of wild full-throated adulation. We are getting tastes of the Heavenly Throne Room where praise and worship abound unceasingly for our great and mighty God!! This past Saturday, we were at the bubbling-over point from worship all the way through to the fire tunnel at the end, led by our Wildfire youth and by the angels that sent us over the edge!

In the midst of difficult circumstances, God is pouring out the supernatural because WE NEED IT more than ever! It is his way of preparing His bride to go through anything and everything victoriously in Christ! Here is an amazing prophetic word given just after worship Saturday night by Blazing Fire's own Lani Langlais (RiverGlory@sbcglobal.net):

"Plenary (full; complete; entire; absolute; unqualified) and planetary revival—everywhere! You are revival--Each one of you! Where you go, you leave a trail of my fire. Where you go, I go. Where you walk, I walk. Nothing can stand before you. My word is in your heart. My word is in your mind. My word is in your mouth. My word is fire! My word is FIRE! My fire covers the earth. The fire of my glory covers the earth, covers you. There is no part of you that is not burning with my love, with my grace, with the attractive reality of who I am…of who I am…of who I AM. You will be surprised by the revelation of my glory where you do not expect it. You will be surprised, for my voice is given to you to hear under all circumstances and in the strangest places and from the most unusual sources. Speak my word. Speak my pure word. Speak my love at all times. Let all your communication be 'whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are right, whatsoever things are pure and holy and wonderful and Good News and great and awesome', because this is who I am in you!

The Lord has so much more to say to each and every one of us, but I am overwhelmed with his goodness—totally undone! Undone! Undone! Take this--this is yours! I can’t carry it—this is yours! This is yours! All the anointing. All that you want is in Christ! Take it all! Take it all! He gives it all to you—everything. You come behind in nothing—you do have it all. You do have all things necessary for life and godliness. You possess everything. You are the inheritors of the ages. You are heirs and heiresses of my love and nothing can stand before you. Nothing!

Each and every one of you is released to bring revival. Each and every one of you is a revivalist. God has prophesied your life—read all about it. You will go and do new things. New things! You are a new song!

Revival is breaking out all over the place. You are an epicenter of revival and you are in one right here and now!"

After this prophetic declaration, Leona Mendiola (worshipwaryor@yahoo.com) got up to say this about our upcoming Children's Conference, "Back to the Future: A Divine Invitation:"

"When you were talking about revival, I saw that it's pouring over the children. We are having a conference for the children and I am being reminded that the Spirit is being poured out on ALL flesh. I see the children being called and drawn by the Spirit of God to the waters, to God. This conference has the supernatural, heavenly divine anointing on it. God is forming this conference--It hasn't been put together by man. It has been inspired by this divine inspiration that has been hidden in the DNA that God used to birth it. When the children come, they are going to be imparted with this heavenly impartation of spiritual wonders and signs and dreams. The conference is saturated by so many prophetic people who have these gifts that God has given them. We're going to give the children the beauty of His love--just what we have here--we're pouring it out on them, and they are SO ready! They are so prepared, and they are going to leave that conference with something that's supernatural--this planetary revival! So we're going "Back to the Future" because our children are the future revivalists and the NOW revivalists!

And there's a parent conference at the same time. God is raising up beautiful parents and we're going to be part of that! This conference will give us the ability to raise up these supernatural, anointed children!"